IMPROVEMENTS IN TRADING ATU AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUR EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Victor Frederic Antoine Prost, Merchant, of Paris,
Town in the French Empire, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
TRADING ATU
AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUR EMPLOYED THEREIN
"
Sealed the 10th March 1857, and dated the 24th September 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Victor Frederic Autoine
Prost at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 24th September 1856.
I, VICTOR FREDERIC ANTOINE PROST, Merchant, of Paris, Town in the
French Empire, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVING, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREIN," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists,―
Firstly, in weaving in a perpendicular position ribbons, laces, and other
fabrics formed transversely in the loom or frame, that is to say, instead of
placing the warp threads horizontally, I carry them up perpendicularly, or
from the lower part to the upper part of the loom or frame, the harness or
heddles working horizontally, and I arrange the threads so that the fabrics
when woven may have their selvages parallel, presenting their edges to the
front and back of the loom or frame, whereby a considerable number of
articles of narrow width, such as ribbons, laces, edgings, &c., may be woven

page_text: on a loom or frame of ordinary length at the same time. The warp threads
may be inclined to a certain extent instead of being quite perpendicular.
Secondly, my Invention consists in improved harness heddles (or their
equivalents), the shafts, bars, or strips of which are drawn back or restored to
place by means of springs, elastics, india-rubber, or other resilient agents, and
are brought to the proper position by the action of the jacquard, to the hooks
of which the strips or laths of the harness are connected.
Thirdly, in the employment of a batten having a rising motion, acting also
as a reed or slay, placed horizontally and lengthwise of the loom or frame, so
as to act on all the fabrics simultaneously.
Fourthly, in the employment of bobbin carriages, thread carriers, or shuttles,
carrying the weft threads, and sliding on straight or curved, flat, grooved, or
hollowed bolts or guides.
And, fifthly, in combining and arranging the parts composing the loom or
frame for the weaving of ribbons, lace, and fabrics generally in a perpendicular
position, with a harness or heddles acting horizontally, a batten having a rising
action, and bobbin carriages or shuttles for shooting the weft, travelling on
straight or curved bolts.
The warp threads are carried upwards from beams or reels in the lower
part of the loom or frame, and for the better beaming or separation thereof
may pass first up through a reed or comb, having wire teeth or dents arranged
longitudinally, and extending the whole length of the reed, being attached at
intervals by soldering, threads, or otherwise. The threads then come up to my
improved harness or heddles, which are placed and act horizontally, and consist
of a number of laths or strips of metal, wood, caoutchouc, cord, or other
material, placed one beside the other in the direction of their width, and in a
horizontal position; at the ends of the frame they pass through dividers, by
which means they are made to act separately. At one end these strips are
attached to elastic bands or springs which bring them back against a stop, and
at their opposite ends they are connected to the hooks of the jacquard. Holes
are formed in the strips at intervals, equal to the intervals to be left between
each piece to be woven, and opposite or in a line with each other; the first
hole of the first strip receiving the first thread of the first piece, the first hole
of the second strip receiving the second thread of the same piece, and so on,
the first strip thus containing the first threads of all the pieces, the second all
the second threads, and so on.
When the threads are "given in," the jacquard is put in action in the usual
manner, and the strips are drawn forward the whole width of the shed. The
warp next passes from above the heddles and quite close to them through a

page_text: second reed or slay, contrived longitudinally, like the first named. This reed
is mounted in a frame which acts also as the batten to knock the weft home.
The batten slides up and down on bearings in guide grooves, and is so arranged
as to have a regular rising and falling action, or this up-and-down action may
be obtained by excentrics, levers, or otherwise. The reed is composed of
wire or other threads stretched over a frame, with cross pieces, round which
the wires are wound and soldered thereto, or not. The weft is shot through
the space left for the passage of the batten between the front and back bolts.
The bolts are connected together as in bobbin net lace frames. The carriages
are worked by pushers or otherwise; I prefer concave bolts, as they allow the
carriages to lift the weft high enough for the batten to knock it home and
hold it stretched while being shot. I produce different colors in the weft by
means of jacquard machinery. I place in the space between every two
adjacent bands or strips a number of bolts carrying carriages with threads of
the required colors. The bolt bar is worked by a tripping or tappet action
from the jacquard. For each change of color the thread carrier or bolt bar
presents the desired color at the beginning of the shed opened by the bars. I
get an open or close mesh or shed by regulating the intervals for the lift of the
batten and the fall of the lifting bar of the jacquard.
The frame or loom works thus:-The warp is stretched by a cord and
weight or springs over the beam or reels, each thread passing through the
holes of all the strips in the heddles or harness; each throw of the jacquard
brings the heddle bars backward or forward, and thus changes the position of
or opens the warp threads; immediately afterwards the bobbin carriage or
thread carrier traverses the warp threads, leaves the weft thread, and runs on
to the back bolts or guides; the reed batten then beats the weft thread home,
and comes down close to the harness or heddles; the jacquard still keeping at
work, again changes the position of or opens the warp, the carriage shoots
across or shogs one gate, leaves the weft thread, and so on.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Victor Frederic Antoine Prost in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 24th March 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, VICTOR
FREDERIC ANTOINE PROST, Merchant, of Paris, Town in the French Empire,
send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her beirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Victor Frederic Antoine Prost, Iler special licence that I, the said Victor
Frederic Antoine Prost, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Victor Frederic Antoine Prost, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 "INPROVELIENTS IN WEAVING, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Victor
Frederic Antoine Prost, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Victor Frederic Antoine Prost, 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 thereof, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say:-
My Invention consist,-Firstly, in weaving in a perpendicular position
ribbons, lace, and other fabrics formed transversely in the loom or frame, that
is to say, instead of placing the warp threads horizontally I carry them up
perpendiculary, or from the lower part to the upper part of the loom or frame,
the harness or heddles working horizontally, and I arrange the threads so that
the fabrics when woven may have their selvages parallel, presenting their
edges to the front and back of the loom or frame, whereby a considerable
number of articles of narrow width, such as ribbons, lace, edgings, etc., may be
woven in a loom or frame of ordinary length at the same time. The warp
threads may be inclined to a certain extent instead of being quite perpendicular.
Secondly, my Invention consists in improved harness heddles (or their
equivalents), the shafts, bars, or strips of which are drawn back or restored
to place by means of springs, elastics, india-rubber, or other resilient agents,
and are brought to the proper position by the action of the jacquard, to the
hooks of which the strips or laths of the harness are connected.

page_text: Thirdly, in the employment of a batten having a rising motion, acting also
as a reed or slay, placed horizontally and lengthwise of the loom or frame, so
as to act on all the fabrics simultaneously.
Fourthly, in the employment of bobbin carriages, thread carriers, or shuttles,
carrying the weft threads, and sliding on straight or curved, flat, grooved, or
hollowed bolts or guides.
Fifthly, in combining and arranging the parts composing the loom or frame
for the weaving of ribbons, lace, and fabrics generally in a perpendicular
position, with a harness or heddles acting horizontaly, a batten having a rising
action, and bobbin carriage or shuttles for shooting the weft, travelling on
straight or curved bolts.
The warps threads are carried upwards from beams or reels in the lower
part of the loom or frame, and for the better beaming or separation thereof
may first pass up through a reed or comb, having wire teeth or dents arranged
longitudinally, and extending the whole length of the reed, being attached at
intervals by soldering, threads, or otherwise. The threads then corne up to
my improved harness or headles, which are placed and act horizontally, and
consist of a number of laths or strips of metal, wood, caoutchouc, card, or
other material, placed one beside the other in the direction of their width,
and in a horizontal position; at the ends of the frame they pass through
dividers, by which means they are made to act separately. At one end these
strips are attached to elastic bands or springs, which bring them back against
a stop, and at their opposite ends they are connected to the hooks of the
jacquard machine. Holes are formed in the strips at intervals, equal to the
intervals to be left between each piece to be woven, and opposite or in a line
with each other; the first hole of the first strip receiving the first thread of the
first piece, the first hole of the second strip receiving the second thread of the
same piece, and so on, the first strip thus containing the first threads of all
the pieces, the second all the second threads, and so on.
When the threads are "given in," the jacquard is put in action in the
usual manner, and the strips are drawn forward the whole width of the shed.
The warp next passes from above the headles and quite close to them
through a second reed or sley, contrived longitudinally, like the first named.
This reed is mounted on a frame, which acts also as the batten to knock the
weft home. The batten slides up and down on bearings in guide grooves,
and is so arranged as to have a regular rising and falling action, or this
up-and-down action may be obtained by excentrics, levers, or otherwise.
The reed is composed of wire or other threads stretched over a frame, with
cross pieces, round which the wires are wound and soldered thereto, or not.

page_text: The weft is shot through the space left for the passage of the batten between
the front and back bolts. The bolts are connected together as in bobbin net
lace frames. The carriers are worked by pushers or otherwise; I prefere
concave bolts, as they allow the carriages to lift the weft high enough for the
produce
batten to knock it home and hold it stretched while being shot.
different colours in the weft by means of jacquard machinery. I place in the
space between every two adjacent bands or strips a number of bolts carrying
carriages with threads of the requisite colours. The bolt bar is worked by a
tripping or tappet action from the jacquard. For each change of colour the
thread carrier or bolt bar presents the desired color at the beginning of the
shed opened by the bars. I get an open or close shed or mesh by regulating
the intervals for the lift of the batten and the fall of the lifting bar of the
jacquard.
The frame or loom works thus:-The warp is stretched by a cord and
weight or springs over the beam or reels, each thread passing through the
holes of all the strips in the heddles or harness; each throw of the jacquard
brings the heddle bars backwards or forward, and thus changes the position of
or opens the warp threads; immediately afterwards the bobbin carriage or thread
carrier traverses the warp threads, leaves the weft thread, and runs on to the
back bolts or guides; the reed batten then beats the weft thread home, and
comes down close to the harness or heddles; the jacquard still keeping at
work, again changes the positions, or opens the warps, the carriage shoots
across or shogs one gate, leaves the weft thread, and so on.
The other
The warp
The manner in which I carry my Invention into effect will be better under-
stood by reference to the Drawings, where Figure 1 represents a transverse
section of the principal parts I employ for carrying it into effect.
Figures shew the details of some of these parts seen separately.
yarn or thread is placed in the lower part of the loom upon one or more
rollers A, or on bobbins, according to the number of pieces to be woven. B is
a reed or comb, fixed above the rollers or bobbins A, the teeth or bars of
which are composed of metal wires b, fixed between the ends 6' of the frame of
the reed. A plan and section of part of the reed or comb are shewn in Figures
2 and 3. Strengthening bars a are fixed between the sides 6¹¹ of the reed
frame for supporting the wires or teeth b, and round which they are warped or
passed over the upper sides, and soldered or otherwise fixed. The comb or
reed is so placed in the loom that the wires b run in a direction across the
loom and with its face upwards; the yarn or threads pass upward from the
beam A through between the wires 6 and bars a. The comb B is intended to
facilitate the placing of the warp in position, and for the separation of the yarn

page_text: or thread into several pieces or bands. This comb is not indispensable,
although it greatly facilitates the mending of the threads. The harness C is
composed of slips of sheet steel or other metal, or may be made of wood,
thread, cord, india-rubber, or other material, and is placed above the comb or
reed B. Each slip or band is supported in suitable guides in the frame of the
loom, and these slips are capable of being moved or slid across independently
of each other. Figure 4 shows a side view of part of one of these harness
slips, and Figure 5 a plan of the same. Holes are formed in them for
passing the warp threads or yarn through in their passage upward from the
beam A and comb B to the space between the carriage guides, through which
they pass. The holes are formed at suitable distances apart, to correspond
to the space required for the weaving or forming of each band or ribbon;
they are formed or pierced exactly opposite each other, so that when the slips
are placed side by side the holes in the whole of them will coincide. The first
threads of each piece pass through the holes in the first slip or band, the
second threads through the second, the third threads through the third, and so
on, through the whole series. The harness slips are placed in the loom in the
same direction as the wires b in the comb B. Each of these slips or bands
has a spring attached to one end, and the springs are attached to a fixed pin or
hook in the framework of the loom. These springs have a tendency always to
pull the slips or bands in one direction up to a dead stop. The other ends of
these slips are connected to the jacquard machine by hooks or otherwise, and
are actuated by it according to the desired pattern. Each of the slips or bands
is acted on separately by the jacquard machine, or they may be acted upon
simultaneously if necessary to produce the required pattern. If the first slip
is pulled up by the jacquard machine, the whole of the first threads or ribbons
which are through the holes e in each piece are drawn aside with it; the
second threads which are through the holes e in the second slip are drawn with
the second slip or bar, the third with the third, and so on, through the series.
After the warp yarn or thread c, c, pass through the harness slips or bands c,
as shewn at a', they are carried upward through a second comb or reed D,
which serves the purpose of an ordinary reed or slay to tighten or secure the
weft thread or yarn in a proper position after the weft has been passed through
the shed (formed in the warp by means of the harness C being actuated by the
jacquard machine). The reed or comb D is constructed similarly to the comb
or reed B, formerly described and shewn at B, Figure 1, and in Figures 2
and 3. The comb or reed D is worked up and down in a suitable manner by
means of suitable cranks, cams, excentrics, or any other equivalent method, to
produce the necessary motion. The lines d shew nearly the extent of its stroke

page_text: in a downward, and the lines d' in an upward direction; its motion is so
timed that it may take place upward and downward when the bobbin
carriers E with their bobbins F are in the positions shewn in Figure 1. The
bobbin carriers E (with their bobbins F) slide in suitable grooves formed in the
guides G, G¹, for their reception, or these guides may be prongs or projecting
pieces formed on or fixed in the stocks or bars H, H'.
Figure 6 is a detached view of one of the bobbin carriers E, with its
bobbin F in the guide G, G. The stocks or bars II, H¹, are secured by
screws to sliding bars I, which are placed across the loom and slide in
suitable guides. The sliding bars I, with the bars or stocks II, II',
guides G, G¹, and bobbin carriers E, with their bobbins F, are moved in a
direction across the loom by means of the jacquard machine. This motion is
necessary when it is desired to change the colour of the weft. For this purpose,
as many colours as desired are placed on different bobbins, each of course
having a carriage of its own, the same as those already described. These
carriages with their bobbins are placed in the guide G or G', opposite the
space left between the different bands or ribbons which are being woven;
these are kept in reserve only to be brought into action when necessary to
change colours. Those bobbin carriages with their bobbins which are in
action are propelled from the guides G or G¹ by propellers J or J¹, which
are moved by cranks, cams, excentrics, or other equivalents through the shed
formed in the warp, by means of the harness C, and into the guide G or G¹;
after this has taken place, the reed, comb, or slay D rises through between the
guides and places the weft in proper position in the warp threads or yarn,
the slay then descends to its lowest position, a shed having been formed in
the weft c, c, by the harness C at the time the slay was descending; and at the
same time or nearly so (if the pattern requires a change of colours), the
apparatus, consisting of sliding bars I, stock H or H', guide G or G', with
bobbins F, and bobbin carriers E, have been shifted by the jacquard machine
across the loom, so as to bring the requisite bobbin carrier with its bobbin of
yarn or thread of the desired colour opposite to the propeller J or J', so that
it may be propelled through the shed in the weft C, C, to the opposite guide.
The slay in rising always fixes the weft in the warp. The guides G, G¹, may
be either straight or curved; but I prefer them being curved, as shewn. The
warp and weft, after being woven as described, are stretched over a roller g
and wound on to a bobbin h, by means of a counterweight i.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,
The method herein-before described of weaving all kinds of fabrics, but

page_text: principally ribbons and lace, perpendicularly, by the means and in the manner
herein-before described.
Second, I claim the working of the thread carriers in order to throw in
different colors, as herein-before described.
And, third, I claim the particular construction of harness and slay, and
the particular arrangement of them with the carriages, all as herein-before
described, and represented in the Drawings annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Victor Frederick Antoine Prost, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
CH. ARMENGAUD, Ing' Civil,
No. 23, Boulevard de Strasbourg.
V. F. A. PROST. (L.B.)