IMPROVEMENTS IN BEETLING MACHINERY
Year: 1884

page_text: CHARLES JAMES WEBB of Randalstown in the county of Antrim, Manufacturer,
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BEETLING
MACHINERY to be as follows:-
This invention is designed with a view to form a beetling machine that will
work more rapidly and efficiently than existing machines, and that will enable a
greater length of cloth to be operated on.
My apparatus consists as follows:-
1st. Of a beam or roller of the usual construction on which the cloth is beetled;
if preferred the cloth may be wound or unwound on the beam as is customary in
the old fashioned make of beetling machines. For effecting this I have arranged a
lever with a compensating balance, by which one beam can be placed in position
under the hammers while a second beam is being filled with cloth.
I prefer to pass the cloth in as many circuits as is required partially round a
stationary beam on which the hammers or beetles strike, and at the same time
round a series of rollers placed at a sufficient distance from the beam so as to
enable the cloth when finished, to be delivered or taken off without stopping the
machine between two of these rollers at the underside of the circuit while fresh
cloth is being entered on the upper side, or the cloth may be entered at the under
side and taken off at the upper.
2nd. I prefer that the bettling hammers should strike the cloth on the side
of the roller but they may be made to strike at any point. They are made
with long shafts or handles which are rigid and unbending throughout except
at the end of the shaft where it is connected with the rocker or pitman hereafter
described. At this point I attach the shaft to a piece of steel which acts as a
spring or break to check the force of the blow or I place the rigid shaft between
two discs of thick india rubber or similar substance with same object. The
form of handle I prefer is a wide spring steel blade bent into a channel form in the
upper portion but flat at the lower portion.
Two sets of hammers can be used, one set acting on one side of the beam and
the other the other side.

page_text: A series of stout rockers or pitmans are fixed below the beam or else where to
which the beetles or hammers are attached. If two rows of hammers are used
those directly opposite each other are attached to the same rocker.
Each pitman is oscillated by a separate eccentric keyed to a shaft which passes
through the machine and which is parallel with the cloth beam.
The arrangement herein described could be considerably varied. The rockers
could be dispensed with and the hammers worked direct or by any extension of
the shaft of the hammer, it could be made to act with the same effect by fixing a
stud or pivot at the centre.
Dated: 1011
1004

page_text: I, CHARLES JAMES WEBB, of Randalstown in the county of Antrim, Manu-
facturer,. do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN BEETLING MACHINERY "and' in what manner the same is to be performed; to
be particularly described and ascertained' in and by the following statement :-
This invention is designed with: a view to form a beetling machine that will
work more rapidly. and efficiently than existing machines, and that will enable-a
greater length of cloth to be operated on.
In the drawings, Figure 1, a cross sectional elevation and Figure 2 side elevation
shewing the apparatus.
In these A is a beam or roller of the usual construction on which the cloth is
beetled; if preferred the cloth may be wound or unwound' on the beam as is
customary in the old fashioned make of beetling machines. For effecting this, I
have arranged a lever B with a compensating balance C at each end of the beam,
by which the beam can be placed in position under the hammers while a second
beam is being filled with cloth. The equivalent of these levers two counterweighted
discs with the beam fixed eccentric on them would do as well.
I prefer however to have the beam stationary, in position, but revolving on its
axis. The cloth is passed partially round this beam A covered with cloth, felt,
leather or other like material, on which the hammers or beetles E strike, and
round a series of rollers D D D placed at a sufficient distance from the beam, so as
to enable the cloth when finished to be delivered or taken off, without stopping the
machine, between two of these rollers at the underside of the circuit, while fresh
cloth is being entered on the upper side, or the cloth may be entered at the
under side and taken off at the upper.
I prefer that the beetling hammers should strike the cloth on the side of the
roller, but they may be made to strike at any point. They are made with long
shafts or handles F which are rigid and unbending throughout except at the end
of the shaft where it is connected with the rocker or pitman G hereafter described.
At this point I attach the shaft to a piece of steel H which acts as a spring or
break to check the force of the blow, or I place the rigid shaft in its holder between
two discs of thick india rubber or similar substance with same object, or use an
india rubber joint instead of the spring steel. The form of handle I prefer is a wide
spring steel blade bent into a channel form in the upper portion, but flat at the
lower portion.
Two sets of hammers can be used, one set acting on one side of the beam, and
the other the other side as shown.
A series of stout rockers or pitmans G are fixed below the beam or elsewhere
to which the beetles or hammers are attached. If two rows of hammers are used,
those directly opposite each other are attached to the same rocker.
Each pitman is oscillated by a separate eccentric I keyed to a shaft J which
passes through the machine, and which is parallel with the cloth beam A.
The arrangement herein described could be considerably varied. The rockers
could be dispensed with and the hammers worked direct, or by an extension of the
shaft of the hammer, it could be made to act with the same effect by fixing a stud
or pivot at the centre and actuating it with reverse motion by means of the
continuation beyond.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is;
1st. The improvement in beetling machinery which consists in placing the cloth
beam on counterweighted levers, or their equivalent as described, by which means
one beam can be recharged while another is in use.
2nd. The improvement in beetling machinery which consists in a beam and
guide rollers, so arranged that the cloth shall slowly or intermittently travel from
a roller partly round the beam and over another roller, by which means the length
of the cloth shall be successively passed between the beam and the beetles in a
single thickness and shall thus be evenly beetled.
3rd. The improvement in beetling machinery which consists in placing the beetle
heads on shafts having a spring connection with their pitmans or other operating
mechanism, substantially as described.
4th. The general arrangement of beetling machinery consisting of stationary
beam, guide rollers guiding the cloth so as to take a large circuit round the beetles
striking the beam on two sides, and provided with springy handles, so as to hit
with more even effect, the whole arranged and combined, substantially as
described.