IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVING LOOMS
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME OR BE
MADE KNOWN, I, RUSSELL STURGIS, of No. 8, Bishopsgate Street, in the
City of London, Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster,
the Twenty-fifth day of February, in the fifteenth year of Her said Majesty's
reign, did give and grant unto me, the said Russell Sturgis, my exors, admors,
and assigns, Her special licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Russell Sturgis, my exors, adñors, and assigns, and every of
us, by myself and themselves, or by my and their deputy or deputies, servants
or agents, or such others as I, the said Russell Sturgis, my exors, admors, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times thereafter during the term of years therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within that part of Her said
Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England,
Her Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in Her said
Majesty's Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also
in all Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVING LOOMS;" in which said Letters Patent there is
contained a proviso that I, the said Russell Sturgis, shall particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be
enrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar

page_text: months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Russell Sturgis, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are described and ascertained
as follows (that is to say), that the nature of the said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had
to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon (that is to say):-
:-
The object of my Invention is to weave bags, sacks, mattresses, or similar
articles, and to form the bottoms or sides thereof, by interweaving, without
seams and without stopping the loom, and my Invention consists in so con-
structing and arranging the several parts of a loom, that when it has woven
the required length of double or cylindrical shaped cloth to form a bag or
other article, some of the cams that work the heddles will stop while others
proceed, until they arrive at such a relative position in regard to those that
stopped, that when the latter are again put in motion, the warps which have
been woven into two thicknesses of cloth will be woven into one, the two
cloths, or halves of the tube, being interwoven, and forming the bottom or side
of a bag or other article, as may be required. Where the warps have been
interwoven for a proper length to form the bottom or side required, the cams
that stopped before stop again until the cams in motion arrive at a position in
which, by all the cams moving, double or tubular cloth is again woven for the
proper length, and so on in succession; the relative position of the cams
being changed, and all the above results produced by the loom while in
motion, and without its being stopped in any part of the process. The articles
are afterwards cut separate, as may be required.
I now proceed to describe the construction and operation of the machine.
Fig. 1 is a view of the front of the loom. Fig. 2 is a view of the right-
hand end. Fig. 3 represents the cams, the plain lines showing the grooves
in a position to weave double or tubular cloth, the dotted lines on 13 and 14
showing the position the cams are moved to to interweave all the warps.
Fig. 4 represents a section of the shaft I³, wheel 18, and the parts connected
with them, as though cut by a plane passing along the axis of the shaft, as
indicated by the dotted line 33. Fig. 5 is a top view of the stand K2,
pall m, &c. Fig. 6 is one of the treadles or levers and the parts that connect
it to the harness frame. The same letters refer to the same parts in all the
Drawings. A, A, posts; A', breast beam; A2, top rail; A³, end girt;

page_text: 'A', back girt. B, the lathe, hung and operated in the usual manner by the
Sweeps B', and the crank B of the shaft B³, which turns in appropriate
bearings on A², driven by a belt connected with the prime moving power, and
applied to the pulley B. Upon the opposite end of the shaft B³ there is a
gear C, which drives the gear C', and turns the shaft C2 with the cams C³, C³,
which act upon the levers C, C, connected to the picker staffs D, D, to
traverse the pickers and throw the shuttles. D', the yarn beam, retained by
the screw t³ on the shaft D³, acting on the wheel to on the said beam. D³, the
yarn roller (represented by the dotted lines) supported by the levers D' which
act upon the sector E, which sector is acted upon in its turn by the spring E¹
acting upon the arm E² of the sectors. The above-mentioned parts may be
made and worked as many of the looms in present in use are made and
worked. The gear F upon the shaft C drives the gear F¹, which turns the
shaft F; these wheels are inside of the girt A³, which supports one bearing
of the shaft, the other being upon the stand F³, fastened to the back girt A*.
The grooved cams 1, 2, are fastened to the shaft F, and traverse the rollers
or pins in the levers 3, 4, to vibrate them upon the screws in the stand F',
fastened to the back girt. One of the rollers and the pins it turns upon is
shewn in dotted lines at . The heddle frames 5, 6, 7, and 8, made as
represented, with a perpendicular bar at each side, joined to a horizontal one
across the bottom and arched rod across the top, and are sustained in their
places by the stand G, G, and by the cleats or guides a', a' (shewn in dotted
lines), fastened to the inside of the girts A³. The stands 9 and 10 are fastened
to the bottom bars of the heddle frames 5 and 6, and are connected to the
levers 3, 4, by the straps 11 and 12, which pass round the pivots of the
stands 9 and 10, and through the ends of the levers 3, 4, and the ends lap, so
that a screw passes through each of them and through the pieces of wood t¹, fitted
between the pivots of the stands and the ends of the levers, so as to communicate
a positive motion in each direction to the heddle frames 5 and 6, and to the
heddles a fastened to the heddle frames by the rods a³, a³. The lever 4,
wheels, and strap 11, stand 9, and the piece of wood t, and the bottom of
the harness frame 5, are all represented in Fig. 6. The shaft G¹ turns in
bearings fastened to the posts A, A, and forms the fulcrum of the lever G²,
which is vibrated by the connecting rod G³, attached to the sword of the
lathe, and traverses the catch G', which acts upon the wheel II fastened to
the shaft G to turn it. An end view of the above-named parts is represented
in Fig. 7. The friction wheel H' is fastened to the same shaft, and is acted
upon by the spring at under the block b, which is forced down by the screw b¹,
turning in the breast beam A¹, so as to graduate the friction upon. the wheel.

page_text: The sprocket wheel H2 is fastened to the shaft G¹, and acts upon the
chain H³, which drives the sprocket wheel 62 to turn the roller b³ in the
stands 6, 6, upon the breast beam, and in connection with the roller c, in
the same stands, takes up the cloth as it is woven. The rollers b and c being
geared together by the wheels c¹, c¹³, the roller b³ is pressed against the cloth
by the spring c, c, which are drawn against it by the screws which pass
through them, and into the stands 6', so as to adjust the pressure. The
wheel His fastened to the end of the shaft G', and the pin c* in it acts upon
the teeth of the wheel I, which turns on the stud d, fastened into the post A.
The wheel I has a circular groove d' in it, that holds the pin d in the rod ď³,
one end of which is slotted and traverses on the stud d, and is acted upon
by the spring d', which acts against the collar e, fastened to the rod d³, and
against the knee e¹, one end of which surrounds the rod d³, and the other end is
perforated to fit the stud d, and is fastened to it. The groove d' has two
notches h, h', cut towards the periphery, and two, h², hs, cut towards the centre,
in which the pin d³ traverses, as will be hereafter described. The wheel I
has one tooth with an inclined plane s in front of it, against which the pin c*
acts and propels the wheel faster than when it acts against the teeth cut
straight to the centre. The wheel I' upon the right-hand end of the shaft c
upon the outside of the girt drives the wheel I, upon the shaft Is, which turns
in bearings similar to those described for the opposite shaft F, and has the
grooved cams 13, 14, upon it that traverse the rollers (one of which is repre-
sented by dotted lines at e (Fig. 1) on the pins in the levers 15, 16, to
vibrate them upon the screws in the stand I, fastened to the girt A. The
opposite ends of the levers 15, 16, are connected to the heddle frames 7, 8,
by fixtures, similar to those already described as connecting the levers 3, 4,
with the heddle frames 5, 6. The heddles are connected to the frames 7, 8,
by the rods e, e, similar to those heretofore described. The levers 15, 16,
are above the shaft Is, and the levers 3, 4, are below the shaft F, hereto-
fore described. The cog wheel I' turns freely upon the shaft Is, and has a pro-
jection or flange f upon it, to which the spring f' is fastened, which spring f¹
has a stiff projection n on the end, which plays through a notch in the projection f
into the notches m', m³, m³, m, in the wheel K, which turns just inside of the
projection (as represented by dotted lines), and is fastened to the shaft I*:
There is a pin r projecting from the spring f¹ which raises the projection n,
when the pall m is forced into one of the spaces o³, 0, 0, 0, in the rim K'
upon the side of the wheel K, the pall m being connected with the end of
rod de opposite to the end heretofore described, which pall m vibrates on a
pivot that projects through the stand K fastened to the top rail A². A section

page_text: of the shaft Is, wheels I³, and K, with the rim K', are seen cut through the
line 33 of Fig. 2, in Fig. 4, and a top view of the stand K², pall m,
with the sections of the rod d³ and the top rail A*, are represented in Fig. 5.
The loom being completed, as above described, the warp put in and properly
adjusted, a shuttle supplied with weft put in, and a belt applied to the pulley
B', the loom is put in operation. The lathe and shuttle operate in the usual
manner, the yarn beam yielding the warp, which is let off as it is required
by a motion taken from the lathe. The cams being arranged as shewn by the
plain lines in the Drawing (Fig. 3), cam 1 raises the heddle frame 5 with
one fourth of the warp, when the shuttle carries a thread of weft across for
the upper cloth. The cams 2 and 13 then raise the heddle frames 6, 7,
taking up one half of the warp, when the shuttle carries a thread of weft
across for the lower cloth. The cams 1 and 13 then take down the heddle
frames 5, 7, with one half of the warp, when the shuttle takes the weft
across for the upper cloth. The cams 1 and 14 then raise the heddle frames
5 and 8 with one half of the warp, when the shuttle carries the weft across
for the lower cloth. The cams 2 and 14 then descend with one half of the
warp. The cams have now made an entire revolution, the heddle frame 5
with one fourth of the warp being raised, which is the same position the
warp was in the first time the shuttle crossed; and if the loom is kept in
operation and the shuttle supplied with weft the loom will continue to weave
the cloth double and joined at the selvedges, so as to form a tube, the shuttle
delivering a thread of weft for the upper and the lower cloth, alternately
carrying the weft from one to the other at the selvedges, thus weaving the
two thicknesses of cloth, until the rollers b and c, which take up the cloth,
have measured the length of double or tubular cloth required. The tooth s of
the wheel I is now acted upon by the pin c in the wheel H, the pin d' in
the rod d' is forced into the notch p by the spring d', and the pall m catches
under the pin r and into the space o² in the rim K', raising the projection n
out of the notch m* in the wheel K, and allowing it to stop with the shaft I*
and the cams 13, 14, until the grooves in the same come opposite to the grooves
in the cams 1 and 2, as represented in dotted lines Fig. 3. In the mean
time the pin has passed over the pall m, and the projection n has
caught in the next notch m³ further forward in the wheel K, and put
the shaft Is and cams 13, 14, in motion. The grooves in the cams 1, 14,
being opposite to each other, and those in the cams 2, 13, being also opposite,
the loom now weaves all the warp into single cloth, connecting together the
two thicknesses of cloth previously woven. As soon as the pin r passes over
the pivot in the pall m, it depresses the short end p, raising the opposite end,

page_text: and pushing the pin d² out of the notch h and against the inclined side of the
notch h², propelling the wheel I forward, so that the pin d², as it is forced out
of the notch h³, catches on that portion of the groove d' that is between the
notches h, h¹, so that the wheel I is propelled by the pin until the pin d
slips into the notch h¹, and the pall m catches under the pin r and raises the
projection n, allowing the wheel K. and cams 13 and 14 to stop until the
projection 'n arrives at and enters the notch m¹ in the wheel K, when the
wheel K and cams 13, 14, proceed, and weave double or tubular cloth, the
cam 13 having taken the position in reference to the cams 1, 2, that was
occupied by the cam 14 when the loom wove double cloth before, and the
cam 14 has assumed the position that cam 13 occupied. When the pin r
passes over the pall m it depresses the end p, shoving the pin d² out of the
notch hand against the inclined side of the notch h³, propelling the wheel I,
so that the pin d, as it was brought back by the spring d, caught on the
groove d', so that the pin e propels the wheel I, and the loom weaves double
a tubular cloth until the rollers 63 and c have measured the required length,
and the wheel I has been propelled so near round that the pin d² is forced
into the notch h, when the loom weaves single cloth, as heretofore described,
interweaving the cloths for a proper distance, and then again changes to
weaving double cloth, as heretofore described. The tooth s of the wheel I is
made with an inclination forward, so that the pin c will propel the wheel I
faster while the change from single to double cloth and from double to single
cloth is being made. The length of double or single cloth may be varied
when required by increasing or diminishing the number of teeth in the
wheel I, and by changing or increasing the notches cut from the groove d', or
both. The rollers 63 and c, which take up the cloth, which is represented by
the red line, receive their motion as follows, viz:-The lever G, which
vibrates on the shaft G¹, is acted upon by the rod G³ connected to it and to
the sword of the lathe which work it, and moves the catch G; this acts upon
the wheel H, fastened to the shaft G', which has a sprocket wheel H* upon it,
acting upon the chain H³, and turning the roller 63 by the sprocket wheel be
fastened to it. The roller 63 turns the roller c by the wheels c¹, c¹. If the
catch G' moves the wheel H so that the rollers b and c draw the cloth faster
than it is woven and driven over by the reed, the elasticity of the cloth and
warp, in connection with the springs e¹ and the springing of the warps by the
heddles, will pull the cloth and turn the rollers back as the catch G* yields,
the spring at upon the wheel H¹ being properly adjusted to allow it so to
do; thus the catch G will not take another tooth of the wheel H until
a sufficient quantity of weft is put in to allow it to move the wheel H again.

page_text: To weave twilled cloth an additional number of cams, levers, and heddles.
may be used; and to increase the number of thicknesses of cloth additional
shafts with cams may be added. Instead of two short shafts for the cams
there may be one shaft having part of the cams attached to it while it turns
loose in the other cams, which may be connected to a wheel like K fastened
to the shaft, so that the relative position of part of the cams in reference to
the others can be changed while the loom is in motion. The cams, levers, and
heddles may be so arranged as to weave double cloth and weave two selvedges
at one side of the loom, and weave the two thicknesses of cloth together at
the opposite side to form the bottom of the bag, and weave the two cloths
together at given distances to form the sides, so that the mouth of the bag will
be surrounded by a selvedge. The loom is adapted for weaving seamless bed
and mattrass ticks, so that a slit may be cut in the centre of one slide; they
are then turned inside out, filled through the hole, and sewn up.
In witness whereof I, the said Russell Sturgis, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.
Signed and sealed in the presence of
RUSSELL (L.s.) STURGIS.
C. F. YATES,
A. L. ESTLIN,
Clerks to Messrs. E. T. H. & T. Lawford, of
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-ninth day of July, in
the year of our Lord 1852, the aforesaid Russell Sturgis came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to
the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-ninth day of July, in the year of our
thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.
Lord One