CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1848

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
DICKINSON, of Blackburn, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Eleventh day of September,
in the twelfth year of Her reign, and in the year of our Lord One thou-
sand eight hundred and forty-eight, did give and grant unto me, the said
William Dickenson, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial license,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William Dick-
enson, my exors, adññors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said
William Dickenson, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within that part of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her Dominion of Wales, and
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
AND APPLICABLE TO LOOMS FOR WEAVING;" in which said Letters Patent there
is contained a proviso requiring that I, the said William Dickinson, shall parti-
cularly describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, to be enrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chan-
cery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said in part recited Letters Patent, as, 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
William Dickenson, do hereby declare that the nature and particulars of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed and
carried into effect, are particularly set forth and described in and by this
present instrument in writing and the Drawings hereto annexed, which
Drawings are made to the scale or proportionate size marked upon them.
The same letters of reference which are used in any Figure to indicate any
particular part or parts of my improvements, are also used to indicate the
same part or parts in other Figures wherein different views of the same are
delineated.
My improvements relate to the class of looms known as power looms
employed for weaving plain cloth; and the novel features of my Invention
consist in the arrangement and construction of the working details of these
looms upon improved principles, and in the substitution of apparatus of a
superior character in place of the ordinary arrangements now in use.
In the Drawings attached to these Presents the ordinary parts of the loom
are delineated in outline, and the improvements which I have effected are
represented shaded with colour.
Figure 1 is an elevation at the driving end; Figure 2 is a front view from
the cloth beam; and Figure 3 is a plan of a power loom to which my improve-
ments are applied. The other Figures, which represent modifications or details
of my Invention, are referred to as occasion requires. As all persons con-
versant with the art of weaving by power are necessarily acquainted with the
different parts of and the various opérations performed by the loom, I shall
confine the following description to the working of my own improvements,
and their practical application to the power loom. Of the common apparatus
of the loom shewn in the Drawing, A, A, is the framing; B, the yarn beam;
C, the cloth beam; I is the breast beam; D, the lay or slay; E, E, the pick-
ing apparatus; F, the crank shaft; G, the tappet shaft furnished with cams or
tappets G, G², which act upon the treadles H, H', imparting motion to the
healds H, H, in the usual manner.
Firstly, my improvements apply to the weft motion, by which, when the
thread of weft is broken or exhausted, the evolutions of the loom are stopped.
This is commonly effected by causing the thread of weft to act upon the
"forked arm." of a cranked lever, technically known as the "weft fork," which
at every stroke of the slay protrudes partially through a "grid" placed upon
one side of the "reed." When the forked arm of the cranked lever is acted
upon by the weft thread, the horizontal arm is raised beyond the action of a
vibrating lever worked by a system of levers from the tappet shaft, and so

page_text: long as the supply of weft remains unbroken the motions of the loom proceed
with uniformity; but should the supply be exhausted or the thread broken, its
action upon the forked arm of the cranked lever ceases, and the horizontal
arm, coming in contact with the apparatus acted upon from the tappet shaft,
causes the driving strap to be traversed from the fast to the loose pulley,
thereby effecting the stoppage of the loom. My improvement consists in dis-
pensing with the system of levers employed to work the weft motion from the
tappet shaft, and in effecting the stoppage of the loom, should the weft thread
be absent or broken, by bringing the horizontal arm of the cranked lever or
weft fork, before mentioned, in contact with a stop or notch in a vibratory
lever whose oscillations are effected either from the treadles or the picking
shafts of the loom. The contact of the horizontal arm of the weft fork with
the notch in the vibratory lever liberates a catch box, which, sliding on the
axis of the vibratory lever, acts upon the spring handle of the loom, and
traverses the driving strap from the fast to the loose pulley, at the same time
applying a brake to the fly wheel, & preventing any shock or damage result-
ing to the working parts of the loom from the sudden cessations of its
evolutions.
In Drawing No. 2, at Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, these arrangements are
drawn to a larger scale than in Figures 1, 2, and 3, Drawing No. 1, where
they are shewn attached to the loom. I is the breast beam of the loom. J
is the cranked lever or weft fork acted upon by the weft in the usual manner.
J is the forked arm, and J is the horizontal arm of this lever, which, when
the weft thread is unbroken, and the reed is beating up, assume the positions
shewn in dotted lines at Figure 5. K is the vibratory lever, whose fulcrum is
the rod K. K is a catch box fast upon the rod K', and taking into the
sliding catch box K', which latter is loose upon the shaft K'. Attached to or
in a piece with the catch box K is the lever K, vibrated by the rod L from
the treadles, as hereafter described; and through the catch boxes K³, K³, and
the rod K, vibration is imparted from the rod L to the lever K. Ko is a notch
in the upper surface of the lever K, against which notch, should the weft
thread be broken, and the reed beating up, the horizontal arm J of the weft
fork J is brought into contact, and arrests the vibration of the beam K, which
forces the catch box K³ out of geer with the catch box K², see Figures 6
and 7, and the boss of the lever K pressing upon the arm M, of the bell-
cranked lever M, M', causes the arm M' to shift the spring handle N from its
position, and through the ordinary strap shifter N', to traverse the driving strap
from the fast pulley No to the loose pulley N+ (see Figure 1, 2, and 3, Draw-
ing No. 1). The rod L is oscillated by means of a lover L', whose fulcrum is

page_text: at L², which lever is vibrated by the alternate elevation and depression of one
or both of the treadles H and H. The weft fork J swivels upon a bracket
I², which is securely placed at right angles to the breast beam I. To all per-
sons conversant with weaving it will readily appear that the weft fork J acts
directly and not obliquely upon the vibratory lever K, as ordinarily con-
structed, and that great economy and accuracy of working must result there-
from. It is also worthy of remark, that the loom can be stopped more
readily than with the weft motion now in general use. It will likewise be
evident that, by varying the arrangements in connection with the rod L, its
vibration may be effected by a connection with one of the picking shafts E, E,
as seen at Figure 14, Drawing No. 1. When the spring handle N is acted
upon by the bell crank lever M, M', the incline No, projecting from the spring
handle N (see Figure 2), acts upon the lever O (see Figure 1), and causes the
break P to be put in contact with the periphery of the fly wheel Q, thus
arresting instantaneously the evolutions of the loom without shock or injury
to the mechanism or framing.
Secondly, my improvements consist of a certain novel construction and
arrangement of apparatus whereby the loom is thrown out of geer and its
motions suspended when the shuttle fails to complete its traverse from one
shuttle box to the other, and remains in the shed while the reed is beating up.
In ordinary power looms this is effected by the contact of the "finger" of the
"stop rod" with the "frog," a rod or projection from the latter striking the
"spring handle," and traversing the driving strap from the fast to the loose
pulley, or by allowing the reed to swivel in the top rail or slay cap, and
making a spring joint in the back board of the shuttle race, the combined
action of which operate by the intervention of levers upon a stop rod placed
beneath the bed of the slay, the finger of which, when the shuttle is caught in
the shed, acts upon the spring handle, and effects the stoppage of the loom.
The characteristic features of this part of my Invention are, that by a simple
arrangement the advantages of the "fast" and "loose" reed looms are com-
bined; that it is suited to the manufacture of light or heavy fabrics, from the
circumstance that the reed is fast or immoveable so long as the shuttle per-
forms its duty (and is therefore equal to beat up cloth of any strength), but
that when the shuttle traps or is caught in the shed, the reed, yielding to the
pressure of the shuttle, swivels in the slay cap, and the loom is immediately
stopped without injury to the warp or weft. The absence of the shuttle from
the shuttle box while the reed is beating up permits a small finger or detector to
act upon the spring handle of the loom, and, simultaneous with the traverse of
the driving strap from the fast to the loose pulley, applies a brake to the peri-

page_text: phery of the fly wheel. These operations are effected with a fast back board
to the shuttle box, and an ordinary swell therein, which latter is acted upon
by the shuttle at every pick, while the slay sword is neither recessed or
cranked, as hereafter described, and the stop rod fixed beneath the slay is
dispensed with.
My improved arrangements for this purpose are shewn applied to the loom
in Figures 1, 2, and 3, Drawing No. 1, and on a larger scale in Drawing
No. 2, where Figure 9 is a section of the bed of the slay through the shuttle
box; Fig. 10 a section of the same through the reed; and Figure 11 is a
back elevation of a portion of the reed and one shuttle box, shewing the
arrangements and positions of the apparatus when the shuttle completes its
race. a is the slay cap; b, the reed swivelling in a recess of the slay cap, and
supported from beneath by a bearer c secured upon the bracket d, which
bracket, with the detector or finger e, is made fast upon the rod f, placed at
the back of the bed of the slay D. The bearer c, which is of the same length
as the reed b, is supported at the further end of the rod f by a similar bracket
d; and the contact of the reed b with the slay D is maintained by the pressure
of the rib g affixed to brackets h, h, which are loose upon the rod f, and are
acted upon by the spiral springs i, i, affixed by brackets (not shewn) to the
slay swords R, R. j is the back board of the shuttle race. k is the swell or
spring therein, which is acted upon by the shuttle when in the box, and gently
vibrates the lever l upon the rod f, raising the detector or finger e sufficiently
to clear the projection m upon the spring handle N, see Figures 1, 2, and 3;
but when the shuttle fails to complete its race, and remains in the shed, and
the swell or spring k ceases to act upon the lever 1, the finger e falls, as shewn
in Figure 10, and comes in contact with the projection m upon the spring
handle, and through the strap shifter N traverses the driving strap from the
fast pulley N³ to the loose pulley N* (sec Drawing No. 1). The fall of the
finger or detector e removes the bearer c from beneath the reed b, which latter,
striking against the shuttle as the slay is beating up, overcomes the resistance
of the spiral springs i, i, and swivelling in the slay cap a, assumes the position
represented in Figure 13. n is a small angular lever, see Figures 1, 2, and 3,
the vertical arm of which is struck by the finger or detector e, (at the same
time as the projection m upon the spring handle N is struck,) and causes the
horizontal arm of this lever to depress the brake lever O, when the immediate
contact of the brake P with the periphery of the fly wheel Q is effected by
the action of the incline No projecting from the spring handle N, as before
described, and the motions of the loop are instantaneously but gently arrested.

page_text: .
In Drawing No. 1, at Figure 15, I have shewn a brake applied to a loom
with an ordinary fast or fixed reed. This I effect by means of a stud or pro-
jections from the ordinary frog t, which, acting upon an incline p on the
brake lever O, applies the brake to the fly wheel Q whenever the shuttle traps
and brings the stop rod finger 7 against the notch in the frog t. As the brake
levers which I make use of are elastic in their action, it will be found that so
soon as the frog is liberated from contact with the stop rod, or the spring
handle is placed in the working position, the fly wheel is also relieved from
the pressure of the brake, and the loom is prepared to resume its operations.
Thirdly, my improvements consist in extending the reed b, by means of slips
X, X, close up to or upon the back board j, which latter is securely fastened
to the slay sword and to the end of the shuttle box in any convenient manner.
The advantages resulting from the extension of the reed are, that the warps
are not broken by the shuttle being caught obliquely between the end of the
reed and the back board of the shuttle box, and that the spring joint of the
back board and the cranking of the slay sword are dispensed with.
Having now fully described the nature of my said Invention of certain
improvements in and applicable to looms for weaving, I wish it to be
understood that I do not confine myself to the details of the various appa-
ratus for effectuating my improvements as herein set forth, nor to the precise
arrangements of the mechanical combinations illustrated and described, except-
ing in so far as these, or any of them, are indispensable for carrying my
Invention into practical effect; neither do I claim as of my Invention any of
the ordinary or well-known parts of power looms which have been referred to
for the purpose of rendering the description of my Invention, or the manner
in which it is applied to such looms, more readily understood; but what I
claim as new and of my Invention in this my present Specification of Royal
Letters Patent granted unto me as aforesaid are,-
Firstly, the novel method of stopping the loom when the weft thread is
broken or exhausted, as herein-before described, or any modification thereof, by
which the disengagement of a sliding catch box is made to act upon the spring
.handle of the loom, traverse the driving strap from the fast to the loose pulley,
and arrest the motions of the fly wheel by the application of a brake to the
periphery thereof, as also the method of effecting the oscillation of the catch
boxes and the levers attached thereto or in connection' therewith, by a system
of rods and levers vibrated from the "treadles" or "picking" apparatus of
the loom.
. Secondly, the combination and arrangement of the various parts as described,

page_text: or any mere modification of the same, whereby the reed is held secure or fast
in its place when the shuttle performs its duty, and the slay is beating up;
but which, when the shuttle remains in the shed, cause the reed to swivel in
the slay cap, and thus preserve the warps and the woven fabric from the
injury which would result to them by the undue contact of the shuttle with
the temple were the reed to remain in the vertical position, and the slay to
beat up with the shuttle lying in the shed, as also the combined action of the
apparatus for effecting the stoppage of the loom, and applying a brake to the
periphery of the fly wheel operating in conjunction with the arrangements for
swivelling the reed in the slay cap, substituting and rendering unnecessary the
cranking of the slay sword and the hinged or spring back board made use of
in loose reed looms, dispensing also with the stop rod and frog made use of in
looms as ordinarily constructed.
Thirdly, the application of a brake to the fly wheel, effected by the action
of a stud or projection from the frog upon an incline on the brake lever, as
described.
Fourthly, the extension of the reed, as described.
The whole of which being, to the best of my knowledge and belief, new
and never before practised in that part of Her said Majesty's United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her Dominion of Wales, and
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, I deliver this as my true and faithful Specifi-
cation of the same.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Dickinson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Ninth day of March, One thousand eight
hundred and forty-nine.
WILLIAM (L.s.) DICKINSON.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named William Dickinson
(having been first duly stamped) in
the presence of
CHA COOPER, Solr.
Manchester.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Ninth day of March, in the
year of our Lord 1849, the aforesaid William Dickinson came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her 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.
Enrolled the Tenth day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and forty-nine.