Improvements in Machinery for Working Hair or other Fibrous Material into a Textile Foundation.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Dec., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 13th Aug., 1892-Accepted, 8th Oct., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Working Hair or other Fibrous
Material into a Textile Foundation.
I, GEORGE ANDREW WILLIAMS, of 10, Adair Street, San Francisco, in the
County of San Francisco and State of California, United States of America, Hair
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in machines for working hair or other
fibrous material into a textile foundation and the object of my invention is to
produce a machine which will automatically draw the air through a web of loose
cloth or other material which will knot the hair so that it cannot get loose and
which may be used for securing any fibrous material to any suitable web or body.
This machine in its general arrangement comprises a series of universally-jointed
needle shafts having hooked needles at their lower ends each rotatable about its
own axis mounted in a compound swinging two-part frame; a series of so-called
shuttles or holders for the hair projecting opposite the needles and mounted in a
vertically and laterally movable frame; a laterally-sliding cloth-carrying carriage
projecting between the needles and shuttles and having a bevel-edged cross-beam
presenting the cloth in position to be entered by the hooked needles; lever
mechanism for simultaneously actuating the needles, shuttle frame, and carriage;
feed mechanism for moving the carriage laterally and for feeding the cloth; lever
and cam mechanism for independently swinging the upper and lower parts of the
compound swinging needle bar frame in which the universally-jointed needle bars
are mounted; a cam and lever operated horizontally-sliding rack gearing with
pinions on and rotating the universally-jointed needle shafts in the two-part
swinging frame.
The machine further comprises the combination, with a so-called shuttle frame
carrying perforated shuttle cases, of perforated shuttles or holders adapted to fit
within the cases, and springs to retain the hairs in the shuttles whilst permitting
their withdrawal individually; the combination, with a shuttle frame carrying
shuttles, of parallel longitudinally-movable shafts centrally mounted to slide, turn,
and oscillate in pivoted bearings; pendent arms connecting the forward ends of the
shafts to the shuttle frame guides for the shafts and cam-operated mechanism for
tilting, sliding, and turning the shafts; the double cam pulleys having side and
peripheral grooves, the latter undercut at one side to form virtually a face groove
so that the shaft will receive both an oscillating and rotary motion from this
compound peripheral groove whilst the outer face groove imparts sliding motion to
the shaft through an elbow lever and connections.
The cloth-carrying carriage is fitted to slide transversely and has a bevel-edged
cross-beam over which the cloth passes, spring rollers mounted in the front and
rear portions of the carriage to hold the cloth in tension over the beam through
the intervention of aprons connected to the rollers by a wire and groove, feed rolls
for moving the cloth, and ratchet mechanism for moving the carriage laterally,
cross-bars carried by endless chains and travelling over the cloth beam for laying
back the hair stitched into the cloth; a tension bar brought down by cams on to
the stitches for holding them whilst being drawn tight, and a temple formed of
a pair of endless chains having projecting pins for keeping the cloth spread.
The mechanism for imparting the lateral sliding motion to the cloth-carrying
carriage consists of a cam operated by a pawl and ratchet gear actuated through
system of lever connections from an eccentric on the main shaft.
The feed mechanism for the feed rolls consists of a two-pointed wiper revolving

page_text: with the last mentioned cam and engaging with a toothed rod connected to a pawl
lever whose pawl engages a ratchet on the feed roller, the pawl lever being
actuated in the other direction by a spring capable of regulated tension for varying
the amount of feed.
The upper part of the compound swinging frame in which the needle shafts are
mounted in a line across the machine, is hung on gudgeons from fixed supports and
the lower part hung on gudgeons from the upper part so as to be capable of inde-
pendent or compound swinging motions between lateral guides, the motions being
imparted to them by separate cams and lever mechanism from the main shaft, the
rack and pinion driving gear and the upper members of the needle spindles being
mounted in bearings, in the upper part of the frame and the lower or needle
carrying members of the spindles turn in bearings in a journalled cross bar of the
lower part of the frame and connected to their upper portions by universal joints
permitting of the compound forward and backward swinging and rotary motion
of the spindles, the cam motions by which the swinging frame is operated being so
timed in relation to one another that at one movement they will move the upper
and lower members forward nearly in line and at another movement the lower
members will move the faster so that the needle spindles will be flexed and the
needles will assume a higher position than at the first movement.
The needles may be single needles terminating in hooks at the points or prefer-
ably the main member of the needle is slotted at the lower end and terminates in
a hook the main portion or body of the needle having on the inner side a spring
between which and the body is a slot the lower end of which abuts with the inner
end of the hook so that the needle may be easily thrust through a piece of cloth
or web and the operation will pull back the spring so that the hook may grasp the
hair and pull it through the cloth and it will be again released when the needle
is pulled away from the cloth as hereafter described.
The so-called shuttle frame is supported by the lower ends of the crank arms
depending from the oscillating, rocking, and sliding shafts above referred to which
give rising and falling and backward and lateral to and fro motions to the
shuttle frame, the connection admitting of varying the inclination of the shuttle
cases.
The so-called shuttle cases fastened to the shuttle frame are laterally-perforated
boxes open at each end in which are received the so-called shuttles preferably
made of sheet metal and perforated at the sides.
A U-shaped blade spring extends through each shuttle so that the two members
of the spring press outwards towards the sides of the shuttle, studs on the said
members passing through the coinciding perforations in the sides of the shuttle
and shuttle case.
The hair is doubled to U-shape over the free ends of the springs, so that the
ends of the hairs are clipped between the springs and the sides of the shuttle and
held with constant pressure, the bights of the hair projecting from the ends of the
shuttles in position to be taken by the needles.
A reinforcing spring may be applied between the members of the blade spring.
The operation of the machine is as follows, it being understood that as the
needles and so-called shuttles must necessarily be wider apart than the stitches or
hairs to be put into the fabric, each needle of the row puts in a series of stitches
all the series being in one transverse line, this being due to the transverse motion
of the cloth carriage and that when a row of stitches is thus completed the feed
rollers and spring take-up and letting-off rollers operate to feed the cloth forward
for the insertion of another line of stitches during the return motion of the
carriage.
The machine may be provided with any desired number of needle bars and with
a corresponding number of shuttles, but in operation it is not necessary that all the
needle bars need be provided with needles or all the shuttles with hair, enough
being provided to attach the hair to a desired width of cloth.
Care should be taken in adjusting the cloth to have it the full width of the feed

page_text: carriage, so that the pins of the endless chain temple will hold the cloth so that
it will not draw to the centre.
The shuttles having been filled with hair and placed in position in the shuttle
cases with the doubled ends of the hair in position to be seized by the needles and
the cloth having been stretched over the beam of the carriage, the machine is then
started so as to swing forward the needle frame and the needle bars therein in
such manner that the needle bars will be nearly straight and the needles will be
pushed forward through that portion of the cloth which is over the edge of the
beam and the hooks will thus enter the bights of the hair which protrude from the
shuttles.
The needle frame and needle bars are then caused to swing backward so that
each needle will pull the bight of a strand of hair back through the cloth.
The needle bars are then moved forward again, the lower part moving a little
faster than the upper part thus flexing the needle bars so that the needles will
pass clear above the cloth.
During the latter forward movement of the needles, the shuttle frame and the .
shuttles thereon are moved upwards and backwards then to one side and then
downwards and then back to their first position, thus bringing the strands of hair
which have been already looped, across the hooks of the needles.
The needle bars are then moved back, thus pulling the strands through the
loops already formed and the needles are rotated half a revolution on their own
axes and drawn away from the carriage so that the hooks will free themselves
from the hair and at about the time that the needles are twisted as described the
presser bar will be brought down on the hair and give to it sufficient tension to
draw the stitches tight.
As soon as the loop is formed a rod will be carried up over the cloth on the
beam and down the back side of the carriage, thus carrying the air to the rear
portion of the cloth and as these cross-rods travel at regular intervals they will
serve to keep the hair on the back of the cloth.
During the operations above described each needle will have tied or stitched a
strand of hair into the cloth and the carriage carrying the feed rolls and cloth
will have been moved a distance of one stitch to the right, bringing a new portion
of the cloth into position to have the hair stitched to it and the entire movement
of the carriage will correspond to the distance between the needles, so that when
it has been moved to its full length to the right or to the left a complete row of
hair strands will have been stitched to it and the feed rolls will be then actuated
in the manner already described so as to bring the cloth into position to receive
another row of hair strands.
I have described the machine as adapted to fastening hair to cloth, but it is
obvious that any fibrous material may be substituted for the hair and that it may
be secured to any convenient fabric.
Dated this 22nd day of December 1901
G. A. WILLIAMS,
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Working Hair or other Fibrous
Material into a Textile Foundation.
I, GEORGE ANDREW WILLIAMS, of 10, Adair Street, San Francisco, in the
O County of San Francisco, and State of California, United States of America,
Hair Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement :-
'
My invention relates to machines for working hair or other fibrous material into

page_text: a textile foundation and the object of my invention is to produce a machine which
will automatically draw the hair through a web of loose cloth or other material
which will knot the hair so that it cannot get loose and which may be used for
securing any fibrous material to any suitable web or body.
To this end my invention consists in a hair working machine constructed substan-
tially as hereinafter described and claimed.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this
Specification, in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in
all the views.
Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine embodying my invention.
Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same.
Figure 3 is a vertical cross-section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a sectional front elevation on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.
Figure 5 is a broken enlarged detail view of one of the spring rollers used for
winding the web or apron.
Figure 6 is a broken enlarged detail view of the mechanism for regulating the
feed and the length of the stitches.
Figure 7 is an enlarged detail sectional view on line 7-7 of Figure 2, shewing
the arrangement of the feed mechanism and of the rollers which carry the web or
apron.
Figure 8 is an enlarged detail view, showing the relative position of the web or
apron, the cross bar which supports the cloth, the hair shuttle and the needle and
needle bar, the needle being shown as it passes above the cloth and grasps the hair.
Figure 9 is an enlarged detail sectional view showing the relative position of the
cloth holding cross bar and shuttle which carries the hair and needle and needle
bar, the needle being turned away from the web and travelling in the direction to
release itself from the hair.
Figure 10 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the hair shuttle showing the
hair secured therein.
Figure 11 is a detail view of a modified form of shuttle having an auxiliary
spring to increase the pressure of the ordinary spring and
Figure 12 is an enlarged detail view, partly in section, of the preferred form of
needle.
The machine frame comprises a flat base 10 which is supported upon legs 11
and a forwardly-extending U-shaped frame 12 which is secured to the legs and
the plane of which is lower than the plane of the base 10 and mounted on opposite
ends of the base 10 near the centre are brackets 13 which carry a horizontal shaft 14
and the shaft is provided with a pulley 15 which connects by a belt 16 with a
driving shaft 17 below the base, although it may be driven by any suitable power,
and the shaft 14 is provided with cam wheels and gears which will be bereinafter
described and which operate the various parts of the machine. On opposite ends
of the base 10 near the front edge are brackets 18 which extend upward and
forward and which at their upper ends are provided with inwardly-extending
studs 19 which are pivoted on the brackets and are secured by nuts on the outer
threaded ends of the studs. The studs 19 support the vertically aligning cross
bars 20 and 21 the bar 20 being arranged above the studs and the bar 21 below
and both. bars being securely clamped to the studs by means of suitable bolts.
The lower cross bar 21 is thickened at the ends and provided with depending
arms 22 which arms at their lower ends are united by another cross bar 23 which
serves as a bearing and support for the needle bars 24, the upper ends 24" of which
extend vertically through said cross bar and through the bars 20 and 21, the
needle bars being each provided with a gear wheel 25 which meshes with a rack 26
in the rear of the cross-bars and the rack is held to slide in a suitable casing 27.
It will thus be seen that when the rack is moved horizontally, the gear wheels will
be turned and the needle bars will turn in their bearings. The rack 26 has a
block 28 secured to the back side thereof, and this block.connects with a clip 29
and the clip is grasped by the forked end of an arm 30, the arm extending rear-

page_text: ward and being secured to a vertical shaft 31 which is mounted in bearings in the
cross bar 32 which cross bar extends horizontally above the base 10 and is secured
at the ends to the brackets 18. The lower end of the shaft 31 has an arm 33
secured thereto which arm extends rearwardly above the shaft 14 and is provided
at its end with a depending truck indicated by dotted lines in Figure 1 and the
truck runs in a cam groove 34 in the cam 35, the groove being arranged so that
when the shaft is turned the arm 33 will be moved to the right and left and this
movement will rock the shaft 31, move the arm 30, and cause the rack 26 to be
moved horizontally and to turn the needle bars. A U-shaped frame 36 is clamped
upon the ends of the cross-bar 23 and the frame extends rearward and is secured
to a rod 37 which rod passes back over the shaft 14 and is pivoted to the upper
end of a bell crank 38 and the bell crank is pivoted at its elbow in a bracket 39
on the back part of the base 10 and the lower arm of the bell crank extends
forward and terminates in a truck 40 which enters a groove 40" in the side of the
cam 41, the cam being fixed to the shaft 14 and the groove on the cam is such
that when the cam is revolved it will tilt the bell crank and cause the rod 37, the
frame 36, the cross-bar 23, and the needle bars mounted therein, to be moved back-
ward and forward, the cam being timed to operate in unison with other cams and
this operation will be fully set forth in describing the general operation of the
machine. The lower ends 24 of the needle bars are provided at their upper ends
with forks 42, and the lower ends of the upper portions 24" of the needle bars are
provided with similar forks, the forks being united by a universal joint 43 and the
needle bars being held downward by springs 44 which encircle the upper members
of the needle bars between the upper forks 42 and cross-bar 23.
It will thus be
seen that the upper and lower portions of the needle bars may be brought into
different positions and that the universal joint enables the bars to be twisted into
any necessary shape.
It is necessary at certain times in the operation of the machine, to move the
lower members of the needle bars independently of the upper members and the
following mechanism is employed for that purpose. The needle bars at their lower
ends are mounted in a cross-bar 45 which bar is suspended from the thickened ends
of the cross-bar 21 by the depending arms 46 and the lower ends of these arms are
clasped by a U-shaped frame 47 which extends rearward from the needle-bars, as
best shown in Figure 1, and which is secured to a rod 48 and this rod passes rear-
ward over the shaft 14 through a suitable keeper 49 and is pivoted at its rear end
to a bell crank 50 which is pivoted at its elbow in a bracket 51 on the rear portion
of the base 10. The lower arm of the elbow lever 50 extends forward and terminates
in a truck 50 which runs in a cam groove 52 in the side of a cam pulley 53 which
cam is secured to the shaft 14 and the cam groove in the pulley 53 and the cam
groove in the pulley 41 are timed in relation to each other so that at one move-
ment they will move the upper and lower members of the needle bars forward in
nearly a vertical line and at another movement the lower members will move the
faster so that the needle bars will be bent and the needle in the lower end of the
bars will assume a higher position than at the first movement. This operation
will be clearly described in describing the general operation of the machine. The
needle bars are provided at their lower ends with hook shaped needles 24° which
are secured by set screws and as shown in the main views the needles are single
needles which terminate in hooks at the points, but the preferred form is shown in
Figure 12 in which the main member of the needle is slotted at its lower end as
shown at 24 and terminates in a hook 24° the main portion or body of the needle
having on the inner side a spring 24' between which and the body is a slot, the
lower end of which abuts with the inner end of the hook 24. It will thus be
seen that the needle may easily be thrust through a piece of cloth or web and the
operation will pull back the spring so that the hook 24° may grasp the hair and
pull it through the cloth and it will be again released when the needle is pulled
away from the cloth in the manner hereinafter described. It will be noticed that
the cross-bars 20, 21, 23, and 45, and the connecting arms constitute a swinging

page_text: frame for the needle bars and this frame is guided by arms 54 which arms are
secured to the inner sides of the brackets 18 and extend forward so as to press
against the outer sides of the arms 46. Each of the brackets 18 is provided on
the outer side near the upper end with depending slotted guides 18" and in the rear
of these guides with vertical supports 18 which carry shafts 55, the shafts being
arranged at each end of the machine and the shafts extend forward through the
guides 18 which prevent their displacement. The shafts 55 are mounted in pivoted
boxes 56 held in the supports 18 and the shafts extend through sleeves 57 which
are secured in the boxes and it will thus be seen that the shafts may be tilted
vertically in the pivoted boxes and that they may be moved longitudinally, being
held to slide in the sleeves 57. The forward ends of the shafts are provided with
depending crank arms 58 which support the shuttle frame 59 and the shuttle frame
comprises the back plate 60, the front plate 61, and the two end plates 62 which
unite the front and back plates, and the front and back plates are placed at an angle
to each other the point of the angle being on the under side. The end plates or
clips 62 which fasten together the front and back plates of the shuttle frame are
slotted at the ends, as best shown in Figure 2 and the back plate is fastened to the
end plates by suitable set screws, the upper set screws extending through the slot,
and it will be seen that the front and back plates may be placed in any desired
position in relation to each other and held there by the set screws.
On the under
side of the shuttle frame are the perforated shuttle cases 63 which are preferably
rectangular in shape and which are open at each end. These cases carry the
shuttles 64 which are preferably made of sheet metal and which are perforated on
the sides, the perforations being made to correspond with the perforations of the
shuttle case.
The shuttle springs 65 are made to extend longitudinally through
the shuttle, and comprise two spring members 66 which are long enough to extend
through the shuttle and which are provided with laterally-extending pins 67 which
project outward through the perforations of the shuttle and shuttle case and the
members are united at one end by a ring 68 which serves to give them the necessary
spring. The hair 69 is doubled over and pushed through the shuttle so that it will
come between the outer ends of the shuttle springs and the shuttle case, and it will
be held in position by the tension of the springs and as the hair is withdrawn the
pins on the springs will project through the perforations in the shuttle and shuttle
case, so that the springs are allowed to press continuously upon the hair and main-
tain an even tension.
In Figure 11 I have shown a modified form of the shuttle, the shuttle 64 being
slotted on the under side and the shuttle is provided with a spring 63 which is
coiled at the centre and is held in a keeper 63 the free ends of the spring extending
upward through the slots in the shuttle between the members of the shuttle spring
so that this auxiliary spring will give an increased tension to the shuttle spring by
forcing the members of the latter apart and this modified form will be found very
convenient in certain kinds of work where it is found necessary to maintain a
strong tension on the hair. The shuttle frame and shuttles are given the necessary
vertical and side movements by means of the shafts 55 and the mechanism connected
therewith.
The mechanism for operating the shafts and shuttle frame is as follows:-Near
each end of the main shaft 14 is a double cam pulley 70 which has an irregular
groove 71 in its face with a branch groove 72 opening from one side of it and
which has a side groove 73 in the outer side. The face grooves in the cam pulleys 70
are intended to give the necessary side movement to the shafts and shuttle frame
and the side grooves 72 and 73 are adapted to give the necessary vertical and
longitudinal movement to the shafts and frame. Each shaft 55 is provided at a
point above the pulley 70 with a depending rod 74 which is secured thereto by a
clamp 75 and which extends downwards through the groove 71 and terminates in
a truck 76 which enters the groove 72. It will thus be seen that by means of this
rod and connections, each shaft is given a vertical movement by the side groove
and a sidewise movement by the face groove of the pulley. Each shaft 55

page_text: 1s provided at its rear end with a cam 77 to which is pivoted a forked arm 78
and the rear end of the arm is pivoted to an elbow lever 79 which is pivoted
at its elbow in a bracket 80 on the back side of the base 10. The lower
arm of the elbow lever 79 extends forward and terminates in a truck 81 which
enters the outside groove 73 of the cam pulley 70 and it will thus be seen
that when the pulley is revolved, the arm will be tilted and will give a longi-
tudinal movement to the shaft 55 which will impart a forward movement to
the shuttle frame. It will be noticed that the pivoted connection between the
elbow lever and the shaft permits the shaft to be tilted vertically, that the face
groove of the pulley 70 operating on the rod 74 and the shaft gives the sidewise
movement to the shaft, that the side groove 72 gives the necessary vertical move-
ment to it which movement is permitted on account of the loose connection of the
elbow lever as described and by means of these three movements the shafts 55 and
the shuttle frame connected with the shafts are brought into any desired position,
and the object of these different positions will appear when the operation of the
machine is explained. Beneath the needle bar frame is a carriage which carries
the aprons and the cloth to which the hair is secured, the carriage consisting chiefly
of the triangular side plates 82 which are arranged with their bases downward
and which are held to slide on the rods 83 the said rods extending horizontally
through the front and rear portions of the plates and having their ends firmly
secured to the frame 12. A shaft 84 extends horizontally through the upper
portion of the carriage plates 82 and one end of the shaft is mounted in a
bracket 85 and said end is provided outside the bracket with a bevelled gear
wheel 86 which is keyed to the shaft in such a manner that when it turns the shaft
will also turn but so that the shaft may slide longitudinally through it.
The gear
wheel 86 meshes with a similar gear wheel 87 which is secured to the end of a
shaft 88 said shaft being supported at the end adjacent to the gear wheel in a
branch 85" of the bracket 85 and the opposite end of the shaft extends rearward to
a point adjacent to the driving shaft 14 and is mounted in a suitable supporting
bracket 89 and is provided with a bevelled gear wheel 90 at the end which gear
wheel meshes with a similar gear wheel 91 on the end of the shaft 14 so that when
the shaft 14 is turned the shaft 84 will be also turned. The shaft 84 is provided
near each end at a point just outside the carriage plates 82 with a sprocket wheel 92
over which extend chains 93 and the chains pass around guide pulleys 94 which
are pivoted on studs on the lower portions of the carriage plates, the studs and
pulleys being located at the front and rear parts thereof. The chains 93 are
connected by rods 95 there being three of these rods which are regularly spaced
and as the chains revolve the rods will be carried with them and will serve to brush
the hair away from the needles when the machine is being operated. The sprocket
wheels 92 also serve as cam wheels, as they have a cam groove 96 in their inner
sides and these grooves receive studs which extend laterally from the plates 97
which plates are held against the outer side of the carriage plates and are connected
by a cross-rod 98. It will thus be seen that as the sprocket wheels revolve, the
plates and their connecting rod will be alternately raised and lowered so as to cause
the cross rod to press upon the hair which is being operated on and give to it the
necessary tension and the plates and rod are normally pressed downward and their
downward movement facilitated by springs 99 which are secured to the under sides
of the carriage plates 82 and the free ends of which enter the lower slotted end 97ª
of the plates 97.
Extending across from plate to plate in the lower portion of the front and
rear of the carriage are the spring rollers 100 which are mounted at one end in
one of the plates 82 and at opposite ends in slotted brackets 101 which are
secured to the plates and the spring rollers carry aprons 102 and the cloth or
web to which the hair is secured, the rollers serving to keep the cloth taut and
to wind it up as fast as it is fed forward. Each roller is provided with a hollow
case 103 which is suitably covered, a shaft 104 which extends longitudinally
through the case having one end, squared so as to rest in the socket of the

page_text: bracket 101 and a spring 105 coiled around the shaft and having one end secured
to the shaft and the other to the case in a common and well-known manner. The
shaft 104 has a ratchet-wheel 106 at one end which is provided with one or two
teeth, two in the drawings, and which is engaged by a pawl 107 secured to one
end of the case 103 and when the pawl drops into one of the notches of the
ratchet wheel it prevents the roller from turning. The roller is provided on its
face with a groove extending longitudinally across it, as indicated by dotted lines
in Figure 5 and a wire 108 fits closely in the groove, the wire being shewn
partially withdrawn in Figure 5 and the apron 102 is secured to the roller by
placing it in the groove and then forcing the wire into the groove upon the apron.
Mounted in the plates 82 above the front roller 100 are the rear feed rolls 109
and 110 which are arranged diagonally, so that the opening between them will
align with the roller 100 and the shafts 111 of the rolls extend through the plates
and are provided with gear wheels 112 which mesh together so that the rolls will
be turned in unison. The rolls are intended to feed the cloth 113 which is to be
operated upon and which is to have the hair fastened to it, and the cloth is secured
at one end to the front, apron 102 which is rolled upon the front spring roller and
the rear end of the cloth is secured to the rear apron which is wound upon the rear
roller and the rolls are arranged so that they will normally wind the cloth_from
the front to rear but they are only operated after the feed rollers 109 and 110
have been operated, as ordinarily the friction of the feed rolls hold the cloth so
that it cannot be wound by the rollers. The rear apron extends beneath the
tension rod 114 which extends across the back part of the carriage and is mounted
in the plates 82 and the cloth 113 extends over a cross-bar 115 which cross-bar is
fixed to the upper end of the carriage plates 82 and is inclined on its upper sides
so that it forms an edge at the top and the inclined sides enable the needles to
easily pass through the cloth which is stretched upon it. The cross-bar 115 is
provided at each end with a depending slotted plate 116 which is secured to the
plates 82 by set screws 117 and by means of the slotted plate and set screws, the
height of the cross-bar may be regulated. On the inner side of each plate 82 near
the top, are projecting studs 118 which align horizontally and which are arranged
just within the path of the cloth 113 and these studs carry grooved pulleys 119
over which passes an endless chain 120 the chain also passing over the end of the
cross-bar 115 and the cross-bar is recessed at each end so as to accommodate the
chains. These chains 120 are provided on their outer sides with projecting pins 121
and the pins pierce the cloth 113 and keep it stretched from side to side of the
carriage so that when the needles operate upon it, it will not be puckered in the
centre. The shaft 111 of the lower feed roller 109 extends through one of
the plates 82 and is mounted in a bracket 122 which is secured to the frame 12
and the outer end of the shaft is provided with a key-way 111" to receive a bolt
in the hub of the ratchet wheel 123 which is mounted upon the shaft so that the
ratchet wheel will turn with the shaft and the shaft may slide longitudinally when
the carriage is moved. The ratchet wheel 123 and the mechanism connected there-
with is intended to turn the feed rolls 109 and 110 so as to move the cloth after
the hair has been stitched to it and bring a new portion of the cloth into the line
of the needles. The ratchet wheel 123 is operated by a spring pressed pawl 124
which pawl is pivoted on a pawl post 125 that extends upward from the shaft 111
and the pawl post is pulled rearward so as to operate the ratchet wheel by means of
a bar 126 which is held to slide in a keeper 126" on the main frame and is
provided with a shoulder 127 or the underside by means of which it is operated as
hereinafter described. A post 128 is secured to the bracket 122 and extends
upward adjacent to and a little in front of the pawl post 125, and secured
diagonally to the upper portion of this post is a rod 129 which has a slot 130
centrally therein through which extend set screws 131 into the post 128 by means
of which set screws the rod and post are secured together. The front end of the
rod 129 is connected with the upper end of the pawl post 125 by a spring 131° and
this spring serves to pull forward the pawl post 125 and pawl 124 after they have

page_text: been pulled rearward by the rod 126 and it will be seen that by regulating the
position of the rod 129 in relation to the post 128 the length of the feed will be
regulated as when the rod is set well ahead the tension of the spring will be strong
and the pawl post and pawl will be pulled well forward so that when the rod 126
is pulled to the rear, the ratchet wheel and the feed rolls connected therewith will
be turned a correspondingly long distance, but when the rod 129 is adjusted so as
to weaken the strength of the spring the pawl will not be pulled so far forward and
the length of the feed will be correspondingly shortened. The feed mechanism is
intended to operate only when the carriage comprising the plates 82 and the rolls
therein has been moved to the extent of its movement and the following mechanism
is employed for accomplishing this result and also for feeding the carriage to the
right and left, so that the strands of hair will be secured to the cloth at the proper
points.
A shaft 132 carrying a ratchet wheel 134 is mounted in a bracket 133 in the
rear of the bracket 122 and shaft 111 and pivoted on the shaft so as to extend
upwardly therefrom is a pawl post 135 which carries a spring pressed pawl 136
which meshes with the ratchet wheel and extending rearward from the pawl post is
a connecting rod 137 which is pivoted at its rear end to the lower end of a vertical
walking beam 138 which walking beam is centrally pivoted on a bracket 139
which is secured to the base 10 and the upper end of the walking beam is pivoted
to a pitman 140 which extends rearwardly above the base 10 and its rear end is
formed into an eccentric strap 141 which embraces an eccentric 142 which
eccentric is fixed to one end of the main shaft 14 which operates all the machine
mechanism and it will thus be seen that as the shaft is revolved the eccentric by
means of the connection just described will turn the ratchet wheel 134 backward
tooth by tooth and to provide for having the ratchet wheel turn faster or slower,
the pawl post 135 which is secured to the connecting rod 137 is provided with a
series of perforations, as best shown in Figure 6, so that the connecting rod may
be secured to the pawl post near the top or near the bottom as the wheel is to
be turned slow or fast. The shaft 132 which is carried by the ratchet wheel is
provided on its inner end with a cam pulley 143 which has an elliptical groove 144
extending around it, the groove being arranged so that a stud 145 on an arm 146
which enters the groove will be moved from left to right and back again from
right to left at one revolution of the cam pulley, and the arm 146 is secured at
its inner end to one of the carriage plates 82 so that when the shaft 132 is
revolved the carriage will be moved first to the right and then to the left.
diamond shaped cam 147 is secured to the inner end of the shaft 132 and the
shoulder 127 on the rod 126 is directly in the path of this cam and is operated
when the points of the cam come in contact with the shoulder 127 so that the
rod 126 will be operated at each half revolution of the shaft 132 and at the same
time that the carriage has finished its movement in one direction and starts back
in the opposite direction. It will be seen then that the ratchet wheel 134 and the
mechanism connected therewith, regulates the number of stitches which will be
taken during the movement of the carriage in one direction which number may be
changed by changing the connection to the pawl post as described, and it will
be noticed that when the carriage has completed its movement in one direction, it
will trip the rod 126 and will operate the ratchet wheel 123 and the mechanisin
connected therewith so as to turn the feed rolls and bring the cloth to which the
hair is secured into a position to receive another line of hair.
A
The machine may be provided with any desired number of needle bars and with
corresponding number of shuttles, but in operation it is not necessary that all
the needle bars need be provided with needles or all the shuttles with hair enough
being provided to attach the hair to a desired width of cloth.
The operation of the machine is as follows:- -The cloth 113 to which the hair is
o be secured is attached to the aprons 102. The shuttle frame 59 is removed by
lipping the arms 58 from the shafts 55 so as to expose the carriage and the rear
pron is attached to the rear spring roller and the aprons and cloth rolled upon
1

page_text: the roller. The rear spring roller is wound up to its utmost capacity by bringing
forward the cloth a little and then allowing it to rewind in a common and well
known manner and the roller is held so that it cannot unwind, the front spring
roller is placed in position and the front apron and cloth are brought under the
tension rod 114 over the cross bar 115 down between the rollers 109 and 110 the
outer roller 110 being first removed and then re-inserted in its place in order that
this may be easily done and the front apron is then secured to the front spring
roller in the manner described and it will thus be seen that the rollers and the feed
rolls will keep the cloth perfectly taut and that when the cloth is fed backward by
the feed rolls the spring in the rear roller will immediately wind up the slack.
Care should be taken in adjusting the cloth to have it the full width of the feed
carriage so that the pins on the endless chains 120 will penetrate the cloth and
hold it so that it will not draw to the centre. The shuttle frame is then replaced
and the shuttles, which have first been filled with hair, are placed in position in
the shuttle cases with the doubled ends of the hair pointing inward. The machine
is then started and the grooves in the cams 41 and 53 are adjusted in relation to
each other so that the elbow levers 38 and 50 will be tilted at about the same time
and this movement swings forward the needle frame and the needle bars therein,
the cross bars 23 and 45 advancing at about the same rate so that the needle bars
will be nearly straight and the needles will be pushed forward through that
portion of the cloth 113 which is over the top edge of the cross bar 115 and the
hooks will thus enter the doubled, ends of the hair which protrude from the inner
ends of the shuttles. The continued movement of the shaft 14 and the cam
wheels 41 and 53 acting on the elbow levers 38 and 50 then causes the needle
frame and needle bars to swing backward and each needle will pull the doubled
end of a strand of hair back through the cloth and a little away from the cloth,
the needles at this movement assuming the position indicated by dotted lines in
Figure 3. During this movement, the plates 97 carrying the cross rod 98 will
have been raised, as shown in Figure 8, and will start the same down and the
continued movement of the cam wheels will start the needle bars forward again,
the lower cross bar 45 moving a little faster than the upper cross bar 23, thus
bending the needle bars so that the needles will pass above the cross bar 115 and
above the cloth thereon carrying the joint with them, as shown in Figure 8.
During the latter forward movement of the needles, the double cam wheels 70 at
the ends of the shaft 14 acting on the elbow lever 79 the vertical rod 74 and the
shaft 55 will carry the shuttle frame and the shuttles thereon upward and back-
ward, then to one side and then downward to the position indicated in dotted lines
in Figure 8 and then back to their first position, thus bringing the strands of hair
which have been already looped across the hooks of the needles. The continued
movement of the cam wheels starts back the needle bars, thus pulling the strands
through the loops already formed and the cam pulley 35 acting on the arms 33
and 30 the rock shaft 31 and the rack 26 will turn the needles half round into the
position shown in Figure 9 and the other cams and the connected levers will draw
the needles and needle bars away from the carriage as indicated in the same figure
so that the hooks will free themselves from the hair and at about the time the
needles are twisted as described the cam grooves in the sprocket wheels 92 will
have brought down the plates 97 and the cross rod 98 so that the rod will impinge
on the hair and give to it sufficient tension to draw the knot tight. As soon as
the loop is formed a rod 95 will be carried up over the cross bar 115 and down the
back side of the carriage, thus carrying the hair to the rear portion of the cloth
and as these cross-rods travel at regular intervals they will serve to keep the hair.
on the back of the cloth. During the operations above described, each needle
will have tied or stitched a strand of hair into the cloth and the operations comprise
one revolution of the main shaft 14 so that the said movement will have turned the
eccentric 142 which by its connected system of levers will have actuated the
ratchet wheel 134 and cam wheel 143 thus moving the carriage carrying the feed
rolls and cloth a distance of one stitch to the right and bringing a new portion of

page_text: the cloth into position to have the hair stitched to it and the entire movement of
the carriage will correspond to the distance between the needles so that when it has
been moved to its full length to the right or the left, a complete row of hair strands
will have been stitched to it and the feed rolls will be then actuated in the manner
already described so as to bring the cloth into position to receive another row of
hair strands.
I have shown and described the machine as adapted to fastening hair to cloth
but it is obvious that any fibrous material may be substituted for the hair and that
it may be secured to any convenient fabric.
I have not shown in detail the various convolutions of the cams but I have
described the necessary movements of the different parts of the machine and the
mechanism connecting these parts with the cams and it is obvious that the cam
grooves may be easily arranged to produce these movements.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. A hair working machine comprising a series of swinging needle bars carrying
needles at their lower ends, a series of shuttles arranged opposite the needles and a
cloth-carrying carriage projecting between the needles and the shuttles, substantially
as described.
2. A hair working machine comprising a series of swinging needle bars having
hooked needles at their lower ends, a series of movable shuttles arranged opposite
the needles, a cloth-carrying carriage projecting between the needles and shuttles
and a lever mechanism for simultaneously actuating the needles, shuttles and
carriage, substantially as described.
3. A hair working machine comprising a series of jointed swinging needle bars
having needles at their lower ends, a series of shuttles arranged opposite the
needles, a cloth-carrying carriage projecting between the needles and shuttles and
a lever mechanism for simultaneously actuating the needles, shuttles and carriage
substantially as described.
4. A hair working machine comprising a series of swinging jointed needle bars
having needles at their lower ends, a series of shuttles carried in a vertically and
laterally movable frame arranged opposite the needles, a cloth-carrying carriage
projecting between the needles and shuttle frame and means for simultaneously
actuating the needles, shuttle frame and carriage, substantially as described.
5. A hair working machine comprising a series of swinging jointed needle bars
held to oscillate in a frame, a series of shuttles carried in a vertically and laterally
movable frame arranged opposite the needles, a cloth-carrying carriage projecting
between the needles and shuttle and means for simultaneously actuating the needles,
shuttle frame and carriage, substantially as described.
6. A. hair working machine comprising a series of swinging jointed needle bars
carrying needles at their lower ends, a series of vertically and laterally-movable
shuttles arranged opposite the needles, a cloth-carrying carriage projecting
between the needles and shuttles and mechanism for moving the cloth in line with
the needles and shuttles and for moving the carriage laterally, substantially as
described.
7. A hair working machine comprising a series of swinging jointed needle bars
having needles at their lower ends, a series of shuttles mounted in a vertically and
laterally movable frame arranged opposite the needles, a cloth-carrying carriage
projecting between the needles and shuttles and a feed mechanism for the cloth and
carriage, substantially as described.
8. A hair working machine comprising a swinging two-part frame having a series
of jointed needle bars journaled therein, the needle bars having needles at their
lower ends, a vertically and laterally movable shuttle frame arranged opposite the
needle frame and carrying shuttles projecting opposite the needles, a cloth-carrying

page_text: carriage projecting between the needles and shuttles and a lever mechanism for
simultaneously operating the needles, shuttle frame and carriage, substantially as
described.
9. A hair working machine comprising a series of swinging jointed needle bars
carrying needles at their lower ends, a series of vertically and laterally movable
shuttles arranged opposite the needles, a cloth-carrying carriage extending between
the needles and shuttle and a vertically movable cross-rod mounted in the
carriage and held to move between the shuttles and needles, substantially as
described.
10. In a hair working machine, a swinging two-part needle frame carrying
jointed needle bars adapted to receive needles at their lower ends and independent
lever mechanism for operating the upper and lower portions of the frame, substan-
tially as described.
11. In a hair working machine, the combination, with a two-part swinging
needle frame, of jointed needle bars mounted therein and adapted to receive
needles at their lower ends and cam-operated means for swinging the upper and
lower portions of the frame, substantially as described.
12. In a hair working machine, the combination, with a swinging two-part needle
frame, of jointed needle bars mounted vertically in the frame and adapted to receive
needles at their lower ends, a lever mechanism for independently operating the
upper and lower portions of the frame and a rack and gear mechanism for oscillating
the needle bars, substantially as described.
13. In a hair working machine, the combination, with a swinging two-part needle
frame having cam-operated levers for operating the upper and lower portions
thereof, of jointed needle bars extending vertically through the frame and adapted
to carry needles at their lower ends, gears fixed to the upper ends of the needle
bars, a rack held to the needle frame so as to mesh with the gears and a cam-
operated lever mechanism for operating the rack and turning the needle bars,
substantially as described.
14. In a hair working machine, the combination, with a shuttle frame carrying
perforated shuttle cases, of perforated shuttles adapted to fit within the cases and
shuttle springs adapted to extend through the shuttles and provided with laterally-
extending pins to project through the perforations of the shuttles and cases,
substantially as described.
15. In a hair working machine, the combination, with perforated shuttle cases,
of perforated shuttles adapted to fit within the cases and shuttle springs com-
prising two members adapted to enter the shuttles, said members having on their
outer sides laterally-extending pins to project through the perforations in the
shuttles and shuttle cases, substantially as shown and described.
16. In a hair working machine, the combination, with a shuttle frame carrying
shuttles as described, of parallel longitudinally-movable shafts centrally mounted
in pivoted bearings, arms secured to the forward ends of the shafts and to the
shuttle frame and cam-operated mechanism for tilting, sliding and turning the shafts,
substantially as described.
17. In a hair working machine, the combination, with a shuttle frame carrying
shuttles as described, of parallel shafts centrally mounted in pivoted bearings and
held to slide therein, arms connecting the forward ends of the shafts with the
shuttle frame, revoluble cam pulley haying irregular grooved faces and having
double side grooves and connections between the shafts and the cam pulleys,
substantially as described.
18. In a hair working machine, the combination, with parallel shafts which
carry the shuttle frame, said shafts being centrally mounted in pivoted bearings in
which they slide and turn, of double cam pulleys having irregularly slotted faces
and having cam grooves in the sides, vertical rods clamped to the shafts and
extending through the grooves in the pulley faces said shafts carrying side trucks
which run in side grooves of the pulleys and elbow levers pivoted in the rear of

page_text: the pulleys, said levers having their lower arms connected with the side grooves of
the pulleys and their upper arms pivotally-connected with the rear ends of the
parallel shafts, substantially as described.
19. In a hair working machine, the combination, with a movable shuttle frame
carrying shuttles as described, of parallel shafts connected by depending arms
with the shuttle frame, said shafts being centrally mounted in pivoted bearings in
which they slide and turn, cam-operated mechanism for operating the shafts and
guides for the shafts, substantially as described.
20. In a hair working machine, a cloth-carrying carriage comprising opposite
plates held to slide and connected at their upper ends by an inclined cross-bar and
spring rollers mounted in the front and rear portions of the carriage and adapted
to hold the cloth, substantially as shown and described,
21. In a hair working machine, a cloth-carrying carriage comprising opposite
side plates held to slide as described, an inclined cross bar connecting the upper
extremities of the plates, spring rollers mounted in the front and rear portions of
the carriage to support the cloth and revoluble feed rolls mounted between the
plates above one of the spring rollers, substantially as described.
22. In a hair working machine, a cloth-carrying carriage comprising opposite
side plates held to slide as described and connected at their upper extremities by
an inclined cross-bar, spring rollers mounted in the front and rear portions of the
carriage and adapted to support the cloth, a tension rod connecting the said plates
on the back side of the carriage, feed rolls mounted in the carriage above one of
the spring rollers and a ratchet mechanism for moving the carriage and the feed
rolls, substantially as described.
23. In a hair working machine, the combination, with a cloth-carrying carriage
mounted beneath the needle and shuttle mechanism as described, of sprocket wheels
mounted on opposite ends of the carriage, chains extending over the sprocket
wheels and over guide pulleys arranged beneath the sprocket wheels, cross rods
connecting the chains and gear mechanism for turning the sprocket wheels, substan-
tially as described.
24. In a hair working machine, the combination, with a cloth-carrying carriage
and sprocket wheels mounted thereon and provided with cam grooves, of vertically
movable plates held to slide on the carriage plates and provided with studs to enter
the cam grooves of the sprocket wheel and a cross-rod connecting the plates above
the carriage top, substantially as shown and described.
25. In a hair working machine, the combination, with a cloth-carrying carriage,
of endless chains mounted on guide pulleys at each end of the carriage so as to be
flush with the edges of the side plates, said chains having on their outer sides,
projecting pins, substantially as described.
26. In a hair working machine, the combination, with a cloth-carrying carriage,
of spring rollers having longitudinal grooves therein and a rod or wire to fit the
grooves, substantially as described.
27. In a hair working machine, the combination, with a cloth-carrying carriage
having an inclined cross bar at the top and spring rollers at the front and rear, of
aprons secured to the spring rollers and adapted to support a cloth, substantially as
described.
28. In a hair working machine, the combination, with a sliding cloth-carrying
carriage, of a revoluble cam pulley arranged at one end of the carriage and an arm
secured to the carriage and provided at one end with a stud which enters a groove
of the cam pulley, substantially as described.
29. In a hair working machine, the combination, with a sliding cloth-carrying
carriage, of a revoluble shaft arranged at one end of the carriage and carrying a
cam pulley, an arm secured to the carriage and having a stud thereon to enter the
groove of the cam pulley, a ratchet wheel fixed to the shaft, a pawl post pivoted
on the shaft and carrying a pawl to engage the ratchet wheel and a lever
connection between the pawl post and the main driving shaft, substantially as
described.

page_text: 30. In a hair working machine, the combination, with a sliding carriage, a
revoluble shaft mounted at one end of the carriage and carrying a cami pulley and
an arm connecting the cam pulley and carriage, of a ratchet wheel fixed to the
shaft, a movable pawl post arranged adjacent to the ratchet wheel and carrying a
pawl to engage the latter, a vertical walking beam having one end connected with
the pawl post and an eccentric rod extending from the main driving shaft and
connecting with the upper end of the walking beam, substantially as described.
31. In a hair working machine, the combination, with the carriage feed rolls and
a revoluble cam pulley shaft connected with the carriage as described and having
at its inner end a double pointed cam, a ratchet wheel fixed to the shaft of one of
the feed rolls, a pawl post pivoted adjacent to the ratchet wheel and having a
pawl to engage the latter and a sliding rod pivoted to the pawl post and having a
shoulder extending into the path of the double pointed cam, substantially as
described.
32. In a hair working machine, the combination, with a ratchet wheel which
carries feed rolls and a movable pawl post connected therewith, of a spring held
to pull forward on the pawl post and means for adjusting the tension of the spring,
substantially as described.
33. In a hair working machine, the combination, with a ratchet wheel which
carries feed rolls and a movable pawl post connected therewith, of a rigid post
arranged adjacent to the pawl post, a rod secured to the pawl post and adjustably
connected with the rigid post and a spring having one end secured to the adjustable
rod and the opposite end to the pawl post, substantially as described.
Doted this 12.
1000
G. A. WILLIAMS,
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, Loudon, Chartered Patent Agents.