IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS USED IN WEAVING
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to David Murray, of the City of Norwich, in the
County of Norfolk, Weaver, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MEANS OR APPARATUS USED IN WEAVING."
Sealed the 15th March 1861, and dated the 21st September 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said David Murray at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st
September 1860.
I, DAVID MURRAY, of the City of Norwich, in the County of Norfolk,
Weaver, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS USED IN WEAVING," to be as follows:-
The improvements have for their object to facilitate the weaving in pattern.
In carrying out one part of my improvements I apply in front of the
heddles or harness a shaft or frame carrying projections adapted when
depressed to act upon those of the warps desired, which for the time form the
upper row in the shed to depress them so that the shuttle may carry its thread.
over in place of under them.
These projections may be formed of bent wire, or by the insertion of plates.
of wood or other material, and they are capable of being slided to vary the
pattern and set in position as desired, and may be applied to act upwards as-
well as downwards.
According to another arrangement, I apply to a barrel or cylinder projec-

page_text: tions capable of being variously set to act on levers connected to hooks, to
draw those hooks out of the way of being acted upon by a treddle or such like
instrument, so as to produce changes in the pattern. In place of
In place of a barrel or
cylinder carrying projections, series of plates or other surfaces adapted to act
on the levers may be employed.
By these means in hand-loom weaving the number of heddles required will
be considerably reduced, as well as increased facilities for variations in pattern
obtained.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said David Murray in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st March 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DAVID
MURRAY, of the City of Norwich, in the County of Norfolk, Weaver, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said David Murray, Her special licence that I, the said David Murray, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said David
Murray, 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
MEANS OR APPARATUS USED IN WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said David Murray, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment 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 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 David Murray, 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
thereof, that is to say :-

page_text: The improvements have for their object to facilitate the weaving in pattern.
In carrying out one part of my improvements, I apply in front of the
heddles or harness a shaft or frame carrying projections adapted when
depressed to act upon those of the warps desired, which for the time form the
upper row in the shed to depress them so that the shuttle may carry its
thread over in place of under those warp threads.
These projections may be formed of bent wire, or by the insertion of plates
of wood or other material, and they are capable of being slided to vary the
pattern and set in position as desired, and may be applied to act upwards as
well as downwards.
According to another, the second part of my improvements, I apply to a
barrel or cylinder projections capable of being variously set to act on levers
connected to hooks, to draw those hooks out of the way of being acted upon by
a treddle or such like instrument, so as to produce changes in the pattern.
In place of a barrel or cylinder carrying projections, series of plates or other
surfaces adapted to act on the levers may be employed.
By these means in band-loom weaving the number of heddles and treddles
required will be considerably reduced, as well as increased facilities for
variations in pattern obtained.
But that the nature of the improvements may be more fully understood,
I will by aid of the accompanying Drawings describe the manner in which the
same may be carried into effect.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows parts arranged according to the first head of the Invention.
a, a', is the frame or shaft, with projections 6 for acting, as stated, upon the
warps of an open shed, to change their relative position. This frame or
shaft a, a', is suspended in front of the harness or beddles, and in such manner
that, when depressed, the lower surfaces of the projections 6, by pressing down
those of the warps for the time forming the upper row of the shed under
them may admit of the weft thrown in being thrown over them, whilst the
remaining warps which for the time form the upper part of the shed, and
which are permitted to rise by the sides or between the projections b may
remain up for the weft to pass under, as governed alone by the heddles or
harness. The projections 6 may be formed of bent wire, or by the application
of plates of wood or other material, and may be altered in relative position
across the warp by sliding the part a¹ upon the part a, and, when the desired
adjustment is obtained, they may be held in the required position by a pin or
stud c, or by other suitable means.
b
The ends of the frame a, a', are connected

page_text: to sliding pieces d, d, which are formed to slide on fixed rods e, e, affixed to
stationary framings f, f, which may form parts of the loom, or of the room
or shed in which the loom is situated; and the frame a is operated for its
up-and-down motion in the following manner :-The frame is kept in a state
of balance by being suspended by cords g, g, from the spring rods h, h, whilst
upwards it is by the cords i, i, connected to one end of the lever j, which
turns upon an axis j', and at its other end is by the cord j2 connected to the
shaft k, which by the cords k¹, k¹, is connected to the treddles ³, k³, by
depressing either of which the frame a, a', may be raised, whilst on the under
side the frame a, a¹, is by cords 1, 1, connected to the shaft 1, and this shaft l
is by a cord 1ª connected to the treddle 13, by depressing which the frame a, a',
will be depressed. It will readily be understood, that by placing the frame
or shaft a, a, below the shed with the pieces b on the upper edge thereof, and
so that when the frame a, a², is raised, the warps which for the time form the
lower portion of the shed may be acted upon. A like effect may be produced
on that part of the shed.
I will now describe the second part of my improvements, which is repre-
sented by Figure 2. The lever A is attached to the treddle B by the cord C;
so that when the treddle B is pressed down by the foot of the weaver, that
end of the lever A will be drawn down, raising the weight D at the further
end of the lever A, and allowing the lever E connected to the lever A by a
cord or wire A¹ to descend a distance sufficient to catch a fresh tooth of the
wheel F. By the weaver now raising his foot, the weight D will raise that
end of the lever A which is connected to the lever E, by which the lever E
will act upon a tooth of the wheel F affixed to the cylinder G, to cause that
cylinder to make a partial rotation equal to the distance of one tooth of the
wheel F. The surface of the cylinder G is provided with rows of projecting
pins G¹, adapted in the rotation of that cylinder to come in contact with the
upper ends of small levers H, to press them forward in the order desired for
the figure or twill to be produced. The levers H turn upon an axis H¹, so
that as the tops thereof are pressed forward, the lower parts go backwards.
Cords (1) connect these levers H with the hooked levers (2), one end of each
of the cords (1) being connected to a lever H, and the other end to a hook
(2); by these means those of the hooks (2) connected to the levers ■, for
the time acted upon by the rows of pins in the barrel G, will be drawn a
distance sufficient for the hooks (2) to be clear of the knife edge of the
lever (3), which would otherwise catch them when it is pulled down by the
treddle B, and so pull down all those hooks which have not been drawn back
by the levers H. Each of the hooks 2 is attached by a cord to one of

page_text: the lams (4) or (5), and these are connected to tho healds or heddles. in the
usual way. (7), (7), are the levers acted upon by springs (8), by which the
lever (3) is raised to its proper place after operation.
Figures 3 and 4 show two opposite side views, and Figures 5, 6, and 7,
detail views of a modification of this part of the improvements in which
series of small plates with projecting pins or pegs are substituted for the
large barrel or cylinder already explained. The broad lever (3) described
as working upon an axis or gudgeons is now worked as a slide or slip.
The lever A, is attached to the treddle B, by the cord C, and when the
treddle B is pressed down by the weaver's foot the lever A is drawn down
raising the cord D, which is attached to the lever arm E, (best seen in
Figure 3). This lever E, being drawn up a short distance turns upon.its
axis E', by its end E drives forward the rod L, which is attached at one end
to the lever E, and at the other to the cross bar T, (best seen in Figure 5,)
thus swinging forward the frame F, which-turns upon hinge joints F', and works
to and fro in a similar way to the lathe of a power loom. The frame F,
being thus pushed forwards a sufficient distance allows the small barrel or
cylinder F2, carried thereby to come into contact with one or other of the
catches Z, (see Figure 3,) to turn it partly round and thereby bring up a fresh'
plate of pins G, in a similar manner to the cards of a jacquard cylinder. These
plates G, are kept in their places on the barrel F2, by two small hammers
S, S, which are each acted upon by a spring V.
'
The barrel Fe being turned partly round to bring over a fresh plate G, the
weaver now raises his foot to allow the frame F to return to its place, as
drawn back by the spiral springs (8), of which there is fixed one on each side
of the machine or frame. The small projecting pins carried by the plates G
are each adapted to act upon the upper end of a lever H, to press those levers
forward according to the variations in the figure or twill required. The upper
end of each lever H being pressed forward the lower part flies backwards, and
so pulls the cords attached to the lower end, and which draw the hooks No. 2
a sufficient distance to clear them from the slide (3), which catches the
remainder, when it is drawn down by the treddle B. All those hooks not
drawn back by the lever H are caught and pressed down by the slide (3).
The hooks in descending pull the cords O attached to the lams (14) and (15),.
which are themselves connected with the healds or heddles in the usual way.
(7), (7), are two levers with weights at each end of them for raising the
slide (3) to its proper place again; (9), (9), are two cords, one from each lever
(7), which pass over the top and are fastened to the back of the pulleys (10).
There are other two cords fixed through the bottom of the slide (3) which

page_text: pass over the pulleys in the opposite direction to those of (9), and are fastened
to the opposite side of the pulleys (10), so that when the slide (3) is drawn
down by the treddle B, the two weighted levers (7), (7), may raise it again
.without the slightest friction. (12), (12), are small pulleys, under each of
which passes a cord from one of the hooks (2) to another hook (2), so that
when any of the levers H are drawn back those hooks connected with them
will be drawn back also, and as there are two hooks attached together by the
cords that pass under the small pulleys, the one hook being pulled backwards
pulls the cord tight. and acts as a spring in pulling the other hook forward to
be caught by the slide (3). The small plates G are of an inch thick, and
of an inch broad, and may be made to any length required with two rows of
holes in 'them to fix the pins in; these pins are bent with one end inch
long, and the other inch long, which projects inch through the plates, so
in changing the pattern it only requires to have these pins taken out, and pass
the long end of them through the plate as the figure or twill may require.
These details may be varied.
This machine can be worked at. the upper part of the loom with great
advantage as a substitute for the jacquard machine, and will be a great
advantage in the power loom in making long twills and figure work.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the means
which I adopt in carrying the same into effect, I would have it understood
that I do not claim the mechanical elements separately considered; but what
I do claim is,
First, the adaptation or combination of means substantially as explained
under the first head of Invention.
Secondly, I claim the adaptations or combinations of means substantially as
explained in respect of Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7..
In witness whereof, I, the said David Murray, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Witness,
FRANK P. HINDE; of Norwich.:
DAVID MURRAY. (L.S.)