IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OR MANUFACTURE OF ORNAMENTAL FABRICS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Richard Cochrane, of Glasgow, in the County
of Lanark, North Britain, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
Scaled the 26th March 1858, and dated the 11th November 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Richard Cochrane
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th November 1857.
I, JOHN RICHARD COCHRANE, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OR MANUFACTURE OF ORNAMENTAL FABRICS," to
be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention consists of mechanical arrangements to be used for cutting
and removing the loose or flushed threads of lappet fabrics, and it relates more
particularly to an Invention of "Improvements in the Treatment or Manu-
facture of Ornamental Fabrics," for which Mr. John Richard Cochrane has
already obtained a grant of British Letters Patent, bearing date on or about
the Twelfth day of May, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, and it
consists in the application to the machinery described in the Specification of
such Letters Patent of a cutter of rotatory action, for the severance of such
loose threads as may have been left unremoved from the surface of the lappet
fabric after quitting the primary reciprocatory.cutter. The rotatory cutter is
a cylinder fitted with spiral or helical cutting edges, and it may be of the kind,

page_text: ordinarily used in clipping or preparing shawls. It is fitted up in suitable
bearings in the framing of the machine and made to rotate at a high velocity,
whilst the fabric as clipped by the reciprocating knife is passed downwards, so
as to present its loose threaded surface within reach of the spiral cutting edges.
The cutting action is effected by causing the piece to pass in over the acute
edge of an adjustable bar, between which and the spiral cutting edges a ledger
blade or knife is introduced, at which point the severance of the loose threads
takes place, the cutting action being analogous to that of a pair of scissors.
This system of treatment clears off whatever loose threads may have been left
after the primary cutting process, and finishes the piece.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Richard Cochrane in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 11th May 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
RICHARD COCHRANE, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the Twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Richard Cochrane, Her special license, that I, the said John
Richard Cochrane, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others,
as I, the said John Richard Cochrane, my executors, administrators, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times thèreafter 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, am Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OR MANUFACTURE OF ORNAMENTAL FABRICS,"
upon the condition (amongst others), that I, the said John Richard Cochrane,
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 Richard Cochrane, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is-to

page_text: 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 :-
My said Invention consists of mechanical arrangements to be used for
cutting and removing the loose or flushed threads of lappet fabrics, and it relates
more particularly to an Invention of improvements in the treatment or manu-
facture of. ornamental fabrics, for which I have already obtained a grant of
British Letters Patent; bearing date on or about the Twelfth day of May, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, and it consists in the application to the
application to the machinery described in the Specification of such Letters Patent
of a cutter of rotatory action, for the severance of such loose threads as may have
been left unremoved from the surface of the lappet fabric after quitting the
primary reciprocatory cutter. The rotatory cutter is a cylinder fitted with spiral
or helical cutting edges, and it may be of the kind ordinarily used in clipping or
preparing shawls. It is fitted up in suitable bearings in the framing of the
machine and made to rotate at a high velocity, whilst the fabric as clipped by
the reciprocating knife is passed downwards, so as to present its loose threaded
surface within reach of the spiral cutting edges. The cutting action is effected
by causing the piece to pass in over the acute edge of an adjustable bar,
between which and the spiral cutting edges a ledger blade or knife is intro-
duced, at which point the severance of the loose threads takes place, the
cutting action being analogous to that of a pair of scissors. This system of
treatment clears off whatever loose threads may have been left after the primary
cutting process, and finishes the piece.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I shall
now proceed to describe the several illustrative Figures upon the explanatory
Sheet of Drawings, which I have hereunto appended for the purpose of
showing certain modifications under which my improvements may be judi-
ciously carried out in practice. Figure 1 on my Drawing is a vertical-section
of a machine for cutting off or removing the loose threads of lappet fabrics,
arranged according to my improvements; Figure 2 is an end view of the
machine, looking upon the end from which the cutting mechanism is actuated;
Figure 3 is a view of a portion of the framing detached, and showing the
arrangement for accurately adjusting the rotatory and stationary cutters;
Figure 4 is a plan of the ledger blade or stationary cutter as arranged in its
holder or retaining bar; Figure 5 is a vertical section of the same; Figure 6
is a plan of the rotatory helical cutter; and Figure 7 is a vertical section
corresponding thereto. In the Specification of the Letters Patent herein
before referred to is described the construction of a machine for cutting and

page_text: rémoving loose threads from the surface of lappet fabrics. In the said
machine the loose threads are severed by the action of a knife or cutting blade,
to which a rapid reciprocatory movement is imparted. Now, my present
Invention consists of certain additions to the said machine, whereby the
fabric is submitted to a second cutting or shearing operation, in order to
remove any threads that may have escaped the action of the reciprocatory
cutter. The framing A of the machine consists of two end standards united
by malleable iron tie rods; the moving parts of the machine are actuated
from the prime mover by means of an endless belt, which gives motion to the
pulley B, fast to the main shaft C. The gearing which the shaft C' actuates
is shown by red lines in the Drawing in order to avoid confusing the other
and more important parts of the Figure. The pinion on the shaft C drives
the wheel D, its pinion giving motion to the wheel E; the pinion of this
wheel drives the wheel F, which in turn drives the wheel G, by means of the
pinion upon its axis. The wheel G is fast to one extremity of the spindle of.
the drawing roller H, by means of which the fabric is drawn through the
machine. The wheel G gives motion to the wheel I, which drives the pair
of smaller wheels J and K; the latter of these wheels imparts a slow
rotatory motion to the wheel L, this being fast to the spindle of the presser
roller M. The fabric to be cut is folded loosely and laid upon the floor in
front of the machine, and is carried over and beneath a pair of tension bars N,
then upwards and partially round the roller O, passing in front of the roller P.
The spindle of the roller O carries at each of its extremities a lever Q, upon
which is hung a counterweight; by this means the roller O is caused to press
against its contiguous roller P, the surface of which is roughened so as to draw
the fabric upwards. From the roller P the fabric passes over the bar R, and
under the presser roller M, which presses upon the surface of a series of
horizontally disposed fingers or piercers S, which enter the loops or flushed
threads of the lappet fabric. The loops are cut off from the surface of the
fabric by means of the knife T, the edge of which presses against the under
side of the fingers or piercers S, and thereby sever them from the fabric. At
the part where this cutting action takes place the fabric is carried downwards
between the bars U, and is subjected to the secondary cutting action, which
forms the principal feature of my present Invention.
This cutting or
shearing operation is effected by means of a rotatory cutter and a stationary
knife; these parts are carried in adjustable bracket pieces, which are bolted
to the end standards of the machine. One of these bracket pieces V is shown
detached from the framing in Figure 3 of my Drawing; towards the right-
hand extremity, it has a circular aperture cast therein, and through which the

page_text: spindle of the rotatory cutter protrudes, the aperture being made wide enough
to permit of its adjustment in opposite diagonal directions. The spindle of
the rotatory cutter is carried in an adjustable bearing W, which is centred
upon a bolt X, it consists of a rectangular frame Y, in which the actual
bearing Z of the cutter spindle has a certain amount of traverse in a
diagonal direction. The traverse of the bearing Z is controlled and adjusted
by means of the screws a, which mark through the frame Y. The adjustment
of the frame in the opposite angular direction is obtained by means of the
pinching screws b, these screws are fitted to the lugs c, which are cast on the
bracket piece V. Thus, by means of the setting screws a and b, the spindle
of the rotatory cutter may be raised or lowered in either direction, and the
cutting edges thereby adjusted with the utmost accuracy in 'regard to their
contiguity to the fixed blade. The plan, Figure 6, and sectional view, Figure 7,
serve to show the arrangement and construction of the rotatory cutter ; it consists
of the wrought-iron spindle d, to which is fitted the cast-iron cylinder c, to
which a series of helical ribs f are made fast. To the ribs f are screwed the
helical blades g, the outer edges of which are bevilled off to a fine cutting
edge, these blades rotate in contact with the edge of the fixed blade or
cutter h. This stationary cutter consists of one or more steel blades h,
fastened between the jaws of the carrying bar i by the screws The
extremities of the bar i are reduced in thickness, and each rests upon an
angular ledge k, cast on the bracket piece V. Parallel with the ledge k is
cast a lug 1, in which a pinching screw m is fitted, corresponding screws n are
also arranged in the ledge k, so that the bar i may be raised and fixed firmly
in the desired position. The smaller circular opening o in the bracket piece V
serves to receive the spindle of the presser bar p, which is shown in its proper
position in Figures 1 and 2 of my Drawing. This breaker or guide bar
consists of a bevil-edged bar of metal, and its office is to break off or guide
the fabric close to the cutting edges of the blades g and h. The segmentally
shaped slot q, in the bracket piece V, is to receive the stud upon which the
wheel is carried; both bracket pieces are secured to the end standards A by
bolts, which are passed through the holes made near their ends. The helical
cutter, when arranged in the machine, is partially enclosed by the guard r,
which prevents the particles of severed cotton from being thrown about the
room, for as the particles are cut off they are thrown against the guard, and
fall into the trough s, which is fitted beneath. Within the troughs is a
secondary receiver t, into which the particles from the reciprocatory knife are
deposited as they fall from the shoot u. The presser bar p, which serves to
keep the fabric in contact with the edges of the blades g and h, has affixed

page_text: to one of its extremities a hand lever v, by which the presser bar may be raised
from or lowered on to the fabric. This lever is held in either of the two
positions by a notched plate w, which projects inwards from the upper edge
of the end standard. To withdraw the fabric from the blades g and h, it
is only necessary to shift the lever v to the front notch in the plate w,
when the joining of the two pieces of cloth is passing through at the shearing
point, the hold which the roughened roller H has upon the cloth draws it away
from the blades, the cutting operation of which is thereby suspended. Motion
is communicated to the rotatory and reciprocatory cutters from the band
wheel, which is fast to the main shaft C; this wheel is driven at a high
velocity, and by means of the endless band y gives motion to the pulley that
is keyed to the spindle of the rotatory cutter. The band y is kept at the
requisite tension by a bell-crank lever 1, one extremity of which is centred
upon a stud fixed to the standard A. At the angle of the lever 1 is fitted a
stud, on which a grooved pulley 2 revolves, this pulley bears upon the band y,
and its pressure thereon is regulated by the counterweight 3, which may be
shifted to-and-fro upon the longer arm of the lever 1, and is secured thereto
by a pinching screw. By this means the requisite degree of tension is
maintained on the band y, so as to prevent it from slipping over the periphery
of the pulley, thereby ensuring its continuous rotatory motion. The centre
of the band wheel x is made solid, and forms a friction disc, which gives
motion to the vertical shaft 4, and by this means the reciprocatory cutter T is
actuated. The footstep bearing in which the lower extremity of the shaft 4
works is carried in a bracket 5, this bracket is cast on or otherwise attached
to the lower part of the end standard A. The upper part of the shaft 4
revolves in a collar bearing which projects from the framing; the extremity
of the shaft. carries a disc 6, in which a crank pin 7 is fitted. This pin
traverses in a slot made in the bar to which the cutter T is attached; the
eccentric motion of the pin 7 imparts a rapid reciprocatory action to the
cutter by which the loops upon the fabric are removed. This portion of the
mechanism forms, however,, no part of my present Invention beyond its con-
nection with the other parts of the machine, and as its operation is fully
described in the Specification of the Letters Patent herein-before in part
recited,. I need. not dwell more particularly upon it. From the bars U the
fabric passes downwards, as indicated by the arrow in Figure 1 of my
Drawing; and beneath the presser bar p, the acute bevilled edge of which
keeps a narrow line of the cloth just in contact with the blades g and h. The
effect of this arrangement is, that as the rotatory cutter revolves against the
fixed: blade h in manner similar to the cutting action of a pair of scissars; any

page_text: loops or projecting particles of cotton that may have escaped. the shearing
action of the reciprocatory cutter T are effectually removed in passing the
blades g and h. It will be obvious that the combined action of the presser
bar and the knives g and h must be regulated and adjusted with great
nicety, so as to remove projecting filaments from the surface of the fabric
without injury to the cloth itself; this accuracy of adjustment is readily
obtained by the arrangement of the bracket pieces V. The sheared fabric
passes over the upper side of the bar i, and round the drawing roller H, the
surface of which is roughened; it is by means of this roller that the fabric is
drawn through the machine, it being the only one of the series which receives
its motion from the prime mover. The spindle of the roller H is made with
a coupling, so as to readily connect it with the wheel G, which is driven by
the pinion of the wheel F. The roller H is put into or out of gear with the
wheel G by means of a lever which is fast to the horizontal shaft 8, this lever
and the pin which actuates the coupling is shown in dotted lines in Figure. 1.
of my Drawing. The shaft 8 is carried in bearings attached to the outside of
one of the end standards A; it has fast to its front extremity a weighted.
lever 9, by turning this lever either to the right or left hand, the attendant
can instantly disengage. the roller H, or vice versa. As it is by the drag of
the cloth upon the surface of the. roller H that it is. drawn through the
machine, it is necessary to keep it in contact therewith, and this is done by:
means of the roller 10. The spindle of the roller 10 is carried in the upwardly
turned ends of the levers 11, which are centred upon studs secured to the
framing; these levers have notches made in their upper edges, in which the
rings of the counterweights 12 are hung. By means of this arrangement, the
pressure of the roller 10 against the drawing roller H may be regulated by
shifting the weights to-and-fro upon the supporting levers 11. A smooth
metal roller 13 rests upon the surface of the fabric as it passes over the roller
10, which serves to keep the cloth perfectly smooth as it leaves the drawing
roller H, the roller 10 being driven by its frictional contact with the drawing
roller. The smoothing roller 13 is carried by a pair of arms 14, which are
centred upon studs projecting from the inner sides of the end standards, so
that the roller may be readily lifted to pass the end of an uncut piece beneath
it. After passing the roller 13, it then falls upon the floor, where it is laid in
regular folds, as shown upon the right-hand side of Figures 1 and 2 of my
Drawings. By means of these several improvements the cutting and removal
of loose threads from the surface of fabrics is effected in a far more
expeditious and superior manner than heretofore.

page_text: Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of my Invention. But 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 general arrangement and construction of machinery or apparatus
for cutting or shearing loose threads or filaments from the surface of fabrics,
as herein-before described.
Second, the system or mode of cutting, shearing, or clipping projecting
threads or filaments from the surface of fabrics, as herein-before described.
Third, the mechanical arrangement or combination of a rotatory cutter, and
a fixed blade or knife, for the purpose of cutting or shearing and removing
loose threads or filaments from the surface of fabrics, as herein-before
described.
Fourth, the use and application of a cutter in which the blades or cutting
edges are helically disposed upon the cylinder thereof to and for the purpose
of cutting and removing loose threads or filaments from the surface of fabrics,
as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Richard Cochrane, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of May, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-eight.
J. R. COCHRANE.
(L.B.)