IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR RAISING THE NAP OR PILE OF CLOTHS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Brearley, the younger, of Batley, in the
County of York, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR RAISING THE NAP OR PILE OF CLOTHS."
Sealed the 14th February 1860, and dated the 4th October 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Brearley at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th October 1859.
I, ROBERT BREARLEY, the younger, of Batley, in the County of York,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR RAISING THE NAP OR PILE OF CLOTHS,"
to be as follows:-
The improvements relate to apparatus for raising the nap or pile of union
and woollen cloths, especially such as are usually called French witneys and
allied witneys.
The fabric to be operated upon is passed over a rod, acting to straighten it,
and thence it passes between a pair of rollers covered with cloth or other
elastic material, and fitted with break pulleys or such like acting means to
retard the motion of the cloth whilst it is drawn forwards by being passed on to
the surface of a roller covered with card teeth. The distance between the feed
or distending rollers and the card cylinders or drawing rollers I prefer to be
limited to that which will insure the pressure required upon the cloths (say,

page_text: about 18 inches). The cloth, as thus held in a distended state between these
rollers and continuously moving forward, is acted upon by rubbing rods, the
rubbing surfaces of which are covered with india-rubber or other suitable
material, by which uniformity of finish is insured. A rocking motion is given
to these rubbing rods by a crank, eccentric, or other suitable means.
The feed or distending rollers are, by preference, placed higher than the
card roller, to give the rubbing rods more pressure in one direction than in the
other, by which a more firm and regular nap or pile to the cloth will be
obtained.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Brearley in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd April 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Robert
BREARLEY, the younger, of Batley, in the County of York, Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Robert Brearley, Her special licence that I, the said Robert
Brearley, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Robert Brearley, 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR RAISING THE NAP OR PILE OF CLOTHS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert Brearley, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Robert Brearley, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement thereof, that is to say:-
The improvements relate to apparatus for raising the nap or pile of union
and woollen cloths, specially such as are usually called French witneys and
allied witneys.
The fabric to be operated upon is passed over a rod acting to straighten it,
and thence it passes between a pair of rollers covered with cloth or other
elastic material, and fitted with break pulleys or such like acting means to
retard the motion of the cloth whilst it is drawn forwards by being passed on
to the surface of a roller covered with card teeth. The distance between the
feed or distending rollers and the card cylinders or drawing rollers I prefer to
be limited to that which will ensure the pressure required upon the cloths
(say about 18 inches). The cloth, as thus held in a distended state between
these rollers, and continuously moving forward, is acted upon by rubbing rods,
the rubbing surfaces of which are covered with india-rubber or other suitable
material, by which uniformity of finish is insured. A rocking motion is given
to these rubbing rods by a crank, eccentric, or other suitable means.
A small roller covered with cloth and placed near the card roller acts as a
stripper to remove the fabric under operation from the card cylinder.
But that the nature of my improvements and the means which I adopt in
carrying the same into effect may be fully understood, I will proceed to

page_text: e, by which it is supported in necks formed in the ends of levers e³, which
turn upon axes e³, and at their other ends carry weights e, by which pressure
is exerted to hold the cloth between the two rollers e and f, and this pressure
is capable of being varied by varying the weighting of these levers e. The
cloth thence passes over the roller f to the roller h, which is covered with card
teeth, and has motion given to it to draw the cloth forwards. But the motion
given by the card roller his retarded partly by the pinch between the rollers e
and already referred to, and partly by a drag being also given to the roller h,
which I effect in the following manner :-The axis of the roller f is supported
in bearings a formed in or applied to the main framing, and upon each end of
this axis fis affixed a pulley f, around which is carried a band, one end of
which is affixed to a stud f from the main framing, whilst the other end is
affixed to a pulley f*, carried by a stud f" on the lever f³, and to these pulleys
are affixed ratchet wheels f, the teeth of which are taken into by spring
catches f, by which any slack to the cords or bands may be readily taken
up. The levers f turn upon fixed studs as fulcra f", and carry weights f
capable of being adjusted or varied, by which tension is put on the band f³,
and friction exerted through the pullies f to the roller f. The roller h is
affixed to the axis h₁, carried by the bearings a³, and motion is imparted
thereto from the shaft b by means of the worm wheel h² fixed upon that shaft, b
taking into and giving motion to the wheel h³ affixed upon the axis h', which
turns in the fixed bearings a', and carries the bevilled pinion h, the teeth of
which take into and give motion to the teeth of the bevilled toothed wheel ho,
affixed upon one end of the axis h¹. The cloth, as thus held in a distended
state between the rollers f and h, and carried forward, is acted upon by the
rubbing rods i, i, the surfaces i¹ of which are covered with india-rubber or
other suitable material, by which uniformity of finish is obtained. These
rubbing rods are connected together and held in position at their ends by
means of plates, which are formed with necks, by which they are supported,
with capability of moving to and fro in the slotted openings a³ formed for them
in the end framings a, a; and the to-and-fro motion to these rubbing rods is
obtained by the necks having studs which project into suitable openings for
them in the upper ends of lever arms i affixed to the cross shaft, which is
supported at its ends in the main framing, and has affixed to it arms 2, the
outer end of each of which is connected to one end of a rod 7, the other end
of which is formed to embrace an eccentric upon the axis b, and thus to give
a rocking motion to the bars i, i. The feed or distending rollers are by
preference placed higher than the card roller to give the rubbing rods more
pressure in one direction than in the other, by which a more firm and regular

page_text: nap or pile to the cloth will be obtained. j is a small roller covered with
cloth, acting as a stripper to raise the fabric at that part from the surface of
the cylinder h. This roller is supported by its axis in the fixed bearings aº,
and it has motion given to it by means of the strap or band, which passes
over and receives motion from the main axis b, and also over the drum or
pulley affixed on the axis j¹ to give motion thereto.
Having thus described the nature of my said improvements, and the means
which I adopt in carrying the same into effect, I would have it understood that
I do not confine myself to the precise details referred to, as these may be
varied, but what I do claim is the arrangement, adaptation, and combination
of means for raising the nap or pile of cloths substantially as explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Brearley, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
Witness,
THOMAS COATES,
Batley.
ROBT. BREARLEY, JR. (L.B.)