IMPROVE- MENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Mason, the younger, of Preston, in the
County Palatine of Lancaster, Mechanic, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Scaled the 17th October 1860, and dated the 25th April 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Mason at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th
April 1860.
I, JAMES MASON, the younger, of Preston, in the County Palatine of
Lancaster, Mechanic, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an apparatus for taking off the pressure of the
springs from the "swell" in the shuttle box at the time the shuttle is entering
and leaving the box, and consists, according to one arrangement, of a cranked
or bent lever fitted to the end of the stop rod, and provided with an antifriction
pulley at its free end, which pulley is operated upon at the proper times by a
lever carreed by the framing of the loom, and actuated by a suitable cam or
tappet on the tappet shaft, or on the crank shaft of the loom; the effect of this
mechanism being to remove the pressure from the springs of the "swell," and
thereby admit of the shuttle entering its box without impediment of any kind.

page_text: A small spring is fitted to each end of the slay, which presses against the back
of the stop rod finger, and is attached so as to be placed between the finger
and the shuttle box, and by pressing gently against the "swell," steady the
shuttle when in the box.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Mason in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25th
October 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
MASON, the younger, of Preston, in the County Palatine of Lancaster,
Mechanic, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, IIer heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
James Mason, Her special license that I, the said James Mason, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as J, the said James
Mason, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time, and all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FCR
WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Mason,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Mason, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
.
My said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
apparatus for taking off the pressure of the springs from the stop rod fingers,
which act upon the swell in the shuttle box of an ordinary frog or fast reed

page_text: loom at the time the shuttle is entering and leaving the box, and consists,
according to one arrangement, in the employment of a cranked or bent lever
fitted to the end of the ordinary stop rod, and provided with an antifriction
pulley at its free end, which pulley is operated upon at the proper times by the
end of a lever carried by the framing of the loom, and actuated by a suitable
cam or tappet on the tappet shaft or on the erank shaft of the loom; the
effect of this mechanism being to remove the pressure from off the springs
of the stop rod fingers which act on the swell, and thereby admit of the shuttle
entering and leaving the shuttle box without impediment or obstruction of any
kind. A small spring is fitted to each end of the slay, which presses lightly
against the back of the swell, and is attached so as to be placed between the
stop red finger and the shuttle box, and by pressing gently against the swell,
serves to steady the shuttle when in its box.
.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purposo I
shall refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all
the Figures.
'
Figure 1 represents an end elevation of so much of an ordinary power loom
as will serve to illustrate my improvements therein; Figure 2 is a correspond-
ing back elevation of the same, one end of the loom only being shewn; and
Figure 3 is a similar view to Figure 1, but with the parts in a different
position.
A is the loom framing; B, the crank shaft; and C, the tappet shaft. To the
outer end of the tappet shaft is fitted a double cam or wiper D, which.nt cach
back stroke of the lathe E elevates the tail of the lever F, and depresses its
short arm f; this lever works on a fixed centre G, secured to the loom framing.
To the end of the ordinary stop rod H is fitted a bent lever I, the free end of
which carries an adjustable antifriction roller i; on this lever also is formed
one of the fingers K of the stop motion, the corresponding finger being fitted
into the stop rod in the usual manner. A helical spring L, secured at one end
to the slay sword M, and at the other to a short arm N on the stop rod, serves
to keep the fingers K in contact with the swells in the respective shuttle
boxes when not otherwise acted upon. A slight blade spring O (Figure 2),
secured to the back of each shuttle box, and bearing slightly against the swell,
serves to steady the shuttle when in its box, but does not exert sufficient
pressure thereon to prevent it from freely entering and leaving the box.
The action of this apparatus is as follows:-During the back stroke of the

page_text: slay the antefriction roller i, on the end of the lever I, is brought against and
passes under the short arm f of the lever F, which has been already depressed
(as shewn in Figure 8) by the action of one or other of the two wipers D.
As the roller i moves under the arm F, it gradually depresses the lower end of
the bent lever I, and consequently partially turns the stop, and thereby
removing the pressure of the fingers K from off the swell in the shuttle box.
At the return stroke or beat up of the slay, the wiper D allows the tail of
the lever F to descend, as shewn in Figure 1, thereby elevating the part f,
and allowing the fingers K to return again in contact with the swells by
the contraction of the helical springs L, so as to cause the stoppage of
the loom in the ordinary manner in case the shuttle should have failed to
enter the shuttle box. The lever F is cast with a double elbow near
to its longer end, as shewn in Figure 2, and the tappet is made hollow
for the purpose of allowing the loom to be reversed without raising the
lever F, so that the sudden stoppage of the loom by the stop rod, which some-
times causes the loom to reverse, will not bring the tappet in contact with
the lever, but the lower end of the lever will pass under the wiper sufficiently
far to enable the slay to return, when the loom will be finally stopped. At
one end of each wiper on the under side is formed a notch or projection,
which comes in contact with the elbow of the lever, and so guides it over the
top of the wiper. If this were not so, the lever would pass under the wiper,
as above described, when there is a rebound. By thus removing the pressure
from the swells the shuttle requires much less power to drive it in and out of
the box, and as no impediment is offered to it, its boxing is rendered more
certain. It is thus obvious that a loom fitted with this apparatus may be
driven either much slower or much faster than when such apparatus is not
applied, whilst the springs may be made much stronger, and consequently
ensure the stoppage of the loom, as their power need not be limited to what
the shuttle can overcome.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or may be
used or carried into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that what I consider
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me
by the berein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, the general construction and arrangement of looms for weaving as
herein-before described and illustrated by my Drawings.
Second, the application and use to and in looms for weaving of a wiper or
wipers and lever arm, in combination with a lever on the stop rod, for the

page_text: purpose of removing the stop rod fingers from the back of the swells, and
thereby allowing the shuttle to enter and leave the shuttle box freely, as
herein-before described.
Third, the application and use of a slight spring acting upon each of the
swells, for the purpose of steadying the shuttle in its box, as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Mason, have to this my Specifica-
tion hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of October,
One thousand eight hundred and sixty.