IMPROVEMENTS TN THE MANIRACTURE OF THE REEDS EMPLOYED PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Dittrich, of St. Petersburgh, in the
Empire of Russia, and Frederick Millo and Julius Leidhold, both
of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Merchants, for the In-
vention of 66 IMPROVEMENTS TN THE MANIRACTURE OF THE REEDS EMPLOYED
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Dittrich,
Frederick Millo, and Julius Leidhold at the Office of the Com-
missioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 23rd July 1870.
We, EDWARD DITTRICH, of St. Petersburgh, in the Empire of Russia,
and FREDERICK MILLO and JULIUS LEIDHOLD, both of Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster, Merchants, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THE REEDS
EMPLOYED IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates to the reeds employed in looms for weaving
and consists in a method of manufacturing the same, or of treating the

page_text: same after the manufacture thereof, whereby the dents of the said reeds
have a greater amount of resilience than the dents of reeds as ordinarily
made and finished, whereby the said reeds are rendered more durable
and are less liable to receive injury than the ordinary reeds.
When making a reed in manner according with our said Invention we
employ the ordinary or suitable flat or flattened wire reeds or dents, and
fix the ends thereof in pairs of laths or strips of wood as is usual, but
in lieu of the yarn ordinarily wound around each of the said pairs of
laths or strips of wood, in order to retain the said reeds or dents in
position, we employ metal wire, such as, for example, softened or
annealed wire made from charcoal iron. The size or diameter of the
said wire employed in the making of any particular reed is or may
be equal to the required width of the spaces between the contiguous
dents or reeds, and a portion of the said wire is wound around each of
the said pairs of laths, a reed or dent being introduced after each turn
or coiling of the wire around each of the said pairs of laths, as will be
well understood.
The method of making the reed, so far as has hitherto been herein
described, may be varied so long as metal binding wire is employed.
for the purpose as aforesaid, our Invention relating more particularly
to the subsequent treatment of the said reed, and before describing this
part of our Invention we would remark that the method of operating.
and the tools employed, as described, are such as we have found to be
suitable and efficacious, but that we do not confine ourselves thereto,
as others may be employed so long as the peculiar effect is obtained.
When the whole of the reeds or dents are fixed in position by means
of the aforesaid metal binding wire we pass a blade of metal to and fro
on the coiled binding wire in the direction of the length of the laths
or shafts of wood, and with a sufficient pressure on the said wire to cause
each of the said coils of wire to be bent or twisted out of the regular
spiral form as produced by simply coiling the wire around the rods or
strips of wood. After operating thus on, both sides of each of the bars
or shafts of the reed we usually run a tool .along the sides of the said:
bars or shafts, the said tool bearing on the edges of the reeds or dents
close to the said shafts, and forming notches or indentations in the said
edges of the reeds or dents which assist in producing the effect we
obtain, but this part of the treatment of the reed may be dispensed with
in some cases, or if not considered to be essentially necessary.

page_text: The effect of the herein-before described or of a similar treatment is
to cause the reeds or dents to be very firmly held in position so that
there is a considerable degree of resilience in each reed or dent which
causes it when bent to some extent out of the straight line to return
thereto, and also we believe that there is an amount of elasticity in the
hold which the wooden rods and the metal wire have on the said reeds
or dents as when considerably bent out of the straight line each reed. or
dent may be readily straightened and will not be liable to return to the-
bent form, or not so liable to so return as in the case of reeds as ordinarily
made.
.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edward Dittrich, Frederick Millo, and Julius
Leidhold in the Great Seal Patent, Office on the 21st January
1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, EDWARD.
DITTRICH,. of St. Petersburg, in the Empire of Russia, and FREDERICK
MILLO and JULIUS LEIDHOLD, both of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Merchants, send greeting..
I
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her-
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-.
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said Edward Dittrich, Frederick Millo, and
Julius Leidhold, Her special license that we, the said Edward Dittrich,...
Frederick Millo, and Julius Leidhold, executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said Edward Dittrich, Frederick
Millo, and Julius Leidhold,, 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 King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of
Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THE REEDS
EMPLOYED IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition, amongst others,
that we, the said Edward Dittrich, Frederick Millo, and Julius Leidhold,
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our,

page_text: 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 I, the said Frederick Millo, 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 and accompanying Drawings, that is to say:-
Our Invention relates to the reeds employed in looms for weaving,
and consists in a method of manufacturing the same or of treating
the same after the manufacture thereof, whereby the dents of the said
reeds have a greater amount of resilience than the dents of reeds as
ordinarily made and finished, whereby the said reeds are rendered
more durable and are less liable to receive injury than the ordinary
reeds.
When making a reed in manner according with our said Invention
we employ the ordinary or suitable flat or flattened wire reeds or dents,
and fix the ends thereof in pairs of laths or strips of wood as is usual;
but in lieu of the yarn ordinarily wound around each of the said pairs of
laths or strips of wood in order to retain the said reeds or dents in
position we employ metal wire, such as, for example, softened or annealed
wire made from charcoal iron. The size or diameter of the said wire
employed in the making of any particular reed is or may be equal to the
required width of the spaces between the contiguous dents or reeds, and a
portion of the said wire is wound around each of the said pairs of laths,
a reed or dent being introduced after each turn or coiling of the
wire around cach of the said pairs of laths, as will he well understood.
The method of making the reed as far as has hitherto been herein
described may be varied so long as metal binding wire is employed
for the purpose as aforesaid, our Invention relating more particularly
to the subsequent treatment of the said reed; and before describing
this part of our Invention we would remark that the method of
operating and the tools employed as described are such as we have
found to be suitable and efficacious, but that we do not confine
ourselves thereto, as others may be employed, so long as the peculiar
effect is obtained. When the whole of the reeds or dents are fixed in
position by means of the aforesaid metal binding wire we pass a blade of

page_text: metal to and fro on the coiled binding wire in the direction of the length
of the laths or shafts of wood, and with a sufficient pressure on the
said wire to cause each of the said coils of wire to be bent or twisted
out of the regular spiral form as produced by simply coiling the wire
around the rods or strips of wood. After operating thus on both sides
of cach of the bars or shafts of the reed we usually run a tool along the
sides of the said bars or shafts, the said tool bearing on the edges of
the reeds or dents close to the said shafts and forming notches or
indentations in the said edges of the reeds or dents which assist in
producing the effect we obtain, but this part of the treatment of the
reed may be dispensed with in some cases, or if not considered to be
essentially necessary.
The effect of the herein-before described or of a similar treatment is
to cause the reeds or dents to be very firmly held in position so that
there is a considerable degree of resilience in cach reed or dent which
causes it when bent to some extent out of the straight line to return
thereto, and also we believe that there is an amount of elasticity in the
hold which the wooden rods and the metal wire have on the said reeds
or dents, as when considerably bent out of the straight line cach reed or
dent may be readily straightened and will not be liable to return to the
bent form or not so liable to so return as in the case of reeds as ordinarily
made.
In order that our Invention may be fully understood, I have supplied
a Sheet of Drawings to accompany this Specification to which Drawings
I will in this place refer.
Fig. 1 represents a portion of a coarse reed the manufacture of which
has been completed up to the point at which our Invention is to be
applied. In the said Figure the dents a, a, are secured between the
laths or strips b, b, by means of the wire c, which has been coiled
around the said laths or strips by hand, or by the operation of a
machine.
Fig. 2 illustrates our method of performing the next operation. In
the said Figure the aforesaid blade of metal is represented by d, the
said blade being preferably inclined in the direction shewn when the
blade is passed over the coils of binding wire in the direction of the
arrow, and in the contrary direction when passed in the reverse direction
as indicated by the dotted lines.

page_text: Fig. 3 illustrates approximately the appearance of the reed after
having been subjected to the above described treatment.
Fig. 4 illustrates the method of performing the concluding operation.
The end of the knife or tool used in this operation is shewn at e,
and in dotted lines in the other positions assumed when operating
on the other parts of the reed. The other side of the reed is treated in
the same manner..
We have hitherto performed the herein described operation by means
of hand tools, but mechanical tools or tools the movements of which are
mechanically controlled may be used so long as a similar result is
obtained.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention and illustrated
a method of carrying the same into practical effect, we would have
it to be understood that we desire to claim the treatment of the reeds
herein referred to substantially as and for the purposes as herein set
forth and described..
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Millo, have hereunto,
set my hand and seal, this Twentyieth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
Signed and sealed by the said
Frederick Millo, in the pre-
sence of
EDWARD K. DUTTON,
Agent to the Patentees.
FRED³, MILLO. (L.S.)