IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Hennah Martin, of the Firm of Gibb,,
Martin, and Smith, of Govan, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Manufacturers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Hennah
Martin at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 26th February 1870.
I, ALEXANDER HENNAH MARTIN, of the Firm of Gibb, Martin, and
Smith, of Govan, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Manufac-
turers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE
MENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to improved mechanism for looms for weaving
with various numbers of shuttles. A rotatory shuttle box is employed'
and has fixed on its spindle a toothed wheel, by means of which it is

page_text: turned for changing the shuttle. Two vertical racks are arranged to
engage with the toothed wheel, one being at the front to turn it in one
direction and the other at the back to turn it in the other direction,
whilst each moves downwards when shifting the shuttle box. Each
rack consists, by preference, of a pair of parallel rods connected by pins,
which pins act as the rack teeth, and when the racks are in gear with
the toothed wheel on the shuttle box spindle the shuttle box is locked
and cannot slip from its proper position. The racks are at the upper
ends of nearly vertical rods which pass down through guide eyes in the
upper ends of a pair of levers, which may be termed the locking and
relieving levers, and the bottom ends of the rack rods arc-jointed-to-the-
_front-ends-of-nearly horizontal levers extending towards the back of the
loom, and having hooked links jointed to their back ends. The locking
and relieving levers have springs applied to them which tend to take the
racks out of gear from the toothed wheel, but they force the racks into
gear at the proper times and hold them so as long as is required in con-
sequence of the action on their lower ends of a wedge or block acted
upon through levers by a suitably shaped cam on the low shaft of the
loom.
The shifting of the shuttle box is effected by cams on the low
shaft, and for a shuttle box with six or seven shuttles, or for a maximum
shift of three shuttles there are three cams. These cams act upon an
antifriction roller capable of a transverse movement on a pin fixed to a
lever, which may be termed the cam lever. The roller has a bevilled
edge and the cams are grooved to correspond, excepting at one-part,
where the roller can be moved across from one cam to the other, and
this construction prevents the displacement of the parts when any one
of the cams is acting. The roller is shifted by a bell crank lever acted
upon by jacquard cards or other convenient pattern mechanism. Im-
mediately over the roller of the cam lever there is fixed to the framing
a stop piece, which prevents the lever from rising higher than the exact
lift of each cam. This stop piece is stepped on its under side, and as
the roller is shifted over any particular cam it is at the same time
brought under the step suited to that cam. The cam lever is centred
towards the front of the loom and its back end is formed with knife
edges to engage the hooked links, herein-before referred to as jointed to
the levers which actuate the racks. The hooked links have springs
applied to them which tend to keep them clear of the knife edges of
the cam lever, and they are acted on as required by bell-crank levers
which are themselves acted upon by the pattern mechanism. The levers

page_text: to which the bottom ends of the racks are jointed are by preference each
formed in two parts connected by a spring clutch, so that in case of any
accidental obstruction the parts will yield without breaking.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alexander Hennah Martin in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 25th August 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
HENNAH MARTIN, of the Firm of Gibb, Martin, and Smith, of Govan, in
the County of Lanark, Manufacturers, send grecting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Alexander Hennah Martin, Her special
licence that I, the said Alexander Hennah Martin, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexander Hennahı
Martin, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at 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 "Iμ-
PROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Alexander Hennah Martin, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
scals, 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 Alexander Hennah Martin, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement in writing, reference being
had to the accompanying Drawings, that is to say :--

page_text: My said Invention relates to improved mechanism for looms for
weaving with various numbers of shuttles, and in practically carrying it
out I employ a rotatory shuttle box having fixed on its spindle a toothed:
wheel of peculiar form, by means of which it is turned for changing the
shuttle. Two vertical racks are arranged to engage with the toothed
pass down
wheel, being at the upper ends of nearly vertical rods, which
through guide eyes in the upper ends of a pair of levers, which I term
the locking and relieving levers. These levers have springs applied to
them, which tend to take the racks out of gear from the toothed wheel,
but they force the racks into gear at the proper times, and hold them so
as long as is required. The shifting of the shuttle-box is effected by.
cams on the low-shaft, which cams act upon an antifriction roller
capable of a transverse movement on a pin fixed to a lever, which I
term the cam lever. The roller is shifted by a bell-crank lever acted
upon by jacquard cards or other convenient pattern mechanism, and
the cam lever acts on links also acted on by the pattern mechanism, and
jointed to the back ends of levers, having their front ends jointed to
the racks.
And in order that my said Invention, and the manner of performing
the same may be properly understood, I have hereunto appended a Sheet
of explanatory Drawings to be herein-after referred to, and representing.
as much of a loom with a seven shuttle box as appears to be necessary
for explaining the application of my improved mechanism. The same
reference numerals are used to mark the same or like parts wherever they
are repeated.
Figure 1 is a back elevation showing some of the mechanism at the
side of the loom at which the rotatory shuttle box is situated; Figure 2
is a side elevation, and Figure 3 is a front elevation, whilst Figure 4
shows certain details hidden in Figure 1, and Figure 5 shows certain
parts in positions different from those in which they are shown in
Figure 2. Any parts or arrangements not specially referred to herein-
after are to be understood as being the same as in existing looms.
The spindle 1 of the rotatory shuttle box 2 has fast on it a wheel 3,
having peculiarly shaped elongated teeth the same in number as the
shuttles employed, namely, seven in this example. Two vertical
racks 4, 5, are arranged to engage with the toothed wheel 3, one
being at the front to turn it in one direction, namely, that with which
the front side moves downwards, and the other 5 at the back to turn it

page_text: in the other direction, each moving downwards when shifting the box..
Each rack consists by preference of a pair of parallel rods connected by:
pins, which pins act as the rack teeth, and when either of the racks 4
or 5 is in gear with the toothed wheel 3 the shuttle, box is locked and
cannot slip from its proper position. The racks 4, 5, are formed or fixed
at the upper ends of nearly vertical rods 6, 7, which pass down through
guide cyes 8 at the upper ends of a pair of levers 9, 10, termed the
locking and relieving levers, and the bottom ends of the rack rods 9, 10,
are jointed to the front ends of nearly horizontal levers 11, 12, extending
towards the back of the loom, and having hooked links 13, 14, jointed'
to their back ends. The locking and relieving levers 9, 10, have blade
springs 15 applied to them, which tend to push the racks 4, 5, outwards
and out of gear from the toothed wheel 3, but the levers 9, 10, force the
racks 4, 5, into gear at the proper times and hold them so as long as is
required, in consequence of the action on their lower ends of a wedge or
block 16 acted upon through levers 17, 18, by a suitably shaped cam 19.
on the low shaft 20 of the loom, the wedge 16 being in fact formed on.
the end of the lever 17. This lever 17 is centered on a bracket 21 fixed
at its upper end to the shuttle box frame 22, and at its lower end (shown.
broken away) to the lathe sword, which last is however not shown in the
Drawing. A spring is applied to a small arm 23 on the lever 17, to
recover it after each action on it of the lever 18. The locking and
relieving levers 9, 10, are centered on a block 24 fixed to the bracket 21,
and this block is also formed with an eye supporting a spring and rod 25,
which rod has at its upper end the usual T head 26 for bearing up'
against the flat-sided polygon 27 on the shuttle box spindle 1, and
thereby steadying the shuttle box after a shift. The rod 25 is continued
downwards through a hole in the end of the lever 17, and has an
adjustable stop 28 applied below in the form of a pair of screw nuts.
Thus when the lever 17 acts on the levers 9, 10, to move in the
racks 4, 5, it also by means of the rod 25 draws down the T head 26,
to set the spindle 1 free to turn. The shifting of the shuttle box is
effected by-cams 29, 30, 31, (shown separately in Figure 4,) on the low
shaft 20, there being three such cams for a shuttle box with six or seven
shuttles, or for a maximum shift of three shuttles, whilst more or fewer
are to be used for other maximum shifts. These cams act upon an anti-
friction roller 32 fixed on a pin 33, and capable of a transverse movement
in a slot in the cam lever 34, the pin working through eyes in the sides
of the lever, and being pressed towards the inner side by a blade

page_text: spring 35. The roller 32 has a bevilled edge, and the cams 29, 30, 31,
are grooved to correspond, excepting at one part, where the roller 32 can
be move across from one cam to the other, and this construction prevents
the displacement of the parts when any one of the cams is acting.
Immediately over the roller 32 of the cam lever 34 there is fixed to the
framing a stop piece 36, which prevents the lever from rising higher.
than the exact lift of each cam. This stop piece 36 is stepped on its
under side, and as the roller 32 is shifted to any particular cam it is at
the same time brought under the step suited to that cam. The roller 32
is shifted by a bell-crank lever 37, acted upon (in the example delineated)
by a small jacquard barrel 38, and cards or their equivalent (not shown)
with accompanying-well-known-details. The cam lever 34 is centered
towards the front of the loom, and its back end has formed on or fixed to
it (knife edges or) pins 39 to engage the hooked links 13, 14, hercin-
before referred to, as jointed to the levers 11, 12, which actuate the
racks 4, 5. The hooked links. 13, 14, have springs 40 applied to them
and fixed to the projecting ends of the levers 11, 12, which springs tend
to keep the hooks or notched heads of the links back clear of the pins 39
of the cam lever 34, and they are acted on and pushed forward, as
required, by bell-crank levers 41, 42, which are themselves acted upon
by the pattern barrel and mechanism 38. A guard plate 46 is applied
behind the hooked links 13, 14, to prevent them from being moved too
far back, and which is also shaped so as to keep either of them from
slipping off the pin 39 of the cam lever 34, when that lever is lifting it.
This plate 46 is also formed with a slot, which acts as a guide to the end
of the cam lever 34. When a shift of the shuttle box has to take place
the pattern mechanism lifts the upper arm of one of the levers 41, 42,
accordingly as the shuttle box is to be turned forwards or backwards.
If it is a one-shuttle shift the lever 37 and roller 32 does not require to
be acted upon, as the position of the roller 32 when left to itself is over
the smallest cam 29 (which however produces no action, unless one of
the hooked links 13, 14, is pushed forward.). But for a two-shuttle
shift the lever 37 is lifted so as to move the roller 32 to the second
cam 30, whilst for a three-shuttle shift the lever 37 is shifted further
(by a thicker pattern bit on the card, or in any other convenient way,)
and moves the roller 32 to the largest cam 31. A spring 43 is applied
to the cam lever 34 to make it keep its roller 32 in contact with the
cams; and springs 44 are applied to the levers 11, 12, to which the
racks 4, 5, are jointed to make these levers re-elevate the racks after each

page_text: depression, such re-elevation taking place when the racks 4, 5, are not
in gear with the toothed wheel 3. The levers 11, 12, just referred to,
are by preference each formed in two parts connected by a spring
clutch 45, so that in case of any accidental obstruction the parts will
yield without breaking. Any convenient clutch arrangement may be
adopted, but. in that shown the forward part of each lever is made with
a tubular boss, having at its inner end an incline toothed clutch face
fitting a corresponding clutch face on the boss of the back part of the
lever. A spiral spring contained in the tubular boss presses the clutch
faces together, but yields and allows them to separate when an
obstruction occurs.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I have to state that I do not
restrict myself to the precise details herein described or delineated; but
that what I believe to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1. The arranging or combining together of the parts of mechanism for
shifting rotatory shuttle boxes in looms for weaving, substantially in the
improved manner herein described and delineated.
2. The application in connection with the cam lever 34 of the stepped
stop 36, the transversely movable roller 32, and the grooved cams 29,
30, 31, as herein-before described.
3. The arrangement of the hooked links 13, 14, with the lever pins 39
and guide plate 46, so as to prevent displacement when operating, as
hercin-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Hennah Martin, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of August,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
) Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
A. H. MARTIN. (L.S.)