CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF PRODUCING OR MANUFACTURING VELVETS OR OTHER PILED FABRICS
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HODGSON GRATRIX, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-sixth day of December, in the fourteenth year of Her
reign, and in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Hodgson Gratrix, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said William Hodgson Gratrix, my exors, admors, and
assigns, and such others as I, the said William Hodgson Gratrix, my exors,
admors, or assigns, shall 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE METHOD OF PRODUCING OR MANUFACTURING VELVETS OR OTHER PILED
FABRICS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the
said William Hodgson Gratrix, shall cause a particular description of the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately 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 Hodgson Gratrix, do hereby declare that the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereto annexed,
and the following explanation thereof, that is to say:
My Improvements in the Method of Producing or Manufacturing Velvets or
other Piled Fabrics apply to the production or manufacture of such fabrics only
wherein the pile is produced from the weft threads, and consist,-
First, in weaving the weft threads intended to form the pile over the points
or ends of a series of knives running parallel with the warp threads, the points
of such knives being elongated three feet more or less; these knives or rather
their points being woven into the space in or along which (in the ordinary
mode of cutting cotton velvets) the fustian cutters knive runs. These knives
are stationary, and as the weaving of the cloth proceeds, that portion of the
weft thread which is to form the pile when cut up slides upon the points of
the cutting knives, and on arriving at the cutting edges of such knives the pile
is produced. Those ends or extremities of the knives which are between the
"reed" and the "cloth beam" are tempered and sharpened upon
the upper
edge so as to form a blade or knife for cutting up the pile threads; the holding
ends of the knives are then turned upwards and fixed in a suitable frame.
Secondly, my Invention consists in weaving in the cloth a series of fine
wires running parallel with the warp threads, such wires passing under the
weft pile threads in the space, through or along which (in the ordinary process
of cutting cotton velvets) the fustian cutters knife runs. These wires advance
with the cloth as it is woven, and are subsequently separated therefrom by
passing the cloth between two bowls or rollers acting either by pressure
or friction, as the case may be; the upper roller, against which the face
side of the piece is placed, being formed of metal and the surface of the
lower bowl being formed of paper or other yielding substance, the effect of
which is that as the cloth passes between them the pile threads, or those
between the wires and 'the metal roller, are severed or cut, and the wires
liberated, whilst the back threads, owing to the yielding surface of the other
roller, remain entire and uninjured.
In order more clearly to illustrate the practical operation of the first part of
my improvements, I have annexed to these Presents a Sheet of Drawings,
shewing distinctly the method of weaving and cutting the pile, and have
marked the same with figures and letters of reference corresponding with
those in the following description thereof. Fig. 1 is a plan or horizontal view
of an ordinary loom for weaving fustian, with my improvements represented as

page_text: attached thereto, and drawn to a scale of about two inches to a foot; Fig. 2 is
a front view of the same; and Fig. 3 is a vertical section. A, A, is the
framing of the loom, and B, B, the warp roller, from which the warp threads
(represented by the red lines) pass over a roller C, C, through the healds or
harness D, D, which are actuated by means of the ordinary jacks E, E, and
treadles F, F,) and through the reed G, G, in the slay H, H. I, I, is the
breast beam, and K, K, is the cloth roller, upon which the cloth is wound by
means of the ordinary "taking-up" motion. a, a, a, a, are a series of weights
attached to the extreme ends of the points of the cutting knives (represented
by the blue lines in the Drawing, and are for the purpose of keeping the
knives at a proper tension during the process of weaving. The points of the
knives pass over rollers b, b, b, b, and also over the roller C, C, and subse-
quently through the additional harness c, c, and the ordinary reed G, G. The
healds c, c, are actuated by the additional jacks d, d, and treadles e, e. It will
be observed, the reverse or holding ends of the knives being bent upwards are
secured in a suitable frame. The peculiar construction of this frame for
holding the knives will be better understood upon referring to Figures 4, 5, 6,
and 7, which are drawn upon an enlarged scale, being about half the actual
size. Fig. 4 is an end view of the frame, and Fig. 5 a section of the same.
Fig. 6 is a back view of the frame, and Fig. 7 a plan or horizontal
view, as seen from above. The end plates f.f, support the fixed rails 9, 9, 9, 9.
The ends of the knives are placed betwixt the rails 9, 9, and the plates h, h,
which plates are kept in the position shewn by means of the spring
pieces i, i, being regulated by the thumb screws k, k. The knives are
held firmly, and prevented from moving in a lateral direction by means of
the thumb screws 1, 1, at the ends of the frame, and by means of them can, if
thought desirable, be shifted and set in a diagonal position. It will be evident
that if the healds c, c, are so actuated by means of the jacks d, d, and treadles e, e,
that the portion of the weft thread which is to form the pile pass over them,
whilst the binding threads which form the back of the fabric passes under the
same, the elongated points of the knives will lie in the space through which
(in the ordinary method of cutting cotton velvets) the fustian cutters knife
passes, and as the knives are stationary whilst the cloth progresses, and their
extremities are sharpened and turned upwards, the portion of the weft thread
intended for the pile will then be severed and form the pile or nap of the
fabric. I would here remark, that although I have shown and described the
application of my Invention to the manufacture of cotton velvet only, for the
sake of illustration, yet it will be evident that both parts of my Invention are
equally applicable to the manufacture of other piled fabrics, wherein the pile

page_text: is formed of silk, worsted, or other fibrous material; provided always, that the
pile is formed from the weft thread or shoot of the fabric, and consequently
cut in the direction of the warp threads.
Having thus described the nature and object of my said Invention, together
with the manner of carrying the same into practical effect, I would remark in
conclusion that I claim as my Invention,―
First, the method of producing or manufacturing velvets or other piled
fabrics by weaving the pile threads over a series of fine longitudinal knives
with elongated points, such knives being stationary, and having their cutting
ends or extremities attached to a suitable holding frame, so that simulta-
neously with the weaving the portion of the weft thread to form the pile
slides consecutively upon the points of the knives as the cloth is woven, until
it arrives at that part forming the cutting portion of the knives, by which the weft
thread is severed, and the velvet or piled fabric thus produced is wound upon
the cloth beam as above described, and represented in the annexed Drawing.
Secondly, I claim the method of producing or manufacturing velvets or
other piled fabrics by weaving in the cloth a series of fine wires, such wires
passing through the space between the pile threads and the cloth, which wires
are subsequently separated from the cloth by passing the fabric between two
rollers or bowls acting either by friction or pressure, so as to sever the pile
threads, and thus leave the pile or velvet complete, and allow of the removal
of the wires.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Hodgson Gratrix, have herc-
unto set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.
BARLOW, Extra.
WILLIAM HODGSON (L.S.) GRATRIX.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eighteenth day of June, in the
year of our Lord 1851, the aforesaid William Hodgson Gratrix came before
our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Speci-
fication 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.