CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TEXTILE FABRICS
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ENOCH
TOWNEND, of Keighley, in the County of York, Manager, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Eighth day of June, in the fifteenth year of Her reign,
and in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Enoch Townend, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Enoch Townend, my exors, admors, and assigns, and such
others as I, the said Enoch Townend, my exors, admors, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England and Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF TEXTILE FABRICS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso
that I, the said Enoch Townend, shall cause a particular description of
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Enoch Townend, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereto annexed, and the following
explanation thereof, that is to say :-)

page_text: My Invention relates to the weaving of such fabrics as are intended to be
split into two or more pieces, and has for its object the forming of fast selvages
upon the inwardly woven edges thereof. The peculiar feature consists in the
employment of two warp threads for each "; split," which, independently of
their ordinary shedding motion, are caused to move in the direction of the width
of the loom, so as alternately to cross another thread which moves with the
warp as the fabric is woven, but does not partake of the shedding motion
thereof. Upon these crossed threads being shed the weft is thrown between
them, and they then upon returning to their former position carry with them
the weft, and bind it upon that thread which moves with the warp, by which
means a double crossed binding is accomplished so as to effect a fast selvage.
In order fully to explain these several motions and the means which I use for
producing them, I shall refer in the first place to the selvage machinery
separately, and subsequently describe its connection with the working parts of
an ordinary loom. Fig. 1 is a front view of the apparatus; Fig. 2, a side
view; and Fig. 3, a top view; Figs. 4 and 5 are detached front and sectional
views of one of the thread guides. a, a, is a stationery piece upon which there
are formed guides, and within these is mounted a vertical sliding bar b, the
upper end of which carries two guide plates c, d, the front one having two
eyes e, f, formed therein, and the back one two eyes g, h, and it is provided
with an opening i, as seen in the detached views, Figs. 4 and 5. These
guides, therefore, being carried upon the sliding bar 6, are capable of being
moved up or down as required, but in addition to that motion they are
mounted upon a centre pin j, so as to be capable of vibrating thereon, but are
drawn to a resting position by means of springs k, k*, attached at one end to
arms 1,, extending from the said guides, and at the other to the sliding bar
b. To the fixed piece a are attached two upright rods m, n, which return
downwards from their upper ends, and are provided with eyes o, p. A thread
1, shewn by the red colour, is passed through the eye o, and from thence
carried outwards and over the tops of the guides c, d ; another (2), denoted
by the black line, passes through the eye e of the guide c, and through the
opening of the back guide d; and a third thread (3), distinguished by yellow
color, is conducted over the top of the front guide c, and through the eye g of
the back guide d. These three threads are used for forming one selvage, but
as two are required for a "split" a similar system of threads to those already
described, and passing in like manner through the several guides, is applied;
these are shewn at 4, 5, 6, the colors in which they are drawn being the same
as those used to exhibit the threads first referred to. Now, supposing a rod q
to be attached to the arm 1, and another q* to the arm *, if either of these

page_text: rods be drawn upwards its first effect will be to turn the arm, and consequently
guide c or d upon the centre j, while a further upward motion will cause both
guides to be lifted together with the sliding bar b; thus it will be perceived that
the particular guide which is operated upon by the rod q or q* vibrates upon
its centre; and so crosses its thread, at the same time rising in order to form
the shed. I will suppose, for instance, that the rod q is caused to be raised.
The vibration of the guide c will by means of its eye e carry the black thread
under the eye o of the red thread, thereby crossing it at the same time, the
thread 5 in the eye f being carried across the fixed eye p, so as to constitute a
crossing for the other selvage. A further motion of the rod q will now carry the
crossed threads upward, so as to form a shed through which the weft thread
will be passed; the rod q being then allowed to descend, the guide c will fall
therewith, and when at its lowest position the spring k will draw it backward
upon its centre pin j, thereby bringing it to its former position and causing its
thread to become bound with the weft. This having been accomplished, the
guide d is to be lifted by means of the rod 2*, and therefore caused to turn
upon its centre pin j, as described in reference to the previous operation; this
motion will cause the eye g to cross the stationary eye o, and therefore effect a
crossing by the yellow thread 3, and upon the upward motion taking place
through the rod q* a crossed shed will be formed as already described, and the
descent of the rod will allow the spring to restore the guide to its starting
position, effecting a binding of the weft with the thread 3. By reason of the
operations of the guide d the thread No. 6 has also been caused to cross its
red thread 4, thereby effecting the binding for the other selvage. It will be
perceived that by these motions a double crossing takes place in combination
with the weft, and the result will be the production of a fast selvage for each
"split." In order to regulate the guides c, d, to their proper starting positions
there are set screws placed within the sliding bar b, b, which set screws form
limits to the vibrations of the arms 1, *. I will now proceed to describe the
adaptation of the apparatus to a loom represented in partial front and cross
sectional views at Figs. 6, 7. Part of the same letters of reference being
marked on parts corresponding to those already described, the general
position of the selvage apparatus will be evident. It is placed behind the
heddles, and the bar a is affixed to a stationary part t.
The threads repre-
sented by the red color in the formerly described Figs. and passing through
the eyes o, p, proceed from a bobbin u; the other threads, namely, those
denoted by the black and yellow colors, proceed from the ordinary warp
beam v. The selvage apparatus, it will be perceived, projects through the
warp threads, which are consequently bent out of their course; they are

page_text: turned, however, in front of it, so as to proceed as usual through the healds, a
vacancy being left therein answering only to the selvage threads, they being
shed, as already mentioned, by the motions of their respective guides c, d.
Upon the ordinary tappet shaft are mounted the usual tappets w, w, acting
upon treadles x, x, the extremities of which are connected by rods y, y, to
levers z, z; these levers turn upon the shafts 8, 8, which are connected by
arms 14, 14, to other levers 9, 9, turning upon centres 10, 10, through boles
of which at 11, 11, the lifting rods q, q*, pass. It will be seen by this
arrangement that as the tappet shaft revolves, the levers z, z, will be caused
to vibrate, and communicating a like motion to the levers 9, 9, will cause
their extremities to arrive in contact with buttons 12, 12, formed on the tops
of the rods q, q, and thereby lift them, together with the guides c, d, so as to
cause them to turn upon their centres, in order to cross the threads and to
rise so as to form the shed, as already described. The rods q, q", it has been
mentioned, pass loosely through the levers 9, 9, and are lifted by means of the
buttons 12, 12, upon the descending motion; therefore, the rods are allowed
to slip through the levers, so as to permit the springs k, k, to turn the guides
upon their centre pin j. In order to assist the descent of the sliding bar b, a
spring 16 is adapted thereto. The main operations of the several parts of the
loom are precisely those of the ordinary working, the only difference being
that the selvage threads are shed by the guides c, d, instead of being moved
by the heddles, and that they are crossed previously as already explained.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be understood that I do
not intend to confine myself to the precise arrangement of machinery above
described, as the same may be varied without departing from the principle of
my Invention. I would also observe, that although I have referred to the
production of two selvages, more, if desired, may be produced, so as to obtain
a greater number of "splits," similar apparatus to that described being
adapted at the desired parts of the loom; that which I claim as secured to me
under the above in part recited Letters Patent being the forming of two or
more selvages within the edges of the cloth, by causing two threads for each
selvage alternately to cross with another thread previously to being shed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Enoch Townend, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.
ENOCH. (L.S.) TOWNEND.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Seventh day of December,
in the year of our Lord 1852, the aforesaid Enoch Townend came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Eighth day of December, in the year of our Lord One