IMPROVE-- MENTS IN JACQUARD MACHINES
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Andrew: Kerr, of Newton Heath, near Manchester;
in the County of Lancaster, Weaver, for the Invention of "IMPROVE--
MENTS IN JACQUARD MACHINES."
Sealed the 31st July 1860, and dated the 4th February 1860:
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Andrew Kerr at the
Office of the Commissioners. of Patents,. with his Petition, on the 4th
February 1860.
I, ANDREW KERR, of Newton Heath, near Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Weaver, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN JACQUARD MACHINES," to be as follows:-
Instead of giving the jacquard cylinder a rigid or unyielding movement
inwards as much as the movement outwards as at present adopted, I give it
the required movement outwards by a crank, cam, lever, or other contrivance,
and cause it to be pulled or forced inwards by a spring, one end of which is
attached to the cylinder batten, and the other end to one of the arms of a
double lever, to which motion is given by connecting its other arm to the
lifting movement, the spring being arranged so as to be slightly stronger than
the effect of the needle springs. The double lever gives a self-acting move-
ment to another lever or holder, which supports the cylinder batten and
prevents the cards pressing against the needles until the knives of the grife
have left the hooks, after which the holder is raised and allows the cards on
the cylinder to press against the needles in the usual manner.

page_text: These arrangements cause a great economy in the wear and tear of the
needles, hooks, and cards, inasmuch as the cards do not press upon the needles
when the hooks are upon the knives, but only when they are free from them.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Andrew Kerr in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th August 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ANDREW
KERR, of Newton Heath, near Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Weaver, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Andrew Kerr, Her special licence that I, the said Andrew
Kerr, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Andrew Kerr, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Bri-
tain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN JACQUARD MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Andrew Kerr, my executors or administrators by an instru-
ment 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Andrew Kerr, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say) :-
Instead of giving the jacquard cylinder a rigid or unyielding movement
inwards as much as the movement outwards as at present adopted; I employ
various modes of giving it a yielding movement inwards in connection with a
self-acting arrangement for supporting the cylinder or cylinder batten until
the knives of the grife have left the hooks, by which means there is a great

page_text: economy in the wear and tear of the needles, hooks, and cards, inasmuch as
the cards do not press upon the needles when the hooks are upon the knives,
but only when they are free from them.
These improvements will be clearly understood by referring to the figures
and letters on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which are represented
some of the methods in which my improvements are performed.
In Fig. 1 the jacquard cylinder is shewn at a, the cylinder batten at b, and
the grife at c. The outward motion is given to the cylinder by the double
lever d, one arm of which is connected by the link e to the grife c, and the
other arm of the link f to the batten b. The inward motion being given to
the cylinder by the return movement of the same double lever and links until
the grife arrives at the hooks, when the cylinder is held off the needles by
causing the cylinder batten to be held by the lever or holder 9 until the grife
passes the books, which pause is obtained by means of the sloth in the link f.
As soon as the grife leaves the hooks the holder g is lowered from the batten
by the presser i, as shewn by the dotted lines, and the cylinder is pressed up to
the needle board by the spring k, one end of which is on the batten, and the
other end on one arm of the double lever d, the holder g being maintained in
its holding position by means of the spring 1. In Figs. 2, 3, and 4, the
jacquard cylinder m is not connected to the batten, but moves to and fro in
the slot n, and outward motion is given to it by connecting to the grife o the
link p attached to one of the arms of the double lever q, to the other arm of
which is connected one end of the link r, having its other end connected to a
slide which works in the slot n, and in which the cylinder is centered. The
inward motion is given to the cylinder by the return movements of the link p,
double lever g, and link r, until the grife arrives at the hooks, when the
cylinder is held off the needles by causing the slide in which the cylinder is
centered to be held by the holder s until the grife passes the needles, the pause
being obtained by the slot t in the link r. As soon as the grife leaves the
books the holders is lowered by a pin on the lever q coming in contact with a
projection q' on the holder, so as to cause it to be free of the slide and allow
the cylinder to be pressed up to the needle board by the spring u, one end of
which is on one arm of the double lever, and the other end connected to the
slide in which the cylinder is centered, the holder being returned to its holding
position by the spring v. In Fig. 5 the jacquard cylinder is shewn at w
centered in the batten a, attached to which is the ordinary S iron y, in the
interior of which works the bowl z connected to the crank iron a' which passes
through the block of the grife, and has on its extremity a spring b¹. On the
cross bar of the batten near the centre is jointed a link c¹ carrying the bowl d¹,

page_text: which joint is so formed that the bowl. is capable of rising, but cannot descend
below a certain point, and connected to the grife is the holder el: Tlie. S iron
y causes the cylinder to move outwards when the grife rises in the: usual
manner, and also when the grife descends it causes the cylinder to move
inwards until the grife arrives at the hooks,' at which time the holder eis in
contact with the bowl d', and holds the cylinder off the needles until the grife
leaves the hooks, the pause of the cylinder being obtained by the yielding of
the spring 6, after which the grife still further descends, and the bowl d¹ risės
above the holder and allows the cylinder to be pressed up to the needle board
by the spring b¹.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be distinctly understood that
I do not confine myself to the precise details herein set forth; but I claim as
my Invention, and which, to the best of my knowledge and belief has not been
hitherto used within the realm, the improved modes of giving the jacquard
cylinder a yielding inward motion in connection with a self-acting holder or
equivalent arrangement for supporting the cylinder or cylinder batten until
the knives of the grife have left the hooks, as all such improvements are
herein described and illustrated in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Andrew Kerr, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named Andrew Kerr, in
the presence of
E. J. HUGHES, Patent Agent,
Manchester.
ANDREW KERR. (L.S.)