IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER LOOMS
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS. SHALL COME, wc, MARTIN
CAWOOD, of Leeds, in the County of York, Ironfounder and Machine Maker,
and WILLIAM PRICHARD the elder, of Burley, near Leeds, in the County of
York, send greeting.
WHEREAS 1er present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West
minster, the Twelfth day of September, in the eighth year of Her reign,
lid, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Martin Cawood and William Prichard, Her especial licence, full power,
sole privilege and authority, that we, the said Martin Cawood and William
Prichard, our exors, adññiors, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
Martin Cawood and William Prichard, our exors, adiñiors, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, our Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER LOOMS;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that we, the said Martin Cawood
and William Prichard, or one of us, shall cause a particular description of the
nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Martin Cawood and William Prichard, do hereby declare that the nature of
our said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed,
are fully described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof,
reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and
letters marked thereon (that is to say):
Our Invention relates,-
First, to a mode of delivering the warp.
Secondly, to means of stopping the loom in the event of weft not being
carried across by the passage of the shuttle.
Thirdly, to a mode of constructing a self-acting temple or apparatus for
keeping the woven fabric distended as it is woven; and,
Fourthly, to a mode of giving clasticity to linen warp in. power looms,
so that the beat up may not be injurious, as heretofore, when attempting to
weave linen fabrics by power.
And in order that our Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, we will proceed to describe the means pursued by us.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
The nature of each of the views of the Drawings being written thereon, it
will not be necessary to repeat them here. We would, however, remark that
the same letters of reference are used to indicate the same parts wherever they
occur, and we have not thought it necessary to shew a complete loom, but have
for the most part confined the Drawings to our improvements, the other parts
being shewn simply to indicate to the workman the position of the parts. a is
the warp roller or beam, on the axis of which is allixed the wheel b, which
receives motion from the worm or screw c, and the speed of the revolution of
the worm or screw shaft d is governed by the decreasing diameter of the warp
roller or beam, the object being that the motion should be so effected that the
surface motion of the warp shall be uniform, notwithstanding the decreasing of
the diameter of the warp and its roller, and this is accomplished in the follow-
ing manner-e is a roller which constantly presses against the surface of the
warp on the warp beam or roller; this roller is mounted on the arms faflixed
to an axis at g; and h is a spring attached to the end of the arm f' also
affixed to the axis g, which causes the roller to be constantly pressed against
the surface of the warp on the warp beam or roller. f is another arm affixed
to the axis g; and i is a connecting rod attached to the arm, and to the
belt crank lever by pin joints, the lever j moving on an axis at k. To the
other end of the lever is attached by a pin joint the connecting rod 7, which

page_text: is forked so as to pass on either side of the slotted bell crank lever m, which
moves on an axis affixed at m'. To the connecting rod is attacheil
the connecting rod n by a pin joint, the pin which connects the forked ends of
the rod with the rod n passing through the slot in the lever m, and the
other end of the connecting rod n is attached to the slotted arm o by a piu
joint as shewn. The object of having the arm o with a slot is that the pin by
which the rod n is attached thereto may be adjustable by the workman, so
that according as the axis or pin of the connecting rod is fixed higher or lower
in the slot, the quantity of weft thrown in a given length of fabric may be
regulated. On the axis of the worm or screw c is affixed the ratchet wheel 1',
which is driven round by means of clawkers q, which are placed on and move
freely on the end of the rod r, the front end of which rod r rests in a hole or
bearing in the front of the machine, and near the end where the clawkers
are applied there is formed a small neck or projection at right angles to the
side of the rod; this neck or projection enters a hole or bearing formed through
the end of the bell crank lever m; hence, as that end of the lever m moves up
and down, and thus gives motion to the clawkers, they still maintain nearly a
vertical position in place of passing through the same are as that described by
the lower end of the lever m; and this results from the circumstance of the
rod r, on which the clawkers are mounted, being of considerable length from
the end on which it moves. On the axis of the screw there is a pulley c² to
receive friction from a weighted cord or strap, in order that the axis may be
kept steady to its work. It will readily be seen, on tracing the movements of
the parts above described, that as the yarn beam decreases in diameter the
ratchet wheel will be driven round an increasing distance in proportion to suchi
decrease, and the result will be that the delivery of the warp will be rendered
uniform in consequence of the unwinding being at all times governed by the
decreasing diameter of the warp beam itself.
: We will now describe the second part of our Invention. s is a slotted rod;
the slotted part stands in front of the reed; such rod is attached to a lever t'
moving on an axis at t¹; and in order to keep the slotted ends of the rod 's
in its proper position a weighted lever is applied, which, hanging perpendicu-
larly, ensures the correct position of the slot. To the other end of the crank t
is attached the rod t², to the lower end of which is attached an enlargement,"
and according as this enlargement is removed below the sliding bolt t or left,
so will the loom continue to work or be stopped, the rod. 2 being kept in a
state of balance by the weight or ball; as shewn. The bolt 3 slides in suitable
bearings, and is constantly borne back by means of a coiled spring, as shown;
and the projection or crank on the tappet shaft forces up the sliding bolt

page_text: at each revolution, and if the enlargement remain between the end of the
sliding bolt and the lever of the strap lever the loom will be put out of
motion by the lever u releasing the strap lever, as is well understood; but if
the enlargement descend from between the end of the sliding bolt and the lever
to the strap the loom will continue in motion. is a small projection just in
front of the reed, which is so fixed.that as the reed beats up it will slightly
enter between the slotted ends of the rod s, having the weft between it and
the slotted end; if there has been any weft thrown across, by which means the
slot end will be carried forward with the weft, and will thus cause the enlarge-
ment of the rod t to descend below the sliding bolt, hence the sliding bolt will
not interfere with the lever of. the driving strap, and the loom will continue
to work; but if no weft is thrown in the slotted end will not be moved, and the
enlargement to the rod will remain between the sliding bolt and the lever of
the driving strap, and will thus be the cause of stopping the loom.
:
We will now describe a second arrangement of apparatus according to our
Invention for the purpose of stopping the loom when the weft is not thrown
across, shewn at Figure A. In this case the sliding bolt is not used, but a
wheel is used, which is moved forward one tooth at each beating up of the
ley y, on which there is hinged a driver y', which acts against the teeth of the
wheel as the sword moves forward, and on the lower part of the wheel one end
of the crank lever rests, and the other end of the lever is moved outwards by
the revolution of the wheel, hence, should the enlargement on the lower end
of the rod t be between it and the strap lever, the loom will be stopped; but
if the enlargement be moved from between the lever and the strap lever the
loom will continue to work. The other parts of the apparatus are similar to
those already described, and are marked with the same letters of reference,
and they act in the manner already described.
*
We will now describe the third part of our Invention, which is shewn at
Figure B. To tho breast beam is affixed springs (1), (1), to which are formed
the end plates (2), (2); these end plates are connected by means of two
rods (3), (3); and (4) is an axis moving in bearings at either end in the
plates (2), (2). On the ends of the axis are enlargements or cylinders (5), (5),
fixed, on which is fixed in a helical direction a narrow fillet of wire card with
short pointed teeth; or in place of wire card other rough surface may be affixed
or formed helically around the ends (5), (5), so that as the axis (4) revolves
the woven fabric may be stretched or distended as it comes from the reed, but
so far as our experience goes we prefer to use wire card. The woven fabric
passes over the rod (3) nearest the reed, then under the axis (4), then over
the rod (3) nearest the breast beam, and thence over the breast beam, and as

page_text: the take up moves the fabric it will be drawn under the axis (4), which will
cause that axis to revolve, and by its revolution, and the cards or other roughed
surfaces formed on the cylinders (5), (5), the cloth will be stretched.
yarns of
We will now describe the fourth part of our Invention. It is well known
that owing to the warp for weaving linen fabrics having little clasticity so as
practically to be considered as inelastic, that up to the present time little. if
any progress can be said to have been made in weaving linen fabrics by power.
Now this part of our Invention has for its object the so mounting or
supporting a warp, that notwithstanding the want of elasticity of the
which a warp is composed, part of the loom itself shall give to the warp the
requisite elastic movement. The warp, in passing from the warp beam or
roller, passes over a roller or beam (6), and thence to the breast beam. And
it will be seen that the beam (6) is carried by means of the arms (7) affixed to
or forming part of the framing, such arms as used by us being of cast iron,
but we do not confine ourselves to cast iron; and it will be found, that owing
to the length of the arms (7) above the points where they are fixed to the main
framing they will in working be found to spring to a considerable extent, when
the warp is dragged on in the working of the loom, and this spring or elasticity
will be found sufficient for the working with a warp of linen yarn, and by such
means we have found that we can weave linen fabrics with certainty by
power.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the best means we
are acquainted with for performing the same, we would have it understood
that we do not claim any of the parts separately, nor do we confine ourselves
to the precise details here shewn, so long as the peculiar character of either
part of our Invention be retained. But what we claim is,―
First, the mode of regulating or governing the delivery of warps in power
looms by means of the decreasing diameter of the warps, as herein described.
Secondly, we claim the means herein described for stopping power looms
when weft is not thrown across.
Thirdly, we claim the mode of constructing a self-acting temple or apparatus
for distending fabrics as they are woven in power looms; and,
Fourthly, we claim the mode of constructing a power loom so as to offer the
requisite elasticity for weaving linen fabrics by power.
In witness whereof, I, the said Martin Cawood, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-five.
MARTIN (L.S.) CAWOOD.
MARTIN (L.S.) CAWOOD.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Seventh day of March, in
the year of our Lord 1845, the aforesaid Martin Cawood came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to
the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twelfth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-five.
Enrolled the Twelfth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-five.