MENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING AND COPYING JACQUARD 3 PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Litchfield, of the Town and County of
the Town of Nottingham, Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVE
MENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING AND COPYING JACQUARD
3
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by. the said Joseph Litchfield at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 4th March 1874.
.
I, JOSEPH LITCHFIELD, of the Town and County of the Town of
Nottingham, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING
AND COPYING JACQUARD CARDS," to be as follows:-

page_text: which is a sley in which droppers are free to rise and fall, such move-
ments being communicated to the droppers through strings attached to
them and to the droppers of a Manchester jack, or its equivalent placed
above them. Behind the sley and droppers are four perforated plates to
receive punchers. The first and third plates are secured to and carried
by a second block, the ends of which move in slotted slides above the
standards. The second plate may be secured to the standards or to the
first block. The fourth plate carries studs to receive the card to be
punched, and is secured to a third block, which also moves in the slotted
slides. This block also carries a bar, which slides in the direction of its
length, and has arms which lie between the third block and a fourth
block. The bar and arms are moved by a hand lever, and may be placed
so as to cause the card to be punched or not. The fourth block moves
in the slotted slides, and has links at the back, which are operated by a
double cranked shaft, which carries a toothed wheel at each end, which
are driven by pinions on a driving shaft provided with pulleys and a fly
wheel.
The first block acts as a stop block to back the droppers while a card
is being punched. The fixed plate No. 2 holds the punches while No. 3
plate knocks off the punched card. Above the second block is a cylinder
supported by the standards, which also supports a second cylinder below
the block. Both cylinders are moved simultaneously by levers and
clawkers operated by a cam on the crank shaft, which also carries cams
to operate the Manchester jack. The cylinders carry the laced cards
successively between the plates 3 and 4.
The cards to be copied are passed over the cylinder of a Manchester
jack or its equivalent, and presented to the needles to select the droppers
previous to punching the card.
For punching new patterns I attach a wire or string and a male or
their equivalent to the outer end of cach needle of the jack and lash for
the purpose of selecting the droppers.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Joseph Litchfield in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 29th August 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
LITCHFIELD, of the Town and County of the Town of Nottingham;
Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing dato the Fourth day of March, 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 Joseph Litchfield, Her special licence that I, the
said Joseph Litchfield, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Joseph Litchfield, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND
APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING AND COPYING JACQUARD CARDS,"
the condition
upon
(amongst others) that I, the said Joseph Litchfield, 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 dato
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph Litchfield, 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, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings
forming a part of this Specification :—
The machinery and apparatus consist of the following parts, namely,
a pair of standards, to the front of which is secured a block, behind
such move-
which is a sley in which droppers are free to rise and fall,
ments being communicated to the droppers through strings attached to
them, and to the droppers of a Manchester jack, or its equivalent placed
above them, Behind the sley and droppers are four perforated plates to

page_text: shewn on one of them.
Figuro 7, a plan of a stud plate and block, sliding block, and cranked
shaft.
Figures 8 and 9 are side views of two cams shown separately.
Figure 10 shews a needle afterwards mentioned.
There are two standards A, to which are secured two slotted castings
B, the front ends of which support a stop block C. Behind this block
are four sleys D, D, D¹, D³, which support plates D³, between which
droppers D' are free to rise or fall, such movements being communicated
to the droppers through strings which are attached to their upper ends,
and also to the hooks of a Manchester jack or its equivalent placed
above them. Behind the sley and droppers are four perforated plates
E, E¹, E³, and E³. The first three carry the punches, and E³ receives the
ends of the punches after they have punched the card. This plate is
provided with studs, which enter the gathering holes of the card while
it is being punched, the gathering holes and lace holes being punched
previously. The plates E and E* are secured to and carried by a bar F,
which slides on pins F¹. The plate E is secured to a bar which is
screwed at each end to the castings B, and always remains stationary.
The stud plate E³ is screwed to and carried by a block & sliding on the
pins F. The block G carries bearings on its lower side, in which a bar G'
slides. This bar has three arms G³, which lie between the block G and
The bar G' and the arms
a block H, which also slides upon the pins F.
are moved by a right-angled hand lever G³, and may be placed so as to
cause the card to be punched or not. The block H carries an axle and
links at the back, which are operated by a cranked shaft I, which has a
toothed wheel at each end which gear into toothed pinion wheels K on a
driving shaft which is provided at one end with a fly wheel and a pair of
pulleys. A strap fork is provided, which is operated by the handle L,
to enable the attendant to start or stop the machine. The block H has
three projections on the front, which in its forward movement pass by
the side of the arms G³, when they occupy the position seen at Figure 7.
A-card will not then be punched, but when one is required to be punched
the arms G³ are moved in front of and in line with the projections on
the front of the block H, which in its forward movement will then press
forward the block G and stud plate E³. The plates E and E' move

page_text: simultaneously, the plate E forcing the punched card off the punches
in its backward movement, the plate E at the same time placing the
whole of the punches clear of the droppers to allow them to fall previous
to a fresh selection. The droppers are prevented from falling too low or
rising too high by the cross bars D³, which lie in slots in the droppers,
and are kept in place by a slotted bracket and cap Dª at each end
screwed to the castings B. Above the sliding block G is a cylinder M
supported by the castings B, the standards supporting a second cylinder N
below. Both cylinders are moved simultaneously by a lever and clawkers
M', N', operated by a cam, seen in side view at Figure 9, and carried by
the crank shaft. The clawker M¹ pulls the top cylinder round, and the
clawker N¹ pushes the bottom cylinder, thus carrying the laced cards
over the top cylinder and a roller M², and under the bottom cylinder,
between it and three or more springs N³, from which they pass to the
floor or other receptacles. The top clawker is shewn at the most back-
ward position, and is prevented from coming to the front by a stop
shewn by dotted lines in Figure 1, which is screwed to and carried by
the sliding block G, which as it comes towards the front will allow the
clawker to engage with the studs on the cylinder and rack it on its
backward movement. The crank shaft in addition to the racking cam
also carries a grooved cam O, which operates a lever attached to a link
O', which actuates the cylinder of the jack above or its equivalent. It
likewise carries between the castings a cam P, seen in side view at
Figure 8, which operates a lever attached to a link P¹ for lifting the
jack hooks.
For punching new patterns I attach a wire, or a string and elastic,
and a malo or their equivalent to the outer end of each needle of the
jack and lash for the purpose of selecting the droppers. The outer end
of each such needle I form of the shape shewn at Figure 10, and pass
the outer end through slots in a stop plate, and place a coiled spring on:
each needle between the stop plate and the slot in the needle for the
purpose of keeping the jack hooks clear of the grid, except when they
are selected. The laced cards to be punched being placed on the top
and bottom cylinders, a lash is then selected by a boy. A second boy
then moves the slide bar G¹ into position for punching the card by the
hand lever, which movement also places the truck under the cam for
lifting the jack hooks to select the droppers. When the card is punched
he releases the hand lever holding the slide, a spring, seen in Figure 3,

page_text: pulling it back. The clawkers are then held clear so that the cylinders
will not act after racking once until a fresh selection is made and the
slide is again thrown into gear. By this arrangement the necessity of
stopping the machine at each selection is obviated when copying an old
pattern. It is placed upon the cylinder of the jack or its equivalent
and presented to the needles to select the droppers previous to punching
the cards, and the new laced cards are placed upon the two cylinders of
the machine; the machine is then started and left to itself until the
whole are copied.
Thus by machinery and apparatus constructed as above described I
am enabled either to punch cards for a new pattern or to copy cards of
a pattern already punched with considerable less labour and in a much
shorter time than heretofore.
Having thus fully described my said Invention and the manner of
performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I claim, the
general arrangement and combination of machinery and apparatus,
as above shewn and described, for punching and copying jacquard
cards.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Litchfield, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
Witness,
H. W. GOUGH, C.E.,
Nottingham.
JOSEPH LITCHFIELD. (L.S.)