Improved Method of Attaching Balls of Silk, Wool, and Cotton and the like to Fringed Borders.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Oct., 1891-Accepted, 5th Dec., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Method of Attaching Balls of Silk, Wool, and Cotton
and the like to Fringed Borders.
I, RICHARD AUGUST SWOBODA, of Annaberg, in the Kingdom of Saxony,
Empire of Germany, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manuer the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to an improved attachment of balls of silk or similar
material and the object of the same is to effect this attachment in a perfectly firm
and reliable manner, and without impairing the mobility of the balls.
The methods hitherto employed had the defect either of allowing the balls
gradually, to get loose, so that the border became of bad appearance, or, if this
defect was prevented by attaching the balls to the border by means of
hooked pins, which fastened the ball to loops coming from the border, these pins
impaired the appearance of the border by being visible, and also the mobility of
the balls..
My improved method combines the advantages of those used hitherto, avoiding
the defects they presented, and consists in securing the balls to the thread
connecting the same with the border by means of a U-shaped hook of wire, which
at the same time is used to form the balls out of a bundle of threads, as hereinafter
more clearly shown.
I will now proceed to describe my improved method specifically by the aid of
the accompanying drawings, of which:
Fig. 1 is a sectional, elevation of the machine employed for my improved
method,
Fig. 2 is a side-view of the same,
Fig. 3 is a section of one of the U-shaped hooks,
Fig. 4 shows a single ball with a loop of thread attached thereto.
Fig. 5. illustrates the device for cutting the bundle of threads a into balls,
Fig. 6 is a side view of the same,
Fig. 7 shows a modification of the manner in which the balls are attached to the
border and
Fig. 8 another modification by which single balls are obtained.
In Figs. 9-11 a modified method is illustrated.
Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.
There are two sorts of borders fitted with balls; in the first the loops or fringes
to which the balls are secured, are provided only from space to space on the
border, whilst in the second they are distributed over the whole length of the same
and converge toward the ball, so that the fringes have the form of a triangle fixed
by one side to the border.
In the first case the loops are directly secured to the balls, whereas in the
second this may also be effected by the interposition of a cord passing
through the loops and fixed to the border at points at an equal distance from each
other.
My improved method is accordingly applicable in two modifications.
In the first it is applied as follows:
The bundle of threads a (Fig. 1) is inserted from the left into. the oblong guide
(Figs. 1 & 2); the guide-frame holding the same. is slotted at one side of the top
at d, thus forming a hook e. The frame c is provided with a vertical groove, in
which the needle f glides upwards, and downwards.. The U-shaped hooks (see
Figs. 1 & 3) for securing the bundle of threads a to the fringes or loops of the
border are disposed in a row on a piece of wood h, which is placed in a suitable

page_text: groove of the part of the machine. The hooks g are pressed toward the part c
by means of a spring, not shown in the drawing, so that one of the hooks is brought
into the vertical groove of part e every time the point of needle f is raised above
the level of the hooks g. When the needle is brought down again by suitable
means, not shown in the drawing and not forming part of this invention, it pushes
the hook downwards in said vertical groove. The latter is extended along the
sides of the semicircular part terminating the guide bin such manner that the
ends of the hook g being carried down by the needle come to lie parallel and
close to another in said semicircular part of guide b, which is somewhat widened in
order to allow one end of the hook to pass on the side of the other. Thus both ends
of the hook, after having seized the bundle of threads a, are laid close and parallel
to another and form a ring encircling said bundle of threads.
The loops of the border are inserted through the slot d into the guide b, passing
over the hook e, every time the needle is in its upper position.
As already described the needle in its descending movement pushes the hook g
downwards; thus one end of the latter enters into the loop which has been
inserted into the guide b, the loop k is then drawn downwards by the needle and
hook 9 and by means of the latter secured to the bundle of threads a placed in the
semicircular end of the guide b; the hooky while thus fastening the loop k to the
bundle of threads a by forming a ring around the same, as described, at the same
time presses together or narrows the bundle of threads a, whereby balls are formed,
as will be seen in Fig. 1. The needle moving upwards again takes along the
bundle of threads a, which thereby is carried to the somewhat widened opening m
(Fig. 2). In this movement the bundle of threads a is moved to the right
through the distance of two adjoining balls, at the same time the loop k is drawn
out through the slot d and immediately afterward the next loop of the border is
inserted, whereupon the operation begins again as described.
In the second kind of border the loops k, as already mentioned, are distributed
over the whole length of the border and divided into equal portions by means of a
special cord, which is interwoven with the border at the dividing points. The
cord n (Fig. 7) forms at both ends of each of the portions of loops two small
eyes before inserting the same through the slot d into the guide b, the
eyes n' and are superposed so as to form a double eye n³, (see Part II. of Fig. 7)
and thereby the triangular shape of the loops is also obtained. The eye n³ is
inserted in the above described manner, and then the same method as in the first
case is applied.
"
The bundle of threads a is cut into single balls in the usual manner as follows:
The knife o is movable up and down in a guide provided in a suitable part of the
machine (Figs. 5 & 6); to the frame of this guide there is rigidly fixed an
immobile knife having its upper edge sharpened, whilst the sharp edge of knife o
is placed downwards. The upper edge of knife is of the shape shown in Fig. 5,
being about that of a semicircle. At one side the knife r is moreover provided
with a slots, allowing of the insertion of the loops through the same, as
hereinafter explained. To the frame holding knife is also secured
stop for a purpose to be stated presently. The operation of this device is the
following:
"
a
The bundle of threads a is placed upon the semicircular edge of knife in such a
position, that the knife o when coming down will divide the bundle just in the
middle between two loops k. In order that the latter may not be cut at the same
time, they are inserted sidewise into the slots, so that they are not in the path of
the knife o. After the first cut has been made through the bundle of threads a,
the next ball is placed upon the edge of knife r, and the stop p keeps this ball in
such position, that the knife o cuts right through the middle of it, as shown in
Fig. 6. In this way the whole bundle of threads a is cut into single parts, each
of which is fixed to the border by means of a loop holding it in the middle; the
balls are finished in the usual manner by steaming.
By the same method it is also possible to manufacture single balls with loops.

page_text: Fig. 4 shows such a single ball before the same is steamed.
The loops herein
employed are, however, not attached one by one, but a suitable thread is made to
form a loop in the manner shown in Fig. 8. The place where the thread is lying
cross-wise is passed over the hook e, and thus inserted into the guide 6 by one end
of a U-shaped hook y seizing the loop and firmly securing the same to the bundle
of threads a. In cutting hereafter the latter into single balls the thread between
two loops is cut at the same time, and the operation is at an end.
From the above description it will be apparent that in fact the connection of the
balls with the border is incapable of getting loose and that the free mobility of
the balls is preserved. But besides these important advantages my method
presents that of being considerably cheaper than those hitherto employed, as it is
neither necessary to knit knots, nor to insert pins and to bend the same so as to
form hooks; thus by my improved method goods can be manufactured which at
the same time are of greater cheapness and of far better quality.
It is of course not necessary to employ loops for fastening the balls to the border,
and single threads may be used as well to the same object.
A modified method is shown in Figs. 9-11. It may be applied to borders of
the two kinds mentioned hereinbefore, that is to say, to borders with single
fastening-loops or to such in which several loops are held together by means of a
cord; the drawings illustrate the method only as applied to the second kind, as it
will be easy to understand the manner in which it is to be applied to the first. As
in Fig. 7, the eyes n' and n² of the cord n passing through the loop k extending
from the border 1, as shown in Part I. of Fig. 9, are superposed so as to form a
double eye n³ (see Part II. of Fig. 9). The balls & manufactured in any manner
are then drawn over the hooked point of a long needle g¹, as shown in Fig. 10, and
the point thereof is made to catch the eye nor the loop k, in the case of single
loops, whereafter one of the balls d' is pushed over the eye n³, so that the
extremity thereof extends a little below the ball d', as will be seen in Part III. of
Fig. 9. Then I insert into the eye n² a hook f', shown in Fig. 11, after having
withdrawn the needle g', as illustrated in Part IV. of Fig. 9. Finally by a
pressure of the hand the ball d¹ is drawn downwards, so that the hook flis
concealed in the interior of the same, and the ultimate position as shown in Part V.
of Fig. 9 is obtained.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that
what I claim is :-
1. The method of forming and attaching balls to borders, consisting in binding a
bundle of threads and at the same time the fastening loops or threads of the border
by means of the same wire and in cutting hereafter the bundle of threads into
balis, for the purpose as described.
g
2. The method of attaching balls to borders, in which fastening loops kor
and
fastening threads are inserted into the guide-frame holding the wire-hook
the bundle of threads a, and in which at the same time the fastening loops k are
secured to the bundle of threads a and the latter is pressed together by means of
the same wire-hook 9, for the purpose as described.
3. The method of attaching balls to borders, in which a cord n passing through
the loops and fixed at intervals to the border, is laid so as to form eyes n', which
are inserted into the guide-frame c holding the wire-hook g and the bundle of
threads a,
and in which at the same time the eyes n' are secured to the bundle of
threads a and the latter is pressed together by means of the same wire-hook g,
the purpose herein before specified.
for
4. In the machine used in the method claimed in 2 and 3; the combination, with
the guide-frame c which holds the bundle of threads a and the wire-hook g, of the
slot d, for the purpose set forth.
5. The method of attaching balls to borders, in which the balls d' are first
drawn over the hooked point of a needle y', the hooked point inserted into the

page_text: fastening-loops of the border 4, the balls d' drawn over the loops k, and hooks f¹
inserted into the latter, the balls d¹ being finally drawn downwards, so that the
hooks are placed in the interior of the same, substantially as described.
6. The method of attaching balls to borders, in which the balls are first
drawn over the hooked point of a needle g', the hooked point inserted into the
double-eyes of the cord n passing through the loops of the border and
secured to the same at intervals, the balls d' drawn over the eyes and hooks f
inserted into the latter, the balls d' being finally drawn downwards, so that the
hooks fare placed in the interior of the same, substantially as described.
Dated this 20th day of October 1891.
RICHARD AUGUST SWOBODA..
By Geo. H. Rayner,
37, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.