CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WOVEN AND TWISTED FABRICS
Year: 1849

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
BEALE BROWNE, of Hampen in the County of Gloucester, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-ninth day of June, in the thirteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Thomas Beale Browne, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said Thomas Beale Browne, my exors, admors, and
assigns, and such others as I, the said Thomas Beale Browne, my exors,
admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark,
and Man, an Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS, AND IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF WOVEN AND TWISTED FABRICS," being a communication from
a abroad; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me,
the said Thomas Beale Browne, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Beale Browne, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon (that is to say): -
The first improvement consists in certain arrangements of the loom by
which the batten may be enabled to beat up the weft thread or yarn several
times without passing the shuttle for the purpose of driving up or increasing
the density of the fabric so woven, and also piacing, when desired, a bar or
rod of wood, iron, or any other suitable material of a wedge form in section
between the open sheds of the warp, in order more intimately to drive home
the last shoot or weft, and to open the shed free for the passage of the next
weft. By these novel arrangements of the loom, a very firm cloth, canvas, or
other fabric may be produced.
The second part of these improvements consists in weaving fabrics by the
powerloom in tubular forms for hose or water pipes, the fabric being rendered
more compact. These tubes may be made of any required dimensions, and of
any suitable fibrous material, or an admixture of gutta percha threads or
strands therewith, or fibrous material coated with gutta percha.
The third part of these inventions is an improvement in the manufacturing
of sacks, bags, and such like articles, which improvement consists in making
sacks and bags in a peculiar way, in order that they may not require sewing
together; this I effect by weaving them somewhat in the manner in which
the round lamp wicks are commonly made, and at the same time render the
bottom of such sacks or bags much stronger, and thereby enable them to
sustain better the wear caused by the friction necessarily created by their
being placed on end, from their being shifted in erect position. By this
improvement the sacks or bags when cut from the looms are capable of being
immediately filled and used.
The fourth part of this Invention consists in manufacturing belts or bags
separately, or in broad sheets, and afterwards cutting such sheets into strips
for bands suitable for driving machinery, which I effect by either drawing
hemp, flax, or other fibrous yarns through gutta percha, or a mixture of gutta
percha with other bodies, or by intermixing gutta percha threads or strands
with hemp or any other yarns composed of fibrous materials. These, when so
treated, I weave together into separate belts or broad sheets, and afterwards, by
heat and rollers, bring the whole into a compact inass.
The fifth part of this Invention consists in a peculiar mode of manufacturing

page_text: ropes, which I effect by drawing strands or fibrous material through a heated
mass of gutta percha twisted together, as in making ordinary ropes, or laying
longitudinally the strands side by side, which may be then subjected to heat
and pressure, in order that the rope may become one compact mass capable
of resisting in a great measure damp and wet.
In describing the first part of this Invention (viz), a loom for weaving
broad goods, such as sail cloths, or any other fabrics which require the weft to
be firmly beaten up, I refer to the drawings (First Sheet), which represents
parts of the improved loom in different views and sections. Fig. 1 shews the
front elevation of part of the loom, with its improved appendages; Fig. 2, an
end elevation of the same, taken at the right hand of Fig. 1; the similar letters
of reference indicating the same parts of the loom in both these Figures.
A, A, are the uprights of the loom; B, the breast beam; C. the lay; D, D,
the lay swords; E, the warp; F, the driving shaft, which is actuated by steam
or any other power; G, the fast and loose pullies. The castle, with the
figuring apparatus, not shewn in this Figure, is to be placed above. This part
is represented upon an enlarged scale, in order that it may be better under-
stood, in detached Figures on Sheet II. Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the
castle or figuring apparatus; Fig. 9, an end elevation of the same. I is the
barrel, pegged to give the tie or figure, which is arranged by varying the pegs
at the will of the weaver; K is a rod or line, attached to a bell crank or pulley
(see Fig. 2), which is occasionally actuated by a peg set in the barrel when
the shuttle is required to move across the work, but which shuttle does not
move without a peg has been so placed to effect the shuttle's movement, the
object of which will be explained more fully hereafter. L, the piece or rod of
wood or metal of a sectional wedge form, which is introduced by the lever M,
acted upon by the rotary cam N, to be formed as circumstances shall require,
for the purpose of projecting the rod into the open sheds once or twice in the
round of the tappet shaft O, as may be required, and according to the
respective sizes of the bevelled pinions P connected with the driving shaft.
For the better explanation of that part of the Invention which relates to the
wedge-formed rod or bar L, intended to be placed between the sheds of the
warp and the form of the shuttle designed to pass along the rod or bar, I have
shewn at Fig. 3 an enlarged representation, in transverse section, of the lay or
shuttle race C, the shuttle Q, the bar L, and the reed R. The shuttle race or
lay and reed are constructed as in ordinary looms. The shuttle is peculiar,
having an enlargement in breadth on its inner side, which side is hollowed, as
shewn in Fig. 3, and this hollow extends through the entire length of the
shuttle; as seen in the side view at Fig. 4. The rod or bar L is conducted to

page_text: and fro horizontally in front of the reed by sliding with its carriage a in a
groove b, cut in the elongated end of the lay, as seen in Fig. 1, and horizontal
view of the lay, with the rod and its appendages, as represented detached at
Fig. 5. In order to guide the rod or bar L, and keep it perfectly horizontal
in its to-and-fro movement, a guide arm S is attached to its carriage, which
slides in a guide box T, fixed upon the lay above the reed. The construction
of the bar carriage a and its guide arm S will be better seen in the enlarged
representation, Fig. 6, which is an elevation, and Fig. 7, which is a horizontal
view of these operating parts detached. The working of the bar or rod L to
and fro is effected by the end of the lever, situate between the two rollers of
the carriage a. The lever M (see Fig. 1) has its fulcrum in the standard U,
and is made to vibrate by an arm V, acted upon by the rotary cam N; this
vibrating lever M has a joint in it at e to accommodate the vibrating action of
the batten. The rod or bar L having been placed between the open sheds of
the warp, and the shuttle passed on the batten coming forward, the bevelled
edge of the bar will force up the weft thread into the warp, and form a clear
opening for the reception of the next shoot of weft. In order to allow of this
action of the bar L, it will be necessary to cause the batten C to retire an equal
distance to the breadth of the bar, which is effected by the following means:-
In the end view, Fig. 2, it will be seen that the crank arm W is connected
to the sword D of the lay by a double jointed piece d, and the pin of the upper
of these joints is set into an upright bar X; the lower end of this apright
bar X is connected to the sword of the lay by a joint piece at e, which joint
piece is a right-angled lever. The reverse end of this lever e carries a small
rod f. attached to a steel spring g, affixed to the front of the sword, which
spring keeps the lever e, with the upright bar X and arm W, in the position
shewn in the Drawing; and this is the case when the rod or bar Lis between
the warps. A hooked lever Y is pendent in nearly a horizontal position from
joint pin in the side frame (see Fig. 2), which lever is raised or lowered by
a vertical rod connected with the castle or figuring apparatus above. It will
now be seen that when the figuring apparatus raises this lever Y, which will
be the case when the rod Lis between the warps, the joint pin i of the right
augled lever will not be acted upon by the hook / of the lever Y as the batten
advances, but when the lever Y is allowed to fall, as it will be caused to do
when the rod L is not between the warps, then the advance of the batten will
cause the joint or pin i to come in contact with the hook % of the lever, by
which means the crank arm W, the upright bar X, and the right angle lever e
will be thrown into the positions shewn by dotted lines, and the batten or lay
will thereby be brought forward a distance equal to the width of the wedge
il

page_text: formed rod L. For the purpose of adjusting the distance which the batten or
lay shall retire, which must, be done according to the breadth of the rod L, a
regulating screw / is inserted in a bracket piece fixed to the back of the lay
sword.
I shall now proceed to describe the particular novel features of the castle or
figuring apparatus to be placed at top of the loom, and which is shewn, as
before said, at Figures 8 and 9. This improved castle consists principally of a
sort of organ barrel I, round the periphery of which series of pegs are inserted
for the purpose of working the harness of the loom, so that it may be enabled
to weave figures or patterns. The peculiar object of this improvement is a
self-acting apparatus capable of shifting the barrel a short distance laterally as
the weaving proceeds, so as to produce different ties, forms, or figures in the
weaving. Supposing that one series of pegs are set in the barrel to produce a
three-leaved twill tie, and that a second series of pegs capable of producing a
tabby tie are set in the barrel beside the former, and a third series in like
manner to produce a four-leaved twill, the action of the barrel will be as
follows: The barrel shewn at I, in Figures 8 and 9, is attached to the castle
and mounted in the usual manner of the card cylinders of jacquard looms,
and is actuated, that is raised and turned, by a vertical rod m connected at
bottom to the ordinary crank shaft F in the way well understood. The rising
of the rod m brings the barrel into contact with the steel spring n, which
stands erect upon the framework of the castle (see Fig. 8,) the striking in of
a peg in the barrel forces back the spring n, and causes the hook bars p, 1,
connected to the spring by a horizontal bar r, to move sideways, so that the
hook of the bar p is withdrawn from the lifting bars, and the hook of the barq
is brought over the lifting bar t. When in this situation the rising of the
lifting bars, effected in the ordinary manner, will elevate the right-hand end of
the lever Z, and thereby cause such portions of the harness to be raised as are
connected by the tie required to the right-hand harness levers u, but in the
event of there being no peg in that part of the barrel I which strikes against
the upright spring n, the positions of the hook bars p and q will remain as
shewn in the Drawing, and the lifting of the bars s and t will then raise the
left-hand end of the lever Z, and through the harness lever v elevate other
portions of the harness.
The barrel shewn longitudinally at Fig. 9 is presumed to be pegged to
produce a change of three ties, and in this Figure only two of the upright
springs n are shewn operating, the springs being placed so far apart that the
spaces of two pegs may always lie between them. Now, let it be supposed

page_text: (the whole series of springs n being attached) that the three-twilled tie before
mentioned pegged upon the barrel is in operation acting against the springs, I
now desire to shift the barrel so as to produce a tabby tie. This I effect by
means of an endless cord w, w, passed over two grooved pullies (see Fig. 8),
upon which cord I place knots at certain intervals. This cord is made to
travel by a toothed wheel a upon the axle of the lower pulley taking into a
worm upon the crank shaft. Near the barrel a stud set into the frame of the
castle carries a couple of levers y, z, the latter of which is much thinner
than the. former. These levers are shewn detached at Fig. 10, and in
horizontal view at Fig. 11. In the latter of these Figures it will be perceived
that near the ends of the shorter arms of the levers there are narrow slotted
holes with open round terminations made for the passage of the cord w. Now
as the cord w travels through the long slot, a knot coming against the upper
side of the thin lever z will cause the shorter arm of that lever to be depressed,
as shewn by the dotted lines in Fig. 10, and the longer arm to be raised from
the step of the barrel marked (1) Figures 9 and 10. This rising of the lever
zenables the barrel with its axle to slide a distance equal to the thickness of
the lever, the barrel being drawn laterally by a weighted cord, as shewn in
Fig. 9. The descent of the shorter arm of the lever causes the knot of the
cord to slide toward the end of the slot when the knot slips through the
circular hole, by which means the longer arm of the lever is allowed to fall
again on to the barrel, but from the sliding of the barrel the end of the lever
is now made to fall upon the step 2 of the barrel. The progress of the cord w
now brings the knot into contact with the shorter end of the lever y, and in a
similar way to the above lifts the longer arm ofy off the step (1). The barrel,
by the weighted cord attached to its axle, is now slidden a little further, but is
arrested by the lever z on the step 2, in which situation the pegs of the second
or tabby tie are brought to act upon the springs », and consequently the
harness is worked so as to produce that variety of weaving. The same opera-
tions go on again effected by other knots upon the cord w to produce a further
lateral movement of the barrel, which brings the pegs of the third tie into
operation. When the required amount of the third tie has been woven, the
weaver draws back the barrel to its former situation by the cord attached to
the right-hand end of the barrel shaft. If a longer pattern is required to be
woven than the periphery of the barrel can receive, I then employ an endless
band of pegs, às represented at Fig. 12, which, being placed upon a barrel as
shewn, is made to travel round as the cards of a jacquard machine.
I would further remark, that in order to move the picking sticks which

page_text: throw the shuttle a peg is to be placed in the barrel, which is to act upon
one of the upright springs n connected to the lifting motion.
The second head of the Invention, applying to the manufacture of such
tubes as engine hose, consists principally in the employment of a rod or bar, or
a series of rods or bars, as marked Lin the foregoing description, the object
being to enable me by repeated blows, in the absence of the shuttles, to beat
up the work very hard and open a clear shed, as explained under the first
head. The manner of adapting these rods or bars L, when a series of them
are employed, is to attach the short lengths of rods of wedge forms in a
horizontal coincident range, by means of arms descending from a guide rod
which extends across the loom beneath the upper part of the batten. These
tubes are to be woven as respects the tie in the ordinary manner, in cylindrical
forms in the way well understood, by which means I am enabled to produce a
closer woven fabric than could be obtained without my improved apparatus.
These tubular fabrics may be made with the threads or yarns coated with
gutta percha, in the manner about to be described, or with threads or yarns of
gutta percha introduced side by side with strands of other materials, and when
woven together may by heat be made impervious to water.
A is a
Sheet III. represents the method which I employ for covering the threads
or yarns. Fig. 1 is the elevation, and Fig. 2 ground plan, of same.
standard, supporting bobbins whereon the yarns are wound; B is a trough,
containing gutta percha in a heated state, having a double bottom and sides
to receive steam or other suitable heating material. Through the gutta
percha in this trough I conduct the threads or yarns under and over guide
rollers, and after their having passed out of the trough they severally proceed
through openings, intended to act as scrapers to remove any superfluous
quantity of the material from each yarn. When this has been done the yarns
are to be drawn through cold water for the purpose of cooling, and then they
may be wound on bobbins for use.
The third part of the Invention consists chiefly in the adaptation of the
before-described figuring barrel and its attendant machinery for weaving sacks
or bags. The loom is fitted up with an ordinary double shuttle box in the
usual manner: Upon the top of the loom is to be placed the castle, as
described, that is, the arrangement to effect the necessary ties for producing
the sack at one operation in the loom, by the employment of the shifting
barrel with three steps or gradations and three series of pegs. Supposing the
lips of the sack to be the first part to be woven then the two shuttles act
alternately; and when a sufficient length is produced to form the lips of the
sack, the knotted cord acts upon the levers, as described, and by the sliding of

page_text: the barrel brings the next tie into operation, which is suited to weave the body-
of the sack, the shuttle box having fallen, one shuttle only is in this case in
action; a sufficient quantity for the body of the sack having been thus woven
on to the lips, the weaver stops the loom and introduces a much stronger yarn
into the shuttle for weaving the bottom of the sack. When a sufficient
quantity to form the bottom of the sack has been woven on to the body, other
knots on the endless cord come into operation and raise the levers, as before,
thereby shifting the barrel, for the purpose of bringing on a tie that will sew
up the bottom. It is unnecessary for me to be more explicit respecting the
tie, as the manner of arranging them is well known to practical weavers.
The fourth part of this Invention is applicable to the manufacture of belts
or bands for driving machinery, and consists, first, in passing strands of hemp,
flax, cotton, or other suitable textile material through heated gutta percha in
a trough, as described in reference to Sheet III., and after being cooled and
wound on bobbins they are woven with strands of gutta percha or with
threads covered with gutta percha, and after having been woven into bands or
sheets they are heated in a hot room to about two hundred degrees of
Fahrenheit, and then subjected to pressure between rollers, in order to bring
the substance into one mass. If woven in sheets they may be then cut into
widths of any required breadth suitable for driving machinery.
By these
means a material is produced which when employed for machine belts is
much cheaper and less likely to stretch than bands made of gutta percha
alone.
The fifth head of the Invention applies to the manufacture of ropes. I
take strands of hemp or other material and treat them as described in
reference to the second head of these improvements, shewn in Sheet III. of
the Drawings, and from the tank or bath of heated gutta percha I pass any
number of the coated strands required for the thickness of the rope in a
combined form and without further twisting in their heated state immediately
through a series of conical tubes C, C, C, in Figures 1 and 2 of Sheet III.
The end of the rope I then make fast to the axle or barrel of a crab D or
other winding machine, and by power draw the rope through the several
tubes. This series of tubes are to be progressively smaller from the com-
mencement, so as to press the rope into a more compact state as it proceeds;
and the superfluous liquid gutta percha, as the rope passes through the tubes,
falls down into receptacles below. I have found it desirable to apply heat to
the tubes during the operation, and for that purpose have adapted jets ofgas,
as shewn in the Drawing.
In the manufacture of twisted ropes I employ the yarns coated with gutta

page_text: percha, and after coating them twist the several strands together in the
ordinary way of making ropes, and then having heated the twisted rope to
a temperature of about two hundred degrees in a hot room, I draw the rope
through a conical tube for the pressure of compressing the materials and
bringing them into a more compact body.
I claim, first, in reference to a loom, the employment of the wedge-formed
rod of wood or metal, and the mode of passing it between the warps by
mechanical means, so as to drive up the weft, and form a clear shed, by the
action of the batten in the way described, and also the mode of shortening
the stroke of the batten in order to allow the wedge-formed rod to be beaten
up only to that distance where the weft is desired to go.
Secondly, the method of introducing in a similar manner by power rods or
bars of wedge forms to weave one or more tubes simultaneously, which tubes
may be made in combination or not with the gutta percha in the way before
described.
Thirdly, the manufacture of sacks in the peculiar way described, by which
the bottom of the sack is made stronger than the other parts, and the lips
woven by the introduction of two shuttles, the sacks being made perfect in
the loom by these means, and only requiring to be separated.
Fourthly, the improved manufacture of driving bauds in the way described.
And, fifthly, the improved mode of manufacturing ropes, as explained
above.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Beale Browne, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.
THOMAS BEALE (L.s.) BROWNE.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-ninth day of December,
in the year of our Lord 1849, the aforesaid Thomas Beale Browne came
before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,
in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-ninth day of December, in the year of our Lord