IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR HACKLING AND COMBING FLAX AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1851

page_text: MARSDEN, of Salford, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-second day of
November, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, in the fifteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Thomas Marsden, my exors, adiñiors, and assigns, Her especiel licence,
full power, sole privilege, and authority, that I, the said Thomas Marsden,
iny exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Marsden,
my exors, adiiors, 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
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Twown of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR HACKLING AND COMBING FLAX AND OTHER
FIBROUS MATERIALS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that
I, the said Thomas Marsden, shall cause a particular description of the nature
of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by
an Instrument in writing, under my hand and seal, to be enrolled in Her
said 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 Marsden, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is be performed, are fully described and ascer-
tained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letter marked thereon,
that is to say:
My Improvements in Machinery for Hackling and Combing Flax and other
Fibrous Substances consists in the application of more than one line of holders
to those machines in which the holder turns, so as to dress both sides of the
end of flax suspended from them over a single body of hackles moved in the
same direction by the same shaft or shafts, such additional line or lines of
holders to be raised from and lowered to the hackles, and to be turned over
them (to present alternately both sides of the end of the strike of flax) by the
same lifting and reversing or turning apparatus. Peter Carmichael, in his
Patent for One thousand eight hundred and forty-six, claims the application of
more than one line of holders and holder seats, and their appendages, to the
same body of hackles; but this would cause an increase in the size of the
machine and much complicated mechanism. The mode I adopt is so simple
that there is very little additional mechanism, and the advantage is very
great, as a machine occupying the same room will dress two or three times
the quantity of flax in the same time.
I shall now proceed to describe my mode of accomplishing the above object,
and would observe that the same letter points out the same object in each of
the following Figures. Figure 6 shews an end view of Carmichael's fixed
holder seat, and Figures 7 and 8 a front and section of an end view of his
revolving holder seat. It will be seen there is provision for one line of holders,
the holder seats being, when the hackles are operated on the flax, in one straight
but broken line. Figure 1 shews an end view of my fixed holder seats with
three lines of holders in, and Figures 3 and 4 shew a side view and the
section of my revolving holder seats, with arrangements for two lines of
holders. The plates D, from which the fixed and revolving holder seats are
suspended, are similar both in Carmichael's and my improved machine, and
the apparatus for lifting these plates and their appendages are similar, viz', by
cams and levers at each end of the machine (see Figures 1 and 6); the wheels,
also, for turning the revolving holder seats are similar, and are fixed to studs
working through a socket or bush fixed to the plates D, so that the line of
wheels on the upper or top part of the plates D, when moved round by means
of the apparatus for that purpose (see Figure 5), carry with them exactly in
a similar way both Carmichael's line of holder seats and my additional lines

page_text: also, my improvements consisting of so arranging the articles suspended from
these fixed plates D, that I can, when the fixed and revolving holder seats
are parallel with the lines of varying hackles, have more than one straight
but of course broken line of these fixed and revolving holder seats. I have
shewn two and three lines of holders, but do not limit myself to these, as more
might be attached if thought requisite. The various Figures will point out
clearly to any ordinary mechanic how I accomplish this object. The lifting
and reversing, and all other parts of the machine, are similar to Carmichael's
plan, which is now in general use and well understood. In Figure 1, I shew
the hackle bars guided by slides in their rotation, similar to what they are done
in Marsden and Robinson's intersecting slide machines.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which I carry the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not
confine myself to the precise details given, provided the puculiar character
of my Invention be retained; and what I claim as my Invention is, the appli-
cation of more than one line of holders, and fixed and revolving holder seats
alternately, or all revolving holder seats, to those machines in which the flax
is dressed at both sides of one end over a single body of hackles moved in the
same direction by the same shaft or shafts, such lines of holder seats, &c. to be
raised from and lowered to the hackles, and the holders turned or reversed by
the same lifting and reversing apparatus as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Marsden, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand cight hundred and fifty-two.