CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN INDEX MACHINES, APPLICABLE TO LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Radcliffe, Overlooker, James Fearnchough,
Weaver, and Joseph Mather, Joiner, all of the Parish of Eccles, in the
County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Radcliffe, James
Fearneḥough, and Joseph Mather at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition on the 26th March 1857.
We, JOHN RADCLIFFE, Overlooker, JAMES FEARNEHOUGH, Weaver, .and
JOSEPH MATHER, Joiner, all of the Parish of Eccles, in the County of
Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN INDEX MACHINES, APPLICABLE TO LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as
follows:-
The nature of our Invention consists in giving an up-and-down motion in
addition to the usual to-and-fro.motion to the cylinder of index machines, in
order to vary the pattern produced in the loom. The cards passing over the
cylinder are made with two or more rows of holes, and these cards act on
the needles of the index machine in the usual manner, the object of raising
and lowering the cylinder being to bring either one or other of the rows of
holes in a line with the row of needles. The cylinder or.the frame in which
it works is raised or lowered by a rack and pinion, or other suitable mechanism,

page_text: and in some cases we vary the level of the row of needles instead of raising
or lowering the cylinder.
The object of our Invention is to afford facility in changing the patterns
woven, as each row of holes in the cards produces a fresh pattern. Also
in an improved system of levers for raising the top knife and depressing 5
the lower knife, so as to act equally on the hooks, by which the shed is
formed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Radcliffe, James Fearnehough and Joseph Mather in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 17th September 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JoпN
RADCLIFFE, Overlooker, JAMES FEARNEHOUGH, Weaver, and JOSEPH MATHER,
Joiner, all of the Parish of Eccles, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said John Radcliffe, James Fearnehough, and Joseph Mather, Her
special licence that we, the said John Radcliffe, James Fearnehough, and
Joseph Mather, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said John Radcliffe, James Fearnehough, and Joseph Mather, our
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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
INDEX MACHINES, APPLICABLE TO LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said John Radcliffe, James Fearnehough, and
Joseph Mather, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our, or their, or one of our or their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 we, the said John Radcliffe, James Fearnehough,
and Joseph Mather, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and

page_text: in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement (that is to say):-
The nature of our Invention consists in an improved combination of
machinery for giving an up-and-down motion in addition to the usual
to-and-fro motion to the cylinders of index machines, in order to vary the
pattern produced in the loom. The cards passing over the cylinder are made
with two or more rows of holes, and these cards act on the needles of the
index machine in the usual manner, the object of raising and lowering the
cylinder being to bring each row of holes in a line with the needles, thereby
changing the pattern to be woven with facility and without stopping the
loom.
Our Invention also consists in an improved system of levers for raising
the top knife or grife and depressing the hole board, so as to act equally on
the hooks and mounting, by which the shed is formed.
In order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect, we will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is a side elevation, and Figure 2 a front elevation, of an index
machine, to which our improvements are applied.
a, a, are the side frames; b, the cylinder, supported in sliding bearings
connected to the swing frame c, which is moved to and from the needles d
by the levers e fixed on the shaft f, and connected to the swing frame c by
the links g; d is the front board; and d², the back board, by which the
needles & are supported as usual. The hooks h are connected to the mounting
of the loom in the ordinary manner. i is the grife, and j the hole board;
the grife and the hole board are moved up and down by the lever k, whose
fulcrum is at l. This lever is connected on each side of the machine to the
levers m, whose fulcrum is at n; the links o connect the lever to the grife i,
and the links p connect the levers m to the frame of the hole board; to the
lever is also connected a link 9, for actuating the shaft f and the swing
frame c. The moveable bearings b¹ of the cylinder b rest upon the eccentrics r
fixed to the shaft s, which is supported in the swing frame c. To one end of
this shaft is fixed a star wheel t, which has five notches, corresponding to the
number of rows of holes in the cylinder b.
We wish to remark here, that a greater or less number of rows of holes
may be made in the cylinder, according to the number of changes required in
the patterns to be woven, but in all cases the number of notches in the star
wheel t must correspond with the number of rows of holes in the cylinder.
The star wheel t is turned partly round by hand when required by the disk u,

page_text: in which are fixed three pins taking into the notches of the star wheel, the
handle being fixed to the disk u for turning it round. The mode of
operation is as follows The Drawing represents the cylinder bin its
lowest position, consequently when the machine is at work the top row of
holes or blanks of the card passing over the cylinder acts upon the needles
d, and the pattern produced on the fabric in the loom coincides with the
pattern of the said top row of holes or blanks. As soon as a change of pattern
is required, the-weaver turns the disk u partly round, thereby moving the star
wheel one-fifth of a revolution in the direction of the arrow in Figure 1. By
this means the eccentrics elevate the moveable bearings and cylinder b
sufficiently to bring the second row of holes or blanks of the card in a line
with the needles d, thereby producing a fabric with a pattern corresponding
to the said second row; the cylinder is raised to bring the third, fourth, and
fifth row in a line with the needles in the same manner. It is evident that
by turning the disk u in the contrary direction the cylinder is lowered, and
that by turning the disk more or less round, any row of holes in the card may
be brought in a line with the needles.
Having thus particularly described the nature of our Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, we declare that we claim,
First, the improved combination of machinery shewn and described for
raising and lowering the cylinders of index machines.
And, secondly, the improved system of levers for raising the top knife or
grife and,lowering the hole board, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Mather, have hereunto set my
hand and scal, this Fifteenth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand-eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
H. B. BARLOW,
Manchester.
JOSEPH MATHER. (L.S.)