Piled Fabrics and Apparatus Employed for such Purpose.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, .24th Apr., 1886.
Complete Left, 24th Feb., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 25th Mar., 1887.
Piled Fabrics and Apparatus Employed for such Purpose.
I DUGALD SCOTT of 12 York Street Manchester in the County of Lancaster
Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows
This invention relates to the cutting of the pile of velvets, velveteens and other piled
fabrics wherein the pile is formed from the weft threads and is cut in the direction
of the warp threads, the object of the invention being to combine the mechanical
automatic movement of the cloth with the manual skill and sensitiveness of the operative
who holds and guides the knife or knives in the opposite direction.
I am aware that attempts have heretofore been made to cut the pile of velvets and
other piled fabrics upon this principle of driving the cloth automatically against the
point of the knife or knives held either in fixed or movable carriers or in the hand or
hands of a skilled workman but so far as I can learn none of these attempts have
resulted in success owing to certain defects in the method of cutting or in the
construction of the mechanism employed for driving the cloth forwards against the
knife or knives.
My invention is intended to remedy these defects and to render the cutting of the
pile of velvets and other piled fabrics not only possible, but to do so more rapidly,
perfectly and economically than can be done by hand.
In the first place instead of joining the two ends of the velvet together so as to
make an endless web, the cutting of which in this endless form has been found
impracticable, or of cutting the velvet along one race from end to end and then
winding it back again to commence a fresh race in the same direction which was
productive of a great loss of time, I propose to wind the batch of velvet from one
roller to another whilst one or more races of the pile is or are being cut in one
direction and then to wind the same back again onto the first roller whilst the next
race or races of the pile is or are being cut in the reverse direction and so on alternately
whereby no time is lost, and the cutting is of course much more economical.
I also use smooth wooden or other smooth faced rollers for drawing the cloth through.
the machine in contradistinction to card-covered or otherwise roughened rollers as

page_text: heretofore proposed, which were calcuted to injure the cloth and to pull out the pile
from the back.
I also so arrange the machine as hereinafter described, that the forward motion of
the cloth only continues so long as the operative keeps his foot on the treadle, so that
upon the occurrence of any accident or fault, the mere raising of his foot causes the
instant cessation of the movement of the cloth and the cutting through or other injury
of the cloth is reduced to a minimum. An automatic arrangement is also provided
to stop the action of the driving rollers as soon as the end of the piece has been
reached.
The improved machine or apparatus which I employ for this purpose is as previously
indicated made in the double form, each end of the machine having a driving pulley
connected to its main driving shaft, by a friction clutch, a cloth roller upon which the
batch of cloth can be wound, a group of smooth wooden or other driving rollers for
drawing the cloth through the machine, a table whereon to rest the handle and guide
of the knife, and an adjustable tension roller, near the inner edge of the table and
slightly above the same to keep the cloth stretched and level whilst it is being presented
to the knife.
One of each group of driving rollers is fixed on one of the main driving shafts and
the others are geared to it, by spur wheels so as to ensure their all moving together
and all at the same surface speed; and each cloth or batch roller is driven by a band
and pulleys from its respective driving shaft and is provided with a sliding clutch by
means of which it can be connected and disconnected at will by the action of a treadle
or foot lever.
The treadles or foot levers at each end of the machine are double, so that either end
can be depressed and they are both keyed or fixed to the same treadle shaft.
Other levers on the treadle shaft act upon the sliding clutches of the cloth or batch
rollers and upon the friction clutches of the main driving shaft, and these are so
arranged that when one end of the treadle is depressed the driving rollers and cloth or
batch roller at one end of the machine are thrown into gear so as to pull the cloth
through the machine in one direction, and the other set of driving rollers; and cloth.or
batch roller, are simultaneously thrown out of gear so as to allow the cloth to be drawn
through and when the other end of the lever is depressed the reverse operation takes
place, and the motion of the cloth is reversed; whilst if the operative raises his foot
so as to allow the lever or treadle to assume a horizontal position all the clutches are
thrown out of gear and the motion of the machine ceases altogether.
Each cloth or batch roller is provided with a weighted drag, rope or strap, so as to
apply the requisite amount of friction, to prevent over-running, and each of the main
driving rollers is also provided with a drag, rope, or strap attached to a brake lever
which carries a sliding weight so that by sliding the weight to either end of the lever,
the drag or brake is applied to either of the driving rollers, according to which of the
two is letting-off the cloth at the time, and releases the one which is acting as driving
roller.
On the treadle shaft I also arrange two other levers provided with fingers or hooks
so placed as to catch into loops of string (or other equivalent) which are attached to
the cloth near to each end, so that just before the end of the piece is presented to the
knife or knives the loop catches onto the hook or finger and causes the treadle lever to
release the clutches and thus stop the machine.
T
53.1 1
1 1000
GEORGE DAVIES,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester,.
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: Piled Fabrics and Apparatus Employed for such Purpose.
I DUGALD SCOTT of 12 York Street Manchester in the County of Lancaster
Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
This invention relates to the cutting of the pile of velvets, velveteens and other piled
fabrics wherein the pile is formed from the weft threads and is cut in the direction of the
warp threads, the object of the invention being to combine the mechanical automatic.
movement of the cloth with the manual skill and sensitiveness of the operative who
holds and guides the knife or knives in the opposite direction.
I am aware that attempts have heretofore been made to cut the pile of velvets and
other fabrics upon this principle of driving the cloth automatically against the point
of the knife or knives held either in fixed or movable carriers, or in the hand or hands
of a skilled workman, but so far as I can learn none of these attempts have resulted in-
success, owing to certain defects in the method of cutting, or in the construction of
the mechanism employed for driving the cloth forwards against the knife or knives.
My invention is intended to remedy these defects and to render the cutting of the
pile of velvets and other piled fabrics not only possible, but to do so more rapidly,
perfectly and economically than can be done upon an ordinary fastian cutter's frame.
In the first place instead of joining the two ends of the velvet together so as
to make an endless web, the cutting of which in this endless form has been found
impracticable, or of cutting the velvet along one race from end to end and then
winding it back to commence a fresh race in the same direction which was productive
of a great loss of time, I propose to wind the batch of velvet from one roller to another
whilst one or more races of the pile is or are being cut in one direction and then to
wind the same back again onto the first roller whilst the next race or races of the pile
is or are being cut in the reverse direction, and so on alternately, wherchy no time is
lost and the cutting is of course much more economical.
I also use smooth wooden or other smooth faced rollers for drawing the cloth
through the machine in contradistinction to card-covered or otherwise roughened
rollers as heretofore proposed, which were calculated to injure the cloth and to pull
out the pile from the back.
I also so arrange the machine as hereinafter described, that the forward motion of
the cloth only continues so long as the operative keeps his foot upon a treadle, so that
upon the occurrence of any accident or fault, the mere rising of his foot causes the
instant cessation of the movement of the cloth and the cutting through or other injury
of the cloth is reduced to a minimum..
An automatic arrangement is also provided to stop the action of the driving rollers
as soon as the end of the piece has been reached.
The improved machine or apparatus which I employ for this purpose will be readily

page_text: understood on reference to the companying drawings and the following explanation
thereof.:
Fig. 1. on the annexed drawings is a side elevation. Fig. 2. a longitudinal section.
Fig. 3. a front view, and Fig. 4. a plan view of the apparatus which as previously
indicated, is made in the double form, each end of the machine having a driving
pulley a, a connected to its main driving shaft b, b by a friction clutch c, e (known as
al "Hunter's clutch") a cloth roller d, d upon which the batch of cloth can be wound,
a group of smooth wooden, or other driving rollers e, e for drawing the cloth through
the machine, a table whereon to rest the handle of the knife and an adjustable
tension roller, g of metal near the inner edge of the table and slightly above the
same to keep the cloth stretched and level whilst it is being presented to the knife.
Instead of the clutches c, c, fast and loose pulleys may be employed.
One of each group of driving rollers e, e is fixed on one of the main driving
shafts b, band the others are geared to it, by spur wheels h, so as to ensure their all
moving together and all at the same surface speed :-and each cloth or batch roller d, d
is driven by a band and pulleys i, i from its respective driving sliaft, and is provided
with a sliding clutch k, k or other automatic clutch by means of which it can be con-
nected and disconnected at will by the action of a treadle or foot lever 11.
The treadles or foot levers 1, 1 at each end of the machine are double so that either
end can be depressed and they are both keyed or fixed to the same treadle shaft
m, m.
Other levers n, n and o, o on the treadle shaft m, m act upon the sliding clutches k, h
of the cloth or batch rollers d, d and upon the friction clutches c, c of the main driving
shaft, and these are so arranged that when one end of the treadle 7, is depressed
the driving rollers and cloth or batch roller at one end of the machine are thrown into
gear so as to pull the cloth through the machine in one direction, and the other set of
driving rollers and cloth or batch roller are simultaneously thrown out of gear so as to
allow the cloth to be drawn through, and when the other end of the lever or treadle I,
is depressed, the reverse operation takes place, and the motion of the cloth is reversed;
whilst if the operative raises his foot so as to allow the lever or treadle 1, 1 to assume a
horizontal position all the clutches are thrown out of gear and the motion of the
machine ceases altogether:
The treadles are held in a horizontal position by means of two weighted levers 1, P
loose upon the treadle shaft m, m but so connected thereto that the depression of either
end of the treadle shall raise the opposite weighted lever.
. Each cloth or batch roller d, d is provided with a weighted drag rope or strap P, P
so as to apply the requisite amount of friction to prevent over-running, and each of
the main driving rollers e¹ and ell is also provided with a drag rope or strap 17
attached to a brake lever which carries a sliding weights, s so that by sliding the
weights, s to either end of the lever r, the drag or brake is applied to either of the
driving rollers e¹, or ell according to which of the two is letting off the cloth at
the time, and releases the one which is acting as driving roller.
On the treadle shaft m, m I also sometimes arrange two other levers t,,t provided
with fingers or hooks u, uso placed as to catch into loops of string (or other equivalent)
which are attached to the cloth near to each end, so that just before the end of the
piece is presented to the knife or knives the loop catches onto the hook or finger u, u
and causes the treadle lever m, m to release the clutches k, k and c, e and thus stop the
machine.
The race or races being now cut from one end of the piece to the other the workman
walks or turns round to the other table and reversing the movement of the cloth
proceeds to cut the next adjacent race or races in the opposite direction, and so on
from end to end of the piece and back again alternately.
. I would here remark that this double cutting machine may (if preferred) be arranged
in the reverse manner so that the two tables are in the centre and the workman stands
in the space between them; in which case instead of having to walk from one end of
the machine to the other whenever the motion of the cloth is reversed, he would merely
have to turn round from one table so as to face the other, and so on alternately.
I would here observe that this machine might be made suitable for cutting the pile

page_text: in one direction only (if preferred) by so actuating the driving gear as to return the
cloth at an increased speed when the pile is not being cut in which case one of the
tables (being useless) might be dispensed with.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
First. Cutting the pile of velvets and other similar piled fabrics in both directions
(by means of the ordinary knife and guide held in the hand of the workman) by
winding the batch of velvet from one roller to another whilst one or more races of the
pile is, or are, being cut in one direction, and then winding the same back again, onto
the first roller whilst the adjoining race or races is or are being cut in the reverse
direction and so on alternately as hereinbefore described.
Secondly. I claim the general novel construction combination and arrangement of
apparatus with two tables and double driving-gear working alternately, for driving the
cloth towards a knife or knives held by the operative substantially as described and
illustrated and for the purposes herein-before particularly set forth.
Thirdly. I claim the arrangement of the said apparatus for cutting the pile in one
direction only as hereinbefore described.
GEORGE DAVIES,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester,
Agent for the Applicant.