IMPROVEMENTS IN FORMING FRINGES ON TEXTILE FABRICS AND IN THE MACHINERY OR Apparatus
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Henderson, of Glasgow, in the County
of Lanark, North Britain, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
FORMING FRINGES ON TEXTILE FABRICS AND IN THE MACHINERY OR Apparatus
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Henderson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 16th November 1870.
I, THOMAS HENDERSON, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of "In-
PROVEMENTS IN FORMING FRINGES ON TEXTILE FABRICS AND IN THE MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR," to be as follows, that is to say :-
-
This Invention, which relates to a machine for forming fringes on
textile fabrics, consists of a combination and arrangement of mechanism
for producing a fringe on shawls, mantles, skirtings, or other woven
articles requiring to have a fringe either on the edges or at any distance
from the edges, and it is so constructed that the fringe may be put in.

page_text: shorter or longer lengths, and closer together or wider apart as the
operator requires with silk or wool yarn or any kind of thread.
The machine consists of a flat sole plate with a stationary arm on
the top of the said plate for holding the pressure bar and driving levers,
and having a revolving driving shaft beneath the sole plate which
actuates the whole machinery, it being driven by a band or belt. On
one end of the driving shaft is a crank to which a connecting rod is
coupled for working the main lever, which is fixed to the stationary
arm by a stud, the end of which passes through the sole plate and is
jointed to the connecting rod. The part of the lever above the sole
plate is by preference longer than the part below the sole plate, and
it has a slot hole in it for giving a longer or shorter stroke as required.
A stud is fixed at or near to the centre of the stationary arm, having a
lever connected to it for driving the block which holds the hook for
taking the yarn or fringe from the needle. The race in which the
block travels is a long slotted plate with the block fitted so as to slide
in the slot, and having a small die working in a slot at the end of the
lever herein-before referred to. This lever is coupled by a connecting
rod to the main lever by a stud in the slot of the main lever, and
which by adjusting the stud on the slot in the main lever drives the
slide block or hook through any length of stroke that may be required
to form the fringe. The cloth feeder for moving the cloth is a four
motioned or step feed actuated by a cam at the side of the driving
pulley, and it is capable of feeding the fabric from the closest fringe to
the widest required, the cam being made so that the feed rises and draws
forward the cloth while the needle is below the cloth plate.
One of the most important parts of this Invention consists of the
ncedle or needles by which the yarn or thread is fed to the fringing
hook. The said needle or needles is or are driven from the under side
of the machine, and passes or pass up through the cloth from the under
side, and not through the cloth from the top side as in other machines.
The needle or needles is or are fixed to a needle bar fitted in a slide
guide below the cloth plate, and worked by a cam on the driving shaft
which reciprocates the needle bar. This cam puts the needle up through
the cloth with the yarn or thread in position to be seized by the fringing
hook. When the needle is lifted up the proper distance through the
cloth the cam is caused to drop the needle to form the loop in the yarn,
so that the fringing hook may take hold of the loop so formed. The

page_text: needle remains in position until the fringing hook takes the desired
length of yarn or fringe required, when it descends, and the feed carries
forward the fabric and is ready for another fringing operation. The
needle bar is kept pressed on the needle cam by a spiral spring.
This is worked
Another part of the Invention is the fringe stopper or holder for
taking the yarn or fringe off the fringing hook. It consists of a small
shaft or rod working through the sole plate of the machine, which
reciprocates up and down, this lever being fixed on the end of the
reciprocating shaft which comes through the sole plate.
by a lever fixed underneath the machine and driven by a cam fixed on
the driving shaft, this cam being made and set at a position on the
driving shaft so as to raise the fringe holder above the fringing hook
when it is coming forward and to drop it on the fringe or yarn when
the fringing hook is at its proper length, which enables the fringing
hook to get back clear of the fringe.
Another important part of this Invention is the fringe drawer, which
draws the fringe away from the fringe stopper and fringing hook. The
fringe drawer consists of a lever underneath and working across the sole
plate fitted in a slide block with a long slot in the lever which works on.
a round pin through the block, the other end of the lever coming
through the sole plate at the upper side, on which is carried a small
lever, at the end of which is fixed a small piece of leather or india-rubber
so as not to injure the fringe. This fringe drawer is worked from the
under side by a rocking lever which is actuated by two cams on the
driving shaft, the one cam raising the fringe drawer as the fringing hook
is going back to the needle, while the other cam pushes it forward over
the fringe close to the fringe stopper, when it drops upon the end of the
fringe and draws it away out of the fringe stopper and clear of the
fringing needles, and holds it there until the fringing needle takes
the next fringe. The rocking lever is kept in contact with the cams by
a spiral spring underneath the fringe drawer. The material to be fringed
is kept down by an ordinary presser foot, and it may be worked with
single, double, or as many plies of yarn as required of different colours.
After the fabric is fringed in the manner hercin-before set forth in order
to finish the fringe a small bracket is placed on the machine table or
other stand provided with apparatus for "birling" or winding silk or
other yarn round the fringe at any given point or points. This birling
apparatus consists of a cone fixed to the bracket and having a large hole

page_text: in it at the upper side tapering to a small hole at the centre. The large
hole allows the fringe to be put through with the finger, and the fringe
is gathered to the small centre hole, opposite to which is a guide plate
with an open hole in it directly opposite the small hole in the cone for
steadying the fringe while it is being birled or overwound. Round the
outside of the stationary cone is fitted a circular ring with a groove for
receiving a driving belt; this ring runs round the cone. On the side
of this ring is fixed a bobbin or reel holder, the bobbin being made to
run in the opposite direction from that on which the ring on the cone
runs, the bobbin holder putting a tension on the bobbin so as to regulate
the tightness of the winding of the silk or thread on the fringe. Fixed
to the rim of the ring is a thread guide close to the fringe at the guide
plate which guides the thread evenly on the fringe, the thread holder
and thread guide being fixed on the ring. The fringe put in through
the cone is held by the attendant on the guide at the distance required
for the birl. When the operator drives the belt the ring runs round the
cone, carrying the bobbin with it, and the thread guide running at the
same time round the fringe, and puts on the birl tighter or looser as
required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Henderson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 16th May 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
HENDERSON, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the 34th
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Thomas Henderson, Her special license that I,
the said Thomas Henderson, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Thomas Henderson, my executors, adminis-
trators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the

page_text: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ircland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FORMING FRINGES ON
TEXTILE FABRICS AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Henderson,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal should particu-
larly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be
filed in the Great Scal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Henderson, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to
say:―
My said Invention, which relates to a machine for forming fringes
on textile fabrics, consists of a combination and arrangement of
mechanism for producing a fringe on shawls, mantles, skirtings, or other
woven articles requiring to have a fringe either on the edges or at any
distance from the edges, and it is so constructed that the fringe may
be put in shorter or longer lengths and closer together or wider apart
as required with silk or wool yarn or any kind of thread.
"
The machine consists of a flat sole plate having a stationary arm on
the top of the said plate for holding the pressure bar and driving levers
and having a revolving driving shaft beneath the sole plate which
actuates the whole machinery, it being driven by a band or belt. On
one end of the driving shaft is a crank to which a connecting rod is
coupled for working the main lever, which is fixed to the stationary
arm by a stud, the end of which passes through the sole plate and is
jointed to the connecting rod. The part of the lever above the sole
plate is by preference longer than the part below the sole plate, and it
has a slot hole in it for giving a longer or shorter stroke as required.
A stud is fixed at or near to the centre of the stationary arm, having
a lever connected to it for driving the block which holds the hook for
taking the yarn or fringe from the needle. The race in which the block
travels is a long slotted plate with the block fitted so as to slide in the
slot, and having a small die working in a slot at the end of the lever
herein before referred to. This lover is coupled by a connecting rod

page_text: to the main lever by a stud in the slot of the main lever, and which by
adjusting the stud in the slot in the main lever drives the slide block
or hook through any length of stroke that may be required to form the
fringe. The cloth feeder for moving the cloth is a four motioned or
step feed, actuated by a cam at the side of the driving pulley, and it is
capable of feeding the fabric from the closest fringe to the widest
required, the cam being made so that the feed rises and draws forward
the cloth while the needle is below the cloth plate.
One of the most important parts of this Invention consists of the
needle or needles by which the yarn or thread is fed to the fringing
hook. The said needle or needles is or are driven from the under side
of the machine and passes (or pass) up through the cloth from the
under side and not through the cloth from the top side as in other
machines. The needle or needles is or are fixed to a needle bar fitted
in a slide guide below the cloth plate and worked by a cam on the
driving shaft which reciprocates the needle bar. This cam puts the
needle up through the cloth with the yarn or thread in position to be
seized by the fringing hook. When the needle is lifted up the proper
distance through the cloth the cam is caused to drop the needle to form
the loop in the yarn, so that the fringing hook may take hold of the
loop so formed. The needle remains in position until the fringing hook
takes the desired length of yarn or fringe required, when it descends,
and the feed carries forward the fabric and is ready for another fringing
operation. The needle bar is kept pressed on the needle cam by a spiral
spring.
Another part of the Invention is the fringe stopper or holder for
taking the yarn or fringe off the fringing hook. It consists of a small
shaft or rod working through the sole plate of the machine which
reciprocates up and down. On the end of this reciprocating shaft which
comes through the sole plate the fringe stopper is fixed; this is worked
by a lever fixed underneath the machine and driven by a cam fixed on
the driving shaft, this cam being made and set at a position on the
driving shaft so as to raise the fringe holder above the fringing hook
when it is coming forward, and to drop it on the fringe or yarn when
the fringing hook is at its proper length, which enables the fringing
hook to get back clear of the fringe.
Another important part of this Invention is the fringe drawer which
draws the fringe away from the fringe stopper and fringing hook. The

page_text: fringe drawer consists of a lever underneath and working across the
sole plate fitted in a slide block with a long slot in the lever which
works on a round pin through the block. The other end of the lever
coming through the sole plate at the upper side, on which is carried a
small lever, at the end of which is fixed a small piece of leather or india-
rubber so as not to injure the fringe. This fringe drawer is worked from
the under side by a rocking lever which is actuated by two cams on the
driving shaft, the one cam raising the fringe drawer as the fringing
hook is going back to the needle, while the other cam pushes it forward
over the fringe close to the fringe stopper, when it drops upon the end
of the fringe and draws it away out of the fringe stopper and clear of
the fringing needle and holds it there until the fringing needle takes
the next fringe. The rocking lever is kept in contact with the camis
by a spiral spring underneath the fringe drawer. The material to be
fringed is kept down by an ordinary presser foot, and it may be worked
with single, double, or as many plics of yarn as required of different
colours. After the fabric is fringed in the manner herein-before set
forth, in order to finish the fringe a small bracket is placed on the
machine table or other stand provided with apparatus for "birling" or
winding silk or other yarn round the fringe at any given point or points.
This "birling" apparatus consists of a cone fixed to the bracket and
having a large hole in it at the upper side tapering to a small hole at
the centre. The large hole allows the fringe to be put through with
the finger, and the fringe is gathered to the small centre hole, opposite
to which is a guide plate with an open hole in it directly opposite the
small hole in the cone for steadying the fringe while it is being birled
or overwound. Round the outside of the stationary cone is fitted a
circular ring with a groove for receiving a driving belt; this ring runs
round the cone. On the side of this ring is fixed a bobbin or reel holder,
the bobbin being made to run in the opposite direction from that on
which the ring on the cone runs, the bobbin holder putting a tension
on the bobbin so as to regulate the tightness of the winding of the silk
or thread on the fringe. Fixed to the rim of the ring is a thread guide
close to the fringe at the- guide plate which guides the thread evenly on
the fringe, the thread holder and thread guide being fixed on the ring.
The fringe put in through the cone is held by the attendant on the guide
at the distance required for the birl. When the operator drives the belt
the ring runs round the cone, carrying the bobbin with it, and the thread

page_text: guide running at the same time round the fringe and puts on the birl
tighter or looser as required.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood,
I now proceed more particularly to set forth the system, mode, or
manner in or under which the same is or may be used or practically
carried into effect, that is to say :-
On the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed Figure 1 is a side
elevation, and Figure 2 is an end elevation of the improved fringing
machine which constitutes my said Invention, whilst Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
and 8 are enlarged detail views of certain parts of the same. On the
several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings corresponding parts
are indicated by the same letters of reference.
The machine consists of a flat sole plate A supported on a table B and
provided on its upper side with a stationary arm C which holds the
driving levers and the pressure bar a, by which the cloth is retained in
position whilst the fringe is being formed thereon. Underneath the
sole plate A a driving shaft D is situated and supported by brackets b
the upper parts of which are bolted or otherwise fixed to the under side
of the sole plate A. The shaft D is that by which the whole of the
machinery is actuated, and it is driven by a band or belt c passed round
a pulley d, situated on the shaft D and also around another driving
pulley e, carried on the shaft of the fly wheel E as shewn in side
clevation at Figure 1, and in end elevation at Figure 2. Motion is
transmitted to the fly wheel E through the link F by the attendant in the
ordinary manner, communicating an oscillating motion to the treadle G,
or the machine may be actuated by steam or other power. On one end
of the driving shaft D a crank disc H is situated as shewn, to which one
. end of a connecting rod I is coupled, and the other end of the said rod
is jointed to the lower extremity of the main lever J which passes down
through the sole plate A as shewn at Figure 1. The lever J is fixed to
the stationary arm C by a pin or stud f, and the part of the lever above
the sole plate is by preference longer than the portion below it.
near the centre of the arm C and projecting upwards therefrom a
bracket H' is situated, as more particularly seen at Figure 1, having one
end of a lever L connected thereto, the opposite end of which is formed
with a slot g in which a die i projecting from the side of a block M is
. placed so as to work freely in the slot. The block M is provided with a
At or

page_text: hook
projecting from one end thereof, by which the yarn or fringe is
taken from the needle as herein-after more particularly described, and
the block M travels in a slot race or guide N fixed to the sole plate A of
the machine as shewn at Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings. The
lever L is coupled to the main lever J by a connecting rod O, and the
upper end of the lever J is formed with a slot as shewn, so that by
adjusting the stud / (which connects the lever J and the rod O) in the
slot the slide block M and hook x are caused to travel through any
length of stroke that may be required to form the fringe. The cloth to
be fringed is fed to the machine by a feeder m, more particularly seen in
end elevation at Figure 2 of the Drawings, and which is a four motion
or step feed actuated by a cam n formed on or placed at the side of the
driving pulley d as shewn at Figure 2, and by the enlarged detail views
at Figures 3 and 4. The cam n acts against a heel formed on the
feed m, and the cam n is so arranged that the part of greater radius and
also the wider portion is uppermost and raises and draws forward the
feed m and together with it the cloth whilst the needle is below the
cloth plate.
By means of the screw o, shewn at Figure 2, the feed may
be so adjusted that the cam n will act on the heel so as to draw forwards
the feed m a longer or shorter distance, and thereby form a close or wide
fringe on the cloth as required. When the feed m is released from
contact with the cam n it is drawn back to its normal position by means
of a spiral spring not shewn on the Drawings.
Under this Invention the needle or needles by which the yarn or
thread is fed to the fringing hook x is or are driven from the under side
of the machine and passes or pass upwards through the cloth from the
under side, drawing with it or them the yarn to form the fringe as shewn
at Figure 2, in contradistinction to driving it or them from the upper
side downwards through the cloth. In the example illustrated on the
appended Sheet of Drawings one needle » is shewn, and which is fixed to
a needle plate p fitted in a slide guide & situated below the sole plate A,
and worked by a cam t on the driving shaft D, as shewn in enlarged
side elevation at Figure 5, and in enlarged end elevation at Figure 6.
As the cam tis rotated by the driving shaft D the point u thereof comes
in contact with the projecting pin formed on the needle bar P as
shewn, by which means the needle is pushed up through the cloth
with the yarn or thread passed through the eye thereof in position to
be seized by the fringing hook x, and as the cam t further revolves and

page_text: T
the needle bar P is
rests on that part of
the point comes out of contact with the pin
drawn downwards by the spring " until the pin
the cam marked u³, Figure 5. By this means a loop is formed in the
yarn or thread between the eye of the needle and the cloth into which
the fringing hook x enters. The needle remains in the last-mentioned
position until the fringing hook x has taken the required length of yarn
or fringe, after which the part of least radius of the cam t bears
against the pin v, and the needle plate p is allowed to descend, and the
feed m carries forward the fabric, which is then ready for another
fringing operation. In lieu of a spring of the form shewn at a being
employed to keep the needle plate p pressed against the cam t, as herein-
before described and shewn at Figures 5 and 6 of the Drawings, a spiral
spring may be used for that purpose. The machine is also provided with
a stopper or holder for taking the yarn or fringe off the fringing hook x
when the said hook has been drawn back to the desired distance corre-
sponding to the length of fringe by the arrangement of levers herein-
before described. The stopper or holder, is shewn in position at Figure 1
of the Drawings, but is more clearly illustrated in enlarged side elevation
at Figure 7, and in plan at Figure 8, and it consists of a rod Q working
through the sole plate A of the machine, and which is réciprocated up-
wards and downwards therein. On the lower part of the shaft or rod Q
a spiral spring R is placed as shewn, and against the lower extremity of
the said shaft or rod one end of a lever S bears. The lever S is carried
in a bracket T fixed to the under side of the sole plate A, as shewn more
particularly in side elevation at Figure 7, and its opposite extremity is
acted upon by a cam U fixed on the driving shaft D, and the said
cam U is so constructed and set in position on the driving shaft D as to
raise the fringe holder V above the fringing hook x when it is coming
forward, and to drop the holder on the fringe or yarn when the fringing
hook is at its proper length of travel, as shewn at Figure 8, thereby
enabling the hook to get back clear of the fringe. After the fringe has
been formed as above described it is drawn away from the fringe
stopper V and fringing hook x by the arrangement of mechanism now
about to be described:
The fringe drawer consists of a bent arm W, Figures 7 and 8, situated a
underneath and working through the sole plate A. The arm W at one
cuted into a clide blook Y and in formal with a clot which

page_text: turned upwards, and projects through the sole plate A, and on the up-
turned end a bent slotted arm Y, which constitutes the fringe drawer
proper, is fixed, as more particularly seen in plan at Figure 8. On the
under side of the end Y¹ of the fringe drawer Y a piece of leather, india-
rubber, or other similarly suitable material is fixed so as not to injure
the fringe by contact with the drawer Y. The fringe drawer Y is worked
from the under side of the sole plate A by a rocking lever Z, which is
actuated by two cams Z', Z³, situated on the driving shaft D. Of the two-
cams that marked Z' is that by which the end of the lever Z in contact
therewith is depressed, and the fringe drawer Y raised as the fringing
hook is being carried back to the needle by the action of the levers
and links J, L, I, and O respectively; as herein-before described, whilst
the other cam Z2 acting on the heel of the lever Z, shewn in dotted
lines at Figure 8, gives a side motion to the lever Z, which is com-
municated to the fringe drawer Y by the action of the opposite end of
the lever on the pin wo¹ fixed in the arm W, as shewn at Figure 8,
thereby pushing the fringe drawer Y over the fringe and close to the
fringe stopper V, when the fringe drawer drops upon the end of the
fringe, and draws it away out of the fringe stopper V and clear of the
fringing needle, in which position it retains the fringe until the fringing
needle takes the next loop of fringe. The rocking lever Z is kept in
contact with the cams Z', Z, by means of a spiral spring y, as shewn at
Figure 8 of the Drawings. When the fringing hook x has accom-
plished the full length of it stroke and before it is freed from the fringe
or yarn held thereon one end of the hook strikes against a projecting
pin fixed to or formed on an adjustable bar z¹, as more particularly seen
at Figure 8. This has the effect of causing the point of a knife con-
tained within the hook x to be thrown out so as to cut or sever that
part of the fringe held by the hook x, as indicated by the dotted lines
at Figure 8, and after which cutting operation the hook x recedes and
the fringe is drawn to one side by the drawer Y, as herein-before
described. The end of the bar z¹, opposite to that whereon the pro-
jecting pin is fixed, is formed with an eye, by which it is supported on
a rod fixed to and extending along the back of the race or guide N.
The rod is divided into grades, as shewn at Figure 8, and by adjusting
the bar z¹ thereon to one or other of these grades a longer or shorter
fringe is formed as required. The travel of the hook x is further
regulated by similarly grading the crank disc H and lower end of the
lever J, as shewn at Figure 1,. and by adjusting the pins or studs

page_text: which hold the link I to the crank disc H and lever J to a grade corre-
sponding to that to which the bar 2¹ has been adjusted.
It is to be here understood that the operation of fringing textile fabrics
;as herein-before set forth, may be accomplished with any desired number
of needles fixed in the needle bar p, and supplied with the same colour
of thread or yarn, or with differently coloured threads or yarns, so as to
form a variegated fringe.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the
system, mode, or manner in or under which the same is or may be
used or practically carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion
that what I consider novel and original, and therefore claim as the
Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent is,―
First. The general arrangement and combination of mechanism con-
stituting the fringing machine herein-before described.
Second. Taking the yarn from which the fringe is formed from the
under side of the table and forming the fringe on the upper side of the
table as herein-before described.
Third. The horizontally moving fringing hook as herein - before
described.
Fourth. The fringe stopper and the mode of actuating the same by a
cam, as herein-before described.
Fifth. The fringe drawer for taking the fringe off the fringe stopper, as
herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Henderson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of May, One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-one.