CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Hadfield, of the City of Manchester, Spinner
and Manufacturer, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS
FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 12th October 1855, and dated the 21st April 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Hadfield at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st April 1855.
I, WILLIAM HADFIELD, of the City of Manchester, Spinner and Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS. IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING" to be as follows:-
My Invention consists of certain improved combinations of parts for letting
the yarn off the warp beam.
The first part of my Invention is an improvement upon a letting-off motion,
for which Letters Patent were granted to me on the Fourteenth November,
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three. I now propose to attach a spring
instead of a rigid piece to the axis of the vibrator, which spring acts on one
arm of an elbow lever, the other arm of which is moved by a tappet on the
crank shaft or other part of the loom. To the elbow lever are jointed clicks

page_text: acting on two ratchet wheels, which communicate motion to the warp beam,
as in the letting-off motion, above referred to. The object of the two ratchet
wheels is to obtain a more uniform supply of warp from the warp beam than
was before possible, and the object of the spring on the axis of the vibrator is
to render the letting-off motion more sensitive, and to enable the weaver to
let the cloth back when required.
According to the second part of my Invention, the tappet on the crank shaft
or other convenient part of the loom acts on a lever, to which I prefer to joint
three clicks; two of these clicks act on the larger ratchet wheel, and one on
the smaller ratchet wheel, which-is of-a coarser pitch than the other. To the
same lever is also jointed a sliding bar, near the end of which is a spring.
The vibrating rail is a curved plate of the ordinary construction, each end of
which bears against a spring attached to the frame sides; these springs, acting
against the vibrating rail, impart the requisite tension to the warp, and this
tension can be increased or diminished by varying the point of attachment of
the springs. The spring attached near the end of the sliding bar above referred
to comes in contact with one of the springs, which act on the vibrating rail.
By this arrangement, when the warp is tight more motion is given to the warp
beam than when it is slack, the amount of motion being at all times regulated
according to the position of the vibrating rail. When the improved machinery
is worked from the tappet shaft, the sliding bar, above referred to, and the bevel
wheels for giving motion to the worm, are dispensed with, and a lever is attached
to the spring, which is influenced by the spring of the vibrating rail; this lever
acts on the lever to which the clicks are jointed, and the ratchet wheels are fixed
on the worm shaft. By this arrangement the requisite variations are produced
in the amount of warp unwound from the warp beam, according to the position
of the vibrating rail. Other modes of regulating the relative positions of the
vibrating rail and the lever and clicks for working the ratchet wheels may be
adopted, but the modes above described are sufficient to illustrate the nature
of my improvements.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Hadfield in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th October 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HADFIELD, of the City of Manchester, Spinner and Manufacturer, send
greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Hadfield, Her special license that I, the said William Hadfield,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Hadfield, 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, exer-
cise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said William Hadfield, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
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 Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Hadfield, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
Specification thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings (that
is to say)-
My said Invention consists of certain improved combinations of parts for
governing the quantity of yarn let off the warp beam according to the tension
of the warp.
I have in the said Drawings given Figures for showing how my
improvements in looms may be constructed, similar parts in each of these
Figures being marked with similar letters of reference.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of part of a loom, shewing a modification of the
improved letting-off motion, for which Letters Patent were granted to me on
the Fourteenth of November, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three;
Fig. 2 is a side view of the same. a is the crank shaft, to which is fixed a
cam a. This cam acts upon the longer arm of the elbow lever z, which
vibrates on the stud 2. To the shorter arm of the elbow lever are jointed
the two clicks, one of which takes into the ratchet wheel and the other
in the ratchet wheel l'. I prefer to make the wheel with fifty teeth, a
quarter of an inch pitch, and the ratchet wheel with twenty-five teeth,
and five-sixteenths of an inch pitch. 9 is the vibrator, over which the yarn
passes as it comes from the cloth beam d; and is the regulator, which
I now make an elastic steel spring, pressing against the prolonged end of the

page_text: stud, on which the clicks are hinged. The vibrator is acted upon by the
spring 9, suspended to the lever g³, projecting from the vibrator in the usual
manner.
The mode of operation is as follows:-When the loom is at work, the cam a'
acting on the lever z gives a constant vibrating motion to this lever and to the
clicks; but this constant motion is made to produce a varying motion in the
ratchet wheels and , according to the position of the vibrator, in the following
manner:-
The regulator g presses against the stud of the clicks, and holds one of
the clicks in contact with a tooth of one of the ratchet wheels or . When
the yarn is tight the regulator g³ permits the long arm of the elbow lever z to
bear upon the cam a'; consequently the full lift of the cam acting on the clicks 2³
causes the ratchet wheel to move one tooth, thereby letting off yarn from
the warp beam d by the bevel pinions m and m³, worm n, and worm wheel d¹.
When only a small quantity of the yarn is required to be let off, the spring g
acting on the vibrator causes the regulator go to hold the lever a little distance
from the cam a¹; consequently only a portion of the lift of the said cam is
brought into effect, and the click acting on the ratchet wheel 7, which has
finer teeth than the ratchet wheel , is moved either one tooth or half a tooth.
When the warp is so slack that none is required to be let off, the spring
regulator g holds the lever beyond the reach of the cam a¹; consequently no
motion at all is communicated to either of the ratchet wheels. By making
the regulator ga spring instead of a rigid piece, as represented in the
Specification of my former Letters Patent, great facility is afforded to the
weaver when it is necessary to let back or unweave to repair floats or other
defects in the cloth.
Fig. 3 is an elevation of a loom side, to which another of my improved
letting-off motions is applied; Fig. 4 is a side view of the same. a is the
crank shaft, to which is fixed a cam a¹. This cam acts upon the lever b, whose
fulcrum is at b. To the lever bare jointed the two clicks c and c, which take
into the teeth of the ratchet wheel and the click e, which takes into the
smaller ratchet wheel P. I prefer to make the ratchet wheels and l¹ as above
described, but the number of the teeth and the pitch may be varied. It is,
however, essential that the points of the clicks should not coincide at the same
time with the teeth of the ratchet wheels, but that they should be of such
lengths that they act alternately on the teeth. To the lever b is jointed
the sliding rod 62, the outer end of which is bent and supports the bush
to which is attached the spring regulator g'. The warp from the warp
beam d is conveyed over the vibrating rail 9, which is supported in the

page_text: ordinary manner, and the warp is kept in a state of tension by the springs i
acting against each end of the vibrating rail. These springs are bolted
to the brackets, and they are provided with slots, so that by varying the point
of attachment, the force of the springs may be varied according to the tension
required in the warp. The spring regulator acts against one of the
springs i, and the ratchet wheels and transmit motion to the warp beam d
by means of the bevel pinions m and m³, worm n, and worm wheel d³, which
are clearly shewn in the Drawing, and which have been before described in
the Specification of the Letters Patent before referred to. The mode of
operation is as follows:-When the warp is slack, the action of the springs i
on the vibrating rail g moves the rail in the direction of the arrow. The
spring regulator g³ is by this means made to act on the sliding rod b² and lever b,
thereby holding them in such a position that the cam a¹ in revolving imparts
only a little motion to the lever b; consequently the clicks jointed to the said
lever impart little or no motion to the ratchet wheels and to the warp beam;
but as soon as the warp is tightened, by the cloth being taken up, the vibrating
rail compresses the springs i, and allows the lever to approach the cam a¹;
consequently, when the cam revolves it imparts the requisite motion to the
lever for making one of the clicks c, c³, or e act on one of the ratchet wheels
or ', thereby giving motion to the warp beam, and letting off as much yarn
as is required.
Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a loom, to which another modification of my
Invention is applied; Fig. 6 is a front view of the same. In these views a is
the crank shaft, and p the tappet shaft, to which is fixed the double tappet o;
this tappet acts upon the lever q, to which three clicks are hinged, in the same
manner as to the lever b, above described. The ratchet wheels and are
fixed on the shaft 7, to which is also fixed the worm n, gearing into the worm
wheel d' on the warp beam d. The lever q is keyed on the shafts, to which
is also keyed the lever s¹. The springs i act on the vibrating rail g, as before,
and the lower end of one of the springs i acts on the spring regular g', which
is fixed to the boss of the lever t, on which the lever 8³ rests. Instead of the
vibrating rail, shewn in the Drawing, a loose roller may be used for the warp
to pass over. The action of this improved combination of
parts is
very similar
to that above described, the position of the lever q being governed by the
tension of the warp. When the warp is over tight the compression of the
springs allows the lever t to drop, and as the lever s¹ bears on the lever t, its
position is lowered. By this means the lever 9 moves from the loom side, and
the tappet o in revolving causes one of the clicks jointed to the lever q to
give motion to one of the ratchet wheels 1 or A, thereby letting off as much of

page_text: the warp as is required. By this arrangement the bevel pinions, shewn in
Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, are dispensed with. I prefer to support one end of the
warp beam in the worm wheel d³, which revolves on a bush, projecting from
or attached to the loom side, and the other end of the warp beam in the
adjustable bush d³, which is acted upon by the set screw d*. I wish it to be
understood that the relative positions of the vibrating rail and of the lever
and clicks, or other mechanism for unwinding the warp beam, may be varied,
but the modes above described are sufficient to illustrate my Invention.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself
to the details herein set forth; but that what I do claim is,―
First, the spring regulator, marked g³, as shewn and described.
Secondly, the improved letting-off motion, shewn and described in reference
to Figs. 3 and 4, and the springs, marked i, acting on the vibrator, when used
in combination with my improved letting-off motions.
And, lastly, the improved letting-off motion, shewn and described in reference
to Figs. 5 and 6.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Hadfield, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
W HADFIELD. (L.B.)