IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER-LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Henry Beck, of 139, Cannon Street, in the City
of London, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER-LOOMS FOR WEAVING." A communication from
abroad by Jules Lehoux, of Alençon (Departement de l'Orne), and Allien
Rigot, of La Ferté Bernard (Departement de la Sarthe), in the Republic of
France, Cloth Manufacturers.
(Void by reason of the Patentee having neglected to file a Specification in
pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Henry Beck at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th August 1880.
WILLIAM HENRY BECK, of 139, Cannon Street, in the City of London, Consulting
Engineer and Patent Agent. "IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
[A communication from abroad by Jules Lehoux, of Alençon (Departement de
P'Orne), and Allien Rigot, of La Ferté Bernard (Departement de la Sarthe), in the
Republic of France, Cloth Manufacturers.]
The improvements consist,-
Firstly. In certain means of beating up the sley beam in the same manner as in
weaving by band.
This result is effected by the employment of an automatic regulator, which
prevents the warp from yielding at the moment when the sley beam beats up the
weft thread, and also by the jerk given to the sley beam when beating up the weft,
by means of a special toothed eccentric a (see the Sheet of Drawings annexed
hereto), fixed on the horizontal shaft b of the loom.
This eccentric imparts to the sley beam C a greater speed as it arrives at the
cloth than when it is at the back part of its alternating movement.
The sley beam C receives its oscillatory movements from two connecting rods d,
each formed in three parts; the first is a forked piece d, the second is a helical
spring d² which may be stretched more or less, and the third is the head d' which

page_text: takes on to the stem d³ which slides in the carriage d'. The more the nut e is
tightened the more the spring is set up, and the more forcibly the sley-beam beats
up the weft.
This construction gives a regularly close cloth, and there is no difficulty in the
shuttle passing when the loom beats very quickly.
Secondly. In the substitution for cord or chain brakes with levers and weights,
or springs of regulators for unwinding the warp and for winding up the cloth.
The regulator for winding up the cloth is constructed as follows:-Upon the
axle f of the taking-up roller f¹ is fixed a worm wheel f' which gears with the
worm g on the shaft g'. Upon this same shaft is fixed the ratchet wheel h, which
is rotated intermittently by an arm h¹ by means of the pawl h² (Figure 3); h³ is
the retaining pawl. The arm h³ is connected by the rod h to the angle piece i on
the sley sword i¹.
is the cloth roller kept in contact with the taking-up roller by the usual
means.
The arrangement for unwinding the warp is constructed in a similar manner.
On the axle of the warp beam is the worm wheel 2 which gears with worm
on the shaft ; on this same shaft is fixed a ratchet wheel m which is turned by
an arm and pawl at each oscillation that the rod m³ communicates to them. The
rod m' is worked by an angle piece on the sley sword i¹.
The sley beam thus effects alternately the unwinding of the warp and the
winding up of the cloth.
In order to unwind a quantity of thread always equal to the quantity of cloth
wound on (the diameters of the warp beam k¹ and cloth roller r constantly varying)
the positions of the angle pieces i and 2 are varied in order to vary the amplitude
of the oscillations of the arms which move the ratchets.
Thirdly. In a new arrangement of pedals. As the sley beam has only to lift
very small weights, only one half the usual power is required to work the loom. A
workman can make any kind of cloth and make constantly from one hundred to
one hundred and ten strokes of the shuttle per minute.
In the middle of the loom and in front are placed the two pedals p and p¹ which
are each fixed on a distinct shaft. p is fixed upon the shaft n, and at the end of the
latter is fixed at right angles the arm o. At the end of the tappet shaft q is fixed
the crank o¹ which is connected to the arm o by the connecting rod o².
In the same way the pedal p³ drives the shaft q, but the corresponding crank is
placed diametrically opposite to the crank o¹.
When the pedal p, for example, which is on the left hand side of the loom is
pressed down the shuttle is driven to the left.
In the Drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the left hand end of the loom,
and Figure 2 a front elevation shewing about one half of the left hand end of the
loom. C is the sley beam; k¹ the warp beam on which are wound the warp
threads N; L, L, the healds; M, M, the treadles; p, p', the pedals; Q, Q', the
eccentrics or headle cams; f¹ the taking-up roller; r the cloth roller; U the guides
for the treadles, and a the picking tappets.