IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY POR HACKLING AND DRESSING FLAX AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Lawson and Thomas Robinson, of Leeds, in
the County of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
POR HACKLING AND DRESSING FLAX AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 1st November 1858, and dated the 5th May 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Lawson and Thomas
Robinson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 5th May 1858.
We, JOHN LAWSON and THOMAS ROBINSON, of Leeds, in the County of
York, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR HACKLING AND DRESSING FLAX AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES,*
to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object the so constructing hackles and fixing them
to vertical double-sheet hackling machines that the points of the pins of the
hackles shall penetrate the strick of flax or fibrous materials at right angles,
or nearly so, and that they shall operate upon the flax nearer to the nip of the
holder than has heretofore been the case in like machines when the hackles
have been fixed to and travelled with the sheet.
The novelty consists in making the stocks or surfaces (to one edge of
which the pins or points are fixed) of much greater breadth than heretofore,

page_text: and in fixing them to the endless sheets or bands at a greater distance from
the pins or points, so that as the stocks with their pins or points come into
action the stocks assume more quickly a vertical position, and the points a
horizontal position, in consequence of the points of attachment to the sheets or
bands being at a distance from the upper edges of the stocks where the points
are affixed. The extra distance of the points of the pins from the points of
fixing them to the sheets enables the points to penetrate nearer to the holder
than heretofore, and as they come into position for hackling they enter the
flax at right angles, or nearly so, and so continue to operate until they pass
through the strick of flax.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Lawson and Thomas Robinson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 5th November 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
LAWSON and THOMAS ROBINSON, of Leeds, in the County of York, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
John Lawson and Thomas Robinson, Her special licence that we, the said
John Lawson and Thomas Robinson, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said John Lawson and Thomas Robinson, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR HACKLING AND
DRESSING FLAX AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said John Lawson and Thomas Robinson, our executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our or their hands and
seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or them, 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 calender months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Robinson, on behalf of myself
and John Lawson, 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 :-
This Invention has for its object the so constructing hackles and fixing
them to vertical double-sheet hackling machines that the points of the pins
of the hackles shall penetrate the strick of flax or fibrous materials at right
angles, or nearly so, and that they shall operate upon the flax nearer to the
nip of the holder than has heretofore been the case in like machines when the
hackles have been fixed to and travelled with the sheet.
The novelty consists in making the stocks or surfaces (to one edge of which
the pins or points are fixed) of much greater breadth than heretofore, and in
fixing them to the endless sheets or bands at a greater distance from the pins
or points, so that as the stocks with their pins or points come into action the
stocks assume more quickly a vertical position, and the points a horizontal
position, in consequence of the points of attachment to the sheets or bands
being at a distance from the upper edges of the stocks where the points are
affixed. The extra distance of the points of the pins from the points of fixing
them to the sheets enables the points to penetrate nearer to the holder than
heretofore, and as they come into position for hackling they enter the flax at
right angles, or nearly so, and so continue to operate until they pass through
the strick of flax.
And in order that our said Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect, we will proceed to describe the Drawing hereunto
annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a transverse section of a portion of an ordinary vertical double-
sheet hackling machine with the hackles constructed and fixed to the machine
according to the manner which we prefer in carrying our Invention into effect.
a, a, and b, b, are the lower and upper drums of the machine respectively;
c, c, are endlass bands (usually of leather) passing over them; a side view of
these parts is shewn at Figure 2. d is one of the fibre holders, which slide
in the rising and falling trough e. As these and other parts of the machine
shewn in the Drawing are of an ordinary construction, a further description of
them is unnecessary. f, f, are the stocks or surfaces, near to one edge of
which the pins or points are fixed; these stocks or surfaces are fixed to the
endless bands c, c, by screws f¹, f, which enter bars 9, 9, on the under sides
of the bands, and these bars fall into recesses on the drums, so as to prevent

page_text: the bands slipping. It will be seen that the screws f¹, f, are placed at a
considerable distance from the hackle pins or points, the stock or surface
being increased in breadth on one side for this purpose. By so arranging
them the points of the pins of the hackles are caused to penetrate the strick
of fibrous material at right angles, or nearly so, to the direction in which the
fibre hangs, and the points can enter the fibre nearer to the nip of the holder
than is possible in machines in which the hackle pins or points are so con-
nected to the bands as to radiate from the centres of the upper drums when
passing over them. The distance between the pins or points and the attach-
ments which we find most suitable is the length of the radius of the circular
are formed by the upper surfaces of the bands c, c, in passing over the upper
drums.
It will be seen that as the distance between the hackle pins or points and
the attachments to the sheets or bands increases, so will the hackle pins or
points when they first enter the fibre approach more and more nearly to a
horizontal position, and so will the speed at which the pins or points travel at
this time in a horizontal direction increase and their speed in a vertical
direction diminish, that is to say, the more perfect theoretically will the
machine become; still we do not recommend that the distance shewn in the
Drawing between the pins or points and the attachments should be increased,
otherwise the weight of the stocks or surfaces and their speed in passing the
upper drums would involve considerable inconvenience.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, we would remark that heretofore when the stocks or
surfaces in which the hackle pins or points are fixed have been attached
directly to the endless sheets or bands, the attachments have usually been
made at the two ends of the stock or surface and in a line with the pins or
points thereon, a space being left free of pins or points at the ends of the
stock or surface for the purpose; in this arrangement the pins or points in
passing over the upper drums radiate from the centre of these drums. In
some cases also, in order to allow of the pins or points being carried up to the
ends of the stocks or surfaces, the attachments to the sheets or bands have
been made immediately behind the lines of pins or points, and as close up to
them as possible, so that in this arrangement also the pins or points in passing
over the upper drum assume a position which does not practically differ from
the direction of the radius of the drum; whilst in machines constructed
according to our Invention and in the manner which we have recommended,
the pins or points in passing the upper drums assume a position corresponding
with a tangent to the surface of the sheets or bands. We would also remark

page_text: that the stocks or surfaces in which the hackle pins or points are fixed have
in some cases been attached to iron backle bars, so as to operate together in a
manner somewhat similar to that already described, except that the hackle
bars have been governed by guides and have passed through the machine;
whereas according to our Invention the hackles or surfaces in which the pins
or points are fixed, being attached directly to the sheets or bands, require no
guides, and may be made of such a length that three or other number of
lengths may be arranged in the distance through the machine.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Robinson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
S. CARPMAEL.
THOMAS ROBINSON. (L.S.)