A NEW METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR WEAVING INDIAN SHAWLS AND OTHER FIGURED TISSUES
Year: 1862

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Pierre François Cléo Cheveron
and Eugène Cachus Eichenberg at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 3rd November 1862.
We, PIERRE FRANÇOIS CLEO CHEVERON and EUGÈNE CACHUS EICHENBERG,
of Paris, Boulevard Rochechouart, 30s, Engineers, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "A NEW METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR
WEAVING INDIAN SHAWLS AND OTHER FIGURED TISSUES," to be as follows:-
The object of our Invention is a new method of manufacturing India shawls,
carpets, and other descriptions of figured fabrics. We accomplish this by
producing by machinery the hooking (crochetage), which hitherto has been
done in India by hand. For this purpose we dispense with a shuttle and sub-
stitute for it needles and hooks, the combined action of which facilitated by
the play of supplementary weighted cords and by a comb, the teeth of which
are free at top, produce the fabric.
The needles. We take a jacquard and arrange along the whole breadth of
the machine and at that part where the fabric is made and in front of the
workman, a series of needles, side by side in a sliding box, which keeps them
in position and guides their motion. The needles have eyes at the point like
needles used in sewing machines, and move horizontally in the direction of
the warp threads providing the hooks with the thread for the weft. There
are as many series of needles 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 10, as there are colors in the
fabric. To each series there is a hook working, as will be hereafter described.
Our Invention will be fully understood by reference to the accompanying
Drawings and the following description thereof.
Figure 1 is a side view of the apparatus; Figure 2 is a face view, and
Figure 3 is a plan, of the batten; Figure 4 is a view in plan of the guide for
communicating a lateral motion to a carriage; Figure 5 is a side view, and

page_text: Figure 6 is a plan of the sliding guide for guiding the carriage of the hooks
in a lateral direction.
The thread box.-The threads for the needles a, a, are held in tubes b, b,
all of which are arranged in a box c, placed behind and above the needles.
To prevent the threads from being injured by friction and from becoming
entangled during their passage from the tubes to the needles they are separated
from one another by eyes made in small cylinders d, placed at the lower part
of the box and fitted so that they may be turned more or less to regulate the
tension for the regular winding off of the thread. Each thread passes to its
needle through an eyelet held by another thread, one end of which is fixed to
a spring or to a weight, which tends to draw back the thread and tightens the
loop when the needle recedes; by this arrangement when the needle advances
it gives enough thread to make the loop necessary for the formation of the
'weft, without uselessly winding off the supply contained in the tubes.
.
The hooks. On the face of the batten in front of the workman we place a
carriage, free to move up and down. This carriage carries the books k, which
are pivoted or free to turn; the number of these hooks is equal to that of the
series of needles along the breadth of the machine; the function of the hooks
is to seize the weft threads which are brought to them by the needles of each
series, and to produce on the breadth of the series of needles to which they
correspond the work done by the shuttle in the ordinary loom.
Supplementary cords.-Between the ordinary warps f and the comb g we
place, as close as possible to the comb, supplementary cords h, carrying at
.bottom small weights; when the cords rise the weights enter between the
warp threads and separate them sufficiently to allow the hooks to pass between
them. Motion is communicated to the machine by steam or other power, or
by hand.
In the machine represented in the accompanying Drawing the workman
guides the batten i, which is mounted laterally on rollers running on rails. On
each side of the batten guides m, n, are placed for guiding the lateral and
vertical motions of the carriage of the batten i. The guide m to the left
(Figures 5 and 6) is that which gives the lateral motion to the carriage,
causing it to recede to the extent of one needle at each course of the batten.
The guide n to the right through a rack o moves the pinion 'p, which drives
the small rack 1, acting on the pinions r mounted on the shafts of the hooks k.
The comb g is placed immediately after the hooks k. The guide m is toothed
at top and bottom, and these teeth are worked by the clicks q, s. A guide t,
Figure 4, causes the hooks k through the action of a wheel u, to dip or
descend.,
:
..

page_text: Action of the apparatus, say, for the manufacture of a shawl with eight
colors. Each series of needles a is to have all the colors, the whole of the
needles along the breadth of the machine will be divided into series of eight
needles; to each series there is a hook k. The workman commences by
threading each needle with the colored thread it is to carry, taking care to
place the same colored thread in every needle in each series. Supposing now
the work commences, a rise takes place, the weights on the cords h separate
the warp threads, between which the hooks k pass while the warp threads are
raised by the jacquard. The batten drawn forward moves towards the needles,
during which motion the hooks k descend, penetrate into the warp, and meet
the needles of their series, which bring the thread necessary for the formation
of the loop. These needles advance on their side, each hook reaching the side
of the needle with which it corresponds, makes a half turn on its axis, passes
between the thread and the needle, which answers in the adjoining series to
that by the side of which it is placed, draws the thread and stretches it across
that part of the warp taken up by the series of needles to which it corresponds.
The batten in continuing its course pushes this loop towards the needles first
advanced, which then recede, while the immediately adjoining needles advance,
at the same time the hook makes a quarter of a turn, and becomes placed
perpendicularly to the warp, and presents the loop it has formed well open to
the needle which advances. This needle enters the loop while the hook
regains its first position, that is, with its point directed towards the needles,
retires with the batten and leaves the warp. When the batten has reached
the end of its backward course, all the hooks are pushed back to the extent of
one tooth to the right or left, so as to face the needles which hold the loops
already formed. The motion then recommences, and similar effects are pro-
duced. After eight strokes of the batten, seeing we have eight colors are
produced, a shoot is formed according to the requirements of the pattern. All
the warp threads are held by the threads, which, in becoming hooked, have
formed the weft. If the operation has been commenced from right to left, the
unrolling takes place from left to right, and if the hooks have turned in one
direction, they will turn the same number of times in the contrary direction,
so that the fabric and all the threads are tied in such manner that no hole can
be left.