IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas William Helliwell, of Brighouse, in the
County of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR
WEAVING."
Sealed the 3rd March 1868, and dated the 6th September 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas William Helliwell
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
6th September 1867..
I, THOMAS WILLIAM HELLIWELL, of Brighouse, in the County of York,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in various improved arrangements of mechanisni for
enabling a weft stopping motion to be used in connection with either wheeled
or fly shuttles for any kind of looms. I fix to the back of the lathe a metal
casting having a projection thereon at right angles to the lathe; to this pro-
jection I fix a stud, on which I place a narrow plate having at one end one,'
two, or three prongs as may be required, and which acts upon the weft as a
fork. This plate works upon the stud in a segment of a circle, the stud being:
its centre; and in order that the said plate or fork may fall lightly or other-
wise upon the weft by its own gravity I balance it by a tail or projection,.
on which is placed a small moveable metal ball secured by a set screw to
regulate the weight of the plate or fork according to the strength of the weft:
when working upon it; underneath the said plate or fork on the front of the

page_text: stud nearest the lathe I place a pendant finger hung to a swivel joint (and is
stayed by a stop on the casting), which finger acts upon a pointer wheel and
throws off the loom, as herein-after described. Above the last-named stud
on the same casting I fix another stud, to which is hung a bent lever which
acts upon a pin fixed in the tail of the said fork, and motion is given to the
lever by a stop fixed to the bottom or side frame of the loom when the lathe
beats up at a proper time to allow the fork or plate to fall upon the weft.
A spring acts upon the back of the said lever to raise the fork when the
lever is clear of the stop. . For the fork to work upon the weft I cut slots in
the lathe according to the number of the prongs upon the fork, and of a
width to allow a wheeled shuttle, if required, to run over it easily, in which
slots or grooves the prongs of the fork fall when there is no weft, but the
weft laying across them prevents it falling into them, and thus the fork
describes a larger part of a circle, and the pendant finger is lowered in pro-
portion to the depth of the slots, so that it catches a pointer which is placed
to catch it, which pointer or pointers are secured to short crank pins secured
to a rod with a slightly cranked end fixed under the breast beam, which
cranked end is, placed behind the knocking off bandle of the loom, and when
the pointer catches the pendant finger causes the rod slightly to revolve and
throw off the knocking-off handle and the strap of the loom and stop it. In
looms using more than one 'shuttle I employ a revolving spindle or rod with
a small cranked piece at the end, and having a short pendant hanger held by
a hinged joint with a stop therein to hold the said hanging piece rigid when
the lathe moves backward, and yields when moving forward when touched
by a horizontal bevil plane, fixed to the under side of the, breast, beam or to
the stop which works, the lever, and it is brought back to its position by a
spiral spring; at the top end of the said spindle (which I place to be at right
angles with the surface of the lathe) I fix a strong piece of wire bent of a
peculiar shape, which revolves in a horizontal circle over the surface of the
running board of the lathe under, the hand. tree,, and takes, all, the weft at
that time on the lathe out of the way of the fork and places; it upon a wire or
metal staple which is fixed in front of the lathe. To looms with rising boxes
I place a light horizontal fixing behind, one or both swords, which fixing holds
a short shaft, and to the end of, the shaft nearest, to the boxes I fix a bent
metal slip for the swells of the boxes to operate upon, and at the other-end of
the said shaft I fix a straight or slightly bent, slip, which acts upon the tail
end of the fork before mentioned, and by this means the fork is only allowed
to act upon the weft when the shuttles have been sent from the opposite end
of the loom and have arrived in the box; but when the shuttles are leaving

page_text: the box at the same end to which the motion is fixed the fork does not fall
or operate, for instance, one, two, three, or more shuttles may be sent from
the right to the left hand box, and the motion and fork will operate upon each
weft separately, but the fork and motion on the right-hand side is quiescent
and does not operate until the shuttles are sent in the opposite direction, when
the weft. fork is put on to a tappet loom, and at one end only I give it motion
by means of an eccentric or tappet fixed on the tappet shaft, and which raises
a lever having one end working on a fixed stud at the back of the loom, and
at the opposite end a stop or catch which is raised and catches the bent lever
before described.
I also attain the same end for some kinds of looms by a part of the motion
before mentioned, namely, by the spindle and bent wire thereto fixed, but
having the ends of the wire formed into a fork, which working in a circle
carries the weft to a moveable grid placed on the running board in the front
of the lathe, which grid is fixed on the end of a short pin or stud (fixed to a
casting) which has a transverse piece at the end, and to one end of the
transverse piece a pendant finger, as before described, to knock off the loom,
and at the other end a balance piece. When the weft is present it is carried
by the moveable fork against the grid and forces it backwards, thereby
raising the pendant finger out of the way of the pointer before mentioned;
but when there is no weft the prongs or blades of the fork pass through slits
in the grid which remains stationary, and the finger catches the pointer and
knocks off the loom; or I provide a similar grid and pendant finger, as above
described in front of the loom and bring the weft up to it by means of a fork
which slides across from the back to the front of the lathe by means of a lever
crank working upon the back part of the fork, which slides through steadying
pieces and acts upon the weft as before described, and is brought back to its
position by a spring. Motion is given, as before described, by à lever or
catch, as the case may require; or I use either of the two last-named motions:
for bringing the weft up to the grid and the same motion of the grid, but
form the grid and fork of such shape that it carries the weft over on to the
back of the grid (if the weft is present, and if not it knocks off the strap, as
before described) and holds it there until the shuttle has been driven back
again towards the other end of the loom, when the weft pulls the grid forward
to liberate itself and lifts the pendant finger before described; or if there is
no weft, or if any length is broken and running behind the shuttle, it is pulled.
by the motion of the shuttle round the grid which remains stationary, and the
finger catches the pointer and knocks off the loom. The grid in this case-is
made of a bent cone shape that the weft may move easily upon and over it,

page_text: and has one pin inside the centre of the other, so that either side of the grid
will move backwards when touched at its proper time by the weft and not
throw off the loom; or in the absence of weft will throw off as described, and
also if there is a piece of weft running behind the shuttle. The grid in each
of the before-mentioned cases is brought back to its vertical position partly by
the balance of the pendant finger and partly by a slight spring which it touches
when moved.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas William Helliwell in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 6th March 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
WILLIAM HELLIWELL, of Brighouse, in the County of York, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give, and grant unto me, the said
Thomas William Helliwell, Her special license, that I, the said Thomas William
Helliwell, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Thomas William Helliwell, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Thomas William Helliwell, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 Thomas William Helliwell, 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 (that is to say) :-
This Invention consists in various improved arrangements of mechanism for
enabling weft motions to be used in connection with either wheeled or fly

page_text: shuttles for any kind of looms for the purpose of stopping the looms when,
there is breakage or absence of weft.
The nature of the said Invention, and the manner in which it is to be
performed, will be clearly understood by the following particular description.
thereof, reference being had to the figures on the accompanying three Sheets
of Drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.
One arrangement of my improved weft motions is shewn in the end and
front elevations, Figs. 1 and 2, representing part of one end of an ordinary
loom, having a single shuttle box at each end of the latbe.
a represents part of one of the end frames; b, one of the sword arms; c;
the lathe or batten; d, the tappet shaft; and e, the breast beam. For each
weft motion I fix to the back of the lathe c a metal casting f, having at right
angles to the lathe a projecting part g carrying a stud, on which is placed a
fork lever h, having at one side a tail or projection i, and formed at the other
side as a plate j, to which one, two, or three prongs k are screwed for acting
on the weft as a fork. The lever with its fork plate and tail works on the stud
in a segment of a circle, and in order that the fork may by its own gravity
fall on the weft lightly or otherwise, I balance it by placing on the tail'i a
weight provided with a set screw, the weight being shifted to regulate the
weight of the fork according to the strength of the weft, and afterwards
fastened by the screw. At the under side of the plate there are ears m
carrying a stud n, on which is hung a pendant finger o working at the bottom
in a guide formed in a block p, cast with or fixed to the projecting part g of
the metal casting f, there being on the tail side of the lever h a snug or pro-
jection q, which is in contact with a spring r fixed to the block p when the
fork is raised, and to the casting is fixed a spring s, with which the stud. n.is
in contact for keeping the fork steady. when it is down. To the projecting
part g is fixed a second stud t, to which is hung a bent lever u in contact with
à pin v fixed to the back part of the fork lever, the bent lever being con-
nected by a spiral spring w to a hook a fixed to the front of the lathe; and
for giving motion to the bent lever as the lathe is advancing to the beat up
to allow the fork to fall upon the weft I employ a stop pin y-fixed to a lever
jointed to a bracket fixed to the back rail, there being on the tappet.shaft d
a tappet a' for raising the lever and pin at every other pick, and allowing
them to descend by their own gravity. For enabling the prongs or fork k to
detect the breakage or absence of weft I cut as many narrow slits bl. in: the
lathe as there are prongs, the slits being of such a width as to allow a wheeled.
shuttle if required to run easily over them, and when there is weft it supports
the
prongs and
prevents them from entering the slits, but when there is no.

page_text: weft the prongs enter the slits. To the under side of the breast beam I fix
a frame c¹ carrying a shaft d', having a cranked end et in contact with the
stopping and setting on handle f¹, and fix to the shaft a short lever g¹, to
which is linked a pointer h³, guided at its other end in a slot in the frame, and
the pendant finger o catches the pointer and causes the stoppage of the loom
when there is breakage or absence of weft. In some cases there is a weft
motion at one end only of the loom, and in other cases one at each end, but
wherever the motion may be it is called into action after the pick has been
delivered from the shuttle box at the opposite end of the lathe, and when
there is a weft motion at each end of the loom the tappets for working the
stop pins must be in opposite positions..
own gravity to fall
slits in the lathe if
When the loom is at work and the stop pin y not called into action the spiral
spring w pulls the bent lever u, causing it to act on the pin v and keep the
fork k in an elevated position for allowing the shuttle to pass across the race
from one shuttle box to the other, but when the shuttle has been thrown from
the opposite end and passed the weft motion and the lathe is advancing to the
beat up. the tappet a¹ has raised the lever and placed the stop pin y in
position to resist the bent lever and move it back as the lathe comes forward,
thereby overcoming the action of the spring w and removing the bent lever
from the pin v in the fork lever. The spring now acts on the projection q
and gives a slight impetus to the fork to enable it by its
downwards, either on the weft, if it be present, or into the
the weft is absent or broken, as shewn by the dotted lines.
supported by the weft the bottom of the pendant finger is
pointer h¹ and there is no stoppage of the loom, but when the weft is broken
or absent there is no resistance to the fork, and therefore it enters the slits in
the lathe and describes a larger part of a circle, the effect of which is to lower
the pendant finger until its bottom end is opposite the pointer, and as the
lathe comes forward the finger gives motion to the pointer and turns the
cranked end e¹, which forces the stopping handle f¹ out of its detent and
causes the stoppage of the loom. When there is fresh weft, and the loom set
on, the instant the bent lever u is free of the stop pin y the spiral spring w
pulls the bent lever so that it shall act on the pin v and raise the fork to its
elevated position ready for a fresh operation.
When the fork is
higher than the
In looms having a drop box at each. end of the lathe for weaving with two
or more shuttles I place a weft motion at each side of the selvedge of the fabric,
.and employ in connection with them certain mechanical contrivances, as shewn
in the end and front elevations Figs. 3 and 4. For each weft motion I use
the metal casting f, the fork lever.h with its tail and plate, the fork k, the

page_text: bent lever u, the stud n, and the springs r, s, as before described and shewn
in Figs. 1 and 2, but instead of employing a stop pin which can be moved up.
and down for alternately acting on the bent lever and escaping from it I use:
a stationary stop k', Figs. 3 and 4, bolted to a rail or frame fixed to the end
frames of the loom, and when desired I substitute for the pendant finger
pivotted to the plate of the fork lever a double lever a, b, jointed to a casting.
fixed to the front of the lathe for acting on the pointer c', and causing the
stoppage of the loom.
In the said casting there is a hole d*, into which
the pointer can enter when there is no breakage or absence of weft, but
when the weft is broken or absent the fork enters the slits in the lathe,
depressing the arm a' of the double lever and raising the arm b' so that it can
cover the hole d' and come in contact with the pointer c, thereby calling
into operation a similar stopping apparatus to that before described and-shewn
in Figs. 1 and 2, and stopping the loom. To the sword arm on each side I
fix a bearing, and in the lathe a seating for carrying at right angles to the
race board of the lathe a rod m¹ which can partly revolve, and fix on the top:
of the rod a crank piece n¹, having jointed to it a tumbler lever o' which is
kept in an upright position by the spring q'; and to the side frame a is fixed
a horizontal cam¹ for acting on the tumbler lever and turning the rod m¹ in
one direction, the spring s¹ being employed for returning the rod to its original
position. To the rod m' is welded or fixed a strong piece of wire bent of a
peculiar shape, as shewn at t', the top of the wire being sufficiently high for a
shuttle to pass under, and the bottom of the wire passes forwards and back-
wards over the surface of the race board in a segment of a circle as the rod
turns to and fro. When the lathe is moving backwards the top of the tumbler
lever is caught by the horizontal cam r¹, and as the lathe proceeds the rod
and bent wire are turned, the bottom of the wire taking the weft at that time
on the lathe out of the way of the fork and placing it. on a staple or bridge
casting v¹ fixed to the front of the lathe for enabling the fork to feel for the.
last-pick given from the opposite side. When the crank has turned the back
centre and the lathe is coming forwards the tumbler lever turns on its axis as:
it passes the horizontal cam, the spring q yielding to allow it to do so, and
the spring s¹ turns back the rod m¹ and returns the bent wire t¹ to its original
position at the back of the lathe. To the back of each of the sword arms I
fix a light borizontal frame a holding a short shaft 6, and fix to the end of
the shaft nearest the boxes a bent lever for the swells of the boxes to operate
upon, and to the other end of the shaft is fixed a lever d, and also another
lever connected by a cord f with the tumbler lever ol. The lever d² acts on:
the tail end of the fork lever:h, so that the fork kis.only allowed to act upon

page_text: the weft when the shuttle has been sent from the opposite end of the loom
and has arrived in the box, but when the shuttle is leaving the box at the
same end to which the weft motion is applied the fork does not fall or operate
on the weft, and one, two, three, or more shuttles may be sent from the right to
the left hand boxes, and the motion and fork on the left-hand side will operate
upon each weft separately, but the fork motion on the right-hand side is
quiescent and does not operate until the shuttles are sent from the left-hand
side, and the operations are reversed when two, three, or more shuttles are sent
from the left-hand side, and when the fork motions are quiescent the corre
sponding tumbler lever o is pulled by the lever e and cord f2 to an angular
position for preventing the rod m³ from being turned and the bent wire from
passing over the lathe.
Figs. 5 and 6 are end and front elevations of another arrangement of my
improved weft motions adapted to plain looms and to those having drop boxes.
I employ the rod m¹ with its springs q¹, s, tumbler lever o', and bent wire t¹,
and also the horizontal cam fixed to the side frame a in the same manner
as shewn in Figs. 3 and 4, with the exception that one arm of the bent wire
is formed as a fork f² which works in a circle over the surface of the race
board, and carries the weft to a grid g² attached to a lever h² working
on a stud in a casting fixed to the front of the lathe. When the weft is
present it is carried by the moveable fork against the grid and forces it back-
wards, thereby raising the bottom of the lever out of the way of the pointer a³,
and the loom continues working, but when there is no weft the prongs of the
fork pass through the grid, and therefore the lever he is not raised, and its
bottom end comes in contact with the pointer and causes the stoppage of the
loom.
In another arrangement shewn in the end and front elevations, Figs. 7 and 8,
I joint to a casting fixed to the front of the lathe a grid m², having an arm n²,
the bottom of which is in contact with an incline at one end of the double
lever o, p, also jointed to the casting. The weft is brought up to the grid by
a fork q² fixed to a sliding rod 2 in the frame s fixed to the back of the lathe,
and the rod and fork are moved across from the back to the front of the lathe
and vice versa, by means of a spring lever t², u², the top of which is linked to
the sliding rod, and the lower end u² so placed that it can be acted upon by a
moveable stop pin, as shewn in Figs. 1 and 2, for moving the fork across the
lathe, the return movement being given by, the spring v³, and the arm t³ is
made elastic for preventing damage in case the fork should strike the shuttle
or any other article. When there is weft the grid is forced back, causing the
bottom of the arm n² to act on the arm o2 of the double lever and raise the

page_text: arm p² above the pointer, so that no stoppage of the loom shall take place; but
when the weft is broken or absent the fork passes through the grid and the
double lever remains stationary, and therefore the arm p² comes in contact
with the pointer and causes the stoppage of the loom. When required I cause
swells in the front of the shuttle boxes to act by means of levers on the
moveable grid and double lever for preventing the loom from being stopped
unnecessarily, or until one or more shuttles have been thrown from the end
of the loom opposite to that at which the weft motion is called into action.
Another arrangement of my improved weft motions is shewn in the end and
front elevations, Figs. 9 and 10. I employ a rod m¹ and bent wire t¹ similar
to those shewn in Figs. 3 and 4, and worked in the same manner, the bottom'
of the wire working in a circle over the surface of the lathe, but instead of
using the bent wire for removing the weft from the lathe, I employ it for
carrying the weft last picked from the opposite end of the loom to the back
of a compound grid formed of stationary plates and a moveable pin. The
upper part of the plates are of a curved shape, as shewn at a³, Figs. 9 and 10,
the lower parts 63 being fixed to the front of the lathe, and to them is jointed
the two armed lever ³, d³, the curved moveable pin es forming part of the
arm c³, and below the arm there is a small spring f³, and behind the
stopping and setting on handle there is a cranked shaft g³, having a lever h³
connected to a pointer with a hooked or turned up end 1³. When the weft
is carried by the bent finger to the back of the grid it is there held whilst
the shuttle is returning to the other end of the loom, the tension of the weft
forcing the moveable pin e³ between the plates a³ and shifting the arm d³
sideways, and there is no action upon the pointer nor stoppage of the loom,
and as the shuttle proceeds the weft pulls the moveable pin and liberates
itself. If the weft is broken or absent, or any length running behind the
shuttle, the moveable pin and two-armed lever remain stationary, and the
arm d³ as the loom is moving back catches the hook 13 of the pointer and
causes the cranked shaft to shift the stopping and setting on handle out of its
detent and stop the loom. The moveable pin e³ is brought back to its original
position partly by the balance of the two-armed lever and partly by the action
of the small spring f³ with which the arm c³ comes in contact when it is
pulled downwards by the tension of the weft, and it will be seen that when
this weft motion is employed, and also those shewn in Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8, the
necessity of cutting slits in the lathe is avoided.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention;
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be
understood that I claim in looms for weaving, the various improved arrange-

page_text: ments of mechanism for enabling weft motions to be used in connection with
either wheeled or fly shuttles for any kind of looms for the purpose of
stopping the loonis when there is breakage or absence of weft, as all such
improvements are herein described and illustrated in the acompanying three
Sheets of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas William Helliwell, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Third day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
THOMAS WILLIAM HELLIWELL. (L.S.)