CER- TAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING, DAMPING, STIFFENING, OPENING, AND SPREADING WOVEN FABRICS
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, COLIN.
MATHER, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker, and ERNEST
ROLFFS, of Cologne, in the Kingdom of Prussia, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Eleventh day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-two, and in the fifteenth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs, and successors, give and grant unto us, the said Colin
Mather and Ernest Rolffs, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that we, the said Colin Mather and Ernest Rolffs, our exors, admors,
and assigns, and such others as we, the said Colin Mather and Ernest Rolffs,
our exors, adñors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England
and Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, our Invention of "CER-
TAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING, DAMPING, STIFFENING, OPENING, AND SPREADING
WOVEN FABRICS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that
we, the said Colin Mather and Ernest Rolffs, or one of us, shall cause a par-
ticular description of the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of
Chancery with six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the

page_text: said in part recited Letters Patent, reference being thereunto had, will more
fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Colin Mather, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereto annexed, and the following
explanation thereof, that is to say:-
Our improvements in printing consist in certain constructions and arrange-
ments of parts for printing woven fabrics on that principle known as "surface
printing; the points of novelty of this part of our Invention being, firstly, the
employment of a colour roller or rollers in immediate connexion with the
printing surface or surfaces, that is, without the intervention of "furnishing"
rollers, such as are ordinarily used in "surface printing;" secondly, the employ-
ment of a stationary table or tables, against which the printing surface or
surfaces exert their pressure; and, thirdly, in the use of peculiarly constructed
rollers for receiving the projections intended to constitute the device to be
printed.
The method of adapting our several improvements under this head of
our Invention so as to constitute a printing machine may be varied to a con-
siderable extent; but I shall hereafter point out such arrangements as we have
found to answer the purpose.
Our improvements in damping and stiffening consist in the employment of
a cylinder placed within a vessel containing water or stiffening matter, such
cylinder revolving in contact with the goods to be operated upon, and thus
conveying to them water or stiffening materials.
Our improvements in opening and spreading consist in an apparatus for
uncoiling woven fabrics which have passed in the rope form from the bleaching
or other process, the peculiar feature of this part of our Invention consisting
in the use of revolving discs, which at the will of the attendant may be caused
to move in contact with either side of the rope of goods, and thus, by turning
it upon its axis, effect an unwinding of the coiled or twisted portions. And in
order that our several improvements may be fully understood, we have appended
to this our Specification certain illustrative Drawings, which I will now proceed
to describe.
The several Figures of Sheet 1 represent the first part of our Invention,
arranged so as to print from three surface rollers. Fig. 1 is an end view of
the machine; Fig. 2, a cross section; and Fig. 3, a front view thereof; in all
of which Figures similar letters or numbers of reference denote the like parts.

page_text: And I will first point out the arrangement and construction of the several
principal parts, and subsequently the means shewn for giving them the requisite
motions.
The framework of the machine is shewn at a, a, a, to each end part
of which is bolted a rod b; this rod has collars c, c, attached to it, and
it is formed hollow for a portion of its length, as shewn by the dotted lines at
d, d, in Fig. 4, which is a detached view of the rod and part of the frame-
work; a slot is also formed in the rod communicating with the hollow
portion thereof. The collars c, c, are provided with V grooves f, f, f, of which
there are (in this instance) three; in the circumference of each and within
each pair of these grooves there is placed a bar g, g, widened at its outward
part, as seen in the detached views, Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8; these parts constitute
tables, against which the fabric is to be printed. Upon the rod b, b, are
mounted sliding pieces h, h, one of which is provided with a pin, projecting
through the slot e, the other, end of the pin being attached to a bolt situate
within the hollow part of the rod b; this bolt is furnished with a screw at its
outward end, upon which there is a nut, by turning which therefore the bolt is
caused to move in its recess, and by means of the connecting pin draw with it
the sliding piece h, a similar motion being caused to take place in reference to
the other sliding piece h*, through the intervention of a connecting rod i.
The sliding pieces h, h, are provided with projecting parts, within which the
tables g, g, are situate, and they are furnished with pins j, j, j, j, which take
into inclined grooves k, k, k, k, formed upon the ends of the tables g, g, so that
the sliding of the pieces h, h, will cause them to be expanded or contracted in
a radial direction, and they are thus rendered capable of being brought nearer
to or further from the printing rollers. Figs. 9 and 10 are detached views of
the tables and their immediate appurtenances. By reference to Fig. 2 the
position of the parts described will be observed. The printing rollers are.
shewn at 1, 1, 1, constructed according to another part of our Invention, here-,
after to be described, or upon any other usual plan; they turn in suitable
bearings capable of sliding upon the framework of the machine. The fur-
nishing rollers m, m, m, are mounted in ordinary color boxes n, n, n, but
instead of revolving in contact with intermediate rollers, blanket, or cloth,
their peripheries being directly against the printing surface to which the color
is thus conveyed. The fabric to be printed and the accompanying back
cloth or blanket pass as usual over guides, and from thence over a roller g,
of equal circumference to the printing rollers; they are then taken by
one of a series of rollers 0, 0, 0, 0, each of which is provided with several.

page_text: rows of projecting points, as shewn in the detached views at Figs. 11. These
rollers being caused to revolve, conduct the fabric through the machine,
and by means of their points prevent it from contracting or becoming loose, so
as to distort the pattern to be printed. The axles of the furnishing rollers m
are mounted in bearings g, which are capable of sliding upon the framework,
and to these bearings are connected links r, r, which, being in combination
with the system of levers 8, 8, s, t, t, t, u, u, u, afford the means of causing the
furnishing rollers to be pressed towards the printing rollers by the application
of weights to the parts v, v, v, which weights also carry forward the sliding
brasses of the printing rollers, through the intervention of screws w, so as to
cause them to press upon the printing tables. In order, however, to regulate
such pressure, bell-crank levers 12 are provided, one end thereof projecting
against the axles of the printing rollers, forming stops thereto, capable of
adjustment by the serews 13. For the purpose of regulating the pressure of the
furnishing rollers upon the printing rollers, the screws w, w, w, take into the
bearings q, q, q, the other ends thereof abutting against the fixed brasses of the
printing rollers; by turning the screws w, w, w, therefore, through the milled'
nut x, the furnishing rollers may be forced backwards against the action of the
weights, or allowed to advance, so as to press more or less upon the printing
rollers. The horizontal positions of the furnishing and printing rollers are
regulated by means of set screws y, y, y, which elevate or depress their
bearings. The "doctors" are shewn at 1 provided with set screws, in order
to regulate the thickness of colour carried on the furnishing rollers to the
printing rollers. The method we adopt for communicating motion to the
various parts is as follows:-The driving power is applied to a hollow shaft 2,
mounted upon one end of the rod b, and upon which there is a pulley 3, com-
municating motion by means of a strap to two drums 4, 4, upon the shaft of
each of which there is a pulley, which drives others 5, 5, attached to the axles
of two of the furnishing rollers, the other furnishing roller being caused to
revolve by means of bands 6, 6, and pullies 7, 7, as shewn in the Drawing.
Upon the hollow axle 2 there is a pinion 8, taking into the teeth of others
affixed to the axles of the point rollers o, o, o, o, which are thus caused to
The roller g corresponds
revolve and convey the fabric through the machine.
exactly in diameter with the printing rollers 1, 1, 1, and its axle is furnished
with a pinion 10; this pinion takes into another mounted loosely upon one end
of the rod b, and which,. being in gear with others 11, 11, 11, affixed to the
printing rollers, communicates rotary motion thereto, and as the numbers of
teeth in these pinions are the same, the surfaces of the rollers will be caused'

page_text: to move through equal spaces in equal times, and thus effect a proper register
of the several devices.
The next part of our Invention, that is, a method of constructing surface
rollers for printing, is applicable to printing machines of other construction
than that already described, and we therefore refer to it separately. Fig. 12
represents this portion of our improvements. Upon an axle 18, 18, we place
a number of circular pieces or washers 16, 16, 16, of paper, pasteboard, felt, or
other suitable material, holes being formed therein to admit the axle; we then
compress the same firmly together so as to form a solid mass by means of a
nut 17, the other end of the axle being provided with a fixed collar 19. Into
the roller so formed we drive or otherwise attach projecting pieces according
to the design required, and the roller may then be printed form in the usual
manner.
The next part of our Invention is shewn at Fig. 13, Sheet 2, which re-
presents a section of the apparatus for damping or stiffening woven fabrics.
a, a, is a vessel of any suitable material, containing water, or gum solution, or
other stiffening matter, as may be required; partly within this vessel is placed'
a cylinder 6, of brass or other suitable substance, so that when caused to revolve
by any convenient means its periphery shall pass through and take up a portion'
of the liquid contained in the vessel a. At each side of the apparatus there is
a frame c, capable of adjustment by tightening screws d, and within these are'
sliding pieces e, which carry a scraper or doctor f, capable of being caused to
press against the periphery of the cylinder 6 with varying degrees of force by
means of set screws, one of which is seen at g. The goods to be damped or
stiffened pass over guide rollers h, h, h, and from thence over the periphery of the
cylinder b, where they absorb the water or stiffening material and are then'
wound upon the roller i, which is caused to revolve by contact with the peri-
phery of the cylinder b. It will be evident, that by adjusting the pressure of
the scraper or doctor f, that the amount of moisture or stiffening matter to be
conveyed to the fabric may be considerably varied. The cylinder b, b, may
be plain upon its periphery, or, if desired, may be fluted or otherwise indented,"
so as to be capable of conveying a greater amount of moisture or stiffening
material.
Our next improvement is shewn at Figs. 14, 15, 16, of the accompanying
Drawings; Fig. 14 being an elevation, partly in section, Fig. 15, a plan
view, also partly in section; and Fig. 16 an end view of Fig. 14. a, a, a,
is a stud attached to a beam or other part of the building; upon this stud
is affixed a bearing 6, within which is situate one end of a shaft c,"

page_text: the other end thereof being carried by any convenient arrangement. The
shaft c is driven by a pulley d, and is provided with a pinion e, taking into
the teeth of another j, which wheel turns loosely upon the stud a. Upon the
stud a is also mounted loosely a collar f, having a projecting part g, g, upon
which is mounted loosely a collar h, h, having a pinion i affixed thereto, which
pinion takes into that represented at j. To the collar h, h, are attached by
means of flanges two curved discs k, k, which are thus caused to revolve, but
are at the same time capable of being turned around the stud a by means of a
lever affixed to the collar f. The goods from the bleaching, dyeing, or other
process, where they have been treated in the "rope," are conducted through á
stationary eye m, and from thence between the revolving discs k, k, as shewn
by the blue color. The attendant stands with a rod in his hand, which is
attached to the lever 1, and watches the rope of fabric as it proceeds towards:
the machino used for winding the goods into a batch in roll, which machine
may be of
any construction in ordinary use. When there is no twist in the
cloth it passes freely between the discs, they running the same way, and so.
arranged as to allow a free passage for stitches, knots, or any varying thickness.
of the cloth; when the attendant perceives a twisted portion passing between:
or beyond the pair of discs he turns the collar f upon its centre so as to cause
the pinion to roll upon that shewn at j, and thereby brings the forward part
of one or other of the discs into contact with the advancing "rope," which by
the revolution of the said discs will be caused to turn upon. its axis, and thus:
effect an uncoiling of the twisted portion; thus, in Fig. 15 the attendant has
so shifted the position of the discs that the point A is caused to travel in the:
direction of the arrow against the fabric, the coil therefore existing at B will
upon its arrival at the point A become untwisted, and the goods proceed to the
winding machine in an opened state. If a coil next appear in the opposite
direction, it will in like manner be removed by shifting the lever l, so as to
bring the point C to revolve in contact with it.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed; we desire it to be
understood that we claim, as secured to us under the above in part recited.
Letters Patent,―
Firstly, as applied to "surface printing" machines, the employment of a
roller or rollers which convey color to the printing cylinder or cylinders direct,
that is to say, without the use of intermediate furnishing rollers or blanket.
Secondly, the employment of a stationary table or tables against which the
printing surfaces are caused to act.

page_text: Thirdly, constructing cylinders for receiving devices for surface printing
by placing washers of paper or other suitable material upon a shaft or
mandril.
Fourthly, the use of a cylinder in combination with a doctor, or equivalent
thereto, for conveying moisture or stiffening matter to woven fabrics by
contact.
Fifthly, the use of revolving discs for opening or spreading woven fabrics.
In witness whereof, I, the said Colin Mather, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Tenth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.