CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER LOOMS FOR WEAVING, AND IN APPARATUS FOR CUTTING DOUBLE PILE DARIAS BAR WARING CAR AND OMHED TAWAY JARDING "
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Shaw, Brewer, William Ditchfield
Accountant, and John Knowles, Machinist, all of Blackburn, in
the County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN POWER LOOMS FOR WEAVING, AND IN APPARATUS FOR CUTTING DOUBLE PILE
DARIAS
BAR WARING CAR
AND OMHED TAWAY JARDING
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Shaw, William
Ditchfield, and John Knowles at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 15th January 1872.
We, HENRY SHAW, Brewer, WILLIAM DITCHFIELD, Accountant, and
JOHN KNOWLES, Machinist, all of Blackburn, in the County of Lan-
caster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for " CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER LOOMS FOR WEAVING, AND IN APPARATUS FOR CUTTING
DOUBLE PILE FABRICS, AND FOR WEAVING CARPETS AND OTHER FANCY FABRICS,"
to be as follows:-
:-
The first nart of our improvements has reference to that kind of

page_text: weaving known as pile, plush, or velvet weaving, and particularly when
woven double, face to face, and separated either during the time the cloth
is being woven or after it is taken from the loom, as the case may be,
and consists in the following improved combinations of machinery for
opening the leaves of the healds for the passage of the shuttles through
the warp threads, and for the insertion (at intervals) of a rod to be used
for the purpose of keeping the ground warps separate, and for regulating
the length of pile to be woven :-
This part of our Invention we accomplish by placing at one end of the
loom a number of double hooks mounted on vertical rods or slides placed
in a suitable framework, so that the hooks can be actuated by a pattern
roller or chain, which roller or chain determines by means of projections
or perforations thereon what number of healds is to be raised or depressed,
according to the pattern required. The healds being attached to the
vertical rods are raised and depressed by means of a cam and Jevers,
which levers take hold of the double hooks, and have motion imparted to
them by the cam which can be driven from any of the shafts of the
loom. When a rod is to be inserted between the ground warps the
pattern roller or chain selects the hooks attached to the upper ground
warp, which is caused to be raised, and the hooks attached to the under
ground warp are caused to be depressed by means of the cam and levers
herein-before named; the opening of the two warps being so prepared,
and the rod having been withdrawn from between the cloths, the point
of the rod is carried forward by means of a lever (which lever has a
magnetised groove to receive and bear up the rod when withdrawn)
opposite the opening prepared for it, and is inserted by means of a
tappet and compound levers, which tappet receives motion from the
crank shaft of the loom. The shuttle is caused to stop during the time
the rod is being inserted by an arrangement of chain tappets, which
tappets actuate the picking shafts, and are fixed on and revolve with the
tappet shaft of the loom, the number of links of chain being regulated
by the number of shots required between the withdrawal and insertion
of the rod or pile regulator.
We prefer to separate the two cloths during the operation of weaving;
and for this purpose we employ two or more warps, one for pile, the
other for ground warp, the pile warp being interlaced and bound.
alternately with the ground warps by means of the weft threads and
the pile- rod keeping the two ground warps at equal distances from each

page_text: other. This rod may be made of wood, steel, iron, brass, or copper, as
the nature and depth of pile may require. The cloth as it passes over a
rail comes in contact with a knife which is mounted on a slide working
in a rail with a V or other shaped groove in it, the slide being provided
with regulating screws, so that the point or cutting edge of the knife
can be brought exactly to the centre of the two cloths being woven
together. The knife being so mounted and set has a horizontal recipro-
cating motion imparted to it by means of a rod, slide, tappet, and com-
pound levers, the tappet receiving motion from one of the shafts of the
loom. The cloth being now cut into two parts is conducted one part
under and one part over the cutting knife by rollers provided with pins
for that purpose. The knife is kept sharp and in a cutting state by
means of sharpening stones fixed on the slide rail at each end near the
selvage of the cloth; the bottom stones rest on a bed of india-rubber or
other elastic matter; the upper stones are placed in a fixing above the
bottom stones, and in such a position that one stone touches the other,
and as the knife comes out of the cloth it enters between these stones,
and a very slight pressure is imparted to it by means of the india-rubber
bed, and thus the knife is kept in cutting order; or a slight traverse
motion can be imparted to the upper or lower stones to insure correct
sharpening of the knife. The tappet, compound levers, slide rail, and
magnetised rod bearer we also purpose using for the weaving of terry
velvet, Brussels, or tapestry carpets.
The second part of our improvement relates to the weaving of fabrics
known as Kidderminster carpets, and have a pattern on each side of the
cloth. For this purpose we use a number of vertical shuttle boxes at
each end of the slay or batten, and a chain of picking tappets so
arranged as to pick any number of times from one side as the pattern
being woven may require, the shuttle boxes being actuated by means
of tappets; these tappets are as many in number as there are shuttle
boxes used, and are brought into action by means of a perforated chain,
which chain determines the shuttle next to be used in conjunction with
the jacquard machine for forming the warp pattern. This arrangement
of shuttle boxes, tappets, and pattern chain together or separately with
the herein-before mentioned double hooks, levers, cams, and rods for
raising or depressing the leaves of the healds is applicable to the weaving
of any other fancy fabrics.
Pl
imament
A noomant for nuo

page_text: "
venting what is known as "traps or breakages of the warp threads
caused by the shuttle not being home when the slay or batten comes up
to the fell of the cloth, and consists of a supplementary frog or fixing,
rigid or otherwise, placed at one end of the loom, and in front of the
slay; and of a suitable finger or feeler fixed on the end of the protecting
rod of the slay or batten. The said finger moves along with the slay or
batten, and if the shuttle fail to arrive at its destination the finger or
feeler takes hold of the supplementary frog or fixing, and so prevents the
wings of the protecting rod from slipping over the ordinary frogs which
often occurs, causing great damage to the fabric; but so long as the
shuttle continues to arrive at its destination the finger or feeler passes
over the supplementary frog or fixing, by which means a much less
amount of pressure is required on the protecting rod and swells, thereby
causing a much freer action to the shuttle, and much less wear and
tear than is now the case in working fast reed power looms.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Shaw, William Ditchfield, and John Knowles
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 13th July 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, HENRY
SHAW, Brewer, WILLIAM DITCHFIELD, Accountant, and Joun KNOWLES,
Machinist, all of Blackburn, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto us, the said Henry Shaw, William Ditch-
field, and John Knowles, Her special licence that we, the said
Henry Shaw, William Ditchfield, and John Knowles, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Henry
Shaw, William Ditchfield, and John Knowles, our executors, adminis-
trators, 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,

page_text: within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
POWER LOOMS FOR WEAVING AND IN APPARATUS FOR CUTTING DOUBLE PILE
FABRICS, AND FOR WEAVING CARPETS AND OTHER FANCY FABRICS," upon the
5 condition (amongst others) that we, the said Henry Shaw, William
Ditchfield, and John Knowles, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of 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
O 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 Henry Shaw, William Ditch-.
field, and John Knowles, do hereby declare the nature of our said
5 Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following state-
ment:
-
Our Invention for "Certain Improvements in Power Looms and
Apparatus for Weaving and Cutting Double Pile Fabrics, and for
Weaving Carpets and other Fancy Fabrics," has for its object the
making or manufacturing the above-named fabrics by means of sim-
plified machinery, whereby the quality is much improved and the cost of
production considerably reduced.
In order that our Invention may be fully understood we will proceed
5 to describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, reference being had
to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is a plan of a power loom; Figure 2 is a front view of same;
Figure 3 is the end elevation of same with our improvements attached;
Figure 4 is an end view of the cloth shewing the pile warp interlaced;
Figure 5 is detached part shewing hooks in shedding apparatus ;
Figure 6 is chain tappet for picking motion; Figure 7 is detached part
shewing sharpening stones; Figure 8 is detached part shewing com-
pound frog for preventing traps.
The first part of our improvements to be explained is applicable to the
5 weaving of double pile fabrics known as plush or Utrecht velvet woven
face to face, as shown in Figure 4, and for cutting or separating the

page_text: same either during the process of weaving or after the cloth has been
taken from the loom. For weaving this kind of cloth we use one ground
warp and two pile warps of any material found suitable, which we draw
into eight healds, four for the ground warp and four for the pile warps.
These warp threads we draw through the healds alternately, one ground
and one pile from back to front of the healds; the whole is then drawn
through a reed, eight threads in each split or dent. When so mounted
and ready for work we attach the healds (6) to vertical rods (a) in a
shedding apparatus (c) fixed at one end of the loom (Figs. 1 & 2) by
means of levers (d) and coupling wires (e). This shedding apparatus |
consists of a number of hooks (f,f,) shewn in Fig. 5, placed on vertical
rods (a); the top hooks draw the healds down and the bottom hooks lift
them up, thereby causing an opening to be made in the warp threads to
allow the shuttle to be shot through. These hooks are operated upon
by slides (g, g,), levers (h, h,), and a double internal cam (); this cam
receives its motion from the crank or any other suitable shaft of the
loom, and when in motion causes the slides (g, g,) at the end of
levers (h, h,) to open in opposite directions, and takes with them such
hooks as have been selected by pattern chain (1). This pattern chain is
made of any suitable material, and revolves round a cylinder (m), and 1
actuates a number of T levers, which cause the hooks (f, f,) to fall on
and off the slides (9, 9,) as the pattern to be woven may require. We
actuate the shuttle by means of chain tappets (Fig. 6) mounted on the
tappet shaft, and the chain tappets actuate a horizontal shaft (n)
attached to picking stick (o) by means of vertical arm (p). This picking
chain is for the purpose of suspending the shuttle one or more picks, as
may be required, to allow a rod to be inserted between warp threads of
the two cloths for the purpose of keeping them at equal distance from
each other, and for regulating the length of pile required. This rod
being made of any suitable material is mounted on a saddle (1) which
runs on a slide (2), and is inserted and withdrawn from the cloth when
required by means of compound levers (3 & 3¹) and internal cam (4),
which cam receives its motion from the crank shaft of the loom; this
rod is inserted and withdrawn at intervals of 4, 6, 8, or 10 picks, as the
nature of the cloth may require. When this rod has been withdrawn
the point of it rests on a vertical guide (5) (Figs. 1, 2, & 3), and this
guide is actuated by a tappet placed on the boss of internal cam (4);
and when the batten is returning after beating up the cloth the vertical
guide is caused to move forward until it brings the point of the rod

page_text: opposite the opening in the warp threads provided by the shedding
apparatus. The rod is then propelled forward into the opening provided
for it, and is beaten up by the batten, and remains in the cloth until the
number of shots are woven that is required by the pattern. These shots
or picks are thrown alternately, one for top cloth (1) and one for bottom
cloth (2). This plan involves the use of selvage cutters (7 & 7') when
one shuttle is used, which however causes the selvage to be imperfect;
and we therefore prefer to use vertical shuttle boxes fixed at each end of
the batten actuated by means of levers and internal cam (4). We then
place a shuttle in each shuttle box at the right hand of the loom, and
the picking chain (Fig. 6) having been arranged for this one shuttle is
propelled across the warp threads of the top cloth (1), and the other
across the warp threads of the bottom cloth (2), and in the same way
back. By this means perfect selvages can be made.
The cutting or separating of the two fabrics is performed by means of
a knife (8) mounted on a slide (9) working in a grooved rail (10) fixed
in place of the breast beam. The knife having a sharp cutting edge at
one end is brought into contact with the pile warps (3) by being rapidly
moved backward and forward by means of internal cam (4), compound
levers (11 & 11'), saddle (12), slide (12¹), and coupling rod (13); thus
separating the two fabrics which are then carried over separate cloth
rollers (14 & 14¹) into a box (15).
For the purpose of keeping the knife sharp we employ sharpening
stones fixed at one or both ends of the grooved rail (10) having swells
about the centre. The bottom stone rests upon a bed of india-rubber, or
other elastic matter, and the top stone is attached to a spring; and when
the knife issues from the selvage at either side of the cloth it passes
between the stones; the spring and india-rubber admitting of a slight
spring or motion of the stones insures the knife being kept in cutting
order. The grooved rail (10) is provided with regulating screws, so that
the knife can be set to the exact cutting position.
The internal cam (4), compound levers (3 & 3¹), slide (2), saddle (1),
and vertical guide (5) we use in weaving terry velvet, tapestry, or
Brussels carpets.
The second part of our improvements to be explained is the applica-
bility of some of the before-mentioned parts to the weaving of fabrics
known as Kidderminster carpets. For this purpose we place four or

page_text: A
more vertical moveable shuttle boxes at each end of a batten.
shuttle is placed in each shuttle box at the right hand of the batten
containing the separate colours of weft required by the pattern to be
woven. The picking chain (Fig. 6) is so arranged that it will pick the
shuttles consecutively from one side of the loom, and return them in the
same order. These shuttle boxes are actuated by levers from any part
of the internal cam (4). These moveable shuttle boxes with the picking
chain (Fig. 6) jointly or separately with the before-named shedding
apparatus (Figs. 2 & 5) are applicable to the weaving of fabrics known
as reps, pick and pick, checks, and fancy stripes.
The third part of our improvement to be explained has reference to
that part of the loom known as the stop or frog motion. In place of the
ordinary frog we use a compound frog (Fig. 8) having the usual notch
on the top side, and a projection either inside or outside, as may be most
convenient; this being mounted in the usual way we make a double
wing on protecting rod (16); one part of the wing takes hold of the
notch in the frog, the other part, which is made a little longer, takes
hold of the projection at the side of the frog. These two parts being
fixed and ready for work the double wing of protecting rod (16) will, so
long as the shuttle continues to arrive in the shuttle box, pass over the
notch and projection on the frog; but the moment the shuttle fails to
arrive in the box the longer wing (18) takes hold of projection (17), and
as the batten comes up causes the shorter wing to press against the
notch on the frog so firmly as to render “ traps" impossible. By this
improvement the heavy pressure on the shuttle, common to fast reed
looms, is obviated, and a considerable saving in driving power, shuttles,
pickers, straps, &c. is effected. In the case of looms already at work
this improvement can be applied by adding the wing (18) to the one
already in use, and by making the projection (17) in a separate piece, as
shewn at Figure 8.
Having thus fully described and explained our Invention for certain
improvements in power looms and apparatus for weaving and cutting
double pile fabrics, and for weaving carpets and other fancy fabrics, and
the manner of carrying the same into practical effect, we wish it to be
particularly understood that we claim as our Invention,-
First. The novel arrangement of mechanical parts for weaving double
pile fabrics face to face, as set forth and described in the Sheet of

page_text: Secondly. The interlacing of the pile warps with the ground warp
for the purpose of forming Utrecht velvet, as shewn and described in
Figure 4.
Thirdly. The novel mode of picking the shuttle by chain tappets, as
set forth and described (Figure 6).
Fourthly. The novel mode of actuating the leaves of healds, as shewn
in detached parts (Figure 5).
•
Fifthly. The novel mode of sharpening the knife by means of swells
and springs on double stones, as described (Figure 7).
Sixthly. The novel mode of weaving perfect selvages, as described.
Seventhly. The novel mode of relieving the shuttle and preventing
traps, as described (Figure 8).
Eighthly. The applicability of the before-mentioned improved parts to
fabrics other than velvets.
In witness whereof, we, the said Henry Shaw, William Ditch-
field, and John Knowles, have hereunto set our hands and
seals, this Twelfth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
Witness to the signatures of the
said Henry Shaw, William
Ditchfield, and John Knowles,
JOHN HAWORTH,
Accountant,
Blackburn.
HENRY SHAW.
(L.S.)
WILLIAM DITCHFIELD. (L.S.)
JOHN KNOWLES.
(L.S.)