CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Ashworth and Joseph Ashworth, of Pendle-
ton, in the County of Lancaster, Manufacturers, for the Invention of
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 19th April 1859, and dated the 25th October 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Ashworth and
Joseph Ashworth at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 25th October 1858.
We, THOMAS ASHWORTH and JOSEPH ASHWORTH, of Pendleton, in the
County of Lancaster, Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be
as follows:-
Our improvements relate to that description of power looms employed for
weaving patterns, and the first part of our Invention relates to an improved
arrangement and construction of apparatus for actuating the picking rods,
and known as a picking motion. The apparatus consists in a single endless
pattern chain, by means of which a greater number of single "picks" of
various colors or threads can be given than hitherto; the chain passes over
toothed pulleys or barrels, to which an intermittent motion is given by means
of a star wheel driven by suitable gearing; this chain is composed of links
having a varying amount of surface according to the number of picks required,
and are so placed as to come beneath and lift a lever during their passage over
the top pulley, the lever being lifted for different durations of time, according

page_text: to the surface of the links; this lever, by means of other intermediate levers,
causes a rod extending across the loon and having a cranked lever at each
end to slide horizontally, bringing it on one side of the loom in gear with a
revolving wheel furnished with a stud, and out of gear with a similar wheel on
the opposite side, so that as long as the lever is raised by a link, so long will
the cranked levers be struck by the stud, and the picking effected on one side
of the loom (by an intermediate lever and strap) until the link passes and the
lever falls, which will transfer the motion to the opposite picking rod, and the
shuttles will be returned. In reversing the action of the loom, the chain
reverses without altering the pattern.
A second part of our Invention applics to a novel method and arrangement
of apparatus for raising and lowering the "healds" simultaneously. Upon
each of the "treddles" a vertical bar is mounted or hinged upon a central
stud, the top and lower ends of such bars being hooked and notched to receive
the knife edges of two horizontal rods extending across the treddles, and having
a constant motion to and from each other. The upper ends of the hooked bars
are in connection with levers worked by pegs upon a pattern band or chain,
so that such levers as are moved by the pegs cause the top end of their
corresponding hooked bar to come into contact with the knife edge of the
upper bar as it rises, and also clears their lower hooks from the descending
lower bar, by which means the healds corresponding to the levers moved
become lowered, whilst the hooked bars not moved by the pegs are caught by
the descending bar, and their healds become raised, by which means a
simultaucous or double action of the healds is effected, and a wide "shed "
produced and secured.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Ashworth and Joseph Ashworth in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 25th April 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, THOMAS
ASUWORTH and JOSEPH ASHWORTH, of Pendleton, in the County of Lancaster, 3
Manufacturers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, s
the said Thomas Ashworth and Joseph Ashworth, Her special license that

page_text: we, the said Thomas Ashworth and Joseph Ashworth, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Thomas Ashworth
and Joseph Ashworth, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition, amongst
others, that we, the said Thomas Ashworth and Joseph Ashworth, by an
instrument in writing under our hands and seals, should particularly describo
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 we, the said Thomas Ashworth and Joseph
Ashworth, do hereby declare the nature of our 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) :-
Our improvements relate to that description of power looms employed for
weaving patterns, and the first part of our Invention relates to an improved
arrangement and construction of apparatus for actuating the picking rods, and
known as a picking motion. The apparatus consists in a single endless
pattern chain, by means of which a greater number of single "picks" of
various colours or threads can be given than hitherto; the chain passes over
toothed pulleys or barrels, to which an intermittent motion is given by means
of a star wheel driven by suitable gearing; this chain is composed of links
having a varying amount of surface according to the number of "picks"
required, and are so placed as to come beneath and lift a lever during their
passage over the top pulley, the lever being lifted for different durations of
time, according to the surface of the links; this lever, by means of other
intermediate levers, causes a rod (extending across the loom, and having a
cranked lever at each end,) to slide horizontally, bringing the picking lever or
hammer on one side of the loom in a position to be struck by the stud on the
fly wheel as it revolves, and out of the way of a similar stud on the fly wheel
on the opposite side, so that as long as the lever is raised by a link, so long
will the cranked levers be struck by the stud, and the "picking" effected on
one side of the loom (by an intermediate lever and strap) until the link passes
and the lever falls, which will transfer the motion to the opposite picking rod,

page_text: and the shuttles, or a certain number of them, will be returned. In reversing
the action of the loom, the chain reverses without altering the pattern.
A second part of our Invention applies to a novel method and arrangement
of apparatus for raising and lowering the "healds" simultaneously. Upon
each of the "treddles a vertical bar works upon a central stud, the top and
lower ends of such bars being hooked and notched to receive the knife edges
of two horizontal rods extending across the treddles, and having a constant
motion to and from each other; the upper ends of the hooked bars are in
connection with levers worked by pegs upon a pattern band or endless chain,
so that such levers as are moved by the pegs cause the top end of their corre-
sponding booked bar to come into contact with the knife edge of the upper bar
as it rises, and also clears their lower hooks from the descending lower bar, by
which means the healds corresponding to the levers moved becomes lowered,
whilst the hooked bars not moved by the pegs are caught by the descending
bar, and their healds become raised, by which means a simultaneous or double
action of the healds is effected, and a wide "shed" produced and secured.
In order that the Invention may be better understood and explained in
detail, we have hereunto annexed two Sheets of Drawings, made upon a scale
of about two inches to a foot, and having similar letters of reference marked
upon corresponding parts of the apparatus throughout.
Fig. 1, Sheet 1, represents an end view of a power loom, having the first
part of our Invention applied thereto, shewing clearly the position of the
"chain," and the method of actuating the "picking motion" at required
intervals thereby; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. We shall now proceed
to describe the first portion of the Invention, in order to enable the same to
be distinctly understood and separately from the second portion, or "heald"
motion, although both may be employed in the same loom, or separately as
required. In Sheet 1, Fig. 1, a, a, is the framing of the loom, and b the
driving shaft, which imparts motion through a train of gearing to the wheel
and shaft c, upon which shaft is secured a toothed pinion d, over which the
"chain" of pattern links e passes, the pinion taking into the "pattern chain,"
and in its revolution brings the links beneath the bowl on the lever f, whereby
the said lever is lifted, and the vertical lever 7 and cranked lever hare
actuated, which causes the horizontal rod i, i, to slide laterally or endwise,
and thereby to move the lever in connection with the picking motion into
contact with the stud on the wheel mu on one side of the loom, and out of gear
with it on the opposite side by means of the forked levers k, k, which are
secured upon the said shaft or rod i, i, so that as long as one link of the
pattern chain continues to lift or support the lever f, so long will the picking

page_text: lever be struck on one side of the loom only, and the picking effected only
on that side, but when the chain is moved to the next link, which is a lower
one, it drops the lever f, and will cause the rod or shaft i, i, to slide back
again, and bring the lever at the opposite end of the loom into position to be
struck by the stud on the wheel m', and thus the "picking" will be transferred
to the opposite side of the loom. In this manner it will be evident that any
required quantity of "picks" may be effected from one side of tho loom
according to the form and description of links on the "chain" which is used
to regulate the pattern required to be produced, such improvement constitu-
ting the first part of our Invention.
The second part, which is also for producing patterns by means of the
"heald motion" is exhibited in Sheet 2 of the Drawings, in which Fig. 1
is an end view of the loom, having our improved heald motion attached,
shewing more particularly the "peg chain" for working the " griff's" or
booked bars, and the improved method of obtaining a wide shed by the double
action of the healds. In Fig. 1, a, a, is the framing of the loom, and the
crank or driving shaft, upon which is secured the toothed wheel c, gearing into
the wheel d, which imparts motion to the wheel c, upon which is a stud or pin
taking into the star wheel f, by which means an intermittent motion is
imparted to the pattern chain which extends between the toothed pinions
g and h, the pinion 9 being secured upon the star wheel, and the pinion h
made adjustable in the framing k, by which means any length of "pattern
chain"
may be employed. The "chain" by which the pattern is to be
woven is composed of bars i, i, i, of metal or wood perforated with a number
of holes, and linked together as shown; in these perforations the "pegs or
pins", 1, 1, are fitted or placed in any position required by the pattern to be
produced. The action of the machine is as follows:-The driving shaft gives
motion to the "pattern chain" by means of the gearing c, d, e, f, and as the
pegs " in the chain are brought upards by the star wheel, they press
against the rounded end of the levers n, n, but where no pegs project from the
chain the levers remain vertical and free from their action. When "pegs"
press certain levers inwards, such movement is transferred by means of the
connecting rods o, o, to the top end of the hooked bars or "griff's "P, p, p, which
top ends are thereby moved forward into position over the upper blade bar or
knife q, and consequently the lower ends of the same hooked bars p, p, p, are
moved clear from the action of the lower blado bar or knife r, and the reverse
effect will be when the levers n, n, are not acted upon by the "pegs," that is,
the lower hooked ends of such bars will be under the lower knife, and the
upper ends will be clear from the upper knife. It will now be evident that if
"

page_text: a continuous motion be imparted to these upper and lower blades in a direction
to and from each other, that separating and advancing towards each other,
which is caused by means of the eccentrics and levers t, t, t, the effect will
be that all those hooked ends of the "bars," placed immediately above the
upper knife by the action of the "pegs," will be raised, and the healds attached
thereto will become lowered, whilst those free from the said action of tho
'pegs," and their lower ends remaining beneath the lower knife will be
lowered, and their healds will become raised; thus a double action and wide
separation of the healds or "shed" is effected at each revolution of the
driving shaft.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention, together with the
method of carrying the same into practical effect, we wish it to be distinctly
understood that we claim,-
First, the novel method of regulating or governing the action of the
picking motion," and the picking rods by means of a "chain" composed of
links so arranged as to allow of any required number of "picks" to be made
from one side of the loom at one time, allowing the shuttles to be returned
as the pattern may require.
Secondly, the novel arrangement of the particular portion of the apparatus
connected therewith, for transferring the motion from the chain to the
picking motion."
Thirdly, we claim effecting or causing a double action or wide shedding of
the healds by means of the connected apparatus to be actuated by the peculiar
description of "pattern chain" seen in the Drawings, the whole of which
apparatus and improvement aro herein-before described, set forth, and fully
exhibited in the Drawings annexed.
In witness whereof, we, the said Thomas Ashworth and Joseph Ashworth,
have hereunto set our hands and scals, this Twenty-third day of April,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
спикертп
THOMAS ASHWORTH. (..)
JOSEPH ASHWORTH. (L.S.)