New or Improved Designs.
Year: 1888

page_text: New or Improved Designs.
I, BENJAMIN JOSEPH BARNARD MILLS carrying on business under the firm or style
of Harris and Mills of 23 Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, a communication to me
from abroad by Messrs. Beer & Co., of Liegnitz, in the Empire of Germany, Manu-
facturers, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained, in and by the following statement:—
The invention relates to improvements on that class of warp machine in which
fabric is produced with ribs on both sides thereof which invention is also applicable
to the production of fabric with ribs on one face and a terry or cut pile on the other
face. In such class of machine the needle bars are operated from below and carry
self-acting or latch needles.
Figures 1 and 2 represent two opposite end views of a double rip warp machine
showing the present invention applied thereto.
The needle bars a are operated, as represented in the drawings, by levers and cams
and they are guided in the vertical motions by running against the standards b.b.b.b.
in the manner well understood.
Hitherto these standards 6 have been firmly fixed on the end standards or frames c
of the machine before commencing work so that whilst the machine was at work the
standards remained rigidly fixed at a given distance from each other and consequently
the two sets of needles always worked in the same relation to each other.
The object of the present invention is to give motion to the said standards b so that
during the working of the machine they, and the needles with them, shall be caused
gradually to approach and recede from each other as required for the production of
new or improved fabrics.
For this purpose the standards b are so arranged that although they are firmly
secured to the end frames c they are yet capable of being moved to and fro thereon
during the working of the machine. For this purpose a slot b¹ is formed in the
bottom or foot of each standard b as represented at Figure 4 to permit of the passage

page_text: therethrough of the arms carrying the needle bars a and for the passage therethrough
of the fixing bolts.
Wedges d', d', are fixed to a driving rod or bar d and the latter has the required
motion given thereto in one direction by means of the lever e operated by an eccentric
or cam whilst a spring g acts to cause the return motion of the rod or bar d and
wedges d¹.
When the wedges d'are forced between the standards 6 by the means above described
the said standards are caused gradually to recede from each other as are also the
needle bars running thereon. When the eccentric or cam f permits of the return
motion of the rod or bar d both the wedges d' will be drawn back at the same time so
as to allow the standards b again to approach each other.
As is well known.. the needle bars a run against the standards b, in so doing they
give sufficient pressure against such standards as to cause them to approach each
other as soon as the position of the wedges d¹ permits of such motion.
In the construction above described the wedges d' lie in a horizontal plane but if
desired they may be placed in vertical planes. To carry this latter arrangement into
effect the driving rod or bar d would be dispensed with and two similar eccentrics or
cams placed in a position somewhat lower than that shown in the drawing and fixed
near each end of a common shaft would be employed to act on such wedges.
The wedges in this latter arrangement would from their own weight have a constant
tendency to descend except when forced up by the cams or eccentrics fat regular
intervals between the standards 6 or they may be so formed as to take the place of the
standards b and in such case they would act directly on the needle bars.
The present invention involves no change in the method of introducing the warp
threads into the needles by means of the warp guides h.
The guide bars carrying the warp guides h are fixed as usual to the swing arms or
levers fixed to the rocking shaft which has the required motions given thereto by
the arm or lever connected by the link or connecting rod k to the lever / which
latter is driven by the cam m fixed on the main or driving shaft n.
These warp guides h pass between the needles and place the threads first on one
side and then on the other side of the needles as is well understood.
The effect of the method above described of acting upon the needle bars, that is to
say, of causing them gradually to approach and recede from each other during the
working of the machine is represented at Figures 5, 6 and 7 and in Figures 8, 9
and 10.
When the standards and consequently the needles are at their closest position the
mesh formed from needle to needle will be a short one as represented at Figure 5, but
if the standards 6 are caused by the wedges d' to separate gradually more and more
from each other, the distance between the two sets of needles will increase in a corre-
sponding degree and as a consequence the length of the meshes extending from one
set of needles to the other will also increase in like manner, and the length of such
meshes will afterwards be made gradually shorter and shorter in proportion as the
eccentric or cam f will admit of the retraction of the wedges d¹ by the spring g from
between the standards b. In this way fabric may be made with successive and
alternate waves as long or as short as may be required.
If flush points or needles are fixed to one of the needle bars a in lieu of the self-
acting or latch needles as represented at Figures 8, 9 and 10 the result will be
somewhat similar, that is to say, the machine will produce a fabric with ribs on one
face and a terry pile on the other face of any desired variation of length.
If the plush needles are provided with small cutters on the ends thereof a similar
result can be obtained with a cut pile surface.
It is obvious that this new construction of apparatus applied to a warp machine
will facilitate the production of fabrics of a large variety of new patterns which are
too numerous to specify here, but the general effect of such new arrangement of
apparatus is that of enabling goods to be produced with the face thereof not only
uniformly level as heretofore but with the level of the face greatly varied during the
working of the machine.

page_text: 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 :-
In warp machines of the character herein described giving motion to the standards 6
and needle bars a so as to cause the latter to approach and recede from each other
during the working of the machine substantially as herein shown and described and
for the purpose stated.
Dated this 24th day of January 1888.
BENJAMIN JOSEPH B. MILLS.
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings,
Agents.