Im- PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ELASTIC FABRICS.
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Archibald Turner, of Leicester, in the County
of Leicester, Elastic Web Manufacturer, for the Invention of “Im-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ELASTIC FABRICS.”….
Scaled the 27th April 1875, and dated the 14th January 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Archibald Turner at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
14th January 1875.
I, ARCHIBALD TURNER, of Leicester, in the County of Leicester,
Elastic. Web Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ELASTIC FABRICS," to
bo as follows:-
In the manufacture of what are known in the trade as terry elastic
fabrics (in which strands of india-rubber are woven into the fabric for
O the purpose of imparting clasticity thereto) the non-clastic strands which
form the face and back of the fabric have usually been woven in such a

page_text: manner that by the combination of the face warps by means of binding
threads with the warps which form the back of the fabric the rubber
strands are enclosed in separate tubes, in which they are to a certain
extent free to extend or contract, according to the thickness of the
rubber, the size of the tubes, and the variations of the tension to which
the fabric is subjected. This freedom of motion of the elastic strands in
their tubes gives rise to no inconvenience, so long as the elastic strands
are held securely at both ends by sewing or otherwise, and they remain
unbroken, but should any of these strands be broken or cut or be
loosened at their ends they will immediately contract and run up in the
tubes, and thereby destroy the elasticity of the fabric. If however these
strands be tied or locked in the fabric throughout their length they will
be effectually prevented from running up in their tubes, and yet their
clasticity will not be materially interfered with. By this means the
inconvenience resulting from the breaking of the clastic strands will bo
avoided, as should any clastic strand become accidentally broken at oven
three or four places all the other parts will be securely held, and
therefore such parts will still retain their elasticity.
In carrying out my Invention I take a loom just as it is prepared with
six shafts for weaving clastic terry fabrics in the ordinary manner, and
I add thereto another shaft for the purpose of introducing warp locking
threads. These threads are so woven as to "mock" the rubber strands,
that is to say, when the rubber strands are up the warp locking threads
are down, and when the latter are up the rubber threads are down.
These locking threads during the succeeding two shoots act as gut 2
threads, and rise and fall with the rubber. This way of weaving locks
the rubber strands and prevents them from running up, should any
become broken.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Archibald Turner, Her special licence
that I, the said Archibald Turner, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Archibald Turner, 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
THE MANUFACTURE OF ELASTIC FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Alexander Turner, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and scals, 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.
י'
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alexander Turner, 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 Drawing hereunto
3 annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) :-
In the manufacture of what are known in the trade as terry clastic
fabrics (in which strands of india-rubber are worked into the fabric for
the purpose of imparting elasticity thereto) the non-elastic strands which
form the face and back of the fabric have usually been woven in such a
manner that by the combination of the face warps by means of binding
threads with the warps which form the back of the fabric the rubber
strands are enclosed in separate tubes, in which they are to a certain
extent free to extend or contract, according to the thickness of the
rubber, the size of the tubes, and the variation of the tension to which
the fabric is subjected. This freedom of motion of the elastic strands in
their tubes gives rise to no inconvenience, so long as the elastic strands

page_text: are held securely at both ends by sewing or otherwise and while they
remain unbroken, but should any of these strands be broken or cut or be
loosened at their ends while they are in tension or stretched out in the
fabric they will immediately contract and run up in the tubes, and
thereby destroy the clasticity of the fabric. If however these strands
be tied or locked in the fabric throughout their length they will be
effectually prevented from running up in their tubes, should they
become accidentally broken, and yet their elasticity will not be materially
interfered with. By this means the inconvenience resulting from the
breaking of the elastic strands will be avoided, as should any clastic
strand become accidentally broken at even three or four places all the
other parts will be securely held, and therefore such parts will still
retain their elasticity.
In carrying out my Invention I take a loom just as it is prepared with
six or seven shafts for weaving clastic terry fabrics in the ordinary
manner, and I add thereto another shaft for the purpose of introducing
warp locking threads. These threads are so woven into the fabric as to
"mock" the rubber strands two shoots out of overy four, that is to say,
when the rubber strands are up the warp locking threads are down,
and
when the latter are up the rubber strands are down. These threads a
during the succeeding two shoots rise and fall with the rubber strands,
and therefore by filling the tubes they act as locking threads, and they
will secure the rubber strands and prevent them from running up in the
fabric, should any of them become broken.
Gut threads laid in the tubes parallel with the rubber strands 2
throughout the fabric have already been used for the purpose of filling
tho tubes, but theso gut threads have not heretofore been woven into
the face or back warps, and therefore they have simply acted as filling
or gut threads, and could easily be drawn out of the fabric by taking
hold of one end, provided the opposite end were loose. Moreover these 8
gut threads are apt to produce an uneven surface on the fabric, whereas
by weaving the additional warp threads into the face and back warps at
every third or fourth shoot these additional threads will be so combined
and secured with the other parts of the fabric that they not only cannot
be drawn out, but they can never produce any roughness or irregularity 3
on the surface. This mode of weaving morcover improves the elasticity
of the fabric.

page_text: The threads during two shoots out of the four fill in the tubes which
enclose the rubber strands, and act as locking threads as they lock the
rubber strands in the fabric. During the two other shoots the locking.
threads by being carried up and down into the face and back warps are
not only so secured that they cannot be drawn out, but leave more room
in the tube for the rubber strands, and consequently increase the
elasticity of the fabrio.
In order however that my Invention may be more clearly understood,
I have shewn in the accompanying Drawing diagrams drawn upon an:
enlarged scale, illustrating the improved mode of weaving or combining
the additional locking threads in the fabric.
Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating upon an enlarged scale the longitudinal.
arrangements of the several threads and strands of which the fabrio is.
composed; Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the fabric taken in the
line 1, 2, of Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrow.
The straight longitudinal rubber strands 6 are colored brown. The
warp threads which form the face of the fabric are colored blue, and are
marked c, c, while those which form the back of the fabric are colored
yellow, and are marked d, d. The binder threads e, e, which are carried
alternately up and down from the face to the back warp and vice verså
to form the tubes for the rubber strands, are colored purple or violet,
and the locking threads a, a, are colored red. The transverse weft
threads ff, which are thrown across the fabric, alternately above and
below the rubber strands b, are colored green.
It should now be understood that when the locking threads a have
acted as locking threads by running parallel with the rubber strands b, b,
during two shoots, as shewn in Fig. 1 at 1°, 2*, then at the succeeding
shoot they are lifted out of the tubes and woven into the face warp,
as indicated at 3, 4, in Fig. 1. Then at the next shoot the locking
threads a, a, are carried down into the back warp, as indicated at 5, 6,
in Fig. 1. It will be seen that at the succeeding shoot they are left
dead in the tubes alongside of the rubber strands b, so as to act as locking
threads during the next two shoots.
From the above explanation it will be evident that by this mode of

page_text: them, and which are formed by the binder threads e, e, with the face
and back warps. The rubber strands will therefore be prevented from
running up in the fabric, should any of them become broken.
If desired the locking threads may, when a fabric with a silk faco is
to bo produced, be made of cotton plaited or covered with silk, instead:
of a plain cotton thread.
As a modification of the mode just described of locking the rubber
strands in the fabric the locking threads may be carried down into the
back of the fabric at every fourth shoot instead of alternately up to the
face and down to the back at every fourth shoot. This modification:
will be best understood by referring to the longitudinal diagram, Fig. 1ª,
in which the locking, binder, and other warp threads are indicated by
the same colours and letters of reference as in Fig. 1.
The plan of locking shewn at Fig. 1' possesses certain advantages,
inasmuch as when locking threads composed wholly of cotton are drawn
up into the face warp, as shewn in the diagram, Fig. 1, they will appear
through the face of the fabric as well as the back. Now when locking:
threads, are introduced into a terry fabric that has a silk face locking
threads made wholly of cotton will if introduced in the manner shewn
at Fig. 1 be liable to impart to the face of the silk web a mixed
appearance of cotton and silk. This will be prevented by weaving the
locking threads into the back of the fabric alone, as shown at Fig. 1".
The locking of the rubber strands in the fabric is as effectually secured
by the plan shewn at Fig. 1° as in that shown at Fig. 1.
It will be evident that in making a cotton fabric the method of
locking shewn in Fig. 1 will be most suitable for such a fabric, as when
the locking threads composed wholly of cotton are carried up to the
face of the fabric it produces a more solid and firmer web.
I do not however wish to confine myself to the plan shewn at Fig. 1
for making cotton fabrics, as the method of locking shown at Fig. 1* is
equally applicable to cotton fabrics.
Having now described my Invention of " Improvements in the
Manufacture of Elastic Fabrics," and having explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by
Letters Patent as aforesaid, the use of locking threads as herein set forth

page_text: for locking the rubber strands in their tubes and preventing them from
running up in the fabric when broken as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Archibald Turner, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Thirteenth day of July, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.