USRE5853E - Improvement in machines for finishing felted fabrics - Google Patents

Description

Ef PLLARD. Machines for Finishing Felt Fabrins.v

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Reissued April 28,1874.

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UNITED STATES ,PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES E. POLLARD, OFNORFOLK, MSSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE ELLIOTT FEL'IING-MILLS.

IMPROVEMENT iN MACHINES FOR FINISHING FELTED FABRICS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 147,167, dated February 3, 1874; reissue No` 5,853, dated v April 23, 1874; application filed March 2l, 1874.

To all' whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, JAMES E. POLLARD, of thetown and county of Norfolk and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Finishing Felt Fabrics; and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the inventien, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to malte and use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, in which- Fignre l is a perspective view, and Fig. 2 a side elevation.

The object of this invention is to finish felt cloth by passing it through highly-heated calonder-rolls, so as to compact and harden the fibers, complete the felting process, give a iinished surface to the felt, and impress upon it iigures, so as to resemble a woven fabric, and, in certain cases, to cause the cloth to resemble a quilted fabric. The invention consists of a frame, upon which are mounted two sets of rolls, the one set made of hollow cylinders of iron or other metal, so as to be highly heated, and the other set so as to feed the fabric to the heated rolls. One of the feed-rolls is madeto vibrate upon the surface of the other, so as to give a jerking motion to the cloth, as hereinafter described.

The followin g description will enable others to make and use my invention:

In the drawing, A A is the frame, on which -is mounted the seveal parts of the machine.

In this frame are two sets of cylinders or rolls. The first set, B C l), are hollow, so as to be heated by a gas or other Haine. 'The middle cylinder C is grooved or engraved with any suitable design, as hereinafter explained. The other set of rolls, E F, are plain. One of them, F, is made to vibrate as it revolves, devices for this purpose being shown, consisting of drum' H, with a cani-groove, h, on its surface, in which works one of the pins c c upon the vibrating lever m. The lever m is fastened to the frame, as shown. The upper' pin c works in the groove s upon the end of feedroller F. The roller F is made to receive motion from wheel R, which is fixed upon the same axis as hollow cylinder D. The drum H is made to revolve'by any suitable power, and with a variable velocity, as required. Both sets of rolls are mounted so as to give some up-and-down play, so as to produce a yielding pressure to the fabric as it goes through, which so as to give any amount of pressure required.

It is necessary that the rolls B, C, and l) should be very heavy and strong, so as to bring great pressure and heat to act upon the felt, which constitutes an important feature of my invention. Y

The operation is as follows: The hollow cylinders B C I) are brought to a high tempera-v ture, say, from 2500 to 2750 Fahrenheit, or about the temperature usually given. to a iiatiron. goose, or calender for "surfacing cloth. The higher the temperature the better, so it is not so high as to injure the fibers of the felt. For heating, I prefer a jet of gas and a blast of air passing through or within the hollow cylinders. The fabric IV, in a moist or damp condition, is passed between the ealenders C and D, around C, and between the calenders B and C, through which it is fed by the feedrollers or spreaders E and F.

To make felt resemble a quilted fabric, the roller F is made to vibrate as the cloth passes between the feed-rolls. This gives a jerking motion to the cloth as it passes between the hot rolls. Those parts of the fabric which are grasped between the raised portions of roll C, and the roll D are so firmly held that a series of puckers, resulting from the wrenching the felt, are formed in those parts of the fabric which are impressed and smoothed by the raised portions of the roll C, the felt thus having imparted to it a puffy or quilted look.. This method of producing an imitation of quilted fabric fromv felt, by giving a vibrating or jerking motion to the fabric as it passes between highly-heated calender-rolls, constitutes the main feature of my invention.

I have described the best apparatus and process for carrying out the several parts of my invention with which I am acquainted 5 but I do not limit myself to the exact devices, as some others may be substituted for certain parts at will, especially in the gearing, the frame, the mode ot heating, and in the devices for giving a vibrating motion to the feed-roll F. By throwing the Vibrating mechanism out of gear, 'the feed-rolls will feed the felt at any required speed to the engraved calender, around which the felt passes. This keeps the felt Jfor a long time in contact with the heated metal; and, as the felt is moist or damp, it is soliditied and highly finished at the places that are clamped between the heated rolls. The other parts ofthe feltthat is, such as are over the,

depressions in the middle roll-remain loose and more or less spongy,and hence seem to have a different color from the depressed and solidified portions, thus producing, by the operation of my machine, imitations of woven cloth.

I am aware that felt cloth has been fed evenly and regularly between steam heated calenders, such as 4are used for calendcring paper. This, however, does not change the character of the felt, but simply Vsmooths or irons it; and, also, that a felt fabric has been passed between rolls, one of which has been en grayed with a shallow pattern. But by my invention, the hi gh pressure and the high temerature of the rolls, the' operation of the deeply-engraved calender, and the vibrating motion of the feed-roll7 a marked and ldistinct character is imparted tothe felt, so as to clearly distinguish felt which has been subjected to the operation of my machine from that to which it has not been applied.

It is obvious that, while a gang of three or more rolls is desirable, because of the extent of surface contact afforded, two rolls only'r are.

essential to the carrying out of my invent-ion. Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat ent of the United States, is

l. The improved machine herein described for finishing felt cloth, consisting` of a frame, A, hollow calender-rolls B and D, grooved roll (L, and feed-rolls E and F.

2. In a machine for .finishing felt cloth, the feed-roll E, combined with the vibrating feedroll F,substa1'1tially as and for the purpose described.

3. 'In combination with two or more hollow rolls, one or more having grooved or deeplyengraved surfaces, the ielted roll E, and vibrating roll F, substantially as set forth.

4. rlhc combination of the hollow cylinders B C l) `with frame A, and crossheads provided with friction-rolls a e and springs tt, as set,

forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

J AMES E. POLLARD.

W'itnesscs ROBERT I'HoMAs, E. F. WILDER:

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