Improved Machinery for Pressing Woollen, Cotton, Linen, or other Woven or Felted Fabrics.
Year: 1887

page_text: Improved Machinery for Pressing Woollen, Cotton, Linen, or other
Woven or Felted Fabrics.
We THOMAS HOLBOYD of Leeds in the County of York, Cloth Finisher, and
BENJAMIN THOMPSON of Leeds in the County of York, Engineer do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
:-
$
This invention relates to improvements in machinery for smoothing, pressing, and
giving a finish to woollen, cotton, linen, and other woven or felted fabrics, the
object being to apply the pressure to such goods in a more efficient manner than
heretofore.
To this end, we fit upon a suitable frame, a hollow concave cross head, which
constitutes the bed of the press, and the concave face we preferably finish smooth, or
cover it with brass, copper, or other suitable material.
Working in the concave bed, is the pressing cylinder, which is made hollow to
provide for its being heated by steam, as is also the concave bed above it.
The pressing cylinder is mounted in bearings which are free to slide vertically in
guides in the main framing.
These bearings are supported by the rams of a pair of hydraulic cylinders situate
within the framing of the press, and standing up from the base plate. By means of
the hydraulic apparatus, the pressing cylinder can be raised to, or lowered from the
concave bed.
-
In some cases, we fit, at the upper end of the press, guide rollers to receive an
endless sheet for working over the concave bed. This endless sheet takes upon itself
the pull which the revolving cylinder would otherwise have on the fabric, and
removes the liability of thus damaging the pressed fabric.
.
The goods to be pressed are passed in between the concave bed and the cylinder,
and are received by rollers connected with a plaiting motion situate at the back of
the press.
The cylinder is driven by friction or other gear, and the required pressure is
applied to the goods by the hydraulic apparatus, which maintains the cylinder in
close contact therewith.

page_text: We THOMAS HOLROYD of Leeds in the County of York, Cloth Finisher, and
BENJAMIN THOMPSON of Leeds in the County of York, Engineer, 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 relates to improvements in machinery for smoothing, pressing, and
giving a finish to woollen, cotton, linen, and other woven or felted fabrics, the object
being to apply the pressure to such goods in a more efficient manner than heretofore.
In the accompanying drawings:-
Fig. 1 shows in side elevation our improved cloth-finishing press.
Fig. 2 is a front view of the same, and
Fig. 3 is a vertical section, taken at right angles to Fig. 2, to illustrate the
construction of the pressing surfaces.
A A is the main framing of the press, in which the pressing roller and crosshead
are mounted.
A¹ is a bracket frame bolted to the main frame, and serving to carry a rocking
frame in which a pair of guide rollers is mounted.
A' is a supplementary casting constituting the frame for carrying the drawing
off
rollers, a fan or blower for cooling the pressed cloth, and the folding or plaiting
mechanism, and A³ is a supplementary casting for carrying the bearings of the main
driving shaft.
B is a strong hollow concave box made of copper or brass, which constitutes the
bed of the press. This metal box is accurately fitted and bolted to a crosshead or
girder B¹, which is made fast to the main framing by tie bolts B³ reaching down to the
base of the main frame.
The concave hollow inverted bed B we finish with a polished surface. Working in
the inverted concave bed, is the pressing cylinder C, between which and the concave
bed, the cloth to be pressed or finished is passed, as will be presently explained.
The cylinder C is made hollow to provide for its being heated by steam, as is also the
concave bed above it.
The pressing cylinder is carried by hollow trunnions, which have their bearings in
blocks capable of sliding in vertical guides in the main framing.
These bearing blocks are supported by the rams D of a pair of hydraulic cylinders D¹
situate within the framing of the press and standing up from the base plate. By
means of this hydraulic apparatus, the pressing cylinder is raised to, or lowered from
the concave bed, as desired.
In some cases we may find it desirable to fit to the upper end of the press, as

page_text: shown at Fig. 1, guide rollers EE to receive an endless sheet for working: over
the concave face of the inverted bed B. This endless sheet, being free to move under
friction of contact with the travelling cloth, eases the strain on the work passing
between the pressing surfaces, and removes the liability of the work being damaged
by creasing or stretching.
In many cases, however, the use of an endless sheet will be unnecessary, as, for
example, when finishing fabrics of a fair average substance, or such as will bear the
strain of the pressing surfaces.
The piece goods to be pressed or finished are passed into the press by a pair of
guide rollers F, which are mounted in a rocking frame F1, the inclination of which
(to put the proper tension on the cloth) is adjustable by means of a worm wheel
fixed on the boss of the frame, and geared into by a worm mounted on the framing A¹,
and actuated by a hand wheel.. The rocking frame Fis provided with a transverse
bar which forms a guide for the cloth to be operated upon.
36
The cloth taken from any suitable receptacle is laid over the first roller F
under the bar of the rocking frame, then over the second guide roller F to a
guide roller F mounted in brackets of the main framing, which brackets carry also
a fish-back" F. The cloth passing over the roller F³, is laid over the fish-back F³,
which serves to remove the creases therefrom, and presents it to the nip of the
pressing cylinder C and concave bed B. In passing from these heated pressing
surfaces, the cloth comes in contact with streams of cooling air discharged from
the fan or blower G (indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1), which fan or blower is
interposed between the main framing and a pair of nipping rollers H, by which the
cloth is delivered to the folder or plaiter I, mounted on the extremity of the
supplementary frame A³.
By constructing and arranging the concave bed as described, we obtain some
important advantages, or rather remove some disadvantages hitherto experienced
in the process of finishing goods in presses formed with a concave bed and
rotating pressing roller. Thus, for example, the steam rising from the cloth in
the pressing process no longer affects the finish on the face of the fabric, which
fact is most specially noticed in goods requiring smart finish.
Moreover, the facing of the concave bed, as heretofore, with sheet metal, was
defective, in that the metal sheet was liable to lift, owing to irregular expansion
and contraction, and also to be cut by the action of the cylinder.
Rotary motion is communicated to the several parts of the press in the following
manner :-
Mounted loosely on the main driving shaft K, Fig. 2, is a set of speed pullies K¹,
which are made fast to this shaft by a friction clutch K³, when motion is required
to be imparted to the press from the prime mover. Keyed to the shaft K is a
pinion k, which gears into a spur wheel keyed to a counter shaft k² having
its bearings in the frame A³. The inner end of this counter shaft carries a spur
pinion, which gears into an internal toothed wheel keyed on a trunnion of
the pressing cylinder C. As, therefore, the driving shaft K is rotated, a slow
rotary motion will be imparted to the pressing cylinder C, held up, as it is, in
contact with the work by the action of the hydraulic apparatus. The trunnion at
the opposite end of the cylinder is fitted with a pulley C³, a band from which
passes to a pulley H' keyed to the axle of the upper gripping roller H. The
two gripping rollers are geared together to ensure their uniform action, and
geared to the pinion of the lower roller is a wheel 7 keyed to a cross shaft L,
which serves to carry a crank plate L'. The crank pin of this plate is connected
by a link L' with the folding or plaiting frame I. The rotation, therefore, of the
cylinder C, transmits rotary motion to the gripping or cloth delivery rollers H,
and through the crank plate L, a reciprocating motion to the folder or plaiter I.
M is a pulley keyed to the driving shaft K, and serving, by means of a band
which leads to a pulley on the fan shaft, to actuate the fan G. N N are pipes
for supplying steam to the crosshead B and the rotating cylinder C, for the
purpose of heating the pressing surfaces.

page_text: . Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
In the manufacture of presses for finishing woollen, cotton, linen or other
woven or felted fabrics, the use of an inverted concave bed constructed as above
described, in combination with a rotating pressing cylinder as and for the purpose
above set forth.