A MACHINE FOR DRESSING AND STIFFENING AND DRYING OF COTTON AND LINEN WARPS, OR ANY OTHER WARPS THAT MAY REQUIRE IT, AT THE SAME TIME THE LOOM IS WORKING, HITHER WITH THE MOTION OF THE LOOM OR OTHER MACHINERY
Year: 1824

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
WELLS, of Manchester, in the County Palatine of Lancaster, Silk and Cotton
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Twenty-fifth day of May, in the fifth year of His
reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Joseph Wells, His especial licence that I, the said Joseph Wells,
my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph Wells,
my exors, admors, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "A MACHINE
FOR DRESSING AND STIFFENING AND DRYING OF COTTON AND LINEN WARPS, OR ANY
OTHER WARPS THAT MAY REQUIRE IT, AT THE SAME TIME THE LOOM IS WORKING,
HITHER WITH THE MOTION OF THE LOOM OR OTHER MACHINERY;" in which said
Letters Patent there is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Joseph
Wells, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to
describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in His
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent (reference
being thereunto had) will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Joseph Wells, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described and
ascertained in and by the Drawings hereunto annexed, and the following
description thereof (that is to say) :-
upon
--
A certain apparatus or machinery comprising rollers, brushes, and a fan,
which may be applied to looms of all descriptions for the making of cotton,
linen, or other goods, so as to dress, stiffen, and dry the warp, whether of linen,
cotton, or other material that may require dressing, stiffening, and drying, at
the same time that the loom is in operation, either with the motion of the
lathe, or other machinery. First, I place the warp beam either below or
the top of the loom, and to separate the threads of the warp I use a
reed of the same count or description as that in the lathe. I use this reed to
keep the threads of the warp at equal distances from each other whilst the
warp passes between the rollers, which rollers I place perpendicularly, or
otherwise. The size or sow I place in a trough beneath the lower roller, over
which roller the warp passes, and thereby becomes saturated with the size,
which may either be made in the usual way, of flour, or any other stiffening
matter, taking care that it be thin enough for the threads of the warp to pass
through easily; when so saturated, the rollers are pressed together by means
of springs, a lever, or any other convenient method, which will have the effect
of squeezing the threads nearly dry. The threads of the warp being now on
the stretch, I place four brushes, more or less may be used, at equal distances
from each other, determinable in length according to the width of the web
required to be woven, upon an axis to which is fixed a wheel, which wheel,
being worked by means of a lever from the lathe, turns the brushes, which
brushes, with their axis, may be placed either on the upper side or the under
side of the warp, or there may be one set of brushes with their axis on the
upper side and another on the under side of the warp, both of which sets may
work with simultaneous motion, which brushes being kept constantly turning
in a rotatory motion, and the warp sufficiently pressed, either upon one set of
brushes if one only be used, or between two sets if two be used, will dress
the warp so as to make it smooth and clear. As it frequently will happen that
the yarn or warp does not become sufficiently dry on its reaching the reed in
the lathe, I in that case place a piece of wood, iron, or any other suitable
material, to form an axis from one side of the loom to the other, upon which
axis I fix a light frame of wood or other material, covered with paper, cloth,
or any other thin substance. This will form what I call a fan, at the center of
the axis of which I place a cross piece of wood, or any other firm and light

page_text: material about the length of four inches, to act as a lever, to each end of which
lever I fix a chain or cord, the ends of which I fasten to the treadles of the loom,
so that by the motion of the treadles the fan will move backwards and forwards
with such velocity as to create a draft of air which will dry the yarn or warp
sufficiently before it reaches the reed in the lathe. I shall now describe the
progressive movement of the warp and web by the Drawings of my apparatus, as
annexed. First, the arrows shew the progressive motion of the warp and web
through the loom. The looms most convenient for my apparatus are called the
hand or dandy loom, and the power loom, to the invention of neither of which do
I lay any claim, and they are both so well known that I need not describe
any part of either of them, except to elucidate the nature and application of
my apparatus as regards each description of loom. I claim my Invention to
be that of applying and putting in motion certain rollers, brushes, and a fan
to looms for weaving, whereby the united effects of dressing, stiffening, and
drying cotton and linen warps, or any other description of warps, are produced
at the same time the loom is working; which effects are produced by passing
the warp between the rollers so as to size it, by passing the warp through or
over a set of brushes it but one set, or between brushes if more than one set,
so as to dress it, and by passing the warp over a fan so as to dry it, whilst the
loom is in operation, and which apparatus may be applied to any description
of looms now used, of what are called either hand or dandy looms, or power
looms. But, as the dimensions of the various parts of my apparatus can only be
determined upon by the size of the loom to which it is intended to be applied,
to give an exact description of the dimension of each part will be unnecessary
and useless; the rollers and brushes may be made of any material commonly
used for looms, and of any diametar the size of the loom will admit; care
should, however, be taken that the rollers be particularly true, so that the
size or sow, if any pass between the rollers, so pass between them evenly.
Description of the Drawing No. 1, which shews an end section of
that description of loom which I call a hand or dandy loom, to which
I affix my said Invention, which loom being known, I need not here
describe it:-A is a roller fixed in the loom upon pivots supported on
steps in such a position as to allow the size or sow to be placed upon it,
or in a trough Z, which, if a trough be used, should be fixed so near roller A
as to allow it to revolve in the size or sow contained in the trough; by
this means roller A will, when working, cause the yarn or warp to be
smeared with the size or sow, and that roller being, by means of springs,
a lever, or other method, pressed against B, another roller of similar dimen-

page_text: "
sions fixed above roller A with pivots and steps, the yarn or warp whilst
passing over roller B, and between that roller and roller A, will become
saturated with the sow or size. D, D, D, D, D, describe a lever with joints
d, d, d, and at L is a pivot upon which the lever moves, so that when the lathe
.is in motion it acts upon the lever in such manner as to cause it to rise and
fall with cach stroke of the lathe; the lover, it is to be observed, extends
from the top of the lathe over the pivot L, to a wheel C, the axis of which
constitutes the axis of four brushes F, F, F, F, determinable in length according
to the width of the web or piece in process; each stroke of the lathe will also
cause the brushes F, F, F, F, to move gradually round and dress the yarn or
warp, which, on leaving the rollers A and B, will pass through the brushes
F, F, F, F. G is a fan connected with the treadles of the loom K, K, by
means of a chain or cord a, a, and being fixed to a lever H, the treadles, by
their being moved alternately up and down, will cause, the fan to be moved
with such velocity backwards and forwards as to create a draught or current
of air sufficient to dry the yarn by the time it reaches the reed fixed in the
lathe. I shews the warp or yarn beam at the upper part of the loom.
P is a reed through which the warp passes, so as to separate the threads of it
previous to its passing between the rollers A and B.
No. 2 represents an end section of a power loom, to which I also affix my.
said Invention. A is a roller fixed in the loom upon pivots supported by
steps, underneath which roller a trough Z is so placed as to allow roller A in
its motion to revolve in the size or sow put. in the trough Z. B is another
roller placed above roller A, which roller B is pressed against roller.A by
means of a lever X; the yarn or warp is passed between those two rollers,
and thereby becomes saturated with size or sow; it is then passed from thence
through the brushes F, F, F, F, which are turned round by means of a cord
or strap a, a, extending from the main axis of the loom, and fixed upon a
pulley C, which said brushes dress the yarn or warp. H, H, are rods of iron,
,wood, or other strong material, fixed to the lathe, and extending from thence
to the fan G, to which the rods are also secured; these rods, being put in
motion by the action of the lathe, move the fan backwards and forwards with
that degree of velocity as to dry the yarn or warp before it arrives at the reed
which is fixed in the lathe. D is the slide or support to the brushes, and may
either be so elevated and depressed that the yarn or warp may pass along the
surface of the brushes, or through them, as the operator may chuse. O is a
screw to regulate the position of the brushes.
Having thus described my Invention, I claim as new the application of the

page_text: rollers, brushes, and fan to looms when in the operation of weaving, and by
which said Invention great saving will be found by dressing, stiffening, and
drying the warp whilst in the operation of weaving.
And I do declare this my said Invention to be, to the best of my knowledge
and belief, entirely new, and has never before been used in these Kingdoms;
and I verily believe this my said Specification doth, in all respects, fully and
without reserve or disguise, comply with the proviso in my said herein-before
in part recited Letters Patent contained; wherefore I do hereby claim to
maintain exclusive right and privilege to my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Wells, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eleventh day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-four.
JOSEPH (L.B.) WELLS.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eleventh day of November, in
5 the year of our Lord 1824, the aforesaid Joseph Wells came before our
said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to
the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
D
Inrolled the Twentieth day of November, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and twenty-four.