Improvements in or applicable to Knives for use in Machines for Cutting the Pile of Fustians and other Pile Fabrics.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 9th June, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 9th Mar., 1892-Accepted, 4th June, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or applicable to Knives for use in Machines for
Cutting the Pile of Fustians and other Pile Fabrics.
1 JOHN JAMES MANN of Ordsall Lane Mills Salford in the County of Lancaster
Fustian Cutter do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention is applicable to all knives for cutting fustians and other piled
fabrics which are mounted in a handle or frame in such a way that they can be
released and withdrawn from the cloth immediately the guide or point of the knife
goes through the back of the fabric.
It is found in practice that however delicately the releasing device of such knives
may be constructed and adjusted to act instantaneously, the motion of the cloth
past the knife (or the knife past the cloth) is required for economical cutting to be
so rapid, that it causes the said knife to make a considerable slit in the fabric before
it can be withdrawn out of action.
My invention is intended to reduce to a minimum the length of this slit and it
consists in applying a yielding device (such for example as a spring, weighted lever
or a cushion of air) to the part of the frame, or to the handle, which carries the
knife and guide and the releasing and withdrawing mechanism in such a manner that
when the said knife goes through the back of the fabric and whilst the said releasing
and withdrawing mechanism is being brought into action, the whole can give way
in the direction of the motion (or the action) of the cloth and thus a very short slit
will be made therein.
Various devices may be adopted in carrying out my invention. For example the
handle of the knife may be divided in its length and one part may be provided with
a socket fitting over the other part which slides therein and is connected thereto by
a spring so fixed that the part which carries the knife and the releasing and with-
drawing mechanism can recede as above described when the point goes through the
fabric.
Or the spring may be applied at the end of the handle at its connection with the
framing or the cutting table to which it may be attached, or where a movable
cutting table is used the spring or other resilient device may be applied to the
table.
Dated this 8th day of June 1891
GEO. DAVIES & SON,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or applicable to Knives for use in Machines for
Cutting the Pile of Fustians and other Pile Fabrics.
I JOHN JAMES MANN of Ordsall Lane Mills Salford in the County of Lancaster,
Fustian Cutter, 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 is applicable to all knives, for cutting fustians and other pile
fabrics, which are mounted in a handle or frame in such a way that they can be
released and withdrawn from the cloth or otherwise rendered inoperative immediately
the guide or point of the knife goes through the back of the fabric.
It is found in practice that however delicately the releasing device of such knives
may be constructed and adjusted to act instantaneously, the motion of the cloth
DO17

page_text: past the knife (or the knife past the cloth) is required for economical cutting to be
so rapid, that it causes the said knife to make a considerable.slit in the fabric before
it can be withdrawn out of action.
My invention is intended to reduce to a minimum the length of this slit and it
consists in applying a yielding device (such for example as a spring, weighted lever
or a cushion of air) to the part of the frame, or to the handle, which carries the
knife and guide and the releasing and withdrawing mechanism in such a manner
that when the said knife goes through the back of the fabric and whilst the said
releasing and withdrawing mechanism is being brought into action the whole can
give way in the direction of the motion or the action of the cloth and thus a very
short slit will be made therein.
Various devices may be adopted in carrying out my invention, according to the
construction of the handle or frame which supports the knife and its releasing and
withdrawing mechanism, but I will describe means for applying my invention to a
knife handle made according to Letters Patent No. 9863 dated June 15th 1889 and
granted to Messrs. Higginbottom, Goddard, Smith, and Mannock.
This adaptation will be readily understood from the following description upon
reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is an elevation of an automatic knife of the kind above referred to with my
invention applied thereto.
Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the rear end of the handle.
Fig. 3 is a sectional plan of the same and Fig. 4 a back view thereof.
On Fig. 1a is the knife the releasing trigger c the withdrawing spring d is the
handle carrying the same and provided with the catch mechanism e for connecting
it to the cutting table e as described in the Specification of the above named
Letters Patent.
According to the present invention the latter mechanism e is carried by a separate
part d of the handle.
This part
forms (or is provided with) a socket in which the part d slides.
A spring is connected to the part d at and to d* at f' and thus when the
knife goes through the cloth and whilst the releasing trigger e and withdrawing
spring d are being brought into action the parts a b c and d can yield by means of
the spring in the direction of the motion of the cloth (indicated by the arrow on
Figs. 1 and 2 thereby reducing the length of the slit made therein.
It will be evident without further illustration that the division in the frame or
knife handle may be nearer to the knife if preferred, instead of at the rear end of
the handle close to its connection with the table e as shown.
I would repeat in conclusion that the application of my invention will vary
according to the construction of the frame or handle of the automatic knife to which
it is required to be adapted.
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 combination with the fixed part of the frame or handle of a knife for
cutting fustians and other pile fabrics of a movable part carrying the knife and
automatic mechanism for releasing and withdrawing the same or otherwise rendering
it inoperative the former part supporting the latter and being connected thereto by
a spring or equivalent device substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore
described.
2. The improvements in knives for cutting the pile of fustians substantially as
described with reference to the annexed drawings.
Dated this 8th day of March 1892.
GEO. DAVIES & SON,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agents for the Applicant.