Improvement in Tentering Machines.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 14th June, 1890
Complete Specification Left, 13th Mar., 1891-Accepted, 6th June, 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvement in Tentering Machines.
I ALFRED BRADBURY of Kinders, Greenfield in the County of York, Woollen
Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to tentering machines for tentering or stretching woven
fabrics and consists in improved arrangements or mechanism for moving the chain
pulleys over which the chains with pins or clips for holding the fabric pass at the
front end self-actingly according to the variation in the width or the position of the
selvedges of the fabric so that the pins or clips seize the fabric always at the same
distance from the selvedge, thus preventing damage to the fabric and saving
the labour of watching and regulating the position of the chain pulleys by
hand.
In carrying my invention into effect. I arrange below the chains near to the front
end a cross beam or slide on which two carriages are mounted and slide on suitable
guides. Each carriage has attached to it a fork or its equivalent entering a
circular groove in the boss of the respective chain pulley, which slides on the shaft
and is driven by a sliding key and groove, so that the chain pulley and chain
follows the lateral movement of the carriage. This movement is produced auto-
matically by the following arrangements: "On a bracket fixed to the carriage
I suspend a pendulous lever or finger in such a manner, that the upper end of
the same is held against the edge of the cloth in front of the chain pulley by
the weight of the lower arm. The latter is bent back at the bottom end and
forms a catch for a plate formed with a number of steps or teeth overhanging
one beyond the other which plate is attached to a lever fixed on a horizontal
shaft on the carriage and receiving at regular intervals an oscillating movement.
When the stepped plate is lifted the finger is free to move and according to the
position in which it is held by the edge of the cloth will catch one or the other of
the teeth when the plate descends and hold it in the corresponding position till
the next lift of the plate. The position of the stepped plate controlls mechanism
for moving the carriage in such a manner, that when the finger catches the middle
step or tooth, no movement of the carriage takes place, but when it catches one of
the teeth above or below the middle one, the carriage is moved to the same side
the upper end of the finger has moved to in following the edge of the cloth and for the
same or very nearly the same distance so that the chain pulley is likewise moved
for this distance and the teeth on the chain enter the cloth always at the same distance
from the edge.
In order to assure that the finger always fairly catches one of the teeth, a
small cross lever is arranged with a number of veed notches equal to that of the
teeth and this lever is lifted with the plate and drops upon a V shaped part of the
bent end of the finger before the plate drops and moves the finger slightly if it is
not fairly under a tooth and holds it in its position.
The mechanism for shifting the carriage controlled by the stepped plate lever
may be variously arranged and consists principally of two wheels or their equivalents
mounted on the carriage rotated in opposite directions and coupled alternately to
a shaft when the stepped plate lever is caught on a tooth above and below the
middle tooth, and held out of gear with the same when the lever is caught on the
middle tooth, the motion of the said shaft being transmitted to a pinion on the carriage
working in a rack on the slide or to a nut held in the carriage and revolving on a
screw spindle fixed to the slide. By preference I use the following arrangements:
On each carriage a cross shaft is mounted in bearings carrying a band pulley fixed
on it which is driven by an endless band from the machine driving shaft. The

page_text: said cross shaft drives by means of gearing two spur wheels mounted loose upon an
intermediate cross shaft, between which there is a third spur wheel keyed fast
upon the said intermediate shaft. Parallel to the latter a rocking shaft is
arranged on the carriage having a lever fixed on it with a stud in its end on
which a broad carrier wheel is mounted. The rocking shaft can slide in its
bearings and is held in position by a lever fixed upon the horizontal shaft on
which the stepped plate lever herein before described is fixed, so that the position
of the stepped plate determines that of the rocking shaft. Upon the latter two
other levers are fixed resting upon the bosses of the two loose wheels on the
intermediate shaft. These bosses are each cylindrical in one part and have cams
formed on the other parts corresponding in number to the number of teeth on
the stepped plate above and below the middle tooth respectively. For instance
if the plate contains five teeth or steps, each boss would be formed with two
cams. When the plate is caught on the middle or 3d tooth, both levers on the
rocking shaft are on the cylindrical parts of the bosses and no oscillation of the
rocking shaft takes place and no movement of the carriage. If the plate is caught
on the 2nd tooth, one of the levers is brought on the first cam of one of the loose
wheels and lifted, thereby lifting the carrier wheel before referred to into gear with
this wheel and the middle fast wheel, whereby the intermediate shaft is rotated as
long as the cam holds the rocking shaft in this position. The rotation of the
intermediate shaft is transmitted through gearing to a shaft with a pinion fixed on
it that works into a rack fixed on the cross side, and thus the carriage is moved on
the slide. If the plate is caught on the 4th tooth, the rocking shaft is drawn to
the other side and the other lever brought upon the first cam of the second loose
wheel and lifted, whereby the carrier wheel, which has been shifted sideways with
the rocking shaft, is lifted into gear with this second loose wheel and the fast wheel,
and the intermediate shaft is rotated in the opposite direction, whereby the
carriage is also moved in the opposite direction to the previous movement.
If the
plate is caught on the 1st or 5th tooth, the respective lever is brought upon
the second cam on the corresponding loose wheel, which cam is so shaped that it
will hold the carrier wheel in gear with the loose and fast wheel for a longer period
than the first cam does, and thus a longer traverse of the carriage is effected.
The gearing and cams are so arranged that this traverse is in each case equal to the
movement of the finger at the edge of the cloth to the lateral movement of the edge
itself. As the fulcrum of the finger is on the carriage, it is shifted to the same
extent, so that the finger when liberated oscillates in the opposite direction and is
brought into mid position if no change in the position of the edge of the cloth
occurs in the meantime.
The lever carrying the stepped plate is lifted by a tappet on one of the loose
wheels or a shaft revolving at the same speed so as to lift once during each
revolution of the said wheels.
Clutch boxes or their equivalents operated by the rocking shaft may be used
instead of the carrier wheel hereinbefore described for connecting and disconnecting
the intermediate shaft and the loose wheels.
Dated the 11th day of June 1890
W. T. EMMOTT,
Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvement in Tentering Machines.
I, ALFRED BRADBURY of Kinders, Greenfield in the County of York, Woollen 50
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:
My invention relates to machines or apparatus for tentering or stretching woven

page_text: fabrics and consists in improved arrangements or mechanism for self-actingly moving
the chain pulleys over which the chains with pins or clips for holding the fabric
pass at the front end according to the variations in the width or the position of
the selvedges of the fabric so that the pins or clips seize the fabric always at
the same distance from the selvedge, thus preventing damage to the fabric and
saving the labour of watching and regulating the position of the chain pulleys
by hand.
In carrying my invention into effect, I arrange below the chains near to the
front end of the machine a cross-beam or bed on which two carriages are mounted
and slide on suitable guides. Each carriage has attached to it a fork or its
equivalent entering a circular groove in the boss of the respective chain pulley,
which slides on its shaft and is driven by a sliding key fitting a groove in the
shaft, so that the chain pulley follows the lateral movements of the carriage.
This movement is produced automatically by the following arrangement: On a
bracket fixed to the carriage I suspend a pendulous lever or finger in such a
manner that the upper end of the same is held against the edge of the cloth in
front of the chain pulley by the weight of the lower end. The latter is bent at
the bottom and forms a catch for a plate formed with a number of steps or teeth
overhanging one beyond the other which plate is attached to a lever fixed on a
horizontal shaft on the carriage and receiving at regular intervals an oscillating
movement. When the stepped plate is lifted the finger is free to move and
according to the position in which it is held by the edge of the cloth will catch one
or the other of the teeth when the plate descends and holds it in the corresponding
position till the next lift of the plate. The position of the stepped plate controls
mechanisms for moving the carriage arranged in such a manner that when the
finger catches the middle step or tooth, no movement of the carriage takes place ;
but when it catches one of the teeth below or above the middle one, the carriage
is moved to the same side the upper end of the finger has moved to and for the
same or nearly the same distance, so that the chain pulley is likewise moved for
this distance and the teeth or clips on the chain always enter or seize upon the
cloth at the same or nearly the same distance from its edge.
In order that my invention may be more clearly ascertained, I have hereunto
appended a sheet of drawings, on which
Figure 1 shows a back view of the carriage.
Figure 2 a side view of the same with controlling finger and mechanism.
Figure 3 a front view of the finger and catch levers.
Figure 4 a plan.
Figures 5 and 6 enlarged views of the reversing mechanism for shifting the
carriage in either direction.
Figures 7 and 8, enlarged views of the catch levers.
Only one carriage on the right hand side of the machine is shown on the
drawings, that on the other side being arranged in the same way symmetrically to
the former.
On the drawings a is a shaft supported and rotated in bearings on the machine
frame sides carrying on each side a chain pulley a' rotated with the shaft by means
of a sliding key fixed to the pulley and sliding in a groove a² of the shaft. The
chain pulley is formed with teeth a³ entering slots in the link chain (Figs. 2, 3, 4)
in the usual manner. The links of the chain have lateral projections with pins
or their equivalents which enter or seize upon the edge of the clothe and carrying
it forward stretch or widen out the cloth in the ordinary manner. The cloth c is
drawn off a roller and passes over a guide rail e (Fig. 2) to the chains. A bed
or cross-rail d is fixed upon the frame sides of the machine and carries on each side
a carriage which can slide on it. Upon the carriage an angle bracket is fixed,
to which an arm d³ is attached, which enters a circular groove in the boss a* of the
chain pulley a' and holds the latter in its position upon the shaft a or moves it to one
or the other side when the carriage & shifts its position on the bed d.
To the end of the arm d³ a bracket e is fixed with a forked bracket e' in which

page_text: a finger can oscillate. The finger fis bent as shewn by Figures 2 and 3 and
fitted with an adjustable top part f' which can be set to touch the edge of the
cloth c and is held against it by the weight of the lower part of the finger f. The
latter is Tee shaped or formed with lateral projections at the bottom end so as to
catch with one of these one of the steps or teeth of the stepped plate g fixed to
lever when the latter is lifted and dropped in the manner hereinafter described.
In order to insure the finger catching the teeth fairly on their horizontal surfaces a
second lever g² is mounted loosely upon the shaft hon which lever g is fixed and
lifted by a bracket fixed to lever g'. The lever g² is formed with a series of
triangular notches corresponding in width with the steps of the plate and the
projection on the end of the finger is made V shaped at the part extending under
the lever so as to fit into the notches. The bracket ³ is so adjusted that when
the lever drops it allows the lever g2 to fall upon the end of the finger and fix
it by one of its notches before the plate touches it, so as to bring the finger fairly
under one of the steps of plate g. When the edge of the cloth c pushes the
finger to the right, so that the plate 7 is caught on the 4th step as shown by
Figures 3 and 7, the lever g' and shaft are thereby held in the position shewn.
The shaft controls mechanism for moving the carriage arranged in such a
manner that when the plate g is caught on step 4, the carriage is shifted to the
right so that the chain pulley a and chain and its pins or their equivalents are
moved in the same way and seize the cloth at the same distance from its edge as
before. The fulcrum e is shifted thereby to the right along with the carriage, so
that if the edge of the cloth remains in the same place on rail e as before, the
lever moves to the left at the top and to the right at the bottom during the next
lift of the lever g' and catches the plate 9 on the 3rd step, when no movement of
the carriage takes place and the chain pulley remains in its place till the edge of
cloth e shifts again its position on rail. When the finger is shifted to such an
extent that the plate caught on the 5th step, the carriage is shifted for double
the distance to the right, while when it catches on steps 2 and 1, it is shifted for
one or two spaces to the left. The chain pulley in this way follows the variations
in the position of the edge of the cloth as it passes over rail c¹ and the pins or clips
on the chains always enter into or seize upon the cloth at the same distance from
its edge.
13
The mechanism for shifting the carriage controlled by the stepped plate lever gl
may be variously arranged, that shewn on the drawings and hereinafter described
being only one way in which this can be done conveniently and simply. It is
arranged as follows: The shaft is carried in bearings 2 fixed upon the
carriage and has a lever ³ with bowl fixed on it, which is lifted by a cam i
once during each revolution of the shaft. The latter revolves in bearings
fixed on the carriage and is rotated through spur wheels by a band pulley A²
running on a stud fixed in bracket on the carriage d'. The band pulley is
rotated by an endless rope or band from any convenient revolving shaft of the
machine. Upon the shaft two bevil wheels with clutch teeth on their backs
are loosely mounted as well as two separate clutch boxes m m² which may slide on
a key fixed to shaft i and thus be rotated with the same, or they may be fixed on
the shaft and the latter arranged so that it can slide endways. The clutch boxes
are held out of gear with the bevil wheels by springs m² m³, Fig. 6, and can be put
into gear independently of each other in the manner hereinafter described. The
bevil wheels both gear with another bevil wheel fixed upon the screw
spindle which can turn in the bearings »² fixed upon the carriage and is held
endwise in the same by the bevil wheel and a collar or hoop n³. The spindle is
threaded through a nut o fixed in a bracket o' which is bolted to the bed d. As
one or the other bevil wheels or is connected to its clutch box and rotated with
the shaft, the bevil wheel and spindle ' will be rotated in one or the other
direction and the carriage d' drawn to the left or to the right.
The clutch boxes m and m' are engaged with the clutches on the. bevil
wheels and by means of levers p and p fixed upon the shaft h, and of cams

page_text: T
fixed upon the clutch box bosses. Upon each of the latter a double cam rr¹ is
fixed consisting of a lower longer part and an upper shorter one of about half
the length of the former, formed with an inclined or rounded portion at the leading
end. The levers p p fitted with steel ends bent towards the shaft are so set that
the distance of their points p² 3 slightly exceeds the diameter of the outer cams
and so that when the catch plate is caught by the finger on the middle step and
the shaft is in its middle position, both levers are clear of the cains. When the
plate is caught on the 4th step, the end p² of lever p is lifted into the path of the
cam on clutch box m and by means of the incline on the cam pushes the clutch
box into gear with the wheel so that the wheel n and spindle a are turned for a
short time till the lever end 2 slips off the cam r', when the spring m² disengages
the clutch. The carriage is thereby moved to the right of the cloth in the manner
hereinbefore described. When the plate y is caught on step 5, the lever is held
up higher and its end comes into contact with the longer cam and pushes the
clutch into gear with wheel and holds it for a longer time, so that the
spindle is rotated longer and the carriage d' moved to the right for a greater
distance. When the plate is caught on steps 2 and 1, the lever pis brought to act
on the cams and on clutch box m', pushing it into and holding it in gear with
the wheel whereby the spindle is rotated for a shorter or longer interval
respectively in the opposite direction and the carriage correspondingly shifted to
the left. The carriage d'in this way follows the movement of the upper end of
finger and is shifted according to the varying position of the edge of the cloth c
on the rail el, so that the pins or clips on the chain seize the cloth at the same
distance from the edge, the speed of the shaft i¹ on the carriage being determined
so that the mechanisms hereinbefore described act and shift the carriage while a
point on the edge of the cloth passes from the finger f to the chain b.
The mechanism for moving the carriage may obviously be varied in many ways.
For instance, instead of a screw spindle and nut o for effecting the movement, a
rack fixed upon the bed and a pinion in gear with the same and fixed upon a
cross-shaft on the carriage may be used, the bevil wheels being replaced by spur
wheels, one of which gears directly with a spur wheel on said cross-shaft, and the
other with a carrier wheel driving a second spur wheel on said cross-shaft. With
this arrangement the cross-shaft will be rotated in one direction when the wheel
is engaged by the clutch m, and in the opposite direction when is engaged by m',
and the carriage thus moved inwards and outwards. The way in which the
wheels and are connected to the shaft i¹ for a shorter or longer period according
to the catch plate y being caught by the finger on the steps below or above the
central step may be modified. The plate g may be made with more or less steps
than 5.
The apparatus for moving the chain wheels automatically for a distance corre-
sponding to the movement of the edge of the cloth at the point where the finger fƒ¹
touches the same is applicable to all kinds of machines for tentering, stretching or
widening fabrics of any kind where chains with pins or clips for seizing the edges
are employed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, declare that what I
claim is:
Firstly. In machines for tentering, stretching or widening fabrics by means of
chains to which the fabrics are attached, the arrangement of an oscillating finger
resting against the edge of the fabric and an intermittently lifted lever with a
stepped plate or its equivalent caught in different positions by said finger and
controlling by its position mechanism or apparatus for moving the front chain
pulleys in the same way as the part of the fiuger resting against the fabric is
moved, substantially as herein before described.
Secondly. In machines for tentering, stretching or widening fabrics by means of
chains to which the fabric is attached, the arrangement of a cross-ail or bed with

page_text: a sliding carriage at each side provided with an arm or its equivalent for holding
and moving the chain pulley or its shaft and with mechanism for traversing the
carriage inwards and outwards on the bed controlled by the position of an inter-
mittently lifted lever with a stepped plate of its equivalent and a finger resting
against the edge of the cloth and catching said plate in various positions, in such a
manner that the chain pulley follows the movement of the end of the finger resting
against the edge of the cloth, substantially as herein before described.
Thirdly. In machines for tentering, stretching and widening fabrics by means of
chains to which the fabrics are attached the arrangement of a cross rail or bed with
a sliding carriage at each side provided with an arm or its equivalent for holding
and moving the chain pulley on its shaft, and with a rotating cross shaft on which
two wheels are loosely mounted and connected to or disconnected from the shaft for
varying periods by mechanism controlled by the position of an intermittently lifted
lever with a stepped catch plate and a finger resting against the edge of the cloth
and catching said plate, and mechanism for shifting the carriage inwards when
actuated by one of said wheels and outwards when actuated by the other wheel,
substantially as hereinbefore described and for the purpose set forth.
Fourthly. The general arrangement of apparatus or mechanism for shifting the
chain pulleys of machines for tentering, stretching or widening fabrics according to
the varying position of the edge of the fabric substantially as hereinbefore
described and illustrated by the drawings and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 12th day of March 1891.
Dated this 12th day of March 1891.
W. T. EMMOTT,
Agent for the Applicant.
W. T. EMMOTT,
Agent for the Applicant.