AN IMPROVED SHACKLE AND ROLLER END FOR HARDENING MACHINES FOR FELTING
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Whitehead, of Holbeck, in the Parish of
Leeds, in the County of York, a Partner in the Firm of "Taylor,
Wordsworth, & Co.," of the same Place, Machine and Tool Manu-
facturers, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED SHACKLE AND ROLLER
END FOR HARDENING MACHINES FOR FELTING."
Sealed the 22nd October 1869, and dated the 23rd August 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Whitehead at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on'
the 23rd August 1869.
I, THOMAS WHITEHEAD, of Holbeck, in the Parish of Leeds, in the
5 County of York, a Partner in the Firm of "Taylor, Wordsworth, & Co.,"
of the same Place, Machine and Tool Manufacturers, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED SHACKLE AND ROLLER
END FOR HARDENING MACHINES FOR FELTING," to be as follows:-
To the shackle surrounding the excentric shaft is attached a socket, in
which works a ball forged on the end of the shaft of the hardening
rollers, with sufficient play in the socket for the portion of the shaft of

page_text: the roller adjoining the ball to allow the roller to rise or fall according
to the thickness of the material operated upon. The sbackle is made in
two halves, either of brass, iron, or other suitable material.
The advantage of this improvement is, that the shackle being of much
lighter construction than the shackle at present in use, there is less
irregular pressure put upon the material to be felted which lies nearer
to the excentric shaft or shackle, and which I propose to counterbalance
by a slight weight on the opposite end of the roller.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Whitehead in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 23rd February 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
WHITEHEAD, of Holbeck, in the Parish of Leeds, in the County of
York, a Partner in the Firm of "Taylor, Wordsworth, and Company,"
of the same Place, Machine and Tool Manufacturers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the
thirty-third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Whitehead, Her special licence
that I, the said Thomas Whitehead, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Whitehead, 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 "AN IMPROVED SHACKLE AND
ROLLER END FOR HARDENING MACHINES FOR FELTING," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Whitehead, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Whitehead, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say):-
:-
This Invention relates to an improved construction of coupling for
connecting the hardening rollers of felting machines to the excentric
shaft from which they receive their longitudinal or endway motions.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 shews a partial view of a
hardening machine fitted according to this Invention; Figures 2 and 3
are enlarged views of the coupling, Fig. 2 being a longitudinal section,
and Fig. 3 a plan view of the same.
Referring to Fig. 1, A is the excentric shaft to which it is desired to
couple the hardening rollers B. These rollers press upon the under
rollers C, C, or rather upon the bat that is passed between the upper and
lower rollers, and in addition to receiving an axial motion the rollers B
receive an endway motion, to which the interlocking of the fibres of the
bat and the hardening of the same is mainly due.
Now the problem which I have sought to solve by this Invention is,
to enable the upper rollers to exert an equable pressure throughout their
length upon the bat, and for this purpose I have constructed a shackle
coupling which while it transmits the requisite reciprocating endway
motion to these rollers will leave them free in their other motions. One
end of the axle 6 of each roller B terminates in a ball 6' (Fig. 2), which
is free to turn in a socket forming part of the shackle D. The shackle D
is composed of two nearly counterpart portions, which embrace the
excentric shaft A, and are held firmly together by a screw bolt c and
nuts d, d. Sufficient play is permitted for the ball in its socket to allow
for the rise or depression of the hardening rollers caused by the varying
thicknesses of or inequalities in the bats or felts admitted to the
machine.
It will be understood from the foregoing description that the improved
shackle being of much lighter construction than that hitherto commonly
used, there will be less irregular pressure than is customary put upon the
material under operation by the hardening rollers, which will now lie
near the excentric shaft or shackle. I would further remark that I

page_text: propose to place a counterpoise on the uncoupled ends of the hardening
rollers to counterbalance the weight of the shackles at the coupled end.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "An Improved
Shackle and Roller End for Hardening Machines for Felting," and
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be
understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim,
the improved coupling above described for connecting hardening rollers
to their excentric or crank shaft.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Whitehead, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-first day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
THOMAS WHITEHEAD. (L.S.)
Signed, sealed, and delivered by
the said Thomas Whitehead,
in the presence of
THо. B. TURNER,
Clerk to Messrs. Richardson & Turner,
Sol., Leeds.