AN IMPROVED SELVAGE FOR WOVEN FABRICS, AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING THE SAME
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Harris Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention of
"AN IMPROVED SELVAGE FOR WOVEN FABRICS, AND APPARATUS FOR
PRODUCING THE SAME." A communication from abroad by Louis Frobeen,
of Berlin, Germany.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Harris Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 22nd January 1881.
HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "AN IMPROVED SELVAGE FOR WOVEN FABRICS,
AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING THE SAME." [A communication from abroad
by Louis Frobeen, of Berlin, Germany.]
This Invention relates to woven fabrics, and has for its object the production of
a selvage or protecting edge, which will be more effective in preventing the
ravelling of the weft threads in such fabrics than the selvages as ordinarily made,
for the reason that the threads forming a selvage made according to my Invention
cover or enclose all the loops of the weft threads.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I employ discs which make a certain
rotation, and which carry reels or bobbins with the threads to be employed in
producing the said selvage; the said discs may receive motion automatically from
some moving part of the loom, or may be worked by means of a treadle, as desired.
For producing fabrics with this protecting edge or selvage, looms of any construc-
tion may be used if the devices forming a part of this Invention are attached
thereto, and one or several weft threads may be used in the manufacture of such
fabrics.
I will now proceed to describe, as an example, the application of my Invention
for the formation of a protecting edge or selvage to a driving belt made of textile
materials. In this case I may make the selvage of wire so that the felt will not
wear away at the edges. The weft thread always lies between the two wires of
the protecting edge or selvage, and therefore can never be injured by friction. The
Price dl

page_text: said edge or selvage in this case is formed of two interlaced wires between which
the weft threads are worked, the loops of the latter being thereby protected against
all injury; the warp threads of the fabric may be of any desired number and kind.
For producing this protecting edge or selvage special arrangements in the loom
will be required, but as these arrangements will differ for each special construction
of loom, I will here only indicate the generic features of the mechanism without
considering special constructions of looms.
The warp or chain is beamed in the well-known manner. The wires for the
said protecting edge or selvage are wound on rollers or reels, hereinafter more fully
referred to; and upon the beam of a loom embodying my apparatus for making this
selvage there is no ordinary shuttle-race, and it is also provided with reeds in the
ordinary manner. The aforesaid rollers or reels are supported in a stirrup-piece in
which they are free to rotate, and this in turn is fixed upon a rotating disc. The
wire or thread is guided in an eye in the centre of the said stirrup-piece; and in
order that the protecting edge or selvage may be twisted sufficiently tight, the said
reels are each provided with a brake consisting of a spring with small brake-blocks
attached thereto. The rotating discs carrying the reels are mounted in suitable
bearings on a fixed part of the loom, and upon their shaft there is a crank-disc
with a wrist pin by means of which the said discs (which carry the reels) are
rotated. This may be effected by means of a double lever, one end of which is
connected by a connecting rod with the wrist pin on the crank disc, whilst a roller
of another disc slides in the forked end of said lever and imparts an oscillating
movement to the same. The rotation of the reel-carrying discs may however be.
effected by any other suitable means as, for example, by toothed gearing.
When two rollers or wheels are mounted on each rotating reel-carrying disc, a
rotation of the discs to the extent of 180° is necessary; several rollers, that is to
say, three, four, or more may however be applied, in which case the rotation of the
reel-carrying discs must be only one third, one fourth, or some other suitable part
of a complete rotation.
The operation with this device is as follows, that is to say:-The shed is first
opened by operating the healds, the weft is shot through and beaten up by the
reeds, the rotating discs are rotated to the extent of 180° and the shed changed;
the weft is again shot through, and so on. As herein before mentioned, the weft-
threads lies between the peculiarly twisted wires or threads which form the
protecting edge, so that the former is quite protected against wear, and instead of
causing the protecting edge-wires to be twisted for each weft thread, it may be
effected only after the weft has several times passed, but in this case the edge would
not become equally tight.
I may use single threads of wire or thin twisted strands of wire as the material
for the protecting edge, or any textile fibre twisted with wire or without the
same, such as cotton, fax, hemp, jute, or the like may be used.
When these materials are used a much greater durability of the selvage has been
observed, as the threads are only strained in the direction of the length of the
individual fibres, and they completely cover the weft-threads.
By this arrangement textile matters of different kinds may be combined, for
instance, a cotton belt with a hempen or wire protecting edge, or. a hempen
belting with wire or cotton protecting edge.. This peculiar selvage is equally
adapted to the most varied methods of weaving, where one or several shuttles
are used, and will be especially useful where the selvage is required to be very
strong, as, for instance, in carpets, sail-cloth, sack-cloth, and the like.
This Invention is applicable for all kinds of woven fabrics.

page_text: Drawing, and is constructed as follows, that is to say:-C is the warp or chain
beamed in the usual manner; P, P, represent the shafts, and D the wires for
forming the protecting edge or selvage, which wires are wound on reels or
bobbins H; R is the beam upon which are provided the shuttle race S and the
reeds T. The reels H are supported in stirrup-pieces W', in which the said reels
are free to rotate; these stirrup pieces are fixed upon the disc E. The wire or
thread D is guided in an eye in the centre of each of the said stirrup-pieces W¹.
In order that the protecting edge or selvage may be twisted sufficiently tight, the
rollers H are provided with a brake consisting of a spring I with small brake
blocks attached thereto.
V is a fixed part of the frame of the loom on which the axles or pivots of the
discs E are mounted. Upon each of these axles is mounted a crank-disc J having
a pin a, by means of which the said discs E are rotated. This rotation may be
effected, as shewn in Figure 8, by means of a two armed lever K, one end or arm
of which is connected by the rod W with the pin a on the disc J, whilst its other
arm is forked to receive a roller M upon a disc L. This roller moves or slides in
the said forked end of the lever K, and imparts an oscillating movement to the
same. The rotation of the discs E may however be effected by any other suitable
means, as, for example, by toothed gearing.
In the Drawing I have shewn each disc E provided with two of the reels or
bobbins H, consequently the discs must be rotated to the extent of 180°. Several
rollers, that is to say, three, four, or more may however be applied, in which case
the rotation of the discs E must be only one third, one fourth, or some other
proportionate part of a complete rotation. The operation of the said apparatus is
as follows, that is to say:-The shed is first opened by operating the healds or
heddles (see Figure 8); the weft is shot through and beaten up by the reeds T,
and the discs E are rotated to the extent of 180°; the shed is then changed, the
weft is again shot through, and so on. In Figures 7 and 9, A indicates a
portion of the belt. As herein before mentioned the weft-thread lies between the
peculiarly twisted wires or threads which form the protecting edge or selvage, so
that the weft is protected against wear instead of causing the wires forming the
protecting edge or selvage to be twisted each time the weft-thread is shot through.
This twisting may be effected after the weft has several times passed, but in this
case the edge would not become equally tight.
Instead of employing single threads of wire, thin twisted strands of wire may
be used for my improved selvage; or I may use textile fibre, such as cotton, flax,
hemp, jute, or the like twisted with wire, or without the same. When these
materials are used a much greater durability of the selvage will accrue, as the
threads are only strained in the direction of the length of the individual fibres,
and they completely cover the weft-threads.
By this arrangement textile materials of different kinds may be combined, for
instance, a cotton belt with hempen or wire protecting edge, or a hempen belting
with wire or cotton protecting edge. This peculiar selvage is moreover equally
applicable to fabrics produced by the most varied methods of weaving where one
or several shuttles are used, and will be especially useful where the selvage is
required to be very strong, as, for instance, in carpets, sail-cloth, sack-cloth, wire-
gauze, and the like.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,
First. The application to a woven fabric of a protecting edge or selvage, con-
sisting of two or more wires, twisted strands of wire or threads of textile material,
twisted around each other, as above described, which wires or threads completely
cover the loops of the weft threads, thus protecting the said loops and preventing
the wearing out of the same.
Second. The apparatus or devices to be applied to a loom for producing the

page_text: protecting edge or selvage of a woven fabric, and consisting of discs placed at each
side of the warp carrying bobbins or reels of wire or thread, and rotated by
suitable mechanism, substantially as set forth and as shewn in Figures 7, 8, and 9
of the Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Harris Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty-one.
HENRY H. LAKE. (L.S.)