Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Stretching Woven Piece Goods.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Dec., 1887
Complete Specification Left, 7th Sept., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 12th Oct., 1888
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Stretching Woven
Piece Goods.
We, ALFRED BIRTWISTLE, of the Firm of A., A., and A. Birtwistle, of Wensley
Fold New Mill, Blackburn, in the County of Lancaster, Cotton Manufacturers, and
THOMAS MARTIN, of the same place, Weaving Manager for the said Firm, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
This invention relates to machinery or apparatus for stretching woven piece goods.
We employ a pair of side uprights suitably supported and at any required distance
apart and upon the uprights we support in suitable journals the axes or end bearings
of two sets of parallel bars arranged to be rotated in opposite directions by means of a
pair of toothed wheels geared into each other and carried at one side of the uprights
on the two projecting extremities of the axes or end bearings. A pinion wheel attached
to the boss of a crank handle and rotating upon a fixed stud gears into one of the
toothed wheels and in conjunction with the pinion we employ a pawl or catch so that
when the toothed wheels have been sufficiently rotated as hereinafter mentioned they
may be locked and thereby prevented from turning back in the reverse direction. The
rods or bars forming each pair of the two sets of parallel bars (which extend across the
space between the uprights) are arranged slightly apart from each other and through
the space or opening between the bars of one set one end of the woven piece is first
passed in an upward direction then over a pivotted roller above and down again
through the other set of parallel bars whereupon the handle is turned causing the two
sets of bars to be rotated in opposite directions the cloth meanwhile tightening by
becoming overlapped on the bars which continue to be rotated until the cloth has been
drawn or pulled to the required tension. The pawl or catch is then made to engage
with the pinion and the cloth is allowed to remain under tension for a short time until
the process of stretching or elongation is completed. The apparatus is then released
the stretched cloth is drawn forward by hand through the two sets of parallel bars
and the stretching process is repeated upon a succeeding length of cloth and so on
until the entire piece has been similarly dealt with.

page_text: The pivotted roller over which the cloth is passed may be either overhead or in any
other convenient position and any number of such rollers may be employed as may be
found requisite for suitably guiding or supporting the cloth.
In some cases it may be found desirable to operate the apparatus by means of a
power-driven belt and pulleys instead of by hand with a crank handle as hereinabove
described.
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agent for the Applicants.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Stretching Woven
Piece Goods.
We, ALFRED BIRTWISTLE of the Firm of A., A. & A. Birtwistle of Wensley Fold
New Mill, Blackburn in the County of Lancaster, Cotton Manufacturers, & THOMAS
MARTIN of the same place, Weaving Manager for the said firm, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to machinery or apparatus for stretching woven piece goods.
In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is an end elevation; Fig. 2 a side elevation ;
Fig. 3 a vertical section; and Fig. 4 a plan view (partly in section) of such
machinery or apparatus constructed according to our said invention.
We employ a pair of side uprights a a suitably supported and at any required
distance apart and upon the uprights we support in journals bb the axes or end
bearings c c of two sets of parallel bars d d arranged to be rotated in opposito
directions by means of a pair of toothed wheels e e geared into each other and
carried at one side of the uprights on the two projecting extremities of the axes or
end bearings c c. A pinion wheel attached to or forming part of the boss of a
crank handle g and rotating upon a fixed stud gears into the toothed wheel e and we
employ a pawl or catch so that when the toothed wheels ee¹ have been sufficiently
rotated as hereinafter mentioned they may be locked and thereby prevented from
turning back in the reverse direction (see Fig. 2). The rods or bars forming each
pair of the two sets of parallel bars d d (which extend across the space between the
uprights) are arranged slightly apart from each other and through the space
or opening between the bars of one set one end of the woven piece is first passed
in an upward direction then over a pivotted roller h above and down again through
the other set of parallel bars whereupon the handle g is turned causing the two
sets of bars to be rotated in opposite directions the cloth j (see Fig. 3) meanwhile
tightening by becoming overlapped on the bars which continue to be rotated until
the cloth has been drawn or pulled to the required tension. The pawl or catch i is
then made to engage with (preferably) the toothed wheel e and the cloth j is allowed
to remain under tension for a short time until the process of stretching or elongation
is completed. The apparatus is then released by withdrawing the catch i from the
wheel e the stretched cloth is drawn forward by hand through the two sets of
parallel bars and the stretching process is repeated upon a succeeding length of cloth,
and so on until the entire piece has been similarly dealt with.
The pivotted roller h over which the cloth is passed may be either overhead
(as shewn in the drawings) or in any other convenient position and any number
of such rollers may be employed as may be found requisite for suitably guiding or
supporting the cloth.

page_text: In some cases it may be found desirable to operate the apparatus by means of a
power-driven belt and pulleys instead of by hand with a crank handle as hereinabovo
described.
Although as a convenient means of construction we have described the two sets
of parallel bars arranged to be rotated in opposite directions they may obviously
be arranged to effect the purpose of our invention by causing them to rotate in the
same direction.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what wo
claim is :-
1. The use or employment of two sets of parallel bars and arrangements for
rotating them in manner substantially as described and shewn in the drawings for the
purpose specified.
2. The combination with two sets of parallel bars arranged to be rotated for tho
purpose specified of a roller or rollers such as h.
3. The general arrangement of parts constituting the improved cloth stretching
apparatus constructed and operating substantially as described and shewn in the
drawings.
1000
Datcu say
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agent for the Applicants.