IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TEXTILE FABRICS
Year: 1884

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
We EDWARD SCHEPPERS Manufacturer of Textile Fabrics and EMILE SCHEPPERS.
Manufacturer of Textile Fabrics both of American and Diamond Streets Phila-
delphia Pennsylvania, United States of America do hereby declare the nature
of our said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TEXTILE
FABRICS" to be as follows:-
'
1
Ono object of our Invention is to produce a fine fabric from coarse long staple
wool or hair; and a further object is to make a textile fabric possessing qualities
of fullness, pliability and softness, due to the presence in the fabric of yarn having
little or no twist.
Hitherto it has been considered impracticable to use for the warp in the
manufacture of fine fabrics, coarse long fibre or long staple combed wool, such for
instance as that known as "English blood," the same objection applying to long
staple goat hair, alpaca, camel hair or the like. What we mean by long staple
wool or hair, is a fibre long enough to be combed.
The reason why such wool or hair is unavailable for the production of fine goods
is that, if the wool or hair is spun as fine as it can be, it will not possess strength
enough to stand the strain to which the warp in a loom is subjected hence it has
been the practice to spin it coarse, or to double the threads if spun fine, in both of
which cases the fabric produced was coarse and heavy.
In carrying out our Invention, we take the fine spun threads of wool or hair
and twist them with threads of cotton or other vegetable fibre, and then use these
compound threads in the production of a worsted fabric, by weaving, using for
both warp and filling, or for warp alone, with an all worsted filling as the strength
is mainly desired in the warp. The fabric is then subjected to a chemical treatment,
whereby the vegetable fibre is destroyed for instance, the fabric may be subjected
to the action of sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid gas or the like, which will attack
and destroy the vegetable fibre without affecting the wool, thus leaving a fabric
composed wholly of the fine worsted threads.
The function of the cotton thread (which may be as strong and as heavy as
desired) is simply to give to the combined thread the strength necessary to resist
the strain to which it is subjected, in the formation of the fabric, and thus prevent
the breaking of the fine worsted threads, which would inevitably result if these
threads were used alone,

page_text: We are aware that the use of combined cotton and wool threads has long been
known in the production of mixed fabrics, and that the use of sulphuric acid for
the purpose of recovering wool from waste containing both wool and cotton is also
old, hence we claim neither of these things separately considered, but only as steps
in the carrying out of our complete process.
It has also been proposed to card and spin together short staple wool and cotton,
to produce a mixed thread which is intended to be used in the production of a
woven fabric, from which the cotton is afterwards cliininated by a sulphuric acid
treatment but this is essentially different from our Invention in that the cotton
and wool are mixed together in order to form a single strand.
It is impossible to use in this way cotton and long staple wool such as that
used by us, owing to the difference in length of the cotton and wool, the spinning
of which together would result in the production of strands of such irregular and
uneven character as to be practically useless, hence we use, to form our compound
threads, independent strands of worsted and cotton, and twist the same together.
When it is desired to produce a textile fabric having qualities of fullness,
pliability and softness duo to the presence, in the fabric, of yarn having little or no
twist, we first produce by spinning and twisting in the ordinary manner, a strand
of wool or other animal fibre, and then double the same by a reverse twist, with a
strand of cotton or other vegetable fibre, so that in the doubled yarn thus produced
the first strand will have lost all or nearly all of the twist originally imparted to it;
for instance if the wool-strand, is originally given a right twist of fifteen turns to
the inch, and is then doubled with the cotton strand by a left twist of twelve
turns to the inch, the wool strand in the doubled yarn will have a twist of only
three turns to the inch. All or any part of the original twist may thus be removed.
The doubling twist may be in the same direction as the twist in the cotton strand,
or in the reverse direction but it must, in all cases, be the reverse of the twist in
the wool strand.
. The doubled strand is then used in the manufacture of a fabric, forming either
the warp, or weft, or both, if the fabric is woven; or it may be used in tho
production of a knitted fabric, if desired.
The fabric is then subjected to a treatment which will destroy the cotton_or
other vegetable fibre without injuriously affecting the wool or animal fibre. The
preferable treatment for this purpose is the carbonization of the cotton by subjecting
it to the action of hydrochloric acid gas or sulphuric acid and as a result of the
treatment, the fabric is constituted, wholly or in part, of strands having little or no
twist, but preserving the soft, full and pliable character of the original sliver. The
twisted cotton strands are thus the means of permitting the removal of the twist
from the wool strands, as well as enabling these untwisted or slightly twisted
strands to resist the strains to which the doubled yarn is subjected during the
process of manufacturing the fabric.
By the practice of this feature of our Invention fabrics presenting a fine
appearance can be produced from inferior stock, as the untwisted strands have none
of the harshness or wiriness of ordinary twisted yarn.
So far as this part of our invention is concerned it is not limited to long staple
fibre, but is applicable to short staple fibres also.
We have described our Invention as applied to yarns made by twisting animal
and vegetable fibres together, but these terms aro intended to include any fibres so
differing in character that one can be destroyed without affecting the other.
Date The r. (ISLY OF Ucroner Look
J. HENRY JOHNSON,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agent for the said Edward Scheppers
and Emile Scheppers.

page_text: We EDWARD SCHEPPERS Manufacturer of Textile Fabrics and EMILE SCHEPPERS
Manufacturer of Textile Fabrics both of American and Diamond Streets
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America do hereby declare the
nature of our invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TEXTILE
FABRICS "and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
One object of our Invention is to produce a fine fabric from coarse, long staple
wool or hair; and a further object is to make a textile fabric possessing qualities
of fullness pliability and softness due to the presence in the fabric of yarn having
little or no twist.
Hitherto it has been considered impracticable to use for the warp in the manu-
facture of fine fabrics coarse long fibre or long staple combed wool, such, for
instance as that known as "English blood," the same objection applying to long
staple goat hair, alpaca, camel hair or the like What we mean by long staple
wood or hair, is a fibre long enough to be combed.
The reason why such wool or hair is unavoidable for the production of fine.goods
is that if the wool or hair is spun as fine as it can be, it will not possess strength
enough to stand the strain to which the warp in a loom is subjected hence it has
been the practice to spin it coarse, or to double the threads if spun fine, in both
of which cases the fabric produced was coarse and heavy.
In carrying out our Invention, we take the fine spun threads of wool or hair
and twist them with threads of cotton or other vegetable fibre, and then use these
compound threads in the production of a worsted fabric, by weaving, using for
both warp and filling or for warp alone, with an all worsted filling, as the strength
is mainly desired in the warp. The fabric is then subjected to a chemical treat-
ment, whereby the vegetable fibre is destroyed, for instance, the fabric may be
subjected to the action of sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid gas, or the like which
will attack and destroy the vegetable fibre without affecting the wool, thus leaving
a fabric composed wholly of the fine worsted threads.
The function of the cotton thread, (which may be as strong and as heavy as
desired) is simply to give to the combined thread the strength necessary to resist
the strain to which it is subjected in the formation of the fabric, and thus prevent
the breaking of the fine worsted threads which would inevitably result if these
threads were used alone.
•
We are aware that the use of combined cotton and wool threads has long been
known in the production of mixed fabrics, and that the use of sulphuric acid for
the purpose of recovering wool from waste containing both wool and cotton is also
old, hence we claim neither of these things separately considered, but only as steps
in the carrying out of our complete process.

page_text: 1
It has also been proposed to card and spin together short staple wool and cotton,
to produce a mixed iliread which is intended to be used in the production of a
woven fabric, from which the cotton is afterwards eliminated by a sulphuric acid
treatment, but this is essentially different from our Invention in that the cotton
and wool are mixed together in order to form a single strand.
It is impossible to use in this way cotton and long staple wool such as that used
by us, owing to the difference in the length of the cotton and wool, the spinning
of which together would result in the production of strands of such irregular and
uneven character as to be practically useless, henco we uso, to form our compound
threads, independent strands of worsted and cotton, and twist the same together.
When it is desired to produce a textile fabric having qualities of. fullness, pliability
and softness due to the presence, in the fabric, of yarn having little or no twist,
we first produce by spinning and twisting in the ordinary manner, a strand of
wool or other animal fibre, and then doublo the same, by a reverse twist, with a
strand of cotton or other vegetable fibre, so that in the doubled yarn thus produced
the first strand will have lost all or nearly all of the twist originally imparted to
it; for instance, if the wool strand is originally given a right twist of fifteen turns
to the inch, and is then doubled with the cotton strand, by a left twist of twelve
turns to the inch, the wool strand in the doubled yarn will have a twist of only
three turns to the inch. All or any part of the original twist may thus be removed.
The doubling twist may be in the same direction as the twist in the cotton strand,
or in the reverse direction, but it must, in all cases, be the reverse of the twist in
the wool strand.
The doubled strand is then used in the manufacture of a fabric, forming teither
the warp, or weft, or both, if the fabric is woven; or it may be used in the
production of a knitted fabric, if desired.
The fabric is then subjected to a treatment which will destroy the cotton or
other vegetable fibre without injuriously affecting the wool or animal fibre. The
'preferablo. treatment for this purpose is the carbonization of the cotton by
subjecting it to the action of hydrochloric acid gas or sulphuric acid, and as a result
of the treatment, the fabric is constituted, wholly or in part, of, strands having
little or no twist, but preserving the soft, full and pliable character of the original
sliver. The twisted cotton strands are thus the means of permitting the removal
of the twist from the wool strands, as well as enabling these untwisted or slightly
twisted strands to resist the strains to which the doubled yarn is subjected during
the process of manufacturing the fabric..
By the practice of this feature of our Invention fabrics presenting a fine
appearance can be produced from inferior stock as the untwisted strands have none
of the harshness or wiriness of ordinary twisted yarn.
So far as this part of our invention is concerned, it is not limited to long staple
fibre, but is applicable to short staple fibres also.
We have described our invention as applied to yarns made by twisting animal
and vegetable fibres together, but these terms are intended to include any fibres so
differing in character that one can be destroyed without affecting the other.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
we claim is
First The method or process herein described of making fine fabrics from long
staple combed wool or hair, consisting in first spinning a fine thread of such wool
or hair, then twisting it with a thread of cotton or other vegetable fibre, then using
the compound threads in the formation of a fabric, and finally subjecting the fabric
to the action of an agent which will destroy the cotton threads, leaving the other
threads intact as hereinbefore set forth.
Second: The herein before described method or process of producing textile
fabrics consisting in first taking a twisted strand of wool or other animal fibre;
11-17
Ji

page_text: then doubling it by a reverse twist with a strand of cotton or other vegetable fibro,
so as to remove, or partially remove, the twist from the first strand, then using the
doubled yarn in the manufacture of a fabric, and, finally, subjecting the fabric to
the action of an agent which will destroy the strand of vegetable fibre, leaving
intact the untwisted or slightly twisted strand of animal fibre as herein before seb
forth.