Improvements in Plaiting Machines.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Jan., 1886.
Complete Left, 4th Oct., 1886.
Complete Accepted, 4th Jan., 1887.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Plaiting Machines.
I, DAVID RATTRAY MALCOLM of the Constable Works Dundee Engineer do hereby
declaro the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object improvements in plaiting machines.
The machine which I will proceed to describe is intended to plait a yarn or cord of
Jute or other fibrous material into a flat square six or other many sided band. Such
bands are much used to form the soles of shoes and are also used for other purposes.
The machine has a main axis which is driven in any convenient manner. The axis
carries a crank or disc and crank pin by which it gives movement to a slide. The
slide carries a latch needle or hook which is made so that when the latch is folded
backwards from the hook its point sinks within the shank of the needle and it is placed
and traverses in a horizontal position or at such an angle with the horizon as shall
cause the latch to fall away from the shank or stem of the needle without depending
for this movement upon contact with the yarn or cord which is being plaited.
In proper position beside the needle a thread layer is provided. It consists of an
axis having a disc or crank from which projects a tubular thread guide. This axis
may be placed perpendicularly underneath the needle and at any convenient angle to
it but preferably it is placed in front of the needle and parallel and concentric with its
shank or stem and it receives a partial rotary or oscillating motion first in one direction
and then in the other and by this movement the thread or cord is carried from side to
side of the needle.
The yarn or cord is drawn from a bobbin or other source of supply and after passing
through a proper tension process it enters the mouth of the thread layer and passes
out at the end of it in a position to be plaited by the needle as hereinafter described.
The plait as it is produced is drawn away from the needle by a pair of rollers or
other suitable mechanism the said rollers or other mechanism receiving an intermittent
motion imparted to them at the proper time.
When the needle or hook is in a forward position the thread layer passes from.side
to side beneath it thereby laying the yarn or cord across it in a position to be caught
by the hook and enclosed within the latch as it retires backwards from the thread
layer and comes in contact with the yarn or cord looped upon the stem of the needle.
As the needle retires it draws a new loop of the yarn or cord through that which
was previously upon its stem and through the closing of the latch permits the pro-
viously formed loop to pass off from the hook of the needle.

page_text: The latch of the needle which hangs freely downwards as the needle advances
towards the thread layer comes against a guard (which may be a fixture or attached
to and rotate with the thread layer) and which prevents the latch from swinging so
far forward as to be caught by the yarn or cord as it passes beneath the needle from
the thread layer in a position to be caught by the hook."
Thus as the needle advances and retires it draws at each stroke a new loop through
the one previously formed upon its shank which in its turn is thrown off over the hook
in the manner hereinbefore described.
When I desire produce a square plait I employ two laich needles or hooks carried
in separate slides.
The needles are arranged in the same vertical plane. They are both directed down-
wards and cross each others path nearly at right angles. The hooks at the lower end
of the needles are placed back to back. The feeder or thread layer is preferably a
hollow shaft from which projects a bent tube through which the yarn or cord passes
on its way to the needles."
This thread layer may be placed horizontally with its axis in the same plane as the
needles in which position it might be made to oscillate or partly rotate so as to lay the
yarn or cord first on one side of the needles and then on the other side of the needles
but preferably the thread layer is placed with its axis in a perpendicular position
between the points or hooks of the needles and is made to rotate not partially but
continuously so that it lays the yarn or cord first on one side of one of the needles and
then upon the other side of the other needle.
The plait as it is produced is taken up by means of rollers or other mechanism with
an intermittent motion similar to that used in the single needle machine.
The alternate or intermittent movements of the several parts are derived from cams
fixed on one or more shafts but preferably upon two.
The operation of the machine is as follows
One of the needles say No. 1 moves forward a full stroke and receives the yarn or
cord from the thread layer. It then retires without stopping to the upper end of its
stroke drawing a new loop through the one previously upon its stem.
The other needle No. 2 begins its downward or forward stroke at the same time as
No. 1 but moves only about one third of its stroke when it stops or waits allowing
No. 1 to pass before it, and after No. 1 retires far enough to allow it to pass then No. 2
advances receives the yarn or cord from the thread layer and retires to the upward
end of its stroke drawing a new loop through the one previously upon its stem.
Thus both needles when they begin to descend on their forward stroke move simulta-
neously for some distance the object of which is to slacken the loops on both needles
so that the plait may be easily drawn from the hooks by the delivery rollers or mechanism.
As the needles or hooks descend or move forward the latches which are allowed to
swing freely are received upon a projection from the hent tube which forms part of the
thread layer and are thus prevented from coming in contact with the Cord as it passes
beneath the needles and from closing the hooks at the wrong time.
In addition to the rotary motion of the thread layer it may also have a slight vertical
motion imparted by a Cam by which the yarn or Cord might be more securely placed in
the hooks of the needles. Thus as the needles advance and retire the plait is formed con-
tinuously being drawn away by the delivery rollers or mechanism as described above.
When I desire to produce a plait or a band with six sides I employ a machine with
three needles or hooks and when I desire to produce a plait or a band with eight sides I
employ a machine with four needles or hooks and so on, the number of sides in the
band being always double that of the needles or hooks.
These needles with their latches and appropriate thread layers and delivering
mechanism would be actuated by Cams and shafts in a similar manner to the machines
already described especially the machine with the two needles or hooks.
CARPMAEL & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: DAVID KATTRAY MALCOLM of the Constable Works Dundee Engineer 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 has for its objects improvements in plaiting machines.
Such
This axis
The machine which I will proceed to describe is intended to plait a yarn or cord of
jute or other fibrous material into a flat square six or other many sided band.
bands are much used to form the soles of shoes and are also used for other purposes.
The machine has a main axis which is driven in any convenient manner.
carries a crank or disc and crank pin by which it gives movement to a slide. The
slide carries a latch needle or hook, which is made so that when the latch is folded
backwards from the hook its point sinks within the shank of the needle and it is placed
and traverses in a horizontal position, or at such an angle with the horizon as shall
cause the latch to fall away from the shank or stem of the needle without depending
for this movement upon contact with the yarn or cord which is being plaited.
In proper position beside the needle a thread layer is provided. It consists of an
axis having a disc or crank from which projects a tubular thread guide. This axis
may be placed perpendicularly underneath the needle and at any convenient angle to
it, but preferably it is placed in front of the needle, and parallel and concentric with its
shank or stem, and it receives a partial rotary or oscillating motion first in one direc-
tion and then in the other, and by this movement the thread or cord is carried from
side to side of the needle.
The yarn or cord is drawn from a bobbin or other source of supply and after passing
through a proper tension process it enters the mouth of the thread layer and passes out
at the end of it in a position to be plaited by the needle as hereinafter described.
The plait as it is produced is drawn away from the needle by a pair of rollers or
other suitable mechanism, the said rollers or other mechanism receiving an intermittent
motion imparted to them at the proper times.
When the needle or hook is in a forward position the thread layer passes from side
to side beneath it, thereby laying the yarn or cord across it in a position to be caught
by the hook, and enclosed within the latch as it retires backwards from the thread layer,
and comes in contact with the yarn or cord looped upon the stem of the needle.
As the needle retires it draws a new loop of the yarn or cord through that which
was previously upon its stem, and through the closing of the latch permits the pre-
viously formed loop to pass off from the hook of the needle.
The latch of the needle which hangs freely downwards as the needle advances
towards the thread layer comes against a guard (which may be a fixture or attached to
and rotate with the thread layer) and which prevents the latch from swinging so far
forward as to be caught by the yarn or cord as it passes beneath the needle from the
thread layer in a position to be caught by the hook.
Thus as the needle advances and retires it draws at each stroke a new loop through
the one previously formed upon its shank, which in its turn is thrown off over the hook
in the manner hereinbefore described..

page_text: When I desire to produce a square plait I employ two latch needles or hooks carried
in separate slides.
The needles are arranged in the same vertical plane. They are both directed down-
wards and cross cach other's path nearly at right angles. The hooks at the lower end
of the needles are placed back to back. The feeder or thread layer is preferably a
hollow shaft from which projects a bent tube through which the yarn or cord passes on
its way to the needles.
This thread layer may be placed horizontally with its axis in the same plane as the
needles in which position it might be made to oscillate or partly rotate so as to lay the
yarn or cord first on one side of the needles and then on the other side of the needles,
but preferably the thread layer is placed with its axis in a perpendicular position between
the points or hooks of the needles, and is made to rotate not partially but continuously,
so that it lays the yarn or cord first on one side of one of the needles and then upon
the other side of the other needle.
The plait as it is produced is taken up by means of rollers or other mechanism with
an intermittent motion similar to that used in the single needle machine.
The alternate or intermittent movements of the several parts are derived from cams
fixed on one or more shafts but preferably upon two.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-
One of the needles say No. 1 moves forward a full stroke and receives the yarn or
cord from the thread layer. It then retires without stopping to the upper end of its
stroke, drawing a new loop through the one previously upon its stem.
The other needle No. 2 begins its downward or forward stroke at the same time as
No. 1 but moves only about one third of its stroke when it stops or waits allowing
No. 1 to pass before it and after No. 1 retires far enough to allow it to pass then No. 2
advances receives the yarn or cord from the thread layer and retires to the upward end
of its stroke drawing a new loop through the one previously upon its stem.
Thus both needles when they begin to descend on their forward stroke move
simultaneously for some distance, the object of which is to slacken the loops on both
needles so that the plait may be easily drawn from the hooks by the delivery rollers or
mechanism.
As the needles or hooks descend or move forward, the latches which are allowed to
swing freely are received upon a projection from the bent tube which forms part of the
thread layer, and are thus prevented from coming in contact with the cord as it passes
beneath the needles, and from closing the hooks at the wrong time.
In addition to the rotary motion of the thread layer it may also have a slight vertical
motion imparted by a cam by which the yarn or cord might be more securely placed
in the hooks of the needles. Thus as the needles advance and retire the plait is formed
continuously, being drawn away by the delivery rollers or mechanism as described
above.
When I desire to produce a plait or a band with six sides I employ a machine with
three needles or hooks and when desire to produce a plait or a band with eight sides
I employ a machine with four needles or hooks and so on, the number of sides in the
band being always double that of the needles or hooks.
These needles with their latches and appropriate thread layers and delivering
mechanism would be actuated by cams and shafts in a similar manner to the machines
already described especially the machine with the two needles or hooks.
In order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and readily carried
into effect I will proceed to describe the drawings hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side elevation. Figure 2 a front elevation and Figure 3 a plan of a
Machine for making a flat plait Figures 4 represent separately the needle and the
latchguard.
A A is the frame of the

page_text: made to drive an axis Con which there is also a bevelled pinion C³. The axis C carries at
its inner end a disc C on which there is a crank pin C and this crank pin is connected
by a rod not shown on the drawing with a pin Di on the needle slide D which is thus
caused to slide to and fro horizontally in guides upon the frame. E is the needle
which the slide D carries-this needle is shown to a larger scale by the Figures 4.
The head of the needle is of hook-like form and there is a latch E which is able to
close the hook as it appears in Figure 1, or the latch can be folded back, and it then
lies in a groove in the stem of the needle where it is housed and kept out of contact
with the yarn. F' is a bevelled wheel in gear with the pinion C³ upon the axis C.
The shaft F carrying the wheel F' is at its further end provided with a cam disc F2
and the cam groove of this disc receives a bowl on the upper end of a lever C which
has its fulcruin at G. The lever G is connected with another lever H the fulcrum of
which is at H. The lower ends of these two levers are slotted to admit of adjustment
in the position of the pins which receive a link connecting the levers, and by this
adjustment the amount of angular motion imparted to the lever H is regulated as
required. The lever H at its upper end is provided with a toothed arc H and this
engages with and drives a pinion I upon an axis I. The axis I is provided with a
disc I on the face of which a tubular guide 13 is fixed.
The yarn or cord to form the plait enters by a mouth in the side of the tube I³ and
it passes out through it at the end in proximity to the needle E. J is a pulley by
which the tension of the yarn or cord is uniformly maintained; it is carried upon
the end of a weighted lever, as the drawing indicates. J¹ is a stationary guide which
leads the yarn or cord to the roller J. The axis C also has upon it the cam. C and
this operating upon a roller or bowl K¹ imparts a rocking movement to a bell crank
lever K. The lower arm of this lever is slotted at its end for the purpose of adjust-
ment and is connected by a rod with the lower end of a lever L. M M are a pair of
rollers to take up the plait, as it is produced. The lever L is capable of rocking on
the neck of one of these rollers and it carries a pawl L' which engages with the teeth
of a ratchet wheel M¹ fixed to the neck of the roller. By this means one of the pair
of take up rollers receives an intermittent rotary motion, the other roller is pressed
constantly towards the driven roller by a weight operating through a lever N against
the bearings of the roller.
O is a stop or flap, it may be of leather and it serves to keep back the tongue E' of
the needle E when the needle advances.
The operation of the machine is as follows :-
When the needle is in its forward position the thread carrier I³ passes from one side
of it to the other and lays the yarn or cord into the hook of the needle; the needle
then retires through the last loop of the plait which is upon its stem and it draws a
new loop through the old loop and this passes along the latch and over the head of the
needle. The rollers M M then rotate and wind up the plait to the extent of the loop which
has just been added to it. The needle then again advances, the loop held in the hook,
pushes the latch open doubling it back into the groove in the stem of the needle. The
loop then passes over the latch and comes on to the stem of the needle. The latch
now falls open but is prevented from swinging forward by the stop O and the thread
carrier I³ returning again lays the yarn into the hook of the needle. So the work
goes on, the yarn carrier passing the head of the needle from right to left and from
left to right alternately in producing successive loops of the work.
Figure 5 is a side elevation and Figure 6 is a front elevation of a two needle
machine such as I employ to produce a square plait.
Figures 7 show some of the parts to a larger scale.
a. a. is the frame of the machine, it supports in suitable bearings an axis on which
are belt pulleys b b and also the toothed wheel b¹. The wheel 6 gears with wheels c¹
and d on axes c and d on either side of the machine. The axis chas
upon
it a disc c²
on the face of which a cam guide course is formed and the roller or bowl el carried
upon a lever travels in this cam course-e is the axis of the lever e² and fixed upon
it there is another lever fand at its lower end a curved slot is formed in it. At

page_text: any point in the length of this slot a pin g can be clamped and from the pin ga con-
necting rod passes to a pin upon a slide i which thus receives a reciprocating
motion in guides fixed upon the frame. The slide i carries a latch needle j similar to
that in the machine already described. On the other side of the machine a cam dx in
like manner operates upon a roller or bowl ex carried by a lever e²x fixed upon an
axis ex and this axis ex also carries a lever x slotted at its lower end and carrying a
pin gx which by a connecting rod X is connected with the slide ix and this slide
carries a latch needle ;*.
The only difference in the arrangement of these parts on two sides of the machine
is in the form of the cam course, which is adapted to produce somewhat different.
movement of the needles.
+
On the axis d there is also a cam d² which operates against a bowl k carried by a
lever k which has its fulcrum at another arm k³ of the same lever is connected by a
rod with a lever on which is a pawl . 12 is an axis which serves as a fulcrum for
the lever, it has also fixed upon it a wheel m having ratchet teeth; this wheel is
caused to rotate by the action of the pawl n is a locking pawl which also engages
with the teeth of the ratchet wheel m. On the same axis with the ratchet wheel a
bevilled wheel o is also mounted. The wheel o drives a similar wheel pl on an axis p
and on this axis the take up roller q is also fixed is another roller operating in
conjunction with the roller q and serving with it to conduct away the plait as it is
produced. The roller has a rectangular groove formed in its periphery, the edge of
the roller q enters this groove and the rollers meet in a rectangular eye in which the
plait is nipped and held. The axis of the roller is carried by a levers having its
fulcrum at s. t is a spring which holds the roller up to the roller
with a pressure
which may be regulated by means of the hand wheel t which can be traversed along the
screw stem t². The. screw stem t2 is connected by a joint with the end of the lever s
and it passes through the fixed bridge piece 3. By turning the wheel the spring is
compressed against the bridge 3 and it re-acts on the wheel stem t² and the upper
end of the lever s. u is a tubular thread carrier up through which the yarn or cord
passes to the needles-it terminates at its upper end in a curved delivery mouth u¹ as
is fully shown in Figure 7. The rotation of the axis u causes the yarn issuing from
the delivery mouth u¹ to be laid into the hooks of the needles ; and jx. u² is a stop
carried upon the thread carrier and serving to keep back the latches of the needles so
that they may not get in the way of the yarn as it is delivered from the mouth into
the hooks of the needles.
The hollow axis u is caused to rotate continuously by means of a bevelled wheel v³
engaging with a corresponding wheel on an axis which also carries a spur wheel vl.
The wheel engages with the teeth of a wheel w which is fast on the same axis with
the wheel w engaging with and driven by the wheel cl
the axis c.
upon
The operation of the machine is as already described that is to say: the needle jx
moves forward a full stroke and receives the yarn or cord from the thread carrier u¹ it
then at once retires to the upper end of its stroke, drawing a new loop through the
one previously upon its stem. The other needle j begins its downward stroke at the
same time as the needle jx but stops in an intermediate position and it is not until the
needle jx has retired sufficiently far to be out of the way that the needle j continues its
descent, it then advances and receives the yarn or cord in like manner, the thread
carrier u making a complete revolution whilst it lays the yarn or cord a round the two
needles, the needle j then in turn retires drawing a new loop through the one previously
upon its stem. The rollers and are caused to revolve to wind forward the plait as
the needle returns.
In like manner if required machines may be constructed to operate with more than
two needles.
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 :-
1. A plaiting machine in which a needle or needles with hook like head and latch

page_text: noves to and from a thread carrier whilst the thread carrier passes from side
to side of the needle or rotates around it and in which rollers or holding
instruments retain and carry forward the plait as it is produced, substantially as
described.
2. A plaiting machine having a needle with a latch which falls open and is retained
by a stop or guard whilst the thread carrier lays the yarn or cord into the hook of the
needle which is closed by the loop on the stem of the needle passing forward over the
head and which is folded into a recess by the loop passing back from the hook on to
the stem, substantially as described.
3. Plaiting machines substantially as described and represented by the annexed
drawings.
CARPMAEL & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.