IMPROVE- MENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1871

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Conlong at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 24th January
1871.
I, JAMES CONLONG, of Blackburn, in the County of Lancaster,
Mechanic, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
My Invention has in the first place for its object to relieve the
pressure of the swell upon the shuttle at the times when the said shuttle
is entering and leaving the shuttle box. For this purpose I cause each.
of the fingers or one of the fingers which are designed to come into
contact with the "frogs" when the shuttle does not enter a shuttle box,
to rest upon a roller or bowl which is or may be carried by a bracket
fixed to the loom side. During the forward stroke of the sley to beat up
the weft the said bowl allows the said fingers to fall to some extent, and
the swell in one of the shuttle boxes is thereby allowed to press forcibly
upon the shuttle, but during the backward stroke and when the shuttle
is entering or leaving a shuttle box the said bowl acting on the said
finger as upon an incline raises the said finger, and relieves the pressure
of the swell upon the said shuttle.

page_text: A further portion of my Invention relates to looms having loose reeds,
and has for its object to loosen or free the reed when required without so
great a strain upon the warp as in the case of the ordinary loose reeds.
On the "reed back rod" I fix two pairs of fingers, one pair in con-
nection with one shuttle box, and the other pair in connection with the
other shuttle box. One finger, which may be called the swell finger in
each pair, is acted upon by the tail of the swell, that is to say, by a part
of the swell which moves inwards towards the shuttle box when the
main portion of the swell is moved outwards by the entering shuttle.
The other finger, which I will call a feeler, is in contact with the shuttle
tongue, that is to say, with the strip or loose piece which is ordinarily
pressed inwards by the action of a spring after the shuttle has entered
the box. The aforesaid reed back rod is fitted with "duck bills " fingers
or levers, which are acted upon by inclines fixed to the framing of the
loom; and the said rod carries the back bar or strip which forms an
abutment for the lower part of the reed, and the said rod is acted upon
by springs, which tend to lower the said duck bills as or nearly as is
usual. During the ordinary working of the loom when the shuttle does
not fail to enter the shuttle box towards which it is driven, the swell in
the said box being moved outwards the tail of the said swell moves
inwards, and allows the aforesaid swell finger to move towards the
shuttle box, which movement lowers the said duck bills, which then
pass below the said inclines and the reed is held fast, but on the shuttle
failing to enter the said box the said tail of the swell by preventing the
aforesaid inward movement of the said swell finger causes the said duck
bills to be maintained in the position which is suitable for them to be
acted upon by the inclines in order to loosen or free the reed. The
aforesaid shuttle tongue being acted upon by the aforesaid feeler in lieu
of the ordinary spring, the said tongue although pressed firmly against
the shuttle when the said shuttle is in the box, yet is free to be easily
pushed outwards when the said shuttle is not in the box.
A further portion of my Invention consists of improvements in an
Invention for which Her Majesty's Letters Patent, bearing date November
the 26th, A.D. 1868, were granted to myself and to a certain John
Harrisson Moreland, the said Invention relating to pneumatic looms.
In the said Invention the shuttle boxes were formed of cast iron and
had internal linings of cork, which linings have not been found to be
practically efficient.

page_text: According to my present Invention I still form each shuttle box of
cast iron, but I bore it out or otherwise form a smooth cylindrical
surface within the said shuttle box, and I make the shuttle of sheet
metal, and so form the said shuttle as that it acts as a partially clastic
piston when within the said shuttle box.
I prefer to make the said shuttle of steel in the following manner,
namely, I form the said shuttle of two suitably curved pieces of metal,
and I braze or connect together the said pieces entirely along one side of
the shuttle, and for a short distance from each tip on the other side
thereof, the intermediate portion of the said side being left open, and I
turn the said shuttle a little longer in diameter than the interior of the
shuttle box, so that it has to be slightly compressed when entering the
said box. A flat surface is or may be formed on the side which is to
slide on the sley, and also if preferred on the side which will be presented
towards the reed when the shuttle is in motion. The interior of the
shuttle box may be formed to correspond in form to that of the said
shuttle.