IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BARRED, RIBBED, AND FIGURED FABRICS
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Thomas, of No. 129, Cheapside, in the City of
London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BARRED,
RIBBED, AND FIGURED FABRICS."
Sealed the 7th July 1876, and dated the 2nd May 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Thomas at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 2nd May 1870.
WILLIAM THOMAS, of No. 129, Cheapside, in the City of London. " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BARRED, RIBBED, AND FIGURED FABRICS,"
In the Specification of a Patent granted to me on the 25th September 1874,
No. 3286, I described a method of weaving barred, ribbed, or figured fabrics,
whereby I effected a saving of the secondary or additional warp from one bar,
rib, or figure to the next, by a mode of looping portions of the web and cutting
the secondary warp at the loop.
My present Invention relates to the production of fabrics of like kind, without
the looping described in my previous Specification, by a method whereby I avoid
the friction and wear of thoso portions of the secondary warp which aro from
time to time excluded from the web. For this purpose I provide in the loom
besides the ordinary fundamental or primary warp the secondary warp or
portions of warp.necessary for the pattern with its suitable harness. When I
desire to form a bar across the wob, either continuous or interrupted, I weave in
this secondary warp along with the primary warp, for such distance as the
pattern may require. I then insert across the shed a wire, such as is employed
in velvet or carpet looms, and secure it by several shoots of weft to the secondary
warp, which I thereupon cut free from the web. I hang on the reed the wire
holding thus the ends of the secondary warp yarns, and by means of the harness
raise these yarns clear of the primary warp, whereupon I weave such length as
may be desired with the primary warp alone. For producing the next bar or
pattern I bring down the wire with the secondary warp to the shed, and having
woven in the secondary warp by a few weft shoots I cut the wire from it and
then repeat the weaving as above described. By this method the waste of secondary
warp from one bar or pattern to the next in order is almost entirely avoided, as
well as the friction and wear upon the said warp during its exclusion from the
web. The secondary warp may be of different colour, substance, or material from.
[Price Gd.1

page_text: the primary warp, or there may be several such secondary warps with their appro-
priate harness, any one or several of which can be intermittently woven into the
web according to the exigencies of the pattern.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Thomas in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 1st November
1876.
" IMPROVE-
WILLIAM THOMAS, of No. 129, Cheapside, in the City of London.
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BARRED, RIBBED, AND FIGURED FABRICS."
In the Specification of a Patent granted to me on the 25th September 1874,
No. 3286, I described a method of weaving barred, ribbed, or figured fabrics,
whereby I effected a saving of the secondary or additional warp from one bar,
rib, or figure to the next, by a mode of looping portions of the web and cutting
the secondary warp at the loop.
My present Invention relates to the production of fabrics of like kind, without
the looping described in my previous Specification, by a method whereby I avoid
the friction and wear of those portions of the secondary warp, which are from time
to time excluded from the web. For this purpose I provide in the loom, besides
the ordinary fundamental or primary warp, the secondary warp or portions of
warp necessary for the pattern with its suitable harness. When I desire to form
a bar across the web either continuous or interrupted, I weave in this secondary
warp along with the primary warp, for such distance as the pattern may require.
I then insert across the shed a wire, such as is employed in velvet or carpet looms,
and secure it by several shoots of weft to the secondary warp, which I thereupon
cut free from the web. I hang on the reed the wire, holding thus the ends of
the secondary warp yarns, and by means of the harness raise these yarus clear of
the primary warp, whereupon I weave such length as may be desired with the
primary warp alone. For producing the next bar or pattern I bring down the
wire with the secondary warp to the shed, and having woven in the secondary
warp by a few weft shoots I cut the wire from it and then repeat the weaving as
above described. By this method the waste of secondary warp from one bar or
pattern to the next in order is almost entirely avoided, as well as the friction and
wear upon the said warp during its exclusion from the web. The secondary warp
may be of different colour, substance, or material from the primary warp, or there
may be several such secondary warps with their appropriate harness, any one or
several of which can be intermittently woven into the web according to the
exigencies of the pattern.
As the method of weaving above described may be practised with looms of
ordinary kind, requiring only additional warp beams and harness of usual con-
struction to work with the secondary warp, I have shewn in the accompanying
Drawings, diagrams explanatory of the method, without representing details of
construction which are well known.
Fig. 1 represents the arrangement when both the primary and the secondary
warps are used together to form a bar of double warp fabric F, and Fig. 2 repre-
sents the arrangement when the secondary warp is for a time detached in order
to weave a piece of fabric with the primary warp alone.
A is the beam whence the ordinary or primary warp yarns are drawn, and C
is the harness for alternately depressing them so as to form the shed. D is another
set of harness for the secondary warp, the primary warp passing clear through
this harness without being acted on by it. Between the two sets of harness C
and D I mount two beams E for the secondary warp yarns, which I pass under
a roller R and through the harness D. In weaving a bar of fabric with double
warp, both sets of the harness C and D are in action, and the secondary and
primary warps are woven together, as shewn in Fig. 1. When a bar or portion of

page_text: double warp fabric has thus been woven of the width desired I detach the
secondary warp in the manner illustrated in Fig. 3. By means of the harness C
I keep down the whole primary warp and work only the harness D to weave a
fow shoots with the secondary warp alone, in the course of which I introduce a
wire or rod H. Having secured this wiro or rod to the secondary warp by a few
shoots 9, I insert between the primary warps B and the portion of fabric f in
advance of the wire H a grooved wire G, and running a knife along the groove I
cut the fabric f, which contains only the secondary warp. I then remove the
wire G and I raise the wire or rod H, having the secondary warp attached to
it, and place it on hooks on the lathe or batten L, as shown in Fig. 2, so that it
is kept cut of the way of the primary warp. Working now only the harness C,
I weave the desired portion of fabric with the primary warp alone, and when the
bar or part strengthened by double warp has to be woven I take the wire or rod H
off the hooks of the lathe and lay it down at the edge of the fabric so far woven,
and again bringing into use the harness D as well as C, I weave a double warp
bar to such a width as may be desired, when having cut away the wiro H I repeat
the separation of the secondary warp as above described.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I claim the method, substantially as herein, described, of
weaving barred, ribbed, or figured fabrics, by weaving a secondary warp along
with a primary warp over the desired width of bar or pattern, then weaving into
the secondary warp alone a wire or rod, and cutting the secondary warp in advance
thereof, its ends being secured thereby ready to be reintroduced into the web for
a succeeding bar or pattern..
In witness whereof, I, the said William Thomas, have hereunto set my hand
and soal, this Thirty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
W. THOMAS. (LS)