CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Hudson; of Burnley, in the County of
Lancaster, Machinist, and Christopher Catlow, of Clithero, in the same
County, Overlooker, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Hudson and
Christopher Catlow at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 26th June 1856.
We, WILLIAM HUDSON, of Burnley, in the County of Lancaster, Machinist,
and CHRISTOPHER CATLOW, of Clithero, in the same County, Overlooker, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
Our said Invention applies to power looms, and the purpose of it is the
prevention of the defects in weaving technically termed "floats." We employ.
a serrated bar or blade, the teeth of which are applied to the surface of the
fabric in the loom near the fell. This bar has a reciprocating motion in the
direction of its length, and by its movement in one direction, withdraws a piece
or finger, which, if not so removed, would prevent the weft fork from being
duly raised, and thus cause the stoppage of the loom at every alternate pick.
So long as the cloth is perfectly made the teeth of the serrated bar slide"

page_text: freely in contact with its surface, but if a portion of the ends of the warp
happen to be thrown out some of the teeth of the bar are caught by them, and
the motion of the bar interrupted, the weft motion in consequence of such
interruption being brought into operation to stop the loom. We apply serrated
blades or bars to both surfaces of the fabric, or to one surface only, at dis-
cretion. Instead of causing the apparatus to stop the loom through the medium
of the weft fork, a stop or filling-piece may be introduced between the sley and
the weft lever, or between the sley and the spring handle, its position being
controlled by the movements of the serrated bar so as to produce the proposed
effect.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Hudson and Christopher Catlow in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 26th December 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
HUDSON, of Burnley, in the County of Lancaster, Machinist, and CHRISTOPHER
CATLOW, of Clithero, in the same County, Overlooker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her. Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of June, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her reign, did, for Herself,
Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said William Hudson
and Christopher Catlow, Her special license that we, the said William
Hudson and Christopher Catlow, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said William Hudson and Christopher Catlow,
our executors, administrators, or 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the
said William Hudson and Christopher Catlow, by an instrument in writing
under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said William Hudson and Christopher
Catlow, do hereby declare that the nature of our said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described and ascer-
tained, with the aid of the Drawings hereunto annexed, by the following.
statement (that is to say):―
The purpose of our Invention is to effect the stoppage of the loom by self-
acting means upon the occurrence of "float." By the term "float" is signified
a defect in the fabric arising from a portion of the weft not being duly
interwoven with the warp, but underlying or overlying a series of ends for a
greater or less number of picks. The origin of this mischief is generally a
broken end in the warp, which becoming entangled with some of the adjacent
ends in each shed prevents them from being properly separated by the action,
of the healds, so that the shuttle passes over or under the ends so implicated
without the due intertexture of the weft. Our Invention consists in causing
this displacement of the ends of the warp to operate through certain mechanism,
so as to cause the spring handle of the loom to be thrown out of its detent,
and also in the arrangement and combination of the mechanical parts of the
apparatus which we employ to attain this end. We shall describe and explain
the particulars of the latter by reference to the Drawings hereunto appended.
Of the Figures composing these Drawings, 6 and 7 are delineated of about the
same size as the objects represented, 8 and 9 about half the size, and the
remaining Figures about one-fourth of the size of the originals. In the
Drawings generally, such parts of the loom as are not necessary to the purpose
of our explanation are omitted, and the same reference letters and figures are
used to indicate the same parts throughout.
Figure 1 is a plan view of the front part of a loom lying between the breast
beam and the sley; Figure 2 is a side view, taken in the plane of a vertical
section along the dotted line A, B, in Figure 1; Figure 6 is an end view, and
Figure 7, a plan view of some of the parts described, drawn about the natural
size. These views illustrate the application of our method of stopping the
loom upon the occurrence of "float" in one way, namely, by causing the un-
woven ends composing the "float" to arrest the passage across them of a pointed
object or instrument, which is capable of moving without obstruction over the
surface of perfect cloth. For this purpose we apply two serrated bars or blades,
one on each side of the cloth, close to the fell, the teeth of the blades touching
with their points the surfaces of the fabric which passes between them as it
leaves the reed. The teeth of the blades are not vertical but have their points
directed obliquely towards the taking-up side of the loom. a, a, in Figures
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 are the toothed or serrated blades. Where the box and

page_text: roller or trough temple is used such blades may be conveniently attached to it
in the manner shewn in Figures 1 and 2, 6 and 7, where b. is the box or
trough of the temple, having at each end: a lug cast upon it. or attached to it.
on the side nearest the breast beam. 6, 6, are these.lugs,.and.they serve.to,
carry the brackets 62, 62, each of which has two holes drilled in it through.
which the small pins a, a, a, a, pass. These pins project from end pieces a.,.a²,
to which the blades a, a, are affixed by screws, and the whole length of the
blades and end pieces being less than the distance between the brackets ;. b:
the blades have room to slide. to and fro through a small distance end wise;
between the brackets 6º, 62, the vertical position of them. being maintained, by
the lateral confinement of the pins. Figure 3. is a front view of the blades: a, a,.
the position of the cloth between them being indicated by a dotted line.. An
upright pin a³ stands out from the top of each of the end pieces a³, a.. d is the
weft fork and stand; c', the weft lever which. carries. them; and c, the radial
arm of the weft motion. The last-mentioned is furnished. with a wing c. pro-
jecting laterally from the upper part of it, and carrying a small screwed pin, ct,.
which extends towards or points over the breast beam, the extent of its pro-
jection being. adjustable by means of the screw. d'is a stud rising vertically.
from the inner edge of the breast beam; it serves as the fulcrum of the rec
tangular lever formed by the. two arms d', d.. Of these arms d¹ points towards
the spring handle, and reaches beyond the line of the pin c'; d³ projects towards
the sley, and terminates in a small fork, which embraces the pin a³ in, the top
of the adjacent end piece a². d³ is a finger attached to and projecting laterally
from the lever arm de towards the. shank of the weft fork, its. length, and
elevation being such that its point reaches over the same when the forked
end of the lever arm is made to approach the driving side of the. loom.
e (Figure 1) is a blade spring attached, by a small bracket e¹ to. the breast
beam, and tending by its pressure against the pin a³, in the corresponding end
piece a³, to force the serrated blades towards the taking-up side of the loom so
far as the bracket b² will permit.
In looms which are, not furnished with the box and roller temple, the serrated
blades may be mounted on a frame attached to. the breast beam, such as is
shewn in plan view at Figure, 4, and in end. view at Figure 5. In these views
6s, 68, are curved arms, the extremities of which occupy the places of the brackets
62, 63; in the arrangement before described, being pierced with holes to receive
the pins a¹, a¹, a¹, a¹; 6 is a piece attached to the breast beam, and carrying
the arms 63, 63, the position of the latter being adjustable by. means: of the
attaching bolts. The arrangement in other respects is precisely. the saine asih
the former case.
f

page_text: We will now trace the action of the apparatus. The pin c, upon the radial
arim of the weft motion is to be adjusted so as to strike the arm d¹ of the
rectangular lever a little before the radial arm arrives at the limit of its range.
At every vibration of the radial arm, therefore, the pin c forces back the arm d³,
and imparts to the rectangular lever a slight angular motion round its fulcrum d,
the forked extrémity of the arm d² being made to describe a small arc towards
the driving side of the loom. The pin a³, embraced by the fork, is carried along
with it, and thus the serrated blades are moved endwise in the same direction.
At each vibration of the lever arm d², the point of the finger d is extended
over the shank of the weft fork. The points of the teeth of the serrated blades;
being inclined towards the taking-up side of the loom, will glide along the
surfaces of the cloth towards the driving side without interruption. When the
radial arm of the weft motion returns, the lever arm d³ is released, and the
recoil of the spring e causes the serrated blades to move back into their original
position. So long as the cloth is perfect the motion of the blades in both
directions will be unimpeded, and they will move freely to and fro in contact
with the surfaces of the cloth; but if any floated warp presents itself, some or
one of the teeth will encounter such floated warp during the return stroke of
the blades, and becoming entangled in it the motion of the blades will be
arrested, and the return of the lever arın d², to its original position will be
prevented. The finger d³ will thus remain extended over the shank of the weft
fork, so that at the next following return of the shuttle to the box at the
driving side, the weft will fail to raise the fork, and the hook of the latter
being retained in the detent of the radial arm, the next succeeding vibration of
the latter will throw the spring handle out of gear, in the same manner as if no
weft had been present to act upon the fork; but no interference with the
ordinary functions of the weft motion will take place unless the motion of the
serrated blades shall bave been arrested by "float," as described.
We now proceed to describe another method of applying our Invention, in
which the object is effected by allowing the floated ends to fall into the inter-
stices between the teeth of an indented bar, into which interstices the perfect
cloth will not enter, being enabled by its continuity to support itself across the
intervals between the teeth.
Figure 8 is an elevation view of the parts of this arrangement, as seen from
the direction of the sley; Figure 9 is a plan view, and Figure 10, an énd view
of the same. b is the box or trough of a box and roller temple, the edge of
which a. is indented, as shewn in the Drawing; f is a slender bar of thin
metal, lying parallel to and nearly in contact with the indented edge at of the

page_text: temple. The ends of it are bent at right angles, so as to enclose the ends of
the temple, into which latter two pins f, f, are inserted, on which the bar f
oscillates. The end of the bar f¹, nearest to the driving side of the loom is
prolonged beyond its fulcrum pin f¹, forming an arm marked f2; 9 is a latch
or drop piece attached to the side of the weft lever c¹ by a pin g¹, round which
it has radial motion. The latch g passes under the stand of the weft fork c,
and behind the head of the radial arm c³, and this part is so adjusted in respect
of elevation that the opposite and projecting part of the head of the radial arm
in vibrating will just pass clear of it, but if the latch 9 be a little elevated, will
come in contact with it. In the moveable end of the latch g, is a vertical slot
92 (Figure 8); the end of the armi f enters this slot, and the latch g, and bar f,
are so adjusted that when the upper edge of the bar f coincides in height with
the indented edge at of the temple (as shewn in the right hand part of Figure 8),
the top of the slot g², rests upon the end of the arm f2, and by its pressure
thereon rather more than counterbalances the opposing weight of the bar f,
so that the upper edge of the latter will be thereby pressed upward against the
under surface of the cloth; at the same time the part g³ of the latch g will
be sufficiently depressed to allow the head of the radial arm c² to pass over it,
the latch g assuming the position shewn in dotted lines in Figure 8.
The apparatus acts as follows:-So long as the cloth, the fell of which is
stretched along the indented edge of the temple, is perfectly formed, no distur-
bance of the equilibrium of the bar f and the latch g takes place. But should
a "float" be formed some of the ends of the floated warp, drawn down by the
depression of the bottom shed, will fall into one of the interstices between the
teeth of the indented edge of the temple, and press down the bar f (into the
position shewn in the left hand part of Figure 8), thereby elevating the arm f²
and latch g; the part 93 of the latch g will now present itself in the path of
the radial arm c², and receiving an impulse therefrom, at the next vibration
thereof will be forced back along with the weft lever to which it is attached,
thereby liberating the spring handle in the usual way. In cases where the
box and roller temple is not used, a straight indented har must be substituted
for the indented edge of the temple, and both that and the bar f must be
mounted upon a frame similar to that suggested in the former case, and
represented in Figures 4 and 5, the other parts of the arrangement remaining
as before stated.
Another method of carrying our Invention into effect is by the employment
of a series of traversing teeth or fingers, the points of which are presented
towards the under side of the bottom shed of the warp, which depresses them

page_text: as it descends, so that in case of any hiatus or opening in the continuity of the
shed the finger or tooth immediately opposite such opening will fail to be
depressed, and will become the agent to effect the stoppage.
Figure 11 is a view, in profile, of part of a loom explaining this arrangement.
k, k, k, k, are the healds;
is the woven cloth. The dotted lines m, m, shew
the course of the bottom shed, and m³, m³, that of the top shed. n, n, n,
represent the position of a portion of warp displaced in consequence of
entanglement with a broken end at o; p is a small shaft or rod, carried in
bearings p¹ under the sley beam. The bearings p¹ have bosses of the cannon
form, and in the under side of the barrel part of each boss is a longitudinal slit,
through which projects a pin p² screwed into the neck or journal of the shaft p.
The distance between the necks of the shaft p is less than the space between
the bearings p¹, so that the shaft may have room to traverse longitudinally,
while the pins p² prevent it from turning on its axis. The pin at the end of the
shaft towards the taking-up side of the loom is longer than the other, and
enters an endless groove in a boss or cam s, which revolves on a stud s¹ fixed
in a bracket (s2, Figure 12,) pendant from the under side of the sley beam.
The grooved cam and ratchet are shewn in side view at Figure 12. The groove
in the cam s winds helically half round it in one direction, and then takes a
similar course in the contrary direction until it returns into itself. Each
revolution of the grooved cam will therefore cause the shaft p to traverse back-
wards and forwards to an extent equal to half the pitch of the helix or spiral
path of the groove. The cam is fastened to and turns with a ratchet wheel t,
one of whose teeth is encountered by a small catch projecting from the side of
the loom, so that the ratchet wheel is moved round one tooth at each beat.up
of the sley. On the shaft p are a series of levers r, placed at equal distances
between fixed collars, and free to oscillate on the shaft as their common
fulcrum. The bosses of these levers are bored to receive the shaft p, and the
collars are fixed on each side by set screws; but the form of the levers may be
varied to that represented in Figure 13, where one of them is shewn which is
made with a saddle at ³ to drop into a neck turned down in the shaft p. In
this case the expense of drilling the bosses of the levers will be saved, and the
collars may be dispensed with. One arm of each of the levers r³ projects and
turns upwards behind the sley beam, presenting a rounded end upwards to
meet the under side of the bottom shed as the sley recedes. The other armr²
extends forward and terminates in a hook. The arm 2 is made heavier than
the arm r, so that, in the absence of any external force to depress the latter, it
will be elevated so far as the edge of the sley beam will permit, by the
pre-

page_text: ponderance of the opposite arm r", which will be depressed in a corresponding
degree. v is a bar extending across the loom and elevated upon two upright
arms v¹, pivoted on studs in the loom side. The height of this bar is such that
the hooked arms r² of the lever r, when not raised by the depression of the
opposite arms r¹, will lay hold of it as the sley recedes, but will pass clear of it if
so raised. The bar vis at such a distance from the breast beam that the hooks
will pass it a little before the crank reaches the back centre, but after the arms
have encountered and been depressed by the bottom shed, the upright arm v
which carries the bar v on the driving side, is connected by the link w to the
lower arm of an upright lever a pivoted on a stud at y, the higher extremity of
the lever a is presented towards and almost touches the weft lever c¹. The action
of this apparatus is as follows: -The ratchet wheel t being turned one tooth at
each beat up of the sley turns the grooved cam s slowly round, and the
revolution of the cam acting on the pin in the end of the shaft p causes that
shaft to traverse slowly to and fro in alternate directions. By this means
the extremities of the arms r¹ of the levers r are constantly changing their
points of contact with the warp. So long as the shed is unbroken all the
hooked arms of the levers 7 will be raised as the sley recedes by the pressure
of the warp on the arms, but if a portion of the ends of the warp be dis-
placed or distorted, as at n, n, n, an opening or vacant place is made in the
shed, the arm ¹ opposite to which will not be depressed with the others, and the
lever will retain the position shewn by dotted lines in the Drawing, in which
position the hooked arm r² will catch and draw back the bar as the sley
recedes. The lever a being connected with the bar v by the link w will thus
be caused to vibrate, so that the higher end of it will move back the weft lever
c¹ and throw the spring handle out of its detent, as before.
We shall conclude this statement by further declaring that we do not claim
as part of our Invention any of the mechanism appertaining to the temple or
weft motion, as ordinarily used, nor. any of the old and well known parts of the
loom touched upon in the foregoing description; but that we do claim as of
our Invention, and the subject of the before-mentioned privilege, the method of
throwing the spring handle of the loom out of its detent on the occurrence of a
"float," by causing the floated warp to arrest the passage over it of a pointed
instrument or object, as before described and explained.
Also, the combination of mechanical parts described for effecting the last
before-mentioned operation, and all mere modifications thereof.
Also, the method of throwing the spring handle of the loom out of its detent,
by causing the floated ends of the warp to enter spaces between the teeth of an
indented bar, as herein-before explained.

page_text: Also, the combination of mechanical parts described for effecting the last
before-mentioned operation, and all mere modifications thereof.
Also, the method of throwing the spring handle out of its detent, by the
omission of some part of the warp in the bottom shed to depress one of
the fingers or levers on a traversing bar, as herein-before explained.
And, lastly, the combination of mechanical parts described for effecting the
last before-mentioned operation, and all mere modifications thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Hudson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
WILLIAM HUDSON. (L.S.)
Signed & sealed by the said William
Hudson in the presence of
J. TAYLER,
Patent Agent, Manchester.