CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVING, AND IN THE MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Reid, of the City of Manchester,
Merchant, and Richard Tonge, of the same Place, Manufacturer,
for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVING, AND IN THE
MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN."
Sealed the 28th June 1859, and dated the 25th February 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Reid and
Richard Tonge at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 25th February 1859.
We, ALEXANDER REID, of the City of Manchester, Merchant, and RICHARD
TONGE, of the same Place, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVING, AND IN THE MACHINERY
EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
The object of our Invention is to economise material and time in weaving
fabrics requiring two or more warps; in weaving such fabrics it is now.
customary to sink or drop the warp that is not required on the face of the
fabric, and to cut away the portions of warp thus dropped after the piece is
taken out of the loom, thereby occasioning a considerable loss of time and
material. In performing our Invention we wind the separate warps on
separate beams, and we apply suitable holders or instruments near the breast
beam of the loom; after a portion of the fabric has been woven with both

page_text: warps, one of the warps is dropped, and any given length of fabric is woven
with one warp, the warp that was under, and which during the weaving of the
single part of the fabric, had continued to be given off its warp beam, must
now be tightened up so as to allow the single fabric to be drawn into a loop,
which is then held fast by the holders above referred to, a portion of fabric is
next woven with both the warps, and then the weaver by means of a suitable
instrument guided by a grooved cross rail cuts the warp that had held the
single fabric in a loop; when the portion of fabric thus liberated has been
taken up, the operations proceed as before, that is to say, the warp that is not
required is sunk, and when the requisite length of single fabric has been
woven it is looped up as before, then another portion of fabric is woven with
both warps, and after cutting the warp, to liberate the loop of single fabric, the
weaver proceeds as above described.
By means of these improvements nearly twice the length of fabric can be
produced with the same length of warp and the cutting away of the floated
warp threads is avoided, as the weaver by cutting the warps in the manner
above described not only economises the warp, but saves the time required in
cutting when the fabric is taken out of the loom.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alexander Reid and Richard Tonge in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 24th August 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ALEXANDER
REID, of the City of Manchester, Merchant, and RICHARD TONGE, of the same
Place, Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her, most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto us, the said, Alexander Reid and Richard Tonge, Her special licence
that we, the said Alexander Reid and Richard Tonge, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Alexander
Reid and Richard Tonge, 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

page_text: for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVING, AND IN THE MACHINERY EMPLOYED
THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Alexander.
Reid and Richard Tónge, our executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under our, or their, or one of our or 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' we, the said Alexander Reid and Richard: Tonge,
do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and 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 object of our Invention is to economise material and time in weaving.
fabrics requiring two or more warps; in weaving such fabrics it is. now:
customary to sink or drop the warp that is not required on the face of the
fabric, and to cut away the 'portions of warp thus dropped after the piece is
taken out of the loom, thus causing a considerable loss in material and time;
now the nature of our Invention consists in certain improvements in weaving,
and in the machinery employed therein whereby the said object is attained.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into effect, we will proceed to describe the means 'pursued by us,
reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, and to the
figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the principal parts of a loom of the
ordinary construction to which our improvements are applied; Figure 2 is à
plan of the same.
In describing this Invention we will suppose that a mixed fabric is being:
woven with a warp partly of silk and partly of cotton, it is however evident
that the warp may consist of any other combination of fibrous materials, or of:
two warps of the same material but of different colours. a represents the
beam for the silk warp a¹; b is the beam for the cotton warp 6'; each of these
warp beams is provided with a ratchet wheel, into which take the catches a
and 6; c is the lay or batten, and d the taking up roller, under which is
placed the additional taking up roller e, which is also provided with a ratchet
wheel and a retaining catch e', this roller is furnished with the lever es, by
which it is turned round when required. To the rollere are attached the
lower ends of the chains, cords, or bands f, the other ends of which are con-
pected to the holder or instrument g, this holder is a metal ruler or straight
edge, rather more in length than the width of the fabric to be woven, as shewn

page_text: in Figure 2; h is a grooved cross rail or cutting rod having a slot h',
extending rather more than the width of the fabric for guiding the cutting
instrument by which the weaver cuts the warp that has been sunk, as will be
described hereafter. The mode of operation is as follows:-We will suppose
that a portion of the fabric has been woven with both warps, and that the
fabric between the points i and j, has then been woven with the cotton warp 62
and the usual weft, while the silk warp a' has been sunk, the weaver then
inserts the holder g between the fabric thus woven and the silk warp, as shewn
in Figure 1, and liberates the catch a³, so that it drops into the teeth of the
ratchet wheel on the beam a, then by means of the lever e, turns the
beam partly. round, and in so doing the cords or chains f, acting on
the holder g, draw up the portion of fabric between the points i and j into
a loop, as shewn in the diagram Figure 3, which is drawn full size, the weaver
then raises the catch a into the position shewn by dotted lines to liberate the
warp beam a, which being weighted in the ordinary manner then winds on
the warp that had been floating under the single fabric, he then allows the
catch 6 to drop on to the ratchet wheel of the beam b, the cutting rod h is
then inserted into the cross shed of the silk warp a', which has to be cut, the
catch a is then allowed to drop into gear with its ratchet wheel, and the
weaver then binds the two warps together, and after liberating both the
catches a³ and 63, weaves a portion of the fabric with the silk warp, he then
introduces the point of the cutting instrument into the groove of the cutting
rod h to sever the silk warp a', and turns the taking up roller d partly round
to wind up the slack caused by the opening of the loop formed on the holder,
g.
The operations then proceed as before, that is to say, the warp that is not
required on the face of the fabric is sunk, and when the requisite length of
single fabric has been woven it is looped up by the holder g, then another
portion of fabric is woven with both the warps, and after cutting the warp
that had been sunk to liberate the loop of single fabric the weaver proceeds as
above described.
By means of these improvements nearly twice the length of fabric can be
produced with the same length of warps and the cutting away of the floated
warp. threads which in the usual mode of weaving is necessary before the
fabrics are ready for sale is avoided, consequently cutting the warps in the
manner above described, not only economises the warp but saves the time
required in cutting away the floats when the fabric is taken out of the loom.
Having thus stated the nature of. our Invention and described the manner
of performing the same, we wish it to be understood that we are aware
attempts have been made to economise silk warps by cutting them and then

page_text: again piecing up, we therefore do not claim every mode of effecting this object,
but we limit our claims to the improvements shewn and described, and
particularly to the holder or instrument g, and grooved cross rail h.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Tonge, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
RICHARD TONGE. (L.S.)