Improvements in Machinery for Opening and Spreading and Detaining the Twist in Fabrics in Bleaching, Dyeing, and Finishing Operations.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Mar., 1887
Complete Left, 19th Dec., 1887
Complete Accepted, 20th Jan., 1888
Improvements in Machinery for Opening and Spreading and
Detaining the Twist in Fabrics in Bleaching, Dyeing, and
Finishing Operations.
I RICHARD REDFERN ROBERTS of 15 Bolholt Terrace, Woolfold, Bury, in the
County of Lancaster, Millwright do hereby declare the nature of my invention to be
as follows:-
This invention refers to that class of opening and spreading machine for twisted
fabrics employed in bleaching dyeing and finishing operations in which a pair of
beaters are employed revolving in contrary directions to each other and to the
direction in which the twisted fabric is travelling.
Hitherto the bars of these beaters have been in the form of rods with a straight
smooth surface and a pair of revolving spiral rollers have been used distinctly and
separately from the beater for spreading the fabric.
My improvements consist in dispensing with these rollers and in substituting for
the aforementioned rods in the beater,-spiral metallic bars each twisted in contrary
direction from the centre or instead of spiral bars I may employ rollers with similar
spirals or any segment of a spiral or screw similarly mounted in the beaters.-The
effect of these spirals so mounted as aforesaid is to cause the twisted fabric to spread
outwards more efficiently than heretofore and by means of simpler mechanism. [
employ my improved beaters in conjunction with a pair of angular opening and
guiding rollers which receive the fabric-after it has left the beaters for still further
opening and spreading out the fabric and to guide it on to the drying cylinders or
other rollers employed in subsequent operations.
1002
JOHN G. WILSON,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Opening and Spreading and
Detaining the Twist in Fabrics in Bleaching, Dyeing, and
Finishing Operations.
I RICHARD REDFERN ROBERTS of 15 Bolholt Terrace, Woolfold, Bury in the County
of Lancaster Mill-wright, do hereby declare the nature of my 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 refers to that class of opening and spreading machine for twisted
fabrics employed in bleaching dyeing and finishing operations in which a pair of
beaters are employed revolving in contrary directions to each other and to the
direction in which the twisted fabric is travelling.
Hitherto the bars of these beaters have been in the form of rods with a straight
smooth surface and a pair of revolving spiral rollers have been used distinctly and
separately from the beater for spreading the fabric.
My improvements consist in dispensing with these rollers and substituting for the
afore mentioned rods in the heater-spiral metallic bars each twisted in contrary
directions from the centre as and for the purpose hereinafter described.
And in order that this my said invention may be the more readily understood and
carried into practical effect I have hereunto annexed a drawing illustrative of my
improvements in beaters and will now proceed to describe the same with the assistance
of the various letters of reference marked thereon. Fig. I represents a plan view and
Fig. 2 an end view of a beater having my improvements applied,-a a are the spiral
metallic bars (by preference of steel, copper or brass) which constitutes the essential
feature of my invention. These spiral bars a a consist of a thin parallel metal blade
twisted (or formed as a spiral) in contrary directions from the centre to the ends of
the beater and which bars are at their extremities secured by screw nuts b b (or
fastened in any other suitable manner) to the beater arms c. c as illustrated.
In this manner the spiral bars a, a, are substitutes for the plain bars or rods hitherto
used in this class of beater and also take the place of the spiral spreading rollers
hitherto employed.
Instead of employing a pair of spiral bars I sometimes employ three or more spiral
bars in one beater and arranged equi-distant from each other around the central shaft
or I employ rollers with similar spirals or bars with any segment of a spiral or screw
similarly mounted in the beaters.
The effect of these spiral blades so mounted in the beater as aforesaid is by pre-
senting a constantly recurring series of diverging surfaces to the twisted fabric to
open and spread outwards and to detain the twist more efficiently than heretofore and
by means of a simpler mechanism.
I employ my improved beaters in conjunction with angular opening and guiding
rollers which receive the fabric after it has left my improved beaters for still further

page_text: opening and spreading out the fabric and to guide it into the drying cylinders or
other rollers employed in subsequent operations.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
1st. The improvements in machinery for opening and spreading and detaining the
twist in fabrics in bleaching dyeing and finishing operations substantially as herein-
before described and illustrated on the accompanying drawing.
2nd. In the construction of beaters the employment of spiral metallic bars sub-
stantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore described and illustrated on the
accompanying drawing.