Improved Machine or Apparatus for Cutting Cloth or Fabrics.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Feb., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 18th Nov., 1896-Accepted, 18th Feb., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Machine or Apparatus for Cutting Cloth or Fabrics.
We, FREDERICK LESLIE, of 39 Highbury Crescent West, in the County of.
London, Manager of Woollen Factory, and MARK BROMET of Little Sutton
Street, Goswell Road, in the County of London, Woollen Merchant, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its chief object, cutting cloth and fabrics in laid up
condition by a hand labour appliance instead of by a band saw as at present.
In places of business such as clothing factories plys of cloth are piled up to
a given thickness in order that a large quantity of fixed sizes of garment parts
can be cut at one time and to a given template or markings for what are known
in trade as stock sizes.
These are usually cut by a band saw always running in the same direction and
from fixed positions, so that it is necessary to move or to feed the pile of cloth as
the cutting progresses.
By our invention, we may move the cutting appliance and although we prefer
to employ hand labour the apparatus can be easily driven by a motor and be simply
guided by hand.
For the purpose of our invention, we form a kind of shoe with a pointed toe
and slightly rounded bottom the shoe being of such width that it can be canted
or leant over to follow the desired curve.,
The shoe has an upright with serrated teeth like the knives of a mowing machine
against which a similar tooth knife has reciprocating action in a straight or curvi-
linear manner and guided by studs in slots under the direction or motion of hand
levers operable from above at the rear to enable the handle to ride over the top
of the pile of fabrics.
The reciprocatory, straight, or curvilinear motion of the loose blade may be
actuated by power in any desired manner.
Dated this 18th day of February 1896.
H. GARDNER,
Patent Agent, 166 Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the said Frederick Leslie.
Improved Machine or Apparatus for Cutting Cloth or Fabrics.
We, FREDERICK LESLIE, of 39 Highbury Crescent West, in the County of
London, Manager of Woollen Factory, and MARK BROMET of Little Sutton
Street, Goswell Road, in the County of London, Woollen Merchant, 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 relates to a portable machine chiefly intended for use in clothing

page_text: factories and other places where large quantities of cloth have to be cut up for
making garments of "stock sizes," but the said machine can also be used for cutting
other fabrics.
Heretofore it has been a common practice to cut up cloth in large factories by
means of a power driven flexible knife somewhat resembling a band saw in that it
is driven by means of pulleys and always moves in the same direction. By this
method the cloth has to be moved about when in large bulk and the expenditure
of much useless labour is thereby occasioned and great difficulty is experienced in
properly presenting the cloth to the cutting knife.
By the present invention the objections above named are overcome and a
portable apparatus is provided which can be readily moved about to operate upon
the cloth and which occupies but little space. The said apparatus comprises a
cutting knife or two or more knives which or one of which by means of a motor
connected with the apparatus is caused to reciprocate at a high speed. By
presenting the said knives to the cloth the latter can be very readily cut up as
desired.
In the accompanying drawing we have shown a convenient form of apparatus
constructed according to our invention.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus, and
Figure 2 is a sectional plan taken on the line x, x of Figure 1.
Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in both figures.
A is a large flat shoe or sole plate of any desired or suitable shape; B is a
pillar or guide secured to the shoe; C is a non-reciprocating knife or cutter
removably attached to the pillar; D is a reciprocating knife or cutter working
against the cutter C. The cutter D is supported at its rear edge by a part 6 of
the pillar and is held in position by screws d, d, which pass through slots d', d' in
the said cutter and so allow of the reciprocating movement of the cutter. The
lower end of the cutter D projects into an opening formed in the shoe. E is a
driving shaft mounted in bearings E' at the head of the pillar and connected to
the reciprocating cutter by an eccentric F and link G the latter being formed
with an eccentric sheave at its upper end and pivoted to the cutter D at its lower
end. The shaft. E may be driven by a motor mounted on the pillar. For
example we have shewn an electric motor H for driving the shaft, the shaft E
being the armature axis. A suitable switch may be provided on the machine itself
to allow of the motor being controlled by the workman using the machine. It is
obvious that the cutter D will be moved up and down once for each revolution of
the shaft E, and if the cutters D, E are furnished with suitable teeth similar for
example to those shown in the drawing and the shaft E is driven at a high
velocity, a rapid and powerful cutting action will be obtained on the cloth against
which the cutters are pressed. We may construct the cutters with a straight or
wavy cutting edge in lieu of a toothed edge. J is a handle by which the
apparatus is guided and pushed along.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows, that is to say, the layers of cloth
to be cut having been properly arranged on a suitable table or flat surface the
shoe A is introduced under the cloth and the cutters are pushed against the edge
of the cloth and then guided by the handle J in the direction the cut is required
to be made. When the bulk of the cloth has been reduced to comparatively small
pieces any cuts to be made in the said pieces can be done by pushing them against
the cutters while the apparatus is kept stationary.
To facilitate the sliding movement of the apparatus the shoe may be furnished
with balls or rollers in its lower face. The blades are removable for sharpening
purposes. In some instances we may employ one blade only instead of two.
In cases where a large number of pieces of cloth are to be cut to the same
pattern the above mentioned table top may be grooved in the shape of the pattern
to be cut and the under part of the shoe be provided with a suitable projection
under the pillar. In this way the machine will accurately follow the pattern to
be cut.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. A portable machine having a reciprocating knife working against a fixed
knife the said knives being supported by a pillar or guide rising vertically from a
shoe and having at its upper end a motor for operating the said reciprocating
knife substantially as described and for the purposes specified.
2. A machine having a reciprocating knife or knives supported or guided by a
vertical pillar or guide rising from a shoe the said knife or knives being driven.
by a suitable motor substantially as described and for the purposes specified.
3. An apparatus constructed substantially as described with reference to the
accompanying drawings and operating as and for the purposes specified.
Dated this 18th day of November 1896.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.