IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF FRINGES FOR SHAWLS OR OTHER FABRICS REQUIRING FRINGES
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Phinehas Craven, of Thornton, near Bradford, in tho
County of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR
APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF FRINGES FOR SHAWLS OR OTHER FABRICS
REQUIRING FRINGES."
Sealed the 8th November 1864, and dated the 14th May 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Phinehas Craven at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 14th
May 1864.
I, PHINEHAS CRAVEN, of Thornton, near Bradford, in the County of York,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF FRINGES FOR SHAWLS OR OTHER
FABRICS REQUIRING FRINGES," to be as follows:-
My Invention has for its object, firstly, the manufacturing of fringes by
machinery instead of by hand as is now the practice, and, secondly, the
economizing of material and time in such manufacture.
I effect this by an arrangement which I will now describe. At one end of
a frame which may be made somewhat similar to an ordinary sewing machine,

page_text: I affix a slide capable of guiding a bar which carries a needle on its lower end,
as well as a hook, each separate from the other. To the table supporting the
frame I attach a bracket carrying a partially grooved spindle at an angle by
preference acute with the needle and hook afore-named, and also provided with
a hook; another spindle also furnished with a hook is placed at right angles
(by preference) to the first-named needle and hook, and underneath the
spindle, which is placed at an acute angle with the needle, the table is provided
with an inclined plane on the one side whilst on the opposite side are a pair of
spring scissors and also two "draggers." The retaining and feed motions for
the fabric to be fringed are those in use in ordinary sewing machines, whilst
the feed or supply motion for the thread consists of a grooved trough or
slide on the top, by preference, of the frame, within which works a lever having
a hole near the end, through which the thread from the reel passes. The
various spindles, levers, and slides are actuated by means of cams, grooved or
plain in the manner usual in sewing machines, and secured to a shaft under-
neath the table of the machine, and put in motion in an ordinary or convenient
manner.
Having now given a general outline of the main feature of my Invention,
and also described its nature, I proceed to describe its operation.
The main shaft carrying the cams being set in motion the cranked lever
which is connected to the sliding bar at the end of the machine causes the
same to descend the needle, penetrates the fabrics requiring to be fringed, and
passing through the thread it carries is caught by which I may term for dis-
tinction's sake the "angular" hook, being that attached to the inclined spindle,
which by virtue of the partially spiral groove on its upper end working in a
stud has a rotatory motion, and in the first instance having caught the thread
revolves one-fourth part of a circle. A loop is thus formed, and the needle
ascending the hook affixed to the same bar catches one side of the loop. The
angular" hcok now rotates through one-half of a circle, and in so doing further
twists the loop. At this juncture the hook placed at right angles to the
needle passes through the loop formed, and catching the thread (which is a
continuation of that in the needle) from the upper side of the shawl or fabric
returns the first-named hook, catching one side of the second loop, and now
having two threads in its hold. A spring catch relieves the first loop formed
and held by the angular hook, and this passing over the second loop forms
the knot requisite: The scissors and "draggers" now advance, actuated by
cams and levers, the former up the inclined plane cutting the ends of the
fringe, and that operation being performed they return, and the "draggers
pull the fringe so cut away. The knot thus formed is technically known as
"

page_text: the "old" knot, but other knots inay also be formed by varying the number
and position of the hooks. The supply of thread is furnished by the recipro-
cating lever in the grooved trough actuated by a cam on the main shaft.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Phinehas Craven in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
14th November 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PHINEHAS
CRAVEN, of Thornton, near Bradford, in the County of York, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Phinehas Craven, Her special licence that I, the said Phinehas Craven, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Phinehas
Craven, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR
APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF FRINGES FOR SHAWLS, OR OTHER FABRICS
REQUIRING FRINGES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Phinehas Craven, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Phinehas Craven, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, 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:-
My improvements relate to means or apparatus for the manufacture of
fringes in substitution of hand labour, by which economy of material and time
in such manufacture are obtained.
And in order that my improvements may be better understood, I will by

page_text: carry the same into effect.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a plan partly in section with some of the upper parts
removed; Figure 2 shows separately a plan of those upper parts; Figure 3
shows a side view partly in section; Figure 4 an end view; Figure 5 is an
end view partly in section; Figures 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, show other transverse
sections of parts of the apparatus, whilst other of the views.show some of the
details separately in order that the construction and operation of the various
parts may more distinctly appear..
a, a, is the main framing; a thereof is the table upon which the fabric is
placed in order to have fringe applied to it; b is the main axis from which
the various movements to the operating parts are obtained. This shaft is
supported with capability of revolving freely in the bearings a, a², formed on
or affixed to the under side of the table a¹, and on one end of it is affixed the
pulley wheel b¹ with a handle b by which the operator sets the same in motion;
a portion of fabric to have fringe applied to it is indicated by the tint of red
color in Figure 1, and by red lines in other of the Figures. The thread,
which may be of silk or other material, to form the fringe is supplied from a
bobbin standing at c, and such thread thence passes as indicated by the red
coloured line c to the needle d which is formed with an eye d', and it is held
somewhat similarly to a sewing machine needle in the carrier d, which is
capable of sliding vertically between the adjustable guides a³, a³, on the fixed
arm-a, and the requisite sliding motion is given to it by means of the lever d³,
one end of which is formed with a slot to embrace the stud d' projecting from
the sliding carrier d, whilst it carries the stud a' by which it is capable of
moving in the socket a formed in or affixed to the arm a', and at the other
end it carries a truck or bowl d' which is received into the cam course formed
in the surface of the wheel de affixed ou the shaft or axis b, and by which the
required movement is obtained to the needle d in the rotation of that shaft or
axis b. The sliding carrier d2 also carries a look e hereafter referred to, and
which in the movement of the sliding carrier d² is acted upon simultaneously
with the needle d; f is another hook applied to the bar f', and fixed therein
by the set screw f³. This bar f is supported by the turned down end, of the
sliding bar and by the set screw f* carried by that sliding bar in such
manner that the hook f may have to-and-fro motion given to it in an angular
direction by sliding movement given to the sliding bar f³; this. sliding
movement is obtained by means of the lever f which is capable of turning

page_text: on the fixed stud f, and at one end is formed with a slotted opening to
embrace the stud f carried by the sliding bar f, and at the other end-it.
carries a truck or bowl f which is received into the cam course or groove
formed in the periphery of the wheel affixed on the shaft or axis b. to give
motion thereto in the rotation of that shaft or axis b. The sliding bar f³ is
formed with slots through which pass the screws f10 f10; by which that sliding
bar is held and guided in its motion on the arms as, as; of the fixed standard a',
which arms are also bored through to receive and act as guides in steadying
the motion of the bar f, whilst one of those arms is also provided with a
stud f, the end of which by passing into the inclined groove f¹, formed in
the rod f, gives a partial rotation to that bar and to the hook carried
thereby in the to-and-fro motion of that bar f¹; -g is another hooked instru-
ment carried by the bar g' which is supported with capability of sliding to
and fro in bearings a, a, and it has motion given to it by means of the
lever g3 which is capable of turning on the fixed stud whilst it carries a
truck or bowl g which is received into the groove or cam course formed in
the periphery of the wheel go, and the other end of this lever g is formed
with a slotted opening to receive and hold with capability of adjustment
therein the stud go, which is capable of moving in the arm 97 affixed to the
rod g', by which in the revolution of the shaft or axis b to-and-fro-motion will
be imparted to the hooked instrument g. Upon the stem of this instrument g
is supported the tube h which is borne against by the spring h' with a tendency
during part of the motion of that instrument g to cause the tube to bear
against the hooks of the instrument g, and prevent the thread from
catching at that time in the barbs or hooks of the instrument g; i is a pair
of scissors by which the thread forming the fringe may be cut. The jaws of
these scissors turn upon an axis t¹ and whilst one of them is fixed to the bar i³
so as to be capable of simply moving to and fro with that bar, the other
carries a spring by which the jaws have a tendency to be kept open except
when otherwise acted upon as berein-after explained to close them. The
bar is embraced by the slotted forked arms i, i, of the lever, which is
formed with a stud ; which is capable of turning in the bearing a, and at
its lower end this lever carries a stud 7, which is received into the cam
course formed for it in the face of the wheel 28 affixed on the shaft or axis b
by which in the revolution of that axis 6 the necessary to-and-fro motion will
be imparted to the bar and the scissors carried thereby. In order to control
the movement of the bar it is guided by moving within the straps a" and
is prevented from turning by means of the blocks ;, affixed on encli end
of it, and the under surfaces of these blocks in the motion of the bar slide

page_text: on the table a¹. The moveable jaw of the scissors i is closed for the cutting
operation by the lower surface of the cutting end 10 coming on the incline
plane of the fixed plate j; k is what I call a dragger, the office of which is
to act by its end k upon the last portion of fringe formed, and drag it out of
the way of that being produced. This instrument k is supported at one end
upon the stud with capability of movement thereon, and the stud kis
supported with capability of adjustment in the slot formed in the upper end
of the lever ' which is capable of turning on the fixed stud carried by
the bracket al, and at the other end it carries a truck or bowl k, which by
the pressure of the spring acting on the lever ³ is borne against the
surface of the cam or tappet 7. The other end of this instrument k is
guided by passing in the opening & formed for it in the arm a' where there is
a stud ko, which at one time serves to support that end of the instrument k,
whilst at other times it enters the groove k" formed in one side of that
instrument ; is a spring covering one end of the groove to direct that
end of the instrument k over the stud when that stud has passed out of
the groove, and which is capable of freely opening to admit of the end of
that stud freely passing out of that groove. The instrument k is drawn
towards the lever by means of the spring ; is the retaining plate
affixed to the sliding bar & acted upon by the spring 1, and m is the feeding
plate, both of which are similar in their action to such motions as they
are applied to sewing machines, and separately they form no part of these
improvements. The feed plate m is affixed to the lever arm m', which turns
upon the axis m³, and is borne by the spring m³ against the surface of the
cam or tappet m', whilst the to-and-fro motion is obtained to it by the cam
or tappet m acting on the plate me affixed with capability of adjustment to
the lever m².
The quantity of thread supplied to form the loop or knot portion of the
fringe is regulated in the following manner:-Upon the arm a is applied a
stationary trough a¹ to receive and guide the sliding plate n which is formed
with a projection n' having cheeks to receive and embrace the lever or
plate n which is by pin joint n³ connected to the plate n, and by another pin
joint n' to one end of the connecting rod no, the other end of which is by pin
joint n connected to the upper end of the lever n' which is supported so as
to turn on the fixed stud ns, and at its opposite end is formed with a slot to
receive and embrace the pin n° which is fixed with capability of adjustment
in one end of the lever no, the other end of which turns on a fixed stud n
and it carries a truck or bowl n" which is received into the groove or cam
course formed in the periphery of the wheel 3 by which the desired to-and-

page_text: fro motion is obtained to the carrier n. The plate n³, and the cheeks of the
plate n' embracing the plate n³, are formed each with a hole n" through it for:
the passage of the threads c', and these holes are formed in relation to each
other so that when the carrier n is being drawn back, and the plate n³ is raised,
they will admit of the thread passing freely through them, but when the
slide n is being moved in the opposite direction the plate n' is forced down
between the cheeks of the projection n', the thread will be firmly held, and
only so much of it as is required will be delivered, The thread from this
carrier n passes. thence through holes in the horns o, o, to the eye of the
needle d, and in passing between these horns o, o, the thread is acted upon by,
the slight spring p..
I will now proceed to describe the operations of the parts to form fringe..
The fabric to which the fringe is to be formed having been placed between.
the retainer 7 and feeder m with its edge resting against the stationary guide q,
and at this time supposing work to have been produced, a small lever plate w.
turning upon a fixed stud w will be resting at its end w³ on the last portion
of fringe produced, and it will be so held by the projection of the slide 1rl
bearing against the opposite end of it, the needle descends taking the fringe.
thread through the fabric, and at the same time the hooked instrument f
passes the needle d, with its hook side towards the needle, this instrument f
then recedes, and its hooked end takes hold of the thread on that side of the
needle and draws it out as shown by Figure 2. In drawing back the thread.
this hooked instrument makes a partial rotation so as to bring its hook side.
uppermost, and at this time a pointer r carried by the slide r¹ advances over
the top of the thread, and at the same time the two springs sand t, also affixed,
to the sliding plate r¹, move forwards with that plate. This slide is actuated,
by means of the lever carrying the truck or bowl which is received into
the cam course or groove formed in the wheel. The instrument f still.
further recedes, lifting the spring t, and in so doing makes a further half
rotation so that its hook is now underneath, and whilst this last operation is
taking place the needle is rising again, and simultaneously with it the hooke
taking into one side of the portion of thread last taken down and still held by
the hook f, and by the form of this hook e the portion of thread caught by it
is brought behind a fixed projection u. At this time the instrument k comes
forward resting on the stud ko, and the slide n is moving forwards to admit of
the hook drawing out its desired quantity of thread. The instrument f.
having receded back to its fullest extent slips from under the spring t and
the loop of thread held by its hook is now over the point of the instrument g
so that that instrument may in its movement, which now takes place towards

page_text: the needle pass into the loop of the thread still held by the instrument f. As
the instrument g thus moves towards the needle the collar h comes against
the fixed stop to prevent its going further forward with the instrument g.
By the movement forward of the slide the projection thereof is removed
from the tail end of the lever plate, and the end w³ of the instrument w rises
from the fringe thread. The instrument g continues its motion forward until
its hooked ends have passed the portion of thread between the work and the
needle and also that held up by the hook e; this instrument 9 now recedes
taking first in one of its hooks the thread held by the needle, and then by its
other hook the thread held by the book e. As the instrument g still recedes
back past the fixed stop v, the slide h being released comes against the hooks
protecting the threads thereon, and then the hook f begins to move forward,
and in moving forward again it is released from the loop of thread it had been
holding by this loop being held under the spring t. The slide 1 now recedes
back taking with it the springs and t, in so doing the stud comes again
into operation on the tail end of the lever w, causing its end w³ to press on
the fringe thread, the point of the springs covers the portion of fringe being
produced, and the point of the instrument k drops off this springs by the
stud coming in the recess 10 of the instrument k; the instrument g,
continues to recede back for the length of the fringe the loop that had been
held by the instrument fis moving in the opposite direction upon the thread
held by the instrument 9 until it passes the instrument x, when that instrument
rises embracing the thread held by the instrument g. This rising movement
to the instrument a is obtained by the action of the surface 7 formed on the
wheel. The instrument a then has movement given to it towards the edge
of the fabric to push the loop on those threads close up to that fabric, thereby
forming a tight knot upon them. This movement to the instrument x is
obtained by the action of the cam surface applied to the side of the wheel 2nd
coming against the stud x¹. The hooked instrument y now rises in an
angular direction between the portions of thread held by the instrument g, and
so as to throw three of them on the back side of it and leave one only on the
front side. This instrument y is formed with a tail piece y¹ which passes
through and is guided by the fixed guide a¹, and at its lower end this tail
piece is embraced by the spring y with a constant tendency to move it
upwards, a movement which is regulated by the outer end of the spring resting
on the surface of the cam y'. By the time the instrument g has receded to
its fullest extent the portion of thread which had been held partly by it and
partly by the book e slips through those instruments, and the portion of thread
.

page_text: from the needle d'is alone held by the instrument 9. The scissors now come
forward taking between their jaws the upper portion of the thread still on the
instrument g. This portion of thread comes between the portions of spring 11
affixed to the side of the lower jaw of the scissors by which the unravelling
of the thread is prevented, and in the further movement of those scissors
forward the lower jaw in coming on to the incline is closed, cutting that
portion of thread. During this time the instrument k has been drawn back-
wards with its groove 10 on the stud ko, and the point k taking back the
fringe last formed and which had been held between the hook y and the
grating z, the instrument y now descends holding the thread between its
front hook and the grating z, the needle and hook e descend; the instrument f
goes forward, and the parts are in the position they were at starting.
Having thus described my improvements and means which I adopt in
carrying the same into effect, I would have it understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise details as shewn and described as these may be varied
without departing from the peculiar character of my improvements, but what
I do claim is,-
First, the adaptation or combination of means and mode of working for
the manufacture of fringes for shawls and other fabrics requiring frniges,
substantially as described.
Also I claim the application of the hook e in means or apparatus for
the manufacture of fringes for shawls and other fabrics requiring fringes.
Also I claim the application of the instrument f, and the mode of working
thereof, in means or apparatus for the manufacture of fringes for shawls and
other fabrics requiring fringes, substantially as described.
Also I claim the application of the instrument g in means or apparatus for
the manufacture of fringes for shawls and other fabrics requiring fringes,
substantially as described.
Also I claim the application of a spring t operating substantially as described
in means or apparatus for the manufacture of fringes for shawls and other
fabrics requiring fringes.
Also I claim the application of scissors i arranged and operating sub-
stantially as described in the manufacture of fringes for shawls and other
fabrics requiring fringes.
Also I claim the application of the instrument k, operating substantially as
described, in means or apparatus for the manufacture of fringes for shawls
and other fabrics requiring fringes.
Also I claim the application of the slide m, and parts acting therewith, for

page_text: effecting the holding and slackening and delivering of the thread as employed
in means or apparatus for the manufacture of fringes for shawls and other
fabrics requiring fringes, substantially as explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Phinehas Craven, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Tenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
PHINEHAS CRAVEN. (L.s.)