IM- PROVEMENTS IN WEAVING
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Strang, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN WEAVING."
Sealed the 20th April 1875, and dated the 23rd October 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Strang at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd October 1874.
I, WILLIAM STRANG, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said In-
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVING," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object the production in the power loom or
hand loom of new fabrics suitable for various useful and ornamental
purposes, some modifications of such fabrics resembling net or lace
fabrics more or less in appearance, but being much less costly.
In carrying out the Invention the warp threads are moved laterally
over two or more splits, and the wefts are thrown so as to fix the warps

page_text: in their deviated positions. The result is that the warp threads assume
inclined directions and combine with the wefts to form triangles and
other shapes like those of net or lacc.
The required movements of the warps are obtainable by suitable
adaptations or modifications of loom mechanism in use in gauze weaving
and in other ways. Thus, for example, a comb reed may be used with
short splits fixed at their bottom ends only, or an inverted comb reed
of this kind may be used instead of or in combination with the first.
When the warps are to be moved laterally they are taken by the heddles
or other mounting out of the comb reed, and are then shifted to the
desired extent, or the comb reed may be shifted whilst the warps aro
held stationary out of it.
The fabrics woven as described may have figuring superadded to
the imitation net or similar ground by means of jacquard or other
pattern mechanism, such figuring being formed out of either warps or 1
wefts, and by arrangements of loom mechanism similar to what is in use
in weaving leno curtains and other ornamental fabrics. The said
figuring may either be like the figuring of leno curtains, lappets, and
other existing ornamental fabrics, excepting that the ground or portions
of the ground of the fabric is or are of the improved net-like or lacc-like 2
texture herein-before described; or the said figuring may be woven in
the same way as the net-like or lace-like portions, the jacquard harness
or other patter apparatus selecting the warp threads for the figuring,
and the comb reed or reeds being moved transversely to give angular or
oblique positions to the figuring threads; or again, the transverse action 2
of the comb reed or reeds may be made to take effect on the figuring
only, the ground or main portion of the fabric being woven plain or like
any suitable known fabric.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent bearing date the Tweny-third day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for. Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Strang, Her special licence
that I, tho said William Strang, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Strang, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, usc, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ircland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Strang, 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 William Strang, do hereby declare.
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement in writing, that is to say:-
My said Invention has for its object the production in the power
loom or in the hand loom of new fabrics suitable for various useful
and ornamental purposes, some modifications of such fabrics resembling
net or lace fabrics more or less in appearance, but being much less
costly.
In carrying out my Invention according to one modification the warp
threads are, in the intervals between the weft shoots, moved laterally or
from side to side to the extent of two splits, and the wefts are thrown so.
as to fix the warps in their deviated positions. The take-up of the fabric
is adjusted so as to space the wefts correspondingly with the warps, and
the result is that the warp threads assume inclined directions and com-
bine with the wefts to form a triangular network or to present triangles.
or other shapes like those of net or lace,

page_text: The required movements of the warps are obtainable by suitable
adaptations or modifications of loom mechanism, such as is in use in
gauze weaving, and in other ways. Thus, for example, an upright
comb reed may be used with short splits fixed at their bottom ends
only; or an inverted comb reed of this kind may be used instead of or
in combination with the upright one.
In some modifications when the warps are to be moved laterally they
are taken or held by the heddles or other mounting out of the comb
reed, and are then shifted to the desired extent; or the comb reed may
be shifted laterally, whilst a portion of the warps are held stationary
out of it.
Fabrics woven as herein-before described may have figuring super-
added to or combined with the imitation net or similar ground and with
or without additional figuring warps or figuring weft. Or the transverse
action obtainable by one or more comb reeds or equivalent parts may be
made to take effect on figuring threads only, the ground or main portion
of the fabric being woven as a plain gauze, or like any other suitable
known fabric.
And in order that my said Invention and the manner of performing
the same may be properly understood, I proceed to particularly describe
by way of example the arrangement of parts and mode of working,
which I at present believe to be the best for weaving what I will
designate as a plain triangular net fabric.
In this arrangement the lathe is provided like that of a lappet loom
with a set of upright pins, which having a movement derived from that
of the lathe itself are projected upwards at the proper time to serve as a
guide for the shuttle. At a distance of an inch or two behind the guido
pins there is an upright comb reed, which is carried by the lathe and
beats up the weft, and which has also a vertical movement in or on
guides on the lathe and derived from a simple cam on the crank shaft or
from a duplex cam on the low shaft. After each beat-up this comb
reed descends clear of the warps to give freedom to their lateral move-
ments, and rises again just before the next beat-up. The upper ends of
the splits of the comb reed are pointed to ensure their projecting
properly up through the warps; and when they are quite raised these
upper ends bear against the front of a horizontal bar or rod which is
fixed to the lathe, and which supports the reed splits when beating up.

page_text: In about the position where ordinary heddles would be there are an
upright comb reed and an inverted one, and both these reeds have cycs
in the pointed ends of their splits, whilst there are the same number
of splits in each, and the warp threads are passed one half through
the eyes of each reed. One comb reed, by preference the upright one,
has no vertical movement, but keeps its warp threads always at the
same level, whilst the other comb reed moves its warp threads down
below the level of the other warp threads to form the shed for the passage
of the shuttle, and then above the other warp threads for changing the
shed.
The change of shed is effected by the lateral movement imparted to
the warps, and this lateral movement may be given by shifting either
comb reed or by shifting both in opposite directions, but so as to give
the same relative movement in either case. The warps of cach comb
reed are by the vertical shedding motion entered between the splits of
the other comb reed, and the relative lateral movement or deviation is
to the extent of two splits. Thus, if the warps are distinguished
as 1, 2, 3, &c., and a, b, c, &c., respectively, and if in one position,
they range thus:
-

page_text: and for the better securing of the figuring wefts I have the warps,
which are acted on for the figuring dealt with so as to form gauze.
It will be obvious to the practical weaver acquainted with leno,
lappet, and other classes of figure weaving, that figuring may also be
applied to the plain triangular net fabric in the manner done in lappet
looms and in other known ways.,
The entire ground or portions only of the ground of the fabric may be
of the improved net-like or lace-like texture herein-before described, or
the figuring may be woven in the same way as the net-like portions, thic
jacquard harness or other pattern apparatus selecting warp threads
for figuring, and one or both of the comb reeds being moved
transversely to give angular or oblique positions to such selected or
figuring threads.
When employing a transverse action, like that herein-before described
as for obtaining the net-like fabric, but so as to form figure on a fabric
woven with a gauze ground, I pass threads, drawn off separate stationary
cops or pirns, through cyes in the pointed upper ends of wires corrc-
sponding to the splits of an upright comb reed, such as is herein-before
referred to, but I have these wires mounted independently of each other.
The wires pass up between two transverse horizontal racks, the teeth of
which face cach other, and in their normal positions the wires rest
between the teeth of one of these racks which is stationary. Cords
from jacquard or other suitable pattern apparatus are connected to the
wires or to bell-crank arms formed on them, and in acting the pattern
apparatus selects a certain number of the wires and moves them out of
the stationary rack into the other rack, and this latter rack is sub-
sequently shifted so as to give the lateral movement to the sclected
wires. The figuring threads are held at such a height by the wires, that
when the shed is formed the warps passing to the bottom of the shed are
below the figuring threads, and these threads are consequently caught by
the weft in their laterally deviated positions or in their normal positions
when not selected by the pattern apparatus. In the rear of the wires
there is a mounting for forming what is known as half gauze with the
main warp threads, and this mounting is, by preference, of the well
known kind consisting of a reed made up of alternate half splits and whole
splits. with warp threads. passing through eyes in the points of the half
splits, and with a comb or heck behind for moving the other warp

page_text: threads from side to side of the half splits. The gauze mounting has
the effect of combining cach pair of warp threads into a partially twisted
cord, and it is by the combined action of this partial twist and the inter-
lacing of the weft that the figuring threads are caught.
If any particular figuring thread is moved laterally, at every shot it
will be crossed from side to side between two of the longitudinal gauzo
cords, being laid zig-zag and more or less closely, according to the rate
of take-up over the space between the two cords; but if at any shot it
is not moved laterally it will simply become partially twisted with onc
cord, for the distance corresponding to the shot or number of shots,
during which it is not moved laterally. The figuring threads will thus
cover or leave open the parts to which they respectively appertain,
according to the action on them of the pattern apparatus; and in this
way figured fabrics will be produced analogous to those formed in lace

page_text: •
5. The weaving of a figured fabric having a' gauze or other suitable
plain ground with figuring threads selected by pattern mechanism and
moved laterally, substantially as in the modification last herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Strang, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow:
⚫ WILLIAM STRANG. (L.S.)