IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Johnson, of Stockport, in the County
of Lancaster, Factory Operative, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 8th January 1858, and dated the 25th July 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Johnson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
25th July 1857.
I, WILLIAM JOHNSON, of Stockport, in the County of Lancaster, Factory
Operative, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in an improved mode of forming the shed of the
warp in the loom. The parts for effecting the shodding consist of rods, which
are used in the place of half the healds usually employed, and acted upon by
tappets or other machinery.
Also in an improved mode of checking the shuttle when entering and
leaving the shuttle box. This consists of a lever or spring, actuated by tho
crank shaft or other convenient part of the loom acting in combination with
the swell and stop rod.
Also in an improvement in the taking-up motion, consisting in placing the
cloth roller above the emery or fluted roller, by which means the springs,
weights, and levers are dispensed with.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
23rd January 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
JOHNSON, of Stockport, in the County of Lancaster, Factory Operative, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Johnson, Her special licence that I, the said William
Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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
William Johnson, my exccutors 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 Futent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Johnson, do hereby declare
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) :-
The nature of my Invention consists, first, in an improved mode or method
of forming the shed of the warp in the loom, by which one half of the healds
usually employed for that purpose are dispensed with.
And, secondly, in an improved arrangement of parts applied to the shuttle
box for holding and releasing the shuttle.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me, reference
being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, and to the figures and
letters marked thereon.

page_text: Figure 1 of the Drawing represents a mode of constructing the first part of
my Invention.
a is the framing of the loom; b, the warp beam; c, the back
roller; and d, a rod vibrating on the centre shaft d'. e is the heald roller, to
which the healdsfare connected by cords and straps in the ordinary manner,
and actuated as usual by the tappet g, treadle g', and jack ; these healds f
move one half the warp threads, and the other half of the threads are taken
under and over the two shedding rods h, which may be made either of wood
or metal, and from thence through the reed, as usual, or the warp being in
the loom the rods h may be inserted, the one over and the other under the
threads, as will be readily understood by referring to the Drawing. These
rods h, which are for the purpose of moving half the warp threads, are about
three-eighths of an inch in diameter, and they are made somewhat longer than
the breadth of the shed. The ends of these rods h are secured in two arms or
levers i, one at each side of the loom, and these levers i may either work on
studs bolted to the frame side, or, as shewn in the Drawing, they may
be put
upon the back roller c, being allowed to move freely but kept in their places
sideways by shoulders or collars. The position of these levers i is at first
determined by allowing the warp to form an open shed; they are then secured
to the heald roller e and jack g by bands or cords. To the centre shaft d' is
fixed a lever d², the projecting end of which is attached to the heald roller
by a cord and strap, which pass up the same side of the roller as those from
the healds f, so that at every alternate pick of the shuttle when the healds are
depressed in the ordinary manner, the lever d³ is depressed also, bringing the
rod d and half the warp threads into the position shewn in dotted lines in the
Drawing. At the same time that this takes place, the lever or arm i being
attached to the heald roller e on the opposite side to that of the healds and
lever d, will be elevated into the position also shewn in dotted lines, the
rods h, which move with the lever i, raising the other half of the warp threads
so as to form a shed, as will be clearly understood by referring to the
Drawing. Although I have only described the manner of moving the rods h
so as to form a shed by means of tappets in the same way that the healds are
actuated, yet it will be apparent that the same may be done by cranks or other
equivalent means.
The improved mechanism applied to the shuttle box is shewn in Figures 2
and 3. In looms of the ordinary construction the shuttle is held in the shuttle
box by means of a spring attached to the lay back acting against the swell.
The force of this spring has to be overcome every time the shuttle enters and
leaves the shuttle box. Now my Invention consists in so arranging the parts

page_text: that no pressure shall be exerted by the spring or swell when the shuttle
enters and leaves the shuttle box; but a provision is made to feel for the
shuttle as the lay approaches the cloth, and in case the shuttle is not in the
shuttle box to stop the loom by means of the frog, as in looms of the ordinary
construction; by this means a great saving of power is effected, and the wear
and tear of the parts is considerably diminished.
Figure 2 is an elevation of a loom side to which my improvements are
applied, and Figure 8 is a plan of the same. Only those parts of the loom
are shewn which are requisite to illustrate this part of my Invention. k is
the loom side; 1, the crank shaft; , the crank arm; m, the lay or batten;
and n, the stop rod. These parts are the same as in looms of the ordinary
construction. On the stop rod n is a lever o, held fast by a set screw; to the
top end of the lever o is attached a retaining piece or swell o', which projects
through the side of the shuttle box in order to feel for and prevent the
rebounding of the shuttle when required. Between this lever o and the crank
arm is another lever o², see Figure 3, also attached by a set screw to the
stop rod n; to this lever o² is bolted a spring o³, the end of which reaches
between a little bracket ot, bolted through the slot in the crank arm . When
the crank is in the top position, as shewn in the Drawing, the spring of is beld
firmly up, thereby moving the lever o, stop rod 1, and lever o, so as to cause
the retaining piece or swell o' to project through the side of the shuttle box
and bear against the shuttle; but before the shuttle is required to be picked
across the shed the crank has assumed the bottom position shown in dotted
lines, thus liberating the spring o³ from the pressure of the bracket o*, and
allowing the levers o and o² to fall into the position likewise indicated by
dotted lines in the Drawing; the retaining piece or swell o' on the lever o is by
this means withdrawn from holding the shuttle, which is now at perfect
liberty, and consequently will require less power to be picked across the shed
than if held fast by the spring and swell, as in looms of the present con-
struction. It is evident that the finger o may be made to act on the back of
the swell at present in use; at the time when the shuttle arrives at the other
side of the loom, the crank is beginning to regain its top position and exerts a
little pressure on the spring o³, so that although the shuttle on entering the
box has no resistance to overcome, the pressure is immediately applied to
prevent the rebounding of the shuttle, and to retain it firmly in its place till it
is again released for the next pick. It will be evident that other means may
be employed for actuating the levers o and o², as, for instance, the end of the
spring o may be inserted into the slot in the crank arm l', or it may be moved

page_text: by a tappet or crank fastened on the crank shaft l, or the lever o³ may be
made to come in contact with a stud on the loom side, thereby actuating the
lever or finger o by the motion of the lay; but I prefer to use the means
described and shewn in the Drawings.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, I wish to observe that I stated in my Provisional
Specification that my Invention consisted "also in an improvement in the
taking-up motion, consisting in placing the cloth roller above the emery or
fluted roller, by which means the springs, weights, and levers are dispensed
with." Since filing the said Provisional Specification, I have found out that
the above is not new or not beneficial; I therefore make no claim thereto;
but what I do claim is,-
First, the improved mode of forming the shed of the warp, as shewn and
described with reference to Figure 1, and particularly the moveable rods h, or
any modification thereof.
And, secondly, the improved mode of releasing the shuttle on entering and
leaving the shuttle box, as shewn and described in reference to Figures 2
and 3, for the purpose of economizing power and diminishing the wear and
tear of the parts.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Johnson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-second day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
5
Witness,
H. B. BARLOW,
Manchester.
WILLIAM JOHNSON. (L.S.)