IMPROVE- MENTS IN HEALDS AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MAKING HEALDS."
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Taylor and John Nimmo, both of Glasgow, in
the County of Lanark, North Britain, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN HEALDS AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MAKING HEALDS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Taylor and John
Nimmo at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 26th July 1858.
We, JAMES TAYLOR and JOHN NIMMO, both of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN HEALDS AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MAKING
HEALDS," to be as follows:-
This Invention comprehends improvements in healds, whereby a better and
more unmistakeable indication or marking of the count or set is obtained, and
improvements in the well-known heald knitting machine or apparatus for
which Letters Patent were originally granted to James Berrie and David
Anderson, on or about the Twenty-fifth day of March, One thousand eight
hundred and thirty-five, (No. 6798), and which has been altered in various
parts by subsequent users and inventors; these improvements tending to
reduce the cost of the machine, to simplify its movements, and to facilitate and
improve the manufacture of various kinds of healds in common use.
In the improved healds the counts or sets are marked or distinguished by
the introduction into each leaf of a determined number of legs, loops, or
stitches of coloured thread; these coloured marking threads are worked in
by the worker, who, according to one modification, on arriving at the part of

page_text: the leaf where the marking is to be made detaches the usual pirn, and attaches
the pirns of colored yarn, working it into the upper half of the heald
until the proper number of marking legs or eyes are worked in, when the
ordinary yarn is resumed. As examples, fourteen of these coloured legs may be
taken to represent a "fourteen hundred" Scotch count, six coloured legs a
"sixties" Stockport count, four and five coloured threads a "forty-five" Porter
count, and similarly for other counts. Or, instead of this plan of marking or
distinguishing the counts or sets, coloured threads may be stitched into the plait
of the rig or rib cord, a number being indicated by distinct and separate stitches
of the coloured thread, instead of by the number of heald legs passed over by it.
According to one of the improvements in heald knitting machinery the
braiding needles are fixed upon slides working in guide plates capable of being
fixed at different points on a stationary upright pillar or frame piece to suit
different depths of heald. The needle slides are formed as racks, to be actuated
by pinions on a vertical spindle, driven by means of a third pinion gearing
with a toothed segment formed or fixed on the outer end of a lever centred on
the framing. On the main shaft of the machine, which has fast on it a spur
wheel equal in size to the "rim" or "great" wheel, and which therefore
revolves synchronously therewith, there is fixed a drum formed with a groove
which acts on an antifriction roller carried by the lever just described, the
groove being shaped to give the proper motion to the middle slides.
According to a second improvement in heald knitting machinery, the points
of the needles are closed at the proper periods by closing fingers actuated by
means of a cam or incline on the drum, already described as actuating the
middle slides, the closing fingers being recovered by a spring after the passage
of the cam or incline.
According to a third improvement, the index for showing the length of leaf
made is worked by means of a worm-wheel driven by a worm on the main
shaft, already described as revolving synchronously with the "rim wheel,
such index being situated conveniently for the worker's eye.
13
According to a fourth improvement, the worm already described as on the
main shaft also gears with a forty-toothed wheel, having a semicircular
elevation, which acts on a lever in such a way as to cause it to throw a
tokening or marking thread across the path of the lower braiding needle at
every twentieth heald, thus dividing the leaf into regular spaces of twenty
healds each.
According to a fifth improvement, the up-taking drum is driven by means
of a worm on the main shaft, already described as revolving synchronously
with the "rim" wheel.

page_text: A sixth improvement relates to the "swirrels" or revolving lappers which
lap the plaiting or braiding threads round the rig cord. The upper lapper is
made capable of adjustment vertically for different depths of heald. The
lower lapper, which may also be adjustable if desired, is driven in the ordinary
way by a toothed segment on the "rim" wheel; but the upper lapper is
driven from the lower one by means of pulleys and a common band or cord,
which is passed round a guide pulley arranged so that the adjustment of the
upper lapper does not affect the length of the band or cord.
According to a seventh improvement, a proper tension is imparted to the
lapping yarns or threads by passing each between a pair of metal plates, one
of which is pressed by a piece of caoutchouc, the degree of pressure being
regulated by a screw.
According to an eighth improvement, each rig cord is drawn off a ball or
loose bobbin, and passed round a frictional tension pulley placed opposite the
end of the corresponding lapper, and the motion of the pulley is retarded by a
frictional appliance regulated to give the proper tension to the cord.
According to a ninth improvement, the tube or ring which pushes the heald
eyes off the mesh stud, is connected to a lever on a spindle carried on the
framing, a second lever on this spindle being acted upon by a
incline on the rim wheel at the proper periods for pushing off the eyes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Taylor and John Nimmo in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 24th January 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JAMES
TAYLOR and JOHN NIMMO, both of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
James Taylor and John Nimmo, Her special licence that we, the said James
Taylor and John Nimmo, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as we, the said James Taylor and John Nimmo, our executors, adminis-
trators, 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

page_text: 4
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man,
an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN HEALDS AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
FOR MAKING HEALDS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
James Taylor and John Nimmo, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our, 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 we, the said James Taylor and John Nimmo, 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 in writing, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that
is to say:
Our said Invention comprehends improvements in healds, whereby a better
and, more unmistakeable indication or marking of the count or set is obtained;
and improvements in the well known heald knitting machine or apparatus for
which Letters Patent (for England) were originally granted to Jame Berrie
and David Anderson on or about the 25th day of March, 1835, (No. 6798),
and which has been altered in various parts by subsequent users and inventors;
these improvements tending to reduce the cost of the machine, to simplify its
movements, and to facilitate and improve the manufacture of various kinds of
healds in common use.
In the improved healds the counts or sets are marked or distinguished
by the introduction into each leaf of a determined number of legs, loops,
or stitches of coloured thread; these coloured marking threads are worked
in by the worker, who, according to one modification, on arriving at the
part of the leaf where the marking is to be made, detaches the usual pirn,
and attaches the pirn of coloured yarn working it into the upper half of
the heald until the proper number of marking legs or eyes are worked in,
when the ordinary yarn is resumed. As-examples, fourteen of these coloured
legs may be taken to represent a "fourteen hundred" Scotch count, six
coloured legs a "sixties" Stockport count, four and five coloured threads a
"forty-five" Porter" count, and similarly for other counts. Or, instead of this
plan of marking or distinguishing the counts or sets, coloured threads may be
stitched into the plait of the rig or rib cord, a number being indicated by
distinct and separate stitches of the coloured thread, instead of by the number
of heald legs passed over by it.

page_text: In order that our improvements in heald-knitting machinery may be
properly understood and carried into effect, we will particularly describe the
same, referring as we proceed to a Sheet of explanatory Drawings hereunto
appended, upon which we have delineated a heald-knitting machine embodying
modifications of such improvements.
Figure 1 on the Sheet of Drawings is a back elevation of the machine
complete; Figure 2 is a sectional elevation, the section being taken transversely
between the braiding needles and the great wheel; and Figure 3 is a plan of
the details not shown in Figure 2. The same reference letters mark the same
parts in all the Figures.
.
According to one of the improvements in heald-knitting machinery, the
braiding needles A are fixed upon slides B, working in guide plates C, capable
of being fixed by means of pinching screws or otherwise at different points on
a stationary upright pillar or frame piece D, to suit different depths of heald.
The needle slides B are formed as racks to be actuated by pinions E, adjusted
on a vertical spindle F, driven by means of a third pinion at G, gearing with
a toothed segment H, formed or fixed on the outer end of a lever I, centred
on a bracket J, bolted to a transverse frame bar K, in which also the pillar D.
is mounted. On the main shaft L of the machine which has fast on it a spur
wheel M, equal in size to and in gear with the "rim" or "great" wheel N,
and which therefore revolves synchronously therewith, there is fixed a drum O.
formed with a groove P, which acts on an antifriction roller carried by the
lever I just described, the groove P being shaped to give the proper motion
to the needle slides B.
According to a second improvement in heald-knitting machinery, the points
of the needles A are closed at the proper periods by closing fingers Q, fixed
upon a vertical spindle 23, which is actuated by means of a cam or incline R
on the drum O, already described as actuating the needle slides B, the closing
fingers Q being recovered by a spring S, after the passage of the cam or
incline.
According to a third improvement the index T for showing the length of
heald leaf made is worked by means of a worm wheel U driven by a worm V.
on the main shaft L, already described as revolving synchronously with the
"rim" wheel N, such index being situated conveniently for the worker's eye.
According to a fourth improvement, the details connected with which are
shown enlarged in Figure 4, the worm V already described as on the main
shaft L also gears with a forty-toothed wheel formed in one piece with a
small drum m, which has two grooves cut round it communicating by two
diametrically opposite passages, such as that shown at n. The pin of a lever o

page_text: lies in the grooves of the drum m, working alternately in each groove during
a half-turn of the drum, and the lever o is jointed to a rod p, the upper end of
which has an eye to receive the coloured tokening or marking thread 2, the
rod p being guided by means of a pin working in a suitably grooved plate r
attached to the lower plate C, so as to throw the tokening thread across the
path of the lower braiding needle at every twentieth heald, thus dividing
the leaf into regular spaces of twenty healds each. When the pin of the
lever o is in the top groove of the drum m it falls into the lower groove by its
own weight on the passage n coming round, but it is raised from the lower
to the higher groove by means of inclines placed in suitable positions on the
wheel U, each incline compressing a spring on the lever o to make the latter
move suddenly upon the arrival of the passage n. .
According to a fifth improvement the uptaking drum or frame a is driven
by means of a worm b on the main shaft L, this worm gearing with a worm
wheel c, the spindle of which has fast on it a pinion in gear with a carrier
spur wheel d; this wheel d is in gear with a spur wheel e, which has fixed to
it a pinion f, in gear with a spur wheel g fast on the spindle h of the uptaking
drum. The wheels c, d, e, are carried upon studs which are made adjustable,
and the wheels can be exchanged to alter the speed of the uptaking drum
when required. The upper rim i of the uptaking drum is made adjustable,
so as to suit different depths of heald, the spindle and the rods j extending
between the rims i, k, being made of extra length for that purpose.
A sixth improvement relates to the "swirrels " or revolving lappers s
which lap the plaiting or braiding threads 3 round the rig cords t. The upper
lappers is made capable of adjustment vertically in a groove formed in a
projecting portion u of the end frame standard v, so as to suit different depths
of heald. The lower lapper s, which may also be made adjustable if desired,
may be driven according to one plan by a toothed segment on the "rim
wheel". N in the ordinary way, and the upper lapper may be driven from the
lower one by means of pulleys and a common band or cord, also passed round
a guide pulley arranged so that the adjustment of the upper lapper does not
affect the length of the band or cord; we, however, prefer to effect the driving
of the lappers-s-by-the-more-improved contrivances shown in Figures 1 and 2 ;
these contrivances consist of skew-toothed wheels w fixed on the lappers s, and
in gear with skew-toothed wheels x, adjustable by pinching screws on a
vertical spindle y running down by the side of the lappers s.
The spindle y
has fast on it towards its lower end a pinion in gear with a small spur wheel,
the teeth of which do not extend completely round its circumference, and
which rotating continuously consequently imparts an intermittent motion to

page_text: the swirrels, the parts, however, being so proportioned that the swirrels each
make a complete turn between each pause in their rotation. The wheel is
fast on a spindle, the lower end of which has fast on it a bevil wheel 1 in gear
with a bevil wheel 2 fast on the main driving shaft L.
According to a seventh improvement, the details of which are shown
enlarged and in section in Figure 5, a proper tension is imparted to the
lapping yarns or threads 3 by passing each between a pair of metal plates 4,
one of which is pressed by a piece of caoutchouc 5. The degree of pressure
is regulated by a small screw 6, which acts on a small plate 7, being tapped
through the end of a small box 8, formed on the side of the lapping finger 9
for the reception of these details.
According to an eighth improvement each rig cord t, Figure 1, is drawn off
a ball or loose bobbin which may be contained in a box or can 10, the cord
being passed thence round a frictional tension pulley 11, placed opposite the
end of the corresponding lapper s, and outside of the frame standard v. The
motion of the pulley 11 is retarded by a frictional appliance regulated to give
the proper tension to the cord. The modification of this frictional appliance,
shown in the Drawing, consists in each case of a small pulley 12, carried by a
lever 13 in such a position as to run in the groove of the pulley 11, the cord t
passing between the pulleys 11 and 12. The lever 13 is made to press the
pulleys together by a spring 14, the tension of which can be regulated by a
screw.
According to a ninth improvement we proposed to connect the tube or ring
15, which pushes the heald eyes off the mesh stud 16 to a lever 17 on a
spindle carried on the end frame standard v, a second lever on this spindle
being acted upon by a cam or incline on the rim wheel at the proper periods
for pushing off the eyes. We however prefer to employ a modification of this
arrangement which we have designed to give an easy means of adjusting the
stroke of the pushing-off' ring 15. In this modification the second lever 18 on
the spindle of the lever 17 has jointed to it a rod 19, which is screwed into
end pieces so as to be adjustable as to length, and which has its other end
jointed to a lever 20, which is acted upon by a wiper pulley 21, carried by the
main shaft L (which as has been already stated rotates synchronously with
the rim wheel N.) A spring 22 recovers the lever 20 after each depression.
Having thus particularly described our said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is or may be used or carried into effect, we have to state
that we do not restrict ourselves to the precise details herein-before described
or delineated, and that we do not claim to have invented every separate detail
herein-before described and delineated; but that what we believe to be novel

page_text: and original, and claim as the Invention secured to us by the herein-before in
part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the system or mode of making healds with certain of their legs or
loops of coloured thread, to mark or distinguish the several counts or sets, and
the system or mode of applying distinct. and separate stitches of coloured
thread to the plait of the rig cord for the same purpose as herein-before
described.
Second, the several combinations of parts herein before described under
separate heads of improvement in heald knitting machinery.
Third, the system or mode of mounting the braiding needles of heald
knitting machines upon separate slides, and of working them by means of
racks actuated by pinions on a vertical spindle as herein-before described.
Fourth, the several herein-before described systems or modes of constructing
or arranging certain details of heald knitting machines so as to be adjustable,
whereby a single machine is rendered capable of making healds of different
depths.
Fifth, the driving the uptake drum of a heald knitting machine by means
of a worm on the main driving shaft, when this rotates synchronously with the
"rim" or "great" wheel as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Taylor, on behalf of myself and
of the said John Nimmo, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this
Twenty-second day of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand
cight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT, Patent Agent,
28, S. Enoch Square,
Glasgow.
JAMES TAYLOR. (L.S.)