Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Dec., 1887
Complete Specification Left, 10th Sept., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 12th Oct., 1888
JAMES HOYLE SMITH 377 Dickenson Road Longsight Manchester, Fustian Master,
ANDREW GODDARD, Livesborg Terrace Stepping Hill Stockport, Warehouse
Manager, LLOYD HIGGINBOTTOM 6 Slade Lane Longsight Manchester, Engineer,
THOMAS MANNOCK 17 Albert Grove Longsight Manchester, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The following relate to further improvements of the machines for Cutting Pile
Fabrics for which Letters Patent was granted to us on August 22nd 1887-
No. 11437.
In the ordinary process of cutting pile fabrics, the cloth is stretched between two
end bars of a fixed frame, while the knife is pushed along the material by hand-In
our improved machine we cause the cloth to run to and fro beneath a fixed table while
the knife is held still in the operators hand & with the haft of the knife resting on one
edge of the fixed table to give steadiness in holding, the point of the knife being in
the cloth a little in front of fixed table--We propose to run the cloth about 4 yards at
a stroke, the knife cutting that length & then 4 yards back, the knife not in use, but
we may take a longer or shorter stroke as found best-To cause the cloth to travel
backward and forward beneath the table we use one of the two methods described
below-In the one case the cloth is led over two rollers, one behind the table and
one before, or just in front of the point of knife & then the two ends passing
downwards are wound round two large hollow drums, which drums receive a backward
& forward rotary motion from the source of power, the back drum winding on the
cloth while the knife is cutting & the front drum paying off & vice versa when the cloth
is going back to begin another cut-In order to keep the cloth tight we connect the
two drums with cog wheels, or by means of a rope coiled round two grooved pulleys,
one on the axle of each druin, such rope tending to revolve the drums in the opposite
direction to that in which the cloth is tending & so by tightening the rope, the cloth
will be stretched-If preferred the surplus cloth may be placed inside the drums, the
cloth to be operated upon passing out through a slit in the side of the drum & being
made fast in said slit by any convenient means-In order to bring the knife point out
of the cloth at the end of the cut, we mount the two rollers before described on a
frame, which can slide a short distance backward & forward beneath the table-This

page_text: frame is actuated by a lever which gears into a cam keyed on the axle of one of the
drums in such a position that when the proper length of cloth has been cut & wound
on the back drum, the cam will move the lever sideways and slide the roller frame
under the table, the front roller passing under the point of the knife & so bringing it
out of the cloth-The backward & forward motion may be imparted to the drums
by means of a belt pulley mounted on or geared to the drum axle, with a
corresponding loose pulley at each side carrying open and crossed belts, which belts
may be alternately brought on the fast pulley to drive the machine in either
direction Or two friction wheels driven in opposite directions from the source of
power may be alternately brought in contact with a friction wheel upon the axle of
one drum-In either case the motion must be under the control of the attendant
through the medium of a foot lever-Another means of actuating the cloth is to lead
it over two rollers about twelve feet apart (more or less) & bring the ends together
and join them to a short sliding carriage underneath the cloth to be operated upon-
By sliding this short carriage to and fro, the cloth will be caused to pass along under
the fixed table before described-The surplus cloth may be coiled round a roller
mounted on short sliding carriage-For bringing the knife out at end of cut the same
short roller frame may be used under the table as before described, but the lever for
actuating same to be pushed over by the sliding carriage in arriving at the end of its
stroke The sliding carriage may be drawn to & fro by a connecting rod taking hold
of a crank which is caused to revolve by a belt or other gearing from the source of
power Or we may employ a rack & pinion for this end, the pinion being caused to
run the rack backward & forward in the way used in શ Patent Mangle "In cases
where it is desirable to cut longer lengths of cloth than is convenient in the machine
last described without making said machine to occupy too much space, we take the
same machine but instead of making the two ends of cloth fast to the short sliding
carriage as before, we pass them over two rollers mounted on sliding carriage & then
back to the outer ends of machine, making the separate ends of cloth fast to tightening
rollers mounted in the standing framework of machine-By this means it is evident
that twice the length of cloth will be drawn past the knife that was drawn past when
the ends of cloth were simply made fast to sliding frame, on the principle of a single
sheave block and pulley, where the short sliding carriage represents the block, the
roller standing for the sheave and the cloth for the rope-The same means of drawing
the sliding carriage back & forward may be used as before.
When it is desired to make the going out line a diagonal one, so as to conceal the
precise spot where one cutting has ended & the next begun, we cause the two
tightening up rollers to revolve very slowly by means of worm gear or ratchet wheel-
This will cause each succeeding cut to finish a little behind preceding one.
Knife An ordinary fustian cutter's knife may be used with this machine, but if
the knife should pierce the cloth, as sometimes occurs, great damage would be done
before the machine could be stopped-To obviate this, we use a knife with a loose
blade arranged to double up under the handle, and so allow the cloth to pass forward
without splitting up-The knife handle is formed with a long slot to receive the knife,
quite clear of the cloth when doubled up-A small trigger or spring keeps the knife in
its proper position when cutting-This trigger is released by contact with the cloth
which has wrongly mounted over the blade-As soon as the cloth touches the trigger,
the blade is released & the cloth carries it under the handle & so only a small puncture
is made which is not of much consequence.
Dated this 8th day of December 1887
JAMES HOYLE SMITH.
ANDREW GODDARD.
LLOYD HIGGINBOTTOM.
THOMAS MANNOCK.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Cutting Pile Fabrics.
We, JAMES HOYLE SMITH 377 Dickenson Road Longsight Manchester Fustian
Mastor, ANDREW GODDARD, Livesborg Terrace Stepping Hill Stockport Warehouse
Manager, LLOYD HIGGINBOTTOM 6 Slade Lane Longsight Manchester. Engineer and
THOMAS MANNOCK 17 Albert Grove Lonsight Manchester, Engineer 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:-
In the Specification to our Patent No. 1143787 we described a method of cutting
pile fabrics in successive short lengths instead of in one continuous length from end
to end by mounting a length of the fabric to be cut at one time upon a carriage that
was made to travel backwards and forwards under the knife.
According to our present invention we carry ont the same method of "cutting" in
successive short lengths by means of machinery in which instead of mounting the
length of cloth to be operated upon at one time upon a reciprocating frame, we either
mount the same on two drums that are made to travel alternately in contrary directions,
so as to carry the cloth backwards and forwards past the knife, or we pass the length
of cloth over guide rollers at the end of the frame and connect it below to a carriage
that is made to travel backwards and forwards and thus to impart the same motion to
the cloth. In either case we provide means for accurately regulating the travel of the
cloth so as to insure that the knife shall cut each race of exactly one length, so as to
make a true "Going out" in order that the length cut may join up accurately to the
next one.
We furthermore arrange that the "Going outline shall lie obliquely
across the cloth instead of at right angles so as to conceal as much as possible the
precise spot where two successive cuts join.
Our invention also relates to means for bringing the knife point out of the cloth at
the end of the cut, and to an improved construction of knife for effecting the cutting.
We will proceed to describe our said several improvements with reference to the
accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 shews a side elevation partly in section of
one form of the improved cutting apparatus. Fig. 2 shews a cross section of the
same and Fig. 3 a plan partly in section.
The machine consists of two hollow cylinders or drums a a¹ mounted with their
hollow trunnions on the framing b, on each of which drums a certain length of the
cloth to be "cut" is wound, and which are first both rotated in one direction so as to
wind the cloth, say from the drum a on to the drum a¹ and then in the reverse direction
so as to wind the cloth from a back on to a. The one end of the cloth is lapped
round a roller within the drum a, while the roll of cloth u² from which the length to be
operated upon is wound, is mounted within the drum a' as shewn at Figs. 1 and 8, the
drums a al being for this purpose provided with hinged doors c and the end of the
rollers d being supported in the hollow trunnions of the drums. The cloth passing
from the roll is first passed through a tightening up roller e and then through a slit fin
the drum a from which it passes first round the drum and then up over rollers g h on

page_text: a sliding frame a, and down to the drum a where it is again passed through a slit in
the drum, and through a tightening up roller similar to e and is then wound upon a
roller such as d within a.
The alternately reversed motion of the drums a al for producing the required to and
fro motion of the cloth is effected as follows:-
On a driving shaft X are mounted a fast pulley m and two loose pullies? 7 one of
which carries an open strap while the other carries a crossed sirap from pullies on the
mill shaft, so that by bringing these straps alternately on the fast pulley, the shaft of
the latter is driven alternately in contrary directions. This motion is imparted to the
drum aby cog wheels n n, and this drum when revolving in the direction of the arrow
Fig. 1, draws the cloth off the drum a causing this to rotate in the same direction,
while when a is caused to revolve in the opposite direction it effects the rotation of
drum a in the same direction, so as to wind up the cloth thereon, by means of a cord
which is wound upon grooves on the drums in the contrary direction to that in
which the cloth is wound, and has its ends fastened respectively to each groove.
By tightening up the cloth by means of the tightening rollers e it will be seen that
this will be strained in opposition to the pull of the cord and thus the cloth will
always be kept in a stretched condition.
The reversal of the motion of the drums at regular intervals is effected by the
following means.
The axis of drum a¹ imparts motion by a toothed pinion u to a toothed wheel u' on
a shaft carrying a cam with double groove returning in itself at one point as shewn,
in which is a sliding block pivotted to a rods, so that as the cam rotates the sliding
block alternately passes from the one groove to the other in a well known manner after
the drums a a have performed a certain number of revolutions these being deter-
mined by the proportion between the diameters of the pinion and wheel u.
This proportion being such that the cain makes rather less than one revolution while
a length of cloth is being cut or wound back. The rods is connected to a lever p to
which is connected the strap rod o, the forks of which control the open and cross
straps, so that by the before described action of the cam the straps are alternately
brought upon the fast pulley m at the stated intervals for reversing the motion of the
drums. On the driving shaft is a brake wheel won which bears a brake block y
having a weighted arm the end of which is acted upon by a double incline s¹ on
the rod s, so arranged that when the one or the other strap is on the fast pulley m, the
one or other incline lifts the block off the brake wheel and thus allows the drums
to be driven in one direction or the other, but when the one strap has left the fast
pulley and the other is about to be shifted on to it, the inclines leave the brake block
free and this consequently gradually stops the rotation of the drums without shock
while the change of straps is effected, thus insuring the precise extent of travel of
the cloth required at each reversal of motion.
In order to set the machine in motion in the first instance the cam is cut through
at the point at which the sliding block stands when the machine is at rest before
commencing the cut, so that the rods can be shifted, so as to draw on the one strap by
pressing on the treadle with the foot, which imparts motion to the rods by the elbow
lever 1. By this motion the sliding block is brought into the corresponding groove of
the cam and this consequently begins to effect the automatic reversal of the motion as
before described. The cam being entirely cut away at the starting position it
follows that the control of the straps will be again given over to the attendant through
the treadle, ready for beginning the next cut.
The cutting knife is held by the operator upon the table and is made to cut the
cloth as it passes over the rollers hg in travelling from the drum a to the drum a¹.
on the
the cloth
The rollers h are mounted on a frame e which is capable of sliding to a limited
extent upon the framing band has engaged with it one end of a lever which is
pivotted to the framing its other end being presented in the path of a stud
side of the camt so that at each revolution of the latter at the moment when
is coming to the end of its travel towards a', the stud ¹acts on lever
move the frame with the two rollers a certain distance towards the table
so as to
by this

page_text: motion the roller is made to pass under the point of the knife and consequently this
is caused automatically to pass out of the race of the cloth as it finishes the cut.
When the machine reverses, the stud is withdrawn from pressing the lever and
the spring brings the frame back to the original position."
C
a.
after
The cutting of the length of cloth in the above described manner having been
completed, the tightening up rollers e are slackened and the "cut length" is wound
up on the roller of the drum a until the end of the cut is exactly under the point of
the knife; thus unwinding a fresh uncut length from the roller of the drum
which the cloth is fixed again by the tightening up rollers and the above described
cutting operation is repeated and so on until the whole length of cloth has been cut.
We prefer to cut comparatively short lengths of say 8 yards at a time, as with such
a length the whole width of the fabric can be cut without requiring the knife to be
resharpened, thus avoiding the difference of shade that is produced in the width
of the cloth when this is cut in such long lengths as to require the knife to be
resharpened after a certain number of cuts.
Fig. 4 shows a side elevation and Fig. 5 an end view of a modified construction of
the apparatus, in which the cloth is made to travel double the distance which the
mechanism that actuates it moves through.
For this purpose, the cloth, which is represented by the dotted lines Z, and which
travels in the direction of the arrows for effecting the cut, is led from the roll A first
through a tightening roller B then over a roller C on the travelling carriage C, then
over the roller D carried by the framing, then over the rollers gh mounted on a
sliding frame as before described, then over rollers D' C² B', corresponding to D C B
to the second roll of cloth A'.
From this arrangement it will be seen that as the carriage C is made to travel to
and fro on the framing E of the machine, it causes the cloth which is held by the
tightening rollers B B¹, to travel over the rollers CC, D D¹, g h a distance equal to
twice the distance of its own travel, the action being the same as that of a single-
sheave pulley tackle.
The to and fro motion of the carriage is effected in the following manner
The shaft X of the fast and loose driving pullies 1 m has a toothed pinion gearing
with a wheel F, having a crank pin F which is connected by a rod G to a carriage H
sliding on bars Hand carrying a rope wheel I having a rope J passing round it and
passing thence to the ends of the framing from which the two ends of the rope are
led over guide pullies K to each end of the carriage C.
The axis of the wheel I has a toothed wheel Ĺ fixed thereon which gears with a
toothed rack M fixed on the framing E, so that as the carriage H is moved to and
fro upon the bars H¹, the wheel I is caused to revolve by the action of the wheel L
and rack M and is thereby made to draw the carriage C alternately from one end of
the machine to the other, the diameters of the wheels 1 and L being so proportioned
that the former will afford the requisite length of travel to the carriage C, although
the carriage H only moves through a comparatively small distance.
For the purpose of reversing the motion of the carriage C without shock when it
arrives at each end of its travel, and also to cause it to travel to exactly the same
point at the end of each movement there are provided two cams N N on a shaft N¹
driven by bevil gear O from the driving shaft, these cams have a curved groove
passing partly round them and opening on the inner face thereof as shewn more
clearly in the enlarged views of this part at Figs. 12 and 13, so that as the carriages
approaches the end of its travel a pin C³ on its underside enters one end of the said
groove, and the cam in revolving then carries the pin round in the groove first
gradually stopping its motion in one direction and then gradually imparting motion
to it in the contrary direction, the pin eventually passing out again at the other open
end of the groove.
In order to make "the going out" line of the cutting to lie in an oblique line
across the cloth instead of at right angles thereto, the cloth is slightly advanced at
the end of each cut by coiling it up slightly upon the tightening up roller B, at the

page_text: same time drawing it off the roller B¹. This is effected automatically by the arrange-
ment shewn at Fig. 9. The tightening roller B₁ is connected by suitable gear with a
ratchet wheel P with which is engaged a pawl Pl on a lever that is actuated by a
rod from an eccentric pin on the shaft of the wheel F Fig. 4, so that at each
revolution of this shaft the ratchet wheel is partially rotated, thereby causing the
roller B¹ to wind on the cloth to a slight extent. The pull put upon the cloth by this
motion causes it to unwind to a corresponding extent from the tightening up roller B;
the shaft of this roller carries a disc $ round which passes a strap T having its one
end fixed to the frame while the other end has a weighted rod T attached to it. By
this means the roller is prevented from turning except when for the purpose above
stated, the pressure of the brake strap is taken off by raising the rod T¹ by means of
the treadle U--Figs. 6 and 7 shew the mechanism for gradually stopping the
machine automatically at the end of each cut, and for starting it again for the
following cut.
The shaft of the wheel F carries a cam 1 on the periphery of which rests a roller 2
on a lever pivotted at 4 to the framing and connected at its end by a rod 5 to a
lever 6 on a shaft 7.
This shaft has firstly an arm 8 connected by a rod to the fork 9 for throwing the
strap on and off the fast pulley m, and secondly it has an arm 10 connected to a
treadle 11.
The lever 3 is also connected to a spring 12 which tends to draw the lever down
when the cam 1 permits it. The cam has a drop which when the wheel F has
performed about three parts of a revolution, allows the lever 3 to be pulled down by
the spring, whereby the shaft 7 is partly turned, causing the fork 9 to throw the strap
on to the loose pulley. On the driving shaft X is a fly wheel 13 against which bears
a break block 14. which is pressed against it by a lever 15 from the end of which
sit
weights 16 are suspended by a rod, a spindle 17 bas an arm 18 that is
below the weights 16 and a second arm 19 connected by a rod 20 to the lever 3.
From this arrangement it will be seen that when the lever is in the raised position,
the strap being on the fast pulley for driving the machine, the arm 18 will be raised
so as to lift the weights 16 and move the brake block 14 away from the fly wheel 13.
But when the lever is made to drop as before described so as to throw the strap off
the fast pulley the weights 16 in dropping also apply the brake block to the wheel 13
with sufficient force to gradually retard the motion of the machine without actually
stopping it. The stopping of the machine is effected at the extreme end of the
movement that is to say when the connecting rod G has moved the slide H to the
end of its stroke so that the rod is on the dead centre. This is effected by
the stopping brake mechanism shewn at Fig. 8. This consists of a brake disc 21 on
the driving shaft X round which passes a brake strap having its one end fixed to the
framing while the other end is connected to a lever 22 carrying a weight 23 that
tends to tighten the strap on the wheel 21.
The axis of the lever 22 has an arm 25 which bears with its end upon a cam 24 on
the shaft of the wheel F this cam being so formed that it causes the arm 25 to keep
the brake strap loose until the exact moment when the machine requires to be stopped
at the end of the cut when the arm 25 being released by the cam the brake strap is
drawn tight by the weighted lever 22.
it is necessary for starting the
The machine being now at rest with the brake 21 or,
machine for making the next cut to take this brake off."
This is effected by means of a lever 26 fixed on the shaft 7 so that it is just below
the brake lever 22 but clear of it so that the lever is free to apply the brake as
described.
When now the treadle 11 is depressed for drawing the strap on the fast pulley it at
the same time turns the lever 26 so as to lift the lever 22 and thus release the brake
band and allow the machine to start.
With the above described machines an ordinary fustian cutters knife may be used
but by preference we employ a knife with a pivotted blade which is ordinarily held

page_text: extended by a trigger but which when the point of the knife pierces the cloth is made
to double up and thus allow the cloth to pass without causing further damage by
ripping up the cloth such as would otherwise occur.
Fig. 10 of the accompanying drawings shews a side view partly in section and
Fig. 11 a plan of the construction of such knife which we prefer to employ.
The knife blade 27 is secured in a holder 28 which is pivotted at 29 to the handle 30,
and has a tail 28 which firstly bears against a stop 31 so as to prevent the knife blade
from rising beyond the position shewn and secondly which bears with a notch against
a slide 32 connected to a trigger 33 pivotted at 37, the lower end of this trigger contains
a point 34 that is pressed down upon the blade 27 by a spring 35 so as to be well in
contact and prevent the material from passing between the two without pushing the
trigger inwards.
A spring 36 fixed to the handle 30 presses the tail 28 against the slide 32 so as to
keep it engaged therewith.
The knife blade being held in the position shewn by the slide and trigger it will
effect the cutting of the pile so long as it remains in the proper race. If however the
point of the knife should pierce the cloth the material above the knife will come in
contact with the point of the trigger and will consequently push the latter inward
thereby withdrawing the slide 32 from the tail 28" whereupon the knife blade and its
holder will at once be turned into the position shewn in dotted lines partly by the
drag of the cloth against its point and partly by the spring 36 and thus the knife
will be prevented from doing any damage beyond piercing the cloth which is not
material.
It will be evident that the above described machines can be variously modified
without departing from the essential features of our invention thus in the arrange-
ment shewn at Figs. 1 to 3, the motion might be imparted to the two drums
simultaneously by toothed or frictional gear instead of driving the one drum by a
rope, also the arrangement of sliding frame x with rollers g h for bringing the
point of the knife out of the cloth at the end of the cut may be dispensed with
and this device may also be used independently of the other special devices
described. Also the front roller only may be mounted on the frame the back
roller being fixed in position, the fabric having generally elasticity sufficient to take
up the slack resulting from the approach of the front to the back roller. In like
manner the mechanism for imparting the to and fro motion to the carriage C
Figs. 4 and 5 may be variously modified and this carriage may be employed
without the arrangement for causing the cloth to travel double the distance of its
motion, also the arrangement for advancing the cloth a small distance after every
cut so as to produce a diagonal line of cut may be applied to other constructions
of pile cutting machinery.
We are aware that it has already been proposed to wind the whole length of
cloth upon rollers at each end of the cutting machine and then to cause these
roilers to revolve so as to carry the entire length of the cloth past the knife
alternately in opposite directions and we do not claim such an arrangement of
cutting machine.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In apparatus for cutting pile fabrics, effecting the cutting of the fabric in
consecutive lengths by consecutively connecting such lengths to drums or rollers
that are made to revolve alternately in opposite directions until the whole width of
the cloth is cut, after which a fresh length is connected to the drums substantially
as herein described.
2. In apparatus for cutting pile fabrics such as is referred to in the preceding claim,
the arrangement of two hollow drums a a¹ round which the cloth is wound and within
which the roll of cloth is situated which drums receive rotary motion alternately in
opposite directions so as to carry the cloth first in the direction in which a cut is

page_text: effected and then back again preparatory to commencing the next cut substantially
as herein described.
3. In combination with the drums a a¹ referred to in the preceding claim, the use
of a cord wound upon the drums in the contrary direction to that in which the
cloth is wound therçon so that the cloth is kept tightly stretched by the pull exerted
in the contrary direction by the rope, substantially as herein described.
4. In apparatus for cutting pile fabrics, the use of a sliding frame a with two
moveable rollers 9 hor with one moveable and one stationary roller over which the
cloth passes as it is being cut so that on sliding the frame in the direction towards
the knife at the end of the cut, the point of the knife is made to pass out of the
cloth substantially as herein described.
5. In apparatus for cutting pile fabrics, the use of a carriage C to which opposite
ends or opposite loops of the cloth are connected and which is made to travel to and
fro upon the framing so as to cause the cloth to pass backwards and forwards under
the knife, substantially as herein described.
6. In combination with the arrangement of travelling carriage referred to in the
previous claim, securing the cloth to tightening up rollers B B and causing it to pass
first round rollers (, C, on the carriage and then round guide rollers D D¹ fixed
on the framing before it passes under the knife, whereby the cloth is made to travel
through double the distance that the carriage travels substantially as herein
described.
7. In apparatus for cutting pile fabrics, the method of causing the cloth to be
advanced a certain distance after each cut so as to make the "
going outline of
the consecutive cuts extend obliquely across the cloth instead of at a right angle sub-
stantially as and for the purpose herein described.
8. Apparatus for cutting pile fabrics combined and operating as herein described
with reference to Figs. 1, and 3 of the drawings.
9. Apparatus for cutting pile fabrics, combined and operating as herein described
with reference to Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12 and 18 of the drawings.
10. Constructing knives for cutting pile fabric with the knife blade pivotied to the
handle and held by a trigger so arranged that when the cloth material presses against
the trigger owing to the point of the knife having penetrated the cloth, the knife can
fold back into the handle substantially as and for the purposes herein described with
reference to Figs. 10 and 11 of the drawings.
Dated this 10th day of September 1888.