Pacture of Diankets, Coverlets, mattresses, wearing Apparel and for other Purposes, together with Apparatus for Use in the Production of the said Fabric.
Year: 1885

page_text: Pacture of Diankets, Coverlets, mattresses, wearing Apparel,
and for other Purposes, together with Apparatus for Use in
the Production of the said Fabric.
I CHARLES TILL of 40 Filbert Street, Leicester in the County of Leicester,
Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows:-
My said Invention relates primarily to an improved fabric or material for use in
the manufacture of blankets, coverlets, mattresses, petticoats and other articles of
bedclothing and wearing apparel and for other uses and secondarily to apparatus
intended to further the production of the said material or fabric. The improved
material or fabric is composed of cotton or other suitably soft fibre formed into
lengths or slivers. For example I make use of the slivers delivered in the ordinary
course of manufacture from certain classes of carding engines or I might form
suitable slivers by the aid of carding engines or machines specially constructed or
adapted to produce a sliver sufficient for my purpose. To form a sheet or piece of
the improved fabric I attach or knit the slivers to each other in parallel rows by
means of suitable mechanism so as to form a confining network around each sliver
and also to attach the different rows of aliver to each other so as to produce a
homogenous sheet which can be cut to any desired shape and made up into useful
articles. The mechanism which I at present use to knit the slivers together
consists of a modified and simplified form of the knitting machine ordinarily used
in the manufacture of clouds, mufflers, scarves and other similar knitted fabrics;
such a machine for example as is known in the trade by the name of the "Rotary
knitting machine. The sliver to compose the fabric is fed from a box or receptacle
one end being led through a traversing guide or carrier which is automatically
traversed to and fro across the machine and above and in line with the knitting
needles and bars the needles being threaded with the yarn which is to form the
binding attachments around and between the slivers. The free end of the sliver
is led through the said guide or carrier and made fast. The machine is then put
to work and the carrier moves across the machine laying a length of sliver in a
suitable position to be enclosed by the mesh formed by the needles when they come
into action. When the needles have performed their movements and knitted the
[Prins 21

page_text: meshes round the sliver the carrier returns across the frame laying another line of
sliver side by side with the first. The knitting action of the needles again takes
place whereby the second line of sliver is firmly secured to the first and the
successive operations of laying a line of aliver and knitting it to its predecessor
are carried on in rotation until the piece is completed. In cases where the sliver
is considered too weak to stand the strain of the carrier I serve or wrap the sliver
with yarn so as to strengthen it. A convenient method of applying the yarn is to
pass the sliver through the centre of two bobbins or spools arranged in line with
each other the serving yarn being wound in one direction upon one bobbin and in
the contrary direction upon the other bobbin. The yarns are attached to the
leading end of the sliver which is then pulled through the centres of the bobbins
the serving yarn unwinding from one bobbin and coiling upon the sliver in one
direction whilst the other yarn leaves the bobbin and coils upon the sliver in the
contrary direction so that the right and left hand coils of serving yarn on the sliver
cross each other and constitute a tubular net which contains and gives sufficient
strength to the sliver.
Articles composed of the said fabric can be shaped, bound, covered, trimmed and
ornamented according to taste. The fabric may be of any desired thickness and
may be used in single layers or in two or more layers and either with or without
interposed stuffing.
DUTTON & FULTON,
Agents.

page_text: into rengens or suvers and knitted together in rows so as to produce a homogenous
sheet which can be cut to any desired shape and made up into useful articles. The
mechanism which I at present use to knit the slivers together consists of a modified
form of the knitting machine ordinarily used in the manufacture of clouds, mufflers,
scarves and other similar knitted fabrics. And in order that my said invention
may be properly understood I will now proceed more particularly to describe the
same and the mode of carrying it into practical effect reference being had to the
annexed sheet of explanatory drawings:-
Fig. 1 is intended to represent a portion of my improved fabric or material. It
consists as shown of a continuous sliver a. of cotton, flax, or other suitably soft
fibre laid together in a zig-zag manner the successive rows being knitted or secured
to each other by means of yarns b. The knitting process is effected in a suitable
knitting machine of ordinary construction, such for example as is used in the
manufacture of clouds, mufflers, scarves and the like. Fig. 2 is an elevation of a
machine which may be used to perform the knitting operations, those parts only
being shown which are necessary to the explanation of my invention. The
mechanism is supported by end frames c. and is operated from a cranked shaft d.
The needle bar e. and the guide bar f. occupy their ordinary relative positions and
are operated in the ordinary manner. The needles on the needle bar (not shown in
the drawings) are threaded with yarns in the ordinary manner from the warp
beam g. and the loops or meshes formed by the working of the machine embrace
each successive layer of sliver and knit it to its predecesser. As shown at Fig. 2
the apparatus is represented as working two widths of fabric simultaneously, but
if desired one width extending the full distance between the frames c. may be
I worked in the same manner. The slivers a. are led from a box or receptacle
through fixed hooks or rings h. and thence through eyes i. on a movable guide or
carrier board k. which is slid backward and forward upon rods by means of the
rocking lever m. which is pivotted at n. The eyes carrying the slivers a. move
between and in line with the needles and lay the sliver in successive layers each
layer being secured to its predecesser by a movement of the needles and needle bar.
The rocking lever m. is operated from the existing heart cam o. by means of the
upright lever p. and link q. As shown in full lines the reciprocating guide
board k. is at the limit of its stroke to the right hand; the dotted lines show the
limit of its stroke to the left. By altering the position of the link q. the stroke of
the guide board may be correspondingly increased or diminished. A series of holes
are made in the levers m, p. to permit of this alteration. As the formation of the
fabric proceeds it drops toward the bottom of the machine where it may be stored
in a receptacle or led over a roller and removed. As the whole of the knitting
machine is old except the sliding guide and the means for actuating the same
I make no claim other than for these parts. In cases where the sliver is not
sufficiently strong to resist the pull of the sliding guide I wrap or serve it with
yarn in the manner illustrated at Fig. 3 of the drawings. I arrange two hollow
spools and 8. in line. Yarn is wound upon the spool r. from left to right and
upon the spool 8. from right to left. The sliver to be served is passed through the
spools in the direction of the arrow. The yarn upon the respective spools is
attached to the sliver and as the sliver proceeds it is served with yarn from left to
right from the spool r. and from right to left from the spool 8. As a consequence
when the sliver has passed through the spool & the two servings of yarn cross each
other and form a tubular network or cross-serving which encloses the sliver and
strengthens it sufficiently to with-stand the fatigue it is subjected to in the course
of manufacture. It is evident that goods other than sliver could be served in the
same manner. The fabric is manufactured as follows, taking one width as an
example. The free end of the sliver a. is passed through the fixed hook or ring h.
and then through the eye i. in the sliding guide k. and made fast. The machine is
then put to work and the guide i. moves across the machine laying a length of
sliver in a suitable position to be enclosed by the meshes formed by the needles
which come into action as soon as the length of sliver is laid. When the needles

page_text: have performed their movements and knitted the meshes around the sliver the
carrier makes its return stroke laying another line of sliver upon the first. The
knitting action of the needles again takes place whereby the second line of sliver
is firmly secured to the first and the successive operations of laying a line of sliver
and knitting it to its predecesser are carried on in rotation until the piece is com-
pleted. The sliver may be of any suitable material or fibre and the fabric
manufactured therefrom may be put to any desired use, for example it may be
made up into coverlets, mattresses, wearing apparel, treads for stairs or for putting
beneath carpets, or as lagging for steam cylinders or steam generators or it may be
shaped, bound, covered, trimmed and ornamented according to taste.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. The improved material or fabric made from sliver of cotton, flax or other
suitably soft fibre substantially as herein before described and shown.
2. The combination of mechanism employed in the manufacture of the improved
fabric from a continuous length of sliver, substantially as hereinbefore described
and shown.
3. In a knitting machine employed in the manufacture of the herein before
described sliver fabric the sliding guide or carrier for laying the sliver in successive
rows, and the means for actuating the said guide or carrier, substantially as herein-
before described and shown.
4. The means employed to cross-serve sliver or other goods with yarn described
with reference to Fig. 3 of the drawings and consisting of the spools and 8
arranged in line and carrying yarn wound in opposite directions as described, the
sliver being passed through the centre of both spools and transferring the yarn to
itself whereby the sliver is cross-served with yarn for the purposes and substantially
as described and shown.
1000