Improvements in Apparatus for Guiding, Opening, and Stretching Textile Fabrics.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Sept., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 18th June, 1889-Accepted, 20th July, 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Guiding, Opening, and Stretching
Textile Fabrics.
We JOHN HAWTHORN and JOHN PEMBERTON LIDDELL of the firm of John Hawthorn
and Company of Newtown, New Mills in the County of Chester Engineers do hereby
declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows:-
Our said Invention relates to mechanism for guiding, opening, and stretching cloth
during the processes of washing, bleaching, printing and the like. According to our
Invention we pass the cloth over two separately attached or hung rollers, or over two
preferably revolving surfaces composed if desired of a series of rings, the said rollers
or surfaces being set at an angle to each other and acting as means for guiding and
opening or stretching the cloth. The angular position of the rollers causes the
cloth to be opened or stretched as it passes over them and the automatic guiding
functions of the rollers are obtained by establishing a positive connection between
the hinged arms or brackets carrying the rollers so that when the angle of one of
the rollers is altered by the cloth moving too much to one side, the angle of the other
roller is correspondingly altered, whereby the misdirection of the cloth is corrected
and it is brought back into its proper central position. The said guiding and
stretching rollers may be mounted and connected in the following manner. Upon a
supporting bar or stay we fix a carrier block or bracket and on each side of the said
carrier block upon two separate studs we pivot the two arms or brackets which carry
the guiding and stretching rollers, which thus extend on either side of the said central
carrier block. The rollers are carried in the brackets in bearings, the brackets being
arranged at an angle suitable for opening or stretching the cloth. The rollers may be
carried on central axes and supported at one or at both ends as preferred. Upon the
brackets and concentric with the pivots we form toothed quadrants which both gear
with a rack sliding in ways on the bracket. It will thus be evident that if one of the
pivotted rollers is moved on its pivot the toothed quadrant on its bracket will act on
the sliding rack in such a manner as to move the opposite pivotted roller to a corre-
sponding degree. It therefore follows that if the cloth in traversing should incline
too much to one side the pivotted roller on that side will be moved round so as to alter
its normal angle and will at the same time, by the quadrant and rack connection,
move the opposite roller so as to correspondingly alter its angle, the relative angle of
the rollers to each other being approximately preserved. The effect of this movement
is to lead the cloth again to its central position whereupon the rollers resume their
relative normal angles. The gist of our invention being the positive connection of
the two isolated arms or brackets carrying guiding and stretching rollers, so that each
will partake of the other's motion, it is evident that means other than the aforesaid
toothed quadrants and racks might be employed to effect this connection. For
example we might connect the pivotted inclined brackets by a link or connecting rod
which would keep them apart at the proper angle and would produce the desired
relative movements. Other means might also be employed for the same object but
we consider the two methods which we have indicated to be the most simple and
effective. Instead of passing the cloth over rollers or series of rings as described we
might use fixed flat or rounded surfaces either with or without inclined guiding ribs
but in all cases pivotted and connected as described in connection with the aforesaid
rollers.
Dated this 18th dox of Sants
2000
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James' Square, Manchester, Agents.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Guiding, Opening, and Stretching
Textile Fabrics.
We JOHN HAWTHORN and JOHN PEMBERTON LIDDELL of the firm of John
Hawthorn and Company of Newtown New Mills in the County of Chester, Engineers,
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
stateinent and accompanying drawings:
Our said Invention relates to mechanism for guiding, opening and stretching cloth
during the process of washing, bleaching, printing and the like. According to our
Invention we pass the cloth over two separately attached or hung sets of rollers or
over two preferably revolving sets of surfaces composed, if desired, of a series of rings,
the said sets of rollers or surfaces being set at an angle to each other and acting as
means for guiding and opening or stretching the cloth. The angular position of the
rollers causes the cloth to be opened or stretched as it passes over them and the
automatic guiding and compensating functions of the rollers are obtained by
establishing a positive connection between the hinged arms or brackets carrying the
rollers so that when the angle of one of the sets of rollers is altered by the cloth
moving too much to one side, the angle of the other roller is correspondingly altered
whereby the misdirection of the cloth is corrected and it is brought back into its
proper central position.
In order that our said Invention may be properly understood we will now proceed
to describe the same more fully reference being had to the annexed sheet of drawings.
Fig. 1 is a plan view of the automatically compensating arrangement of guiding and
stretching rollers constituting the subject matter of our invention.
Fig. 2 is a front elevation at right angles to Fig. 1. The remaining figures are
detail views of mo:lifications of the invention.
Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen that the apparatus is sustained upon a bar
or tube or stay a upon which is fixed a block b. Two studs c project from this block
and upon the said studs are centred two double arms or levers d and e.
The
Each of these
double arms or levers consists of a strong upper limb d or e serving to support two
of the rollers and a lighter lower limb d' or e', the said lighter limb of each double
arm or lever being placed by means of a stud fin communication with the outer end
of the stronger limb of the other double arın or lever. The ends of the said lighter
limbs have an oblong slot where the studs pass through as clearly seen in Fig. I this
slot being provided to allow for the different arcs through which the ends of the
stronger limbs and the ends of the lighter limbs pass as indicated in dotted lines this
difference being due as will be seen to the different centres on which they move.
outer ends of the heavier limbs d and e are formed with brackets g, h and these
brackets carry studs i which serve as axes for the guiding and stretching rollers j. It
will be seen from Fig. 1 that the pivotted double arms or levers d, e are both at an
angle when in their normal position, and the rollers ; which they support are at
a corresponding angle. The connections of the studs i to the brackets and the
mode of mounting the rollers upon the studs are clearly shown to an enlarged
scale at Fig. 6 of the drawings. The surfaces of the rollers are formed with
grooves of the shape indicated in Fig. 6. When the apparatus is in operation the
fabric is led in the direction of the arrows Fig. 1 under the first rollers and over
the succeeding rollers as indicated by the sectional sketch Fig. 7. As the fabric
passes through the apparatus the angular position of the rollers causes the cloth to be
stretched equally from the centre and so long as the cloth is in its proper central
position the rollers will occupy their normal positions shown in Fig. 1. But should
the cloth from any reason ride more upon one side of the apparatus than upon the
other, then the cloth will pull more upon that side and will move the apparatus upon
the studs c until the rollers j upon one side of the apparatus lie straight or about
straight instead of at an angle. The angle of the opposite pair of rollers 7 is of course

page_text: correspondingly increased and the cloth is quickly led over towards that side again by
the inclination of the rollers. As the cloth regains its proper central place the
apparatus returns to its normal position and continues working until the cloth again
becomes temporarily displaced. These temporary oscillations or shiftings of the cloth
from side to side of the apparatus are at once corrected as they occur by the compen-
sating action of the levers carrying the rollers. We consider that the method of
mounting the levers which we have just described is the best but we are aware that
this arrangement might be modified as for example in the manner shown at Figs. 3
and 4. In this arrangement the levers d and e which carry the rollers are fixed
upon studs which pass loosely through the block band at their other ends are
provided with toothed pinions k which both gear with an intermediate pinion / also
carried on the block b. It is evident that when one of the levers d or e is moved as
for example by the swerving of the cloth the other lever will be correspondingly
moved by means of the gearing k. l and thus the compensating effect already described
will be obtained. In Fig. we dispense with the gearing wheels k. 1 and connect the
levers d. e by means of a link m the result being that when one lever is moved
the position of the other is correspondingly altered and by this means the required
effect is produced. The gist of our invention being the positive connection of two
otherwise isolated levers arms or brackets carrying guiding and stretching rollers so
that each will partake of the others motion so as to compensate for and correct any
divergence of the cloth from the centre of the apparatus, it will be evident that
means differing slightly in construction from those shown and described might be
used to carry our invention into effect. For example instead of the toothed wheels
described with reference to Figs. 3 and 4 we might fix quadrants on the lever
studs and connect these quadrants by a sliding toothed rack. Instead of passing
the cloth over rollers as shown and described we might pass it over fixed flat or
rounded surfaces either with or without inclined guiding ribs but in all cases the
compensating halves of the apparatus are arranged and connected as described with
reference to the aforesaid rollers.
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:―
(1) The general arrangement, construction and combination of apparatus for guiding
and stretching textile fabrics substantially as described and shown.
(2) An apparatus for guiding and stretching textile fabrics consisting of two
opposite sets of rollers set at an angle and mounted on separate frames, levers or
brackets the said separate frames, levers or brackets being connected by means of
arms, gearing, links or racks so that when one side of the apparatus is moved the
position of the other side is correspondingly altered by which compensating movements
the cloth is restored into its normal central position in the apparatus substantially as
described and shown.
(3) The apparatus substantially as described and as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of
the drawings.
(4) The mode of connecting the levers d. e substantially as described with reference
to Figs. 3 and 4.
(5) The mode of connecting the levers d. e substantially as described and as shown
at Fig. 5 of the drawings.
Dated this 17th day of June 1889.
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James' Square, Manchester, Agents.