IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR KNITTING MAIL OR OTHER KINDS OF HEALDS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF COTTON, WORSTED, OR OTHER TEXTILE FABRICS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Carr, junior, of Keighley, in the County
.
of Yorkshire, Heald Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR KNITTING MAIL OR OTHER
KINDS OF HEALDS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF COTTON, WORSTED, OR OTHER
TEXTILE FABRICS."
Scaled the 25th March 1875, and dated the 28th September 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Carr at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
28th September 1874.
I, THOMAS CARR, junior, of Keighley, in the County of Yorkshire,
Heald Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR KNITTING MAIL OR
OTHER KINDS OF HEALDS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF COTTON, WORSTED, OR
OTHER TEXTILE FABRICS," to be as follows:-
—

page_text: constant care and attention of one person, but by the application of my
improvements one person is capable of attending to two or more machines.
I accomplish this in the following manner :-I cause a groove or slot to
be cut through the mail bearing plate of the ordinary heald knitting
machine, into the top end of which is placed a carriage having two holes
or grooves of sufficient size to admit the even part of the yarn to pass
through freely; if any thick or knotty places come it refuses to pass
through, thereby draws the carriage along until the bottom or other
convenient part presses against a lever working on a centred pin or stud
fixed to mail plate; on the long end of lever is placed or hung another
centred lever having one end secured to the knocker-off or break slide,
when the aforesaid carriage presses against and moves the first-named
lever, the knocker-off lever drops and comes in contact with a tappet
secured to driving shaft, which revolves & presses against lever which is
attached to knocker-off, thus causing the belt to move on to loose pulley
and apply the break, at the same time causing the machine to stop
instantly.
The second part of my Invention relates to an improvement in the
treatment of broken yarn, when the carrying forks fail to convey, the
yarn to the flyers or through some stoppage of the feeding of the mails
the machine is stopped. I accomplish this in the following manner :-
By means of a centred lever placed on each side of the mail bearing
plate, with one end so arranged that the top is a little above the mail
plate, where fed to the other end is attached a rod communicating with a
knocker-off lever; when the machine is in operation the carrying forks
open out the yarn and draws the yarn against side of lever, thus causing
them to work on centres, if either or both forks should fail to convey
the yarn, or through some cause the yarn should be broken or the bobbin
is empty, the lever or levers will cease to move, when a tappet which is
placed on an intermediate shaft strikes against the end of lever connected
with knocker-off, thus causing the machine to stop.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Carr in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
25th March 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, TшоMAS
CARR, junior, of Keighley, in the County of Yorkshire, Heald Manu-
facturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Carr, junior, Her
special licence that I, the said Thomas Carr, junior, my exccutors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
Carr, junior, 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 METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR KNITTING MAIL OR
OTHER KINDS OF HEALDS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF COTTON, WORSTED, AND
OTHER TEXTILE FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Thomas Carr, junior, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of 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 I, the said Thomas Carr, junior. do hereby

page_text: $
self-acting motions when uneven, snuffled, or knotty yarn comes to the
mails in the ordinary method of knitting healds.
The second relates to stopping the machine automatically when either
side of the spreading or carrying forks fails to convey the yarn to the
ridge band and flyers in the ordinary method of making the stitch; a
when the yarn bobbin is empty or from any cause the yarn is broken,
or the end of the yarn comes; when the lapping is broken or finished, or
when the mail in the mail healds misses or fails to go.
The third refers to the stoppage of the machine after performing a
certain number of revolutions, the driving shaft making two revolutions 1
to each stitch or end knitted.
The advantages of these improvements are that the machine can be
worked by steam power, and the stoppages being automatically effected,
one person can attend to two machines, whereas by the old system of
working the ordinary heald knitting machine by hand, the undivided 1
attention of one person to each machine was necessitated.
Having now described the characteristic features of the Invention I
will here proceed to explain its mode of action by aid of the following
description and accompanying Drawings, which illustrate those parts.
only of the machine to which my improvements have reference, and of 2
which Fig. 1 is a plan, Fig. 2 a front view of the same, and Fig. 3 a side
view of the lever and tappet.
In the first case a groove or slot B is cut through the mail bearing
plate J of the ordinary heald knitting machine; in this slot a carriage A
moves freely up and down; this carriage is provided with mails or 2
grooves regulated to suit the thickness of the yarn being knitted, but
sufficiently small to prevent any knot or unevenness of the yarn passing
through whilst being so knitted into healds. A pin C projects from the
carriage A and supports a lever D in the crooked end. This lever D is
fixed in a joint on the belt fork rod E. When any unevenness or knot
in the yarn reaches the mails or grooves, the carriage A is drawn down
the slot B, and at the same time withdrawing the pin C from under the
lever D, the other end of this lever drops and comes in contact with tho
cam tappet F secured to the driving shaft F¹; this cam tappet moves
the lever D and slides the belt fork on the loose pulley, thus stopping the a
machine. The long slot B is intended to allow the carriage A to work

page_text: freely down and admit of the knitting of a little more yarn, and so
prevent its breakage by the partial revolution of the machine after
slipping the belt on to the loose pulley..
In the second case or when the spreading forks fail to convey the yarn
to the ridge band and flyers, when the yarn bobbin is empty, the yarn
broken, when the end of a yarn comes, when the lapping is broken or
finished, or when the mail in the mail healds misses or fails to go, the
machine is stopped in the following manner:-Two separate levers G, G¹,
working on centres at H, H', and fixed to the span or bridge T (which
latter is attached to the rail of the machine), project through the rail ncaṛ
the spreading forks. When the stitch or end of the heald is being
knitted in the ordinary manner (from 10 to 50 inches of yarn is used on
either side to form a stitch), the yarn is drawn by the spreading and
carrying forks against the studs I, I', and opens the levers G, G³, at the
other end of which the hinges K, K', are fixed, one at each end of
the levers, and hang downwards; opposite these levers the striking
tappets L, L', revolve on one of the intermediate shafts, so that if the
levers G, G¹, are not opened out the striking tappets L, L', strike the
hinges K, K', but should the levers be opened out then the striking
tappets do not come into action.
When a mail fails to go, the yarn is not drawn against or pressed on
the studs I, I', and the levers G, G', are not opened out, and consequently
remain stationary, and the striking tappets L, L', strike the hinges K, K',
against the levers M, M', fixed to and working through N, N, N, N. At
the other extremities of the levers M, M³, the bearings P, P¹, are fixed
which support the levers Q, Q', working on studs on the machine rail;
these levers Q, Q', project through the grooves or slots S, S', in the belt
fork rod E.
When the striking tappets L, L', strike the hinges K, K¹, against the
levers M, M', the bearings P, P¹, move away from the levers Q, Q', and
a strong spring presses against these latter levers. The bearings being
removed the levers Q, Q¹, move on and simultaneously move the belt
fork rod E on the loose pulley and so stops the machine. The
bearings P, P', are replaced by the spiral springs G2 when the levers Q, Q',
are raised. Now if either side of the spreading or carrying forks fails to
convey the yarn to the ridge band and flyers, one of the levers G for
When the striking tappets L, L', strike the hinges K, K¹, against the
levers M, M', the bearings P, P¹, move away from the levers Q, Q', and
a strong spring presses against these latter levers. The bearings being
removed the levers Q, Q¹, move on and simultaneously move the belt
fork rod E on the loose pulley and so stops the machine. The
bearings P, P', are replaced by the spiral springs G2 when the levers Q, Q',
are raised. Now if either side of the spreading or carrying forks fails to
convey the yarn to the ridge band and flyers, one of the levers G for

page_text: example remains stationary, because the yarn is not drawn against the
stud I, consequently the lever G is not opened out and the striking
tappet L strikes the hinge K (there are two separate sets of levers, one
set to each side of the machine) against the lever M, and removes the
bearing P from the lever Q; this latter being freed and pressed against
by a strong spring, moves the belt rod and belt on to the loose pulley, so
stopping the machine, and the pressure of the lever Q against the rod E
by means of the spring, simultaneously applies a break to the balance
wheel. R is a cam, and are cam levers fixed to the rail of the machino
in conjunction with the cam; fixings W, W, are for the following
purpose: When the pressure of the yarn opens out the levers G, G¹, the
sides of these levers are opened out towards the ends of the cam levers x,
and the cam in revolving replaces the levers G, G³, ready for again
reopening, or if opened out by the pressure of the yarn they are placed
so that the striking tappets may come in contact with the hinges K, K¹.
y are holes in the cam levers x, whose object is to regulate the depth of
the healds by moving the cam fixings W to the right or left no the

page_text: opposite the Fig. 12 on wheel B2; it is then within 12 ends of moving
a tooth and the index wheel D³ is placed opposite the No. 51.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Carr, junior, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of March, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.