Improvements in Looms for Weaving.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd June, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 18th Mar., 1892-Accepted, 28th May, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Looms for Weaving.
A communication by WILLIAM FRANKLIN DRAPER, of Hopedale, County of
Worcester, in the State of Massachusetts, one of the United States of America,
Manufacturer of Machinery.
I ALFRED GEORGE BROOKES of 55 & 56 Chancery Lane in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:
The object of my invention is to automatically keep up the supply of weft in a
loom, which I do as herein provided for by placing shuttles in the shuttle-box of a
loom while the loom is running.
A part of my invention is a shuttle-feeding apparatus which is normally
unconnected with the moving parts of the loom, but which is connected to and
moves with the lay when a filling thread is broken or exhausted to substitute a
new shuttle in the shuttle-box for one whose filling thread is broken or
exhausted.
The shuttle feeding apparatus consists of two parts, one of which I shall call a
shuttle receiver or hopper into which the shuttles are placed which are to be fed
to the shuttle-box when required, while another part, which I call the shuttle-
transferrer, receives one by one the shuttles placed in the hopper and carries them
to the shuttle-box.
When a change of shuttles is required this shuttle-feeding apparatus is tem-
porarily connected with the lay of the loom, which by its movement effects the
transfer of a shuttle from the shuttle-transferrer to the shuttle-box.
As the lay of the loom is moved rapidly, it is obvious that the time for the
introduction of the shuttle into the shuttle-box is very short, and if it is done at
the end of a stroke the change of shuttles must be practically instantaneous.
To secure more time for the change I make it during the movement of the lay
say during the back stroke of the lay.
In the apparatus I also gain more time for the necessary movements of the
apparatus by beginning those movements during the forward stroke of the lay and
advancing the shuttle-feeding apparatus to meet and connect with the lay.
I have connected the shuttle-changing apparatus with the frilling fork of the
loom as a means of bringing the apparatus into action when a change of shuttle is
required.
The hopper to receive and guide the shuttles is a swinging frame pivoted at its
upper end and provided with side pieces having grooves in their inner face, which
receive the tips of the shuttles and guide them to the shuttle-transferrer.
The shuttle-transferrer is a rock-shaft pivoted to the lower ends of the side
pieces of the hopper, and having at each end an arm, say of sector shape, with a
notch which is entered by the tip of a shuttle as it descends from the hopper.
The shuttle to be supplied to the shuttle-box is presented so closely to the
shuttle-box that as soon as the hopper and lay come together, the transferrer, with
but a very slight and quick movement, puts a shuttle into the shuttle-box, the
spent shuttle retiring in advance of it, the transferrer, by a single quick
movement, positively carrying the shuttle from the hopper directly into the
shuttle-box.
Shuttles may be added to the hopper at any time without stopping the lay,
which is of great advantage; but it is obvious that a single shuttle may be placed
directly on the transferrer, in which case the hopper might be dispensed with.
It will also be understood that the shuttles employed are threaded and that the

page_text: filling hangs out through the delivery eye in the wall of the shuttle, so that the
filling on the shuttle bobbin may be drawn off the end of the cop or bobbin, as is
usually necessary, and attached to a catch, shewn as a stud, so that the operator
when adding a shuttle to the holder may readily wind the end of the filling about
the said stud.
In this way the end of the filling is properly held while the shuttle is being
transferred from the holder into the shuttle-box of the lay, and while the said
shuttle is moving through the shed for its first pick, the end of the filling between
the selvedge and the said pin being subsequently broken off.
The operation of transferring a shuttle to the shuttle-box is so timed as to
commence during the forward movement of the lay and be completed during its
backward movement, thus gaining more time for the operation and reducing the
strains and shocks to the minimum.
The holding of the shuttles by their tips while being carried into the shuttle-box
is one of the important features of my invention.
The application of this shuttle-feeding apparatus to a loom involves some changes
in and additions to the shuttle-box as commonly constructed in order to adapt it
for the reception of a shuttle from the shuttle-transferrer, and for its removal when
required to make place for another shuttle.
In carrying out my invention I employ a loom having a lay; a filling detector;
a feeding apparatus normally unconnected with the moving parts of the loom and
consisting of a hopper and a transferrer; and intermediate mechanism whereby,
when a filling thread is broken or exhausted, the said hopper and transferrer are
connected to the lay to move with the latter for a part of its stroke.
Also a loom with a lay having a shuttle-box; a transferrer normally unconnected
with the moving parts of the loom'; and connections which, when a change of
filling is required, effect the movement of the transferrer with the lay on its back-
ward stroke, at which time the transferrer delivers filling.
Also a loom with the lay having a shuttle-box; a rockshaft having attached arms
to transfer the shuttle into the shuttle-box; and a jointed link connecting the said
rock-shaft with the loom frame to partially rotate the rock-shaft as it is carried or
moved back or away from the breast beam.
Also a loom with a lay; a shuttle-box thereon; and a hopper and transferring
arms to sustain a shuttle in the said hopper while the transferfer is placing a
shuttle in the shuttle-box.
Also a loom with a lay; a picker-staff; and a transferrer having an arm to force
a shuttle from the shuttle-box and press and hold back the picker-staff if out
of its proper position when a shuttle is to be placed in the shuttle-box on the lay.
Also a loom having a lay provided with a shuttle-box having an open shuttle-
discharging passage; a swinging arm to normally close said passage; and a feeding
apparatus normally unconnected with the moving parts of the loom and consisting
of a hopper and transferrer; and mechanism to cause the said feeding mechanism
to move with the lay and actuate the said arm to open the passage through the
said shuttle-box.
Also the lay and its shuttle box, combined with a binder provided with a
projection adapted to be acted upon by an incoming shuttle to prevent it from
interfering with the downward movement of the shuttle into the shuttle-box and to
guide the shuttle to its seat in the box.
Also a loom having a lay provided with a shuttle-box open at its bottom and
having below said bottom a supplemental chamber open at its side next the breast-
beam of the loom.
Also the lay; its shuttle-box; and a transferrer, combined with a stop to arrest
the movement of the said transferrer toward the shuttle-box.
Also the lay; its shuttle-box; and a feeder comprising a hopper and a transferrer,
combined with means to move the feeder away from the breast-beam, and with a
spring to return it to its normal position.
Also the combination with feeding devices, including a hopper and a transferrer,

page_text: or a mining actector and co-operating devices to give to the recaing apparatus
initial movement of the lay toward the breast-beain, to meet the said lay.
;
Also the lay and its shuttle-box, combined with a transferrer notched to
thereby render it positive during the transferring operation.
Also a loom with a lay; its shuttle-box; a feeding apparatus normally unconnected
with the moving parts of the lay, and including a hopper and transferrer, the latter
being constructed to grasp and positively carry the shuttle from the hopper into
the shuttle-box on the lay.
Also a loom with a lay; its shuttle-box; a transferrer; and connecting devices
between it and the lay whereby the transferrer is connected to and made to travel
with the lay during a part of its motion and while the shuttle-box is being fed by
the transferrer.
Also the combination with feeding devices, including a hopper and a transferrer,
of a filling-detector and co-operating devices to give to the feeding apparatus an
initial movement during the movement of the lay toward the breast beam, to meet
the said lay, and connecting devices between it and the lay whereby the transferrer
is connected to and made to travel with the lay during a part of its motion and
while the shuttle-box is being fed by the transferrer.
Also a transferrer to hold and embrace the tips of a shuttle, combined with
derices to oscillate it while in engagement with and grasping the shuttle.
This invention is not to be limited to any precise form of weft or filling-fork or
feeler, or of the starting devices between the said fork and the hopper to effect
the initial movement of the hopper; nor to the exact shape or construction of the
hopper or its means of support; nor to the form of mechanism shown for transferring
the shuttle from the hopper to the shuttle-box, as any equivalent mechanical device
can be used therefor; nor is it limited to a special device for transferring the
shuttle in a positive manner from the hopper into the shuttle-box; nor to the form
of stop for regulating the extent of the said transferrer's movement, as any equiva-
lent stop or check can be used.
The shuttle may be shot through the shed in any usual manner and by any usual
devices.
Neither is my invention limited to the particular form of locking devices by or
through which to automatically effect the temporarily locking or coupling together
of the holder and lay.
My invention, as regards the parts instrumental in supplying fresh shuttles to
the shuttle-box, may readily, with but slight changes in the shape of the secondary
or non essential parts, be adapted to any form of loom.
In looms varying somewhat in the construction and location of their moving
parts, the changes in the parts applied to these looms will be chiefly in the shapo
and location of the parts which are to be struck and moved by some regular part
of the loom to which my invention is to be applied, as in each particular loom the
intention is to utilize any of its usual running parts which are most easily accessible
as the source of movement for the devices which actuate the hopper and transferrer
and other parts.
The loom according to the invention embraces frame-work, the breast-beam, the
crank or lay-shaft provided with usual fast and loose pulleys and having a toothed
wheel, the tooth gear engaged by it, the cam-shaft on which the gear is secured,
the pick cams, the pick-shafts having bowls, the straps, the connected picker sticks
having rockers at their lower ends and rocking on beds, the straps and spring
between the said rockers, the lay connecting-rods, the chief part of the lay, the
cam on the cain-shaft to actuate the weft-hammer the weft-fork or feeler the slide
on which it is pivoted, the guide for the said slide, the lever suitably pivoted, the
spring to act upon and normally keep the weft slide pressed toward the lay, the
brake-wheel the binder fingers one at each end of the rock-shaft at the unler side
of the lay and acting on the binders, the dagger carried by the said rock-shaft,
the slide laid loosely upon the loom frame and guided by it, the striker carried by
the said slide and adapted, when the latter is moved forward by the dagger, to strike

page_text: '
the shipper handle and knock it out of the usual holding notch in the notched plate
may be all as usual and substantially such as arc contained in other looms for
weaving cotton or other plain cloth or fabric.
The stand detached from the lay and located at or near the breast beam has a
support for the hopper adapted to contain the shuttles which are to be automatically
supplied to the lay at the proper time.
The hopper is composed of two arms or side pieces the inner sides of the said
arms being grooved longitudinally to receive the usual metal points or tips of
á series of shuttles, there being in practice several such shuttles in the said
hopper.
The arms at their lower ends, have bearings for a rock-shaft provided near the
inner side of each arm with arms each arm being notched to receive the tips or
points of the lowermost shuttles in the hopper.
In practice the projection of the outer arm besides supporting the shuttle to be
transferred into the shuttle-box of the lay, also acts by its beveled edge to strike
against the inner end of the usual picker provided the same should by accident
have bounded or recoiled slightly so as to be in the way of the shuttle coming into
the shuttle-box from the hopper.
The projection also assists in ejecting the spent shuttle when the transferrer does
not contain a shuttle.
The edge of each projection is beveled inwardly one toward the other the said
bevels corresponding substantially with the bevels of the points of the shuttle,
said bevels guarding against any end thrust of the shuttle resting on the
transferrer.
The shaft has an arm to which is jointed a link pivoted on the stand or on some
fixed part of the loom, so that when the hopper is moved or carried in unison with
the lay for a part of its backward stroke, the said rock-shaft will be partially
rotated and cause the transferrer engaging the points of the lowermost shuttle of
the series of shuttles in the hopper to carry or feed such shuttle down or out
through the hopper and place it in the lay shuttle-box then under it, the projections
at such time coming under and supporting the shuttle next above the one held in
the notches and then being transferred into the shuttle-box but as the hopper is
returned into it normal position, the said projections travel back under and in
contact with the lowermost shuttle in the hopper, until the said shuttle drops into
the notch.
To determine the extent of the rocking motion of the shaft I have provided it
with an arm to which is jointed the stop, as a rod, having a screw-thread and
extended through a fixed car, the rod being provided below and above the said ear
with adjustable nuts which are properly adjusted to contact with the said ear at
the proper times, a spring connected to the arm and to the stand normally acting
to not only draw the hopper back into its normal position but also to turn the
rock-shaft and its arms in the direction to place the notches in position to receive a
shuttle.
The cross-bar has secured to it a striker plate which, when the holder and lay
change their normal relative positions strikes a projection on a swinging arm.
This arm carries a rest and a lip above it, the said rest, when the said lever is in
position serving to support the shuttle in the shuttle box the lip overlapping the
shuttle and preventing it from rising over the top of the shuttle-box.
The binder is located within the arm and pivoted to the shuttle-box by the
same pin.
The contact of the plate with the arm causes the latter to be pressed back
against a spring into the position where it will be seen that the rest is withdrawn
from below and the lip from above the spent shuttle in the shuttle-box, so that the
spent shuttle, after the binder has been pushed outwardly, is free to be pushed
down through the open bottom of the shuttle-box the descent of the spent shuttle
being hastened by the blow against its upper side of the under side of the shuttle
then held by the transferrer and being transferred from the hopper into the said

page_text: [shuttic-box, the spring acting to return the arm into its normal position when the
pressure on the said arm is removed.
The spent shuttle falls into the supplemental chamber and there strikes the
deflecting ledge which ensures its direction point-first out through an opening at
that side of the said chamber next to the breast beam, into the spent shuttle
receptacle said side opening being of material advantage as it ensures the passage
of the shuttle from the said chamber in such direction that it cannot be struck at
its tip by the picker stick as the latter is moved forward to strike and throw the
shuttle just deposited in the shuttle-box, and should the stick by accident strike
any part of the spent shuttle, it would be its side furthest from the breast beam at
a point back of its tip, thus accelerating the passage of the spent shuttle into the
shuttle receptacle connected preferably directly to the loom side.
Joined to the receptacle and to a cross-bar located just below the supplementary
chamber, is a shoot or apron which receives upon it and ensures the passage of the
spent shuttle.
The hopper, is adapted to oscillate about the pivot or support located somewhat
inside a vertical line parallel to the inner side of the breast beam, the body of the
hopper thus inclining downwardly and forwardly from the said pivot or support
toward the front of the loom so as not to interfere with the lay in its movements,
yet by a slight movement of the hopper, hereinafter denominated its initial
movement, the latter may be moved forward toward the approaching lay into a
substantially vertical position, in which position the hopper will be caught and
locked to the lay, so that while the lay is on its back stroke the hopper will be
moved in unison with the lay for a short distance, during which time a shuttle
will be transferred or fed directly from the hopper into the shuttle-box then
below it.
The breast beam has at its inner side and top suitable bearings for a shaft.
provided at one end, with a finger and near its other end with a lever the upper
end of which is substantially in contact with a cam adjustably attached to a slide
of the weft-fork or feeler, the said shaft, lever, and arin constituting one form of a
starting device by which to give to the hopper its initial movement.
When the said slide is moved back by or through the usual weft-fork hammer
all as and under usual circumstances, well understood by weavers, the said cam, by
acting against one arm of the lever moves the shaft sufficiently in the direction of
its length to place the lower end of the said lever in the range of movement of a
bunter or striker attached to and moving with the lay, so that the said bunter will
strike against the said lever and turn the shaft sufficiently to cause the finger to
act on the rock-shaft and thus give to the hopper its initial movement toward the
lay, such movement. being sufficient to enable a projection on the hopper to be
caught by the locking device or hook pivoted on a lug carried by the lay, the said
locking device being normally acted upon by a spring the said locking device
engaging the said projection at or near the extreme forward movement of the lay,
but only after the initial movement has been given to the hopper to cause it to
approach the lay, the lay as it starts back taking the hopper, or the lower end
thereof, back in unison with it for a part of the backward stroke of the lay, this
second movement of the hopper, due to or in unison with the lay, resulting in
turning the transferrer sufficiently to cause it to place in the shuttle-box the
lowermost shuttle. engaged by the transferrer, the said shuttle-box being at such
time directly under the hopper, which latter is then moving with the lay and at the
same speed..
The shaft is surrounded by a spring which rests at one end against the bearing,
the other end of the spring acting against a collar on the shaft, the said spring
acting normally to move the shaft in the direction to keep the lever out of the
range of movement of the bunter.
As the lay is moved forward from its position in which it was left by the finger
the hopper having received its described initial movement by or through the weft-
fork or feeler, the projection on the metal plate attached to the binder strikes

page_text: against the side of the shuttle held by the transferrer and next to be put into the
shuttle-box and as the lay continues its forward movement to effect the locking of
the lay to the hopper, the binder and the arm are both pressed back so that the
spent shuttle is left free from the pressure of the binder, so that it may be ejected.
The shuttle might be kept in the box without the said rest, for the binder, by its
action on the shuttle, may be made to prevent the shuttle from dropping out through
the shuttle-box until pushed back.
The ends of the filling extended out from the shuttles contained in the holder
will in practice be secured to a suitable catch or stnd.
The shuttle, by striking the projection of the plate pushes the same back and at
the same time moves back the binder, which latter acting on the adjacent binder
finger turns the binder rock-shaft so that the dagger cannot knock-off the loom ;
but should all the shuttles be exhausted from the hopper when the weft breaks or runs
out of the shuttle at that time in the shuttle-box, then in such case the projection
of the transferrer will, when turned, act on and press the spent shuttle down below
the binder, leaving the spent shuttle free to fall and as another shuttle is not inserted
to keep the binder open, the latter will close and the dagger controlled by it will
drop and engage the slide and knock-off the loom.
In operation, whenever the weft breaks or the filling is not properly laid, as when
the filling is exhausted from the shuttle, the absence of the filling in front of the
filling-fork or feeler leaves the rear end thereof down, as is well understood, so that
the weft hammer catches the said fork or feeler, pushes it and its carrying slide
back, the cam piece thereon striking the upper end of the arm connected to the
shaft placing the other end of the said arm in the path of the bunter connected to
the lay, so that the latter in its forward movement acts to turn the starting device
to give to the hopper containing the supply of shuttles its initial movement, leaving
the said hopper in such position that the locking or connecting device catches the
projection as the lay completes its forward stroke, and as the lay with the hopper
locked or coupled to it starts on its back stroke, the rock-shaft is turned sufficiently
to cause the transferrer, holding the lowermost shuttle-the arm and the plate being
then pressed back, to release the spent shuttle from under pressure-to push the
said shuttle against the shuttle then in the shuttle-box and transfer the new shuttle
into the said box.
The transfer of the shuttle from the hopper into the shuttle-box is effected during
a portion of the back stroke of the lay, and as soon as the transfer is effected-the
movement of the hopper being arrested by the link-the lay in its further
backward movement causes the locking device to slide off of the top of the
projection, the arcs of movement of the lay and pivoted shuttle-holder permitting
such disengagement, the spring then putting the hopper back into its normal
position.
Dated the 20th day of June 1891
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Looms for Weaving.
A communication by WILLIAM FRANKLIN DRAPER, of Hopedale, County of
Worcester, in the State of Massachusetts, one of the United States of America,
Manufacturer of Machinery.
I ALFRED GEORGE BROOKES of 55 & 56 Chancery Lane in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
The object of my invention is to automatically keep up the supply of weft in a

page_text: loom which I do as herein provided for by placing shuttles in the shuttle-box of a
loom while the loom is running.
An essential part of my invention is a shuttle-feeding apparatus which is
normally unconnected with the moving parts of the loom, but which is connected
to and moves with the lay when a filling thread is broken or exhausted to sub-
stitute a new shuttle in the shuttle-box for one whose filling thread is broken or-
exhausted.
The shuttle feeding apparatus herein shewn consists of two parts one of which I
shall call a shuttle-receiver or hopper into which the shuttles are placed which are
to be fed to the shuttle-box when required, while another part, which I call the
shuttle-transferrer, receives one by one the shuttles placed in the hopper and carries
them to the shuttle-box.
When a change of shuttles is required this shuttle feeding apparatus is tem-
porarily connected with the lay of the loom, which by its movement effects the
transfer of a shuttle from the shuttle-transferrer to the shuttle-box.
As the lay of the loom is moved rapidly, it is obvious that the time for the.
introduction of the shuttle into the shuttle-box is very short, and, if it is done at
the end of a stroke, the change of shuttles must be practically instantaneous.
To secure more time for the change I make it during the movement of the lay;
and in the invention hereinafter described, which is the best embodiment of my
invention now known to me, I make it during the back stroke of the lay.
This connection of the shuttle-feeding apparatus with the lay during its back
stroke regard as another important feature in my invention.
In the apparatus hereinafter described also gain more time for the necessary
movements of the apparatus by beginning those movements during the forward
stroke of the lay and advancing the shuttle-feeding apparatus to meet and connect
with the lay.
In the embodiment of my inventions hereinafter described have connected
the shuttle-changing apparatus with the filling fork of the loom as a means of
bringing the apparatus into action when a change of shuttle is required.
The hopper to receive and guide the shuttles is a swinging frame pivoted at its
upper end and provided with side pieces having grooves in their inner face, which
receive the tips of the shuttles and guide them to the shuttle-transferrer.
The shuttle-transferrer is a rock-shaft pivoted to the lower ends of the side
pieces of the hopper, and having at each end an arm, shown as of sector
shape, with a notch which is entered by the tip of a shuttle as it descends from.
the hopper.
In this invention the shuttle to be supplied to the shuttle-box is presented
so closely to the shuttle-box that as soon as the hopper and lay come together,.
the transferrer, with but a very slight and quick movement, puts a shuttle into
the shuttle-box, the spent shuttle retiring in advance of it, the transferrer, by a
single quick movement, positively carrying the shuttle from the hopper directly
into the shuttle-box.
Shuttles may be added to the hopper at any time without stopping the
lay, which is of great advantage; but it is obvious that a single shuttle may
be placed directly on the transferrer, in which case the hopper might be dis-.
pensed with.
It will also be understood that the shuttles employed are threaded and that
the filling hangs out through the delivery eye in the wall of the shuttle, so that
the filling on the shuttle bobbin may be drawn off the end of the cop or bobbin,
as is usual and necessary, and attached to a catch, shown as a stud, so that the
operator when adding a shuttle to the holder may readily wind the end of the
filling about the said stud.
In this way the end of the filling is properly held while the shuttle is being
transferred from the holder into the shuttle-box of the lay, and while the said
shuttle is moving through the shed for its first pick, the end of the filling between-
the selvedge and the said pin being subsequently broken off.

page_text: The operation of transferring a shuttle to the shuttle-box is so timed as to
commence during the forward movement of the lay and be completed during its
backward movement, thus gaining more time for the operation and reducing the
strains and shocks to the minimum.
The holding of the shuttles by their tips while being carried into the shuttle-
box is one of the important features of my invention.
The application of this shuttle-feeding apparatus to a loom involves some
changes in and additions to the shuttle-box as commonly constructed in order to
adapt it for the reception of a shuttle from the shuttle-transferrer, and for its removal
when required to make place for another shuttle.
One part of my invention consists in a loom containing the following instru-
mentalities, viz. :—a lay a filling detector; a feeding apparatus normally uncon-
nected with the moving parts of the loom and consisting of a hopper and a
transferrer; and intermediate mechanism whereby, when a filling thread is broken
or exhausted, the said hopper and transferrer are. connected to the lay to move
with the latter for a part of its stroke, substantially as will be described.
a
Also in a loom containing the following instrumentalities, riz.-a lay having
shuttle-box a transferrer normally unconnected with the moving parts of the
loom and connections which, when a change of filling is required, effect the
movement of the transferrer with the lay on its backward stroke, at which time
the transferrer delivers filling, substantially as will be described.
Also in a loom containing the following instrumentalities, i.:- -the lay having
shuttle-box; a rock-shaft having attached arms to transfer the shuttle into the
shuttle-box and a jointed link connecting the said rock-shaft with the loom frame
to partially rotate the rock-shaft as it is carried or moved back or away from the
breast beam, substantially as will be described.
Also in a loom containing the following instrumentalities, viz.:-a lay; a shuttle-
box thereon and a hopper and transferring arm to sustain a shuttle in the said
hopper while the transferrer is placing a shuttle in the shuttle-box, substantially as
will be described.
Also in a loom containing the following instrumentalities, viz. -a lay; a picker-
staff and a transferrer having an arm adapted to strike against and move the
picker aside out of the way of the shuttle being put into the shuttle-box of the
lay by the transferrer in case the said picker shall have rebounded and thus come
into the path of said arm, substantially as will be described.
Also in a loom containing the following instrumentalities, riz.-a lay provided
with a shuttle-box having an open shuttle-discharging passage; a swinging arm to
normally close said passage; and a feeding apparatus normally unconnected with
the moving parts of the loom and consisting of a hopper and transferrer; and
mechanism to cause the said feeding mechanism to move with the lay and actuate
the said arm to open the passage through the said shuttle-box, substantially as
will be described.
Also in the lay and its shuttle-box, combined with a binder provided with a
projection adapted to be acted upon by an incoming shuttle to prevent it from
interfering with the downward movement of the shuttle into the shuttle-box and
to guide the shuttle to its seat in the box, substantially as will be described.
Also in a loom containing the following instrumentalities, viz. :-a lay provided
with a shuttle-box open at its bottom and having below said bottom a supplemental
chamber open at its side next the breast beam of the loom, as and for the purpose
to be set forth.
Also in the lay; its shuttle-box; and a transferrer, combined with a stop to
arrest the movement of the said transferrer toward the shuttle-box, substantially
as will be described.
Also in the lay; its shuttle-box; and a feeder comprising a hopper and a
transferrer, combined with means to move the feeder away from the breast beam,
and with a spring to return it to its normal position, substantially as will be
described.

page_text: Also in the combination with feeding devices, including a hopper and a trans-
ferrer, of a filling-detector and co-operating devices to give to the feeding apparatus
an initial movement of the lay toward the breast beam, to meet the said lay, sub-
stantially as will be described.
Also in the lay; and its shuttle-box, combined with a transferrer notched as
described to thereby render it positive during the transferring operation, substan-
tially as will be described.
Also in a loom containing the following instrumentalities, viz. -a lay; its
shuttle-box a feeding apparatus normally unconnected with the moving parts of
the lay, and including a hopper and transferrer, the latter being constructed to
grasp and positively carry the shuttle from the hopper into the shuttle-box on the
lay, substantially as will be described.
Also in a loom containing the following instrumentalities, viz. a lay; its
shuttle-box; a transferrer; and connecting devices between it and the lay whereby
the transferrer is connected to and made to travel with the lay during a part of
its motion and while the shuttle-box is being fed by the transferrer, substantially
as will be described.
Also in the combination with feeding devices, including a hopper and a trans-
ferrer, of a filling-detector and co-operating devices to give to the feeding
apparatus an initial movement during the movement of the lay toward the breast
beam, to meet the said lay, and connecting devices between it and the lay whereby
the transferrer is connected to and made to travel with the lay during a part of
it's motion and while the shuttle-box is being fed by the transferrer, substantially
as will be described.
Also in a transferrer to hold and embrace the tips of a shuttle, combined with
devices to oscillate it while in engagement with and grasping the shuttle, substan-
tially as will be described.
This invention is not to be limited to the illustrated form of weft or filling-fork
or feeler, or of the starting devices between the said fork and the hopper to effect
the initial movement of the hopper; nor to the exact shape or construction of the
hopper or its means of support; nor to the form of mechanism shown for trans-
ferring the shuttle from the hopper to the shuttle-box, as any equivalent mechanical
device can be used therefor nor is it limited to the special device shown and
described for transferring the shuttle in a positive manner from the hopper into
the shuttle-box; nor to the form of stop for regulating the extent of the said
transferrer's movement, as any equivalent stop or check can be used.
The shuttle may be shot through the shed in any usual manner and by any usual
devices.
Neither is my invention limited to the form of locking devices shewn, by or
through which to automatically effect the temporary locking or coupling together
of the holder and lay.
My invention is illustrated as applied to one well-known form of loom; but the
parts of my invention instrumental in supplying fresh shuttles to the shuttle-box
may readily, with but slight changes in the shape of the secondary or nonessential
parts, be adapted to any form of loom.
As for instance, in looms varying somewhat in the construction and location of
their moving parts, the changes in the parts applied by me to these looms will be
chiefly in the shape and location of the. parts which are to be struck and moved by
some regular part of the loom to which my invention is to be applied, as in each
particular loom I intend to utilize any of its usual running parts which are most.
casily accessible as the source of movement for the devices which actuate the
hopper and transferrer and other parts.
In the drawings
Fig. is a plan view, broken out centrally, of a loom containing my invention,
the harness mechanism, let-off, and take-up being omitted,
IN
1

page_text: Fig. 5, a right-hand end elevation of the loom shown in Fig. 1,
Fig. 6, a detail showing part of the weft-stopping mechanism,
Figs. 7 and 8, details of the shuttle-box binders,
Fig. 9, a detail showing part of the lay and the locking device to aid in locking
or coupling the hopper to the lay,
Fig. 10, a section of Fig. 9 in the line a-,
Fig. 11 is a partial front view of the right-hand-end of the lay shewn in Fig. 1,
with part of the flexible chute,
Fig. 11, a detail shewing the hopper detached,
Fig. 1B, shows the shaft and its attached parts,
Fig. 12 is a partial section in the line a Fig. 4, looking to the left, the section
line cutting the shuttle-box, the hopper having, as shown by dotted lines, three
shuttles, a shuttle being shewn by dotted lines as in the shuttle-box and on the
lever constituting a movable rest to be described.
Fig. 13 is a partial section in the line 2, Fig. 4, looking to the left, Figs. 12 and 13
showing the position of the hopper when the weft or filling is being properly
supplied, the hopper at such time remaining at rest or not moving with the lay.
Figs. 14 and 15 are like sections, the parts being however shewn as in the
positions they will occupy just after the weft-stop mechanism has operated because
of the absence of the filling in front of the usual weft-fork, the starting device to
be described having been operated by the weft-fork to start the hopper forward
into a position to be caught by a locking device shown as a hook pivoted on the
lay, the locking device acting as the lay completes its beating or forward stroke.
Figs. 16. and 17 are like sections, it being supposed that the lay has been moved
fully forward to enable the locking device to engage a projection on the hopper
and that the lay has been started on its return or back stroke, at the commence-
ment of which movement, as herein provided for, the spent shuttle is ejected and a
shuttle containing filling is inserted.
Figs. 18 to 23 are details showing the different positions of the lay, the locking
device or connection carried by the lay, and a projection of the hopper to be
engaged by the locking device while the positions of the parts are being changed
to transfer or feed a shuttle into the shuttle-box, as in Figs. 12 to 17.
Figs. 24 to 26 are respectively sections in the lines a, a, a, Fig. 13.
16
The frame-work A, the breast beam A', the crank or lay shaft A provided with
usual fast and loose pulleys A³, A', and having a toothed wheel A³, the toothed
gear A engaged by it, the cam-shaft A' on which the gear A is secured, the pick
cams A, the pick-shafts A having bowls A, the straps A, the connected picker
sticks A shown as having rockers at their lower ends and rocking on beds A",
the straps A and spring A between the said rockers, the lay connecting-rods A",
the chief part of the lay A, the cam A" on the cam-shaft to actuate the weft-
hammer A, the weft-fork or feeler a, the slide a' on which is pivoted, the guide a²
for the said slide, the lever a³ pivoted at a,- see Fig. 3, where the lever is broken
off, the spring as to act upon and normally keep the weft-slide a pressed toward
the lay, the brake wheel as, the binder fingers a', one at each end of the rock-
shaft a at the under side of the lay and acting on the binders a", the dagger alo
carried by the said rock-shaft, the slide a laid loosely upon the loom frame and
guided by it, the striker a¹³ carried by the said slide and adapted, when the latter
is moved forward by the dagger, to strike the shipper handle a" and knock it out
of the usual holding notch in the notched plate a, are and may be all as usual, the
said parts, as herein shewn, being substantially such as are contained in other
looms for weaving cotton or other plain cloth or fabric, and not being of my
invention, need not be herein specifically further described.
The stand detached from the lay and located at or near the breast beam has
a support for the hopper adapted to contain the shuttles which are to be
automatically supplied to the lay at the
time.
proper

page_text: The hopper shewn separately in Fig. 11 is composed of two arms or side
pieces 2, 3, and a cross-bar ³, the inner side of the said arms being shown as
grooved longitudinally at 6x, see Figs. 13, 15, and 17, to receive the usual metal
points or tips of a series of shuttles, there being in practice several such shuttles in
the said hopper, Figs. 24, 25, and 26 shewing cross sections of one of the arms b³
indicating the shape of the groove referred to.
The arms, at their lower ends, have bearings for a rock-shaft provided near
the inner side of each arm 62 with arms 66, represented as of sector shape, see.
Fig. 11, each arm being notched at to receive the tips or points of the lower-
most shuttle S. in the hopper, the said arms normally standing as shewn in Fig. 13,
in which fig. the lowermost shuttle in the hopper is shown by dotted lines.
Notching the arms of the transferrer leaves two projections 68, 6 on each arm.
In practice the projection of the outer arm besides supporting the shuttle to be
transferred into the shuttle-box of the lay, also acts by its beveled edge, see
Figs. 13 and 15, on the usual picker 21, should the same by accident have
rebounded or recoiled slightly so as to be in the way of the shuttle coming into the
shuttle-box from the hopper.
The projection 6 also assists in ejecting the spent shuttle when the transferrer
does not contain a shuttle.
The edge of each projection is shewn as beveled inwardly one toward the
other, see Figs. 4 and 11, the said bevels corresponding substantially with the
bevels of the points of the shuttle, said bevels guarding against any end thrust of
the shuttle resting on the transferrer.
The shaft has an arm 10, to which is jointed a link pivoted at 13 on the
stand b, or on some fixed part of the loom, so that when the hopper is moved or
carried, as will be hereinafter described, in unison with the lay for a part of its
backward stroke, the said rock-shaft will be partially rotated and cause the
transferrer engaging the points of the lowermost shuttle of the series of shuttles in
the hopper to carry or feed such shuttle down or out through the hopper and place
it in the lay shuttle-box then under it, the projections 60 at such time coming under
and supporting the shuttle next above the one held in the notches and then being
transferred into the shuttle-box e, but as the hopper is returned into its normal
position, the said projectious 6 travel back under and in contact with the lowermost
shuttle in the hopper, until the said shuttle drops into, the notch 7.
To determine the extent of the rocking motion of the shaft 3, I have provided it
with an arm, see Fig. 13, to which is jointed the stop, shown as a rod, having
a screw thread and extended through a fixed ear 1, the rod being provided below
and above the said ear with adjustable nuts 17, 61, which are properly adjusted to
contact with the said car at the proper times, a spring as 6, see Fig. 5,
connected to the arm and to the stand b, normally acting to not only draw the
hopper back into its normal position, Figs. 5, 12, and 13, but also to turn the rock-
shaft and its arms in the direction to place the notches in position to receive a
shuttle.
The cross-bar has secured to it, as shown, a striker-plate which, when the
holder and lay change their normal relative positions, as from Figs. 14, 15, to 16, 17,
strikes a projection et on a swinging arm pivoted at c², the shape of the said arm
being best shewn in Figs. 1 and 14.
This arm carries a rest 4 and a lip 5 above it, the said rest, when the said lever
is in the position shewn in Figs. 12 and 14, serving to support the shuttle in the
shuttle-box e, the lip 5 overlapping the shuttle and preventing it from rising over
the top of the shuttle-box.
The binder a is located within the arm c³ and pivoted to the shuttle-box by the
same pin c
The binder shewn is one of usual well-known form and is provided at its inner
side with a metal plate c' having a projection c.
The contact of the plate with the arm c³ causes the latter to be pressed back

page_text: against a spring into the position Fig. 16, where it will be seen that the rest 4 is
withdrawn from below and the lip 5 from above the spent shuttle in the shuttle-
box, so that the spent shuttle, after the binder has been pushed outwardly as will
be described, is free to be pushed down through the open bottom of the shuttle-
box e, the descent of the spent shuttle being hastened by the blow against its upper
side of the under side of the shuttle then held by the transferrer and being
transferred from the hopper into the said shuttle-box, the spring acting to return
the arm into its normal position when the pressure on the said arm is removed.
The spent shuttle falls into the supplemental chamber and there strikes the
deflecting ledge el, which ensures its direction point-first out through an opening at
that side of the said chamber next to the breast beam into the spent shuttle
receptacle e, said side opening being of material advantage as it ensures the passage
of the shuttle from the said chamber in such direction that it cannot be struck at
its tip by the picker stick as the latter is moved forward to strike and throw the
shuttle just deposited in the shuttle-box, and should the stick by accident strike
any part of the spent shuttle, it would be its side furthest from the breast beam at
a point back of its tip, thus accelerating the passage of the spent shuttle into the
shuttle receptacle e² connected preferably directly to the loom side.
Joined to the receptacle e² and to a cross-bar located just below the
supplemental chamber, is a chute or apron e, preferably a piece of fabric, which
receives upon it and ensures the passage of the spent shuttle into the said
receptacle.
The hopper, as herein described and represented, is adapted to oscillate about
the pivot or support, shown as located somewhat inside a vertical line parallel to
the inner side of the breast beam, the body of the hopper thus inclining downwardly
and forwardly from the said pivot or support toward the front of the loom so as
not to interfere with the lay in its movements, yet by a slight movement of the
hopper, hereinafter denominated its initial movement, the latter may be moved
toward the approaching lay into a substantially vertical position, in which position
the hopper will be caught and locked to the lay, so that while the lay is on its back
stroke the hopper will be moved in unison with the lay for a short distance, during
which time a shuttle will be transferred or fed directly from the hopper into the
shuttle-box e then below it.
The breast beam has at its inner side and top suitable bearings 60, 62 for a
shaft d, provided at one end, see Fig. 1, with a finger d and near its other end, see
Figs. 1 and 2, with a lever d, the upper end of which is substantially in contact
with a cam, shewn as adjustably attached by a screw 2 to a slide a' of the weft-
fork or feeler, the said shaft, lever, and arm constituting one form of a starting
device by which to give to the hopper its initial movement.
When the said slide is moved back by or through the usual weft-fork hammer
pivoted at 97, all as and under usual circumstances, well understood by weavers,
the said cam, by acting against one arm of the lever ², moves the shaft d
sufficiently in the direction of its length to place the lower end of the said lever d
in the range of movement of a bunter or striker d^, shown as attached to and
moving with the lay, so that the said bunter will strike against the said lever and
turn the shaft & sufficiently to cause the finger to act on the rock shaft 6³
and thus give to the hopper its initial movement toward the lay, such movement
being sufficient to enable a projection on the hopper to be caught by the locking
device or hook do, shown as pivoted at d* on a lug do carried by the lay, the said
locking device being normally acted upon by a spring a, see Fig. 10, the said
locking device, as herein provided for, engaging the said projection d³ at or near
the extreme forward movement of the lay, but only after the initial movement
has been given to the hopper to cause it to approach the lay as described, the
lay as it starts back taking the hopper, or the lower end thereof, back in unison
with it for a part of the backward stroke of the lay, this second movement of
the hopper, due to or in unison with the lay, resulting in turning the transferrer

page_text: sufficiently to cause it to place in the shuttle-box e the lowermost shuttle engaged
by the transferrer, the said shuttle-box being at such time directly under the
hopper, which latter is then moving with the lay and at the same speed.
The shaft d is surrounded by a spring 63, which rests at one end against the
bearing 60, the other end of the spring acting against a collar 64 on the shaft, the
said spring acting normally to move the shaft in the direction to keep the lever d
out of the range of movement of the bunter.
Fig. 14 shows the position in which the said shaft is left by the finger d', it
having moved the said shaft from the position Fig. 12; and Fig. 16 shows the
shaft as moved farther & away from the said finger, this being effected by the
locking device, see Figs. 22 and 23, then in engagement with the projection d³.
As the lay is moved forward from its position. Fig. 14, the hopper having
received its described initial movement by or through the weft-fork or feeler,
the projection con the metal plate el attached to the binder strikes against the
side of the shuttle held by the transferrer and next to be put into the shuttle-
box e, and as the lay continues its forward movement to effect the locking of
the lay to the hopper, the binder and the arm are both pressed back so that
the spent shuttle is left free from the pressure of the binder, so that it may be
ejected.
I have described the employment, as I prefer, of a rest 4 below the shuttle; but
the shuttle might be kept in the box without the said rest, for the binder, by
its action on the shuttle, may be made to prevent the shuttle from dropping out
through the shuttle-box until pushed back as before described.
The ends of the filling extended out from the shuttles contained in the holder
will in practice be secured to a suitable catch or stud 12, see Fig. 12.
The shuttle, by striking the projection c of the plate c', pushes the same back
and at the same time moves back the binder, which latter acting on the adjacent
binder finger turns the binder rock-shaft so that the dagger cannot knock-off
the loom but should all the shuttles be exhausted from the hopper when the
weft breaks or runs out of the shuttle at that time in the shuttle-box, then in
such case the projection 8 of the transferrer will, when turned, act on and press
the spent shuttle down below the binder, leaving the spent shuttle free to fall
and as another shuttle is not inserted to keep the binder open, the latter will
close and the dagger controlled by it will drop and engage the slide and knock-off
the loom.
In operation, whenever the weft breaks or the filling is not properly laid, as
when the filling is exhausted from the shuttle, the absence of the filling in front of
the filling-fork or feeler leaves the rear end thereof down, as is well understood, so
that the weft hammer catches the said fork or feeler, pushes it and its carrying
slide back, the cam piece thereon striking the upper end of the arm d² connected
to the shaft d, placing the other end of the said arm in the path of the bunter d
connected to the lay, so that the latter in its forward movement acts to turn the
starting device to give to the hopper containing the supply of shuttles its initial
movement, as described, leaving the said hopper in such positon that the locking or
connecting device catches the projection d' as the lay completes its forward
stroke, and as the lay with the hopper locked or coupled to it starts on its back
stroke, the rock-shaft is turned sufficiently to cause the transferrer, holding the
lowermost shuttle-the arm c³ and the plate c being then pressed hack, as
described, to release the spent shuttle from under pressure-to push the said
shuttle against the shuttle then in the shuttle-box and transfer the new shuttle into
the said box.
The transfer of the shuttle from the hopper into the shuttle-box is effected
during a portion of the back stroke of the lay, and as soon as the transfer is
effected, the movement of the hopper being arrested by the link 612-the lay in its
further backward movement, causes the locking device to slide off of the top of
the projection d³, the arcs of movement of the lay and pivoted shuttle-holder

page_text: permitting such disengagement, the spring 64 then putting the hopper back into
its normal position, Figs. 5. 12, and 13.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1: A loom coutaining the following instrumentalities, viz. :-a lay: a filling
detector; a feeding apparatus normally unconnected with the moving parts of the
loom and consisting of a hopper and a transferrer; and intermediate mechanism
whereby, when a filling thread is broken or exhausted, the said hopper and trans-
ferrer are connected to the lay to move with the latter for a part of its stroke,
substantially as described.
2: A loom containing the following instrumentalities, viz. a lay having
shuttle-box; a transferrer normally unconnected with the moving parts of the
loom; and connections which, when a change of filling is required, effects the
movement of the transferrer with the lay on its backward stroke, at which time
the transferrer delivers filling, substantially as described.
3-A loom containing the following instrumentalities, viz. the lay having a
shuttle-box; a rock-shaft having attached arms to transfer the shuttle into the
shuttle-box; and a jointed link connecting the said rock-shaft with the loom frame
to partially rotate the rock-shaft as it is carried or moved back or away from the
breast beam, substantially as described.
4: A loom containing the following instrumentalities, viz. a lay; a shuttle-
box thereon; and a hopper and transferring arms to sustain a shuttle in the said
hopper while the transferrer is placing a shuttle in the shuttle-box, substantially as
described.
5: A loom containing the following instrumentalities, viz. a lay; a picker-
staff; and a transferrer having an arm adapted to strike against and move the
picker aside out of the way of the shuttle being put into the shuttle box of the lay
by the transferrer in case the said picker shall have rebounded and thus come into
the path of said arm, substantially as described.
6-A loom containing the following instrumentalities, viz. :-a lay provided
with a shuttle-box having an open shuttle-discharging passage; a swinging arm to.
normally close said passage; and a feeding apparatus normally unconnected with
the moving parts of the loom and consisting of a hopper and transferrer; and
mechanism to cause the said feeding mechanism to move with the lay and actuate
the said arm to open the passage through the said shuttle-box, substantially as
described.
7: The lay and its shuttle-box, combined with a binder provided with a
projection adapted to be acted upon by an incoming shuttle to prevent it from
interfering with the downward movement of the shuttle into the shuttle-box and to
guide the shuttle to its seat in the box, substantially as described.
8: A loom containing the following instrumentalities, ei. -a lay provided
with a shuttle-box open at its bottom and having below said bottom a supplemental
chamber open at its side next the breast beam of the loom, as and for the purpose
set forth.
9: The lay; its shuttle-box; and a transferrer, combined with a stop to arrest
the movement of the said transferrer toward the shuttle-box, substantially as
described.
;
10 The lay its shuttle-box; and a feeder comprising a hopper and a trans-
ferrer, combined with means to move the feeder away from the breast beam, and
with a spring to return it to its normal position, substantially as described.
11 The combination with feeding devices including a hopper and a transferrer,
of a filling-detector and co-operating devices to give to the feeding apparatus an
.initial movement during the movement of the lay toward the breast beain, to meet
the said lay, substantially as described.

page_text: 12 The lay and its shuttle-box, combined with a transferrer notched as
described to thereby render it positive during the transferring operation, sub-.
stantially as described.
13 A loom containing the following instrumentalities, viz.a lay its shuttle-.
box; a feeding apparatus normally unconnected with the moving parts of the lay
and including a hopper and transferrer, the latter being constructed to grasp and
positively carry the shuttle from the hopper into the shuttle-box on the lay,.
substantially as described.
14 A. loom containing the following instrumentalities, e-a lay; its shuttle-
box: a transferrer; and connecting devices between it and the lay whereby the
transferrer is connected to and made to travel with the lay during a part of its
motion and while the shuttle-box is being fed by the transferrer, substantially as
described.
15--The combination with feeding devices including a hopper and a transferrer,.
of a filling detector and co-operating devices to give to the feeding apparatus an
initial movement during the movement of the lay toward the breast beam to meet
the said lay, and connecting devices between it and the lay whereby the transferrer
is connected to and made to travel with the lay during a part of its motion and
while the shuttle-box is being fed by the transferrer, substantially as described.
16 A transferrer to hold and embrace the tips of a shuttle, combined with
devices to oscillate it while in engagement with and grasping the shuttle, sub-.
stantially as described.
Dated the 18th day of March 1809
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant.