Year: 1886

page_text: I SABIN NOTTELLE of 23 Boulevard de Strasbourg Paris, France, Manufacturer
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Strips of woollen or silk fabrics can be utilized in several industries and among
others in the manufacture of corsets. In many corsets longitudinal strips are
5 employed which fulfil the double purpose of covering the seams and forming
sheaths for the bones and steels. When cotton or linen is used there is no difficulty;
the strip is passed through a folding device and issues therefrom with its two
edges folded. The folds are fixed by rubbing them on the edge of the table and
the operator can then without difficulty stitch the strip to the corset.
strips of wool or silk are employed a difficulty is met with which is only imper-
But when
fectly overcome by preliminary and subsequent operations. It is useless to pass
the strip through the folding device as the elasticity of the material causes it to
again resume its flat form. The practice has been to tack the folds at the two
sides of the strips before stitching on the latter. Then when the stitching is
finished the tacking has to be removed and this is an operation requiring care
because some of the tacks are fastened in by the stitches.
Now by means of my invention I dispense with these additional operations and
give to the folded strips a neatness of surface and a regularity of width not
obtainable by the methods hitherto employed.
The invention consists in passing the folded strips along a channel in which the
folds while travelling along it are submitted to the combined action of pressure
and heat whereby the folds become fixed without the material being injuriously
affected by the heat. The .apparatus I employ for the purpose is composed of a
smooth cast iron plate upon which a groove is formed by means of two copper or
brass bars one of which is fixed and the other movable, its distance from the first
being adjusted by means of screws so as to be equal to the width of the strip when
folded. A third bar of a width equal to the distance between the two first is
placed between them and thus holds between it and the bottom of the groove the
strip of material that is caused to travel therein. The strip is first folded by
means of an ordinary folding device and is then drawn into the groove which does
[Price 8d.1

page_text: octecte pow
not allow its folds to become displaced. But in order to fix these folds there are
two essential conditions viz, first, pressure during their passage along the groove,
and, secondly, a heat of about 212° Fahrenheit. The pressure is obtained by means
of springs and the heat is supplied by means of a small boiler heated by gas or
otherwise, the smooth cast iron plate before mentioned constituting the boiler top
or cover; or the plate may be heated by the direct application of gas.
The strip which may be, say, 40 or 50 yards long may, after being folded, be
wound upon a reel with two flanges one of which is adjustable along the reel
spindle so that it can be moved to and fixed at such a distance from the fixed
flange as shall be exactly equal to the width of the folded strip. The strip passing
on to the reel while still retaining heat and having a certain tension forms a rigid
roll which when unrolled for stitching yields strips quite uniform and not liable
to unfold.
J. O. MEWBURN,
169, Fleet Street, London,
Agent.

page_text: ITICATION,
A. Mode of and Apparatus for Effecting the Folding of Strips of
Woollen or Silk Fabrics,
I SABIN NOTTELLE, of 23 Boulevard de Strasbourg, Paris, France, 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:—
Strips of woollen or silk fabrics can be utilized in several industries and among
others in the manufacture of corsets. In many corsets longitudinal strips are
employed which fulfil the double purpose of covering the seams and forming
sheaths for the bones and steels. When cotton or linen is used there is no difficulty ;
the strip is passed through a folding device and issues therefrom with its two
edges folded.
The folds are fixed by rubbing them on the edge of the table and
the operator can then without difficulty stitch the strip to the corset. But when
strips of wool, or silk, are employed a difficulty is met with which is only imper-
fectly overcome by preliminary and subsequent operations. It is useless to pass
the strip through the folding device as the elasticity of the material causes it to
again assume its flat form. The practice has been to tack the folds at the two
sides of the strips before stitching on the latter. Then when the stitching is
finished the tacking has to be removed and this is an operation requiring care
because some of the tacks are fastened in by the stitches.
Now by means of my invention I dispense with these additional operations and
give to the folded strips a neatness of surface and a regularity of width not
obtainable by the methods hitherto employed.
The invention consists in passing the folded strips along a channel in which the
folds while travelling along it are submitted to the combined action of pressure
and heat whereby the folds become fixed without the material being injuriously
affected by the heat. The apparatus I employ for the purpose is represented in
the annexed drawings, Figure 1 being a longitudinal section, Figure 2 a transverse
section, and Figure 3 a plan. Figures 4 and 5 are views respectively of the folding
device and of the folded strip. The apparatus is composed of a smooth cast iron
plate A upon which a groove or channel a is formed by means of two copper or
brass bars b, b¹ one of which b is fixed and the other 6' movable, its distance from b
being adjusted, by means of screws c, c, so as to be equal to the width of the
strip when folded. A third bar d, of a width equal to the distance between the
two first, is placed between them and thus holds between it and the bottom of
the groove the strip of material which is caused to travel therein. The strip is
first folded by means of an ordinary folding device e and is then drawn into the
groove which does not allow its folds to become displaced. But in order to fix
these folds there are two essential conditions, viz: first, pressure during their
passage along the groove; and, secondly, a heat of about 212° Fahrenheit. The
pressure is obtained by means of springs f, f, f attached at one end to the bar b
and carrying at the other end adjustable pressure screws g, g, g which bear upon
he bar d. The heat is supplied by the direct application of gas flame to the

page_text: plate A. The gas enters the pipe formed with holes and suitably supported
within the box of which the plate A constitutes the top or cover. Or, steam may
prefer the direct application of gas
be employed as the heating inedium, but
flame, as illustrated in the drawings.
By means of the arrangement described, which permits of applying pressure and
heat to the folds of the strip for a sufficiently long time, these folds leave the
groove in a fixed condition.
The strip, which may be, say, 40 or 50 yards long, may, after being folded, be
wound, with the aid of a handle h, upon a reel with two flanges k, k, one of
which is adjustable along the reel spindle so that it can be moved to and fixed at
such a distance from the fixed flange as shall be exactly equal to the width of the
folded strip. As the strip passes on to the reel, while still retaining heat and
having a certain tension it forms a rigid roll which when unrolled for stitching
yields strips quite uniform and not liable to unfold.
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 mode of effecting the folding of strips of woollen or silk fabrics which
consists in passing them first through a folding device and then along a channel or
groove in which they are submitted to the combined action of pressure and heat,
substantially as set forth.
2. The apparatus constructed and acting substantially in the manner and for the
purpose herein before described with reference to the annexed drawings.
J. C. MEWBURN,
169, Fleet Street, London,
Agent.