CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CUTTING OUT CLOTH AND OTHER FABRICS AND PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, of 16, Castle
.Street, Holborn (City), London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CUTTING OUT CLOTH AND OTHER FABRICS AND
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Augusta Edouard Loradoux
Bellford at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 20th January 1854.
I, AUGUSTE EDOUARD LORADOUX BELLFORD, of 16, Castle Street, Holborn
(City), London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said In-
vention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CUTTING OUT CLOTH AND OTHER FABRICS
AND MATERIALS SUITABLE FOR GARMENTS AND FURNITURE" to be as follows:-
The main object of this Invention is to cut out several pieces or thicknesses
of cloth or other material at the same time, to an uniform size and shape, so
that the corresponding parts of a number of garments or pieces of furniture
may be produced by one operation. Several thicknesses of cloth are laid
upon a table or bed, and conducted towards the edge of a knife-having a
reciprocating rectilinear motion through them, & passing through the table
or bed in a direction perpendicular to the faces of the fabric. The opening
in the bed or table into which the knife enters is furnished with a sharp

page_text: edge, projecting above the surface, for the purpose of preventing the piece
of fabric next the bed being driven into the said opening. The bed or
table has a loose centre piece, which contains the opening into which the knife
enters, & has its axis in line with the axis of the shaft which carries the
knife, & gearing the said centre piece with the shaft, that both may revolve
together, & allow the knife to present it's edge in any direction. The cloth
is held down by a pressing piece, and moved towards the edge of the knife.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed by
the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 20th July 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, AUGUSTE
EDOUARD LORADOUX BELLFORD, of 16, Castle Street, Holborn (City), London,
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, Her special license that I; the said
Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, my execu-
tors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man,
an Invention, communicated to me by a foreigner residing abroad, for "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN CUTTING OUT CLOTH AND OTHER FABRICS AND MATERIALS SUITABLE
FOR GARMENTS AND FURNITURE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford,
do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement (that is to say):-

page_text: The main object of this Invention is to cut out several pieces or thicknesses
of cloth, or other fabric or material, at the same time, to an uniform size and
shape, so that the corresponding parts of a number of garments or pieces of
furniture may be produced by one cutting operation.
This Invention consists,-
Firstly, in cutting several pieces or thicknesses of fabric or material, by
laying them upon a table or bed, and conducting them in a proper direction
towards the edge of a knife, which has a reciprocating rectilinear motion
through them, and enters or passes through the table or bed in a direction
perpendicular to the faces of the fabric or material and of the bed or table.
**Secondly, in furnishing the opening in the bed or table into which the knife
enters, or through which it passes with a sharp edge projecting above the
surface of the said bed or' table, close to the face of the cutting knife, for the
purpose of preventing the piece or thickness of fabric or material next the
bed being driven into the said opening, and thereby being imperfectly cut, and
choking up the opening so as to interfere with the proper action of the cutting
knife.
6
Thirdly, in a certain form of knife for the purpose of cutting small curves
and intricate forms.
Fourthly, in making the bed or table with a loose centre piece of circular
form, which contains the opening into which the cutting knife enters, and has
its axis in line with the axis of the shaft which carries the knife, and gearing
the said cerntre piece with the said shaft in such a way that both may revolve
together, and allow the knife to turn to present its edge in any direction.
The cloth is held down by a pressing piece, and moved by hand towards the
cutting edge of the knife.
My Invention is performed by means of the machine which is represented
in the accompanying Drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the
machine, with the table supporting a quantity of cloth in section; Fig. 2 is a
front elevation of the same, with the table and cloth in section; Fig. 3 is a
vertical section of the loose centre piece and the surrounding part of the table,
and corresponding with Fig. 1, but on a larger scale; Fig. 4 is a vertical
section of the loose centre piece and surrounding part of the table, and a side
view of a portion of the knife, corresponding with Fig. 2, but on the same
scale as Fig. 3; Fig. 5. is a plan of the loose centre piece and its seat; Fig. 6
and 7 are side views of two knives of different forms; Fig. 8-is a transverse
section of either blade.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several

page_text: A represents the framing of the machine, supporting the horizontal, wooden
table B, and extending upwards above it to carry all the working parts. C is
a vertical shaft, having journals fitted in suitable bearings, a, a, on the framing
above the table, which confine it endwise, but allow it to turn freely. This
shaft has a square opening directly through it to receive a smaller square
shaft D, which works freely through it.. The outer shaft C is furnished near
its lower end with a bevel-toothed wheel b, which gears with another bevel-
toothed wheel c, on a horizontal shaft E, which can be turned when necessary
by a hand wheel. E', which is secured to it for that purpose. The shaft D,
which carries the cutting knife, is attached by a ball and socket joint d, to a
.connecting rod F, which connects it with a stud e, on the face of a disc G,
which is secured to the front end of a horizontal shaft H, which is the driving
shaft of the machine. The stud e is adjustable at different distances from the
axis of the disc G, and is the equivalent of a crank of variable length serving
to give a reciprocating motion to the shaft D. The disc is attached to the
shaft by a clutch T, which is thrown in or out of gear by means of a lever
U, as may be desired. The driving shaft receives motion through a belt
which runs from any prime mover to its driving pulley V. To that part of
the table under the knife shaft D is secured a plate I, which has a circular
.opening surrounded by a rebate ƒ (see Figs. 3 & 4), to form a seat for the
loose centre piece. The loose centre piece is of circular form, and its construc-
tion will be understood by reference to Figs. 3 and 5. It is made in two parts
J and K, of which one part J, of semicircular form, is cast with the hub of a
bevel-wheel h, and the other part K, of similar form, is merely a plate bolted
to the hub of the wheel by screw bolts g, g. The two parts J and K form
a flange all round the hub of the wheel, and fit the seat in the plate I, so as to
turn freely therein, and are flush with the table. The axis of the centre piece
is in line with the axis of the shaft C. The bevel-wheel h is precisely similar
to that b, upon the shaft C, and its hub is hollow, to allow the passage of the
cutting knife through it. The reason for making the centre piece in two parts
is to allow the piece of steel plate i to be placed therein. This piece of steel
plate forms the sharp edge which stands above the surface of the table, to prevent
the edges of the bottom piece of cloth being forced with the knife into the open-
ing in the table. The edge is of curved form, as shown in Fig. 4. The plate i is
secured to the face j of the part J of the centre piece by two screws k,k, which pass
through slots to allow of the edge being adjusted higher or lower. The plate K
requires to be taken from its place in order to enable the steel plate i to be put
in its place, taken out, or adjusted. The opening for the cutting knife to enter
is made by forming a recess in that face of the plate K which fits to J, and

page_text: requires to be only just large enough for the knife to pass freely through. The
bevel-wheel h gears with a bevel-wheel ¹ on a horizontal shaft M, below the
bed. This bevel-wheel ¹ is precisely similar to the bevel-wheel c on the hori-
zontal shaft E. The shafts E and M are furnished near their back ends with
similar spur-wheels and m, which both gear with an intermediate spur
wheel n, and thus by turning the shaft E a corresponding movement is given
to the shaft M, and motion is transmitted by the bevel-wheels c and k¹, and
the bevel-wheels. b and h, to the shaft c, and to the centre piece J, K, so that
both may turn together, and the same relation may at all times exist between
them. The knife may consist of a straight edged blade O, as shown Fig. 6,
or of a blade O¹ of the form shown in Fig. 7, either being firmly secured to
the shaft D by any convenient means. The knife O¹ is, shown in the machine
as it is applicable to the cutting of all forms; but the knife O is only capable
of cutting in straight or very slightly curved lines, as it cannot turn in the cloth,
and if it be turned when it has risen from the cloth, leaves no guide for the
movement of the cloth upon the table. Either knife consists of a stiff blade
of uniform thickness from heel to joint, entirely flat on one side, and having a
bevel on the other side to make the cutting edge. The back part of the blade
O is straight, and extended far beyond the extremity of the cutting part of
the blade, in the form of a smaller rod p, which occupies a position in the
line of the axis of the shaft C and centre piece of the table. This rod p is of
such length that when the cutting part of the blade rises from the cloth to the
top of its stroke, the said rod will extend through the whole of the cloth upon
the table. The cutting edge is parallel for nearly its whole length with the
back of the knife, but it is sloped or rounded off at r to meet the rod p. The
rod P is capable of turning freely in the cut in the cloth, and also allows the
cloth to be turned, and thus allows the direction of the edge knife to be
changed, and the cloth to be turned in any direction to be fed towards the
edge of the knife, in order to make the cut follow any curved lines, and serves
as a guide for the movement of the cloth upon the table, to give any desired
direction to the cut. A number of pieces of cloth are represented in section
upon the table, and indicated by R, R. They are merely laid upon each other,
and are kept firmly together by a pressing piece S, which consists of a piece
of metal with a slightly rounded face bearing on the cloth, and a slot to allow
the knife to work through it. This piece is attached to a rod s, which is
capable of sliding in a groove in one side of the shaft C, and is confined in any
position therein to bring the piece S to a proper height, by clamping rings t, t.
The pressing piece S is intended to press just so much upon the cloth as will
hold it firmly, but not prevent the cloth being moved freely under it,

page_text: The cloth is prepared for the operation of the machine by marking out the
several parts of a garment, or any number of parts thereof, on a suitable
length of cloth, in such a way as to leave the least waste, as is usual in cutting
a single piece of cloth by hand with shears, then cutting off a number of
similar lengths of cloth, and laying all the lengths upon each other in a pile on
the table B, with the marked one at the top, and afterwards bringing them
under the pressing piece S. The cutting knife is then set in motion, and its
edge turned in the required direction by turning the hand wheel E. The
operator stands in front of the machine, and conducts the pile of cloth by hand
towards the edge of the knife in such a way as to prevent the lines marked on
the top piece to the said edge, and as the knife works up and down it cuts
through the whole pile.
The edge of the knife is made to take the required direction in the cloth
either by turning the knife or by turning the cloth, as the cloth is fed towards
it. In some cases it may be more convenient to turn the knife, and in others
the cloth. The whole body of cloth is cut by the drawing of the edge of the
knife in contact with it, except one or two thicknesses at the bottom, which
are cut by the combined action of the edge of the knife, and the edge of the
plate i, which fits nearly close to the flat side of the knife. These two edges
act nearly in the same mauner as a pair of shears. The plate is not at all
instrumental in cutting the upper thicknesses of cloth, as the knife will cut
the whole number of thicknesses fairly and cleanly, except one or two at the
bottom, which are always more or less imperfect when the cutter i is not used,
even though the knife fits close to the edge of the opening in the table; but
the cutting edge standing above the side of the hole effectually prevents any
injury to the lower thicknesses, and insures a perfectly clean cut throughout.
When it is necessary to turn the knife and the centre piece of the table, or to
turn the cloth, it is done when the cutting part is raised above the cloth, and
only the rod p remains therein, as shown in Fig. 4; and the turning can, in
almost all cases, be effected without stopping the machine; but when it is
necessary the machine can be readily stopped by the operator, as the lever U
is in a convenient position, and the stoppage needs to be but of short duration.
The centre piece of the table is free to turn without moving the cloth, as it is
of small size, and the cloth has a good bearing on the surrounding part of the
table. The cut is made to produce the most perfect regularity of form through-
out the whole number of thicknesses, and all the waste from each thickness
may be cut off in a single piece, many parts of which would be useful,
instead of being cut into shreds or small pieces, as when cut by shears.
I claim, firstly, cutting several thicknesses of cloth or other fabric cr

page_text: material, by laying them on a table or bed, and submitting them to the action
of a knife, operating as herein described.
Secondly, the method herein described of preventing injury to the lower
thicknesses of cloth by furnishing the side of the opening in the bed, through
which the cutting knife passes, with an edged plate i, or other projecting
edge.
Thirdly, the employment of a knife O', with the back extended in the form
of a rod p, as and for the purpose herein set set forth.
Fourthly, making the table which carries the cloth, fabric, or material
with a revolving centre piece J, K, which contains an opening to receive the
knife, and has its axis in line with the axis of the knife shaft, and is geared
with the knife shaft so as to turn therewith, and at all times bear the proper
relation thereto, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of July, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
A. E. LUKADOUA BELLFORD. (L.S.)