IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH JACQUARD APPARATUS FOR WEAVING PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Cockburn, Weaver, in the Employment of
Messieurs Robert Cochran and Son, Manufacturers, of Paisley, in the
County of Renfrew, North Britain, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN AND CONNECTED WITH JACQUARD APPARATUS FOR WEAVING
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Cockburn at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 6th
February 1865.
I, WILLIAM COCKBURN, Weaver, in the Employment of Messieurs Robert
Cochran and Son, Manufacturers, of Paisley, in the County of Renfrew, North
Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH JACQUARD APPARATUS FOR WEAVING," to be as
follows, that is to say:-
This Invention has principally for its object to facilitate and cheapen the
weaving of ornamental fabrics of or similar to the "Paisley shawl" class, and
having a perfect pattern on both sides.
In carrying out the Invention two lift-boards, draught-boards, or combs
are employed. In each lift-board one-half of the holes are made with their
saw-draughts in one direction, whilst the saw-draughts of the other half are
in the opposite direction, so that the inward movements of the horizontal
needles will act positively on some of the harness tails by moving them into the
saw-draughts so as to be caught and lifted, but negatively on the other tails by

page_text: moving them out of the saw-draughts. The most convenient disposition of
the two kinds of holes is to arrange each kind in its own half of the board,
but they might be arranged in alternate rows or otherwise if preferred, or
they might be formed in separate lift-boards. The harness threads are tied in
regular order alternately to the tails of each lift-board, and the tails from the
positive holes act on the warps for the upper face of the cloth, the tails from
the negative holes acting on the warps for the under face. A "thread" or
full harness is employed according to one modification, and in weaving, one
"bridle" of cards is worked off by one lift-board and the next bridle by the
other lift-board alternately, or the same bridle may be worked off twice in
succession by both lift-boards. In cutting the cards a hole has to be made
corresponding to every point at which weft has to appear on either face,
which involves less labour in cutting than in the ordinary arrangements for
weaving two-faced fabrics of this kind. Two heddle leaves only instead of
four require to be used in 'connection with the two lift-boards in the modifi-
cation berein-before described; but a "split" harness may be used with the
other improved arrangements, when the usual four heddle leaves will be
required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Cockburn in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th August 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
COCKBURN, Weaver, in the Employment of Messieurs Robert Cochran and
Son, Manufacturers, of Paisley, in the County of Renfrew, North Britain,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, "Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Cockburn, Her special licence that I, the said William.
Cockburn, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said, William Cockburn, 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 "Iм-

page_text: PROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH JACQUARD APPARATUS FOR WEAVING," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Cockburn, 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 per-
formed, 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 William Cockburn, 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 in writing, that is to say :-
My said Invention has principally for its object to facilitate and cheapen
the weaving of ornamental fabrics of or similar to the "Paisley shawl" class,
and having a perfect pattern on both sides.
In carrying out my Invention, I employ double-lift jacquard apparatus,.
that is, having two lift-boards, draught-boards, or combs which are lifted
alternately. In each lift-board one half of the holes are made with their saw-
draughts in one direction, namely, the same as in common jacquard apparatus,.
whilst the saw-draughts of the other half are made in the opposite direction,
so that the inward movements of the horizontal needles will act positively on
some of the harness tails by moving them into the saw-draughts so as to be
caught and lifted, but negatively on the other tails by moving them out of
the saw-draughts, this negative action being that usual in common. jacquard.
apparatus. The most convenient disposition of the two kinds of holes is to
arrange each kind in its own half of the lift-board, but they might be arranged
in alternate rows or otherwise, if preferred, or they might be formed
in separate boards united together or made to act simultaneously. In ono
modification there is a separate harness mail for every warp thread as-with
what is known as a " thread" or full harness as ordinarily worked with single-
lift jacquard apparatus, but never, as far as I am aware, previously used with
double-lift jacquard apparatus. The warps for the upper and under faces are
by preference entered through the harness mails in regular alternation, but
whilst the harness threads or cords acting on the upper warps are tied to the
tails of the positive holes those acting on the under warps are tied to the tails
of the negative holes. The odd threads respectively of both upper and under
warps, as numbered across on each face, are tied to the tails of one lift-board,
consequently termed the odd lift-board, and similarly the even threads are tied
to the tails, of, the other or even lift-board. During the working of one

page_text: "bridle" of cards the odd lift-board is lifted for every card, the even lift-
board being lifted for every card of the next "bridle," then the odd one, and
so on alternately. To the practical "Paisley shawl" weaver it will be obvious
that with the arrangements described (but supposing for a moment that the
upper warps are absent) a "plain-cloth" texture will be produced on the
under face, as the half of the (under) warps not acted on by the lift-board in
action naturally lie down and permit all the shuttles to go over them; so that
they will appear on the under face. To produce the same texture on the
upper face the corresponding inactive upper warps must appear on the upper
face, to effect which it is obviously necessary for the shuttles to go under
them. The inactive upper warps have therefore to be lifted, one half of the
whole upper warps for every odd "bridle" of cards and the other half for
every even bridle. Two heddle leaves are employed to lift the inactive
upper warps, being raised for the odd and even bridles respectively, but the
warps in the heddle leaf which is not raised are not prevented from being
raised by the jacquard harness as required, by the pattern being entered
through loops in the heddle leaf and not through closed eyes or mails. With
these arrangements the working of the apparatus is much easier, and the
friction on the warps and liability to imperfect weaving are much less than
with some plans in use, wherein some of the warps raised by the jacquard
harness have to be depressed again by heddles. The design is put upon
hexagonal or other equivalent design paper suitable for odd and even lines,
and in cutting the cards a hole has to be made corresponding to every point at
which the respective weft has to appear on either face. Without my improved
disposition of the saw-draughts this would be the same for the under face, but
for the upper face holes would have to be cut in the upper face part of the
card at every point excepting those at which the respective weft has to appear
on the upper face, which negative cutting, as it may be termed, would
obviously involve much more labour in cutting, besides rendering the cards
weaker and less durable. The positive cutting for both faces of the fabric,
which is thus due to my reversing the saw-draughts, also involves further
important economical advantages, since the perforations which are made to act
for one face at one part of the design may be made to act for the other
face at another part, whereby one half of the cards may be saved. It
is convenient, economical, and variously advantageous to produce the same
design on both sides of the fabric. Such a design is made up of forms and
colorings, but the colorings are varied in the different repeats of the forms.
Thus for example parts which are respectively red and blue in one repeat of
the forms may be blue and red in another repeat on the same side of the

page_text: fabric. Then the other side may be made to présent precisely the same
appearance (when turned over) by putting blue and red colorings on the
under side back to back respectively with the red and blue colorings on
the upper side, it being well understood that the same weft cannot appear
on both faces at identical points. There is no novelty in preparing a design
in the way just indicated, but it is by means of designs so prepared that
the double utilisation of the cards herein-before referred to is effected, as
herein-after explained. The jacquard tails naturally divide themselves into
four sections, and in the hole-board these sections are by preference kept
distinct and separate. The horizontal needles however are in two sections
only, each needle acting on two tails as usual in double-lift jacquard apparatus,
these tails appertaining respectively to the different lift-boards and to different
sections. The sectional division of the needles and consequently of the cards
also is by preference across the middle. In tying the harness cords for one
face, say the upper face, to the respective jacquard tails, I tie the first cord to
the first tail of the odd lift-board, and then the second cord to the tail of the
I even lift-board acted on by the same needle as the first odd tail; the third
cord I tie to the second odd tail, the fourth to the corresponding even tail, and
so on throughout; I, however, tie the cords for the other or under face in tho
reverse order, that is to say, I tie the last cord to the first even tail, the last
but one to the corresponding odd tail acted on by the same needle, the last
but two to the second even tail, the last but three to the corresponding odd
tail, and so on throughout. To suit this arrangement each card must have
the parts of the pattern for the two faces cut reversely; then when the cards
have been worked off in one position they are wheeled or turned half round
in their own plane and are worked over again, but producing their former
effects on reciprocally reversed sides. A similar and in some respects better
result is obtained by a modification of the manner of tying, in which modifi-
cation the harness cords for the upper face are tied the first to the first even
tail, the second to the first odd tail, the third to the second even tail, the fourth
to the second odd tail, and so on regularly throughout; whilst the harness cords
for the under face are tied the first to the corresponding first odd tail, the
second to the first even tail, the third to the second odd tail, the fourth to the
second even tail, and so on regularly throughout. In drawing the pattern and
in cutting the cards the design is arranged so as to get an odd and an even
line of pattern on each bridle of cards; and when the cards have been worked
off in one way they are wheeled as in the previously described modification
and are worked over again. In both modifications after the cards are wheeled

page_text: they are passed through the jacquard apparatus in the opposite direction to
that in which they were passed through before wheeling.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is or may be performed, I have to state that I do not
restrict myself to the precise details herein described, but that what I believe
to, be novel and original, and claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
1. The weaving of two-faced ornamental fabrics of or similar to the "Paisley
shawl" class by means of jacquard apparatus, the lift-board or lift-boards of
which have different portions of their holes formed with reversed saw-draughts,
substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein-before described. And
2. The weaving of two-faced ornamental fabrics of or similar to the "Paisley
shawl" class by means of double-lift jacquard apparatus combined with two
leaves of heddles for the upper face warps, substantially as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Cockburn, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Third day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
WILLIAM COCKBURN. (L.S.)