CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Peter Armand Le Comte de Fontaine Moreau, of
the General Patent Offices, 10, Rue de la Fidélité, Paris, in the Empire
⚫ of France, and 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Patent Agent, for
the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING."-A
communication from Monsieur Xavier Fluhr, residing at Mulhouse, in
the Empire of France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Peter Armand Le Comte
de Fontaine Moreau at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,.
with his Petition, on the 12th November 1864.
I, PETER ARMAND LE COMTE DE FONTAINE MOREAU, of the General Patent
Offices, 10, Rue de la Fidélité, Paris, in the Empire of France, and 4, South
Street, Finsbury, London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as.
follows, that is to say:-
The Invention consists in giving to the workman sitting in front of a loom
the power of reaching to the whole of the machinery, and of performing all
the operations without moving from his place. For this purpose the hind beam
instead of being placed underneath is set on the same level' as the lames and
breast beam. The warp is made to descend to pass underneath a roller to be

page_text: directed towards the breast beam which is very near the harness, and presents
to the batten its hollow part into which it penetrates when reaching its front
position. The warp strikers are placed outside the frame, which arrangement
allows the regulator and the cloth roller to penetrate inside the loom. The cross
piere above the harness is suppressed, and hollow flattened iron tubes replace
the upper wood rods of the harness, by which means the harness is suspended
to the extremities, and the suppressing of the cross piece facilitates the reaching
the whole extent of the warp. The roller or bar by which the thread holder
is replaced moves horizontally and parallel to its axis, and by means of an
upper and permanent cross piece on which the threads are supported, the
warp descends nearly vertically, and forms equal angles with the bar for all
the following diameters of the warp beam, it follows that the tension of the
warp can be produced by two permanent weights which are acting at the
extremities of the bar. The main shaft of the loom receives its movements
from a connecting rod and small shaft, on which is fixed the fly wheel and
moving pulley. The main shaft possesses a rotative movement, which is
much slackened when the batten reaches half of its backward course, and is
much accelerated when the batten performs its half forward course. By this
means the passage of the shuttle occupies more time, and its impulse being
less, the working of the loom is rendered much more easy. The feeding of
the warp from its beam takes place by regulating wheels. These movements
regulate each amount of the shoots of the weft from the beginning to the end
of the warp. The fly wheel is provided with a stopper and friction band
serving to stop the loom. By these improvements the warp beam being
reached from the front of the loom, and all the movements being also regu-
lated from the front, a very large space is economised, as the passage behind
the loom is suppressed. This permits of coupling looms by series of four,
though each of them remains independent of the others, and one workman
placed in the centre of them can take care of them with ease and facility.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed 30
by the said Peter Armand Le Comte de Fontaine Moreau in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 12th May 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PETER
ARMAND LE COMTE FONTAINE MOREAU, of the General Patent Offices,
10, Rue de la Fidélité, Paris, in the Empire of France, and 4, South Street, 85
Finsbury, London, Patent Agent, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Peter Armand Le Comte de Fontaine Moreau, Her special
licence that I, the said Peter Armand Le Comte de Fontaine Moreau, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Peter
Armand Le Comte de Fontaine Moreau, 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," (a communi-
cation from Monsieur Xavier Fluhr, a person resident at Mulhouse, in the
Empire of France), upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Peter
Armand Le Comte de Fontaine Moreau, 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 sanie 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 Peter Armand Le Comte de Fontaine
Moreau, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing
bereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters of reference marked thereon,
which in all the Figures represent similar parts, that is to say :-
This Invention, as communicated to me from abroad, relates to certain
improvements in the construction of looms for weaving, by which improve-
ments the workman is enabled to reach with facility the whole of the machi-
nery, and to perform all the required operations without moving from the
front of the loom, and one person alone is enabled, especially for weaving
certain kinds of fabrics, to work four of these improved looms at once.
To obtain these results the warp beam instead of being placed lower than the
thread carrier is set above the level of the harness and breast beam; the warp
is made to descend, and passes underneath a roller or bar, and is then directed
horizontally towards the breast beam, which is brought very near the harness
for the purpose of rendering the loom as narrow as possible. The warp:
drivers are placed outside the frame, which arrangement allows the regulator

page_text: and the cloth roller to penetrate inside the loom. By these means therefore
the weaver is enabled to completely approach the breast beam, and to reach
with ease the warp roller. The cross piece generally placed above the harness
to suspend it is by these improvements no longer required, and the upper
wood rods are replaced by flattened iron tubes. The ends of these tubes on
account of their great stiffness serve for the suspension of the harness, and
such arrangement coupled with the suppression of the cross piece herein-before
referred to, facilitates the complete reaching of the whole extent of the warp.
To avoid the arranging of the harness for every new beaming of the warp
they are fixed on wooden uprights. They receive their movement from
racks, and their elevation is regulated at once on setting the loom in motion.
The roller or bar by which the thread holder is replaced, moves horizontally
and parallel to its axis, and as by means of an upper and permanent cross
piece on which the threads are supported, the warp descends nearly vertically
and forms equal angles with the bar for all the successive diameters of the
warp beam, the tension of the warp can be produced by two permanent springs
or weights acting at the two extremities of the bar. These springs or weights
remain the same for all the diameters of the warp roller. An arrangement
of levers herein-after described, causes the bar replacing the thread holder
to follow the lengthening and shortening of the warp produced by the move-
ment of the harness, thereby avoiding the increase of tension which tends to
produce this movement. The main shaft of the loom which puts the batten
in motion receives its movement from a small lateral shaft on which, the
motive and fly wheels are set. This. small shaft is excentrically placed rela-
tively to the main one, but they are connected by two crank arms, and a
short intermediate connecting rod, by such disposition the main shaft possesses
a rotative movement, which is much slackened when the batten reaches half
of its backward course, and reciprocally the movement is much accelerated
when the batten performs its half forward course. It follows from this that
the passage of the shuttle occupies more time, and its impulse being less, the
working of the loom is rendered more easy. The warp is regularly supplied
to its beam by click and spring work regulated for each amount of the shoot
of the weft from the beginning to the end of the warp beam. The warp
beam being now reached from. the front of the loom, and all the movements
being also regulated from the front, a very large space is economised as the
passage behind the loom is no longer required.
In the accompanying Drawing A, Figure 7 represents the hind beam, from
which the threads being wound off pass on the cross piece A, underneath
which they are crossed in tho ordinary manner; thence they pass under the

page_text: bar Fjand reach the batten C to form the fabric which passes on the breast
beam D and regulator roller E, and arrive to the star roller L, on which it is
wound up; a counterweight causes the roller L to press against the roller E.
The harness I, Figure 5, instead of being set by small straps to their upper
and lower parts is fixed to very light wood uprights p and p', which slide
vertically against rollers fixed on the frame of the loom. At the lower part of
the uprights p, p¹, are fixed the racks f, f, put in motion by pinions a, a,
keyed on the horizontal shaft r, which traverses the two frames, and receives
a circular and alternate movement from the rack b, catching with pinion c
fixed on the shaft r. The rack 6 is moved by the plate wheel g, having
double the number of teeth of the pinion h, from which it receives its move.
ment, and which pinion is set on the arbor or shaft t. The forked guide m
catching with the rack 6 keeps it constantly in contact with the pinion. c.
The said rack 6 is fixed on the wheel 9 by means of the sliding square d,
which permits of regulating the position of the pin n fixed at the extremity of
rack b, and therefore of also regulating the movement of the harness.
The upper rods of the harness are fixed to the uprights, and the lower ones
are linked to the said uprights by means of the cross pieces e, e, the harness.
being attached to the latter by cords. These cross. pieces e, e, are of wood,
and unite the lateral uprights in pairs. Figure 5 represents a front and.
side-view of the mechanism of this movement. The uprights of the front:
harness on the side of the batten are supported at top and bottom by
guides, but to permit of the separation of the coats when a thread is to cross:
their meshes the hind uprights have only the lower guide placed. opposite:
the pinion c, and bear by a spring on those of the front one. By this mode
of suspending the harness on fixed upright there is no necessity of regulating.
the coats as in the other systems of looms, as when the uprights are once in.
place and regulated they fix the position of the harness so that it cannot move,.
and for any length of time whatever.
Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, represent the movement of the batten. The motive
and short shaft o gives the movement to the batten, and the said shaft o is main-.
tained by the support a fixed on the frame, and carries at one of its extremities
the motive pulley R, and at the other end the fly wheel s,, having the pivot a..
A little below the axis of shaft o the arbor t crosses the loom, it carries the
pinion and the two disks; and j', which for this movement act as crank
arms. Each of them carries a pivot u receiving the connecting rods 1, ; but
besides the connecting rod 7 one of the pivots u, which is set. on the side of
the motive pulley, carries a small short connecting rod v,, serving to connect
the crank y with the fly wheels by means of the pivot x, and communicates

page_text: to the shaft t the rotative motion of the shaft o. On account of the dis-
placing of the axes, the uniform movement of the shaft o varies on the shaft t,
and gives to the batten c jointed to the disks j, j', by the connecting rods 1, l',
an accelerated alternate motion from the back to the front of the loom. By
this arrangement the shuttle can pass without impediment, and possesses
besides a slackened movement requiring less force.
Each of these
It will be seen by Figure 6, that whilst the arcs described by the pivot
of the fly pulleys are equal, those performed by the pivot u of the disc j are
variable; o is the driving shaft carrying the motive pulley R and the fly
wheels; t is the longitudinal shaft giving motion to the batten c by means of
the cranks and 7' and connecting rods 1, 1. The rolling of the cloth being
carried uniformly on the cloth beam, as shewn in Figures 1, 2, and 4, the
warp beam must give out the same length of warp for each stroke of the
batten, and as the diameter of the roller progressively lessens, its angular
speed must be increased in the same proportion. The warp has constantly
the same tension between the cloth beam and the warp beam, and as during
the pass the separation of the warp threads for the passage of the shuttle
brings forward the bar B, this last must yield to avoid the warp being
stretched too much. It carries for that purpose at each of its extremities a
pivot, which enters into the upper end of the levers P, P¹.
said levers carries a little below the bar a pivot J, set in a socket moving
horizontally in a slide cut in the front of the frame. At the lower part of
these levers P and P¹, are fixed in a slot the pivots y, y', connected with the
drivers F, F, by spiral springs G, G. By this arrangement the move-
ment of the batten produces on the levers P and P' a regular oscillating
movement, which causes the bar B to advance or to go back, and permits it
during the pass to follow the movements of the warp, and at the same time to
exert on this latter a strong tension produced by the spiral springs G, G¹
This tension is regulated by stretching the springs more or less. Movement
is given to the warp beam by the wheel H fixed on its axis, and put in
motion by the endless screw H', receiving the movement from the two bevil
wheels J, J, one of which J' is connected with the ratchet wheel K. A lever
L' linked in L" and set in motion by the connecting rod M fixed to the driver
F¹,
1, possesses a continuous oscillating movement; a second lever N linked at
N¹ carries a third lever Q joined at Q', and is provided with a catch Z acting
on the ratchet wheel K. Now suppose the lever N to be fixed, and the lever
Qput in contact with the lever L, this latter in its oscillating movement will
cause the lever Q to oscillate, and the catch Z will draw with it the ratchet
wheel K. A fixed stop Z, against which the lever Qrests, limits the back-

page_text: ward movement of this latter, and causes the catch Z to act always at the
same point. The parts being in this position the warp beam will be actuated
with a regular intermittent rotatory movement.
In order to vary this movement according to necessity, the lever L instead
of remaining stationary can oscillate round its pivot L³, through the action of
the lever P, carrying one éxtremity of the bar B. By these means, if the
warp beam does not give out sufficient warp, this latter will draw the bar B
forward, and the lever P in oscillating round its pivot will act on the lever L,
the upper part of which is carried forward, and causes the lever Q to receive
a more extended action of the lever L, consequently the oscillation of the lever
Q is increased, and the catch Z causes the ratchet wheel K to describe a
Jarger circle. The reverse effect is produced when the warp beam gives out
too great a length of warp. Figure 7 represents the tension apparatus of the
warp.) The movement of the shuttle is produced by the discs j, j', carrying
on their external rim the curves or projections i, i¹, which act on the small
rollers K and K³, carried by the levers S, S, linked in S¹, S¹, and provided
underneath their point of junction with pivots T, T. Small bands T', T',
fixed to these pivots pass over small rollers T", T", carried by the sockets of
the drivers F, F¹, and are attached to the pickers X, X. These are fixed in
cramp irons Y, Y, bolted at Y¹ on pieces of leather fixed on support plates
Y", Y", forming part with the drivers F, F, and these pieces of leather form
hinges at the points W. This arrangement has the advantage of causing the
picker to act on the driver (which pushes the shuttle) always at the same
point; in other words, the point of contact of the picker with the driver
remains invariable, and always runs over a straight line. The alternate
movement of the shuttle is produced by the knees K, K, which are alter-
nately pushed by the buffers K' fixed on the standards of the harness carrier.
These knees K, K, push alternately sideways and outwards from the projec-
tions i, i¹, the levers s, s, so as to leave for each rotation of the shaft but one
of the small rollers K', K¹, to receive the action of the curves i, i¹. The
springs V, V, bring back the levers, and consequently the small rollers K, K',
into their working positions.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the
Invention communicated to me, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the precise
details of construction herein laid down, as they may be varied without
departing from the principle of the Invention; but what I claim is,-
First, the mechanical arrangements or combinations of parts by which
the workman from the front of the loom has the power to reach every part of

page_text: the machinery in the manner substantially as herein-before described;
reference being being had to the Drawing.
Secondly, the arrangements by which the warp roller is set above the
harness and breast beam as herein-before described, reference being had to
the Drawing.
Thirdly, the mechanical. arrangements by which the harness is suspended
as herein-before described, reference being had to the Drawing.
Fourthly, the mechanical arrangements by which the main shaft is put in
motion as herein-before described, reference. being had to the Drawing.
Fifthly, the mechanical arrangement by which the movement is given to
the shuttle as herein-before described, reference being had to the Drawing.
'In witness whereof, I, the said Peter Armand Le Comte de Fontaine
Moreau, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of
May, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
five.
Witness,
H. GILBIE,
10, Rue de la Fidélité,
Paris,
9th May 1865.
L. DE FONTAINEMOREAU. (L.S.)