IMPROVE- MENTS IN DRYING AIR, AND IN MACHINERY FOR STRETCHING, DRYING, AND FINISHING FABRICS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Bragg, the younger, of Belfast, in the County
of Antrim, in Ireland, Commission Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN DRYING AIR, AND IN MACHINERY FOR STRETCHING, DRYING, AND
FINISHING FABRICS."
Sealed the 6th January 1857, and dated the 17th July 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Bragg at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents; with his Petition, on the 17th July
1856.
I, HENRY BRAGG, the younger, of Belfast, in the County of Antrim, in
5 Ireland, Commission Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DRYING AIR, AND' IN MACHINERY FOR STRETCHING,
DRYING, AND FINISHING FABRICS," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in causing air to pass through tubes or chambers
surrounded by cold water, or cooled by other means, in order to condense the
moisture of the air before it is conveyed to the heating apparatus, or otherwise
disposed of.
My improvements in machinery for stretching, drying, and finishing fabrics
consist of an improved compound stenter frame, on which two or more pieces
may be operated upon simultaneously. The frame is made by preference for

page_text: four pieces, and is supported at intervals in segmental bearings. The to-and-
fro' motion, when required, is imparted to the selvages of the fabric, to give the
elastic finish, by a revolving disk with elevations and depressions acting on the
side rails, to which the selvages are attached by hooks or pins in the usual
manner; but in order to prevent the to-and-fro' motion being given while a
fresh piece is being put on the hooks, the mechanism by which the to-and-fro'
motion is given is thrown out of gear. During the operation of putting a
damp piece on the hooks a dry piece is being removed; these operations are
accomplished simultaneously by rollers on a travelling frame, or in the usual
manner. As soon as a damp piece has been affixed to the hooks, the frame is
turned round one-fourth of a revolution, thereby bringing the piece last put on
in a line with the chamber containing moist, dry, or warm air, and bringing a
fresh piece to the upper side, from whence it may be removed, as before
described. By this improved compound frame, three pieces are being dried
or otherwise operated upon while the fourth is being removed and a damp
one put in its place. Each of the three pieces under operation may be under-
going à different treatment at the same time, that is to say, the damp fabric
on the first side may be subjected to the influence of moist, cold, or warm air,
which is drawn through the fabric by a fan or other agent at each end of the
frame, and supplied through a channel running parallel with the frame, while
the second and third are having cold or warm air drawn through them to
complete the drying. The interior of the frame is divided into as many
compartments as there are sides, and the ends of the compartment below the
upper side are closed, to prevent the fans drawing air through the fabric that
is being put on or taken off the hooks. The sides of the frame, forming the
outer portion of each air compartment, are made of perforated sheet metal or
other material, and the perforations are smallest at each end and gradually
larger towards the centre, by which arrangement the partial vacuum caused at
each end produces an equal current through the fabric to be dried or other-
wise treated. In order to vary the distance between the rails, according to the
width of the fabric, I carry a rod lengthways of the frame; this rod has
transverse slots, into which enter the studs of jointed pairs of levers, the other
ends of which levers are connected to the rails; by moving the rod lengthways
in one direction or the other the rails are made to approach or recede from
each other.
The improvements described in drying fabrics are applicable to the ordinary
stenter frames, and t her machines now in use.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Bragg in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 16th
January 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, IIENRY
BRAGG, the younger, of Belfast, in the County of Antrim, in Ireland, Com--
mission Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Henry Bragg, Her special license that I, the said Henry Bragg, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry Bragg,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
DRYING AIR, AND IN MACHINERY FOR STRETCHING, DRYING, AND FINISHING
FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Bragg,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was
to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
.said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Bragg, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):-
The nature of my Invention consists, first, in drying air, by causing it to
pass through tubes or chambers surrounded by cold water, or cooled by other
means, in order to condense the moisture of the air before it is conveyed to
the heating apparatus, or otherwise disposed of; and when the temperature of
the air to be dried is very low, it is desirable to warm it slightly before it is
caused to pass through the tubes or chambers, by which the moisture is
condensed.
-
Secondly, in an improved compound stenter frame, for stretching, drying,

page_text: and finishing two or more pieces of fabric simultaneously, parts of which are
applicable to stenter frames of the usual construction.
The apparatus for performing the first part of my Invention may be con-
structed in any convenient manner, according to the volume of air to be dried,
and the object for which it is intended; this part of my Invention may be
carried into effect without the aid of Drawings to illustrate it.
.
The second part of my Invention will be better understood on referring to
the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon.
Fig. 1 is a tranverse section of my improved machinery for stretching,
drying, and finishing fabrics as arranged for operating upon four lengths of
fabric simultaneously. I wish to remark here that I have shewn the
improved stenter frame with four sides, because I consider it the most con-
venient in practice; but I do not limit myself to this number, as a greater or
Jess number of sides, and consequently of pieces operated upon at the same
time, may be adopted. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal elevation, and Fig. 3 a plan
of Fig. 1. The machinery consists of a shaft a, to which are fixed at suitable
distances frames 6; the outer ends of these frames are provided with anti-
friction rollers c, supported in the segmental bearings d. In Figs. 2 and 3 I
have only shewn the two end bearings d, but the space between them must be
furnished with other similar bearings, according to the length of the frame.
The interior of the frame is divided into four compartments by the partitions
6; these compartments are marked a¹, a², a³, and a', in Fig. 1. The outer
partitions 6 of these compartments are made of perforated sheet metal, or
other suitable material, and the perforations which are smallest at each end
gradually increase in size towards the centre, by which arrangement the
partial vacuum caused at one or both ends of the frame by the fans in the
casings e, e, or by other suitable means, produces an equal current through the
fabric to be dried or otherwise treated, the larger perforations admitting more
air where the current is least strong, and vice versa. The partitions 6' are
prolonged beyond the roller c until they nearly touch the segmental casing c¹;
this casing and the prolongations of the partitions 6-form three chambers,
marked c², c³, and c', and these chambers are supplied with moist, dry, or warm
air, being open at one or both ends, and in communication with pipes for
supplying the same.
The fabrics under operation are held on pins in the rails f, f, in the ordinary
manner; these rails have studs passing through guide slots in the square frames
9, 9, and these studs are connected to the levers h and h¹; each joint pin of the

page_text: levers h fits in a slot in the bar i, which extends the whole length of the frame,
and is provided at one end with a screw and nut i¹. By screwing up or
unscrewing this nut the bar i is moved in one direction or the other, and by
acting on the levers h, causes the rails f, f, to approach or recede from each
other. The spring acts on the bar-i, and is for the purpose of causing the
rails ff, to maintain a uniform tension on the fabric. The requisite longi-
tudinal motion given to the rails fƒ for imparting the diagonal motion to the
weft threads is derived in the following manner :-Each rail f is connected to
a swing frame f, to which are jointed levers f², with antifriction bowls, in
contact with the revolving disk j. This disk has elevations and recesses on its
face, corresponding to the amount of longitudinal motion required in the rails f;
consequently, when the disk is made to revolve, by means of the wheel k fixed
to the disk, and the pinion on the driving shaft m, the elevations and
depressions of the disk cause the rails to move longitudinally, as required. The
levers can be moved to one side by taking out the pin f³ when it is
necessary to stop the longitudinal motion of the rails f. The shaft m is
furnished at the other end with a pinion n, gearing in the wheel o, fixed to the
shaft a; the pinions and n are loose on the shaft m, but connected thereto
when required by catch boxes.
In Figs. 1 and 2, p is a traversing carriage for supporting the attendants
and the batch rollers. This carriage is moved along the frame by means of the
drum r and cord r³, shewn in Fig. 2, or in any convenient manner, and it is
supported on rollers running on beans p¹. The attendants stand on the plat-
forms p², only one of which is shewn in Fig. 1. The fabric to be put on the
stenter frame is wound on a batch roller, and supported in the traversing
carriage at 9; the damp fabric is taken under the guide rail g', when the
carriage is moving in the direction of the arrow, then over the guide rail g²,
and then the attendants place the selvages over the needle points of the rails f.f,
on to which they are pressed by the roller g³, which is covered with flannel or
other suitable material. During the operation of putting the damp fabric on
the frame, the fabric that had previously been stretched, dried, and. finished
is taken under the guide rail 9,.and wound on to the batch roller q³. The
flannel roller to the right-hand side of the carriage, is shewn up, as it
is held in that position while the finished fabric is being taken off the frame.
When the carriage is moving along the frame in the contrary direction to
that indicated by the arrow, the position of the rollers q³ is reversed, and the
finished fabric is then wound on the batch roller q. During the operation of
putting a damp piece of fabric on the pins of the rails the levers få are moved

page_text: to one side, so as to bring the bowls jointed to them beyond the reach of the
disk j, in order that no motion may be imparted to the rails f at the upper
side of the frame, and the ends of the compartment a¹ are closed during the
said operation, in order that the current of air in that compartment may be
stopped until the damp piece of fabric is put on. The other three pieces of
fabric which are supposed to have been previously put on the other rails f. f,
are undergoing the processes of stretching, drying, and finishing while the
damp fabric is being put on, and as each chamber c², c³, and c is independent
of the others, it is evident that the degrees of heat in each chamber may be
varied, or that moist, cool, dry, or warm air may be introduced in each
chamber as required; -by this means the fabrics are successively and simul-
taneously operated upon by different processes. As soon as the damp piece of
fabric is put on, the levers f are brought into position for imparting the
elastic. finish to the fabric, and the ends of the compartment a¹ are opened to
allow the partial vacuum caused by the fans or other agent to act on the
fabric. When the fabric between the compartment a' and chamber.' is finished,
the rails q, q, q, and rollers q³ are raised sufficiently to allow the frame to
turn round; the clutch box of the pinion, n is thrown into gear; and the frame
is then turned one-fourth round in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1. by the
pinion n gearing into the wheel o, thereby bringing the compartment a* in the
position now occupied by a; the finished piece is then removed and a damp
one put on in its stead, and the operations are repeated, as before described.
I wish to remark, that instead of forming a partial vacuum in the compart-
ments a, a, a, and a, as described, a current of air may be forced into them
by the fans or other agents, and drawn.off through the chambers c², c³, and c*;
also, that the machinery described for increasing or diminishing the distance
between the rails f, f, and the mode described for regulating the current
through the fabric may be applied to stenter frames of the usual construction.
Having, thus particularly. described the nature of my Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I wish it to be understood, that I do not
limit myself to the details herein set forth, as-the-same may be varied-without
departing from the peculiar character-of my Iuvention; but what I do claim
.is,
..
First, drying air, by causing it to pass through tubes or chambers surrounded
by cold water, or cooled by other means, in order to condense the moisture
contained in the air to be dried..
Secondly, constructing stenter frames with two or more, sides, so that two
or more pieces of fabrics may be operated upon simultaneously.

page_text: Thirdly, regulating the passage of air through fabrics while undergoing the
processes of stretching, drying, or finishing, by increasing or diminishing the
perforations of the partition in proportion to their distance from the fan or
other agent causing the current of air, as described.
And, lastly, the machinery shewn and described for increasing or diminishing
the distance between the rails f, f.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Bragg, the younger, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
H. B. BARLOW,
Manchester.
HENRY BRAGG, JUNIOR. (L.S.)