AN IMPROVED MANU- FACTURE OF FABRICS TO BE FORMED OF COCOA, MANILLA, SISAL, ALLOE, OR ESPARTO FIBRES, AND IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING SUCH IMPROVED Th COLOR THRIDG
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William John Sly, of Albion Mills, in the Town and
County of Lancaster, Cocoa Matting Manufacturer, and Thomas Wilson, of
the same Place, Loom Turner, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MANU-
FACTURE OF FABRICS TO BE FORMED OF COCOA, MANILLA, SISAL, ALLOE, OR
ESPARTO FIBRES, AND IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING SUCH IMPROVED
Th
COLOR THRIDG
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William John Sly and Thomas
Wilson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th October
1877.
WILLIAM JOHN SLY, of Albion Mills, in the Town and County of Lancaster, Cocoa
Matting Manufacturer, and THOMAS WILSON, of the same Place, Loom Tuner.
"AN IMPROVED MANUFACTURE OF FABRICS TO BE FORMED OF COCOA, MANILLA,
SISAL, ALLOE, OR ESPARTO FIBRES, AND IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
SUCH IMPROVED AND OTHER FABRICS FORMED OF COARSE THREADS OF OTHER
MATERIALS."
Hitherto, owing to difficulties arising from the coarseness of the threads and the
harshness of the material, only plain woven fabrics have been made from cocoa and
other fibres above named, and our Invention consists in making figured fabrics from
such fibres, and in improvements in machinery, by which we are enabled to make
such figured fabrics from such and other fibres.
Our improved looms for weaving figured goods are similar to those used for plain
weaving, except in respect to the shedding motion. We use a separate mail or
"lingo" for each thread, and prefer to arrange the "mails" or "lingos" in six
rows.
The mails or lingos for actuating the warp threads are connected with cords to a
jacquard apparatus above the loom in which the board having the ends of the
cords secured in it, and the "comb" or "trap board" have both simultaneous move-

page_text: ment, the one up and the other down, imparted by mechanism in connection with
the loom, so that in formning the shed those threads of the warp which are to form
the upper part of the shed are taken up, and those which are to form the lower part
of the shed are allowed to descend, and by this means the strains upon the warp
threads are made equal, and "kinks" in the warp threads are prevented.
selection of the threads which are to be lifted is by the action of cards upon the
needles, as in the jacquard of ordinary looms.
The
We have referred above only to "knot and cord" jacquards, but the hook
jacquard may also be employed to carry out our Invention by modifying the length
of the wire hooks, and arranging a board which will sustain all the hooks, while
those to be lifted are being selected, and then lower this board by cam mechanism
worked by the loom to allow those mails not selected to descend.
"
Another modification of the machinery for carrying out our Invention by shafts
instead of by the jacquard consists in having mails or lingos for each warp thread
arranged as for the jacquard, and then arranging as many shafts as there are sheds.
required by the pattern, and in having as many cords as the pattern requires from
each mail or lingo," these cords being tied to their respective shafts, so that when
the first shaft is lifted all the warp threads to go up with it will be lifted by such
shaft, and so on for each shaft, and at the same time as the shaft for the shed is
being lifted all the other shafts are allowed to descend. The shafts are actuated by
tappets, or by "dobby or jacquard mechanism.
"
By our Invention, either by the jacquard arrangement or by the "shaft" arrange-
ment, the shed is formed without giving unequal strain on the warp threads, and
with the least amount of motion.
In weaving figured goods of cocoa fibre by ordinary healds we weight each warp
thread separately, and employ an arrangement for gripping and holding the warp
threads when the "slay" is beating up, such gripping arrangement being actuated
by tappets worked by the loom.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William John Sly and Thomas Wilson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 5th April 1878.
WILLIAM JOHN SLY, of Albion Mills, in the Town and County of Lancaster.
Cocoa Matting Manufacturer, and THOMAS WILSON, of the same Place, Loom Tuner,
"AN IMPROVED MANUFACTURE OF FABRICS TO BE FORMED OF COCOA, MANILLA,
SISAL, ALOE, OR ESPARTO FIBRES, AND IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
SUCH IMPROVED AND OTHER FABRICS FORMED OF COARSE THREADS OF OTHER
MATERIALS."
Hitherto, owing to the difficulties arising from the coarseness of the threads and
the material, only plain woven fabrics have been made from cocoa and other fibres
above named, and our Invention consists in making figured fabrics from such fibres,
and in improvements in machinery, by which we are enabled to make such figured
fabrics from such and other fibres.
Our improved looms for weaving figured goods are similar to those used for plain
weaving, except in respect to the shedding inotion. We use a separate "mail" and
lingo" for each, and prefer to arrange the mails and lingos in six rows.
The mails and lingos for actuating the warp threads are connected with cords to
a jacquard apparatus above the loom, in which the board baving the ends of cords
secured in it, and the "comb or trap" board have both simultaneous movement, the
one up and the other down, imparted by mechanism in connection with the loom,
so that in forming the shed those threads of the warp which are to form the upper
part of the shed are taken up, and those which are to form the lower part of the shed
are allowed to descend, and by this means the strains upon the warp threads are
made equal, and kinks in the warp threads are prevented. The selection of the
threads which are to be lifted is by the action of cards upon the needles, as in the
jacquards of ordinary looms.
We have referred above only to knot and cord jacquards, but the hook jacquard
may also be employed to carry out our Invention by modifying the length of the
wire hooks, and arranging a board which will sustain all the hooks while those to
be lifted are being selected, and will then lower this board by cam or other
mechanism worked by the loom, to allow those mails not selected to descend.
Another modification of the machinery for carrying out our Invention for weaving
simple figured patterns by shafts instead of by the jacquard consists in having
mails and lingos for each warp thread arranged as for the jacquard, and then
arranging as many shafts as there are sheds required by the pattern to form one
repeat," and in having as many cords as the pattern requires from each mail and
lingo, these cords being tied to their respective shafts so that when the first shaft is
lifted all the warp threads to go up with it will be lifted by such shaft, and so on for
each shaft, and at the same time as the shaft for the shed is being lifted, all the
other shafts are allowed to descend. The shafts are actuated by tappets or by dobby
or jacquard mechanism.
By our Invention, either by the jacquard arrangement or by the shaft arrange-
ment, the shed is formed without giving unequal strain on the warp threads, and
with the least amount of motion.
In weaving figured goods of cocoa fibre and like material above named by ordinary
healds, we weight or keep each warp thread separate, and employ an arrangement
for gripping and holding the warp threads when the slay is beating up, such
gripping arrangement being actuated by a tappet or cam worked by the loom.
We prefer to carry out our Invention for weaving figured goods from materials
herein-before mentioned by means of the jacquard illustrated by Fig. 1, an end
elevation, and by Fig. 2, a front elevation, which latter Figure exhibits only the left-
hand half of the jacquard, the right-hand half being exactly similar. The jacquard
is placed above the loom, but may be or is attached to its framing, and there is a

page_text: separate cord or mail and lingo for each warp thread, some of which are supposed
to be represented by the dotted line (x). a are the side frames of the jacquard,
connected by rods a'; b is the top board of the jacquard, through holes in which
the cords are passed, and in which they are held by a knot on the cord, at the
upper side of the top board as usual; this top board is strengthened by an iron
bow b' secured to it, as shown, and the two ends of the top board are secured to
slides b³, as shown, which slides can work up and down in guides in the side frames
(a). c is the trap board, having holes and slits in it through which the cords pass,
which cords also pass through the needles (not shown) in the ordinary manner,
which needles act upon the cords so that they will be placed in such a position that
the knots on the cords will either pass through the holes in the board or be caught
in the slits as is well understood. The trap board (e) is attached to slides c¹, as
shown, which can move up and down on the two side frames (a). d is a shaft
extending across the jacquard, and having bearings in the two side frames; this shaft
has an arm upon it which is connected by a rod with a lever on the loom that is
actuated by a cam on the cam or tappet shaft in the usual manner, so that the
said shaft d receives oscillation, and an arm d¹ on this shaft at each side of the
jacquard is connected by a rod d² with the slide (C') to which the trap board (c) is
attached, thus the trap board receives up-and-down movements.
On each side
frame of the jacquard there is a shaft e, having bearings in brackets from the framing,
as shown, and each shaft e has three pulleys upon it, one at each end, and one at the
middle of the shaft. The end pulleys e¹ are connected by jointed chains e³ to the
trap board (c), as shown, and the middle pulley (e²) at each side is connected by a
similar chain e with the slide for the top board (b); these chains for the trap board
passing from on side of the pulleys, and for the top board from the other side of the
pulleys, so that the two boards are partly balanced and the ascent of the trap board
allows a descent of the top board, and the descent of the trap board causes an ascent
of the top board.
In the slide c¹ for the trap board at each side of the jacquard there is a stud f
carrying a bowl that enters a cam slot in a part f¹, secured to a rod f, sliding in
brackets secured to the framing, as shown. The ends of the slide rods f carry the
points for the card barrel. The part (f¹) for the cam slot also carries the fulcrum
¹ of a lever (h) which at one end has a stud for a bowl h2, and rests in hollows in
the cap at the end of the card barrel (g) and keeps it square to the ends of the
needles when it has been turned, the pressure for this purpose being obtained from
a spring h³ connected with the end of the lever (h) and a projection from the cam
slot part f. The card barrel g is turned in the usual manner by a hook j
jointed on a stud in the side frame. There is a projection from the cam slot,
part, which slides on a bracket f³, and its end is connected (as shown) by a cross
bar f, which passes between the parts at each side of the jacquard. This cross bar
bas, when required, wires attached to it so as to descend between the needle board
and the cards on the card barrel to push them off the ends of the needles in case
there is a tendency to become entangled.
The trap board c and top board b may be connected to move in opposite directions
simultaneously by rack and pinions, or, by levers or separate cams, may be used if
desired to actuate the top and trap boards independently of each other.
Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating the mode in which the wire or hook jacquard
is or may be applied to carry out our Invention.
The wire hooks a and needles b are arranged in the ordinary manner, but the
board c in which the wire hooks usually rest is arranged in slides to move up and
down vertically, and so that when the grid or griff (d) is moved up the board c will
be moved down, and vice versa. The up-and-down motion may be imparted to the
grid in the usual manner, and then motion may be communicated to the board o
by chains and pulleys, as explained in reference to Figs. 1 and 2, or by levers or
other suitable means. 'T'he highest and lowest position of the grid d and board c
is shown in dotted line.

page_text: "
Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating one mode of carrying out our Invention by shafts
actuated by tappet, or jacquard, or dobby mechanism. In this case there is supposed to
be a separate mail (x) and lingo (x¹) for each warp thread, and arranged, say, in six rows,
and above these there are as many shafts arranged across and at right angles to the
warp threads in guides to move up and down vertically as there are sheds required
for a "repeat" of the pattern. Above the mail there may be a small ring x²
attached, and to this ring as many cards * are secured as there are sheds in the
pattern in which this mail has to be lifted, and these cords are at their upper ends
attached to "shafts a. The first shaft (a) will have cords attached for all the
warp threads to be lifted by it, and the same with the other shafts (a). . The cords
in going from the mails or the ring to the shafts a pass on one side of a bar or
rod (b) extending the lengthway of and below each of the shafts a. If the shafts
are actuated by tappets they are arranged like heald shafts, but so as to lift the one
shaft required up, and lower all the other shafts at each shed. If the shafts are
actuated by jacquard or dobby mechanism then all the hooks connected with the
shafts pass through a bar or board (as illustrated in Fig. 3) and this bar or board
has a simultaneous, up-and-down movement with the knife" for the jacquard
hooks, but in the opposite direction, so that when the knife is taking up the
hook for one shaft, all the hooks for the other shafts will be allowed to descend at
the same time.
Fig. 5 illustrates an arrangement and combination of mechanism for weaving
figured goods, according to our Invention, especially when this is done by ordinary
healds. The warp threads (x) are upon separate bobbins, as usual, and they are
taken under a bar a, and then over a bar a', and then through the healds or mails,
and then to the taking-up roller for the woven cloth or fabric.
The two bars a and a¹ form a lever frame, the fulcrums of which are at the two
ends of the bar a, which have their bearings in the side frames of the loom. This
lever frame has an arm a³ from it, which is connected by a rod a* to one end of a
lever, having its fulcrum on the loom framing, which last-named lever has a bowl
on its other end that works in the groove of a cam on the crank shaft, or a shaft in
gear with it, so that the lever frame (a and a¹) is made to oscillate one way to
slacken the warp threads when the shed is being formed, and then move the other
way when the shed is closing, the lever bar a¹ bringing the warp threads, passing
over it against a beam 6 covered or faced with india-rubber or other suitable
elastic material (6'), so that all the warp threads are held firm and tight when the
slay beats up. The beam 6 rests on the side frames (c) of the loom, and is adjusted
by a screw 6 at each end, as shown. If desired, the beam may be made to slide on
the side frames a little, being pushed by springs or bell-cranked weighted levers
towards the bar a', the limit of the sliding motion towards the bar a¹ being fixed
by the ends of set screws, as shown in Fig. 5, except that the set screws would in
this case have to act on the opposite side of the ends of the beam b. This latter
arrangement would allow the warp threads to be gripped or held between the bar
a¹ and beam b, and then tightened to the extent of the sliding movements given to
the beam b.
We have now particularly described the nature of our Invention, and the mode
of carrying the same into effect, and claim as our Invention,-
Firstly. The weaving of figured goods formed of cocoa, manilla, sisal, aloe, or
esparto fibres, or a combination of such fibres, substantially in the manner herein-
before described.
Secondly. The arrangement and combination of jacquard mechanism acting in the
manner described, and illustrated by Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and also the arrangement and
combination of mechanism herein-before described and illustrated by Fig. 4 of the
Drawings for weaving the fibres or combination of fibres above mentioned.
Thirdly. The arrangement and combinations of mechanism for making the warp
threads slack and tight, and holding them substantially in the manner herein-before

page_text: described and illustrated by Fig. 5 for weaving fabrics formed of materials herein-
before mentioned.
In witness whereof, I, the said William John Sly, on behalf of myself and
the said Thomas Wilson, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Thirtieth
day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-eight.
WM JNO. SLY. (L.S.)