IMPROVE- MENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING WOOLLENS
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Pearson and William Spurr, of Birstal, in
the County of York, Engineers and Machine Makers, and Thomas
Smith, of the same Place, Mechanic, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING WOOLLENS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Pearson, William
Spurr, and Thomas Smith at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 26th November 1860.
We, WILLIAM PEARSON and WILLIAM SPURR, of Birstal, in the County of
York, Engineers and Machine Makers, and THOMAS SMITH, of the same
Place, Mechanic, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING WOOLLENS," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in means of operating the treddles for working the
healds or heddles of woollen power looms in such manner that a greater
number of changes may be made, or more variety of figure or design in the
fabric may be obtained without the use of jacquards, and the changes effected
with more facility than heretofore; for which purpose instead of continuous
motion which is now given to the treading tappets by gear wheels, we employ
star wheel and noggin plate, by which we produce intermittant motion, and
thereby obtain a greater number of treads in one revolution of the tappet

page_text: shaft; we also make the nibs of the tappets portable or separate from the
tappet plates, and in sets suitable for one tread, two treads, and so on, whereby
they may be readily changed for any desirable order of treading.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Pearson, William Spurr, and Thomas Smith in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 25th May 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
PEARSON and WILLIAM SPURR, of Birstal, in the County of York, Engineers
and Machine Makers, and THOMAS SMITH, of the same Place, Mechanic, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said William Pearson, William Spurr, and Thomas Smith, Her special
license that we, the said William Pearson, William Spurr, and Thomas
Smith, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the
said William Pearson, William Spurr, and Thomas Smith, our 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
WOOLLEN," upon the condition, amongst others, that we, the said William
Pearson, William Spurr, and Thomas Smith, our executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of our or 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 we, the said William Pearson, William Spurr, and
Thomas Smith, do hereby declare the nature of our 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 Invention consists in means of operating the treadles for working the
healds or heddles of woollen power looms in such manner that a greater

page_text: number of changes may be made, or more variety of figure or design in the
fabric may be obtained without the use of jacquards, and the changes effected.
with more facility than heretofore; for which purpose instead of continuous
motion which is now given to the treading tappets by gear wheels, we employ
a star wheel and noggin plate, by which we produce intermittant motion, and,
thereby obtain a greater number of treads in one revolution of the tappet:
shaft. We also make the nibs of the tappets portable or separate from the
tappet plates, and in sets suitable for one tread, two treads, and so on, whereby
they may be readily changed for any desirable order of treading.
This Invention will be readily understood by reference to the two accom-;
panying Sheets of Drawings.
Fig. 1 (Sheet 1) is an elevation of so much of a loom as is necessary to:
shew the application of our improvements. A is the ordinary low shaft, driven.
by gear from the crank shaft as usual; B is a short shaft, having a series of
eight tappets thereon, lettered b¹ to. 68; on this shaft is fixed a star wheel C of
eight notches or divisions c, and on the low shaft is fixed a noggin plate or
driving plate D, with two studs d fixed therein, which enter the notches e of.
the star wheel. Detailed illustrations of this star wheel and driving plate are
given in Sheet 2, where Figs. 1 and 2 are front and back elevations, and
Fig. 3 is a section; Fig. 4 is a side view, and Fig. 5 a plan, of the noggin
plate or driving plate. The nature and action of this kind of driving gear.
being so well known, it is unnecessary to describe further than to say that in
this case they are of the character of bevil gear, the shafts being at right
angles to each other, but star wheel and noggin plate of the ordinary kind
will answer equally well, with suitable arrangements in the application
thereof.
Figs. 3 and 4 (Sheet 1) are elevation and section of one of the portable
tappet nibs suitable for one tread. E in Fig. 5 is a two-tread, and F a one-
tread, which is so formed as to fit the side of the nib E, and thus combined
make the two-tread nib into a three-tread nib, and by adding another such
nib thereto a four-tread nib will be formed, and so on to any desirable number
of treads.
Figs. 6, 7, are elevation and section of the tappet plate for receiving, and
on which are fixed the portable nibs; and Figs. 8, 9, are elevation and section
of the plate to fix on the shaft B, to which the tappet plates are bolted. H are
a series of eight levers or treadles for operating the healds or beddles, and are
placed immediately under the eight tappets respectively, so that each tappet
will act only upon its own lever or treadle, and the nibs of the tappets are
arranged on the plates so as to operate the treadles as required.

page_text: It will be observed that we have shewn eight notches in the star wheel and
two studs in the noggin plate or driving plate, consequently when they are in
operation at every half revolution of the low shaft, one of the studs or pro-
jections in the driving plate will cause the star wheel to move the distance of
one notch or division, and one-eighth of a revolution of the tappet shaft, at the
same time the tappets will operate one or more of the treadles according to
the arrangement of the nibs of the said tappets, and the star wheel then
remains stationary until the next stud comes round. But it will be evident
that the star wheel may be made of any other number of divisions or notches
according to the number of treadles that may be required to be operated.
Having thus fully described the nature of our said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, we would have it understood
that we do not confine ourselves to the precise details as herein set forth; but
what we claim as of our Invention is,―
Firstly, the employment of a star wheel and noggin plate to produce inter-
mittant motion or action of the treading tappets for working the healds or
heddles of woollen looms.
And, secondly, the method of constructing tappets with portable nibs, and in
arranging and applying them for operating the treadles of woollen looms, in
manner substantially as herein described and illustrated by the accompanying
two Sheets of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Smith, for and on behalf of
myself and the said William Pearson and William Spurr, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of May, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named Thomas Smith, in
the presence of
ARTHUR BENJN. CROSSLEY,
Clerk to Wm. Tasker,
Patent Agent,
Halifax.
THOMAS SMITH. (L.S.)