IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON- STRUCTION AND MANUFACTURE, AND IN TOOLS FOR THE MANUFACTURE, OF PICKERS USED IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1867

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Edmondson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th August 1867.
I, RICHARD EDMONDSON, of the Firm of Brooke and Edmondson, of Bank
Top Mill, Blackburn, in the County of Lancaster, Manufacturers, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON-
STRUCTION AND MANUFACTURE, AND IN TOOLS FOR THE MANUFACTURE, OF PICKERS
USED IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:--
constructed that those

page_text: of metal and in one piece, so arranged that bushes or pieces of material
different from the frame of the picker may be secured in it to work upon the
spindle and act against the tip of the shuttle, such material being buffalo
or other hide, leather, horn, bone, india-rubber, wood, or other similar
and suitable material, but I prefer buffalo hide. I also prefer to make the
frame of the picker of malleable cast iron, and to secure the bushes or pieces
of buffalo hide therein by screwing the parts in or by driving in those parts
intended to act upon the tip of the shuttle with cement, the interior of the
receptacle being first properly roughened or serrated to give a secure hold to
the material inserted. The metal frames of the pickers are screwed or
tapped" by being placed in a holder which causes them to come opposite a
"tap" in a shaft or spindle, which rotates and screws through its bearing, the
pitch of the screw upon the spindle being the same as that of the tap. The
serrations or teeth are made in the receptacle which holds the material that
acts against the tip of the shuttle by an instrument formed by a number of
segments loothed upon their outer circumference, and these segments are
inserted into the receptacle, and expanded by a cone plug, which is driven in
by percussion when the franic of the picker is held in a suitable die.
The buffalo hide or other material used for spindle bushes and shuttle
tip pieces is cut to the size required by a suitable stamp, then these pieces are
softened and placed in a "pickle" composed of oil and alkali, and they are
then formed into the shape required. This is done (for bushes) by a pair of
jaws which are arranged to close round a central spindle when the piece of
material is inserted within them; then while the jaws remain closed the
central spindle is slided endways, and forces the piece of material out of the
jaws into a die tapped with a screw thread agreeing with that in the metal
frame of the picker. Each die is long enough to receive two screws, one of
which has a cone point, and it passes through the interior of the bush within
the dic, the other screw has a hole in its axis to receive the cone point of the
first-named screw. The bush is firmly compressed within the die by means
of the two screws, and is kept in this state for some hours, then the screws
arc removed, but the bush is still allowed to remain within the die until it is
dry and hard. A tool like a "rimer" is used for screwing the bushes out of
the die and in and out of the metal frame of the picker.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions
of the Letters ratti, med
by the said Richard Edmondson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
8th February 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
EDMONDSON, of the Firm of Brooke and Edmondson, of Bank Top Mill,
Blackburn, snd greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Richard Edmondson. Her special license that I, the said Richard Edmondson,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Richard Edmondson. 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, and exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MANUFACTURE, AND IN TOOLS FOR
THE MANUFACTURE, OF PICKERS USED IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Richard Edmondson, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, 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 Richard Edmondson, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying Drawing (that is to say):-
The object of my Invention is to obtain a picker which is so constructed
that those paris of it liable to be worn out can be readily renewed or replaced
at little cost and my Invention consists in making the entire frame or body of
the picker of metal and in one piece, so arranged that the bushes or pieces of
material different from the frame of the picker may be secured in it to work
upon the spindle, and to act against the tip of the shuttle, such material being
buffalo or other hide, leather, horn, bone, india-rubber, wood, or other similar

page_text: suitable material, but I prefer buffalo hide. I also prefer to make the frame
of the picker of malleable cast iron, and to secure the bushes, or pieces of
buffalo hide therein by screwing the parts in or by driving in and compressing
those parts intended to act upon the tip of the shuttle, the interior of the
receptacle being made of such shape as to give secure hold to the material
inserted. The metal frames of the pickers are screwed or tapped by being
placed in a holder, which causes them to come opposite a tap in a shaft or
spindle, which rotates and screws through. its bearing, the pitch of the screw
upon the spindle being the same as that of the tap. The receptacle which
holds the material that acts against the tip of the shuttle is made taper, being
smallest in the centre, and is enlarged towards each side. I prefer to fill this
receptacle with a strip of buffalo hide folded to form an oblong piece, which is
first pressed between dies in any suitable press, and is then inserted in the
receptacle in the picker frame and is compressed at its two enls, so as to spread
or rivet over the sides of the receptacle, so that when allowed to dry and harden
it will be firmly secured. The buffalo hide both for the shuttle tips above
mentioned and for bushes may be cut to the size required by suitable stamps
or other cutters, and before being shaped the pieces are softened in a pickle
composed of one ounce of soda or potash to about one gallon of water, they
are then formed into the shape required. The shuttle tip pieces are shaped
and applied in the manner above described, and the pieces for the bushes are
operated upon by means of a tube shaped to gradually bend them to the form
required as they are pushed through it by a spindle. Or this may be
accomplished by a pair of jaws which are arranged to close round a central
spindle when the piece of material is inserted within them, and while
the jaws remain closed the central spindle is slided endways, and forces the
piece of material out of the jaws or out of the tube of the first-mentioned
arrangement into a die tapped with screw threads agreeing with those in the
metal frame of the picker. Each of these dies is long enough to receive two
screws,, one of which has a cone point, and it passes through the interior of
the bush within the die, and the other screw has a hole in its axis to receive
the cone point of the first-named screw. The bush of buffalo hide is firmly
compressed within the screw die by means of the two screws, and is kept in
this state for some hours, then the screws are removed, but the bush is still
allowed to remain within the die until it is dry and hard. A tool like a
"rimer" is used for screwing the bushes out of the die, and in and out of the
metal frame of the picker.
11

page_text: Invention, and the manner of carrying the same into effect, by reference to
the Figures upon the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
Fig. is a side view or elevation of the picker with the piece of folded
buffalo hide inserted, but not compressed or rivetted over at the ends; Fig. 2
is a plan section through the line a, b, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side sectional view
or elevation of the picker as when complete; and Fig. 4 is a plan section
through the line c, d, Fig. 3: Fig. 5 is an end view or elevation of the picker
when complete.
It will be seen that the picker can be reversed upon the spindle, and that
when one side of the piece acting upon the tip of the shuttle is worn the other
side can be used. The metal frame of the picker is made of cast malleable
iron, it has a barrel part a which contains the bushes that work upon the
spindle the picking strap or band passes round the barrel (a) and through
the slot (a). The receptacle (1) for the piece of buffalo that acts against the
tip of the shuttle is shaped as shewn by Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5. The bottom
part (c) of the frame of the shuttle is formed to slide in the groove in the
bottom of the shuttle box; d are two bushes of buffalo hide screwed into the
barrel part (a). I prefer to place a piece (e) of buffalo hide or a cylindrical
roll of paper glued together as it is rolled up to surround the spindle between
the two screwed bushes (d), as shewn in Fig. 3. is the piece of buffalo
hide which is secured in the receptacle (b); this piece is formed of a softened
strip of buffalo hide folded, as shewn in Fig. 2, and pressed between suitable
dies to bring the folds firmly in contact with each other, and then inserted
into the receptacle (b), and compressed at each end to cause it to fill up the
receptacle and spread or rivet over, as shewn in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, while in a
soft state.
Fig. 6 is a side sectional view, and Fig. 7 a cross sectional view of apparatus
used for compressing or rivetting, the pieces (). This apparatus is formed
by a metal bed (g) (secured to any suitable bench or table), having two
bearings for a shaft (h) that has a fly wheel and handle at one end arranged
as shewn, so as to rotate but not move endways. This shaft has a right and
left handed screw thread formed upon it, and a jaw (i) is made to screw upon
each thread, each jaw having a projection (i) which slides in a slot (in a
direction parallel to the shaft) in the bed plate (g). and thus the jaws are
prevented from rotating with the screw shaft (h). The rotation of the
shaft () one way will cause the jaws (i) to retire from each other, and the
rotation of the shaft (h) in the opposite direction will cause the jaws (i) to-
advance towards each other. A carrier or bracket() is placed upon the bed-

page_text: so as to be adjustable between the two jaws, and the picker is placed in this
bracket or carrier when the folded hide is inserted, being held in its place by
suitable notches in or projections from the bracket or carrier (k). Each
jaw (i) is formed, as shewn, to pass upon each side of the exterior of the
picker to prevent the hide from spreading too much over the sides.
Fig. 8 is a side sectional view, and Fig. 9 an end view of apparatus for
screw tapping the ends of the barrel (a) of the picker frame. I is the bed
plate; m is the screw shaft rotated by a hand wheel, as shewn; this shaft (m)
is formed to receive a suitable tap (m), as shewn, the thread (m2) upon the
shaft (m) and that of the tap (m) being of the same pitch. In a stand from
the bed plate (1) a receptacle is formed to receive the barrel part (a) of the
frame of the picker which is slided into the receptacle when the lever (n) is
in the position shewn in dotted line in Fig. 9, and it is prevented from being
forced out in the act of tapping when the lever handle (n) (centred at n¹) is
in the position shewn in full line in Fig. 9. Of course when one end of the
barrel is tapped it is pulled out of the holding receptacle and reversed. Any
suitable arrangements may be employed for screw tapping in place of those
above described.
Fig. 10 is a longitudinal section of apparatus for bending the pieces of
buffalo hide into the hoop form and inserting them into the screw die. p is a
bed plate which may be secured to a suitable bench or table, it has two
bearings for a sliding shaft (q). To the end of this shaft two cords are
attached, one passes over a pulley (4) to a suitable treadle, the other over a
pulley (q) to a suspended weight sufficient to pull back the sliding shaft (q)
after it has been pushed forward by the action of the treadle. One of the
bearings of the sliding shaft is a tube (r), which may be made in two halves
screwed together, and one end of this tube is made with an opening to form a
hopper (r), in which the pieces of hide (a) are placed in a soft state one
above the other. The interior of the tube (r) is shaped, as shewn, by the
detached cross sections of it just below Fig. 10, each cross section being
numbered and is a cross section of the tube (r) upon the line in Fig. 10
numbered with the corresponding figure. The end of the spindle (g) is
formed, as shewn, and when drawn back into the position represented its
shoulder comes against the lowest piece of hide () in the hopper (r'), when
it is moved forward by the treadle; and as the shaft or spindle (g) advances
the piece is gradually bent into the complete hoop (as shewn by section 6) and
is forced through a conical mouth-piece (s) formed of very thin steel or other
sufficiently elastic metal, which is slit. so as to open and let the hoop (x) pass

page_text: into the interior of the screw die (t) which has been previously placed upon
the conical elastic mouth-piece, the screw die resting upon the carrier or
bracket (u), as shewn. The elastic mouth-piece (s) is to guide the hoops
easily into the screw die (). While the sliding spindle (q) is pushing the
piece of hide through the tube (r) it prevents the descent of the pieces of hide
in the hopper (r'), but when drawn fully back all the pieces descend in the
hopper, and the lowest is next taken. The hoop (q) on the spindle (q) limits
the extent of movement.
Fig. 11 is a section of the screw die (t) with a hoop of hide (z) within it,
and the two screws ( and 12) which compress it. These screws have a
groove in them to allow the air to escape. The screws are removed after three
or four hours, but the bush (r) is allowed to remain in the die until dry
and hard. Of course a great number of screw dies are required to give time
to allow the bushes to dry and harden. The piece of hide which acts upon
the tip of the shuttle can be driven out of the receptacle when worn out by
cutting off or compressing the overspreading edges.
I would here remark that the screw tapping of the barrel of the picker may
be dispensed with, and a bush made of one piece of buffalo hide may be
inserted in a soft state in the barrel of the picker, and made to extend from
end to end and to project a little past each end of the barrel, so that it
can be expanded by the pressure of cone shaped points, and allowed to
harden in this shape, and by this means the bush will be secured in the barrel
part.
:
I have now particularly described the nature of my Invention and the mode
of carrying it into effect, and claim as my Invention,-
Firstly. The construction of the entire frame of the picker of malleable cast
iron in one piece, having the barrel part (a) fitted with bushes of buffalo
hide or other similar suitable material to work upon the spindle, and with
a receptacle for buffalo hide or other suitable material to act against the tip
of the shuttle, substantially as herein-before described and illustrated by the
Drawings.
Secondly. I claim the mode of securing bushes of buffalo hide or similar
suitable material into the barrel part (a) of metal pickers by screw threads, or
by expanding each end of a tube of buffalo hide, substantially as herein-before
described and illustrated by the Drawings.
.
Thirdly. I claim the mode of folding, applying, and securing a piece of
buffalo hide into a receptacle in a metal picker-frame-to-act-upon-the-tip_of_
the shuttle, substantially as herein-before described.

page_text: Fourthly. I claim the mechanism for screw tapping metal pickers, the
method and tools for forming screwed bushes of buffalo hide, and the tools
and system or method of rivetting or spreading over the ends of a piece of
buffalo hide, which acts against the tip of the shuttle to secure it in the
receptacle in the picker frame, substantially as herein-before described and
illustrated by the Drawings.
In witness whereof. I, the said Richard Edmondson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventh day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
Witness,
PETER J. LIVSEY,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
R. EDMONDSON. (L.S.).