Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Sept., 1887
Complete Left, 4th June, 1888
Complete Accepted, 27th July, 1888
I ADAM DOBSON of 80 Clifton Park Avenue in the Borough of Belfast and County
of Antrim in Ireland Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
The object of my invention is to provide a machine for the accurate measurement
of cloth and for folding the same without injury from scratches, marks or other
damage.
The machine which I construct for this purpose consists of an arm or lever made
to rock to and fro for any desired length and carrying rods one of which is dropped
on the cloth at each desired length of measurement and, with the aid of brackets,
holds it in position until the succeeding fold is laid.
The throw of the arm or lever is regulated by an adjustable crank.
The delivery of the rods singly is effected from an inclined plane by means of
toe-catches and levers or other ordinary mechanical contrivances.
Instead of the arm or lever referred to I may employ chain belts moving in
opposite directions and furnished with catches to carry forward the rods.
The number of yards or folds may be registered by a mechanical counter
Dated this 1st day of Sentember 1887.
HYNDMAN & DICKSON,
6, Waring Street, Belfast,
Agents for Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in Machinery for Measuring and Folding Cloth.
I, ADAM DOBSON of Eighty Clifton Park Avenue in the Borough of Belfast and
County of Antrim in Ireland Engineer 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 :-
The object of my invention is to provide a machine for the accurate measurement
of cloth in the web and for folding the same without injury from scratches and
marks or other damage arising in the measurement and folding of cloth by machinery
as heretofore practised.
The machine which I construct for this purpose consists of an arm or lever made
to rock to and fro for any desired length and moving or carrying rods along a curved
guide one of which rods is dropped upon the cloth between adjustable brackets at
each end of the guide alternately according to the desired length of measurement
and with the aid of such brackets forms the cloth into a fold and holds it in position
until the succeeding fold is similarly laid.
The brackets are adjusted with a screw-key, according to the length required, by
means of an ordinary adjusting screw and slide or slot in the plate which supports
them.
The throw of the arm or lever is regulated by an adjustable crank.
The delivery of the rods singly is effected from an inclined plane by means of
toe catches and levers actuated by a stud upon the rocking arm or lever or such
delivery may be effected by other ordinary mechanical contrivances.
Instead of the arm or lever referred to I may employ chain belts moving in opposite
directions and furnished with catches to move or carry forward the rods.
The number of yards or folds may be registered by a mechanical counter.
I may also provide attachments to the machine by which the rods are withdrawn
and returned automatically to the inclined plane. For this purpose, I employ four
rollers placed at one side of the machine vertically-two being at each end-and at
the side of the machine opposite to these rollers I place two fingers or pawls, resting
on an elevating bar, for the purpose of shooting the rods, by the aid of eccentrics,
cams or cranks, into the vertical rollers which draw them out of the machine. They
are then dropped upon inclined planes and rollers at each end of the machine and
thus guided down to two elevating belts or chains which raise them to and deposit
them upon the inclined planes before described.
I lift the fingers or pawls by means of a balance weight, lever, guide bar and
elevator bar. The balance weight, acting on a lever, raises the elevator bar and the
fingers or pawls to the position required for shooting the bars into the vertical rollers
as the cloth is measured on the table.
One end of the cloth to be measured is brought over guide rollers and placed on a
table provided for the purpose, being held at one end of the table by means of a
lever and balance weight or of a spring pressing on a bar or rod of the same width
as the cloth, through a lever, against the table. The stud on the rocking arm or lever
actuates the levers and toe-catches alternately so as to let a rod fall from the inclined

page_text: plane to the curved guide along which it is carried, by the rocking arm or lever,
taking the cloth with it to the adjustable brackets and dropping down between them,
with the cloth round it, so as to form the desired fold. This operation is repeated
each time the arm or lever rocks to and fro until the measurement and folding of
the web has been completed.
And in order that my said invention may be more fully understood I shall now
proceed to refer to the drawings on the several sheets hereunto annexed the same
letters of reference being used throughout all the figures to indicate the same or
corresponding parts of my machine.
Fig. I is an elevation of one end of the machine showing the rocking lever, toe-
catches, inclined plane, adjustable brackets and crank, with a portion of an automatic
apparatus for withdrawing the rods.
Fig. II is a plan of the part of the machine represented on Fig. I shewing the plate
carrying the adjustable brackets and the rods held in position by the brackets.
Fig. III is an elevation of the other end of the machine shewing the adjustable
brackets, the rods, the rocking lever and inclined plane and a lever with balance weight
for holding the end of the cloth in position during the operations and
Fig. IV is a plan of the part of the machine represented on Fig. IIl showing the
adjustable brackets and rods.
a is the rocking arm or lever; b, b are the rods which are dropped upon the cloth
at the desired folds; c, c are the adjustable brackets for holding the rods in position
until the succeeding fold is laid; d is the adjustable crank for regulating the throw
of the arm or lever a; e, e are the inclined planes for the delivery of the rods b, b
singly by means of the toe-catches f, fand the levers g, g and h is a plate carrying
the adjustable brackets c, c; i, i, i, i are the vertical rollers; k, kare the fingers or
pawls and I, are the eccentrics, cams or cranks which shoot them into the vertical
rollers i, i; m, m are the elevating belts or chains; n is the balance weight holding
the cloth through the lever o; P the balance weight for lifting the fingers or pawls
and is the lever through which the balance weight p operates upon the guide bar s
and the elevator bar t.
Having now particularly described the nature of my said invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed I hereby declare that what I claim is
1. The measuring and folding of cloth by means of rods constructed and employed
substantially in the manner herein before described and shewn in the drawings
hereunto annexed.
2. The use of an inclined plane and toe-catch for the separate delivery of rods in
the measurement and folding of cloth constructed and employed substantially in the
manner hereinbefore described and shewn in the drawings hereunto annexed.
3. The use of adjustable brackets for regulating the drop of rods in the measurement
and folding of cloth constructed and employed substantially in the manner herein-
before described and shewn in the drawings hereunto annexed.
4. The use of a machine arranged with rods and an inclined plane and toe-catches
and adjustable brackets for the measurement and folding of cloth constructed and
employed substantially in the manner hereinbefore described and shewn in the
drawings hereunto annexed and
5. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting my cloth measuring and
folding machine constructed and employed substantially in the manner and for the
purposes hereinbefore described and illustrated by the drawings hereunto annexed.
n
HYNDMAN & DICKSON,
6, Waring Street, Belfast,
Agents for Applicant.