IMPROVE- ·MENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to David Speirs, Manufacturer, Alexander Boyd, Pattern
Maker, and James Kirkwood, Weaver and Mechanic, all of Paisley, in
the County of Renfrew, North Britain, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
·MENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 23rd February 1864, and dated the 29th August 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said David Speirs, Alexander
Boyd, and James Kirkwood, at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 29th August 1863.
We, DAVID SPEIRS, Manufacturer, ALEXANDER BOYD, Pattern Maker, and
JAMES KIRKWOOD, Weaver and Mechanic, all of Paisley, in the County of
Renfrew, North Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention comprises various improvements in looms for weaving, the
improvements being designed more particuarly to promote the weaving by power
of figured fabrics of and similar to the "Paisley shawl" class, and being-in
connection with some of the arrangements described in the Specification of
Letters Patent, dated 22nd February 1862, (No. 472), and granted to James
Kirkwood one of the present applicants. In weaving fabrics of the kind
referred to six (or other convenient number of) shuttles are used, being all
passed across the web in successve single shots to form a single line of the
woven fabric. The weaving action is usually such as to produce a twill on
the surface of the fabric, the pattern or ornamental effect being due to the.

page_text: various colors of the several wefts which are respectively selected to be
thrown to the surface, in accordance with the design, by the action of the
jacquard apparatus. The twilling is effected by four (or other suitable
number of) heddle leaves, and each shed formed thereby is kept open during
the "run of the six shuttles. It is usual to "twice draw" or repeat the
action of each "bridle" or set of six jacquard cards.
"
Having thus briefly noticed the principal actions concerned in weaving
fabrics of the kind herein-before referred to, we will proceed to describe
arrangements embodying our present improvements. An object of a portion
of our improvements is to lessen the friction upon the warps, which is
necessarily very great on account of the number of picks and beats-up made
for every single line of the fabric. The lathe is by preference made to work
in guides in the upper part of the side frames of the loom, and a slight
inclination downwards towards the 'front is given to the guides, or the relative
positions of the breast beam, warps, and lathe guides are so adjusted that
the warps are close down upon the race only when the lathe is full back, and
the shuttle being thrown the lathe in its forward movement causing the race
to immediately deviate from the line of the warps, so as not to rub upon them
more than is quite unavoidable. With a similar object the shuttle is fitted
with four or more antifriction wheels, there being more than one wheel at
each end of the shuttle to prevent it from dipping into the groove for the weft
fork, or into any other spaces. The wheels of the shuttles are set with slight
inclinations which cause the shuttle to bear against the reed in passing across,
rotating or cylinder shuttle boxes are used, being carried by means of spindles
fixed in the outer ends of the central barrels and turning in bearings in the
lathe wings, whilst the inner ends of the cylinders are encircled by grooved
rings which rest upon supporting guides, being held down by upper guidés
fixed to bars which stay the lathe wings above the shuttle box cylinders. The
picking is effected by levers projecting up from below, and takes place from
the shuttle box or cell which happens to be in the middle of the front side of
the cylinder. Each shuttle cell is fitted with a spring or swell lever and spring,
which is pressed inwards when the shuttle gets properly home, and the end
of each lever or spring is jointed to a pin or rod which passes across the
centre of the barrel, and is fitted at the other side with a head to act on the
ordinary stop motion lever. The several crossing pins do not interfere with
each other, being disposed at slightly different points in the length of the
barrel. It will be obvious that the shifting of the shuttle box cylinder always
brings into position the stop motion details appertaining to the shuttle in
action. To effect the shifting of the shuttle box cylinder it is fitted with large

page_text: ratchet teeth, and when the lathe moves forward a tooth comes in contact
with a spring pawl, and causes the cylinder to turn, the cylinder being kept
steady between each shift by a hammer and spring bearing on faces made for
it on the barrel, a conical or rounded rim is fitted to the inner end of the
shuttle box cylinder to prevent the various wefts from catching on the edges
of the shuttle cells. The heddles are actuated by a "dobbie" or separate
jacquard apparatus of small size, but strongly made; this dobbie is actuated
directly from the crank shaft, the barrel being moved out by a bent lever in
connection with the lift plate and returning by springs. The levers for
working the heddles are moved by adjustable slotted links attached to the
vertical wires of the dobbie, and the levers move in vertical slots in a fixed
guide.frame, adjacent to which is a catch frame formed with a groove and
catch for each lever. When a lever is actuated it enters under a catch in the
frame, and remains stationary during the run of shots, but when a second
lever is actuated for the next shed the second lever in entering under its
catch moves the catch frame aside so as to relieve the first lever. An
additional lever besides the heddle levers is provided to shift the catch frame
and release any heddle lever when required. The principal jacquard app ratus
for actuating the figuring harness is worked by a lever, acted up
eccentric or cam on the low shaft of the loom, and when the jacquard
movements have to be suspended this lever is held down by a catch, entered
and withdrawn at the proper periods by the dobbie. To effect the backward
rotation of the card barrel for "twice drawing" the barrel is fitted with a
collar which when going over the "bridle" or set of cards the first time
winds up a weight, and this weight rotates the barrel back at the proper time,
a cord acted upon by the dobbie then releasing the barrel, whilst a second
cord from the dobbie moves the collar out of gear when the bridle is being
gone over the second time. Some of the movements just referred to may be
worked by the dobbie or by the principal jacquard machine as may be
preferred.
y an
The herein-before described improvements, or some of them, are obviously
applicable to looms arranged for weaving fabrics more or less differing from
those referred to, the parts being suitably modified to suit the requirements of
each case.
For example, the shuttle box arrangements may be adapted for
weaving checks, and the shifting may be effected by various known kinds of
pattern mechanism.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said David Speirs, Alexander Boyd, and James Kirkwood in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 27th February 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, DAVID
SPEIRS, Manufacturer, ALEXANDER BOYD, Pattern Maker, and JAMES KIRK-
WOOD, Weaver and Mechanic, all of Paisley, in the County of Renfrew, North
Britain, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of August in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and' grant unto
us, the said David Speirs, Alexander Boyd, and James Kirkwood, Her special
license that we, the said David Speirs, Alexander Boyd, and James Kirk-
wood, our executors administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the
said David Speirs, Alexander Boyd, and James Kirkwood, our executors,
administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and yend, within the United King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man,
an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said David. Speirs, Alexander Boyd, and
James Kirkwood, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under our hand and seal, or under the hand and seal of one of
them, 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 we, the said David Speirs, Alexander Boyd, and
James Kirkwood, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement in writing, reference being
had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon, that is to say :-
Our said Invention comprises various improvements in looms for weaving,
the improvements being designed more particularly to promote the weaving by
power of figured fabrics of and similar to the "Paisley shawl" class, and being
in connection with some of the arraugements described in the Specification of
Letters Patent, dated 22 February 1862, (No 472) and granted to James

page_text: Kirkwood, one of the present patentees. In weaving fabrics of the kind
referred to, seven (or other convenient number of) shuttles are used, being all
passed across the web in successive single shots to form a single line of the
woven fabric. The weaving action is usually such as to produce a twill on the
surface of the fabric, the pattern or ornamental effect being due to the various
colors of the several wefts which are respectively selected to be thrown to the
surface in accordance with the design by the action of the jacquard apparatus..
The twilling is effected by four (or other suitable number of) heddle leaves,
and each shed formed thereby is kept open during the "run" of the seven
shuttles. It is usual to "twice draw" or repeat the action of each "bridle,"
or set of seven jacquard cards.
Having thus briefly noticed the principal actions concerned in weaving
fabrics of the kind referred to, we will proceed to describe arrangements
embodying our present improvements, and in order that the same may be pro-
perly understood and carried into effect we have represented modifications.
thereof on a Sheet of explanatory Drawings hereunto attached and to be.
herein-after referred to..
Figures 1 and 2 are side and front elevations, partly in section, of a power
loom with our improvements applied to it, but with various details common to
such looms omitted because not referred to, or so as not to conceal other parts..
We employ improved rotating or cylinder shuttle boxes, one of which is
shown detached and enlarged in Figures 3, 4, and 5; Figure 3 being an inner
end view, Figure 4 a side view, partly in section, and Figure 5 an.outer end
view. Each cylinder 1 is carried by means of a spindle 2 fixed in the central
barrel so as to project at the outer end, and turning in bearings 3. in the lathe
wing 4, whilst the inner end of the cylinder is encircled by a grooved ring 5
which rests and works upon a crescent shaped supporting guide 6 fixed or
formed upon the lathe wing 4. The grooved ring 5 is formed with projecting.
teeth 7, by means of which the box is turned, and these teeth are shaped so
that a hammer 8 pressed down by a spring may bear upon them in. the
manner shown in Figure 1 and keep the box steady between the shifts. The
hammer 8 is held by a bracket 9 fixed to the lathe rail 10, and being above
the shuttle box 1 serves to keep it down upon its supporting guide 6. Precisely.
similar cylinder shuttle boxes are applied on both sides of the loom, although
only shown on one side in Figure 2, and it may here be mentioned that in
Figure 1 the outer bearing of the shuttle box is supposed to be cut away in
order to more clearly show the protector details. The picking is effected by
levers 11 projecting up from below and takes place from the shuttle box or cell
which happens to be at about the middle of the front side of the cylinder. 1;

page_text: ōné object of this arrangement being to facilitate the application of the
protector details. Each shuttle cell is fitted with a spring or swell lever 12,
which is pressed inwards when the shuttle gets properly home. We proposed
to have pins jointed to the ends of the several levers 12, such pins crossing at
différent points through the axis of a part of the barrel extending outside of
the shuttle cells, and acting at the back on the ordinary stop motion lever; we
however find it more convenient to dispense with the cross pins and adopt the
simpler arrangement shown. The ends of the swell levers 12 project slightly
at their outer ends beyond the end of the inner part of the barrel, and the
stop motion lever 13 is shaped so as to stand up just clear of the ends of the
levers 12, but with its upper end projecting inwards within them and between
the acting one and the cylinder spindle. With this arrangement the swell
lever 12, corresponding to whichever shuttle is in action, is in a position to act
directly upon the stop motion lever 18 just as in common loons. Instead of
causing the shifts of the shuttle boxes to be effected by the forward movements
of the lathe bringing the teeth 7 in contact with stationary pawls we now
prefer to effect the shifts independently of the lathe, and by means of a cam 14
on the low shaft 15. This cam acts on a lever 16 which has jointed to it a
rod 17, and the latter bearing against one of the teeth 7 of the shuttle box
causes a shift to the extent of one cell at each turn of the shaft 15. The
röd 17 is pressed against the shuttle box by a spring 18 fixed to the lathe
sword 19, but there is a lever 20 jointed to the side frame of the loom which
prevents the rod 17 from acting if the shuttle gets lodged in a position to
obstruct the shift of the box, as its upper end works just clear of the inner end
of the box so that if the shuttle does not get quite home it comes in contact
therewith, which causes its lower end to move the rod 17 backwards out of
action. The grooved ring 5 on the inner end of the cylinder box is made with
rounded or internally coned rim projecting slightly from the end face of the
cylinder to prevent the various wefts from catching on the edges of the shuttle
cells. The. heddles 21 are actuated by "dobbie" or special jacquard apparatus
22 of small size, but strongly made.
In the modification represented in Figures 1 and 2 this dubbie apparatus is
actuated directly from the crank shaft 23 of the loom, a rod 24 from an
eccentric pin on the end of this shaft giving motion by a lever to the rocking
shaft 25, carried on the top of the dobbie frame. The barrel 26 is moved
out by a bent lever 27 in connection with the lift plate 28, and is returned
inwards by a lever 29 connected to it by a spring link. The levers 30 for
working the beddles 21 are moved by adjustable slotted links 81 attached to
the vertical wires 32 of the dobbie. There are in the present example eight

page_text: levers 30, which act directly on the heddles, four being severally connected to
the under sides of the heddles for drawing down each leaf as it requires to be
depressed, whilst the other four are connected to overhead levers 38, which
raise the heddles by means of connecting cords or links. A different heddle
leaf is depressed for each run of shots, and is kept depressed during the run.
The depressing levers 30 work in vertical grooves in a fixed guide frame 34,
which is shown detached and enlarged in Figure 6, and which has jointed
upon it a catch frame 35 formed with grooves and catch projectiions for each
of the four levers, whilst it and the fixed guide frame 34 have each a fifth
groove for a fifth lever. The office of this fifth lever is to release at the end
of the run whichever lever 30 may be depressed, and for this purpose the
catch frame is formed with a continuous swell 36, in passing which the 'fifth
lever causes the catch frame to swing aside and so release the lever 30. In
some cases the fifth or releasing lever is not required, for when any lever 30
is dépressed, it, in moving the catch frame aside, in order to pass under its
catch, releases any other lever previously held down; but the using of a
releasing lever permits of some of the movements being more suitable as
regards time, particularly when "twice drawing. Any heddle leaf that is
raised is kept up for one shot only, namely, for the "dumb flower" shot, as is
well understood, and therefore the corresponding lever 30 does not require to
be held down; we, however, prefer to have the four raising levers 30 to work
in a fixed slotted guide frame like the one 34 for the. depressing levers, but
without the catch frame. The dobbie is made to work whatever movements
it conveniently can that are of regular recurrence. Thus it is made to move
the rod 37, which shifts the pieces 38 that the picking wipers 39 act upon, so
as to cause the picking to take place from the proper side. The rod 37 is
drawn towards one side, the right-hand side in Figure 2, by a spring at 40;
the dobbie drawing it to the other side when required by the cord 41' con-
nected to it by a spring, the movement of the cord being greater than 'that
required to be given to the rod 87. The principal jacquard apparatus for
actuating the figuring harness is mounted above the loom in the usual way;
but is not shown in Figures 1 and 2; it is worked by a rod 42 jointed to a
lever 43, acted on by an eccentric or cam 14 on the low shaft 15, and when
the jacquard movements have to be suspended, which is during one shot at the
time of moving back a "bridle" of cards for "twice" drawing" this lever 48 is
held down by a catch at 44 (Figure 2), released at the proper time by the
dobbie. When a bridle of cards is being worked the first time the jacquard
barrel winds up one or other of two cords 45, accordingly as it may be working
in-one direction or the other, and thereby a lever 46 is raised: This lever 46

page_text: may be weighted to turn back the jacquard barrel for the second working of
the bridle by its own weight, but we prefer to draw it down by a cord 47 acted
on by the dobbie, such cord having a spring in any convenient part of its
length to make its action easy. When the lever 46 is depressed it gets under
a catch 48 jointed to a standard, and the cords 45 are thus held tight so as to
prevent the card barrel from turning further back than it ought. The cord 45
is wound on a collar capable of being put into or out of gear with the cord
barrel by a forked lever and cords acted on by the dobbie; and when a bridle
of cards is being worked over the second time the collar is out of gear, and
the cord 45 is not wound up. When a bridle of cards is being worked over
the second time there is no pause' or suspension, the next bridle being then
worked over for its first time, so that in the present example the turning back
takes place at every fifteenth shot or revolution of the crank shaft; and at this
period, in order to allow time for such turning back a dumb or false shot is
made, that picking lever. being actuated which is at the side, from which all
the shuttles have just been thrown. At the commencement with each new
bridle, the catch 48 holding down the turning-back lever 46, is released, and
the winding-up collar of the jacquard barrel is thrown into gear, these two
actions being effected by cords from one of the vertical dobbie wires 32.
Some of the movements herein-before referred to may be worked by the
dobbie or by the principal jacquard machine, as may be preferred; or a very
convenient arrangement is obtained by incorporating with the principal
jacquard machine all the necessary parts of the dobbie apparatus in the manner
shown in Figures 7 and 8, which are front elevation and transverse vertical
section of the part of a jacquard machine with the dobbie details added to it.
Beneath one end of the main lift board 51 there is attached the dobbie lift
plate 28 acting on the vertical wires 32, just as in the separate dobbie
machine herein-before described. The horizontal needles, which act on the
vertical dobbie wires 32 are placed at a lower level than the principal
jacquard needles and barrel 52, the dobbie barrel 26 being also placed at a
lower level to correspond. The winding-up collar, herein-before referred to,
is shown on the principal jacquard barrel at 53, also the lever 54, and the
cords 55, by which it is shifted.
. An object of a portion of our improvements is to lessen the friction upon the
warps, which is necessarily very great on account of the number of picks and
beats-up made for every single line of the fabric, and with this object the shuttle
is constructed, as shown in Figure 9, which is a plan of the shuttle as inverted.
The shuttle is formed with four or more (in the present example with eight)
antifriction wheels, there being more than one wheel at each end of the shuttle

page_text: to prevent it from dipping into the groove for the weft fork, or into any other
spaces. The wheels 56 are set with slight inclinations, which cause the shuttle
to bear against the reed in passing across. With the object of reducing
the friction on the warps we also proposed to arrange the lathe to slide in
guides, but not finding sufficient advantage in practice from such an arrange-
ment we do not now make any claim respecting it.
The herein-before described improvements, or some of them, are obviously
applicable to looms arranged for weaving fabrics more or less differing from
those referred to, the parts being suitably modified to suit the requirements of
each case. For example, the shuttle-box arrangements may be adapted for
weaving checks, and the shifting may be effected by various known kinds of
pattern mechanism.
Having thus particularly described our said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is or may be performed, we have to state that we do not
restrict ourselves to the precise details herein described or delineated, but that
what we believe to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention secured
to us by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the constructing
of looms for weaving with improved details combined and arranged in manner
substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said David Speirs, on behalf of myself and
of the said Alexander Boyd and James Kirkwood, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
5 Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
28, St. Enoch Square,
Glasgow.
DAVID SPEIRS. (L.S.)