CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVERS HARNESS
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Howson, of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of " CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVERS HARNESS."-A communication.
Sealed the 27th October 1853, and dated the 27th April 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Howson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 27th April 1853.
I; RICHARD Howson, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, lo hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for.
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVERS' HARNESS," to be as follows, that
is to say:
It consists, first, in constructing the harness with woven borders;
secondly, in attaching metallic eyelets thereto, without forming knots,.
loops, or braids at the ends of the eyes, as heretofore practiced; and,
thirdly, in so separating and arranging the threads on the headle bars,
as to form three leashes or lines of eyelets, instead of one or two, as has
hitherto been the practice.
'

page_text: The border is woven in the usual manner of weaving, and serves to
connect the ends uniformly, and to hold the headle bars.
The metallic eyelets are pressed round the headle yarn in the manner
already well known, but each eyelet is connected with two yarns, one
passing round one side of the eyelet, and the other round the other, so
that no knot, loop, or braid connecting the yarns previously to the
insertion of the eyelet is requisite.
The three leashes 'or, lines of eyelets are formed in the following
manner-The upper pairs of threads attached to those two which
are to form the outside eyelets, pass each pair respectively on opposite
sides of the bar, while on the lower side they cross the threads which
belong to the middle eyelet cross both top and bottom. Or the arrange-
ment may be reversed. Thus, three.contiguous eyelets may be made to
stand clear of one another, so as to allow more space for the whole
number.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Richard--Howson in the Great Seal Patent
Office, on the 27th October 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
RICHARD HOWSON, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engi-
neer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three; in the
sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Richard Howson, Her especial license
that I, the said Richard Howson, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Richard Howson, 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

page_text: vend, within, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention.for " CERTAIN. IM-
PROVEMENTS IN WEAVERS" HARNESS," (such Invention having been com-
municated to me by a foreigner residing abroad,) upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Richard Howson, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Richard. Howson, 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, reference being had to the drawing
hereto annexed;,, and; to the letters and figures:marked thereon, that is
to say:
The Invention--relates to the healds or headles, otherwise called
weavers' harness, which are used, as is well understood, for the purpose
of forming the shed during the process of weaving, and consists in the
following improvements in the construction of the same.
The first of these improvements: consists in constructing them with
woven borders. This is shewn in Figs. 1, and 2, of the accompanying
drawing, where A, represents the, ranks of cord or thread through
which the warp, passes, and, B, the woven border.. This border is
woven in the usual manner of weaving, and its purpose is, as will be
readily seen, to connect the ends of the thread uniformly, and to hold
the headle bars C, which are inserted between the threads. D, are
the rows of eyelets hereafter referred to.
The second part of the improvements consists in a peculiar
method of attaching metallic eyelets to the headle yarn. The mode
of attaching metallic eyelets heretofore practised has been first to
form loops in the yarn by means of braids or knots, or by untwisting
it at the part required, and separating the strands, and then to insert
the eyelets and press them round such loops. Now by the improved
method, the eyelets may be pressed round the yarn in the manner. and

page_text: by the means already practised, but each eyelet is connected with two
threads, one of which passes in a groove round one side of the eyelet,
and the other round the other side, so as to dispense entirely with the
use of knots, braids, or any kind of loop to connect the threads pre-
viously to the insertion of the eyelets. The improved method is
exhibited in Fig. 3, which is drawn to a much enlarged scale;
a, a, representing the threads passing round opposite sides of the
eyelet d. With regard to this part of the Invention, I do not confine
myself to the shape or construction of the eyelet; for instance, instead
of having only one eye or perforation as represented, it might have two
or more after the manner of the glass mails used commonly in silk
weaving.
The third improvement consists in arranging the eyelets in such
a manner that they form. three lines or leashes instead of one or
two as heretofore practised., This I effect by inserting the headle
bars C, between the ranks of threads in the following manner:
In order to form the outside leashes, I pass one headle bar between
the two threads of each eyelet, but insert the other headle bar, so that
the threads of each eyelet pass round in pairs. In the case of the
middle leash, both headle bars pass between the two threads. This
arrangement will be readily understood from Fig. 2, which is a cross
section of the headle. Here it will be seen that the outside eyelets d,
and d, have their threads passing on opposite sides of the bar C,
but in pairs round the other bar C', (the pairs being respectively on
opposite sides thereof,) while the threads belonging to the middle eye-
let d', pass on opposite sides of both bars. The effect of this arrange-
ment, when carried out throughout the headle, is to allow the three
contiguous ranks of eyelets thus formed, to stand clear of one another
so as to give more space for the whole number.
I-have stated that the method which I employ for constructing a
woven border to headles as herein-before described, is by the ordinary
process of weaving; as such process, however, may be varied,
in order to give a more clear understanding of the manner in
which I carry this part of the Invention into effect, I shall here
describe that mode of weaving which I prefer to use. In the

page_text: loom which I use for the purpose; I make the weft to constitute
the headle yarn; that is to say, I extend two narrow lines or
bands of warp apart from each other, such a distance as will give a
proper-length of headle, and I shoot the headle yarn across shedding
alternately. The reed in this case will only consist of a few dents at
each line of warp, leaving a wide space between, in which the picking
apparatus may be conveniently made to work. Although, however,
I prefer the above described mode of weaving the borders, it is evident
that exactly the contrary mode may be employed, that is to say, the
warp may be made to constitute the headle yarn, and may be filled in
with weft at intervals corresponding to the length of the headles, so as
to form the border as described. As all the methods of weaving, how-
ever, as applied to this Invention, will be readily understood by practical
men, it will be unnecessary here to enter into further detail respecting
them.
:
In like manner with regard to fixing the eyelets on the threads,
I effect this by means of suitable dies, as already practised in cases of
a similar nature, and it may be done by hand or by self-acting or
partially self-acting machinery; but I prefer to attach the apparatus for
performing the operation to the loom which weaves the borders, so
that the eyelets may be pressed over the threads successively, during
the same time that the weaving proceeds, or at intervals between the
picks. The most convenient position for placing the apparatus contain-
ing the dies, will be between the beat-up and the take-up rollers.
Having now fully ascertained and described the nature of the Inven-
tion communicated to me, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, I would have it understood that with regard to carrying the
Invention into effect, I do not confine myself to any particular mode of
doing the same, but what I claim in reference to the foregoing state-
ment is as follows:-First, I claim the construction of weavers' harness
with woven borders, as described. Secondly, I claim the attaching of
each metallic eyelet to two threads, as described. Thirdly, I claim the
mode of distributing the headle yarn over the headle bars, in such a
manner as to form three leashes or rows of eyelets, as described. Fourthly,

page_text: I claim the combination of the three described improvements in one
03.
harness."
In, witness whereof, I, the said Richard Howson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of October, in
the
three
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
Signed in the presence of
WILLIAM WOOD,
of Manchester.
RICHARD HOWSON. ¨ (L.S.)