IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WIRE CLOTH FOR PAPER-MAKING MACHINES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Barnouin Rowcliffe, of the City of Man-
chester, in the County of Lancaster, Wire Cloth Manufacturer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WIRE CLOTH
FOR PAPER-MAKING MACHINES."
Sealed the 20th July 1869, and dated the 1st April 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Barnouin Rowcliffe
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 1st April 1869.
I, JOHN BARNOUIN ROWCLIFFE, of the City of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Wire Cloth Manufacturer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
WIRE CLOTH FOR PAPER-MAKING MACHINES," to be as follows:
My Invention consists in weaving wire cloth of the twilled, fancy, or
Basket pattern in an ordinary wire loom, to which three or more triggers
are applied for raising and lowering the treadles or tappets in the
succession required, and in reversing the direction of the twillydancy,

page_text: or basket pattern in the warp at intervals as often as may be required
to keep the wire cloth even on the rollers of the paper-making
machine.
Another part of my Invention consists in weaving the said wire cloth
of annealed wire, that for the weft being much softer than that for the
warp, in order that the weft may rise to the face of the wire cloth, and
in using the wires for the warp and weft of nearly the same guage,
whereas hitherto the wire for the warp has been much finer than that
for the weft.
Another part of my Invention consists in passing the said improved
wire cloth between calendering rollers, in order to make the surface
smooth by flattening the warp and weft.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Barnouin Rowcliffe in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 30th September 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
BARNOUIN ROWOLIFFE, of the City of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Wire Cloth Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Barnouin Rowcliffe, Her
special license that I, the said John Barnouin Rowcliffe, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Barnouin
Rowcliffe, 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 THE MANUFACTURE OF WIRE CLOTH FOR PAPER-MAKING
MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John
Barnouin Rowcliffe, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in

page_text: writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 John Barnouin Rowcliffe, 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 (that is to say) :-
My Invention consists in weaving wire cloth of a twilled, fancy, or
basket pattern in an ordinary wire loom, to which two, three, or more
triggers or healds are applied for raising and lowering the warp in the
succession required by the particular pattern to be produced, and in
weaving twills I reverse the direction of the twill or diagonal in the
warp at intervals, as often as may be required to keep the wire cloth
even on the rollers of the paper-making machine, and to counteract the
tendency which the cloth would constantly have to slide laterally upon
the rollers if the twill or diagonal were made in one and the same
direction throughout the whole length or breadth of the piece.
Another part of my Invention consists in weaving the said wire cloth
of annealed wire, that for the weft being much softer than that for the
warp, in order that the weft may more easily rise to the face of the wire
cloth, and in using the wires for the warp and weft of nearly the same
gauge (or the warp even coaser than the weft), whereas hitherto the
wire for the warp has been much finer than that for the weft, and hence
the warp has not been able to bear the necessary longitudinal strain and
consequently the cloth has not been so durable.
Another part of my Invention consists in passing the said improved
wire cloth between calendering rollers, in order to make the surface
smoother by flattening the warp and weft.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation, I will proceed to describe the means pursued
by me, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Diagrams,
which represent various modes of drawing the warp wires through the
triggers or healds and of working the shuttle.
In order to produce a twilled pattern suitable for the wire cloth for a
paper-making machine, and with the twill running alternately in contrary
directions, I take a wire loom of the ordinary construction, with three

page_text: triggers or healds and with a single shuttle as usual. The wire warps
are drawn through the triggers alternately, as shewn in diagram
Figure 1, that is to say, the warps are first drawn through the first,
second, and third triggers alternately for a certain number of times to
produce a twill in one direction, and then the warps are drawn through
the second, first, and third triggers for an equal number of times, in
order to reverse the direction of the twill, and so on across the width of
the cloth. The first shed is made by raising the first trigger, the shuttle
is then thrown across in the usual manner; the second shed is made by
raising the second trigger, and the third shed is made by raising the
third trigger, the shuttle being thrown across each shed in succession.
By drawing the warp through the triggers and working the latter in
the manner above described a twilled wire cloth is produced with the
twill running alternately from left to right and from right to left across
the whole width of the cloth.
The diagrams Figures 2 and 3 represent the order of succession in
which the warp is drawn through the triggers, and the mode of working
the triggers to produce a twilled wire cloth in a loom with four triggers.
In Figure 2 two treadles are worked together, and in Figure 3 the
treadles are worked singly.
The diagram Figure 4 represents the order of succession in which
the warp is drawn through three triggers, and the mode of working them
by two treadles to produce a wire cloth of a fancy pattern. In this
instance the first shed is formed by raising the first trigger, and the
second shed is formed by raising the second and third triggers simul-
taneously. In this and the following cases no reversing of the direction
of the pattern is required.
I wish to observe that a similar cloth can be woven in a loom with
two triggers and two treadles by passing two warps through one
trigger.
Figure 5 is a diagram for weaving a fancy wire cloth in a loom with
four triggers and four treadles; Figures 6, 7, and 8 are modifications of
Figure 5, and produce a similar wire cloth.
The diagram Figure 9 is for weaving a wire cloth of the basket
pattern in a loom with four triggers and two treadles. In this case two
triggers are raised simultaneously to produce the shed; this pattern can
also be woven in a loom with two triggers by drawing two warp wires

page_text: through each trigger, and two ends or warps through each dent in the
reed.
In weaving all the different descriptions of wire cloth above described,
I anneal the wire for the weft till it is considerably softer than that for
the warp, in order that the weft may more easily rise to the surface of
the cloth. I also use the wires for the warp and for the weft of the
same or nearly the same gauge (or the warp wires even coarser than the
weft), in order to increase the durability of the cloth, whereas (as before
stated) hitherto the wire for the warp has been much finer than that
for the weft.
Another part of my Invention consists in passing the improved wire
cloth above described between calendering rollers, in order to make the
surface smoother by flattening the warp and weft wires.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described several
convenient modes of performing the same, I wish it to be understood
that I do not intend to limit myself to the details given, as similar
results may be obtained by slightly varying the order of succession in
which the warps are drawn through the triggers, and in which the
shuttle is thrown across the shed; also by varying the number of
triggers and treadles in the loom. I claim as my Invention of improve-
ments in the manufacture of wire cloth for paper-making machines, the
various improved modes of weaving the same so as to produce twilled,
fancy, or basket patterns, in the manner and for the purposes described;
and I claim particularly the alternate reversing of the direction of the
twill in twilled wire cloth for paper-making machines; and lastly, passing
such wire cloth through or between calendering rollers, as herein-before
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Barnouin Rowcliffe, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of Sep-
tember, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
JOHN BARNQUIN ROWCLIFFE. (L.S.)