IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVING RIBBONS AND OTHER NARROW FABRICS, AND IN LOOMS AND APPARATUS USED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH FOR THE MANU- FACTURE OF SUCH FABRICS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederic Condit, of Providence, Rhode Island, in
the United States of America, but at present residing at Queen's
Square, Bloomsbury, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVING RIBBONS AND OTHER NARROW FABRICS, AND
IN LOOMS AND APPARATUS USED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH FOR THE MANU-
FACTURE OF SUCH FABRICS."-Partly a communication from abroad by
Edward Pike Chapin, residing at Providence, Rhode Island, in
the United States of America
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederic Condit at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 24th January 1874.
I, FREDERIC CONDIT, of Providence, Rhode Island, in the United
5 States of America, but at present residing at Queen's Square, Bloomsbury,
in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVING RIBBONS AND OTHER NARROW FABRICS,
AND IN LOOMS AND APPARATUS USED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH FOR THE MANU-
A

page_text: in the United States of America, and partly my own Invention, to be as
follows:-
This Invention consists of certain improvements in relation to weaving
ribbons, hatbands, tapes, and other narrow fabrics when the same are
woven in more than one piece or length at the same time, and in looms
and apparatus used for such purposes.
I should here observe that some particulars which are herein-after
mentioned have already formed the subject of an Invention for
"Improvements in Looms for Weaving," for which Letters Patent
bearing date the 14th day of May 1873, No. 1749, were granted to
Edward Primerose Howard Vaughan, as a communication from the said
Edward Pike Chapin, and which particulars it is not intended to claim as
forming part of the present Invention, although the same are described
herein for the purpose of shewing clearly the naturo and mode of
performance of the improvements which are the subjects of this Inven-
tion, and in conjunction with which they are used as
system.
"
66
"
one entire
In the ordinary mode of preparing the warps for weaving narrow
fabrics such as those before mentioned, the said warps are not thoroughly
picked, that is to say, all lumps taken out, crossed threads straightened,
or all thick, imperfect, broken, and missing threads pieced or replaced,
the warps being taken direct from the warping mill, and in due time
"skillet
passed through a
or "batteau," or "rathe having very
wide spaces (from four to twelve in an inch) in which a number of
threads collectively called " bièrs," half biers," or "portees" are put
together through a space and then wound upon the warp bobbin, the
warps being generally worked one by one all through these processes.
This mode of operation necessitates that the" picking "shall be effected
either while the threads are being wound from the spools to and upon
the warping mill, or while they are being "skilletted" upon the warp
bobbin, or else while the warps are in the loom, in which case the
weaver if he has no "picker up must stop his loom to go round to the
back and perform the picking up himself. This "picking up" as it is
called, while the warps are in the loom, is very tedious and laborious
work.
وو

page_text: As herein-after stated the warp bobbins in looms as at present
constructed are placed in a rack between a level of the harnesses and
the ceiling, the warps being brought vertically down through a "back
sley" and then under a roller, and so into the harnesses and reeds of the
looms. The "pickers up" are generally females, and they are obliged
to stand with the arms continually extended, much of the time reaching
upwards, a position which is frequently injurious and exhausting,
especially to females as they "pick" the silk, mend threads, remove thick
threads, and endeavour to clean the warps of all imperfections. In
order to reach sufficiently high they are obliged to stand upon stools
part of the time, and much time is lost in changing their position and
that of the stools, whilst under the system embraced by this Invention
all the time thus spent is saved and the work of picking mado
comparatively very light and neither injurious or exhausting.
Another evil resulting from the present system is that the warps are
generally wound around the warp bobbins, so that ridges are frequently
formed, and thus directly or indirectly cause what is technically known as
"portee rowed," or "striped work," or "cloth," which is frequently a
serious loss to the manufacturer.
The
To obviate these disadvantages I adopt the following system:-The
warps having been put upon the warping mill in the usual manner are
taken from it in twos, threes, or larger numbers, as may be desired (thus
saving time), and "balled," or put upon a "hand stick," or "hand roll,"
or bobbin, and if desired are then wound upon a large drum or cylinder
in the usual way, except that they go through this and other processes,
if desired more than one at a time, saving much additional time.
next step is the winding upon a beam or beams or straight rolls without
heads or flanges, but grooved at one or both ends for the reception of
weighted cords, the biers, half biers, or portees, being passed separately
through the spaces of a skillet, and the warps slightly separated, if
desired, from cach other. Pieces of paper or pasteboard, or cardboard, or
strawboard, or other suitable material, whilst the winding-on is being
done, are placed between some or all of the layers in order to prevent
ridging, and to make the threads lie smooth, even, and level. There
will now be one or more warps on the beam or on the smaller beams or
bobbins, which are sometimes used instead of one larger or longer
beam.

page_text: After the warps have been drawn through a long reed or through
shorter ones arranged in a line, one for each warp, if desired one or
more threads, as may be desirable, in cach dent or space, the beam or
bobbins is or are placed in a frame or in uprights in a proper position to
allow the warps to be rolled off, the beam or bobbins being held by
springs or weighted cords or other suitable and well-known means for
retarding the motion thereof, whilst still permitting the beam or bobbin
to revolve. The uprights or brackets are arranged and placed at such
a height as will best suit each picker who may either stand or sit whilo
at work. A piece of cloth is stretched at a proper height from the floor:
that the threads may be easily seen during the process of picking.
A rod or shaft preferably constructed of iron with one or more
feathers or raised portions running wholly or partially lengthwise (the
same being either permanently attached to the shaft or forming a part of
the same or temporarily or permanently inserted in a slot or slots, or in
a hole or holes therein) is placed in a frame or in uprights opposite the
before-mentioned beam or bobbins at a proper distance from the same,
and on such shaft are placed as many warp beams as there are warps on
the beam or bobbins opposite, each warp beam being intended to hold
one warp. These warp beams are straight rolls without flange or head,
but provided with a groove at one or both ends for the reception of a
weighted cord. Such bobbins however as have been heretofore used
may be employed if the same are of sufficient length. The said warp
beams or rolls or bobbins are bored and slotted or grooved lengthwise,
the bore and slot or slots or groove allowing the shaft and feather or
feathers to pass through, the feather or projections preventing the beam
from moving around the shaft, but allowing it readily to slide up and
down lengthwise so as to be placed in a proper position on the shaft.
The same results are attained by having the rod or shaft constructed of
a rectangular, hexagonal, or of any other than a circular section, the
hole through the beam or bobbin corresponding to it in form, thus
enabling the feather or projections or slots to be dispensed with when
desired. Or the shaft being constructed of a circular section the beams
or bobbins being properly bored, a rod is run through one or more of the
same, parallel with the shaft, which being held at the ends, and if desired
also at other points, by arms or projections from the shaft causes the
beams or bobbins to turn with the shaft. Or there is a temporary or
permanent lever or arm on the shaft or a projection from it from which

page_text: may be used for the set, and by means of the same the beams or bobbins
may be made to revolve. A stick or lever is sometimes used in
combination with the cord or cords to make the operation of the same
more easy.
The object of the several arrangements of parts and mechanism lastly
herein before described is to provide a means of turning two or more
warp beams or bobbins at one and the same time, when such beams or
bobbins have either temporarily or permanently fixed spindles or
gudgeons. The warp, beam, or bobbin is also slotted or grooved length-
wise on the outside. In this slot or groove a wire or piece of wood is
arranged to fit, the slot being if desired deep enough to admit the wire
or piece of wood even with the circumference of the beam or the barrel
of the bobbin. To the wire or stick is attached a piece of cloth, to
which in turn is fastened one end of the warp, a wire or small piece of
wood being run through the other end of the cloth if advisable to keep
it spread flat and smooth, and to which to fasten the end of the warp,
the object being to provide a means of fastening the warp to the beam
or bobbin as securely as is necessary without unnecessary waste or use
of warp, without large knots, and so as to permit the warp when secured
to be smoothly and evenly unwound. The said piece of cloth should be
of more than sufficient length to wrap round the beam or bobbin by its
pressure, holding the wire or piece of wood before mentioned firmly in
the slot or groove, and so as to allow the warp to be woven as close to
the eyes of the harness as may be desired; or the end of the piece of
cloth may be tacked or otherwise permanently fastened to the beam or
bobbin.
The end of cach warp being made fast to the end of a piece of cloth
as before mentioned, or to a beam or bobbin, two or more lease rods or
cross sticks are inserted in the warps in such a manner that each single
or double or triple thread has its own proper place separate from the
others, and the warps are then "drawn down" or wound upon the warp
beams or bobbins by the revolutions of the feathered shaft, which is
turned by hand or by power, and the beam or bobbins thereon, such
shaft being prevented from yielding to the pull of the weighted beam or
bobbins opposite when the power applied to turn the same is removed by
the action of its ratchet and catch.
The warps are guided on the warp beams or bobbins by the reed or
reeds before mentioned, and spread smoothly and evenly, thus avoiding

page_text: "
all tendency to make "portee rowed or "striped cloth," to which
under the old system there is a constant liability from the threads going
on to the bobbins in "biers," "half biers," or "portees."
While the before mentioned operations are being performed the warps
are picked," that is to say, the knots are cut down, lumps and im-
perfections removed, soft, split, or lost threads replaced, broken threads
mended, crooked and crossed threads straightened, and other imperfections
of the same character rectified.
In this improved mode of operation the threads, being kept individually
or in doubles or triplets separate by the reed or reeds and the lease rods,
the facilities for doing this rapidly and effectively are greater than by any
of the methods hitherto employed, while by thus cleaning, straightening,
and rendering complete and intact the different threads, greatly promoting
ease, simplicity, and rapidity of weaving when the warps are in the loom,
besides making an improved quality of work or article of manufacture.
One great advantage of this method of preparation is that all the
threads being carried through the whole warp perfectly straight, that
part of each warp nearest the end on the beam or bobbin commonly
called the "back end," or "last end," or "finishing end," will come off
just as straight as the other, and weave equally well, making it
advantageous to put two or more gross of yards of warp upon each beam
or bobbin whilst under the system hitherto in use, the warps even if but
seventy or eighty yards long sometimes get so crossed and tangled
towards the "last end" that the weaver can make but very slow
progress, and cases occur where the warps have to be cut out of the
looms before the end is reached at great loss to themanufacturer.
As it is well known that the less threads are handled the better, it is
obvious that another highly important advantage results from the warps
receiving so very much less handling under the system embraced by the
present Invention than under that hitherto used in all the different
stages. Apart from this being the case, in taking the warp from the
warping mill and skilleting, the two or more warps being no more
manipulated under the system embraced by this Invention than a single
warp under the old system, this is especially the case in the process
of "picking," in which operation the threads receive very little handling,
whilst by the old method simply the moving of the "back stay" up and
down, which the picker up is obliged to do in order to open and separate

page_text: the threads, the latter are often scraped and worn, seriously injuring
them, and causing them to break badly in weaving.
As the warps are being wound upon the beams or bobbins pieces of
paper, or pasteboard, or cardboard, or strawboard, or other suitable
material, are as before mentioned placed around the beams or bobbins
between some or all the layers of each warp in such a manner that the
warps are caused to maintain a smooth and even surface free from
ridges, and so that the different threads may come off as nearly as
possible uniformly tight. When taken from the frame or uprights the
lease of each warp is kept by the insertion of a lease band, and the warp
is then ready for the loom, or to be twisted into threads in harnesses.
In looms for weaving ribbons and other narrow fabrics, as ordinarily
constructed, the warp bobbins upon which the warps have been merely
" skilletted," an operation herein-before described, are placed in a creel
or rack between a level of the harnesses and the ceiling, the warps being
brought down passed through a back reed or slay, and under a roller to
the harnesses and reeds of the loom.
33 66
In order to secure simplicity and economy in the construction of the
loom the warp, creel, or rack, or "jack," topcastle," and back reed, or
slay are dispensed with, whilst the facility and ease of weaving are a
increased by preparing and placing each warp on a beam or on a bobbin,
as herein-before described.
When it is desired that the warps shall be put into the loom each
beam or bobbin is placed on a rod or shaft, which is supported by
suitable standards attached to the back rail of the loom (this back rail 2
being arranged to move up or down, so that the warps may be raised or
depressed as may be necessary, or the standard or bracket can be moved
up or down on the rail) and weighted in any suitable manner, the threads
of the warp being passed through lease rods or cross sticks directly from
the beams or bobbins to the harnesses and reeds of the loom; or the 3
warp beams or bobbins are set in a proper standard or bracket attached
to the back rail of the loom, the warp being carried over a roller which
is placed in the bracket or standard, and then through lease rods into
the harnesses, the object and use of the roller being to allow the warp
to enter the harnesses always at an uniform height, whether the warp
beams or bobbins be large or small, or full or nearly empty.

page_text: As another modification the warp beams or bobbins are set in a creel
or rack placed at the back of the loom between the level of the harness
eyes and floor (the rack overhead hitherto employed answering for this
purpose), the warps being carried up over a roller and through lease rods
into the harnesses or the warp beams, or bobbins are placed in a standard
or bracket, and the warps carried under a roller or rod and then into the
harnesses.
The advantage of running the warps over a roller, instead of under it,
is that the broken threads which are not in the lease rods may be found
more readily, whilst by using lease rods or cross sticks in either of the
before-mentioned arrangements the single, double, or triple threads
being kept separate, each thread having its own proper place, the same
may be much more easily and quickly found when broken than under
the old system.
In weaving ribbons, hatbands, and some other narrow fabrics the
threads for the edges or selvedges are placed upon bobbins by themselves,
and ordinarily also these edges are warped upon a warping mill, taken
off upon a
"hand stick" or "hand roll," and from that put upon a
bobbin.
By the present Invention I construct and arrange a machine for
winding edge bobbins direct from the spools on which tho threads come
from the winding engine, thus dispensing with two of the three usual
processes, causing the edges to come off much straighter than is possible
under the old system, and consequently to weave much better.
The edge bobbin is placed on a shaft prepared in the same manner as
the feathered shaft before mentioned, the bobbin being properly bored
and slotted for the same purpose as the warp beams before described, or
the bobbin is secured by springs or by a pin fitting into a hole in the
side of the bobbin. The shaft is turned by hand or power. Upon the
shaft is placed a cog wheel, which gears into one or more connecting
pinions and wheels in such a manner that the speed of the revolutions of
cach succeeding wheel or pinion shall be lessened, the object being finally
to cause one of the wheels to make but one revolution to a certain
number of revolutions of the feathered shaft or to a certain length of a
certain size of yarn or thread being put upon the bobbin.
The apparatus is provided with a pin and bell (as will be well under-
stood) to notify to the operator when the desired number of revolutions

page_text: have been made, or when a certain length of yarn or thread has been put
on the bobbin. One of the wheels is so arranged as to indicate the
number of revolutions the feathered shaft has made, or the length of
warp, yarn, or thread which has been put upon the bobbin.
Instead of using merely wheels and pinions a worm gear is sometimes
used in the feathered shaft. The object of using a pinion upon the shaft
is to render it possible to change it readily for one with a different number
of teeth, so that the proportionate number of revolutions of the shaft to
the wheels may be changed as may be deemed advisable.
The lastly described apparatus is applicable to warping thread or yarns
for making tapes, various kinds of ribbons, hatbands, and other narrow
fabrics direct from the spools as they come from the winding engine.
Another arrangement embraced by this Invention, which is not quite
so simple as that previously described, but much more accurate and
efficacious, is as follows:-The threads as they come from the spools in
the rack or creel are passed between rolls or cylinders, the latter being
by preference two in number, and also preferably resting one upon the
other so as to press the threads down upon the lower one, sufficient
friction being produced to cause the latter to revolve as the threads are
drawn through and wound upon the bobbin, which is on the feathered
shaft, as in the arrangement before described, the cylinders being covered
with india-rubber, or cloth, or other substance, if necessary, to prevent
slipping of threads. Upon the spindle or gudgeon of one of the rolls, by
preference of the lower one, although that of the other is sometimes
employed, is placed a worm or pinion which gears into connecting wheels
and pinions. One of such wheels is provided with a finger or a pin, by
which a bell is rung when a certain length of thread has gone over the
roll, or the finger is arranged to indicate upon a dial the length passed
over the cylinder or the number of revolutions made, as will be well
understood by persons conversant with such mechanism. Or for the
like purpose a galvanic, magnetic, or electro-magnetic battery or machine
is sometimes used, and the current being reversed, or the circuit being
broken or completed by the pin or finger coming in contact with a pin or
projection of metal, or being released from contact with it, and in com-
bination with a magnet or electro-magnet, or with slides, levers, or
weights, causing the machine to stop at a proper time or in combination
with a bell, which is by well known means caused to be rung when the

page_text: circuit is reversed, or broken, or completed, thus announcing that the
desired length has been put upon the beam or bobbin, or that the same is
emptied. The said rollers or cylinders are also sometimes connected with
each other by pinions or wheels attached to the same, or to the spindles
thereof respectively.
When a greater amount of friction is desired the rolls or cylinders are
fluted, grooved, or toothed, and gear into each other, whereby a greater
length of thread is exposed to pressure at one time than when plain or
smooth rolls or cylinders are used.
In order easily to raise the upper roll or cylinder from the lower one,
for the purpose of permitting the threads to be pieced or otherwise
manipulated, the spindle or gudgeon of such roll or cylinder run through
the end or head of the rod which plays up and down in eyes or guides, and
is raised by means of a cam or lever. The rod is by preference formed
of a rectangular section, as also are the holes in the guides, and thus the
rod is prevented from turning and bringing the cylinder down in
returning into a wrong position, or if the rod be constructed of a circular
section it has a projection thereon, which is capable of working in a slot
in the standard, or the roll or cylinder is raised by a lever from above,
or by arms or levers from below or behind.
In some cases one roll or cylinder is used, in which case the threads
wrap completely round it in order to obtain a sufficient amount of friction
to turn the cylinder. Or the threads are made to hug or bear upon the
cylinder for as great a portion of its circumference as desirable to secure
friction by being held as close as necessary to it upon going on, and upon
leaving it by rods or rollers before and behind, under which the threads
pass. The roll or cylinder, or rolls or cylinders, is or are in some cases
so arranged as to revolve in a vertical position in order to accomplish the
same results. After coming from the roll or cylinder or before going to
it the threads are passed through a "heck" (such as is used in warping
mills for dividing the threads and taking the lease), thereby affording a
ready and rapid means of taking the lease.
Inasmuch as it is sometimes desirable to avoid running the thread or
threads under or over or between rods or rollers, I sometimes adopt the
following arrangements for measuring the warp :-Upon an arm, upright,
or proper frame or standard the measuring roller is mounted. Tho
measuring roller is of any desired circumference, thickness, or width,

page_text: 5
and is kept in contact with the warp after it has been placed on the warp
beam or bobbin and caused to revolve by such contact as the warp beam
or bobbin is turned to wind on the warp. The arm, standard, frame, or
upright is hinged, or the whole or a portion of it made to move or yield
as the warp beam or bobbin is gradually filled, being kept in a proper
position by weights or springs, so as that the roller shall be caused to
press upon the warps whether the warp beam or bobbin be full or nearly
empty. This measuring roller has upon its side a pin or single tooth,
which takes into the cogs or teeth of a wheel, and so moves the said
wheel one tooth at each revolution of the measuring roller. The motion 1
of the wheel is communicated by suitable gearing to a pointer moving
on a dial or to a pin and bell, or such other apparatus as herein-before
described for notifying to the operator or stopping the machine.
When it is desired to put the warps upon a "hand stick" or hand
roll the shaft upon which the bobbins are usually placed under the 1
present Invention is removed, and the hand roll placed in suitable
sockets, and held tightly by springs, or set screws, or thumbscrews, and
revolved in the same manner as the shaft.
Inasmuch as the flanged bobbins now in use can be used in com-
bination with the pasteboards to advantage only by having the strips of 2
pasteboard or its substitutes narrower than the distance between the
flanges in order that they may be put in easily and may fall off of their
own weight as the warp is woven up, it follows that the flanges are of
no use in such combination, but in fact are detrimental.
By this Invention I convert these bobbins into straight beams or 2
bobbins at a cost much less than that of new solid straight beams in the
following manner:-A groove is cut on the inner side of the grooved
flange at a proper distance from the edge or circumference of the flange,
the groove being sunk as deep as desirable and at right angles to the said
inner side. The diameter of the other flange is next reduced until it 8
coincides with the smallest diameter of the grooved circle in the side of
the flange first named. A cylinder of several thicknesses of pasteboard,
or cardboard, or strawboard, or of sheet iron, zinc, or tin, the diameter of
which coincides with the diameter just mentioned, is then slipped over
the reduced flange and one edge placed in the groove, the other edge 3
reaching to the outer side of the reduced flange, and both being fastened
with glue, screws, nails, or by other means.. The cylinder being held

page_text: firmly in place, its edges supported by the flanges forms a new barrel,
and so provides a straight beam at a small expense.
.
As variations the following are practicable:-The inside corner of each
flange is cut out to form a groove, the two sides of which are at right
angles with the barrel of the bobbin and the side of the flange respec-
tively. A strip of pasteboard or sheet iron, or their substitute, is placed
around the flanges with an edge in cach groove and held as before.
mentioned by glue or by other methods, the ends joining or not as
desired. A space is sometimes left between the ends in which to place a
stick or cloth as described in the first part of this Specification; or the
ends of the pasteboard or sheet iron, or the substitute used, are bent
under in the form of a hook or letter V or letter U, and these ends being
drawn as close together as necessary screws or pins are driven through:
the flange into the hook and so hold the strips fast; or they are held
firmly by wire or cord placed around them; or the inside corner of one
of the flanges is cut out as described whilst the other flange is reduced,
or both are reduced so as to have a flat surface, and the strip or the com-
pleted cylinder is placed in them; or there is a groove cut into the side
of both flanges and a strip of pasteboard or sheet iron, or of some sub-
stitute, inserted in these grooves by means of an opening made from each
to the circumference of the flange.
as
Cloths are made fast as described, or have hooks to be inserted in
eyelets sunk into the pasteboard or its substitute, or by glucing or other
simple means. It being difficult to watch a large number of spools in a.
warping creel in order to see that all are revolving and that no threads are
broken, a part of the present Invention provides for such cases,
desired, a means of rendering the warper's work less and more expe-
ditious. For these cases the "heck" instead of being made as usual of
a number of eyes fastened to two plates, which move in grooves or slots
up and down, side by side, is somewhat changed for the purposes to be
described whilst still maintaining its regular office of providing a ready
means of taking the lease of the warp or of a portion of it. The eyes or
guides by this method are made to move up and down easily, either in
holes or slots through the plate or in grooves or slots on the outside of the
plate and move with a lever-like motion, or in any manner whereby they
can act easily and independently of each other, as will be well under-
stood by persons conversant with mechanism. The thread coming from
the spools is carried over a roller or rod, and cach single, and if desired

page_text: each double or triple thread passed through an eye or guide and then
carried over a second roller or rod.
In making warps of double or triple threads, unless the thread be
doubled two or three fold before going into the warping creel or rack,
the eyes of the heck are alternated in twos or threes instead of singly.
The eye, being between the two rollers or rods, is supported in a line
with them when the thread is tight; but when a thread breaks or a
spool becomes empty one end of the thread necessarily loses its tension,
and allows the eye and its shank to drop of their own weight. In
falling a portion of the eye or of its shank, or a projection thereon,
appears below the plate or below the other eyes, and at once indicates to
the warper the necessity of piecing a thread. The operator is thus
released from watching a number of spools occupying a considerable
space, and is only required to watch the eyes which are in a small
space. The shanks or eyes are numbered, and corresponding numbers
being upon the spools or upon the rack in suitable positions the warper
can see at a glance what thread to piece or what spool to replace. As it
is often desirable that the operator should have the attention called to
a break, and to be spared the necessity of watching the eyes or guides,
a lever is placed below or by the side thereof, and so balanced as to
maintain a certain position until the weight of an eye comes upon it in
falling when it descends, or tips and actuates a bell attached to it, or a
hammer attached to it sounds a bell or gives a signal to notify the fault
to the warper, and the necessity of rectifying it. A handle, knob, or
button properly attached to the lever serves to replace the same in its
position, and to restore the eye to its place, as will be well understood.
The above results are also attained as may be wished, or circum-
stances render desirable, by having the movement made an upward
movement by means of suitable springs or levers by having in either
case the eye or its shank operate upon a bell or signal by having each
eye or shank detach either directly or indirectly a spring, bolt, or catch,
or slide, and thus give a signal or cause the warping mill to ccase
revolving, or by using in connection with the mechanism a galvanic,
magnetic, or electro-magnetic battery or machine, and causing the
current to be reversed or the circuit broken or completed by the move-
ment of the eye or its shank or of a lever, and in combination with a
magnet or electro-magnet and rods, slides, levers, or weights causing the
warping mill to stop revolving, or in combination by a bell by well-

page_text: known means, causing the bell to be rung when the circuit is broken or
completed, or while it remains either broken or completed.
"
As the spools in their creel or rack occupy a much wider space than
it is desirable the "neck" shall take up it has hitherto been difficult to
make the latter short enough on account of the frequently great spread -
of the threads. If the eyes of the "heck were too close together,
when the front plate with its eyes were raised to make a shed for taking
the lease, the threads in the eyes of such plate being raised above the
eyes behind, would at once assume a straight line from the front eyes
to the spools, and would thus be apt to come down in an improper
place when the plate and its eyes were restored to their former
position.
In order to obviate the difficulty, and render possible the placing of
the eyes in a small space, the eyes, under the present Invention, instead
of being at or on one end of a piece of wood, wire, or glass, or other
material, are made or placed in or on the body of a piece of wood, wire,
glass, or other substance at a suitable distance from either end, the
object being to have a portion of such wood, wire, glass, or other
material stand upwards to a proper height above the hole or cyc through
which the thread passes for the purpose of preventing the threads from
leaving their proper places by slipping over the top of any cyc. Eyes of
this general form are applicable to any "heck" whether the eyes be fast
or moveable. The eyes of the rear plate are spread upon a longer
surface than the eyes of the front one to conform as far as possible to
the spread of the threads when desirable. Either in the case of eyes of
the old system or of those embraced by the present Invention being
employed a plate is placed behind the " heck," and between the same
and the spools, such plate having wires or glass rods standing upwards
from it, between which wires or rods the threads pass, or in slots cut in
the plate, the purpose of either of such arrangements being to gather in
the threads and conduct them to the eyes of the "heck," in parallel,
instead of in converging lines. In order to condiuct the thread from
the "heck" the same arrangements are used between the "heck" and
the warping mill, or the cylinders or the warping machine.
Another part of the present Invention relates to the arrangement of
harnesses and harness shafts used in looms employed for the manufacture
of such faluring ea before mentioned

page_text: Heretofore the harnesses have been arranged with certain distances
between them, side by side, on shafts placed at the top and bottom thereof,
and by which the same are spread and kept stretched, so that the
threads of the warp which pass through the eyes of the harness may be
kept seperate and kept raised or depressed to provide a proper shed for the
shuttle to pass through. It has however been found impossible with this
arrangement to remove any of the harnesses except those at the ends of
the shaft without damaging or destroying the piece which is removed, or
disturbing some of the other series, especially when the harnesses have
the threads of warps in their eyes.
Under this part of the present Invention each piece of harness is
provided with a shaft of its own at the top and bottom thereof, each of
which shafts is in turn attached, either temporarily or permanently, to a
longer or main shaft by means of cords, wire loops, hooks and eyes,
screws, bolts, or other suitable attachments for holding the small shafts
to the main shafts, so that the harnesses may be kept in a proper
position and properly stretched. The small shafts with their harnesses
are arranged side by side at proper distances, as may be desired, on the
longer shaft. By means of this arrangement a warp of cotton, silk, or
other material may be removed from the loom with its harnesses, leaso
rods, and reed without disturbing any of the other warps or harnesses,
so that when one or more warps is or are woven out, or is or required
to be removed for any purpose, another may be substituted if desired
without delay, beyond the time required to unfasten one set of harnesses
and put in another.
An important advantage resulting from the arrangement just
described is, that new warps may be twisted "in" or tied to threads
already in the harnesses while out of the loom, thus avoiding any delay
or stoppage of the loom to "draw in," "twist in," replace, or change
warps or harnesses, or to mend those badly broken.
The main shafts in the arrangements now being described are kept at
proper distances by means of "stretchers" between the same, as are
also the small shafts if desired..
In some cases it is desirable to keep the harnesses stretched while
out of the loom, in order that the eyes may not slip or get out of place
or shape. This is effected by inserting a picce of wood on each side
between the respective ends of the shafts, or a frame with springs

page_text: properly arranged to keep each pair of shafts and each pair of harnesses
stretched (as will be well understood) is employed to accomplish the
result with ease and rapidity.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Frederic Condit in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 24th July 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERIO
CONDIT, of Providence, Rhode Island, in the United States of America,
but at present residing at Coventry, in the County of Warwick, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in
the thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Frederic Condit, Her
special licence that I, the said Frederic Condit, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Frederic
Condit, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVING RIBBONS AND OTHER NARROW
FABRICS, AND IN LOOMS AND APPARATUS USED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH FOR THE
MANUFACTURE OF SUCH FABRICS," being partly a communication to me from
abroad by Edward Pike Chapin, residing at Providence, Rhode Island,
in the United States of America, and partly my own Invention, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Frederic Condit, 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 1, the said Frederic Condit, do hereby declare
the nature of the 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 :—
This Invention consists of certain improvements in relation to weaving
ribbons, hat bands, tapes, and other narrow fabrics when the same are
woven in more than one piece or length at the same time, and in looms
and apparatus used for such purposes.
I should here observe that some particulars which are herein-after
mentioned have already formed the subject of an Invention for "Im-
provements in Looms for Weaving" for which Letters Patent, bearing
date the Fourteenth day of May One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-three, No. 1749, were granted to Edward Primerose Howard
Vaughan as a communication from the said Edward Pike Chapin, and
which particulars it is not intended to claim as forming part of the
present Invention, although the same are described herein for the
purpose of shewing clearly the nature and mode of performance of the
improvements which are the subject of this Invention, and in conjunction
with which they are used as one entire system.
tr
"
In the ordinary mode of preparing the warps for weaving narrow
fabrics such as those before mentioned, the said warps are not thoroughly.
picked, that is to say, all lumps taken out, crossed threads straightened,
or all thick, broken, imperfect, and missing threads pieced or replaced,
the warps being taken direct from the warping mill and in due time
passed through a skillet," or "batteau," or " rathe having very
wide spaces (from four to twelve in an inch) in which a number of
threads collectively called "biers, "half biers," or "
"portees" are
put together through a space and then wound upon the warp bobbin,
the warps being generally worked one by one all through these processes.
This mode of operation necessitates that the "picking" shall be effected
either while the threads are being wound from the spools to and upon
the warping mill, or while they are being "skilletted" upon the warp
bobbin, or else while the warps are in the loom, in which case the
weaver, if he has no "picker up," must sometimes stop his loom to
go round to the back and perform the picking up himself. This "picking
up as it is called while the warps are in the loom is very tedious and
laborious work.
"

page_text: "
As herein-after stated the warp bobbins in looms as at present con-
structed are placed in a rack between a level of the harnesses and the
ceiling, the warps being brought vertically down through a "back
sley" and then under a roller, and so into the harnesses and reeds
of the looms. The "pickers up are generally "females," and they are
obliged to stand with the arms continually extended, much of the
time reaching upwards, a position which is frequently injurious and
exhausting, especially to females, as they "pick" the silk, mend threads,
remove thick threads, and endeavour to remedy all imperfections. In
order to reach sufficiently high they are obliged to stand upon stools
part of the time, and much time is lost in changing their position and
that of the stools, whilst under the system embraced by this Invention
all the time thus spent is saved, and the work of picking made com-
paratively very light, and neither injurious nor exhausting.
Another evil resulting from the present system is that the warps are
generally merely wound around the warp bobbins with nothing placed.
between the layers, so that ridges are frequently formed, and thus.
directly or indirectly cause what is technically known as "porteo
rowed," or "striped work, or cloth," which is frequently a serious
loss to the manufacturer.
"
To obviate these disadvantages I adopt the following system:-The
warps having been put upon the warping mill in the usual manner are
taken from it in twos, threes, or larger numbers, as may be desired (thus
saving time), and “balled,” or put upon a “hand stick," or
" hand roll,"
or bobbin, and if desired are then wound upon a
< drum or cylinder in
the usual way, except that they go through this and other processes, if
desired, more than one at a time, saving much additional time. The
next step is the winding upon a beam, or beams, or straight rolls without
heads or flanges, but grooved at one or both ends for the reception of
weighted cords, the biers, half biers, or portees being passed separately
through the spaces of a skillet, and the warps slightly separated if
desired from each other. Pieces of paper, or pasteboard, or cardboard,
or strawboard, or other suitable material, whilst the winding on is being,
done, are placed between some or all of the layers in order to prevent
ridging, and to make the threads lie smooth, even, and level. There
will now be one or more warps on the beam, or on the smaller beams
or bobbins which are sometimes used instead of one larger or longer
beam.

page_text: After the warps have been drawn through a long reed or through
shorter ones arranged in a line, one for each warp if desired, one or more
threads, as may be desirable in each dent or space, the beam or bobbins
is or are placed in a frame or in uprights in a proper position to allow
the warps to be rolled off, the beams or bobbins being held by springs or
weighted cords or other suitable and well-known means for retarding
the motion thereof whilst still permitting the beam or bobbin to revolve.
The uprights or brackets are arranged and placed at such a height as
will best suit each picker, who may either stand or sit while at work.
A piece of cloth is stretched at a proper height from the floor that the
threads may be casily seen during the process of picking.
A rod or shaft preferably constructed of iron, with one or more
feathers or raised portions running wholly or partially lengthwise (the
same being either permanently attached to the shaft or forming part
of it or temporarily or permanently inserted in a slot or slots or in a hole
or holes (therein) is placed in a frame or in uprights opposite the before-
mentioned beams or bobbins at a proper distance from the same, and on
such shaft are placed as many warp beams as there are warps on the
beams or bobbins opposite, each warp beam being intended to hold one
warp.
These warp beams are straight rolls without flange or head, but
provided with a groove at one or both ends for the reception of a
weighted cord. Such bobbins, however, as have been heretofore used
may be employed if the same are of sufficient length. The said warp
beams or rolls or bobbins are bored and slotted, or grooved lengthwise, the
bore and slot or slots or groove allowing the shaft and feather or feathers
to pass through, the feather or projections preventing the beam from
moving around the shaft, but allowing it readily to slide up and down
lengthwise, so as to be placed in a proper position on the shaft.
The same results are attained by having the rod or shaft constructed
of a rectangular, hexagonal, or of any other than a circular section, the
hole through the beam or bobbin corresponding to it in form, thus
enabling the feather or projections and slots to be dispensed with when
desired, or the shaft being constructed of a circular section, the beam or
bobbins being properly bored, a rod is run through one or more of the
same parallel with the shaft, which being held at the ends, and, if
desired, also at other points by arms or projections from the shaft,
causes the beams or bobbins to turn with the shaft, or there are
temporary or permanent levers or arms on the shaft or projections from

page_text: it from which pins run into the end of each beam or bobbin, or the
beams or bobbins are held tightly in place by the use of screws and
nuts on the shaft or by wedges driven into the shaft or between it and
the bobbins, or a wheel or disc is placed on the shaft between the beams
or bobbins with, if necessary, a proper ratchet and catch or a friction
clutch to make it hold to the shaft. From this wheel or disc pins or
nipples project into the ends of the beams or bobbins, and by turning
the wheels or discs the bobbins are made to revolve, or some or all of
the beams or bobbins have a geared or cogged wheel fastened to the
same temporarily or permanently, which is acted upon by a lever and
catch, or by another cogged wheel, or one or more cords with a weight
or spring attached to one or both ends thereof is or are placed around
one or more beams or bobbins, and by this means the same is or are
made to revolve. A stick or lever is sometimes used in combination
with a cord to make its operation more easy.
When the beam or bobbin or beams or bobbins is or are made fast to
the shafts, the cord or weight and spring, and, if necessary, the lever
also are used on the shaft to produce the same result, or if the beams or
bobbins have temporarily or permanently fixed spindles or gudgeons the
beams or bobbins are placed side by side, or nearly so, in frames,
standards, brackets, or uprights, in order that the warps may be side by
side. Upon each gudgeon or spindle, or on each beam or bobbin is a
ratchet or cogged wheel which gears into a ratchet or cogged wheel
upon a rod or shaft placed parallel to the line of beams or bobbins, so
that when the said rod or shaft is turned, whether by hand or power, the
wheels thereon will cause the beams or bobbins to revolve, or handles,
levers, or arms are arranged with catchos, or slides, or springs to catch
upon the ratchets or wheels, and to turn the beams or bobbins, or levers,
arms, or handles by means of a friction clutch or other equivalent or
analogous arrangement take hold of the heads or ends of the beams or
bobbins of the spindles or gudgeons, and cause them to turn, or the
spindles or gudgeons are coupled together end to end by sockets or other
suitable means so as to make them one continuous shaft, and are then
turned from one or both ends, or some other point, or a cord with a
weight or a spring at one or both ends is placed around each such spindle
or gudgeon, or around a portion of each beam or bobbin, or when two or
more beams or bobbins are coupled together or are arranged and desired
to be worked together one or more cords may be used for the set, and by.

page_text: means of the same the beams or bobbins may be made to revolve. A
stick or lever is sometimes used in combination with the cord or cords
to make the operation of the same more easy.
The object of the several arrangements of parts and mechanism
herein-before described is to provide a means of turning two or more
warp beams or bobbins at one and the same time, whether such beams
or bobbins have temporarily or permanently fixed spindles or gudgeons
or else are bored lengthwise as usual. The warp beam or bobbin is also
slotted or grooved lengthwise on the outside. In this slot or groove a
wire or piece of wood is arranged to fit, the slot being, if desired, deep
enough to admit the wire or piece of wood even with the circumference
of the beam or the barrel of the bobbin. To the wire or stick is
attached a piece of cloth, to which in turn is fastened one end of the
warp, a wire or small piece of wood being run through the other end of
the cloth, if advisable, to keep it spread flat and smooth, and to which
to fasten the end of the warp, the object being to provide a means of
fastening the warp to the beam or bobbin as securely as is necessary
without unnecessary waste or use of warp, without large knots, and so
as to permit the warp when secured to lie smoothly and evenly. The
said piece of cloth should be of more than sufficient length to wrap
round the beam or bobbin by its pressure holding the wire or pieco of
wood before mentioned firmly in the slot or groove, and so as to allow
the warp to be woven as close to the eyes of the harness as may be
desired, or the end of the piece of cloth is tacked or otherwise per-
manently fastened to the beam or bobbin.
The end of each warp being made fast to the end of a piece of cloth aș
before mentioned, or to a beam or bobbin, two or more lease rods or
cross sticks are inserted in the warps in such a manner that each single
or double or triple thread has its own proper place separate from the
others, and the warps are then "drawn down” or wound upon the warp
beams or bobbins by the revolutions of the feathered shaft which is
turned by hand or by power, and the beam or bobbins thereon, such
shaft being prevented from yielding to the pull of the weighted beam or
bobbins opposite when the power applied to turn the same is removed by
the action of its ratchet and catch.
The warps are guided on the warp beams or bobbins by the reed or
reeds before mentioned and spread smoothly and evenly, thus avoiding
all tendency to make "portec rowed" or "striped cloth" to which,

page_text: under the old system, there is a constant liability from the threads
going on to the bobbins in "biers, "half biers," or portees.
While the before mentioned operations are being performed the warps
are “picked," that is to say, the knots are cut down, lumps and
imperfections removed, soft, split, or lost threads replaced, broken
threads mended, crooked and crossed threads straightened, and other
imperfections of the same character rectified.
In this improved mode of operation the threads being kept individually
or in doubles or triplets separate by the reed or reeds and the lease rods,
the facilities for doing this rapidly and effectively are greater than
by any of the methods hitherto employed, while by thus cleaning,
straightening, and rendering complete and intact the different threads,
greatly promoting ease, simplicity, and rapidity of weaving when the
warps are in the loom, besides making an improved quality of work or
article of manufacture.
One great advantage of this method of preparation is that all the
threads being carried through the whole warp perfectly straight that
part of cach warp nearest the end on the beam or bobbin commonly
called the "back end" or last end" or "finishing end," will come off just
as straight as the other, and weave equally well, making it advantageous
to put two or more gross of yards of warp upon each beam or bobbin,
whilst under the system hitherto in use the warps, even if but seventy
or eighty yards long, sometimes get so crossed and tangled towards the
"last end" that the weaver can make but very slow progress, and cases
occur where the warps have to be cut out of the looms before the end
is reached at great loss to the manufacturer.
As it is well known that the less threads, and especially silk threads,
are handled the better, it is obvious that another highly important
advantage results from the warps receiving so very much less handling
under the system embraced by the present Invention than under that
hitherto used in all the different stages, apart from this being the case
in taking the warp from the warping mill and skilleting, the two or
more warps being no more manipulated under the system embraced by
this Invention than a single warp under the old system. This is
especially the case in the process of "picking," in which operation the
threads receive very little handling, whilst by the old method simply the
moving of the "back slay" up and down which the "picker up" is

page_text: obliged to do in order to open and separate the threads, the latter are
often scraped and worn, seriously injuring them and causing them to
break badly in weaving.
As the warps are being wound upon the beams or bobbins pieces of
paper or pasteboard or cardboard, or strawboard, or other suitable
material are as before mentioned placed around the beams or bobbins
between some or all the layers of each warp in such a manner that the
warps are caused to maintain a smooth and even surface, free from
ridges, and so that the different threads may come off as nearly as
possible uniformly tight, or the warp is guided on the beam or bobbin
by the reed no pasteboard or its substitute being used. An expanding
and contracting reed is used, if necessary, but more care is generally
required than when pasteboard is used to prevent ridging. When taken
from the frame or uprights the lease of cach warp is kept by the
insertion of a "lease band" and the warp is then ready for the loom.
-
In looms for weaving ribbons and other narrow fabrics as ordinarily
constructed, the warp bobbins upon which the warps have been merely
"skilletted," an operation herein-before described, are placed in a crcel or
rack between a level of the harnesses and the ceiling, the warps being
brought down, passed through a back reed or slay, and under a roller to
the harnesses and reeds of the loom.
In order to secure simplicity and economy in the construction of the
loom, the warp crecl, or rack, or "jack," "top castle," and back reed or
slay are dispensed with, whilst the facility and ease of weaving are
increased by preparing and placing each warp on a beam or on a bobbin
as herein-before described.
When it is desired that the warps shall be put into the loom each
beam or bobbin is placed on a rod or shaft, which is supported by
suitable standards attached to the back rail of the loom (this back rail
being arranged to move up or down so that the warps may be raised or
depressed as may be necessary, or the standard or bracket can be moved
up or down on the rail), and weighted in any suitable manner, the
threads of the warp being passed through lease rods or cross sticks
directly from the beams or bobbins to the harnesses and reeds of the
loom; or the warp beams or bobbins are set in a proper standard
or bracket attached to the back rail of the loom, the warp being carried
over a roller which is placed in the bracket or standard, and then

page_text: rolls or cylinders, the latter being by preference two in number, and also
preferably resting one upon the other so as to press the threads down
upon the lower one, sufficient friction being produced to cause the latter
to revolve as the threads are drawn through and wound upon the bobbin
which is on the feathered shaft, the cylinders being covered with india-
rubber or cloth, or other substance if necessary, to prevent slipping of
threads. Upon the spindle or gudgeon of one of the rolls, by preference
of the lower one, although that of the other is sometimes employed, is
placed a worm or pinion which gears into connecting wheels and pinions.
One of such wheels is provided with a finger or a pin, by which a bell is
rung when a certain length of thread has gone over the roll, or the
finger is arranged to indicate upon a dial the length passed over the
cylinder, or the number of revolutions made, as will be well understood
by persons conversant with such mechanism. Or for the like purpose a
galvanic, magnetic, or electro-magnetic battery or machine is sometimes
used, and the current being reversed, or the circuit broken or completed
by the pin, or finger coming in contact with a pin or projection or
portion of metal, or being released from contact with it, and in combi-
nation with a magnet or electro-magnet, or with slides, levers, or weights,
causing the machine to stop at a proper time, or in combination with a
bell, which is by well known means caused to be rung when the circuit
is reversed or broken or completed, thus announcing that the desired
length has been put upon the beam or bobbin or that the same is
emptied. The said rolls or cylinders are also sometimes connected with
each other by pinions or wheels attached to the same or to the spindles
thereof respectively.
When a greater amount of friction is desired the rolls or cylinders are
fluted, grooved, or toothed, and gear into each other, whereby a greater
length of thread is exposed to pressure at one time than when plain or
smooth rolls or cylinders are used.
In order easily to raise the upper roll or cylinder from the lower one
for the purpose of permitting the threads to be pieced or otherwise
manipulated during the process of picking, which is performed while the
winding on is being done, the spindle or gudgeon of such roll or cylinder
runs through the end or head of a rod which plays up and down
in eyes or guides and is raised by means of a cam or lever. The
rod is by preference formed of a rectangular section, as also are the
holes in the guides, and thus the rod is prevented from turning and

page_text: the rod be constructed of a circular section it has a projection thereon,
which is capable of working in a slot in the standard, or the roll or
cylinder is raised by a lever from above, or by arms or levers from below
or behind.
In some cases only one roll or cylinder is used, in which case the
threads warp completely round it in order to obtain a sufficient amount
of friction to turn the cylinder. Or the threads are made to hug or bear
upon the cylinder for as great a portion of its circumference as desirable,
to secure friction by being held as close as desirable to it upon going on,
and upon leaving it by rods or rollers before and behind, under which
the threads pass. The roll or cylinder, or rolls or cylinders, is or are in
some cases so arranged as to revolve in a vertical position in order to
accomplish the same results. After coming from the roll or cylinder, or
before going to it, the threads are passed through a "heck" (such as is
used in warping mills for dividing the threads and taking the lease),
thereby affording a ready and rapid means of taking the lease.
Inasmuch as it is sometimes desirable to avoid running a thread or
threads under or over, or between rods or rollers I sometimes adopt the
following arrangement for measuring the warp:-Upon an arm, upright
or proper frame, or standard, the measuring roller or wheel is mounted.
This measuring roller or wheel is of any desired circumference, thickness,
or width, and is kept in contact with the warp after it has been placed
on the warp beam or bobbin, and caused to revolve by such contact as
the warp beam or bobbin is turned to wind on the warp. The arm,
standard, frame, or upright is hinged, or the whole or a portion of it
made to move or yield as the warp beam or bobbin is gradually filled,
being kept in a proper position by weights or springs so as that the
roller shall be caused to press upon the
whether the
warps
beam or
bobbin be full or nearly empty. This measuring roller has upon its side
a pin or small tooth which plays into the cogs or teeth of a wheel, and
so moves the said wheel one tooth at each revolution of the measuring
roller. The motion of the wheel is communicated by suitable gearing to
a pointer moving on a dial, or to a pin and bell, or such other apparatus
as herein-before described, for notifying to the operator or stopping the
machine, or the pin is replaced by a gear or worm and communication
made in that way.
warp

page_text: When it is desirable to put the warps upon a "hand stick" or hand roll
the shaft upon which the bobbins are usually placed under the present
Invention is removed, and the hand roll placed in suitable sockets and
held tightly by spring or set screws or thumb screws, and revolved in
the same manner as the shaft.
It being difficult to watch a large number of spools in a warping
crcel in order to seo that all are revolving and that no threads are
broken, a part of the present Invention provides for such cases, as
desired, a means of rendering the warpers' work less difficult and more
expeditious. For these cases the "heck," instead of being made as
usual of a number of eyes fastened to two plates which move in grooves
or slots up and down, side by side, is somewhat changed for the purposes
to be described, whilst still maintaining its regular office of providing a
ready means of taking the lease of the warp or of a portion of it. The
eyes or guides, or pins by this method are made to move up and down
easily in holes through the plate, or in any manner whereby they can act
easily and independently of each other, as will be well understood by
persons conversant with mechanism. The thread coming from the
spools is carried over a roller or rod, and cach single, and if desired each
double or triple thread passed through an eye or guide and then carried
over a second roller or rod.
In making warps of double or triple threads, unless the thread be
doubled two or three fold before going into the warping crcel or rack,
the eyes or pins are alternated in twos or threes instead of singly.
The eye being between the two rollers or rods is supported in a line with
them when the thread is tight, but when a thread breaks or a spool
becomes empty one end of the thread necessarily loses its tension and
allows the eye and its shank to drop of their own weight. In falling a
portion of the pin or a projection therefrom appears below the plate, or
below the other eyes, and at once indicates to the warper the existence
of a fault. The operator is thus released from watching a number of
spools occupying considerable space, and is only required to watch the
eyes or pins which are in a small space. The pins or eyes are numbered,
and corresponding numbers being upon the spools or upon the rack in
suitable positions, the warper can see at a glance what thread to piece or a
what spool to replace. As it is often desirable that the operator should
have the attention called to a break and to be spared the necessity of
watching the eyes or guides, a lever is placed below or by the side.

page_text: thereof, and so balanced as to maintain a certain position until the
weight of an eye comes upon it in falling when it descends or tips
and actuates a bell attached to it, or a hammer attached to it sounds a
bell, or gives a sign to notify the warper. A handle, knob, or button
properly attached to the lever serves to replace the same in its position
and to restore the eye to its place, as will be well understood.
The above results are also attained as may be wished or circumstances
render desirable by having the movement made an upward movement
by means of suitable springs or levers, by having in either case the eye
or pin operate upon a bell or signal, by having each or any eye or pin
detach, either directly or indirectly, a spring, bolt, or catch, or slide, and
thus give a signal or cause the warping mill to cease revolving, or by
using in connection with the mechanism a galvanic-magnetic or electro-
magnetic battery or machine, and causing the current to be reversed or
the circuit broken or completed by the movement of the eye or pin, or
its shank, or of a lever; and in combination with a magnet or electro-
magnet and rods, slides, levers or weights, causing the warping mill to
stop revolving, or in combination with a bell by well-known means
causing the bell to be wrung when the circuit is broken or completed,
or while it remains either broken or completed.
When the lease or
cross is desired to be taken half the whole number of pins in use are
pushed upward by a handle or lever which runs under them and operates
upon their lower ends, or on projections from them moving at the same
time, if desired, the plates which support the pins. Or the plates
remain stationary, the pins running up in them to a proper height, or
one of the plates is twisted, turned, or "canted," so as to grip the pins
with sufficient tightness to raise them when it is lifted; or the plates
have pressers attached to them which run parallel with the lines of pins,
which being brought in contact with the pins so hold them in such a
manner as to cause them to move with the plates. As the pins move
upward they carry with them the threads which are in their eyes, thus
giving a "shed." Those pins which are first raised being returned to
their places the others are raised, thus giving the complete cross.
As the spools in their creel or rack occupy a much wider space than
it is desirable the "heck" shall take up, it has hitherto been difficult to
make the latter short enough on account of the frequently great spread
of the threads. If the eyes of the "heck" were too close together
when the front plate with its eyes were raised to make a shed for taking

page_text: the lease, the threads in the eyes of such plate being raised above the
eyes behind, would at once assume a straight line from the front eyes to
the spools, and would thus be apt to come down in an improper place
when the plate and its eyes were restored to their former position.
In order to obviate the difficulty and render possible the placing of
the eyes or pins in a small space the eyes under the present Invention
instead of being at or on one end of a piece of wood, wire, or glass, or
other material, are made or placed in or on the body of a piece of wood,
wire, glass, or other substance at a suitable distance from either end, the
object being to have a portion of such wood, wire, glass, or other
material stand upwards to a proper height above the hole or eye
through which the thread passes, for the purpose of preventing the
threads from leaving their proper places by slipping over the top of any
eye or pin. Eyes of this general form are applicable to any "heck,"
whether the eyes be fast or moveable. When desired either in the case
of cyes
of the old system, or of those embraced by the present Invention
being employed, a plate is placed behind the "heck," and between the
same and the spools, such plates having wires or glass rods standing
upward from it, between which wires or rods the threads pass, or in slots
cut in a plate; the purpose of either of such arrangements being to
gather in the threads and conduct them to the eyes of the "heck" in
parallel instead of in converging lines. In order to conduct the threads
from the "heck" the same arrangements are used between the "heck"
and the warping mill, or the cylinders or the warping machine.
Inasmuch as the flanged bobbins now in use can be used in com-
bination with the pasteboards to advantage only by having the strips
of pasteboard, or its substitutes narrower than the distance between
the flanges, in order that they may be put on easily and may fall
off of their own weight as the warp is woven up, it follows that
the flanges are of no use in such combination, but in fact are detri-
mental.
By this Invention I convert these bobbins into straight beams or
bobbins at a cost much less than that of new solid straight beams in the
following manner:-A groove is cut in the inner side of the grooved
flange at a proper distance from the edge or circumference of the flange,
the groove being sunk as deep as desirable and at any desired angle to
the said inner side. The diameter of the other flange is next reduced

page_text: until it coincides with the smallest diameter of the grooved circle in the
side of the flange first named. A cylinder of several thicknesses of
pasteboard, or [cardboard, or strawboard, or of sheet iron, zinc, or tin,
the diameter of which coincides with the diameter just mentioned, is
then slipped over the reduced flange, and one edge placed in the groove,
the other edge reaching to the outer side of the reduced flange, and
both being fastened with glue, screws, nails, or by other means.
cylinder being held firmly in place, its edges supported by the flanges,
forms a new barrel, and so provides a straight beam at a small expense.
The
As variations the following are practicable:-The inside corner of
each flange is cut out to form a groove, the two sides of which are at
right angles with the barrel of the bobbin and the side of the flange
respectively. A strip of pasteboard or sheet iron, or their substitute, is
placed around the flanges, with an edge in each groove, and held as
before mentioned by glue or by other methods, the ends joining or not
as desired. A space is sometimes left between the ends, in which to
place a stick or cloth, as described in the first part of this Specification;
or the ends of the pasteboard or sheet iron, or the substitute used, are
bent under in the form of a hook or letter V or letter U, and these ends
being drawn as close together as necessary, screws or pins are driven
through the flange into the hook, and so hold the strips fast; or they
are held firmly by wire or cord placed around them; or the inside corner
of one of the flanges is cut out as described, whilst the other flange is
reduced; or both are reduced so as to have a flat surface, and the strip
or the completed cylinder is placed on them; or there is a groove cut into
the side of both flanges, and a strip of pasteboard or sheet iron, or of
some substitute inserted in these grooves by means of an opening made
from each to the circumference of the flange.
Cloths are made fast as described, or have hooks to be inserted in
eyelets sunk into the pasteboard or its substitute, or by glueing or other
simple means.
Another part of the present Invention relates to the arrangement of
harnesses and harness shafts used in looms employed for the manufacture
of such fabrics as before mentioned.
Heretofore the harnesses have been arranged with certain distances.
between them side by side on shafts placed at the top and bottom
thereof, and by which the same are spread and kept stretched, so that

page_text: the threads of the warp which pass through the eyes of the harness may
be kept separate, and raised or depressed to provide a proper shed for
the shuttle to pass through. It has however been found impossible with
this arrangement to remove any of the harnesses, except those at the
ends of a shaft, without damaging or destroying the piece which is
removed or disturbing some of the other series, especially when the har-
nesses have the threads of warp in their eyes.
Under this part of the present Invention each piece of harness is
provided with a shaft of its own at the top and bottom thereof, each of
which shaft is in turn attached either temporarily or permanently to a
longer or main shaft by means of cord, wire, loops, hooks and eyes,
screws, bolts, or other suitable attachments for holding the small shaft
to the main shafts, so that the harnesses may be kept in a proper position,
and properly stretched. The small shafts with their harnesses are
arranged side by side at proper distances, as may be desired, on the
longer shaft. By means of this arrangement a warp of cotton, silk, or
other material may be removed from the loom with its harnesses, lease
rods, and reed without disturbing any of the other warps or harnesses, so
that when one or more warps is or are woven out, or is or are required to
be removed for any purpose another may be substituted if desired without
delay beyond the time required to unfasten one set of harnesses and put
in another.
An important advantage resulting from the arrangement just described
is that new warps may be " twisted in ” or tied to threads already in the
harnesses while out of the loom, thus avoiding any delay or stoppage of
the loom to "draw in," "twist in," replace, or change warps or har-
nesses, or to mend those badly broken.
The main shafts in the arrangements now being described are kept at
proper distances by means of "stretchers" between the same, as are also
the small shafts, if desired.
In some cases it is desirable to keep the harnesses stretched while out
of the looms in order that the eyes may not slip or get out of place or
shape. This is effected by inserting a piece of wood on each side between
the respective ends of the shaft, or a frame with springs properly
arranged to keep each pair of shafts and each pair of harnesses stretched
(as will be well understood) is employed to accomplish the result with
ease and rapidity.

page_text: Having thus described and ascertained the nature of the said Inven
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I would observe
that I do not claim as forming part thereof the arrangement of the warp
bobbins on which the warps are wound, or the feathered shaft used in
connection therewith, or the use of lease rods in the looms, or of lease
rods or reeds in the preparation of the warps, or the means whereby the
warp creel," topcastle," and back reed are dispensed with, inasmuch as
the same are covered by and form the subject of Letters Patent granted to
the said Edward Primerose Howard Vaughan, bearing date the Fourteenth
day of May One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, No. 1749, as
aforesaid, although the same are herein-before mentioned and described
as forming part of the system embraced by the herein-before in part
recited Letters Patent, but what I do claim as constituting the present
Invention, and desire to have secured in and by the said Letters Patent
are,
First. The method and arrangement and apparatus of and for winding
the warps around the warp bobbins, and the construction of the latter
without flanges, and the use of layers of pasteboard therewith; and also
the arrangements, by means of which the warps may be used up to the
ends thereof, substantially as herein-before described and set forth.
Secondly. The several combinations, arrangements, and apparatus
herein-before described, or any mero modifications thereof, for winding
edge bobbins and warps direct from the spools on which the threads
come from the winding engine, and for measuring and indicating the
length of thread or warp so wound.
Thirdly. The construction, arrangement, and use of moveable pins,
eyes, or guides forming the "heck," and the combination and arrange-
ment of parts and mechanism connected therewith, herein-before described,
or any mere modification thereof, for giving notice when a thread is
broken or run out or not in the pin eye or guide, and for stopping the
warping mill, and also in order to place the same in a small space.
Fourthly. The construction and arrangement of small harness shafts
with the main harness shafts, or any mere modification thereof, substan-
tially as and for the purposes herein-before described and set forth.
And, lastly. The general combination and arrangement of parts and
mechanism herein-before described and set forth, or any mere modifica-
C

page_text: tion thereof (save as in the clause immediately preceding these claims is
excepted), and the application thereof to the manufacture and weaving
of ribbons and other narrow fabrics, as aforesaid.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederic Condit, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of July, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.
FREDERIC CONDIT. (L.S.)