IMPROVEMENTS IN JACQUARD APPARATUS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Blain, of Belfast, in the County of Antrim,
Ireland, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN JACQUARD
APPARATUS FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 10th February 1857, and dated the 8th December 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Blain at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 8th
December 1856.
I, JAMES BLAIN, of Belfast, in the County of Antrim, Ireland, Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN JACQUARD APPARATUS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to what are technically known as the "cards" or
perforated pieces or surfaces employed in weaving ornamental fabrics in the
jacquard loom, and consists in making the cards or pattern surfaces of such
materials, and in such manner as to secure them from derangement from
thermal changes, which ordinarily result in seriously objectionable expansion
and contraction.
The improved cards or pattern surfaces are far more durable than those of
the common kind, and they possess the additional feature of being recon-

page_text: vertible into new cards, or cards with fresh patterns, after they have done duty
under one pattern; and this process of conversion may be repeated continually
at very little cost. These new cards or pattern surface pieces are made of
woven fabrics, such as linen or cotton cloth, joined by adhesive matter to
any other suitable substance, such as paper; and when a pattern is worked
out, the old cards may be rendered fit for carrying new patterns by having
an unperforated layer joined down upon the face, when the perforations for
the new pattern may be made as in a fresh unused card.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Blain in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
5th June 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
BLAIN, of Belfast, in the County of Antrim, Ireland, Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said James Blain, Her special license that I, the said James Blain,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
James Blain, 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, exerciso, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN JACQUARD
APPARATUS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said James Blain, 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
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Blain, 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 state-
ment in writing, that is to say:-

page_text: My said Invention relates to what are technically known as the "cards" or
perforated pieces or surfaces employed in weaving ornamental fabrics in the
jacquard loom, and consists in making the cards or pattern surfaces of such
materials, and in such manner as to secure them from derangement from thermal
changes, which ordinarily result in seriously objectionable expansion and con
traction. The improved cards or pattern surfaces are also far more durable
than those of the common kind, and they possess they additional feature of
being reconvertible into new cards, or cards with fresh patterns, after they
have done duty under one pattern, and this process of conversion may be
repeated continually at very little cost. These new cards or pattern surface
pieces are made of woven fabrics, such as linen or cotton cloth, joined by
adhesive matter to any other suitable substance, such as paper; and when a
pattern is worked out, the old cards may be rendered fit for carrying new
patterns by having an unperforated layer joined down upon the face, when the
perforations for the new pattern may be made as in a fresh unused card.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I shall
now proceed to describe the same in detail.
The "cards" used for forming or regulating the pattern in weaving by
means of jacquard machinery have hitherto been made of pasteboard, that is
to say, a series of sheets of paper pasted or otherwise attached together, and
submitted to pressure. The sheets of pasteboard thus made are cut to an
uniform size, and by means of punches or a cutting machine, holes are made
in the cards in accordance with the design it is desired to produce in the loom.
The cards, thus produced, are however subject to expansion and contraction
from atmospheric changes, which deranging actions are attended with much
inconvenience in the use of the cards. Moreover, from the nature of the
material of which the cards are made, they are easily broken or torn, and are
quickly rendered unserviceable, thereby entailing considerable expense in the
replacing of them. The object of my Invention then is to obviate these evils,
by making the cards of a combination of materials not liable to be affected by
atmospheric changes, at the same time increasing their durability. The
ordinary jacquard cards, after having been used for one particular pattern, are
useless, and are then thrown aside as waste material; but the cards manu-
factured according to my improvements may be used over and over again for
the weaving of the same or different designs. This renewal of the cards, as it
may be termed, is a point of great importance to the manufacturer, as a set
of cards may be renewed at much less expense than a new set of the ordinary
cards would cost. In manufacturing cards for weaving according to my im-*
provements, I take suitable lengths of linen or cotton cloth, and coat one side

page_text: of the fabric with glue or other adhesive matter, upon which is laid one or
more layers of paper or thin pasteboard. These combined materials are then
submitted to pressure by passing them between rollers or through suitable
pressing machinery. This operation forces out the superfluous glue or other
adhesive matter, and presses the textile fabric and the paper closely together.
The combined material is finally dried, and is then cut into pieces of an
uniform size corresponding to the cards ordinarily used. The improved cards
thus prepared are perforated or cut in the ordinary manner, and are then
ready for the use of the weaver. The cards made according to the foregoing
system are thin and light, but exceedingly firm, and nothing short of extreme
violence will injure them. The renewal of these improved cards after the
pattern is done with is very readily effected. One side of the used card is.
covered with paper, which is attached to the card by means of glue or paste,
and upon the paper is placed a layer of linen, cotton, or other textile fabric,
cemented to the paper by glue or other adhesive material. The renewed
cards are then rolled or pressed, and finally dried; they are then ready
for being perforated or cut, in the same manner as is practised with new and
unused cards. When the renewed cards are no longer required for the second
pattern for which they have been perforated, they may be again renewed by
covering them with paper and a textile fabric, as before explained, and this
operation may be repeated several times before the cards become useless..
It will be obvious to the practical man, that cards for jacquard machines
manufactured according to these improvements offer great advantages to
manufacturers who have occasion to use them. Not only are they much more
durable than the ordinary cards, but the facility with which they may be
renewed and applied to the weaving of other designs renders them far more
economical in use.
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 may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without deviating
from the principles or main features of my Invention; but 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 system or mode of combining textile fabrics with paper or other
suitable material for the manufacture of cards to be used in jacquard machinery,
as herein-before described. .
Second, the system or mode of manufacturing cards for jacquard weaving

page_text: by the combination of a textile fabric with paper or other suitable material, as
herein-before described.
Third, the system or mode of renewing jacquard cards that have been used
in jacquard weaving, and rendering them again fit for use for other and
different patterns, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Blain, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this 4th day of June, One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-seven.
JAMES BLAIN. (L.B.)