A CERTAIN IMPROVEMENT IN LOOMS OR MACHINERY FOR WEAVING FABRICS
Year: 1834

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CLAUDE
MARIE HILAIRE MOLINARD, of Brewer Street, Golden Square, in the County
of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Seventeenth day of October, in the fifth year of His reign,
did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Claude Marie Hiliare Molinard, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said Claude Marie Hilaire Molinard, my exors,
adiñors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Claude Marie Hilaire
Molinard, my exors, adñiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and all times during the term of years therein
mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, the Invention of
"A CERTAIN IMPROVEMENT IN LOOMS OR MACHINERY FOR WEAVING FABRICS,"
communicated to me by a certain Foreigner residing abroad; in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Claude Marie Hilaire
Molinard, shall cause a particular description of the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled
in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within four calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters

page_text: Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more
fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Claude Marie Hilaire Molinard, do hereby declare that the nature of the
sd Invention, and the manner of carrying the same into effect, are parti-
cularly described and set forth as follows, that is to say:
Whereas a Patent was granted to me on or about the Ninth day of April,
in the year One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three, for "Certain
Improvements in Looms or Machinery for Weaving Fabrics," the Specification
whereof was duly enrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery, and I
described therein that the said improvements were applicable to Jacquard
looms, and consisted in passing the warp threads through eyes in a body of
needles placed vertically over the pattern cards, so that when these are lifted
by the pattern shaft or cylinder rising, the blank or unpierced parts of the
pattern cards acting on the ends of certain of the needles lift them up, while
the needles that are over holes in the pattern cards are not lifted up, and the
needles being, as described in my said Specification, connected directly with
the warp threads by passing through them, the warp threads partake of their
motion, that is, the warp threads that pass through those needles which are
lifted by the blank parts of the pattern cards are lifted up therewith, and
the warp threads passing through needles that are allowed to enter the holes
of the pattern cards remain unmoved; whereby, as described in my said
Specification, an effect corresponding to that produced by the operation of
the various parts of the Jacquard machinery of an ordinary Jacquard loom is
produced. In my said Specification I described the warp as being over the
pattern cards, and nearly all the parts of a common Jacquard loom removed,
viz, the lifting bars, the lifting rods or hooks, the horizontal needles, the mounture
and the mails, the vertical needles, through which I described the warp threads
as passing, supplying their place. A principal advantage of the aforesaid
improvements, as applied to the weaving of ordinary figured goods, consists
in the complete connection of the needles with the warp threads whereby
they form, as it were, but one body, so that the needles transmit to
the warp the motion which they themselves receive from the pattern
cards, without the connections being loosened between those warp threads
that are not to move and their needles. But the application of the said
improvements requires an entire alteration and reconstruction of almost every
part of the machinery.
Now the improvement for which the present Patent has been granted to me,
consists in applying to a figure loom instead of the ordinary Jacquard move-

page_text: ment a body of needles acted upon by the rise and fall of a pattern shaft or
cylinder in the way described in my former Specification. But instead of
dismantling the whole loom, I leave the warp, and mails, and mounture, just
as usual in a Jacquard loom, suspending the threads of the mounture by
lifting or suspension threads from the aforesaid needles, by which means one
of the principal advantages of the improvements of my former Patent is
rendered applicable to a loom for weaving figured fabrics with greater economy
and facility.
For the more complete explanation of the said present improvement, I have
hereunto annexed two Sheets of Drawings, representing several ways of
applying it. In the Figures A, B, E, D, Sheets 1 and 2, hereunto annexed,
I have represented the mode of applying a body of vertical needles in con-
junction with the mounture and mails of a Jacquard loom. It will be seen
by inspection of the Drawings that a figure movement thus constructed may
be applied on the top of the frame of such a loom like the ordinary Jacquard
machinery, without disturbing the places of the mails and mounture and
warp.
Figure A represents the figuring machinery with the pattern shaft to be
moved up and down to act on the needles. It is lifted up by the depression
of the treadle 14, which turns the axis 6 round and winds up the straps a,
thereby lifting up the frame 8, which carries the pattern shaft 2. 11, 11, are
the T-headed rods or bars placed under the shaft 2, furnished with spiral
springs to cause them to follow the shaft and keep it in its right position (or
they might be placed above it), the T-heads applying against the lower flat
side of the pattern shaft. The pattern shaft is turned round at intervals by a
catch bar 16 which is suspended from one end of a lever 50 poised on a
centre at 51 fixed to the cross head of the frame. The other end of that
lever is linked by a rod 52 passing loosely through the end of the lever to a
staple 53, screwed on to one of the uprights of the lifting frame 8, and at the
other end the catch bar is linked to the lever 50 by a universal joint; when the
frame 8 rises it allows the right-hand end of the lever 50 to rise by moving
up the rod 52, and the other end being the heaviest descends for the catch
bar 16 to be ready, when the pattern shaft 2 is allowed to descend again, to
catch under the next tooth or bar of the trundle on one end of pattern
shaft to that under which it caught the time before; and when the pattern
shaft frame 8 descends, the catch bar 16 is drawn up by the opposite or right-
hand end of the lever being depressed, wherefore as the pattern shaft
descends it gets turned round a sixth of a revolution, and brings a fresh
pattern card under the needles for the next shoot of the weft. Note, the

page_text: cylinder is drawn with six sides, but it is clear that it might have any other
number, the trundle having a corresponding number of teeth, and the
catch bar 16 being of suitable length. The foregoing parts are in nearly
all respects the same as the corresponding ones described in my former
Specification, and need not be further described.
The vertical needles are guided by two guide planks or plates 3 and 4, see
the side view; they are plain straight needles or wires, with heads formed on
their upper ends which rest on the upper guide plank 3, and prevents them
from falling too low, and there are holes through those heads large enough to
thread twine through them; see also the detached views of the needles,
Figure F, Sheet 1. The upper guide plank is fixed. The lower one
slides in grooves made in the insides of the cheeks of the frame of the figuring
movement with the needles that are lifted by the pattern card. The warp
threads are (as I have herein-before stated in general terms) passed
through a harness of mails, just as in a Jacquard loom. The mails
are suspended by a mounture, and threads which pass through a pieced
board, and are tied to other threads or twine that go up thence to
the upper ends of the needles, and are passed through holes in the upper
plank 3, and fastened into the holes in the heads of the needles; see also
the detached Figures of a needle. There are therefore twice as many holes
in that plank as needles, one set for the needles and one set for the suspension
threads or cords. There is nothing further in particular to say of this
construction of figuring machinery. Its operation will be easily understood,
videlicet, when certain of the needles are lifted up by the blank parts of the
pattern card, they lift up with them those of the warp threads to which they
are connected by the lifting or suspension threads, and mounture and mail,
see the Figure A; and the warp threads belonging to those needles that
are over holes in the pattern card are not lifted; the cards will therefore
be pierced for the blank parts and not the holes to correspond to the
pattern.
Figure B, Sheet 2, represents the mode of applying the body of vertical
needles connected by suspension threads fastened to their upper ends to
lifting threads or mounture, and a harness of mails, as in the preceding
Figure A. But in this construction the needles have a rising and falling
motion given to them, and the pattern shaft is stationary; the necks of the
pattern shaft rest in bearings in the jambs or cheeks of the figuring machinery
(see the Figure B.) The needles are mounted in a lifting frame 8, which is
lifted by depressing a treadle 14, not shown in the Drawing, the treadle being
connected by a band with a pulley e, on a horizontal axis 6, on which are

page_text: other pulleys 6, 6, over which bands a, a, go to suspend the needle frame 8.
By depressing the treadle the frame 8 is lifted and carries up with it the
needles 1, and vice versa, when the treadle is released, the needle frame
descends. Those of the needles that are over blank parts of the pattern card
in descending are resisted thereby, and remain stationary, consequently, the
warp threads to which they are connected remain unmoved; but those of the
needles that are over holes in the pattern cards go down into them, and with
them descends that part of the harness of mails to which they are connected,
separating the corresponding warp threads from the others, for the weaver to
throw his shuttle. A catch bar 16 is attached to the needle frame, which
descends when the needle frame descends, and its catch drops in by its own
weight below the bar of the trundle of the pattern shaft next to that one that
it caught under at the preceding time it was lifted, and the next time the
needle frame 8 rises, the catch bar 16 rising with it gives the pattern shaft
a portion of a turn, to bring a fresh slip or pattern card on to the upper face
of the said pattern shaft. The pattern shaft is kept up to its work by a pair
of spring T levers 11, 11, as in the former construction, the springs of which
yield, to allow the pattern shaft to be turned when the needle frame rises.
And note, the needle frame is lifted, as shewn by the Drawing, far enough
for the ends of the needles to be somewhat above the face of the pattern
shaft, in order to allow it to be turned without touching them, so that when
the frame descends, strictly speaking, all the warp threads descend a little,
videlicet, about an inch or so, but only those are separated from the others
whose needles drop down into holes. The suspension threads are passed
through the upper plank 3, and tied to heads formed on the upper ends of the
needles, as in the construction, Figure A, and the needles are guided by the
planks or plates 3 and 4, which are attached to the frame 8. The other
parts of the Drawing speak for themselves, and the operation of this con-
struction of the figure movement needs no further description. But note, in
piercing the cards for this construction, it must be remembered that the holes,
and not the blanks, correspond to the pattern, since it is the needles that are
admitted into holes that open the warp to form the shade.
Figure D represents a mode which may be used of applying the vertical
needles, whereby the same needle may be caused to act upon three lifting or
suspension threads, not at once, but dividing them into alternate pairs, so as
sometimes to raise two out of the three, missing one; and at others to miss
one of the first lifted pair, and lift the one that was missed before together
with one of the first lifted pair, and then back again and so on. This mode
of operating on the threads of the mounture is only used for shawl weaving

page_text: Their lower ends pass through
for a peculiar mounting of the loom, called by French weavers and Jacquard
loom makers" le quart," in English "the fourth or the quarter;" and to
work which mounting in Jacquard looms two lifting bars and two sets of
lifting hooks are used. It is not necessary for me to go into any description
of the mode of mounting a loom for which this construction is adapted, as
the explanation of the operation of the machinery itself will be sufficient for
a shawl weaver. 1, 1, are the needles that are connected by suspension threads
and mounture to the warp threads; and under them is another body of vertical
needles which are lifted by the cards. These are only half as many as the
needles 1, and at the upper end of each of the lower needles a head is soldered,
hollowed out into a small cup which is large enough to receive the ends of
two of the upper needles 1, 1. The needles 1 are supported by a stop plank 3
which is fixed, and on which their heads rest.
a thin brass plate 7 made with turn down edges or margins, see the figure,
which is guided by iron rods A mounted on a lower moveable plank 4; the
brass plate 7 being adjusted to parallelism thereto by setting nutts. The
lower needles are supported by an intermediate fixed plank 5, see the Figure,
on which their heads rest, which intermediate plank is fastened to the upper
fixed plank by other rods B. To the intermediate plank 5, iron plates are
screwed, see also the detached plan, Figure G, through which the rods A work.
The brass plate 7 is jogged sideways otherwise by means of two links 9, 10,
which embrace the rods A. The links 10 are attached by upright arms 12
to an iron bar 13 that lies along parallel to the plate 5, and is moved by an
arm 14. The other links 9 are fastened to spiral springs 15 attached to the
intermediate fixed plank 5. The lower parts of the lower needles are guided
by just passing through the lower moveable plank 4 which slides up with
those needles that rise, being guided by grooves in the cheeks of the frame.
The rising and falling movement is given to the lower needles just as in the
machinery already described in reference to Figure A, by the unpierced parts
of the cards lifting certain of them up. The movement for working the upper
needles to correspond to the peculiar mounting of the loom, for which this
construction is intended, as aforesaid, is produced by giving at the proper
intervals a jogging or sidewise movement to the brass plate 7, and conse-
quently to the whole body of the upper needles 1. To effect this jogging
movement at the proper intervals, the lever 14 is worked up or down according
as the plate 7 is to rack to the right or to the left, see Figures D and H.
By connecting the cord 18 of the weight 17, which is hung on the lever 14,
to a small Jacquard movement, such as is used in general in Jacquard looms
for the ground harness, or a small movement on the plan of that described

page_text: herein-before in reference to Figure A, may be applied to lift at the proper
intervals (regulated by the cards and needle or needles of the said small
Jacquard movement) the weight 17, and allow the springs 15, Figure G, to
pull the plate 7 in the direction of the arrow, whereby the positions of the
needles 1, shewn in the Drawing, Figure H, are produced. And when the
pattern requires it, the aforesaid ground harness movement will allow the
weight 17 to drop, that turns the bar 13 back and pulls the plate 7
away in opposition to the springs, and thus causes the upper needles
all to shift a space, videlicet, No. 1, which is in the Drawing over
none of the lower needles, will move so as to be over the first lower
needle; No. 2, which stands over the first lower needle, will shift to the
place of No. 3; No. 3 will shift so as to be over the second lower needle,
and so on. See Figure H. And if in the new position of the upper
needles the outer lower needle No. 1 were raised, it is plain that instead of
lifting up Nos. 2 and 3 of the upper needles, and the warp threads to which
they may be connected, it would raise Nos. 1 and 2 and their corresponding
warp threads, and so on backwards and forwards, at one time lifting
Nos. 1 and 2, and at others Nos. 2 and 3, according to the order dictated
by the mounting of the loom.
In Figure E I have represented a mode of attaching the suspension threads
to the needles to prevent the friction thereon which results in the construction
Figure A, from their being drawn up through and bearing obliquely against
holes in the guide plank or plate 3. There are eyes formed in the needles,
Figure E, under an intermediate or middle plank 5, and the lifting or suspen-
sion threads are attached to those eyes. The middle plank is moveable as well
as the lower one, being attached thereto by bars, and sliding in grooves in the
cheeks of the frame. Hence the suspension threads are not drawn through and
against the edges of any holes, and of course there is not the wear upon them
that there is in the arrangement Figure A. Or, instead, to obtain the same
result of doing away with friction, both the planks 3 and 5 may be pierced
with twice as many holes as there are needles, one set for the needles to pass
through, and through the others lifting threads or cords are passed, the
upper ends being fastened, as in the construction Figure A, to the heads of
the needles, and the lower ends to glass eyes or rings under the plank 5.
The oblique suspension threads are tied to those glass eyes. Hence when any
needles are lifted, their heads lift up the vertical lifting threads, and the said
threads draw up the oblique suspension threads, and the vertical threads
moving parallel to the needles need not rub against the sides of the holes in
the upper plank 3. The operation of this machinery to lift the threads
warp

page_text: in order is just the same as that described for the first construction, Figure A.
And note, in all the Drawings I have represented the needles vertical and the
warp horizontal, which I consider the best position; but it is plain that those
positions might be departed from somewhat, and the needles or warp, or
both, be obliquely placed, more or less.
Having now described various modes of constructing the figure movement
of a loom according to the aforesaid improvement, for which the said Letters
Patent have been granted to me, I declare that the present improvement
consists solely in the adaptation to looms of the bodies of needles, which
suspend or are connected to the warp threads by suspension threads, as I have
described in reference to the Figures A, B, D, E, G, HI, of the two annexed
Sheets of Drawings, by virtue of which adaptation, in the manner described,
the needles form, as it were, one body with the warp threads, the chain of
connection between the two never being broken, so that the needles transmit
to the warp the motion that they themselves receive by the operation of the
cards, as I have described. And note, as to the guiding planks or plates for
the said needles and threads to pass through, and the framing of the figure
movement and other parts, they may be made of wood, or iron, or brass, and
the upper guide plank 3 is sometimes made of glass. See Figure 1.
In witness whereof, I, the said Claude Marie Hilaire Molinard, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of February, in
the year of aur Lord Oue thousand eight hundred and thirty-five