CERTAIN IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MACHINERY FOR FIGURE WEAVING IN SILK AND OTHER FABRICS
Year: 1842

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MARC LA
RIVIERE, of London Fields, in the Parish of Hackney, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the First day of March, in the fifth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Marc La Riviere, my exors, adññiors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Marc La Riviere, my
exors, adiñors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Marc La Riviere,
my exors, adñiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term of years:
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within that part of Her Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland called England, Her Dominion of Wales, the Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also
in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, an Invention, partly
communicated to me by a foreigner, residing abroad, of " CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MACHINERY FOR FIGURE WEAVING IN SILK AND OTHER FABRICS;"
in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, that I, the said
Marc La Riviere, shall cause a particular description of the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, under my

page_text: hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her 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 there-
unto lind, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in pursuance of the said proviso, I, the said Marc
La Riviero, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascer-
tained in and by the following Specification thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
warp
Figure 1 of the Drawings hereunto annexed represents a side view of an
improved apparatus for setting the figures or designs in figure weaving, and
transferring the same, or indicial points of the same, by punching, to the
cards usually employed in such weaving. The part markel A is the setting
and transferring part of the apparatus, and that marked B the punching part.
Figure 2 is a front view of A; and Figure 3, a front view of B. In Figure 1,
Part A, and Figure 2, a, a, a, a, is the external framework; b, c, d, e, a warp
frame, which rests on the ledges a³, a³, and may be fitted in or removed at
pleasure; and are the boards of this frame, through holes in which the
O threads are passed at top and bottom, being secured to the bottom board
by knots at the ends, and attached at top by loops to rows of metal links;
f.f, g, g, are pins or studs in the ledges a³, a², one at each end, which pass into
corresponding holes of the boards e and c, and keep them steady in their
places; c, c, e, are slips of wood which are passed longitudinally between the
different rows of metal links ff; &, o, are two outside bars of metal which
enclose between them the rows of links with their separating slips of wood,
(one of these bars only, namely, that at the back, is, for the sake of greater
clearness, shown in the Drawing, Figure 2); and h, h, are binding screws
which pass both through the metal bars &, &, and through the slips of wood
between them, and by tightening which sufficiently the links can be maintained
in their vertical positions independently of any other support. The metal links
ff, have eyelet holes at their upper ends, by which they are hooked on to 'n
corresponding set of metal links placed above them, which are parted and secured
by slips of wood, metal bars, and binding screws, exactly in the same manner
as the first self.f. A view of a pair of these metal links hooked together, and
of the full size, is given separately in Figure 4. The front metal bars of both
sets of links, which, in Figure 2 are represented as removed, for the sake of
clearness, are shewn separately in Figure 5; and in Figure 7 is given a sepa-
rate view, endwise, of the links, showing how they are secured by the binding
screws. To the upper ends of the second set of metal links are attached by

page_text: loops a set of warp threads which are passed through holes in the angularly-
inclined board k, whence they are carried across the top of the machine and
passed through another angularly-inclined board k, k, and then brought down
and attached by loops to a set of solid metal rods which move freely through
holes in the boards m, n, and terminate in helical springs m³, m². To these
springs are looped on a third set of warp threads, which, after being passed
through the angularly-inclined metal frame o, are carried over to the punching
machine, Figure 1, Part B, and there attached to the steel punches 9, 2, 7,
herein after described.
From the description which has been so far given of the apparatus it will be
readily understood that there are as many warp threads as punches (each
thread, however, consisting of three parts, connected together in manner afore-
said), and that by passing the threads through the different perforated boards
c, h, k, k, &c., they are kept separate from each other, while the weight of the
solid metal rods and elasticity of the helical springs serve to keep them always
at a proper degree of tension; and, further, that by pulling in or pushing out
any one or more of the warp threads, the punch or punches attached to them
will be raised up out of their places in the punch holder or case. Let it be
supposed, therefore, that the moveable warp frame before described, marked
b, c, d, e, has had the figure or design set on it by cross threads or sheds in the
usual way (for which purpose it may be sent to the manufacture or artist and
to any distance), and that the frame is fitted into its place on the apparatus,
Figure 1, Part A, and let it be supposed, also, that the punches are all in
readiness to act on any card or series of cards which may be placed below or
brought successively below them; then I proceed to read off, as it is technically
called, the figure or design, by drawing together by the two ends each cross
thread of the shoot in succession, and pushing out, by means of the tightening
lever r, cach lash of the warp thus separated from the rest, and thereby raising
the punches attached to the threads of each lash, leaving down in cach instance
those punches which are required to be left down. By referring to the views
given of the tightening lever r in Figure 1, Part A, and Figure 2, it will be.
seen that the main bar is loose, dropping when in operation info the clefts
,, so that it can be taken out and inserted again at each change of the lash.
To facilitate the operation of taking up the lashes, the ends of the warp are
tightened a little at top, by means of the parallel cross bars s, s, which are also.
moveable, resting when in use in the clefts t, t.
The setting of the pattern and reading it off having been thus arranged, I.
shall now proceed to describe that part of the apparatus by which the punching.
of the cards is effected, and which is represented in Figure 1, Part B, and:

page_text: Figure 3. a, a, a, a, is the framework of tho punching machine; &, b, the
press frame; c, &, the weighted ball handle and screw, by the turning of
which the press. frame is raised and lowered; d, a case which contains the
punches (which punches are shewn separately and of the full sizo in Figure 6);
, ninetal frame, through holes in the upper inclined face of which the warp
cords brought over froin the part A of the apparatus aro drawn, and attached
to the top ends of the punches; ff, two square revolving bars (similar to
those commonly used in jacquard machines, but differing from them in having
no holes perforated in their surfaces), by which bars the cards are brought
successively under the punches, anil when punched, removed; 9, 9, projecting
arm piecos, which carry the revolving bars f", f; h, a clutch handle, by
which the revolving bar f is acted upon; 2, t, small conical studs in the faces
of the revolving bars, which pass into corresponding holes made in the cards
as they are deposited upon them, and cause them to register truly; &, a
punch-receiving plate, perforated with holes, to correspond exactly with the
punches, and on which each card rests as it is brought forward to be punched;
and, a comb or reed, shewn separately on an enlarged scale in Figure 8,
which is passed between the punches, and for the teeth of which spaces are cut
away in the punches, as represented at 4, Figure 6.
The mode of working with the part of the apparatus last described is as
follows: The entire number of cards to be punched for any given pattern
or design aro formed into one string or chain by tying them together at
the edges in the usual way, and the first card of this chain is placed on the
square revolving bar f, and secured there by the conical studs 1, . The
workman at the setting and transferring apparatus A then pushes out, by
the tightening roller r, the first lash of warp threads, which draws up the
punches attached to the ends of these threads to a height just sufficient to
lift them out of the way of the teeth of the comb, Figure 8. The comb
being then insorted, its teeth catch hold only of those punches which remain
down and are meant to be brought into nction, while at the same time they
effectually prevent those above from, dropping till the comb is withdrawn.
Punches in both these positions are shown in Figure 6. A half turn is given
by hand to tho square revolving bar f, which brings the first blank card
previously secured to it under the punch case. The weighted ball handle
is then turned, and the press frame b, b, brought smartly down upon
the case of punches, which, acting upon the blank card beneath in
combination with the punch-receiving plate below the card, perforates
it exactly in the manner desired. The clutch handle
at oue ond till it catches hold by the other of one of
is now raised
the four cornor.

page_text: pins at the near end of the square revolving bar f³, as shewn in thè
detached view of these parts given in Fig. 9, and being then depressed, it
causes both bars to turn one quarter round (the bar f being made to follow
the other by means of the hold which the card has on the studs on the face
turned round), and the instant it has done so it rises clear of the corner pin of
which it had hold, but catches as it rises against the next following corner pin;
which taking into the notch h, h, prevents its rising too far. To prevent the
shaking motion which the action of the clutch handle would impart to the bars
and f, if not counteracted, spring dampers v, v, are attached to them, which
are so adjusted as to yield to the force which turns the bars, but the moment
the bars are turned apply the broad faces of the plates w, w, to the bars to
steady them. The quarter revolution of the bars carries forward the card
which has been perforated on to the top of the bar f³, and brings forward
another blank card under the case of punches to be perforated in its turn.
The comb, Figure 8, is now withdrawn, as also the tightening lever r, when the
punches, which were raised out of the case, are instantly restored to their
places. The workman at the setting and transferring apparatus then draws
together the second thread of the pattern, and the whole of the operations last
before described are repeated, and so the work goes on till every thread of the
pattern has been taken up, and every one of the cards has been perforated;
the string of cards, as it passes over the square roller f, is carried round
a roller fixed between the standards of the machine, whence it falls in
regular order, card upon card, to the ground, out of the way of the work-
man; when the whole of the cards have been thus punched, the warp
frame is lifted out of its place and removed to have a new figure or pattern
set upon it, which removal is readily effected in manner following:-Tho
solid metal rods which pass through the board m have collars at top
which rest on the board, and the board, which is fixed loosely in its place,
has a lever m, m, connected with it (as shown separately in Figure 10), by
which it can be raised or lowered at pleasure to the extent of the range of
the lever. By lifting up this board, therefore, an inch or two by means of the
lever in connection with it the rods are raised with it, and the second set of
warp threads attached to them are so far loosened thereby, that, on also raising
the warp frame in front the two sets of metal links at the top of the warp
frame can be unhooked with ease, care being taken to secure each set previously
by tightening the binding screws. To obtain any number of copies of the sets
of cards which have been punched as aforesaid (commonly called recutting),
I combine my punching machine (Figure 1, Part B,) with an ordinary jacquard
recutting machine, in the manuer represented in the Drawings hereunto

page_text: annexed, marked Figure 11. The jacquard recutting machine as used by mo
and represented in the said Drawing, Figure 8, I need not here more parti-
cularly describe, as it is the same in every material rospect with that in
common use, and operates in the same way, only that when combined with my
punching machine, those cards and punches are raised at each operation which
in the jacquard machine as ordinarily employed are left down, and vice versa.
The operation of the punching machine is the same as before described.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I declare that I do uot lay claim to any
one of the parts of the machinery herein-before described as being in and by
itself now, saving and excepting only the moveable warp frame b, c, d, e,
represented in Figure 1, Part A, and Figure 2, the punch represented of the
full size in Figure 6, and the comb, Figure 8. And that what I claim is,-
First, the setting and transferring apparatus represented in Figure 1, Part A,
in the general arrangement and combination of parts of which the same
consists, some of these parts being (to the extent aforesaid) new and others old.
Second, the moveable warp frame b, c, d, e, represented in Figure 1, Part A,
and Figure 2, in which the figure or pattern is set.
Third, the punching machine, Figure 1, Part B, in the general arrangement
and construction of parts of which the same consists, some of these parts (to 2
the extent aforesaid) being new and others old.
Fourth, the punch of the form represented in Figure 6. whether applied
to my improved punching machine, herein-before described, or to any other
punching machine.
Fifth, the use of a comb of the form represented in Figure 8, or of any other 2
analagous form, to separate the punches which are raised from those which are
left down or stationary, whether applied to my said improved punching machine
or to any other.
Sixth, the combination of the setting and transferring apparatus, Figure 1,
Part A, with the punching apparatus, Figure 1, Part B, for the purpose of 3
transferring the figures or designs or indicial points thereof to cards.
And, seventh, the combination of the punching apparatus, Figure 1, Part B,
with the ordinary jacquard recutting machine, in the manner represented in
Fig. 11, for the multiplication of copies of such cards.
And such the said Invention being, to the best of my knowledge and belief, 3.
entirely new and never before used within that part of Her Majesty's United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her Dominion of
Wales, the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey,
Aldorney, Sark, and Man, or in any of Her said Majesty's Colonics and.

page_text: Plantations abroad, I do hereby declare this to be my Specification of the
sanic, and that I do verily believe this my said Specification doth comply in
all respects fully and without reserve or disguise with the proviso in the said
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent contained; wherefore I hereby
claim to maintain exclusive right and privilege to the said Invention.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this First
day of September, One thousand eight hundred and forty-two.