IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Cumming at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 18th May 1855.
I, JOHN CUMMING, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Pattern Designer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING" to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a series of contrivances, more particularly appli-
cable for weaving in a circle or continuously, by means of a shuttle or shuttles
travelling round a warp or warps arranged in a circle, whilst at the same time
the arrangements may be so modified as to render them suitable for weaving
with a reciprocating shuttle, the line of traverse of the shuttle being either
partially circular or rectilinear. According to one modification of the appa-
ratus for circular weaving, the warp is drawn off beams or bobbins placed near
the bottom of the framing, and it passes up vertically, the woven fabric being
delivered upwards from the top of the machine. The shed is formed by means
of horizontal heddles arranged in sections round the machine, each section.
being acted on in succession by a central cam revolving on a vertical axis.
The weft threads of the fabric are beaten up by a series of dents or flat wires,
which take the place of the reed as in the ordinary loom. These beating-up
dents are arranged radially and horizontally, and are guided vertically by an
inner and an outer annular reed arranged with the dents vertical. These

page_text: beater dents also serve to conduct or propel the shuttle round through the
shed, the shuttlo running on wheels along the top of the dents. In the
weaving action the beater dents sink in front of the shuttle, whilst the dents
immediately behind the shuttle rise, so that the shuttle is, as it were, con-
stantly running down an inclined plane, whilst the dents rising behind it as it
proceeds along beat up the weft thread as it is laid along the shed by the
shuttle. The action of the shuttle may be assisted by means of a magnet
carried round in connection with, the cam rings, herein-after described, in such
a manner as to draw down the shuttle into the hollow of the dents, the shuttle
being constructed partly or altogether of steel to bring it under the influence
of the magnet. The motions of the beater dents are caused by a pair of cams
or grooved rings; one of these cam rings work inside the inner guide reed,
whilst the other one works outside the outer guide reed, the two cam rings
being made to revolve in concert by suitable gearing. The ends of the beater
dents work freely in the guide grooves on the cam rings, & these grooves
are formed with a descending wave-shaped curve, so that as the cam rings
revolve, the curved portion of the groove causes the beater dents to gradually
fall and rise in succession, as already herein-before described; the reeds thus
acted upon forming a species of sunk wave, in which the shuttle lies, &
which carries the shutttle with it as it travels round the loom. By forming
the guide grooves on the cam rings with two or more wave curves, the heddle
action being arranged to correspond, two or more shuttles may be made to
work in the same web, these shuttles following each other round the machine.
By these means a circular fabric will be woven, but by giving the cam rings
a reciprocating motion a fabric of the ordinary description with two selvages
may be woven, the heddle action being suitably modified for this purpose; or
two or more sets of warps may be arranged in a circle in the same machine,
the same set of motions thus serving to produce two or more distinct pieces
of fabric simultaneously; and when two or more pieces of fabric are simul-
taneously woven in a circle in this way, the reciprocating motion may be
produced by the action of duplex cam rings revolving continuously in opposite
directions. In this case these cam rings are so constructed, that whilst one
pair is driving the shuttle of one piece of fabric in one direction, the other
pair is driving the shuttle of another piece in the opposite direction; and when
the shuttle reaches the extreme edge of its fabric, it immediately begins to be
acted upon by the cam ring which is revolving in the opposite direction, and
is thereby driven back across the fabric. In adapting these contrivances to
rectilinear weaving, the vertical guide reeds become straight, & the cam rings
become parallel rectilinear guide frames, to which a reciprocating motion is

page_text: given in any convenient way. In this case the shed may either be formed as
in the ordinary loom, or by a modification of the plan adopted in the circular
arrangement, herein-before described; the warp, however, passes up vertically,
and the beater dents fall and rise in the guide reeds, in the same manner as in
the circular arrangement. Instead of forming the shed by means of heddles,
as herein-before described, it may be formed by means of the beater dents
themselves, the heddles being dispensed with. In effecting this, the warp
tbreads are passed through eyes in the dents, or are otherwise connected to
them, & a horizontal movement is given to the dents in order to produce the
shed. This horizontal movement of the dents may be produced by means of the
cam rings, for which purpose the grooves in these rings for producing the ver-
tical movements of the dents must be made of considerable depth horizontally.
Each alternate dent must be formed with points standing up above the level
of the intermediate dents, the latter having points projecting downwards below
the level of the alternate dents. These points work in grooves formed respec-
tively in the upper and under sides of the deep horizontal groove in which the
dents lie, and which produces their vertical movements.
The secondary grooves are so cut as to shift the dents horizontally, the
upper groove working the alternate dents outwards, and the lower groove
working the intermediate dents inwards, or vice versa, thereby forming the
shed. These contrivances are obviously applicable to the arrangements already
herein-before described for weaving with reciprocating shuttles either circularly
or rectilinearly. The fabric produced in the circular loom may be taken up
in various ways. According to one plan, a series of rollers or belts may be
arranged inside the fabric and made to revolve in radiating planes. These
rollers or belts are formed with radiating pins on their outer surface, which
pins take into the fabric and lift it up, the rollers or belts being actuated by a
central screw movement or otherwise.