IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR FOLDING OR PLAITING FABRICS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn
Fields, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention.
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR FOLDING OR PLAITING
FABRICS." A communication from abroad by Orange McConnell
Chamberlain, of the City, County, and State of New York, United
States of America.
Sealed the 9th October 1874, and dated the 20th August 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 20th August 1874.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR FOLDING
OR PLAITING FABRICS," a communication to me from abroad by Orange.
McConnell Chamberlain, of the City, County, and State of New York,
United States of America, to be as follows:-
:-
This Invention relates to improvements in machinery or apparatus
for folding or plaiting fabrics, which apparatus is intended to be attached

page_text: to or employed in combination with a sewing machine for the purpose
of securing or retaining the plaits at the time or immediately after they
are formed. The improved apparatus may however be employed in
combination with a pair of pressing rollers for pressing the plaits as they
are formed, the plaits being afterwards secured by stitches if desired by
means of a sewing machine or otherwise.
In carrying out this Invention as employed in combination with a
sewing machine it is proposed to attach to the cloth plate or to any
other suitable part of the sewing machine and in a line with the
direction of feed a metal frame consisting of two cheeks or side standards
connected together by a metal plate which serves as a table and guide
for the fabric to be plaited. The folding or plaiting blades are caused
to traverse to and fro between these side standards, which motion is
imparted from the driving shaft or axle of the sewing machine in the
manner herein-after described. The folding or plaiting blades consist of
thin steel or other metal plates with their front portions divided or split
up into a number of strips or fingers so as to form a series of blade
springs, which in their forward motion press upon the fabric to be
plaited in such a manner as to form a fold or plait therein. The plait
thus formed is carried forward between the presser foot and the serrated
surface of the feed bar of the sewing machine, and is secured or retained
by stitches. The plaiting blades are attached at their rear ends to metal
bars which turn in bearing blocks fitted to slide in slots in the checks
or side standards, and to the outer ends of these bars are fitted lever
arms connected by adjustable connecting rods to oscillating or rocking
levers fixed on opposite ends of a shaft which works in bearings in the
side standards. These rocking or oscillating levers are slotted in order
to admit of the connecting rods being adjusted for the purpose of regu-
lating the throw or traverse of the plaiting blades and consequently the
width of the plait to be produced.
To one of the rocking or oscillating levers above referred to there is
connected one end of a rod, the opposite end of which is connected by a
crank pin to a spur wheel carried on a stud in one of the side standards.
This spur wheel is driven by a pinion which rotates in connection with
another spur wheel also carried on a stud centre, the last mentioned
spur wheel being driven by a pinion on the driving shaft or axle of the
sewing machine. It will thus be seen that upon setting the sewing
machine in motion the plaiting blades will also receive a to-and-fro

page_text: motion by means of the gearing and levers above described. The
plaiting blades in their backward motion are raised from off the fabrio
by reason of the rocking action of the bars to which they are attached,
the same rocking action in the reverse direction causing them in their
forward motion to bear upon the fabric and thereby produce the fold or
plait as before described.
In order to ensure the plaiting blades being lifted off the fabric when
about to make their backward motion springs are employed which bear
against the sliding bearing blocks in which the bars carrying the plaiting
blades turn so as to cause sufficient friction to ensure the bars turning
in the said bearings before the backward motion commences.
For producing plain or single plaiting one plaiting blade only will be
required, but for producing double or box plaiting two plaiting blades.
arc employed. For single plaiting the fabric to be plaited is passed
between the plaiting blade and the cloth plate of the sewing machine,
the plaits as they are formed passing beneath the presser foot to receive
a line of stitches.
In order to hold the plaits more securely whilst being stitched, there
is attached to the needle bar of the sewing machine a rod or bar which
is so arranged that upon the descent of the needle the said rod or bar
comes in contact with and presses down a hinged or spring plate on to
the plait which it holds firmly whilst being stitched. The presser foot
of the sewing machine should be sufficiently large to bear upon the
whole width of the fabric to be plaited in order to ensure the plaits
being fed evenly to the sewing mechanism, and it is preferred for this
purpose to fit into the said presser foot a serrated or roughened roller.
The roughened or serrated surface of the feed bar should also be made
to correspond in size with the presser foot.
For producing double or box plaiting the fabric is passed between two.
plaiting blades, the upper one of which bears upon the cloth plate of
the machine and makes a plait upwardly, whilst the lower one bears.
upon the under side of the presser foot and makes the next plait,
downwardly, thereby producing a double or box plait. The two plaiting.
blades are so arranged as that when one is making its forward motion
the other is making its backward motion, and vice versa; the levers and
connecting rods which actuate the plaiting blades are capable of being.

page_text: adjusted for the purpose of regulating the amount of fold or overlap of
the plaits.
For producing diagonal or bias plaiting (that is to say) plaits arranged
in an angular direction to the length of the fabric to be plaited or to
the line of stitches which secure the plaits, the plaiting blades are
arranged at an angle to the line of feed corresponding to the desired
angle of the plaits to be produced. This object is effected by either
fixing the frame which carries the plaiting mechanism at the desired
angle or making it adjustable on the sewing machine with which it is
connected; or the plaiting blades are made adjustable in the frame in
which they work. Bias plaiting may thus be produced with either
single or double cloth, and either with or without heading or binding
by making the ordinary single or the double or box plait at an angle to
the edge of the cloth in lieu of in a line therewith.
The distance between the plaits may be regulated by simply altering 1
the feed of the sewing machine.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 19th February 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN?
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the 38th
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I,
the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, admi-
nistrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and 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

page_text: Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS FOR FOLDING OR PLAITING FABRICS," a communication to me
from abroad by Orange McConnell Chamberlain, of the City, County,
and State of New York, United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors
or administrators, 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 John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to
say:―
.
The said Invention relates to an improved construction and arrange-
nfent of machinery or apparatus for folding or plaiting fabrics, which
apparatus may be attached to or employed in combination with a sewing
machine for the purpose of securing or retaining the plaits at the time
or immediately after they are formed, or with a pair of pressing rollers.
for pressing the plaits as they are formed, the plaits being subsequently
secured by stitches if desired by means of a sewing machine or
otherwise.
In carrying out this Invention as employed in combination with a
sewing machine, to the cloth plate or other suitable part of the sewing
machine there is attached a metal frame consisting of two cheeks or side
standards connected at their front ends by a metal plate which serves as
a table and guide for the fabric to be plaited. The folding or plaiting
blades are caused to traverse to and fro between these side standards,
which motion is imparted from the driving shaft or axle of the sewing
machine, in the manner herein-after described. The folding or plaiting
blades consist of thin steel or other metal plates divided or split up at
their forward ends into a number of strips or fingers so as to form a
series of blade springs which in their forward motion press upon the
fabric to be plaited in such a manner as to form a fold or plait therein,

page_text: The plaits as they are formed are carried forward between the presser
foot and the scrrated surface of the feed bar of the sewing machine, and
are secured or retained by stitches. The plaiting blades are attached at
their rear ends to metal bars which turn in bearing blocks fitted to slide
in slots in the checks or side standards, and to the outer ends of these
bars are fitted lever arms connected by adjustable connecting rods to
oscillating or rocking levers fixed on opposite ends of a horizontal shaft
which works in bearings in the side standards. These rocking or
oscillating levers are slotted in order to admit of the connecting rods
being adjusted for the purpose of regulating the throw or traverse of the
plaiting blades and consequently the width of the plait to be produced.
To one of the rocking or oscillating levers above referred to there is
connected one end of a rod, the opposite end of which is connected by a
crank pin to a spur wheel carried on a stud in one of the side standards.
This spur wheel is driven by a pinion which rotates in connection with
another spur wheel also carried on a stud centre, the last mentioned
spur wheel being driven by a pinion on the driving shaft or axle of the
sewing machine. It will thus be seen that upon setting the sewing
machine in motion the plaiting blades will receive a to-and-fro motion
by means of the gearing and levers above described. The plaiting blades
in their backward motion are raised from the fabric by reason of the
rocking action of the bars to which they are attached, the same rocking
action in the reverse direction causing them in their forward motion to
bear upon the fabric and thereby produce the fold or plait as before
described.
In order to ensure the plaiting blades being lifted off the fabric when
about to make their backward motion springs are employed which bear
against the sliding bearing blocks in which the bars carrying the plaiting
blades turn so as to cause sufficient friction to ensure the bars turning
in the said bearings before the backward motion commences.
For producing plain or single plaiting one plaiting blade only will be
required, but for producing double or box plaiting two plaiting blades
are employed. For single plaiting the fabric to be plaited is passed
between the plaiting blade and the cloth plate of the sewing machine,
the plaits as they are formed passing beneath the presser foot of the
sewing machine to receive a line of stitches.

page_text: In order to hold the plaits more securely whilst being stitched there
may be attached to the needle bar of the sewing machine a rod or bar
arranged in such a manner as that upon the descent of the needle tho
said rod or bar shall come in contact with and press down a hinged or
spring plate on to the plait and hold it firmly whilst being stitched.
The presser foot of the sewing machine should be sufficiently large to
bear upon the whole width of the fabric to be plaited in order to ensure
the plaits being fed evenly to the sewing mechanism, and is also by
preference fitted with a serrated or roughened roller. The roughened or
serrated surface of the feed bar should be made of a width proportionate
to that of the presser foot.
For producing double or box plaiting the fabric is passed between two
plaiting blades, the upper one of which bears upon the cloth plate of the
sewing machine and makes a plait upwardly, whilst the lower one bears
upon the under side of the presser foot and makes the next plate
downwardly, thereby producing a double or box plait. The two plaiting
blades are so arranged as that when one is making its forward motion
the other is making its backward motion, and vice versa. The levers
and connecting rods which actuate the plaiting blades are capable of
being adjusted for the purpose of regulating the amount of fold or
overlap of the plaits.
For producing diagonal or bias plaiting (that is to say) plaits arranged
in an angular direction to the length of the fabric to be plaited or to the
line of stitches which secure the plaits, the plaiting blades are arranged
at an angle to the line of feed corresponding to the desired angle of the
plaits to be produced. This object is effected by either fixing the frame
which carries the plaiting mechanism at the desired angle, or by making
it adjustable on the sewing machine with which it is connected; or the
plaiting blades may be made adjustable in the frame in which they
work. Bias plaiting may thus be produced with either single or double
cloth, and either with or without heading or binding by making the
ordinary single or the double or box plait at an angle to the edge of the
cloth in lieu of in a line therewith.
The distance between the plaits may be regulated by simply altering
the feed of the sewing machine.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that nurnose

page_text: shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents a side elevation,
and Figure 2 is a corresponding plan of the plaiting mechanism arranged
for the production of double or box plaiting.
Figures 3 and 4 are similar views of the apparatus as adapted for
diagonal or bias plaiting.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a, a, are cheeks or side standards which
form the frame for carrying the plaiting apparatus, and which are con-
nected together at their front ends by a metal plate serving as a table
or guide for the fabric to be plaited. On the cheeks or standards a, a¹,
there are formed lugs or projections c which are attached by screws or
otherwise to the cloth plate d of the sewing machine A (a portion only
of which is shewn in the Drawing), or in lieu of their being attached to
the cloth plate the cheeks or standards may be secured to any other
suitable part of the machine. B, B', are the folding or plaiting blades
working between the cheeks or standards a, a¹, and attached at their
rear ends to bars e, e¹, which turn in bearing blocks f, f', fitted to slide
in slots g, g¹, in the checks or standards. To the outer end of the
bars e, e¹, there are fitted lever arms h, h³, attached by connecting
rods i, ¹, to oscillating or rocking levers k, k¹, which are mounted one
at each end of a horizontal shaft working in bearings m, m, in the
cheeks or standards a, a¹. The connecting rods i are made in two parts,
which are fitted so as to slide one over the other, and are provided with
slots n in order to enable their length to be varied to suit the required
throw or traverse of the plaiting blades, according to the width of plait
to be produced, and when adjusted they are secured together by
screws 0. The connecting rods may also be fitted in a similar manner
to the rods if desired, slots p, p, being in either case formed in the
oscillating or rocking levers 7, 7', so as to admit of the before mentioned
adjustment of the connecting rods being effected. To the lever
there
is attached one end of the rod q formed in two parts secured together by a
screw q' so as to be capable of adjustment, the opposite end of which
rod is connected by a crank pin to a spur wheel C carried on a stud
centres in the cheek or standard a¹.
The spur wheel C is driven by a
pinion D mounted on a stud centre which also carries a spur wheel E.

page_text: to which motion is imparted by a pinion F fast on the driving shaft or
axle u of the sewing machine A. When therefore the sewing machine
is in operation the motion of the pinion F is transmitted by means of
the gearing herein-before described to the connecting rod q, whereby the
levers k, k', are caused to oscillate and impart a to-and-fro motion to the
connecting rods i, i, and thence to the plaiting blades B, B¹.
When it is required to produce single straight plaiting one plaiting
blade only will be necessary, the blade B¹ may in that case be removed,
or machines may be specially constructed for the purpose of single
plaiting with a single set of actuating levers and connecting rods in lieu
of with the duplicate set herein-before described. The fabric to be
plaited having been placed on and passed between guides along the
plate to the cloth plate a, the plaiting blade B in its forward motion
under the action of the bar et presses upon such fabric so as to form a
fold or plait therein and in its backward motion is raised from the fabric,
the plait formed being carried forward between the presser foot G (fitted
by preference with a serrated or roughened roller u¹) and the serated
surface of the feed bar H of the sewing machine A, where it is secured
or retained by stitches by means of the needle v.
For producing double or box plaiting two plating blades B and B¹ are
employed, as shewn in the Drawing, Figures 1 and 2, which are so
arranged as that when the blade B is making its forward motion the
blade B¹ is making its backward motion, and vice versa. The fabric to
be plaited is passed between the two blades, the upper one B of whichi
bears upon the cloth plate d of the sewing machine A and makes a plait
upwardly, whilst the lower blade B' bears upon the under surface of the
inclined portion of the presser foot G and makes the next plait down-
wardly, thereby forming a double or box plait.
w, w, are springs consisting of plates which are attached by screws a
to the cheeks or standards a, a¹, and bear against the bearing blocks f,f¹,
so as to cause sufficient friction to ensure the bars e, e¹, turning in the
bearing blocks before the backward motion commences.
The presser foot G is provided with a spring plate y attached thereto
by the screw y¹ or otherwise, which plate is acted upon by a rod or bar =
secured to the needle bar during the descent of the latter so as to
cause the plate y to press upon the plait which has been formed and
hold it firmly whilst being stitched.

page_text: Figure 3 represents a side elevation, and Fig. 4 is a corresponding
plan of the plaiting apparatus arranged for the production of diagonal
or bias plaiting. The apparatus is shewn as adapted for single plaiting,
and a single plaiting blade B is employed, but double or box plaiting may
also be produced diagonally by duplicating the parts, in the manner
herein-before described.
In the apparatus, Figures 3 and 4, the plaiting blade B is arranged at
an angle to the line of feed 1, 1, in lieu of its centre line coinciding
therewith, as in the arrangement, Figures 1 and 2. The cheeks a, a¹³,
are attached to the cloth plate & which is made in one piece with the 1
plate before mentioned. The lever arms / which are attached at one
end to the bars e arc fitted at their opposite end to the horizontal shaft
which works in bearings m, m, sliding in the slots g in the cheeks or
standards a, a².
Two connecting rods q are employed, made adjustable in the manner 1
before mentioned, which rods are attached at one end to the shaft l, and
at their opposite end by the crank pins ", "¹, to the spur wheel C and
crank disc C¹, respectively mounted on a shafts working in bearings in
the cheeks a, a¹. Motion is imparted to the spur wheel C and thence to
the connecting rods 2, and the bars e carrying the plaiting blade B by 2
gearing, in the manner herein-before described, a bevel pinion and bevel
wheel respectively being substituted for the spur pinion F mounted on
the shaft of the sewing machine, and for the spur wheel E employed
in the arrangement, Figures 1 and 2. The spur wheel C and the crank
disc Care provided with apertures 2, 2, in either of which the crank 2
pins and respectively may be fitted as required in order to adjust
the throw of the connecting rods q to suit the desired width of plait to
be produced.
It is obvious that as according to this Invention spur gearing is
employed in substitution for a pawl and ratchet arrangement for driving a
the apparatus a continuous in lieu of an intermittent action is obtained.

page_text: Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is, may be used, or
carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to
be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to
me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First. The peculiar arrangement and combination of folding or plaiting
apparatus having reciprocating blades actuated by adjustable connections
operated continuously by spur gearing or its equivalent, substantially as
and for the purposes herein-before described and as illustrated by the
accompanying Drawings.
Second. The combination of a hinged or spring plate connected to a
presser foot with a rod or bar attached to the needle bar of a sewing
machine, and so arranged as to press upon such plate during the descent
of the needle for the purpose of securely holding the plait during the
operation of stitching the same, substantially as herein-before described
and illustrated by the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to
this my Specification set my hand and seal, the Seventeenth
day of February One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.