IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Algernon Freeman Firth and John Boothman, both of
Clifton Mills, near Brighouse, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS."
Sealed the 14th October 1876, and dated the 31st July 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Algernon Freeman Firth
and John Boothman at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the
31st July 1876.
ALGERNON FREEMAN FIRTH and JOHN BOOTHMAN, both of Clifton Mills, near
Brighouse. IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS."
"
Our Invention relates to looms for weaving tapestry, Brussels, and velvet pile
carpets and other pile fabrics, and has reference more particularly to a simple
arrangement of mechanism for inserting and withdrawing with greater rapidity
the wires which form the pile.
15
According to our Invention the wires for forming the pile are inserted into the
ply" or fabric by means of a hook hinged to a plate which is caused to travel
along a grooved bar fitted to oscillate on a pin arranged in a convenient part of the
loon. The wire whilst being inserted is held securely against the plate by the
pressure of a spring which bears upon the hook during the forward motion of the
plate, but which is released when the wire is in its place by means of an incline
on the hook coming in contact with a projection provided on a suitable part of the
loom, thus causing the hook to release the wire and leave it in the "ply" or fabric
before making its return stroke for another wire. So soon as a wire is inserted in
the ply or fabric, and the plate carrying the hook is about to make its return
stroke, a motion is imparted to the oscillating grooved bar in a lateral direction or
at right angles to the weft threads (by means of a connecting rod and suitably
tined cam or tappet carried upon one of the shafts or spindles of the loom) for
the purpose of bringing the oscillating bar into a suitable position to receive the
next wire to be withdrawn from the fabric. In order to admit, of the traverse of
the plate carrying the spring hook during the lateral motion of the oscillating
grooved bar, the said plate is fitted to slide in a lateral direction in or upon
another plato having a longitudinal motion upon a bar arranged at any convenient

page_text: part of the loom, which cross slide with spring hook attached enables the speed to
be attained.
This last-mentioned plate is provided with a book, which at the completion of
each forward motion of the plate engages with the end of the wire to be next
withdrawn from the fabric, which wire is then conveyed by the backward motion
of the plate to the rear end of the oscillating grooved bar in a position to be caught
by the plate and spring hook, by which it is inserted into the ply or fabric at the
next forward motion of the sliding plate. Motion may be imparted to the sliding
plate from the crank shaft or any other suitable moving part of the loom by means
of bell-crank levers and connecting rods, or by any other convenient arrangement]
of mechanism.
The top edge of our wire head is nicked in order to exactly fit the spring hooks
for holding it back.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Algernon Freeman Firth and John Boothman in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 31st January 1877.
ALGERNON FREEMAN FIRTH and JOHN BOOTHMAN, both of Clifton Mills, near
Brighouse. "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS."
Our said Invention relates to looms for weaving tapestry, Brussels, and velvet-
pile carpets and other pile fabrics, and has reference to the mechanism employed in
such looms for inserting and withdrawing the wires which form the pile.
The object of our Invention is to enable the wires to be inserted and withdrawn
with greater rapidity than is attainable by the ordinary means, and this object is
effected by the employment of a hook or wire-holding device carried on a slide
working across a longitudinal slide in combination or not with auxiliary con-
trivances, as herein-after described.
In describing the nature of our Invention, and the mode of carrying the same
into effect, we shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheets of Drawings,
the same letters of reference on which indicate like parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1 (Sheet 1) of our Drawings represents a front elevation of a portion of a 3
loom with our Invention applied thereto according to one mode of carrying out the
same.
Figure 2 is an end view, and Figure 3 a plan of the same. Figures 4, 5, and 6
are detail views drawn to an enlarged scale representing the principal parts of our
apparatus, Figures 4 and 5 being sectional elevations taken at right angles to each 3
other, and Figure 6 a plan corresponding to Figure 4. Figure 7, Sheet 2, is a
sectional elevation, and Figure 8 a plan illustrating a modification of the arrange-
ment shewn in Sheet 1.
Referring to Sheet 1 of the Drawings a, a¹, a², are the series of wires for form-
ing the pile, a denoting the inner or intermediate wires, and a¹, a², the outer wires, 4
the position of which series is to be continually changed by withdrawing the
wire a for the time being and inserting it in the place of the wire a³ when the
fabric is fed forward, as is well understood.
This operation is performed according to our Invention in the following manner:
-The wires are inserted in the "ply" or beneath the face warp by means of a
hook b hinged to a plate c, the pin c¹ of which is caused to travel, as is also the
wire, along the groove d of a bar d which is fitted to oscillate on a pin e arranged
on the frame of the loom. The wire whilst being inserted is held securely against
the plate c by the pressure of a spring g, which causes the point 1 of the hook b to
engage firmly in the notch or indentation 2 of the wire head during the forward;
motion of the plate (in the direction of the arrow), as shewn by the dotted lines
in Figure 4, the wire is, however, released when in its place by the front of the

page_text: "
hook which is formed with an inclined surface at 3 being brought into contact
with an inclined projection on the frame of the loom at 4, and by thus being caused
to ascend the incline to become disengaged from the wire.. This position of the
hook is that indicated by the full lines in our Drawing. A wire a² having thus
been inserted in the "ply or beneath the face warp it is requisite that the plate c
carrying the hook b should move to the position of the wire a¹, as indicated by the
dotted lines in Figure 6, in order to receive the next wire to be withdrawn from
the fabric. This movement is effected by the oscillation of the grooved bar d, the
motion of which is derived either (as shewn in the Drawings) through the inter-
vention of a connecting rod h and lever h¹ from a grooved cam h² mounted on one h³
of the shafts of the loom, or in any other convenient manner. In order to admit
of the traverse of the plate c carrying the spring hook b during the lateral motion
of the oscillating grooved bar d, the plate c is fitted to slide in a lateral direction
either in (as shewn in our Drawings) or upon another plate i', having a longitudinal
motion upon a bar k.
This cross slide c, with its spring hook b attached, constitutes an important
feature of our Invention, as it is by its employment that the requisite rapidity in
the operations is obtained.
The plate c having been brought into the position indicated by dotted lines in
Figure 6, the next operation is to effect the withdrawal of the wire a', which is
accomplished in the following manner:-'
-The plate is provided with a hook /
which engages with the slot or aperture 5 of the wire to be withdrawn from the
fabric, which wire is then by the backward motion of the plate i along the bar k
conveyed along the groove d¹ of the oscillating grooved bar d to the rear end 6 of
such bar. The wire is then retained by the spring hook b and the plate c which
partakes of the motion of the plate i, the hook being disengaged by the return
motion of the bar d, which moves to the position indicated by the full lines in thic
Drawings. The fabric in the meantime having been advanced to the extent of the
interval between two wires the plate e moves forward into the position also denoted
by the full lines in the Drawing, whereby the wire is inserted in the "ply" or beneatli
the face warp, and the series of operations is then repeated, and so on in succession.
The motion of the plate i along the bar k, in the example shown in the Drawings,
is obtained through the intervention of the rod m, bell-crank lever n, and levers o, P,
from the grooved cam g mounted on the shaft h³, but any other convenient arrange-
ment may be employed for that purpose. It is obvious that the withdrawing book
may be dispensed with, the spring hook 6 being in that case utilized for withdraw-
ing as well as for inserting without entailing any further alteration in the arrange-
ment of the working parts.
In the modification illustrated in Figures 7 and 8 (Sheet 2) the oscillating grooved
bar d is dispensed with, the essential features of the hook-carrying slide working
across a longitudinal slide being still retained.
According to this arrangement the slide c is provided with a vertical stud or
projection which when the slide i carrying the slide c is drawn back in the
direction of the arrow 7, Figure 8, so as to withdraw the wire a³, comes into contact
with and is acted upon by a raised incline 7 carried on the framing, thereby
noving the slide c in the direction of the arrow 8 (Figure 8) in order to bring the
wire into a position opposite the space at a, which will then have been left for its
reception by the advance of the fabric. The wire is then inserted at a² by the
forward motion of the slide i carrying the slido c with its wire in the direction of
the arrow 9 as shewn in the Drawing, after which it is requisite that the slide should
move laterally in the direction of the arrow 10 in order to bring the hook 6 into
the proper position to receive or retain the wire a' which is to be next withdrawn
by the hook after such wire has been disengaged by the last-mentioned hook.
This lateral traverse of the slide c is obtained by the aid of a supplementary
slide & operated in a similar manner to the oscillating grooved bar d in the arrange-
ment shewn in Sheet 1 of the Drawings through the intervention of the connecting
rod froin a can mounted on one of the shafts of the loou. The slides works in

page_text: guideways & formed in a bracket f' carried by the framing f, and is provided with
a friction roller & which when the slide 8 is operated under the action of the said
cam forces the slide c in the direction of the arrow 10 so as to bring its hook bin
a line with the withdrawing hook in the manner herein-before described, the
slide then returning in readiness for another stroke in the direction of the
arrow 10, and so on in succession. It is necessary that a temporary support should
be provided for the points of the wires during their withdrawal, lateral traverse,
and reinsertion, and a convenient means which may be employed for this purposu
when the oscillating grooved bar is dispensed with is shown in Figures 7 and 8,
Sheet 2 of the Drawings. It consists in the employment of a double-armed lever
pivotted to the slide 8 at t, and one arm of which is impelled upwards by a
spring u so as to support the wire during its withdrawal from a¹, and during its
lateral traverse in the direction of the arrow 8, and also during its reinsertion at a*
until the point of the wire is about to be introduced into the "ply" or beneath the
face warp, whilst the other arm of the double-armed lever is acted upon by an
incline at v¹, which by elevating the arin v causes the depression of the arm u,
thereby leaving a free passage for the wire into the space at a³, and allowing the
slide c to complete its stroke in the direction of the arrow 9, after which the arm u
is again elevated under the action of its spring u¹ on the next motion of the slide s
in the direction of the arrow 10), and so on, repeating the operations in succession.
An elevated rod w may be employed if found necessary for the purpose of guiding
the slide c in its motion in the direction of the arrow 7 towards the incline 7, the
stud or projection 7 bearing against the side w¹ of the rod w when moving in that
direction, and the rod being made of a suitable shape at w² to admit of the return
of the stud or projection to the side w' when the slide c is moved in the direction
of the arrow 10 under the action of the slide 8.
If desired the sley may be caused to move the slide a laterally by being furnished
with a suitable tappet or projection in lieu of employing the slides for that
purpose, in which case the slide 8 may be dispensed with and other means of support
may be provided in substitution for the lever carried by the slide.
In Figures 7 and (Sheet 2 of the Drawings we have also shewn a modified
arrangement of the spring hook b (Sheet 1). It consists of a vertical slide b which
works in guideways in a bracket y carried by the slide c, and is bifurcated at its
lower extremity 1, where it engages with a notch 2 formed in the head of the wire.
The hook is maintained norinally in the position shewn in the Drawings by
means of a helical spring g attached at one extremity to the hook 6 and at its
opposite extremity to the bracket y, Lut is elevated and maintained in that position
at and during the requisite periods by means of a raised incline 4 which acts upon
a projection 3 carried by the hook b in order to disengage its fork 1 from the
wire.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of our said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into effect,
we would observe in conclusion that what we consider to be novel and original,
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to us by the herein-before in part
recited Letters Patent is-
1st. A slide carrying a spring hook or wire-holding device, and working
across a longitudinal slide, substantially as and for the purposes herein-before
described.
Second. A spring hook or wire-holding device carried on a slide working across
a longitudinal slide, and also having a longitudinal to-and-fro motion along an
oscillating grooved or guide bar, the whole arranged so as to operate togethe
substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein-before described.
Third. The combination with a slide carrying a withdrawing hook or device, and
having a longitudinal to-and-fro motion of a cross slide carrying a spring inserting
hook or device, and having a to-and-fro motion along the withdrawing slide a
right angles to its motion, and also a longitudinal to-and-fro motion along a
oscillating grooved or guide bar, the whole arranged so as to operate together, sub

page_text: stantially as and for the purposes herein-before described and as illustrated by our
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Algernon Freeman Firth, on behalf of myself
and the said John Boothman, have to this our Specification set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of January, One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-seven.
A. F. FIRTH. (L.S.)