IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FISHING AND OTHER NETS, AND IN MACHINERY THEREFOR
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Balderston, of the Firm of James Clark & Co.,
of Paisley, Scotland, Net and Twine Manufacturers, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FISHING AND OTHER NETS, AND
IN MACHINERY THEREFOR." A communication from abroad by Auguste
Bonany, of St. Juste-en-Chaussée, France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Balderston at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 26th August 1881.
ROBERT BALDERSTON, of the Firm of James Clark & Co., of Paisley, Scotland,
Net and Twine Manufacturers. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
FISHING AND OTHER NETS, AND IN MACHINERY THEREFOR.' [A communication
from abroad by Auguste Bonatny, of St. Juste-en-Chaussée, France.]
ย
This Invention relates to the manufacture of fishing and other nets, and is
designed to afford the means for producing mechanically and automatically nets in
which the knots and ineshes resemble those made on the well known Scotch
machine or by hand..
In machines of the class to which the said Invention relates, the knot-and mesh-
forming mechanism consists of series of needles and hooks which have the required
movements imparted to them by means of cams and other devices arranged and
combined to operate together in the proper manner to effect the desired results.
The present Invention comprises the following novel features, that is to say-
The construction of the needles in 2 parts rivetted together and fixed in
regularly divided bars; the hooks rivetted to small plates which are fixed in
regularly divided bars; the position and construction of the sinkers which are
composed of two parts, viz, the sinker proper and the sinker-hook rivetted at right
angles thereto; the stop-motion for the cam-shaft; the forming of the body of the
net with one thread only; means for automatically picking up and drawing the
thread from the bobbin through the needles and sinkers to the opposite side of tho
machine; the automatic take up mechanism which may be regulated to suit any
mesh being made on the machine; the employment of auxiliary threads for making

page_text: the selvedges with the auxiliary threads, and of placing such threads on the hooks;
means for automatically cutting the thread at each end of the machine; a method
of removing the end of the threads which remain hanging to the shuttle; safety
mechanism for temporarily preventing the movement of the cam shaft; tho
arrangement of the slur levers; the arrangement for altering the motion of the
hook bar to make slip meshes, that is to say, without knots.
The said Invention also comprises various novel combinations of the parts of the
machine, as hereinafter specified.
The needles are mounted on a bar termed the carrying or needle bar. The
sinkers are arranged to oscillate on a wire rod with the hooks properly presented
to the needles, and another series of hooks is arranged opposite the said needles.
Each needle is made in two parts, a stiff inelastic part and a spring part, which
is commonly called a holder, but which really forms part of the said needle; these
two parts are rivetted together and fitted into the needle-bar, and held fast therein
by plates or screws.
The sinkers which draw the thread from the bobbin when falling for forming
the meshes oscillate on the wire-rod in such a manner that the sinker-hooks in
rising and falling have a slightly circular movement, the other hooks (each of
which is made in two separate parts rivetted together) are (like the needles) fitted
into a regularly divided bar, and held fast by plates and screws. The extremity
of each of these hooks describes a complicated curve or diagram, and at a given
time it passes between the two parts of the needles which for this purpose are
made flexible, as above described, so as to open very easily when required.
The movements of the various parts of the machine are obtained from a crank
shaft mounted in suitable bearings; this shaft carries a pinion which gears by
means of intermediate wheels with a wheel mounted on the main shaft.
At one extremity the main shaft carries a wheel, which by means of a pinion
gears with a wheel mounted on the cam-shaft.
The main shaft carries a pinion (near the centre of the machine) with oblique
teeth which gears with a similar wheel fixed on a transverse shaft arranged at
right angles to the main shaft.
This transverse shaft carries the cams which actuate the long levers hereinafter
described; it also carries at the front of the machine a spur wheel which gears
with a wheel termed a cam-wheel.
The said hook-bar is mounted on supporting arms which oscillate on a fixed
shaft carried by two vertical arms of a device termed a cradle, which is capable of
rocking on two bearings, and has another arm that bears on and receives motion
from a cam on the cam-shaft. One of the said supporting arms has a downward
extension, which by means of a connecting rod is jointed to the upper end of a
vertical lever which receives motion from another cam on the said cam-shaft.
The compound motion resulting from the above described action of the hook bar
and cradle causes the hooks to describe the peculiar curved figure or diagram.
The downward movement of the aforesaid sinkers is effected by means of a device
terined a slur, which is fitted to slide along a bar arranged above the sinkers in such
a position that the said device or slur as it passes over each sinker presses the
same down. This slur is moved to and fro along the said bar by means of straps
or chains coiled on pulleys which are arranged at the ends of the said bar which
are caused to turn to-and-fro by means of long levers arranged below the above
described mechanism; these levers are actuated by a cain or cams mounted on a
horizontal shaft arranged at a right angle to the aforesaid cam shaft. Each sinker
as it is depressed by the said slur falls and rests on a faller or sinker bar placed
below the sinkers. By this movement of the said sinkers the sinker-books are
caused to take up the necessary quantity of thread for the formation of each
mesh. After each depression of the sinkers they are raised by the last named bar,
which for this purpose is connected with a lever (or levers), one arm of which
extends to and is actuated by a cam of the aforesaid cam-shaft or on an auxiliary
shaft.

page_text: The formation of the meshes is facilitated by a presser-bar, which as in the
aforesaid Scotch machine, places one leg of the mesh in the head of the needles,
and afterwards presses the meshes from the needles when the sinkers have been
pressed down to the sinker bar carrying the thread with them.
This presser-bar is mounted on arms fixed to a shaft which receives motion from
a cam on the cam-shaft, or on one of the other shafts of the machine.
One important feature of this Invention is that the cam-shaft has an intermittent
motion, and is so arranged that the main-shaft makes two revolutions for every
one revolution of the said cam shaft.
This temporary stoppage or pause of the cain shaft is obtained by the action of
two cam pieces also fixed on the said cam-wheel.
This cam wheel in its rotation comes in contact with a connecting lever which
it moves, and thereby gives an oscillating motion to a lever which has a fork con-
nection with a toothed wheel arranged to slide on the cam-shaft into or out of gear
with a clutch fixed on this shaft; these parts are so arranged that as long as tho
said cam-pieces do not act on said connecting lever to keep the said clutch and
wheel out of gear the cam-shaft keeps revolving by the action of a spiral spring,
but as soon as the said cam-pieces begin to act on the said lever the clutch is
thrown out of gear with the wheel and the cam-shaft stops.
On the said cam-wheel is fixed a cam, the object of which is to govern or control
the aforesaid hook bar in its lateral motions. For this purpose I employ a lever
whose extremity is provided with a point arranged to follow exactly all the slight
irregularities of the camn. The other end of this lever is forked and fits a fixed
piece on the hook-bar. The said lever oscillates on a stud between the said cam
and the hook bar, and causes the said bar to follow all the motions of the said cam
whereby the net is kept of uniform width.
The net as it is made on the said machine is regularly taken up on a cylinder at
the top of the machine by means of the automatic take-up apparatus which
engages with a ratchet wheel fixed on the end of the said cylinder. The required
tension of the net is obtained by means of a segment or sector which has its
bearings on the shaft of the cylinder or beam. On one extremity of this sector
is fixed a ratchet lever which 'engages with the ratchet wheel, and to the other
extremity is connected a spiral spring whose tension keeps the net always properly
tight; but to insure uniformity of tightness of the net in all its different inotions
another sector is placed alongside of the first named sector. The upper extremity
of this second sector carries three pawls or clickers which work in the teeth of the
ratchet wheel, and these two sectors combined keep the net always in a state of
uniform tension.
The second sector is actuated by a take-up cam (fixed on the cam-shaft) through
the agency of an intermediate connecting rod which is constructed to elongate
when the tension of the net becomes too great. For this purpose the said rod is
formed of a principal piece on which is fitted a sliding piece; the principal piece
at its lower part has attached to it a spiral spring, and at its upper part a lever
arm to which the other end of this spiral spring is hooked. The lever arm has
for its bearings a stud which is fixed on the said sliding piece. It will be obvious
that the tension of the net will be regulated according to the strength of the spring
and the length of the lever arm.
When the cam-lever is drawn down by the take up cam, the lever in connection
with the first sector is also drawn down for tightening the knots properly, when
the hooks have just thrown the loops on to the new row at the same time, the
sinkers being in their lowest position and resting on the sinker bar.
The sinkers must be held fast while the knots are being tightened, and for this
purpose another bar is brought down on their extremity and held there firmly
through the agency of levers actuated by a cam on the cam shaft.
A roller is arranged to work on the top of the beam to keep the net smooth.
On one end of the beam shaft is fixed a worm geared with a worm wheel which
operates an index to indicate exactly the number of yards on the beam.

page_text: The thread for making the body of the net is carried on a single bobbin placed
at the left extremity of the machine.
A long shuttle working in a guideway made in the form of a part of a circle
is shot through the needles and sinker hooks from right to left of the machine, for
the purpose of catching the thread and taking it to the right of the machine.
On this guideway a carrier, to which the end of the shuttle is attached, works
to-and-fro.
On this carrier is attached a plate, to which is fixed a thin plato which is turned
up on the bottom edge to hold the shuttle. The shuttle is soldered into this turned
up part.
The said carrier works in the said guideway, and the shuttle works
in another small groove which is so covered as to enclose the shuttle without
preventing the thin plate from passing up and down, and thereby driving the
shuttle.
The carrier is driven by a cam on the shaft which carries the cam that actuates
the above described long levers. A spring hooked to a lever holds it in contact
with this cam, so that by means of an intermediate lever and bell crank the
carrier which is attached to the extremity of this bell crank is caused to move
along the guideway, and thereby causes the shuttlo to pass through the needles and
sinker hooks.
The said cam is formed to make the shuttle shoot and return with almost
uniform speed. When the end of the shuttle arrives at the left of the machino it
picks up the thread from the bobbin.
The thread from the bobbin passes under a tension spring and through a small
pinion. This pinion has two holes, one central and one excentric, the thread!
passing through the excentric hole and being held fast by a small spring.
The said shuttle has a crotchet-hook at the end, and when it is shot to the left
of the machine and passes into the central hole of the said pinion this pinion
makes a complete revolution, thereby rolling the thread around the, crotchet-hook
and causing the shuttle to draw the same with it when returning through the
sinker-hooks and needles to the right of the machine.
As soon as the thread arrives at the right of the machino the aforesaid slur
carriage commences its journey from right to left of the machine, depressing the
sinkers successively upon the bar, and causing them to draw from the bobbin the
necessary quantity of thread for forming a row of meshes.
The last sinker at the left of the machine is furnished with a supplementary hook
for placing the thread under a spring which holds it fast so that it may be cut at
the proper time. To cut the thread at the left of the machine a knife is so fixed
on the hook-bar that in the descending motion of this bar when throwing off
the knots on to a new row this knifo falls on the tightoned thread and cuts it,
leaving it ready to bo taken up by the shuttle in the next movement of the sainc.
The motion of the aforesaid pinion is derived from a bevel wheel, on the shaft
of which is fixed a regularly divided disc, one division being equal to a complete
revolution of the said pinion. This disc is acted upon by a pawl which is attached
to a lever that by means of a connecting rod and another lever is acted upon by a
projection on the shuttle-carrier cam.
The thread has also to be cut at the right end of the machine, and for this
purpose a pair of scissors is fixed to the end of the aforesaid shuttle-guide. The
shuttle passes through a hole taking the thread with it, and thereby places the
thread between the scissors. Then at the time when the knife cuts the thread at
the left of the machine a finger piece fixed on the hook-bar strikes the scissors and
causes the same to cut the thread. The scissors are then inmediately opened by a
sinall spring, leaving the way clear for the shuttle. But after this operation the
end of the thread still hangs to the end of the shuttle, therefore I provide for its
removal as follows:-A small hollow or depression is made in the said cam
which causes the shuttles to advance slightly, then a spring piece advancing

page_text: with the hook bar and striking the end of the thread, slackens the loop and throws
it from the machine.
The selvages are made on each side by means of two auxiliary threads which
pass from their bobbins over small pulleys, and are kept tight by suitable weights.
Immediately after each row of meshes has been formed these auxiliary threads
must be put on the extreme right and left sinker hooks.
For this purpose I provide a lever which is actuated by a cam fixed on the
cam-shaft, and which has at its extremity a piece that carries a hook.
This piece
at one part is made circular and bears by the aid of a spiral spring on a piece fixed
to the body of the machine.
Two motions are obtained from the said cam whereby the said hook has imparted
to it a circular motion. During this motion the hook catches the thread meeting
the hook-bar, transfers the thread to the extreme hook of the hook-bar in the form
of a loop ready to be combined in the formation of another row of meshes.
On the right side of the machine this motion acts simply as above described.
But on the left of the machine, to put the cross on the loop, this hook must make
n revolution on its own axis before transmitting the thread to the hook-bar; for
this purpose a pinion is mounted on the lower part of the said hook, and with
this pinion there is geared a rack which is governed by a cam on the cam-shaft,
and is kept in contact with the said cam by a spiral spring. The hook will revolvo
on its own axis more or less according to the excentricity of the said cam.
Each of the aforesaid long levers for operating the slur is composed of two
similar pieces. One piece is hinged on a stud fixed on the other piece. At their
outer extremity the two pieces are held together by means of a plate, the pressure
of which is regulated by nuts and springs.
The pressure on this plate is only sufficient for the ordinary work the levers
have to perform; as soon as any extra resistance is offered to the slur the two pieces
at once separate. This action prevents the breaking of either of the parts, as it
allows time for the stopping of the machine; to keep the cam-shaft steady as soon
as it is stopped a stopper is provided to act on a stud fixed to a large cam, and so
arranged that when it is time for the cam-shaft to recommence its notion the
stopper is pushed back by another cam on the shaft of the slur-operating cam,
thereby allowing the stud to pass. The stopper afterwards returns to its place to
keep the shaft steady when stopped at the end of each revolution.
To moderate the force of the descent of the sinkers on the sinker-bar this
bar is grooved from end to end, and filled with india-rubber or other suitable
material.
At the beginning and the end of each net it is necessary to have a row of meshes
without knots commonly called slip meshes. To effect this result it is necessary
that the hooks should take the meshes from the sinkers without being crossed as
usual in the ordinary work. The meshes being thus taken off plain the next
mesh is necessarily a slip mesh. For this purpose I adapt the following arrange-
ment: Two movable pieces are mounted on fixed axles or studs, and are held by
means of screws in such a position that they make no alteration in the motions
produced by the cam which acts on the lever for inclining the hook-bar, as they
are less in circumference than the said cam and therefore do not act on the said
lever. But if they should be shifted into and fixed in a position in which they
project beyond the circumferences of the cam, their curves instead of those of
the said cam will act on the said lever, and will alter the motion of the hook-bar
so as to take tho meshes off from the sinkers without crossing them.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Robert Balderston in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
25th February 1882.
ROBERT BALDERSTON, of the Firm of James Clark and Co., of Paisley, Scotland,
Net and Twine Manufacturers. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
FISHING AND OTHER NETS, AND IN MACHINERY THEREFOR." A communication
from abroad by Auguste Bonamy of St. Juste-en-Chaussée, France.
This Invention relates to the manufacture of fishing and other nets, and is
designed to afford the means for producing mechanically and automatically nets in
which the knots and meshes resemble those made on the well known Scotch machine,
or by hand.
In machines of the class to which the said Invention relates the knot and mesh
forming mechanism consists of series of needles and hooks which have the required
movements imparted to them by means of cams and other devices arranged and
combined to operate together in the proper manner to effect the desired results.
The said Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved machine, and
Figure 2 is a rear elevation of parts of the same.
Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section, and
Figure 4, a plan partly in horizontal section of the said machine.
Figure 5 is an end view shewing a portion of the gearing for imparting motion
to the cam-shaft.
Figure 6 is a front view of a double elongating bar hereinafter described.
Figure 7 is a transverse section of the shuttle-carrier and guideway and adjacent
parts.
Figure 8 is an end view of the same.
Figures 9 and 10 represent in front elevation (partly in section) the thread-
tension devices and the mechanism for twisting the thread around the shuttle.
Figure 9 is a top view of the said tension-devices.
Figure 11 is a plan or top view of this mechanism.
Figure 12 is a longitudinal section of parts of the mechanism, and shews the
pinion for twisting the thread around the shuttle, and
Figure 13 is an end view of the same.
Figure 14 is an elevation of the mechanism for cutting the thread at the right
hand end of the machine, and
Figure 15 is a plan or top view of the same.
Figures 16 and 17 represent in section the means whereby the ends of the
thread are detached froin the shuttle.
Figures 18 and 19 are transverse sectional elevations shewing the devices
whereby selvages are made on each side of the net.
Figure 20 is a plan (partly in section) of the frictional devices for retaining the
two parts of the slur-operating levers in place. .
Figure 21 represents a portion of one of the chains connected with the said
levers.
Figure 22 is a transverse section of the sinker-bar.
Figure 23 is an elevation (partly in transverse section) shewing the relative
positions of the needles, the hooks, and the fallers.
Figure 24 is a side view of one of the needles.
Figure 25, a plan of the same.
Figure 26, a section on the line x*, **, Figure 24.

page_text: 5
meshes without knots.
Some of the above named Figures are drawn to a larger scale than others.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
I will first proceed to describe the parts which make the knots and moshes, and
which are illustrated in Figures 23, 24, 25, and 26.
The said machine is constructed with a strong frame A of cast iron or other
metallic material upon which the various parts are supported in the proper relative
positions to operate, as hereinafter described.
a, a, represent the needles, each of which is made in two parts, namely, a stiff
inelastic part and a spring part; these two parts are rivetted together and are fixed
by means of plates and screws to the carrying bar a¹; b, Figure 23, represents
one of the sinker or faller-bars, to which are attached the sinker hooks or fallers b'
which in their descent draw from the bobbin the quantity of thread necessary for
forming the meshes. These hooks or fallers have the form shewn most clearly in
Figure 23, that is to say, their head has an approximately circular orifice which is
nearly closed, as shewn at b*, instead of having the same width throughout. The
sinkers or faller bars oscillate upon a wire rod in such a manner that the sinker-
hooks in rising and falling have a slightly circular movement, that is to say, they
occupy alternately the elevated position shewn in dotted lines in Figure 23, and
the lower position illustrated in full line in the same Figure. c represents one of
the hooks, which like the needles are fitted into a regularly divided bar and held
in position by plates and screws. Each hook has the peculiar form shown, the
circular part c¹ in the same terminating in projections or points c, c³, which prevent
the slipping of the thread. The extremity of each of these hooks describes a com-
plicated curve or diagram, as shewn by the dotted lines. In Figure 23, and at a
given time, it passes between the two parts of the needle a; one of whose parts is
made flexible, as above described, so as to open easily when required.
The bar which carries the hooks c is mounted upon arms or supports a² which
oscillate upon a shaft a³. One of the said supports a' has a downwardly projecting
arm which is pivotted at its lower end, and is connected by a rod or bar a³ to
the upper extremity of a vertical lever a². This lever is actuated by a cain mounted
upon the cam-shaft d. The shaft a³ is carried by two arms c, e, of a cradle e*
(Figures 1 and 3) which oscillates upon two centres carried by the branches e', e'.
Upon the horizontal part of this cradle is fixed a lever e which is actuated by a
cain mounted upon the shaft d. The combination of these two movements, namely,
that of the cradle and the needle bar, causes the extremity of the hooks c to
describe the aforesaid curve or diagram illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 23.
The descent or depression of the sinkers is effected by the employment of the
carriage a*, which, when the sinkers are in their elevated position, as shewn in
Figure 3, slides along the bar a¹, and passing over the said sinkers presses or forces
them down and causes them to fall upon the bar aº. The movement of tho
carriage a is effected by the levers f¹, Figures 1 and 2, which are acted upon
by cams f² that revolve in the direction of the arrow in Figure 2. One of these
cams in its revolution first acts upon a roller on the lever f, and causes the said
lever to oscillate upon its axis. The lever f' is connected to the lever by the
bar. Therefore the said levers are moved to the position shown in dotted lines
in Figure 2, and in this movement unroll the chain from the small pulley 5.
This unrolling of the said chain f' effects the rolling up of the strap or band fo
upon the large pulley f, and consequently causes the carriage a* to be drawn
towards the left hand side of the machine, las will be readily understood by a
reference to Figure 2. The band fo however upon being rolled upon the pulley ƒ'
is unrolled from the pulleys at the opposite end of the machine, and causes the
chain connected with the lever f' to be wound upon the small pulley f10 at that
end of the said machine. This winding up of the chain fo raises the lever fl
whilst the lever fis descending. A reverse movement of the parts takes place
when one of the cams" in continuing its rotary movement comes in contact with

page_text: the pulley or roller on the lever f¹, that is to say, the lever f' is then depressed
the lever is raised, and the carriage a is moved towards the left hand end
of the machine. The carriage a* in passing over the sinkers depresses the same
and causes them to fall upon the bar a as above described, the said sinkers in
their descent taking the quantity of thread requisite to form the meshes. After the
sinkers have fallen they are raised again by the said bar aº, which is actuated
through a lever g by a cam on the cam-shaft h, Figure 3. The said sinkers are
retained for the required time in their elevated position by means of springs b³.
The formation of the meshes is facilitated by a presser-bar i, which, as in the
aforesaid "Scotch " machine, places one leg of the mesh in the head of the needle a
and afterwards presses or pushes the mesh from the needles when the fallers bi
have taken hold of the thread; the said presser-bar is mounted upon the arms i,
Figures 1, 3, and 4 fixed on a shaft i2, which receives motion through a lever
actuated by a cam.
The movements of the various parts of the machine are obtained from a crank
shaft j mounted in suitable bearings on the frame A; this shaft carries a toothed
pinion which through the intermediate toothed wheel ja gearing with the toothed
wheel imparts motion to the main shaft h.
At one extremity the said main shaft / carries a toothed wheel ', which through
the medium of a pinion h² imparts motion to a wheel d' mounted on the cam shaft d;
the said shaft h also carries (near the centre of the machine) a pinion h³ which has
oblique teeth and gears with a similar wheel k¹ fixed upon a transverse shaft k, see
Figures 3 and 4. This transverse shaft carries at one of its extremities the cams f
which actuate the levers f, f¹, herein before described; it also carries at the front
of the machine a toothed wheel which gears with a wheel . This wheel *
carries a cam ³ for a purpose hereinafter described.
It will be apparent from the above description that the movements of nearly all
of the parts of the machine are derived from the shaft j, the shafts h, d, the shaft k
and the wheel carrying the cam k³.
The cam-shaft d has an intermittent motion and is so arranged in relation to tho
main shaft that the latter makes two revolutions for every one revolution of the
said cam-shaft d, that is to say, there is a temporary stoppage or pause of the said
cam-shaft d, which pause is obtained by the action of two segmental cam-pieces 1, 2,
mounted upon the wheel . As this wheel rotates the segments 1, 1, come in con-
tact with and impart motion to a connecting rod or bar 12, thereby giving an
oscillating movement to a lever 13, Figures 1, 4, and 5. This lever has at one
extremity two arms or studs forining a fork which engages with a wheel that is
free to slide upon the shaft d. The boss of this wheel forms a part of a clutch which
is adapted to engage with the other part securely fixed to the said shaft &; there-
fore when by the action of the segment or cam or l' on the lever ³ the two
parts of the clutch are disconnected, the shaft d will stop and it will remain
stationary so long as the action of the said segment continues; when this action
ceases the lever is caused by a spring to resume its original position, so that the
wheel dis again engaged by the clutch and turns the said shaft d.
On the wheel is fixed the cam 5, whose function is to govern the hook-bur,
Figures 1 and 3, in its lateral motions. For this purpose I employ a lever m,
whose lower extremity is provided with a point arranged to follow accurately the
configuration of the cam; the other extremity of this lever is forked and engages
with a piece m¹ fixed on the said hook-bar; the said lever oscillates on a stud
between the said cam and the hook-bar and forms the medium whereby the said
bar receives a to and fro motion from the said cam, whereby the net is kept of
uniformn width.
The net as it is made on the said machine is regularly taken up or rolled upon a
cylinder or beam n at the top of the machine by means of the automatic take-
up apparatus which engages with a ratchet-wheel n¹ fixed on the end of the said
cylinder. The required tension on the net is obtained by means of a segment or
sector n³, which has its bearings and is free to move on the shaft of the cylinder

page_text: or beam. On one extremity of this sector are fixed the ratchet levers or pawls n³, n³,
which engage with the teeth of the ratchet-wheel n'; to the other extremity of
the said sector is connected a spiral spring n' which keeps the net at a uniform
tension irrespective of the movements due to the displacement of its extremnity
where it is engaged in the hooks c.
It is very important that the knot which unites a mesh to an adjacent mesh
should be securely tightened, also that each succeeding knot should be always
tightened with the same amount of force, and that the extent of each winding up
movement of the not should be always equal to the length of a mesh, whatever
such length may be. These results I obtain by the following incans, that is to
say-At the side of the sector n² and movable upon the shaft of the cylinder n
I arrange a second sector n³, Figures 1 and 3. The upper arm or extremity of this
second sector carries three pawls n*, n*, n, which work in the teeth of the
ratchet-wheel n¹. These pawls are of different lengths, as shewn, and aro so
arranged that if one pawl is in engagement with a tooth the next pawl will be one
third part of a tooth clear, and the third pawl two thirds of another tooth clear.
Pressure is exerted upon the lower arm of the sector n by a lever n through the
medium of the connecting bar or rod n', Figures 1, 3, and 6. This pressure is
produced by a cam fixed on the cam-shaft d. This connecting bar is capable of
elongation when the tension on the not becomes too great. For this purpose the
said bar is formed with a principal or main piece n, on which is fitted a sliding
piece n; the principal piece na has at its lower part an arm no, to which is
attached one end of a spiral spring n*, whose other end is connected to a lever-
arm no. This lever-arin 10 is fulcrummed on the frame A and bears on a stud n",
which is fixed on the piece nº. It will be obvious that the pressure exerted upon
the stud n¹¹ is proportional to the tension and leverage of the spring, and this
pressure resists the elongation of the bar; but immediately the tension upon the
net exceeds that desired and regulated by the spring n the connecting bar n² will
elongate, so that such tension is not exceeded.
When the lever n is depressed by the cam for producing the tension on the net,
or the tightening of the knot it draws down with it the connecting rod n', or
the lever in connection with the sector n², so as to always bring the said
sector n² to a normal position at each tightening of the knots, whatever the length
of the mesh produced may be. At the moment when the tightening of the knots
takes place the net is held by the sinker hooks or fallers b' and the sinkers are in
their depressed position and in contact with the bar aº. The said sinkers must be
held fast while the knots are being tightened, and for this purpose the bar p,
Figures 1, 3, and 23, is brought down on their extremity and held there firmly
through the agency of connecting rods or bars p¹ and a lever på mounted upon the
shaft 2 and operated by a cam on the cam-shaft d.
J
A roller Figures 1 and 3, arranged to work freely on the top of the cylinder
or beam n to serve by its weight to keep the net smooth. On the left hand end of
the cylinder shaft is fixed a worm geared with a worm-wheel, which operates an
index to indicate exactly the length of the net wound upon the said beam.
The thread for making the body of the net is carried on a single bobbin g
placed at the left extremity of the machine, as shown in Figuro 1. A long flexible
shuttle or shuttle-needle (working in a guideway having the form of a quarter
of a circle) is shot through or across the spring-needles and sinker-books from
right to left of the machine for the purpose of catching the free end of the throad
and taking it to the right of the machine. This catching or seizing of the thread
by the shuttle or shuttle needle will be readily understood by reference to Figures 7,
8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. In the aforesaid guideway a carrier or carriage r
(to which the end of the shuttle is attached) works to and fro. The construction
of this carrier is clearly shewn in Figures 7 and S. It has attached to it a plate
to which is fixed a very thin plate 7 turned up on one of its edges to hold the
shuttle. The shuttle is soldered into this turned up part; it is placed in a slot
formed in the guideway r and covered by a plate in such a manner that the

page_text: shuttle is enclosed, while the said thin plate is permitted to work up and down, so
as to draw the shuttle.
The throw or movement of the carrier r¹ is determined by a cam s, Figure 1. A
spring hooked to a lever s¹ holds it in contact with this cam, so that when the
recess in the said cam comes opposite a roller on the said lever the said roller will
be drawn into the said recess, and by means of an intermediate bar or rod 8 will
impart movement to an elbow-lever 83, whose extremity works in connection with
the carrier, describes an arc of a circle coinciding with the guide-way 7. These
parts are brought back to their normal position when the hollow or recess in the
cam passes away from and the roller of the lever 8', and the latter moves into contact
with the peripheral circular part of the cam s; therefore the shuttle is thrown or
shot towards the left, and is then immediately brought back to the right of the
machine.
When the end of the shuttle arrives at the left of the machine it picks up or
seizes the extremity of the thread. This thread is arranged upon the bobbin q,
Figure 9, and passes under a tension-spring t', whose pressure is regulated by a
nutt. The said thread then passes through a pinion &, shown in Figures 10, 11,
and 12. This pinion has two holes, namely, a central hole t' and an excentric
hole to through which the thread passes. The end of the latter is held fast by a
small spring to.
The shuttle has a crochet hook u' at one end, and when it is shot to the left
of the machine it passes into the central hole t' of the pinion t³, which in making
a complete revolution rolls the thread around the crochet-hook, as shewn in
Figure 12, so that when the shuttle is drawn back its hook will catch or engage
with such thread, and also draw with it the thread clamped beneath the
spring to.
As soon as the thread arrives at the right of the machine, the carriage a*,
Figures 2 and 3, commences its journey and depresses the sinkers b successively
upon the bar aº, causing them to draw from the bobbin the necessary quantity of
thread for forming a row of meshes.
The last sinker at the left of the machine is furnished with a supplementary
hook b³, Figures 10 and 13, for placing the thread under the spring t6, as shown in
Figures 10 and 12, which spring holds it fast, so that it may be cut at the proper
time. To cut the thread at the left of the machine I employ a knife c, Figures 10,
12, and 23, which is so fixed upon the hook-bar that in the descending motion of
the latter the said knife falls upon the tightened thread and cuts it, leaving it
ready to be taken up by the shuttle in the next movement of the same.
The motion of the pinion is derived from a bevel wheel t7, Figures 1, 10, and
11, upon the shaft of which is fixed a regularly divided toothed disc ts, each of its
divisions being equal to a completo revolution of the said pinion. This disc is
acted upon by a pawl 10, which is attached to a lever to, that by means of a con-
necting rod and a lever is acted upon by a projection 8* on the aforesaid
cams which actuates the shuttle-carrier.
The thread has also to be cut at the right hand end of the machine, and for this
purpose a cutter vis fixed upon the extension of the shuttle-guide 7, see Figures
1, 14, and 15. The shuttle passes through a hole v³, taking the thread with it.
Then at the desired time a tapper or finger-piece v³ fixed on the hook-bar strikes the
aforesaid cutter, and causes the same to cut the thread. The finger-piece then
immediately rises, and the cutter is brought to its normal position by a small
spring.
But after this operation the end of the thread still hangs to or is engaged in the
end of the hook of the shuttle or shuttle-needle u; therefore I provide for its
removal as follows:-A flexible strip or piece v*, Figures 16 and 17, comes to rest
at the desired time upon the extension v₁, as shown in Figure 16, and clamps the
thrend. At this moment the shuttle is thrown slightly forward by a hollow or
depression formed in the aforesaid cam s, Figure 1. In this movement the loop is
slackened or opened, and the shuttle on returning to its original position is carried

page_text: completely into its slot, leaving the end of the thread clear and free to fall from tho
machine on the rearward movement of tho flexible piece v*.
The selvages are made on each side by means of two auxiliary threads wc, w³;
(Figure 1), which pass from their bobbins w³, w³, over small pulleys w', w³, and are
kept tight by suitable weights w, w².
Immediately after each row of meshes has been formed these auxiliary threads
must be put on the extreme right and left hooks of the series of sinker hooks b'.
For this purpose I provide the mechanism shewn in Figures 18 and 10, that is to
say, I employ a lever x, which is actuated by a cam fixed upon the cam-shaft d,
and which has at its extremity a piece ¹ that carries a hook x². This piece x¹
rests in contact with a piece fixed to the frame of the machine, and is held
firmly in contact therewith by a spring . The said piece ¹ has a curved configu-
ration at the part when it bears upon the piece ³, so that in the movements of the
lever the hook will be caused to travel in an oval or approximately oval path,
as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 18. During this motion the hook z³
catches the thread w, and on continuing its movement meets the hook c, and
transfers to the latter the thread in the form of a loop ready to be combined in the
formation of a mesh.
On the right hand side of the machine this apparatus is as shewn in Figure 19,
and acts as above described, but on the left of the machine the hook x² must make
a revolution on its own axis before placing the selvage-thread upon the hook b, in
order to twist or put the cross on the loop. For this purpose & pinion ³ is
mounted on the shank of the hook 3, and with this pinion a toothed rack gears.
This rack is governed by a cam on the cam-shaft d, and is kept in contact with the
said cam by a spiral spring 7. The hook will revolve on its own axis more or
less, according to the excentricity or sinuosities of the said cain.
Each of the said aforesaid levers f, f', for operating the aforesaid carriage or slur
is composed of two pieces.. The piece 1 is hinged on a stud 3 fixed upon the other
piece 2, and at its outer extremity is held or gripped between the piece 2 and a
plate y by the force of a spring y, whose pressure is regulated by a nut y². The
details of these parts are clearly shewn in Figure 20. The pressure on this plate
is such that in the ordinary working of the machine the piece 1 moves with the
piece 2, and draws down the chain fs, and consequently moves the carriage a*, but
as soon as any extra resistance is offered to the movement of the slur or carriage
the piece 1. at once separates from the piece 2, as shown in dotted lines at 4, 5, in
Figure 2, so as to prevent the breaking of either of the parts.
To keep the cam-shaft steady as soon as it is stopped a stopper is provided to
act on a stud c, Figure 2, fixed to the large cam 8, and so arranged that when it
is time for the cam-shaft to recoininence its inotion the stopper is pushed back by
the piece actuated by a cam placed on the shaft k, so that the stopper is moved
into the position shown in dotted lines, thereby allowing the stud to pass. The
snid stopper afterwards returns to its place, as shewn in full lines in Figure 2, to
stop the shaft d after it has made a complete revolution.
To moderate the force of the descent of the sinkers b on the sinker-bâr aº, Figure
3, this bar is grooved from end to end and filled with india-rubber or other suit-
able material (as shewn at a), which by its elasticity deadens the shocks.
At the beginning and the end of the formations of a net it is necessary to have
a row of meshes without knots, commonly called slip-meshes. To effect this
result it is necessary that the hooks c should take the meshes from the sinkers
without being crossed as usual in the ordinary work. The meshes being thus taken
off plain, the next mesh is necessarily a slip-mesh.
For this purpose I adapt the arrangement illustrated in Figure 27, that is to say,
two movable pieces ko, k, are mounted on fixed pins or studs, o, on the cam,
and are held by means of screws or pins ko, k, in such a position that they make
no alteration in the motions produced by the said cam which acts on the aforesaid
lever m as they lie within the circumference of the said cam and therefore do not
act on the said lever. But if the picces, 7, should bo shifted and fixed by placing

page_text: the pins 0, 1, in the holes 12, 18, they will project beyond the circumference of
the cam and they will then act instead of the said cam on the lever m and will
alter the motion of the hook-bar so as to take the meshes from the sinkers without
crossing such meshes.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim the improved manufacture of fishing and other nets by the machinery
above described, and I also claim in the said machinery the following novel features
or devices arranged in the various combinations above set forth, or in such other com-
binations as will effect the desired results in such manufacture, that is to say,-
First. The hooks c constructed and secured or held in position by the plates as
above set forth and for the purpose specified.
Second. The peculiar construction and arrangement of the sinkers which are
composed of two parts, namely, the sinker proper and the sinker books or fallers
secured at right angles thereto as above set forth and for the purpose specified.
Third. The combination of the shuttle (constructed as shewn) with the spring to
and hook b³ as and for the purposes specified.
Fourth. The combination with the cylinder or beam n and the sector n² of the
sector n³ carrying a series of pawls which operate and are operated as and for the
purpose specified.
Fifth. The employment of the auxiliary threads for the formation of selvages as
above set forth.
Sixth. The devices employed for producing a net with such selvages as above
set forth.
Seventh. The means for placing upon the outside hooks the loops formed by the
auxiliary threads as above set forth."
Eighth. The automatic cutting device shewn in Figures 14 and 15 for severing
the thread at the end of the machine as above set forth.
Ninth. The device shewn in Figures 16 and 17 for onsuring the removal of the
portion of thread left upon the shuttle as above set forth.
Tenth. The devices for stopping and retaining the cam shaft after each
revolution.
Eleventh. The levers for actuating the slur or carriage constructed, arranged, and
operating as above set forth.
Twelfth. The devices or means shewn in Figure 27 for varying the travel of the
hook bar to form meshes without knots as above set forth.
Thirteenth. The employment in combination with the beam or roller n of the
presser-roller to maintain the regularity of the net thereon as above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Balderston, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty second day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty two.
DADT DATEDSTAN