IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY PROAL
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Harper, of the Firm of Messieurs Eden
and Thwaites, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, Bleachers
and Finishers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Harper at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
25th September 1869.
I, WILLIAM HARPER, of the Firm of Messieurs Eden and Thwaites,
of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, Bleachers and Finishers, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SUSPENDING FABRICS IN DRYING STOVES," to be
as follows:-
In drying stoves of the ordinary construction it is customary to
employ a movable machine to deliver the fabric and to suspend it on
stationary rails.
Now according to my Invention I employ a stationary machine to
deliver the fabric, and suspend it on movable rails which are connected
[Price 8d.]

page_text: to endless chains passing around drums or pulleys mounted in bearings
fixed at each end of the drying stove. One of these drums or pulleys is
driven slowly round by a train of wheels and pinions or other equivalents
connected to the machinery for delivering the fabric. When the machine
is in operation a fold of the fabric descends in the space between two
of the rails on the endless chains, and as these chains are moving
gradually forwards, as soon as one fold is let down the rails have been
moved so far as to bring another space in position to receive another
fold of fabric, and these operations proceed until the stove is full or until
all the fabrics are suspended. The speed of the endless chains of rails
is so calculated that by the time the first folds have arrived at the far
end of the stove the fabric will be dried; it is then drawn out of
the stove over suitable guide rollers, and plaited down or wound on a
roller or otherwise disposed of.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Harper in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 25th March 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HARPER, of the Firm of Messieurs Eden and Thwaites, of Bolton, in the
County of Lancaster, Bleachers and Finishers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the
thirty-third your of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant uuto me, the said William Harper, Her special licence
that I, the said William Harper, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Harper, 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
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SUSPENDING FABRICS IN DRYING STOVES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that 1, the said William Harper, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or

page_text: 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 William Harper, do hereby declare
the nature of my said 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):-
In drying stoves of the ordinary construction it is customary to
employ a movable machine to deliver the fabric and to suspend it on
stationary rails.
Now according to my Invention I employ a stationary machine to
deliver the fabric and suspend it on movable rails which are connected
to endless chains passing around drums or pulleys mounted in bearings
fixed at each end of the drying stove. One of these drums or pulleys
is driven slowly round by a train of wheels, and pinions or other
equivalents connected to the machinery for delivering the fabric. When
the machine is in operation a fold of the fabric descends in the space
between two of the rails on the endless chains, and as these chains are
moved gradually forwards as soon as one fold is let down the rails have
been moved so far as to bring another space in position to receive
another fold of fabric, and these operations proceed until the stove is
full or until all the fabrics are suspended. The speed of the endless
chains of rails is so calculated that by the time the first folds have
arrived at the far end of the stove the fabric will be dried; it is then
drawn out of the stove over suitable guide rollers and pluited down or
wound on a roller or otherwise disposed of..
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation, I will proceed to describe the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters
marked thereon.
Figure is a sectional elevation of my improved machinery for
suspending fabrics in drying stoves; and Figure 2, a transverse section
of part of the same; Figures 3 and 4 are detached views of the chain
supporting the movable rails.
In Figure 1 a and b are two large drums or pulleys mounted upon
the axles a' and ', the former revolving in stationary bearings supported

page_text: by suitable framing, and the latter being supported in movable bearings
which are adjustable by the screws and haud wheels 6*. The diums a
and are cast with cogs or teeth, which take into the space between the
links c of the endless chains passing around the said drums; each chain
consists of a suitable number of links united by rivets or studs c¹, and
the links are further united by the bridle to which the rails d are
bolted. The rails are connected by the bands c³, or the ends of the rails
may fit in sockets secured to the side of the link; in this case the
bands c³ are not required. The fabric to be dried is hung on these
movable rails instead of on stationary rails, as heretofore customary. The
endless chains slide above on the angle beams e, and they are supported
at intervals by the rollers f; the chains in returning are supported on
the beams g and rollers k. Above the drum a is the top roller i, which
is driven by gearing from the driving shaft j.. To the axle of the roller i
is fixed a wheel which drives the shaft k; on this shaft is a cam with
two dwells for giving motion to the lever and shot bag m. To the
driving shaft is fixed the pinion 11, which gears into the wheel n, and
on the shaft of this wheel is the pinion gearing into the wheel a² cast
or fixed to the arms of the drum a, as shewn best in Figure 2.
The mode of operation is as follows:-The wet fabrics to be dried are
wound on the batch roller o placed in front of the machine. On leaving
this batch roller the fabric is taken over the top roller i, from which it
descends in a loop between two of the rails d, the front portion of the
fabric being held on the advancing rail by the shot bag m, and as soon
as the bottom of the loop has arrived near the bottom of the stove the
cam lifts the lever and shot bag m sufficiently to allow the advancing
rail to pass under the shot bag, which then instantly comes against the
fabric on the following rail, and holds it while the next loop is being
hung. By this means the fabric is hung in loops over the rails d, which
in advancing carry the fabric into the stove; and the speed of the
endless chains, the length of the stove, and the temperature are so
calculated that by the time the folds first suspended have arrived near
the drum b they are dry or nearly so; the end of the fabric is then
drawn upwards, and it is guided over the rails p, then over the guide
rollers q, r, s, and t, then between the rollers u and v, forming part of an
ordinary plaiting-down apparatus, which folds the dried fabrics on to the
truck w; by this means the operations are continuous, as the damp
fabrics may be fed into the stove and the dry fabrics removed without

page_text: intermission, or instead of being folded down as described the fabric may
be wound on a roller, or it is otherwise disposed of.
The apparatus for heating the stove is not shewn in the Drawing, as
it forms no part of my Invention. It may consist of steam pipes
running the whole length of the stove, and placed below the returning
rails d, or heated air may be forced into the stove or other heating
apparatus may be used. The object of the screws and hand wheels b² is
to be able to vary the position of the drum 6 for keeping the endless
chains tight. By means of this improved machinery the attendants are
not exposed to the heat of the stove, as the drum a and all the machinery
for supplying the damp fabric and disposing of the fabric when dry is
placed in front of the stove. If it should be found desirable arms or
blades may be attached at intervals near the bottom of the stove to
agitate the fabric as it is carried forward on the rails d.
My Invention may be modified to adapt it to high stoves by causing
the endless chains to pass around four drums, as shewn in the diagram,
Figure 5. In this case the drums a and b are placed near the top of the
stove, and the drums y, &, near the bottom; the drum a would be driven
by a worm and wheel, or in any other convenient manner, and the endless
chains c would carry round the drums b, y, and z.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described a
convenient mode of carrying the same into operation, I wish it to be
understood that I do not intend to limit myself to the details given, as
the drums may be driven and the fabric delivered to the movable rails
in any other convenient manner; but what I claim is, suspending fabrics
on movable rails which are carried into the drying stove by endless
chains or other equivalents.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Harper, have hereto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of March One thousand
eight hundred and seventy.
WILLIAM HARPER. (L.s.)