IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED IN DRESSING LACE AND OTHER TEXTILE FABRICS, AND SUITABLE ALSO TO THE APPLICATION OF DYES OR COLORING MATTERS THERETO
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francis Bryan Baker, of the Firm of Messrs. G. &
F. B. Baker, of Sherwood Street, Nottingham, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED IN DRESSING LACE AND OTHER TEXTILE
FABRICS, AND SUITABLE ALSO TO THE APPLICATION OF DYES OR COLORING
MATTERS THERETO."
Sealed the 12th April 1864, and dated the 24th October 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francis Bryan Baker
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th October 1863.
I, FRANCIS BRYAN BAKER, of the Firm of Messrs. G. & F. B. Baker, of
Sherwood Street, Nottingham, do hereby declare the nature of the In-
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED IN DRESSING LACE AND OTHER
TEXTILE FABRICS, AND SUITABLE ALSO TO THE APPLICATION OF DYES OR COLORING
MATTERS THERETO," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus used in dressing
lace and other textile fabrics, and suitable also to the application of dyes or
coloring matters thereto, For the purpose of applying "dressing" or other
liquid material to the surface or surfaces of lace and other fabrics, and also for

page_text: 66
steaming" "the said fabrics when requisite whilst the fabrics are distended
upon a "frame" for the purpose of being operated upon.
I employ apparatus which consists of the following parts, first, of a moveable
"wetter;" second, of a moveable "clearer;" third, of a moveable "steamer;"
fourth, of a tramway or series of rails upon which the "wetter,"
"clearer,"
and "steamer are caused to travel, the tramway may be moveable or
stationary.
"
"
The "wetter consists of a moveable box capable of being propelled along
the tramway and containing one or more rollers so placed that when the box
is supplied with any liquid these rollers shall be partly immersed therein. 1
The axles of the rollers rest upon "bushes" placed in the box.
The "clearer" consists of a series of rollers carried similarly to those described.
in the "wetter," but they do not rotate in any liquid. In the "wetter" and
also in the "clearer" revolving brushes may be employed in place of
rollers.
The "steamer" consists of a hollow vessel mounted similarly to "wetter"
and "clearer," having a suitable opening for the escape of the steam; this
vessel is supplied with steam from a boiler.
1
The tramway" may consist of one or more lines of rails placed parallel
with the sides of the dressing frame, or it may consist of two or more series of a
rails, an upper series placed transversely upon a lower series and supported
by trucks or wheels thereon for the purpose of shifting the position of
the upper tramway with the wetter, clearer, and steamer, from place to
place.
The mode of operation is as follows:-The fabric to be operated upon being
distended upon the dressing frame, and the "wetter" supplied with the proper
liquid, so that the roller (or rollers) shall be partly immersed therein, the upper
surface of the roller is brought into contact with the under surface of the
fabric, and on the wetter being propelled along the tramway the roller
revolves in the liquid and so takes it up and applies it to the surface of, the
fabric. For the purpose of producing a greater surface friction one or more
rollers may be applied on the upper surface of the fabric, so as to bear down
the fabric upon the rollers below.
The operation of the "clearer is similar. The object of these rollers is to
equalize, distribute, and regulate the quantity of "dress" left upon the fabric. 3
The "steamer" is used in connection with or independently of the "wetter"
and "clearer" for the purpose of producing a peculiar finish upon certain
fabrics, and is caused to travel underneath the fabric along the tramway as

page_text: previously described. The steam admitted to the steamer diffuses itself therein
and then issues from an orifice or orifices and impinges directly on the
fabric.
In some cases I use starch as a dressing in a white or unboiled state, and
then the steam on striking the fabric converts the starch and developes its
stiffening powers.
In order to apply dyes or coloring matter to the fabric, I place on the
tramway apparatus similar to the "wetter" but supplied with the dye or
coloring matter in place of with dressing, and the roller is fashioned according
to the pattern in which the color is to be applied to the fabric, having raised
ribs upon it if stripes are to be made on the fabric; the apparatus is run along
the tramway in the same manner as the "wetter" already described, and
it leaves color on the parts of the fabric with which it comes in contact.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Francis Bryan Baker in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 23rd April 1864.
JC..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANCIS
BRYAN BAKER, of the Firm of Messrs. G. & F. B. Baker, of Sherwood Street,
Nottingham, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Francis Bryan Baker, Her special licence that I, the said Francis
Bryan Baker, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Francis Bryan Baker, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED IN DRESSING LACE AND OTHER TEXTILE
FABRICS, AND SUITABLE ALSO TO THE APPLICATION OF DYES OR COLORING MATTERS
THERETO," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Francis
Bryan Baker, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing

page_text: under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Francis Bryan Baker, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus used in dressing
lace and other textile fabrics, and suitable also to the application of dyes or
coloring matters thereto. For the purpose of applying "dressing" or other
liquid material to the surface or surfaces of lace and other fabrics, and also
for steaming the said fabrics, when requisite, whilst the fabrics are distended.
upon a "frame" for the purpose of being operated upon, I employ apparatus
which consists of the following parts: first, of a moveable "wetter;" second,
of a moveable "clearer;" third, of a moveable "steamer;" fourth, of a tram-
way or series of rails, upon which the "wetter," "clearer," and "steamer "are
caused to travel; the tramway may be moveable or stationary. The "wetter"
consists of a moveable box, capable of being propelled along the tramway,
and containing one or more rollers, so placed that when the box is supplied
with any liquid these rollers shall be partly immersed therein. The axles
of the rollers rest upon "bushes" placed in the box.
ment.
The annexed Drawing (Figure 1) shews a perspective view of the arrange-
On the tramway a I have an iron carriage b, supported by four flanged
wheels b', so that it may be moved up and down the tramway. On the top of
the carriage 6 I have an iron frame c, the same size as the top part of the
carriage; this frame is connected to the carriage by four links or radius rods d,
so as to admit of the frame being raised parallely a few inches above the
carriage; e is a lever handle used in raising the frame c, the frame thus raised
is kept in its position by placing supports or wedges in the space between the
frame and the carriage. On the upper side of the frame c bars f grooved on
the top are placed transversely for the purpose of sustaining an upper frame g,
which carries the wetting vessels or boxes h and rollers i. The lower frame c
thus described forms a bed on which the upper frame g, with its vessels h and
rollers i, may slide side by side on the grooved bars f, and the distance between
the outer end of one vessel h and the outer end of the other adjusted to the
width of the fabric to be dressed. To each end of the top frames 9 I have

page_text: attached arms for the purpose of supporting the vessels h which contain the
dressing material. The vessels are of equal length, and in each of them a
roller i is placed, of such diameter and in such situation that the lower surface
of the roller will dip or be immersed in the dressing material, and the upper
surface be above the side of the vessel. The roller in one vessel is about one
inch shorter than the length of the vessel in which it is placed. In the second
vessel there is a shaft or axle (corresponding with the shaft of the first roller),
and I have a number of hollow rollers, of the same diameter as the roller in
the first vessel, but of different lengths, and so constructed that any number of
them can be fixed on the shaft or axle in the second vessel, so as to regulate
the entire length of the rollers to the width of the goods to be dressed, so that
every part of the fabric may be acted on equally by the rollers. The second
vessel is constructed so that it can be divided into compartments in order to
confine the dressing material to that part of the vessel to which the roller
extends. The frame c is made capable of rising and falling, so that the carriage
may be run back under the fabric on the dressing frame without touching
or acting upon it when it is desired to move the carriage from place to place
without operating on the fabric. The "clearer" consists of a series of rollers
carried similarly to those described in the wetter, but they do not rotate in
any liquid; it has a wheeled carriage and frames, but the arms at the ends
of the upper frame g are branched out and furnished with "bushes" for the
reception of rollers, so that one or more rollers may be used on each side as
occasion may require; these rollers are not supplied with "dress," but are
intended to regulate the dress applied by the wetter. In the "wetter" and
also in the clearer, revolving brushes may be employed in place of rollers. The
steamer consists of a hollow vessel, a transverse section of which is shewn at
Figure 2, it is mounted similarly to the "wetter" and "clearer" and having
a suitable opening for the escape of the steam; this vessel is supplied with
steam from a boiler or from a steam generator. I have a small steam
generator placed on the " carriage "b, the steam cylinders, Figure 2, occupy
the places of the previously described rollers, and are connected to the steam
generator by pipes with stop-cocks. The cylinders have each an opening
at the top the whole length, and on steam being generated the stop-cocks are
opened, steam is admitted into the cylinders and it escapes by openings at the
top, and so impinges upon the fabric above; is a perforated plate to ensure
the equal distribution of the steam throughout the length of the steam
cylinder or vessel. The "tramway" consists of a line of rails placed parallel
with the sides of the dressing frame; or it may consist of two or more series

page_text: of rails, an upper series placed transversely úpon a lower series, and supported
by trucks or wheels thereon for the purpose of shifting the position of the
upper tramway with the wetter, clearer, and steamer from place to place.
This latter arrangement is only made when the apparatus is not constructed
of sufficient width to dress the fabric at one operation; in this case after
dressing half the width, the whole apparatus with the longitudinal tramway is
moved sideways for dressing the other half.
The mode of operation is as follows:-The fabric to be dressed being
distended upon the dressing frame in the ordinary manner, I adjust the length
of the wetting vessel as previously described to the width of the fabric, and
also adjust the rollers in a similar manner; I then supply the vessels with the
requisite "dress," so that as the rollers rotate the lower surfaces are immersed
in the dressing material; I then place the wetter underneath the fabric, raise
the upper frame so that the rollers are brought into contact with the surface
of the fabric. The "wetter" is then moved along the tramway and the
friction of the fabric against the rollers causes them to revolve, and thus applies
the "dress to the fabric. The "clearer" is now brought into contact with
the fabric by being conducted along the tramway with its rollers at the
proper elevation, and kept in motion forwards or backwards until the dress is
properly and equally distributed. For the purpose of producing greater
surface friction, one or more rollers are applied when requisite to the upper
surface of the fabric so as to bear it down upon the wetting or clearing rollers;
arms to carry these rollers are formed on the upper frame of the carriage.
The "steamer" is used in connection with or independently of the wetter
and clearer for the purpose of producing a peculiar finish upon certain fabrics,
and. is caused to travel along the tramway as previously described. It is used
especially when working with a dressing of unboiled starch; the heat of the
steam then developes the stiffening properties of the starch after it has been
applied to the fabric. In order to apply dyes or coloring matter to the fabric,
I place on the tramway apparatus similar to the "wetter," but supplied with
dye or coloring matter in place of the ordinary "dress," and the roller is
fashioned according to the pattern in which the color is to be applied to the
fabric, having raised ribs upon it if stripes are to be made on the fabric, the
apparatus is run along the tramway in the same manner as the wetter already
described, and it leaves color on the parts of the fabric with which it comes
in contact.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that what I claim is the

page_text: combining with a dressing frame a tramway and a carriage running along or
under the fabric, and applying the dressing as herein-before described; also
I claim the combining in a similar manner with a dressing frame, a tramway
carrying clearing rollers or instruments, steam apparatus, and apparatus for
applying dyes and coloring matters as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francis Bryan Baker, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
F. B. BAKER. (L.S.)