IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Hollingworth, Managing Director of the Firm of
Hutchinson, Hollingworth, and Co., " Limited," of Dobcross, in the County of
York, Machine Makers, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR
WEAVING."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Hollingworth at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 2nd March 1881.
JAMES HOLLINGWORTH, Managing Director of the Firm of Hutchinson,
Hollingworth, & Co., "Limited," of Dobcross, in the County of York, Machine
Makers..
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
This Invention is specially applicable to that class of loom having rising and
falling shuttle boxes, the object of the improvements being to detect the absence of
the weft through breakage or other cause, and to stop the loom by self acting
mechanism. This object I accomplish by placing in front of the slay board a
vertical rod attached or connected to a weft fork or feeler, so arranged that the
upward and downward movement of the said rod causes the weft fork to rise and
fall. The upward and downward movement is given to this vertical rod by means
of an inclined bar or plate, or a bar having an undulating or cam like surface, upon
which rests the toe of a horizontal bar attached to the vertical rod, causing the
vertical rod to rise and fall as the slay board travels to and fro towards the breast
beam. A tumbler acting upon one end of a lever or rod is provided, and so placed
that if the weft was absent when the fork or feeler lowered, the cam surface would
allow the vertical rod, through the medium of the horizontal lever, to lower
sufficiently far, as when the slay board was returning to the breast beam the toe of
the horizontal lever would come into contact with the tumbler, and turn it over or
tilt it, and thereby depress one end of the lever or rod, removing the other end out
of contact with a rod or other appliance in connection with the strap guide, and
cause the strap to be moved from the fast to the loose pulley, and stopping the
loom. If however the weft was present when the fork or feeler lowered, the weft
would hold up the fork until the vertical rod had passed the tumbler, and the loom
would not be stopped. The cam surface for acting on the vertical rod may be
made adjustable, and if more convenient it may be a grove formed in a plate, or
a revolving cam may be employed.
Instead of the toe and the horizontal lever resting upon the cam surface the
vertical rod may be in direct contact with the cam surface,

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said James Hollingworth in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 2nd
September 1881.
JAMES HOLLINGWORTH, Managing Director of the Firm of Hutchinson,
Hollingworth, and Co., " Limited," of Dobcross, in the County of York, Machine
Makers. "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
This Invention is specially applicable to that class of loom having rising and
falling shuttle boxes, the object of the improvements being to detect the absence of
weft through breakage or other cause, and to stop the loom by self acting
mechanism. This object I accomplish by placing in front of the slay board a
vertical rod attached or connected to a weft fork or feeler, so arranged that the
upward and downward movement of the said rod causes the weft fork to rise and
fall. The upward and downward movement is given to this vertical rod by means
of an inclined bar or plate, or a bar having an undulating or cam like surface, upon
which rests the toe of a horizontal lever attached to the vertical rod, causing the
vertical rod to rise and fall as the slay board travels to and fro towards the breast
beam.
A tumbler acting upon one end of a lever or rod is provided, and so placed that
if the weft is absent when the weft fork or feeler descends the cam surface will
allow the vertical rod, through the medium of the horizontal lever, to lower to such
an extent that when the slay board returns or beats up, the toe of the horizontal
Jever will come into contact with the tumbler, and turn it over or tilt it, and
thereby depress or raise one end of the lever or rod, removing or placing the other
end out of or into contact with a rod or other appliance in connection with the
strap guide, and cause the strap to be moved from the fast to the loose pulley, so as
to stop the loom. If however the weft is present when the fork or feeler lowers,
the weft will hold up the fork until the vertical rod has passed the tumbler, and
the loom will not be stopped. The cam surface for acting on the vertical rod may
be made adjustable, and if more convenient it may be a groove formed in a plate,
or a revolving cam may be employed.
Instead of the toe of the horizontal lever resting upon the cam surface the vertical
rod may be in direct contact with the cam surface.
In order that my Invention may be more fully understood I herein give reference
to the accompanying Sheets of Drawings illustrative thereof. Figs. 1 and 2
represent elevation and plan view of such parts of a loom as are necessary to illustrate
the application of my Invention. A is the breast beam, and B the slay board, C
being the reed, and Ď the ordinary knocking off lever. The weft fork E is of the
usual construction, and is hinged to a rod or stud F fixed to the front of the slay
board. The weft fork is connected by a vertical rod G to a detector or finger_H,
which works up and down an inclined cam J as the slay oscillates to and fro. The
exact position of the point of this detector depends upon the presence or absence
of a shoot of weft, for, as will be readily seen, if the weft is present the fork can
only descend far enough to rest upon the "shoot," as shewn in dotted lines, and the
point of the detector will be elevated to correspond therewith, and pass clean of
the tumbler K, but if the weft be absent then the weft fork will descend imme-
diately into the bottom of the groove b cut in the slay board, and as the slay moves
forward towards the breast beam the point of the detector will come into contact
with the nose of the tumbler K, as shewn on the Drawings, and cause the same to
turn upon its centre k, which will have the effect of raising the stud L, and through
it the lever M, by which means another arm or lever Ñ will be thrown further
forward into contact with the knocking off lever D, and by disengaging the same
will stop the loom. Upon the same stud as the tumbler K is a support O for

page_text: keeping the lever M in position when not otherwise acted upon. The point a of
the incline J is for the purpose of supporting the detector Ĥ when in its lowest
position, and thus take the weight of the detector and rod of the weft fork. In
Fig. 3 I have shewn a modification of my Invention, in which the support O is
dispensed with, and a heel plate n substituted for supporting the tumbler, and in
which the vertical rod G and the detector H are formed in one piece, so as to
dispense with a pin joint. In other respects the action of the parts is similar to
that before described. In Fig. 4 I have shewn an arrangement of apparatus
whereby the motion of the detector H may be imparted to the weft fork without
an absolute connection of the intermediate parts, the lowering motion of the weft
fork being effected by the downward movement of the detector, but when the
detector is raised up the incline J the part P will fall by its own weight and raise
the weft fork. In Fig. 5 the detector is entirely dispensed with, and its work is
performed by the end of the vertical rod G, the tumbler in this case being placed
nearer to the upright rod than in the other cases.
Another method of operating the weft fork is shewn in Fig. 6, in which the
director, instead of operating a vertical rod, operates a toothed segment R, which
gears with another toothed segment on the shaft or stud which carries the weft
fork.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner of
performing the same, I declare that I claim,-
Firstly. The combination of the incline J with the tumbler K, placed in such
position that if.the weft is present the detector H will pass clear of the said tumbler
without actuating it, substantially as shewn and described.
Secondly. The combination of the detector H, incline J, and tumbler K in such
manner as to act upon the levers M. and N for the purpose of knocking off or dis-
engaging the lever D, substantially as shewn and described.
In witness whereof, I, the,said James Hollingworth, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty-one.