AN IMPROVED SHUTTLE SKEWER
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Bradshaw and Thomas Dawson, of
Blackburn, in the County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED SHUTTLE SKEWER."
Sealed the 2nd January 1854, and dated the 6th July 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Bradshaw
and Thomas Dawson at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 6th July 1853.
We, JAMES BRADSHAW and THOMAS DAWSON, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED SHUTTLE SKEWER" to
be as follows:-
Instead of the present shuttle skewer, which has a spring attached
to it, and which moves forward by having a pin passed through it and
the shuttle similar to the pin which secures a knife blade to the handle,
and allows it to open and shut, we propose, firstly, to sink a spiral
groove in the skewer, instead of the spring, as at present used; by

page_text: which contrivance a great saving of cop bottoms will be effected, as by
piercing the skewer and spring through the cop they are apt to break,
extend, and separate a number of the threads, thereby creating a large
cop bottom, or, in other words, preventing all the thread or yarn being
used off the spindle; this spiral groove will hold the cop firmly on the
spindle, and by passing easily through it will not break the threads.
Secondly, instead of making a hole through the shank of the skewer
for the pin to pass through and hold it firmly to the shuttle, we propose
to fix the pin through the shuttle, as at present practised; but, instead
of a hole through the shank, we make a slot, so that we can take the
skewer out of the shuttle and put it in again without disturbing the
said pin.
Our improvements will be understood at once by reference to the
following diagrams, the first representing the skewer with a spring and
hole for the pin, as at present used; the second, our improved skewer.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Bradshaw and Thomas Dawson in the
Great Seal Patent Office, on the 6th January 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc,
JAMES BRADSHAW and THOMAS DAWSON, of Blackburn, in the County
of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the seven-
teenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, a
give and grant unto us, the said James Bradshaw and Thomas Dawson,
Her special licence that we, the said James Bradshaw and Thomas

page_text: Dawson, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said James Bradshaw and Thomas Dawson, our 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 "AN IMPROVED
SHUTTLE SKEWER," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the
said James Bradshaw and Thomas Dawson, by an instrument in writing
under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us,
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 we, the said James Bradshaw and Thomas
Dawson, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement (that is to say):
Our Invention consists, firstly, of sinking or raising a spiral or cir-
cular groove, or in making any indentation in the skewer, for the pur-
pose of holding on the cop and for facilitating the skewering thereof, so
as to cause it to go on easy, and prevent the cop bottom being pressed
up and the threads broken, thereby making less cop bottoms and waste
by avoiding the entanglement of the threads. If necessary or desirable,
the usual spring may be used by merely making one side of our
grooved skewer flat and the spring slender, so that when pressed
against the flat side it will form the skewer above described. But we
recommend, as a general rule, the grooved skewer to be used without
any spring, as the groove itself will hold the cop sufficiently firm; but
if a different spring to the above-described should be required on the
grooved skewer, it should be a short onc, not more than half the length
of the skewer, so that when it is raised from the shuttle to its vertical
position for the purpose of putting on the cop, the said spring will come

page_text: in contact with the shuttle, and press the spring close to the skewer, and
thus allow of the skewering process through the cop; but when the
skewer and cop is put back into the shuttle the spring will be liberated
by the mere action of falling back, and thus extend or tighten the cop
on it. But, as we have already stated, this spring will be generally
found unnecessary
in practice, and thus diminish very materially the
first price of the skewer. Secondly, instead of passing a pin through
the shuttle and head of the skewer conjointly, and rivetting them
together, we fix a pin in the shuttle in the same position as it would be
if it passed through the head of the skewer, and under the said pin
there is a small spring. In the head of the skewer we make a slot or
opening, so that when it is put in its place the said slot or opening
goes on the pin, and the said spring presses against it and keeps it in
its place. This contrivance is for the purpose of enabling the workman
to take the skewer out of the shuttle when necessary, and replace
it with another, without having the trouble of taking out the pin or
rivet, and thus injuring the shuttle. These our improvements will..be
easily understood by reference to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
in which the same letters of reference are used to represent similar
parts where different views or diagrams are shewn. Fig. 1, is a view
of our improved skewer, shewing a spiral groove with the slot or opening
in the head; Fig. 2, a view of the same in the shuttle, with the short
self-adjusting spring; and Fig. 3, a plan of a shuttle, shewing the pin
and spring which act on the head of the skewer: a, represents the
groove; b, the opening in the head; c, the short spring. When the
skewer is raised out of the shuttle it presses against the shuttle and
forces it close to the skewer; but when in its horizontal position inside
the shuttle the spring is at full liberty to act on the inside of the cop.
d, is the pin, and c, the spring which acts on the head of the skewer.
Having thus fully described the nature and particulars of our said
Invention, and the manner of carrying the same into practical effect,"
we desire it to be distinctly understood that we do not confine ourselves
to the exact details thereof, as such may be varied or modified without
departing from the principle of our Invention...

page_text: But we claim, firstly, the grooved skewer, or any modification thereof,
either with or without a spring; and, secondly, the method of fixing
the skewer in the shuttle, as herein described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, we, the said James Bradshaw and Thomas
Dawson, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Fifth day
of January, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
Signed, sealed, and delivered
by the within-named James
Bradshaw and Thomas Daw-
son, in the presence of
JARLE
THOMAS DAWSON.
E. J. HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
Manchester,
(L.S.)