IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SACKING, CANVAS, OR OTHER FABRICS, AND IN THE APPARATUS TO BE USED THEREFOR."
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Murdoch, of the Firm of "William Lindsay,
'Boase, and Company," of Dundee, in the County of Forfar, North Britain, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SACKING,
CANVAS, OR OTHER FABRICS, AND IN THE APPARATUS TO BE USED THEREFOR."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Murdoch at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 14th March 1877.
THOMAS MURDOCH, of the Firm of "William Lindsay, Boase, and Company,"
of Dundee, in the County of Forfar, North Britain. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF SACKING, CANVAS, OR OTHER FABRICS, AND IN THE APPARATUS
TO BE USED THEREFOR
.
"
This Invention has for its object, or consists generally, in strengthening sacking,
canvas, or other fabrics in the direction of their length with rows of twine or other
cord, either inserted at regular or irregular and intermittent distances apart across
the fabric, as strong warp cords run or woven into the regular body of the fabric, and
passing it, to form stitches at the time of weaving it in the loom in imitation of hand
running or stitch sewing; and further, in the means or arrangement of mechanism
connected with the loom for effecting or carrying out the same.
And the nature of the Invention particularly consists in ranging a beam, or it
might be a set of reels, with cord wound on them behind the ordinary warp beam.
and carrying the ends up over the warp rail forward, parallelly over or with the
warp, at the desired proper distances apart, through a special transverse comb or
combs (or cams) behind or near the other or ordinary combs or heddles for shedding
the warp of the fabric. The said longitudinal running stitch cords and their shed-
ding combs are preferably raised or lowered, so that the shedding and weaving of
the cloth are effected quite below or above the cords in these positions for any
number of shots of the weft alternately, as desired, so that the cords lie like long
stitches alternately on each side, and above and below the fabric as woven, and
throughout its whole length when finished.
One improved arrangement of simple pattern mechanism and actuating gearing
capable of being applied to any loom for working the raising and lowering or shed-

page_text: ding comb (or other equivalent with the stitch cords passed through them as stated)
in accordance with this Invention, consists of a lever, fulcrumed at its one end to a
stud in the back upright of the loom frame, having its front free end so connected
to the comb (by wires or cords, and levers or pulleys, or other equivalent) as to raise
or depress it to its one normal position against the power of springs or cords and
weights when the lever is raised by its pattern mechanism, and which would always
bring it to its other extreme normal position when the lever is let down by the
pattern mechanism, which consists of a loose endless pattern chain of two beights of
links, hung and working over a pattern barrel or cone on the same axis as a star
wheel, and exactly under an antifriction roller or rounded rest piece on some part of
the middle or body of the lever, so that it rests on the pattern chain by its own
weight, or by the power of the springs before mentioned.
The pattern and star wheel may be carried or turned loose on a stud or spindle
in the side of the frame, and the star wheel would be driven by ordinary lateral
pins in the side of a spur wheel carried on another fixed stud or spindle, and turned
regularly by a corresponding pinion gearing into it on the crank or fly-wheel shaft
of the loom, the star wheel standing still except when one of the pins comes round
and enters its edge slots and turns it, which would bring a fresh link of the pattern
chain round under the rest or roller of the lever, and these might represent each
pick, or a regular number of picks, according to the proportions of the wheels and
pinion and acting star pins in the wheel; and the number of high or low pattern
links in a sequence determines the length of stitch on each side of the fabric before
crossing or passing through it, which would only take place when the pattern links
changed from high to low, or vice versa.
The mechanical motion for working or shedding the cord stitches has something
of the character of the diaper motion in muslin loons, but other pattern mechanism
than that stated might be used to determine and regulate the action of the comb or
cam, and length of the stitch of the cord.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Thomas Murdoch in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 14th
September 1877.
.
"
THOMAS MURDOCH, of the Firm of "William Lindsay, Boase, and Company,"
of Dundee, in the County of Forfar, North Britain. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF SACKING, CANVAS, OR OTHER FABRICS, AND IN THE APPARATUS TO
BE USED THEREFOR."
My said Invention has for its object, or consists generally, in strengthening sack-
ing, cloth, canvas, or other fabrics in the direction of their length with rows of twine
or other cord inserted at regular, or irregular and intermittent distances apart across
the fabric, as strong warp cords run or woven into the regular body of the fabric
throughout the whole length, and passed or stitched through it at intervals running
along each alternate side for a number of shots of the weft in the form of stitches,
in the act of weaving it in the loom, being as strong as and equivalent in appear-
ance to the hand running or stitch sewing heretofore practised for so strengthening
these fabrics; and further, in the means or arrangement of mechanism to be fitted
to the loom for effecting or carrying out the same.
And in order that the nature and mode of performing my said Invention may
be properly understood, I shall now proceed to describe the two Figures on the
Sheet of Drawings which I have hereunto appended for that purpose, the same
reference numerals and letters indicating the same parts in both Figures where
shown.
.
Figure 1 is an end view of the side frame of a loom for weaving sack-cloth or
canvas, and Figure 2 is a back view of one side of the same loom corresponding to

page_text: Figure 1, fitted with my new or improved machine, indicated by letters, for pro-
ducing the said woven stitching in such looms, all in accordance with and illustrative
of the nature and mode of performing my said Invention.
Referring to these Figures 1 and 2, which show as much of the loom as is
required to explain the nature of and mode of applying my improved mechanism to
the frame of the loom, shown at 1, with its crank shaft 2, and second motion or
tappet shaft 3, carried in bearings in the middle of the frame 1, and the warp 41, .
from the warp beam 4 at the back is led up over the back rail 5, forward through
the ordinary shedding heddles at 51 (not shown in the Drawings, but carried as
usual by their working levers or gear from the central frame 1¹), from which after
being woven the web or fabric is passed over the front breast rail 6 to the cloth up-
take beam 7 in front, all so far as usual in such looms and in the weaving of such
strong fabrics.
My improvements consist also in the application of the following mechanism to
looms for the weaving into the fabric of the said new rows of imitation warp stitch-
ing, and of an arrangement of pattern chain and star wheel mechanism analogous
to the diaper motion in muslin looms, and that used in some check looms, for con-
trolling the action of the weft shuttle boxes, but here used in a modified form for
this new purpose. This pattern mechanism is carried, as shown in the Drawings,
near the back of one side of the loom, on a bracket A secured and projecting up
from the side frame 1, and from a standard A¹, projecting up from the floor in front,
but removed in Figure 1, and shown as broken off in Figure 2, to show the pattern
wheel in section through the line 2---2, and the pattern chain more clearly in
Figure 1. The new warp cords s, properly wound on a beam Z (at the regulated
distances apart across the fabric in which the improved stitching effect and strength-
ening cords are to be woven), or it might be a set of reels, with the cords wound on
them, is or are mounted behind the ordinary warp beam 4, as seen in Figure. 1, and
have the ends of the cords z led and carried up over the warp and back rail 5,
forward parallelly over or with the ordinary warp 41, and passed through a special
transverse comb B, with the eyes or splits at the said desired proper distance apart,
as seen particularly at 2, 2, 2, 2, in Figure 2, and mounted just behind or near the
other or ordinary combs or heddles for shedding the warp 4¹ of the fabric, as seen in
Figure 1, on two strong cords B¹ passed over pulleys B1, B2, carried on stud brackets
on the upper part of the central bow frame 11 of the loom. The ends of the cords B¹
are both brought down over the near pulley B, and attached to the inner free
end C of the lever C, C¹, fulcrumed near its other end at C¹¹, on a stud secured in
the bracket C³, screwed to and projecting out from the side of the frame 1'. The
short outer arm C₁ of this lever is connected by a slot and pin, or antifriction roller
joint, at right angles to the free end of its actual moving single-armed lever E,
fulcrumed at the other end on a stud E¹, or other equivalent centre in the bracket A,
so as by an antifriction pulley e on its one side to rest on, and be raised and
lowered or controlled in its action by the pattern chain, and its actuating
mechanism carried below it, as before stated, on the standard brackets A, AL
Thus, when the lever E is lifted by the pattern chain and mechanism it
depresses the free end C¹ of the lever C, C, and raises the comb B, and all
the new stitch warp threads z, 2, %, quite above the ordinary warp thread 41,
and weft being woven through it, and vice versa. When the lever E is lowered the
comb B is drawn down by its own weight, and the power of the blade spring F (or
it might be other springs or weights) attached to it by the cord F" below, and
secured under the loom at F1, so as to pull the cords z, z, z, quite down below the
shedding warp 41, and allow the cloth to be woven above them for as many shots of
the weft as desired, and regulated by the number of raising and lowering links of
the pattern chain ranged together in succession, and arrangement of gearing and
mechanism actuating the same, so that the cords lie like long stitches alternately on
each side, and above and below the fabric as woven, and throughout its whole
length when finished.
One improved simple arrangement of actuating gearing and pattern mechanism,

page_text: capable of being applied to any loom for working the levers E and C, and raising
and lowering the shedding comb B to its normal position above the weft 4¹ against
the power of the spring F, which would always bring it to its extreme normal
position when the lever is let down by the pattern mechanism as stated, consists of
a loose endless pattern chain of two heights of links a, a, hung and working over
a pattern barrel or cone b on the same axis c¹ as the star wheel c, and exactly under
the antifriction roller e of the lever E (or it might be a rounded rest piece on some
part near the middle or body of the lever) so that it rests on the pattern chain by
its own weight, or by the power of the springs F, before mentioned.
The pattern chain barrel b, and star wheel c, are carried on the spindle c¹, so as
to turn loosely in journal bearings in the standards A, A¹, (but it might be on a
fixed spindle or stud secured in these standards or in the side of the frame), and the
star wheel c would be driven by ordinary lateral pins & in the side of a spur
wheel D, carried on the fixed stud or spindle D", and turned regularly by a cor-
responding pinion D¹ gearing into it on the crank or fly wheel shaft 2 of the loom.
The star wheel is held in position, while not turning, by the rim d" on the wheel D,
turning within the hollow segments cl¹ between the slots c, except when one of the
pins & in the wheel D comes round and enters the slots c³ formed in its edge at the
corners between its holding segments c¹¹, which enter recesses de cut in the rim Du
at this part, so as to turn it and bring a fresh link of the pattern chain a or a¹
round under the roller e of the lever E, and these might represent each pick, or a
regular number of picks, according to the proportions of the wheels and pinions D, D',
and pins d in the wheel D, for actuating the star wheel c, and the number of high or
low pattern links in a sequence determines the length of stitch on each side of the
fabric before crossing or passing through it, as before stated, which would only take
place when the pattern links changed from high to low, or vice versa. Thus any
desired number of cords can be run across the web; and the stitches may be made
any length proportionately, according to the number of raised and low links a, a¹, of
the pattern chain and relative sizes of the wheels D, D¹; the pattern chain here
shown containing a series of three raised links a, and three low links a¹, repeated
alternately twice in the whole length of the chain, as shown particularly in Figure 1,
and as the pinion D' is one-fourth of the wheel D, and the wheel D, by the pins d, d,
makes two changes of the pattern chain b and star wheel this gives six weft
shots between each stitch. This pattern chain and star-wheel motion herein shown
and described is preferred, but other pattern mechanism than that stated may be
used to determine and regulate the action of the comb or cam, and length of the
stitch of the cord.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention and the manner of per-
forming the same, I have to state that I do not confine myself to the precise
details herein described or delineated, but what I consider to be novel and original
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part
recited Letters Patent is, the strengthening of sacking cloth, canvas, and other
similar fabrics by the running of longitudinal cords therethrough during the
weaving, and in the means or apparatus employed therefor, all substantially as
herein described in reference to and shown in the accompanying Drawings, or any
mere modification thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Murdoch, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Eighth (8th) day of September, in the year of our Lord One