AN IMPROVED MODE OF PREPARING THREADS OF COTTON, SILE, WOOL, OR ANY FIBROUS SUBSTANCE FOR THE MARKET
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William John Almond, of 156, Cheapside, in
-
the City of London, Warehouseman, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED MODE OF PREPARING THREADS OF COTTON, SILE, WOOL, OR ANY
FIBROUS SUBSTANCE FOR THE MARKET."
Sealed the 12th February 1869, and dated the 20th August 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William John Almond
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 20th August 1868.
I, WILLIAM JOHN ALMOND, of 156, Cheapside, in the City of London,
Warehouseman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED MODE OF PREPARING THREADS OF COTTON, SILK, WOOL, OR ANY.
FIBROUS SUBSTANCE FOR THE MARKET," to be as follows:-
It has heretofore been the practice to prepare threads used for knitting;.
crotchet, and other purposes in skeins or hanks tied or banded together
(except where the expensive process of reeling or carding is substituted)..
In this state the said threads are liable to become soiled while in tho
hands of the dealer, and when purchased require reeling or balling

page_text: before being used, this latter operation is not only extremely tedious but
in unskilful hands causes great waste of material by getting entangled.
Now the object of my Invention is to avoid this inconvenience by
introducing an article at about the same cost to a consumer as the banks
at present sold, and this I effect by winding it directly from the swifts
or bobbins into balls with a hollow centre and wound in such a way
that the inside end may be drawn out with perfect order and freedom
until the whole ball is used. This ball is fixed into a cardboard or
paper box in which the ball may remain tight and stationary without
any other fastening, and in the front of the box an eyelet bead or any
other hard and smooth substance which can be perforated is inserted
through which the thread may run fluently without injury by friction.
I propose to pass the inside end of the ball through the eyelet or bead
or other hard perforation, and attach it by an adhesive ticket, bearing
the number of the thread to the outside of the box. I propose also to
fasten the lid or cover of the box down securely, so that from its first
being wound by the machinist until it has been entirely used by the
consumer there will be no need for the thread being exposed to dust,
air, or entanglement. I give the preference to a single ball in a box,
but I claim the right to put more balls into a box if disposed. I also
give preference to a paper or cardboard box, but claim the right to
use any other light material covered with
paper.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William John Almond in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 19th February 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
JOHN ALMOND, of 156, Cheapside, in the City of London, Warehouse-
man, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of August, in the year:
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William John Almond, Her special
licence that I, the said William John Almond, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William John a

page_text: Almond, 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 IMPROVED MODE OF PREPARING THREADS OF COTTON, SILK, WOOL, OR ANY
FIBROUS SUBSTANCE FOR THE MARKET," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William John Almond, my executors or adminis-
trators, 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 John Almond, 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
Sheet of Drawings forming a part of this Specification:-
It has heretofore been the practice to prepare threads used for
knitting, crotchet, sewing machines, and other purposes, in skeins, tied
or banded together, except where the expensive process of reeling or
carding is substituted. These skeins of thread are liable to become
soiled while in the hands of the dealer, and when purchased the threads
require reeling or balling before being used. This latter operation is
not only extremely tedious, but in unskilful hands causes great waste
of material, through its becoming entangled and broken.
Now the object of my Invention is to avoid this inconvenience by
introducing an article to the consumer at about the same cost as the
hanks or skeins at present sold, and this object I effect in the
following manner. I wind the thread from the swifts or bobbins into
balls with a hollow centre in such a way that the inside end of the
thread may be drawn out with perfect order and freedom, until the
whole of the thread in the ball is used. This ball is placed in a
box of cardboard, paper, or other suitable material, wherein it is secured
in such a manner as to remain stationary without any fastening. In
the front or one side of the box I insert an eyelet, bead, a small
perforated plate, or some hard and smooth substance, which can be

page_text: readily perforated, through which the thread may run freely without
being injured by friction. I pass the inside end of the ball through
the eyelet, bead, or other perforated article, and secure it to the out-
side of the box by a ticket bearing the number of the thread. The box
is securely closed, and the thread as it is used is drawn through the
perforation so that from its first being wound by the machinist until
it has been entirely used by the consumer, the thread need not be ex-
posed, and is therefore not liable to injury from dust, air, or entangle-
ment.
In order that my Invention may be clearly understood I will now
proceed to describe the accompanying Drawings.
Figure 1 is a front view of the box or case wherein I enclose the
ball of thread, showing the end of the same secured by the num-
bered ticket. Figure 2 is a similar view of the said box showing the
ticket removed to allow the thread to be drawn out of the box. Figures
3 and 4 are sections on the lines x, x, and y, y, showing the method
of securing the ball in the box. Figure 5 is a front view of a box,
showing the same placed on the spool spindle of a sewing machine and
provided with a number of eyelets for producing the required tension
upon the thread as it is drawn from the said box. Figure 6 is a
section of a box containing a ball of silk thread. Like letters indicate
the same parts throughout the Drawing.
The box or casc a is preferably made of card or thick paper, but
it may be constructed of chip, or other similarly inexpensive materials.
As shown in the said Drawings, the box a is provided with an
interior slide or drawer b, and I prefer to construct it in this manner
as it is cheaply manufactured, and when properly closed forms a very
efficient protection for the thread; if desired, however, a box with
one side forming a lid or cover, or any other convenient close box or case,
may be used. The inner slide or drawer 6 is provided with a circular
lining c, which receives the ball of thread, and holds the same
'properly in place, with one end of the ball lying towards the eyelet d.
As the balls are so wound that the thread is drawn from the centre
the external diameter of the ball is not diminished till the thread
is nearly all unwound; the ball therefore is kept properly in place,
so that the thread will run freely from the box till it is all used.
My Invention is very advantageous when employed in connection
with silk thread, as this material is greatly injured by winding it

page_text: upon reels or bobbins as it is commonly prepared for use in a sewing
machine. A very severe pressure or tension is required to make it lie
flat upon the reel, and by subjecting it to such a pressure the strength
of the silk is impaired to a very great extent, so that when used in
the machine it will be liable to break very frequently. When prepared
for the machine according to my Invention the silk retains all its
original elasticity and strength as the balling is effected without any
strain upon the threads. As herein-before stated, the balls of thread are
wound in such a manner that the thread is drawn from the insidè
or centre of the ball, whose exterior diameter remains undiminished,
till the thread is nearly all drawn out. The balls of silk, however,
require some further support, as this material is so soft and flexible
that the balls will not retain their proper external form, and the
thread will be liable to be entangled and broken. I therefore place
around the silk balls an envelope or shell e, of thin paper or
other suitable material, as shown in Figure 6, and attach it to: the
ball by gum or other adhesive substance. This adhesive-cover jar
envelope gives to the silk the required stiffness, and causes the ball; to
retain its proper shape till the silk is all used or nearly so.
For use on a sewing machine, I prefer to provide the box a) with a
number of eyelets d, as shown in Figure 5; these eyelets produce a
tension upon the thread as the same passes through them. The said
box is preferably attached to the machine as shown, that is, by slip-
ping it down upon the spool spindle, the said spindle being inserted
between the inner and outer cases of the box, or the box may be
attached to the spindle by loops of tape, cotton, or other material.
The required tension upon the thread may be produced entirely by
the eyelets, of which any desired number may be used, but it is
preferable to pass the thread through the tension device of the machine
in the usual manner, and to arrange the eyelets to produce just
sufficient tension to allow the thread to be drawn properly from the
box. I prefer to use common metallic eyelets to form the aperture
or guide for the thread as these are inexpensive and can be readily
and conveniently secured in the box a. The said box may be made
of any desired form, and though I prefer that each box should contain
only one ball of thread, yet if found desirable boxes may be made to
contain two or more balls. When prepared for sale the eyelets are
covered with the tickets f, which serve to secure the end of the
thread, to prevent the entrance of dust through the eyelet hole, and

page_text: also to indicate the number or quality of the thread. I am well aware
that silk and other thread for sewing, knitting, and other purposes
has been supplied to the users thereof in balls; I am also aware that
thread is commonly kept and sold in boxes, and cases of various forms
and descriptions, and also that boxes and receptacles for holding thread
while the same is being used are made in many varieties, but hitherto
no means have been known whereby thread in balls at the ordinary
market price of sewing thread could be presented to the consumer in
such a manner that without further preparation it could be conveni-
ently used either for hand or machine work, without soiling, breaking,
or other injury. The boxes or cases which I use are not intended to
serve more than once, and must therefore be manufactured at such a
cost that they will necessitate very little, if any, addition to the
ordinary market price of the thread without the boxes.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and shown how
the same may be conveniently and advantageously carried into practice;
I claim-
First. A ball of thread wound in the manner described and en-
closed in a box or case of card, paper, or other inexpensive material
which excludes dust, and holds the ball in the proper position to
allow the whole of the thread to be drawn freely therefrom, substantially
as set forth.
Second. Providing the said boxes with eyelets, or other suitable
guide apertures for the thread, substantially as set forth.
Third. Covering the said eyelet or aperture, and securing the end
of the thread with a ticket, substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.
.
In witness whereof, I, the said William John Almond, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of February in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
WILLIAM JOHN ALMOND. (L.S.)