Improvements in and relating to Selvage-weaving and Weft-cutting Attachments for Looms.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Oct., 1889
Complete Specification Loft 22nd July 1800-decented 11th Oct
1890
[Communicated from abroad by FRED LACEY, of Adams, Massachusetts, United States
of America, Manufacturer.]
Improvements in and relating to Selvage-weaving and Weft-cutting
Attachments for Looms.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to that class of attachments for looms that are used in making
central selvages, where more than one width of fabric is woven in the loom at the
same time, and is an improvement on my United States Patent No. 403,198, and also
to that class of attachments to looms used in connection with the central selvage
attachment, to separate the two webs so woven together, by cutting the filling throads
between the selvages produced by the first attachment.
The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts hereinafter
described.
According to the said invention a stiff metallic-plate hereinafter termed the
supporting plate is arranged to be rigidly connected with the loom frame, the said
plate being placed at the back of the loom-lay and in front of the harness, a supple-
mental casting being at times necessary in order to secure a proper adjustment of the
plate. Two slots are made in the upper end of the plate to receive the threads that
aro to be bound in the selvages.
When the attachment is used for single fabrics or those of only one thickness, the
supporting plate is intended to be attached to the loom frame by its lower end only,
but when used for double fabrics, it should be secured at its upper end which is
prolonged to the arch of the loom and at its lower end to the bottom girt or floor; at
about the middle of the said supporting plate is a long slot, through which a bolt
passes which also enters a hole in a sliding plate where it is held by a nut. To the
upper end of the said plate there are secured noedles which have eyes near their free
ends similar to the needles used in sewing machines.
The sliding plate has ears, cast on each edge of it which extends out on the front
to form supports for the thread spools and in on the back of the plate to receive set
screws which are so set as to bring their inner ends against the supporting plate on
either side when the sliding bar is moved sideways; by means of the set screws the
amount of side motion allowed to the sliding plate is regulated and the set screws are
prevented from slipping by check nuts placed on them.
The sliding plate carries a spool upon which are wound two threads that are passed
through the eyes of the needles and in order that a proper and uniform tension may
be at all times imparted to the threads, I arrange a spring in such a position that
it will bear upon the inner face of the thread wound upon the spool, the spring being
provided with an adjusting screw whereby its tension may be regulated.
upon
By mounting the spring so that it will bear upon the thread instead of the
spool proper, I secure a uniform tension upon the thread inasmuch as the pressure of
the spring decreases as the leverage of the thread decreases, that is, as the thread
unwinds, so that as the face of the roll approaches the axis of the spool the leverage
necessarily decreases and the pressure exerted by the spring also decreases. The
warp threads upon the outside of the inner edges of the two pieces of cloth that are to
be woven together are passed through the slots in the supporting plate.
The sliding plate is made with an offset just below the spool to make room between
it, and the supporting plate, to receive the mechanism that raises it, which consists
of a circular plate and a gear wheel which is attached to the said plate and both of

page_text: which are held on a stud made fast in the supporting plate by means of a nut on the
back of that plate. A pin is inserted in the face of the circular plate and a horizontal
slot is made in the lower end of the sliding plate which is widened out for that
purpose, the said pin sliding freely in the slot.
A lever is pivoted near its middle to the upper end of a support extending out and
up from the lower end of the supporting plate and a segmental rack that engages with
the above mentioned gear wheel is formed on the inner end of the lever the outer
end of the said lever being connected to a harness frame or harness lever to give it
motion.
The proportion between the gear wheel and the segmental rack, is such that a
motion of rather less than one third of a circle at the other end of the lever will give
the said gear wheel about one revolution on its axis so that one motion down or up
of the lever will lower and raise the sliding plate and needles which will always be up
when the shed is open, in ordinary weaving.
Supposing the parts to be in position in which the harness frame to which the lever
is attached is up and the needles are up and the shed open, then a downward motion
of that harness will carry down the outer end of the lever, and lower and raise the
sliding plate and needles for the other harness and its shed, that is, the up and down
motion of one harness frame will operate the attachment for both sheds, so that only
one connection is needed to work the attachment and the motions may be positive,
doing away with all springs.
The tipping of the sliding plate on its pivot to give the proper direction to the
needles to make them pass up alternately on the outer and inner sides of the slots is
caused by the action of the pin in the slot of the sliding plate as it passes its lowest
point, and when the outer end of the lover goes down, the pin passes to the right in
the slot and carries the lower part of the sliding plate over that way, which tips the
upper end of the said plate over to the left, so that the needles pass up on the left of
the slots, but when the outer end of the lever moves up the pin moves to the left in
the slot and carrying the lower part of the sliding plate over to the left and the needles
The friction of the pin in the
are carried over and pass up to the right of the slots.
slot may be increased by the use of a spring washer, or other means may be used to
ensure the proper sideway motion of the sliding plate but I have not found in practice
that either of these devices are necessary.
The form of the attachment for weaving double fabrics is made by taking a duplicate
et of the operating parts as above described reversing their position and putting them
om the upper part of the supporting plate which is extended for that purpose and
making the necessary connections of studs, bolts or the like with that plate.
"
In making one kind of selvage a thread is drawn through each of the holes. Those
are called dummy threads as they never rise with the harnesses but have the threads
passed around them to form the selvages.
The circular plate with its pin does not necessarily make a whole revolution for every
rise and fall of the needles, but such part of a circle as any particular case may require
can be obtained by varying the extent of motion given to the outer arm of the lever.
The number of warp threads passed through the slots is governed by the depth to
which it is desired to bind the selvages, but whatever the number may be, they will be
regularly woven like the others not in the slot which is a great advantage. That part
of my invention used to separate the two webs as fast as they are woven in the loom,
consists of a horizontal plate which is intended to be let into the top of the breast
Two
beam of the loom flush with the surface of the beam and on its inner corner.
vertical ears project from the ends of the plate in towards the loom and have bearings
made in them to receive a horizontal shaft which carries a cutter, which is made of a
round steel plate sharpened on its periphery.
The shaft revolves and also slides freely endways in the bearings in the supporting
cars.
The cutter is made fast on the middle of the shaft and two vertical plates are placed
one on each side on the cutter and a short shaft is held in bearings made in the forward
extensions of the plates upon which shaft a guide wheel is attached with the rolls one

page_text: on each side of the guide roll shaft. The guide roll is so placed that the lower side of
it is about on a level with the tops of the rolls fast on the cutter shaft and also on a
line with the top of the breast beam.
The peripheral surface of the rolls have small sharp points set in them after the
manner of rolls used in cloth temples. A plate is carried out horizontally from the
plates around close in front of the guide roll and on a level with the lower side of that
roll to serve as an apron to hold the web up to the guido roll.
The guide roll consists of a flat collar the thickness of which mainly depends on the
space left between the two selvages with thin flat radial teeth set in its periphery.
Those teeth are made with oval tapering points to enable them to enter between the
two selvages of the webs to be separated, but not sharp enough to catch and enter the
cloth on cither side of the selvages. The rolls are intended mainly to prevent the
guido roll from dropping down between the webs after they are separated if it should
be necessary for any reason to slack back the two webs towards the lathe.
The operation may be described as follows:-The plate so placed on the breast
beam of the loom as to bring its middle opposite the usual line between the two central
selvages, then the cloth enters on the top and passes between the top surface of the
plate and the undersides of the rolls and thence over the second rolls, the pins on those
rolls entering the cloth as it passes and giving a rotary motion to the rolls and the
cutter on the same shaft. As the two connected webs pass in, the teeth of the guide
wheels enter between the two selvages, the filling threads between which, enter between
the tooth of the wheel, and assist with the friction of the web on the rolls to turn the
guide wheel and its rolls.
The tecth in the guide wheel are supposed to about fill the space between the two
selvages, so that if the cloth swerves to the right or left, the selvages will press against
the sides of the teeth, and as the whole guiding and cutting mechanism is free to slide
sideways in the hearings of the shaft, this pressure on the sides of the teeth before
mentioned, will carry the whole mechanism either way as the case may be and keep
the teeth of the guide wheel in between the two selvages. The cutter being placed so
as to stand behind the centre of the guide wheel and compelled to follow its sideways
motion when it has any, will be obliged to cut the weft threads exactly in the middle
between the selvages.
In some cases two cutters may be used which work together as circular shears and
they are driven by a band from the cloth roll. The same guide wheel is used and
arrangement of parts to allow motion sideways of the guide wheel and cutters as before
described.
The pins in the rolls also assist in guiding the cutting attachment in passing through
a fringe woven between two pieces, as in towels for instance, as the pins enter between
the warp threads and prevent any improper side motion.
A strap around the pulley in place of the gear wheel may be used to give motion to
the circular plate by means of connections with the harness mechanism drawing
alternately on the ends of the strap.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in and relating to Selvage-weaving and Weft-cutting
Attachments for Looms.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co. Patent Agents,
45 Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex, 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 :—
My invention relates to that class of attachments for looms that are used in
making central selvages, where more than one width of fabric is woven in the loom
at the same time, and is an improvement on my United States Patent No. 403,198.

page_text: My said invention also relates to that class of attachments to looms which are
used in connection with the central selvage attachment, to separate the two webs so
woven together, by cutting the filling threads between the scivages produced by the
first attachment.
The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts hereinafter
described.
In the accompanying drawings
have shown how my said invention may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of my attachment, the parts being shown in the positions
which they occupy when the shed is closed.
Fig. 2 is a similar view with the parts shown in the positions which they occupy
when the needle slide has been tilted to the right and raised, and the shed has
been formed.
Fig. 3 shows a horizontal section taken on line xx, of Fig. I drawn to an enlarged
scale.
Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the attachment as shown in Fig. 2, the needle slide
being up and the shed formed ready for the passage of the shuttle.
Fig. 5 represents a front view of the attachment when arranged for use upon a
loom adapted for weaving double fabrics of two or more widths.
Fig. 6 shows a piece of fabric with central selvages binding two warp threads.
Fig. 7 shows a similar view to Fig. 6, in which three warp threads are bound by
the selvage thread.
Fig. 8 shows a piece of double fabric woven with central selvages in both parts,
by the attachment as shown in Fig. 5.
Fig. 9 shows a piece of corded fabric produced by means of the attachment.
Fig. 10 shows devices for ensuring the tipping of the sliding bar.
Fig. 11 is a front elevation of the cutting mechanism for separating the two webs,
by cutting the weft threads between the two selvages as the fabric is woven.
Fig. 12 shows a top view or plan of the same.
Fig. 13 is a vertical section taken through line xx in Fig. 11, showing the relative
position of the guide and cutter.
Fig. 14 is a similar view to Fig. 12 with a portion of two webs woven together,
being separated by cutting between the selvages.
Fig. 15 is a diagram showing a modification of the cutting mechanism using two
cutters and driven by belts from the cloth roll.
Fig. 16 shows a modification of the attachment.
Fig. 17 represents central selvages in which a dummy thread is used.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the
drawings.
A represents a stiff metallic supporting plate arranged to be rigidly connected
with the loom frame, the said plate being placed at the back of the loom-lay and
in front of the harness, a supplemental casting being at times necessary in order to
secure a proper adjustment of the plate. Two slots r, r, are made in the upper end
of the plate A, to receive the threads that are to be bound in the selvages.
When the attachment is used for single fabrics or those of only one thickness,
the supporting plate A, is intended to be attached to the loom frame by its lower
end only being made as shown in Fig. 1, but when used for double fabrics, it
should be secured at its upper end which is prolonged upward (see Fig. 5) to the
arch of the loom, and at its lower end to the bottom girt or floor; at about the
middle of the said supporting plate A, is a long slot, through which a bolt d, passes
which also enters a hole in a sliding plate C, where it is held by a nut. To the
upper end of the said plate C, are secured needles t, t, which have eyes near their
free ends similar to the needles used in sewing machines.
The sliding plate C, has cars to, cast on each edge of it which extend forward of
the plate to form supports for the thread spools, and also backward of the said
plate to receive set screws o o which are so set as to bring their inner ends against
the supporting plate A, on either side when the sliding bar is moved sideways; by

page_text: means of the set screws the amount of side motion allowed to the sliding plate C,
is regulated and the set screws are prevented from slipping by check nuts placed
on them, (see Fig. 3).
The sliding plate C, carries a spool s, upon which are wound two threads c, that
are passed through the eyes of the needles t, t, and in order that a proper and
uniform tension may be at all times imparted to the threads, I arrange a spring f²,
in such a position that it will bear upon the inner face of the thread wound upon
the spool, the spring being provided with an adjusting screw h, whereby its tension
may be regulated.
The
By mounting the spring f2 so that it will bear upon the thread instead of upon the
spool proper, I secure a uniform tension upon the thread c, inasmuch as the pressure
of the spring decreases as the leverage of the thread decreases, that is, as the thread
unwinds, so that as the face of the roll approaches the axis of the spool the leverage
necessarily decreases and the pressure exerted by the spring also decreases.
warp threads upon
the outside of the inner edges of the two pieces of cloth that are to
be woven together are passed through the slots rr in the supporting plate A.
The sliding plate C is made with an offset just below the spools, (see Fig. 4), to
make room between it, and the supporting plate A, to receive the mechanism that
raises it, which consists of a circular plate B, and a gear wheel, which is attached to
the said plate B, and both of which are held on a stud n made fast in the supporting
plate A, by means of a nut on the back of that plate. A pin v, is inserted in the face
of the circular plate B, and a horizontal slot m, is made in the lower end of the
sliding plate C, which is widened out for that purpose, the said pin sliding freely in
the slot.
A lever F, is pivoted near its middle to the upper end of a support G, extending
out and up from the lower end of the supporting plate A, and a segmental rack HI,
that engages with the above mentioned gear wheel f, is formed on the inner end of
the lever F, the outer end of the said lever being connected to a harness frame or
harness lever to give it motion.
The proportion between the gear wheel f, and the segmental rack H, is such that
a motion of rather less than one third of a circle at the outer end of the lever F, will
give the said gear wheel f, about one revolution on its axis n, so that, one motion
down or up of the lever F, will lower and raise the sliding plate C, and needles tt,
which will always be up when the shed is open, in ordinary weaving.
The parts are shown in Fig. 2, in that position in which the harness frame to which
the lever F, is attached is up and in which the needles are up and the shed open, as
shown in Fig. 4. A downward motion of this harness will carry down the outer end
of the lever F, and lower and raise the sliding plate C, and needles for the other
harness and its shed, that is, the up and down motion of one harness frame will
operate the attachment for both sheds, so that only one connection is needed to
work the attachment and the motions may be positive, doing away with all springs.
The tipping of the sliding plate C, on its pivot d, to give the proper direction to
the needles to make them pass up alternately on the outer and inner sides of the
slots rr, is caused by the action of the pin », in the slot m, of the sliding plate as it
passes its lowest point, and when the outer end of the lever F, goes down, the pin v,
passes to the right in the slot and carries the lower part of the sliding plate Cover
that way, which tips the upper end of the said plate Cover to the left, so that the
needles pass up on the left of the slots rr, but when the outer end of the lever F
moves up the pin v moves to the left in the slot m and carrying the lower part of the
sliding plate Cover to the left and the needles are carried over and pass up to the
right of the slots. The friction of the pin v in the slot may be increased by the use
of a spring washer, or the modification shown in Fig. 10, may be used to ensure the
proper sideway motion of the sliding plate C. This device consists of two springs m¹
arranged upon rods m² fitted to slide in the slot m, the ends of the said rods abutting
against the pin vas shown. I have not found in practice that either of these devices
are necessary.
The form of the attachment for weaving double fabrics as shown in Fig. 5, is made

page_text: by taking a duplicate set of the operating parts as shown in Fig. 1, reversing their
position and putting them on the upper part of the supporting plate A, which is
extended for that purpose, and making the necessary connections of studs, bolts, or
the like with that plate.
"
In making the selvages shown in Fig. 17, a thread s¹ is drawn through each of
the holes, ¹, (see Fig. 1). These are called "dummy threads es they never
rise with the harnesses but have the threads c c passed around them to form the
selvages.
The circular plate B, with its pin », does not necessarily make a whole revolution
for every rise and fall of the needles, but such part of a circle as any particu.hr erse
may require can be obtained by varying the extent of motion given to the outer arm
of the lever F. The number of warp threads passed through the slots r, r, is governed
by the depth to which it is desired to bind the selvages, but whatever the number
may be, they will be regularly woven like the others not in the slot, which is a great
advantage.
That part of my invention used to separate the two webs as fast as they are
woven in the loom, consists of a horizontal plate A, which is intended to be let into
the top of the breast beam F of the loom flush with the surface of the beam and on
its inner corner.
Two vertical ears project from the ends of the plate in towards the
loom and have bearings made in them to receive a horizontal shaft B which carries a
cutter d, which is made of a round steel plate sharpened on its periphery.
The shaft B revolves and also slides freely end-ways in its bearings in the
supporting ears.
The cutter d is made fast on the middle of the shaft B and two vertical plates g g
are placed one on each side on the cutter d and a short shaft is held in bearings made
in the forward extensions of the plates g upon which shaft a guide wheel 1) is attached
with the rolls a a one on each side of the guide roll shaft. The guide roll 1) is so
placed that the lower side of it is about on a level with the tops of the rolls bb fast
on the cutter shaft B and also on a line with the top of the breast beam ƒ (see
Fig. 13).
The peripheral surface of the rolls have small sharp points set in them after
the manner of rolls used in cloth temples. A plate C is carried out horizontally from
the plates g around close in front of the guide roll D and on a level with the lower
side of that roll to serve as an apron to hold the web up to the guide roll.
The guide roll D consists of a flat collar the thickness of which mainly depends on
the space left between the two selvages, with thin flat radial teeth set in its periphery.
These teeth are made with oval tapering points to enable them to enter between the
two selvages of the webs to be separated, but not sharp enough to catch and enter
the cloth on either side of the selvages. The rolls a a are intended mainly to prevent
the guide roll from dropping down between the webs after they are separated, if it
should be necessary for any reason to slack back the two webs towards the lathe.
The operation may be described as follows:
The plate A is so placed on the breast beam of the loom as to bring its middle
opposite the usual line between the two central selvages, then the cloth enters on the
line J, (see Fig. 15) and passes between the top surface of the plate C, and the under
sides of the rolls a, and thence over the second rolls bb, the pins on those rolls entering
the cloth as it passes and giving a rotary motion to the rolls and the cutter d on the
same shaft. As the two connected webs pass in, the teeth of the guide wheels D enter
between the two selvages, the filling threads between which, enter between the teeth
of the wheel, and assist with the friction of the web on the rolls a a, to turn the guide
wheel and its rolls.
The teeth in the guide wheel D are supposed to about fill the space between the
two selvages, so that if the cloth swerves to the right or left, the selvages will press
against the sides of the teeth, and as the whole guiding and cutting mechanism is free
to slide sideways in the bearings of the shaft B, this pressure on the sides of the teeth
before mentioned, will carry the whole mechanism either way as the case may be, and
keep the teeth of the guide wheel in between the two selvages. The cutter d being

page_text: placed so as to stand behind the centre of the guide wheel and compelled to follow its
sideways motion when it has any, will be obliged to cut the weft threads exactly in the
middle between the selvages.
Fig. 15 shows a modification of the invention in which two cutters are used which
work together as circular shears, and also showing a method of driving by a band
from the cloth roll. The same guide wheel is used and arrangement of parts to allow
motion sideways of the guide wheel and cutters as before described.
The pins in the rolls b b also assist in guiding the cutting attachment in passing
through a fringe woven between two pieces, as in towels for instance, as the pins
enter between the warp threads and prevent any improper side motion.
A strap around the pulley in place of the gear wheel f, may be used to give motion
to the circular plate B by means of connections with the harness mechanism drawing
alternately on the ends of the strap.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, declare that
what I claim is :-
Ist. In a central selvage weaving attachment for looms, the plate A with the plate C
attached thereto substantially as described, the said plate C being provided with
needles at its upper end, with gear wheel, plate B, pin v, and lever f with the
segment gear H, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
2nd. In a central selvage weaving attachment for looms, the plate A with the
plate C attached thereto substantially as described, the said plate C being provided
with needles at its upper end with plate B, and pin e, with mechanism for operating
them substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
3rd. In a central selvage attachment for looms, the plate A with the plate C
attached thereto substantially as described, the said plate C being provided with
needles at its upper end, gear wheel f, plate B, pin v, and lever F with segment H,
in combination with the plate C attached to the plate A substantially as described
said plate C' to be provided with needles at its lower end gear wheel f¹, plate B¹,
pin and lever F' with the segment gear H', substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.
4th. The guide wheel D with a cutting mechanism, all arranged to move sideways
freely, substantially as specified.
5th. The combination of the guide wheel D cutter d rolls « a rolls 6 6 plate C,
plates g and shaft B arranged to slide freely in its bearings, substantially as and for
the purpose specified.
6th. The combination of the guide wheel D rolls b b provided with points as
described, with a cutting attachment, all being arranged to move freely sidoways,
substantially as described.
7th. The circular cutter d with the rolls bb provided with pins, and a guiding
mechanism, all being arranged to move freely sideways, substantially as and for the
purpose set forth.
8th. In a central selvage weaving attachment for looms, the combination of the
plate A, plate C, the plate B, and pin v, substantially as described and for the purpose
specified.
9th. In a central selvage weaving attachment for looms, the plate A with the
plate C attached thereto substantially as described, the said plate C being provided
with needles at the upper end, with plate B, pin and mechanism to operate them,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.