IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR UNITING PARTS OF LOOPED FABRICS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT. to Edward Whitehall, of Thorncywood Lane, near
Nottingham, in the County of Nottingham, Machinist, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR UNITING PARTS OF
LOOPED FABRICS."
Scaled the 6th June 1873, and dated the 19th December 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Whitehall at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 19th December 1872.
I, EDWARD WHITEHALL, of Thorney wood Lane, near Nottingham, in
the County of Nottingham, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR UNITING PARTS OF
LOOPED FABRICS," to be as follows :—
My improvements have for their object increased facility in uniting
parts of looped fabrics, particularly to uniting such parts at the selvage
edges. For this purpose I employ a row of grooved points or pins fixed
at suitable distances apart around the periphery of a cylinder, or they
may be fixed to the edge of a bar in a straight line. In either case the
loops of the one part of the fabric to be united are placed on the series

page_text: of points; the fabric is then carried round the bar that holds the points.
The loops of the other part of the fabric to be united are then placed on
the points on those of the loops first placed thereon. An eye-pointed
needle carrying a thread is then caused by suitable means to enter the
first pair of loops held by the first of the series of points forming a loop
The
of the thread carried thereby, which loop is caught by a hook.
needle withdraws, and the points with the fabric move forward, pre-
senting another pair of loops to the needle, the needle entering and
passing partly through, its previous loop, producing the ordinary
"chain" stitch, and so on until the fabric has been united as
desired.
.'
A shuttle may also be used in connection with the eye-pointed
needle.
Another part of my improvements relates to forming the points or
pins with a groove on each side of each point or pin. The needle or
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edward Whitehall in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 19th June 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
WHITEHALL, of Thorneywood Lane, near Nottingham, in the County of
Nottingham, Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Edward Whitehall, Her special
license that I, the said Edward Whitehall, my executors, admini-
strators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward
Whitehall, my executors, administrators, and 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 United Kingdom of Great

page_text: Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
⚫tion for ";IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS ;FOR UNITING PARTS OF LOOPED FABRICS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edward Whitehall,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
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 Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edward Whitehall, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention and in what manner the samė
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained'in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say.:-
:
My Invention has for its object the uniting or seaming of parts of
looped or knitted fabrics, more particularly at the selvages. To effect
this object the loops of the selvages are arranged on grooved points, in
order to facilitate the entering of the needle carrying the uniting thread
through such loops, whilst however it is comparatively easy, to lay the
loops of one selvage on to these holding points it has generally been
found difficult to lay the corresponding opposite selvage on ; to the same
points owing to the curl of the fabric. To remedy this evil the practice
has been to use two sets of points, one set to each selvage; the loops of
one selvage have then been transferred on to the points of the other or
corresponding selvage. Both selvages have then been stitched together.
This method of arranging the selvages on to the points after it has been
stitched leaves a ridge on one side of a selvage.
According to my Invention this evil is to some extent remedied, and
a more even scam is produced.
:
But that my Invention may be fully understood I will proceed more
fully to explain the means pursued by me, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 represents by a plan .view, full size, an arrangement of parts
according to my Invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the same ;. and
Figure 3, a sectional end view of parts; other views indicate. details:

page_text: '
A is the casting or foundation plate with the arms projecting there-
from; A¹ is the main shaft or axis; A³, the bearings thereof; A³ is the
arm or bracket for holding the spindle of the cylinder or point wheel A',
which revolves between the forks A5 and A* of the arm A³. This
wheel A* is fitted with grooved points a arranged all round it at
suitable distances apart according to the gauge and number determined
upon. The opposite side of this cylinder is cut into teeth a' corresponding
with the number of points a set therein. These teeth a' are taken into
by the teeth of a pinion B affixed at one end of the shaft B', which is
supported to revolve in the fixed bearings B and B, and at its other
end carries the toothed wheel B³, which is acted upon as shown by the
fin or worm B affixed on the shaft A'. This wheel B³ is cut and inclined
at one part, so that at each revolution thereof it will cause the wheel B³.
'to move the distance of one tooth; and by there being the same number
of teeth in the wheel B² as in the pinion wheel B the point wheel A'
will at the same time be moved partly round a distance of one point
also. This worm or fin B³, it will be seen by its form, acts during the
greater portion of its rotation simply to hold the wheels B² and A*
stationary, and then to effect an instantaneous change of point when
it again holds the parts stationary, and thereby alternate positive
stationary and progressive motions are obtainable to moving points
employed in holding parts of looped fabrics whilst such parts are being
united. These parts may be fixed separate or independent, or occa-.
sionally on separate shafts to operate at different points for giving the
desired motions and pauses.
C, Figure 2, is the bracket that carries the needle holder C. This
bracket C is shewn removed in Figure 1. C' is the needle lever which
is affixed at one end to the rocking axis C*, and at the other
actuates the needle holder C7 with its needle Co. This lever C¹ receives
its motion from the eccentric C³ affixed on the main shaft A' by the
connection C³ from the eccentric C² acting upon the arm C affixed to
the axis C*; 0' and C³ are bearings for the axis C* of the needle
lever C¹; C' is the needle at the side of which, and also affixed to the
needle holder 07, I have shown a loop opener C, which is set to corre-
spond in distance from the needle with that from centre to centre of the
points a; D is a rotating hook, which in form and action corresponds
with the looping hook employed in the Wilcox and Gibbs' sewing machine.
This hook D is applied to the end of the small shaft D*, which is

page_text: supported by the bearings D'; D³ is a pinion secured on this hook
shaft D*, the teeth of which are taken into by the teeth of the pinion D³,
which is also formed with bevilled teeth taken into by the teeth of the
pinion D'; the small bevil pinion D' is applied to one end of the
shaft D', the other end of which has applied to it the pinion Dº, the
teeth of which gear into a similar one secured on the main shaft A' for
giving the desired rotary motion to the hook D; D' and D are the
bearings for supporting the shaft D'; D' is the grooved wheel with
handle thereto for giving motion to the machine.
I may here state that the machine is capable of being driven by
treddle or steam power, by clutch wheel, or by slack and tight belt.
E is a slot cast in the "arm As, in which the needle lever C' moves
freely. The needle bar may if desired receive its motion from a revolving
shaft extending from the needle bar to the main shaft, as is well under-
stood. The red lines in the front view of the point wheel, Figure 3, shew
how the fabric is arranged on the points; and by preference I place the left-
hand selvage loops on first, but either will do according to the will of the
operator. E' shows the plates for securing the points a to the wheel A*,
as is well understood, and I do not confine myself to the exact shape of
these points, nor to the precise manner in which they are held in their
position, as shewn, as these may be varied; E' is a guard for keeping
the fabric off from the working parts; E is an instrument for pushing
off the work from the points after it has been united, and which may if
desired receive a rocking motion from the main shaft.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-The work is arranged on
the points, as shewn in Figure 3; the needle supplied with a thread
enters the first pair of loops, the thread of which is caught by the
hook D. The needle ascends, the worm B³ then moves the point wheel
one point, the needle again descends, and enters the second pair of
loops, which thread is again caught by the hook. These movements are
repeated as fast as the work can be laid on to the points. The work
when it has become united by the sewing of the edges together, and has
left the points is pushed along the arm A³.
I sometimes apply a guard over the needle point to facilitate the
drawing-off of the work after it has been united.
In applying the points to a fixed bar in a straight line the loops of
the first selvage to be seamed or united are placed on the row of points;

page_text: •
the hose or fabric is then carried round the bar holding the points, when
the loops of the remaining selvage are placed on those points on the top
of the first selvage, as shewn in Figure 7.
Figure 5 represents a front view, and Figure 6, an end view of parts
of what I term a bar machine. A. is the casting or foundation plate;
A', the main shaft; C, the bracket for carrying the needle lever C¹ and
needle holder C²; C² and C³ are the eccentric and connecting rod to the
lever C¹ for giving motion to the 'needle C*; D is the rotating hook fixed
on the end of the shaft D³, at the other end of which is affixed 'the bevil
wheel.De, which gears into a similar bevilled pinion affixed on the main
shaft A¹ for giving rotary motion to the hook D; G is a groove formed
in the sliding bar J, and in which is fitted loosely the lower part of the
bracket D₁ for carrying one end of the shaft D; K is a toothed rack
secured in a groove formed in the bar J; B' is a bracket for supporting
the short shaft that carries the pinion B and the worm wheel B³. The
wheel B³ is driven by a worm B³ as described in respect of the worm
wheel B³ in Figure 1. The worm wheel B³ is fixed on the main
shaft A¹.
:
It will be seen that by every revolution of the main shaft the bar J
with the point bar will be caused to traverse from left to right the
distance of that from one point to the next.
The needle and hook operate in relation to each other the same as in
Figures 1 and 2. H is the point bar fitted with grooved points, which
bar is capable of being lifted out of its place by removing the catch I,
and sliding it out of the groove M. I for convenience generally
employ several point bars with this machine to facilitate the supplying
of them with fabric prévious to their being placed in position in the
machine.
A screw may be substituted for the sliding bar J, which with the
point bars may be made any suitable length or gauge or shape. The
part of the sliding bar J marked N is cut away up to the end of that
bar, as shewn, to allow of the revolving of the wheel D.. Previous to
starting the machine the bar J, which is shewn broken away, and which
slides in the plate A, is moved from right to left, so that the point o
comes under the needle; and to effect this back motion a small space is
cut out of the concentric part of the worm' just to admit of the worm
.wheel revolving in that particular part of the worm. When the bar J has

page_text: been drawn out to the desired extent the worm wheel is stopped in that
position that the worm may enter it.
It will be understood that the work produced by either of the two
machines represented by Figures 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, is the same, and that
the only difference is in the machines, one being what I call a wheel
the other a bar machine.
It will be seen that by the apparatus described in respect of Figures 1,
2, and 3, I have chosen to employ the ordinary chain stitch for sewing
the parts together owing to its simplicity, but the working may be for
the use of other known stitches that may be considered convenient and
sufficiently elastic for the purpose.
Having thus described my Invention, and means which I adopt in
carrying the same into effect, I would have it understood that I do not
confine myself to the precise details of parts as shewn and described, as
these may be varied without departing from the peculiar character of
the Invention; but what I do claim is, the adaptations or combinations
of means for uniting parts of looped fabrics, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Whitehall, have hereunto
set
my
hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.