CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Fairclough, of Stockport, in the
County of Lancaster, Machine Smith, for the Invention of "CER-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Fair-
clough at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 27th June 1853.
I, WILLIAM FAIRCLOUGH, of Stockport, in the County of Lancaster,
Machine Smith, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING" to be as follows:-
The first part of my Invention relates to the weft motion which is
employed in power looms for stopping the loom whenever the weft
breaks, but more particularly to what is now generally known as "thé
ffork motion." I employ "the fork" as usual connected to a lever,
which is mounted upon a bracket attached to the breast beam. Upon
the "lathe or slay" of the loom, and opposite to catch of the fork, I fix à
projecting catch. Behind the grid opposite to the fork I place a spring,
which is acted upon by the spring of the "swell" in the shuttle box.
As the loom beats up, if the weft thread is in front of the grid, it raises
the fork out of the way of the fixed catch. If the shuttle is in the op-
posite shuttle box the swell causes the spring to press against the grid,

page_text: and thus act in the same manner as the thread. But if the shuttle re-
turns without weft, or with the thread broken, the fork" falls, and
taking hold of the fixed catch upon the lathe, the return stroke of the
lathe takes the fork with it, and (by means of a pin attached to the
lever upon which the fork is mounted) releases the spring handle from
its notch, and thus stops the loom.
The second part of my Invention applies to the "taking-up roller,"
and consists in covering the surface of the said roller with wire cards
instead of emery, as usual, which causes it to take much firmer hold of
the cloth, especially in weaving some fabrics which require to be woven
in a wet state, and for which the ordinary emery roller is useless, as
the water dissolves the glue with which the emery is attached to the
roller
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Fairclough in the Great Seal Patent
Office, on the 27th December 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
WILLIAM FAIRCLOUGH, of Stockport, in the County of Lancaster,
Machine Smith, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of June, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in tho
seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and succes-
sors, give and grant unto me, the said William Fairclough, Her
especial license that I, the said William Fairclough, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, and such others as I, the said William
Fairclough, 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 Inven-
tion for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Fairclough, 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 William Fairclough, 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 and accompanying Drawings:
My improvements relate, firstly, to the "weft motion" which is
ordinarily employed in power lcoms to stop the operation of the loom
whenever the weft thread breaks or a fresh cop is required in the
shuttle, or is absent from any other cause, and applies more particularly
to that arrangement of mechanism for effecting the aforesaid purpose
which is generally known as the "fork motion;" and, secondly, to
what is termed the "taking-up roller," and consists in covering the
surface of the said roller with wire cards instead of emery, as usually
employed, by which the roller grips more effectually and takes a firmer
hold of the cloth, and is especially adapted for the purpose when
weaving such fabrics as require to be woven in a wet state, in which
cases the ordinary emery roller becomes next to useless, as the water
moistens and dissolves the glue employed to attach the emery to the
roller. In order more fully to describe the particular features of
novelty of my said Invention, and the machinery or apparatus connected
therewith, I have attached to these presents a Sheet of Drawings illus-
trative of the same, and have marked thereon figures and letters of
reference corresponding with those in the following description thereof,
being drawn upon a scale of about three inches to the foot:-Fig. 1, is
a transverse section shewing part of the breast beam and lathe of an
ordinary power loom; Fig. 2, is a front elevation of the same; and
Fig. 8, is a plan or horizontal view of the same parts. Similar letters
of reference are placed upon corresponding parts of the mechanism in
all the Figures. The portions of the loom that are old and well known
are introduced merely as elementary and the better to illustrate the
application of my improvements. In Fig. 1, a, is the "fork;" b, the
catch or detent of the same; c, a lever or arm carrying the fork fixed to
a bracket d, which is attached to the breast beam e; f, is a projecting

page_text: or other catch attached to the "lathe" or "slay" g; h, is the grid; i, a
spring fixed to and acted upon by the spring of the "swell" in the
shuttle box; k, the spring handle or "setting on" rod. In Fig. 3,
1, is the ordinary shuttle box; m, the swell; n, the spring acting upon
it and also upon the spring i, to which it is fixed. As the lathe beats
up, if the weft thread is in part of or opposite to the "grid," it raises
the catch or detent of the fork out of the way of the projecting catch
attached to the "lathe." If the shuttle is in the opposite shuttle box,
the "swell" causes the spring to press against the "grid," and coming
in contact with the prongs of the fork acts in the same manner as the
thread. But if the shuttle returns without weft, or the thread be
broken or absent, the catch or detent of the fork falls, and coming in
contact with the projecting catch attached to the lathe is forced
towards the breast beam, and by pressing back the bracket releases the
spring handle or setting on " rod from its notch, and stops the loom
in the ordinary manner by passing the driving strap on to the loose
pulley..
Having thus described the nature and object of my said improve-
ments in looms for weaving, together with the manner of carrying the
same into practical effect, I would remark, in conclusion, that I claim,
first, the novel application of the "fork" in combination with the pro-
jecting or fixed catch and spring attached to the ordinary spring of the
"swell," for the purpose of stopping the operation of power looms by
the means herein-before more particularly set forth and described and
exhibited in the Drawing annexed; and, secondly, the covering the
surface of the taking-up" roller with wire cards.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Fairclough, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of De-
cember, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-three.
WILLIAM FAIRCLOUGH. (L.S.)
WILLIAM FAIRCLOUGH. (L.S.)