IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANU- FACTURE OF LOOM HEALDS OR HARNESS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Davenport and John Davenport, both of
Bradford, in the County of York, Reed and Heald Makers, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANU-
FACTURE OF LOOM HEALDS OR HARNESS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Davenport and
John Davenport at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 21st June 1862.
We, HENRY DAVENPORT and JOHN DAVENPORT, both of Bradford, in the.
County of York, Reed and Heald Makers, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR THE
MANUFACTURE OF LOOM HEALDS OR HARNESS," to be as follows:—
.
The improvements relate to the manufacture of loom healds or harness, in.
which in place of the "mails" "nooses" are used, and the improvements
have for their object to form knots to such "nooses by the working of the
mechanism employed in the manufacture of such healds or harness in place
of such knots being produced by hand. For this purpose according to an
arrangement we adopt the threads or yarns of which the healds are produced
are conducted from bobbins lengthwise by the sides and through the hollow
end of an instrument, upon which the "nooses" are formed, and which serves
to regulate their size. The yarns having passed out from this regulating
instrument are acted upon by points or openers, and then by other points in
pairs, which draw: the yarn on each side to the "flys" or "lappers" for

page_text: lapping on to the rig bands. Other instruments or forks then take back the
yarns passing through the regulator, when pointers on each side take back
such yarns, and from one of them fingers take one of the threads or yarns,
and lap it over the other thread and round the end of the regulator where it
is held by holders whilst the "openers" come into operation again. A forked
slide on the fingers acts as a pusher to push the thread therein to the point
of the fingers for the lapping in the proper place on the end of the regulator.
A stop on the hollow end of the regulator prevents the thread being lapped
on to from being drawn out of place by the lapping of the other thread.
Varnish or other suitable adhesive matter applied to the knots will hold them
in place when finished.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Davenport and John Davenport in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 20th December 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, HENRY
DAVENPORT and JOHN DAVENPORT, both of Bradford, in the County of York,
Reed and Heald Makers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Henry Davenport and John Davenport, Her special licence, that we,
the said Henry Davenport and John Davenport, our executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Henry Davenport
and John Davenport, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF LOOM HEALDS OR
HARNESS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Henry
Davenport and John Davenport, 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 ascer-
tain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manuer the same was to
be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent

page_text: Office within six calendar months next, and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Henry Davenport and John Daven-
port, 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:-
The improvements relate to the manufacture of loom healds or harness, in
which in place of the "mails" "nooses' are used, and the improvements
have for their object to form knots to such "nooses" by the working of the
mechanism employed in the manufacture of such healds or harness, in place
of such knots being produced by hand. For this purpose according to an
arrangement we adopt the threads or yarns of which the healds are produced
are conducted from bobbins lengthwise by the sides and through the hollow
end of an instrument, upon which the "nooses" are formed, and which serves
to regulate their size. The yarns having passed out from this regulating
instrument are acted upon by points or openers, and then by other points in
pairs, which draw the yarn on each side of the "flys" or "lappers" for
lapping on to the rig bands. Other instruments or forks then take back the
yarns passing through the regulator, when pointers on each side take back
such yarns, and from one of them fingers take one of the threads or yarns,
and lap it over the other thread round the end of the regulator, where it is
held by holders whilst the "openers" come into operation again. A forked
slide on the fingers acts as a pusher to push the thread therein to the point.
of the fingers for the lapping in the proper place on the end of the regulator.
A stop on the hollow end of the regulator prevents the thread being lapped
on to from being drawn out of place by the lapping of the other thread.
Varnish or other suitable adhesive matter applied to the knots will hold them
in place when finished.
But that the Invention may be better understood we will by the aid of the
accompanying Drawings proceed to describe the means pursued by us.
Figure 1 shows a plan, and Figure 2 a side view of apparatus, with our
improvements applied to it; Figure 3 represents, to a scale of half the real
size, a longitudinal section through some of the working parts of the machine,
and Figure 4 shows, to a similar scale, an end view of other of the parts;
Figures 5, 6, and 7 show full size, side, edge, and sectional views of part of a
knitting rod or regulator i; Figures 8 and 9 show two specimens of knitting
produced by the machine. In each of the Figures the same letters indicate
corresponding parts wherever they occur.
.
a, a, are the bobbins, on which the threads for making the healds are

page_text: lapped. The two ends of these two threads u, u, are conducted through two
holes in the lever b, which holes act as guides for the threads u, u, whilst the
projection 6 of the lever 6 serves by nipping the threads between it and the
part of the framing under it to produce tension, which is aided by two other
levers d, d. These levers d, d, are acted upon by means of the cams c, c, on
the shaft c', and they are drawn downwards by springs c², acting to keep them
in connection with the cams c, c. These cams c, c, and the cam c. are timed
in relation to each other, so that the levers d, d, and 6 have successive motions
to hold and take up the slack of the threads or yarns u, u, when required.
From the levers d, d, and 6 the threads u pass on the outsides of the two
pins e, and thence under the wires f,f, the pins e, e, acting to prevent the
tbreads u working under the wires f, f, too near the axes or joints f¹ thereof.
The object of these wires f; f, is to give warning of knots or enlargements in
the threads or yarns u.
For this purpose at a short distance from their
joints these wires f are cranked upwards and then inwards to act on the
bell (4); h, h, are serews for adjusting the wires to the thickness of yarn
under operation. When knots appear in the threads they will by passing
under the lower limbs of the wires f cause them to be raised, when the upper
ends of them will strike the bell (4). After passing under the wires f the
threads or yarns u, u, are drawn along the machine longitudinally, and through
holes in the sides to the centre of the end of the knitting rod or regu-
lator i, and from thence the two ends of the threads are drawn out at the
end i³, and fastened to the backing or rig bands k, k, one on each side;
1, 1, are forks, affixed one on each side of the ram m, which by means of au
internal spring is constantly borne with its projection m¹ against the cam n,
by which a backward motion is given to the ram m when required. On the
shaft n carrying the cam n is also affixed the can o, which in its revolution
acts to raise the rain m, and consequently the hooks l, l, thereof when the
threads u, u, have become connected with them, and are being drawn back
with the return motion, one on each side of the knitting rod i. A slide q at
the right-hand side of the ram p is then drawn out towards the point of the
knitting rod by means of an elastic band forcing the pin s up an inclined
plane s¹ to close the jaw t upon a corresponding stationary jaw t¹, which holds
one of the threads or yarns u, whilst the other internal slide q' is drawn up
by a similar elastic band, or other suitable spring on the other side, and
pushes up the thread to the end of the point t*, which is closely followed by
the finger v, which is worked by the elastic wand cam x to draw down the
thread or yarn u, whilst the point of the ram or head p, with the instruments
carried thereby, has completed a circular motion round the point of the

page_text: knitting rod, carrying with it the thread. held between the jaws t, t, by means
of a double cam v¹ and an elastic z. The next operation is upon the forked
slide which effects its return by means of the cam 'a', and working against
the stud q. Upon the return of this slide 9 the pins drops by its own
gravity down the inclined plane s¹, and opens the jaw t, thereby relieving the
thread or yarn, which was by them held. At the same time the return motion
of the slide q is being effected by means of a cam q' acting on the stud "q";
the two fingers, points, or openers d¹, one on each side of the centre line, are
now raised upwards by means of the cam and lever marked e¹.and e², the
lever e turns upon a centre es, and by the piece e carries the openers d',
which fingers or openers when they have gained their highest position are
forced outwards transversely, thereby drawing the threads into position to
receive the four fingers or points g', two of which are on each side of the
knitting rod or regulator i, and are in connection with long levers h¹, which
give a running-away motion to these fingers, one of which on each side moves
in a curved groove (1), which causes the fingers to expand at the same time
that they travel or run away towards the backings k, thereby giving room, at
the same time holding the thread for the lapping band (2) to revolve with the
revolving head or lappers (3), and fasten it firmly to the backings k. Imme-
diately after the head p has described its circular throw, which forms the knot
and the noose in the heald, the two holders i2 and k', one on each side of the
knitting rod or regulator i, close towards the centre, thereby holding fast the
noose, and whilst held the pointer fixed on k¹ enters the knot, giving
the thread or yarn a certain amount of tension, thereby ensuring all the nooses
being alike. As soon as the holders 2 and ¹ return relieving the nooses of
their pressure the holder is forced on to the knitting rod to prevent its
being displaced; m² is to keep the yarn or thread on the right-hand side from
slipping off the hook l. The lever n² is worked by cam o', and on the other
end is a wedged block n³, which when forced down gives the opening trans-
verse motion to the fingers or openers d¹; (3), (3), are the flys or lappers.
The bell-crank lever p¹ is for giving the head p the forward and backward
motion bodily. The screw motion for guiding the heald, as proposed, is similar
to that usually employed, and is driven by change wheels for different counts,
as is well understood. The small pin or projection (5) in the regulator is for
the purpose of keeping the right-hand yarn or thread in its position whilst the
yarn or thread is being thrown round the end of the knitting rod or regu-
lator i. By these means knots are formed to the nooses by the yarn being
passed through each last-formed noose in the working of the mechanism in
place of such knots being produced by hand.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and means which
we adopt in carrying the same into effect, we would have it understood that
we do not confine ourselves to the precise details shewn and described, as
these may be varied, nor do we claim the various mechanical parts described
when separately considered; but what we do claim is, the adaptation or com-
bination of means and mode or system of working for producing loom healds
with knotted nooses, substantially as explained.
In witness whereof, we, the said Henry Davenport and John Davenport,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Seventeenth day of
December, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-two.
HENRY DAVENPORT. (L.S.)
JOHN DAVENPORT.
(L.S.)
HENRY DAVENPORT. (L.S.)
JOHN DAVENPORT.
(L.S.)