AN IMPROVED MANU- FACTURE OF ELASTIC FABRICS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Archibald Turner and Luke Turner, of Leicester,
Elastic Web Manufacturers, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MANU-
FACTURE OF ELASTIC FABRICS."
Sealed the 6th February 1857, and dated the 15th October 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Archibald Turner and
Luke Turner at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 15th October 1856.
We, ARCHIBALD TURNER and LUKE TURNER, of Leicester, Elastic Web
Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVED MANUFACTURE OF ELASTIC FABRICS," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists in combining strands of india-rubber and woven
fabrics together, by means of stitching or sewing with threads or yarns, so that
the several parts may be securely connected together, and improved elastic
fabrics be thereby produced, and which may be employed for various purposes,"
such as in the manufacture of braces, garters, the gussets or other parts of
stays, boots and shoes, and other garments.
The india-rubber strands are arranged longitudinally, or side by side, and.
are covered on one side by a fabric composed of silk or satin, or any other
material, which will form the face of the fabric, and on the other side with
a fabric of cotton, such as twilled calico, &c., the india-rubber strands being

page_text: between the two woven fabrics. The materials being thus arranged, are then
sewed or stitched together by means of threads or yarns, which are passed
through the two woven fabrics between the elastic strands, and are secured
therein either by means of cross threads, or in any other convenient way that will
hold the first threads securely. These threads or yarns are worked by means
of sets of needles, somewhat similar to knitting needles, but mounted in a bar
or bars, which are actuated by suitable mechanism, to produce the same motion
as those of ordinary sewing or stitching machines, to which the operation may
be compared, except that in sewing machines only one vertical needle and
thread is employed; as only one row of stiches is required, whereas in our
machines a series of needles ranged in one line and all moved at once are
employed, as in knitting machinery, so as to produce several rows of stitches
simultaneously. The strands of india-rubber are by this means secured
between the two woven fabrics by means of rows of stitches extending
longitudinally along the compound fabric, which will be rendered elastic by
means of the india-rubber-strands contained therein..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Archibald Turner and Luke Turner in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 15th April 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ARCHIBALD
TURNER and LUKE TURNER, of Leicester, Elastic Web Manufacturers, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six; in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said.
Archibald Turner and Luke Turner, -Her special license that we, the said
Archibald Turner and Luke Turner, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as 'we, 'the said Archibald Turner and Luke Turner,
our-'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 "AN IMPROVED MANUFACTURE OF
ELASTIC FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Archi-
bald Turner and Luke Turner, by an instrument in writing under our hands

page_text: and 'seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, 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 we, the said Archibald Turner and Luke Turner,
do hereby declare the nature of our 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
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say):
Our Invention of "An Improved Manufacture of Elastic Fabrics" consists
in combining strands of india-rubber and woven fabrics together, by means of
stitching or sewing with threads or yarns, so that the several parts may be
securely connected together, and improved elastic fabrics be thereby produced,
and which fabrics may be employed for various purposes, such as in the manu-
facture of braces, garters, the gussets or other parts of stays, boots and shoes,
and other garments.
In our improved manufacture of elastic fabrics the india-rubber strands are
arranged longitudinally, side by side, and are covered on one side by a fabric
which may be composed of silk or satin, or any other material which will form
the face of the fabric, and on the other side with a fabric of cotton, such as
twilled calico, or othe cheap fabric, or silk, if required, the india-rubber
strands being between the two woven fabrics. The materials being thus
arranged, are then sewed or stitched together by means of threads or yarns,
which are passed through the two woven fabrics between the elastic strands,
and are secured therein by means of cross threads, or in any other convenien
way that will hold the first threads securely. These threads or yarns are
worked by means of sets of needles, somewhat similar to knitting needles, but
mounted in a bar or bars, which are actuated by suitable mechanism, to pro-
duce the same motion as those of ordinary sewing or stitching machines, to
which the operation may be compared, except that in sewing machines only one
vertical needle and thread is employed, as only one row of stitches is required,
whereas in our machinery a series of needles arranged in one line and all
moved at once are employed, as in knitting machinery, so as to produce several
parallel rows of stitches simultaneously. The strands of india-rubber are by
this means sewed between the two woven fabrics by means of rows of stitches
extending longitudinally along tho compound fabric, which will be rendered
elastic by means of the india,rubber strands contained therein.

page_text: In order, however, that our Invention may be clearly understood, we have
shewn in the accompanying Drawings various views of the mechanical
arrangements for producing our improved manufacture of elastic fabric.
Fig. 1 is an elevation of part of one end of the machine, shewing the
mechanism whereby the motions of the several working parts are effected; Fig.
2 is a transverse vertical section of the machine, taken through the principal
working parts; Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the machine, some of the parts
being removed in order that the internal parts may be more clearly seen.
The framework of the machine is shown at A, A, A, A. B is the principal
driving shaft, which by means of suitable gearing actuates the secondary shafts
of the machine; a and b are beams or rollers on which tho two woven fabrics
that are intended to be united are wound; these beams are of course weighted
in the same way that warp beams usually are for the purpose of keeping the
fabrics in tension. The india-rubber warp strands that are to be inserted
between the woven fabrics are either wound on or passed round the beam or
roller c, which is also weighted, for the purpose of keeping the strands in ten-
sion. dande are beams, provided with a series of threads, whereby the woven
fabrics from the beams a and b are sewed together. The threads from the beam
d are passed through the eyes of a series of needles fixed in leads secured
to the needle bar f, which is mounted upon the ends of the vibrating levers i, i;
of the rocking shaft j, and which by their motions move the needles to and fro
or into and out of the fabrics. The threads from the beam e pass through the
eyes of a corresponding series of guides attached to the guide bar g, which has
a vertical vibratory, and also a lateral shogging motion communicated to it by
means of cams, as will be hereafter more fully explained. By this means the
guides with their threads are made to move up and down between the needles,
and thereby to secure the loops formed thereon by the threads from the beam d.
In order to secure the proper and accurate operation of those parts of the
machine where the operation of sewing the fabrics together actually takes
place, the needles of the barf are caused to work in grooves or notches made
in a fixed bar, as seen at h. The india-rubber strands are also held in their
proper relative position and guided between the needles by means of a fixed
bar l, having grooves or notches made therein to receive each individual strand.
The to-and-fro motions of the needle barf, for the purpose of passing the needles
through the work, are effected by means of a cam m on the shaft D at the
back of the machine, and which, by acting on the tail of the lever k on the
rocking shaft j, causes the levers i, i, to move to and fro and force the points
of the needles into and out of the work. The vibrating motions of the guide
bar are effected by a cam n on the same shaft D as the cam m, and which

page_text: cam n, by operating upon the tail of the lever o on the guide bar shaft p, causes
the same to rock in its bearings, and by means of the vibrating levers mounted
on the shaft p, and which levers support the ends of the guide bar g, the guide
bar and its guides are moved up and down when required, the motions of the
guide bar being properly timed by arranging the projection and depression on
the periphery of the cam n, as is well known. In addition to this motion for
moving the guides.up and down between the needles, the guides have a lateral
shogging motion communicated to them by means of a cam 9 on the same
shaft D as the other cams m and n. This cam acts against the tail of a pendent
lever, mounted on a stud 1 fixed in the framing. To the shorter end of
this lever r is attached a connecting rod s, the opposite end of which is jointed
to one arm of a bell-crank lever t, mounted on the vertical stud 2, fixed in a
bracket attached to the framing. The other arm of the bell-crank lever t is
connected by means of a roc
rodito
to the guide bar g, so that when one end of the
bell crank levert is forced drawn back, by the action of the cam 9 on
the pendent lever r, the other arm of the bell crank lever will, by means of
the rod 3, pull the guide bar g in a lateral direction, and when the guides
have risen up between the needles and performed their operations, the guide
bar g will be drawn-back into its normal position by the action of the long
coiled spring 4.
Having described the principal working parts of the machine, we will now
proceed to explain their operations, which are as follows:-The woven.
fabric from the beam a is conducted down in front of the fixed grooved
bar and passed through the machine to the pressing delivery rollers
c, c, below; the india-rubber strands are also conducted from the beam c
to the fixed grooved bar I, each individual strand being placed in a separate
groove of the bar 1; the woven fabric from the beam 6 is conducted down at
the back of the grooved bar 1, and consequently behind the india-rubber.
strands, but in front of the fixed needle guide bar h, which supports and forces
forward the back or hindermost fabric, while the front guide bar t (seen par-
tially cut away in Fig. 3) presses back the front fabric. By this means the
two fabrics with the india-rubber strands enclosed between them are pressed
into close contact by the action of the fixed bars h and t so as to present a
firm and solid substance to the advancing needles. By the rotation of the cam
shaft D the cam m operates the levers k on the rocking shaft j, and by that
means the levers i, i, of the same shaft will force the needles forward into the
work, and these needles will of course carry with them the threads from the
yarn beam d. (This position of the working parts is shewn at Fig. 4.) At
that moment the guides with their threads from the beam c are made to

page_text: rise up between the needles by the operation of the cam-q on the lever r, for
the purpose of causing the loops on the needles to be formed properly between
the guides for the next motion, the loops on the needles being formed by draw-
ing back the needles a little so as to slacken the threads (as shewn at Fig. 5);
the guides then descend below the needles and are shogged laterally to the
other side of the needles (as at Fig. 6) by the operation of the cam'q on the
pendent lever'r and the bell-crank lever t, by which means the heads of the
guides are passed with their threads into the loops of the needles; the guides
then rise up through the loops (as shewn at Fig. 7) and the needles go back,
leaving the loops. on the shanks of the guides (as at Fig. 8). When the needles
have retreated & left their loops on the guides, and the guide-bar g has been
shogged again a little further in the same direction, then the needles advance
again to receive the threads of the guides, which are then relieved from the
operation of the cam q, and the coiled spring 4 will therefore draw back the
guide bar g, thereby moving it in the opposite direction, leaving the threads of
the guides over the points of the needles (as shewn at Fig. 9) the guides then
descend, and in so doing the loops previously formed thereon will be drawn off
(as at Fig. 10), and the needles will then be made to advance still further for
the purpose of drawing the loops tight and making another loop, as before.
In order to prevent the loops from being disarranged on the needles by the
weight of the yarn beam d (when once made), a clamping bar is placed
above the threads. This bar is jointed to the vibrating needle bar, and has a
short vertical motion communicated to it by a spring vand vibrating cam
piece w, which is made to work under studs or rollers fixed at both ends of
the machine, so that when the needles are moved forward they draw off from the
beam d the exact amount of thread that is required to form the new loop;
the clamping bar then comes down and clamps the threads tightly, then upon
the needles retiring the loops will be properly formed, and will be taken up by
the guides, as before mentioned.
The two woven fabrics from the beams a and b, with the india-rubber strands
between them, having been thus united together by stitching or sewing, the
compound fabric is conducted down to the delivery rollers c, c, which are
pressed together by means of springs or weighted levers, rotary motion being
communicated to one of them by means of a snail or endless screw a working
into a screw wheel y on the end of the shaft of one of the rollers, as seen in
Fig. 1. On the opposite end of the same spindle as the endless screw a is a
ratchet wheel, which is worked by a click at the upper end of a rod, jointed at
its lower end with a lever, that is actuated by a crauk on the cam shaft D
by means of a connecting rod, as shewn in the Drawing.

page_text: Having now described our Invention of an improved manufacture of elastic
fabrics, and the best means of carrying the same into effect, we would observe
in conclusion, that although we have described and shewn the mechanical
arrangements which we purpose to employ in the manufacture of our im-
proved elastic fabric, having found the same to answer the purpose in a
most satisfactory manner, we do not intend to confine ourselves rigidly to
the precise arrangement or construction of parts herein shewn and described,
nor to the mode of stitching, sewing, or uniting the fabrics together, as they
may doubtless be varied without departing from the nature and object of our
Invention. In conclusion, we claim as new as of our Invention an improved
manufacture of elastic fabric, consisting of two woven fabrics sewed or stitched
together, with strands of india-rubber between them, as above described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Archibald Turner and Luke Turner,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, the Thirteenth day of April,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
JOHN BURTON, of Leicester.
A. TURNER. (L.8.)
L. TURNER. (L.B.)