Improvements in or relating to Fabric Supports for Needle Felting Machines.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Dec., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 28th Oct., 1892-Accepted, 3rd Dec., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Fabric Supports for Needle Felting
Machines.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
M.I.M.E., do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
66
"
This invention relates to that class of machines in which two materials usually
known as a bat and a lap are incorporated or felted together by means of barbed
needles which interlace the fibres. Hitherto the lap of soft or fibrous
material has been laid on top of the bat or foundation with which the woolly or
other material was to be incorporated, and where the foundation was to be in the
middle between two of these laps the material was first run through the machine,
then turned over and run through again with the second lap so that the lap which
was being incorporated with the bat was always on top of it. The object of the
present invention is to provide a suitable support to the lap when it is placed
upon the underside of the bat or foundation whether two laps were being simul-
taneously incorporated with the foundation or not.
The difficulty which at once arises is the providing of a support which will
allow the free entrance and withdrawal of the barbed needles without damage to
the needles or allowing the barbs to withdraw any of the material of which the
support is composed. Should it do so it will be at once seen that the barbs would
be more or less choked up and the material whatever it might be would be carried
into the fabric which would thus be more or less spoiled. To avoid these
difficulties and provide the necessary support I construct it in the following
manner.
Underneath the second lap I provide what is in effect a brush with the axes of
the bristles approximately parallel to the axes of the needles by which arrange-
ment it would be at once seen that the lap can be efficiently supported while the
needles will enter between the bristles and come out again without damaging the
foundation or themselves.
"
It will be understood that the "bristles may be ordinary bristles or may be
made of any suitable material and may be held together in any convenient
manner being for example fitted in tufts into a back like an ordinary brush or
connected together to a flexible fabric or material. Ordinary bristles will for
seen that other
most purposes answer satisfactorily but it will be at once
materials may be employed such as split whalebone cocoanut fibre wire or the
like.
As in the process of manufacture the material is moved along intermittently so
that the movement takes place while the needles are withdrawn from the fabric a
movement more or less similar though in a less degree to that of the needles may
be imparted to the support so that the "bristles "will be withdrawn clear of the
fabric while the latter is moved. This movement may be imparted by the same
mechanism or a mechanism similar to that employed for operating the needles or
any suitable form of eccentric cam or equivalent mechanism may be employed for
the purpose.
Dated this 29th day of December 1891.
1891
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Fabric Supports for Needle Felting
Machines.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 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 :--
This invention relates to that class of machines in which two materials usually
known as a bat and a lap are incorporated or felted together by means of barbed
needles which interlace the fibres. Hitherto the 66
lap " of soft or fibrous
material has been laid on top of the bat or foundation with which the woolly or
other material was to be incorporated, and where the foundation was to be in the
middle between two of these laps the material was first run through the machine,
then turned over and run through again with the second lap so that the lap which
was being incorporated with the bat was always on top of it. The object of the
present invention is to provide a suitable support to the lap when it is placed
upon the underside of the bat or foundation whether two laps are being simul-
taneously incorporated with the foundation or not.
The difficulty which at once arises is the providing of a support which will
allow the free entrance and withdrawal of the barbed needles without damage to
the needles or allowing the barbs to withdraw any of the material of which the
support is composed. Should it do so it will be at once seen that the barbs would
be more or less choked up and the material whatever it might be would be carried
into the fabric which would thus be more or less spoiled. To avoid these
difficulties and provide the necessary support I construct it in the following
manner.
Underneath the second lap I provide what is in effect a brush with the axes of
the bristles approximately parallel to the axes of the needles by which arrange-
ment it would be at once seen that the lap can be efficiently supported while the
.needles will enter between the bristles and come out again without damaging the
.foundation or themselves.
It will be understood that the "bristles" may be ordinary bristles or may be made
of any suitable material and may be held together in any convenient manner being
for example fitted in tufts into a back like an ordinary brush or connected together
to a flexible fabric or material. Ordinary bristles will for most purposes answer
satisfactorily but it will be at once seen that other materials may be employed such
as split whalebone, cocoanut fibre, wire or the like.
be
As in the process of manufacture the material is moved along intermittently so
that the movement takes place while the needles are withdrawn from the fabric a
movement more or less similar though in a less degree to that of the needles may
imparted to the support so that the "bristles" will be withdrawn clear of the fabric
while the latter is moved. This movement may be imparted by the same mechanism
a mechanism similar to that employed for operating the needles or any
suitable form of eccentric cam or equivalent mechanism may be employed for
the purpose.
or
In the accompanying drawings
Fig. 1 represents a section through the apparatus and fabric while Fig. 2
represents upon a smaller scale a modification in the construction of the "brush."
Fig. 3 is a similar view with a different arrangement of fixing the bristles and

page_text: A represents the bat or foundation with which the two laps B and C are to be
ncorporated by the operation of the barbed needles D, only one of which is shown
n the accompanying drawing. These needles would preferably though not neces
arily, be formed with barbs facing in both directions as set forth in the Specification
o previous British Letters Patent originally granted to me, numbered 2827 and
dated 21st February 1890.
E represents the "bristles" which may be secured in any suitable form of back
or support F in tufts in the manner of making an ordinary brush or in an entirely
pliable foundation as in Fig. 2 or in an elastic foundation such as indiarubber
supported by a wooden or other rigid backing as indicated in Fig. 3. By reference
to Fig. 1 it will be readily seen that the needles D can enter between the "bristles "E
or the needles, and it will
and return without damaging either the "bristles
"
also be seen that the "bristles" afford ample support to the lap C.
In Fig. 2 the bristles E are secured in any convenient manner in a flexible backing F
which may be a piece of canvas, indiarubber, flexible wire-work or the like, so
that the brush may be moved along if desired by rollers K at each side of the
machine.
66
"
In Fig. 3 the bristles E are set in a flexible foundation G preferably indiarubber
which in its turn is secured upon the rigid backing F. Where the bristles E are
ordinary bristles or made of sufficiently flexible fibres or material the resilient
foundation G will not be required but where bristles of a more rigid nature such as
wire or other similarly rigid material are employed the flexible backing G would be
desirable. The "bristles " may be made of any suitable material, ordinary brush
bristles serving the purpose, but where they are of considerable thickness or very
rigid as in the case of some wire, they may with advantage be pointed so as to
prevent the possibility of the point of a needle absolutely engaging with the point
of the "bristle."
As a considerable amount of give or spring exists in the bristles it will not always
be necessary to make, provision for removing the bristles from contact with the lap
during the forward movement of the fabric A B C which takes place intermittently
Where however it is
during the time that the needles are withdrawn from it.
desired that during the movement of the fabric the "bristles" should be removed
from contact with it this may be effected by the same or similar mechanism as that
which operates the needles the movement however being in the contrary direction.
A simple mechanism for this purpose consists simply of two eccentrics secured upon
the main driving or other suitable shaft the eccentric rods being connected with the
"brush" back F so as to impart the necessary reciprocating motion to the brush,
and thus bring the "bristles" alternately into contact with the lap C so as to serve
as a support thereto while the needles D pass into the lap and amongst the bristles
and withdraw them from such contact. Such an arrangement is shown in Fig. 4
where F is the brush back to be moved, H the eccentric, I the shaft and J the
eccentric rod. F¹ are recesses provided in each of the four corners of the plate or
back F and adapted to engage with suitable guides in the framework of the machine
so as to guide the brush in its reciprocating movements.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is,-
"
1. In a "needle loom a lap support consisting of a "brush "such as E the axes
of whose bristles are substantially parallel with the axes of the needles.
2. In a "needle loom" the combination with the reciprocating needles of a lap
support composed of "bristles" substantially as and for the
purpose
described.
3. In a "needle loom" the combination with a travelling fabric such as A B C
and reciprocating needles passing therethrough of a reciprocating "brush" such
as E substantially as and for the purpose described and illustrated in the accom-
panying drawings.

page_text: 4. In a "needle loom" a lap support consisting of bristles E secured in a flexible
support F carried upon rollers upon each side of the machine.
Dated this 27th day of October 1892.
ALFRED J. BOULT,
Chartered Patent Agent.