CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, SAMUEL
ECCLES. of Hulme, in the County of Lancaster, Machinist, and MATTHEW
CURTIS, of Chorlton-upon-Medlock, in the said County, Machinist, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria did, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-second day of June, in
the seventh year of Her reign, give and grant unto us, the said Saniucl
Eccles and Matthew Curtis, our exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that we, the said Samuel
Eccles and Matthew Curtis, our exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such others
as we, the said Samuel Eccles and Matthew Curtis, our exors, adññiors,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, from time to time and at
all times thereafter during the term of fourteen years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within that part
of Her Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called Eng-
land, Her Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, our
Invention of CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso that if we, the said Samuel Eccles and
Matthew Curtis, should not particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by
an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and
seal of one of us, and cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's ligh
6

page_text: Court of Chancery within six calendar months then next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent, then the said Letters Patent,
and all liberties and advantages whatsoever thereby granted, should utterly
cease, determine, and become void, as in and by the same, relation being
thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Samuel Eccles and Matthew Curtis, do hereby declare that the nature of our
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is parti-
cularly described and ascertained in and by the following description in writing,
reference being had to the Drawings on two Shcets hereunto annexed, and in
which description and Drawings the same letters and numbers of reference are
used to indicate the same parts in all the Drawings wherever the same occur,
and by reference to a single letter or number of reference we intend to refer to
all the parts marked therewith.
The first part of our Invention consists in an improved apparatus for
stopping the loom when the weft thread is broken or expended, and which
will readily be understood by reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9
of the Drawings, Figure 1 being a plan of portions of a common loom, with
this and other parts of our improvements attached. Figure 2, a vertical
section of the same, taken along the line indicated in Figure 1 by a red line.
Figure 3, an elevation of this part of our Invention detached. Figures
4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, represent separate portions of the same. A, are five wires
bent into a form shewn in the Drawings (Figures 2 and 3), with parts pro-
jecting from the rounded end, and curved upwards at their extremity a.
These wires are parallel to each other, and are soldered together at a', the
better to insure their acting together when in work. These wires must be so
fixed, that when the reed is within about quarter of an inch of its nearest
approach to the breast beam in beating up the weft, the rounded end of the
wires will be in a line with the front of the reed of the loom. To insure their
remaining so when at rest, the fixing c is screwed at such a position on the
breast beam that the cross pin d fixed therein, catching in the curved or hooked
ends of the wires, may prevent them from going further from the breast beam
than that point. B is a small reed, which we call the guide reed, through which
the wires A pass. This guide reed may either be formed as a distinct piece
from and attached to and in the same line with the ordinary rced of the loom
(which we wish to be understood as referring to when we use the term "reed"
only), as best seen in Figure 9, or it may be made in the end of the reed by
drawing out so many of the dents as will leave five spaces wide enough to
allow the wires easily to pass through, and to form a guide for them. Part

page_text: of the race board at the foot of the guide reed must be cut away, as shewn in
Figure 9, to allow the wires to rest below the surface on which the shuttle
traverses. C is a cranked wire lever (best shewn in plan and elevation in
Figure 6), on the end e of which the wires hang, and the other end which is
bent, as at f, is connected by a cord, wire, or chain f', to the vibrating lever g,
which works on a stud in the side of the carrying lever D. This carrying
lever works on the stud / fixed in the loom side. E is a tabbet fixed on the
tappet shaft I. F is a tumbler, consisting of several parts, in which the cranked
lever C turns. The part of the tumbler which carries this lever is made in
two parts, as seen in Figure 5, to admit of being set more or less wide, to
suit the particular loon. k is a fixing bolted to the loom side, in which the
stud is fixed, on which the tumbler moves, and in this fixing the pin is
also fixed, to prevent the tumbler from descending lower in that direction,
which it would otherwise do by its own gravity. m is a bar of iron fastened
to the side of the knocking-off slide, common to looms in general.
Having now shown how the different parts of this apparatus are arranged,
we proceed to describe its operation:-When the shuttle is thrown to the side
of the loom to which the stopping apparatus is fixed, it passes through the
wires A, and if the weft thread is not broken or expended, will conduct and
leave it between the guide reed B and the part of the wires. On the
advance of the reed to beat up the weft, the weft thread, if present between
the wires and the guide reed, prevents the wires passing through the guide
reed, and on the continued advance of that reed causes them to be drawn
forward towards the breast beam. The hooked end a of the wires slides
easily from the pin d towards the breast beam, the pin offering no opposition
in that direction, but the other end of the wire being hung on the cranked
end e of the wire lever C, the crank is drawn forward with the wires towards
the breast beam, and lifts the other end f, with which the vibrating lever y is
connected, and consequently raises that lever into the position shewn by red
lines in Figure 8; but if when the reed advances to beat up the weft, the
weft thread is absent, there being in that case no obstruction to the wires A
passing through the guide reed, they pass accordingly, and the wires conse-
quently not being drawn forward, the vibrating lever g is not raised, and on
the revolution of the tappet shaft i. the tappet E coming in contact with the
lower arm of the lever g, thereby impels the carrying lever D towards the
breast beam. That lever having hold of the bent end of the bar m attached
It will
to the knocking-off slide, pushes the bar towards the breast beam.
thus be seen that when the weft thread is present between the guide reed and
the wires A, the vibrating lever g is raised as the reed approaches the breast

page_text: beam to beat up the weft, and being so raised, offers no obstruction to the
tappet E in its revolution, and the action of the loom is not interrupted; but
if, in consequence of the weft thread being absent, the vibrating lever g is not
raised, then the tappet E striking against it, the lever D is moved forward, as
before described, and the bar m being thereby driven forward, drives the
knocking-off slide, which stops the loom in the ordinary manner. It will be
obvious to persons acquainted with the construction and use of looms, that this
motion, as above described, will only be brought into action at each alternate
pick of the loom; but the apparatus described may, if desired, be easily
applied at each end of the loom with such modifications as will occur to any
competent mechanic, so as to operate at each pick of the loom. It may bc
observed, that the vibrating lever, having a tendency downwards by its own
gravity, will, when the reed recedes, fall and draw back the cranked wire lever
and wires to their first position, ready to act again when the shuttle comes to
the end on which they are placed. It should also be noticed that the use of
the tumbler F is not merely to carry the cranked wire lever C, which might
work in a stationary fixing, but also to prevent-injury by the shuttle, should it
any time be left projecting out of the shuttle box when the guide reed is
approaching the end 6 of the wires. In such case, should part of the shuttle
be between the end 6 of the wires and the guide reed, then, on the reed coming
up towards the cloth, either the wires, the guide reed, or the cranked wire
lever would be injured; but the tumbler F, working on the stud n, being at
liberty to approach nearer the breast beam than the usual position, if drawn
by a force sufficient to overcome the resistance of its weighted end, and so
cause it to turn on its centre, no injury is sustained, as the wires are carried
forward by the shuttle. Although we have mentioned five wires, A, that
being the number which we generally use for fine weft, yet a greater or less
number may be used, according to the strength of the weft, a greater number
being used when the weft is fine than when coarse. It will also be evident
that other substances may casily be substituted for wires for the purpose
described, such, for instance, as cord, catgut, or various others, proper means
being adopted for keeping them extended in a suitable form for the purpose
described by us. But we use and prefer wires as being found by us most con-
venient and durable in practice. It will be observed that the wires A never
pass out of the guide reed, and are therefore free from the disadvantage
attendant upon those forks, or similar agents heretofore used to detect the
absence of the weft thread, which alternately enter into the guide reed, or any
equivalent instrument, and are then wholly left by it, and which are liable to
come in contact with the teeth of such guide reed or instrument when

page_text: about to re-enter it. This we consider an important advantage of our
Invention.
The second part of our Invention consists in what we call a break or warp
tightener, shewn in Figures 1, 2, and 12. G is a double eccentric fixed on
the tappet shaft i; n is a bowl which works on the stud o, fixed in a slot of
the break lever I under the tappet shaft. The break lever vibrates on the
pin p, fixed in the carrier q, which is bolted to the back rail or back stretcher
of the loom; is an eye bolt, one end of which is put through a hole in the
upper part of the break lever II, and fastened thereto by nuts, as shewn in
Figure 2. A straps is fastened to the eye of this bolt, and taken round the
yarn beam I, once or twice, or oftener, as the weaver may think best, and is
tightened by a weight K, sufficient to give due friction to the warp beam when
the loom is in operation. As the tappet shaft revolves, it brings one of the
canis of the eccentric G against the bowl n, by which means the break lever
11 is depressed, and the upper arm of that lever being thereby brought forward,
the straps, fastened to the eye bolt 7, is drawn therewith, and the yarn
beam is drawn backwards and the warp threads tightened in a greater or less
degree, in proportion to the size of the cans on the eccentric. The eccentric
should be so placed on the tappet shaft that the outer extremity of one of the
cams shall act on the bowl n, so as to create the greatest degree of tightness
in the warp threads at the moment of the reed striking the cloth, and as the
reed recedes from the cloth, the cam of the eccentric leaving the bowl
gradually diminishes the tightness of the warp threads. By this means a
strong or heavy cloth may be woven with much less weight than is usually
applied for tightening the warp threads, and the strain on the healds, and
also the liability of the warp threads to breakage, are much diminished.
The third part of our Invention consists in an improvement on a contrivance
for overcoming the pressure of the spring on the stop rod just before the
shuttle is thrown. With reference to this improvement, see Figures 1, 10,
and 11. Figure 10 is an end elevation of portions of a loom, with this and
other parts of our Invention attached, and Figure 11 an elevation of this
part of our Invention detached. L is a bent lever which moves on the stud t.
To the end of the lower arm of this lever is attached one end of a cord u,
fastened at the other end to the stud v, fixed in the stop rod w; is a round
casting or carrier fastened on the tappet shaft i, and carrying two small
tumblers y, which move on studs fixed in the casting. Immediately behind
each of the tumblers is a stud or pin, also fixed in the casting, the object of
which is to support the tumblers when carried round by the revolution of the
tappet shaft as they approach the end of the upper arm of the lever L, which

page_text: they will do as the shaft revolves in the direction of the arrow, which is the
working way of the tappet shaft. It is therefore obvious that as the shaft
revolves, each tumbler alternately being supported by the stud or pin behind
it, will raise the end of the upper arm of the lever, and depress the end of the
lower arm, as shewn by red lines, Figure 11, and in so doing will, through the
intervention of the connecting cord u, turn the stop rod partially round, by
which means the pressure of the spring attached to the stop rod is overcome,
and the shuttle is set at liberty to be thrown. The carrier a must be fixed
on the tappet shaft in such position that the tumblers will lift the end of
the upper arm of the lever, and thereby take off the pressure of the stop rod
from the swell, immediately before the shuttle is thrown across the loom.
The advantage of having tumblers instead of an eccentric, as commonly used
to lift the lever L, is this:-When the loom, in consequence of the shuttle
remaining in the shed, or from any other cause, is suddenly stopped, the
action of the parts is generally reversed by the shock, and if the eccentric was
a fixed or unyielding one, it would, on the motion of the tappet shaft being
reversed, act on the lever L, and connected parts before described, so as to
take off the pressure of the spring from the stop rod, and allow the loom to
make what is technically termed a trap or breakage of the warp threads.
But by the use of the tumbler this is obviated, for when the action of the
tappet shaft is reversed, the tumbler having fallen down for want of any
support, does not act upon the lever L, and the pressure of the spring on the
stop rod therefore continues in operation. Though we have described the
tumblers as carried on the tappet shaft, that being the situation which we
prefer, yet the same object may be effected by placing the tumblers on other con-
venient revolving parts of the loom; and it will be observed that if placed on a
part such as the crank, which makes one revolution for each pick of the loom,
a single tumbler will suffice. As the advantage of this contrivance arises from
the tumblers being made to yield during the reverse motion of the tappet and
carrier, the same object may be effected by having a fixed or inflexible
eccentric or cam acting in a proper position upon a lever, jointed so as to be
anyielding to the cam when the tappet shaft works in its usual direction, but
yielding when the motion of the tappet shaft is from any cause reversed. Such
a jointed lever, it is evident, may be applied in various positions, and under
various modifications, without departing from the principle of this contrivance.
which is, that the joint of the lever, acted upon either by a cam, or any other
agent, shall be unyielding, so long as the direct action of the loom continues,
but yielding when such action is reversed.
The fourth part of our Invention consists in a contrivance for lifting the

page_text: catch from the ratchet wheel of the taking up motion, when the driving strap
of the loom is thrown from the fast to the loose pulley, and which will be
understood by reference to Figures 1, 10, and 14. M is a rod which extends
across the loom. One end of this rod is turned up and passes through a hole 1
in the common knocking-off slide O, as seen in Figure 14, which is an end
elevation of that slide, with the turned-up end of the rod through it. To the
other end of the rod M a balance lever N is attached, on the end 2 of which
the catch 3, taking into the ratchet wheel 4, rests. The rod and balance lever
are so placed, that when the loom is in work the catch is left in action; but
when the loom is stopped, the knocking-off slide, being pushed forward towards
the breast beam, will carry the turned-up end of the rod M with it, and
partially turn round the rod, in which it will be assisted by the tendency
downward of the weighted end of the balance lever N, the projecting end 2 of
which will be thereby raised, and will lift the catch out of the ratchet wheel,
and thus the taking up of the cloth will be prevented. By this means it will
be seen, that when, by the absence of the weft or other cause, the strap lever
removes the driving strap from the fast to the loose pulley, though the loom
by the momentum which it had previously acquired should continue in
action one or more picks, the cloth will not be thereby taken up on the
cloth beam.
The fifth part of our Invention consists in an apparatus to be attached to an
ordinary loom for the opening of the warp threads both upwards and down-
wards, whether drawn through healds, or otherwise. The construction and
operation of this apparatus will be understood by referring to the Drawings,
Figures 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20. Figure 15 is a back elevation, and
Figure 16 an end elevation of portions of a loom with this apparatus applied
to it; Figure 17 is a section of parts of the apparatus; Figure 18 is a plan of
parts of the apparatus; Figure 19 is a plan, and Figure 20 a section of other
parts. P is a bevel wheel on the tappet shaft i, driving another bevil
wheel Q, which runs loose on a stud fixed to the frame side of this apparatus.
On the back of this bevil wheel is a plate Q on which is cast a segmental
projecting rim R, sec Figure 19. In the middle of the space where the
rim is interrupted, is a pin 5, which pin, in the course of one entire revolution
of the bevel wheel Q, by means of the crosses S and S', turns successively
the cylinders T and T: (on the ends of which the crosses are fixed) cach one
fourth of its revolution; for it will be seen, that, assuming the pin to be in
one of the slots of the cross S¹, in the position shewn in Figure 19, then the
pin, as it revolves with the bevel wheel in the direction of the bent arrow,

page_text: will bear against an arm of the cross, and so force the cross around until the
pin has, in its progress onward, left the slot, the sides of which have room to
pass clear between the extremities of the segmental rim R. On the pin
leaving the slot, which it does when the cross and its attached cylinder have
made a quarter of a revolution, the cross S¹ ceases to revolve, and having
then assumed a position similar to that of the cross S, as represented in the
Figure, is retained in that position by the segmental ring bearing upon it, until
again put in action by the pin in the course of its revolution again coming
in contact with it. 6 are pegs fixed in the cylinders; U are levers, the
number of which may be adapted to the size of the apparatus and the number
of heddles required in the loom. The apparatus represented in the Drawings
is adapted for twelve levers, but, for the sake of distinctness, two only are
shewn in the Figures 15 and 17. Each lever has two slides, 7 the top slide,
and 8 the bottom slide. In each of these slides a notch 9 is cut, in which
two springs 10 and 11 rest, it being understood that there must be two springs
for each lever, one for its upper and the other for its lower slide. 12 and 13
are two pins which hold the two springs in their respective positions. Each
of the slides is to be so placed in its lever, and the notch in it is to be so
situated, that when its spring is not in action, one end of the slide (suppose
the end nearest the left hand of the spectator, as shewn in the Drawings), shall
project about three quarters of an inch beyond the end of the lever. V is a
framed lever formed of two parallel arms working from the same centre as the
levers U, and which arms are connected together by a cross piece 14, as
shown in Figure 18; V' is another and similar lever working from the same
centre on the opposite side, as also seen in Figure 18. These levers V
and V, on every revolution of the tappet shaft, are alternately raised and
depressed simultaneously by the eccentrics W and W', fixed on the tappet
shaft through the intervention of the levers X and X', and connecting rods Y
and Y. The levers V and V₁, by means of their cross pieces 14 and 15,
raise and depress such of the levers U whose slides may be projecting beyond
the ends of the levers when the cross pieces approach them, see Figure 18.
We will now proceed to describe the operation of this apparatus when the
loom is in action. The bevel wheel P drives the wheel Q, which, by means
of the pin 5 and the crosses S and S', turns at intervals each of the cylinders T
and Tone fourth of a revolution, as before described.
As each cylinder
revolves, the pegs 6, fixed in it, successively press against the springs 10 and 11,
which, working in the notch 9 of the slides 7 and 8, force outward (towards
the right hand, looking at the Drawings), the ends of the slides beyond the

page_text: ends of the levers U to which they are attached. By this means it will be
seen that such of the levers U whose slides (not being acted on by the springs)
project beyond the left-hand end of the levers, will be subjected to the action
of the framed lever V, and that such of the levers U whose slides are, by the
action of their springs, made to project beyond the right-hand end of the
levers, will be subjected to the action of the framed lever V¹, as such framed
lever is raised or depressed through the means of the eccentrics W or W'.
The levers U, when thus raised or depressed, communicate the like motion
to the heddles of the loom, with which they are connected by cords in the
usual manner. It will be seen. on an inspection of Figure 15. that one part
of the warp threads is raised and the other part depressed in such manner
that on every change of the shed the whole of the warp threads are equally
acted upon, by which means a considerable saving of time is effected, and the
warp threads are kept of an equal tension. The eccentrics must be so placed
and adjusted on the tappet shaft that the heals may be raised and depressed
at the proper times with reference to the other movements of the loom.
order in which the pegs 6 act upon the springs 10 and 11 will. of course,
depend on their positions on the cylinders, which must be adapted with
reference to the intended figure or pattern of the fabric to be woven.
The
Having now described the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, we declare that we claim as of our
invention,
First, the means or contrivance, herein-before described, for causing the
stoppage of the loom when the weft thread is broken or expended, consisting
in the construction and use, in manner herein-before described or any similar
manner, of the wires A, whereby, so long as the guide reed or any equivalent
contrivance moving with or by the reed of the loom at the time of beating up
acts on the wires by the interposition of the weft thread, those parts of the
loom which serve to stop it are not brought into action, and the loom is
allowed to work; but the stopping parts of the loom are brought into action,
and the loom stopped, whenever, in consequence of the non-interposition of the
weft thread, the guide reed or equivalent contrivance no longer acts upon the
wires; and which said means or contrivance we claim, however the position
thereof in the loom, or the materials, shape, and proportions thereof may
be varied, without departing from the substance of our said Invention. And
we also claim, as part of our Invention, the construction, combination,
and use of the tumbler C, and the parts connected therewith, for allowing the
wires A a greater than ordinary range towards the breast heam when the
shuttle happens to lodge within the wires. And we claim as of our invention,

page_text: Secondly, the construction and use, as herein-before described, of the break
lever and the apparatus operating thereon, whereby the extreme tightening
of the warp threads is produced at the time of the reed striking the cloth, and
diminished as the reed recedes.
Thirdly, the improvement herein-before described, on a contrivance for over-
coming the pressure of the spring on the stop-rod before the shuttle is thrown,
which contrivance we do not claim, as of our invention, the same having been
heretofore in use; but what we claim is, the improvement thereon, consisting
in the use either of tumblers, carried on the tappet shaft or otherwise, instead
of a fixed and unyielding eccentric or cam, or of a jointed lever yielding in one
direction only, and acted on as herein-before described.
Fourthly, the contrivance, herein-before described, for causing the catch to
be lifted from the ratchet, or taking-up wheel, when the driving strap is moved
by the strap guide from the fast to the loose driving pulley, we hereby declar
ing that we do not claim, as of our invention, the use, for the purpose herein-
before described, of the rod marked M, in the Drawings, with the balance
lever attached thereto, such a rod having been before used, but not put in
action by the immediate action of the knocking-off slide on the stopping of the
loom as practised by us, and the application of which, for that purpose, we
claim as of our invention.
And fifthly, we claim, as of our invention, the combination, arrangement,
and application, in the manner and for the purposes herein-before described,
of the several mechanical parts and contrivances constituting the apparatus
herein-before mentioned, as the fifth part of our Invention, and described as
intended to be attached to the loom, and which we claim, however the same
parts and contrivances may be modified or varied in arrangement or otherwise,
without departing from the substance and general plan of our said Invention;
and we also claim separately, as of our invention, the construction and use, for
the purposes herein-before described, of the lever with slides employed in the
said machine, and which lever is marked U in the Drawings.
In witness whereof, we, the said Samuel Eccles and Matthew Curtis,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-first day of
December, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
forty-three.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-first day of December,
in the year of our Lord 1843, the aforesaid Samuel Eccles and Matthew
Curtis came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknow-
leged 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.