IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1869

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Joseph Holding and James
Eccles at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 27th October 1869.
We, JOSEPH HOLDING, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Machinist, and JAMES ECCLES, of the same Place, Weaver, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR
WEAVING," to be as follows:-
The first part of our Invention is designed for the purpose of improving
the shedding of the warps in looms for weaving in which ordinary
"healds" are employed or healds having eyes, loops or hooks through
which the yarns pass, and by which they are actuated when forming
a shed.
The arrangement of mechanism we employ is designed to
regulate the tension upon the warps by a novel adaptation thereto of a
vibrating rod that will transmit to the portion of warps forming the
bottom of the "shed" a degree of tension slightly in excess to the
tension given to the warp threads forming the top portion of the "shed,"
the peculiar action of which produces a superior
upon the
cloth, the "picks" are put in with greater regularity and ease, and the
wear upon the healds is considerably economized.
"

page_text: The improvement consists in the novel adaptation and employment of
an intermediate "vibrator" placed between the warp threads, under and
over which they pass in their course by the healds in a position between
the "back rest" and the healds. In adapting this "vibrator" the back
rest is lowered into a position nearer the warp beam.
The vibrating
rod is constructed of a bar, rod, or blade of metal or other suitable
material, which is connected at either extremity by bends or arms to
a second rod supported in bearings secured to the loom frame, and
which runs through and between the warps parallel to the vibrating
rod; this rod or shaft is actuated through the medium of a connecting
rod and crank or other equivalent driven from a second motion shaft,
so as to transmit a vibrating up and down motion to the parallel bar,
rod, or blade which is thereby caused to exert a pressure upon the
portion of the warp threads at the time that they alternately form
the bottom portion of the "shed," by this means the healds whilst
"shedding are relieved of the weight or tension of the warps, thereby
producing at the time of "closing up a superior cover upon the woven
fabric.
"
"
A second part of our Invention consists in giving a lifting motion
only to the "healds" at the time of "shedding" in contradistinction
to the rising and falling motion now employed. For this purpose the
back rest is lowered into a position that will allow the warp threads
forming the bottom of the "shed," or the whole of the warp threads,
when the "shed" is closed, to lay or be on a line with the " fly" or'
"race board" of the "lathe," so that the "shed" is formed by causing
the healds to lift a given number of ends alternately, the ends not
lifted being tightened by the action of the improved "vibrator," with.
out any action of their respective healds when down and in their lowest
position, thereby producing a "shed" for the passage of the shuttle.
Lastly, the Invention relates to a novel arrangement of mechanism to
be employed for relieving the shuttle of the pressure of the "swell "
at the instant of "picking," or when being expelled from the shuttle
box; the novel arrangement of mechanism to be employed for this
purpose may be described as follows:-A disc having a recess or step
formed in its periphery that gives it a concentric formation is supported
upon a stud forming a portion of a bracket secured to the loom frame
in a position underneath the "lathe" or shuttle box; this disc when
in its position upon the stud presents the highest portion of its peri-

page_text: phery, to the under side of the "frog "lever or other equivalent bell-
crank lever of the "stop rod" connected with the swell, in which position
it is maintained by means of a stop when the "lathe" is moving towards
its back centre, at which time and at the instant of "picking" the lever
connected through the medium of the stop rod with the swell in passing
over the said disc is raised thereby, the action of which relieves the
shuttle from the pressure of the swell, immediately this takes place the
lever thus raised having passed over the swell of the disc falls into its
normal position, which when the "lathe" "beat up" for closing in
the weft comes into contact with the shoulder or step of the disc formed
by the reduced diameter of its concentric formation, so that as the
lathe continues its forward movement the disc readily yields for the
passage of the lever, which when accomplished the disc at once through
the medium of a spring assumes its position upon the stud ready to give
the necessary rise to the stop rod lever for relieving the shuttle from the
pressure of the swell at the time of picking as before described.