IMPROVEMENTS IN PILE AND LOOPED FABRICS, IN CUTTING AND FINISHING SUCH FABRICS
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Livesey, of New Lenton, in the County
of Nottingham, Draughtsman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN PILE AND LOOPED FABRICS, IN CUTTING AND FINISHING SUCH FABRICS,
Sealed the 23d August 1853, and dated the 17th March 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Livesey at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 17th March 1853.
I, JOHN LIVESEY, of New Lenton, in the County of Nottingham,
Draughtsman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PILE AND LOOPED FABRICS, IN CUTTING AND FINISHING
SUCH FABRICS, AND IN THE MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as
follows:-
My Invention consists, first, in alterations and adaptations of the
shearing machinery used in the cloth and fustian trade, to enable me
to cut pile fabrics manufactured on lace machinery, such fabrics having
portions of open work or lace intermixed with solid parts, and other

page_text: pile fabrics, having silk or long pile, requiring the pile not to be laid
before cutting. These alterations and adaptations consist principally in
adding stretching frames to keep the work straight while being cut, and
prevent the pile being laid down by lapping on rollers, as now used; or,
instead of frames, I use more friction rollers, with guides to keep the
fabric straight, so that the pressure on the rollers on which the work is
wound is removed, and the pile not laid or damaged before cutting.
Second, in adding apparatus to such machinery, whereby ornamental
designs may be produced on pile fabrics, after they come from the
loom or machine, by cutting the pile on some portions, and leaving it
"terry," or looped, on other portions.
Third, in the manufacture of pile fabrics, vandyked or scolloped, and
having perfect edges, without being cut at the edge; or of looped fabrics
of similar forms, without pile on the surface.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Livesey, in the Great Seal Patent Office,
on the 17th September 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
JOHN LIVESEY, of New Lenton, in the County of Nottingham, Draughts-
man, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the
sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Livesey, Her special licenco
that I, the said John Livesey, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as J, the said John Livesey, ny executors, administra-
tors, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein ex-
pressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel

page_text: Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PILE AND
LOOPED FABRICS, IN CUTTING AND FINISHING SUCH FABRICS, AND IN THE
MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said John Livesey, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, 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 John Livesey, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings annexed,
that is to say:
My Invention consists, first, in improved methods of cutting pile,
terry, and such like looped fabrics, manufactured by bobbin-net, twist-
lace, and warp lace machinery, and in additions to, and alterations in
and new arrangements (for the purpose of cutting and ornamenting pile
fabrics) of the shearing machinery now used in the manufacture of
cloth and fustians, which machinery is also used in trimming and
finishing such pile fabrics as have been cut in the loom or frame: And
second, in producing pile fabrics having ornamental designs thereon,
which designs are formed after the fabric has been woven, by cutting
the pile on some portions and leaving it uncut on other portions of the
fabric.
The manner in which the same may be performed is explained in
the following description, and in the drawings hereunto annexed.
Figures 1, and 2, are sections of shearing machines, with parts of
this Invention added. The parts marked A, G, G, G, G³, G*, and P,
are old, forming parts of ordinary shearing machines; and the arrange-
ments of the remaining parts refer to different divisions of my Invention.
Heretofore cut pile fabrics made on lace machinery have been cut by
knives or blades during the manufacture of the fabric, which adds
considerably to the expense and difficulty of making cut pile fabrics by
such machinery. I have discovered that, in consequence of the span

page_text: of the loom or pile made by lace machinery being in the direction of
the selvages instead of being in the direction of the length of the piece,
and in consequence of the cheapness with which these fabrics (when
made uncut) may be manufactured by lace machinery, that such fabrics
may be advantageously cut by the shearing machine; the loss of material
that occurs in using the shearing machine ceasing to be of any im-
portance, owing to the great saving otherwise obtained by thus cutting
such fabrics.
I will first describe the arrangements of the shearing machinery I
use, when applied to cutting pile fabrics manufactured by lace machinery.
A, is the framework of the machinery; G, is the cylinder on which the
spiral cutters are fixed; G', is the blade in contact with the cutters;
G, is the bed over hich the fabric to be cut is passed, to bring it into
a proper position foring cut; G', is the bar on which the bed G", is
fastened; P, is the driving shaft from which motion is communicated
to the roller B', and through the shaft A, to the roller B, and to the
remainder of the machinery, by suitable gearing, which is not shown,
as it would tend to complicate the drawing, and the manner of working
such gearing with the necessary speeds is well known. B', B, are
rollers over which the fabric S, to be cut is kept in a distended state
over the bed G, in contact with the cutting apparatus; the part of the
frame marked A', is a continuation of the frame A, and has slots in it
to enable the bearings of the roller B, to be moved nearer to or further
from the cutting apparatus, as may be required by the length of the
pieces to be cut. A, is a shaft, with a bevil wheel A³, gearing into a
wheel A, on the spindle of the roller B. A', is another bevil wheel,
sliding in a feather on the shaft A, to which it can be fastened by a
set screw, and gearing into the bevil wheel on the spindle of the roller B.
This improved arrangement of lengthening the frame and placing the
rollers, as shewn, is made to enable me to stretch the fabric over the
bed G, without pressing down or rufiling any part of the pile of the
fabric during its movement in the operation of cutting.
The working of this arrangement for cutting fabrics made on lace
machinery is as follows:--
The cutting cylinder is raised, and one end of the fabric carefully

page_text: passed over the bed G, and under the rollers B', and B; the two ends
are then joined together, and stretched tight over the bed G, by drawing
back the roller B. The cutting cylinder is now brought into its proper
position for cutting the depth required, and then, on motion being given
to the machine, the cutting will be performed. After being sufficiently
cut by moving in one direction, the fabric may be taken off the rollers
and bed, and replaced to move in the opposite direction, so as to trim
and finish the cutting.
I will now describe the second part of my Invention. Heretofore
piled fabrics, having ornamental designs upon them formed by having
part of the pile cut and part uncut whilst in the loom, have been pro-
duced at a large amount of extra labour and expense, and the cut por-
tion will be found to stand a little higher than the uncut portion of the
fabric. Now, in my improvement in ornamenting pile fabrics the
designs are improved by cutting the fabric after the same has left the
loom or machine, and at a comparatively trifling expense. This fabric
may be distinguished by observing that the uncut portions stand higher
than the cut portions of the fabric, in consequence of the top of the
loop having been cut off, instead of being severed, as is the case when
cut in the loom or machine. Designs, as before mentioned, may be
produced on the fabric when cut in the shearing machine, by the three
following methods-First, by pressing down the surface of the pile
that is to remain uncut, and leaving the surface to be cut standing
before bringing the fabric into contact with the cutters of the shearing
machine: Second, by placing underneath the fabric to be cut, during
its progress under the cutters, a fabric having raised portions on
it corresponding in design to the portions of the pile intended to
be cut. And, third, by the use of instruments or apparatus acting on
the surface of the pile, to press down such portions as are to be uncut
at the moment the pile is under the cutting apparatus.
For carrying out the first plan I prefer the use of rollers, on which
the design or pattern is cut. In Figure 1, the roller E, is plain, and the
roller E', has those parts corresponding to the parts which it is desired
to cut in the pile of the fabric cut away; thus, when the fabric has
passed through the rollers, the pile that has been opposite to the plain

page_text: part of the roller E, will have been pressed down, and the parts oppo-
site to the cut part of the roller E', will be left standing, and in passing
in this state through the shearing machine the parts standing will alone
be cut. The roller E', should be heated more or less, according to the
nature of the fabric to be acted upon, and then a less amount of
pressure will answer than would otherwise be required by exposure
of the fabric to the atmosphere, or by damping the back of it; the
pile that has been pressed down by the rollers will soon be found to
have recovered its original position. The rollers E, and E', must have
gearing so arranged that the periphery of each of them shall travel at
the same speed as the peripheries of the rollers B', B', in order that
the fabric may be carried over them without drag. In working this
arrangement for cutting ornamental fabrics the method will be the
same as that before described for cutting fabrics made from lace ma-
chinery, with the addition of the fabric passing through the rollers
E, E', on one of which the design has been formed; but in this case,
for trimming and finishing, the fabric must not be made to pass in the
reverse direction, but through another cutting machine, which is with-
out the pattern rollers, and the blades of which are in an opposite
direction to that in which the fabric has been first cut, that is to say, if
the thread forming the blades of the first cutting cylinder is a right-
handed thread, the second must be left-handed.
In carrying out the second plan I employ calico or other suitable
fabric woven so as to form an endless band (of the breadth of the
material required to be operated upon), which, having no seam, will be
perfectly level. Upon this fabric I place very fine cloth, stitched to the
fabric all round the edges, and carefully joined where the ends meet;
the outline of the pattern is then firmly stitched through both fabrics,
so as to prevent the loosening of the cloth when cut. The portions of
the cloth corresponding in design to the design it is desired that the
pile of the fabric to be operated upon should be cut, is left stitched on
the endless band, and the portions curresponding to the portions of the
pile on the fabric which it is desired to leave terry are cut away,
leaving the fabric of the endless band exposed; the cloth left on the
endless band should be stitched to it (with fine silk in lines parallel

page_text: with its length), in addition to the outline stitching, to prevent its
creasing. In Figure 1, D, is a roller the breadth of the machine,
over which and over the bed G2, the endless band of the cloth is
passed; this roller must be geared to cause the pattern on the endless
band to move at the speed required to prevent one fabric dragging the
other. In operating on fabrics to be ornamented by this plan, the
roller D, is substituted for the rollers E, E. The rest of the operation
will be the same as that last described; but the second cutting must be
omitted, and the fabric caused to pass slower under the cutters, to
obtain as much perfection with one cutting as may be.
The third plan mentioned I carry out by the apparatus shewn on the
top of the machine. Figure 1, A8, is a projecting arm of the frame A,
carrying part of this apparatus; L, is a lever, of which there are from
eight to twenty or more in an inch, according as a finer delineation or
otherwise of the pattern is required. A top view of this lever is given in
Figure 3. The lever L, has a projection L', which is acted upon by
the pattern surface, the end being made thicker, as shewn. L², is a rod
forming the fulcrum of and threaded through the lever L. L³, is the
instrument acting on the pile (shewn separately Figure 3, A,), jointed
to the lever L. M, M, are comb bars, carrying combs M', M, for the
purpose of guiding the instruments L³, the number of combs in each
comb bar corresponding to the number of instruments. A bar N, is
fixed as shewn, against which the backs of the instruments are held by
means of a wire N¹, passing through the combs M', in front of the
instruments. O, is a spring, pressing on each lever at one end, and
fastened at the other to the bar O¹. R, is a cylinder, having the
design intended to be produced on the fabric engraved thereon. The
speed of this cylinder must be regulated to suit that at which the
fabric moves, otherwise the pattern might be produced too long or too
short. In working this arrangement for cutting ornamental fabrics, I
proceed by placing the fabric in the machine in the same manner as
described for cutting plain fabrics made on lace machines. When the
machine is put in motion the instruments act upon the fabric as often
as the projections L', on the levers are opposite the sunk portion of the
cylinder R, the springs O, assisting to press down the levers. On the

page_text: instruments being depressed, the pile is thereby pressed and held down
until the roots of the pile have passed under the bottom blade of the
cutters, and thus the pile so pressed down is provented from being cut.
On the projections of the levers coming opposite the unsunk portion of
the cylinder R, the instruments L, will be raised, and in consequence
the pile under the instruments, when so raised, will be cut, and thus the
design on the cylinder is reproduced on the fabric.
Figure 2, shows an arrangement of machinery for cutting ornamental
designs on fabrics, when, in consequence of the span or bow of the loop
being parallel with the length of the fabric, it is necessary to cut the
fabric from selvage to selvage: in this case the machine is so arranged
as to admit the fabric passing through lengthways parallel with the cutting
cylinder, and to admit the fabric being drawn over the bed of the cutting
apparatus from selvage to selvage, as is commonly done in cross cutting;
but the rollers are so arranged as to keep the fabric in a distended
state for the purpose before described in reference to the roller B, B².
As the means of producing the ornaments are the same as those already
described it is not necessary to repeat them here. S, S, are four dis-
tending rollers, over which the fabric S', passes, two placed on each side
of the frame; the top rollers have their bearings on the slotted arms W',
which are attached to the rocking shaft W: the height at which these
rollers are placed in the slots will be determined by the nature of the
material operated upon. Each of the top rollers has a pulley, S', at
both ends of the axis, over which pulley a strap S, with a weight
attached, passes, one end of the strap being fastened to a fixed point, as
shewn. T, T, are two rollers fixed parallel with the length of the
fabric. T', T', are clamps attached to the rollers T, by pieces of calico,
as shown. P, is the driving shaft from which the rest of the machine
receives motion. The fabric to be cut has a piece of calico stitched on
each selvage throughout its entire length. The outer edge of the
calico has a thick cord sewn in it.
The fabric to be operated upon is placed over the four rollers S, S,
and over the bed of the cutting apparatus, and the two ends stitched
together being held tight in its length by means of the weights S, S",
that part of the corded selvage of the calico which is within the frame

page_text: is then taken hold of by the clamps T', and the fabric is drawn over the
bed during the cutting operation by motion given to the rollers T, T.
When one length is cut from selvage to selvage, the machine is stopped,
and a second length of the fabric is brought within the frame by means
of the handle Y, when the clamps are reattached, and the operation
proceeds as before.
When the loops of warp fabrics made on warp lace machinery
are to be cut, it is important to make use of some arrangement to set
up the loops, as in such fabrics the loops do not naturally stand up firm
enough to be cut well by shearing machinery. For this
I en-
purpose
ploy the blade or plate X, shewn in Figure 4, which acts on the loop
to set it up at the point where the cutting takes place.
From the explanation already given it will be evident that the plans
shewn for producing the ornamental fabrics herein-before described may
be varied without departing from my Invention. Thus, for example,
blocks having the designs cut or engraved upon them may be employed
instead of the rollers E, E', (Figure 1.) and in such case the machine
would remain standing during the pressing or stamping of the design.
These rollers or blocks might also be worked separately from the
machine pressing down the design before bringing the fabric into the
machine to be cut.
From the preceding description, where I speak of pile fabrics, the
context will shew whether I refer to uncut or cut terry loops.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same may be performed, I declare that what I claim
is as follows:—
First, I claim the cutting the terry loop of fabrics made in bobbin-
net, twist-lace, or warp lace frames by means of shearing machinery,
as hereinbefore explained.
Second, I claim the particular arrangements of apparatus herein-
before described, and represented at Figure 1, of the drawings annexed,
for cutting the terry loop of fabrics made in bobbin-net, twist-lace, or
warp lace frames.
Third, I claim the manufacture of ornamental pile fabrics by forming
designs thercon after the fabrics have left the loom or frame, which

page_text: designs are produced by part of the terry loops being cut, and part of
the terry loops uncut.
Fourth, I claim the employment of apparatus for pressing down the
terry loop of fabrics previous to passing the blades of the shearing
inachine, for the purpose of producing designs on such fabrics, as herein-
before explained.
Fifth, I claim the employment of raised ornamental surfaces, placed
under terry pile fabrics whilst passing over the bed of the shearing
machine, for the purpose of cutting the loops raised by such fabrics, as
herein-before explained.
And sixth, I claim the employment of apparatus acting to press
down the terry loop of pile fabrics at the moment the fabric is under
the blade of the shearing machine, for the purpose of producing designs
on such fabrics, as herein-before explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Livesey, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of September, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
JOHN LIVESEY. (L.B.)