IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS POR THE MANUFACTURE OF SILK AND OTHER VELVETS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edouard Bellard, of Faubourg Noyon, Amiens, in
the Empire of France, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS POR
THE MANUFACTURE OF SILK AND OTHER VELVETS."
Sealed the 14th May 1867, and dated the 26th January 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edouard Bellard at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
26th January 1867.
I, EDOUARD BELLARD, of Faubourg Noyon, Amiens, in the Empire of France,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LOOMS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SILK AND OTHER VELVETS, to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in looms for the manufacture
of silk and other velvets where two pieces are woven at a time and cut apart
as the work proceeds.
The Invention consists principally in the combination of known parts in a
novel manner. In weaving the two pieces the one over the other only a single
warp, a single pile warp, and a single weft are employed. The knife by which
the two fabrics are divided is thrown across like a shuttle; it receives its
motion by means of apparatus consisting of two levers, like picking levers,
worked by cams; to each of these levers there is attached at its upper end a
rod connected with a spring enclosed in a box; these springs contract and

page_text: expand according to the position of the cams, and each spring in expanding
propels the knife from side to side between the two fabrics which are being
produced. The knife traverses along a cross bar with a guide groove in it,
and so is driven from right to left, and from left to right, and in the same way
that a shuttle is thrown. Springs need not be used, they may be replaced by
levers acting directly upon the knife; the knife in its movement to and fro
from right to left and from left to right is sharpened by two moveable stones
which are placed at each end of the loom. This system of sharpening has
however been known for many years, and employed in weaving velvets in
looms worked by manual labour.. The fabrics are caused to move forward at
the speed required by passing them around two rollers, which are geared together
so as to revolve at identically the same surface speed, and one of these rollers
is driven by a train of wheels, the last of which is actuated by a ratchet and
pawl, so as to make a step forward at each rotation of the driving shaft. The
tension of the pile warps is produced by passing them through eyes carried by
adjustable springs. The tension of the ordinary warp is attained as in other
looms. The headles are worked by connecting them by cords both at the top
and bottom with the two ends of levers placed at the side of the loom; these
levers rock on a horizontal axis intermediate of their length, and are worked
by cams which can be changed or varied at pleasure according to the tie it is
desired to give to the fabric. The unwinding of the pile warp is effected by
two cylinders driven regularly by a suitable train of wheels actuated by a
ratchet and pawl. By this system of lapping the pile warp round cylinders
the unwinding of the pile will be effected without variation to the end of the
piece. The pin rollers by which the fabrics are drawn forwards each consists
of a cast-iron frame having a number of radial arms with compartments
between them, and mounted on an axis; each compartment is furnished with
a block of wood, in which the pins are fixed to sustain the fabric. This
cylinder with its cast-iron compartments has the advantage of remaining always
of the same diameter, which is indispensible.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edouard Bellard in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
26th July 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL.COME, I, EDOUARD.
BELLARD, of Faubourg Noyon, Amieus, in the Empire of France, send
greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me;
the said Edouard Bellard, Her special licence that I, the said Edouard
Bellard, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others aş
I, the said Edouard Bellard, 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 LOOMS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SILK AND OTHER VELVETS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edouard Bellard, 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 Edouard Bellard, 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 Invention consists chiefly in the combining and perfecting of known
instruments. I weave and cut at once two pieces superimposed one on the
other without losing any time and working with the same facility (at 140 to
180 picks the minute) as the looms hitherto known which make the ordinary
fabric, and without causing any more derangement in the loom; consequently
it is beyond dispute that this loom is destined to render great services to
industry by increasing to a considerable extent the means of making - velvet,
for this reason, that it produces that velvet which now offers the greatest
difficulties, viz, silk velvet, as quickly as any "uncut" stuff, and similarly
figured velvets, wool velvet, cotton velvet, Utrecht velvot, carpet, plush, cloth,
where the fibre is laid and hot pressed; in a word, all that requires to be cut.
By my system of "perfecting" silk velvet can be made six times as quick as
that cut by hand in the loom i twice as quick as that which is called machine
velvet twice as quick as velvet made in the piece and cut after the manufac
ture of the piece, such as fancy and all the cotton or woollen velvets generally ;
because in these velvets the weft being cut causes a considerable loss of time
3
j

page_text: on account of the number of picks which must be made to obtain a passable
velvet, and one which has neither the same beauty, nor the same solidity, nor
the same regularity as that made by my system which produces twice the
amount of fabric that these looms do, although mine beats only 140 picks the
minute and requires only a single "shuttle." I only use one weft for the two
pieces in order to get at a fine velvet, a single pile, and a single ground warp,
making the fabrics two pieces at once by the means of crossings, i.e., by the
system of crossing the two pieces one must make only half the number of
picks to obtain a finer velvet than one does in the fabrics indicated above,
because it is the pile warp which my loom cuts and not the weft. With
my system I can with the same ease make all sizes of velvets.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
The Drawings, Figures 1 and 2, represent the loom ready to be put to
work; Figure 3 is a portion of the same on a larger scale.
A is the frame of the loom; B, C, main axes of the loom which by their
rotation actuate all the other parts, at one end of the axis B is a pinion D
which gives motion to the spur wheel E; on this spur wheel is fixed an
eccentric F, and the axis B by its rotation turns the spur wheel E, and at
the same time the eccentric F, and by the rotation of the eccentric it raises
and lowers one arm of a lever G. At one of the ends of the lever G there is a
click H. The axis B by its rotation turns the pinion D, the spur wheel E,
and the eccentric F, and consequently raises and lowers the lever G and the
click H, and consequently advances the ratchet wheel I which is fixed upon
one of the two cylinders or rollers J. Upon the periphery of these cylinders
or rollers is the. pile warp K. By the passage of the pile warp between the
two cylinders it is incontestable that the unrolling of the warp must be
effected without variation until the end of the piece. The pile warp gives the
length of the pile, required according to the speed of movement given to it.
Two little rollers or pulleys of wood, iron, or other material, each support a
part of the pile warp K; springs M are attached to the upper extremities of
each of these little rollers or pulleys, and the other extremities of the springs
are attached to the levers N. To the extremities of the levers M are con-
nected wires or chains O; these wires are connected on one side to the levers
and on the other to the leaves of heddles P, and as the pile warp is placed in
the eyes of the two first leaves of heddles it is divided into two parts and
furnishes the pile for the two pieces. When one of the leaves descends the
other ascends, the leaf which descends takes down with it the lever N and the
spring M, which gives a regular tension to the pile warp; at the end of the

page_text: which a picker
knife and the
levers N are also attached springs Q. When the leaf goes up the levers H
are drawn back by the springs Q which maintain the pile warp at the tension
required. R is the warp which forms the cloth or back of the velvet; this
warp has no peculiarity either in its mounting or in its tension, it is mounted
like other warps, and its tension is such as it would be in an ordinary loom;
S, position of the fabric ready to be cut; T, piece which is rolled up after
being cut; U, two bars of iron to regulate the height of the velvet required,
the one over and the other under the pieces. At the end of the main axis C
is a bevil pinion V which drives a bevilled wheel X; this wheel is fixed upon
a horizontal axis Y, and is actuated by the pinion which is fixed upon the
main axis C of the loom. Upon the horizontal axis Y is an eccentric drum
with double grooves Z, in which work friction wheels or bosses which are
attached to levers a. The rotation of the eccentric drum Z gives move-
ment to the levers a. At each end of the lever a is a cord which raises and
lowers the leaves of heddles P according to the formation of this drum which
transmits a to-and-fro movement to the levers; c, a knife which is driven
from right to left and from left to right upon the cross piece d; this cross-
piece consists of a piece of wrought or cast iron made in the form of a T. At
each extremity of the cross piece d there is a recessed box, in
works, like that by which the shuttle is actuated, and the
shuttle are thrown at the same time by the same picker arm.
two picker arms of the loom there is attached an additional strap, it is con
nected with the pickers which work in the knife boxes of the cross piece,
and the knife in its movement to and fro bas its two cutting edges sharpened
by two stones placed at the entrances of the boxes on the cross piece, the one
above the other below the course of the knife; the stones are moveable
and a system of springs causes them to yield to the passage of the knife, so
that the knife may not receive more rubbing than is necessary to sharpen it
well. e are rollers or cylinders with pins upon them which bring forward the
work as the fabric is cut; upon these pin rollers are fixed spur wheels f
which are supplementary to the regulator of ordinary looms. The regulator
receives its motion from the same lever G which regulates the unwinding of
the pile warp at the same time that it controls the winding up of the fabric;
g, a detached cross piece, upon which the knife k traverses; this cross piece is
thus constructed; at each end there is a box h recessed in the cross piece,
and in which works the picker which drives the knife; the knife traverses on
a flat guide. At one-third of an inch underneath the two flanges the cross
piece is thinner, and so it forms a sort of T which prevents the knife from
jumping; the cross piece may also be made in the following manner :-In.
To each of the

page_text: place of being formed like a T it may have on its flat face a sunken groove
passing from end to end, and the knife which may be mounted either upon
friction wheels, or otherwise (for it works as well one way as the other)
traverses in the groove in place of upon the flat face; i are guide rods which
keep the pickers in their places; jare straps attached at one end to the
pickers and by the other to the picker arms of the loom ; k, the knife which
is in position to be thrown from one box to the other.
The main features of iny Invention are,
1. The employment of the picker movement to throw the knife, and of a
cross piece in the form of a T, carrying a recessed box at each end of this
cross piece. As is explained above this cross piece may have a sunken groove
passing from end to end in which the knife works.
2. The rollers or cylinders between which the pile warp passes; these rollers
are actuated by a system of eccentrics which governs at the same time the
regulator which brings forward the fabric and which gives off the pile warp
to suit the number of picks intended.
3. My system of pin cylinders or rollers.
The velvet loom which is represented in the Drawings is mounted with six
leaves of heddles (4 for the cloth or back and 2 for the pile) and 8 treads
or picks, but this does not prevent any other description of velvet being pro-
duced; I can put any number of treads and leaves of heddles which I please
for any description of velvet, I may even adopt the jacquard.
With this description, which leaves nothing to be desired, and which gives
the power of modifying all the pieces to arrive at the same result by the
application of my system, I reserve to myself the right of modifying my pieces
according to the nature of the loom, such for. example, as those of Platt,
Smith, & Co., upon which my system can be easily adopted, as is represented
in Figure 4 of the Drawings, where the knife k is shown mounted upon
small wheels L, which work in a groove formed in the cross piece g; M is
the picking stick or sword added to the looms of Smith, Platt, & Co.,
working in the same way and by the same movement as is common in looms
of this description; N, a strap which is fixed by the same bolt to which their
strap which governs their picking arm or sword which throws their shuttle is
secured, consequently the picking arm or sword serves at the same time to
throw the knife in the same way as their picking arm or sword which throws
the shuttle. To the picking arm or sword M is fixed a small spur O, when
the picking arm or sword advances the small spur O also advances and raises
a projection P, and consequently sets the knife k free to be thrown, that is to
say, that it is necessary to have the hook Q with the small projection P to

page_text: retain the knife when it has been thrown so that it shall not return more than
it ought. The knife as it is thrown raises the hook Q and as soon as it has
passed the point of this hook the book falls down again, and prevents the
return of the knife. When the knife is to be thrown the hook Q is raised by
the small spur O before the knife is thrown; so in the looms of Georgo
Hodgson & Co, the picking movement is on the top of the loom, in those of
Platt, Smith, and Co. it is at the bottom; then to apply my system to these
looms without occasioning great changes I take my picking movement at the
bottom by means of a rod, which works freely in their picking arm, so that
the picking movement which throws their shuttle throws my knife at tho
same time,
The sharpening of the knife upon stone is very simple and is not new.
For 35 years it has been known in Lyons for the velvets known as machine
velvets.
The tension of my pile regulated by coiled springs which requires no
mechanisin, uses up no power, and works always in a regular way, has been
known for many years as applied to hand looms making these descriptions of
fabric; only the application of them to my loom is due to me, I bave not
found any means more simple or more exact,
I give a clear and precise description, so that any competent person may
be able after mo casily to set up these looms according to my arrangements,
An improvement in giving a regular tension to the pile warp, and which
has never been beretofore employed, consists in doing away with the levers N,
the wires or chains Q, and the springs Q, represented in Figures 1 and 2 of
the Drawings; only the springs M remain, which are fixed at one end to a
support attached to the upper cross piece of the loom. The other ends of tho
springs M remain attached to the small wooden pulleys or rollers L as is set
forth in the description above given. This improvement has the advantage
of straining the pile warp much less, because only the tension of the four
springs remains, and the harness also is less strained for the same reason.
In witness whereof, 1, the said Edouard Bellard, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
EDOUARD BELLARD. (L.S.)