CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
CARR, of Blackburn, in the County of Lancaster, 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 West-
minster, the Third day of July, in the eleventh year of Her reign, and in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said John Carr,
Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said
John Carr, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and such others as I,
the said John Carr, my executors, administrators, 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, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
my. Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING;" in such said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said John Carr, shall cause
a particular description of the nature of my 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Carr, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in, which the same is to be performed, is particularly described and

page_text: ascertained in and by the Drawings hereto annexed, and the following
explanation thereof (that is to say) :-
My improvements in looms for weaving apply solely to power looms, and
consist, Firstly, in a certain novel method of stopping the vibration of the
lathe, or slay whenever the shuttle stops in the shed, or does not complete its
race from one shuttle box to the other; the principal novelty consisting in the
slay alone being suddenly stopped, whilst the other working parts are allowed
to expend their momentum without causing any injury to the cloth. The
several parts of the loom also will be less liable to breakage than if the whole
were suddenly stopped, as has been the case heretofore. Secondly, in the method
of stopping the vibration of the " slay" and crank arms whenever the shuttle
stops in the shed of the warps. Thirdly, in the method of stopping the vibra-
tion of the slay and crank arms and the revolution of the crank shaft whenever
the shuttle does not complete its race. Fourthly, in a certain novel method
of advancing the cloth, and at the same time slackening the warp threads,
whenever the shuttle does not complete its race from one shuttle box to the
other, thereby preventing the necessity of stopping the loom suddenly, and also
the injury which would otherwise occur to the warp threads by the reed
beating-up" with the shuttle in the shed. Fifthly, in the application of a
lining of caoutchouc, or other similarly elastic substance, to the ordinary or any
other break employed for the purpose of stopping a loom. And sixthly, in
applying the balance or fly wheel to the tappet shaft instead of the crank shaft,
as heretofore, whereby I obtain the momentum required for overcoming the
pick" without transmitting the same through the crank wheel and tappet
wheel, thereby greatly diminishing the wear and tear of the teeth of the said
wheels.
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In order better to explain the application of my several improvements,
together with the method of carrying the same into practical effect, I have
attached to these Presents a Sheet of Drawings exemplifying the four first-
named improvements, the fifth and sixth parts being so evident as to require
no further illustration. The Drawing is made to a scale of about one inch and
a half to a foot, and has figures and letters of reference marked thereon
corresponding with those in the following description thereof; and for the sake
of distinction, the novel parts of the mechanism are shaded with color, the
ordinary arrangements being drawn in outline to shew their application.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of part of a power loom, shewing the application of
the first part of my improvements thereto; and Fig. 2 is a back view of one of
the slay swords. a, a, is the side framing of the loom; and 6 is the crank
shaft; c is the slay sword; and d, the crank arm, which is usually attached to

page_text: the slay sword by a stud or pin, but which I fix by a pin to a lever e, which
vibrates upon a stud at f, the slay sword being "jawed," to allow of the lever e
passing through it. There is a slot or notch in the top of the lever e, and also
a corresponding notch or groove in the jaws of the slay sword. 9 is a rod
(capable of sliding in the brackets h, h,) which has a cotter or key i projecting
on one side, and fitting into the grooves or notches in the slay sword and the
lever e, thus locking them together when the loom is at work; the rod 9 also
has a projection k on the opposite side, by which it is raised by means of the
lever l. This lever vibrates upon a pin or stud fixed to the framing, and is
connected to the common sliding "frog" mat n. The sliding "frog" mis
connected to the strap fork as usual, and is acted upon by the " stop-rod
finger" o, and "chisel "
P, in the usual manner. It will therefore be evident
that whenever the shuttle does not complete its race from one shuttle box to
the other, the stop-rod chisel p will fall into the position shewn in the Draw-
ing, and the "frog" will be slidden forwards so as to disengage the strap fork
and stop the vibration of the slay; at the same time the sliding of the frog will,.
by means of the lever 1, raise the rod g, and lift the cotter or key i clear of the
notch in the lever e, thus allowing that lever to pass through the slay sword,
and the several parts of the loom, except the slay, to proceed, until their
momentum is spent. Although the above description refers merely to. one
side of the loom, of course it will be evident that the other side requires the
same arrangements.
Figure 3 is a side elevation of part of a loom, with the second part of my
improvements attached thereto. a, b, c, d, are the framing, crank shaft, slay:
sword, and crank arm, as in Figure 1. On the sweep of the crank I place an
excentric ring e (see also front view, Fig. 4), by means of the pedestal f;
in which the crank is allowed to turn loosely. The clip g, which embraces
the excentric, is attached to the crank arm d at h. The clip g and excentric e
are held fast together when the loom is at work by the rod i, which slides at.
its upper end in a boss cast to the cap of the pedestal f, and at its lower
end passes through a boss cast inside the ring e, and projects through the
clip g. The rod i has a cross piece (see plan view, Figure 5,) firmly fixe:l
upon it, to which is attached a piece 7, projecting downwards; below the
excentric m is a lever (see also plan view, Figure 6,) fixed by a stud to the
framing, and connected to the sliding frog by the link n. It will be evident
that when the shuttle does not complete its race from one shuttle box to the
other, the frog will be slidden forward, and cause the lever m, by coming in
contact with the piece l, to lift the cross: piece k and rod i until the latter is
clear of the clip g, (thus releasing the excéntric e from the clip g), and the

page_text: former embraces the body, of the crank shaft, thus locking, the excentric and
the crank shaft together. But as the excentricity of the ring e is equal to the
length of sweep of the crank, then the ring ewill revolve.in the clip g con-
centric with the crank shaft, and thus impart no motion to the crank arms
or slay. It will be evident that both sides of the. loom require the 'samė
arrangement.
Figure 7 is a side elevation of part of a power loom, with the third part
of my improvements applied thereto; and Figure 8 is a side view of part of
the crank shaft and driving pulleys. a is the framing; b, the crank. shaft;
c, the crank arm; and d, the slay sword; e is the loose pulley, which is placed
loosely, as usual, upon the crank shaft; f is the fast or driving pulley, which
is keyed fast upon the boss of the crank wheel g. The crank wheel g is loose
upon the shaft b, and has a staple h (see Figure 9), cast of one piece with it.
i is a lock, keyed fast upon the crank shaft (see Figure 10); k is a bolt
fitting accurately in its place in the lock i (see Figure 11), and its projecting
pieces and m (see Figures 12 and 13) fit into the spaces o and p in the
staple h. The projecting pieces and m are made slightly taper, so as to
prevent the bolt from being put in the wrong way, and also causes it to fit the
staple close, although it may wear slightly. The spring n (see Figures 10 and
11) keeps the bolt in its place, and always presses it downwards as far as
it will go, the spring acting against. an incline made on the bolt for that
purpose. It will be seen from the above description that the crank shaft
receives its motion by means of the bolt. q is a lever fixed upon a stud in the
framing, and connected to the sliding frog r by the link S. This lever lifts the
bolt k of the lock i, by coming into contact with the projecting piece t at the
back thereof.. When the shuttle does not complete its race from one shuttle
box to the other, the frog r is slidden forwards, thereby causing the lever q to
lift the bolt k until the projecting piece m is clear on the inside, and the pro-
jecting piece is clear on the outside of the staple h, thus disengaging the
crank shaft, by which means the crank shaft, crank arms, and slay alone are
suddenly stopped. I also further reduce the shock occasioned by the stoppage
of these by placing a piece of caoutchouc, or other similar elastic substance,
between the frog and the framing of the loom.
L
Figure 14 is a section of part of a power loom, shewing the application of the
fourth part of my improvements. a, a, represents the main framing of a power
loom; b, the lathe or slay, with its stop rod and finger; c, the crank shaft ;
d, the crank arms; and e, the yarn beam; ƒ and g ȧre the beams for taking up
the cloth as it is woven;. these are the same as in the ordinary loom. h is the
breast beam, usually bolted to the framing, but which I fix on two levers i, i, one

page_text: at each end. The levers I fix on studs k, k, which are bolted to the framing.
The breast beam will swivel forward on these studs, but is prevented from
going back any further than its proper place by projections at each end fixed
into the framing. is a rod or bar extending across the loom, which I fix to
the framing, just above the yarn beam; this rod is about one inch diameter,
and I make it to turn freely in its bearings. On this rod I place loosely two
swivels, one of which is marked m, and is seen in Figure 14, the other being at
the other side of the loom, it is not shewn. These swivels carry at their upper,
ends what is usually called the back bearer, and which, for reference, I have
marked n. o is a rod connecting one of the swivels with one of the levers i
which carry the breast beam, the other swivel and lever being similarly con-
nected. The back bearer n is turned smaller at each end, to fit in the circular
slots in the brackets p; the circular slots in the brackets p are the segments of
a circle, of which the rod is the centre. 9 is a notched cotter (see side view,
Figure 15,) for holding the back bearer in its place; it passes betwixt the
framing and the bracket p, the bracket p being set off from the framing for.
that purpose. The cotter slides in a bracket r, fixed to the framing at its
upper end, and rests on a projecting piece cast on the bracket p. At its lower
end it is provided with a slot, by which it is lifted by the pin or stud in the
lever S. The lever S is keyed fast on the rod l. t is a rod passing on the
outside of the framing; it is attached at one end to one of the levers that carry
the breast beam, and at the other to the lever u, which is keyed fast on the rod
1, and has a projecting piece v, with which the stop-rod chisel comes in contact
when the shuttle does not complete its race from one shuttle box to the other..
Now, if the shuttle does not complete its race from one shuttle box to the
other, so as to lift the stop rod clear of the projecting piece v, the rod t will be
slidden forward, causing the lever S to lift the cotter until the end of the back
bearer can pass below the notch. The rod t has a slot at that end which is
fixed to the breast beam lever, to allow it to slide until the back bearer is clear
of the cotter, and it then comes in contact with the lever and brings the breast.
beam forward, bringing also the back bearer n along the slot in the bracket p,
thus bringing the cloth forward, so that the lathe or slay can beat up with the.
shuttle in the shed without breaking any of the yarn. The parts here shewn
and described are only what are required for one side of the loom, the other
side requiring the same arrangement, except the rod t and the lever u, which
may either be attached to one or both sides, as preferred. The brackets p can
be moved in the slots in the framing, and the brackets that bear the rod / are
provided with the slots, so that they can be set to give any required amount of

page_text: shuttle room.
The studs fixed in the swivels m, and those fixed on the breast
beam levers, are made moveable, so that they can be adjusted until the one
will slack the yarn as the other takes it up, and thereby keep the yarn at a
uniform tension.
any
In the fifth part of my improvements I place a lining of caoutchouc, or
other similar elastic substance, betwixt the break and the leather, paper,
or other substance which has been hitherto employed; or the caoutchouc, or
other elastic substance, may be used alone. The advantage that I gain by
applying an elastic lining are these:-First, a break so lined is more flexible,
which causes it to bed better to the periphery of the wheel or pulley to which
it is applied, thereby giving the required friction with less strain of the parts.
Secondly, a break so lined, when suddenly brought into contact, does not give
so dead a shock, therefore it is itself less liable to break, and also less liable to
break the connecting parts. The latter advantage may be partially gained by
applying a piece of caoutchouc, or other elastic substance, to any of the parts
between the break and the power that brings the break into action; but I
prefer lining the break as above described.
In the sixth part of my improvements I place the fly wheel on the tappet
shaft in the place of the picking tappet, and fix the picking bowl to the fly
wheel, which has a slot in it for that purpose.
Having now described the nature and object of my said improvements,
together with the method of carrying the same into practical effect, I desire it
to be understood that I do not intend to confine myself to the peculiar form or
construction of apparatus shewn and described, so long as the peculiar character
of either part of my Invention be retained. But what I claim as my Inven-
tion is the several methods of preventing the injury that would occur to the
cloth by the lathe or slay beating up with the shuttle in the shed, that is
to say:-
Firstly, by suddenly stopping the lathe or slay alone, and allowing the other
working parts of the loom to proceed until their momentum is expended.
Secondly, by suddenly stopping the lathe or slay and crank arm, and allowing
the other working parts to proceed.
Thirdly, by suddenly stopping the slay, crank arms, and crank shaft, and
allowing the other working parts to proceed. (I also claim the method of
reducing the shock, by placing an elastic substance between the "frog" and
the loom framing.)
.
Fourthly, by bringing the cloth forward whenever the shuttle does not
complete its race from one shuttle box to the other.