IM- PROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING VELVET OR OTHER CUT PILE FABRICS
Year: 1860

page_text: ETTERS PATENT to George Henry Birkbeck, of the Firm of Tongue &
Birkbeck, of 34, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Patent Agents and Engineers, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING VELVET OR OTHER CUT PILE FABRICS."-
A communication from abroad by Elie Dominique Baril, Manufacturer,-
of Paris, in the Empire of France.
Sealed the 28th December 1860, and dated the 28th July 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Henry Birkbeck
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
28th July 1860.
I, GEORGE HENRY BIRKBECK, of the Firm of Tongue & Birkbeck, of 34,
Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
Agents and Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING VELVET OR OTHER CUT PILE FABRICS," to
be as follows:-
This Invention relates principally to the apparatus employed for introducing
and withdrawing the wires in looms used for weaving velvet, or other cut pile
fabrics, and in the construction of the wires themselves, together with apparatus
to prevent injury when the loom is stopped suddenly or moves backward.
The first part of these improvements consist in simplifying the apparatus for

page_text: inserting and withdrawing the wires, and in the means of governing the to-and-
fro movement of the same; and these improvements are very suitable for being
applied to looms used for weaving Utrecht velvet, where three wires only are
employed, to which a blade or cutter is attached.
The apparatus for inserting and withdrawing the wires consists of a frame
mounted on axes on the side of the loom, to which frame a vibrating lever is
attached, which actuates a carriage sliding to and fro on a guide bar carried
by the frame. The carriage is furnished with a spring bolt, which is raised up
and released from time to time as required, by a rod and lever actuated by a
cam or eccentric. The lower end of the spring bolt is suitably formed to enter
a slot or mortice formed in the head of the wire, through which it passes into
a corresponding slot or mortice formed in a projection (fixed on the sliding
carriage) which comes under the head of the wire to hold it when it is about
to be drawn out of the fabric. A to-and-fro movement is given to the frame
which carries the apparatus for inserting and withdrawing the wires by means
of a cam, which actuates a rod, having a spring thereon, at the back of the
frame, which permits the rod to accommodate itself to the regulated amount of
movement required by the frame to place the sliding bolt over the head of the
next wire to be withdrawn, an adjustable stop being employed to determine the
amount of movement of the frame. The wire as it is withdrawn is guided in.
its movement by a rod. which is moved to and fro, in guides, by a cam or
eccentric, and the wire is received and supported in a groove or channel fixed
to the moveable frame. The heads of the wires as they are inserted in the
fabric are guided side by side under a guide fixed to the table over which the
fabric passes, and there is a pin or stud fixed in the head of each wire, which
also comes against the guide and regulates the position of the wire:. The
table over which the fabric passes is prolonged on the side at which the wire
enters the shed or opening in the warp, by which arrangement the blade of the
wire is supported until it enters the warp. In order to ensure the correct
introduction of a wire into the shed opened in the warp. to receive it an
inclined guide or mouth-piece is employed, which is capable of moving into
and out of position for this purpose. A forked guide is also employed-on the
left-hand side of the loom which receives the end of the wire to which the
cutter is attached, and retains it in a correct position whilst in the fabric. To
prevent the backward movement of the loom and the consequent injury likely 3
to arise when a wire is being withdrawn, a ratchet, which is fixed on the main
driving shaft or axis, into the teeth of which two lever clicks or catches take
and prevent the loom from turning backwards until the workman raises the

page_text: clicks or catches out of the teeth of the ratchet wheel. In place of soldering
the heads to the wires as heretofore, they are jointed or connected by a pin,
screw, or hook, or by other means which enables them to be readily attached.
or renewed, if required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
.
by the said George Henry Birkbeck in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 28th January 1861.
.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
HENRY BIRKBECK, of the Firm of Tongue & Birkbeck, of 34, Southampton,
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agents and
Engineers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said George Henry Birkbeck, Her special licence that I, the said George
Henry Birkbeck, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said George Henry Birkbeck, 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 nake, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain. and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING VELVET OR OTHER CUT PILE
FABRICS," a communication to me from abroad by Elie Dominique Baril, Manu-
facturer, of Paris, in the Empire of France; upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said George Henry Birkbeck, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
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 George Henry Birkbeck, do hereby
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 fol-
lowing statement thereof, that is to say :-
'

page_text: This Invention relates principally to the apparatus employed for introducing
and withdrawing the wires in looms used for weaving velvet or other cut pile
fabrics, and in the construction of the wires themselves, together with appa-
ratus to prevent injury when the loom is stopped suddenly or moves
backward.
The first part of these improvements consist in simplifying the apparatus
for inserting and withdrawing the wires, and in the means of governing the to-
and-fro movement of the same, and these improvements are very suitable for
being applied to looms used for weaving Utrecht velvet where three wires only
are employed, to which a blade or cutter is attached. The apparatus for
inserting and withdrawing the wires consists of a frame mounted on axes, to
which a vibrating lever is attached, which actuates a carriage sliding to and
fro on a guide bar carried by the frame. The 'carriage is furnished with a
spring bolt, which is raised up and released from time to time as required
by a rod and lever actuated by a cam or eccentric. The lower end of the
spring bolt is suitably formed to enter à slot or mortice formed in the head of
the wire through which it passes into a corresponding 'slot or mortice formed
in a projection (fixed on the sliding' carriage) which comes-under-the-head-of
the wire to hold it when it is about to be drawn out of the fabric. A to-and-
fro movement is given to the frame which carries the apparatus for inserting
and withdrawing the wires by means of a cam, which actuates a rod having a
spring thereon at the back of the frame, which permits the rod to accommodate
itself to the regulated amount of movement required by the frame to place the
sliding 'bolt over the head of the next wire to be withdrawn, an adjustable stop
being employed to determine the amount of movement of the frame. The
wire as it is withdrawn is guided in its movement-by a rod which is moved to
and fro in guides by a 'cam or excentric, and the wire is received and sup-
ported in a groove or channel fixed to the moveable frame. The heads of
the wires as they are inserted in the fabric are guided side by side under
a guide fixed to the table over which the fabric passés, and there is a
pin or stud fixed in the head of each wire, which also comes against
the guide and regulates the position of the wire. The table 'over which
the fabric 'passes is prolonged on the side at which the wire enters the shed
or opening in the warp, by which arrangement the blade of the wire is
supported until it enters the warp. In order to ensure the correct 'intro-
duction of a wire into the shed' opened in the warp to receive it an inclined
guide or mouth piece is employed, which is capable of moving into
and out of position for this purpose. A forked guide is also employed on the

page_text: carriage A in the position it assumes when it has arrived at the end of its
journey in the act of introducing a fresh wire into the shed opened in the warp,
for that purpose, at which time the lower. end :6 of the bolt is inserted in the
slot or mortice 'm in the head of the wire C, and just before the holt B is
raised to release the wire, the bolt being acted upon when required by a hook
on the end of the rod D' coming under the arim or projection 6 on the upper:
end of the bolt B. The. rod D is connected to a lever d, which receives
motion from a cam or eccentric on the main shaft or axis of the loom. After
the introduction and release of the wire, the frame E which carries the lever :
G is caused by a suitable cam to move on its axes e, e', towards the front of
the loom so as to place the lower end 6 of the bolt B directly over the slot or
mortice m in the head of the next wire to be withdrawn, the rod D then de-
scends and allows the end b of the bolt to descend by its spring into the slot in
the head of the wire, which is then drawn so as to cut its way out of the fabric
by the movement of the wire holder or carriage A from the left to the right
hand end of the guide bar F, the head of the wire being firmly held by the
bolt b upon the step or projection.a fixed on the slide or carriage. The wire
as it is withdrawn is supported and guided in the grooved bar f, carried by-
arms attached to the frame. E...
.
Heretofore in 'looms of this description the to-and-fro movement of the
frame E on its axes e,.e¹, has been of a rigid.or unyielding character, but by
the improved mechanism. I am about to describe its movement is regulated by
a-spring i, carried by the rod I, which moves the frame E to-and-fro on its
axes. The rod I (actuated by a suitable cam) is connected to a stud J, fixed
on the left hand arm of the frame E, and there is a spiral spring i around the
rod, which is retained in position between a stud or pin, passed through
the rod and the stud or projection J on the frame E. The rod I has a nut or
projection on its forward end, which acts to pull the frame backwards, but the
rod I is free to pass forward through the stud J towards the front of the loom;.
by which the spring i is compressed between the pin i* and the stud J., When
the frame E is moved up to the stop or projection K (which is capable of
adjustment) fixed to the table T, as shewn, the stop K being the means by,
which the exact amount of movement of the frame E is determined to place.
the bolt 6 (by the forward movement of the frame E) exactly over the head of -
the-wire to be next:drawn out in place of relying on the correct movement of
the frame E, the vibration or unequal action of which might occasionally
prevent the bolt b.correctly entering into the slot in the head of the wire.
"When the frame E is drawn back by the backward movement of the rod I

page_text: the lever G is moved from left to right to draw out the wire, and then.from.
right to left to introduce it again into the shed opened in the warps to receive,
it, the wire being held for a short time whilst it is secured by the weft and the
crossing of the warps. The heads of the wires as they are put-in range them-
selves side by side upon the elongated part T of the table T at the point (1)..
the parts of the heads being conducted under the guide X fixed on the
table T, as shewn, and by the pin g in the head of each wire coming against
the guide X; the head of each wire is firmly held whilst the bolt 6 descends
into the slot to draw it out. The prolongation of the table T serves as a,
support to the blade at the end of the wire until it enters the shed in the warp,
and the stud or projection k prevents the weft catching the ledge at the square
part of the prolongation T, the surface of which is a little lower than that of
the table T; and this arrangement of apparatus for supporting and guiding the
wires will be found far more advantageous than the plans heretofore adopted,
for this purpose. When introducing wires. of considerable length and fineness,
great difficulty has been experienced in conducting them safely into the shed
owing to their vibration; and to prevent this inconvenience a rod 7 is employed,
which moves to and fro in guides o³, o¹, fixed on the prolonged part T¹ of the.
table T. At the end of the rod there is an enlargement forming a slot or
opening, into which a pin on the lever M passes,. the lever M being fixed on
the upper end of the spindle N, which is carried by supports fixed to the
framing of the loom. On the lower end of the spindle N there is an arm n,.
to which is attached the spring n' to press the arm n against the sliding rod p,.
which slides to and fro in brackets (p¹ fixed to the framing. The other end of
the rod p carries a friction roller P, which is thus pressed by the spring n¹‍
against a suitable cam or eccentric fixed on the cam shaft or axis of the loom
to cause the rod to move to and fro in its guides; and when a wire is in the
act of being drawn out of the fabric, and the head has just passed the line of
the rod l, it is caused to slide forward over the wire, and thus prevent it from
oscillating or vibrating whilst being withdrawn from the fabric and re-"
introduced into the warps, the rod 7 being withdrawn by the time the head of
the wire and bolt 6 comes towards it. To ensure the correct entrance of the
wire into the shed or opening in the warp, and to prevent it from deviating.
from its proper course, either to the right or to the left, a moveable guide Q
is employed formed with an opening through it, which is much wider and
higher at the part where the wire first enters it than at the part nearest to the
warp threads, where the passage is small in order to retain and direct the
wire. The guide Q. is connected to a lever, the crauked arm of which carries

page_text: a friction roller, which is pressed by a spring against the surface of a suitable
cam or excentric fixed on the cam shaft or axis of the loom, in order to raise
and lower the guide Q as required. On the left hand side of the table T a
forked guide S is fixed (as shewn separately at Figure 7*), so as to guide the
wires at the time they are introduced, and thus prevent them from jumping or
getting out of their proper position or over the other wires, which sometimes
occurs, and causes two wires to be drawn and to cut the warp at the same
time. The opening in the fork S where the blades Z of the wires come side
by side is very little more than the height of the blades themselves.
.
It frequently happens when a careless or inexpert workman stops the loom
at the time a wire is being withdrawn, or for some reason reverses its action,
the wire being very slender is frequently bent or broken. To prevent this
backward movement of the driving shaft U of the loom a ratchet wheel V
(shewn separately at Figure 8) is fixed on the main shaft; into the teeth of
the ratchet wheel V two clicks or catches v, v are constantly pressed by
springs or otherwise, so as to permit the driving axis U to rotate in the
direction of the arrow only, or whilst the loom continues to work correctly;
but if any backward movement should take place, then one or other of the
clicks or catches v, v', will take into the teeth of the ratchet to stop its move-
ment in that direction until the clicks or catches are raised out-of-the teeth of
the ratchet wheel V, which may be readily accomplished, when it is required
to turn the loom backwards, by the workman placing his foot on a lever or
treadle connected by the link v* to the arm of the lever catch v, which in being
raised also raises the catch v¹ out of the teeth of the ratchet wheel V..
In place of fixing the heads to the wires by soldering, it is preferred to attach
them by the means shewn at Figures 8, 9, and 10, which shew several views
of parts of a wire having a head fixed thereto according to this part of the
Invention. The head is formed with a slot m and pin g, as before described
(but this may be varied), and the wire c' is attached to the head of a screw v
or otherwise, so that the wire c¹ can be readily replaced by another, if required.
Or the wire can be attached to its head by a pin v¹ or by a hook v³, as shewn
at Figures 11 and 12 of the Drawing; or the wire may be attached to the
heads by other convenient means, so that the wire portions may be readily
attached or renewed if required.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention and the best means
of carrying the same into practice, it should be distinctly understood that the
Invention is not limited to the exact details herein described so long as the
particular features of the Invention be retained, which consist,--

page_text: First, in the simplification of the mechanism which regulates the intro-
duction and withdrawing of the wires used for weaving velvet or other cut pile
fabrics, as herein described.
Secondly, in the arrangement of the apparatus for preventing the vibration
of the wires when introducing them into the shed and withdrawing them out
of the fabric, as herein described.
Thirdly, the arrangement of the ratchet V and apparatus for preventing the
loom from moving backwards unless permitted to do so, as herein described.
And, fourthly, the means herein described for attaching the heads to the
wires employed for weaving velvet or other cut pile fabrics.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Henry Birkbeck, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
5 Witness,
J. G. TONGUE, Patent Agent,
34, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane,
London.
G. H. BIRKBECK. (L.S.)