IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON- STRUCTION OF LEVERS AND OF 'NEBS' OR THREAD CARRIERS POR WARP MACHINES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edmund Tatham, of the Town and County of
the Town of Nottingham, and of Ilkeston, in the County of Derby,
Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON-
STRUCTION OF LEVERS AND OF 'NEBS' OR THREAD CARRIERS POR WARP
MACHINES."
Sealed the 19th October 1869, and dated the 23rd April 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edmund Tatham at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 23rd April 1869.
I, EDMUND TATHAM, of the Town and County, of the Town of
Nottingham, and of Ilkeston, in the County of Derby, Manufacturer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF LEVERS AND OF 'NEBS' OR THREAD CARRIERS FOR WARP
MACHINES," to be as follows:-
The first part of the Invention relates to the construction of levers or
bars, and consists in making or fitting them with two pins or wires, so
that the thread or threads may enter between them when the levers are
acted upon or depressed by the motion of the "jacquard." The pins or

page_text: wires are slightly spread outwards at the bottom to facilitate the entry
of the threads.
The second part consists in the construction of "nebs " or thread
carriers; they are made with two points and are employed for dividing
the threads when lifted by the mechanism. In this position the needles
are moved towards and passed through between the nebs. On the
needles retiring the nebs are lowered, and the threads are laid on the
needles. The nebs are of the forms shown in the Figures. In one
case the points of the nebs are straight, and in the other the points
are bent or curved towards each other in pairs. The needles I prefer
to employ are those known as self-acting needles.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edmund Tatham in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 23rd October 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDMUND
TATHAM, of the Town and County of the Town of Nottingham, and
of Ilkeston, in the County of Derby, Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Edmund Tatham, Her special licence
that I, the said Edmund Tatham, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Edmund Tatham, my 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 THE
CONSTRUCTION OF LEVERS, AND OF 'NEBS' OR THREAD CARRIERS FOR WARP
MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Edmund Tatham, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, 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

page_text: 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 I, the said Edmund Tatham, do hereby declare
the nature of my 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, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
The first part of the Invention relates to the construction of levers or
bars, and consists in making or fitting them with two pins or wires, so
that the thread or threads may enter between them when the levers are
acted upon or depressed by the motion of the "jacquard." The pins or
wires are slightly spread outwards at the bottom to facilitate the entry
of the threads.
The second part consists in the construction of "nebs " or thread
carriers; they are made with two points and are employed for dividing
the threads when lifted by the mechanism. In this position the needles
are moved towards and passed through between the nebs. On the
needles retiring the nebs are lowered and the threads are laid on
the needles. In one case the points of the nebs are straight, and in
the other the points are bent or curved towards each other in pairs.
The needles I prefer to employ are those known as the self-acting
needles.
In order that my Invention may be more fully understood I annex
the detailed description and the accompanying Drawings hereto.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a number of levers or bars a, a,
fitted on a pin b in the same frame c. The frame c is secured in place
on the bar of the machine by a bolt or stud being passed into the
hole d. The fore ends of the levers are provided with pins or wires e, e,
which enter between the threads coming from the guides f and keep.
them apart when the levers are depressed at that end. This depression
is caused by the back ends being lifted by the cords leading from
the "jacquard." The levers are kept at the required distance apart by
plates g, g, on the frame and through which the pin 6 passes. The
lower ends of the pins or wires e, e, are bent or spread outwards to
facilitate their entry between the threads. The same Figure represents
the position of the nebs or thread carriers which form the second part
of my Invention. These nebs are of the form shown on an enlarged

page_text: scale in Figure 2, and consist of two plates or prongs h, h, which are
bent towards each other at the points i, i, to touch slightly without
pressure. The two points thus as it were become one, and as the
needles j. j, enter between them when they are lifted and the needles
brought forward the threads leading from the guides fare laid in
the hollows or recesses k, k, of the ncbs and retained there by the
prongs or points 1, 2, which are bent in a similar manner to the
prongs h, h, and as the needles retire the loops last made are drawn
over their points by the forward movement of the nebs, at the same
time the flaps or barbs of the needles which are self-acting are thrown
over the threads last laid in the hooks. The nebs on their forward
movement are lowered at the same time to draw the loops last made
sufficiently tight to form the fabric. I do not confine myself to bending
the prongs so that they meet at the points, as straight flat prongs, as
shown in Figure 3, may be employed in the same manner and for the
same purpose.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,--
Firstly. The construction and employment of levers or bars fitted
with two pins or wires, in the manner and for the purpose herein-before
described and represented in the accompanying Drawings.
Secondly. The construction and employment of nebs or thread
carriers made with two points, in the manner and for the purpose
herein-before described and represented in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edmund Tatham, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Twenty-first day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
EDMUND TATHAM. (L.S.)