IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING VELVETEENS AND CERTAIN OTHER FABRICS TO PRODUCE A PILED SURFACE."
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jerome André Drieu, of Patricroft, in the
County of Lancaster, Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING VELVETEENS AND CERTAIN OTHER
FABRICS TO PRODUCE A PILED SURFACE."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jerome André
Drieu at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 9th November 1853.
I, JEROME ANDRÉ DRIEU, of Patricroft, in the County of Lancaster,
Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING VELVETEENS AND CERTAIN
OTHER FABRICS TO PRODUCE A PILED SURFACE" to be as follows:-
My improvements are applicable to those fabrics in which the pile is
produced by the weft, and consist in inserting a flat pointed piece of
metal or other material into every race of the fabric to be cut; these
pieces are fixed into a cross rail attached to the loom in which the

page_text: fabric is woven, or to a separate machine, if it is found desirable to
cut the fabric out of. the loom. Above these pieces is a long knife
extending across the whole piece of fabric to be cut; this knife is set
at a suitable angle to cut the weft threads forming the races as the
fabric is being drawn forward by the taking up roller or other suitable
mechanism. I propose in some cases to employ a revolving roller with
any convenient number of cutting blades attached to it, in lieu of the
knife above referred to, and a slight lateral motion may be given to
the knives in order to vary the cutting surface. Other combinations
of machinery might be described, but the foregoing is sufficient to
illustrate my improvements, which consist in drawing the races of the
fabric on to stationary pieces, and in cutting the threads over the upper
edge of these pieces.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Jerome André Drieu in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 9th May 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
JEROME ANDRÉ DRIEU, of Patricroft, in the County of Lancaster,
Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in
the seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Jerome André Drieu,
Her special license that I, the said Jerome André Drieu, my execu-
tors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Jerome
André Drieu, 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, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING VELVETEENS

page_text: AND CERTAIN OTHER FABRICS TO PRODUCE A PILED SURFACE," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Jerome André Drieu, 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 Jerome André Drieu, 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, that is to say:
My Invention consists in cutting the races or loops of velveteens,
cords, and other fabrics of the like nature by means of a cutter acting
on the said races or loops, which, as the fabric proceeds through the
machine, are drawn on to flat pointed pieces of metal or other material
over which the cutter is situated. And in order that my Invention
may be fully understood, and readily carried into effect, I will pro-
ceed to describe the micans pursued by me, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawing, and to the figures and letters marked thereon.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1, represents a longitudinal section of a machine to which
my improvements are applied; Figure 2, is a front view of part of the
same; Figure 3, is a section, full size, of the improved machinery for
cutting; and Figure 4, is a plan of part of Figure 3. In Figures 1
and 2, a represents the fabric to be cut; and as it is requisite that this
fabric should be as near as possible of a uniform width throughout, it
may sometimes be necessary to pass it through a stretching frame
previous to operating upon it in the cutting machine; b, b, are a series
of fixed rollers; and c, c, are loose rollers, over and under which the
fabric passes before it is carried over the card roller d; the rollers b,
are provided with adjustable side flanges to keep the selvages of the
fabric in a line; the rollers d, and e, are covered with cards, and are
weighted by straps and weights, shewn in the Drawing, to produce the
requisite tension on the fabric. After the fabric has got beyond the

page_text: roller d, it is carried under the fixed roller f, and thence to the table g,
which is grooved out; this table' is capable of accurate adjustment by
set screws g. 1, is a revolving knife, similar to those in general use
for cutting the nap of fabrics which has been raised in the ordinary
manner; this knife consists of a centre shaft, around which are blades
of steel in the manner well understood by persons conversant with this
class of machinery. j, is a strong cast iron rail or beam, the angle x, y,
andz, of which is plained true to ensure a proper surface for the blades
or instruments i, which are fixed in the said beam, as will be explained
hereafter. These blades or instruments i can be varied-in thickness,
according to the fineness of the races in the fabric to be cut; for
example, Figure 4, represents a blade made from a bar of steel known
as eighteens guage, and half inch broad; the point from A to B, see
Fig. 3, is fine and round, like an ordinary stocking needle, for about
three eighths of an inch in length; the distance from B to C gradually
increases in depth and thickness to the substance of the steel bar, and
is brought from the bottom edge (the angles of which are rounded) to a
finer edge at the top, somewhat like the back edge of a fine penknife;
this part from B to C is highly polished and hard tempered, but this
hard temper is not required beyond the point C, nor at the part from
A to B; the point A curves upwards about one sixteenth of an inch
in the whole from a straight line along the bottom edge from D, and
it will be obvious that the whole number of blades or instruments
required to be worked at one time, when securely fixed in the bed or
groove in the rail j, must be true to a straight edge placed along the
ends, as also at the top and under side. The blades are held at the
requisite distance apart by the washers or packing pieces, the thick-
ness of which must be varied according to the fabric to be cut; and I
prefer to put the blades i, and packing pieces k, on a thin transverse
flat bar 7; the pieces i, k, and l, are secured in the rail j, by set screws
passing through the angle piece j', acting on the straight bar, the
lower surface of which is also plained. After the fabric leaves the
table g, it passes under the fixed roller m, and then over the beam n,
thence over the card roller o, by which motion is given to the fabric
for drawing it through the machine; the fabric may then be folded

page_text: down on to a suitable stand, or formed into a batch on the roller p, as
shewn in the Drawing. It may in some cases be desirable to fix a
ratchet wheel on the roller o, and to hinge retaining palls to the
framing to prevent the fabric, when the machine is stopped, moving
the roller o in the contrary direction, and thus drawing the races off the
blades i. The requisite motion is given to the knife by the pulley q²
on the shaft q, and to the roller o by speed pulleys q' also fixed on the
shaft ; these pulleys drive corresponding speed pulleys fixed on
the shaft, to which is also fixed a pinion gearing in the wheels, to
which is fixed a pinion s¹ gearing into the wheel o' fixed to the shaft
of the roller o; by means of the speed pulleys q' and the speed at
which the fabric is drawn through the machine can be varied. The
points of the blades i, and the position of the cutter h, are accurately
adjusted by set screws ², similar to those in use in the machines for
shearing fustians and other fabrics; a slight lateral motion is given
to the knife h, in order to vary the cutting surface, by the lever h', and
excentric on the pinion s', seen in Figure 2. The rollers m, and f, are
furnished with adjustable conical pieces m³, shewn in Figure 2, for the
purpose of keeping the selvages, which are often longer than the centre
portion of the fabric, at the requisite tension; these conical pieces are
secured to the rollers by set screws, and can be moved nearer to or
further from the selvage of the fabric. When the fabric is in the
machine, and ready to be cut, the points of the blades i are brought
into position opposite to the races by turning the set screw j³, see
Fig. 2, and then by turning the thumb screw the points are lowered,
so that when the machine is set in motion the fabric is drawn forward,
thereby bringing the races on to the blades until they are distended,
when the cutting cylinder h in revolving severs the weft threads, and
thus forms the pile. Instead of the circular knife h, I also propose
to use a straight knife, as shewn half size in Figures 5 and 6; this
knife, which is marked t, is fixed to a bed u, which is supported in
steps ', fitting in the side brackets u², beyond the step u; the bed u
is rounded, and to it is fixed a stud, the lower end of which enters
into a diagonal groove in the boss of the pulley v, which is turned
round by a strap from the pulley q; by this means a rapid lateral

page_text: motion is given to the knife t. The position of the side brackets u²
and of the knife can be varied by set screws, as described in reference
to the knife h in Figure 1, and the angle of the knife can be adjusted
by the set screw us fitting in the slot in the flange of the step u¹. If
the races to be cut should be so close together that the blades i could
not enter each race across the piece, I propose to make the blades i.
enter every alternate race, and instead of the fabric passing from the
roller m, over the beam n, and then to the draw roller o, I fix a second
cutting apparatus, as shewn from f to n, for cutting those races that had
been left uncut in the first process. It will be obvious that in this
manner the piece may be cut by any number of cutting apparatuses
while passing once through the machine. I would also remark that
the same combination of machinery may be applied to the loom in
which the fabrics are woven, but I prefer to employ a separate
machine for cutting, as shewn in the Drawing.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
of performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit
myself to the details herein-before set forth, as the same may be varied
without departing from the peculiar character of my Invention; but
what I do claim is, the blades or instruments marked i, in combination
with a knife or other instrument for cutting the loops or races of vel-
veteens, cords, or other fabrics, as herein-before shewn and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Jerome André Drieu, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of May, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named J. A. Drieu in the
presence of
H. B. BARLOW,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
J. A. DRIEU. (L.S.)