Improvements in Means for Facilitating the Examination, “Ending," and Mending of Woven Goods in the Piece.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Nov., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 3rd Aug., 1893-Accepted, 16th Sept., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means for Facilitating the Examination, “Ending,"
and Mending of Woven Goods in the Piece.
We, ROBERT MIDDLETON, Managing Director, and HERBERT TURNER
JONES Secretary, of Messieurs Middleton Jones and Company Limited, of
6 Chorlton Street, Portland Street, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Merchants and Manufacturers of Velvets and Velveteens, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our said invention relates to improved means for facilitating the examination
"ending" and inending of woven piece goods such for example as velvets and
velveteens or other goods requiring inspection in the piece.
A
In carrying out this examination it is absolutely necessary that each stretch of
cloth examined should be perfectly flat and be laid on a flat level surface.
common method is to lay the piece on a flat table or bench, and open out each fold
book fashion, the space of bench or table occupied by the piece being thus more
than double the width of the folded piece. The disadvantages of this method are
that an undue amount of space is taken up and as this space requires to be well lit
it is usually valuable. In addition to this, the edge of each fold cannot be so
carefully examined and the connecting portion of goods between the two piles of
folds is presented at different angles to the light, instead of being flat as are the
faces of the folds. The operator requires to be constantly moving the body and
becomes sooner fatigued by the labour of lifting, turning over, and arranging
each fold.
The foregoing disadvantages are obviated under our system which consists in
forming the top of the table or bench as a hinged lid capable of being lifted by the
operator. This lid covers the upper boxed-in portion of the table or bench, the
bottom of the said box being high enough from the floor to allow of a basket or
other receptacle to be pushed beneath the box. The under-side of the aforesaid
hinged lid carries a roller. At that end of the box at which the material is drawn
out, the lid is formed with a slit and the inner side of the slit is preferably furnished
with a roller. The edge of the lid at the other end of the box is also furnished
with a roller overhanging another opening leading to a basket or receptacle on the
floor or rounded and smoothed edges are formed at each end of the lid. A single
table may be made upon this plan but as a rule a long bench is divided into several
boxes or receptacles each with its hinged lid and other described appliances.
When using our improved arrangement the piece of goods to be examined is
placed by the operator in the box and the lid shut down thereby excluding dust
and preventing contact with outer objects. Before closing the lid however the
cloth is passed over the roller suspended from the lower side of the lid about
midway in the length and is also passed out through the slit at the end of the lid
over the roller or rounded eilge. The operator now draws forward as much of the
fabric as will cover the top of the lid and having examined it carefully passes it
over the roller or rounded edge at the other end of the lid and down through the
opening or past the end of the table into a basket or other receptacle which has
been placed beneath the table or bench and box to receive it. The whole piece can
thus length by length be successively drawn over the lid and examined until
finished. The rollers prevent undue friction and the roller at the under-side of the
lid, by lifting the material sharply away from the folds beneath, prevents any
dragging of fold upon fold.
By the use of the hereinbefore described arrangement only half of the space is
taken up as compared with the old system of turning over each fold book fashion.

page_text: Every inch of the fabric is subjected to scrutiny and always at the same angle to
the light. The piece being boxed in is preserved from dust and contact with other
objects.
The operator does not require to move and exert the body. so much as in
the old turn over system and can therefore do inore work in the same time. These
and other minor advantages are all part of our improved means.
In some cases as for example where the goods are not accurately folded or where
for other reasons it is not possible or desirable to put them into the box we might
place the goods on the floor or in a receptacle on the floor and forin a slit or opening
in the bottom of the box opposite to the opening in the lid through which the
goods are drawn from the box. The goods are then drawn up from the floor.or
from the receptacle through the bottom of the box and through the opening in the
lid and passed over the top of the lid as in the former instance.
Dated this 17th day of November 1892.
E. K. DUTTON & Co.,
5, John Dalton Street, Manchester, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means for Facilitating the Examination, "Ending,"
and Mending of Woven Goods in the Piece.
We ROBERT MIDDLETON, Managing Director, and HERBERT TURNER
JONES, Secretary of Messieurs Middleton Jones and Company Limited, of
6 Chorlton Street, Portland Street, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Merchants and Manufacturers of Velvets and Velveteens, 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 and
accompanying drawings :-
Our said invention relates to improved means for facilitating the examination,
"ending" and mending of woven piece goods such for example as velvets and
velveteens or other goods requiring inspection in the piece.
In carrying out this examination it is absolutely necessary that each stretch of
cloth examined should be perfectly flat and be laid on a flat level surface.
A common method is to lay the piece on a flat table or bench, and open out each
fold, book fashion, the space of bench or table occupied by the piece being thus
more than double the width of the folded piece.
The disadvantages of this method are that an undue amount of space is taken up
and as this space requires to be well lit it is usually valuable. In addition to this,
the edge of each fold cannot be so carefully examined and the connecting portion
of goods between the two piles of folds is presented at different angles to the light
instead of being flat as are the faces of the folds. The operator requires to be
constantly moving the body and becomes sooner fatigued by the labour of lifting,
turning over, and arranging the folds.
The foregoing disadvantages are obviated under our system which will be most
readily understood from the following detailed. description and references to the
annexed sheet of illustrative drawings.
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of the table or bench which constitutes substan-
tially an effective means for carrying our invention into effect.
Fig. 2 is a cross section of Fig. 1.
The improvement consists in forming the top of the examining table or bench as
a hinged lid a capable of being lifted by the operator. This lid a covers the upper
boxed-in portion of the table or bench, the bottom 61 of the said box being high
enough from the floor level which is marked c to allow of a basket or other
receptacle to be pushed beneath the box b.
The under-side of the aforesaid hinged lid a carries a roller d in suitable bearings
attached at each side of the lid. At that end of the box at which the material is

page_text: drawn out that is to say at the end marked "a" the top is formed with a slit e and
the inner side of the slit is either furnished with a roller or is rounded as shown in
the drawing. The edge of the lid at the other end of the box, that is to say at the
end marked "y" is also furnished with a roller or is rounded off as shown. This
opening leads to a basket or receptacle 9 on the floor which receives the material
as it passes through the opening f. The furthest side fl of the opening f is made
curved and flared as shown so as to guide the material towards the receptacle g.
A single table may be made upon this plan but as a rule a long bench is divided
into several boxes or receptacles each with its hinged lid and other described
appliances.
In the drawing the bench illustrated is supposed to be one of a series of similar
tables all connected together so as to form a continuous bench. Considerable
economy of space is thus gained. The lid a when raised, as indicated by the dotted
lines in Fig. 2, can be supported at any required angle by a hinged or jointed
struth, the lower end of which engages with a rack formed at i in the upper edge
of the box end.
The strut folds parallel with the lid when closed.
When using our improved arrangement the piece of goods A to be examined is
placed by the operator in the box and the lid a shut down thereby excluding dust
and preventing contact with outer objects. Before closing the lid however, the
cloth A is passed over the roller d suspended from the lower side of the lid about
midway in the length as shown and is also passed out through the slit e at the end
of the lid and over the rounded edge. The operator now draws forward in the
direction of the arrow as much of the fabric as will cover the top of the lid and
having examined it carefully passes it down through the opening finto the
receptacle g. The whole piece A can thus length by length be successively drawn
over the lid a and examined until finished. The roller at the under-side of the lid
by lifting the material sharply away from the folds beneath, prevents any dragging
of fold upon fold. We might however dispense with the use of this roller as in
some cases its employment is not essential.
By the use of the hereinbefore described arrangement only half of the space
is taken up as compared with the old system of turning over each fold, book
fashion.
Every inch of the fabric is subjected to scrutiny and always at the same angle
to the light. The piece of goods being boxed in is preserved from dust and
contact with other objects. The operator does not require to move and exert
the body so much as in the old turn over system and can therefore do more work
in the same time. These and other minor advantages are all inherent to our
invention.
In some cases as for example where the goods are not accurately folded or where
for other reasons it is not possible or desirable to put them into the box we might
place the goods on the floor or in a receptacle on the floor as clearly shown by the
dotted lines at Fig. 1 and form a slit or opening k in the bottom of the box through
which the goods are drawn.
The goods are then drawn up from the floor or from the receptacle through
the slit k in the bottom of the box and through the opening e in the lid and
passed over the top of the lid and thence into the receptacle g as in the former
instance.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is.
1.) The improved means for facilitating the examination "ending" and mending
of woven goods in the piece, the said means consisting of a box-bench, arranged
singly or in series, with a hinged or movable lid to admit of the goods being placed
in the box, the said box-bench having openings at each end of the lid through one
of which the fabric is drawn over the lid and after examination, passed through the

page_text: other opening to any suitable receptacle or place of deposit, substantially as
described and as shown in the drawings.
2.) As means for facilitating the examination of woven goods in the piece, the
closed box 6 having a hinged lid a, either with or without an anti-friction roller d,
the openings e and fand the opening in the bottom of the box constructed and
relatively arranged and combined as and for the indicated purposes and substantially
as herein before described and shown.
3.) The general arrangement, construction and combination of means for
facilitating the examination "ending" and mending of woven piece goods, substan-
tially as described and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, or any mere
modification of the same.
Dated this 2nd day of August 1893.
E. K. DUTTON & Co.,
5, John Dalton Street, Manchester, Agents