IM- PROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Boyd, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Engineer and Machine Maker, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 10th September 1867, and dated the 13th March 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Boyd at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 13th
March 1867.
I, JOHN BOYD, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Engineer and Machine Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows, that
is to say:
This Invention comprises improvements applicable to various kinds of
looms for weaving, some of the improvements relating to the application of
tension to the warps as they are being drawn off beams or bobbins, and others
to the taking up of the woven fabric.
The feature of novelty in the improved arrangement for applying tension
to the warps is the application of a weighted bearing piece upon the surface

page_text: of the warps on each beam or bobbin and connected to a catch gearing with a
ratchet wheel on or connected to the beam, which catch slips a tooth from
time to time in consequence of the drawing-off action bringing it into
contact with a fixed stop.
The improved apparatus is applicable to ordinary looms, to tape, ribbon, and
other looms, and in particular to looms for weaving uneven fabrics, such as stays.
In carrying out this part of the Invention in the case, for example, of a
comparatively small beam or bobbin, one of the flanges or rims is formed with
ratchet teeth, and the catch gearing with them is jointed to a movable piece
carried by the spindle of the bobbin or otherwise. To a part of the movable
piece which crosses over the bobbin there is attached a strap of cloth or other
suitable material, the other end of which is weighted, and this strap lies and
bears on the surface of the warps or threads. The movable piece and weighted
strap turn with the bobbin a short distance as the warps or threads are drawn
off, but in doing so the catch is brought into contact with a fixed stop, and
slipping a tooth allows them to return to their original position. In applying
the improved apparatus to an ordinary wide warp beam the pressure may be
applied to the warps by a bar laid upon them and having weights connected
to it..
'
The features of novelty in the improved taking-up arrangements are,
firstly, the application of jointed chains or bands fitted with pointed pins to
take hold of the fabric and to draw or take it up by their movement round a
beam or roller; secondly, the application of a cam or cams shaped to corre-
spond to the different aniounts of taking up required at the various parts of
the fabric to act through levers or racks on the pinned chains or bands, or on
toothed wheels such as have hitherto been used; and, thirdly, the application
of taking-up movements derived from jacquard apparatus or from cams to
wheels round which the pinned chains or bands pass. In adapting this take-up
apparatus for stays or similar uneven fabrics, for example, there are
according to one modification a series of the pinned chains or bands over a
breast beam or roller close together and occupying a length of the beam at
least equal to the width of the fabric. Each pinned chain or band is by
preference arranged in an endless form and passes round and is stretched by a
second beam roller, and each chain or band is acted on by a separate lever
arranged to connect to either the ascending side or the descending side of the
chain or band. The several levers are gradually raised by the cam or cams
whilst the first half of the stay is being woven, and are gradually depressed
whilst the second half is being made, or vice versá; and when rising each

page_text: lever acts on the ascending side of its pinned chain or band, but on the
descending side when falling so as to move the chain or band in the same
direction throughout; or the cam or cams may be arranged to act on racks
in
gear with toothed wheels such as have hitherto been used in taking up
uneven fabrics; or the levers or racks may act on wheels round which the
lower or other convenient parts of the pinned chains or bands pass; or such
wheels may be acted on by jacquard or other pattern mechanism, the endless
chains admitting of any suitable pattern mechanism being applied at a
convenient distance from the point at which the fabric is actually acted upon.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Boyd in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 12th
September 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Jonn
BOYD, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Engineer and
Machine Maker, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Ierself, Iler heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Boyd, Her special licence that I, the said John Boyd, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Boyd, 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, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom 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 I, the said John
Boyd, 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 John Boyd, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-

page_text: formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement in writing, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, that
is to say:-
My said Invention comprises improvements applicable to various kinds of
looms for weaving, some of the improvements relating to the application of
tension to the warps as they are being drawn off beams or bobbins, and others
to the taking up of the woven fabric.
And in order that my said Invention and the manner of performing the
same may be properly understood I have hereunto appended a Sheet of
explanatory Drawings to be herein-after referred to and representing various
modifications of my improved arrangements.
In my improved arrangements for applying tension to the warps I cause a
weighted piece to bear on the surface of the warps on each beam or bobbin,
such bearing piece being connected to a catch gearing with a ratchet wheel
on or connected to the beam, which catch slips a tooth from time to time in
consequence of the drawing off action bringing it into contact with a fixed
stop. This improved apparatus is applicable to ordinary looms, to tape,
ribbon, and other looms, and in particular to looms for weaving uneven
fabrics, such as stays.
Figure 1 on the Sheet of Drawings is a sectional side elevation showing
portions of a loom for weaving uneven fabrics, the warps for which are drawn
off a series of bobbins 1 carried in a frame 2 at the back of the main loom
framing 3. In carrying out the part of my Invention applicable to a warp
beam or bobbin of the kind shown in Figure 1 one of the flanges or rims is
farmed with ratchet teeth and a pawl or catch 4 gearing with them is jointed
to a movable piece 5 carried by the spindle of the bobbin (or in any other
convenient way.). To a part of the movable piece 5 which crosses over the
bobbin, as will be best seen in Figure 2, which is a detached elevation of one
of the bobbins as at right angles to Figure 1 there is attached a strap 6 of
cloth or other suitable material the other end of which is weighted, and this
strap lies and bears on the surface of the warps or threads wound on the
bobbin. The movable piece 5 and weighted strap 6 turn with the bobbin a
short distance as the warps or threads are drawn, off, but in doing so they
bring the catch 4 into contact with a fixed stop or pin 7, and cause it to slip
a tooth, whereupon the weight attached to the strap takes them back to their
original position or until the catch encounters the next tooth. Figures 3
and are vertical sections at right angles to each other, showing one mode of
applying my improved apparatus to an ordinary wide warp beam; the same

page_text: reference numerals being used to mark the same or like parts in all the
Figures it will be unnecessary to repeat a description of those details which
are the same as in the modification already herein-before described. I prefer
to apply ratchet teeth, catches, and other details at both ends of the beam,
and to set the stops 7 so that both catches will not slip at once but at
alternate intervals. Each movable piece 5 has attached to it a strap 6, and
the two straps are fixed to the opposite ends of a bar or rod 8 to which there
is attached a piece of cloth 9 that lies or bears on the warps from end to end.
A rod or bar 10 is attached to the bottom of the bearing cloth 9, and has
weights attached to it. The action is the same as with the small beams or
bobbins shown in Figure 1, and these bobbins may also if preferred each
have both flanges formed with ratchet teeth and be fitted with two catches
slipping alternately. In Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, the movable piece 5 is represented
as comprising one or two arms centered independently on the spindle of the
bobbin or beam; it may, however, be fitted in any other convenient way so
as to work concentrically or approximately so. In Figures 5 and 6 is shown
a mode of fitting the movable piece 5 to work on the rim or edge of the
flange of the beam or bobbin.
The features of novelty in my improved taking-up arrangements are,
firstly, the application of jointed chains or or bands fitted with pointed pins
to take hold of the fabric and to draw or take it up by their movement
round a beam or roller; secondly, the application of a cam or cams
shaped to correspond to the different amounts of taking-up required at
the various parts of the fabric to act through levers or racks ou the
pinned chains or bands or on toothed wheels such as have hitherto been
used; and, thirdly, the application of taking-up movements derived from
jacquard apparatus or from cams to wheels round which the pinned chains
or bands pass. One mode of adapting this take-up apparatus for stays or
similar uneven fabrics is shown in vertical section in Figure 7; in this
example there are a series of the pinned chains 11, but of which only one
appears in the Figure from the section being taken as at right angles to the
series; these endless chains pass each round an upper wheel 12, the several
wheels being arranged as closely together as possible on a fixed spindle, and
so as to occupy a length at least equal to the width of the fabric. The
pinned chains 11 are by preference arranged each in an endless form, and
they pass round and are stretched each by a second wheel 13 on a fixed
spindle below, and each chain or band is acted on by a separate lever 14
arranged to connect to either the ascending side or the descending side of the

page_text: chain. The connection between each lever 14 and its chain 11 is effected by
a link 15 having its lower end jointed to the end of the lever, whilst its
upper end is fitted with teeth to engage between the links of the chain. The
upper end of the link 15 is also fitted with a pin projecting. laterally, and
which works in guide grooves 16 in one of a series of plates fixed between
the chains. The guide grooves 16 consist of two straight parts communicating
with each other at the top and bottom, and blade springs are arranged to act
on the link pin so as to cause it to travel always up the inner groove and
down the outer one. When the link pin is rising up the inner groove 16 the
link engages with the inner side of the chain, but when the lever and link
return down again the latter is so guided by the outer groove as to engage
with the outer side of the chain, and the result is that the chain is moved in
the direction for taking up during both the upward and downward movements
of the lever 14. The several levers 14 are centered on a shaft 17 at their
back ends, and they are actuated by a series of grooved face cam discs 18 fast
on a shaft 19, which is made to revolve at a slow rate suitable for the take-up
by any convenient ratchet or screw gearing. Each cam disc 18 has its groove
shaped to suit the amounts of take-up successively required for that part of
the width of the fabric on which it acts. At parts corresponding to no take-up
the groove must be concentric, a spiral configuration being given to the other
parts to correspond to the amounts of take-up required at each. The
arranging of the links 15 so as to move the take-up chains 11 in the same
direction when ascending and descending admits of the cam discs 18 being
made of a moderate size and of the cam grooves returning into themselves so
as to be continuous; thus one revolution of the cam shaft 19 may be made
to correspond to the weaving of a single pair of stays. Take-up cams, such
as those 18 herein-before described, may be arranged to act on racks in gear
with toothed wheels such as have hitherto been used in taking up uneven
fabrics; or the levers 14 or racks may act on wheels round which the lower
or other convenient parts of the pinned chains 11 or bands pass; or such
wheels may be acted on by jacquard or other pattern mechanism, the endless
chains 11 admitting of any suitable pattern mechanism being applied at a
convenient distance from the point at which the fabric is actually acted upon.
A modification of the take-up details in which jacquard pattern mechanism
is used is shown in Figure 1, and in this arrangement each lower wheel 13
round which a chain 11 passes has formed with or fixed to it a disc 20,
which is acted upon at the proper intervals by a frictional appliance; this
frictional appliance consists of a frame or lever 21 set loosely on the spindle

page_text: A
of the wheels 13, and having jointed in its inner end a gripping lever 22
which acts on a frictional plate 23 bearing on the edge of the disc. The
other end of the gripping lever 22 is hooked, and has also attached to it a
card 24 from the jacquard apparatus which is above but not shown.
borizontal bar 25 is arranged to vibrate just above the series of hooked
gripping levers 22, being actuated by eccentric pins on the crank shaft 26
through levers 27 at the sides of the loom. At each stroke the jacquard
apparatus raises those hooked gripping levers 22 that correspond to the parts
of the fabric then requiring to be taken up, and they are caught by the
vibrating bar 25 when moving backwards, and are thereby made to move the
discs 20 and chains 11. The frames 21 return when free by the weight of
the gripping levers 22, their front ends coming up against adjustable screw
stops 28 in a frame bar 29 running across the front of the loom, and the
lises 20 are prevented from moving back by friction plates 30 adjusted by
screws in the same frame bar 29. Instead of the discs 20 being acted upon
by frictional appliances they may be made with fine ratchet teeth to be acted
upon by catches. The endless take-up chains 11 may alone be fitted with
pointed pins to take hold of the fabric, or such pins may be fitted only on the
wheels 12 round which the chains pass; or both chains and wheels may be
fitted with the pins. Figure 8 is an elevation at right angles to Figure 1,
showing an endless chain 11 fitted with pins, whilst the wheel 12 round
which it passes is formed with flanges projecting up so as to be flush with the
top of the chain, such flanges being fitted with pins. Instead of the chains 11
passing over separate wheels 12 they may all pass round one continuous roller
or spindle. A concave guide plate and cover 31 is fitted over the top of the
pinned chains 11 and wheels 12 to keep the fabric down in contact therewith;
one or more sets of separate small rollers may however be used for that
purpose if preferred instead of the plate 31.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I have to state that I do not restrict
myself to the precise details herein described or delineated; but that what I
believe to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention secured to me by
the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1. The giving of tension to warps by applying a weighted bearing piece on
the surface thereof, such piece being connected to a catch gearing with a
ratchet wheel fast on the beam or bobbin, and slipping a tooth at intervals
from encountering a fixed stop, substantially as herein-before described.
2. The applying of chains or bands substantially in the manner herein-before
described for taking up uneven fabrics.

page_text: And, 3. The applying of cams substantially in the manner herein-before
described for taking up uneven fabrics.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Boyd, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Eleventh day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
JOHN BOYD. (L.S.)