IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CLIPPING FIGURED NET AND SIMILAR FABRICS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Leopold Hamel, of Nottingham, Lace Manufacturer,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CLIPPING FIGURED
NET AND SIMILAR FABRICS."
Sealed the 15th April 1868, and dated the 17th October 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Leopold Hamel at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
17th October 1867.
I, LEOPOLD HAMEL, of Nottingham, Lace Manufacturer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
CLIPPING FIGURED NET AND SIMILAR FABRICS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for clipping
figured net and similar fabrics. In order to clip off from a figured net or
similar fabric the loops of the ornamenting thread which passes from figure to
figure I distend the fabric in a frame which is adjustable to take different
widths, and over the face of the fabric so distended I mount a bar to which a
motion to and fro is given endwise as respects the bar, and transverse to the
length of the fabric. The bar has. a number of cutters upon it, and instru-
ments which take up the loops of the ornamenting threads and present them
to the cutters to be clipped. The bar may have any convenient number of

page_text: cutters upon it, and the more numerous the cutters the shorter will be the
to-and-fro movement of the bar. The fabric is distended in the frame by its
selvages between points on two endless chains or bands, which between the
strokes of the cutter bar move forward and carry forward the fabric with them
up to the cutters. After cutting the fabric is raised off the points on the t
chains or bands and is wound up on a work beam.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Leopold Hamel in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
17th April 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, LEOPOLD
HAMEL, of Nottingham, Lace Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Leopold Hamel, Leopold Hamel, Her special licence that I, the said
Leopold Hamel, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Leopold Hamel, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CLIPPING FIGURED NET AND SIMILAR FABRICS," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Leopold Hamel, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands, and seals, 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 Leopold Hamel, 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 thereof, that is to say:—
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for clipping

page_text: figured net and similar fabrics. In order to clip off from a figured net.or
similar fabric the loops of the ornamenting thread which passes from figure
to figure I distend the fabric, and over the face of the fabric so distended I
mount a frame or bar, to which a motion to and fro is given endwise as
respects the frame or bar, and transverse to the length of the fabric. The
frame or bar has a number of cutters upon it, and instruments which take up
the loops of the ornamenting threads and present them to the cutters to be
clipped. Any convenient number of cutters may be used, and the more
numerous the cutters the shorter will be the to-and-fro movement of the frame
or bar.
And in order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto
annoved
Figure 1 is a side view, Figure 2 a plan, and Figure 3 an end view, of a
machine constructed according to my Invention, but with the cutting instru-
ments removed.
a, a, is the frame of the machine, on it is mounted the main axis 6 carrying
fast and loose pulleys to receive a driving belt. A bevilled pinion at the end
.of the axis b gears with a corresponding pinion on the axis c running along
the back of the machine. At one extremity of the axis c are belt pulleys c¹
from which a driving band passes to other pulleys d' upon the square bar or
axis d carried in bearings at the top of the frame, and this bar or axis can be
driven at a faster or a slower speed by employing one or other of the two pair
of belt pulleys; is a bevilled pinion at the other extremity of the axis c, it
drives a bevilled wheel upon the vertical intermediate shaft e, and this by
means of a pinion e¹ drives the horizontal cam shaft f; g is a roller on which
the fabric to. be operated upon is wound, it should be of a length equal to the
width of the machine on which the fabric is produced, as represented in the
Drawing; this roller is adapted only to take a comparatively narrow sheet of
fabric, this however is only for convenience of illustration, as in practice the
apparatus may be made to take the widest sheets of fabric which it is cus-
tomary to produce, nevertheless the sheet of fabric may be divided up into two
or more widths before bringing it to the clipping should this method of working
be preferred. The fabric is drawn off from the roller g, which is controlled by
a brake, strap, and weight, so that the fabric may be kept distended, and it
passes in contact with the rollers h, i, k, and I, to the roller m, on to which it

page_text: is again wound up. All these rollers have needle points projecting from their
surfaces, so that the fabric may not slip or drag upon them. The roller m
may be actuated by a weight not shown in the Drawing, which in descending
causes the roller to wind up the fabric which is fed forward to it. The roller /
is driven step by step by means of a ratchet wheel at its end, which is
actuated by the pawl n¹ on the upright bar n. This bar is able to slide up
and down in guides on the frame, and it has upon it a pulley n³, with this the
cam fcomes in contact at each revolution of the cam shaft, and so the bar is
raised, and the take-up roller driven. After the cam has passed the bar n
falls by its own weight until it rests upon the adjustable screw stop o, and the
position of this stop regulates the amount of the take up or feed. a¹, a¹, are
two angle iron guides at the upper part of the frame, upon them the cutting
frame herein-after described slides, it is actuated by a bar p, which slides to
and fro in guides upon the front angle iron a, and has a projection p¹ upon it
to take into a notch or recess in the cutting frame. The bar p is connected
at its end with the rocking lever q, receiving motion from a cam f' on the cam
shaft; this cam acts upon a pulley q¹ on the lever g, which pulley is kept
constantly in contact with the cam by a spring which the Drawing does not
shew, or double-acting cams may be employed. Between the rollers i and k
the fabric is stretched over stationary bars a³, a³, as is more clearly shewn at
Figure 4, which is a transverse section of some of the parts of the machine,
and here also apparatus is applied to strain the fabric in the direction of its
width whilst it is at rest between each movement of the take-up roller l. This
apparatis, of which a side view is also shewn at Figure 5, and a plan at
Figure 6, consists of two rails r, r, having points upon them, and one at each
selvage of the fabric; r, r, are bars sliding in guides a³, as, on the frame
and on which the rails r, r, are fixed; 8, 8, are india-rubber springs tending
constantly to move the rails r, r, outwards, and by these springs the fabric is
distended, when it is on the points which the rails carry;,, are chains
passing from the bars to the pulley t, which when partially rotated draws
the rails r, r, together, overcoming the springs s, and removing the transverse
strain from the fabric. The pulley t gets its motion by means of a chain t
connecting it with the lever u, which is caused to rock by the cam fs on the
cam shaft acting upon the pulley u¹ on the lever, and this cam acts just when
the take-up or feed forward of the fabric is on the point of commencing. In
order that the points on the rails r may clear themselves from the fabric to
admit of its moving forward each of the bars r¹ at the end near the rail r is
able to play up and down in its guide a³, when it is up the points are in the

page_text: fabric, when down they fall away from it., ³, are small guide wheels on
the bars, which as the rails r separate mount up on to the guides v, v, and
so raise the bar that the points enter the fabric. As the rails r approach
each other the guide wheels pass off the guides v, and the points release
the fabrics. The cams f¹ and f³ are shewn separately to a larger scale at
Figure 7, together with another cam f', the purpose of which will be presently
explained.
Figure 8 is a plan of the cutting parts and of the frame which carries them,
it is shewn to a larger scale than that of the Figures 1, 2, and 3.
A, A, is a rectangular frame fitting between the angle irons a¹, of which
the upper edges support the ends of the cross bars A¹, A', which are bolted to
the frame A, and which each carry a set of cutters. The length of the
frame A is nearly equal to the width of the fabric to be operated on. In the
Drawing, for convenience of illustration, it is not represented so long as it
would usually be in practice, but whatever its length its construction will be
the same, excepting only that the number of cross bars A¹ will vary with the
length. The distance between the bars A¹ from centre to centre may con-
veniently be about five inches, and the endway movement which is given to
the frame in the manner already described will be slightly in excess of the
distance. In the Drawing near the right hand one set of cutters is shown
complete with its driving apparatus, next to it towards the left the cutting
apparatus only is shown, the driving mechanism being removed, and on the
left-hand side the driving mechanism is represented without the cutters.
Figure 9 is a transverse section of a complete set of the apparatus. B, B,
are brackets bolted to the bar A, one near each end, and C is a plate extending
from one bracket to the other, and serving as a foundation plate for the
cutters; D, D, are fingers fixed to the plate C on its under side, they rest on
the surface of the fabric, and in the forward movement of the frame they catch
up upon them the loops which are to be cut; E is a plate resting on the upper
surface of the plate C, and held down to it by screws passing through slotted
holes, as is shewn, the slots allow the plate E to slide on the plate C a short
distance, and the stamps C¹ fixed into the plate C, and projecting through
slotted holes in the plate E guide it truly; F is another sliding plate, it is
mounted on the top of the plate E, being held down to it by screws passing
through slotted holes, and it is also guided in its to-and-fro movements by the
stumps C; E are cutting blades fixed to the plate; E and F¹ are other
cutting blades fixed to the plate F. The sides of the fingers D are sharpened,
and the cutters E¹ and F¹ act with these sharpened sides of the fingers. like
pairs of scissors, and so the loops upon the fingers are severed. The machine

page_text: acts most advantageously when all the loops to be cut are of uniform length,
and when the width of the fingers at the cutting parts is equal to the length
of the loops. The plates E and F receive a rapid to-and-fro movement by
means of the lugs E and F upon them, which enter into corresponding
recesses in the bars G, G, which slide in guides across the frame A; G, G
are pullies upon the bars G, and G³, G, are india-rubber springs connected
with the bars G and with the brackets B, so as to cause the pullies G constantly
to bear against the square bar or axis d, and as this bar or axis rapidly revolves
it gives a to-and-fro movement to the bars G, and so to the cutting blades E¹
and F. In order that the cutting blades may not work uselessly during the
return stroke of the frame there are stops G³, G³, upon the bars G, and
between them the bar H which is oblong in section stands, it is carried in
bearings in the frame a; and has at its end a pinion II gearing with a rack I,
which just as the return stroke of the cutting frame commences is lifted by
the cam f just in the same way as the bar n is lifted by the cam f¹,
as already described. By this means the bar H is turned one quarter
round, and its greatest width is interposed between the stops G³, G³, and
as this width is equal to the diagonal of the square bar d the pullies G¹
are held off from the sides of this bar, and so the action of the cutters is
stopped just as the forward stroke of the cutting frame commences, the bar H
is turned back, and the cutters again commence to operate. By means of the
machine above described the loops are cut on two sides, and the superfluous
material is thus completely detached, but if it be desired only to divide the
loop, or cut, it in one place, the fingers D with sharpened sides may be
used alone or without the cutters E¹ and F¹; and the superfluous material
may afterwards be removed by a shearing machine, the spiral cutter being
made very sharp, and being rapidly driven. Or for this purpose the machine
may be simplified in the manner indicated at Figures 10 and 11, Figure 10
being a portion of a front view, and Figure 11 of a transverse section of the
machine.
'
a, a, are bands having needle points upon them, and which receive the
selvages of the fabric in the manner indicated at Figure 11. From these
the fabric passes in contact with the pin roller b, then over the grooved bar c
over which it is distended, and in contact with the pin roller d to a roller
not shown, on to which it is continuously and slowly wound. e is a bar
which receives a to-and-fro movement through guides on the frame from a
crank, and to this bar the cutting fingers or blades are bolted; side views of the
cutters which are employed are shown at Figures 1 2..
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner

page_text: of performing the same, I would have it understood that I do not confine
myself to the exact details described, but what I claim is, the arranging
machinery for clipping figured net and similar fabrics with a bar or frame
carrying cutters, and moving to and fro over and across the fabric whilst the
same is held distended, such cutters clipping off or dividing the loops as herein
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Leopold Hamel, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
LEOPOLD HAMEL. (L.S.)