Soaping, or Washing Woven Fabrics.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Apr., 1887
Complete Left, 28th Dec., 1887
Complete Accepted, 3rd Feb., 1888
Soaping, or Washing Woven Fabrics.
We, DUNCAN STEWART, and ROBERT WALKER, of London Road Iron Works,
Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Engineers, do hereby declare
the nature of this Invention to be as follows, that is to say :-
Our said Invention has for its object to provide improved, simple, and reliable
apparatus for the combined operations of stretching and airing woven fabrics which
have been freshly starched or dressed or for the combined operations of stretching and
liquoring, soaping, or washing woven fabrics.
When the fabric is to be starched or dressed, stretched, and aired, it is passed in
the ordinary way through the starch or dressing and then between weighted pressing
rollers which remove the superfluous starch or dressing. The fabric is afterwards led
over guide rollers to and acted on by six or other suitable number of pairs of horizontal
rollers one of each pair being placed a short distance above the other and having its shaft
driven by means of a feather and groove by bevil gearing from a first motion shaft or
in any other suitable manner. Each pair of rollers are connected together and acted
on reversely by belleranks which are worked by connecting rods actuated by.
eccentrics on a rotating shaft deriving its motion by a belt and pulley from the
shaft of the bevil gearing or in any other suitable manner so as to give the two rollers
of each pair alternate opposite transverse movements which stretch the fabric in the
directions of both its length and breadth. Between each pair of horizontal rollers the
fabric passes down to and under a roller held in the lower ends of two rods suspended
by their upper ends and then up again to the next pair of horizontal rollers. The
several suspended rods are connected together by links and receive a pendulous
motion through connecting rods from crank pins on a rotating shaft actuated by a
belt from a pulley on the first motion shaft or in any other suitable manner.
The
suspended rods.with their lower rollers swing just over the top of steam pipes extending
along the bottom of the apparatus; and the fabric is by the combined action of the
horizontal rollers and the pendulous rods thoroughly stretched and aired before it

page_text: Icaves the last pair of rollers from which it is led to folding apparatus of any
suitable kind.
When the machine is to be used for liquoring, soaping, or washing and stretching
woven fabrics the pendulous rods swing in a tank of water or other liquid placed
along the lower part of the apparatus in and above the space occupied by the steam
pipes in the modification herein before described; and the fabric is thoroughly washed
by the to-and-fro-motion of the pendulous rods in the water being at the same time
stretched by the horizontal rollers. When the fabric leaves the last pair of rollers it
is led to an ordinary mangle to express the water from it.
T
1:1 1
A
11007
EDMUND HUNT,
Applicants' Agent.

page_text: Improvements in Apparatus for Stretching and Airing, Liquoring,
Soaping, or Washing Woven Fabrics.
We, DUNCAN STEWART, and ROBERT WALKER, of London Road Iron Works,
Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Engineers, 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, that is
to say:
Our said Invention has for its object to provide improved, simple, and reliable
apparatus for the combined operations of stretching and airing woven fabrics which
have been freshly starched or dressed or for liquoring, soaping, or washing woven
fabrics.
And in order that our said Invention and the manner of performing the same may
be properly understood we hereunto append a sheet of explanatory drawings to be
hereinafter referred to and showing our improvements.
Figure, 1, of the drawings is a side elevation partly in section, and figure, 2, is a
sectional end elevation of the improved apparatus.
When the fabric is to be starched, or dressed, stretched, and aired, it is first passed
through starch or dressing fluid and then between weighted pressing rollers which
remove the superfluous starch or dressing fluid, the apparatus used for this operation
not being shown in the drawing but being of an ordinary kind and constituting no
part of the present Invention. The fabric which is shown by a dotted line in the
drawings is afterwards led over guide rollers or tension bars (not shown) to the
apparatus shown in the drawing in which it is led over a number of guide rollers, 3,
held in bearings in brackets, 4, fixed to the framing, 5. The fabric passes from these
rollers, 3, to and is acted on by a suitable number of pairs of horizontal rollers, 6, 7,
one, 6, of each pair being placed a short distance above the other one, 7, and having
its shaft driven by means of a feather and groove by bevil wheels, 8, 9, from a first-
motion shaft, 10, carried in bearings on brackets, 11, fixed to the framing, 5, or in
any other suitable manner. The shafts of each pair of rollers, 6, 7, are connected
together at their back ends by two-armed levers, 12, centered on the brackets, 4, at the
back of the framing, 5, and at their forward ends by three-armed levers, 13, centered
on the brackets, 4, at the front of the framing, 5. The projecting arms of the
levers, 13, have connected to them the upper ends of connecting rods, 14, actuated by
eccentrics, 15, on a rotating shaft, 16, carried by bearings, 17, fixed to pillars, 18,
which support the framing, 5. The rotating shaft, 16, derives its motion by a belt
(not shown) and pulleys, 19, 20, from a shaft, 21, carrying the bevil wheels, 8. The
levers, 13, are thus by means of the eccentrics, 15, and connecting rods, 14, made to
give the two rollers, 6, 7, of each pair alternate opposite transverse movements which
Stretch the fabric in the directions of both its length and breadth, the bevil wheels, 9,
being kept in position during this movement of the rollers, 6, 7, by the upper ends of
curved arms, 22, fixed to the bracket, 4, and engaging in grooves in the bosses of the

page_text: wheels. Between each pair of horizontal rollers, 6, 7, the fabric passes down to and
under a roller, 23, held in the lower ends of two rods, 24, 25, suspended by their
upper ends from the framing, 5, and then up again to the next pair of horizontal
rollers, 6, 7. The several suspended rods, 24, 25, are connected together by links, 26,
and receive a pendulous motion through connecting rods, 27, from crank pins, 28, on
a rotating shaft, 29, actuated by a belt, 30, from a pulley on the first-motion shaft, 10,
or in any other suitable manner. The suspended rods, 24, 25, with their lower
rollers, 23, swing just over the top of steam pipes, 31, extending along the bottom of
the apparatus; and the fabric is by the combined action of the horizontal rollers, 6, 7,
and the pendulous rods, 24, 25, thoroughly stretched and aired before it leaves the
last pair of rollers from which it is led to folding apparatus of any suitable kind.
When the machine is to be used for liquoring, soaping, or washing woven fabrics,
water or other liquid is run into a tank, 32, placed along the lower part of the
apparatus and in the bottom of which the steam pipes, 31, are placed, and the
pendulous rods, 24, 25, with the rollers, 23, swing in the water or other liquid so that
the fabric in passing under the rollers, 23, is by the to-and-fro motion of the pendulous
rods thoroughly washed by the water or saturated with the liquid. When the fabric
leaves the last pair of rollers it is led to an ordinary mangle to express the water or
liquid from it.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
In apparatus for stretching and airing or for liquoring, soaping, or washing woven
fabrics the combination of mechanism consisting of two or more sets of rollers
guiding and moving the fabric, and each such set of rollers comprising an upper
pair with means making them reciprocate oppositely from side to side, also a lower
roller with rods carrying it and moved pendulously, and also rollers in stationary
bearings and guiding the fabric from and to the said upper and lower rollers, the
several parts being arranged and operating substantially as hereinbefore described.
Dated this Twenty-seventh day of December 1887.
EDMUND HUNT,
Applicants' Agent.