IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CARPETS AND OTHER PILE FABRICS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Wood, of Monkhill House, near Pontefract,
in the County of York, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CARPETS AND
OTHER PILE FABRICS."
Sealed the 21st April 1857, and dated the 25th February 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Wood at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th
February 1857.
I, WILLIAM WOOD, of Monkhill House, near Pontefract, in the County of
York, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention för
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
CARPETS AND OTHER PILE FABRICS," to be as follows:―
These improvements relate, firstly, to the weaving of carpets and other pile
fabrics, where the pile is formed on what are known as loose wires, and consist
in making the heads of the wires of such a shape that a hook or holder may
pass through them, and also that by their spring and form they may, as required,
attach themselves, and remain for a time fixed or fitted to such hook or holder;
also in the formation of a hook or holder of such a shape that it will pass
through the heads of wires made of a suitable form, and be capable of attach-

page_text: ment to and holding them during their withdrawal from the fabric, and
insertion into the shed; and also the use of such hook or holder for the
purpose of inserting wires into the shed, and withdrawing them from the
fabric, in connection with any convenient means of giving the requisite to-
and-fro movement for inserting and withdrawing wires in the manufacture
of carpets or other pile fabrics; also in the use of a suitable instrument
to push tho hook or holder through the heads of the wires, thus liberating
it from the wire last inserted and pushing it into the one nearest the
breast beam; and also, to maintain the last inserted wire in proper position
until it is secured by the crossing of the warps and the insertion of weft;
also in the use, in combination with the above, of suitable guide plate or
plates and stops.
Secondly, the improvements relate to means to be used chiefly when very
small or long wires are used, and consist in the employment of a rod or
instrument, having a hook or holder affixed to its end to pass through the
shed and be attached to a wire; the rod is then to be returned, thereby
drawing the wire into a suitable position in the shed; when being detached
from the holder it is ready to. bo woven into the fabric, such rod and holder
to work in combination with any suitable means for drawing the wires by
machinery out of the fabric or pile. The mechanical withdrawing means
may either be affixed to a few wires, or it may be made capable of being
attached and released from the wires. The proper position into which the
wires aro to be drawn into the shed is governed by suitable stops or guides;
also in means of placing the ends of the wires into position ready to be laid
hold of by the hook or holder, and of bringing the book or holder of the
withdrawing means, when looso wires are used, into connection with the wire
nearest the breast beam; also in combining when required with the rod and
its apparatus suitable means for insuring a dwell to the lay, when the rod
or instrument is being inserted and withdrawn. The principle of inserting
small wires by means of a rod and hook or holder may also be applied by
placing the rod on the same side of the loom as the withdrawing means, and
the hook or holder, having been affixed to the end of the wire nearest the
fabric or warps, draws that end safely through the shed, when by suitable
means it is cletached from the end of the wire and returns, leaving the wire
in the shed ready to be woven in the fabric.
Thirdly, my improvements consist in actuating the lay when weaving pile
fabrics, so as to make it and the reed dwell a portion of time, when it is in
front or in contact with the fabric, for the purpose of maintaining the wires
and weft in their position during the crossing of the warps, and also that in

page_text: case any of the threads of warp should catch or not go to their proper places,
or when weaving mohair the fibres lock together, the return of the reed after
such crossing of the warps will tend to release the threads or fibres, and so
make a better shed or passage for the wires or shuttle. The dwell in tho
motion of the lay and reed may be obtained by a tappet or other suitable'
means.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Wood in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
25th August 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
WOOD, of Monkhill House, near Pontefract, in the County of York, Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters:
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, tho
said William Wood, Her special licence that I, the said William Wood, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Wood, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thercafter during.
the term therein expressel, 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
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CARPETS AND OTHER
PILE FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I; the said Williamı
Wood, my executors or administrators, by an instrument 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 William Wood, do hereby declaro
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):-
My said Invention of improvements in machinery, or apparatus used in the
manufacture of carpets and other pile fabrics, relate to the weaving of fabrics

page_text: having a terry or pile produced on loose wires, and the nature thereof consists
in making the heads of the said wires of such a shape that a hook or holder
may be connected to, released from, and pass through them as required.
Secondly, in the machinery for liberating the hook or holder from the
head of the wire that has been inserted into the shed, and pushing it through
the intermediate heads into position for taking hold of the wire to be with-
drawn from the fabric.
Thirdly, in the application of a suitable stop and guide for regulating the
position of the wire heads.
Fourthly, in improved apparatus for taking hold of the end of a wire,
drawing it through the shed, and releasing it when in position, this part of
my Invention being particularly applicable where fine or long wires aro
employed.
And, lastly, my improvements consist in actuating the lay when weaving
pile fabrics, so as to make the reed dwell a portion of time, when it is in
contact with the fabric, for the purpose of maintaining the wires and weft
in their proper position during the crossing of the warps, and also that in
case any of the threads of warp should catch or not go to their proper places,
or when weaving mohair the fibres lock together on the crossing of the warp
threads to form the shed, the return of the reed after such crossing of the
warps will assist in releasing the threads or fibres, and so make a better shed
or passage for the wires or shuttle.
In order that my Invention may be fully understood, and readily carried
into effect, I have hereunto attached two Sheets of Drawings, having similar
letters of reference marked upon corresponding parts of the machinery in all
the Figures.
lover s.
Figure 1 is a side view of a power loom for weaving carpets, to which
parts of my improvements are applied; Figure 2 is a front view, and Figure
3 a plan of parts of the loom shewn in Figure 1. a is the crank or main
driving shaft of the loom; b is the tappet shaft, to which are fixed the tappet
plates for working the healds in the usual manner, and the tappet plato b',
which moves the lever 6, connecting link s³, lever s, shaft s², block s', and
c represents the reed, which is supported in the lay as usual; d, the
breast beam; e, the bed plate, fixed to the breast beam; and f, the roller by
which the fabric is drawn forward. On referring to Figure 3, it will be seen
that I have supposed the loom to be working with seven loose wires. I
would have it understood that this number may be increased or diminished
according to the kind or quality of the fabric to be produced. Each wire is
furnished with a head, marked h, of the shape represented full size in the

page_text: detached views, Figures 4 and 5. These heads are so shaped in order that
the hook or holder marked i, shewn in Figures 6, 7, 8, and 9, may be con-
nected to, released from, and pass through them, as will be explained hereafter.
The hook or holder i is jointed to the.lever s, which is guided by the segmental
angle rail t. The wires are retained in their vertical position when inserted
in the shed, and while being struck up to the fabric by the instrument j, as
will be explained hereafter, and the plate t, which is fixed to the bed plate
e, and furnished with a stop t', a similar stop being fixed to the bed plate e.
The hook or holder i is acted upon as soon as the wire has been inserted into
the shed by the pushing instrument j, jointed to the lever k, which is acted
upon by the tappet 3, on the tappet shaft b, as shewn in Figure 1. The
dotted line represents the position of the lever-k when it has pushed tho
hook or holder i into the head of wire No. 1 nearest the breast beam, and
the dotted line indicates the position of the lever & when the instrument j
has been drawn back to allow the shuttle to pass. The stop pieces ³ on plate
t, shewn full size in Figure 10, are to stop the heads of the wires when they
are pushed forward by the instrument j.
.
Having now enumerated the parts constituting my improvements, and the
objects for which they are intended, I will proceed to describe the manner
in which they operate when the loom is at work.
On referring to Figures 1 and 3, it will be seen that six of the pilo wires
are supposed to be in the fabric, and that the seventh has just been inserted
in the open shed. The instrument j is now to be moved towards the wires,
and on.coming in contact with the hook or holder i pushes it through the
head of wire No. 7, and through the heads of those marked 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and
within the head of No. 1, as shewn in Figure 10, the wire No. 1 being pushed
against the stop pieces of the plate t; and at the same time the shoulders
acting on the head of wire No. 7 bring this wire head in contact with the
others, as shewn in Figure 10. The bracket piece of the instrument j
in advancing acts upon the end of the angle rail t, and moves it into tho
position shewn in dotted lines in Figure 3. The end and front side of the
hook or holder i are made V-shaped to facilitate its passage through the
heads of the wires. When these operations have been performed the hook
or holder i is in position for withdrawing the wire No. 1 nearest the breast
beam; the lever s is then acted upon by the tappet b'. The first part of the
motion given to the levers draws the recesses, marked ¹, of the hook or
holder i on to the shoulders h¹ of the wire heads, or into the position indicated
by the detached view, Figure 11, thereby securely connecting the wire to tho
book or holder, which is then withdrawn from the fabric by the lever s

page_text: and when its point is clear of the heads of the wires in the fabric the angle
rail t is drawn back into its original position by the spring or other suitable
agent, and the wire so withdrawn is again inserted into the shod. On referring
to Figure 4, it will be seen that the heads of the wires are made with
shoulders, marked h. These shoulders when the wire has been inserted come
against and are stopped by the stops t, but the hook or holder i continues
to advance until the recesses are free from the shoulders h' of the wire
head; the hook or holder i is thus at liberty to be pushed through the wire
heads, as before described.
I wish to remark that, although I have shewn the hook or holder i attached
to and moved by a lever s, guided by the segmental angle rail t, I do not
confine myself to the use of such mechanism for actuating the hook or holder,
which may be done by various other apparatus. The parts of the loom that
are not shown in the Drawing or not particularly described may be made in
any approved manner.
Figure 12 is a front view of a loom, to which my improved apparatus is.
applied, for taking hold of the end of a fine or long wire, drawing it
through the shed, and liberating it when in position; Figure 13 is a
plan; and Figure 14, a side view of parts of the same. In this loom
I have supposed that seven loose wires are employed, and that a cutting
knife is attached to cach wire to cut the terries out of the fabric, or a
cutting apparatus is employed for all the wires. The wires are repre-
sented with heads, similar to those shewn and described in reference to Sheet
I. of the accompanying Drawings. The same mechanism is also shewn for
drawing out the wires. I wish, however, to remark that any other shaped
wire heads may be employed, and that any of the modes at present known
may be adopted for drawing the wires out of the fabric. The end of each:
wire is flattened, as shown full size in Figures 15 and 16. This flattened
end serves also as a cutter, and is taken hold of by the spring clip x, shown
detached in Figure 16, when the wire has to be drawn through the shed.
The clip is attached to the upper part of the double rod a, the lower part
of which is supported in brackets fixed to the plate c. The double rod a³
is jointed to a link a¹, hinged to the lever y, placed at the left-hand side of
the loom. This lever is moved towards and from the loom side by means
of a tappet plate, in the samo manner as the lever s, described in referenco
to Figures 1 and 2, or the levers s and y may be connected by a link, and
moved simultaneously by one tappet. The lever s at the right-hand side of
Figure 12 is now out, having drawn the wire nearest the breast beam with
it. By the return movement of the bracketed picco j³ of the instrument j,-

page_text: which in this case is formed so as to press against the front of the angle rail
t, and also against the flattened end of the wire, the anglo rail and wire are
moved into the position shewn in Figure 13, and the end of the wire kept steady
whilst it is laid hold of by the clip x, at the end of the rod a³. The rod
lever y, and the clip & passes
The wire being now in con-
is then moved through the open shed by the
on each side of the flattened end of the wire.
nection with the rod a, the levers y and s are moved into the positions
indicated by the dotted lines for the purpose of drawing the wire in, and
the rod out of the shed. It is then necessary to liberate the flattened end
of the wire from the clip x, and the head of the wire from the hook or holder
i. The former is effected by giving sufficient motion to the rod a³ to draw
the clip off the end of the wire after the head has been stopped, and the
latter by the pushing instrument j, described in reference to Figures 1, 2, 3,
and 10. The instrument ; in advancing brings the head of the wire last
inserted up against the heads of the wires in the fabric; at the same time
the pushing instrument 1, which is connected to the instrument j, and worked.
by the same tappet, acts upon the flattened end of the wire, thereby pushing
it up and retaining it in position. The pushing instrument ³ comes into
action as soon as the clip a has passed it. When the hook or holder i has
been pushed by the instrument j into the head of the wire nearest the broast
beam, this wire is drawn out of the fabric, and the operations proceed as
before.
The last part of my Invention, or that which relates to causing the recd
to dwell when in contact with the fabric, does not require to be illustrated
by Drawings, as any practical weaver would be able to make a tappet or
other suitable agent for giving motion to the batten, in the manner required,
to produce the requisite dwell. I am aware that tappets have before been
employed to work the lay, and to cause it to dwell at certain parts of the
stroke, but this part of my Invention consists in causing the dwell, when
the reed is in contact with the fabric, for the purpose of maintaining the
wires and the weft in their proper positions during the crossing of the warps;
and also that in case any of the threads of warp should catch or not go to
their proper places, or when weaving mohair the fibres lock together on the
crossing of the warp threads to form the shed, the return of the reed after
such crossing of the warps will assist in releasing the threads or fibres, and
so make a better shed or passago for the wires or shuttle.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself
to the details herein set forth, as various deviations may be made therein

page_text: without departing from the peculiar character of my Invention; but what
I do claim is,
First, making the hoads of terry or pile wires of such a shape that a book
or holder may be connected to, released from, and pass through them, as
herein-before described.
Secondly, the hook or holder for withdrawing and inserting the wires, as
berein-before described.
Thirdly, the machinery for liberating the hook or holder from the head of
one of the wires, pushing it through the intermediate and within the head of
another wire, in manner herein-before described.
Fourthly, the stops and guides for regulating the position of the wire heads,
and for retaining them upright, as herein-before described.
Fifthly, the improved apparatus for inserting fine or long wires, in com-
bination with machinery for drawing them out of or from the fabric, as shewn
and described.
And, lastly, making tho reed dwell when in contact with the fabric, in the
manner and for the purposes described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Wood, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
H. B. BARLOW,
Manchester.
WILLIAM WOOD. (L.S.)