IMPROVEMENTS IN HACKLING MACHINE HOLDERS, AND IN THE MODE OF SCREWING THE MATERIAL TO BE HACKLED THEREIN.
Year: 1872

page_text: :LETTERS PATENT to James Barbour, of Belfast, in the County of
Antrim, Kingdom of Ireland, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN HACKLING MACHINE HOLDERS, AND IN THE MODE OF SCREWING THE
MATERIAL TO BE HACKLED THEREIN.'
Sealed the 1st April 1873, and dated the 3rd October 1872..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Barbour at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
Brd October 1872.
I, JAMES BARBOUR, of Belfast, in the County of Antrim, Kingdom
of Ireland, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN HACKLING MACHINE HOLDERS, AND IN THE MODE OF SCREWING
THE MATERIAL TO BE HACKLED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
Hackling machine holders as at present used generally consist of two
thin rectangular plates usually of steel with an elastic material stuck
on one side of each; a screw called a holder screw is fixed in the centre
of one of these plates; the other plate has a hole through which this
screw passes, and a detached nut hitherto turned by hand on this screw

page_text: presses the two plates closely together so as to hold firmly the material
to be hackled.
My improvements consist, first, in attaching the above-mentioned nut
to the holder plate through which the screw passes, and in such a way
as to leave it free to rotate to tighten up the holder; 2nd, in the appli- b
cation of machinery to screw and unscrew this nut as may be required
for holding the material in and freeing it from the holder. This is
carried out by placing a rotating key for this nut under the holder stand
on the hackling machine table in such a position that when the holder
plate to which the nut is attached is placed on its usual stand the nut 1
will be received into the rotating key; this key is to be acted on by
reversing gear, which will allow of the direction of rotation being
changed at will, provision being made that the force by which the nut
is tightened can be regulated as required.
The advantages of these improvements are, 1st, great saving of labour 1
by replacing the hand screwing by mechanical screwing; 2nd, more
certainty in properly securing in the holders the material to be hackled,
and consequently less waste of this material during the hackling process ;
and 3rd, less tear and wear of the holders.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said -James Barbour in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 3rd April 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
BARBOUR, of Belfast, in the County of Antrim, Kingdom of Ireland,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of April, 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 James Barbour, Her special license that I, |
the said James Barbour, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said James Barbour, 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,

page_text: 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 HACKLING MACHINE
HOLDERS, AND IN THE MODE OF SCREWING THE MATERIAL TO BE HACKLED THEREIN,'
3 upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Barbour, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under 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 James Barbour, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) :—
Hackling machine holders as at present used generally consist of two
thin rectangular plates usually of steel with an elastic material stuck
on one side of each; a screw called a holder screw is fixed in the centre.
of one of these plates; the other plate has a hole through which this
screw passes, and a detached nut hitherto turned by hand on this screw
presses the two plates closely together so as to hold firmly the material
to be hackled.
Now the object of my Invention is, first, to effect a great saving of
labour by substituting mechanical screwing for the hand screwing here-
tofore used; secondly, to secure more certainly within the holders the
material to be hackled, and thereby to diminish waste of material
occuring during the hackling process; and thirdly, to reduce the wear
and tear of the holders.
My improvements consist, first, in attaching the above-mentioned nut
to the holder plate through which the screw passes, and in such a way
as to leave it free to rotate and tighten up the holder; second, in the
application of machinery to screw and unscrew this nut as may be
required for holding the material in and freeing it from the holder.
The manner in which these improvements are carried out will be
understood from the following description and the accompanying

page_text: Drawing, wherein the same letters and figures of reference always apply
to the same parts. Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 are explanatory of the holder;
and Figures 5, 6, and 7 shew the means employed to give the required
motion for tightening and loosening the nut or screw of the holder.
The holder may be made with either the nut or the screw to turn,
but in all cases both the nut and the screw are attached to the holder
plates.
In Figures 1 and 2 the holder is shewn with the nut a a fixture on
one of the holder plates 6, whilst the screw c is free to turn and has a
head c¹ and a collar c³, which latter is covered by a recessed plate bª:
fixed to the holder plate 6'. To prevent, the material supplied to the
holder from becoming entangled with the screws c when turning there
is a socket or cover c³ fixed to the same plate 6', as the screw i, and
sufficiently long to project through both plates 6' and b, and some
distance into the fixed nut a on the opposite plate or cover b.
In Figures 3 and 4 the holder screw or bolt c is fixed in the ordinary
manner by a screw and nut c' to one of the holder plates 6³, and the
nut a' is attached to the other holder plate 6' by a collar a² thereon,
which is covered by a recessed plate 6 fixed to the holder plate b*, but
with room to allow the nut a¹ to turn.
Figures 5, 6, and 7 are different views of the mechanism employed to
turn the nut a¹ or screw c, which is used to press the holder plates
together. This mechanism consists of a box or framing which is shewn
in Fig. 7 with the cover or sido removed for clearness, and that carries
one or more box keys e, e', to which rotary motion is given. The
arrangement depicted is for what is known as the "changing end" of
the hackling machine, in this case one holder f' is always being emptied
and "unscrewed" and the other fitted or "screwed down," so it is
only necessary for each key e, e¹, to turn in one direction. To give the
required motion to these keys e, e³, there is a horizontal shaft g, which
receives rotary motion (by suitable means) from some convenient part
of the hackling machine to which the screwing table is attached. On
this horizontal shaft g are two clutches g³, g³, free to slide on the shaft g,
but turned with it by a key or feather g³; these clutches g', g³, have
teeth g' with angular faces gearing into similar teeth on bevel wheels g³
on the same shaft g, and which work into bevil wheels e³, et, on the
upright shafts e³, to which are attached the box keys e, e¹, for turning

page_text: "
the holder screw c or nut a¹. The clutches g³, g³, are moved endwise
on the shaft g by two forked levers o, o², carried by and fast to shafts
or centres o³, o³. These forked levers o, o', have levers o', o, attached.
with V-shaped ends oº, o', which are in contact with runners or pro-
jections k, k³, on the side of the weighted levers ³, 1³. On the outer
ends of the shafts o³, o³, or centres of the forked levers o, o¹, are
levers m, m³, that are attached by connected rods m³, m³, to foot
levers n, n', whereby the attendants can put the clutches g³, g³, in or
out of gear at will. In the case of the "screwing down process,
whenever the strain on the box key e becomes sufficient for properly
holding the material, the clutch g¹ is pressed back out of gear by the
angular faces of the teeth of the clutch g¹on the wheel g, this moves
the forked lever o with the V shaped end oº against the runner k on the
end of the lever with the weight *, and raises the weight * until
the runner. k slips into the indentation on the end of the lever oº,
whereby the clutch g¹ is retained in position out of gear, the weight *
on the end of this lever k³ being the measure of the strain that is put
upon the holder screw e or nut a¹ by the box key e in "screwing up"
the holder f.
For the table at the emptying and filling end of the hackling machine
where there is only a single holder foperated on at one time there is
only a single key used, and this is turned alternately in each direction
to screw and unscrew by two bevil wheels on the horizontal shaft g,
which gear into the bevil wheel e³ on the upright e³ on which is the box
key e, and the clutch g¹ is thrown into gear alternately with one or other
of these wheels g" on the shaft g by means of a foot lever n, as in the
case of the duplex machine as herein described. The box key e, e¹, is
connected to the upright shaft e³ by a cotter e passing through a slot e
in the shaft e³, and in which there is room for the cotter e to move up
and down, the box key proper e or e¹ being supported by a spiral
spring e from a collar e³ on the shaft, so that the nut a' or screw
head c' of the holder f,f', is not thrown against an unyielding surface.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements
in Hackling Machine Holders, and in the Mode of Screwing the Material
to be Hackled therein," and having explained the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine
myself to the exact arrangement herein described, but I claim as my
Invention,―
;

page_text: First. The attaching of the nut to one of the holder plates, the same:
being either fixed or free to turn in the manner described or any more
modification thereof.
Second. The mechanism described for actuating the keys for tightening
or slackening these nuts or screws.
And Thirdly. The means described for regulating the strain on the key
and throwing it out of gear when the holder is "screwed up.”
In witness whereof, I, the said James Barbour, have hereunto set'
my hand and seal, the Thirty-first day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.