CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING AND IN THE MODE OR METHOD OF PRODUCING FIGURED GOODS OR FABRICS
Year: 1838

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
WILLIAM SIEVIER, of Henrietta Street, Cavendish Square, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Sixth day of August in the second year of Her reign, and
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Robert
William Sievier, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Robert William Sievier, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert William Sievier, my executors,
administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England;
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's
Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
LOOMS FOR WEAVING AND IN THE MODE OR METHOD OF PRODUCING FIGURED GOODS
OR FABRICS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging
me, the said Robert William Sievier, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said.
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the
same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear..

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Robert William Sievier, do hereby declare that the nature of my said In-
vention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters
marked thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention of certain improvements in looms for weaving, and in the
mode or method of producing figured goods or fabrics applies, firstly, to
figuring looms generally, but more particularly to such looms as weave
narrow goods or fabrics, that is, to looms in which several pieces or breadths
of narrow work are produced at one time; secondly, to a novel mode of
producing raised figures on woven goods or fabrics without the edge of tags
or wires, which are usually employed in the weaving of coach lace, velvets,
and other articles having the pattern or surface raised above the ground of
the fabric.
As respects the loom, the particular features of novelty are raising
and depressing the breast beam and warp, and of raising and depressing
the batten or slay and shuttles either separately. or together. These im-
provements are applicable solely to such looms as are furnished with two
or more shuttle races in one batten, situated, one above another, in which the
shuttles act, carrying different weft threads intended to be wove into one warp.
By these movements of the breast beam and warp threads, or of the batten and
shuttles, the warp threads may be at pleasure brought into operation with one
or other of the rows or tiers of shuttles, and their weft threads as required to
produce the pattern upon the fabric, the rising or falling movement of the
warp threads when the batten remains as in common (that is, without rising
or falling,) causing them to take the weft or shoot from either of the rows or
tiers of shuttles which may thus be brought into action with them; or, when
the batten and the rows or tiers of shuttles are made to move upward and
downwards (the warp threads remaining and acting in the common way) then
the warp threads receive the weft from that particular row or series of shuttles
brouglit into operation with them according to the colour or pattern described
(that is to say), in the first case the warp threads move up or down to take
the weft or shoot of the particular row or series of shuttles as required for the
pattern, and in the second case the batten and shuttles move up or down, so
that the particular row or tier of shuttles may give its shoot or weft to the
warp threads as required for the design, or both of these movements may be
-brought into operation in one loom if desired. And as respects the fabric to
be woven, the novelty consists in raising up in ribs the figure previously
"

page_text: woven, flat upon the surface of the goods by causing the fabric to be shrunken..
This is done by allowing the pattern parts of the warp to float or lay over
two or more shoots of the weft, the warp having strands of india-rubber-
introduced among its threads, the fabric so produced will in the first instanco
have the figure laying flat upon its surface, but by the application of heat, tho
india-rubber strands will contract and cause the warp threads to be drawn up
or puckered, so as to bring up the. pattern upon the surface into ribs having
exactly the character of a fabric in which the pattern or figure is produced by
weaving over tags or wires.
Having now stated in general terms the nature and objects of my Invention,.
I will proceed to describe more particularly the manner of carrying the, samo
into effect, referring to the Drawings hereto annexed for the better illustration
of the same (that is to say):-
:-
:
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a power loom, constructed and arranged for.
making several breadths of webbing or such other narrow goods, with the first
head of my improvements adapted thereto, there being only two rows or tiers.
of shuttles shewn in order that the movements of the mechanism may be
more easily understood, and in which arrangement the warp threads and,
breast beam have the rising and falling motion given to them; the batten and
shuttles acting according to their usual movements. Fig. 2 is an elevation.
of the right-hand end of the loom; Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section of.
the same; Fig. 4 is a front view, and Fig. 5 a section, of a portion of the.
batten, shewing the two rows or tiers of shuttles; these latter figures are
drawn upon a larger scale the better to explain their arrangement and con-,
struction. I will first refer to the ordinary parts of the loom, and then,
describe the novel parts and movements, the same letters of reference being
marked upon corresponding parts in all these Figures. A, A, is the ordinary
framework of the loom; B, the harness for opening and closing the warps
passing in the usual way through the comber boards D from the jacquard
placed at the top of the loom. The jacquard forming no part of these im-.
provements is not shewn in the Drawings. E is the batten with the reed,
and shuttles suspended by the swords or pendulous levers F in the usual
manner, and is moved to and fro to beat up the weft by the connecting rods
and cranks G on the main shaft II. One row or series of shuttles I, 1, may,
carry one weft. K is the other row carrying the other weft threads.. These
shuttles have the usual motions in the races given to them to throw the shoot
by means of the long racket M and pinions C, which take into other racks.
formed on the shuttles. The racks M are set in motion by the cords and
levers N and O, which are alternately raised and depressed by the tappets or
:

page_text: a
:
cams P on the shaft Q, the to-and-fro movement being thereby communicated
to the shuttles, there being in this arrangement a pair of tappets P and
levers N, O, to each row of shuttles. The shaft of the tappet cams nust
revolve at proper speed suited to that of the crank shaft H in order that
movement of the shuttles may be given between each beat of the batten;
with two rows of shuttles there would be four levers and tappets, con-
sequently the shafts Q and I would be geared to each other, so as to perform
four revolutions to one. R is one of the warp bobbins, and S another warp:
T, the bobbins of the warp for the selvedge or edges of the piece; all these
warps are kept in tension in the usual way. V is the cam for working the
jacquard mounted on the main shaft, and acts upon an antifriction roller on
the lever W, the other end being connected by the rod X to the jacquard.
The cam and lever are drawn in red in Fig. 3 to prevent their hiding other
parts. The warps are passed from the bobbins R over the beam a, and the
other warps over the smaller beams b. The beam a is mounted on arms
projecting from the framework capable of turning in bearings, and carries the
small beams 6 by arms projecting therefrom. To the beam a is securely
attached one end of the long levers c, c, their other ends carrying the breast
beam d and tension work beam e, over which the woven fabric f, f, is passed
to the work rollers U, U*; the warps and breast beam are raised and lowered
at the periods desired by the following means:-Upon the shaft Q is mounted
the double cam or tappet g, which acts upon the antifriction roller of the
lever h, the end of which is connected by a rod i to the weighted lever arm k
of the rocking beam l. Other arms m, m, extend from the rocking beam
to which are attached the rods n, n, connected to the breast beam d,
so that on the lever h being depressed by the tappet cam g, the breast
beam will be raised, and as the tappet passes from the antifriction roller
the breast beam and warp will be allowed to descend; the weight of the
breast beam d, e, and lever c are counterbalanced partly by the tension of the
warps and the woven fabric, and partly by the weight o on the lever k. The
pieces or breadths of woven fabric are drawn from the loom by the ordinary
taking-off motion Y, placed at the end of the work roller U*. The woven
fabric is conducted under the feet of the workman, and passed over rod",
and kept stretched by a pendant weight, as shewn in Fig. 3. In order that
the warps may be kept at a proper tension during the time they are raised or
lowered by the ascent or descent of the breast beam, the rods a, b, d, should
be so arranged that their movements will compensate one with the other.
When only two rows or tiers of shuttles are adapted to the loom, there will be
but a small upward and downward movement of the warp, and therefore these

page_text: parts may be constructed and arranged as shewn in the Figures, that is, the
levers c carrying the beams d and e by the rigid cross piece at their ends,.
but when three or more rows of shuttles are adapted and applied to the loom,.
then the movements of the warp and breast beam will be more extensive,
and the parts should be constructed as shewn in the Diagram, Fig. 6, the end
of the lever c only carrying the breast beam d, at which point they are jointed
to a rod or connecting piece p, which is attached by a binge joint to the lever
9, at which joint is placed the rod e, the other end of the lever q has its fulcrum
r stationary on the framework, and at this point the beam r is placed, from
whence the fabric may be led off in any way desired. The movements of the
parts q, p, c, will preserve the same degree of tension on the warps and fabric ;
the distance the rods r, e, and d, are from one another being at all times the
same, and therefore the warps may be raised or lowered to the required
distance for three or more shuttles, without altering the tension of the warp or
the woven fabric. The operations of all the working parts of the loom in
weaving different descriptions of fabrics are so well understood, that it is not
necessary for me to state them, and I will only describe the motion of the
parts in taking the weft from either one or the other of the rows or tiers of
shuttles. Suppose the warps to be opposite the row of shuttles I, immediately
after the shuttles have passed between the sheds or warps, they are made to
close and open again by the ordinary movements of the loom as they rise
opposite the shuttle K, this will be effected by one of the tappets g coming
into action on the lever h, and raising the breast beam and warp as before
described, the warps will then be open and stand opposite the row of shuttles
K, when they will immediately throw their shoot of weft between the warps,
which will be made to close upon it, and open again as they descend by the
tappet g receding from the lever h, and when they again arrive opposite the
shuttles I, they will be open ready to receive another shoot of weft from the
shuttles K, and so on alternately rising and falling to receive the alternate
weft threads. It will be seen that the tappets 9 cause the warp to take
alternate shoots of weft from the rows of shuttles, but there may be more or
differently timed tappets upon the shaft Q, so as to take the wefts from the
rows of shuttles in different proportions.
Having now described the construction and operation of the loom with two
rows of shuttles, I will proceed to shew some variations of the same, and the
mode of working three or more rows of shuttles, and then the operation of the
rising and falling batten. Fig. 6 is a Diagram or partial view, shewing another
arrangement of parts for getting the rising and falling motion of the warps,
either by two or three rows or tiers of shuttles. In this instance, the warps are

page_text: raised and lowered by a tappet or cam wheels, on a shaft acting upon the
lever c, and when only two sets of shuttles are used, the tappet wheel may act
direct upon a pin t or roller projecting from the levers c, but when three rows
of shuttles are used there must be some contrivance placed between the tappets
s and levers c, which will keep them and the warps raised up, so as to work
with the higher row or tier of shuttles, so as to take the proper number of
shoots of weft from that row of shuttles as required by the pattern. 1 is a lever
having the tappet 2 on its end, which is acted upon by the tappet wheel s.
The parts are shewn in the position they would be in when working with the
lower and middle tier of shuttles; but when the warp is to be brought into
operation with the upper row of shuttles, the levers c are lifted by the action
of the jacquard through the rod 3, which may be done by one of the cards
having a hole pierced in it to take a hook and lift the levers cat the same time
it lifts the figure pattern; as soon as the jacquard has raised the levers c and
warps, the pall or catch piece 7 is forced by its spring 8 under the end of the
projecting piece t in the lever c, and the warps will thus be kept raised, and
work with the upper and middle row of shuttles. At the period required,
according to the figure or hole pierced in one of the cards, will cause the
jacquard to lift the wire 9, and by means of the bell crank 10 draw the catch 7
from under the piece t, when the lever c and warps will fall into their former
position, and work with the lower tier of shuttles. I will now proceed to shew
how three or more rows or tiers of shuttles may be worked in one batten,
referring to Figures 7 and 8, 9 and 10, 11, .and 12 of the accompanying
Drawings.
Fig. 7 is a partial front view, and Fig. 8 a section of a batten with three
rows of shuttles A, B, C, worked by one rack a, a, supported upon rollers b, b,
this rack turns the pinions c, c, which taking into the racks d of the lower row of
shuttles A, thereby give them the required motion. The axles of the pinions c
turn in bearings in the batten, and carry other larger pinions e, e, in gear with
other pinions f, f, on the axles of the pinions g, which belong to the middle tier
of shuttles B, and the back pinions f take into gear with other pinions h,
which put in motion the pinions i of the top row of shuttles, they being on
the same axle, and thus all three of the rows of shuttles are worked by one.
rack, and therefore there will be only two cords and levers N, O, and tappets
P, (see Fig. 2,) required to put it in motion.
Figures 9 and 10 are similar representations of the batten with three rows
of shuttles set in motion by means of the "strikers" or "flyers "k, fixed on the
rods and m; these rods are put in motion at the end of the batten in the
ordinary way, and cause the shuttles to throw the shoot or weft.

page_text: Figures 11 and 12 are similar representations, shewing the three rows of
shuttles set in simultaneous motion by their pinions e, f, h, taking into racks
formed in the shuttles, the two lower rows of shuttles having racks formed
upon both their upper and lower sides, and thereby communicate motion one
to another. It will be seen that although all the rows of shuttles are in motion
at one time, yet only the one in action with the warp will give out its weft.
I will now proceed to shew how the batten may be raised and lowered to
carry the different rows of shuttles into operation with the warp, when it is
working with only the ordinary movements, and also how four rows of shuttles
may be used.
The batten and shuttles may be raised and lowered by
mounting the pivots of its swords or levers F into slots and moveable
bearing, and raising or lowering them at the required times by cams and
levers. Fig. 13 is a partial section of a loom shewing how this may be
effected. The axle a of the sword F is mounted in the slot bearing b placed
on the top of the framework; c is one of the two rods placed at each end of
the loom, and sliding in proper guide bearings d. These rods are connected
to the ends of the axis a of the swords, their lower ends carrying anti-
friction rollers e, which are acted upon by cams f placed on a shaft g
extending lengthwise of the loom. This shaft is mounted in proper bearings,
and is set in motion by suitable gear work. The cams fare formed so as to
act upon the rods c, and raise the swords and batten, but if the cords N, which
actuate the racks of the shuttles are attached to the levers N, as in the former
instance, then whenever the batten is raised the cords would be slackened, and
unable to give the required movent to the shuttles; in order to obviate this,
cords i, i, are attached to the sword F of the batten and to the ends of the
levers N, N, as in Fig. 13, so that the cords N will not be allowed to slack
when the batten rises or falls, or other means may be used to take up the slack
of these cords. I have shewn the cams f capable of raising or lowering the
batten only the distance or space between two rows of shuttles, for the purpose
of explaining how it may be moved up or down by such means, and work in
conjunction with the mechanism already described for raising and lowering
the warps with three rows of shuttles so that the loom may operate with four
tiers of shuttles. Supposing the loom to be at work with the warps rising and
falling to three rows of shuttles by the means shewn in Fig. 6, the contrivance
shewn in Fig. 13 will be brought into operation at the times required to act
with the fourth row of shuttles; as will be readily understood by a practical
workman.
$
And I would also state, that the apparatus described for raising and lower-
ing the warps to three rows of shuttles, as shown in Fig. 6, may be applied

page_text: to the rod c, and thereby move the batten up and down, so as to cause either
of the three rows of shuttles to be brought into operation with the warp.
Fig. 14 is a representation of part of a batten, shewing a method of raising
and depressing the three rows of shuttles therein, so that either row may
give weft to the warp as required by the pattern, without causing the warp or
the batten to move out of their usual course. Fig. 15 is a cross section of
the same; A, B, C, are the rows of shuttles in their race D, which is made
to move up and down within the batten E, by a rod F attached thereto, and
moved by cams and levers, such cams having tappets rising and falling, and
thus changing the shuttles as required by the Figure. The shuttle race is
kept in its proper situation by guide rods G, passing through loops II, on the
back of the race. The shuttles are driven in the usual way by the strikers
or flyers I.
Having now described the construction and operation of the loom, together
with several modifications or arrangements of mechanism for carrying my
Invention into effect, I wish it to be understood, that I claim as my Invention
under this head of improvement, giving to the breast beam and warps, or to
the batten and rows of shuttles, or to either of them, the rising and falling
motion by any convenient mechanism, for the purpose of bringing the warp
into action and operation with either of such rows or tiers of shuttles as
required by the pattern or fabric.
My improved mode of producing raised figures on woven goods without
the aid of tags or wires, may be effected either in the loom above described;
or in an ordinary loom by the introduction of threads of india-rubber into tho
warp, in the same manner as in weaving some kinds of elastic webbing. The
india-rubber is first cut into threads of the required substance by any of the
ordinary cutting apparatus, and is then put into warm water, and is stretched
out to its utmost tension in the act of winding it upon a reel or drum, and in
this state it is left for about twenty-four hours, when it will be found to have
become fixed at its extended length, it is then wound off the drum or reel,
and has a thread of silk or other filament coiled spirally or platted round it,
by the operation of winding on a spiral covering machine or platting machine;
these threads are merely to prevent the filament of india-rubber from fraying
in the operation of weaving. The india-rubber threads so prepared are then
wound upon small bobbins, and placed in the loom to form part of the warp
threads, and are woven into the body of the fabric. The warp for each
breadth of fabric may be constituted of the threads from five separate
bobbins, as shewn in the Diagram, Fig. 16.. The bobbin a carries the india-
rubber threads, the bobbins 6 threads when a round edge is required instead

page_text: of a plain selvedge, the bobbin c carries the warp from which the raised
figure is produced, the bobbin d carries the warp yarns for constituting the
back of the fabric, and the bobbin e those portions of the warp which are
used for the Linders to assist in connecting the whole fabric together when
interwoven with the weft threads. These bobbins are placed on a stage or
framework at the back of the lcom, and the several portions of the warp are
raised and depressed through the agency of the apparatus called the jacquard,
the same may be done by a draw boy, or any other suitable means.
I now proceed to explain the operation of the weaving, that is, to shew
what warp threads must rise to make a raised figure without the aid of tags
or wires, as well as the other warps that constitute the fabric."
Having described the number of warps, and presuming that they are
entered into the harness of the jacquard loom, the cards being cut to the
figure and tye desired, which can be done by any person whose business it is
to cut cards to weave figured goods by jacquard looms, the operation will
be as follows: First, one half, that is, every alternate thread of the warp for
the back of the fabric is raised with every alternate thread of the binder warp;
the shuttle and weft then pass through the sheds, and these warps descend
by the motion of the loom; second, the same half of the binder warp must now
be raised with one half, that is, the alternate threads of the figure warp
(or that portion which may be necessary to form the figure); the shuttle
and weft again pass through the sheds, and the warp descends as before;
third, the other or remaining half of the warp of the back and binder
threads now rise; the shuttle and weft pass again, and the warp descends;
fourth, the same half of figure warp as described second, and the binder
warp as third now rise. The shuttle and weft pass through the sheds, and
they again close. This completes one loop or row of the pattern.
The same operation goes on, with this difference, the half of the pattern
warp, or that part which is necessary for the figure that has been laying below,
now performs the same number of rises, and with the same lifts as have been
made by the previous half of the figure warp; this change from one to the other
half of the figure warp, or that part which is necessary to the figure, takes place
alternately with the other warps above described, until the piece is woven.
The india-rubber warp rises and falls, so as to have the weft pass under and
over it to weave it between the two parts constituting the top or face of the
work, and its back. The edge warp and bobbins may be used when a round
or fancy edge is required, or they may be dispensed with at the will of the
weaver. The weft when so woven is fir.n and compact, the india-rubber
threads laying in lines between the front and back, and binding threads, the

page_text: figure warp laying on the surface or front, and floating or laying over two
shoots of the weft. That part of the figure warp not required for the pro-
duction of the figure on the face lays between the front and back with the
india-rubber. I have explained this in the most simple manner that any
experienced weaver may set the loom to work; but I do not claim laying the
warps and bobbins in the particular way described, nor the mode of weaving,.
all I claim under this head is weaving with india-rubber and other strands,,
so as to enable me to produce a raised figure by the simple application of
heat to the indian-rubber when so woven, in order to contract the fabric, and
cause it to resemble a figured fabric similar to that heretofore woven upon tags
or wires, and which is suitable for all purposes of coach lace or other goods.
in which tags or wires have been used in weaving.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert William Sievier, have hereunto-
set my hand and seal, this Sixth day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.
Inrolled the Sixth day of February One thousand eight hundred and
thirty-nine.