Cloth expanding roll mechanism

Claim 1

APPARATUS OF THE CLASS DESCRIBED, INCLUDING A FRAME, A BOWED SHAFT FIXED ON THE FRAME IN THE PATH OF TRAVEL OF A LIQUID BEARING WEB, A FLEXIBLE EXPANDER SLEEVE MOUNTED AROUND THE BOWED SHAFT HAVING AN INNER DIAMETER GREATER THAN THE OUTER DIAMETER OF SAID SHAFT TO DEFINE AN ANNULAR CLEARANCE THEREBETWEEN AND ROTATABLE WHEN ENGAGED BY THE TRAVELING WEB, SAID SHAFT BEING FORMED WITH A CENTRALLY LOCATED COMPARTMENT AND HAVING RESERVOIR OF SOLID LUBRICANT THEREIN, ORIFICE MEANS FOR TRANSFERRING LUBRICANT FROM SAID RESERVOIR THROUGH THE PERIPHERY OF THE BOWED SHAFT TO PROVIDE IN THE CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE SHAFT AND EXPANDER SLEEVE A THIN LAYER OF LUBRICANT WHICH IS CONSTANTLY DISPLACED IN DIRECTIONS AXIALLY OF THE SHAFT DURING ROTATIVE MOVEMENT OF THE EXPANDER SLEEVE AROUND THE BOWED PERIPHERAL SURFACE OF THE SHAFT DUE TO COMPRESSION OF THE EXPANDER SLEEVE TOWARDS THE SHAFT, A PAIR OF RESILIENT SEALING BOOT MEMBERS SECURED AROUND OPPOSITE OUTER ENDS OF THE EXPANDER SLEEVE AND ROTATABLE THEREWITH, A PAIR OF PLATE ELEMENTS LOCATED AROUND THE SHAFT AND IN ABUTTING RELATION TO OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE EXPANDER SLEEVE TO RESILIENTLY CONFINE LUBRICANT IN THE THIN LAYER BETWEEN THE BOWED SHAFT AND FLEXIBLE EXPANDER SLEEVE, SAID PLATE ELEMENTS BEING SUPPORTED FOR ROTATION WITH RESPECTIVE BOOT MEMBERS AND SAID SEALING BOOT MEMBERS HAVING REDUCED SEALING RING PORTIONS SEALABLY ENGAGING AROUND ADJACENT SURFACES OF THE BOWED SHAFT AND SPACED FROM THE PLATE ELEMENTS TO FORM CHAMBERS IN WHICH SMALL VOLUMES OF LUBRICANT ARE RESILIENTLY CONFINED, AND LUBRICANT PASSAGES CONNECTING THE BOOT CHAMBERS AND THE THIN LAYER OF LUBRICANT BETWEEN THE EXPANDER SLEEVE AND SHAFT.