AN IMPROVED HEALD OR HARNESS FOR WEAVING PURPOSES
Year: 1826

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
ROTHWELL, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Lace Manufacturer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent King George the Fourth, by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster the Sixteenth day of January, in the Sixth year of His reign, did, for
Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said John
Rothwell, His especial licence that I, the said John Rothwell, my exors,
adiñors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Rothwell, my exors,
adors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "AN IMPROVED HEALD OR
HARNESS FOR WEAVING PURPOSES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso obliging me, the said John Rothwell, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to
cause the same to be inrolled in Ilis Majesty's High Court of Chancery within

page_text: two calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said recited
Letters 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
John Rothwell, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention by the
following description thereof, reference being had to the Drawing and figures
marked thereon (that is to say) :-
=
The improved heald or harness for which I have obtained His Majesty's
Royal Letters Patent consists in forming healds or harness for the purposes of
weaving either cotton, linen, yarn, silk, woollen, worsted, or any other descrip-
tion of cloth or fabric whatever. These healds or harness, when complete, are
formed by what I shall term double perfect loops, viz, perfect clasped links
running on each side the shafts which support them, and these links, starting
from the same heading, &c., run down both sides of the top shaft, and from the
same heading to run up both sides of the bottom shaft; consequently, the
space between shaft and shaft is entirely open, as represented at Fig. 1, where
A is the top shaft; B is the bottom shaft; C is the link in front of the shafts;
D is the link behind the shafts, on the opposite back link, which is placed in a
sectional view for the purpose of elucidation. The headings from whence
these links start are a certain number of wires or threads running lengthwise
on the outside surfaces of the two shafts, as represented at Fig. 2, where A, A,
is the top heading; B, B, is the bottom heading; C, C, are the front loops
perfect; and D, D, the back loops, seperated for the purpose of shewing the
two headings complete. Through these headings of wires or threads the loops
are interwoven similar to the weft in a weaver's webb, and are by that means
secured beyond all possibility of giving way. In a perfect heald both the
headings are complete, as represented at Fig. 2, but the bottom heading in
Fig. 3, represented by the 4, A is split lengthwise for the purpose of
shewing the loops perfect on each side the same shafts B, B. The top heading
is nailed or otherwise fastened lengthwise on the top shaft; then the 4, A,
which would be a similar heading to B, must be fastened the same way on the
bottom shaft; this will cause C, C, to be perfect front loops, and D, D, to be
perfect back loops, exactly opposite each other, and thus will these links
be formed perfect and distinct on each side of the same shafts. The top
loop or the top part of a front link must start from the top heading and run
down in front of the top shaft, as seen at A, Fig. 4, until it meets with the
bottom loop or bottom part of the link, and which starts from the bottom
heading and runs up in front of the bottom shaft, as seen at B, Fig. 1; these
two half loops having met, clasp or pass through each other, then, returning

page_text: to their own proper headings from whence they started, they will have formed
a perfect link in front of the top and bottom shafts; but this particular distinc-
tion must be observed, viz, that the top part of the perfect link must be an
inch, or whatever depth may be required, longer than the bottom part, as see
the perfect front link represented by A and B, in Fig. 4. The corresponding
links on the back side of the shafts are exactly similar in length and form with
those in front, but with this alteration in the situation of the half loops :-The
long loop starts from the bottom heading and runs up behind the bottom
shaft, as represented at A, Fig. 5, until it meets the short loop, which starts
from the top heading and runs down behind the top shaft, as represented at B,
Fig. 5, when these 2 loops having met, must clasp and pass through each other
and return similar to the front ones, when they will have formed a. perfect loop
on the back side of the shafts, but with this particular distinction, the bottom
loop will be the longer one, as represented at the perfect back link A and B,
Fig. 5; thus two perfect links will be formed opposite each other on the same
shafts, but the long half loops will be exactly the reverse to each other, the one
starting from the top shaft, the other from the bottom shaft; consequently, a
given space or ring for the passage of the warp will be formed by the overplus
length of the long half loops in the centre, or halfway between shaft and shafts
in these spaces or rings. The threads of the warp are confined, as represented
at E, Fig. 1, by the reverse long half loops; thus, when working, the long
half loops will alternately raise or depress the 2 sheds to any given pitch for
the passage of the shuttle, and still the warp will always be at perfect liberty
to draw through these spaces as it is formed into cloth. These healds or
harness are made either of linen, cotton, yarn, worsted, silk, or any other
threads, twines, or materials of such description, or of fine-drawn round
copper, brass, iron, steel, or other wires, but with this particular distinction, that
when made of any of the above description of wires they are braced at each
extremity of the shafts with braces of sufficient strength introduced between
the top and bottom shafts, which, stretching the whole length of links on each
side of the shaft to their utmost tension, will cause the healds or harness made
of such materials, and braced in this manner, to be as straight, firm, correct,
and regular as the reed they work with.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Rothwell, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and twenty-six.
JOHN (L.S.) ROTHWELL,
JOHN (L.S.) ROTHWELL,

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Seventh day of March, in the
year of our Lord 1826, the aforesaid John Rothwell came before our said
Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and twenty-six.