IMPROVE .MENTS IN INDIA-RUBBER MANUFACTURES, AND IN TOOLS AND MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN.
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Barnabás Daft, of Failsworth, in the
County of Lancaster, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of “ IMPROVE
.MENTS IN INDIA-RUBBER MANUFACTURES, AND IN TOOLS AND MACHINERY
EMPLOYED THEREIN.
".
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Barnabas Daft
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 13th August 1872.
-
•
I, THOMAS BARNABAS DAFT, of Failsworth, in-the County of Lancaster,
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN INDIA-RUBBER Manufactures; AND IN TOOLS AND MACHINERY
EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for. its object improvements in the manufacture of
elastic webbing and in the tools and machinery employed-therein. For
these purposes a sheet of vulcanized india-rubber of a suitable length,
width, and thickness, is stretched to several times its normal length and

page_text: held in tension by a framic or otherwise, and on one side of it is laid a
piece of felted or woven fabric, coated on one side with india-rubber or
india-rubber compound, and on the other side of the sheet in tension is
laid suitable fabric to answer for the inside or lining; they are then
passed under a sewing machine, and the three-fold fabric is sewn together
by rows of stitches onc-eighth of an inch or thereabouts between each
row, after which it is allowed to run up and assume the form of a
corrugated clastic webbing.
The sewing machine employed for this purpose is constructed so as to
carry the above-described materials backwards and forwards under the
needle by a stitch at a time, and when one row of stitches has been
performed, a "pitch" motion is given, which forces the row just finished
out of the way, and another row is commenced and completed, and so
on without stopping at either ends until the work is done or the cotton
in the shuttle or bobbin is exhausted.
Another of the machines employed is made with two rollers to receive
an endless band of vulcanized india-rubber (a lining having been first
put upon the rollers) and over the rubber band which is in tension is
put the outside or covering of cloth coated with rubber as before
described, or any other suitable material. These materials are then
passed under the sewing machine by a to-and-fro motion for the rows of
stitches and a "pitch" motion to divide the rows until the revolution
of the band upon the rollers is completed.
And another of the machines employed has eight or ten needles, more
or less, with a corresponding number of shuttles, and performs as many
rows of stitchies as needles at one and the same time. These rows are
about an inch apart, but they are reduced to an eighth of an inch, more
or less, by moving the materials being sewn an eighth of an inch, more
or less, at cach multiple row of stitches.
When the clastic webbing is suitable for boot gussets, it is to be cut
into sizes for those articles, and the top edges finished by over scaming
machinery.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Thomas Barnabas Daft in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 13th February 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Thomas
BARNABAS DAFT, of Failsworth, in the County of Lancaster, Civil
Engineer, send greeting.
1, ".
:1
WHEREAS Her most Excellent. Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and. seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Barnabas Daft, Her
special licence that I, the said Thomas Barnabas Daft, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
Barnabas Daft, 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 of IMPROVEMENTS IN INDIA-RUBBER MANUFACTURES. AND IN TOOLS
AND MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the-condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Thomas Barnabas Daft, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, 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 I, the said Thomas Barnabas Daft, 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 :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of
elastic webbing and in the tools and machinery employed therein. For
these purposes a sheet of vulcanised india-rubber of a suitable length,
width, and thickness is stretched to several times its normal length, and
› held in tension by a frame or otherwise, and on one side of it is laid a
piece of-felted or woven fabric coated on one side with india-rubber or

page_text: india-rubber compound, and on the other side of the sheet in tension is
laid a suitable fabric to answer for the inside or lining; they are then
passed under a sewing machine, and the three-fold fabric is sewn together
by rows of stitches one-eighth of an inch, or thereabouts, between each
row, after which it is allowed to run up and assume the form of a cor- {
rugated clastic webbing.
The sewing machine employed for this purpose is constructed so as to
carry the above described materials backwards and forwards under the
needle by a stitch at a time, and when one row of stitches has been
performed a "pitch" motion is given, which forces the row just finished ]
out of the way, and another row is commenced and completed, and so
on without stopping at either ends, until the work is done, or the cotton
in the shuttle or bobbin is exhausted.
Another of the machines employed is made with two rollers to receive
an endless band of vulcanized india-rubber (a lining have been first 1
put upon the rollers), and over the rubber band, which is in tension, is
put the outside or covering, or cloth coated with rubber, as before
described, or any other suitable material. These materials are then
passed under the sewing machine by a to-and-fro motion for the rows of
stitches and a "pitch " motion to divide the rows until the revolution of
the band upon the rollers is completed.
And another of the machines employed has eight or ten needles, more
or less, with a corresponding number of shuttles, and performs as many
rows of stitches as needles at one and the same time; these rows are
about an inch apart, but they are reduced to an eighth of an inch, more
or less, by moving the materials being sewn an eighth of an inch, more
or less, at each multiple row of stitches.
When the elastic webbing is suitable for boot gussets it is to be cut
into sizes for those articles, and the top edges finished by over seaming
machinery.
In order that this my said Invention may be the more readily under-
stood and carried into practical effect, I have hereunto annexed three
Slicets of Drawings, illustrating several modifications of my improve-
ments in machinery for the manufacture of my improved elastic webbing,
drawn to a scale of about quarter size, reference being had to the letters
and figures of reference marked thereupon.

page_text: Fig. 1 is a side view; Fig. 2, a plan; and Fig. 3, a front view of an
ordinary. single needlo sewing machine, having a travelling frame applied
thereto in accordance with this Invention.
Fig. 4 is a side view of the adjustable feed motion, shewn detached
and on an enlarged scale, Fig. 5 being an end sectional view of Fig. 4,
through the line a to b; and Fig. 6, a sectional plan of the same through
the line
c, d.
4
Fig. 7 is a front view; Fig. 8, a side view; and Fig. 9, a plan of a
single needle sewing machine, shewing another method of operating the
travelling frame, carrying the three-fold fabric to be stitched together.
Figs. 10 and 11 are details of parts of Figs. 7, 8, and 9, upon an
enlarged scale.
Fig. 12 is a front view and Fig. 13 a plan of another arrangement of
mechanism for actuating the travelling frame carrying the three-fold
material whilst being stitched together.
Fig. 14 is a front view, and Fig. 15 a side view of a multiple needlo
sewing machine, applicable to making several rows of stitches at the
same time, for the purposes of this Invention.
In Figs. 1, 2, and 3, A is the sewing machine, mounted upon a pedestal
rising from the base plate B; C is the driving spindle for actuating the
shuttle and communicating the necessary reciprocating motion to the
needle bar D by the eccentric E, rod F, and spindle G; H, H, are two
rails raised above the base plate B, on which the carriage I is, arranged
to travel backwards and forwards upon the rollers J. Beneath, and at
right angles to the rails. H, H, a spindle K is mounted in suitable
bearings, and carries at its extremities the two discs L, L. The necessary
to-and-fro motion is communicated to the carriage I by means of the
well-known adjustable feed motion N (herein-after frequently mentioned
and called the feed motion); illustrated in detail in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, of
which O is the lever, the length of which when attached to the eccentric P
by means of the joint Q, determines the size of the stitch; this lever,
when working in the direction of the arrows, causes the catches R to
impinge upon the periphery or rim of the wheel S, and thus compels
such wheel to make a corresponding portion of a revolution, whilst such
lever in working in the contrary direction to the arrows, has no effect
upon the wheel S, as is well understood. This feed motion produces the

page_text: stitch required and causes the frame T resting between the stops U upon
the top of the carriage I to travel beneath the needle from edge to edge
of the material, which is stretched upon an inner frame V by being
tacked or pinned thereto, or secured in any other convenient manner.
At the moment this traverso motion ceases and tho needle is out of the t
fabric, a longitudinal motion is communicated to the frame T, as heroin-
after described; thus the sewing is performed with a to-and-fro motion,
sewing backwards and forwards and across the end of cach row without
breaking the thread. From the outer faces of the two discs L a pin W
is made to project through a slot X formed in the forks Y, depending 1
from the ends of the carriage I, whereby such carriage is drawn back-
wards and forwards along the rails H as the discs L revolve, whilst the
striker A¹ projecting beyond the periphery of the disc L strikes the star
wheel B¹, causing it to revolve one tooth at a time; this acts upon the
grooved roller a (through the intermediate toothed wheel 6 gearing 1
between them), upon which roller a the frame T (by having a rack con
its under side gearing into the teeth of the roller a), travels in a longi-
tudinal direction according to the intermittent motion given to the
rollers a, so producing the distance between the rows of stitches. With
this arrangement of discs for working the carriage, the stitches will a
commence to decrease from the centre of the material towards the edges,
where they become much finer, which is an advantage in giving extra
strength to the material at the edges.
Instead of a carriage travelling upon rails, the arrangement illustrated
by Figs. 7, 8, and 9, may be substituted. The framework in this modi-
fication is mounted upon two tubes a, a¹, which slide along their
respective rods b, 6', one of such tubes a² having a key sliding in a key
groove, formed along its rod 6' to cause it to revolve therewith, and yet
to be free to slide lengthwise thereon. The tubes in this case being
provided with a pinion e at each end gearing with the racks d fixed upon
the under side of the framework e resting upon them; h, h, are two
guides rising from the base plate A, between which the double-toothed
rack is arranged to slide backwards and forwards upon a cam shaft i,
as herein-after described. This double-toothed rack y has a bracket f
at each extremity, which rises up above the edges of the travelling
frame, and so compels such frame to travel along such rods in the
direction in which the double rack is moving. The to-and-fro motion
is imparted to this double-toothed rack by gearing the top and bottom

page_text: rack alternately at each end of its traverse with the toothed pinion j,
which is keyed upon the spindle k, working in bearings I, and which
spindle has an intermittent revolving motion imparted to it by the feed
motion m (shewn on an enlarged scale in Figs. 4, 5, and 6), the arm n
of which is connected by the rod o to an eccentric p, actuated by the
driving shaft g of the sewing machine. At the extremity of this samo
spindle a cam (illustrated full size in Fig. 10) is mounted, and so timed
that at each end of the traverse of the rack g the lever arm & resting upon
the periphery of such cam r is caused to fall suddenly by the action of
the spring & into the position indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 10, and
the other arm u of such lever is raised. This latter arm u is connected
by a rod v to the actuating lever to of a feed motion x fixed upon the
rod 6, so that such arm in rising causes the shaft to partially revolve,
and the framework e carrying the three-fold material to advance to the
position beneath the needle ready for the next row of stitches, whilst at
the same instant the double-toothed rack 9 is thrown into position for
the return movement of the frame c by the following mechanism, part of
which is illustrated full size in Fig. 11. At the end of the lever arm w
of the feed motion a hooked bar w' is suspended, the hook w² of which
in rising pulls against one of the four pins y projecting from the face of
the disc affixed at the end of the cam shaft i, and causes such cam
shaft to make one-fourth of a revolution, so altering the position of the
double-toothed rack 9 with regard to the pinion j at each fourth of a
revolution. This cam shaft i, upon which the double-toothed rack g
always rests, is so shaped, that when either of its flattened surfaces are
uppermost (as seen full size in Fig. 11), the top rack gears with the
pinion j, whilst when either of its other (or rounded) surfaces are upper-
most, the bottom rack gear with the pinion, and so the alternate traverso
motion is produced for the frame, the cam shaft i being steadied in
its alternate position by the spring pawl y*.
In the modification represented by Figs. 12 and 13, the travelling
frame A for carrying the three-fold material beneath the needlo of a
sewing machine, is of the same description, and is mounted in a similar
manner to that shown in Figs. 7, 8, and 9. The rollers A' and A³ in
this arrangement are mounted upon their respective guide rods B and
B', which in this case are square, in cross section, so that as such rods
revolve their respective rollers revolve with them, but are free to slide
lengthwise upon such rods. Between the pinions O, O, and C³, C¹,

page_text: "
-situated at the extremitics of cach of the rollers a sleeve D and D¹ is
mounted, having a peg E and E¹ depending from it, and which sleeve is
prevented turning with the rollers by the peg E and E' passing through
a slot F, formed in a stationery plate F, which extends from the
pedestal G to the other pedestal H, in which the rods have their bearings,
and beneath cach of the rollers a drum I and T'is mounted in bearings;J
and J, such drums having a helical groove K formed round their peri-
pheries, as illustrated (shewn in different positions with regard to the
rollers for, the sake of clucidation), into which grooves the lowest
extremities of the pegs E enter, so that as such drums revolve the
rollers A' and As are simultaneously caused to slide along-their respectivo
rods, carrying the frame A and three-fold fabric with them to give. the
to-and-fro motion or distance between the stitches. Tho revolving
motion is imparted simultaneously to both the drums by the shaft or
spindle L, which is geared between them by the bevil wheels M, and
such shaft Lobtains its own motion: from the sewing machine through
tho feed motion N, which. is actuated by an eccentric upon such sewing
machine. The longitudinal motion of the travelling frame is obtained
by the action of the double cam O mounted at the extremity of the
drum I', which at every half revolution allows the lever arm P of a feed
motion mounted at the end of the rod B to spring to the position illus-
trated in Fig. 12, so causing the rollers to revolve a proportionate part
of a revolution, and, thus to carry the travelling frame A.as
...sufficient
distance for commencing-the-next row. of, stitches.
i
It is obvious that a single drum and helical groove might be employed
instead of two drums for actuating the to-and-fro frame A, situated
centrally between the rollers A¹ and A³, but a cross frame would then
bo required, connecting the two rollers or sleeves D. with such central
drum, by-a-peg-projecting into the helical groove of such central drum.
In Figs. 14 and 15 I-illustrate the manner of applying a multiplo
needle sewing machine to the manufacture of my clastic fabric. In
this modification-the-sewing machine-itself travels across the material to
perform the rows of stitches, whilst the space between the rows is-
obtained by a longitudinal motion of the three-fold material. The three-
fold fabric in this case is mounted upon delivery rollers. a is the roller
carrying the sheet of india-rubber, provided with a friction_band b to
regulate the tension of the rubber; c is a roller carrying the facing or

page_text: outside cloth; and d a similar roller carrying the lining or inside cloth;
c, c, are two guide rollers, which guide the three folds of material immc-
diately before passing under the machine; ff, are two draw rollers,
between which the three-fold fabric passes, and which draw the material
forward at suitable intervals, as will be herein-after described; g is the
driving shaft, from which all the motions are derived, carrying the fast
and loose pulleys h, sliding in the key groove i to allow the shaft to
traverse; is the base plate of the sewing machine proper, carrying
on its under side two rails k, working upon bowls mounted upon
standards m, rising from the main base plate n; o is the needle bar,
carrying the needles 2, actuated in any of the well-known methods
direct from the driving shaft g; q, are the shuttle carriers holding the
shuttles, and mounted upon the spindle 8, working in guide blocks t,
sliding in the guides u. Motion is given to theso shuttles through the
mitre wheels v, shaft w, eccentric #, and cross head connection y; A, A',
are two drums, having formed in them a cam groove B, similar to the
one described in connection with Figs. 12 and 13.
Into this groove a
pin C projects from the under side of the base plate ; of the sewing
machine, so that as such drums 'revolve the pin C following the groove
in the drums A, A', impart corresponding to-and-fro motion to the base
plate ; and the sewing mechanism mounted thereupon. Suitable motion
is conveyed from the driving shaft g to these drums A, A', by gearing
them to a cross shaft D, by the mitre wheels E. This shaft carries a
feed motion F, the lever arm G of which is connected by the link I to
the eccentric I; which slides in the key groove of the shaft g. Upon
the shaft carrying the drum A is mounted the double cam J, which
gives the longitudinal motion to the three-fold material at the termi-
nation of each row of stitches, acting in thic same manner as the double
cam O' in Fig. 12; the connection to the draw rollers' being through the
› spring lever arm K, which actuates the feed motion Ļ.
.
The action of this multiple needle sewing machine is as follows:-
The number of needles in the needle bar O is here shewn ten, but it will
be obvious that the number may be considerably more or even less, as may
be desired, the three-fold material Z being in position, as shewn, and the
5 machine set in motion, the sewing machine advances across the three-
fold material, the ten rows of stitches thus being performed at one
operation, and at the completion of the traverse, that is, as the pin C
comes to the turn in the helical groove in the drums A, A¹, and when

page_text: as and for the purposes herein-before described and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Barnabas Daft, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of February,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.
Witness,
JOHN G. WILSON,
Patent Office,
71, Market Street,
Manchester.
THOMAS B. DAFT. (L.s.)