IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PICKING MOTIONS OF LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1885

page_text: We RICHARD ECROYD of Charlestown Mills, Shipley, in the County of York,
Manufacturer, and JOSEPH BENTLEY, of the same place, Managing Overlooker, do
hereby declare the nature of our invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PICKING
MOTIONS OF LOOMS FOR WEAVING," and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained. in and by the following
statement:
This invention relates to certain improvements in the picking motions of looms
for weaving, and has for its object, the prevention of the ends of the sticks
travelling so far over the reed space, that they come in contact with the jacquard
harness or the vertical connecting rods of positive motion heald machines; by
which we are enabled to retain the full reed space as in a plain loom, and to run
the looms with longer picking leathers, than when the sticks are mounted direct
over the centre of the vertical picking shafts.
The invention consists in securing to the top of each vertical picking shaft; a
picking stick box, in which the stick is secured therein at some distance from the
centre of the picking shaft; by which arrangement, we are enabled to use longer
picking leathers, and thereby reduce the friction on the picking spindles: also to
bring the end of each picking stick to which the leather is secured nearer to the
end of the lathe or going part, to the position for driving the shuttle across the
"shed."
In the accompanying drawings, Fig 1. represents a side clevation of our
improved picking stick box, and Fig 2. is a plan of the same.
The bottom disc A is secured to the picking shaft or spindle B, and is of the
ordinary construction: above the said disc we place our improved picking stick
box, C, which is secured to the shaft B, and bottom disc A, by nut D, in the same
manner as ordinary boxes.
By securing the picking sticks E. in the boxes C. some distance from the centre
of the shafts or spindles B. as shewn; we bring the ends of the same at E¹ more
over the end of the lathe or going part, further from the reed space to the position for
the tappets driving the shuttles across the "shed," than can be accomplished when
the sticks are mounted direct over the centre of the shafts B.; thus, by the sticks
being at some distance from the said shafts, more leverage is obtained, therefore
the shuttles are struck with greater force with the ordinary length of tappet nose,
so that it is not necessary for the sticks to travel so near to the delivering ends of

page_text: the shuttle boxes, by which we obtain the use of the full width of the reed space
as in a plain loom; keep clear of the harness, or the connecting rods of the positive
motion heald machines; and also greatly reduce the liability of the weavers being
struck as is the case when the sticks are operated upon when mounted direct over
the centre of the shafts B.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is
The mounting of picking sticks in a box, arranged that the sticks are some
distance from the centre of the picking shaft B, substantially in the manner
described and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.