IMPROVEMENTS IN Looms
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Jackson Ashworth, of the City of Man-
chester, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
Looms."
Sealed the 14th July 1868, and dated the 16th January 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Jackson Ash-
worth at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 16th January 1868.
I, JOHN JACKSON ASHWORTH, of the City of Manchester, Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements applicable to those descriptions
of shedding motions of fancy looms for weaving patterns of any number
of picks to the round, which consist of a framework in which are
mounted a number of metallic rods or plates' attached at the top to
each of the cords from the top jacks and at the bottom to each of the
similar cords from the treddles, upon each of which rods or plates a
double hook is mounted, such hooks being thrown by means of suitable
levers alternately (or according to whether the shafts are to rise or fall)
on to one or the otlier of two knives which open and close or reciprocate
by means of a single cam plate of suitable form and pitch, such
actuating levers being worked by chains of suitable construction
disposed on a chain barrel or roller geared to the cam plate; and these

page_text: improvements consist in a simple method of gearing the chain barrel
before mentioned to the cam plate direct without the use of an inter-
mediate shaft and bevil wheels, by means of a star wheel keyed upon
the chain barrel shaft, which gears at right angles into a catch wheel
mounted on the cam plate shaft which revolves in double bearings
to ensure steadiness, and in the use and application of helical or other
suitable springs and weights attached to or forming part of the actuating
levers for the purpose of ensuring their action, and in a novel con-
struction of chain as applied to the purpose for working the actuating
levers before mentioned, upon which chain pegs may be fixed according
to the pattern.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Jackson Ashworth in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 16th July 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
JACKSON ASHWORTH, of the City of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Jackson Ashworth, Her special
licence, that I, the said John Jackson Ashworth, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Jackson Ashworth, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and 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," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said John Jackson Ashworth, 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

page_text: 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 Jackson Ashworth, do
hereby declare 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 :-
This Invention relates to improvements applicable to those descrip-
tions of shedding motions for fancy looms for weaving patterns of
any number of picks to the round, which consist of a framework in
which are mounted a number of metallic rods or plates attached at
the top to each of the cords from the top jacks and at the bottom
to each of the similar cords from the treadles, upon each of which
rods or plates a double hook is mounted, such hooks being thrown
by means of suitable levers alternately (or according to whether the
shafts are to rise or fall) on to one or other of two knives which
open and close or reciprocate by means of a single cam plate of
suitable form and pitch, such actuating levers being worked by chains
of suitable construction disposed on a chain barrel or roller geared to
the cam plate. And the improvements consist in a simple method of.
gearing the chain barrel before mentioned to the cam plate direct,.
without the use of an intermediate shaft and bevilled wheels, by means
of a star wheel keyed upon the chain barrel shaft, which gears at
right angles into a catch wheel mounted upon the cam plate shaft
which revolves in double bearings to ensure steadiness, and in the
use of weights attached to or forming part of the actuating levers
for the purpose of ensuring their action, and in a novel construction
of chain as applied to the purpose for working the actuating levers
before mentioned, upon which pegs may be fixed according to the
pattern.
That this my said Invention may be more readily seen and
understood I have hereunto annexed a Sheet of 'Drawings illustrative
of my improvements, similar letters marked thereon being used to
denote similar parts in all the views.
Fig. 1 is a side view, Fig. 2 a front view, and Fig. 3 a plan (drawn
to a scale of one inch and a half to the foot) of so much of a loom as
is necessary to illustrate my improvements, which are represented as
applied thereto. The other views represent detailed portions of the
shedding motion, drawn upon an enlarged scale and shewn distinct from

page_text: the loom in order to elucidate my improvements more perfectly, Fig. 4
being a side view, and Fig. 5 a back view partially in section of the
shedding motion, and Fig. 6 being a side, and Fig. 7 a back view of
parts of the improved actuating mechanism of such shedding motion.*
.A represents the cast-iron sides of the framework of an ordinary loom;
B, the crank shaft; C, the warp beam or roller; D, the top jacks;
and E, the lower jacks carrying the healds and mounted in the usual
manner; F represents a cast-iron frame, shewn bolted upon the top of
the framework of the loom on the left-hand side, which supports an
arrangement of mechanism for varying the disposition of the healds
according to the pattern to be woven. This arrangement of mechanism,
known as and herein-after called an index machine, consists of two
cast-iron sides G bolted together with a plate H and top rails I in which
holes or slots are formed to receive a number of flat metallic rods J,
herein-after referred to as index rods, each one of which is attached at
its extremities to one of the cords from the top and bottom jacks, and
has a pivot projecting from one of its sides upon which a double hook K
(see Figs. 5 and 6) is mounted; these hooks are thrown forward by
mechanism, herein-after described, on to one or the other of two
reciprocating knives or cross bars, and thus the index rods upon which
they are pivoted are raised or lowered and the shed opened or closed.
At the extreme end of the crank shaft B is keyed a pinion L, which
communicates revolving motion to the shaft M by means of the inter-
mediate spur wheels N and O and the driving spur wheel P keyed
upon the shaft M. This shaft works in bearings at either end to ensure
steadiness, one of such bearings being upon the top of the frame F
and the other forming part of the side G of the index machine, and
upon such shaft is mounted a cam plate Q, having a suitable shaped
endless groove R formed on its outer surface, which revolves in close
proximity to the inner sides of the cam levers S and T, so that friction
bowls or wheels pivoted upon studs projecting from the inner sides of
such cam levers enter into and work against the sides of such groove R.
The cam levers S and T hinge or work upon the fixed studs U and V
secured to the frame F, and the other extremities of such cam levers
are forked or slotted so as to grasp the studs projecting from the backs
of the upper and lower reciprocating knives or cross bars W and X, and
thus cause them to move up and down the guide bar Y upon which they
slide as the forked or slotted extremities of such cam levers approach
or recede from one another. The exact shape of the endless groove R

page_text: formed in the cam plate Q is shewn about a quarter of the full size in
Figs. 4 and 6. a is a rod fixed in adjustable sockets to the sides of
the index machine, upon which rod a number of three-armed levers c
are mounted corresponding to the number of the index rods J, and each
one of which levers is situated immediately behind its fellow double
hook K in order to throw either the upper or lower portion or claw of
such hook forward for the purpose herein-before mentioned.. One of the
arms of each of the levers c is longer than the others, which is weighted,
at its extremity and has a depression or swelling formed upon its under
side to rest upon the links of the endless pattern chain d, carried by
the chain barrel e keyed upon the shaft f, which works parallel to the
rod a in bearings in the sides of the index machine. The chain barrel e,
shewn in section on Fig. 5, is arranged with eight ridges and hollows;
which suit the shape of the links of the pattern chain so as to present
a fresh series of links at each eighth of its revolution. The pattern
chain d is studded with projections or prominences suitably disposed
according to pre-arrangement' to form the pattern to be woven, and as
each one of such projections passes over or round the chain barrel e the'
longer arms of the levers c with which they come in contact are raised
up, consequently their upper shorter arms are pressed forward carrying
the upper claws of the hooks along with them, which latter are instantly.
caught by the upper reciprocating knife or cross bar W, and thus the
index rods upon which such hooks are pivoted are raised up and the
healds or shafts in connection with them lowered, whilst at the same
time those levers resting upon the blank spaces of the chain d have
their lower shorter arms pressed forward together with the lower claws
of the hooks, which in turn are caught by the lower reciprocating knife
or cross bar X, and thus the index rods upon which such hooks are
pivoted are lowered, and the healds or shafts in connection with them
raised up. In order to allow sufficient time for the shuttle to pass
through the opened shed an intermittent motion is imparted to the
chain barrel shaft by the catch wheel g keyed at the extreme end of
the shaft M, which has two teeth only (marked h) situated immediately
opposite to one another, gearing in turn at right angles into one of eight
indentations or slots i, i, i, i, i, i, i, i, formed upon the periphery of the
wheel (a separate front view of which is shewn on the Drawings
marked J) mounted upon the shaft f so as to turn the chain barrel
one-eighth of a revolution at a time, and then to dwell or stop until
the other tooth of the catch wheel enters the next indentation in the
9.

page_text: wheel, the time elapsing between the one tooth of the catch wheel
leaving one indentation, and the other tooth entering, the next inden-
tation in, the wheel being sufficient for the shuttle to pass through
the opened shed; and between every such eighth of a revolution a fresh
disposition of prominences or blanks on the pattern chain d may have
been presented to the levers J, and thus a fresh shed may be opened
and the shuttle passed through at every eighth of a revolution of the
chain barrel shaft.
Although only one method of applying my improved shedding motion
has been illustrated and described it will be readily apparent that it
may be used for any description of loom, the exact position between
the top and bottom jacks and method of applying it differing according
to the framework of the loom to which it is affixed, and as it is in a
compact form the whole shedding motion may be moved bodily so as
to be available for any number of looms, and may be constructed for
either the right or left hand side of the framework, according to
convenience.
The construction, operation, and application of my improved arrange-
ment of shedding motion having been thus fully described, it only now
remains for me to add that any description of pattern chain may be
used for actuating the three-armed levers which will allow of pegs
or studs to be secured to it in proper positions to open the necessary
sheds to form the requisite pattern; but the pattern chain which I
prefer to use as being very simple, reliable, and capable of being put
together quickley, and which forms a prominent feature in this my said
Invention, is illustrated full size on the Sheet of Drawings. This novel
construction of chain is formed of long bars of cast metal, either iron
or brass, provided with lugs on the under side to hinge them together
and with prominences or blanks on their upper sides to raise or depress
the three-armed levers as required, and each of such bars or links is
calculated to work four of the levers together instead of requiring a
separate link or peg for each lever as heretofore. These links are of
ten different varieties, and with a quantity of each kind no difficulty
will be found in constructing a chain capable of weaving patterns of
any number of picks to the round or any "tie up." Fig. 8 is an end
view, and Fig. 9 a front view of my improved pattern chain shewing
how the links are joined together and carried by the chain barrel
(marked by the same letters of reference as in Figs. 4 and 5.)

page_text: The other views represent all the varieties of links shewn separate
and distinct from one another. Fig. 10 is an end view, and Fig. 11
a top view of one of the plain or blank links of my improved pattern
chain, and Fig. 12 is an end view, and Figs. 13 to 21 inclusive represent
top views of nine other studded links carrying from one to four studs.
or prominences each, and Fig. 22 is a side view of Fig. 21. Some of
these links are reversible, and consequently with these nine different
kinds together with the plain link illustrated by Figs. 10 and 11 a
pattern chain may be put together having prominences or blanks
disposed upon it in any position. In all the views of my improved
pattern chain it will be observed that the links are constructed of.
longitudinal bars of metal k, an end sectional view of which would
form a segment of a circle being curved transversely to suit the chain.
roller over which they pass, and on each of the longitudinal edges
of such bars or links two lugs m are formed so disposed that when.
two of such bars or links come together they interlock or hinge one
into the other, as illustrated, and a pin or rod o (see Fig. 9) passed.
through corresponding holes in the lugs secures each two of such links.
together, and the same pin or rod is available for two, three, or more
series of such chains placed alongside, as seen in Fig. 9. p represents
studs, projections, or prominences, one, two, or three, or four of which
are formed on the curved top surface of such bars or links, so as to
raise one, two, three, or four of the three-armed levers together as each
of such bars passes over the chain barrel. Although only four pro-
minences or studs are formed upon the bars or links represented in
the Drawings it is practicable to construct such bars of any length
and provided with any requisite number of studs, but when it is
requisite to construct a chain of varying numbers of picks to the round
I find it advisable to use the description of links illustrated in the
Drawings.
I would here state that my improved construction of pattern chain
is equally applicable for all other descriptions of shedding motions for
fancy looms..
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of this
my said Invention together with the best methods with which I am
acquainted for carrying the same into practical effect, I wish it to be
distinctly understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details,
relative proportions, or dimensions of the several parts or portions

page_text: herein-before described and set forth, as the same may be considerably
varied without departing from the Invention, and I wish it to be further
understood that I am aware of attempts having hitherto been made
to actuate an arrangement of mechanism consisting of index rods,
double hooks, and three-armed levers similar in some respects to the one
herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings by
means of an intermediate shaft and bevilled wheels and the whole
being geared to the tappet shaft, but I have found that such arrange-
ment was uncertain in its action, and continually out of order in
consequence of the great wear and tear upon the intermediate shaft
and bevilled wheels, and therefore I lay no claim to the index rods,.
double hooks, and three-armed levers separate and distinct from my
method of working them; but what I do claim is,―
1st. The general arrangement and method of working the shedding
motion herein-before described direct from the crank shaft, having
the actuating mechanism for working the cam levers and chain barrel
on the same shaft which revolves in double bearings to ensure steadiness,
ȧs herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings
or any mere modification of the same.
2ly. The construction of pattern chain to be used for all
descriptions of shedding motions for fancy looms, as herein-before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings or any mere
modification of the same.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Jackson Ashworth, have
hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal, this 25th day of
April, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-eight.
Witness,
JOHN G. WILSON,
Patent Office,
JOHN JACKSON ASHWORTH. (L.S.)
1, Market Place,
Manchester.