IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER LOOMS APPLICABLE TO THE WEAVING OF WIRE AND OTHER MATERIALS
Year: 1830

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
ROBINSON WILLIAMS, of Norfolk Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS His late Majesty King George the Fourth by His Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster,
the Sixth day of February, in the eleventh year of His reign, did, for
Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Thomas
Robinson Williams, His especial licence that I, the said Thomas Robinson
Williams, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Thomas Robinson Williams, 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 expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER LOOMS
APPLICABLE TO THE WEAVING OF WIRE AND OTHER MATERIALS;" in which said
Letters Patent there is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Thomas
Robinson Williams, 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
enrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said 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
Thomas Robinson Williams, do hereby declare: the nature of my said
Invention to consist of certain arrangements of machinery, agreeable to the
following Drawing and description hereto annexed, viz*:-
A, B, C, D is the frame of the loom. a, the axis on which the rigger is
placed, and to which the power is applied. Upon the two ends of this axis or
arbor are two cranks b, and connected to the batten or lathe E by the shackle
bars c.
F is a toothed wheel fast upon the arbor a, which takes into another
wheel G of double the same number of teeth to itself upon another arbor d.
Upon this arbor dare two cams e and f. 9, h are two treadles lying under
the cams e and f, acting upon-a pin or.centre.at i; these two treadles g, h, are
connected near their opposite ends with the harness by the common mode of
tying the harness in power looms; and likewise acting over a roller l, or
fastened to lambs as is preferred. m is the raceboard upon the batten E,
and upon which the shuttle is made to traverse. n is a. roller acting upon a
centre attached to the middle batten, from which a strong arm o projects and
rises up nearly to the raceboard; to the upper end of this arm is connected by
strings with each of the shuttle drivers, or pickers. Over this rollern,passes
a strap p, one end of which is fastened to each of the treadles. His a
scairn or creel,-in which are placed the spools upon which the warp is wound;
the wires, or, threads are all brought from the spools, or bobbins, and pass
severally around the roller I, which is better, for having a great numbers of
small grooves, turned in it, which bind the warp around itself; and further, to
prevent any of; the threads from slipping, in some kinds of work another
roller. Jris added, which runs in sliding pieces or, bearings, and allows of the
surfaces of the two rollers being screwed firmly together, thereby producing..
uniform degree: of tension in allt the threads; of the warp; a strapg.(with
lever and weight) passes over the roller, I, and by friction adjusts: the degreo
of resistance required, in: letting off the warp from the spools. It; is-now.
evident that, when the loom is thrown into motion, and the batten E is drawn
back, that the treadle his thrown down .by. the cam f, and consequently, the
harness kis sprung. downwards, and the harness upwards, opening the warp
for the admission.of the shuttle, and that as the latter part of the springing of
the warp is performing, the strap on the rollera attached to the treadle h will
draw it partly round on its axis, and consequently jerk the string tied to the
driver on the opposite side so as to shoot the shuttle. through the warp,
carrying therewith the woof, a portion-of-which is, deposited in the warp:
corresponding with the width thereof. The motion being continued, it will be
seen that the cam f will be lifted from off the treadle h, and the cam will

page_text: other portion of the warp in the
upwards, opening the warp again
strike down the treadle 9, and that the
harness will be sprung downwards and
for the return of the shuttle through it; the contrary motion to the last will
now take place with the roller n and lever o by the strap fastened to the
treadle g, therefore throwing the shuttle back again, and that between each of
these conjoint motions of the harness and shuttle, the batten E will be forced
forwards by the revolution of the axle a carrying the cranks b, and driving
home the woof left by the shuttle within the shade of the warp. We may
now consider a portion of wire or cloth woven, which is to be wound upon the
roller K; as the cloth is produced it passes over the roller r, thence downwards
under s, to which a weight box is attached t at liberty to slide a little upwards
or downwards in grooves on the inside of the frame of the loom; thence the
cloth passes upwards over the roller n and down again to the large roller K,
upon which is a detent wheel and a click or hand v fastened by a moveable
joint to the batten at w; the consequence is, that when any portion of the
cloth is woven, the click acting upon the detent wheel winds it up until it is
lifted off the wheel by a chain attached to the click, as well as to the weight
box t. The object of this arrangement is to produce a much more equal degree
of tension upon the warp or cloth than in any previous mode of taking up the
work in power looms; for it is obvious whether the roller K is winding or not,
every portion of the cloth must have a uniform tension by the roller and weight
box s, & laying in the bend of the cloth, and this also whether the roller K is
nearly empty, or full of cloth or wire work. There is also besides the above,
an apparatus attached to the batten and shuttle boxes for throwing the loom
out of gear if the shuttle is impeded in its progress through the warp by any
accident, but which being rather minute, and common to all power looms, is
not represented in the Drawing, as it might confuse the parts here represented.
I hereby state I do not claim any novelty in the general construction of
many parts of the loom above described, over those of my own and others
heretofore used. But I do most distinctly claim the herein-described method
of weaving the warp from the spools or bobbing by passing it round the roller I
as well as sometimes between the two rollers I and J, by which means a much
more equal degree of tension is preserved in the threads of the warp than in any
other way, besides saving the great loss of time in warping and putting in pieces
to looms. I do also claim the equal and simple manner of taking up the wire
work or cloth, as it is woven, by the above described means and apparatus.
Now, whereas my said Invention may be made of various materials and
dimensions, but such a loom as is herein-before described being, to the best
of my knowledge and belief, new and never before used within that part of His