AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TWISTED SILK
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane; in the County
of Middlesex, Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TWISTED SILK." -A communication.
from abroad by John Edwin Atwood and Goodrich Holland, Manu-
facturers, both of Mansfield; County of Tolland, State of Connecticut,
United States of America. ·
Sealed the 21st February 1865, and dated the 1st October 1864
PROVISIONAL: SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 1st.
October 1864.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of, 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,"
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TWISTED SILK," to be ae
follows:-
In the manufacture of twisted silk it has hitherto been considered essential'
that the strands or cords of which the thread of silk is composed should be
very nearly of the same size or thickness. Owing to the unevenness of the
stock from which twisted silk is made, and to the mechanical difficulties,
encountered in properly arranging the strands or cords, and also to a mis-
conception of the true character of the imperfections, much, inferior or
imperfect silk has been made. This imperfection has been found to consist

page_text: in the unequal spiral and the unclosed state of the strands or cords of which
the thread is composed, and not as has been supposed to their unequal size or
thickness. To obviate these imperfections in twisted silk it is subjected after
being twisted and moistened, and before-being-deprived-of-its-natural-gum,-
to nearly as great a degree of tension as it will bear without breaking, and
thereby draw or stretch the several cords or strands so as to form an even,
closed, and first quality of thread.
This Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, in which
Fig. 1 is a side view of the means employed for carrying out the Invention;
Fig. 2, a front view of the same; and Fig. 3, enlarged or magnified views of
pieces of twisted silk drawn with a view of showing clearly the character of
the Invention. Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.
In carrying out this Invention the means employed is extremely simple.
Two reels or drums A, A', see Figs. 1 and 2, are employed, the periphéries
of which move with unequal speeds caused either by having the reels or drums
connected by gears of different diameters, or. by having a belt B pass, over
pullies a, a, of different diameters, or by having the gears or pullies of equal
diameter, and one reel or drum smaller in diameter than the other. The silk
properly moistened is wound upon, the reel or drum having the slowest.motion,
and is then connected to the periphery of that having the quicker motion, and
wound upon the latter from the former, the difference in the speed of the
reels or drums causing the silk to be stretched or drawn so as to present an
even or smooth surface.
By referring to Fig. 3 the end accomplished by this Invention will be
clearly understood. c, c; represent the cords or strands of a piece of twisted
silk, one c, being straighter or having a less spiral or twist. than the other c¹,
so that the latter has the appearance of being wound upon c. This not only
gives a rough unsightly appearance to the thread, but greatly deteriorates it
for actual use. It is liable to be cut by the fabric or chafed by the needle
and rendered worthless, in consequence of one of the strands or cords being
more exposed to the action of the needle and fabric than the other; the thread
does not receive the dye or color as well as if it were smooth, and consequently
will lack lustre and vividness. This unequal spiral of the strands or cords is
threads
also produced in a greater or less degree by having the cords or
subjected to an unequal tension while being twisted, one cord or thread being
looser than the other, in which, case the logge of slack suel
strand or cord will
wind upon, the taut one. Below this uneven piece of twisted silk there is
represented in Fig. 3 an even piece, the strands d, d, of which in consequence
of being stretched by the improvement, made to have an even and uniform
2

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 31st
March 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer and
Patent Agent, send greeting.
L
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of October, in the year of our Lord-One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Clark, Her special licence that I; the said William Clark, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Clark, 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, 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 "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF TWISTED SILK," a communication to me from abroad by John
Edwin Atwood and Goodrich Holland, Manufacturers, both of Mansfield,
County of Tolland, State. of Connecticut, United States of America, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Clark, 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 William Clark, do hereby declare "the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference. being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
In the manufacture of twisted silk it bas hitherto been considered essential
that the strands or cords of which the threads of silk are composed should be

page_text: very nearly of the same size or thickness: Owing to the unevenness of the
stock from which twisted silk is made, and to the mechanical difficulties
encountered in properly arranging the strands or cords, and also to a mis-
conception-of-the-true-character-of-the-imperfections,_much inferior_or
imperfect silk has been made.. This imperfection has been found to consist
in the unequal spiral and the unclosed state of the strands, or cords, of which
the thread is composed, and not as has been supposed to their unequal size
or thickness. To obviate these imperfections in twisted silk it is subjected
after being twisted and moistened, and before being deprived of its natural
gum, to nearly as great a degree of tension' as it will bear without breaking,
-and-thereby.draw or stretch the several cords or strands, so as to form an even,
closed; and first quality of thread.
f
This Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, in which
Fig. 1 is a side view of the means employed for carrying out the Invention;
Fig. 2; a front view of the same; Fig. 3, enlarged or magnified views of
pieces of twisted silk drawn with a view of showing clearly the character of
the Invention. Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in the severals
Figs.
In carrying out this Invention the means employed is extremely simple.
Two reels or drums A, A¹, see Figs. 1 and 2, are employed, the peripheries of
which move with unequal speeds caused either by having (the reels or drums
connected by gears of different diameters, or by having a belt B pass over
pullies a, a, of different diameters, or by having the gears or pulleys of equal
diameter, and one reel or drum-smaller in diameter than the other. The silk
properly moistened is wound upon the reel or drum having the slowest motion
and is then connected to the periphery of that having the quicker motion,
and wound upon the latter from the former, the difference in the speed of the
reels or drums causing the silk to be stretched or drawn so as to present an
even or smooth surface.
.
By referring to Figure 3, the end accomplished by this Invention will be
clearly understood. .c, c', represent the cord or strands of a piece of twisted
silk, the one c being straighter or having a less spiral or twist than the other
c, so that the latter has the appearance of being wound upon c. This not
only gives a 'rough unsightly appearance to the thread, but greatly deteriorates
it for actual use. It is liable to be cut by the fabric or chafed by the needle
⚫ and rendered worthless; in consequence of one of the strands or cords being
more exposed to the action of the needle and fabric than the other the thread
does not receive the dye or color as well as if it were smooth, and consequently
will lack lustre and vividness. This unequal spiral of the strands or cords is

page_text: also produced in a greater or less degree by baving the cords or threads
subjected to an unequal tension while being twisted, one cord or thread being
looser than the other, in which case the loose or slack strand or cord will wind
upon the taut one. Below this uneven piece of twisted silk there is repre-
sented in Fig. 3 an even piece, the strands d, d', of which in consequence of
being stretched by the improvement is made to have an even and uniform
spiral twist throughout.
Thus by this simple means twisted silk of a poor quality may be made of
the first merchantable class, and a great saving thereby effected.
Having described the nature of this Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected
by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the process of giving
twisted silk an uniform or evenly twisted appearance, by subjecting the
same after being twisted and moistened, and before being deprived of its
natural gum to a requisite degree of tension by passing it from one surface
having a given speed to another surface having a greater speed, substantially
as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clark, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
JAMES DAISH,
53, Chancery Lane,
London.
ULAR.
L.S.).