Improvements in the Manufacture of Cut-pile Fabrics.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Mar., 1895
Complete Specification Left. 23rd Dec., 1895-Accepted, 21st Mar., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Cut-pile Fabrics.
I ALBERT WEBB of Copenhagen Street, Worcester, Horsehair Carpet
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
In the manufacture of pile carpets and other fabrics of a similar construction,
where one thread out of several in each split or division of the reed is raised to form
the pile or design, it has hitherto been necessary that all the threads in each split
which may eventually be required to form the pile, should be of the same thickness,
and of a sufficient size to adequately fill the space allotted to that split in the fabric.
Thus, in a carpet known as a five frame Brussels or Wilton, there are five threads,
all of equal or approximately equal size in each split of the reed, one of which
threads is raised at each lift of the jacquard, to form the pile, and four remain below
the surface, forming a backing.
The object of this invention is to reduce the weight of the yarn lying below the
surface by one half, whilst providing that the quantity of yarn forming the surface
shall be as great as in fabrics woven by the former process.
The width of the fabric produced has also hitherto been limited by the length of
wire required to form the pile which could conveniently be inserted from the side
of the loom, but by this invention it is only limited by the distance a shuttle may
be thrown, the pile wires being arranged parallel to the warp threads.
In carrying out my invention, 1 use face or figure yarns of one half the weight
required by the former process, and raise one of these yarns twice or more times to
form each pile loop or stitch of the design, by which means I fill up the lateral
space allotted to the stitch in the fabric. This result is due to both loops being
formed on the same wire, which passes through them in the direction of the warp,
and thus a tendency is given to the loops to form one compact loop or stitch, when
the pile is cut, and fill the allotted space in the fabric better than the single loop of
yarn of ordinary thickness, when woven by the usual process.
In describing the method by which this is to be accomplished, I will describe an
arrangement suitable for a Brussels or Wilton carpet loom, the whole of the
ordinary wire motion used to insert the pile wires being disconnected from the loom,
as unnecessary.
In front of the slay I suspend a horizontal bar of iron, by its ends, from a rod
placed about 3 feet above, and in such manner that it will be free to follow the
movement of the slay. In this bar, grooves are formed corresponding with the
dents in the reed to receive the pile wires.
The wires may be secured in the grooves by a cap plate screwed on the upper
surface of the bar.
Immediately in front of the bar, the wires are increased in height or gauge, to
about inch, tapering down in a wedge shaped manner to the ordinary gauge of
the wire, the wedge pointing toward the reed.
The wires, which correspond in number with the dents or splits in the reed,
should be of sufficient length to reach from the bar (when resting about two inches
behind the point to which the slay will beat up, when fully forward) to about half
an inch behind the reed, when it is fully back.

page_text: The ends of the wires which project through the reed have a small Ṭ shaped head,
which is turned slightly to right or left, in such a manner that the extreme ends of
the arms of the T slightly overlap the split or division of the reed through which
the wire passes. The wires are also curved upwards to the shape of the circum-
ference of a circle having a radius of three feet, and are so set that the T shaped
heads lie nearly in the middle of the shed formed by the figure warp, when raised
for the design, and the upper warp chain, when raised for the shuttle to pass under
it. The T heads may be turned either to the right or the left, but it is preferable
that they should all be turned in the same direction.
The edges of the wedge shaped projections on the wires may be sharpened to a
knife edge, for the purpose of severing the loops, which will eventually be turned
over the wires, or the wires may be grooved along their upper edges, to receive
small circular cutters for dividing the loops.
On commencing to weave, the threads of the figure warp which are required to
form the pile, are raised by the jacquard in the ordinary way, and striking against
the underside of the T heads of the wires, are deflected to the right (if the heads
are turned in that direction), and pass between the wires and the division of the
reed on their right hand side, until clear of the heads, when they continue to rise,
vertically to the full height of the Jacquard lift. On falling again, the warp
threads strike the upper side of the heads, which here slope downwards to the left,
and are deflected to that side, and pass between the wires and the divisions of the
reed on their left, until clear of the head, thus giving the yarns a turn over the
wires from right to left.
The same object may be attained by replacing the T shaped head with one
shaped somewhat like a fish tail, and left standing vertically, instead of turned
obliquely at the back of the reed. In this case, a second or back reed is placed
about an inch behind the ordinary or front reed, it being made of the same pitch.
All the threads are put through this back reed in the same order as in the true or
front reed. When the threads to form the pile are about to be raised, the back
reed is traversed laterally by means of a small cam at one end of it, say, to the
right, rather more than the width of one division or split of the reeds; consequently,
as the figure threads rise, they are deflected to the right by the back reed, and pass
upwards on the right hand side of the pile wires. When they have passed the
wires in their upward movement, the back reed is traversed rather more than the
width of two splits to the left, whereby the figure threads are pushed against
the left side of the front reed splits, and pass downwards on the left side of the pile
wires, thus giving them a turn over the wires from right to left, in the same way
as in the first described plan. When the threads have passed the wires in their
downward movement, the back reed is traversed, about the width of one split of
the front reed, to the right, thereby returning to its original position.
With either arrangement herein described, when the figure warp threads have
fallen to their lowest point, a weft is shot over them, and is beaten up, as usual
This forms the first loop of half thickness yarn, of which two are required to make
one complete stitch of the design, and the second loop is formed in a simila
manner, by raising the same threads (or others, if a mottled effect be desired), and
binding with a second weft.
When a sufficient number of these loops are formed on the wires, they will com
in contact with the cutting edges, by the automatic "take-up" motion of the loom
and be cut through, thus releasing the wires, and forming the cut-pile surface.
Dated this 21st day of March 1895.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Cut-pile Fabrics.
I ALBERT WEBB of Copenhagen Street, Worcester, Horse-hair Carpet
Manufacturer, 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 manufacture of pile carpets and other fabrics of a similar construction,
where one thread out of several in each split or division of the reed, is raised to
form the pile or design, it has hitherto been the practice to give all the threads in
cach split which may eventually be required to form the pile, the same thickness,
each being of sufficient size to adequately fill the space in the fabric allotted to one
split. Thus, in a carpet known as a five-frame Brussels or Wilton, there are five
threads, all of equal, or approximately, equal size in each split of the reed, one of
which threads is raised at each lift of the jacquard, to form the pile, while four
remain below the surface, forming the backing.
Now, one object of this invention is to reduce the weight of the yarn lying.
below the surface, by say one half, whilst providing that the quantity of yarn
forming the surface shall be as great as in fabrics woven by the ordinary
process.
The invention relates, secondly, to the production of fabrics of greater width
than heretofore.
The width of the fabric hitherto produced has been limited by the length of
wires used to form the pile, their length being limited by the space afforded for the
insertion of the wires, but by this invention the width of the fabric is only limited
by the distance a shuttle may be thrown, the pile wires being arranged parallel to
the warp threads.
In carrying out my invention, so far as regards the saving in weight of yarn,
I use face or figure yarns of one half the weight required by the ordinary process,
and raise one of these yarns twice or more times to form each pile loop or stitch of
the design, by which means I fill up the lateral space allotted to the stitch in the
labric.
This result is due to both loops being formed on the same wire, which passes
through them in the direction of the warp, and thus a tendency given to the two
loops to form one compact loop, or stitch, when the pile is cut, and fill the allotted
Брасе in the fabric better than the single loop of yarn of ordinary thickness, when
woven by the usual process.
In explaining the method by which this is to be accomplished, I will describe an
arrangement suitable for a Brussels or Wilton carpet loom, the whole of the
ordinary wire motion used to insert the pile wires being discarded as unnecessary.
In the accompanying drawings I have shewn in side elevation, at Fig. 1, so
much of a carpet loom as will serve to explain the nature of my invention.
Figs. 2 is an enlarged detail view of the construction of terry wire employed
and the means for carrying the same, and
Figs. 3 shew the form of the free end of the wire in front and edge views.
Referring to Fig. 1, A is the ordinary slay or lathe, B is the breast roller;
B are the warp beams, and C indicates the series of pile wires, which lie parallel
to the warp threads D.
In front of the slay is suspended a horizontal bar of iron C₁, by its ends,
such bar extending about 3 inches on each side of the work to be produced.
This bar is secured by bolts at its ends to two arms, one of which is shown at c
as fixed on a shaft c' mounted in bearings 2 attached to arms c³, which are bolted
to the ordinary framing of the loom. The bearings should stand immediately
over the line to which the slay will beat up, when fully forward. The arms c,

page_text: which should not exceed 3 feet, nor be less than 2 feet in length, are connected to
the lathe by a pair of adjustable links e, which should be fixed as low down on the
arms c as possible. The ends of the links c which are attached to the lathe are
cranked downwards, so that the pins on which they work may be as near the level
of the lathe bed as can be arranged, the object being, that the motion to be com-
municated to the bar C¹ should correspond as nearly as possible with that of the
middle of the slay.
In the bar C¹, grooves are formed (see Fig. 4), corresponding exactly with the
dents in the reed or slay, and of such width as to allow the ends of the pile or terry
wires to fit in them firmly, the number and pitch of the grooves being regulated by
the pitch of the reed.
The bar C is composed of two parts, the lower part being grooved to receive the
wires, and the upper part or cap piece (screwed to the lower) serving to clamp the
wires in their place.
The lower part of the bar is planed down, for about half its width, to a depth
somewhat exceeding the depth of the horizontal grooves in which the wires are
inserted. Thus, a shoulder is formed for the bent-down rear extremities of the
wires to bear against.
The horizontal grooves extend downwards over the face of the lower part of the
bar, and interlocking with these recesses is a shoulder formed by a wedge-shaped
portion of the wires.
The cap piece is made to correspond so far with the rebated under part of the
bar, as to clamp the wires firmly in their place, when the cap piece is fixed in
place.
The wires, when in position in the loom, must project below the bottom of the
bar, to the full extent of their pile height, so that the tufts of yarn formed by them
may pass freely under the bar. The wedge-shaped portion of the wire may be
sharpened to a knife edge, so that as it is brought forward in working, the knife
edge will cut the loops formed on the wire, and make them into tufts. Other
classes of yarn require circular cutters revolving on a steel shaft, as indicated at E,
Figure 2. The lower edges of these cutters run in fine grooves cut in the upper
edges of the pile wires, and a rapid rotary motion is given thereto by suitable
gearing to meet the work. The pile wires should be of sufficient length to reach
from the bar C, when fully forward, to about half an inch behind the reed, when
it is fully back, and should be curved to correspond to the arc described by the
bar, in swinging backward and forward with the motion of the slay. The pile
wires may be reduced in pile height from a point about half an inch in front of the
wedge, to about an inch from the T head, to facilitate passing to and fro through
the loops, which are finally formed near the T head. The bar and its knives
should be so set, that not more than four or five loops remain uncut over the wire,
when the slay is fully back.
The ends of the wires which project through the reed, terminate in a small
T-shaped head, varying in length in accordance with the pitch of the reed, but
conveniently they may measure about ths of an inch. The extremities of
the head are turned, the one to the right, and the other to the left, in such a
manner that the extreme ends slightly overlap the split or division of the reed
through which the wire passes. The enlarged views Figs. 3 shew the T-shaped
head in profile, and also as seen from behind the reed.
In the latter view, the wire is shewn as pushed against the reed to the right,
leaving space for the yarn to pass up on its left, and it will be noted that in this
position the lower end of the head overlaps the reed on the right, but does not
extend beyond it into the next split, whilst the upper end is not quite clear of the
reed on the left. This is secured by arranging that the thickness of the wire and
the reed is such that the lateral play of the wire in its split is slightly less than the
thickness of a reed. A stout reed is preferable for this purpose. The heads
should be nearly in the middle of the shed formed by the figure warp, when raised
for the design, and the upper chain warp, when raised for the shuttle to pass under

page_text: it. The T heads may be turned either to the right or left, but it is preferable
that they should all be turned in the same direction.
On commencing to weave, the threads of the figure warp which are required to
form the pile are raised by the jacquard in the ordinary way, and striking against
the underside of the T heads of the wires, are deflected to the right (if the heads
are turned in that direction), and pass between the wires and the division of the
reed on their right hand side, until clear of the heads, when they continue to rise
vertically to the full height of the Jacquard lift. On falling again, the warp
threads strike the upper side of the heads, which here slope downwards to the left,
and are deflected to that side, and pass between the wires and the division of the
reed on their left, until clear of the head, thus giving the yarns a tura over the
wires from right to left.
As a modification of this part of my invention, I arrange the loom as shown in
partial side elevation at Fig. 5, using, instead of the T headed pile wires, wires
formed with a head somewhat like a fish tail (approximately), as shown in Fig. 6,
left standing vertically instead of turned obliquely behind the reed.
In this case,
a second or false reed is placed about an inch behind the true reed carried by the
slay A. This false reed, shown in position at A' in Fig. 5. is best illustrated in
the detached views Figs. 7 and 8, the mode of its attachment to the slay, and the
means for giving it an endway reciprocating motion, being shown at Fig. 7, and its
form and position with respect to the true reed, being shown ou an enlarged scale
at Fig. 8.
The pitch of this false reed, it should be remarked, corresponds in pitch with
that of the true reed.
It is best made with one rib only, and it will then resemble a comb, and it is
further preferable that the reeds composing it should be reduced in thickness, from
their middle to their lower or free end, to about half that of their upper or rib
ends, but this is not essential. The rib of the false reed A' is gripped by three or
nore clips of thin steel a, about three inches wide, and inch thick, shaped to fit
the rib, and curved to pass as close as possible over the cap which secures the true
reed in position. The clips may be rivetted together just above the swell which
encloses the rib, and are bolted to a bar A2, which slides in bracket guides a',
attached to the ends of the lathe swords. These guides are so formed as to allow
the bar A² to move freely just clear of the cap of the reed.
All the threads are put through both the true and the false reeds in the same
order (though the order may be varied as regards the chain warps, if desired).
When the threads to form the pile are about to be raised, the false reed is
traversed laterally, say, to the right, rather more than the width of one division or
split of the reed; consequently, as the figure threads rise, they are deflected to the
right, and pass upwards on the right hand side of the pile wires. When they have
passed the wires in their upward movement, the back or false reed is traversed
rather more than the width of two splits to the left, whereby the figure threads
are pushed against the left side of the front reed splits, and pass downwards on the
left side of the pile wires, thus giving them a turn over the wires from right to
left, in the same way as in the first described plan. When the threads have
passed the wires in their downward movement, the back reed is traversed about
the width of one split of the front reed, to the right, thereby returning to its
original position. The actual amount of traverse will depend upon the distance
between the true and false reed, a greater traverse being required as the distance
between them is increased. To accomplish this traversing of the false reed, a
plate of iron a² is attached to the back of the shuttle box, as shown at Figs. 5 & 7,
to which is fixed a stud bearing a chain wheel F, to the inner side of which is
secured a cam F¹. The approximate shape of this cam is indicated on an enlarged
scale, and detached, at Fig. 9.
Referring to Fig. 7, an angle lever F will be seen working on another stud on
the plate a², carrying on its horizontal arm a bowl which bears on the cam F', and
is kept down on it by the pressure of a spring. The vertical arm of the lever F
...

page_text: is connected by an adjustable link F³ to the bar A2, and communicates to it a
reciprocating motion derived from the cam F1.
The chain wheel F receives its motion from a similar wheel, but containing half
the number of teeth, keyed on the crank shaft G of the loom, and it therefore
makes one complete revolution in two beats of the slay. The chain communicating
the motion is shown in Fig. 5, as passing over two deeply flanged pulleys HH,
attached to the frame of the loom, as high up as convenient. As the to and fro
movement of the slay alternately slacks and tightens the chain, it may be
compensated by a double pulley and lever arrangement (of a well known type,
as indicated in Fig. 5), or any other convenient means of counterbalance, or spring,
may be used. The chain wheels should have wide and deep flanges, to direct the
chain correctly on to the studs on the wheel.
The special advantage of this alternative plan is, that it renders "unweaving
(as it is technically called) much more easy to effect than with the first described
arrangement. It is only necessary to turn the loom backward, and reverse the
action of the jacquard, when the warp threads are untwisted from the wires.
By the other method, the warp threads must be cleared of the T heads
individually.
With either arrangement herein described for forming a loop over the wires
when the figure warp threads have fallen to their lowest point, one or more wefts
is shot over them, and beaten up, as usual. This forms the first loop of half
thickness yarn, of which two are required to make one complete stitch of the
design, and the second loop is formed in a similar manner by raising the same
threads (or others, if a mottled effect is desired) and binding with a second or
more wefts.
From the foregoing description it will be understood that the means for forming
the terry loops is equally applicable to face warps of the ordinary, or half the
ordinary, thickness.
Where yarns of the full thickness are used, the threads forming the figure may
be changed at each lift of the jacquard, but in this case no saving in the weight of
yarn is effected; the advantage being limited to the power to produce wide carpet,
and the reduction in the width of the loom, in consequence of the discarding of the
ordinary wire motion. When a sufficient number of loops are formed on the wires,
they will come in contact with the cutters or cutting edges of the wires by the
automatic "take up "motion of the loom, and be cut through, thus releasing the
wires, and forming the cut-pile surface. The revolving cutters may be actuated
by an arrangement similar in its action to that used for the chain wheels which
give the traversing action to the false reed, but should run at a high speed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The arrangement of mechanism described with reference to the drawings, for
laying the loops which are to form the face of the fabric on pile wires arranged
parallel to the warp threads, and connected to, and moving with, the slay or lathe,
the operation of laying the loops being effected by the raising and lowering of the
warp threads, to form the shed.
2. In the manufacture of cut-pile fabrics in a loom provided with pile wires
lying parallel with the warp threads, economising the face warp threads by using
face yarns of one half the ordinary weight required to form a stitch or tuft, and
raising such threads two or more times to form each pile loop, stitch, or tuft of the
design, and securing the same as above set forth.
Dated this 23rd day of December 1895.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.