IMPROVEMENTS IN. WEAVING CARPETS, AND IN. PRINTING CARPETS AND OTHER FABRICS
Year: 1848

page_text: ...WOOD'S SPECIFICATION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
Wood, of No. 23, Cranmer. Place, Waterloo Road, in the County of Surrey,
Carpet Manufacturer, send greeting.
"
WHEREAS Her present. most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Thirtieth day of
May, One. thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, in the eleventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and, successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William. Wood, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William.
Wood, my exors; admors; and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Wood; my exors, adñiors, or assigns, should. at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN. WEAVING CARPETS, AND IN. PRINTING CARPETS AND OTHER
FABRICS;" in which said Letters Patent; is contained a proviso that I, the said
William Wood, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal,. to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and inmediately after. the
date of the said in part recited- Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Wood, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:-
My improvements in the weaving of carpets consist of a mode of adding t
substance or thicknening, or, as it is technically termed, "the dead" into
Brussels carpets, or carpets made with hollow looped surfaces, and also cut
pile carpets. In ordinary Brussels or hollow looped woven carpets, and cut
pile carpets, where the pattern is produced by different colored yarns, several
threads of colored worsted or yarn (generally five) are arranged in each space
of the reed, and by the operation of weaving some one of those threads is
drawn up to form the loop on the surface whilst the other threads in the same
space remain until they may be required to form their parts of the pattern on
he face, so that there is always a quantity of worsted in the carpet, which
gives body and some elasticity to the fabric; but when the pattern is printed or
dyed on the warp, and when the carpet is woven of one color or plain, in
order to be printed after weaving, then only so much worsted is used as is
sufficient to form the loops on the face of the fabric, in which cases it is the
practice of those manufacturers who make printed carpets to introduce addi-
tional linen threads as "dead warp" as a substitute for the worsted omitted ;
but as the linen ordinarily used is a smooth dense body, it does not fill up so
well, nor give that bulk and elasticity which worsted or woollen does, the
carpet thereby loses some of its best qualities, videlicit, thickness, warmth, and
elasticity, and the only kind of weft used in weaving such carpets has been
that which binds down the worsted, and which is the same both on the face and
back. Now my new and improved mode consists in giving the requisite sub-
stance and elasticity to such descriptions of carpets by the use of additional
weft at the back or in the body, and much thicker than that on the face,
whereby I am enabled to use the cheapest, most bulky, and elastic materials.
From the foregoing description any carpet weaver will understand wherein
this Invention differs from the present practice; and in order that the work-
man may carry my improvements readily into practice, I will describe the
means pursued by me. When using an ordinary Brussels carpet loom, after
putting in the wire (or otherwise forming the loop), I throw in the usual
linen shoot on the face to bind it, and then for the back shoot I throw in a
thick soft weft by a suitable shuttle; or, to make a better edge and more elastic
back, I find it more advisable to employ the usual two linen shoots, one on

page_text: the face, the other in the back, and then (or before throwing in the second
linen shoot) draw down only one half of the lower portion of the linen warp
(being one quarter of the whole), and throw in the thick shoot which, by the
action of the batten or lay, is driven up so as to cover the second linen shoot
which is then inside the fabric, and from the thick soft shoot being only bound
by every alternate yarn of the warp it will be more elastic than if bound more
closely by using every yarn, whilst the second linen shoot (having the whole
half of the warp over it) holds down the face or first shoot; and any inequality
in the taking up of the linen warp by one portion of it binding in a greater
substance than the other is remedied by drawing down the different portions
in succession. These operations of weaving may be varied without departing
from my Invention, still retaining the mode of putting in "the dead" or added
substance as weft.
My improvements in printing, which are chiefly applicable in printing
carpets and other fabrics having hollow looped or cut pile surfaces,
consist of a new mode of using cylinders or rollers for laying on colors in
pattern, by which the colors employed may be correctly repeated on to
the parts of the same surface of the fabrics. By the present mode of
working cylinder or roller-printing machines, Brussels and cut pile carpets,
and many other thick fabrics, cannot be impressed sufficiently with colored
patterns, as after the fabric is passed through the machine or otherwise,
as is the present practise, it is found to be only partially printed, consequently
the otherwise manifold advantages of cylinder printing have not been made
available for such fabrics, and the object of this part of my Invention is to
remedy this deficiency. One impression of a cylinder on a looped or cut pile
carpet, or on many other fabrics, is unavailing; but if the impression or
pattern properly supplied with color is repeated several times, varying in
number with the thickness or nature of the fabric, any quantity of color can be
given.
My mode of operation is as follows:-I provide a proper printing table,
which may be of any length, but I prefer one long enough to lay on it the
entire length or piece of carpet to be printed. At each end of the table.
a frame of the same height or level is added (or it may be a continuation
of the same frame that carries the table) long enough to receive the cylinder-
printing machine when off the fabric, and on the surface of the table I lay
the printing blanket between two rails or guides, one on each side, fixed the
exact distance apart that the carpet or cloth is wide, which keep the cloth
in one position, and also form the guides for the cylinders, as hereafter
explained. The carpet or cloth being fixed or held fast at one end of the

page_text: table is laid on the top between the guidé rails, and drawn tight at. the.other
end by a roller having a click wheel to prevent any slackness from its slipping
back. The cylinders having the pattern cut or formed on them are placed
in a frame, as shewn by the Drawings: hereafter described: In this frame
are also fixed color cans and feeding rollers, which are in connection with
the pattern cylinders, and as they revolve supply them with color. The cloth
being fixed, and the cylinders, color rolls, and color being ready, the machine
is passed over the table and between the guide rails with the pattern on 'the
cylinders colored and resting on the cloth to the frame at the other end of
the table, and then back again, and this process repeated until the fabric is
sufficiently colored; but in this repeated cylinder printing arrangements must
be made so as to insure each part of the pattern coming again and again in
the same place. This I effect by placing on the spindles..or axes. of the.
pattern cylinders toothed wheels working into toothed racks fixed on the sides
of the table, so that however frequently the machine passes over the fabric
every part of the pattern will fall on the same place..
It is evident that although, the several cylinders forming the pattern are
shewn in one-frame, and all worked together, yet they may each have its
frame and color trough separately, and be worked singly. The, machine
also, instead of being passed back again over the same table, may, by having
moveable-frames at the ends of the table, be moved sideways, so go to pass
down another table at the side of the first, and so begin again on the first
table, this second table of course being similar to the first, and having another
piece of cloth on it. This plan inight be carried out by using any number

page_text: of the cylinder-printing machine, with bearings to receive the axes g of the
printing cylinders g², which are formed at each of their ends.to run on the
guides a', a', projecting up from the surface of the frame a. On one or both
sides of the frame a there is formed a rack a³, which is taken into by. toothed
wheels g* affixed on the axis g, the pitch line of the teeth of the wheel g³
corresponding with. the diameter of the cylinders g', whereby, as the machine f
is moved along the frame a, the cylinders g¹ may have a surface movement
corresponding to the distance travelled by the machine f; and I would here
state, that I have found it convenient to move the machine f along the table b
by hand, though other means may be resorted to. h, h, are troughs carrying
color, which is communicated to their respective cylinders g' by means of the
endless aprons and j, and the roller k. The aprons i are each supported by
a roller ', to which motion is given by means of a band 3, as shewn, and
there is a weight roller which keeps a part of the apron constantly down in
the color. The apron j passes over the rollers j¹, 3, and receives motion by
surface contact with the apron on the roller i, from which it at the same
time takes color, which is received on to the roller k, which revolves by surface
contact, and gives off color to its cylinder g¹. Each end of the frame a is
capable of receiving the machinef beyond where the ends of the fabric to
be printed are sustained, and at those parts I apply bars 1 (as shewn by
red lines), one on each side of the framing with inclined ends 1, so that the
ends of the axes of the rollers j', by coming thereon, may raise the aprons j
from contact with the rollers k, thereby preventing the laying on of color on to
the cylinders g' when those cylinders are not printing.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I do not
confine myself to the details herein described, so long as the peculiar character
of either part of my Invention be retained; but what I claim is,-
First, the mode of manufacturing carpets made with hollow looped or
cut piled surfaces, and woven with printed warp, or woven with one colored
warp, or plain, to be afterwards printed by adding thick weft, as herein
described; and,―
Secondly, I claim the mode of printing piled and other fabrics by employing
cylinders or rollers so actuated and controlled as to ensure the colors being
repeated on the same parts of the fabric.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Wood, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.
WILLIAM (L.B.)
(L.B.) WOOD.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirtieth day of November,
in the year of our Lord 1848, the aforesaid William Wood came before
our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specifi-
cation aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in
form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose..
Enrolled the Thirtieth day of November, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight bundred and forty-eight.