IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TUFTED OR PILE FABRICS, AND IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Tomlinson Bousfield, of Loughborough Park,
Brixton, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TUFTED OR PILE FABRICS, AND IN MACHINERY FOR
MANUFACTURING THE SAME."-A communication from abroad by John
Thomas Waring, Manufacturer, residing at Yonkers, in the State of
New York, United States of America.
Scaled the 19th January 1869, and dated the 1st October 1868.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said George Tomlinson'
Bousfield at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his.
Petition and Declaration, on the 1st October 1868, pursuant to the
9th Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of Loughborough Park, Brixton, in the County.
of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TUFTED OR PILE FABRICS, AND IN
MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME," (communicated to me from
abroad by John Thomas Waring, Manufacturer, a person resident at
A

page_text: Yonkers, in the State of New York, United States of America,) and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
The first part of this Invention consists in a new manufacture of
tufted or pile fabrics suitable for rugs, mats, cloakings, linings, trim-
mings, and other purposes by a process of felting, the said new fabric
or fabrics being composed of a body of felted wool or other material
suitable to be felted, and tufts of wool or other fibrous material unfelted
or partially felted, and attached to the fabric by the process of felting
during the manufacture of the fabric. The body of the fabric may be
of wool, fur, or other felting material, or it may have portions of cotton,
silk, hair, or other non-felting materials mixed with the felting materials
in any proportions that will make a mixture of fibrous material possessing
sufficient felting properties to be felted from a bat into a body of felted
cloth. The tufts may be of wool or other fibrous material, and may be
made from a thick sliver from a comb or the doffer of a carding engine, or
from light bats, or from rovings or yarns of wool, worsted, or other fibrous
materials. The object of this part of the Invention is to obtain a fabric
which has a felted back with tufts projecting from it that are not felted
or only partially felted, but secured to the body or back of the fabric
by the process of felting during the manufacture of the body of the fabric
by the process of felting. In carrying on the manufacture of this new
tufted fabric a device is used, which is herein termed a "tuft holder," and
which is a leading and essential feature of the improvements in machinery
herein-after described. The "tuft holder" is a perforated surface of
wood, metal, or other suitable material which has sufficient strength to
support the fabric on one side during the felting operation. It should
be a little wider than the width of the desired fabric, and have its
surface perforated with holes corresponding in size, number, and order
of arrangement with the size, number, and order of arrangement of the
tufts of the required fabric. The "tuft holder" may be a flat board or
plate, it may be cylindrical, or it may be composed of an endless chain
or series of flat plates, but in all cases the surface of the "tuft holder"
is perforated with holes corresponding to the size, number, and order of
arrangement of the tufts of the required fabric. In some cases the
"tuft holder" should be a little thicker than the length of the tufts; in
other cases this is not necessary, the required thickness of the "tuft
holder" depending upon the manner in which steam is applied to the

page_text: fabric in the process of felting, which will be hercin-after explained.
The "tuft holder" is used to hold the tufts in place, and protect them
from being felted, except where they are attached to the body of the
fabric, which lies on the surface of the "tuft holder," and is supported
by it during the operation of felting the fabric.
The new tufted fabric is prepared for felting as follows:-When the tufts
are made from a sliver or bat the sliver or bat is laid loosely upon the "tuft
holder," and the tufts from the sliver or bat formed by punching or pushing
the portions of the bat lying over the holes in the "tuft holder" down into
said holes by means of a barbed instrument herein-after more parti-
cularly described. The "tuft holder" thus being filled with tufts which
are connected by filaments of the material on the upper surface thereof
is ready for the reception of the bat that is to form the body of the fabric,
which being placed thereon over the tufts is covered with a linen
hardening cloth, and the whole subjected to a rubbing motion under
pressure in presence of steam in a jiggering machine in a manner well
known to hatters and those skilled in the art of felting until the body
of the fabric is sufficiently felted, when it will be found that the tufts
are also felted to the fabric and have become a part thereof, but the
parts of the tufts lying in the holes of the "tuft holder" are not felted,
having been protected from the rubbing action of the jigger board by
the "tuft holder." After the fabric is felted in this manner it may be
washed in warm soapsuds and the tufts may be spread out thereby, or in
any convenient manner so as to resemble the shaggy covering of an animal.
When the tufts are of yarns or rovings they are introduced into the holes
in the "tuft holder" by means of tufting needles in loops from con-
tinuous yarns or rovings, the tufts being connected by a portion of the
yarn or roving which lies on the surface of the "tuft holder" extending
from one tuft hole to the next, and the bat for the body is then placed
over the tufts on the "tuft holder" and the felting proceeded with as
before. The tufts when of yarns or rovings may be passed into the "tuft
holder" through a light bat, which is first laid on the "tuft holder"
and then the bat for the back or body be laid upon the whole, so that
when felted the tufts will be secured between the bats or in the middle
of the fabric. This latter mode is best when the tufts of yarns or
rovings are of hair or of material not suitable to be felted, providing
that the bats for the body of the fabric are of suitable felting material.
If the tufts are to be made from a bat of non-felting fibrous material a

page_text: light bat of wool or suitable felting material should first be laid upon
the "tuft holder," and then the bat for the tufts laid upon it, and the
tufts formed by punching the material of the upper bat through holes in
the lower bat into the holes in the "tuft holder," and a bat for the body
or back of the fabric may be laid over the whole or omitted if desired, as
in either case the tufts will be held by the felting of the bat next to the
"tuft holder." The body or back of the fabric and the tufts may be
made of fine or coarse material, colored or not colored, the tufts long or
short, large or small, as desired; but in all cases the tufts are in bunches
of files, as distinguished from the nap or pile of single fibres produced
by the operation of brushing in the process of felting or 'sizing-in
brush hats and other felts. The tufts may be disposed in stripes or ribs
"tuft holders" with channels
lengthwise or across the fabric by using
instead of holes.
,,
The second part of this Invention, which also relates to improvements
in the manufacture of tufted fabrics, consists in securing tufts which
have been introduced into a previously woven or felted fabric through
perforations in the same by the process of felting, either with or without
an additional back or covering of felt. Tufted fabrics have been made
by stitching tufts through a previously manufactured fabric and securing
them by cement, which is a different mode of manufacture from that
of attaching or securing the tufts by the process of felting, although
the machinery herein-after described can be used to secure tufts by
cementing if desired. The materials of which the body and tufts of
the fabric are composed depend upon the uses of the fabric. For ladies'
cloakings, trimmings, and similar uses the back may be of a light felt
cloth, flannel, or other woven cloth, wholly or partly composed of wool
or other felting materials, or any woven fabric of cotton or other
material, and the tufts should be of wool or worsted or mixtures thereof
with cotton, silk, or other fibres either in yarns or rovings. For carpets,
rugs, and similar uses the back may be of heavy coarsely woven cloth,
of hemp, flax, jute, manilla, or, if cheapness of production be not an
object, of wool either woven or felted, and the tufts may be made from
bats or of heavy yarns or rovings of wool or worsted or mixtures thereof
with other fibrous materials. When the tufts are sufficiently close
together in the fabric they may be secured therein by felting the parts
together that project through the back of the fabric; but it is better in
all cases to place upon the back of the fabric after the tufts have been

page_text: introduced therein a sliver or thin bat of wool and felt it to the tufts
and the back of the fabric. The object of the felting is to secure the
tufts firmly in the fabric, and therefore it will be obvious to those skilled
in the art of felting that either the back of the fabric or the tufts, or
both, must have sufficient felting properties to unite with each other, or
with the thin bat or sliver by the process of felting in order to fix the tufts.
firmly in place in the fabric. In carrying out this part of the Invention the
"tuft holder" described in connection with the first part of the Inven-
tion is used, and the process of manufacture is the same, except that the
tufts are introduced through perforations in previously manufactured
woven or felted cloth into the tuft holes in the "tuft holder," and are
secured in previously manufactured cloth by felting, instead of making
the whole fabric by felting at one operation. It is not deemed necessary
in this part of the Specification to further describe the machinery and
process of manufacture. The machinery and process of manufacture
appertaining to the first and second parts of this Invention is further
described and illustrated under the next branch of this Specification,.
which describes in detail the mechanism, appliances, preparation, and
process of manufacture.
The third part of the Invention consists in improvements in felting
machinery adapted to carrying on the new and improved manufacture of
tufted fabrics above described. These improvements consist in the
combination of a "tuft holder" with the jiggering apparatus and steam
supply in a felting machine, in the employment in combination with
the "tuft holder" in a felting machine of the "punches," plaiter,
presser plate," and tufting needles, severally or collectively; also in
certain new combinations of device in an automatic felting machine
herein-after described whereby the material for the body and tufts being
supplied to the machine, it is converted into either the new or the
improved tufted fabric by the operation of the machine itself..
"
Referring to the accompanying Drawings Figure 1 represents-a plan
view, and Figure 2 a vertical longitudinal section of a simple machine
containing the "tuft holder" in combination with a "jiggering machine"
such as is used by hatters in hardening or felting wool hat bodies. The
jiggering machine consists of a flat table a, in the middle of which is a
steam box 6 provided with suitable induction and eduction pipes and a.
perforated top plate about level with the top surface of the table as
usual to supply steam to the articles to be felted. Above the steam.

page_text: box is the ordinary jiggering board 6¹ held down towards the table by
the vibrating standard 63 pivoted in the cross frame 63 and driven by a
crank shaft and connecting rod 7, by means of which (motion being
given to the crank shaft by a belt on the pulley 6) a very short and
exceedingly rapid motion is given to the jigger board. Upon the face of
the table are placed two parallel rebated slides c, c', opposite to eacl
other, and fitted thereto are a series of perforated boards or plates d, d, d,
herein termed "tuft holders," their office being to hold and protect the
tufts within them from being felted and to sustain the fabric while it is
being felted or while the tufts are being secured to the fabric by felting,
as the case may be. The "tuft holders" are a little wider than the
width of the required fabric, and the perforations e must be of the
required size to hold the tufts, and in number and order of arrangement
correspond with the required number and order of arrangement of the
tufts upon the fabric, and if the "tuft holders" are made to match cach
other in figure a continuous fabric may be produced by preparing the
fabric continuously at one side of the jigger hoard upon the "tuft
holders," and pushing them forward step by step under the jigger board
as fast as the felting operation is completed in that part of the fabric
subject to its action. The perforations in the "tuft holders" permit
the steam from the steam box to pass the tufts held in them upwards to
the body of the fabric which is subject to the rubbing action of the
jigger board, but the steam box may be placed in the jigger board itself
with its perforated side downwards exposed to the back of the body of
the fabric and in contact with the linen hardening cloth used to cover
the fabric in felting. The latter mode of placing the steam box is
preferable in constructing new machines, the mode first described and
shown in the Drawings being the common mode of placing the steam box
in jiggering machines and requiring the least alteration of the machine
for the present described purposes. When the steam is introduced below
the "tuft holder" so as to pass through the tuft holes the tuft holder
should be of greater thickness than the length of the tufts in order to
more completely protect them. The "tuft holders" may be held in place
while the jiggering board is in action, if desired, by means of the
pinching screw f
Figures 3 and 4 show a plan view and section of a channelled "tuft
holder" for holding tufts in the form of ribs, as herein-before described.
Figure 5 represents the bearded punch or pusher used in forming tufts

page_text: from bats by pushing a portion of the filaments of the bat into the
tuft holes of the "tuft holder." This instrument may be made of a
steel rod of the required size, and inclined teeth or beards cut or filed
upon it, as shown in the Drawing, so as to catch the fibres of the bat
and aid in pushing them down into the tuft holes, and to release the
fibres when the pusher is withdrawn.
Figures 6 and 7 are side views of another instrument for pushing the
fibres of a bat or roving into the tuft holes. This instrument has a thin
blade scalloped out, as shown in the Drawings, at the lower end, which
may be sharpened if desired to cut the tufts.
Figures 8 and 9, 10 and 11, 12 and 13 are plans and sections of different
forms of tufting needles used for perforating bats or cloth, and introducing
the tufts of yarns or rovings into the tuft holes of the "tuft holders."
Figure 14 is a view of a sharp pointed perforating instrument of steel
which is used to perforate cloth or bats in advance of the operation of
the tufting tubes represented by Figures 15 and 16 when such tubes are.
used instead of tufting needles or pointed tufting tubes.
Figure 17 represents a broken section of a "tuft holder" enlarged in
size from those shown in Figures 1 and 2, and also illustrates the mode
of preparing the new tufted fabric from bats by means of implements
operated by hand in combination with the tuft holder." In this
Figure the bat g from which the tufts are made is represented as being
held down upon the surface of the tuft holder d by the presser plate
or bar h, which is a plate or bar extending across the "tuft holder" of
sufficient weight to prevent the tufts placed in one row of tuft holes
from being driven out by the operation of pushing in the next row of
tufts. The presser plate is moved step by step from one row of tuft
holes to the next, covering the last filled row and holding the bat on
that side to prevent the material from being drawn away from the tuft
holes which have been last filled. The presser plate also holds the bat
for the purpose of enabling a partial plait or fold e¹ to be made by
pushing forward the free end of the bat g towards the presser plate by.
means of the plaiter j, which is a thin edged plate of metal of the length
of the width of the "tuft holder" secured to a handle and having
an edge of short sharp teeth suitable to. take hold of the fibres of the
bat and push the bat forward so as to form the buckle or partial fold.
or plait of the bat across the "tuft holder" immediately over the row.
af the tuft holes to be filled with tufts. Sufficient material being thus

page_text: pushed forward by the "plaiter" to fill a row of tuft holes with tufts
the material is next punched or pushed down into the tuft holes e by
means of a barbed punch / (represented also at Figure 5). A single
one of these punches may be used, or a gang of them corresponding in
number to the number of tuft holes in a row may be framed together
and used to fill all the tuft holes in a row at once. When the row of
tuft holes is filled with the required tufts the punches are withdrawn,
the "
presser plate" moved forward over the tufts, another plait or fold
made by the " plaiter "and punched down as before, and so the
operation goes on until the "tuft holder" or a series of "tuft holders "
is filled with tufts to make the required fabric. It will be observed
that a part of the filaments or fibres of the bat from which the tufts are
made lie on the surface of the "tuft holder" connecting the tufts
with each other, and forming a means of connection with the bat m,
which is placed over the tufts to form the body or back of the fabric.
Before the fabric thus prepared is placed under the jigger board to be
felted it is covered with a coarse linen cloth of the width and length
of the part of the fabric operated upon by the jigger board as usual in
felting operations, or the linen hardening cloth may be of the length of
the fabric and pass on with it to the jigger board.
Figures 18 and 19 represent broken sections of the "tuft holder" with
a portion of the fabric prepared in the same way as in Figure 17, except
that the tufts from the bat gare pushed through another bat g¹
previously laid on the "tuft holder" d and perforated by any suitable
perforating instrument, say, like that shown in Figure 14. In Figure 18
the upper covering bat m of Figure 19 is omitted, to show a fabric
prepared for felting in which the bat through which the tufts pass
and the filaments connecting the tufts from the back or body when
felted.
Figures 20, 21, and 22 represent the preparation of the fabric with
rovings or yarns. In Figure 20 the tufts of rovings n are introduced
in loops into the tuft holes e of the "tuft holder" d through perfora-
tions in the bat g¹ which lies on the tuft holder, and may be felted in
that condition, or another bat m may be placed over the whole, as shown
in Figure 21, which represents in all other respects the same mode of
preparation. Figure 22 represents the mode of preparing the fabric with
tufts of yarns or rovings n introduced into the tuft holes e of the "tuft
holder" d without an intervening bat, but covered by a bat m. The mode

page_text: of introducing the tufts of yarns or rovings in Figures 20, 21, and 22 is
the same as that shown and illustrated in Figures 23, 24, and 25, which
also illustrate the mode of preparing the improved tufted fabric with a
back or body of previously manufactured cloth, which constitutes the
second part of this Invention.
Figure 23 represents a broken section of a "tuft holder" d, on which
is laid the previously manufactured cloth p, either woven or felted, but
shown in the Drawing as woven. The perforations for the tufts are either
made previously in the cloth or are made by the tufting needle 9, which
carries the yarn or roving n down through the cloth into the tuft holes e
of the "tuft holder." A single tufting needle may be used, or a gang of
tufting needles may be framed in a row so as to fill a row of tuft holes
at one operation, the yarns or rovings being supplied separately to cach
needle. The presser plate h is also used in this mode of preparation to
hold the tufts of rovings in place in one row against the downward
action of the tufting needle or needles. The tufting needle is thrust
downwards below the tufting board, as shown in Figure 23, sufficiently
far to carry down a loop, one member of which is more than twice as
long as the required loop for the tuft, so that when the needle rises
above the tufting board a loop of the required length for the tuft will be
left in the tuft hole, as shown in Figure 24, and a portion of the roving
of the same or a greater length than the distance to the next row of tuft
holes will depend from the eye of the tufting needle, and thus permit
the presser plate and needle to be moved to the next row without
drawing the tuft from the row just filled, or, which is the same in effect,
permit the "tuft holder " to be moved the space of a row of tuft holes
under the presser plate and needle. Figure 25 shows this last-mentioned
step accomplished, the tufting needle q being represented as just passing
the roving or yarn tuft into the cloth. If the cloth into which the tufts
of rovings are introduced be of a felting material, or if the tufts be of a
felting material of rovings and sufficiently close together the tufts may
be secured in a fabric thus prepared by felting under the jigger board in
presence of steam; but I prefer in all cases to use an additional or
covering back formed by laying over the whole a bat m of wool, as
shown in Figure 23.
Figure 26 shows a fabric prepared for felting with tufts from a
bat g thrust through perforations in a previously manufactured woven
cloth P, and covered by a bat m; this is prepared by the same means as

page_text: the prepared fabric shown in Figure 19, the only difference between the
two being that in Figure 26 woven cloth is used in the place of the
bat g' in Figure 19.
The form of machine above described is a very simple one and of
cheap construction, but it involves the preparation of the material by
hand manipulation of the different devices used in connection with the
"tuft holder" for that
purpose.
A machine will now be described in which these devices are operated
automatically and some others added to make an automatic machine
which needs only to be supplied with material and steam and set in
motion to manufacture the fabric in pieces of any desired length. This
machine as constructed and arranged for making the new and improved
fabrics with tufts formed from bats is represented in Figures 27, 28, 29,
30, 31, and 32. A modification of this machine adapted to making the
new and improved fabric with tufts from yarns or rovings, illustrated
by explanatory Drawings Figures 33, 34, and 35, will be afterwards
described.
Figure 27 represents a side elevation of the machine; Figure 28, an
end view of the same; Figure 29, a vertical longitudinal section;
Figure 30, a broken section showing the construction of some parts
concealed in Figure 29; Figure 31, a detached view of the compound
eccentric for driving the jigger; and Figure 32, a detached view showing
the arrangement of the shifting "punch holder" in the cross head.
The main frame of the machine, which should be made of cast iron, is
composed of two end frames a, a', framed together by the four cross
braces a, a, a, a, (shown in section in Figure 29). The tuft holder in
this machine is a horizontal hollow cylinder b, which should preferably
be made of some metal not liable to rust or of galvanized iron, but may
be made of cast iron; it is supported by and turns on the horizontal
shaft ', and is perforated with tuft holes of suitable size, number, and
order of arrangement for the tufts of the desired fabric. Directly over
the cylindrical "tuft holder," and in the vertical plane of its axis, is a
gang of bearded punches c (the same as herein-before described and
shown in Figure 5) corresponding in number and distances apart
with the arrangement of the tuft holes in rows across the "tuft holder,"
and the rows of tuft holes in a "tuft holder" all being alike as respects
number, size, and distance apart the gang of tuft punches serves for all
the rows of tuft holes successively. But although the tuft holes are

page_text: arranged in rows across the cylinder, the arrangement is generally such
that the holes of one row are opposite the blanks of the next preceding
and succeding rows to make a diagonal pattern, and therefore the gang
of punches must have an up-and-down motion to punch the bat for
the tufts into the tuft holes, and a side motion across the machine
alternately in opposite directions to correspond with the position of the
rows of the tuft holes. The tuft punches have also another motion as
this machine is arranged, i.e., they move with the cylinder, or, more
properly speaking, they move the "tuft holder" on its axis step by step
one row at a time while within the tuft holes, then withdraw from the
tuft holes and move back over the next row of tuft holes to be filled.
The tuft punches being in the tuft holes at a time when it is con-
venient for the other operations of the machine to move the "tuft
holder"
a row they would have to move with it, and are therefore made
use of to move it. A strong pin might be placed at the end of the gang
of punches in line with it, and work in an outside series of holes in the
"tuft holder" made especially for it, and thus take the strain off the
gang of punches, but it is not necessary in practice. The motion of the
tuft punches for punching or pushing the bat into the tuft holes for
moving the cylinder forward row by row, and for their lateral adjustment
over the rows of tuft holes, are obtained as follows:-The tuft punches
are set in sockets in a plate c¹, which may be called a "punch holder,"
the punches being secured in the sockets by pinching screws, one of
which is shown at c, Figure 29. The punch holder plate c¹ is placed in
a cross head c³ that extends across the machine and is fitted to and slides
up and down on two upright rocking arms c', c³, one on each side of the
machine. These upright rocking arms c* and c are pivoted on the outer
ends of the shaft 6' upon which the "tuft holder" turns, so that they
rock on the axis of the "tuft holder," and they are held at rest and rocked
forward and backward to move the "tuft holder" by the two grooved
cams c, c, one at each side of the machine, fast to the rotating cam
shaft d, through the bent arms c³, c³, respectively attached to the upright
rocking arms, and provided with antifriction rollers to run in the cam
grooves. The cam shaft is driven from the pulley shaft d' by inter-
mediate gear wheels as follows:-A spur wheel d³ fast to the cam shaft d
is driven by a pinion fast to the shaft d³ (pinion not shown in the
Drawing), the shaft d³ being driven by a pinion d' fast to the pulley
shaft d' gearing into a spur wheel d³ fast to the shaft d³. The object of
this train of wheels being mercly to reduce the speed of the crank shaft

page_text: and thereby augment the power applied to the driving pulley do the exact
proportions of the gear wheels are immaterial, and will of course depend
upon the width of the machine and the fabric to be made therein. The
cross head e³ is moved up and down on the upright rocking arms c', c³, by
means of the two grooved cams clo, cl, one at each side of the machine and
fast to the cam shaft d, through the link c, c¹s, respectively connected
with each end of the cross head and jointed to the horizontal vibrating
arms c¹, cs, pivoted at the rear of the sides of the machine, and provided:
at the point of connection with the links with antifriction rollers to run
in the grooves of the cam. The lateral movement of the tufting punch
holder (c) to adjust the gang punches to the position of the rows of tuft
holes is obtained as follows:- The plate c¹ which constitutes the punch
holder is held in and by the cross head by means of a slot or mortice in
each end of the cross head (not shown in the Drawings), which permits the
plate to move laterally, but compels it to move up and down with the
cross head, and a vertical slot c¹ is cut in each side of the rocking arms
upon which the cross head slides to permit the punch-holding plate to
slide up and down with the cross head. A "T"-shaped lever c" is pivoted
at the intersection of its arms upon the cross head c³, and moves up and
down with it, being connected with the punch-holding plate c¹ by a slot
in its vertical arm and a pin fixed in the plate, as shown in the Drawings
(Figure 28), so that an alternate downward movement of the horizontal
arms will cause an alternate lateral movement of the punch-holding plate.
The alternate downward movement of the horizontal T-shaped lever is
caused by the pins or spokes projecting from the hubs c¹8, c, fast to the
intermittently rotating horizontal shaft c, which is placed directly over
the T-shaped lever, and rotates in bearings in the upper end of the
upright rocking levers upon which the cross head slides. A pin wheel c
fast to the horizontal shaft c, containing six pins, is moved one pin at a
time at each downward movement of the cross head and punch-holding
plate by means of a catch or pawl c attached to the cross head, which
causes one of the spokes or pins in the hubs c¹8, c¹, to be brought per-
pendicularly over one of the arms of the T lever, one hub being placed
over each arm of the lever, and each hub having but half as many
spokes or pins projecting from it as there are pins in the pin wheel,
and arranged alternately. The pin-wheel shaft is held stationary by a
spring bearing upon the pins of the pin wheel, the spring yielding to
permit the shaft to be turned by the pawl. The effect of the operation
of the pin-wheel shaft and its spokes is, that the pin wheel being set to

page_text: correspond with the alteration of the rows of tuft holes a spoke on the
hubs of the pin-wheel shaft is brought over that arm of the T-shaped
lever which must be moved downward to give the punch-holder plate its
proper lateral movement to bring the punches over the tuft holes they
are next to enter; and when the punch-holding plate rises with the cross
head sufficiently to clear the punches from the "tuft holder" and the
filaments of the tufts thereon, the proper arm of the T lever comes in
contact with a spoke of the hub directly over it upon the pin-wheel
shaft, and is pushed down by it, causing the punch-holding plate to move
laterally in the proper direction to adjust it to the tuft holes of the next
row. The bat or sliver e, from which the tufts are formed, is received
from a carding engine upon an inclined endless band e', which is
extended over two drums e, e³, and moved intermittently by a pawl e
and a ratchet wheel e connected with the upper drum so as to deliver
the sliver or bat upon the horizontal table e', which is placed in front of
and about level with the upper surface of the "tuft holder." The bat is
pushed forward intermittently over the table to the "tuft holder" by the
plaiter at the end of each forward movement of the "tuft holder,"
while the tufting punches are moving back to take their position for a
new row of tufts. "The "plaiter" is a light flat board or thin plate of
metal armed with short sharp teeth at its lower edge to take hold of the
bat, and is suspended in an inclined position from two arms f', f,
attached to a rock shaft f which rocks in bearings in the vertical
standards f, fs, placed at each side of the table e. The rock shaft f?
derives its motion from the upright rocking arm c³ by means of a link f",
which connects the rocking arm with a slotted arm f attached to the
rock shaft f. The pawl e' that feeds the bat and delivers it on the table
is jointed to the arm f2 of the rock shaft f³, and moved by it. A "presser
plate" rests on the upper surface of the "tuft holder," covering one or
more rows of tuft holes, and is connected with the cross head c³ by means
of two perpendicular guide rods g', g, attached to the presser plate,
which extends upward through guide holes in the cross head. Adjustable
collars g, g', are placed upon the upper end of the guide rods so as to
engage with the cross head for the purpose of slightly lifting the presser
plate after the tufting punches are withdrawn from the tuft holes, to
enable it to be moved freely over the bat to the next row of tuft holes.
The position of the presser plate is so adjusted with respect to the "tuft
holder," that when the punches are brought over the row of tuft holes
to be filled the presser plate covers the row that has just been filled.

page_text: When the "presser plate: moves back with the cross head, after the
punches are withdrawn from the tuft holes just filled, the "plaiter"
moves forward towards the "tuft holder," and pushes a sufficient quantity
of filaments of the bat e forward to form the next row of tufts, and
holds them against the side of the presser plate in the form of a partial
plait or fold directly over the tuft holes to be filled, and at the same
time the pawl e' acts upon the ratchet of the feed apron e¹, and delivers
upon the table the required quantity of the bat for the next succeeding
row of tufts. The tuft punches c then descend, pushing portions of
the fold of the bat into the tuft holes sufficient for the tufts, and then,
while in the tuft holes, move forward the distance of one row of tuft
holes, carrying the "tuft holder" the same distance with them. The
"tuft holder" is then locked in the position to which it has thus been
moved by a locking mechanism herein-after described, and the punches
withdrawn from the tuft holes by an upward movement of the cross head
to be moved back again. The ". presser plate" holds the tuft in the
tuft holes, and prevents the filaments connecting them from being
displaced by the operation of filling the succeeding rows. The "jigger"
or rubbing plate by which the felting is accomplished in this machine is
a concave metal plate i, which forms the top plate of a steam box i.
The concave plate is perforated with fine holes to permit the steam
to pass to the fabric, and is applied to the under side of the "tuft
holder" when in action for felting, which is during the time from the
commencement of the withdrawal of the tuft punches to the time when
the "tuft holder" commences to move again after the succeeding row of
tufts are put in the tuft holes. The steam box has suitable induction
and eduction pipes 3, 2, (shown broken off) which should be respec-
tively connected by flexible connections with a source of supply of steam
and a waste water receptacle. This steam box or jigger receives a very
short and exceedingly rapid motion from the eccentric shaft j, which
may be driven by a rapid belt as usual from a separate countershaft over-
head, running upon the driving pulley ", and is connected to the steam
box by two connecting rods j' and j³. A section of the eccentric shaft
is represented in Figure 31. The eccentric shaft j is hollow, having a
hole bored eccentrically through it from end to end, in which hole lies
a shaft having upon each end an eccentric hub, one of the hubs
being a part of the shaft jt, and the other affixed to it by pins j', j³,
driven through the hub and shaft after the shaft is introduced into the
hollow shaft j. It will be observed that the eccentricity of the hubs upon

page_text: the internal shaft is in opposition to the eccentricity of the internal shaft
with the hollow eccentric shaft, and therefore the parts of the compound
eccentric shaft can be adjusted so as to turn together without giving any
motion to the connecting rods, or they may be adjusted to give any
required degree of motion within their capacity by turning the internal
shaft to a proper position, and then fixing it to the hollow shaft by means
of the set screw j. The connecting rods being strapped upon the
eccentric hubs communicate more or less motion to the steam box
or jigger depending upon the adjustment of the eccentric shaft.
The jiggering steam box is held to the surface of the material on the
"tuft holder" when in action by a yielding pressure, and withdrawn
from it when the "tuft holder" is to be moved to permit it to be moved
by mechanism as follows:-The steam jigger box is supported by four
rocking columns k, k', k², k, two of which, % and k¹, are connected by
joints to lugs or projections from the lower part of the sliding frame
plate m, which slides up and down on slides inside the main frame, and
the other two columns k², k³, are similarly connected to an opposite
sliding plate m'. The two sliding plates m and m² are exactly alike,
facing each other on opposite sides of the machine within the side frames,
and being only connected together by a link m² are each independently
moved upward by means of the cams n, n', operating through the two
systems of weighted levers, one system for each sliding plate. The
systems of weighted levers are both the same, and therefore a description
of only one system will be given, that which is in connection with the
cam n and the sliding plate m. This system of levers consists of a lever p
pivoted upon the cross shaft p', and extending horizontally to the
cam n, being provided at the end with an antifriction roller p³, which
runs on the cam. The lever p is linked by a short link p³ to the fulcrum
point of a lever q immediately above it, which lever is connected to the
sliding plate m at one end, and is loaded with weights q' at the other
end. The arrangement and proportions of the levers being as shown in
Figure 29 of the Drawings, the cam lifts the sliding plate and its end
of the steam box by lifting the weighted lever q. When the cam turns
to lower the sliding plate the weighted lever q rests on the cross shaft p¹
close by the weights and relieves the sliding plate and steam box from
the upward pressure due to the weights, permitting the steam box to be
lowered sufficiently to allow the "tuft holder" to be moved. The bat 8,
which forms the back of the fabric, may be received from a carding
engine (or a preparing machine if cross bats are used) upon an inclined

page_text: move up and down through holes in the presser plate g, which is con-
nected by sliding guide rods g, g, to the cross head.
The yarns or
rovings are wound on spools placed upon a creel x, the yarns
passing from the spools on the creel to the needles over the guide
rods,, upon the creel, next through the guide holes in the vibrating
plate, thence under the guide rod x", thence over the guide
rods x, x, carried by the cross head to the tufting needles, passing
between the clamping jaws y, y¹, just before they reach the needles.
A sliding rod y2 and spring y³ are connected with each of the arms y*
of the movable clamping jaw y', the spring acting to close the clamp
upon the yarns for the purpose of drawing them from the spools when
the cross head moves forward with the "tuft holder," but when
the cross head returns to its position over the next row of tuft holes the
clamps are held open by reason of the ends of the sliding rods coming
in contact with the stationary bracket arms y³ upon the side frames,
and they remain open during the downward motion of the tufting needles
to permit the yarns to be drawn through the needles to form the tufts.
The vibrating perforated guide plate is supported by two rocking
arms, 210, one of which is slotted and connected with the upright
rocking arm c3 by a link fe for the purpose of drawing a sufficient
quantity of yarn from the spools at each forward movement of the
needles with the "tuft holder" to supply them with yarns for the tufts
for the succeeding row of tuft holes. The tufting needles y and the
perforating instruments being in the tuft holes when the "tuft holder"
requires to be moved are sufficient for that purpose, but if desired a stout
pin may be put in the cross head to enter the series of holes u¹ and take
a portion of the strain of moving the "tuft holder" from the needles.
The modification just described may be used either for introducing
tufts of yarns into previously manufactured cloth or bats; in either case
the cloth or bat is fed to the machine by the feeding band e¹ and over
the table e, as in Figure 27, but as a fold in the cloth or bat is not
needed the " plaiter" should be omitted, because the "tuft holder"
needles and presser plate grasp the bat or cloth and draw it forward over
the table. The covering bat when used is to be fed to the "tuft holder"
by the feeding band s¹, as in Figure 1, and the machine constructed and
operated in other respects as for making the tufts from bats, excepting
the changes above mentioned, to adapt it for yarns and rovings.
In making the new fabric with tufts from a bat it is best to have

page_text: the fibres of the covering bat which is to form the body of the fabric
cross the fibres of the bat which forms the tufts. This is a common
practice in making felted cloth, and machinery for preparing continuous
bats in which the fibres lie in a transverse direction to the length of the
bat is well known.
I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as
aforesaid,-
First. A tufted fabric wherein the body is composed of felt and the
tufts projecting therefrom are not felted, or but slightly felted, the
tufts being united with the body, and forming a part of the fabric by the
process of felting during the felting of the body of the fabric, substantially
as herein-before described.
Second. A tufted fabric, wherein tufts that have been introduced in
a back of previously manufactured cloth, either woven or felted, through
perforations in the same, are secured by a process of felting, either with
or without having an additional back felted to the fabric, substantially
as herein-before described.
Third. The "tuft holder" for holding the tufts and supporting the
body of the fabric in combination with the " jiggering" apparatus in
a felting machine, substantially as herein-before described, whereby the
tufts and body of the fabric having been properly prepared are felted
together to make a tufted fabric.
"
Fourth. The employment of a tufting punch" or "punches,"
substantially as herein-before described, in combination with a "tuft
bolder in a felting machine, substantially as herein-before described,
and for the purpose of preparing a tufted fabric with tufts from bats.
"
Fifth. In combination in a felting machine the tuft holder,'
"tufting needles," and "presser plate," substantially as herein-before
described, for the purpose of preparing a tufted fabric with tufts from
yarns or roving.
Sixth. In combination in a felting machine with the "tuft holder"
the "tuft punches," the " plaiter," and ".
'presser plate," substantially
as herein-before described, and for the purpose of preparing a tufted
fabric with tufts from bats.
Seventh. The employment of one or more "tufting needles," sub-
stantially as herein-before described, in combination with a "tuft holder"

page_text: in a felting machine, substantially as herein-before described, for the
purpose of preparing a tufted fabric with tufts from yarns or rovings.
Eighth. In a folting machine the combination of a cylindrical
"tuft holder" with a concave "jiggering
jiggering" apparatus, substantially as
herein-before described.
"
Ninth. In a felting machine the combination of a cylindrical "tuft
tufting
holder," feeding apron," "plaiter,"
presser plate," and "
punches" with the mechanism, substantially as herein-before described
and shown, for operating said devices to prepare a tufted fabric auto-
matically with tufts from bats.
Tenth. In a felting machine the combination of a cylindrical "tuft
holder," "
," 'presser plate," "tufting needles," and their feeding mechanism
with the mechanism, substantially as herein-before described and shown,
for operating said devices to prepare a tufted fabric automatically with.
tufts from yarns or rovings.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of September,
in year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-