Improvements in Machines for Tentering, Straightening, and Drying Woven Fabrics.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Aug., 1897-Accepted, 13th Nov., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Tentering, Straightening, and Drying
Woven Fabrics.
I ISAAC EMERSON PALMER of Middletown in the County of Middlesex and State
of Connecticut United States of America, Manufacturer 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:--
This invention is an improvement in machines for tentering straightening and
drying woven fabrics the object being to provide a machine which will rapidly
and effectively treat the fabric so as to keep it at its full width while it is being
dried and also dry the fabric with a fixed or loose web as may be desired.-A.
further object is to provide new and improved tentering clamps for use in con-
nection with the tentering wheels which may be caused to readily grasp retain
and release the selvage of the fabric as it is being treated.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 represents a side view of the machine.
Fig. 2 represents a top plan view of the same.
Fig. 3 represents an enlarged side view of a portion of the machine showing
one of the tentering devices and its position relative to the drying cylinders.
Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section in the plane of the line 4, 4 of Fig. 3.
Fig. 5 is a considerably enlarged detail view of one of the tentering wheels
showing the manner of attaching the clamps thereto.
Fig. 6 is a vertical central section through the wheel shown in Fig. 5 and
Figs. 7, 8 and 9 represent detail views of three forms of tentering clamps.
The machine as a whole consists of a plurality of series of drying cylinders and
a plurality of tentering devices alternating with the said series of cylinders. In
the accompanying drawings these series of cylinders are denoted by A A¹ A² and
the series of tentering devices by B B B.
There may be any number of cylinders in each of the series A. A¹ A² the
number which is represented herein being five in each of the series A A' and
three in the series A².
The cylinders in each of these series are geared together as shown at a a¹ a³
but they are independently driven at the required speed by means of suitable
driving mechanisms a³ a a³. These series of cylinders are mounted in suitable
supports upon a framework room being left between the series A A¹ for the
tentering device B and between the series A1 A2 for the tentering device B2, the
tentering device B being located in advance or in front of the series A. The
fabric is intended to be fed into the tentering device B, from thence through the
series of cylinders A, tentering device B₁ series of cylinders A¹, tentering device B²,
series of cylinders A2 and from thence to a suitable receiving roll C, which may
be driven in any suitable manner for rolling the treated fabric. The drying
cylinders in the series A' A³ may be supplied with heat or steam as may be desired
by any suitable means which means is not shown herein as it forms no part of
this invention.

page_text: Each of the tentering devices B B B2 consists of a pair of wheels 1 which are
spaced apart and are provided around their peripheries with tentering clamps d
for receiving retaining and releasing the selvage edges of the fabric as will herein-
after more fully appear. These tentering wheels are rotated by means of suitable
driving connections E which extend from the drive shaft F into engagement with
the said wheels. These wheels are mounted in a suitable supporting frame G
which is swivelled upon a suitable base plate H, the said base plates H of the
two wheels being capable of an adjustment toward and away from each other to
suit different widths of fabric. This swivelled support G permits the pair of
wheels I) to diverge from each other without disturbing their rotary driving con-
nections E.
The wheels D may be oscillated as they are being rotated by the following
mechanism.
A standard I uprises from the base plate H, the upper end of the said standard
being located at the centre of the wheel D (as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4).
The inner end j of an outwardly extended lever J is provided with an universal
fulcrum in the end of the standard I the said lever J being connected with the
wheel D by suitable bales K. & shaft L extends across the machine and it is
provided with a pair of excentrics. I near its opposite ends which are engaged by
straps m of rods M the upper end of said rods being connected to the free ends
of the levers J so that when the shaft L is rotated the levers J will be raised and
lowered thereby oscillating the wheels D. The shaft L has a geared connection 11
with the drive shaft F. When it is desired to rotate the wheels D without
escillating them the connection is thrown out of gear.
Proceeding to describe the tentering wheels and their clamps more fully. A
pair of stationary cams N N¹ are located in proximity to the face of the tentering
wheel D (see Figs. 5 and 6) in position to engage the tentering clamps to open
them at the proper times.
Three forms of tentering clamps have been shown in the accompanying
drawings the form shown in Fig. 7 having a rigid jaw provided with an adjustable
seat and a swinging jaw provided with an adjustable gripping plate the form
shown in Fig. 8 having a rigid jaw provided with an adjustable seat and a
swinging jaw provided with a fixed gripping face and the form shown in Fig. 9
having a rigid jaw provided with a fixed seat and a swinging jaw provided with
an adjustable gripping plate. In each of these forms the rigid jaw is denoted
by d and the swinging jaw by d². The rigid jaw is provided with a down-
wardly extending portion d3 which is adapted to be secured to the face of the
wheel D at its periphery.
The rigid jaw d¹ is bifurcated and between its branches is pivoted the swinging
jaw d. The rigid jaw is provided with an adjustable seat d in the form
shown in Figs. 7 and 8 and the rigid or stationary seat do in the form shown in
Fig. 9. The seat dis hinged at its forward end to the upper end of the rigid
jaw d¹ and its rear end is bifurcated and between its branches passes the swinging
jaw d. The stationary seat & is also bifurcated to permit the swinging jaw d
to pass therethrough the free end of the swinging jaw in the forms shown in
Figs. 7 and 9. is provided with an adjustable gripping plate do and in the form
shown in Fig. 8 the swinging jaw itself is extended laterally to form a rigid
gripping plate. The adjacent faces of the seats and gripping plates are roughened
or provided with teeth as shown to ensure a perfect gripping of the selvage of
the fabric when the jaws are closed; or may be made respectively concave and
convex laterally for the same purpose as seen in Fig. 7.
The swinging jaw d² is held yieldingly closed by a suitable coil spring d
wound around the pivot d. The swinging jaw d² is further provided with a
suitable tail piece d adapted to be engaged by the cam N N at the side of the
wheel for opening the said jaw against tension of the spring d' at the proper times.
The operation of these tentering wheels and their clamps is as follows:-
The clamps upon the two wheels D of the tentering device are caused to be

page_text: opened by the cams N N for the reception of the selvage of the fabric being treated.
The clamps will then close upon the said fabric and hold the same while the
wheels are being rotated until they are again opened by the cams N' N¹ where the
fabric will be in a position to enter the series of drying cylinders. The fabrio
is stretched laterally more or less by the adjustment of the diverging angle between
the two wheels. If it is desired, the wheels may be oscillated at the same time
that they are rotated, as hereinbefore set forth which oscillation will free the
warp and weft threads from each other as the fabric is being tentered to produce
a loose web. If it is desired to produce a fixed web, the oscillating movement of
the tentering device is not used.*
The operation of the machine as a whole is as follows:-
The fabric is fed to the tentering device B where it is partially stretched or
tentered. From the tentering device B it is fed to the first series of drying
cylinders A which cylinders serve to partially dry the material. From these
cylinders the material is fed to the second tentering device B where it is still
further stretched and straightened. From this tentering device B₁ the material
is fed to the second series of drying rollers A¹ where it is still further dried.
From these cylinders A¹ the material is fed to this tentering device B² where
it is stretched to its required width and from thence it is fed to the series of drying
cylinders A2 which serve to completely dry the material. The material as it
leaves these last cylinders is wound upon a suitable drum in convenient form
to be removed.
A greater or lesser number of series of drying cylinders may be used or a greater
or lesser number of tentering devices in connection with different kinds of fabrics.
Furthermore the tentering device may be oscillated or not as may be desired
or one or more of them may be oscillated and the other simply rotated.
A fabric continuously treated as above described may be held at its original
width instead of being permitted to decrease in width. Again by the use of this
machine the amount of handling of the fabric is reduced to a minimum thereby
saving a great amount of time and expense.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. A machine for tentering straightening and drying woven fabrics comprising
a plurality of series of drying cylinders and a plurality of tentering devices one or
more of which are located between the series of cylinders for receiving the fabric
from one series, tentering and straightening it and feeding it to the next series
substantially as set forth.
2. A machine for tentering straightening and drying woven fabrics comprising
a tentering device a series of drying cylinders for receiving the fabric therefrom
and partially drying it a second tentering device for receiving the fabric from
the series of drying cylinders tentering and straightening it and a second series
of drying cylinders for receiving the fabric from the second named tentering
device and further drying it substantially as set forth.
3. A tentering device comprising a pair of tentering wheels, means for rotating
them, fixed cams adjacent to the wheels, tentering clamps secured to the said
wheels around their peripheries in position to be opened and closed by said cams
for receiving retaining and releasing the fabric to be treated substantially as
set forth.
4. A clamp for tentering machines comprising a rigid jaw and a swinging jaw
arranged to co-act therewith the one being provided with an adjustable seat and
the other with an adjustable gripping plate substantially as set forth.
5. A clamp for tentering machines comprising a rigid jaw, an adjustable seat
pivoted thereon, a spring actuated swinging jaw pivoted to the fixed jaw, and an
adjustable gripping plate pivoted to the swinging jaw in position to grip the

page_text: material between it and the adjustable seat when the clamp is closed substantially.
as set forth.
6. A clamp for tentering machines comprising a rigid jaw, an adjustable seat
pivoted at one end to the fixed jaw and having rearwardly extended branches, a
swinging jaw pivoted to the fixed jaw and adapted to reciprocate between the
said branches of the adjustable seat, abutments on the swinging jaw for guiding
the movement of the adjustable seat and a gripping plate carried by the swinging
jaw substantially as set forth.
7. A clamp for tentering machines comprising a rigid jaw, an adjustable seat
concaved laterally pivoted to the fixed jaw a swinging jaw pivoted to the fixed
jaw and a gripping plate convexed laterally secured to the swinging jaw substan-
tially as set forth.
8. A clamp for tentering machines comprising a rigid jaw, an adjustable seat
pivoted to the said jaw and a swinging jaw pivoted to the rigid jaw the head of
the swinging jaw being provided with a gripping face for engaging the adjustable
seat when the clamp is closed substantially as set forth.
D
1
100
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.