CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING, SPINNING, AND WEAVING, COTTON, WOOL, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM
PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JAMES
ASHWORTH, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster, Woollen Manufacturer,
and THOMAS MITCHELL, of the same place, Manager, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-ninth day of May, in the thirteenth year of Her
reign, and in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said James
Ashworth and Thomas Mitchell, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege, and authority, that we, the said James Ashworth and Thomas
Mitchell, our exors, admors, and assigns, and such others as we, the said
James Ashworth and Thomas Mitchell, our exors, admors, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England and Wales aud the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, our Invention of " CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING, SPINNING, AND WEAVING, COTTON, WOOL, AND OTHER
FIBROUS MATERIALS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso
that we, the said James Ashworth and Thomas Mitchell, shall cause a
particular description of the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be enrolled in Her Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear,

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
James Ashworth and Thomas Mitchell, do hereby declare that the nature of
the said Invention, and the manner in which the saine is to be performed, is
particularlydescribed and ascertained in and by the Drawings here to annexed,
and the following explanation thereof, that is to say :-
The first head relates to those machines commonly known in preparing and
spinning as billys, jacks, and "hand mules," and consists in a novel arrange-
ment of catch for detaining the carriage in a fixed position when run out, such
arrangement, consisting in the employment of a spring catch having a hook-
shaped recess formed therein.
The second head relates to looms for weaving cotton, wool, and other fibrous
materials, and consists, firstly, in a method of detecting the breakage or undue
absence of the weft thread, the peculiar feature of such method consisting in
the employment of an apparatus which would, according to its unimpeded
action, stop the working of the loom at each motion, but which is prevented
from so operating, when the weft thread is correctly present, by a wire or finger
arriving into such a position, that as the said thread is being thrown by the
shuttle, it shall loop upon it, and by thus acting upon the said wireor finger,
so dispose the apparatus as to allow the continued working of the loom.
Secondly, in a method of regulating the insertion of any required number of
picks of weft thread to a given length of woven fabric, the essential character
of this part of our Invention consisting in availing ourselves of the differential
motion arising from a connexion of the yarn or the cloth with any suitable
working part of the machine, which moves in accordance with the number of
picks, for the purpose of regulating the quantity of yarn given off, or inversely
of cloth wound on. Thirdly, in a method of cansing the loom to stop at any
particular position of its parts, or at any time after the breakage of the weft
thread that may be required. This we accomplish by causing any suitable
apparatus used for stopping looms, as for instance, "weft or warp detectors,"
or hand gear to bring an intermediate apparatus into such a position that it
may be acted upon (so as to effect the required stopping) by tappets or other
such instruments which receive motion from any working part of the machine.
Fourth, the application of a catch to any convenient part of the stop motion,
which being thereby brought into connexion with a spring or other projection
attached to the slay, arrests the motion thereof when required. And in
order that these several parts of our Invention may be more clearly under-
stood, we have appended to this our Specification three Sheets of Drawings,
which we will now proceed to describe :-
The first head of our Invention is shewn at Fig. 1, of Sheet 1, which is a

page_text: partial elevational view of a hand mule; and Fig. 1* is a plau view of the
improved catch. The carriage is shewn at a, a, and the shaft of the faller
wire at b. Upon this is mounted a projecting arm c, to which is connected,
by means of a joint, the upper end of a rod d, passing through a guide, c.
To the stationary framework of the machine is jointed one end of a catch ƒ,
which is pressed inwards by means of a spring 9, but prevented from turning
beyond a certain position by a pin placed in a staple h,through which the catch
f projects. Whenever the carriage is run in, the rod d will arrive in contact
with the inclined part of the catch f, thereby forcing it out, and falling into
the notch formed therein, as shewn in the Drawing; upon the faller wire
being depressed, the rod d will, by the connexion described, be raised from
the catch, and the operation of running up may be performed. This part of
our Invention applies also, as before stated, to "billys " and "jacks," the
application whereof to which machines will be readily understood from the
example given. It will be evident also, that if desired, the catch may be
affixed to the carriage and the rod remain stationary.
The first part of the second head of our Invention is shewn at Figs. 2, 3,
and 4, Sheet 1; Fig. 2 being a plan or horizontal view of part of a woollen
loom with our improved weft dedector applied. Fig. 3 is a cross section
thereof,and Fig.4is a detached viewof certainof the parts looking towards the
right-hand end of Fig. 3. Upon the tappet shaft of the machine is mounted a
grooved cam A, A, within which is placed a bowl or roller, mounted upon the
end of a lever B, B; this lever turns upon a fixed centre at C, and is provided at
its other end with a slot, within which is a pin projecting from another lever D,
affixed to a shaft E; to this is attached one end of a lever F, the other end
thereof being connected to a rod G, which is jointed at top to an arm H,
wbich arm turns loosely upon a shaft I. To the rod G is fixed a frame J, J,
the upper part of which carries a cross shaft K, capable of vibrating on its
centre. To this shaft is affixed a bent piece of metal L, and also a wire or
finger M. To the shaft 1 is attached an arm N, having a peculiarly-shaped
groove formed therein, as will be seen by reference to Fig. 4. Upon
the shuttle box is affixed a projecting wire Q, which is for the purpose of
bearing the weft thread upwards as it passes towards the web. The operation
of this apparatus is as follows:-According to the position shewn the
Drawing of the various parts, the picking motion has taken place, and the
shuttle is partly across the web, at which time the cam A, through the inter-
vention of the levers B, D, F, and connecting rod G, have brought down the
arm H, and with it the frame J, so as to have caused the wire or finger M to
intercept the weft thread, which has thereby been caused to loop on it, as

page_text: shewn at Fig. 2, at the same time carrying the bent piece L into the slot O, the
weft thread being prevented from sinking below the action of the finger M by
means of the wire Q. The continued revolution of the cam will now reverse the
motion of the frame J,which will then ascend,bearing with it the bent piece L,
which, by the tension of the weft thread upon the finger M,is kept against the
outside edge of the groove O, so as to avoid a notch P forined in the arm N,
the finger or wire M being sufficiently long to keep the weft thread looped
thereon until the bent piece L shall have risen above the groove O; and thus
'the motion will continue as long as the weft thread leaves that side of the
loom in its proper connexion with the web. If, however, it should be broken
or otherwise absent from its due position, then the finger or wire M,not being
held forward by the before-mentioned tension, will allow the bent piece L to
fall back, so that upon its ascending motion it will arrive in contact with the
notch P, and, by a continuance of such movement, force the arm N upward,
so as to turn the rod I upon its centre, and thereby, through the intervention
of the means herein-after described under another part of our improvements,
or of any ordinary arrangement, shift the driving strap of the loom on to the
loose pulley.
The second part of this head of our Invention we will now proceed to
describe.
Fig. 5, Sheet 2, is an end view of a cotton loom, with our improvements
applied thereto. Fig. 6 is a back view thereof,and Fig. 7 is a detached view of
one form of apparatus for obtaining the motion which constitutes the principle
of this part of our Invention; and we shall, in the first place, describe this
separately, and subsequently its application to the purpose of regulating the
delivery of the yarn or the taking up of the cloth. a, a, represents a fixed
stud, upon which is mounted loosely a spur pinion b, to the boss of which is
attached a bevil pinion c, taking into another d, which is capable of turning
loosely upon a short shaft e. This shaft is provided at one end with a collar f
mounted loosely upon the stud a, a. The bevil pinion d is in gear with a
similar one g, also mounted loose upon the stud a. Now suppose rotation
communicated to the pinion b,and consequently bevil pinion c,by à connexion
with the motion of the warp as it is drawn off; suppose also that the pinion g
is caused to rotate by reason of a connection with the crank shaft, or other
suitable moving part of the loom, it is evident that if these two driving media
operate so as to cause the piuions c and g to revolve at an equal rate that the
several wheels described will operate after the manner of an ordinary train,
and the connexions are so calculated as to cause this condition to be observed
when the correct number of picks are afforded to a given length of warp.

page_text: But,suppose now that the warp beam (to which rotatory motiou is given),owing
to its decreasing diameter, would afford a diminished quantity of yarn, then
the pinion c, having a reduced rotation imparted thereto, will revolve at a
slower rate than the pinion 9; the consequence of this difference will be a
diminished action upon the teeth of the pinion d, although the same action is
exerted thereon by the pinion g. This would be an impossible condition if
the train were mounted in an ordinary manner, but as the shaft e turnsloosely
upon the fixed stud a, the pinion d will be caused to roll upwards in order to
compensate for the greater speed imparted at one side thereof. In like
manner, should the pinion c exceed in velocity the pinion g, the connecting
one d will be caused to roll downward, by which motion the shaft e will be
caused to rise or fall as the revolutions fluctuate, and it is from this shaft that
we obtain the means of regulating the delivery of the yarn or the taking up
of the cloth, the practical application whereof we will now proceed to
describe -The warp beam of the loom is shewn at h. The yarn after leaving
this passes over a roller i, which is mounted so as to turn freely upcn centres,
from thence it is conducted over another roller j, and then through the loom
as usual. Upon the axle of the roller i is mounted a pinion k, which, by
means of an intermediate, communicates rotation to the pinion b, already
mentioned. One motion described with reference to Fig. 7 being thus
obtained, the other is effected as follows:-Upon the crank shaft is affixed a
tappet, which, by its rotatory motion, arrives in contact with one arm of a
bell-crank lever m, which turns upon a centre at n, the other arm thereof
being jointed to an upright rod o, o. Upon this rod is affixed a click p,
working into the teeth of a ratchet wheel 9, upon the inside face of which is
mounted a pinion r. This pinion is in gear with another s, which is affixed to
the bevil pinion g, and it is also in gear with a pinion t (stationary upon the
stud a), which has one tooth less in its circumference than that shewn at s.
By this arrangement, as is well understood, the pinion g will be caused to
revolve at a greatly diminished rate. Upon the rod o is affixed a tappet u,
which raises at intervals a lever v, mounted loosely upon an axle w. This
lever v carries a click, which takes into the teeth of a ratchet wheel x, keyed
to the shaft w, upon which is also mounted a worm y, taking into a worm
wheel z upon the axle of the warp beam, by which arrangement the delivery
of the yarn is effected. Upon the axle of the ratchet wheel x is mounted a
pulley *, around which a cord is coiled, one end of the said cord being
attached to a stationary part of the machine, and the other end thereof
carrying a weight, so as to produce a break and effect a steadiness of action.
From the arm e a cord 1 extends downwards, the lower end thereof being

page_text: connected to a rod 2, 2*, from one end of which is suspended a weight 3.
The rod 2, 2, is mounted upon a fixed centre 4, and the. end 2* thereof
projects under the click lever v, which, after having been raised by the
tappet u, falls by its own gravity, the amount of such falling motion being
determined by the position of the rod 2". Upon the fixed stud is attached
an arm 5, and to the end thereof a cord is affixed, which, after coiling
around a pulley 6, formed upon the boss of the ratchet wheel q, carries a
weight 7.
Ç
The operation of this part of our improvements is as follows:-Upon
motion being communicated to the loom in the ordinary manner, the tappet l
will, by acting upon the lever m, cause the rod o to rise, and thus bring the
tappet u into contact with the lever v, which, by turning upon the shaft w,
will, through the intervention of its click acting upon the ratchet wheel a,
cause the wheel z to revolve and let off the yarn, the reciprocating motion of
the rod o at the same time, through the click p, imparting rotatory motion to
the ratchet wheel q, and from thence to the pinion g. As the warp beam
decreases in size, the same amount of rotation given to it will cause a
diminished quantity of yarn to pass therefrom, and consequently a lessened
revolution will be imparted to the roller i, and from thence, through the train
shewn, to the pinion c, which retarded motion acting as before described will
cause the shaft e to rise, and, by means of the cord 1, carry with it the rod 2, the
other end 2* thereoffalling, and thus allowing the lever v to descend lower,and
consequently provide for an increased action of its click upon the teeth of the
ratchet wheel x, so as to turn the warp beam a greater portion of a revolution
at each motion. It will be evident that the finer the teeth of the ratchet
wheel, the more frequent will be the accelerations of the warp roller, and
therefore the more perfect the density of the fabric, and for this purpose two
or more clicks may be employed, so as to come into operation by gaining a
portion of a tooth at a time. The taking up, and other motions of the loom,
may be precisely the same as those in ordinary use, the weights, however,
commonly attached to the warp beam being of course dispensed with.
In order to prevent the yarn beam from revolving when it is desired to stop
the machine, we apply an apparatus so as to arrest its motion independantly
of the general stoppers of the loom, which we will now proceed to describe.
43 represents the rod of the instrument known as "Kenworthy's Weft
Detector." To this rod is applied a lever 45, to which is connected a rod 46,
which at its other end moves in a guide 47. Upon the weft detector coming
into operation, the rod 43, by turning on its centre, will, through the interven-
tion of the lever 45, thrust forward the rod 46 until it is under a pin 50,

page_text: which projects from the rod o, and by thus preventing the said rod from fulling
will keep the arm m without the range of the wiper 7, and arrest the motion
for giving off the warp as before described, at the same time the lever, 44 will
throw the straining. up catch out of its ratchet wheel in the ordinary manner.
Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 11, Sheet 3, of the Drawings, shew this part of our
improvements applied to a woollen loom, and in some measure modified as to
arrangement. Fig. 8 is an end elevation of the machine; Fig. 9 is a partial
plan view thereof, and Figs. 10 and 11 detached views of certain parts of
our improved apparatus, the last mentioned being a view looking towards the
opposite end of the loom to that shewn at Fig. 8. In this instance, instead
of taking the motion for one end of our regulating apparatus from the motion
of the yarn,
it is derived from the contact of a roller 8 which revolves upon
the woven fabric. This roller we connect to the shaft q, which it is required
to turn by means of an universal joint, so that it may always maintain a
position parallel to the work beam, and it is mounted in a frame which is
weighted as shewn in Fig. 11, in order to gain sufficient driving power. The
wheels c, d, g, described in the former Figures, are mounted in the same
manner upon a shaft of the roller 8, excepting that the one c is fast upon the
said shaft upon which, instead of the ratchet wheel i, is affixed a worm
wheel 10, which takes into a worm 11 mounted upon a short shaft 12. Upon
this is placed a ratchet wheel 13, which is driven by a click projecting from
a vertical rod 14, the upper end of which rod is connected to a lever 15,
capable of vibrating upon a fixed centre 16, the other end of the lever 15
being acted upon by a cam 17 mounted upon the crank shaft of the loom, by
which arrangement the rod 14 being caused to move up and down, the
required motion is communicated to the bevil pinion g of the former, and
also of this arrangement. At the lower part of the rod 14 is affixed a
projecting pin 21, which, as the rod 14 rises, arrives in contact with a lever 22
mounted loosely upon the shaft 23 of a ratchet wheel 24, which wheel is
driven by a click projecting from the said lever 2; the other end of the
shaft 23 carries a worm taking into a worm wheel 25, mounted upon the
axis of the warp beam; the shaft upon which the pinion d (Fig. 7) that
connects the two motions is mounted is shewn at e (Fig. 8). To it is attached
a cord 26, the lower end of which is connected to a lever 27, mounted upon
a centre pin at 28, and borne downwards by a weighted cord 29, by which
means the lever 27 is caused to rise according to the motion of the shaft e,
and thus allow the lever 22 a greater extent of motion, and, consequently, an
increased action by means of its click upon the ratchet wheel 24. The
operation in effect is precisely similar to that described with reference to

page_text: Figs. 5, 6, and 7, Sheet 2, for as the warp beam decreases in size, less yarn
will be given off, and therefore less length of cloth produced; the consequent
decreasing motion of the work beam retards the revolution of the roller S
and that of the pinion c (Fig. 7). The effect, as before, will be a rising of
the shaft e, which motion, through the intervention of the connexions shewn
and described, will allow that end of the lever 22 which carries the driving
click to fall so as to cause it to move through a greater space when operated
upon by the rod 14, and by taking an increased number of teeth of the ratchet
wheel 24, cause the warp beam to give off the required quantity of yarn.
In this case, as in the former, the speeds are of course so calculated that the
pinions shall run at the same velocities when the required number of picks
are going in to a given length of yarn. Attached to the rod I (Fig. 8, Sheet 3)
of our "weft detector" apparatus before described, there is a lever 51, which is
provided with a projecting pin 52, placed behind an arm 53, which is mounted
loosely upon the shaft I. Upon the "weft detector" apparatus coming into
operation, the shaft I, turning as before described upon its centre, will bring
the pin 52 against the arm 53, so as to thrust it forward until a projecting
part thereof shall have arrived under a stud 54 which is attached to the upper
purt of the rod 14, which, as before described, carries the click for giving
motion to the warp beam; the rod 14 being by this means prevented from
falling, the yarn will cease to be given off. Reference to Fig. 11 will shew
the operation which at the same time takes place with regard to the work
beam. Upon the shaft 1 is affixed a tappet 55, which upon the turning of
the said shaft is brought to bear against an arm 56, projecting upwards from
the "straining-up catch" 57, which by this operation will be removed from
the teeth of its ratchet wheel, and the taking-up motion cease.
described this part of our Invention as applied immediately to the warp beam.
It will be evident, however, that the same effect may be indirectly produced
by weighting the warp beam as is now practised, and applying the regulated
driving apparatus to the work beam. We would also remark, that various
modes of using the yarn or the cloth for gaining the required motion may be
adopted, as will be evident to all competent persons. If desired, the warp
beam, instead of being mounted in fixed bearing, may be placed in a spring
bracket, prevented from giving way too far by means of a stop piece, but
allowed to move in a slot formed therein, so as to afford a certain degree of
elasticity to the yarn. Although we have shewn one method of availing
ourselves of a regulating power arising from a connexion of the motion of the
yarn or cloth with a part of the machine, yet we do not confine ourselves
thereto, as the same thing may be effected in various ways without departing
We have

page_text: from the spirit of this part of our Invention; and in order to exemplify this,
we will explain two other methods of gaining the required motion.
In Fig. 12, Sheet 3, let a represent a roller deriving rotatory motion from
the warp or cloth, and b, another, having rotation imparted thereto from the
crank shaft or other such part of the loom, the two revolving at an uniform,
rate when the desired number of picks are going in. A band or chain c,
passing over the rollers a, b, carries at its lower end a roller d, and it its upper
part another e, which is weighted. It is evident that as long as the speeds of
a and b are uniform no alteration will take place, but should the one revolve
faster than the other, then the roller & will be caused to rise or fall, and afford
the desired medium for the regulating motion. In Fig. 13, Sheet 3, a repre-
sents a shaft deriving its motion from the warp or cloth, and b another,
connected to the crank shaft or other such part as aforesaid; the shaft a has
a screw formed thereon, which works in a screw socket provided within the
shaft b. Their revolving rate being equal, no effect as before will take place,
but upon a variation of speed occurring, they will recede from or advance
towards each other, and from this variation the required governing power may
be taken.
The third part of this head of our Invention we shall illustrate, for the sake
of convenience, as applied to our improved "weft detector," already described,
and with reference to Figs. 8 and 9, Sheet 3, of the accompanying Drawings.
To the shaft I (answering to that marked with a similar letter in Figs. 2
and 3) is connected a click 31, which takes in the teeth of a segmental rack 32,
formed upon the upper part of a lever 33, which lever is capable of turning
upon a centre pin 34 attached to the framework, and passes through a guide
bracket 35 ; there is also a detaining click 36 applied to the teeth of the
rack for the purpose of preventing a retrograde motion when the click 31 is
receding from its action. The operation is as follows:-Suppose the weft
thread to be broken or otherwise absent, the rod I will, by the means before
described, or by the action of any ordinary similar apparatus, be caused to
rock upon its centre, thereby projecting forward the click 31, and by advancing
the toothed segment 32, turning the lever 33 upon its centre 34, and so on
for each vibration of the shaft I, until the further end of the lever 33 is
sufficiently raised to be within the operation of a wiper 36, mounted upon the
tappet shaft or other moving part of the loom. This position of the parts is
arranged to take place at the time that another advance of the click 31 will
have brought a pin 37, which projects from the rack 32, into contact with the
ordinary spring lever 38. The wiper 36 therefore supercedes that final motion
of the click 31, and by turning the lever 33 upon its centre 34, forces the

page_text: pin 37 against the said spring lever, and throws off the driving strap in the
usual manner. Connected to the spring lever 38 there is an inclined plane
piece 39, which, as the said lever moves in throwing off he driving strap,
passes under the clicks 31 and 36, and by reason of its inclined shape, raises
them from the teeth of the rack 32, so as to allow it to fall again into its
starting position. With this arrangement we are enabled to effect a stopping
of the loom at any desired position of its parts by bringing the lever 33 within
range of the wiper 36 at any desired period. We are also by it enabled to
allow the loom to continue for any number of revolutions after the weft thread
has been absent, which is often desirable where weft is used, which often
breaks and catches hold again. If desired, our last described improved appa-
ratus may be connected to the ordinary knocking-off band. For this purpose,
upon a centre pin attached to the framework, is mounted a tumbler 58, one
end of which is connected to a rod or cord 59, which extends across the
width of the loom. The other end of the said tumbler is bent so as to occupy a
position behind the pin which projects from the segmental rack 32. By pulling
the rod or cord 59, the tumbler will be caused to turn upon its centre, and so
project forward the rack 32, within range of the wiper 36, which motion
will, as already explained, throw the spring lever 38 out of its notch.
The fifth part of this head of our Invention is shown in Fig. 14, Sheet 3,
and also in Figs. 8 and 9, Sheet 3. The former is a view of certain parts
of a loom shewing a mode of appling a stop catch to the slay. A bar 59 is
connected by a centre pin 60 to any convenient stationary part of the machine,
or to a spring attached thereto. This bar carries an arm 61, which is capable
of turning upon a centre at 62, and is provided at its other end with a catch
Beneath the arm 61 is placed a bent lever 64, mounted on a centre
pin 65, one part of which lever is acted upon by a wiper 66, affixed to the
tappet or other convenient shaft, so as to cause it to vibrate upon its centre,
and thereby lift the catch 63 at each revolution of the shaft. One end of the
bar 59 projects through a spring rod 67, which is connected at bottom to any
stationary part, and lies in the notch with the ordinary spring lever. To the
under side of the slay is affixed a projecting piece 69, above the bottom part
of which the catch 63 is raised by the wiper 66; but as in the ordinary.
working of the loom those parts are not opposite to each other in the direction
of the width of the machine, no effect will take place. If, however, he spring
lever 68 be removed from its notch by the "weft detector" apparatus, in
order to shift the driving strap, then the rod 67, being forced out with it, will
cause the bar 59 to turn upon its centre 60, so as to bring the catch 63
coincident with the projecting piece 69, when the wiper 66,at its next opera-
63.

page_text: tion, will cause the former to arrest the motion of the slay. In case it should
be desired to bring the spring lever 68 into action by hand, then the attendant
must knock out the spring lever 68 only, and the operation may be performed
in the usual manner. In order to bring the spring lever 67 again to its
notch when knocked by the weft detector, there is a pin 67* affixed to the
lever 68, which, by projecting behind the lever 67, causes the two to move
back together.
Another arrangement for effecting this part of our improvements is
shown at Fig. 8, Sheet 3, of the Drawings. In this instance there is a
spring lever 70 fixed at one end to the framework of the machine, its other
end being bent inwards so as to pass through the ordinary spring lever 38.
Upon the edge of the piece 70 there is a projecting part 71, which, when the
spring lever is moved to shift the driving strap, arrives against the face of a
sping 72, which is fixed to the back part of the loom slay, and thus assists in
arresting the motion thereof.
Having thus fully described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be under-
stood, that that which we claim as secured to us under the above in part recited
Letters Patent is us follows:
Under the first head, with reference to those machines commonly known as
"billys," "jacks," and " mules," the application of a spring catch, with a hook-
shaped recess formed therein, for the purpose of detaining the carriage when
run out.
Under the second head we claim,-
Firstly, the use of a wire or other instrument which detects the undue
absence of a weft thread by being brought into such a situation that the said
thread shall loop upon it if in its proper position, but which, in conjunction
with suitably arranged apparatus, allows the loom to be stopped if the thread
be absent.
Secondly, the use of a motion,obtained by connecting the yarn or the cloth
with any suitable working part of the loom, for the purpose of governing the
giving off of the warp or taking up of the cloth.
Thirdly, we claim the use of an intermediate apparatus, connecting "stop
motions of looms to those parts by which the stopping is immediatelyeffected,
for the purpose above set forth, whether such stop motions be applied to the
weft or warp threads, or consist simply of hand gear.
Fourthly, the application of a catch, placed in connection with any suitable
part of the apparatus used for stopping the loom, so arranged as to hold the

page_text: slay or an attachment thereto when desired, in order to arrest the motion
thereof.
In witness whereof, we, the said James Ashworth and Thomas Mitchell,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-eighth day of
November, One thousand eight hundred and fifty.
JAMES (L.s.) ASHWORTH. THOMAS (L.S.) MITCHELL.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-eighth day of No-
vember, in the year of our Lord 1850, the aforesaid James Ashworth and
Thomas Mitchell caine before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and
acknowledged 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.
Enrolled the Twenty-ninth day of November, in the year of our Lord