IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR STRETCHING WOVEN FABRICS to be as follows:
Year: 1884

page_text: I JOHN ROBERTS of 14 Hindle Street Radcliffe in the County of Lancaster Cloth
Finisher do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS
FOR STRETCHING WOVEN FABRICS to be as follows:-
"
This invention is designed principally for stretching woven fabrics in the
finishing process in which case it is applied to the finishing machine between the
mangle rollers and the drying cylinder; but the same apparatus may also be
applied for stretching cloth in other machines, for example; between the bleaching
and drying processes, or between the drying and printing.
The apparatus consists principally of a pair of rollers fluted or grooved circum-
ferentially, the flutes or grooves being so arranged that the annular projections on
one roller shall be opposite the annular grooves in the other roller.
These rollers are mounted ono above the other transversely to the passage of
the cloth, the latter passing between the two grooved surfaces.
The lower roller revolves in fixed bearings and the upper one is adjustable in
height so as to bear more or less upon the fabric and press it more or less into the
grooves according to the nature of the cloth and the amount of "stretch" required.
In order to hold the edges or selvages of the cloth and to prevent them from
being drawn together by the pressure of the grooved rollers I pass an endless cord
round the lower roller in one of the grooves near each selvage, and these cords
fitting tightly in the grooves hold the edge of the woven fabric firmly and prevent
them from being drawn together by the pressure of the grooved rollers.
The endless cords hang loosely below the rollers and are kept at the required
tension by means of weights suspended from small grooved pulleys running in the
bight" of the cords, and it will be evident that the greater the stretching
pressure that is put upon the fabric by the grooved rollers the tighter becomes the
hold upon the edges of the fabric.
GEORGE DAVIES,
Agent for the Applicant,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester.

page_text: An Improved Apparatus for Stretching Woven Fabrics.
I, JOHN ROBERTS, of 14 Hindle Street, Radcliffe in the County of Lancaster,
Cloth Finisher, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention for "AN IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR STRETCHING WOVEN FABRICS 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 designed principally for stretching woven fabrics in the
finishing process, in which case it is applied to the finishing machine between the
mangle rollers and the drying cylinder, but the same apparatus may also be
applied for stretching cloth in other machines, for example, between the bleaching.
and drying processes, or between the drying and printing.
The nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed will be readily understood on reference to the accompanying drawing and
the following explanation thereof.
Fig. 1. is an elevation and Fig. 2 a side view of my improved stretching
apparatus which consists principally of a pair of rollers a a. b b. Buted or grooved
circumferentially, the flutes or grooves being so arranged that the annular
projections on one roller a. a shall be opposite the annular grooves in the other
roller b. b.
These rollers a. a. and b. b. are mounted one above the other transversely to tho
passage of the cloth the latter passing between the two grooved surfaces.
The lower roller b. b revolves in fixed bearings c. c and the upper one a. a is
adjustable in height so as to bear more or less upon the fabric, and press it more
or less into the grooves according to the nature of the cloth and the amount of
stretch required.
In the Drawing this is shewn as affected by two screws d. d connected to the
bearings e. a. of the upper roller a. a cach screw being provided with a hand
wheelf. f. so that each bearing may be adjusted separately, but it will be evident
that if preferred, the screws may be connected together by a horizontal shaft and
bevil gear, or otherwise, in such a manner that they can both be turned simul-
taneously by a single hand wheel.
In order to hold the edges or selvages of the cloth and to prevent them from
being drawn inwards or towards each other by the pressure of the grooved
rollers a. a and b. b I pass an endless cord g. g round one of the rollers in one of
the grooves near each selvage, and these cords fitting tightly in the grooves hold
the edges of the woven fabric firmly and prevent them from being drawn together
by the pressure of the grooved rollers a. a and b. b.
These endless cords g. g may hang upon the lower roller b. b but I prefer that
they should be held up into special grooves h. h in the upper roller a. a by means
of guide pulleys i. i.
The endless cords g. g hang loosely below the rollers b. b and are kept at the
required tension by means of weights k. k suspended from small grooved
pulleys l. 7 running in the bight of the cords g.g and it will be evident that the
greater the stretching pressure that is put upon the fabric by the grooved
rollers a. a and b. b the tighter becomes the hold upon the edges of the fabric.

page_text: The passage of the fabric is shown by the dotted line and arrow in Fig. 2.
m. m is a "fish back" rail for spreading and smoothing the fabric after passing
through the grooved rollers.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of. my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim as my invention is
First. The improved apparatus for stretching woven fabrics consisting mainly
of a pair of circumferentially grooved rollers, so mounted that the annular
projections between the grooves of one roller shall come opposite to the circum-
ferential grooves in the surface of the other roller.
Secondly. I claim the apparatus for adjusting one of such circumferentially
grooved rollers to or from the other by means of two screws acting on the axle
bearings thereof, and actuated either simultaneously or independently as described.
Thirdly. I claim the combination with a pair of such circumferentially grooved
adjustible rollers of endless weighted cords for holding the selvages of the cloth in
the grooves and preventing their being drawn inwards or towards each other-and
Fourthly, I claim the general construction and arrangement of the improved
stretching apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the
drawings annexed.