CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVING AND PREPARING CLOTH
Year: 1828

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
BARNARD, of Minchinhampton, in the County of Gloucester, Clothier, send
greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth
did, by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing <late
at Westminster, the Nineteenth day of August, One thousand eight hundred
and twenty-eight, in the ninth year of His reign, give and grant unto me, the
said Edward Barnard, His special license, that I, the said Edward Barnard,
my exors, admors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Edward Barnard,
my exors, adiñors, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the terms of years therein mentioned,
should and lawfully might make, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVING AND PREPARING CLOTH;" in which said Letters Patent
there is contained a proviso that I, the said Edward Barnard, shall cause a
particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be enrolled in His Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that, in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Edward Barnard, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is described and
ascertained as follows (that is to say):—
One part of my improvements relates to weaving of cloth, and consists in an
apparatus to be substituted for the common stretcher or temple shaft used in
the process of weaving woollen or other cloth, by which the cloth is kept at its
proper breadth and tension in the loom during the entire process. This appa-
ratus I call a wheeled stretcher.
In Figure 1, A is a frame constructed of iron or other material sufficient to
support and carry the wheeled stretcher. The wheels B, B, which form the
stretcher, are mounted in pairs on two pivots or pins, which are fixed in the
frame at C, C, those pivots or pins passing through the centres of the wheels
B, B, which revolve on those pins. The wheels are placed at such an angle
with each other that their sides at one edge D are in contact, and the opposite
edges are separated about half an inch. The wheels B, B, are formed with
teeth or flutes, which are rounded, to prevent their penetrating the lists of the
cloth. The list or salvage of the cloth passes between the wheels B, B, at D,
and is held fast by and between their flutes or teeth as the cloth is pro-
gressively formed in the loom. The wheels are made to revolve so as to carry
the list forward, straining and keeping the cloth in a uniform and equal
breadth throughout the entire length of the piece. The pair of wheels B, B,
are kept in contact with the cloth, which passes between their teeth by the
weight E, which is suspended to the lever F, which lever acts beneath the boss
or projecting part of the lower wheel B. The lever F is notched on the upper
edge, and the weight E is moveable to any position required, to give the proper
working tension to the cloth. If the weight is too light, the list is drawn
towards the middle of the cloth by its strain in that direction; on the other
hand, if the weight is too great, the list will be too much extended. By
shifting the weight on the lever the proper pressure will be readily found, and
being once adjusted will require but little further alteration while the piece
is weaving. This pressure may also be effected by placing a metallic spring to
act against the boss of the under wheel and press it upwards, or otherwis
applied to the boss of the upper wheel to force it downwards. I give prefer-
ence, however, to the application of pressure by the means of the lever and
weight, as above described, because it is most easily adjusted. H, H, are
mortices to receive one or more screw bolts, by which the frame of the wheeled
stretcher is firmly fixed against the inside upright face of the breast beam of
the loom. K is a beveled pinion fixed on the end of the shaft L, taking into

page_text: teeth on the upper surface of the wheel B on the axis C. I is a pulley fixed on
the end of the shaft L, which, when the wheeled stretcher is placed in the loom,
will stand beyond the end of the breast beam. The pulley I may be changed
for other pulleys of different diameters, to adapt the speed of the wheeled
stretcher to different kinds or qualities of cloth, (whether fine or coarse).
Figures 2 and 3 represent the method by which I put in motion and cause
the wheeled stretcher to operate. T, T, represent the treddles of the loom,
their superior ends being attached to the counter shafts t, t, and the counter
shafts t, t, are attached by cords or lines to the heddles or harness O, O. These
heddles or harness are suspended from a rolling bar made of iron or other
sufficient material, the end of which is seen at P. The cords Q, Q, by which
the heddles or barness are suspended, pass over two pullies fixed on the bar P,.
and the heddles or harness move up and down by the action of the treddles.
The end of this rolling bar at P is formed into a crank. The rolling bar is.
supported by the frame of the loom, as seen at P. The end of the lever R is.
connected with the crank, which, by the action of the treddles on the rolling.
bar P, is caused to propel or push forward the ratchet wheel W one tooth at
each alternation of the treddles. The ratchet wheel W is kept in its forward-
position by the lever S, which by its own weight falls against and takes into
the teeth of the wheel W. At each successive action of the crank the crank.
draws back the propelling lever R by the alternations of the treddles, and by
this means gives a rotary motion to the wheel W and its shaft X, X, which
shaft extends across the loom, and on each end of the shaft X, X, is fixed a
pulley U, U, which, through the medium of a strap or endless band, gives
motion to the pulleys I, I, placed on the wheeled stretcher shafts L, L. In
the application of the wheeled stretcher to cloths of different breadths the
shaft L may be extended or shortened as circumstances may render needful.
The wheeled stretcher moves only after each alternate shoot of the weft is
beaten in. The cloth being stationary, is firmly held by the stretcher during
the time the weft is beaten in, and thus the operation is rendered uniforin, and
the cloth is kept of equal breadth throughout the its entire length. It is obvious
that the wheeled stretcher may be put in motion by various arrangements of
pulleys and wheels. The stretcher may be moved by a pulley fixed on the
axis of the fore beam or on the nether beam of the loom, operating by a strap
or cord on the pulley I on the shaft L, or the stretcher may be moved by a
pulley fixed to the upper surface of the upper wheel B, and put in motion by
a weight attached to a line or cord passing over a guide pulley, as represented.
in Figure 5.
"

page_text: I claim as my Invention the application of pairs of cog wheels or wheels
formed with teeth, which are adapted to grasp or hold the edges of the cloth
between them, and such wheel being placed above the cloth and the other
below the cloth, and the two wheels being pressed towards each other by
weights or springs, so as to hold the cloth tight between their teeth without
piercing or penetrating the cloth, the said pairs of toothed wheels being put in
motion or turned round by machinery, as herein-before described, with a motion
corresponding with that of the cloth in a suitable manner to effect the straining
or stretching of the cloth in its width during the process of weaving.
The other part of my improvements consists in preparing cloth for shearing,
and consists in an apparatus for applying brushes, metal plates, or hard wood,
for the purpose of raising, setting up, or reversing or laying down the nap or
pile of wool on the surface of woollen cloth preparatory to its being shorn or
cropped by such shearing machines as operate by cutting across the cloth
from list to list, my apparatus being adapted to raise or set up the nap or
pile in a regular and even manner by continuous motion given to the said
brushes or metal plates in a direction lengthwise of the cloth during the time
the process of shearing is going forward, and without impeding the cutting opera-
tion. The frame 1, 1 (in Figure 4) is made of iron or other suitable material,
and is fixed to the shearing machine by means of two brackets 2, 2, which
are so formed as to admit of the frame being turned on its bearings, when it is
necessary to lift up the brushes or plates in order to remove them from the
cloth as occasion may require. On that part of the framing which carries
the brushes or plates are fixed two pullies, 3 and 4, and around these
pulleys an endless strap of leather or other suitable material, 10, 10,
circulates. To this strap the brushes G, G, G, or iron or wood plates 9, 9, are
affixed at a few inches distant from each other, so as to divide the strap into
equal spaces. The brushes may be formed of hair bristles, or a mixture of hair
bristles and wire, or any other suitable substance or material capable of
raising the nap or pile of wollen cloth. The brushes G, G, G, which I have
applied are made of a circular form about one inch diameter, and are attached
to the strap of leather by a rivet or screw, leaving a clear space of about six
inches between each brush. The brushes may be made square or of any other
suitable shape. The plates of iron or wood are fixed to the strap in like
manner, and may be formed in an angular or other shape, adapted to operate
on the surface of the cloth. To raise the pile or nap for shearing in that part
of the frame between the pullies 3 and 4 is affixed to the frame a piece of
wood, 5, placed on its edge, with its lower edge towards the cloth. Through the

page_text: piece of wood 5 two screw pins 6, 6, pass downwards, and to the ends of the
screw is fixed a strip of smooth wood 7, 7, which is pressed by the screw pins
towards the surface of the cloth, and thereby increases the action of the
brushes when needful, to raise a greater quantity of the pile or nap. The piece
of wood 5 and the strip 7, 7, extend across the frame of the shearing machine,
so as to apply to the surface of the cloth intended to be operated upon by the
shearing apparatus in the direction of the length of the cloth, and parallel to
the cutting blade. On the front part of the piece of wood 5 is fixed a bar of
metal 8, projecting downwards, and extending across the frame of the shearing
machine, so as to press the surface of the cloth, and thereby to keep it free
from inequalities or vibration. The bar 8 is attached to the piece of wood 5 by
projecting pieces of iron, in which mortices are formed, to receive screws which
fix the bar 8 to the wood 5. These mortices admit of the raising or sinking of
the bar 8 when required. The pulley 4 has a groove at one end or edge, to
receive a cord or band, which, passing over the two guide pulleys 9, 9, is
conducted to some convenient axis or shaft of the shearing machine, which
being in motion will communicate a considerable speed to the brushes or
plates which are affixed to the endless strap 10, 10. That speed must be
sufficient to cause the said brushes or plates to move lengthways over the
cloth in a suitable manner to raise the pile or nap thereof. Any competent
mechanist will be able to adopt my apparatus to the peculiar shearing
machine to which it is intended to be applied; and the means of communicating
the required motion to the brushes will be as various as the construction of the
shearing machinery; and in any case the means of communicating motion will
be a matter of the most facile adaptation. By turning the cord, and reversing
the motion at the pully 4, the brushes will revolve in a contrary direction, and
brush down and smooth the nap or pile on the surface of the cloth. The whole
of the apparatus and its framing are so adjusted and applied in the shearing
machine that the brushes or the edges of the metal plates will lie evenly on
the surface of the cloth at a distance of about one inch before the front of the
ledger blade and cutter of the shearing machine to which they are adapted. At
the angle of the frame at 11 is fixed a bar of iron bending downwards, which by
passing over an inclined piece of wood 12 or other material fixed to the side
of the shearing machine raises and elevates the brushes so as to prevent
their action on the cloth when near the lists, if required.
I claim as my Invention the application of the apparatus containing revolving
brushes or plates of metal or wood as herein-before described, for preparing
woollen cloth when the same is stretched in shearing machinery, which shear
across the cloth from list to list, in order to raise up or smooth down the

page_text: pile or nap of such cloth by my apparatus, without interrupting the shearing
operation.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Barnard, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Nineteenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Nineteenth day of February, in
the year of our Lord 1829, the aforesaid Edward Barnard came before our said
Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Nineteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine.