Improvements in Machinery for the Manufacture of Mats with or without a Pile, Matting, or other Woven Fabrics.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 5th June, 1894-Accepted, 21st July, 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for the Manufacture of Mats with or
without a Pile, Matting, or other Woven Fabrics.
We ALBERT EDWARD HODDER, Engineer, and WILLIAM GOODACRE,
Manufacturer, both of Ceylon Mills, Queen's Road, Victoria Docks, London, E.
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 :-
Our invention is intended to provide a loom or apparatus for the manufacture of
mats, matting or the like from coir yarn, hemp or other material, which shall be of
simpler construction than the ordinary power loom, there being only one row of
healds for operating the warp threads, and be effective and simple in its action.
Reference will be made to the accompanying drawings wherein
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of our loom or apparatus, and Fig. 2 is a front elevation
of the same, parts being broken away for the sake of clearness.
and
Figs. 3 and 4 are side and front views respectively of a single heald (enlarged)
Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are enlarged details showing the styles of weaving to which our
loom is applicable.
The saine letters of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts of the
apparatus.
In carrying out our invention we provide a frame A upon which we stretch the
warp threads D passing over and kept in the proper tension by a pair of rollers C
preferably corrugated, said warp threads always remaining in a tight condition and
not operated upon by the healds.
We also provide rollers a', under which the warp threads B may pass and be
kept in slight tension by corrugated rollers such as a² a².
The third set of warp threads H which go to form the pile of the_matting or
other fabric are given the necessary drag by a pair of rollers G. The several
rollers are provided with weights as shown.
upon
We employ only a single set of healds I made preferably of metal and actuated
as hereafter described, and we form upon cach one a projecting nose (shown more
clearly in Figs. 3 and 4) in which are three or more passages i through which the
warp threads H pass and are thus brought almost vertically underneath or over
woven fabric so preventing the same from becoming loosened by reason of the drag
said warp.
The passages
in the nose of the heald being arranged one over
the other in a vertical plane allow of a number of warp threads H passing singly
through the warps D in the act of rising and falling and thus provide a firmer
texture to the finished work. We turn down or bend the edge of each heald as
at (Fig. 4) and in the flange so formed we make an enlarged slot through
which the warp threads B are passed, each slot being approximately of a length
equal to the distance between the warps DD, and we make the slot of each
alternate heald in a higher position than its adjacent one, the bottom of one slot
thus corresponding in height with the top of the one next to it.
The noses of the healds I project through alternate spaces between the dents I'
(Fig. 2) of the beater or sleigh K, the latter moving forward as the healds I rise
or fall thus facilitating the passage of the heald noses through the warps D and at
the same time beating up the work into a compact mass.
We provide the usual shuttle box M for containing two shuttles and arranged so
as to throw the weft or woof first under and then back over the warp D by means
of gear described further. The completed fabric passes between two rollers C', C³,

page_text: and, after being divided by a cutter, around rollers K', K', said rollers being
adjustable by means of set screws L.
The cutter z which may be adjustable as to height consists of a double set of
toothed knives one of which may remain stationary and the other caused to slide
to and fro thereon after the manner of a horse shears by means of a bevel gear XY
actuating cranks or eccentrics y. Said gear may be situated on one side only of the
machine if desired, instead of being arranged in duplicate, as shown.
The gearing which is situated mainly in the lower portion of the frame A is
arranged as follows.
Upon each end of the driving shaft 1 we mount a cam of peculiar shape O, a
skew wheel U gearing into another skew wheel V keyed upon shaft W which
carries at its other end a bevil wheel X engaging with bevil wheel Y and thus
actuating the cutter as before described.
Upon the shaft 1 are also mounted-spur wheels U¹, one at each end, gearing into
a wheel U of twice the diameter, fixed upon a second shaft 2 which also carries a
spur wheel U of the same diameter as U, said wheel U likewise gearing into a
spur-wheel U of twice its diameter mounted on a shaft 3 which is also provided
at or near each extremity with a crank W2 working in an elongated slot w at the
end of a connecting-rod W₁ the other end being pivotted to a bar at the base of
the healds I so as to cause them to rise and fall together upon each revolution of
the shaft 3. Said slot causes the healds to come to rest for a momentary period
of time at the end of each up and down stroke.
The cam O gives the required motion to the beater K by means of a roller or
projection p upon a lever P pivotted to the frame A at its lower end pl and at its
upper end p² to a connecting rod Q which is carried towards the front of the
machine and bears at its extremity a shaft Q1 having at each end a pinion R
capable of rolling upon a rack S. fixed rigidly in some convenient part of the
frame.
Upon the under surface of the beater K we form or attach a rack or racks which
rest upon and are carried by the pinions R so that the beater K will move through
a distance twice as great as that of the rod.
The curvation of the cam O is such that during one sixth of its revolution or
thereabouts the beater K is held in its most backward position to allow of a cast
of the shuttle taking place; it is then caused to beat forward and remain stationary
for a short period during which the shed is again formed, the forward position of
the beater preventing any possible lateral movement of the noses of the healds or
disarrangement of the warp threads H.
By this time the cam will have completed half a revolution and during the
remaining half it will cause the beater to recede and then make another beat
forward and so back to its original position.
The spur wheel Us on shaft 3 drives a spur wheel U carried on a shaft 4 upon
each end of which is also fixed a snail or tappet D', giving a slow ascending motion
and sudden release to bell crank lever B, controlled at one end by adjustable
spring D, and the other arm fixed to the continuous strap E' so that on a
sudden downward pull the shuttles are jerked from the boxes across the shed.
Said strap or cord E₁ passes around pulleys E', E², E³, E and Eª (shown more
clearly in Fig. 2) and is connected to the picker by two shorter pieces F3 F4. It
will be seen that during half a revolution of the snail D', the arm B¹, of the bell
crank lever rises and causes the pickers F1, F2 to come back to the end of the
shuttle box M at the same time causing the spring D² to become stretched, but as
soon as the bell crank lever is released, the spring causes the lever to fall and
suddenly drive forward the pickers and throw the shuttles into the opposite shuttle
box. It is manifest that the snails D' must be mounted at an angle of 180° upon
each end of the shaft so as to give an impulse alternately to the pickers at either
side. The shuttle boxes are caused to ascend and descend as follows. Each snail
or tappet D¹ upon the shaft 4 is provided with a pin B³ (or this may be upon a
separate disc or crank) carrying the end of a lever B pivoted to a point at or near

page_text: the front of the shuttle-box which is further provided with a slide or guides attached
to frame A. Upon said pin B' I also pivot one end of a connecting-rod B* the
other end of which is pivotted to a lever B³ suspended upon the axle B' of a spur
wheel B', the motion of said connecting-rod and lever by means of spring-controlled
pawl B' imparting motion to said spur wheel which gears into another spur wheel B',
mounted rigidly upon the roller C³, and thus rotating the same. Upon the other
end of roller C, as shown in Fig. 2 is a bevil wheel which gearing through two
other bevil wheels into the upper roller C' gives a rotary motion thereto in the
required direction. For various thicknesses of work the distance between the
rollers C² and C, is made adjustable by mounting the bevil wheel C³ upon its
shaft by means of a feather and key and fixing at the required height by a set
screw, or other equivalent means may be employed.
The working of the machine is as follows:
The warp threads having been arranged in their proper positions and the tension
adjusted, the healds I rise simultaneously with the shuttle box M which will cause
the warps B and H to be at their highest position, the warps D as previously
stated always remaining at rest.
The shuttles are now cast over and between the warps D and under the
warps H but the warps B being divided one shuttle goes under the upper B and
the other under the lower B.
The beater K now advances and at the same time the healds I begin to descend
and as before described pass through the warps D while the beater K is forward
thus preventing the noses of the healds from catching against any of the warps D.
The beater K recedes and then strikes again one or more times to ensure good
solid work and by the time it has returned and is at rest the healds I have reached
their lowest position and the shuttle box is again down. The shuttles are now
thrown under and between the warps D and over and between the warps B and
over the warps H. Meanwhile the rollers C³, C' will have made a small part of a
revolution and consequently have withdrawn a portion of the work and the cutter
will also have severed the work in the middle so as to produce two mats or other
fabrics at one and the same time.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is:-
1. In looms or apparatus for the manufacture of woven fabrics with or without
a pile the employment of a single row of healds arranged and operated in the
manner substantially as herebefore described and illustrated by Figs. 1 and 2 of
the accompanying drawings.
2. In looms or weaving apparatus such as herein described the use of healds
having noses projecting therefrom and passages therein through which the pile or
plush warps are delivered as and for the purposes described and as illustrated by
Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the accompanying drawings.
3. The improved loom or apparatus for weaving mats or matting or other
fabrics by power upon the same machine having a foundation or tight warp D
substantially as herein before described and with reference to the accompanying
sheets of drawings.
Dated this 5th day of June 1894.
HUGHES, SON & Co.,
38, Chancery Lane, London.