CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER LOOMS
Year: 1849

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
KENWORTHY, of Blackburn, in the County of Lancaster, Cotton Spinner, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, 'bearing date at Westminster, the Thirty-first day of
January, One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine, in the twelfth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Kenworthy, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William
Kenworthy, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Kenworthy, my exors, adñors, 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, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER LOOMS;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso that I,. the said William Kenworthy, sball
cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said

page_text: in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being there-
unto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Kenworthy, have ascertained and set forth the nature of my Invention,
and the manner of carrying the same into effect, in and by the following
description thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:―
The first part of these improvements refers to that part of a loom which is
designated the "taking-up motion," or to that part of the machinery which coils
up the cloth as it is woven. Now to insure uniformity of texture, the taking-up
motion is made positive in its action, and therefore it will be manifest to all con-
versant with manufacturing, that every time the shuttle becomes exhausted of
weft it will be necessary to stop the motion of the loom, to prevent the coiling
up of the warp going on without weft. To effect the immediate stopping of the
loom, that is, to make a loom stop itself when the weft breaks or becomes
exhausted, has been the work of much labor and perseverance, and the
subject of several previous Patents granted to myself and partners; and
although this we have successfully accomplished, there is still a defect required
to be overcome, arising from the coiling up of the cloth going on for several
picks in the time between the weft being "first exhausted and the loom being
actually stopped. Therefore the cloth requires to be slightly recoiled, or the
taking-up motion reversed, in order to bring the verge of the fabric to the
same relative distance from the reed as it was at the time of the weft becoming
first absent. The imperfect mode hitherto adopted for effecting this desi-
deratum, by lifting off the taking-up catches, and thereby allowing the weight
on the warp beam to run back, the cloth is well known to the trade to be very
defective and objectionable, while my improvement effects a recoiling motion
by the constructions and novel application of an "escapement wheel," which,
with other suitable arrangements of machinery, dispenses entirely with the
necessity of lifting off the said catches, while at the same time a definite
amount of recoiling or reversing is most simply obtained without the taking-up
motion being subjected to that derangement consequent upon the catches
being required so repeated to be forced out of the ratchet wheel teeth by the
Weaver or otherwise.
The second part of my improvements refers to self-acting temples, which
as hitherto applied to looms that weave strong fabrics, are well known to
be defective in not keeping the selvages of the cloth sufficiently distended.
The novelty of this part of my improvements consists in the construction and
application of a compound temple, being a combination of the nipper or chop

page_text: temple with the wheel or roller temple, by which the breadth of the strongest
cloth may be uniformly maintained during the operation of weaving in a most
satisfactory manner.
Figure 1 represents a front clovation of my improved taking-up motion, in
connection with such portion of an ordinary power loom as is necessary to
render its application and modo of operation understood, and Figure 2 is a
side elevation of the same; and Figures 3 and 4 shew the apparatus detached,
Figure 3 being a side elevation of the escapement wheel on the opposite side
to that shewn in Figure 2, and Figure 4 shews a vertical section of the
escapement wheel. a, a, is a portion of the framing of the loom; 6 is the
ratchet wheel of the taking-up motion, on the back of which is cast a short
drum c, having an internal flange d, in the face of which, as also in the faco
of the wheel, are formed a number of equidistant slots f, f, the blank spaces be-
tween the slots in the flange standing opposite the middle of the slots in the face
of the ratchet wheel, and this constitutes the "escapement wheel." This wheel
is not fast upon its spindle g, but loose, so that the latter can revolve within it.
7 is a clutch fast upon the spindle, the sliding portion of which h¹ carries
a radial arm i, having at its extremity a small pin k, projecting equally on.
cach side of the arm, and in length somewhat exceeding the space between
the inner faces of the ratchet wheel and the inner face of the flange, so that
when the radial arm i is introduced into the said space (for which purposo.
a gap is made in the flange at m), the pin must always be in a slot
either in the flange or in the face of the ratchet wheel. On the outer
end of the ratchet spindle (9) is fixed a pinion n, which, by means of the
intermediate wheel o, and pinion p, and the wheel r, indicated by red
circles in Figure 2), gives motion to the taking-up beam. The clutch
levers is connected by a rod t to the spring lever v, which, when the
loom is running, stands in the position shewn, but when upon the weft
becoming exhausted, the motion of the loom is by any self-acting appa-
ratus suspended, the spring lever vis by the same means released from
its catch, and presses back the sliding clutch by means of the rod t, and
forces the pink from the slot in the flange into the opposite slot in the face.
of the ratchet wheel. This leaves the spindle of the ratchet wheel to recoil
through an arc equal to half the arc occupied by a slot and a space and the
weight upon the warp beam produces a positive amount of recoil, which is
regulated by the proportions of the intermediate gearing. When the shuttle
has been recharged with weft the spring lever is restored to its catch by the
weaver in setting the loom in motion by the ordinary spring v', and the pin k

page_text: being transferred to a slot in the flange, the escapement wheel again recoils to
the same extent as before. The spring lever, however, being independent of
the starting lever v³, by working the spring lever to and fro the taking-up
bean may be recoiled" any desired quantity.
.
Figures 5 and 6 shew a different construction of the escapement wheel in
lieu of slots. In the face of the wheel and flange of the drum a double
row of projections or teeth w, w, is formed upon the periphery of the drum,
the teeth in one row being raised opposite the spaces in the other row, and
their breadth being somewhat less than half the breadth of the drum. Between
these teeth moves a blade projecting from the radial arm i, and the breadth
of the blade being greater than the space between the two rows of teeth, the
blade must always be in contact with a tooth in one row or the other, so that
by shifting the blade from one row to the other a definite quantity of recoil is
obtained as in the former construction. The recoiling may also be effected
without any reference to the slots in the ratchet wheel by a simple modification
in the construction of the radial arm i, as shewn in Figures 7 and 8, where
the pins k work in the slots or spaces of the flange only. To effect the recoil
by this modification it is only necessary to set the pins at an angle in the
direction of the circumference of the flange, so that one pin may alternately
be in one space, while the other pin is in- the space. adjoining, which by the
motion the spring lever v, the radial arm will move from space to space and
produce the recoil as before.
Figures 9, 10, and 11 shew an arrangement for obtaining a definite or
positive recoil by means of a combination of bevelled wheels (similar to a
"reversing motion" of a lathe) in lieu of an cscapement wheel." is the
ratchet wheel fixed upon its shaft, and y, y, are two reversed bevilled wheels
sliding together upon the ratchet shaft, so that either of them can be thrown
into gear with the wheel z, on the spindle of which is fixed an endless
screw, that geers into a worm wheel fixed upon the taking-up beam.
The distance between the wheels y, y, is such that the wheel is always
engaged with one or other of the wheels, and the spaces between the
teeth are considerably wider than the thickness of the teeth, and the
wheels are so placed in respect of cach other that when a tooth of the
wheel is in contact with a tooth in one of the wheels y the opposite
tooth of shall stand midway between two teeth in the opposite wheel y,
so that when one wheel y is thrown out of, and the opposite one is thrown
into, gear with the wheel z, a reverse motion takes place, from which
any desirable quantity of recoil may be obtained in the taking-up
2

page_text: beam. The reversing or recoiling may also be effected by spur and
internal wheels instead of bevelled wheels as herein shewn, an application
which is well known to practical men to be but another modification of
mechanical arrangement for effecting a reversing motion. In this case, how-
ever, as in the preceding, the spaces between the teeth should be much wider
than the thickness of the teeth; the lateral distance between the two wheels
should be less than the breadth of the intermediate pinion, and when a tooth
of the pinion is in contact with a tooth of the external wheel the opposite tooth
of the pinion shall stand opposite a space in the internal wheel.
I do not limit myself to the precise form or arrangement of the parts of the
apparatus above described, as they may be varied without altering the nature
of the Invention; but I claim in respect of this
part of my Invention,―
Firstly, the employment of the escapement wheel, and the radial arm in
connection therewith, for effecting a positive quantity of recoil of the taking-up
beam.
Secondly, the employment of the combinations of three bevilled wheels, or of
two external spur wheels, with an internal spur wheel, which are commonly
known as "reversing motions," to effect a positive quantity of recoil of the
taking-up beam.
Figure 12 and 13 represent my improved temple. A is an end view of tho
wheel or roller temple, consisting of a disc, round the circumference of which
is stuck one or more rows of teeth, sharp points, pins, or cards, the cloth
being pressed thereon by the cap or cover S. This cap, instead of being fast
or fixed, as at present in use, is made to swivel on the centre C, for the better
convenience of the weaver when taking out or replacing the selvages of the
cloth on the teeth or pins when required. B, B', is the common nipper
temple, consisting of a forceps, the jaws of which are serrated. The arm B,
or upper jaw, is fixed or remains stationary when the loom is working, and
forms part of the lever L, while the lower jaw B is allowed to move on the
stud or axis of the wheel A. The jaws are kept compressed by a spring T
pressing against the arm. D, and the lower jaw is opened at each stroke of the
slay by a regulating screw or pin fixed thereto, which comes against the
arm D when the reed is up to the verge of the cloth, while at the same time
the breadth of the cloth is uniformly supported by the teeth or pins in the
wheel. Should the shuttle come in contact with the temple, the jaws and
wheel are allowed to recede by the whole turning on the stud or rod R, which
is again replaced and kept close up to the rced by the weight fixed on the
lever L.

page_text: I claim under this head of my Invention the combination of the nipper with
the roller and wheel temple, and the swivel cap or cover in connection there-
with, &c.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Kenworthy, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.
WILLIAM (L.S.) KENWORTHY.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-sixth day of July, in
the year of our Lord 1849, the aforesaid William Kenworthy came before
our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specifi-
cation aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in
form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Thirty-first day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.