Improvements in and relating to the Weaving of Silk, Silk-waste, and other Fibres.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Sept., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 29th June, 1891-Accepted, 12th Sept., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by Messrs. ESCALES AND HATRY, Silk and Velvet
Manufacturers, of Saargemünd, Lothringen, in the Empire of Germany.]
Improvements in and relating to the Weaving of Silk, Silk-waste,
and other Fibres.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake Co., Patent Agents,
45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the weaving of silk waste and other fibrous materials.
Before being worked up in mechanical weaving looms silk-waste must in most
cases be previously singed or gassed. If this is not done the manufacture of even
the inferior kinds is rendered much more difficult, and in the case of superior or
closer wares it is quite impossible, as the fluff between the threads of the waste
becomes completely wound round the reed or slay owing to the movements of the
lathe, balls together as the process is continued, and finally clogs up the carding
coinb, the reed or slay, and the chain, whereupon a stoppage of the working of
the machine becomes inevitable. The singeing of the waste takes place at
This
present in many spinning mills while the material is in the rough state.
method of procedure is however quite inadequate and the operation is therefore
largely performed by manufacturers after the silk waste has been dyed and
wound. The thread is then conducted or led across a gas flame by which means
the fine fluff is singed. To effect this it quite plain that the waste must be
re-reeled on other bobbins.
This process is very inconvenient, slow and costly and does not even always
effect the desired end since it often happens that the waste silk gassed in this
manner gets tangled and works badly. But even if this was not the case the
method of gassing has other disadvantages which weigh heavily against it, the
thread which has been singed by the flame has lost a great deal of its durability,
and as a perfectly regular reeling is not attainable the thread gets more gassed
at one place than another and thereby becomes irregular in colour which fact
becomes apparent in the finished article."
The finished article is also rendered imperfect since the singed thread
frequently breaks during weaving. Owing to the above mentioned difficulties
attempts have been made for a long time to work up silk waste without singeing it
but hitherto without result.
The present invention relates to a process by which the silk waste is thoroughly
freed from fluff during weaving in the loom itself. For this purpose one or two
brushes according to requirements are arranged between the comb and the reed or
slay at the back end of the lathe; these brushes consist of a long lath corre-
sponding to the width of the lathe and closely coated with natural or artificial
hair or bristles. By the backward and forward motion of the brushes the waste
is thoroughly freed from the fluff which remains in great part attached to the
brushes.
Each thread before being woven passes through the brush some 500 times
whereby it is rendered so smooth that it may be woven much better than the
gassed thread besides which it has lost none of its strength. In addition to the
above the waste thus treated becomes much more brilliant which fact of necessity
becomes very apparent in the finished article. This invention can be applied to
the weaving of other spinning fibres such as silk, "Russah," cotton, wool and the
like.

page_text: The advantages of this method of procedure are manifold, some of which are as
follows.
1.) A. saving of time, as the gassing always requires, even when the manufacturer
has his own machines, several days at least. A great number of manufacturers
however have no gassing apparatus and are consequently obliged to have
recourse to works where this operation is conducted which when they are full
often return the waste very late.
2.) A saving of cost. The charge for gassing being about one mark per kilo. ;
whereas a loom working constantly can work up about 25 kilos. of waste No. 2/200
per month so that a saving of about 300 marks per loom a year is effected, as by
the present method the silk waste can be at once carded and rolled on the beam.
3.) The manufacture of an article which in comparison with that made from
the gassed waste silk shows fewer flaws and is more brilliant and regular in
colour.
4.) A greater or increased output as the weaving proceeds with greater rapidity
and finally
5.) The employment in spinning mills of silk waste that has not hitherto been
gassed and which can consequently be obtained cheaper.
Dated 1
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.
MI MED DIDIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to the Weaving of Silk, Silk Waste,
and other Fibres,
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co. Patent
Agents 45 Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex, 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 treatment of spun silk, which is to be worked up in power looms it has
heretofore been necessary in most cases to previously gas (singe) the same. If this
is not done, the manufacture of the spun silk of inferior quality into fabrics is
rendered very difficult, whilst in the case of the better qualities, that is to say,
closer wares it is quite impossible, inasmuch as the fluff surrounding the thread
owing to the movements of the batten will become woolly, ball together in the
further course, and become entangled in the comb, reed, and warp, and will thus
necessarily cause a stoppage.
The aforesaid gassing or singeing of the spun silk frequently takes place in the
rough state in spinning mills. It is however very inadequate, and the operation is
effected on a larger scale by the manufacturer after the spun silk has been dyed
and wound up. The thread is then conducted its entire length past a gas flame
which singes away the fine fluff. In order to attain this end it is evident that the
spun silk must be wound off again onto other bobbins. This operation is very
inconvenient, slow and costly, and does not always realize the desired object, since
it often happens that even gassed or singed spun silks will nevertheless become
woolly and can only be worked up with difficulty. If, however, this should never
happen, the gassing (or singeing) nevertheless presents other disadvantages which
weigh heavily against it. The thread singed by the flame loses its strength and as a
uniform movement cannot be maintained in the winding of the thread, the latter is
gassed or singed more at some places than at others, and thereby becomes irregular
in colour, which irregularity will of course appear in the ware made from the said
thread. The ware moreover becomes defective, as the singed thread frequently
breaks during the weaving, and for these reasons various attempts have for a long

page_text: time been made to enable the spun silk to be worked up without being gassed or
singed without however obtaining any good result.
The present invention comprises a method by which the spun silk is completely
freed in the loom itself during the weaving from the fluff surrounding the same.
For this purpose, to the batten between the comb and the reeds are fixed according
to requirements one or two brushes. Each brush consists of a lath which is closely
covered with soft artificial or natural hair and the length of which corresponds to
the width of the batten. By reason of the to-and-fro movement of the said brushes
the spun silk will be completely freed from the fine fluff which will for the most part
adhere to the brushes.
Each thread before being woven, is rubbed by the brushes about 500 times
whereby it becomes so smooth that it can be woven much better than the gassed
or singed thread without losing its strength. Moreover the span silk thus cleaned
becomes much more glassy which of necessity shows in the finished ware.
The advantages of the above described method are therefore numerous.
1. A saving of time, because the gassing, or singeing even if the manufacturer
has his own machines, sometimes takes several days. A great number of manufac
turers have however no gassing or singeing apparatus and are therefore dependent
on the existing establishments of the kind, which when work is pressing often only
deliver the singed spun-silk after much delay.
2. A saving of cost as the gassing or singeing establishments charge about
1 shilling per kilogramme for singeing.
A loom which is in constant operation can work up about 25 kilogrammes of spun
silk No. 2/200 per month, so that a saving of about £15 per year is effected per
loom, as when the improved method is used the spun silk is warped and beamed
directly after a single winding.
3. The manufacture of a ware which in comparison with the ware made of gassed
or singed spun silk shows fewer defects in the wearing, is glossier and more uniform
in colour.
4. An increased production, as the weaving proceeds with greater rapidity.
5. Spun silk can be worked up which has not been gassed or singed in the spinning
mills and can thus be obtained cheaper.
In the accompanying drawing is shown how the improved method can be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice in connection with velvet
power-looms..
Figure represents a section through a loom showing the application of the
invention thereto.
Figures 2 to 7 illustrate the arrangement of the brushes on the batten in their
different operative positions.
In velvet power-looms use is made of closely twisted thread as warp, because
the latter must be very tightly stretched. In the drawing the warp is designated
by K.
For the formation of the pile a so-called pile-thread is employed, which must be
very loosely twisted in order to attain a beautiful pile. The warp consists as a rule
of cotton, whilst pile consists mostly of spun silk.
If this spun silk is to be worked up on the loom, as supplied by the spinning mill
the difficulty is encountered that very much of the fluff adhering to the spun silk
thread is woven becomes entangled with the cotton warps and in short renders the
regular formation of the shed and proper weaving impossible; for this reason the
spun silk has hitherto been previously freed from the fluff by gassing or singeing
in a flame.
The present invention dispenses with the gassing or singeing and the aforesaid object
is realized during the weaving by means of an apparatus which consists of two
brushes B and B¹.
The lower brush B' is firmly connected with the batten and brushes away the fine
fluff adhering to the warp or pile threads, because throughout its entire length it
continually rubs the lower warp K during the weaving.

page_text: The upper brush B lies loosely upon the upper warp and pile, and presses
throughout the entire width with its bristles uniformly upon all the upper warp
and pile threads.
In order to ensure that this pressure of the upper brush (o B) on the threads
shall always be uniform, it is necessary that the brush be capable of being moved
up and down when swinging with the lathe and pressing with its weight on the
threads. For this purpose the brush B is provided with projections a of sheet
metal having slots in which slide studs or bolts c fastened to the lathe.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is:
First. For obviating the gassing or singeing of the threads, which are used in
weaving as pile or warp threads, the method of treating the threads in the loom
itself by means of brushes which are arranged on the batten and which take part in
the movement of the same.
Second. The apparatus for treating threads which are used in weaving as pile
or warp threads, substantially as hercinbefore described and for the purpose
specified.
Dated this 29th day of June 1891
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.