IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LOOPED FABRICS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Clarke, of Leicester, in the County of Leicester,
Mechanic, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
LOOPED FABRICS."
Sealed the 11th May 1855, and dated the 28th November 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Clarke at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on' the 28th November
1854.
I, JOHN CLARKE, of Leicester, in the County of Leicester, Mechanic, do
hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF LOOPED FABRICS" to be as follows:-
Heretofore in the manufacture of looped fabrics, by looping warp threads
into each other, the warp threads have been conducted through, suitable guides
or instruments, which have caused the warp threads to be laid or looped over
needles, such loops being then drawn through those which were previously on
the needles or instruments. Now, the object of my Invention is so to arrange
apparatus that warp threads may be looped into each other to produce fabrics
without the aid of such needles or other similar instruments as heretofore used,
the loops being formed over the guides or instruments themselves which
actuate the warp thread. Each series or row of loops is formed alternately

page_text: over the opposite sets of guides, which draw their loops through each other in
succession. For this purpose. guide bars with guides are arranged opposite
each other, through the eyes of which warp threads are passed. The guide
bars are caused to move with their respective guides, and the guides pass
from time to time between the spaces of the opposite guides, each guide
being so formed that the thread it carries shall in its passage from the eye of
the guide to the work or fabric be across the space between it and its
neighbouring guide; so that when the opposite guides pass between or through
the spaces of these guides, they will enter between the warp threads and the
guides which carry them, and thus have loops formed over them out of the
warp threads carried by the guides they have passed between. The guide bars
have next an endway movement given thereto to bring other spaces opposite the
different guides, and the other set of guides will be passed between the guides
which have previously had loops formed thereon, and will in their turn take
loops from the warp threads carried by such guides, the loops first formed
being then moved or knocked over the heads of the guides they were formed
upon, and so on, in succession, by which the warp threads carried by one set
of guides will be looped into loops of the threads carried by the other set of
guides without the intervention of needles; and according to the varied ordinary
movements given to the guide bars from time to time, so will be the character
of the fabric produced. Several such guide bars in each set may be arranged
to work together, and additional-or-inlaid threads-may be introduced in these
warp fabrics, as in those heretofore made. The guides preferred to be used
in carrying out the Invention are bent sideways, to facilitate the getting
between them and the threads they carry.; but other forms of guides may be
employed, provision being made to facilitate the opposite guides getting
between the threads and their guides.
-by-the said John Clarke in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 28th May
1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
CLARKE, of Leicester; in the County of Leicester, Mechanic, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred-and-fifty-four,-in-the-eighteenth year_of_Her_

page_text: reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Clarke, Her special; licence that Ithe said John Clarke, my execu-
tors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as. I, the said John Clarke, 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 makė; 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 THE MANUFACTURE OF LOOPED
FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Clarke,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 John Clarke, 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) :-
Heretofore in the manufacture of looped fabrics, by looping warp threads
into each other, the warp.threads have been conducted through suitable guides
or instruments, which have caused the warp threads to be laid or looped 'over
needles, such loops, being then.drawn through those which were previously on
the needles or instruments: : Now, the object of my Invention isso to arrange
apparatus that warp threads may be looped into each other to produce fabrics
without the aid of such needles or other similar instruments as heretofore
used; the loops being formed over the guides or instruments themselves which'
actuate the warp threads. Each series or row of loops is formed alternately
over the opposite sets of guides; which draw their.loops through each 'other in
succession. For this purpose guide bars with guides are arranged opposite each
other, through the eyes of which warp threads are passed.. The guide bars are
caused to move with, their, respective guides, and the guides pass from time to
time between the spaces of the opposite guides; each guide. being so formed
that the thread it carries shall in its passage from the eye of the guide to the
work or fabric be across the space between it and its neighbouring guide; so
that when the opposite guides pass between or through the. spaces of 'these
guides, they will enter between the warp threads and the guides which carry.
thein, and thus have loops formed over them out of the warp threads carried
by the guides they have passed between. The guide bars have next an endway
movement given thereto to bring other spaces opposite the different guides,

page_text: and the other set of guides will be passed between the guides which have
previously had loops formed thereon, and will in their turn take loops from the
warp threads carried by such guides, the ioops first formed being then moved
or knocked over the heads of the guides they were formed upon, and so on, in
succession, by which the warp threads carried by one set of guides will be
looped into loops of the threads carried by the other set of guides without the
intervention of needles; and according to the varied endway movements given
to the guide bars from time to time, so will be the character of the fabric
produced. Several such guide bars in each set may be arranged to work
together, and additional or inlaid threads may be introduced in these warp
fabrics, as in those heretofore made. The guides preferred to be used in
carrying out the Invention are bent sideways, to facilitate the getting between
them and the threads they carry; but other forms of guides may be employed,
provision being made to facilitate the opposite guides getting between the
threads and their guides.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to describe
the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a transverse section, aud Figure 2 an end view, of a
machine suitably arranged for carrying out my Invention; the other Figures
show separate views of the cams, and of some of the parts full size, the nature
of which being written thereon, it will not be necessary to give a further
description thereof. a, b, are two guide bars, upon which are fixed the leads
of guides a, b, through which the warp threads a, b, carried by the warp
beams or bobbins a³, b, are passed. Each warp thread passes through an eye
formed on the stems of the guides, and through another eye rear the point of
the guide, and the guides are curved or bent, as shown, so that the warp
threads in passing from the points of the guides to the work looped over the
stems of the guides form a space between each warp thread and its guide, by
which arrangement, the points of the opposite set of guides in moving endways
below the other set of guides are brought in contact with that portion of each
warp thread which forms a space below its guide; and-when-the-points_of_one_
set of guides rise-up-between-the-spaces of the other set of guides, they will
have loops formed over them out of the warp threads carried by such guides,
which loops, by the action of the machine, will be moved back on to the stems
of the guides, and the loops on the other set of guides will be knocked over
the heads, or drawn off, as hereafter described.
I will now describe the arrangement of the machine, by which suitable

page_text: movements are given to the guide bars a, b, so as to loop the warp threads
over each set of guides in succession. c is a crank axis, turning in bearings
fixed on the end framings of the machine. The axis c receives motion by a
band from a steam engine or other motive power. c' is a toothed pinion, fixed
on the axis c, which gives motion to the toothed wheel c, turning on a stud
fixed on the end framing of the machine. The toothed wheel c gives. motion
to the toothed wheel c, fixed on the cam shaft or axis d. Near each end of
the cam shaft-or axis d excentrics d' are fixed, which by means of connecting
rods d give motion to lever arms d³, fixed on the guide bar a, which is
supported by and moves up and down on the axis a*, supported in bearings a',
fixed on the end framings. Endway movement is given to the axis a* and
guide bar a to shog the guides a¹ one or more spaces of the guides ', in the
following manner-e is a toothed wheel, fixed on the axis d, which takes into
and drives the toothed wheel e¹, turning on a stud fixed on the, end framing
of the machine. is a bolt or rack wheel, fixed to the wheel e¹, having risers
and falls on the side of its circumference, which act on the neb e³, fixed on one
end of the lever et, which moves on a stud or fulcrum e', fixed on the end
framing; the other end of the lever e' carries a set screw e,,which constantly
presses against the end of the axis a*. The axis a* and guide bar à being
at all times borne by a spring towards the left-hand end of the machine, a to
and fro and up and down movement is given to the guide bar b in the follow-
ing mannerf is a cam, (one at each end of the machine,) fixed on the axis d,
which acts on a truck or roller on the arm f', fixed on the bar f, which con-
nects the lever arms f³; the levers f³ are supported and move on axes at f',
and the upper ends of the levers f³ support the spindle bar or axis 6* of the
guide bar b, by which arrangement a to and fro movement is given to the guide
bar b. g is a cam, (one at each end of the machine,) fixed on the cam shaft or
axis d, which acts on the truck or roller carried by the lever arm g', to cause
the guide bar 6 to move up and down on the axis 6*. h, h, are bars, between
which the work is guided down, and by which the loops are drawn or knocked
over the heads of each set of guides in succession; the bars h, h, are carried
by arms h', fixed on the axis h², and the bars h, h, are moved from side to side
with the work between them by lever arms h³, h³, which are acted on by cams
h', h, fixed on each end of the cam shaft or-axis-d.
--
Figure 3 shews separate views of another form of guide, by which the warp
threads may be looped into each other without the aid of needles or other
similar instruments; the bending of the guides sideways causing the warp
threads in their passage from the eye of each guide to the work or fabric to be
across the spaces of the guides; so that when the opposite guides pass between

page_text: or through the spaces of these guides, they will enter between the warp threads
and the guides which carry them, and thus have loops formed over them out of
the warp threads carried by the guides they have passed between, and the bars
which carry the guides only require to have an up and down movement on
their axes to form loops in succession over each set of guides.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I make no claim to any
of the mechanical parts separately, nor do, I confine myself to the details; but
what I claim is, the mode herein described of combining mechanism, whereby
the warp threads carried by one set of guides are caused to be looped into
the warp threads carried by an opposite or another set of guides, without the
intervention of needles.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Clarke, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.