IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CARDS, OR SUBSTITUTES FOR CARDS, FOR THE JACQUARD LOOM
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Cowper, of 20, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CARDS, OR
SUBSTITUTES FOR CARDS, FOR THE JACQUARD LOOM."-A communi-
cation.
Sealed the 5th December 1853, and dated the 21st June 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Cowper at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 21st June 1853.
1, CHARLES COWPER, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
5 tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CARDS, OR SUBSTITUTES
FOR CARDS, FOR THE JACQUARD LOOM," to be as follows:-
In lieu of employing cardboard for the cards they are made of wood
and paper in the following manner :-A piece of wood is passed through
a machine by which it is cut into thin sheets, and these thin sheets are

page_text: moistened and pressed, and they are covered with paper glued or
cemented to them. A pair of cylinders serve to press the sheets of
wood covered with paper, and to remove the superfluous glue. The
sheets thus made are employed in lien of cardboard, and are perforated
in the usual manner, and employed as cards for the jacquard loom,
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Charles Cowper in the Great Seal Patent Office,
on the 17th December 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
CHARLES COWPER, of 20, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in
the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the seven-
teenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Charles Cowper, Her special licence
that I, the said Charles Cowper, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles Cowper, 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
THE MANUFACTURE OF CARDS, OR SUBSTITUTES FOR CARDS, POR THE
JACQUARD LOOM," communicated to me from abroad, upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles Cowper, 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 Charles Cowper, do hereby

page_text: 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 thereof, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawing, and to the figures and letters marked thereon
(that is to say):
The Invention relates to the manufacture of cards, or substitutes for
cards, for the jacquard loom, of thin sheets of wood prepared as herein-
after described.
The wood employed should be poplar, pine, or other similar soft
wood, and as free as possible from knots and shakes. It is cut into
thin sheets or shavings by means of a plane, and these sheets or shavings
are immersed in water or a weak solution of glue, and placed in a
press. After being pressed for a short time they are again dipped into
another solution of glue, and passed between rollers or otherwise pressed
to remove the excess of glue. A sheet of paper is laid on each side of
the wood, and a number of pieces of wood so prepared are laid upon
one another, and placed in a press where they become partially dried,
and they are then taken out and exposed to the air until dry. They
are trimmed up to the required size by a circular saw or otherwise, and
they are afterwards punched or perforated with holes according to the
pattern required in a similar manner to that in which the ordinary
cards are perforated.
Figure 1, is an elevation, partly in section, and Figure 2, is an end
view of a machine adapted for cutting the wood into thin sheets or
shavings. A, is the driving shaft giving motion to the pullics B, and C,
by means of the straps b, and c. On the axis of the pulley C, is a pinion
P, which drives a wheel D, which, in Figure 1, is partly concealed and
hidden by the support E, which also hides the pinion. On the axis of
the wheel D, is a crank F, which gives motion by a connecting rod G,
to the table II, which slides backwards and forwards on the frame I, of
the machine, being furnished with suitable guides for that purpose.
The blocks of wood J, are laid upon the table II, and secured between
a fixed stop and a moveable stop or dog K, which is advanced by a
screw L. The machine is represented as constructed for operating
upon three such blocks of wood at once, but it may be adapted for

page_text: a greater or lesser number, if preferred. M., M, N, are the planes
which are employed for cutting off the thin shavings or shects of wood.
These planes are provided with sharp cutting chisels or planc irons N,
like a carpenter's plane, or like the planes employed in the manufacture
of scaleboard. The planes M, are each connected to the frame I, of the
machine by means of four parallel links O, O. jointed to them. Q, Q. Q,
in Figure 2, are balance weights, with cords for suspending the planes
when fresh blocks of wood are being placed in the machine. These
cords are disconnected when the planes are at work, so that the weight
of the plane rests upon the wood. The machine being put in motion
the table H, moves backwards and forwards carrying the pieces of wood
under the planes, which remove a shaving or thin sheet of wood from
each block at each forward motion of the table. The plane descends a
little at each stroke, until the block of wood is reduced to such a thick-
ness as cannot be readily treated in this manner. The remaining piece,
which may be about half an inch thick, more or less, is glued or
cemented to the top of another block of wood, which is then cut into
shavings or sheets as above described. By this means very little of the
wood is wasted. The length and breadth of the blocks of wood are the
same or rather more than those of the finished cards, so that each sheet
or shaving forms one card or substitute for a card. Or the blocks may
be larger, so that each sheet or shaving may make two or more cards.
The blocks must, however, not be smaller than the finished cards, as it
would then be necessary to place picces of wood side by side to form
the card, which would be objectionable. In order to prevent the planes
from dragging on the wood as the latter passes back, the planes are
raised by means of a rod worked by a cam on the axis of the wheel D.
The planes are thus raised high enough to allow the thickest piece of
wood to pass freely under them, and they are lowered at the end of the
stroke until they again rest on the wood. when they are ready for the
next cut.
The thickness of the sheets of wood is regulated or varied by setting
the plane irons with more or less projection, and it will be found that
one seventieth part of an inch is a suitable thickness for the sheets of
wood. I do not, however, confine myself to that thickness, as a con-

page_text: siderably greater or less thickness may be employed, and a very thin
sheet or shaving of wood will answer the purpose of the Invention.
The thin sheets or shavings of wood are then dipped into water or
a weak solution of glue or size made from pieces of skin, and a number
of them are laid upon one another and placed in a press, as shewn in
Figure 5. R, R, are two strong iron jaws or clamps provided with
screws S, S. A stout board or a plate of metal T', is placed under the
pile of sheets of wood, and a similar board or plate T, is placed above
them. The screws S, S, are then screwed up so as to compress the
pile of wood. Any other suitable form of press may be employed, if
preferred.
The sheets of wood after being pressed are separated and again
immersed in a solution of glue or size contained in the cistem U, of
the machine shown in elevation in Figure 3, and in section in Figure 4.
V, V, are a pair of rollers mounted in suitable supports v, v, and driven
by a band or strap w. The sheets of wood are immersed in the glue
shewn at W, in Figure 3,
in U, and passed between the rollers V, V, as
by which the superfluous glue is removed. A sheet of paper is then
laid on each side of the sheet of wood, and a pile of such compound
sheets is placed in the press, Figure 5, or in any other suitable press,
and when partially dried they are taken out and allowed to dry.
Before placing the compound sheets of wood and paper in the press
each sheet may be passed between a pair of rollers to squeeze the paper
into close contact with the wood. The edges are trimmed or cut to
the required size by a circular saw X, in Figure 5. A pile of the
sheets may be cut at one operation by clamping them together with the
clamps or jaws R, R, and advancing the whole pile to the saw X.
The cards, or substitutes for cards, thus made are then perforated
with holes according to the pattern required, in the same manner as the
ordinary cards for jacquard looms are perforated.
Having now described the nature of the Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that
what I claim as the Invention intended to be secured by the aforesaid
Letters Patent is.-

page_text: The manufacture of cards, or substitutes for cards, for the jacquard
loom, in manner herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Cowper, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
three.
Witness,
FREDERIC JOSEPH CLOWES,
CHARLES COWPER. (L.s.)
Cold Harbour Lane,
Camberwell.