IMPROVE- MENTS IN SHUTTLES FOR LOOMS
Year: 1872

page_text: in
LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Nuttall, of Shuttleworth, near Bury,
the County of Lancaster, Overlooker, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SHUTTLES FOR LOOMS." -A communication from abroad by
Thomas Isherwood, of Westerly, County of Stunnington, State of
Connecticut, in the United States of America.
Sealed the 2nd August 1872, and dated the 19th February 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Nuttall at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th February 1872.
I, SAMUEL NUTTALL, of Shuttleworth, near Bury, in the County of
Lancaster, Overlooker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHUTTLES FOR LOOMs," being a communication
to me from abroad by Thomas Isherwood, of Westerley, County of
Stunnington, State of Connecticut, in the United States of America, to
be as follows:-

page_text: which the defects in the fabric woven, and known as "floats," are
avoided, the present Invention being an improvement upon the Inven-
tion secured to the said Thomas Isherwood by Letters Patent bearing
date the 27th day of April 1871, No. 1123.
The present Invention consists of a plate which is let into the shuttle ;
to this plate is hinged a clamp, which when liberated comes against the
end of the shuttle skewer; this clamp is held in position by a spring
which is acted upon by a trigger, also hinged to the plate. When a
defect in the warp occurs the trigger is acted upon by the warp threads
to liberate the clamp, which then catches hold of the weft on the point
of the shuttle skewer, and as the shuttle proceeds in its traverse the weft
is broken, and the weft stop motion then comes into operation to stop
the loom, thus preventing the formation of a float.
filed by the said Samuel Nuttall in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 17th August 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
NUTTALL, of Shuttleworth, near Bury, in the County of Lancaster,
Overlooker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Samuel Nuttall, Her special
licence that I, the said Samuel Nuttall, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Samuel Nuttall, 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 SHUTTLES
FOR Looms," a communication to me from abroad by Thomas Isherwood,
of Westerley, County of Stunnington, State of Connecticut, United

page_text: States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Samuel Nuttall, 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 Scal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel Nuttall, 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 (that is to say): :-
This Invention relates to an apparatus forming part of the shuttle by
which the defects in the fabrics woven, and known as "floats," are
avoided, the present Invention being an improvement upon the Inven-
tion secured to the said Thomas Isherwood by Letters Patent bearing
date the Twenty-seventh day of April One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-one, Number 1123.
The apparatus consists of a plate which is let into the shuttle; to this
plate is hinged a clamp, which when liberated comes against the end of
the shuttle skewer; this clamp is held in position by a spring which is
acted upon by a trigger, also hinged to the plate. When a defect in the
warp occurs the trigger is acted upon by the warp threads to liberate
the clamp, which then catches hold of the weft on the point of the
shuttle skewer, and as the shuttle proceeds in its traverse the weft is
broken, and the weft stop motion then comes into operation to stop the
loom, thus preventing the formation of a float.
And in order that this Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation, I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet
of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked
thereon.
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of a shuttle to which the improved
apparatus for preventing "floats" is applied; Fig. 2 is a plan; and
Figs. 3 and 4 are two transverse sections of the same taken through the
lines A, B, and C, D.
a is the body of the shuttle; b, the spindle or skewer; c, the cop;
and d, the weft eduction tube; these parts are all made as usual. To

page_text: the inside of the shuttle is secured a plate f¹, and to this plate is pivotted
the lever or trigger g', which parts are similar to those described in the
Specification of Thomas Isherwood's Patent above referred to. To the
plate is also hinged the catch or clamp h; which is acted upon by the
retaining spring i and pushing spring j; both these springs are made of
a bent steel wire secured to the inside of the plate f¹, and having the
ends crossed so that the retaining spring i, which is acted upon by the
lower end of the trigger g¹, takes into a notch in the lower end of the
catch h, and the spring j, which presses in the direction of the arrow in
Fig. 3, acts upon the upper end of the said catch. The upper end of the
trigger g¹ is bent forward and fits in a recess in the body of the shuttle
as shewn in Fig. 4, to prevent the weft catching on the trigger. The
bent plate / shewn in Figure 1 serves as a guard, and may be used when
the upper end of the trigger is not bent. A piece of flannel or other
fibrous material fixed to a slotted bracket m, as shewn in Figs. 4, 5, and 6,
may be placed in the shuttle between the end of the skewer 6 and the
eduction tube d; the flannel is cut open in line with the slot in the
bracket m to give a little drag or friction to the weft as it is drawn off
the cop.
This friction flannel is applicable to all shuttles.
The mode of operation is as follows:-The parts remain in the
positions shewn by the full lines in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, so long as the shed
is properly opened, the catch h being held back by the retaining spring i,
and the weft being drawn off the cop as the shuttle traverses from one
side of the loom to the other, when however a false shed of the warps
takes place, and some of the warp threads are not sufficiently opened,
the warp threads so imperfectly opened come against the upper end of
the trigger g', and move it either to the right hand or the left according
to the direction in which the shuttle is moving; this action on the
trigger depresses the spring i and releases the lower end of the catch h,
which is then instantly brought against the end of the spindle or skewer b
by the action of the spring j, thereby binding the weft against the
skewer, or catching the weft in the sharp notch made in the face of the
catch h, and as the shuttle continues its flight the weft is broken, con-
sequently the loom is stopped by the action of the ordinary weft stop
motion which comes into operation before a float can be formed.
In Figs. 5, 6, and 7, I have shewn a modification of the Invention, in
this instance the catch his jointed to the lower end of the plate ƒ³, and
the retaining spring i is bent so as to dispense with the trigger g¹; the

page_text: spring presses on the catch h in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 7, so
as to bring the catch against the end of the skewer 6 as soon as the
warp depresses the bent part of the springs i projecting above the level
of the body of the shuttle.
Figs. 8, 9, and 10 represent another modification of this Invention; in
this case the catch is in the form of an elbow, and when the trigger g¹
has been acted upon by the warp the spring i releases the upper end of
the catch, and the spring j, which presses in the direction of the arrow
in Fig. 10, brings the lower arm of the catch against the under side of
the shuttle skewer.
Having thus stated the nature of the Invention communicated to me
by the within-named Thomas Isherwood, and described the manner of
performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do intend to
limit myself to the details given, as they may be varied or modified; but
what I claim is, the improved apparatus above described, and particularly
the clamp or catch h, and the friction flannel fixed to the bracket m,
when applied to the shuttles of looms to prevent the defects in the
fabrics known as " floats."
In witness whereof I the said Samuel Nuttall have hereto set