IMPROVEMENTS IN THE WILLAN DOBBY
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Westall, of Blackburn, in the County of Lancaster,
Mill Manager, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE WILLAN DOBBY."
Sealed the 15th April 1879, in pursuance of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, and
dated the 9th October 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Westall at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th October 1878.
SAMUEL WESTALL, of Blackburn, in the County of Lancaster, Mill Manager.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE WILLAN DOBBY."
My Invention is for certain improvements in what is known in the trade as the
Willan dobby, and consists in dispensing entirely with all the jacks (which in the
Willan dobby work the healds. I likewise dispense with the jack shafts, three
guide grates used for guiding such jacks, also the treadles and tappets for working
such, and in place of such treadles, tappets, jacks, and shafts I secure my heald
threads directly to the wires and work them entirely by the wires, such wires
receiving their upward motion from the ordinary plain tappets commonly used for
plain cloth, and attached to all ordinary looms.
The dobby is used for weaving fancy or figured cloth, in which more than one
pair of healds are required, and the largest dobby made on the Willan principle
before is twenty-five actions or lifts, but with my improvements attached on the
same width of frame I can attach over forty. I can likewise alter the Willan dobby
to my design at little cost.
The Willan dobby Patent was taken out some sixteen or seventeen years ago, and
is consequently now void.

page_text: Fig. 4, a plan of same.
A, A, in the several Figures is the ordinary "Willan dobby" framing; B, B, the
lattice horns or carriers; C, the horizontal slide tappet lever for sliding the lattice
barrels to and fro, and by every to-and-fro motion the lattice barrels G, G, with the
lattice pegs a, a, are brought forward against the heald thread wires in accordance
with the pattern pegged on the lattices; likewise at every to-and-fro action the
catch comes in contact with catch F, thereby changing the pegs by moving
the lattice barrels G one division at each such to-and-fro action. The lever C is
worked by a connecting rod in the ordinary way. D, D, are the lattice barrel shafts,
which are kept equidistant by connecting side levors E; G, G, are lattice barrels ;
H, H, carrier or bearer rollers; I, I, horizontal slotts, in which the barrel shafts
nake their to-and-fro motion; J, J, are the two vertical slide bars working up and
down; these bars are suspended by and secured to a leather strap at b, b, in Fig. 1.
This strap passes over pulley N, to which it is secured in the centre at top, passing
down each side secured to the aforesaid slide bars, and thence round another
pulley R, the two ends being secured together, and into the lower centre of outer
rim there is a similar leather band passing round a similar pulley N, shown on
Figure 3, but terminating each side at b, b. O, O, Fig. 2 is a knife-edged lifting bar,
bolted to vertical slide slide bars J, J, one on each. These knive bars are for lifting
the wires S, S, S, S, which are hooked at top for such knives to lift them by. At T
of such wires they are bent upward and inward, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3,
and are hooked again at the other end. This is so hooked to prevent them falling
out of place. There is a certain ammount of outer spring given to these wires in
order to keep the top hooks to the knife edge of the lifting bar. Thus the wires
always are lifted by such bar (when not forced away by the pegs on the lattice bars
and barrel. P is the L end of tappet lever C, with a vertical slott for freedom in
action; Q, catch wheel; R, the lower leather strap pulley; S, the heald-litting wires;
T, the lower or bent end of the same; U, star wheels; V, spring for do.; K, K, are
the carrier motion wheels; L, the leather straps for suspending, keeping in position,
and working the vertical sliding bars; d, d, are two studs, by which the lifting bars
are worked in the ordinary way by connecting rods and tappets.
Having described the several parts of my Invention, I will now describe its action
and peculiar advantages.
Motion is given from a connecting or other rod to Llever C; the W end being
moved up and down forces horizontaly the two barrels coupled by E connecting

page_text: "
levers equidistant apart, carrying pegged lattices a, pegged to any pattern required
The heald-lifting wires S press against the front to the knives, but are free in the
hooks from the knives when this forward or backward horizontal action takes place,
bringing such pegs that are prominent in the front lattice against such wires that are
not wanted up, and at every motion the barrels make a to-and-fro action, bringing
at each a fresh lattice bar and pegs against wires, thus bringing a direct action on the
wires that was before done through the jacks, thereby dispensing with jacks and
all necessaries pertaining thereto, enabling ine in the same space to put over one-
third more actions.
And now having described my Invention and the way it is carried into practical
effect, 1 desire it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details
I have had occasion to describe and refer to, nor do I seek to claim anything before
used in the "Willan dobby," but what I claim as secured to me herein is, the dis-
pensing with the jacks and all necessary appliances thereto pertaining, and sub-
stituting therefor much simpler and better apparatus at one quarter the cost.
Likewise the combination of my improvements with certain portions of the old
Willan dobby," substantialy as and for the purposes herein-before set forth and
illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Westall, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-nine.
Witness,
JOHN LEWIS,
Engineer,
Preston,
Lancashire.
SAMUEL (L.S.) WESTALL.