Improvements in Stop Motions for Looms.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 30th May, 1892
Complete Specification Left, 28th Feb., 1893-Accepted, 1st Apr., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Stop Motions for Looms.
I THOMAS PILKINGTON YOUNG of Red Bank Mills, Radcliffe, in the County
of Lancaster, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My said invention has reference to improvements in looms for weaving and
having two or more shuttle boxes. such for example as the well known drop box
looms.
My invention is particularly applicable to drop box looms in which the boxes are
raised and lowered by excentrics or cams, but is not confined to looms of this type.
The object of my invention is to stop the weaving operation as soon as the
weft breaks or fails and to stop it in such a manner that immediately upon the
breakage of the weft the weaving is at a stand-still, although the mechanism of
the loom may not immediately cease its motion.
1
Thus the weaving is stopped upon the pick of the weft which gives way and as
the taking-up 'motion and the action of the cards are almost instantaneously and
simultaneously stopped it is never necessary to turn back the loom or the card
barrel as is at present the case. For the purposes of my invention I employ the
usual weft fork and rocking lever which are at present used to detect broken weft
and stop the loom.
:
The lever and means for shutting off the strap fork and for applying the brake,
are also retained by me but in addition I employ a lock trigger which drops and
holds the lever when moved over to stop the loom. In front of the loom I arrange
a rod extending from end to end and having at one end a finger capable of being
moved by the stopping lever and at the other end a perpendicular lever lying
close to the end frame of the loom.
Through a projecting foot on this lever I thread the wires or struts which are
hinged to the slipper levers or bearers which either permit or prevent the ratchet
hooks from engaging with the teeth of the gear which moves the excentrics as is
well understood. The said wires or struts come beneath the tails of the horizontally
pivotted levers which are operated from the cards in the well. known manner.
When the said horizontally pivotted levers are not moved by the cards then the
slipper levers remain also unmoved and bear up the hooks so that no movement
of the excentric takes place. On the other hand if the horizontally pivotted levers
are moved the slipper levers are also depressed thereby allowing the hook ratchet
pawls to engage with the teeth and turn the excentrics so,as to lift or lower the
shuttle box. By means of the lever on the cross rod of which I have already
spoken the wires or struts are moved out of the reach of the horizontally pivotte
levers when the weft breaks thereby interrupting the connection and preventing the
depression of the slipper levers and consequently the turning of the excentrics.
Thus when the weft is broken it is not possible for the shuttle box to be operated.
Further, to prevent the rotation of the card barrel when the weft breaks or fails
the same movement of the lever which deflects the aforesaid wires or struts also
throws apart the pendant pawls which hang on each side of the ratchet wheel on
the axis of the card barrel, and by keeping the pawls clear of the ratchet teeth put
a stop to further rotation of the card barrel. The taking-up motion is at the same
5 time stopped by the operation of a part which raises the pawl engaging with the
ratchet wheel on the end of the taking up roller or gear connected therewith.
When the complete arrangement is in operation the weft, so long as it is
unbroken keeps the weft fork up and prevents the tail from. catching on the
vibrating lever. But when the weft breaks the fork falls and is caught by the
lever thereby pulling over and locking the stop lever, and stopping and braking
3.1.

page_text: the loom. The stop lever as it is moved strikes the finger on the end of the rod
and slightly turns the rod. As a result the lever at the other end of the rod is
operated and the movements I have described are thereupon effected. The struts
or wires from the slipper levers are deflected out of the reach of the horizontal
levers so that the slipper levers are unmoved and keep the hooks from turning the
excentrics, and at the same time the pendant pawls which turn the card barrel are
thrown apart so that the card barrel remains stationary. At the same time the
taking-up mechanism is stopped by the raising of the pawl which actuates
it. Thus the whole of the parts which directly affect the weaving are brought to
an instant stand-still so that when the shuttle is re-started it is not necessary to
turn the loom or card barrel back.
Although I have indicated what I consider to be a useful and practicable method
of interrupting the connection between the card barrel and the excentrics or cams
for operating the shuttle boxes I do not limit myself to this arrangement. For
example I might cause the side lever to operate an inclined, slide which would lift
the hooks clear of the excentric ratchets or I might employ an excentric which
would have the same effect. The principle and gist of my invention lies chiefly in
the adoption of convenient means such as described or the equivalents of the
described means whereby on the breakage or failure of the weft I can instan-
taneously interrupt the connection and put a stop to the operation of the mechanism
for operating the cards, for moving the shuttle boxes and for turning the taking-up
motion. There is thus no necessity for turning back the loom or the card barrel
as is always the case under existing circumstances.
The operation of re-starting the loom returns all of the aforesaid parts to their
original and normal position.
Dated this 28th day of May 1892.
E. K. DUTTON & Co.,
5, John Dalton Street, Manchester, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Stop Motions for Looms.
I THOMAS PILKINGTON YOUNG of Red Bank Mills, Radcliffe, in the County
of Lancaster, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement and accompanying drawings :-
:-
My said invention has reference to improvements in looms for weaving and
having two or more shuttle boxes such for example as the well known drop box
looms.
My invention is particularly applicable to drop box looms in which the boxes are
raised and lowered by excentrics or cams, but is not confined to looms of this type.
The object of my invention is to stop the weaving operation as soon as the weft
breaks or fails and to stop it in such a manner that immediately upon the breakage
of the weft the weaving is at a stand-still, although the mechanism of the loom
may not immediately cease its motion. Thus the weaving is stopped upon the pick
of the weft which gives way and as the taking-up motion and the action of the
cards are almost instantaneously and simultaneously stopped it is never necessary
to turn back the loom or the card barrel as is at present the case. For the
purposes of my invention I employ the usual weft fork and rocking lever which are
at present used to detect broken weft and stop the loom. The lever and means for
shutting off the strap fork and for applying the brake are also retained by me but
in addition I employ a lock trigger which drops and holds the lever when moved
over to stop the loom. In front of the loom 1 arrange a rod extending from end
to end and having at one end a finger capable of being moved by the stopping
lever and at the other end a perpendicular lever lying close to the end frame of
the loom.

page_text: Through a projecting foot on this lever I thread the wires or struts which are
hinged to the slipper levers or bearers which either permit or prevent the ratchet
hooks from engaging with the teeth or pegs of the gear which moves the excentrics
as is well understood. The said wires or struts come beneath the tails of the
horizontally pivotted levers which are operated from the cards in the well known
manner. When the said horizontally pivotted levers are not moved by the cards
then the slipper levers remain also unmoved and bear up the hooks so that no
movement of the excentric takes place. On the other hand if the horizontally
pivotted levers are moved the slipper levers are also depressed thereby allowing
the hook ratchet pawls to engage with the teeth or pegs and turn the excentrics so
as to lift or lower the shuttle box. By means of the lever on the cross rod of
which I have already spoken the wires or struts are moved out of the reach of the
horizontally pivotted levers when the weft breaks thereby interrupting the
connection and preventing the depression of the slipper levers and consequently
the turning of the excentrics. Thus when the weft is broken it is not possible for
the shuttle box to be operated. Further, to prevent the rotation of the card barrel
when the weft breaks or fails the same movement of the lever which deflects the
aforesaid wires or struts also throws apart the pendant pawls which hang on each
side of the ratchet wheel on the axis of the card barrel, and by keeping the pawls
clear of the ratchet teeth put a stop to further rotation of the card barrel. The
taking-up motion is at the same time stopped by the operation of a part which
raises the pawl engaging with the ratchet wheel on the end of the taking-up roller
or gear connected therewith.
When the complete arrangement is in operation the weft, so long as it is unbroken
keeps the weft fork up and prevents the tail from catching on the vibrating lever.
But when the weft breaks the fork falls and is caught by the lever thereby pulling
over and locking the stop lever, and stopping and braking the loon. The stop
lever as it is moved strikes the finger on the end of the rod and slightly turns the
rod. As a result the lever at the other end of the rod is operated and the
movements I have described are thereupon effected. The struts or wires from
the slipper levers are deflected out of the reach of the horizontal levers so that
the slipper levers are unmoved and keep the hooks from turning the excentrics and
simultaneously the pendant pawls which turn the card barrel are thrown apart so
that the card barrel remains stationary. At the same time the taking-up
mechanism is stopped by the raising of the pawl which actuates it. Thus the
whole of the parts which directly affect the weaving are brought to an instant
stand-still so that when the shuttle is re-started it is not necessary to turn the loom
or card barrel back. Although I have indicated what I consider to be a useful and
practical method of interrupting the connection between the card barrel and the
excentrics or cams for operating the shuttle boxes I do not limit myself to this
arrangement. For example I might cause the side lever to operate a slide which
would lift the hooks clear of the excentric ratchets or I might employ an excentric
which would have the same effect. The principle and gist of my invention lies
chiefly in the adoption of means such as described or substantially the equivalents
of the described means whereby on the breakage or failure of the weft I can
instantaneously interrupt the connection and put a stop to the operation of the
mechanism for operating the cards, for moving the shuttle boxes and for turning
the taking-up motion. There is thus no necessity for turning back the loom or the
card barrel as is always the case under existing circumstances.
The operation of re-starting the loom returns all of the aforesaid parts to their
original and normal positions.
To render my invention perfectly clear and more easily understood I will now
enter upon a thorough and detailed description of the same with the assistance of
the annexed sheet of illustrative drawings
Fig. 1 is an end view of a drop-box loom fitted with the parts comprising my
invention.
Fig. 2 is a similar end view further elucidating the parts shown in Fig. 1 and

page_text: :
also, indicating a mouincation in the means for arresting
shuttle box excentric.
Fig. 3 is a plan view of the front of the loom.
Fig. 4 is a front elevation of one of the end frames of the loom shown in Fig. 2
and showing also the parts acting upon the gear to turn the shuttle box excentric.
Fig. 5 shows a slight variation in the mode of raising the hooks clear of the pegs
in the driving wheel of the excentric gear.
In my Provisional Specification and in the preliminary portion of the present
Complete Specification I refer first of all to movable struts as means for inter-
rupting the connection between the card barrel and the shuttle box excentric.
These struts will be described with reference to Fig. 2 as the modification shown
in Fig. 1 is the arrangement I now consider to be the most satisfactory.
Referring in the first place to Fig. 1, a is the usual and ordinary weft fork
pivotted at a. The sley pivotted at vibrates to and fro as is well known and
carries the drop shuttle box c. The arm d operated from a cam d¹ in the ordinary
As the sley
manner presents a ledge d² to the turned down tail of the weft fork a.
beats up the last made pick of weft the fork a is moved by the weft so as to turn
a little on its pivot and thus lift its tail clear of the vibrating arm d. So long as
this is done, the arm d does not interfere with the weft fork, but if the weft should
fail, the fork is not tilted and the arm d catching the tail carries the fork a with it.
The rod e upon which the fork is pivotted extends and is secured to the end of the
stop leverf Consequently when the fork is drawn back, the lever is moved so
as to shift the strap fork and brake and stop the loom. At the same time the
lever strikes upon another lever g, upon a shaft g' which extends beneath the
breast beam (see Fig. 3) and is furnished at the other end with a lever g² (sec
Fig. 1) which lifts the vibrating pawl g³ clear of the teeth of the ratchet wheel g
and thus stops the rotation of the taking up rollers. All of the foregoing parts
and operations are old and are not in themselves a portion of my invention. I have
only referred to them for the purpose of rendering the operation of the parts which
constitute my invention more clear.
The
In front of the loom I arrange a rod h extending from end to end and carried in
brackets h' h¹. At the driving end of the loom the rod h carries a lever h² the
bent end of which lies in the path of the lever f. The other end of the rod
carries another side lever the lower end of which is connected by a link i to a
lever pivotted at j¹ and connected by a link to a similar lever j³ pivotted at j*.
The top of the lever ; carries a plate k through which pass loosely the hook
needles. The said hook needles are connected at the foot to the ends of double
levers which are pivotted at 12, the other end of the levers being connected by
links to slipper plates m which are pivotted at m'. A spring m² extends between
the outer end of the slipper plate m and the foot of a fixed stay m³, the influence
of the spring tending to keep the slipper plate normally in the position shown in
the drawings. In this position the upper edge of the plate is on a line with one
of the pegs 1, 2, 3, 4 which project between the toothed wheels n.
said pegs are intended to be caught at times by the hook o which vibrates
to and fro, the said vibration being produced by the revolving crank p on
the end of the main or other shaft p of the loom. When a peg is caught
by the hook the wheel n makes a quarter of a turn, and as the wheel n gears
with a smaller toothed pinion on the axis of the excentric q the result of this
quarter turn is that the excentric makes half a revolution, raising or lowering
the drop shuttle box c which is connected to the excentric by the connecting
link r.
Thus each occasion upon which the hook o is permitted to engage with a
peg, results in a change of the shuttle. As shown in the drawing the position of
the slipper plate m is such that the hook o cannot catch the peg but slides idly upon
the upper edge of the plate m and over the peg without operating it. But if the
slipper plate is lowered it is evident the hook o will then be able to catch one of
the pegs and revolve the wheel n. This lowering of the slipper plate is effected at
times by the action of the knife t2 which catches the needle hooks when the

page_text: said needle hooks are in the position shown in full lines in the drawing. The card
barrels is carried by the levers s' and those levers with the card barrel are
vibrated up and down by means of the lever s² which is rocked by the crank p, a
pin at the end of the hook lever o playing up and down in a slot in the foot of the
lever s². The levers t which carry the knife r turn loosely on their axis and are
sustained in the indicated position by a stop. An adjustable stud t¹ in the lever t
comes opposite to pegs or holes in the card barrel s. As the card barrel rises, if a
peg meets the stud t! the levers t are raised and the knife t2 being thus lifted takes
with it the needle hook and thus depresses the slipper m so that when the hook o
makes its next forward stroke it catches one of the pins 1, 2, 3, 4 and moves the
wheel and excentric so as to change the shuttle. On the other hand if the stud 11
on the lever t comes opposite to a hole or blank in the card barrel instead of a peg
then the levers t are not lifted, the knife * remains stationary and the slipper
plate being undisturbed, holds up and prevents the hook o from engaging with the
pins 1, 2, 3, 4. Thus the shuttle box remains unchanged.
So long as the weft remains intact the loom continues to work without inter-
ruption, but if the weft should break, then the weft fork a being no longer upheld
caught by the arm d and pulled forward so as to shift the stop lever f, throw
the driving strap upon the loose pully and stop the action of the taking-up motion
as hereinbefore described. At the same time the rod. is turned and the lever
is moved so as to throw the levers j and j³ apart and thus carry the pawl hooks v v
clear of the ratchet on the card barrel axis. This brings the rotation of the card
barrel to an instant stop. As the lever j is thrown outward it carries with it the
plate through which the hook needles pass, and thus carries the needles clear of
the lifting knife t² which might perhaps vibrate several times before the loom is
brought to a full stop. Thus the mechanism for shifting the drop box is also
instantaneously thrown out of gear so that no change either in the card barrel or
in the shuttle box can take place after the weft breaks. As the taking up motion
is also at the same time thrown out of gear by the means already described it will
be evident, that although the loom is not brought to an immediate stand no actual
change takes place in the essential weaving parts after the weft breaks; ie, the
taking up motion is at once stopped the shuttle box remains unchanged and the
rotation of the card barrel is arrested. As a result of these prompt measures
nothing is done which requires to be undone and the loom does not require to be
turned back so as to get the parts again into the position they held at the moment
the weft broke. All that is necessary is to piece up or renew the weft and start
afresh.
:
In Fig. 2 I have illustrated a modification of the arrangement shown in Fig. 1.
In this modification I break the connection between the card barrel and the
slipper plate, close up to the slipper plate instead of close up to the card barrel as
in the former instance. In other respects the arrangements are almost identical.
The double lever instead of being connected by a link to the slipper plate m
as in Fig. 1 is formed at the outer end with a flat surface which comes opposite to
a hinged strut to which passes through a plate w¹ just as the hook needles / do in
Fig. 1. This plate is fixed to an extension of the side lever h³ and the intention
is that when the weft breaks and the side lever ³ is moved as already described
the strut w will be pushed into the dotted position out of the path of the double
lever . The needles are pivotted direct to the free end of the levers t.
During the ordinary working of the loom when the card barrel lifts these levers,
the flat end of the double lever presses on the perpendicular strut w and depresses
the slipper plate m thus allowing the hook o (not shown in Fig. 2) to engage with
one of the pegs on the wheel n as already described with reference to Fig. 1, so as
to move the shuttle box. The levers which operate the pawl hooks vv for
rotating the card barrel are thrown apart by the means and in the manner already
described with reference to Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 shows an auxiliary arrangement I might use in conjunction with the
slipper plate and illustrates another mode of breaking connection between the card

page_text: barrel and the shuttle box excentric when the weft breaks. For example in Fig. 1
I break.the connection close to the card barrel, by shifting the needle hook out of
reach of the knife. In Fig. 2 I break the connection close to the slipper plate by
deflecting the hinged strut w. In the present instance I break the connection by
lifting the reciprocating hook o quite clear of the pins 1, 2, 3, 4. As shown in the
drawing the arm of the hook o is passed through a stirrup which is pendant from
..a pivotted bell crank lever y. This bell crank lever y is connected by a rod z to
the foot of the side lever ³. When the side lever h³ is moved slightly forward on
the breaking of the weft as described, the bell crank lever lifts the hook o clear
of the pins. This suspending stirrup may be used in conjunction with the slipper
plate and in such a case the slipper plate may be connected without a break to the
.lever t.
$
I have therefore shown and described three different methods of interrupting the
connection between the card barrel and the mechanism for operating the shuttle
box gear. I am however well aware that capable mechanicians might by varying
the details of my invention arrange other modes of interrupting the said connection
so that I do not confine myself strictly to the disposition of parts set down knowing
that modifications therein might be made without departing from the spirit of my
invention. For example it will be clear that instead of the stirrup last described,
the side lever h³ might be caused to move an inclined body or wedge backward and
forward and so depress or raise the hooks o clear of or into gear with the
pins 1, 2, 3, 4 or the said lever might be utilised to turn an excentric or cam upon
which the hooks o would rest and so be raised up or down.
When the weft breaks and the hereinbefore described arrangements of mechanism
have come into operation so as to instantaneously arrest the movement of the card
barrel the changing of the shuttle box and the turning of the taking-up motion, the
continued working of the loom under its remaining momentum has no effect upon
the actual weaving parts, these being all arrested on the very pick which has failed.
Therefore there is no need for turning back the loom or the card barrel as is always
the case under existing circumstances.
The act of re-starting the loom returns all of the aforesaid parts to their original
and normal position.
Although I have described my invention as applied to a drop box loom in which
the boxes are raised and lowered by excentrics I do not confine the application of
my invention to looms of this type. The changes in detail which would be necessary
in applying the invention to other types of looms will be obvious to practical
weavers.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
'claim is :-
1. The general arrangement construction and combination of parts comprising
the improved stop motion for drop box looms substantially as described and
shown.
: 2. As a stop motion for drop box looms the arrangements of parts described with
reference to Figs. 1 and 2 or any mere modifications or substantial equivalents of
such arrangements, whereby on the failure of the weft, the hooks or other means
for operating the shuttle box gear are immediately sustained clear of the driving
pins or catches and thus any further movement of the shuttle box prevented as
.hereinbefore described and illustrated.
:
3. In stop motions for drop box looms, the means for arresting the rotation of the
card barrel immediately upon the breakage or failure of a weft pick, said means
being operated from the weft fork in the manner and substantially as hereinbefore
described and shown.
4. In stop motions for drop box looms the combination of the means for arresting
the movements of the shuttle box with the means for arresting the rotation of the
.card barrel substantially as described and shown.
2

page_text: 5. In drop box looms interrupting the connection between the card barrel and
the mechanism for operating the shuttle boxes, either by actual interruption of the
connecting parts as for example in Figs. 1 and 2 or by the application of auxiliary
means for effecting the interruption as shown for example in Fig. 5 and as referred
to in the Specification.
Dated this 27th day of February 1893.
E. K. DUTTON & Co.,
5, John Dalton Street, Manchester, Agents.