IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING "CARDS" FOR JACQUARD MACHINES
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert. Garmany M°Crum, of Milford, Armagh,
Ireland, Manufacturer,for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING "CARDS" FOR JACQUARD MACHINES."
Sealed the 2nd April 1861, and dated the 17th October 1860).
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Garmany McCrum
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
17th October 1860.
I. ROBERT GARMANY MCCRUM, of Milford, Armagh, Ireland, Manufacturer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING "CARDS" FOR JACQUARD MACHINES," 10
be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
machinery or apparatus for punching or perforating the "cards" used in con-
nection with jacquard machines for producing figured weaving, whether such
cards" be composed of cardboard, paper, metal, or other suitable material,
and consists in theapplication and use of electricity for the purpose of selecting
the proper punches for making the perforations.
In carrying out this Invention it is proposed to use a series of electro-
magnets, the armatures of which are fixed to wires or pieces of metal
which are so connected with the punches that when any one or more of the
armatures is attracted to its or their magnet or maguets the corresponding
punch or punches will be acted upon. The pattern may be designed upon a
metal cylinder or other metallic surface, and this cylinder or surface by its
D_...

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Garmany McCrum in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 17th April 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
GARMANY MCRUM, of Milford, Armagh, Ireland, Manufacturer, seud
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Robert Garmany McCrum, Her special license that I, the said
Robert Garmany McCrum, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Robert Garmany McCrum, my executors, administrators,
or 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 OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING
CARDS FOR JACQUARD MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Robert Garmany McCrum, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, or under the hand and seal
of one of them, 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 Robert Garmany McCrum 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 Drawingsand to
the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:―
My said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
machinery or apparatus for punching or perforating the "cards" used in
jacquard machines for producing figured weaving, whether such " cards" be
composed of cardboard,paper, metal, or other suitable material, and consists in

page_text: the application and use of a current or currents of electricity in combi-
nation with magnets for the purpose of selecting the proper punches for
making the perforations in the "cards."
In carrying out my Invention I propose to use a series of electro-magnets,
the armatures of which are fixed to wires or pieces of metal which are so
connected with the punches that when any one or more of the armatures is
attracted to its or their magnet or magnets the corresponding punch or
punches will be acted upon. The pattern may be designed upon a metal
cylinder or other metallic surface, and this cylinder or surface by its rotation
or motion may be made to establish the proper contacts for acting upon the
punches in the desired order and grouping.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that
purpose I
shall refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughoutall the
Figures.
Figure 1, on Sheet 1 of my Drawings, represents a sectional elevation of
my improved card punching machine; Figure 2 is a corresponding front
elevation of the same. The rest of the Figures on Sheet 2 represent various
details of the parts drawn to a scale of one-half the real size.
A, A, is the main framing of the machine; B, the main driving shaft pro-
vided with fast and loose driving pullies C, C1, and carrying all the cams
requisite for actuating the various working parts of the machine as herein-
after fully described. D is the punch box shewn detached in vertical
transverse section at Figure 1, (Sheet 2). This box contains as many
punches E, E, as may be required to perforate the cards to be prepared (one
of these punches is shewn in side elevation detached at Figure 2, Sheet 2).
They are so constructed that they may be locked or secured in their box,
those punches which are required to operate being allowed to protrude below
the bottom of the box as in Figure 1, Sheet 2, and are locked in that position;
this locking of the punches, whereby they are prevented from rising under any
pressure from below is effected by a set of sliding keys F, each key fitting into
the shoulder of each punch in a row from back to front of the box as shown;
G,represents one of a series of stationary bars for supporting the punches when
the keys are withdrawn, the punches in that case resting with their shouldersb
on the upper edges of the bars. Those punches which are not intended to
operate are locked in an elevated position by the keys passing through the
lower notch C in each punch, the entire series of keys is drawn in and out of
the box once at each revolution of the shaft B, for this purpose a rod is passed

page_text: through the eye d in the head of each of the keys, and this rod is itself con-
nected at each extremity to a bar H; so that on moving these bars the rod and
entire series of keys will move with them. Motion is given to the bars H by
the cams I, I, one of which is shewn detached at Fig. 3, Sheet 2, these cams
act upon the levers K, K, which are connected by cords L, L, passing over the
pullies M, M, to one end of the bars H, the opposite end of each bar being
similarly connected to a cord and counterweight N, N, passing over the
pullies (), O; it is thus obvious that the depression of the levers by the cams I
will cause the keys to be withdrawn from the punch box, and that so soon as
the levers are released again the counterweights N will draw the keys into
the box again, the punches having been properly adjusted in the meantime by
the jacquard mechanism herein-after referred to. Those punches which remain
depressed upon the keys entering are consequently locked in that position,
whilst those which are raised are also secured in their elevated position by the
keys as herein-before described. The card to be perforated is laid upon the
perforated plate P, which is immediately underneath the punch box, and the
punch box with its punches is then caused to descend upon the card, those
punches which protrude perforating corresponding holes in the card. This
descent of the punch box is effected by means of the two grooved cams Q, Q,
one of which is shewn in detail at Fig. 4, Sheet 2. R, R, are connecting rods
which are jointed at S, S, to guides on the ends of the punch box, these guides
working in slots in the plate P, whilst the lower ends of the rods are forked to
embrace the shaft B, and are provided with antifriction rollers which work in
the grooves of their respective cams. T, T', are two jacquard machines, the
hooks of which are turned from the cylinders or in a contrary direction to that
usually adopted in jacquards. T is a third jacquard machine in which cords
with knots are used in lieu of wire hooks, and in place of the ordinary griff
frame I employ in this third jacquard a griff board. The needles e, e, of this
machine are composed of brass or other substance not affected by magnetism
and to the end of each needle next to the magnet box U (herein-after referred
to (I secure a piece of soft iron f shown more clearly in the detail, Fig. 5,
Sheet, which serves as an armature to its corresponding electro-magnet g
in the box U. These electro-magnets are secured horizontally in the box U
shewn in detail, plan, and vertical section at, Figs. 6 and 7 (Sheet 2), and
consist each of a straight rod of soft iron coiled round with insulated copper
wire. In the event of a circuit being established through any one or more of
these magnets, it follows that the armatures of the corresponding needles will
be attracted, and if the magnet box be then pushed back, it will carry along
with it those needles corresponding totheexcited magnets, thus operating the

page_text: knot cords of the jacquard. The to-and-fro motion of the magnet box is derived
from the cam V shewn detached at Fig. 8 (Sheet 2). This cam operates the
lever arin W which is keyed on to the rocking shaft X, and this shaft is provided
with two lever arms Y, Y, connected by the rods 2, %, to studs on the ends of
the magnet box. At each revolution of the shaft B. the magnet box will
consequently recede from and approach towards the ends of the needles of the
jacquard T; h, is the pattern surface, it consists of an endless band or cylinder
covered with tin foil or other good conductor of electricity, and has the desired
pattern painted thereon in non-conducting varnish. This pattern surface is in
connection with one pole of any ordinary voltaic battery, the opposite pole of
the battery being connected with the coil at the end next to the armatures as
shewn in Fig. 5 (Sheet 2); represents one, of a series of metallic tracer
points resting upon the pattern surface, which is supported and carried
round by the pattern cylinder /, this cylinder being provided with studs,
which fit into corresponding holes in the endless pattern surface for
the purpose of carrying it round. There are as many tracers as there
are punches in the punch box D, each tracer being maintained in a
vertical position, and detached from its neighbour by notched bars or combs
of ivory or other insulator 1, 1. Each tracer is connected by a separate wire
to the coil of its corresponding magnet at the end furthest from the armature.
A complete electric circuit is thus established, the current passing from the
positive pole of the battery through the pattern surface, thence through those
tracers which may be in direct contact with the metal toil, and thence to the
corresponding coil, thereby exciting the magnet, and causing it to attract its
armature, the current returning from the opposite end of the coil to the nega-
tive pole of the battery. At each stroke of the magnet box U it imparts
motion to the pattern cylinder by means of a pall which acts upon a ratchet
wheel, and transmits motion through toothed wheels to the pattern cylinder
which thus makes a portion of a revolution at each revolution of the main
shaft B. m, m, are weights suspended by the knot cords of the jacquard T2,
these weights being considerably heavier than the punches in the punch box D
to the cords n of which they are connected by the series of cross cords o
secured to the knot cords't, and to the punch cords n, and passing over the
guide bars p, p'. The jackguards T and T',are only required.to be used when
preparing cards for full harness work. The object of the jacquard. T¹ is to
select the punches for giving the cut to the cards requisite to produce the
proper twill or ground of the body of the-cloth when, the pattern is made by
"flushing." The object of the jacquard T is to select the punches for giving,
the cut to the cards requisite, to. form, the twill or ground, of the pattern or..

page_text: design on the cloth. The cylinders of these jacquards are worked by the
cam q, and rods and levers 7, 4, and the griff frames are clevated by the
cam s, rod t, pully ", and cords v. I may here observe that the jacquards T
aud T do not constitute an essential feature of my present Invention which
relates more particularly to the electro-magnetic apparatus in connection with
the jacquard T, and I have simply illustrated and described the jacquards T
aud T, in order to shew a more complete machine.
In preparing cards for full harness work, I place as many cards on the
cylinder of the jacquard T' as there are ends in a single twill or ground of
the cloth, for example, in a 5-leaved twill, five cards would be sufficient, and
so on for other varieties. I also place on the cylinder w of the jacquard T as
many cards as there are ends in a single twill or ground of the figure or
pattern.
These cards on both machines T and T', must be so perforated as to leave
solid those portions required to form the twill or ground. Supposing the
punch box D to be elevated, and the card to be perforated placed below Don
the perforated plate P. the whole of the grifts of the three jacquards are
now lowered, aud the cylinders w and a withdrawn from their needles; the
keys Fare withdrawn from the punch box, and consequently the weightsm,m,
raise the whole of the punches.
When by the rotation of the pattern cylinder any one or more of the tracer
points i come in contact with the unvarnished portions of the metallic surface,
an electric current is transmitted, which excites those magnets corresponding
to such tracer points. The machine being now put in motion, the magnet
box is moved back from the needle-board of the jacquard T, carrying with it
the armatures of the excited magnets, and with them the needles to which
they are attached. By this means the knots on the corresponding cords are
brought over the holes in the griff board, so that when this board is lifted,
those knots will pass through the holes,and will not be raised, whilst the knots
of the other cords corresponding to the unexcited magnets will remain over
the slits, and will consequently be elevated; but whilst the magnet box is thus
moved, the cylinders wand are brought close to the faces of their respective
needle boards, and the hooks coinciding with the solid parts of the cards will
be pressed forward on to the griff bars, and will be lifted at the next elevation
of the griffs. Let all the three griffs be raised (the griff board of the jacquard
Te being connected by rods y, y, with the griff frame above), and the effect
will be that the jacquards T¹ and T will lift all those weights m, m, corre-
sponding to the unexcited magnets, and also those weights corresponding to
the hooks which have been pushed over the griff bars by the card on the

page_text: cylinder. Those punches corresponding with those raised weights will sink
down by their own gravity so as to protrude below the punch box as shewn in
Figure 1, Sheet 2, but those corresponding to the hooks pressed on to the
griff bars of the jacquard T by the cylinder w are elevated. The keys F are
now returned to their place in the punch box D,and the selected punches will
become locked or fastened when the box is forcibly drawn down by the cams
for that purpose, and will force its projecting punches through the blank card
beneath. The pattern cylinder K being again turned slightly, a fresh portion
of the pattern surface is presented to the tracers i,and the machine is ready for
another operation. When preparing cards for common harness in "press
shed" work, the cards on the cylinders wand a may be dispensed with. The
cards to be punched or perforated, may be either placed singly by hand upon
the plate P, or they may be laced together, and caused to travel over such
plate by a revolving cylinder, or other suitable mechanical contrivance.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion, that what I consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general construction, arrangement, and combination of machinery
or apparatus for preparing cards to be used in jacquard machines as herein-
before described.
Second, the application and use of an electric current or currents in combi-
nation with electro-magnets, and a suitably prepared pattern surface and
jacquard for the purpose of selecting the punches in card punching machines
as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Garmany McCrum, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of April, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-one.
0
Wituess,
DAVID ROSS,
Milford, Armagh.
ROBERT GARMANY MCCRUM. (L.S.)