Improvements in Motions for Actuating Shuttle Boxes of Looms.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Sept., 1886.
Complete Left, 17th June, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 26th July, 1887.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Motions for Actuating Shuttle Boxes of Looms.
We SAMUEL WALKER, Engineer & Machinist Atlas Works, Radcliffe & GEORGE LEEK,
Manager, 72 Victoria Street Radcliffe in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
For actuating shuttle boxes of Looms to be as follows, tappett is placed upon the
tappett shaft of the loom which is arranged to work a treadle or lever up & down and
at the end of this treadle two levers are attached, the top of these levers have teeth
cut in which work in teeth on two small discs, one of these discs is fastened to an
eccentric, the other being coupled to a third disc by a peg, this disc works on the
eccentric before mentioned and has a stud fasteneed to it and on this is placed the
lifting rod, which is coupled at the opposite end to a lever, which works the shuttle
boxes up and down, as the discs and eccentric are pulled round by the two levers these
levers are pushed in gear by the end of two spindles, the opposite end of these spindles
press against small steel cards, these cards are worked round on a small barrel and on
this barrel is a small star wheel which fits in a ring wheel worked from the crank shaft
of the loom, there is also a small tappett cast to this ring wheel, which works two forks,
these forks fit in between a nut and a collar on the two spindles and are worked up
and down by the small tappett, and are thereby made to press against the levers at one
end and the steel cards at the opposite end which if a blank card will press one or
more of the levers in gear as required by this arrangement two or more boxes can be
worked, one lever and one spindle only being required for working two boxes, two
levers & two spindles for four boxes, or more in proportion to the number of boxes
required to be used, it is also arranged to move from one box to any of the other boxes,

page_text: such as from the first to the fourth, or first to third or second, or to skip any box that
may be required, it is also arranged to work either backwards or forwards without
being put in or out of gear, there is also a slip motion attached to the lifting rod, so
that if the shuttle should be only partly driven into the shuttle box, the slip motion
would give way and prevent any breakages, there is also an arrangement whereby the
motion is locked until required to be moved, when the levers are pushed in, the lock
motion is pushed out of gear thereby liberating the box motion, provision is also made
for pressing the levers out of gear when the disc or eccentric is pulled round the
required distance.
Dated this 15th day of September 1886.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Motions for Actuating Shuttle Boxes of Looms.
We SAMUEL WALKER of Radcliffe, Engineer and Machinist and GEORGE LEEK of
72 Victoria Street, Radcliffe, Manager, do hereby declare the nature of this Invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement and accompanying drawings:
Our said Invention relates to means for actuating the shuttle boxes of looms, and
will be best understood by reference to the accompanying sheet of drawings which
illustrate the apparatus we employ to carry our invention into effect.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation and Fig. 2 a view at right angles to Fig 1. The shuttle
box a containing in the present instance four shuttles is carried on the end of a lever b
the weight of the shuttle box and frame being supported in equilibrium by a spiral
spring attached at d to the framing of the loom and at d¹ to the lever b.
The lever b is connected by a link or lifting rod c to a stud e. which projects from
the disc f. A bracket z fixed to the framing of the loom carries a shaft g. provided at
its outer end with an excentric upon which is mounted the disc f. and at its other end
with a hand wheel x. The shaft g of the excentric serves as a bearing for the tooth
disc which revolves loosely upon it while the neighbouring disc h is made fast to
the shaft g. The toothed wheel is coupled to the outer disc f by a peg which extends
from the toothed wheel i and slides in a groove formed in the back of the disc f.
Behind the toothed discs h and i are correspondingly toothed levers k and which are
connected to the free end of a pivotted lever m which is caused to rise and fall by an
antifriction roller n working in a cam groove in the tappet o as shown in Fig. 1. The
roller n may either work in a cam groove as shown which gives a positive motion or
it may work on a cam surface against which it would be held by a spring. As the
toothed ends of the levers kl rise and fall they at times gear with the toothed discs h
and i and turn them so as to raise or lower the shuttle box a by means of the suspending
link c. In the example selected for illustration which is a four shuttle box loom when
the wheel his operated it turns the shaft g and the excentric so that the shuttle box is
moved to the extent of one shuttle; but when the wheel i is operated the box is moved
to the extent of two shuttles the cause of the increased lift given by the revolution of
the disc f by the peg extending from the wheel i. When it is desired to move the
shuttle box to the extent of three shuttles both of the levers k. l. are simultaneously
engaged with the wheels h. i. the consequence being that the movement given by the
peg is added to the throw of the excentric with the result the required movement of
the shuttle box is obtained. Of course it will be evident that combinations of these
movements may be obtained by suitably arranging the cards hereinafter referred to.
When it is not required to turn the discs h. i. or one of them the toothed end of the
corresponding lever k or remains out of gear with the opposite disc h or i. The
required disengagements and engagements between the toothed wheels and levers are
effected from a card barrel p or it might be a pattern chain. Two sliding rods 9 have

page_text: antifriction rollers which bear on the backs of the toothed levers k and l. A rocking
lever is pivotted on a bracket r¹ and is provided at its upper end with an antifriction
rollers which works in a cam groove formed on or attached to the wheel t. The
lever is thus caused to rock on its pivot at r¹. Two upright levers r² are pivotted
at ³ to the lever r, and at a point opposite to the card barrel p the upright pivotted
levers are connected to horizontal needles or spindles u. When holes in the card
barrel are presented to the ends of the needles u the upper ends of the levers 7² are
kept back by the springs and the toothed levers k, l, are thus kept out of gear with
the wheels h and i but when the card barrel has been turned by means of the star
wheel w so as to present a projecting peg or pegs instead of the holes to the needles u,
the end of each needle u becomes a fixed fulcrum upon which the corresponding upright
lever rocks so that as the lower end is carried outward by the lever the upper end
is pushed inward and forces the toothed lever k or into gear with the wheel h or i
whereby the desired change of the shuttle box is brought about. Of course the fore-
going arrangement may be worked inversely that is to say the holes in the card barrel
might be made to fulfil the herein before described functions of the
pegs. To prevent
shifting of either of the discs hi after a change we arrange stops y in connection with
the levers k. l the said stops being formed with conical points which enter corresponding
recesses in the periphery of the toothed discs h. i. The stops come into action to hold
the discs only when the toothed levers have fallen back out of gear with the said toothed
discs. When the levers once more engage with the discs the stops are pushed away.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said Invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we claim is :-
(1) The arrangement and combination of mechanism forming a complete apparatus
for actuating the shuttle boxes of looms substantially as hereinbefore described and
shown.
(2) In apparatus for actuating the shuttle boxes and looms the employment of
toothed discs h. i and the disc fall mounted upon an excentric and shaft the toothed
discs being operated by correspondingly toothed levers k. l. actuated by a rocking
lever from the tappet shaft and capable of being automatically thrown in and out of
gear with the discs h. i as the weaving proceeds substantially as described and shown.
(3) The improved stops y for locking the discs h. i in position after a change
substantially as described and shown.
(4) The arrangement for throwing the toothed levers in and out of gear with the
toothed discs and consisting of pivotted levers oscillated by a cam and governed in
their action by horizontally sliding needles or spindles acting in conjunction with a
card barrel or with a pattern chain substantially as described and shown or any mere
modification thereof.
Dated this 16th day of June 1887
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James Square, Manchester,
Agents.