CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO THE MANUFACTURING AND PREPARING OF WOOLLEN CLOTH
Year: 1828

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
CLISILD DANIELL, of Limpley Stoke, in the Parish of Bradford, in the County
of Wilts, Clothier, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent. Majesty King George the Fourth,
by his Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster the Fifth day of August, in the ninth year of the reign, did, for
Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Joseph
Clisild Daniell, His especial licence that I, the said Joseph Clisild Daniell,
my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph Clisild
Daniell, my exors, adññors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times, during the term of years therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, excrcise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO THE MANUFACTURING AND PREPARING
OF WOOLLEN CLOTH;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso
obliging me, the said Joseph Clisild Daniell, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the
same to be enrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
candar months next and immediately after the date of the said recited Letters

page_text: Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will moro fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that, in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Joseph Clisild Daniell, do hereby declare that my said Invention is described
and ascertained in manner following, that is to say :-
26
My said Invention consists of two improvements applicable to the
manufacturing and preparing of woollen cloths. The object of one of my said
improvements is to keep the yarns of the warp stretched in a uniform tension
during the operation of weaving woollen cloth in such looms as are wrought
by the aid of mechanical power or millwork. The usual method of producing
the tension of the warp in such looms is to pass a friction strap or rope around
the end of the yarn roller, and to apply a heavy weight to the strap or
rope in such manner as will cause it to grasp forcibly upon the yarn roller,
in order to occasion so much friction and resistance to the motion of the
yarn roller as will be sufficient to stretch the yarn as it is being drawn
off or unwound from the yarn roller by the progressive weaving of the
yarns into cloth, and the winding up of that cloth about the cloth roller.
The tension thus occasioned by friction is subject to great variations from
change of weather and other causes, and I render that tension uniform by
the means herein-after described. The weight and pressure on the friction
strap or rope must be diminished so as to exert only a small part of the usual
friction; and to make up for the diminution of friction, so as to give the requisito
tension to the yarn of the warp, I apply a weight to a cord that is wound round
the circumference of a pulley or sheave at the end of the axis of the yarn roller
of a power loom, in such manner as that the said weight shall always tend to
turn the roller round in the proper direction for winding up the yarn about
the roller; consequently, as the yarn of the warp is being drawn off and
unwound from the yarn roller by the progressive weaving of the yarns into
cloth, the cord will be wound up around the said pulley or sheave so as to
raise the weight upwards, whereby the gravitating force of that weight will act
to extend the yarns of the warp, and stretch them with a constant and uniform
tension, which is an important condition for the manufacturing of woollen
cloth in a proper manner by power looms.
The object of the other of my said improvements is to cause the feet or
hammers of such fulling stocks or other felting machines as act by the power
of gravity alone, or combined with any other power, to strike the cloth with
a quicker succession of blows than usual, in order that the operation of felting
the cloth may be more expeditiously and completely performed. For this
purpose I apply elastic springs of wood or metal to each of the fect or hammers

page_text: of the stocks, in such manner as that the, said springs shall be bended or
deflected from their natural forms when the feet or hammers are raised up by
the force of the millwork, and therefore the said springs will urge the feet
or hammers downwards, when the millwork leaves the feet or hammers at
liberty to fall in order to strike against the cloth, and in. consequence of the
effort that these said springs will make to unbenù or recover their natural
form, the feet or hammers will be. caused to fall or descend with a much
smarter and quicker motion than they could derive from falling by their own
weight alone, without the assistance of springs. By this means I can mill or
felt woollen cloth in an effectual manner with feet or hammers. of a much
lighter construction than those usually employed for the same kind of work,
although those light feet or hammers are only raised or lifted by the millwork
to a much less height than usual; but by the application of springs to such
feet or hammers in manner aforesaid they can be made to strike with sufficient
force and smartness upon the cloth to effect the felting process, and in conse-
quence of the small space through which the light feet or hammers are required
to move when springs are applied thereto as aforesaid they can perform their
motions in less time, so as to repeat their blows upon the cloth with greater
rapidity than usual, and thereby expedite the operation of felting.
For the more complete explanation of the manner of performing my said
improvements applicable to the manufacturing and preparing woollen cloth,
I have hereunto annexed two Sheets of Drawing, whereof Sheet One repre-
sents so much of a power loom for weaving woollen cloth as is necessary to
explain the manner of performing the first of my said improvements, whereof
the objects is to keep the warp to a uniform tension, as herein-before stated.
A, A, B, B, is the frame of the loom. C is the yarn beam or roller around
which the warp is wound. D is the breast beam, and E the cloth beam or
roller around which the warp is wound. S is a pulley or sheave on the end of
the axis of the cloth roller, to receive a cord or line s, which is conducted over
suitable pulleys V, V, V, and a weight t is suspended from the end of the cord.
The tendency of this weight is to-turn the cloth roller round, and to wind up
the cloth around it, thereby drawing off and unwinding the warp from the
yarn roller C. The motion of the yarn roller is retarded by the friction of a
strap or rope w applied upon the circumference of a pulley or sheave at the
end of the yarn roller C. One end of the strap or rope w is firmly fastened to
the frame of the loom, and the other end is attached to a lever a, which is
loaded with a weight y, in order to draw the strap or rope forcibly down
upon the pulley, and thus cause a considerable friction upon the circumference
thereof, so as to retard the motion of the yarn roller when the yarn is drawn

page_text: off or unwound therefrom. The parts hitherto described are already used in
looms manufacturing woollen cloths, and constitute no part of my Invention;
but the weight and pressure with which the weight y and lever a draw
the friction strap or rope w down upon the circumference of the pully or
sheave at the end of the yarn roller must be greatly diminished, and I
apply to power looms for manufacturing and preparing woollen cloth the
weight W by means of the cord r, which is conducted over suitable pulleys
m, m, and is wound round the circumference of the pulley or sheave R, fixed
on the axis of the yarn roller C in such manner as that the said weight W
shall tend to turn round the yarn roller C in the proper direction to wind
up the yarn about the yarn roller. Therefore, when the yarn is drawn
off or unwound from the yarn roller, the weight W will be raised upwards,
and consequently the gravitating force of the weight W will occasion
a constant strain or tension upon the yarn. The tendency of the weight t
to turn round the cloth roller and wind up the cloth is counteracted
by the tendency of the weight W to turn round the yarn roller and
wind up the yarn.
Hence the improvement constituting the first part of
my Invention is to apply the additional weight W to the yarn roller, that
it may act in concert with the usual friction strap or rope w, in order to
counteract against the weight that is usually applied to the cloth roller,
the additional weight being for the purpose of keeping up a uniform tension of
the warp. The lathe and harness, and other necessary parts of the loom, may
be constructed and put in motion by any suitable means, which need not be
farther described, as my Invention does not apply to any other parts of the
loom than those already described. Every time that the lathe beats up a shoot
of the weft, and thus makes a portion of cloth, the force of the blow urges the
cloth a small space forwards together with the warp, whereby a corresponding
length of the yarn is drawn off from the yarn roller C, which is thereby turned
round a little, and the weight W is raised up a small height by the same
action. The weight t descending turns the cloth roller round a little so as
gather up a length of cloth equal to the length made by the blow of beating
up. The usual friction strap or rope w, which is pressed down by the lever
and weight y upon the sheave or pulley at the end of the yarn roller C,
must be applied in concert with my reacting weight W, in order that its
friction may keep the weight t and W steady, and prevent them from dancing
about or moving too much by the shocks that are occasioned by the blows of
the lathe when it beats up the work; but it is not necessary to load the strap
or rope w so heavily by the lever and the weight y, when my re-acting
weight W is applied, as must be done in the usual way when the friction of

page_text: the strap or rope w forms the whole of the resistance for stretching and
extending the warp. It is not advisable to apply any more weight or pressure
upon the friction strap or rope w than will be sufficient to prevent the yarn
roller and the cloth roller, with their respective weights t and W, from shaking
about. My additional re-acting weight W must be made so heavy as will
cause the necessary tension on the warp by acting in aid of the friction strap
or rope w. When by gradual working the weight t has descended to the
ground, it must be pulled up again, and the cords must be wound one
or more turns round the pulley or sheave S, whereby it will be put into a
condition to act again. This is the usual practice. And in like manner, when
my additional weight W has by gradual working been drawn up nearly to
the pulley from which it is suspended, the cord r must be unwound one or
more turns from off the circumference of its sheave or pulley R, so as to lower
down the weight W, and put it into a condition to act again.
Sheet II. represents so much of a fulling mill or fulling stock as is requisite
to explain the manner of performing the other of my said improvements;
whereof the object is to cause the feet or hammers of fulling stocks to strike
their blows in a quicker succession than usual. Figure 1 is an elevation and
Figure 2 a plan of a pair of fulling stocks with my improvements applied
thereto. A, B, are the two feet or hammers situate side by side, and C, D,
their legs or shanks. E is the trough or cavity in which the cloth is placed
that it may be subjected to the action of the feet or hammers, which produce
the felting action by striking alternate blows on the cloth, first by one foot or
hammer and then by the other. F is the support for the centres of motion e,
and on which the feet or hammers are suspended, and about which they are
moveable. G are the staples or curved guides by which the feet or hammers
are retained in their proper positions side by side. I is the revolving lifting
wheel, with tappets h fixed to its circumference, and projecting out sido
ways therefrom in a suitable manner to act beneath the extremities i, i, of the
shanks C and D, where they project out beneath the guides G, in order to lift
up the feet or hammer, and to let them fall in succession, when the lifting
wheel is turned round by mechanical power. The lifting wheel H is fixed
upon a horizontal axis K, which is turned round by millwork, and is usually
made long enough to extend beneath several pairs of stocks placed side by side
in a row; and a separate lifting wheel II is fixed on the long axis opposite to
each pair of stocks to actuate the same; or otherways the axis K of the lifting
wheel may be made short, as represented in the plan, Figure 2, so as to serve
for only one pair of stocks, in which case it may be turned round by means of
wheel L fixed upon it, the teeth of that wheel being actuated by the
a cog

page_text: teeth of the pinion M fixed on another axis, which is turned round by
an endless strap or belt acting upon a driving pulley N at the end of that axis,
and, deriving its motion from a suitable drum turued by a loose pully O, may
be fitted upon the same axis at the side of the driving pulley N, in order to
receive the endless strap when the wheelwork II, L, M is required to stand
still, although the millwork which gives motion to the endless strap continues
moving. All the parts hitherto described are such as are in use, and constitute
no part of my Invention; but the weight of the feet or hammers A, B, may bo
greatly diminished, and also the size of the lifting wheel H may be diminished,
and its position so altered beneath the guides G as that its tappets h,h shall
not lift up the feet or hammers so high as usual at the inoment when those
tappets quit the ends i, i of the shanks of the feet or hammers, to allow the
latter to fall in order to strike upon the cloth; and I fix and apply two
elastic wooden springs P, Q, side by side, opposite to the two feet or
hammers, the extremities of the springs being in such positions that they
will intercept the feet or hammers A, B, before they are raised up to their
highest positions by the tappets h, h of the lifting wheel H; consequently, by
the time that either of the feet or hammers has been raised up to its highest
position, the spring P or Q belonging to that foot or hammer will be bended
or forcibly deflected from its natural form; and therefore, when the tappet
leaves that foot or hammer at liberty to fall, in order to strike the cloth, the
fall will be accellerated by the pressure and elastic force of the spring P or Q;
that is, by the force that the spring will exert in unbending itself to recover its
natural form. Hence by this application of springs the feet or hammers will
strike with sufficiently smart and sharp blows upon the cloth to effect the
felting operation, although the height from which the feet or hammers have
fallen to give the blows is much less than is requisite in the common practice
of fulling or milling the same kind of cloth without the aid of springs; and in
consequence of the small space through which the feet or hammers are
required to move, when aided by springs as aforesaid, they can be made to
perform their motions in less time, so as to repeat their blows upon the cloth
in more rapid succession than can be dono in the modo hitherto used. Tho
fixed ends of the springs P and Q are firmly fastened into suitable sockets so
as to have no motion therein. Those sockets may be formed in the foundation
frame Y on which all the machinery rests. The other ends of the springs have
pieces of wood or iron m fixed to them, to intercept the upper parts of the feet
or hammers A, B, when they are lifted up by the tappets h, ha proper height.
By removing the pieces m, and fixing others of a different thickness in their
places at the ends of the springs P, Q, those springs may be male to act

page_text: with a greater or less effect, to throw down the feet or hammars upon the
cloth. When it is required to raise up the feet or hammers so high that they
will both remain out of the reach of the tappets h, h, and to suspend them in
that position, as is usually done in order to remove the cloth from the trough,
the springs P and Q arc disengaged by withdrawing the wedges w by which
they are fastened into their sockets, and then the springs become loose in
thoso sockets, so as to exert no action on the feet or hammers. And to facilitato
the withdrawing and fastening of the wedges w, a lever W is provided to
act upon both wedges, the short arms of the lever being jointed to those
wedges, and the long arm of the lever, forming a handle for the workman
to take hold of the centre of motion of the lever W, is supported by a bracket Z
affixed on the top of the socket X. The manner of applying springs to assist
the descent of the feet or hammers may be greatly varied, and the springs
may be made of metal or of wood. The springs may be disposed over the
shanks C, D of the feet or hammers, and fixed in suitable sockets over the
centrès of the motion at e, such sockets being firmly supported by framing
connected with the support F, and steadied, if necessary, by suitable braces
from the roof or ceiling of the mill house. Or otherwise the springs P and Q
may be fastened upon the upper sides of the shanks C and D of the feet or
hammers by bolts, as represented in Figure 3, so that the springs will move
up and down along with the feet or hammers, the extreme ends of the
springs P, Q being put through between the curved staples or guides G 'in
such manner as to be intercepted by a fixed bolt m, which is inserted through
sockets affixed to the staples G. When the feet or hammers are raised up to
a proper height, the extremities of the springs P and Q come in contact with
the bolt m, and the springs are bended as the tappets h,h lift the feet or
hammers to their full height, and consequently the springs P and Q will
throw the feet or hammers down with a sharp and sudden motion the instant
that the tappets h, h pass by, and leave them at liberty to descend. The bolt m
can be withdrawn from its sockets when it is required to raise up the feet or
hammers out of action.
And, in conclusion, I, the said Joseph Clisild Daniell, do hereby declare
that I claim as my Invention under the aforesaid Letters Patent the appli-
cation of a counteracting weight to a pulley at the end of the yarn roller of a
power loom for weaving woollen cloth, for the purpose of keeping the warp
stretched to a uniform tension, in the manner herein-beforo described; and
also the application of springs to the feet or hammers of such fulling stocks
as fall by gravity, to strike the cloth, and produce the felting action, such
application of springs being for the purpose of throwing down those feet or

page_text: hammers upon the cloth with a sudden and sharp motion, and thereby enabling
them to repeat their blows upon the cloth with greater rapidity than usual, as
herein-before set forth; and I further declare that what I have now herein
stated to claim as my Invention is all that I do claim under and by virtue of
the said Letters Patent.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Clisild Daniell, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine.