IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CARPETS AND OTHER FABRICS
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Collier, of Halifax, in the County of
York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF CARPETS AND OTHER FABRICS."
Scaled the 29th January 1858, and dated the 9th December 1852.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Collier at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 9th December 1852.
I, GEORGE COLLIER, of Halifax, in the County of York, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF CARPETS AND OTHER FABRICS" to be as follows:-
First. My first improvement relates to looms for weaving uncut terry
fabrics by power with wires, and can be more easily understood by
reference to my Specification of the Patent, bearing date Dec. 31st,
1851, in which is described a new mode of introducing the wire, by
having an instrument to lay hold of the head of the wire, which carries
it or pushes it into the open shed, and holds it there until the shed goes
down, and the weft is inserted to keep the wire fixed; but this mode
was confined to inserting wires which had a cutter and guard at the

page_text: other end of the wire, the knife or cutter being for the purpose of
cutting the worsted when withdrawn to produce velvet, and the guard
being of a shape and for the purpose of preventing the worsted being
cut by the knife whilst going into the shed, and also to assist in
guiding the wire properly into the shed. When tapestry or uncut work
was required, a different mode of dealing with the head of the wire was
described; and forks inserted into the shed, in order to support and guide
the wire properly into and through the shed, were shown. But what I'
have now discovered, and wish to secure by Letters Patent, is, that by
adopting the velvet mode of dealing with the heads of the wires, as
already referred to in my Patent of Dec. 31, 1851, I can insert tapestry
wires or wires without any guard or cutter at the other end, by simply
having the wires slightly bent upwards at one end, and a finger placed
in the front of the lay, which pushes the wires into the deep part of the
shed whilst they are being inserted.
Secondly. My second improvement relates to withdrawing the said
wires, which are bent upwards in a similar mode to that adopted in a
Patent granted to Payne and Currie, June 7th, 1849. The wires that
I prefer to use have a large flat head, with a shoulder on each side of
the head; and I have nippers to lay hold of the wire, but pressing
against the said shoulders, and deposit the head of the said wire into a
holder, which holder receives it from the nippers, and takes it through
the shed, itself remaining outside of the shed, holding the wire the
right side up until it is firmly secured by weft.
Thirdly. My next improvement relates to the weighting of bobbins in
jacquard terry looms, explained and shown in a Patent granted to
A. V. Newton, January 30th, 1851, in which Specification there are
pins shown, fixed in the heads of the bobbins, which pins press against
a lever till the weight which is hung to the worsted raises the said lever,
in order to allow the bobbin to make a portion of a revolution. I find
that when the weight is lifting the lever, there is more tenison on the
worsted, which is an evil. My improvement is to have that part of the
lever which rests upon the bobbin curved, so as to fit the head of the
bobbin, thereby doing away with the necessity of pins in the bobbins,
and thereby causing a more uniform tension on the worsted.

page_text: Fourthly. My next improvement relates to looms where terry fabrics
are produced with jacquard harness. I now find that where it is neces-
sary to have rather a short harness, that there is not sufficient weight
of band between the warps and the jacquard machine to keep the
harness straight; the consequence is, that the knots fail to keep in the
holes, and thereby producing imperfect patterns. My improvement
consists of attaching a weight to each cord between the warps and
jacquard machine, in order to keep the harness in a straight line, and
produce perfect work.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Collier, in the Great Seal Patent Office,
on the 6th June 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
GEORGE COLLIER, of Halifax, in the County of York, send greeting.
WHEREAS IIer most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the sixteenth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said George Collier, IIer special licence that I, the
said George Collier, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said George Collier, my 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
CARPETS AND OTHER FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said George Collier, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, 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 Scal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters l'atent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Collier, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof (that is to say):
My first improvement relates to looms for weaving uncut terry
fabrics, by power, with wires, and can be more easily understood by
reference to my Specification of the Patent, bearing date December
Thirty-first, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, in which is
described a new mode of introducing the wire, by having an instrument
to lay hold of the head of the wire, which carries it or pushes it into
the open shed, and holds it there until the shed goes down, and the
weft is inserted to keep the wire fixed; but this mode was confined to
inserting wires which had a cutter and guard at the other end of the
wire, the knife or cutter being for the purpose of cutting the worsted
when withdrawing to produce velvet, and the guard being of a shape
and for the purpose of preventing the worsted being cut by the knife
whilst going into the shed, and also to assist in guiding the wire
properly into the shed. When tapestry or uncut work was required,
a different mode of dealing with the head of the wire was described;
and forks, inserted into the shed in order to support and guide the wire
properly into and through the shed, were shewn; but what I have now
discovered, and wish to secure by Letters Patent, is, that by adopting
the velvet mode of dealing with the heads of the wires, as already
referred to in my Patent of December Thirty-first, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-one, I can insert tapestry wires, or wires without
any guard or cutter at the other end, by simply having the wires
slightly bent upwards at one end, and a finger placed in the front of the
lay, which pushes the wires into the deep part of the shed whilst they
are being inserted.
My second improvement relates to withdrawing the said wires, which
are bent upwards in a similar mode to that adopted in a Patent granted
to Payne and Currie, June Seventh, One thousand eight hundred and
forty-nine. The wires that I prefer to use have a large flat head, with a
shoulder on each side of the head; and I have nippers to lay hold of
the wire, but pressing against the said shoulders, and deposit the head

page_text: of the said wire into a holder, which holder receives it from the nippers
and takes it through the shed, itself remaining outside of the shed,
holding the wire the right side up until it is firmly secured by weft.
My next improvenient relates to the weighting of bobbins in jacquard
terry looms, explained and shewn in a Patent granted to Alfred
Vincent Newton, January Thirtieth, One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-one, in which Specification there are pins shewn fixed in the heads
of the bobbins, which pins press against a lever till the weight which
is hung to the worsted raises the said lever in order to allow the
bobbin to make a portion of a revolution. I find that when the weight
is lifting the lever, there is more tension on the worsted, which is an
evil. My improvement is to have that part of the lever which rests upon
the bobbin curved, so as to fit the head of the bobbin, thereby doing
away with the necessity of pins in the bobbins, and thereby causing a
more uniform tension on the worsted.
My next improvement relates to loomis where terry fabrics are pro-
duced with jacquard harness. I now find that where it is necessary to
have rather a short harness, that there is not sufficient weight of band
between the warps and the jacquard machine to keep the harness straight;
the consequence is that the knots fail to keep in the holes, and thereby
producing imperfect patterns. My improvement consists of attaching
a weight to cach cord between the warps and jacquard machine, in
order to keep the harness in a straight line, and produce perfect
work.
And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood, and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued
by me.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A.
Figure 1, is a vertical section; and Figure 2, a front view of so
much of a loom, having this part of my Invention applied thereto, as
will enable a workman readily to understand the application of this
part of my improvements; and as the general arrangement of the parts
is the same as shewn and described in a former Patent, it will only be

page_text: improvements. a, is a lever arm, fixed on the axis b, which is supported
in bearings carried by the end framing, as shewn: when the wire is
being inserted into the shed, the lower end of the arm a, is caused to
descend between the warp threads, so as to act as a guide to conduct
the wire into or towards the widest part of the shed; and when inserting
wires without a cutter or guide thereto, I prefer to form the lower
part of the lever arm a, with a finger or projection a*, as shewn. The
wires are bent slightly upwards at the outer ends, or by rounding off
the end of the wire (if a straight one is used) on the under side, and
on the side presented to the batten. Should the wire come in contact
with the dents of the sley, it will slide off without injury, and will not
be liable to enter below the warp threads. Motion is communicated
to the arm a, in the following manner :-a', is a cam, on the cam shaft c,
which gives motion by a truck or roller to the lever a², carried by a
stud on the end framing of the loom; the other end of the lever a², is
connected to the lever arm a', on the axis b, by a connecting rod a³;
all which will be readily understood on examining the drawings.
Figure 3, is a vertical section; and Figure 4, a front view of another
arrangement of apparatus for carrying out this part of my Invention,
in which the arm a, moves on a pin joint, and is supported by a bracket
on the cross framing, as shewn, and is constantly drawn with a ten-
dency to pass in between the warp threads by a spring a*, the lower
end of the arm u, as in the other arrangement, acting as a guide to
conduct the wire into the wide part of the shed; and, when the beat up
takes place, the batten moves the arm a, out of the warp threads, and
on moving back the batten allows the arm to be again drawn by the
spring into a position to act as a guide for the wire.
Figures 5, and 6, show another arrangement of apparatus, where a
guide or finger is employed for conducting the wire into the shed. a, is
a bent lever, moving on a pin joint on the slide which carries the wire
holder; and the lower end of the lever a, has at all times a tendency to
be drawn down in front of the wire by a spring a', except when
retained by a catch a², as shewn; the lever catch a², being allowed to
fall over a pin, and retain it, when the wire is carried into the shed, by
the upper end of the lever «, coming in contact with a fixed projec-

page_text: tion a; and the lever catch a², is released when the wire has been
placed in the holder by the end of the lever catch passing under a
fixed incline, when it is near the end of its motion in the opposite
direction.
I will now describe the second part of my improvements in the
manufacture of carpets and other fabrics.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING B.
Figures 7, 8, and 9, show several views of the apparatus I employ
for withdrawing wires from terry fabrics, having a bent end, and a large
flat head, with a shoulder on each side; and Figure 10, shows a
separate view of the two ends of the wire. a, a, are the nippers,
carried by a slide in the ordinary manner, the upper jaw being pressed
with a tendency to open by a spring a', as shewn, so as to be in a
position, when the apparatus is going, to receive and withdraw a wire.
The ends of the nippers are formed with inclined surfaces, which, in
the act of withdrawing a wire, pass under the inclines formed by the
shoulder on each side of the head of the wire, and cause the nippers
to hold the wire securely whilst being withdrawn and placed in the
holder; and when the nippers move in the opposite direction, away
from the head of the wire, the spring opens the upper jaw ready to
receive another wire. The front of the nippers are rounded off, and
the side of the head of the wire is inclined, as shewn, in order that the
nippers may readily slide past them when going in to withdraw a wirę.
I will now describe the third part of my improvements.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING C.
Figure 11, shows a plan, and Figure 12, a section of a bobbin for
weaving jacquard terry fabrics, having my improvements applied
thereto. a, is the bobbin, carried by frames in the usual manner;
b, is a lever, moving on a pin joint, as shewn, and having curved
surfaces which rest on the flanches a', of the bobbin, so as to offer
friction thereto; and c, is a weight, hung on the thread or yarn, to take
up the slack as the thread or yarn is drawn off the bobbin.
I will now describe the fourth part of my improvements in the
manufacture of carpets and other fabrics.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING D.
Figuro 13, shows a section of so much of a jacquard machine and
apparatus as will enable me to describe this part of my Invention.
a, a, is the harness, which is of the ordinary kind; and I have found
that when the distance between the lifter and the warp threads is
short, the weight of the intermediate cords or bands is not in all cases
sufficient to keep then straight; and in order that the knots may be
kept in a correct position, I attach a weight an, to each thread or cord
of the harness, or it may form part of cach cord, so as to ensure their
being drawn down in a staight line; all which will be readily understood
on examining the drawings.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I would have it understood that I do
not confine myself to the precise details herein shewn and described,
so long as the peculiar character of any part of my Invention be
retained. But what I claim is,
First, the mode herein described of introducing wires without cutting
edges at their ends when weaving carpets and other terry fabrics:
Secondly, I claim the arrangement and application of apparatus for
withdrawing wires, as herein explained:
Thirdly, I claim the combination of apparatus for weighting bobbins
in jacquard terry looms: And,
Fourthly, I claim the mode of weighting the harness of jacquard
loons, when weaving carpets and other fabrics.
In witness whereof, 1, the said George Collier, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
GEORGE COLLIER. (L.S.)
Witness, THO" PALETHORPE, ITalifax.