IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CARPETS AND OTHER TERRY AND CUT PILE FABRICS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CARPETS AND OTHER
TERRY AND CUT PILE FABRICS."-A communication from abroad by the
: American Waterproof Cloth Company, of the City of New York, in the
United States of America.
Sealed the 18th August 1865, and dated the 31st May 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners, of Patents, with his Petition, on the
31st May 1865.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CARPETS AND
OTHER. TERRY AND CUT PILE FABRICS," to be as follows:-
The object of the present Invention is to produce a fabric having a surface
of silk, worsted, wool, fur, or other material, either looped or tufted, which
shall be held firmly and immoveably upon the back or ground fabric without
the use of a binding chain or warp. To this end a ground fabric is made of
the proper strength and firmness of linen, jute, or other material, upon which
is spread a coating of india-rubber or other gums, the end of a warp of silk,
worsted, or woollen yarns or other material is then fastened upon the end of

page_text: the fabric to be used for the back, having spread upon the latter the india
rubber or gum as described, a wire or rod or thread of any desired size is
then placed between the back and the warp of yarn which is raised above the
back, and with a thin blade of iron or steel the warp is pressed down on the
back so covered with the rubber or gum close to the rod or wire, and while
the blade is thus pressed down on the warp another rod or wire is inserted
beyond the blade, and the warp is again pressed down firmly upon the back
beyond the wire, and these operations are repeated until the work is com-
pleted to any desired length. The wires are removed from the loops thus
formed as often as is desired or practicable while the process of tufting or
looping is going on, or afterwards if necessary. Should it be desirable to
produce a velvet pile instead of a loop, a knife is attached to the extreme end
of the wire, and on withdrawing the knife from the fabric it will cut the loops
open at the top and thus produce a velvet pile. This work may be done by
hand or by machinery adapted for the purpose, whereby the warp threads
may be pressed down by a cylinder having blades or a corrugated surface, or
by an endless chain geared upon cog wheels having blades or their equivalents
at intervals, or by any other suitable device; also the wires or rods may be
applied to the cloth by any of the above-named or other suitable machinery.
The fabric so prepared is then subjected to the process of vulcanization in the
ordinary manner. The warp or face having been previously firmly inserted
into the india-rubber in its raw or unvulcanized state, is now thoroughly
incorporated with and firmly held by the vulcanized rubber, and cannot by
any possibility be removed; it will therefore hold the surface or tuft until it is
eutirely worn out, not being dependent upon binding warps or weft threads
to give it firmness or durability. The fabric after being vulcanized is scoured,
prepared, and dyed and printed, or dyed or printed. By this process &
carpet or a fabric suitable for upholstery purposes, travelling bags, and many
other uses may be produced cheaply and much more elegant and durable than
by any other process heretofore known, and in addition to the foregoing, the
improved fabric after being worn as a carpet until the wool face is nearly or
wholly worn off, may be applied to other uses to the greatest advantage, as, in
linings to be used under clap boards for wooden houses, or in covering roofs,
rendering them entirely impervious to water, or for camp uses, as for tents,
blankets, or for covering decks of vessels; the portion of wool held in the
vulcanized rubber preventing the rubber or, cloth from rot or decay..

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 30th November 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Edward Newton, Her special licence that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 THE MANUFACTURE OF CARPETS AND OTHER TERRY AND CUT PILE FABRICS,"
being a communication to me from abroad, upon the condition (amongst
.others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors or admini-
strators, 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 William Edward Newton, 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 (that is to say) :-
In the manufacture of fabrics known as Brussels, Wilton, tapestry, velvet,
moquette, chenille, and similar goods used for carpets and upholstery purposes,
the face or pattern is obtained by raising to the surface a tuft or loop of silk,
worsted, or woollen yarns, which tufts or loops are held either in or upon the
back of the fabric by weft threads of linen or jute, yarns woven into a warp of
similar material known as a binding chain. The latter, as in Brussels or other
loop fabrics woven by the jacquard loom, being used solely for the purpose of
holding a face upon the back while that portion of the worsted not required
for the pattern upon the face. of the goods (usually one-half the entire

page_text: t
quantity) is used to fill in between the warp threads of the binding chain for
the purpose of forming the back. In tapestries and velvets the worsted face
or loop has printed upon it the pattern or design previous to weaving; it being
therefore unnecessary to use the jacquard loom to produce the pattern, and
there being no surplus worsted as in the Brussels, a linen or jute warp is
substituted to fill the back of the fabric, which is held in position between the
threads of the binding chain by the weft threads passing above it through
the binding cbain to hold the loops of worsted upon the back and
below it to hold the back together. The use of the binding chain or warp is
indispensable in the manufacture of tufted or pile fabrics before described, as
the pattern in all cases must be obtained upon the warp of silk, worsted; or
woollen yarns, as in no case can the weft threads be allowed to shew upon the
surface of the fabric. The strength or durability of these fabrics depends
therefore entirely upon the strength or tenacity of the threads of the binding
warp and weft, while the filling or dead chain, whether of linen, jule, or
worsted, adds no strength whatever to the fabric, but is simply used to fill up
the back; thus whenever the threads of weft or binding chain are broken or
become loosened from wear or other exposure, the whole fabric, and especially
shapeless mass of
the loops or face, being no longer held together, becomes a
face and back mixed together, having no pattern or design, and no longer fit
for use, or at least the loops become loosened to such a degree that they are
readily swept off by the broom or removed by the foot when walking upon it.
To overcome these objections and to produce a fabric having a surface of silk,
worsted, wool, fur, or other material, either looped or tufted, which shall be
held firmly and immoveably upon the back or ground fabric without the use
of a binding chain or warp, it is proposed to make a looped or pile or tufted
fabric in the following manner :-A back of the proper strength and firmness
of linen, jute, or other material is first woven, and upon it a coating of india-
rubber or other gums is spread, preference being given to india-rubber for
reasons hereafter given. A warp of silk, worsted, or woollen yarns or other
material is then prepared, and the end is fastened upon the end of the fabric
to be used for the back; it having been coated with the india-rubber or gum
as described, a wire or rod or thread of any desired size is then placed
between the back and the warp of yarn, which is raised above the back, and
with a thin blade of iron or steel the warp is pressed down on the back so
While the
covered with the rubber or gum, and close to the rod or wire.
blade is thus pressed down on the warp, another rod or wire is placed in
"advance of the blade, and parallel with the first wire on the back, and the
warp is again pressed down firmly upon the back, thereby forming loops over

page_text: the wire; this operation is repeated until the work is completed to any desired
length. The wires are removed from the loops thus formed as often as is
desired or practicable while the process of tufting or looping is going on, or
afterwards if necessary. Should it be desirable to produce a velvet pile
instead of a loop, a knife is attached to the extreme end of the wires as in
the ordinary manner, which in withdrawing from the fabric will cut the loops
open at the top and thus produce a velvet pile; this work may be done by
hand or by machinery adapted for the purpose, whereby the warp threads may
be pressed down by a cylinder having blades, or à corrugated surface, or by an
endless chain geared upon cog wheels, having blades or their equivalents at
intervals, or by any other suitable device; also the wires or rods may be
applied to the cloth by any of the above-named or other suitable machinery.
The fabric prepared as above described is submitted to the process of vulcani-
zation as in the ordinary manner; this cloth when vulcanized possesses merits
which no other tufted or pile fabric whatever can claim. The warp or face
having been previously firmly inserted into the india-rubber in its raw or
unvulcanized state, is now thoroughly incorporated with and firmly held by
the vulcanized rubber, and cannot by any possibility be removed; it will
therefore hold the surface or tuft until it is entirely worn out, not being
dependant upon binding warps or weft threads to give it firmness or durability.
This improved fabric possesses other great merits, especially when used for
carpets. The firmness of the fabric does not depend upon the quantity of
glue, starch, gum substitute, or British gum, used for that purpose, as in
Brussels or tapestry carpets, the coating of vulcanized rubber or gutta percha
used in the manufacture being much more firm and indestructible than either,
making the use of batting or lining under them entirely unnecessary, as no
dust or dampness can possibly pass through the fabric; the coating of rubber
also renders the carpet elastic to the tread of the foot, and deadens the sound,
which can only be accomplished to a limited extent in other kinds of carpets
by adding greatly to the amount of expensive stock used; neither can any
bugs, moths, or other vermin. find lodgment in these improved fabrics, it
being a well-known fact that vermin of all kinds have an aversion to india-
rubber as compounded for vulcanization. For the above reasons chiefly
india-rubber is preferred to other gums, and especially for the reason that
5 when vulcanized the fabric can be dyed, colored, printed at any required
degree of heat without injuring it in the least. After vulcanization the fabric
The
is scoured, prepared, and dyed and printed in any approved manner.
above described process admits of the production of a fabric suitable for
upholstery purposes, travelling bags, and many other uses, much more elegant
or

page_text: and durable than by any other process heretofore known, and that at a less
price than any other article similar in style and appearance, rendering it an
article of great public utility. Moreover the improved fabric after being
worn as a carpet until the wool face is nearly or wholly worn off, may be
applied to other uses to the greatest advantage, as in linings to be used under
clap boards for wooden houses, or in covering roofs, rendering them entirely
impervious to water, or for camp uses, as for tents, blankets, &c., or for
covering decks of vessels, the portion of wool held in the vulcanized rubber
preserving the rubber or cloth from rot or decay.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of improvements in
the manufacture of carpets and other terry and cut pile fabrics, as com-
municated to me from abroad, and explained the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited
Letters Patent I claim,
.First, a fabric composed of a back of linen, jute, or other material, having
a coat of rubber or other gum, upon which is fastened a face of yarn of
silk, worsted, wool, fur, or other material, the same being looped or tufted as
described.
And second, a fabric made as described, and colored, dyed, or printed, or
colored, and dyed and printed either before or after the face is applied, in the
manner and for the purposes herein set forth.
In witness whereof, 1, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Thirtieth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66; Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)