IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Bullough and John Walmsley, of Baxenden,
ncar Accrington, in the County of Lancaster, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS
Sealed the 27th March 1861, and dated the 2nd October 1860
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Bullough and John
Walmsley, at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
l'etition, on the 2nd October 1860.
We, JAMES BULLOUGH and JOHN WALMSLEY, of Baxenden, near Accrington,
in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS," to be as follows:-
Firstly, we cause the loom to stop when the shuttle fails to traverse from
one box to the other by fixing a number of fingers to the stop rod, which
fingers pass through holes in the slay bottom, and enter the angle of the shed.
The said fingers are made to advance towards and recede from the reed
alternately as the slay moves backwards and forwards. If the shuttle falls to
traverse from one box to the other, it will come in contact with one or more
of the fingers, and prevent them advancing towards the reed, and thus cause
the catch of the stop rod to come in contact with the frog, and stop the
loom.
Secondly, to prevent the shuttle turning on its side, and thus stop its
traverse from one box to the other, we fix any convenient number of guards in
the slay cap. All persons conversant with power looms are aware that the
Price 8d.1

page_text: base of the shuttle is larger than its elevation, therefore if it turns upon its
side, it will not traverse across the loom, therefore the said guards will keep it
in its proper position,
Thirdly, we make a low shuttle guard to the side of the shuttle box, for the
purpose of putting in and taking out the shuttle over the shuttle guard, when
necessary.
Fourthly, we fix a number of pins or fingers upon the shuttle race running
parallel with the reed, allowing just sufficient space for the shuttle to pass,and
thus keep it in a direct course.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Bullough and John Walmsley in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 2nd April, 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JAMES
BULLOUGH and JOHN WALMSLEY, of Baxenden, near Accrington, in the County
of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of October, in the year of our Lord,
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us
the said James Bullough and John Walmsley, Her special license that we,
the said James Bullough and John Walmsley, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said James Bullough and John
Walmsley, our 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that we, the said James Bullough and John
Walmsley, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
our, or their, or one of our or their hands and seals, 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 we, the said James Bullough and John Walmsley
do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the

page_text: same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement (that is to say)
:-
Our Invention consists, firstly, of an improved arrangement of mechanism
or apparatus for stopping the loom when the shuttle after being delivered from
one shuttle box fails to traverse to the other. We fix to the ordinary stop rod
a number of fingers, which pass through holes in the slay bottom, and enter
the angle of the shed. When the shuttle is not lodged, the said fingers
advance towards and reçede from the reed alternately as the slay moves back-
wards and forwards, and the stop rod finger is raised to prevent contact with
the frog, but if the shuttle is lodged in the shed it will come in contact with
one or more of the fingers, and prevent them advancing towards the reed, and
thus cause the stop rod finger to be depressed so as to come in contact with
the frog, and stop the loom.
Secondly, in the employment of a short shuttle guard at the side or front
of the shuttle box, for the purpose of putting in and taking out the shuttle
without interfering with the warp.
And, thirdly, in fixing upon the shuttle race of the slay a number of pins or
studs parallel with the reed, but at such distance from it as to allow the
shuttle to pass, and at the same time keep it in a direct course.
The manner in which our Invention is to be performed will be clearly
understood by referring to the figures and letters on the accompanying two
Sheets of Drawings, in which Figs. 1 and 2 are transverse vertical sections;
Fig. 3 a front elevation, and Figs. 4 and 5 plans of parts of a loom to which
the first and second parts of our Invention are attached; and Fig. 6 is a front
view of part of the slay, shewing the fixed studs or pius for keeping the shuttle
in a direct course, which forms the third part of our Invention, Figs. 1 and 2
being drawn about half-size, and Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 about quarter size.
In one or other of the aforesaid Figures a represents part of one of the end
frames of a loom; b, the breast beam; c, the slay or slay bottom; d, the slay
sword; e, the slay cap; f, the swing rail; g, the reed; h, the shuttle; i the
stop rod; j, the stop rod finger or catch; and k, the frog. In order to stop
the loom when the shuttle is lodged in the shed, we fix to the stop rod i a
number of straight fingers 7, and pass them through holes m in the slay
bottom, and also two bent fingers n, which pass over the front of the slay, so
that they can be adjusted to the width of the warp, and afterwards fixed by
screws. The tops of all the fingers, with the exception of the two bent fingers,
which are the outside ones, enter the angle o of the shed, and move forwards
and backwards by means of the following arrangement:-To the back of the
stop rod is fixed the lever p, carrying the antifriction bowl 9, underneath

page_text: which, and in line with it, is the curved bracket or cam 1, fixed to the
brackets on the end frame of the loom. The upper surface of the cam or
curve is a segment of a circle, the centre of which is the centre of the swing
rail f, and the said upper surface is placed at such a height or position that
the bowl q shall, as the slay moves back, come in contact with it and press
the fingers from the reed, so as to give space for the shuttle to pass. To the
lever p, or to a strap or chain attached to the stop rod, is connected one end
of the spring t, the other end of which is held by the knob u, fixed to the slay
sword, so that the spring by its contracting force shall pull down the lever p
press the fingers towards the reed, and raise the stop-rod finger unless
prevented from so doing. Thus when the shuttle traverses from one box to
the other without interruption, the fingers land m, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, vibrate
to and fro by the alternate action of the cam and spring as the slay moves
backwards and forwards, the fingers being moved to their greatest distance
from the reed, so as to allow the shuttle to pass before the latter is operated
upon by the picker. In Fig. 2 the slay is supposed to be moving towards the
back centre, and the bowl has come in contact with the cam and travelling
over its surface, the effect of which is to remove the fingers from the reed, and
allow the shuttle to pass; and when, as in Fig. 1, the crank has turned the
back centre, and the slay advanced so far forward that the bowl has left the
surface of the cam, if the shuttle has not lodged in the shed, the spring will
press the fingers towards the reed and raise the stop-rod finger, as shewn by
the dotted lines, out of the way of the frog, and prevent the stoppage of the
loom. But when the slay is advancing towards the beat-up, if the shuttle
happens to be lodged in any part of the angle of the shed, it will hold the
fingers, and overcome the force of the spring, thereby keeping down the stop
rod finger, so that it may come in contact with the frog and stop the loom,
which positions are shewn by the full lines in Fig. 1. These arrangements
are of so few parts and so simple in their nature, that the changes can be
worked with great speed, and thus enable a loom to make more picks in a
minute with greater ease than any other fast-reed stop rod loom; and it will
be seen that the fingers not only detect the presence of the shuttle in the
shel, but also prevent the shuttle from flying off the shuttle race in a sideways
direction.
The second part of our improvements, represented in Figs. 3, 4, and 5,
consists in placing a short shuttle guard at the side or front of the shuttle box,
in order to put in and take out the shuttle without inconvenience. The guard
is shewn at a¹; it is made short and formed at one end with a hole, so that it
can work upon a pin or centre 61; the other end is bent forward, and is in

page_text: contact with a spring c¹ of sufficient strength to press the guard inwards, as
shewn in Fig. 5, for holding the shuttle, and yet be readily overcome, so that
the guard can be pulled outwards, as shewn in Fig. 4, to take out and put in
the shuttle.
The third part of our improvements is shewn in Fig. 6; it consists in fixing
to the shuttle race of the slay c a number of pins or studs d¹, running parallel
with the reed, and having their tops entering the angle of the shed, which pins
are for the purpose of keeping the shuttle in a direct course, there being just
sufficient space to allow the shuttle to pass; this arrangement is intended to
be applied to looms of an ordinary construction, having no motion for stopping
the loom when the shuttle is lodged in the shed.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, we desire it to be distinctly understood
that we claim as our Invention, and which to the best of our knowledge and
belief has not been hitherto used within the realm, the improvements in looms,
as herein described, and illustrated in the accompanying two Sheets of
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Walmsley, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named John Walmsley, in
the presence of
E. J. HUGHES, Patent Agent,
Manchester.
JOHN WALMSLEY. (L.S.)