sUsANnf Knox, or new YORK, N. 1v.` y

IMPROVEMENT IN FLuTlNG-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 59,913, dated November 20, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SUSAN It. KNOX, of the city, county, and State of New York, have in 4vented certain new and useful Improvements4 in Machines for Making Fluted Ruffles; and

I do hereby declare the following to be a full and exact description of the nature, con struction, and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which is made a part of this specication, and which represents a perspective view of a fluting-ma chine embodying my invention.

This invention relates to a machine having a pair of corrugated rollers, between which the fabric or material to be fluted is drawn by the rotation of said rollers, the liutin g effect, as well as the simultaneous rotation of the rollers in opposite directions, being caused by the intermeshing of the corrugations of one roller with the corresponding grooves of the other. These rollers are made hollow, in order to heat them by the introduction of heating-irons or otherwise, and thus render the fabric more susceptible to the iluting action of the rollers. A lever is applied to the upper roller to enable it to be temporarily elevated, to admit of the introduction or withdrawal ofthe material i under treatment. The adjustable rollers and lever, mounted in a suitable frame, are common in machines of this. character, and are not directly involved in the present invention.

My invention consists, first, in a novel manner of arranging the standard which supports the lever, so as to avoid obstruction to the free passage of the material to and fromthe rollers secondly, in providing the upper roller with a detachable bearing, to admit of the more ready removal of said rollers when others are to be substituted for the purpose of varying the size or character of the fluting; and, thirdly, in a novel method of applying a spring to cause the upper roller to exert a yielding pressure uponthe material as itpasses between the corrugated surfaces. A

In order that others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains maybe enabled to fully understand and use the same, I will proceed to describe it in detail.

In the accompanying drawing, A represents the base of the frame, on which are mounted the rollers B B and lever G. D is the standard, upon which the lever C is supported and fulcrumed. Hitherto this standard has been located on the baseA'at somepoint (generally equidistant or thereabout) between the ends of the rollers B B', and hence, to a greater or less extent, it constituted abarrier to the passage of the material to or from the machine. Now, by referring to the drawing, it will be seen that the standard D rises from the frame 'A at a point beyond the ends of the rollers B B', extends upward until it clears the joint between the rollers, and thence extends horizontally, terminating at about the midlength of the upper roller. Byforming and arranging the standard in this manner', the way is left clear at either side of the rollers for the introduction or withdrawal of the material. The lever C is pivoted at c to a lug formed at the inner terminus of the horizontal arm ofthe standard D, and the lever carries at itsend the horizontal bar E but the bearing F is attached by means lof the thumb-screw G, which adapts the said bearing F to bedetached and slipped oii' its journal, so as to leave that end of the roller B free, and thus permit the roller v itself to be readily removed from the machine when it is to be replaced by a roller of dii'erent size, or such as may be formed to make the iiuting or ruffling of a different character.` In order that the lower roller may be readily removed, the upper half of its journal b is left exposed, this journal being properly held within its semicircular bearing by the contact of the upper roller with the lower.

H represents a curved arm, projecting from the extremity of the standard D, and terminating at apoint directly above the center of the bar E. Inthe end of this arm works a screw, I, which is employed to regulate the force of a spring, J, the ends of which bear against the bar E at its opposite ends. This spring causes the upper` roller to exert a yielding pressure upon the material while it is passing between the corrugated surfaces of the rollers, and thus material of different thickness or susceptibility of iluting may be acted upon with equally good results by the same pair of rollers.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The standard D, when constructed substantially as herein described, and located at 3. The spring J, arranged as described, and the ends of the rollers, in contradistinction to employed in connection with the' lever C, bar a point between the ends, when said standard E, and bearings F F', for the purpose specified.

is employed in combination with the lever C as and for tlie purpose set forth. 7 SUSAN R' KNOX' 2. The detachable bearing F, in combina- Witnesses;

Jsion with the rollers B B', substantially as andv v C. D'; SMITH,

for the purpose speced. SoLoN '0. KEMoN.