IMPROVE- MENTS IN ORNAMENTAL WEAVING
Year: 1854

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Alexander Parker at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 12th October
1854.
I, ALEXANDER PARKER, of New Milns, in the County of Ayr, North Britain,
Pattern Cutter, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN ORNAMENTAL WEAVING" to be as follows: -
This Invention relates to various kinds of figure weaving, & is applicable
under suitable modifications to harness and lappet looms. In harness looms,
the contrivances comprehended in the present Invention are to be employed,
instead of the ordinary jacquard mechanism, or in combination with a part
thereof. According to one modification of the Invention, the harness threads
are attached to needles or wires arranged in a row in any convenient position
at a convenient distance; below these wires the threads have knots formed
upon them, and they are passed through holes in a draught board, these holes
being something like key-holes in shape, and consisting of slits, through
which the knots on the harness threads cannot pass, combined with larger
apertures through which the knots can pass. The action of the wires abovo
causes some of the threads to lie in the slits in the draught board, and some
of them to be in the larger apertures, so that on the draught board. being
.

page_text: raised, it only lifts those harness threads which are in the slits, the knots of the
others passing through the larger holes. The wires are acted upon by a sheet
or cylinder of any suitable material upon which the pattern is produced, in
such a manner, that the wires or needles will pass through the material at
some parts, whilst they will not be able to do so at others. Thus, if the
pattern is pushed against the needles, those needles which cannot pass through
it will be shifted, and will shift their respective threads either into or out of their
respective slits in the draught board, so as to be lifted or not by the draught
board, as the case may be, according to the manner in which the apparatus is
arranged; or instead of the pattern being pushed against the needles, these
may be pushed against the pattern, the same result being obtained after each
action of the needles; the pattern is shifted up, down, or round, so as to bring
a fresh line opposite to the row of needles. The pattern which acts upon the
needles will present precisely the same appearance as the pattern produced
upon the fabric when woven, except that it may be upon a different scale.
Thus, the figures or devices of the pattern may consist of perforations or open
spaces, the material left solid representing the ground; or the solid portions
may correspond to the figures or devices of the pattern, in which case the open
or perforated portions will correspond to the ground. Sheet zine may be used
for the pattern material, the pattern being formed by perforations; or wire
gauze may be made to answer the purpose, the pattern being produced by laying
on pieces of suitable material. To cover the interstices where necessary, zinc
perforated regularly over its entire surface may be used, in the same manner
as the wire gauze; paper, cloth, or any other suitable material may be used
for the pattern, the material being suitably perforated for the purpose. This
description of pattern may be produced with great facility and at a small cost,
and any portion of the pattern can be altered at pleasure without having to
reproduce the entire device. Springs are to be applied to the needles in any
convenient manner, to enable them to recover their normal positions between
each shift of the pattern.
In applying the present Invention to lappet looms, the same description of
pattern is used, and it is placed in such a position that the "pikes" or fingers
of the needle frames work close to its surface on the side farthest from the
needles, which are pushed through the pattern; and it is by the ends of those
needles which are allowed to pass through the pattern that the lateral move-
ments of the "pikes" and the needle frames, to which these are attached, are
regulated; or the opposite ends of the needles may be made to regulate the
movements of the pikes, if desirable. In cases where the pattern would not
be wrought with sufficient fineness if the needles were set parallel to the

page_text: pikes, the pattern and needles are set at any angle to the line of lateral traverse
of the pikes, the pikes being made of sufficient length to have their movements
regulated by those needles, which on account of the inclination of the pattern
are further from the line of pikes. With these arrangements the capabilities
of the lappet loom are considerably extended, it being possible with them to
work a greater number of needle frames than have hitherto been used in
looms of this class. If desirable, the pattern mechanism may be applied to a
jacquard card-cutting machine. The threads are attached to the needles on
which the pattern acts, being connected to the punches or wires
cutting machine, so as to act upon them in such a manner as to punch the
cards according to the required pattern, these cards being used in the loom in
the ordinary way. It is obvious that the minor details of this Invention
are susceptible of being variously modified, the essential feature being the
employment of a perforated pattern in combination with a row or rows of
needles, in the manner herein-before described.
of the card-