IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF DAMASKS AND OTHER SIMILAR MATERIALS AND IN THE MACHINERY THEREFOR
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Barcroft, of the Glen, near Newry, in the
County of Armagh, in Ireland, Linen Manufacturer, for the In.
vention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF DAMASKS AND OTHER
SIMILAR MATERIALS AND IN THE MACHINERY THEREFOR."
Sealed the 23rd July 1869, and dated the 27th January 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Barcroft at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th January 1869.
I, HENRY BARCROFT, of the Glen, near Newry, in the County of
Armagh, in Ireland, Linen Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF DAMABES
AND OTHER SIMILAR MATERIALS AND IN THE MACHINERY THERFOR," to be as
follows:-
The Invention is for the purpose of making the jacquard machine
I put the twills on the pattern and on the ground of damask or other
similar material independent of the cards, which are to be used
exclusively for putting on the pattern, and will not require te be
changed a every pick of the loom as heretofore.

page_text: The twills are produced by the use of bars or knives crossing the
machine between the rows of hooks and below the grife, one or more of
the bars or knives being set in motion at each pick by a lever or tappet,
or levers or tappets, attached to a rod or shaft which crosses the end of
the machine at right angles to the rows of hooks. The motion of the
bars or knives puts a row or rows, or a part or parts of a row or rows,
of the hooks on or off the grife at each pick, thereby producing the
twills.
The twills are also produced by making the bars or knives of the grife
itself moveable, and causing them to catch or avoid the hooks by means
of levers or tappets connected with the machine or loom. The cylinder
and card act upon the needles at each pick as usual, the card being
changed at each pick, or at every second, third, fourth, or other pick,
as required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Barcroft in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 26th July 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
BARCROFT, of the Glen, near Newry, in the County of Armagh, in Ireland,
Linen Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Henry Barcroft, Her special licence that
I, the said Henry Barcroft, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Henry Barcroft, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF DAMASKS AND OTHER SIMILAR MATERIALS AND IN THE MACHINERY THEREFOR,'
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Barcroft,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under

page_text: my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Henry Barcroft, 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, that is to say :-
The said Invention relates to the production of twills on the pattern
and the ground of damasks and other similar materials manufactured
by the jacquard machine without the aid of cards, which are by me
used exclusively for producing the pattern, and do not require to be
changed at every pick of the loom as heretofore has been the practice.
My Invention can be applied in various ways to any jacquard
machine.
One means of accomplishing my Invention consists in the use of a
horizontal bar or tumbler stretching across the machine between the
rows of hooks, and below the grife, and moving on a longitudinal pin or
axle bearing at each end in the framework or in a bracket attached to
the framework of the machine. The office of the bar or tumbler is to
press one row of hooks towards and so as to catch a knife of the grife
and to press the adjoining row of hooks from and so as to avoid a knife
of the grife at each pick or throw of the shuttle, thereby producing the
twills. The bars or tumblers meet the rows of hooks at an inclination
and are set in motion by a horizontal shaft revolving at right angles to
the bars or tumblers in sockets or bushes in the framework of the
machine and furnished with tappets, each of which strikes a snug or
lever attached to the axle or pin of a bar or tumbler, so as to raise the
lower side or edge and to depress the higher side or edge of the bar or
tumbler. A spring restores the bar or tumbler to its out-of-action
inclination as soon as the action of the tappet ceases. The revolving
shaft which carries the tappet is furnished with a ratchet wheel such
as is herein-after described, through which it receives the required motion.
In order to press only part or parts of a row or rows of the hooks as
herein-before described the blade of the bar or tumbler between the
rows of hooks must be limited in length to the part of the row of hooks
desired to be made use of, and the number of bars must be increased to

page_text: equal the number of such parts. One bar or tumbler may be used
alone or several bars or tumblers may be used simultaneously according
to the twill required to be produced.
Another means of accomplishing my Invention consists in making
the knifes of the grife move upon pivots or their bases in sockets in the
frame of the grife. The knives are furnished at each end with a bracket
or elbow shaped lever having a slot at the free end to admit a hook rod,
herein-after described. Each bracket at the corresponding end of the
knives carries a pin which travels in a groove in a horizontal cylinder,
revolving at right angles to the knives in sockets or bushes in the frame-
work of the grife. A lateral tappet is formed by a diversion in each
groove in the cylinder, so as to give the required motion to the bracket
or lever and knife, and I may have more than one of such tappets in
each groove if convenient or necessary. Each of the bars on which the
rows of hooks rest carries a hook rod at both ends. The hook rod passes
from the bars up through the slot in the free end of the bracket or
lever attached to the knife, and by means of the motion of the bracket
or lever is drawn towards and so as to catch the knife, or is pushed
away so as to avoid it. A hook upon this rod catches the knife, which
lifts the rod and thus carries the bar and row of hooks up with the grife,
but I do not confine myself to this means alone of lifting the bar and
row of hooks. Guides are used to keep the bars in position. The
cylinder rises and falls with the grife, and is made to revolve as desired
by means of a ratchet wheel worked by the motion of the grife. The
ratchet wheel must have the same number of teeth as the number of
the leaves of the twill desired to be produced, or a multiple of the
number of such leaves proportionate to the number of tappets in each
groove in the cylinder, that is to say, the number of teeth on the ratchet
wheel shall be equal to the product of the number of leaves of the twill
desired to be produced and the number of tappets in each groove in the
cylinder.
'
A third means of accomplishing my Invention consists in the use of
a lever, attached at one end to the frame of the machine, and having a
slot at the other end to admit a pin on the end of the knife. A hook
rod is employed in the manner and for the purposes before described.
A lever and hook rod are used at each end of every row of hooks and
are moved by needles which may be acted upon by means similar to that
applied to the ordinary needles of a jacquard machine.

page_text: And in order that the said Invention may be more particularly
escribed I shall proceed to refer to the Drawings on the sheet
ereunto annexed, the same letters of reference indicating the same or
UITOsponding parts throughout all the Figures.
Figure I. is an end elevation of a portion of the Invention herein-
before firstly described.
Figure II. is an end elevation of a portion of the Invention herein-
before secondly described.
Figure III. is an end elevation of a portion of the Invention herein-
before thirdly described.
Figure IV. is a front view of a ratchet wheel.
A, A, are portions of the framework of a jacquard machine; B is a
ratchet wheel; a, a, are the hooks of a jacquard machine in their
position as acted upon by the cards; 6 is a bar or tumbler out of action;
6' is a bar or tumbler in action; c, c, are the longitudinal pins or axles
carrying the bars or tumblers; d, d, are the knives of the grife; e is
the horizontal shaft furnished with tappets; fis a tappet which strikes
a snug or lever attached to one of the axles or pins c, c; g is one of the
snugs or levers; h is the spring which restores the bar or tumbler to
its out-of-action inclination; k, k, are the levers or brackets attached to
the knives d, d, and 1, l, are the slots to admit hook rods; m, m, are
the pins on the brackets travelling in the grooves of the revolving
cylinder; n, n, are the grooves; q, q, are bars of the jacquard machine
constructed so as to rise and fall with the grife; r, r, are the hook rods
attached to the lifting bars; s is a hook on one of the hook rods;
t, t, are guides in which the lifting bars run; is a lever with slot to
admit a pin on a knife of the grife; and w is the pin on a knife of the
grife; is a needle which moves a lever and hook rod.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I would have it to be understood
that I do not claim the use of the jacquard machine, nor of any of the
parts thereof, nor of any of the separate mechanical parts which form
the twilling apparatus used by me; but I claim,-
1st. The production of twills on damasks and other similar materials
without the aid of cards by the use of the apparatus herein-before
devesibod

page_text: 2ndly. The required operation of the hooks by means of bars or
tumblers acted upon by tappets and levers in the manner herein-before
described.
3rdly. The required operation of the hooks by the movement of the
knives of the grife by means of tappets and levers, or levers only, in
the manner herein-before described.
4thly. The movement of the knives of the grife by means of a
cylinder arranged with grooves and tappets in the manner herein-before
described.
5thly. The movement of the bars so as to carry the hooks with the
grife in the manner herein-before described.
And, 6thly. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the
self-acting twilling apparatus arranged as herein described for the purpose
of producing twills upon the materials aforesaid, in the manner herein-
before mentioned and set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Barcroft, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of July, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.