IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING HEALDS OR HARNESS USED IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edouard Pinchon and William Randal Harris, both
of Elbeuf, (France,) Merchants, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING HEALDS OR HARNESS USED IN LOOMS FOR
WEAVING."
Sealed the 24th December 1858, and dated the 26th June 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edouard Pinchon and
William Randal Harris at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 26th June 1858.
We, EDOUARD PINCHON and WILLIAM RANDAL HARRIS, both of Elbeuf,
(France,) Merchants, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING HEALDS OR HARNESS USED IN
LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
These improvements consist in a mechanical arrangement for forming the
tress that serves for fastening the healds to the centre or foundation cords;
the introduction in the tress at regular intervals of any suitable number of
healds; a mechanism which we call the take-up motion, the object of which
is to regulate the number of healds in any determined length; a mechanical
arrangement for stopping the motion of the machine when the twine or yarn,
that serves for making the healds, breaks or is finished. By this machine the
healds are made entirely without the aid of hand labour; the same consists of

page_text: a suitable cast-iron or other strong frame provided with a centre piece, round
which the eye or heald is formed, and two wires for receiving the harness or
healds as they are manufactured, which wires are situated in a vertical position,
and pass between the take-up cylinder shaft, receiving the harness as it
advances in the same direction in a continuous manner, and which harness or
healds are formed by means of two shuttles suitably connected with hooks
and needles supported in the frame and operated upon by suitable mechanical
parts.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edouard Pinchon and William Randal Harris in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 24th December 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, EDOUARD
PINCHON and WILLIAM RANDAL HARRIS, both of Elbeuf, France, Merchants,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Edouard Pinchon and William Randal Harris, Her special licence that
we, the said Edouard Pinchon and William Randal Harris, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Edouard Pinchon
and William Randal Harris, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING HEALDS OR HARNESS USED IN LOOMS
FOR WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Edouard
Pinchon and William Randal Harris, 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 Edouard Pinchon and William
Randal Harris, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in

page_text: what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement (that is to say) :-
:-
Our Invention consists of manufacturing healds or harness by self-acting
machinery or apparatus, and counting the healds as they are made, marking
the tokens, stopping the machine when any given number of healds are made,
when the heald twine spools become empty, when the twine becomes too
slack on the spools, or when it breaks, thus making the machine so useful
and perfect in its operation as to require very little attention on the part of
the operative, and enable one person to work several machines at the same
time.
First, we use two centre or foundation cords proceeding from stationary
spools, from which the cords are so arranged as to pass in a vertical manner
between the take-up cylinders at any required distance apart for making any
depth of heald or harness desired; each of the said cords are so arranged as
to allow a twine or yarn to be carried around them, and in contact with
hooks and needles operating so as to form the tress to hold the healds firmly
to the cords.
Secondly, we employ two fixed wires descending between the aforesaid
cords in a parallel direction, and between the cord cylinder shafts, to receive
the healds as delivered by the take-up motion or cylinders, and in the employ-
ment of a fixed centre piece, round the lower part of which are formed the
heald eyes or loops, through which the warp threads in the loom are intended
to pass.
Thirdly, we use a moving frame for carrying two heald twine boxes, and
a peculiar arrangement of mechanism to catch and hold properly the said
twine boxes as they are driven forward and backward in their respective
positions upon the frame.
The manner in which our said Invention is to be performed will be clearly
understood by reference to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings and the
letters of reference thereon.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of our improved machinery for manufacturing
healds or harness used in looms for weaving; Figs. 2 and 3, plans of the
same; Fig. 4, a transverse elevation, shewing the driving shaft and cor-
responding parts on the opposite side; Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8 are elevations of
the hook and needle, shewing their different positions when forming the loop
for fastening the healds; Figs. 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 are plans of the foun-
dation cords and the different positions of the needles during the formation
of the heald. The framework of the machine is represented at a, and the
driving shaft at b, on which is fixed the pinion c, geared into the toothed

page_text: wheel d, which is geared into a similar toothed wheel e, so that motion may
be given to the shafts f and g. The two foundation cords on which the
healds or harness are built are shewn at h and i, passing from spools through
tubular frames j, which can be adjusted according to the desired depth of
.the harness; the said cords are taken through the machine in a continuous
manner by means of the two pairs of take-up cylinders k on the shafts l, put
in motion by means of the wheels m and ratchet wheel n, which latter is
turned by the catch o, acted upon by the cam or tappet p on the shaft g; thus
the different reeds or counts are gauged by the varied velocities or speeds of
the take-up cylinders, which turn slower or faster in proportion to the number
of teeth in the ratchet wheel or in proportion to the number of teeth operated
upon at one time, so that we can obtain any number of healds to the inch or
any fractional parts thereof. and are two twines or yarns for fastening
the healds as they are formed to the foundation cords h and i, around which
cords the said twines or yarns are carried, and knitted fast by means of hooks
s and needles t, seen detached at Fig. 5, or the ordinary flexible hook, as
used in the circular stocking machine, may be adopted, but not with the same
advantage as our peculiar hooks. The twines q and rare carred round by
placing their spools on pins fixed to the toothed wheels u, the said pins being
placed out of the centre according to the throw required, motion being given
to the wheels by means of the bevil wheels v on the shaft w, communicating
by other bevil wheels on the shaft æ with the shaft f, the proper tension being
given to the said twines q and r by levers q pressing upon the spools, and
when the twines have passed the centres the slack is taken up by the elastic
springs. The two heald twines or yarns of which the healds are made are
shown at y and z, the said twines being carried through the boxes a¹, arranged
so as to deliver the twines from the tops of them; and in order to obtain the
necessary tightness of the healds, and also the proper tension of the twine in
working, so as to prevent straining, we employ two springs, one pressing on
the spool and another connected to an eyelet through which the twine passes,
so as to allow the unwinding of the twine without a sudden strain or jerk,
which might injure or break it; the said elastic spring also serves to take up
the slack, and so regulate the tension that it can never come in contact with
the twine boxes as they pass forwards and backwards. Another important
feature of the twine boxes is, that by delivering the twines from the tops
aided by the tension arrangement, they are prevented from riding upon o
coming in contact with the twines in their respective motions backwards and
forwards. Each twine box a¹ is furnished with a lever b' supported on the
twine box frame c¹, on which lever is a double lever catch d', for the purpose

page_text: of holding the twine boxes until they are required to be driven across the
machine, the action of which double catch by means of springs is so quick.
and the friction so light upon the twine boxes that the latter are certain in
their operation, and can never rebound. The twine box frame c¹ traverses to
and fro the required distance by causing a bowl or roller e¹ placed upon it
to be operated upon by an inclined slot f¹, made to traverse by connecting
it to a 'sliding shaft g', put in motion by a lever h¹, operated upon by a cam
wheel on the shaft f. When the twine box frame has been shifted to
the position required for the boxes to cross to and fro and form the heald, the
levers care raised by their inclined ends being struck by the tops of the
levers on the fulcrums m', which levers are operated upon by the cams n'
in connection with the springs o¹. The twine box frame c¹ carries three-
stopping levers p, q, r, against which the twines y and z press when there is
no deficiency of twine or when the latter is not broken. The levers p¹, q¹, r¹,
are pressed against by the twine when the twine box frame c¹ traverses
towards the starting and stopping handle s¹; the lever p¹ is pressed against at
each stroke of the twine box frame c', but the levers q' and are acted upon
alternately one after the other according to which side the twine box may be
placed, one lever being free while the other is acting, which alternate change
of position is caused by means of the compound levers t', which are connected
to a rod u, acted upon by a lever v¹ put in motion by the cam or tappet w¹.
When the twines do not press against the levers, the latter come in contact
shifting it out of its detent and
with slides x, which act upon the handle s',
stopping the machine.
When one leaf of the machine is finished, or when the desired quantity is
made, a pin on the counter y' comes in contact with a lever a¹, which is con-
nected by a rod or wire to a lever on the shaft 62, at the end of which is
another lever c, which turns over, and is forced by a spring against the
handle s', which is thereby forced out of its detent and stops the machine.
The tokening thread shewn at de is for marking and counting the healds as
they are made to any required number; the spool which carries the thread
is shifted to and fro to allow the required length to be knitted into the selvage
by placing it upon a slide operated upon by the lever e³, which is acted upon
by a projection on the ratchet wheel f, or by projections on one of the
wheels m, so as to mark by length instead of number. The thread g³ is
merely to follow through the centre of the eyes of the healds as manufactured,
and remaining thus for other purposes as required in the finishing and
varnishing operations, which take place when the heald is taken from the
machine.

page_text: In Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8, shewing one of the needles and hooks in their
different positions, s is the hook, and t the needle; and in the Plans shewn in
Figs. 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13, h and i are the foundation cords; h² and ², the
receiving wires; l², m², n², o², p, and q, guiding needles; and, a centre
piece, around which the eyes of the healds are formed.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-The foundation cords h and i
being adjusted to the desired depth of the healds, and the twines q and being
fastened to them, as seen at he, Fig. 5, the machine is then allowed to make
two or three revolutions, in order to form a few first loops, so as to prepare
them for properly fastening the heald twines y and z, which latter are then tied
together, and the pin in the counter wheel y¹ placed opposite the number on
the dial indicating the number of healds forming one leaf. The machine
having been put in motion, and made part of a revolution, the heald twines y
and from the twine boxes are as they appear in Fig. 9, the thread y being
knitted to the foundation cord h, and then passing on the needle to the centre
piece, for the purpose of forming the topping part of the heald, the twine z
having at the same time passed round the foundation cord i ready to be
knitted.
y
Fig. 10 shews the relative positions of the same parts as the machine con-
tinues in its motion. In this position it will be seen that the twine has
extended its course and passed the receiving wire h², and afterwards crossed
the outside of the foundation cord h, so as to be acted upon by the hook and
needle shewn in Fig. 5, the combined movements.of which, in connection with
the rotary action of the fastening twine q, knits the heald twine to the foun-
dation cord h. At the same time the twine z has passed from the position shewn
in Fig. 9 on to the guiding needle n³, and then under the raised portion of
the twine y, the latter having been raised by the guiding needle ; the
twine ¹, as seen at 22, then passes on to the guiding needle m², and over its
own twine, as seen at 3, after which the guiding needles m² and n vibrate to
the positions as seen in Fig. 11, carrying the twine z to the position as seen at
; but previous to the twine z coming into the position as seen at the
guiding needle 02 is raised and vibrated to the position as seen in Fig. 11
then, when the twine is in the position as seen at ; the guiding needle n
being raised, the twinez, as seen at 4, passes under its own twine in the
direction as seen at 2, about which time the guiding needle o descends, and
when the twine is in the position as seen at 2, then the guiding needle o
returns to its position, as seen in Fig. 12; but in the meantime the guiding
needle m has left the twine, which is then carried to the position 26, thus
forming the knot not only round its own twine, but round the guiding needle

page_text: or point o. As the twine is being passed from the position 2 to the position
2, Fig. 13, the guiding needles n³ and m² return near the centre piece;
the guiding needle n' has then left the twine, thus leaving the knot perfectly
tightened round the guiding needle o; and if we wish to tighten the knot
still more, we can do so by means of the guiding needles p³ and q³, used more
especially for the double knot, and operating so to tighten after the guiding
needle o has left the knot, thus leaving the eye or ring perfectly formed round
the centre piece r, the guiding needle o³, according to its position with the
centre piece, regulating the size of the eye or ring of the heald. During the
operation or movement of the twine z from the point 20, Fig. 12, to the point 27,
Fig. 18, the twine y has returned from the position y¹ in Fig. 12 to the
position y³, Fig. 13. In the meantime the twinez has passed under the
raised portion of the twine y, and on or against the guiding needle m³, thus
commencing the formation of a second heald, which operation is continued
until the required number is formed. The said healds pass from the vertical
to the inclined parts of the receiving wires at the lower part of the machine,
the ends of the wires being apart or open, so as to be able to hold the heald
sticks upon which the leaf of healds is slipped during the working of the
machine.
Having described the different positions of the heald twines during the
manufacture of the healds, obtained by the motion of the twine box frame in
connection with the passage of the boxes from one side to the other, and also
in connection with the motions of the hooks and needles and guiding needles,
we will now describe how those motions are obtained. Each hooks and
needle t slide side by side with each other, but capable of having a certain
defined motion, the one independent of the other, so that the hook may be
apart from the point of the needle, as seen in Fig. 5, or closed upon it, as
seen in Fig. 6, the motion being given by means of the cams and the
levers t³. The heald twine y and fastening twine 9 are shewn at Fig. 5, in
the positions ready to be caught by the hook in its descent, the said twines
having been caught and the hook closed into the needle when in the position
Fig. 6. The needle and hook afterwards descend, pulling the twines through
the loops before made, as seen in Fig. 7. The hook and needle are then
rising for receiving the last loop, as seen in Fig. 8, ready for repeating the
aforesaid operation. The guiding needles m² and n² receive their vibrating
motion by placing on the shaftf the cam a³, which operates upon the levers ³,
connected at the top to the slide c³, to which the needles are attached; their
vertical motion being given by the cams d³ operating upon the levers e³, con-
nected by arms or rods with the aforesaid needles. The guiding needle *

page_text: receives its motion by placing on the shaft f the cam f, which operates upor
the lever g³, which is connected with the needle. The guiding needle o' is
acted upon by fixing on the shaft x a cam h³, which raises the lever k³, and
vibrates the lever 1, which levers are connected with the needle o, thus giving
it a rising and vibrating motion.
The aforesaid arrangements are peculiarly adapted for single knotted healds.
When double knotted healds are required, the guiding needles m² and n
vibrate the same as before described by rise and fall at different times, and
the needle m³ seen in Fig. 1, assisting in the formation of the knot, the said
needle has only a rising and falling motion received from the cam n³ on the
shaft x, by means of the levers 0³.
The guiding needles p2 and 2 shewn in Fig. 13 serve for tightening the
knots when required, having a rising and falling motion only given by cams p³
on the shafts f and g, in connection with the levers 93, which guiding needles
in their operation press the twines against the slides 2, Fig. 1. Where the
camis before described do not give the required motion both ways, springs or
weights are employed in connection with them.
We do not confine ourselves to the before described modes of forming
healds with single and double knots, which leave the two ends of the twine s
leading from the knotted side of the eye or ring to the foundation cords, both
on the same or opposite sides of the receiving wires, the manufacture of which
requires the cams so formed as to form two healds in one revolution, but
would also form the healds so as to allow the said ends to pass one on one
side and the other on the other side of the said receiving wires, thus forming
what is termed the heald without the lease. We also form the looped
heald which only requires the operation of the guiding needle in connection
with a less number of motions of the twine boxes, but at the same time
employing the hooks and needles for fastening the healds to the foundation
cords, as before described.
Having thus fully described the nature of our said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, we desire it to be distinctly
understood that we do not confine ourselves to the precise details herein set
forth, as such may be varied or modified without departing from the principle
thereof; but we claim as our Invention, and which to the best of our knowledge
and belief has not been hitherto used within the realm,-
Firstly, the employment of two foundation cords with two fastening cords
and two heald twines so combined and arranged as to knit in a continuous
manner any depth. of heald, and any number to the inch required.
Secondly, the employment of a tokening thread so combined and arranged

page_text: as to mark the token by two inches for any measurement desired, or by any
number of healds.
Thirdly, the employment of a thread so arranged as to follow in the centre
of the eyes or rings of the healds as they are being formed by the machine.
Fourthly, the employment of a counter so combined and arranged as to stop
the machine whenever any desired number of healds is made.
Fifthly, the employment of stopping motions so combined and arranged as
to stop the machine whenever there is no twine on the heald twine spools,
when the twines become too slack, or when the twines break from any
defect.
Sixthly, the peculiar modes of obtaining a proper tension of the twine from
the heald twine spools, and also for the delivery of the twines from the tops
of the twine boxes.
Seventhly, the employment of combined hooks and needles for forming the
loops or stitches for fastening the healds.
Eighthly, the employment of a fixed centre piece in connection with receiving
wires and slides which govern the depth of the heald.
Ninthly, the mode of holding and disengaging the twine boxes by means of
light catches placed upon a lever.
And, tenthly, the arrangement and construction of machinery or apparatus
for manufacturing weavers' healds or harness, as herein described and illus-
trated in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Randal Harris, for and on
behalf of myself and the said Edouard Pinchon, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the within-
named William Randal Harris, in the
presence of
W. R. HARRIS. (L.S.)
JOHN BLOODWORTH, Patent Agent,
Manchester.