IMPROVEMENTS IN Looms FOR WEAVING
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT
to Charles Richardson, of Gracechurch Street, in
the City of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN Looms
FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 31st July 1868, and dated the 3rd February 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Richardson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 3rd February 1868.
I, CHARLES RICHARDSON, of Gracechurch Street, in the City of
London, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "In-
PROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in looms for weaving in
which the shuttles are actuated by the direct action of compressed air.
According to my improvements I cause the shuttle to be driven by
means of a single blast of compressed air issuing direct from an air
compressing chamber mounted upon any part of the shuttle box or
sley beam, the air being retained and stored for a short time in such
air compressing chamber in the act of compression (whether it be
Price 7

page_text: compressed by a piston moving in a cylinder or by means of a
inoveable cap, diaphragm, bellows, or case, which may be termed a
collapsible bag) between a hollow slide valve and the shuttle box, until
released by the opening of the port to the shuttle box by the slide
valve. The outer casing of the hollow slide valve is recessed or in
the form of a jacket, thus admitting the whole force of the air as soon
as the slide valve has arrived at its port or opening to the shuttle box.
It will be seen that by moving the sliding valve along the rod which
moves the air comprising piston or the sliding cap, diaphragm, bellows,
case, or collapsible bag, the air is confined until it is sufficiently
compressed to ensure the rapid discharge of the shuttle across the
lathe of the loom. By these means shuttle fitting loosely in the
shuttle box may be employed. In this arrangement the slide valve
employed is hollow, and a small valve fitting at the top of the slide valve
is used for allowing the air to pass in order to fill the air compressing
chamber after the slide valve has closed its port, which air may be
taken from the aperture through which the rod of the valve passes,
such rod being attached to the bell-crank lever working in the hollow
end of the sley beam, the pressure of the air in passing through the
hollow or tubular slide valve to the air compressing chamber acting
to open the small inlet valve on the hollow slide valve to fill the air case
or chamber ready for the next discharge. Movement is given to the
air compressing apparatus by means of a bell-crank lever attached to
the sword arm, the said lever being moved by a lever or rod which
is actuated from the second motion wheel, thus combining the speed
of the lathe bar with the speed of the second motion wheel, or other
arrangements of mechanism may be employed for actuating the air
compressing apparatus. The air compressing chambers are connected
to each other by a small rod from end to end of the sley beam, or each
cap or air compressing case or chamber may be arranged to work
separately, thus using the suction of the air partly taken through the
shuttle box to draw the shuttle into the box should any impediment
have reduced its speed before arriving in or near the box. The spring
for releasing or checking the shuttle on its exit from or entrance into
the shuttle box is actuated by a bolt or wedge actuated by the bell-
crank lever, such bolt or wedge being attached to the outer part of the
box or sley beam.
The means herein described for actuating shuttles by means of a single
blast of compressed air according to my improvements may be applied

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Charles Richardson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 3rd August 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
RICHARDSON, of Gracechurch Street, in the City of London, send
greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Charles Richardson, Her special licence
that I, the said Charles Richardson, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as 1, the said Charles Richardson, my executors,
administrators, 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, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst others) that 1, the
said Charles Richardson, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, 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
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal latent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Richardson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:
This Invention relates to improvements in looms for weaving in which
the shuttles are actuated by the direct action of compressed air.

page_text: According to my improvements 1 cause the shuttle to be driven by
means of a single blast of compressed air issuing direct from an air-
compressing chamber mounted upon any part of the shuttle box or sley
beam, the air being retained and stored for a time in such air-com-
pressing chamber in the act of compression (whether it be compressed
by a piston moving in a cylinder, or by means of a moveable or sliding
cap, or a cylinder moving on its piston a diaphragm, bellows, or case,
which may be termed a collapsible air-tight bag) between a hollow
slide valve and the shuttle box until released by the opening of the port
to the shuttle box by the slide valve.
And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into practice I will proceed to describe the Drawings
hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a longitudinal section of a shuttle box and part of the
sley beam of a loom, and Figure 2 is part of an end view of a loom
on a smaller scale having apparatus applied thereto, and arranged in
accordance with my improvements for driving the shuttle from one
shuttle box to the other by means of a single blast of compressed air
issuing direct from the air compressing chambers or collapsible bags a
mounted on each end of the sley beam a; Figure 3 shows a plan of
the shuttle box with the cover removed. Each air-compressing chamber
or collapsible bag a' is opened and closed in succession in the following
manner. ², is a rod connected as shown to the outer ends a³ of each
of the air-compressing chambers a'. The rod or bar a is moved alter-
nately in opposite directions to open and close each collapsible bag a' in
succession by means of a bell-crank lever a', one end of which enters the
slotted opening a in the rod a, the other end of the bell-crank lever a
being acted upon from time to time as required by a truck or roller a
carried by the upper end of the lever a, which is actuated by means of a
pin or stud on the second motion wheel a entering an inclined slot in
the lever a, or the air compressing apparatus may be actuated so as to
move the rod a to and fro by any other suitable mechanism. Between
each air compressing chamber or collapsible bag a' (in the arrangement
of parts shown at Figure 1), and each shuttle box b, a hollow slide
valve e is arranged to govern the admission of air from the collapsible
bag a to the shuttle box, and by means of which the extent to which the

page_text: air is compressed before it escapes from the bag or chamber a' can be
regulated. c is the hollow slide valve (which I prefer to be tubular,
although I do not confine myself to this formn). The slide c is fixed
on the rod a by means of the screw c', the slide c moving to and fro
with the rod a in the tube or casing into which it fits air-tight.
When the rod a² is moved so as to close the collapsible bag a' against
the end of the sley beam no air can escape from it until the end of the
outer slide (nearest to the bag a) has arrived opposite to the passage
or opening b' communicating with the shuttle box b, when the air com-
pressed by the partial closing of the bag will be free to escape, and
thus drive the shuttle from side to side along the shuttle race. The
outer casing c of the slide valve e is recessed at c* in the form of a
jacket, thus admitting the whole force of the air as soon as the slide
valve has arrived at its port or opening opposite the shuttle box.
It will be seen that by moving the sliding valve c along the rod a² its
position can be so adjusted as to cause the air in the collapsible bag a' to
be sufficiently compressed to ensure the rapid discharge of the shuttle
across the lathe of the loom when the air is allowed to escape into the
shuttle box by the movement of the slide valve c; by this arrangement a
shuttle fitting loosely in the shuttle box may be employed. The slide c
is formed hollow around the rod a, as shown at c³, and c' is a sliding
cover or valve which closes the annular space when the collapsible
bag is in the act of closing, but when it is in the act of expanding
the suction causes the valve c' to slide outwards against the fixed
collar con the rod a², and thus open a communication for the admission
of air from the shuttle box through the port or passage to an
opening in the slide c, and through the valve c' into the collapsible
bag a, in order to fill the chamber after the slide o in its outward
movement has closed the port b', which conducts the air from the
collapsible bag or air chamber a' into the shuttle box. Each collapsible
bag or air-compressing case or chamber a may, if desired, be arranged
to work separately so as to cause the suction of the air partly taken
through the shuttle box to draw the shuttle into the box, should any
impediment have reduced its speed before arriving in or near the box.
e is a eatch or instrument for locking or retaining the shuttle on its
arrival in the shuttle box, the catch or instrument e being constantly
borne downwards (so as to enter a recess in the shuttle) by the spring el
pressing upon the pin or projection e, the presure of the spring being
adjusted by the set screw e³.
The catch or instrument e is attached

page_text: by a pin joint to the end of the sliding rod e', the other end of which
carries a truck or roller which (as the lathe beam moves forward to
beat up the weft) acts upon an incline formed on the bar attached
to the end framing in order to move the catch e outwards, so that it
may carry the shuttle to the end of the shuttle box into a position to
be forced (by the pressure of the blast of compressed air when it
escapes from the collapsible bag or chamber a¹) into the opposite shuttle
box; ex is a spring to force the rod e' outwards after it has passed the
incline in order that the catch e may be in a suitable position for
entering the recess in the shuttle on its arrival in the shuttle box.
The catch e is released from holding the shuttle in the box before it
is allowed to escape by means of a came on the axis e, motion being
communicated to the axis e and cam e in order to raise the catch e
by means of the link e, which connects the lever an e, fixed on the
end of the axis e to a stud or projection on the arm of the bell-crank
lever a, the motion of which causes the axis e to make a partial
revolution, and thus lift the catch e at the proper time to allow the
shuttle to be discharged from the shuttle box.
In place of employing a hollow slide valve as previously described
and shown at Figure 1 of the Drawing hereunto annexed for preventing
the escape of the air from the collapsible bag or air compressing
chamber a until the air is sufficiently compressed before it is allowed
to escape in accordance with my improvements, other arrangements of
valvular apparatus may be employed for this purpose, as, for example,
the end of the shuttle may be arranged to act as a valve by entering
into and being retained for a suitable time within or against the
entrance to a passage between the collapsible bag or air compressing
chamber a and the shuttle box b, in order to prevent the escape of
the air into the shuttle box, until it is sufficiently compressed to force
the shuttle across into the opposite shuttle box.
Figure shows a longitudinal section of so much of one end of the
sley beam and shuttle box of a loom as will enable me to describe
an arrangement of parts for carrying out my improvements, in which
the slide valve c is dispensed with, the apparatus being much simplified
thereby. Corresponding parts are marked with similar letters of
reference to those in Figure 1. bis the passage which forms a com-
munication between the collapsible bag or air-compressing chamber a
and the shuttle box b, the end of the passage opening into the shuttle

page_text: box being lined with india-rubber, leather, or other suitable material to
form a valve seat or surface capable of being closed to produce an air-
tight joint by the end of the shuttle entering into or coming in contact
therewith. When the shuttle enters the shuttle box b the catch e by
taking into the recess formed in the upper side of the shuttle (when
passing over the incline e³) carries it forward so as to cause the end
of the shuttle to close the opening to the passage b', where it is retained
until the bag or air compressing chamber a¹ has contracted sufficiently
to compress the air therein, after which the catchi e is raised by the
cam e, as previously described, so as to release the shuttle and allow
it to be driven across into the opposite shuttle box. The means herein
described for actuating shuttles by means of a single blast of compressed
air according to my improvements may be applied to actuate the shuttles
of revolving or other arrangements of changing shuttle boxes.
Having now described the nature of my Invention for improvements
in looms for weaving, and the best means I am acquainted with for
carrying the same into practice, I would remark that I do not confine
myself to the exact details herein described, so long as the substantial
features of my Invention are retained, which consist in the means and
apparatus herein described or their equivalents for the purpose of con-
fining the air in the air compressing chambers, or the passages leading
to the shuttle boxes from such air compressing chambers for a short
time (or for a portion of the stroke acting to compress and force out
the air) before it comes into action to propel the shuttle from the
box; and what I claim is,
First. So arranging apparatus for actuating or driving the shuttle
(from one shuttle box to another in looms for weaving) by means of
single blast of air discharged direct from an air compressing chamber,
that the air is held retained or stored up for a time in the act
of compression in the air compressing chamber or apparatus by the
interposition of a hollow piston, slide, or other suitable valve, or by the
shuttle being held, retained, or restrained in its box until the air is
sufficiently compressed to drive the shuttle when released at the required
speed with certainty across the race or lathe of the loom, as herein
described and shown in the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Secondly. I claim the arrangement and application of the spring
catch, pawl, or locking instrument e or its mechanical equivalent so as
to stop any rebound of the shuttle, such spring catch or paw! e being

page_text: arranged to move a short distance for the purpose of pressing the shuttle
on to its seating or buffer, or on or into the passage leading from the
shuttle box into the air compressing chambers, so that it may act as
a valve in such passage (thus stopping the free and open communication
with the air compressing chamber and the shuttle box), and in holding
the shuttle fast in its box until again released in order that it may be
driven by the compressed air with certainty across into the opposite.
shuttle box, as herein shown and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Richardson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Third day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred-and sixty-eight.
CHARLES RICHARDSON. (L.S.)
Witness,
J. G. TONGUE,
* Patent. Agent,
34, Southampton. Buildings,
W.C,