IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Radcliffe, of Bradford, in the County of
Lancaster, Manager, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 29th September 1853, and dated the 31st March 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Radcliffe at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 31st March 1853.
I, JOHN RADCLIFFE, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING" to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to rising box looms, and consists in a
method of raising and lowering the shuttles according to the de-
sign intended to be woven in the fabric. To an endless chain, strap,
or other travelling surface, I attach projecting parts at certain situ-
ations, regulated by the pattern; these parts, at the requisite intervals,
arrive in contact with a clutch box, so as to move it into gear with a
cam or other apparatus, provided with surfaces of various elevations.
When this connexion, therefore, is made, the cam, &c. is caused to per-
form a portion of a revolution, and raise the shuttle boxes to the

page_text: required level, in which position they are retained by means of one of
a series of catches. If the pattern to be woven requires a further ele-
vation of the shuttles, the motion of the clutch box again takes place,
and another prominence upon the cam effects that operation; this
position of the parts being maintained by another of the series of
catches. When, instead of a rising, a falling of the shuttles is re-
quired, one of a second series of projecting parts upon the chain, or
other travelling surface, arrives in contact with apparatus connected
with the holding catch, and by shifting its position liberates the shuttle
boxes, which are then free to fall. Secondly, in the application of a
lever to the shuttle boxes, by which the weaver is enabled to raise
them, instead of by the simple application of the hand, as is now
practised.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Radcliffe, in the Great Seal Patent Office,
on the 30th September 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
JOHN RADCLIFFE, of Bradford, in the County of Lancaster, Manager,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first March, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-three, in the sixteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Radcliffe, Her especial licence that I, the said
John Radcliffe, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said John Radcliffe, 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 IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Radcliffe, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly

page_text: 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 John Radcliffe, do hereby declare
that the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement and accompanying drawings (that is to say):
My improvements relate to rising box looms, and consist, firstly, in
a method of raising and lowering the shuttles according to the design
intended to be woven in the fabric. Secondly, in the application of a
lever to the shuttle box, by which the weaver is enabled to raise it,
instead of by the simple application of the hand. And in order that my
Invention may be fully understood, I have appended to this my Speci-
fication an illustrative drawing, which I will now proceed to describe.
Fig. 1, is a side elevation of a loom with the improvements adapted;
Fig. 2, is a partial plan view of the same; and Fig. 3, a vertical
section. Upon the crank shaft a, is a pinion, taking into the teeth of
a wheel b, the axis of which carries a disc c, provided with pins for
actuating an ordinary star wheel d; this wheel is fixed upon a shaft e,
on which is also mounted loosely a cam f, f*, having surfaces of two
radii upon its circumference; on one side of the cam f, f*, and affixed
thereto, is a pulley g, over which a chain h, is passed, the outward ends
being connected to a weighted lever i; the chain is attached at one
point to the pulley g. If, therefore, cam f,f", be caused to revolve
arrow for a portion of a revolution, and then
lever i, will, through the intervention of the
chain h, cause it to return to the former position, viz., that shewn in
the drawing, the lower part of the chain acting as a stop to determine
the extent of its backward motion. Upon the shaft e, is formed a boss,
over which a chain j, passes; this chain is provided with tappets k,
formed upon the sides of the links. As the shaft e, is caused to revolve
by the action of the star wheel, the tappets k, are carried onward, and
arrive in contact with one end of a forked lever l, which, being thereby
caused to turn upon its centre, carries forward a sliding clutch m, so
in the direction of the
liberated, the weighted

page_text: as to bring it into connection with another clutch n, fast upon the side
of the cam f, f, whereby the said cam will be caused to revolve in the
direction of the arrow; but whenever the side tappet, shall have
passed the lever 1, the elasticity of a spring o, will restore it to the
position shewn, and the clutch will be withdrawn, so as to render the
cam ff, free to revolve backward, as before alluded to.
A lever P,
mounted upon a centre, attached to the framework of the machine,
carries a roller ọ, situate over the periphery of the cam ff"; the
lever p, is provided with a rod q, the lower end of which is jointed to a
lever r, turning upon a centre, and connected at its outward end to a
vertical rods, by which the shuttle boxes are lifted as usual. The end
of the lever p, is provided with a piece t, the upper surface of which is
formed as an inclined plane; two levers u, u, furnished with projecting
teeth 1, 2, 3, turn upon a centre below, and are kept inward by springs
, until arms w, w, rest upon the surface of the chain j. As the cam
ff, is caused to revolve by the star-wheel, as before described, the
roller o, and consequently lever p, will be raised, and the inclined
piece t, will force outward the levers u,, until the tooth 2, for in-
stance, has been passed; the spring, will then cause the lever *, to
turn back upon its centre; and whenever the cam f, f*, shall have
been drawn back by the weight i, the lever p, and consequently shuttle
box, will be detained in the elevated position by the tooth 2. Upon
the top surface of the chain j, are a series of tappets a, which arrive at
desired intervals in contact with the turned-up ends of the levers w, w,
so as to cause them to move upon their centre, and thereby liberate
the piece t, from the teeth 1, 2, 3, so as to allow the lever p, and con-
sequently shuttle box, to fall. Upon the boss of the chain j, is a
second clutch y, capable of being slidden upon the shaft e, by a series
of tappets, formed upon the side of the chain acting against a lever 4;
and whenever it is so moved it takes into the teeth of a clutch 5,
affixed to a cam 6, mounted loosely upon the shaft c. This cam being
second roller 7,
by such means caused to revolve, will act upon the
carried by the lever 1, so as to cause it to turn upon its centre, and
raise the shuttle box, as above described in reference to the cam f. f*;
the clutch y, being withdrawn when the tappet, shall have passed the

page_text: lever 4, by a spring 8. The cam 6, is designed to raise the shuttle box
from the bottom to the top of the lift; and the other, shewn at f, f*,.
to raise it one stage at a time.
The combined operation of the several parts is as follows:-
According to the position shewn in the drawing, the top shuttle at
A, is supposed to be in use; but if it be now desired to raise the
box so as to bring the shuttle at B, into operation, then the links
of the chain j, will have been so arranged as to cause a tappet k
to arrive in contact with the lever 1, whereby the clutches m, n,
will be placed in gear, and the cam f, f*, caused to revolve by
this action; the lever p, being lifted, the piece t, will have forced
back the levers u, u, and be situate just above the tooth 2, of the
latter, which, by springing underneath it, will retain the lever P, and
consequently shuttle box, in the position required. If, for the next
pick, a return of the shuttle A, to the warp be necessary, the clutch
box m, will be free to be withdrawn by the spring o; the tappet k,
having been carried free of the lever 1, and the cam f, f*, caused to
turn backward by the action of the weighted lever i; during which
operation one of the tappets a, will have passed beneath the arm w*,
thereby causing the lever u, to turn upon its centre, so as to withdraw
the tooth 2, and permit the lever 1, and consequently shuttle box,
again to assume the position shewn in the drawing. But if, instead of
this return, it is desired to move the shuttle C, into the place of B, the
roller o, being, as, before mentioned, on the part f, of the cam, then
another tappet k, on the succeeding link will continue the catch box
m, n, in gear; and the part f*, of the cam will be carried onward, so
as again to operate upon the lever p, and lift the shuttle box through.
another stage, in which it will be retained by the tooth 1; and, sup-
posing that the next movement is to be a dropping from 1, to 3, then
the next motion of the star wheel will bring a tappet a, into operation,
so as to raise the arm w, and thereby throw back the lever ; but as
such tappet will be of sufficient width to operate upon that lever only,
the back one u, will be left with its tooth 2, projecting, so as to receive
the piece t, and retain the shuttle box levers p, r, s, in the required
position; and in order to admit of this falling, a tappet on the chain j,

page_text: will have passed and liberated the clutch box m, n, and the cam af, f*,
will have been turned back as before. Thus far I have shewn how the
shuttle box may be raised or lowered, step by step; but whenever it
is desired to rise from the bottom to the top of the lift, then a tappetz,
upon the chain will shift the catch box y 5, into gear, so as to cause
the cam 6, to perform a part of a revolution, thereby operating upon
the roller 7, so as to lift the lever p, until the piece t, is caught by the
tooth 1, in which position it will be retained until one of the tappets a,
by lifting the arm w, throws back the lever u; at which time, if it be
desired to bring the shuttle at B, into action, the lever u*, will be kept
in its forward position, so as to cause the tooth 2, thereon to intercept
the lever p; but if the change is to be from A, to C, then there will be
tappets x, x, provided to throw back both of the levers u, u, so as to
allow the piece t, to pass the tooth 2, but be caught by on the tooth 3,
by the returning of the lever u, to its inward position. It will, of
course, be understood, that the revolution of the cam 6, is sufficient to
carry its prominence beyond the roller 7, so as to allow it space to fall
when required. By this it will be perceived that the raising of the
shuttle box is effected by the operation of cams, and the lowering
thereof by the liberation from catches, both of which apparatus may
be brought into action at pleasure varying the arrangement of a
travelling set of tappets.
In the foregoing description, I have alluded to a loom with three
shuttles only; it will, however, be evident to all competent persons,
four or more may be adapted, if desired, by providing other eleva-
tions on the cam f, f*, and a greater rise in the cam 6.
My second improvement is also shewn in Fig. 1, before referred
to but although adapted to the first part of my Invention, I do
not confine myself to such combination, as it may be applied to any
ordinary construction of rising box loom. Upon the stationary frame-
work is mounted a lever 10, turning upon a centre at 11; the inward
end being provided with a projecting part, which entends under the lever
r, and the outward end, so situate that the attendant can conveniently
depress it with his foot, and thereby raise the rod s, and consequently
the shuttle box.

page_text: Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said In-
vention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I
desire it to be understood that I claim, as secured to me under the
above in part recited Letters Patent, firstly, the general arrangement
and combination of parts for raising and lowering the shuttle box, and
particularly for that purpose the use of a travelling chain, or other appa-
ratus, provided with tappets for bringing a clutch or clutches into gear,
so as to cause a cam or cams to operate for raising the shuttle box, and
also with tappets for liberating catches which hold the box in positions
to which it has been raised by the said cam or cams. Secondly, the
application of a lever suitably arranged for enabling the attendant to
raise the shuttle box when required.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Radcliffe, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of September, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
Witness, W TUDOR MABLEY,
Manchester.
JOHN × RADCLIFFE. (L.S.)
mark