IMPROVEMENTS INTHE TREATMENT OR FINISHING OF WOVEN FABRICS
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Boyd, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Calico Printer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS INTHE TREATMENT OR FINISHING OF WOVEN FABRICS."
Scaled the 15th December 1852, and dated the 2nd October 1852.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas Boyd at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 2nd
October 1852.
I, THOMAS BOYD, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Calico Printer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OR FINISHING OF WOVEN
FABRICS" to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention relates solely to the treatment of muslin and other
piece goods for the obtainment of what is technically known as the
elastic finish" thereof. To obtain this finish it is necessary that each
individual thread of the fabric should be kept either in continuous or
intermittant motion during the stretching and drying process, the warp
and weft threads being worked angularly over each other to loosen or

page_text: disintegrate the threads, giving each one an individual action. Now
the improvement involved in this new system of finishing relates to the
accomplishment of the finishing action. fully as efficiently as heretofore,
whilst the machinery is exceedingly simple, the stretching or breadth-
ening apparatus being made to act also for the production of the
angular finishing action. According to one modification of the machi-
nery or finishing apparatus two sets of ordinary breadtheners are
placed in two separate oscillating or traversing frames, and are contrived
in such manner that they have a combined rotatory and oscillatory or
vibratory movement, so as to breadthen and "break" or finish the
piece simultaneously. The two frames are vertical, and are supported
in upper and lower centres or pivots, and the breadtheners, geared
together, so as all to work in the same direction, are supported loosely
in end bearings. in these frames. The breadtheners may be of any
ordinary kind, such, for example, as the skeleton cylinders with laths
set to traverse continually outwards for pulling out the two selvages of
the piece, and being set one above the other in a vertical row in each
frame, the fabric is entered upon the first breadthener, and then passed
round the corresponding, one at the same level in the opposite frame.
It is thus passed, back and forwards over each breadthener, and
stretching between the two frames. Then as the fabric is carried
through the series of breadtheners, thus getting stretched in its width,
the two frames carrying the entire set of breadtheners are made to
oscillate in concert on each side of their original straight line which is
at right angles with the line of traverse of the piece. For this purpose
the two frames are connected together, or are so actuated that they
shall move accurately together, always preserving the same relative
angle, each frame being made to move upon its upper and lower pivots.
The effect of this movement is to give to the goods passing through the
apparatus a continuous angular action, so that the warp and weft
threads are angled over each other to the extent of the angular oscilla-
tory traverse of the breadtheners. The peculiarity of this Invention
consists in combining the rotatory breadthening action with the angling
oscillation of the breadtheners. But it is also obvious that the goods,
if not required to be stretched in their width, at the same time may be

page_text: passed over plain cylinders or rollers, which, however, must have the
same combined rotatory and oscillatory motion, as herein-before
described. The oscillatory or vibratory action of the frames and rollers,
or breadtheners, which may be variously arranged, may be either accom-
plished by hand or by a simple mechanical movement from the
apparatus or gearing itself, and this breaking action may be either
continuous or differential, and greater or less, according to the require-
ments of the goods under treatment.