IMPROVE- MENTS IN BRAIDING MACHINES
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City
of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BRAIDING MACHINES."-A communication from abroad by
Thomas James Sloan, of Paris, in the Empire of France, Engineer.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson,
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th July 1862.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North
Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BRAIDING MACHINES," a communication from abroad by
Thomas James Sloan, of Paris, in the Empire of France, Engineer, to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to certain peculiar constructions and combinations
of parts of braiding machines, whereby such machines are enabled to work
at a greater speed than heretofore, and with greater precision and efficiency.
According to this Invention it is proposed to employ a combination of weight
and a spring for the purpose of applying the requisite tension and taking up
the slack of the threads in the operation of braiding. This combination may
be carried out in various ways, for example, the weight and spring attached to

page_text: it may both be contained inside the bobbin; the thread may pass either
through an eye in the weight the spring tending to draw such weight down-
wards, and effecting a considerable elasticity in the pull or tension on the
throad; or the weight may be suspended to the bottom of the spring, and
the thread passed through an eye in the upper end of the spring, by which
arrangement a perfectly uniform tension is obtained throughout a long range
of motion; or the weight may be placed inside the bobbin and the spring
acting in conjunction therewith outside the bobbin, or both the weight and
the spring may be worked on the outside of the bobbin if desired.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 10th January 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, J, JonN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North Britain,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto mc,
the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John
Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or
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 BRAIDING MACHINES," a communication from abroad by
Thomas Jaines Sloan, of Paris, in the Empire of France, Engineer, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, or under
the band and seal of one of them, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by tho
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
The said Invention relates to certain peculiar constructions and combina
tions of parts of braiding machines, whereby such machines are enabled to
work at a greater speed than heretofore, and with greater precision and
efficiency. According to this Invention it is proposed to employ a combina-
tion of a weight and a spring for the purpose of applying the requisite tension
and taking up the slack of the threads in the operation of braiding. This
combination may be carried out in various ways, for example, the weight and
spring attached to it may both be contained inside the bobbin; the thread
may pass either through an eye in the weight, the spring tending to draw
such weight downwards and effecting a considerable elasticity in the pull or
tension on the thread; or the weight may be suspended to the bottom of the
spring and tho thread passed through an eye in the upper end of the spring,
by which arrangement a perfectly uniform tension is obtained throughout
long range of motion; or the weight may be placed inside the bobbin and
the spring acting in conjunction therewith outside the bobbin, or both the
weight and the spring may be worked on the outside of the bobbin if desired.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a spring R attached at its lower end
to the bobbin carrier, and at its upper extremity to a metal spindler which
extends downwards as far as the bottom of the bars B (Figure 4) of the bobbin
carrier, and acts also as a weight upon the spring. The thread passes through
the ring a of the spindle and is thereby kept in a proper state of tension as
the spring R tends constantly to draw the spindle down. Should the thread
break the spring instantly forces down the spindle r so as to cause it to
protrude beyond the boss B in which depressed position it comes in contact
with the disengaging gear and stops the machine. In Figure 2 the spring R
is shown as being connected at its lower end to a weight P which terminates
in a rod or spindler, passing as in the former case through the boss of the
bobbin carrier. The extremity of the rod r terminates in a hook the object
of which is to prevent the spring from over-elevating the weight and rod r,
should an excess of speed be attained in the ratation of the machine. The

page_text: tbread is stretched in the same manner as in the preceding arrangement and
operates in a similar manner when broken in order to stop the machine. The
spring R in Figure 8 is attached to a weight P, and at its lower end to the
bobbin carrier. The rod or spindler which passes through the boss of the
bobbin carrier rests upon a weak spring R', the object of which is to tend
constantly to elevate the rod during the regular working of the machine, but
so soon as a thread breaks the weight falls on to the head of the rod r,
compresses the spring R, and causes the rod r to protrude beneath the boss
B and stop the machine by acting upon the disengaging mechanism. In
Figure 4 the spring R is attached directly to a weight P which is sufficiently
heavy to place in equilibrium the tension of the thread passing through the
upper ring a, and which falls on the breaking of the thread upon the rod r,
which is similar to that represented in Figure 3 and operates in a like
manner.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel
and original, and thereforo claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the general combinations
and arrangements of weights and springs for maintaining the proper tension
and taking up the slack of the threads in braiding machines as herein-beforo
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Tenth day of January, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-three.