CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR HECKLING FLAX AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Lowry, of Salford, in the County of
Lancaster, Machinist, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR HECKLING FLAX AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS."
Sealed the 9th July 1858, and dated the 11th May 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Lowry at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th
May 1858.
I, GEORGE LOWRY, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Machinist, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR HECKLING FLAX AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS," to be as
follows:-
The nature of my Invention consists in supporting the troughs of heckling
machines, along which the strick holders are traversed by links suspended to
the framing; these links have a vibrating motion imparted to them by a cam
acting on a system of levers, one of which is connected to one of the links to
which the trough is suspended, and this vibrating motion imparts simultaneously
a longitudinal and an up-and-down motion to the trough; the strick holders
are traversed along the machine by the lateral motion of the trough in one
direction, and they are prevented returning when the trough moves in the

page_text: contrary direction by catches jointed to a rail, moving up and down with the
trough. By this means the side bars, excentrics, and other parts connected
therewith are dispensed with.
My Invention consists also in connecting strick holders together so as to
form endless chains; the fibrous material is taken hold of by the strick holders
at the feeding end of the machine, and on entering between the trough the
parts of the strick holders are pressed together to retain the fibrous material
while being heckled by springs or other agents. The fibrous material is
liberated at the delivering end of the machine by the opening of the strick
holders, or by placing two heckling machines alongside of each other; the
strick of fibrous material may be reversed and then passed through the second
machine to dress the other end, thereby completing the operation of dressing
both ends of the strick.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Lowry in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th
November 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
LOWRY, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Пerself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George Lowry, Her special licenco that I, the said George Lowry, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Lowry, 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
HECKLING FLAX AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said George Lowry, 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 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Lowry, 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
(that is to say)
The nature of my Invention consists, first, in suspending or supporting the
troughs of heckling machines (along which the strick holders are traversed)
by links or levers, to which vibrating motion is imparted by any suitable
mechanism; this vibrating motion imparts simultaneously the requisite longi-
tudinal and up-and-down motion to the trough and strick holders.
Secondly, in an improved combination of parts for traversing the strick
holders along the heckling machine.
And, thirdly, in an improved mode of combining two heckling machines or
two series of heckles or combs with suitable mechanism, by which the stricks
of flax or other fibrous materials, after being heckled at one end in passing
through the first machine or series of heckles, are liberated, then reversed,
and then taken through the second machine or series of beckles, by which the
other ends of the stricks are heckled.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me, reference
being had to the accompanying 3 Sheets of Drawings, and to the figures
and letters marked thereon.
On Sheet 1, Figure 1 is an end view of a heckling machine, to which one
mode of constructing the first and second of my present improvements are applied;
Figure is a side view of the same. a, a, are the belts, sheets, or chains to
which the heckle bars b, b, see Figure 2, are attached; these belts, sheets, or
chains pass over the small top rollers or drums c, c, and under the large drums
d, d; ff, are the guides for the heckle bars. The bearings in which the
drums c revolve are made to approach and recede from each other by the
excentric m, the lever m', the connecting link m³, the lever m', the shaft m³,
elbow lever me, and the links connected therewith, as shewn in the Drawing.
The parts above enumerated, and all the others requisite to complete tho
machine, but which are not particularly referred to hereafter, are made in tho
usual manner, or according to the improvements secured to me by former
Letters Patent.
The trough i, instead of being supported in side bars, as heretofore customary,
is suspended to the levers a, a, which vibrate on the shafts a, ; these levers
are made to vibrate so as to impart the requisite longitudinal and up-and-
down motion to the trough i, by the excentric a, which is fixed to the cross
shaft ; this excentric acts on a bowl projecting from the lever y, to which is

page_text: C
connected the upper end of the link y', the lower end of which is jointed to
the lever y, which is fixed to the same shaft as the lever y³, the upper
end of which is connected to one of the levers a by the link y', as seen best in
Figure 2. By thus suspending the trough in the levers a, a, every revolution
of the excentric a³ causes the trough to move longitudinally and vertically; or
from the position in which it is shewn in full lines to that indicated by dotted
lines in Figure 2. The springs are attached to the front pair of levers x,
and bear against the under side of the framing; their object is to assist in
counterbalancing the weight of the trough i. The longitudinal motion of the
trough causes the strick holders, which are fed in by hand at A in the usual
manner, to traverse along the machine in the direction of the arrow, and the
apparatus for preventing the strick holders returning with the trough consists
of the bar or rail r, supported by the bridles s³, in which the studs of the
rollers s¹ are fixed; these rollers bear on the edges of the trough and against
the sile frames of the machine, thus preventing the lateral motion of the rail
r, but allowing it to rise and fall in the trough i; to the bar are binged the
retaining catches s, s. The strick holders g have studs, which slip under the
catches s, when the trough is moving longitudinally; but these catches falling
on to the studs, as shewn in the Drawing, when the trough is at the extent of
its traverse, prevent the return of the strick holders when the trough returns.
By means of these improvements the side bars and excentrics for moving the
trough up and down the machinery for traversing the strick holders and the
weights for counterbalancing the trough and strick holders are dispensed
with, thereby considerably simplifying the machine and reducing its height.
On Sheet 2, Figure 3, is an end view, and Figure 4 a side view of a heckling
machine, to which another combination of machinery is applied for imparting
the longitudinal as well as the up-and-down motion to the trough i. Many
of the parts of this machine, being similar to those described in reference to
Figures 1 and 2, are marked with corresponding letters of reference.
The trough in this instance is suspended to the levers a fixed on the shafts
al; these levers are made to vibrate, so as to impart the requisite longitudinal
and up-and-down motion to the trough by means of the excentrica on the
shaft ; this excentric acts on a bowl projecting from the lever y, to which
is connected the lower end of the link y', the upper end whereof is jointed to
the lever y; this lever is fixed to the same shaft as the levers y, which is con-
nected to the lever y' by the link y. The lever y' is fixed to one of the shafts
are fixed, are connected by
; the shafts a, to which the suspending levers
the levers, vertical links ¹, and horizontal link ; to this latter are fixed the
weights, the object of which is to counterbalance the trough i, when it has

page_text: been moved longitudinally. The apparatus for preventing the strick holders
returning with the trough is similar to that shewn in Figures 1 and 2. The
bearings of the upper roller shafts c, c, are moved laterally by a cam similar
to that shewn in Figure 1, by the link m³, lever m', shaft m³, and levers m",
as clearly shewn in Figure 3. The Drawing represents the trough i down
and the lever y up; as soon as the highest point of the excentric a acts on the
bowl of the lever y, the trough i assumes the position indicated by the dotted
lines in Figure 4, that is to say, it is moved longitudinally a sufficient distance
to traverse the strick holders g towards the delivering end of the machine, and
at the same time it is raised so as to draw the stricks of fibrous materials
upwards from the heckles.
The bands D¹ and
On Sheet 3, Figure 5 is a plan of two heckling machines, illustrating the
mode of carrying the third of my improvements into practical operation;
Figure 6 is an elevation of the same. In these views, B, B, B', B', are
endless chains of strick holders passing around the drums C, C, C', C'; D, D,
are endless bands passing around the drums E, E; the stricks of flax or other
fibrous material to be heckled are held between the bands D, D, which are
pressed together by the springs F, F, acting on the frames G, G, which are
furnished with rollers II, II; these strick holders, drums, and bands are con-
structed in any convenient manner, as they form no part of my Invention.
The endless band D' passes between the strick holders B', B', and around the
drums E, E, E³, E, I, and J; The band D, also passes between the strick
holders B', and around the drums E, E, E J, K, and L.
1, are twisted between the drums J and E. The mode of operation is as
follows:-The stricks are fed into the first machine or series of heckles between
the bands D, D, at M, and they are carried from the feeding to the delivering
end of this machine or series of heckles in the direction of the arrow, the lower
ends of the stricks being heckled during the traverse by heckles or combs
of the usual construction. When the stricks arrive at the delivering end of
the first machine or series of heckles, the lower ends thereof enter between
the bands D and D, passing around the drums I and K, and the stricks are
held both above and below until the upper ends are liberated by the bands
1, D, passing over the drums E, E; the stricks are then only held by the
lower ends or that part which has already been heckled in passing through the
first machine or series of heckles, and they are carried towards the second
machine or series of heckles by the bands D¹ and D, which being twisted
between the drums J and E* reverses the position of the strick's ends, and
consequently when they enter the second machine or series of beckles, the
position of the strick which was between the bands D, D, in going through the

page_text: first series is then presented to the action of the second series of heckles or
combs; by this means, when the stricks are liberated at N, both ends thereof
have been heckled, thereby effecting a considerable saving in manual labour.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention and described the manner
of performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself
to the details herein set forth, as the same may be considerably modified; but
what I do claim is,-
First, suspending or supporting the troughs of heckling machines in levers,
whereby the requisite longitudinal and up-and-down motion may be imparted
thereto, as described.
Secondly, the improved machinery for traversing the strick holders along
the troughs of heckling machines, as described.
And, lastly, the improved combination of machinery, shewn in Sheet 3, for
reversing the position of the stricks of flax or other fibrous material, whereby
both ends thereof may be heckled without letting go of the stricks.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Lowry, have hereto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-cight.