IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WEAVING PLAIN OR FIGURED FABRICS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henderson, of Lasswade, in the County of
Mid Lothian, North Britain, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WEAVING PLAIN OR FIGURED FABRICS."
Sealed the 7th January 1859, and dated the 5th August 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henderson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition; on the
5th August 1858.
I, JOHN HENDERSON, of Lasswade, in the County of Mid Lothian, North
Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WEAVING PLAIN OR FIGURED FABRICS," to be
as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates more or less to certain improvements upon the
machinery or apparatus described in the Specification of Letters Patent
granted to Mr. John Henderson, and bearing date on or about the Twenty-
fifth day of March One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven; in the said
Specification is described the manner of manufacturing or producing plain.
terry or piled fabrics by a system of cross weaving the warp or warps over
longitudinal wires or cords. In the said Invention the heddle used for the
cross weaving is of the ordinary kind, and composed of twine, this material is
constantly liable to fail owing to the severe friction to which it is subjected.
To obviate this evil the cross heddle is formed of a series of V-shaped pieces
of flattened steel or of brass, ivory, or other suitable material, in the lower part

page_text: of which is a hole, through which the crossing warp or warps is passed. The
upper or free extremities of these V-shaped pieces of metal are formed into
hooks, by means of which each instrument is suspended to two horizontal rods
which are arranged in the ordinary manner of heddle rods. By this means
they are suspended freely so as to allow the series of V-shaped needles to move
readily from one side to the other of the longitudinal wires. This improve-
ment entirely obviates the friction of the heddle rings as they pass through
the wires or cords, the V-shaped needles make their way through the wires or
cords in a smooth and highly efficient manner. In the manufacture of pile
or terry fabrics where a thick warp is used as in Brussels or tapestry carpeting
the two shafts supporting the V-shaped needles may be bolted to the shafts
of the heddle through which the thick foundation warp passes, in this way one
tappet may be made to work the three heddles or they may be made to work
separately if required.
Another arrangement connected with the present Invention consists of
improvements in the construction of the stationary longitudinal wires used in
the manufacture or production of piled fabrics by means of cross weaving and
other generally similar purposes. These wires are formed of thin pieces of
flattened metal, and they have at one end a groove or longitudinal slit into
which is fitted a short wedge-shaped cutting blade. By means of this
improvement the blade is held firmly in its place, at the same time it may at
any moment be removed with the utmost facility without disturbing the wire
when in its working position, thus enabling the loom attendant to take out
any one or more of the blades that may have become blunt or injured by use,
and to replace them by others that have been sharpened for the purpose, so
that the trouble and delay attending the removal of the wires according to the
old system is entirely done away with, and the manufacture of the cloth
facilitated in proportion.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henderson in the Great-Seal-Patent Office on the s
5th February 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENDERSON, of Lasswade, in the County of Mid Lothian, North Britain,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters 3
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of August, in the year of our Lord

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Henderson, Her special license that I, the said John Henderson,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
John Henderson, 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 MACHINERY FOR WEAVING PLAIN OR FIGURED FABRICS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Henderson, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, 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 John Henderson, 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 accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates more or less to certain improvements upon the
machinery or apparatus described in the Specification of Letters Patent,
granted to me, and bearing date on or about the Twenty-fifth day of March,
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven. In the said Specification is
described the manner of manufacturing or producing plain, terry, or piled
fabrics by a systeni of cross weaving the warp or warps over longitudinal wires
or cords. In the said Invention the heddle used for the cross weaving is of
the ordinary kind, and composed of twine; this material is constantly liable to
fail, owing to the severe friction to which it is subjected. To obviate this evil
the cross heddle is formed of a series of V-shaped pieces of flattened steel, or
of brass, ivory, or other suitable material, in the lower part of which is a hole
through which the crossing warp or warps is passed. The upper or free
extremities of these V-shaped pieces of metal are formed into hooks, by means
of which each instrument is suspended to two horizontal rods, which are
arranged in the ordinary manner of heddle rods. By this means they are
suspended freely, so as to allow the series of V-shaped needles to move readily
from one side to the other of the longitudinal wires. This improvement
entirely obviates the friction of the heddle rings as they pass through the wires

page_text: or cords, the V-shaped needles make their way through the wires or cords in
a smooth and highly efficient manner.
In the manufacture of pile or terry fabrics, where a thick warp is used, as
in Brussels or tapestry carpeting, the two shafts supporting. the V-shaped
needles may be bolted to the shafts of the heddle through which the thick
foundation warp passes; in this way one tappet may be made to work the
three heddles, or they may be made to work separately if required.
Another arrangement connected with the present Invention consists of
improvements in the construction of the stationary longitudinal wires used in
the manufacture or production of pile fabrics, by means of cross weaving and
other generally similar purposes. These wires are formed of thin pieces of
flattened metal, and they have at one end a groove or longitudinal slit, into
which is fitted a short wedge-shaped cutting blade. By means of this improve-
ment the blade is held firmly in its place; at the same time it may at any
moment be removed with the utmost facility without disturbing the wire when
in its working position, thus enabling the loom attendant to take out any one
or more of the blades that may have become blunt or injured by use, and to
replace them by others that have been sharpened for the purpose, so that the
trouble and delay attending the removal of the wires, according to the old
system is entirely done away with, and the manufacture of the cloth facilitated
in proportion.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I shall
now proceed to describe the several illustrative Figures upon the explanatory
Sheets of Drawings which I have hereunto appended, for the purpose of
showing certain modifications under which my improvements may be judiciously
carried out in practice.
Figure 1 on the accompanying Drawing is a longitudinal vertical section of
a tapestry loom having my improvements for weaving plain and figured fabrics
applied thereto; Figure 2 is a partially sectional elevation, showing one of the
V-shaped needles arranged in its proper position in the loom; Figure 3 is a
front or edge view, showing a group of three of these V-shaped needles as they
would appear when looking-endwise upon the series.
In the modification shown in the illustrative Drawing the loom-is-aetuated.
by hand, and in order to make the nature of the Invention clear, the principal
parts of the loom will be briefly referred to. The wooden framing A of the
loom, and the lathe B are of the kind in ordinary use, and therefore do not
require to be particularly described. The fabrics woven according to these
improvements consist generally of a thick body warp, interwoven with two
binding warps, whilst the surface is formed of worsted or woollen yarns that

page_text: are bound in with the body warps by means of the weft. The body warp C
is wound upon the beam or roller D, and the binding warps E are in like
manner wound upon the beams or rollers F, these beams or rollers being
arranged at the back part of the loom in the manner shown in Figure 1 of
the accompanying Drawing. The plain or figured yarn G, which is intended
to form the surface of the woven fabric, is wound upon the beam or roller E;
that is to say, there is wound upon this roller a series of plain or figured yarns,
the number of these threads being made to correspond to the number of body
warps C comprised within the width of the fabric. Each of the body warps C
and the binding warps E are passed individually through the mails or eyes of
the heddles I, J, and K, whilst each of the plain or surface yarns G is passed
through the eye that is formed in the end of the V-shaped needles L. A side
view or elevation of one of these V-shaped needles is shown in Figure 2 of the
accompanying Drawings, and in Figure 3 a corresponding end view is given:
These needles L, by means of which the surface yarns G are drawn down
upon each side alternately of the body warps C, each consists of a thin piece
of flattened steel, iron, brass, ivory, or other suitable material. The needles L
nre, by preference, made of a V or wedge-shaped figure, as shown in the side
views in Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying Drawing. The lower end of
each needle, which forms the apex of the angle described by its outline, is made
solid a short distance up the diverging legs of the needle, and in this part a
small hole is bored, through which hole one of the series of surface yarns G is
passed, as shown in Figure 2 of the accompanying Drawing. The two
diverging legs of the needle L extend upwards, and each extremity terminates
in a hook, which is formed by bending over and downwards a small portion of
the metal which forms the needle. But if ivory or other material of a non-
flexible kind is used for the purpose of making these needles, then the
terminal hooks may be formed by filing away a portion of the material, so as
to form a hook, or holes may be made in the extremities of the upwardly
turned legs in lieu of hooks. Each of the needles L is suspended to the
lealds M by passing a wire or cord N round the heald, and carrying it
successively under the hooks of the needles, as shown in Figure 3 of the
illustrative Drawing. As arranged in the Drawing, the wire or cord N is
passed under the hook of the first needle, then round the heald M under the
hook of the second needle, again round the heald under the hook of the third
needle, and so on throughout the series. But this arrangement or mode of
suspending the needles is only given as an example, and it is not by any
means intended to strictly adhere thereto. In this manner the longer and
shorter legs of the needles are attached in succession to their respective heald

page_text: shafts M. The needles L are actuated or drawn down on either side of the
body warps at pleasure, by means of the heddles O and P; these heddles may
be made of twine or of brass or other metal wire, but thin flattened metal is
preferred; the heddles are looped or joined above the solid part of the lower
end of the needles, so that when either of the heddles O and P is drawn down
by the weaving action, the needle L is in like manner depressed, the heddles
being so arranged that one of them draws the needle to the right of the body
warp, and the other to the left. In order to produce a looped surface to the
fabric a wire is interposed between the body warp and the surface yarn, the
height of the loop being regulated by the thickness of the intervening wire.
This portion of the arrangement forms, however, no part of my present
Invention, but it is necessary to refer briefly to it in order to show the
action of the needles L. The series of wires Q are kept in their relative
positions by means of a secondary reed R, which is carried in
frame S that is bolted to the side rails of the loom framing A.
loop forming wires Q has an eye at one end, which is passed between the
dents of the reed R, and secured in its proper position by a wire, which is
passed through the series of eyes on each side of the reed R. The wires then
pass between the heddles O and P through the dents of the ordinary reed in
the lathe B, and rest upon the breast beam of the loom. The warps C and E
pass in a horizontal or nearly horizontal direction below the reed R, then
through the eyes of the heddles I, J, and K, between the heddles O and P,
and through the dents of the actual beating-up or weaving reed. The woollen
yarn or surface warps C are carried from their beam or roller H over the
reed R, through the eyes of the needles L, and the dents of the ordinary reed
to the take-up roller.
the cast-iron
Each of the
In the Figures of the accompanying Drawing, the heddles are represented
in their normal position, or when no shed is made. The duplex binding warps
E pass through their actuating heddles J and K, whilst the body warps C are
carried through the heddles I. If, now, the heddles J are raised by the action
of the treadles or levers, the lifting of half of the binding warps forms a partial
shed. Simultaneously with this movement, the heedles O are depressed, this
action draws down the needles L with the yarns G to one-side-of-the-wires Q
at the same time the heddles I and K are depressed, so as to draw down the
body warps C and the other half of the binding warps, and thus complete the
formation or opening of the shed. A shot of weft is now thrown in along the
race, below the wires Q, which shot of weft binds in the yarns G. The next
movement is to depress the heddles J, and to raise the heddles I and K; in
this position of the parts, a shot of weft is thrown in, which serves to bind in

page_text: the warps E and the body warps C. It is now requisite to effect the crossing
of the surface yarns G to the opposite sides of the loop forming wires Q and
the body warps C, at the same time to form a shed by the lifting of the
binding warps E that were depressed in the last movement. The heddles K
are raised, and the heddles I and J depressed, whilst the needles L, and
surface warps G are carried down upon the opposite sides of the wires Q by
the depression of the heddles P. The shot of weft now thrown in, binds in
the surface warps G upon the second sides of the wires Q. The fourth and
last movement serves to bind in the second binding warp and the body warp C
at the back of the fabric, as was done on the other side of the wires Q, in the
second movement herein-before described. The heddles K are depressed,
and the heddles I are raised, the shot of weft which is now thrown in, weaves
in the warps E of the heddles K, and as it passes beneath the body warps C,
it binds them in, and forms a plain cloth back to the fabric. In this manner
the loops are successively formed by causing the yarns G to cross the loop-
forming wires Q, and being carried down by the needles L, are bound in at
the lower part of the wires by the weft shots, which serve also to interweave
and secure the body and binding warps C and E; as the fabric is woven, the
loops are drawn off the wires of the rotatory action of a spiked take-up roller,
in the manner usually practised. If the fabric that is being manufactured is
of the corded or "terry" class, the wires Q are plain throughout their length,
but if the surface is to be cut or "piled," each loop-forming wire is furnished
with a small blade or cutting edge near or close to its free extremity. The
edge of each of these blades is inclined upwards from the loops towards the
front end of the blades, so that as the fabric is drawn forward by the take-up
motion, the loops are cut through in succession as they are pressed on to the
cutting edges. In weaving plain fabrics, according to these improvements, the
loop-forming wires Q are dispensed with, the arrangement of the needles L
being retained, in order to avoid the severe friction of the ordinary twine
heddles. In this manner, and by means of these improvements, the weaving
of plain, terry, or cut pile fabrics is greatly facilitated, and the attendant
expenses economised by avoiding the rapid destruction of the crossing
heddles.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main. features of my Invention; but what I

page_text: consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general arrangement and construction of machinery or apparatus for
weaving plain, terry, or cut pile fabrics, in which the instruments or apparatus
herein-before designated or termed "heddle needles" form a part or essential
feature, as herein-before described.
Second, the system or mode of weaving plain, figured, terry, cut, or pile
fabrics, in which the surface yarns are passed through the eyes of instruments
or apparatus that are herein-before designated or termed "heddle needles."
The said "heddle needles" being used in lieu of the ordinary twine heddles,
and for the purpose of reducing the excessive friction of the component parts
of the heddles, and preventing delay and loss from wear, thereby avoiding the
frequent breakage of the twine, as herein-before described.
Third, the constructing the instruments or weaving apparatus herein-before
designated or termed "heddle needles," either of metal, ivory, or other
suitable material. Also the system or mode of arranging the said "heddle
needles" in the loom, as herein-before described, or any mere modification
thereof.
Fourth, the application and use of the instruments or apparatus herein-
before designated or termed "heddle needles" to the purposes of weaving
plain, terry, or cut pile fabrics, such "heddle needles" being used as a sub-
stitute for or in lieu of the ordinary heddles, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henderson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of February, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-nine.
TOTAL
JOHN
HENDERSON. (L.D.)