CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN HECKLING TUT
Year: 1854

page_text: Gentleman, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN HECKLING
TUT
Sealed the 20th June 1854, and dated the 4th April 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Brisco and Peter
Swires Horsman, at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 4th April 1854.
We, ROBERT BRISCO, of Low Mill House, in the Parish of Saint Bees,
in the County of Cumberland, Esquire, and PETER SWIRES HORSMAN, of the
Parish of Saint John's Beckermet, in the same County, Gentleman, do hereby.
declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
HECKLING MACHINERY" to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain modifications of machinery, whereby the
heckle bars are so arranged and actuated, that the lower heckles will enter
the flax or other material within the range of the next immediate upper
heckle, and carry off the tow produced by the upper heckle; also to certain
arrangements for clearing the tow from the heckles.

page_text: In one arrangement for effecting the intersection by the lower heckles of the
range of the upper heckles, the heckle bars are jointed to the forward extremities
of guide arms, which are actuated by means of crank pins projecting from
rotating discs or their equivalent. The amount of intersection is determined
by the length of the guide arms from their respective crank pins to the heckles.
In order to clear the heckles from tow, after they have passed through the flax,
and previous to the commencement of another stroke, the heckle bars are
caused to turn on their joint pins, and bring the heckle pins in a vertical line,
or nearly so, whereby in their backward movement they are brought into con-
nection with clearing brushes, which remove the tow therefrom. Any number
of these heckles may be arranged one above the other.
In order to effect in our recently patented heckle machine the desired inter-
section of the heckles, we crank the lower heckle bar and heckle (when two
vertical heckles only are used), and thereby the lower heckle will be enabled to
enter the flax within the range of the first heckle, and so cause the tow to be
carried through the strick of flax.
Our improved mode of clearing the heckles from tow consists in applying
brushes, or their equivalents, to the backs of heckle bars, which brushes, as the
heckles leave the flax, come into contact with the heckles immediately below
them, and take up the tow therefrom. A revolving sheet of card filletting is
so placed at the back of the heckles, that during the course of the traverse of
the heckles, the brushes will be brought in contact with the card filletting, which
will doff the tow therefrom.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed.
by the said Robert Brisco and Peter Swires Horsman in the Great Seal 2
Patent Office on the 4th October 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ROBERT
BRISCO, of Low Mill House, in the Parish of Saint Bees, in the County of
Cumberland, Esquire, and PETER SWIRES HORSMAN, of the Parish of Saint
John's Beckermet, in the same County, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
E

page_text: the said Robert Brisco and Peter Swires Horsman, Her special licence, that
we, the said Robert Brisco and Peter Swires Horsman, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Robert Brisco
and Peter Swires Horsman, 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
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN HECKLING MACHINERY," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said Robert Brisco and Peter Swires Horsman,
by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand
and seal of one of us, 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 we, the said Robert Brisco and Peter Swires
Horsman, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say)-
Our Invention of "Certain Improvements in Heckling Machinery" relates
to certain modifications of machinery, whereby the heckle bars are so
arranged and actuated, that the lower heckles will be made to enter the flax
or other material within the range of the next immediate upper heckle, and
carry off the tow produced by the upper heckle. Our Invention further relates
to certain improved arrangements of parts for clearing the tow from the
heckles.
In one arrangement for effecting the intersection by the lower heckles of the
range of the upper heckles, the heckle bars are jointed to the forward extre-
mities of guide arms, which are actuated by means of crank pins projecting
from rotating discs, or some other equivalent contrivance. The amount of
intersection is determined by the length of the guide arms from their respective
crank pins to the heckles.
In order to clear the heckles from tow after they have passed through the
flax, and previous to the commencement of another stroke, the heckle bars are
caused to turn on their joint pins, and bring the heckle pins in a vertical line,

page_text: or nearly so, whereby in their backward movement they are brought into con-
nection with clearing brushes, which remove the tow therefrom. Any number
of these heckles may be arranged one above the other.
In order to apply the present improvements to the heckle machine recently
patented by us, we effect this object (that is, the intersection of the heckles,) by
cranking the lower heckle bar and heckle (when two vertical heckles only are
used), and thereby the lower heckle will be enabled to enter the flax within the
range of the first heckle, and so cause the tow to be carried through the strick
of flax.
Our improved mode of clearing the heckles from tow consists in applying
brushes or other equivalent contrivances to the backs of the heckle bars, which
brushes, as the heckles leave the flax, come in contact with the heckles imme-
diately below them, and take up the tow therefrom.
A revolving sheet of card filletting is so placed at the back of the heckles,
that during the course of the traverse of the heckles, the brushes will be
brought in contact with the card filletting, which will doff the tow therefrom,
and remove it from the machine.
In order, however, that our present improvements may be fully understood,
we have shewn in the accompanying Drawings the best means with which we
are at present acquainted for carrying out our Invention, and applying the same
to existing and well-known machines.
Fig. 1, Sheet 1, represents the principal working parts of an arrangement
for effecting the intersection, or nearly so, of the range of the lower heckles
with the range of the upper heckles. The heckle bars a, a, are jointed to the
forward extremities of the guide arms b, b. The backward extremities of these
guide arms are suspended by means of links from the fixed studs p; these
guide arms are actuated by means of crank pins c, c, projecting from rotating
discs d, d, or other equivalent contrivances. The upper heckle bars are
attached by means of the connecting links e, e, and f, f, to the weighted
levers 9, 9, which turn upon centres or fulcrums at h, h; these levers are
actuated at suitable intervals by the cams i, i, mounted upon the shafts j, j;
and are rotary clearing brushes, which are made to rotate in contact
with the doffers m, m. The flax or other material is suspended as usual from
.the holder n.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-The flax having been placed
in the holders in the usual way, and suitable motion having been communi-
cated to the machine, the discs d, d, by means of the crank pins c, c, will force
forward the heckle bars a, a, causing the heckles to enter the flax, and the

page_text: points of such heckles to describe the motion shewn by the red lines in the
Drawing.
When the top heckles have arrived at the lowest part o of the Figures drawn
in red, the cam i, by means of the levers g, g, and connecting links e and f,
will cause the top heckles to assume the vertical or nearly vertical position, as
shewn in the Drawing, whereby they are brought within the range of the
rotary brushes k, which will remove the tow therefrom and deposit it upon the
doffer cylinders m, m, from which it may be removed in the usual way. After
the upper row of heckles has been cleaned by the brushes k, the cam i, by
continuing to rotate, will allow the weighted lever g to descend, and thus cause
the heckles to assume their former horizontal position. The lower guide bars
6*, *, are actuated by the crank pins of the discs d*, dx, and have their heckles
firmly attached to their forward extremities; these heckles, as they are with-
drawn from the flax, are brought into contact with the rotary brushes 1×, by
which means they are cleaned, and the tow removed therefrom is deposited
upon the doffer cylinders m, m.
Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the principal parts of a heckling machine,
constructed somewhat upon the plan of one for which we obtained a Patent,
dated on the Thirtieth day of September, One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-three, but with certain improvements adapted thereto.
The improvement consists in causing the lower range of heckles to intersect,
or nearly so, with the range of the upper heckles when two heckles only are
used, by which means the tow produced by the action of the upper heckles is
carried through the flax or other material. The manner in which this is
effected is shewn at Figures 2 and 4, in which a, a, are the heckle bars, which,
instead of being straight, like that shewn in the detached view, Fig. 3, and
described in the Specification of the Patent before named, are in this instance
cranked or bent, as shewn in the detached view, Fig. 4; but as the mode
of working these heckle bars is precisely the same as that described in the
before-named Specification, no further description will be here necessary.
The next part of our Invention consists in adapting clearing brushes or
other equivalent contrivances to the heckle bars, whereby the tow produced by
the action of the heckles is removed from the heckles, and the latter are thereby
kept clean. Fig. 5, Sheet II., represents a front view of a heckling machine,
similar to that for which Thomas Moore Evans obtained a Patent, Tenth
January, One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three; Fig. 6 is a sectional
view of the same, taken in the line 1, 2, of Fig. 5. This machine, as is well
known, consists of a number of heckle bars a, a, attached to vertical rods b, as

page_text: shewn in Fig. 5. These rods are actuated by the crank shafts c and d, above
and below, as will be well understood upon inspecting the Drawings. To the
back or other convenient part of the heckle bars a, a, are attached brushes or
other equivalent contrivances, by which, as the several heckle bars describe
the circuit of their motion, the heckles and the brushes are brought into con-
tact with each other, by which means the tow on the said heckles is removed
therefrom on to the brushes. When the heckle bars move back, the brushes
in their further progress come in contact with one of the endless doffing sheets
fand g, and will deposit thereon the tow that they have just removed from the
heckles; and as the doffing sheets revolve in the direction of the arrow, the tow
deposited thereon may be removed by a doffing comb or knife in the usual
manner. In this machine the flax is placed in the holder in the usual way;
but instead of moving horizontally through the machine, as is now done, we
cause the flax holder, with the flax or other material therein, gradually to de-
scend and ascend through the various vertical pairs of heckles, so that the flax
becomes gradually operated upon, whereby the strain upon the heckles and also
on the flax will be very much reduced, and the yield of the line greatly
increased. The number of horizontal sets of heckles, of varying degrees of
fineness, or, technically speaking, the number of "tools" in the machine may
be more or less, as in ordinary heckling machines. The vertical series of heckles
may also be made of varying degrees of fineness, as described in the Specification
of the Patent granted to us, before mentioned.
Having now described our various improvements in heckling machinery, and
the best means with which we are at present acquainted for carrying the same
into effect, we claim, in conclusion,-
First, the means above described, or any mere modification thereof, for
effecting the intersection of the heckles of the upper and lower range, whereby
the tow is carried through the strick of flax or other material.
Second, we claim causing the top heckles to assume a vertical or nearly
vertical position, in order to facilitate the operation of clearing.
Third, we claim cranking the lower heckle bar, as shewn in Fig. 4, whereby
the lower heckles may be caused to enter the flax within or nearly within the
range or line of motion of the top heckles, so as to carry the tow through the
strick of flax or other material.
Fourth, we claim the application to Evans' heckling machine of brushes, or
other equivalent contrivances, whereby each heckle as it comes out of the flax
may, by means of the brush attached to the immediate upper heckle bar, be
cleared of the tow..

page_text: We also claim the application generally of brushes or other similar or
nalogous contrivances to the heckle bars of heckling machines for the purpose
f removing the tow from the heckles while in operation.
In witness whereof, we, the said Robert Brisco and Peter Swires Horsman,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, the Twenty-eighth day of Sep-
tember, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-four.
0 Witness,
J. CLARKE.
ROBERT BRISCO.
(L.S.)
PETER SWIRES HORSMAN. (L.S.)