IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION AND MANUFACTURE OF CERTAIN PILED CORDED, OR OTHER FABRICS
Year: 1856

page_text: by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Pidding at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 9th September,
1856.
I, WILLIAM PIDDING, of Trinity Terrace, Southwark, in the County of
Surry, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION AND MANUFACTURE OF CERTAIN PILED
CORDED, OR OTHER FABRICS," to be as follows:-
I propose to improve, either by economy in manufacture, or superiority of
finish, those fabrics usually known by the names of mosaic or corded fabrics.
As regards mosaic piled fabrics, by laying or setting threads or yarns of wool
or other material to form the fabric in the following manner :-I propose to
place a long flat and smooth board on rests at any convenient distance from
the floor of a factory, screwing on to each end of the board a piece of wood
in such way that their surfaces become even with the board. Numerous pieces
of wood will form the sides of it in parts; these are each to be of any desired
thickness and height, and of the length of the board without the end pieces,
connecting both the lower ends of each pair of side pieces of wood, and in such
position, that when they are placed on the board they will project over and
lay flat on the end pieces. Thin metal plates about an inch wide will be attached
to the wood by screws; the metal plates are to have slits or notches rather close

page_text: together, and equidistant on their exterior edges, to hold fast threads placed
therein. On to the top of each end of each side piece of wood, and placed
even with their ends, are to be screwed four pieces of wood a few inches long;
each pair of connected pieces of wood will be numbered or lettered; other
thin sheets of metal similarly slit or notched, and all differently numbered, will
be used in a line with each slit or notch. In each plate of metal is to be
painted the colour of the thread which is to form the pattern of the fabric.
But before any of the side pieces are placed, the threads or yarns are to be
set in them as follows:-The colour of the thread or yarn is to be matched with
that painted against the first slit in the thin plate of metal; one end of the
thread or yarn is to be secured in each slit; the yarn is then to be distended,
and the other end of it is to be secured; both sides of the metal may be coated
with an adhesive substance. The same course is to be followed with the other
threads. After all the plates are threaded the side pieces are to be screwed
on to the board; the apparatus will appear like a box with the two ends off.
The threads are to be pushed at one end to cause them to project at the other
sufficiently to admit of cutting the threads even with one end of the apparatus
where the design or pattern of the mosaic fabric will be apparent, then an
appropriate fabric, having on one side a coating or solution of caoutchouc or
other adhesive substance or material, is to be placed upon the side so coated
against the threads or yarns, the ends of which have been evenly cut, and by
means of heat and sufficient pressure the ends of the thread or yarn will
adhere to the adhesive substance on the material coated with it; the threads
or yarns are then to be pushed at the opposite end of the apparatus until they
project as far as may be desired, a slice is then to be cut off even with the
end of the apparatus; such slice is the mosaic fabric, be it a rug, chair cover,
tapestry, or other. The same course is to be adopted to form other mosaic
fabrics until all the threads or yarns are withdrawn from the apparatus. I
propose to produce a mosaic fabric with a pile on both sides, thus, wires
pointed at both ends are to be driven into a flat board in equidistant positions,
so that all project the same distance from the board, then stretch on a frame
any appropriate fabric and saturate it with a solution of gelatine, insert the
pointed wires into the stretched fabric and withdraw them when it is dry, and
then render the gelatine in it insoluble by any known means; then dip the
pointed wires on the frame into a solution of caoutchouc, reinsert them into
the perforations, and after withdrawing them the sides of the perforations will
become coated with caoutchouc. After the solvent has evaporated from tho
caoutchouc, and after a design has been printed on the framed fabric, place i
over a flat surface a distance not quite equal, insert into the perforations the

page_text: prepared threads alluded to in accordance with the design, and cause one end
of such threads to rest on the flat surface placed under the stretched fabric
for the purpose of insuring the piles projecting the same distance from each
side of the fabric. After dissolving the gelatine or gum in the prepared
threads and removing it from them, secure them in the stretched fabric, by
causing them to adhere to the caoutchouc in the perforations by means of
heat. The prepared threads above alluded to will be made by saturating
threads or yarns with a solution of gum or gelatine and allowing them to dry
in a stretched state. During the process of drying, it will be mostly desirable
to compress the threads by pulling them through holes, afterwards cutting
them into the lengths required with any convenient apparatus. I propose to
cut corded fabrics during the process of manufacture instead of treating
them as hitherto. This to be effected by placing wires so as to form a pile of
the yarn used in their manufacture of various heights or of various widths,
and in this state to cut the fabric by an apparatus to be hereafter described.
And I propose forming the grooves of darker shades of color than the raised
portions of cords, by using dark and light shades of colored yarns for corded
fabrics, instead of making them, as hitherto, of but one shade of colour and
then cutting to shape. I prefer to use the darkest shades of color for the
grooves or channels, and to gradually increase the lightness of the shades of
colors, for the raised portions of cords. The object is to make the cords
appear more raised and the grooves to be cut deeper than they really will
be, and thus to save material, and reduce the weight and cost of cord fabrics.