An Improved Manufacture of Woven Fabric adapted for Surgical and other Purposes.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 5th May, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 5th Oct., 1891-Accepted, 30th Apr., 1892
PROVISIONAL OF MULTICATION,
An Improved Manufacture of Woven Fabric adapted for Surgical
and other Purposes.
I, MAX PICOT of Rue de Paradis, Paris in the Republic of France, Agent, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to an improved kind of fabric especially designed for
dressing wounds and for surgical purposes generally though it may be used for
other purposes.
It is manufactured in the following manner;-
Worsted and cotton yarn is used in proportions varying according to the quality
and value of the article to be manufactured. For example it may contain about
two thirds of cotton yarn and one third of worsted; or it may contain two thirds of
woollen and one third of cotton yarn, or other proportions may be employed.
In placing the yarn on the loom some difficulty is experienced on account of the
essential difference of the two materials as the wool requires sizing and the cotton
which the twisting process causes to shrink considerably must be stretched upon
the beam of the loom without any further twist as it would otherwise be unfit for
weaving.
To provide for the necessary "crimping" or roughening of the surface neither
indiarubber nor any chemical is employed but part of the cotton threads of the
warp are double or quadruple and twisted beforehand in proportions varying
according to the amount of shrinkage to be obtained generally preferably about
2400 convolutions per metre of yarn.
The loom comprises two beams one for the woollen and the other for the cotton
threads which latter should be carefully and tightly stretched. When this is done
the weaving takes place in the usual way. The loom to be employed is of ordinary
construction and the fabric dropping off the loom has the appearance of smooth and
plain cloth suggesting no idea of the change of aspect it will undergo after being
submitted to certain operations. These operations cause the cotton threads to
shrink back to their original size that is their size before being stretched upon the
beam, and in so shrinking they contract the woollen threads also whence results the
desired crimping. The operations fulfilling this object consist in causing the fabric
as it leaves the loom to pass through bicarbonated or soap-water either cold or hot
and subsequently washing it. After having been thus treated the fabric will be
found to have shrunk throughout into quite indestructible folds or wrinkles and in
this condition it will remain fit for use for an indefinite period as it will wash very
well in hot water without losing any of its elasticity or roughness of surface.
As it is just possible that at first sight the improved fabric constituting this
invention might be confounded with an article known in the trade under the name
"Swiss crape
"from which however it differs entirely both in its manufacture
and in its distinctive properties, I would state that in the Swiss crape the crimping
effect is due to the action of the weft while in my fabric it is obtained by means of
the warp which amounts to an entire reversal of the process of manuiacture and
constitutes one of the main features of this invention.
of "
In order to manufacture strips of lint of any suitable length without stitching it
would be impossible to find looms sufficiently wide to turn out sheets of fabric whose
width is equal to the length of strip required. And yet this would be the only means
of obtaining the desired result by the method adapted for the manufacture of Swiss
crape since the shrinking portion of that tissue is produced by the weft.
Now by this improved process there is practically no limit to the length of the

page_text: strip as the warp may measure 100 metres or more and consequently the strip of
lint may be 100 or more metres long.
The improved lint will be found to possess considerable advantages over other
materials used for similar purposes such as linen, flannel, muslin etc. chiefly on
account of the great flexibility as it will closely adhere to, and fit exactly, any part
of the body without getting into folds or chafing the skin. It may be used to
relieve rheumatic pains, gout, varicose veins, sprains, bruises, fractures and other
disorders.
The lint will also be found useful for local application in the shape of poultices,
liniments and the like or as a substitute for wadding. It will be found most
valuable in all cases where a tightly stretched band would cause acute pain as
in ophthalmia, neuralgia, facial sores and other such disorders.
The improved fabric may as before stated be washed and used over and over
again for an indefinite period of time without loss of any of their properties.
Dated this 5th day of May 1891.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Manufacture of Woven Fabric adapted for Surgical
and other Purposes.
I, MAX PICOT of Rue de Paradis, Paris in the Republic of France, Agent, 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 :-
This invention relates to an improved kind of fabric especially designed for
dressing wounds and for surgical purposes generally though it may be used for
other purposes.
It is manufactured in the following manner :-
Worsted and cotton yarn are used in proportions varying according to the quality
and value of the article to be manufactured. For example it may contain about
two thirds of cotton yarn and one third of worsted; or it may contain two thirds of
woollen and one third of cotton yarn, or other proportions may be employed.
In placing the yarn on the loom some difficulty is experienced on account of the
essential difference of the two materials as the wool requires sizing and the cotton
which the twisting process causes to shrink considerably must be stretched upon
the beam of the loomi as much as possible without knots or crinkles, which would
cause the threads to break when passing through the reed. As however such
irregularities in the warp threads could not be avoided when leading the twisted
cotton threads direct from the beam into the harness (their tendency to twist and form
knots etc. being so great), I have devised and added to the loom the two cross bars
hereinafter described.
To provide for the necessary "crimping" or roughening of the surface neither
indiarubber nor any chemical is employed but some or the whole of the cotton
threads of the warp are twisted beforehand to an extent varying according to the
amount of shrinkage to be obtained but generally preferably about from 2000 to 2800
convolutions per yard of yarn.
The loom comprises two beams one for the woollen and the other for the cotton
threads which latter should be carefully and tightly stretched and must then be
conducted through the two cross bars as aforesaid.
When this is done the weaving takes place in the usual way. The loom to be
employed is of ordinary construction with the two cross bars added, and the fabric
dropping off the loom has the appearance of smooth and plain cloth suggesting no
idea of the change of aspect it will undergo after being submitted to certain
operations. These operations cause the cotton threads to shrink back to their

page_text: original length that is their length before being stretched upon the beam, and in so
shrinking they contract the woollen threads also whence results the desired crimping.
The operations fulfilling this object consist in causing the fabric as it leaves the
loom to pass through a solution of bi-carbonate of soda in water or soap-water either
cold or hot and subsequently washing it. After having been thus treated, the
fabric will be found to have shrunk throughout into quite indestructible folds or
wrinkles and in this condition it will remain fit for use for an indefinite period as it
will wash very well in hot water without losing any of its elasticity or roughness of
surface.
As it is just possible that at first sight the improved fabric constituting this
invention might be confounded with an article known in the trade under the name
of "Swiss crape" from which however it differs entirely both in manufacture and
in its distinctive properties, I would state that in the Swiss crape the crimping effect
is due to the action of the weft while in my fabric it is obtained by means of the
warp which amounts to an entire reversal of the process of manufacture and con-
stitutes one of the main features of this invention.
In order to manufacture strips of lint of any suitable length without stitching it
would be impossible to find looms sufficiently wide to turn out sheets of fabric whose
width is equal to the length of strip required; and yet this would be the only means
of obtaining the desired result by the method adopted for the manufacture of Swiss
crape since the shrinking effect of that tissue is produced by the weft.
Now by this improved process there is practically no limit to the length of the
strip which may be produced as the warp may measure 100 metres or more and
consequently the strip of lint may be 100 or more metres long.
The improved lint will be found to possess considerable advantages over other
materials used for similar purposes such as linen, flannel, muslin and other such
fabrics chiefly on account of the great flexibility, as it will closely adhere to, and fit
exactly, any part of the body without getting into folds or chafing the skin. It may
be used to relieve rheumatic pains, gout, varicose veins, sprains, bruises, fractures
and other disorders.
The lint will also be found useful for local application in the shape of poultices,
liniments and the like or as a substitute for wadding. It will be found most valuable
in all cases where a tightly stretched band would cause acute pain as in ophthalmia,
neuralgia, facial sores and other such disorders.
The improved fabric may as before stated be washed and used over and over
again for an indefinite period of time without loss of any of its properties.
The accompanying drawing is an elevation of such portion of a loom as is necessary
to explain the invention.
The strongly twisted threads used in carrying out this invention are full of knots.
and crinkles and, when stretched out, have a great tendency to twist again into
knots, and cannot be wound on a beam without knots and crinkles forming here and
there; nor can the tension be applied so equally to each thread as to admit of the
threads passing direct from the beam to the reed without numerous knots and crinkles
reaching said reed and thereby causing the threads to break. It is for this reason
that for weaving the fabric I employ the loom shown in the accompanying drawing,
which loom however differs from an ordinary loom only in so far as relates to the
eyes B and B₁.
In this loom the twisted threads A by which the shrinking effect is to be produced
are rolled upon the beam A' and pass each through preferably a glass bead or
eye B and afterwards through another glass bead or eye B' before reaching the
combs C and reed D.
The set of eyes B are mounted in a fixed rail B2 and are of such size, say twice
the diameter of the threads, as will admit of the passing therethrough of such knots
and crinkles as may remain in the cotton extending from the beam A' to said eyes B
and which crinkles the tension applied to the beam A' has failed to draw out or
which have re-formed on the way from A to B. The eyes B however remove the
greater portion of the knots and crinkles from the threads.

page_text: The openings through the set of eyes B' which are mounted in the fixed rail B³
are of approximately the same diameter as the threads.
By the constant tension on the warp A most of the knots and crinkles will be
removed when the thread has passed through the eyes B and scarcely any knots or
crinkles are likely to reach the eyes B', but those which may reach them will in
encountering said eves be straightened out by reason of their restricted size.
After this the threads are perfectly straight and free from knots or crinkles and
pass through the combs C and reed D and can be woven in the ordinary manner.
The fabric may be produced with some of the before-mentioned twisted warp
threads A for giving the shrinkage effect (these would be carried on the beam A¹
as before described) and other non-shrinking and non-twisted warp threads F which
would be carried on the beam E and passed through the combs C and reed D in the
ordinary way.
The fabric may be composed of woollen and cotton yarns as before described or
wholly of cotton or of cotton and silk, wool and silk, cotton and linen, all linen or
of any other desired material or combination of materials.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A fabric the warp of which consists wholly or partly of thread so highly or
strongly twisted that in the normal condition of the fabric the length of said threads
is reduced by their knotting or crinkling and the fabric thereby crinkled or drawn
together in small folds said knots or crinkles of the threads and the folds of the
fabric disappearing when the fabric is placed under sufficient tension.
2. In the manufacture of woven fabrics the method of producing folds or crinkles
therein by highly twisting the warp threads so that when not under tension they
will contract substantially as described.
3. A woven fabric elastic or expansible in the direction of the warp substantially
as described.
4. The manufacture of woven fabric with highly twisted warp threads substan-
tially as described.
5. In the manufacture of woven fabric first highly twisting the warp threads then
weaving the fabric and then subjecting the woven fabric to a bath of bi-carbonate of
soda or soapy water substantially as described.
Dated this Third day of October 2001.
Dated this mira day of October
MAX PICO.
W. P. Thompson & Boult,
Agents for the Applicant.
MAX PICOL.
W. P. Thompson & Boult,
Agents for the Applicant.