IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PLAITING DOWN OR FOLDING AND MEASURING FABRICS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Openshaw, of Fir Wood, near Bolton-le-
Moors, in the County of Lancaster, Finisher, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PLAITING DOWN OR FOLDING AND
MEASURING FABRICS."
Sealed the 19th October 1858, and dated the 7th May 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Openshaw at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th May 1858.
?:
-I, RICHARD OPENSHAW, of Fir Wood, near Bolton-le-Moors, in the County
of Lancaster, Finisher, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PLATING DOWN OR FOLDING AND MEASURING
FABRICS," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in carrying the fabric over a rail or from a roller,
and delivering it to and under a weighted clamp which holds the fabric,
whilst another rail or roller carries the fabric under another clamp which also
holds the fabric; the fabric is then again taken to the first clamp, and back
again; these operations are repeated until the entire length of the fabric is
plated down or folded.. Each of the clamps is made in one or more convenient
parts, and may be either flat, round, or, oval, or other convenient shape. The
table on which the fabric is plated down or folded may be lowered as the

page_text: fabrics accumulate thereon, or the clamps may be raised. The measuring is
accomplished by means of an index or dial put in motion by any moveable
part of the machine.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Openshaw in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 6th November 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
OPENSHAW, of Fir Wood, near Bolton-le-Moors, in the County of Lancaster,
Finisher, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said. Richard Openshaw, Her special licence that I, the said
Richard Openshaw, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Richard Openshaw, 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PLATING DOWN OR FOLDING AND MEASURING
FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Richard Open-
shaw, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing 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 Richard Openshaw, 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) :-
The nature of my Invention consists of an improved combination of
machinery for plating down or folding and measuring fabrics; and in order
that my. Invention may be fully understood and readily carried into operation,

page_text: I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, reference
being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
are
Fig. 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of my improved machinery; Fig. 2
is a plan, and Fig. 3, a side view of the same. a and a¹ are two rails (or
rollers may be substituted in their stead), over which the fabric to be folded is
taken; these rails are attached to levers 6 and b¹, which are mounted on studs
fixed to the framing; the rails can be set so as to project more or less from
the levers, to be able to vary the length of the fold; these levers are jointed
near their upper ends and furnished with springs marked c and c', the object of
which will be explained hereafter. The rails a and a¹ deliver the fabric to the
clamps d and d', each of which is formed, by preference, of three parts; e is
the table on to which the fabric is folded, and f is the index or dial for
measuring it. The requisite motion is communicated to the various moving
parts of the machine in the following manner:-To the driving shaft 9
fixed or forged two cranks, which, by means of the links g¹ and g², gives an
oscillating motion to the levers band '; the wheel g³ is also fixed to the shaft
g, and this wheel gearing into the wheel h¹, imparts motion to the shaft h, on
which are fixed the cams 2 and h³, the former acting on the uprights i, elevate
the outer parts of the clamp d, and the latter acting on the upright j, elevates
the centre portion of the same clamp. The shaft h transmits motion to the
shaft by the wheels h, h³, and k; and to the shaft k are fixed cams k² and k³,
acting in like manner on the uprights of the clamp d. The uprights of
the clamps are guided above and below, and they are made sufficiently heavy
to hold the fabric. The table e is gradually lowered as the fabric accumulates
thereon by the worm g*, fixed on the shaft g, gearing into the worm wheel F,
which by means of a train of pinions gives motion to the wheel 2 fixed on the
shaft l, to which is also fixed a pinion , gearing into a rack e¹ attached to the
under side of the table; the worm g' also drives the dial plate f, which is
graduated, and in revolving indicates the length of the fabric that has been
folded by means of the fixed index f¹. This apparatus for measuring is made in
the usual manner. The mode of operation is as follows:-The fabric, which is
indicated by dotted lines, is first brought over the rail a, by which it is
delivered to the clamp d'; the two outer parts of this clamp are shewn up in
the Drawing, and the centre portion is down to hold the fabric.
As soon as
the plate a arrives near the clamp d', as shewn in dotted lines, the centre
portion rises and the two outer portions gradually descend to hold the selvages
of the fabric, the rail a then commences its return stroke, and slips from under
the outer portions of the clamp, the joints in the levers 6 allowing the rail a to

page_text: pass from under the clamp without raising it. As soon as the rail a is free
from the clamp, the springs c cause the levers 6 to resume their former
positions. While the rail a is continuing its return stroke, the rail a' comes
into operation, and carries the fabric towards the clamp d, the three parts of
which are shewn down in the Drawing. The outer portions of the clamp & rise
while the rail a' is approaching it, and when the rail a¹ is close to the clamp d,
the centre portion thereof rises also, to allow the fold of the fabric to pass
under it; the outer portions then descend and take hold of the selvages of the
fabric as soon as the rail a' has completed its stroke, and when it returns it
slips from under the clamp d, as before described in reference to the rail a.
These operations are repeated as long as the machine continues at work, and
the table e is gradually lowered as the fabric accumulates thereon by the
worm g acting on the wheel A, as before described. When the fabric is
removed from the table e, it is brought up to its original level by the attendant
turning the handle * on the shaft l, the pinion gearing in the wheel being
slipped out of gear to allow the shaft 1 to turn freely.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I declare that I claim the improved combination of
machinery, herein-before shewn and described, for plating down or folding
and measuring fabrics.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Openshaw, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fifth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
RICHARD OPENSHAW. (L.S.)