New or Improved Towelling, and Improvements in the Manufacture of Towelling and other like Goods, and in Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Mar., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 19th Dec., 1889-Accepted, 15th Feb., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Towelling, and Improvements in the Manufacture
of Towelling and other like Goods, and in Apparatus therefor.
I CHARLES JAMES WEBB of The Old Bleach Linen Company of Randalstown,
County of Antrim Ireland Linen Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its principal object a new method of weaving towelling and
other goods where internal selvages are required to protect the threads of woof from
spreading into spaces purposely left without warp. It is applicable for weaving linen
or other towels and other like goods.
As applied to ordinary towels the following is a description of the invention.-
The warp is arranged in a series of bands with spaces between. The outer three
threads on each side are arranged so that one of them shall alternately be made to pass
backwards so as to be alternately on each side of the two other threads, thus binding
these two other threads together. This special thread is preferably of a different
color from the rest and when the article is woven it has all the appearance of there
being four threads on each side of the strip two of a different color being on opposite
sides of the two ordinary threads. This is accomplished by an arrangement of heddles
having two shafts above and one shaft below or it can be accomplished by a system of
weaving with Jacquard machine and lingoes. Preferably in the centre of each strip
destitute of warp I place a single warp thread or in some cases two or three at wide
intervals apart. This causes the woof at this point to lie flat while at the same time it
leaves it so elastic that the towelling can be twisted in any direction.
I believe that no piece goods or towelling has ever yet been made previously with a
large number of these strips separated by warpless bands, and that the method of doing
this by means of two shafts and heddles is quite now.
Datad this 18th day of March 1889
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Patent Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Towelling, and Improvements in the Manufacture
of Towelling and other like Goods, and in Apparatus therefor.
I, CHARLES JAMES WEBB of The Old Bleach Linen Company of Randalstown,
County of Antrim, Ireland, Linen Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates mainly to the weaving of linen goods, and it has for its
principal object a new method of weaving towelling and other like goods having strips
or bands provided with warp threads alternating with bands containing few or no warp
threads.
The invention, as applied to bath towelling, may be understood by the following
description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which
Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of alternating bands mentioned
above.
Figure 2 is a similar view, on a larger scale, of a portion of my improved towelling
and illustrates the method of forming the internal selvages.
Figures 3 and 4 are diagrams illustrating one form of apparatus which may be
employed for making such selvages.

page_text: The warp is arranged in a series of bands A, with spaces A¹ between them. The
weft threads are interwoven with the warp threads a in any desirable manner,
depending upon the pattern required. In the drawing, Figure 2, a very simple design
is shown.
To prevent the warp threads at the edges of the bands A from working into the
parts A¹ having no warp threads, I form each band with internal selvages. These may
be formed by a method known to ribbon weavers as "whipping." It may be described
as follows
One of the two outer threads a' (Figure 2) of a set of threads a¹ a², forming the
outermost threads-to the number of three or more-on each side of the bands A, is
caused to pass alternately from one side to the other of the remaining threads a' of the
set, and either under or over them, each lap or loop of the thread a¹, technically
known as the "whip thread," being interwoven with one or more weft threads or
shorts b, as will be readily understood from Figure 2. The threads a a² are thus
bound firmly together upon the weft threads b, and are prevented from moving
laterally thereon into the spaces A¹. In forming these, internal whipped selvages it
is preferable to have the whip thread a' of a different colour from the other selvage
threads a² a. When this is the case, each selvage appears (when a set of three
threads is employed) as though it were composed of four threads, the two outer ones
being of a different colour from the two inner ones. In reality, however, there are
only three threads.
The formation of the whipped selvages may be accomplished by any suitable
mechanical arrangement which will impart the necessary, vertical and lateral move-
ments to the whip thread a¹ at the proper moments. In Figures 3 and 4, I have
shown, as an illustration, one way of accomplishing this.
This arrangement consists of three heddle shafts CC1 C2, one of which is placed,
say, above the warp and two below it, or vice versa. Three heddles E E' E' are
attached to the loop D through which the whip thread a¹ passes, and are secured to the
heddle shafts CCC respectively. The heddles E¹, E³, pass one on each side of
the selvage threads a a², as shown. Motion is imparted, by any suitable mechanism,
to the shafts CCC in such a manner that, during a given number of throws of the
shuttle, the heddle shafts C C¹ shall operate the whip thread and the shaft C shall be
inactive, as seen in Figure 3, while, during a succeeding number of throws, the
shafts CC shall operate the whip thread and the shaft shall remain inoperative, as
seen in Figure 4.
Or, instead of the above arrangement of heddle shafts, an arrangement of Jacquard
mechanism and lingoes may be employed, but I do not limit myself to any particular
device for imparting the necessary movements to the whip thread.
Preferably, in the centre of each strip A¹ destitute of warp, I place a single warp
thread a³, or, in some cases, two or three threads at wide intervals apart. This causes
the woof at this point to lie flat, while, at the same time, it imparts a large amount
of flexibility to the goods. These threads a³ may be drawn out, if desired, when the
piece is finished.
I believe that, prior to the date of this my application, no goods of the kind herein
before set forth have been made with a large number of selvaged warp strips such as A,
separated by warpless bands, such as A³, and that the application, to the manu-
facture of such goods, of an arrangement of two heddle shafts and heddles such as
described is quite new.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. As a new article of manufacture towelling or other like goods composed of
series of bands or strips having few or no warp threads alternating with a series
of strips or bands having whipped selvages, substantially as described.
2. The improvement in the manufacture of towelling or other like goods, which
consists in forming said goods of a series of longitudinal strips having whipped

page_text: selvages and alternating with a similar series of flexible strips having few or no
warp threads, substantially as described.
3. In the manufacture of towelling or other like goods, the application of a
heddle arrangement, substantially as herein described and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 18th day of December 1889.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of Liverpool, Manchester, and London, Patent Agents.