OR IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY MEASURING AND WINDING OR ROLLING UP, AND, IF REQUIRED, FOLDING LENGTHS OF CLOTH OR OTHER FABRICS
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Brookes, of 62, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent and Registration Agent, for the Invention of
NEW OR
IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY MEASURING AND
WINDING OR ROLLING UP, AND, IF REQUIRED, FOLDING LENGTHS OF CLOTH
OR OTHER FABRICS." A communication from abroad by Eloi Herlin, of Lobbes,
in the Kingdom of Belgium, Merchant.
Sealed the 16th April 1878, and dated the 18th October 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Brookes at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 18th October 1877.
<
WILLIAM BROOKES, of 62, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
and Registration Agent. NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR
SIMULTANEOUSLY MEASURING AND WINDING OR ROLLING UP, AND, IF REQUIRED,
FOLDING LENGTHS OF CLOTH OR OTHER FABRICS." A communication from abroad
by Eloi Herlin, of Lobbes, in the Kingdom of Belgium, Merchant.
This Invention relates to machinery or apparatus for simultaneously measuring
and winding or rolling up, and, if required, folding lengths of cloth or other fabric,
and it consists in the arrangement and combination of parts, herein-after described,
by which the operations of measuring and winding or rolling up and folding the
cloth or fabric are effected with facility, efficiency, and rapidity.
The said machine or apparatus consists of a suitable frame in which are mounted,
so as to be capable of rotatory motion, the axes of two horizontal cylinders or
rollers, one above the other. The axis of the lower horizontal roller is mounted in
fixed bearings carried by the frame, and the axis of the upper horizontal roller is
capable of vertical motion, so as to cause the said upper roller to bear upon the
lower roller or upon the fabric passing between the said rollers.
Upon the axis of the lower roller is a toothed wheel, which, through suitable
gearing, causes the hands of a graduated dial to indicate the number of yards,
metres, or other unit of measure used, and the fractional parts of the same through
which the periphery of the said roller has travelled in its rotatory motion.

page_text: In front of the said pair of rollers, and at a little distance from them, is a flat
rotatory board or metal plate, provided at each end with an axis or centre supported
by the frame. The said board or plate, which is made in two parts joined together
in a diagonal direction, may be caused to rotate upon its axis by means of a crank
handle upon its axis, or by a treadle acting on a crank, the motion of the said trendle
being communicated to the axis of the said board or plate through suitable pulleys;
a fly wheel, mounted by preference on the axis of the said board or plate, regulating
the motion of the parts. Suitable guide rollers and cross bars, supported by the
frame, give the required direction to the fabric.
Several of the said guide rollers are placed, by preference, behind the horizontal
rollers herein-before described, and one in front of the said horizontal rollers, and in
some cases extra guide rollers may be mounted below the said horizontal rollers.
The said cross bars, which may be graduated and mounted between the upper guide
rollers, and are provided with adjustable stops or fork pieces, which are set in
position according to the width of the fabric, so as to guide the fabric laterally and
insure its passing in the right direction through the machine. A bar of wood or
other suitable material is placed upon the fabric, passing over each of the said
cross bars, and may be connected by its ends to the ends of the said cross bars, so as
to press more or less upon the said fabric; and when it is required to fold the
fabric as it passes through the machine, the end of the fabric having been folded by
hand, a strip of metal is placed between the fold and upon the first of the cross
bars, and the covering bar of wood having been secured to the said cross bar, the
fabric may be made to pass in a double or folded state through the machine with
great regularity.
The action of the machine or apparatus is as follows:-The end of the cloth or
fabric to be measured and wound or rolled up is passed either single or folded over
the cross bars and guide rollers, herein-before described, and between the horizontal
rollers, and is connected to the rotatory board or plate, herein-before described.
When rotatory motion is then communicated to the said board or plate, the cloth
or fabric is drawn on between the said rollers and wound upon the rotatory board
or plate and in passing between the said roller, the cloth or fabric imparts rotatory
motion to the said rollers, and the surface motion of the said rollers being equal to
that of the cloth or fabric, and its measure being indicated by the hands of the dial
before mentioned, the exact measure of the cloth or fabric wound upon the rotatory
board or plate may be readily ascertained.
When the whole length of the cloth or fabric has been wound on to the said
rotatory board or plate, the said board or plate with the fabric upon it is removed
from the machine or apparatus. The two parts of the said board or plate are then
separated by drawing one from the other, and they are thus readily withdrawn from
the fabric. The two parts of the said board or plate are then joined together again,
and the said board or plate is replaced in the machine or apparatus, and the operation
may be renewed with another length of cloth or fabric.
In some cases, for the rotatory board or plate, herein-before described, may be
substituted a roller or other winder of any suitable kind.
The dial, herein-before referred to, may be arranged so as to indicate simultaneously
the number of yards, metres, and fractional parts of the same, even the centimetres
contained in the length of fabric, and in a few minutes a hundred yards of fabric of
any thickness may be simultaneously measured and wound or rolled up.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Brookes in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 17th
April 1878.
WILLIAM BROOKES, of 62, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
and Registration Agent. "NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR
SIMULTANEOUSLY MEASURING AND WINDING OR ROLLING UP, AND, IF REQUIRED,
FOLDING LENGTHS OF CLOTH OR OTHER FABRICS." A communication from abroad
by Eloi Herlin, of Lobbes, in the Kingdom of Belgium, Merchant.
This Invention relates to machinery or apparatus for simultaneously measuring
and winding or rolling up, and, if required, folding lengths of cloth or other fabric,
and it consists in the arrangement and combination of parts, herein-after described,
by which the operations of measuring and winding or rolling up and folding the
cloth or fabric are effected with facility, efficiency, and rapidity.
The said machine or apparatus consists of a suitable frame in which are mounted,
so as to be capable of rotatory motion, the axes of two horizontal cylinders or
rollers, one above the other. The axis of the lower horizontal roller is mounted in
fixed bearings carried by the frame, and the axis of the upper horizontal roller is
capable of vertical motion, so as to cause the said upper roller to bear upon the lower
roller or upon the fabric passing between the said rollers.
Upon the axis of the lower roller is a toothed wheel, which, through suitable gearing,
causes the hands of a graduated dial plate to indicate the number of yards, metres,
or other unit of measure used, and the fractional parts of the same through which
the periphery of the said roller has travelled in its rotatory motion.
In front of the said pair of rollers, and at a little distance from them, is a flat
rotatory board or metal plate, provided at each end with an axis or centre supported
by the frame. The said board or plate, which is made in two parts joined together
in a diagonal direction, may be caused to rotate upon its axis by means of a crank
handle upon its axis or by a treadle acting on a crank, the motion of the said treadle
being communicated to the axis of the said board or plate through suitable pulleys;
a fly wheel, mounted by preference on the axis of the said board or plate, regulating
the motion of the parts. Suitable guide rollers and cross bars, supported by the
frame, give the required direction to the fabric.
Several of the said guide rollers are placed, by preference, behind the horizontal
rollers, herein-before described, and one in front of the said horizontal rollers, and in
soine cases extra guide rollers may be mounted below the said horizontal rollers.
The said cross bars, which may be graduated and mounted between the upper guide
rollers, and are provided with adjustable stops or fork pieces, which are set in position
according to the width of the fabric, so as to guide the fabric laterally and insure its
passing in the right direction through the machine. A bar of wood or other suitable
material is placed upon the fabric, passing over each of the said cross bars, and may
be connected by its ends to the ends of the said cross bars, so as to press more or less
upon the said fabric; and when it is required to fold the fabric as it passes through
the machine, the end of the fabric having been folded by hand, a strip of metal is
placed between the fold and upon the first of the cross bars, and the covering bar of
wood having been secured to the said cross bar, the fabric may be made to pass in
a double or folded state through the machine with great regularity.
In some cases for the rotatory board or plate herein-before described may be
substituted a roller or other winder of any suitable kind.
The dial plate herein-before referred to may be arranged so as to indicate simul-
taneously the number of yards, metres, and fractional parts of the same, even the
centimetres contained in the length of fabric, and in a few minutes a hundred
yards of fabric of any thickness may be simultaneously measured and wound or
rolled un

page_text: Having thus described the nature of the said Invention I will proceed to describe
with reference to the accompanying Drawings the manner in which the same is to
be performed.
Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a machine or apparatus for simultaneously
measuring and winding up and folding longitudinally lengths of cloth or other
fabrics constructed according to the Invention; Figure 2 is an end view of the
same; and Figure 3 is a plan of the same.
Figure 4 is perspective view of a similar machine or apparatus slightly modified
in some of its parts.
And Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating apparatus for folding the said cloth or
fabric, as herein-after described. .
The same letters of reference are used to indicate like parts where they occur in
the different Figures of the Drawing.
a, a, is the frame suitably braced and bolted together. In the said frame a are
mounted, so as to be capable of rotatory motion, the axes of two horizontal cylinders
or rollers b, c; the axis of the lower cylinder or roller b is mounted in fixed bearings
b', carried by the frame a, and the axis of the upper cylinder or roller c is capable of
vertical motion in slots c' formed in the frame, so as to bear upon the fabric passing
between the rollers b and c. Upon the axis of the cylinder or roller b is a toothed
wheel, not shewn in the Drawing, which toothed wheel through suitable gearing
causes the hands d, d', shewn in Figure 4, to indicate upon a graduated dial plate
the number of yards, metres, or other unit of measure used, and the fractional parts
of the same, through which the periphery of the said roller b has travelled in its
rotatory motion.
As the construction of such a graduated dial plate, and the gearing required to
actuate the needles from the roller axis b are well known, I have not thought it
necessary to represent them in the Drawings beyond what is shewn at Figure 4.
In front of the rollers b, c, is mounted in suitable bearings a², a², upon the frame a
the axis e¹ of a flat rotatory board or metal plate e made in two parts joined together
diagonally, as seen in Figure 3, the said two parts when joined together being held
in position by bands of metal e affixed one on each end of the board or plate e, into
which bands of metal e² the smaller ends of the two parts of the said board or plate e
are inserted and held by adjustable pins e, e³, which are removed when it is required
to separate the two parts of the board or plate e. e* is a stop affixed upon the board
or plate e for the purpose of giving the position for one side of the fabric to be
measured, and e³ is an adjustable stop capable of being moved along the slot e
(which may be graduated) to adapt its position to the width of the said fabric.
The said board or plate e may be made to rotate from any suitable motive power
or by means of a crank handle f upon its axis, as seen at Figure 4, or rotatory
motion may be communicated to the said board or plate e from a treadle g,
Figures 1, 2, and 3, jointed at g¹ to the support g2, and by its other end jointed to
one end of a connecting rod gs, the upper end of which is jointed to a crank pin g
upon a fly wheel g³, upon which fly wheel is formed or affixed a pulley go mounted
on an axis supported by the frame a.
The motion of the pulley g is communicated by a suitable strap h, which may
be crossed, and is indicated in dotted lines, to a pulley i upon a hollow or tubular
spindle, the end 2 of which is supported by and rotates in the bearing a¹ of the
frame a. The said spindle is made hollow or tubular so as to receive into it one
end of the axis e¹ of the board or plate e, which end of the said axis e' is made
partly of square or rectangular section so as to engage in a square or rectangular
part 3 of the hollow or tubular spindle i¹ of the pulley i; by this means the motion
of the pulley is communicated to the board or plate e, when the said board or
plate e occupies the position represented in Figure 3; j is a table or board mounted
on the frame a behind the rollers b, c, for the purpose of guiding the fabric in its
passage to the said rollers; j' is a rib or ridge upon the table j, corresponding with
the stop e on the board or plate e; and is an adjustable stop capable of being
moved along the graduated slot j³ and corresponding with the adjustable stop e³ on

page_text: the board or plate e, so that the position of the fabric on the table j will be identical
with its position on the board or plate e; k, k¹, k², are guide rollers mounted in
brackets on the frame. The said guide rollers k, k', ², have upon them collars k
on a line with the fixed stops e and j', for the purpose of guiding one side of the
fabric.
The other side of the fabric may be guided by rings of india-rubber or other
suitable material mounted on the said guide rollers, and which may be adjusted on
a line with the adjustable stops e³ and 2.
In case of its being requisite to retard the rotatory motion of the said rollers k, k¹, k³,
the said rings may be brought to bear against the frame and then act as a break;
is a cross bar passing from one side to the other of the frame, and affixed at both
ends to the brackets . Upon the said cross bar rests a wooden lath 1, one end
of which is fixed at n to the frame, and its other end extends partly across the
machine so as to terminate on a line with the fixed stops c', j².
The action of the machine or apparatus is as follows:-When it is not required to
fold or double the fabric in its length, the end of the said fabric is passed over the
table j, and between the cylinders or rollers b and c, it is then passed round the
guide rollers k, k¹, k, and between the bars 1, 2, as indicated by the dotted line x,
Figure 1. The end of the said fabric is then attached to the rotatory board or
plate e, being adjusted so that one side of it comes against the fixed stop e*, whilst
its other side extends to the adjustable stop e, which is brought against it by being
moved up to it in the graduated slot e. The fabric upon the table jis guided by
the fixed stop 1, corresponding with the fixed stop e, and by the stop, which has
been adjusted in the graduated slot j³, so as to correspond exactly in position with
the adjustable stop e5 on the board or plate c. Rotatory motion is then given to
the board or plate e by means of the treadle g (or by means of the crank f, as
shown in Figure 4), and the cloth or fabric is drawn on between the cylinders or
rollers b and c, and is wound upon the board or plate e, and in passing between the
said rollers b and c the cloth or fabric imparts rotatory motion to the said rollers,
and the surface motion of the said rollers being equal to that of the cloth or fabric,
and its measure being indicated by the hands d, d, of the dial plate, the exact
measure of the cloth or fabric wound upon the rotatory board or plate e may be
readily ascertained.
When the whole length of the cloth or fabric has been wound on to the rotatory
board or plate e, the said board or plate e with the fabric upon it is removed by
raising one end of its axis e¹ from its bearing a', and then drawing out the other
end of the axis e from the hollow or tubular axis i¹, 2, of the pulley i. The two
parts of the said board or plate e are then separated (the pins e, e³, having been
removed) by drawing one from the other lengthwise through the fabric rolled upon
it. The two parts of the said board or plate e are then joined together again
and secured in position by means of the pins e³, e³, and the said board or plate e
is replaced in the machine or apparatus, and the operation may be renewed with
another length of cloth or fabric.
When it is required that the cloth or fabric to be measured should be folded
or doubled lengthwise, the folding or doubling may be effected by means of the
arrangement illustated in the diagram, Figure 5, and partly in Figure 4. In
Figure 5, three guide rollers m, m³, m², are mounted in suitable bearings on the
frame behind the cylinders or rollers b, c, and m³ is a similar guide roller in front of
the said cylinders or roller b, c; m, m³, are guide bars below the said cylinders or
rollers b, c; o, o¹, o², are cross bars, extending across the machine and affixed to the
frame. Upon the said cross bars 0, 0, 0, are placed laths or bars of wood p, p,
which rest upon the fabric, and the fabric is guided in its passage by means of the
adjustable forked bar q, the forks q' of which project upwards on each side of the
cross bars o, o¹, o². The end of the fabric to be folded and measured is first doubled
as required, and then is passed between the rollers b, c, and attached to the board
or plate e, as herein-before described with reference to Figures 1, 2, and 3. A lath
or thin bar of wood or metal is then placed between the fold of the fabric

page_text: between the cross bar o and the wooden bar p, and rotatory motion being communi-
cated to the board or plate e, the fabric will be drawn through the machine in a
folded state, and its length will be indicated upon the graduated dial plate, as herein-
before described.
In Figures 1, 2, and 3, of the accompanying Drawings, is shewn a modification
of the arrangement of parts, represented in Figure 5, for folding the fabric as it
passes through the machine or apparatus. This modification of the said arrange-
ment is more simple and effective than what is represented in Figure 5.
A certain length of the fabric having been folded or doubled by hand, the said
fabric is attached by its end to the board or plate e, as herein-before described, the
fabric being in this case doubled over the lath 3, so that the free end of the said
lath lies between the fold and touches the bend, when the said fabric is folded over
and maintains it in its folded state.
In order to the required fold in the fabric being properly continued behind the
cylinders or rollers b, c, the superintendent or operator of the machine with one
hand brings together the free sides of the fabric, and with the other inserts a smooth
wooden rod, the end of which is carefully rounded, into the fold of the fabric
upon the table j, and by acting upon it smooths the fabric and facilitates the
formation of the fold in the right part, preventing the fabric from getting irregularly
laid.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself
to the precise details herein-before described, and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawings, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of the said
Invention; but I claim as the said Invention, the combination and arrangement of
parts of machinery or apparatus for simultaneously measuring and winding or
rolling up, and folding or doubling longitudinally lengths of cloth or other fabric,
constructed and disposed essentially as herein-before described, and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Brookes, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Seventeenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
Witness,
ALFRED G. BROOKES,
37, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane,
London.
WILLIAM BROOKES. (L.S.)