IMPROVEMENTS IN Looms
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN Looms."-A communication from abroad by
Eugène Klein, of Sengern, near Guebwiller, Alsace, in the Empire
of Germany.
Sealed the 9th December 1875, and dated the 17th September 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 17th September 1875.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN Looms," a communication to me from
abroad by Eugène Klein, of Sengern, near Guebwiller, Alsace, in the
Empire of Germany, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved mode of actuating shuttles of
looms, whereby numerous advantages are obtained, and in particular,
the practicability of weaving fabrics of an increased width.

page_text: facilitating the introduction of the threads of the warp between the
shuttle and the carrier, and between the shuttle and the metal plate.
At each extremity of the carrier there is formed an eye, which is
intended to receive the ends of a line or cord serving to impart to it
a to-and-fro motion at each stroke of the batten or lay.
The following is the mode of transmitting motion, which it is preferred
to employ to actuate the shuttle: -On a shaft driven from the main
shaft of the loom there are mounted two pinions, which gear into two
similar pinions mounted on suitable sleeves. Upon these sleeves are
fitted eccentrics acting upon a lever, which turns on a centro or fulcrum,
and which, by reason of the arrangement of the two eccentrics which
are placed inversely, is caused to partako of a continuous oscillating.
motion.
One end of the lever is provided with a toothed segment gearing into
a pinion formed in one with a toothed wheel, which drives another
pinion; the latter is mounted upon a shaft or axis, on which there is
also hinged a grooved drum having attached to it the two ends of the
cord, which is connected with the carrier of the shuttle. This cord is
passed over pullies arranged at the two ends of the batten, and is
supported at the lower part of this latter by small rollers, which prevent
it from vibrating or heating during the working of the-loom.
The metal plate which holds the shuttlo upon its carrier is provided
at its extremities with joints, which enable its angle of inclination to be
varied in accordance with that assumed by the threads of the warp of.
the fabric on the loom. At its centre this plate is held or supported by
a rod, the position of which is regulated by means of a screw in such a
manner as to prevent the plate from bending, as might otherwise happen,
particularly in looms of great width. At the extremities of the plate
there are arranged two hinged covers held in position by means of small
bolts, and by opening which the shuttles may be removed or replaced
when the spool has become exhausted.
The arrangement of the apparatus will be varied to suit the special
construction of the looms to which it is to be applied, and otherwise
according to circumstances.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 16th March 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Hor most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, hearing date the Seventeenth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special
license that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, admini-
strators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term thercin 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," a communication to me from abroad
by Eugene Klein, of Singern, near Gusbwiller, Alsace, in the Empire of
Germany, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John
Henry Johnson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, 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 I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in a
and by the following statement,-reference-being-had-to-the-accom
panying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that
is to say:
The said Invention relates to an improved mode of actuating the
shuttles of looms, whereby numerous advantages are obtained, and in 3
particular the practicability of weaving fabrics of an increased width

page_text: In carrying out this Invention the shuttle in lieu of being thrown or
projected through the shed is conducted mechanically from one end of
the race to the other by means of suitable apparatus for transmitting
motion, which constitutes the principle feature of this Invention.
It has been previously proposed to employ a shuttle carrier in looms,
but notwithstanding the advantages of such an arrangement its use has
not become general in consequence of the defective system adopted for
actuating the carrier, the difficulties in obtaining an efficient arrange-
ment being due to the necessity for the sudden reversing of the direction
of motion in the shuttle at each stroke of the batten.
According to this Invention the system of imparting the motion'
consists in actuating by means of two cams or eccentrics a horizontal
lever provided at each extremity with a toothed segment driving a drum,
upon which is wound a rope or cord attached to one end of the shuttle
carrier; the two cords attached to the carrier are thus of equal length,
and the force to be exerted is equally divided between the two arms of
the lever, which arrangement ensures great regularity in the working of
the shuttle.
If desired the two ends of the shuttle carrier may be connected
by a single endless cord passed round a drum worked by a conical
sector fixed to the end of the lever, but in this case the unequal
lengths of the two portions of the cord and of the lever arms has a
tendency to produce a certain amount of irregularity in the working and
wear of the mechanism; the former arrangement is therefore preferred.
This perfectly symmetrical and equipoised mode of actuating the shuttle
carrier may be applied with advantage to looms of considerable width
by properly calculating the proportions of the mechanism and the
number of grooves in the drum, upon which the cords attached to the
two extremities of the shuttle carrier are, wound.
Another part of this Invention consists in the application to the
shuttle of a system of conical rollers destined to facilitate the passage of
the said shuttle through the shed, the angle of these rollers being
precisely similar to that of the warp threads..
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose
shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings,

page_text: Referring to Figures 1, 2, and 3, the shuttle a is placed upon a
carrier b, which is capable of moving in a groove formed in the batten 1
or lay c of the loom; this carrier is moreover provided with rollers for
the purpose of facilitating its motion. The shuttle a is retained at its
upper part by a band or plate of metal d occupying the whole length of
the batten or lay, and arranged obliquely in such a manner as to receive
the conical rollers e provided at the upper part of the shuttle, which is 3
thereby prevented from falling forwards. This obliquity of the plate a
and the conical shape of the rollers e thus facilitates the passage
through the shed with the inclination of the warp threads of which it
should precisely correspond.
The metal plate d, which holds the shuttle upon its carrier, is provided
at its extremities with joints d', which enable its angle of inclination to
be varied in accordance with that assumed by the front warp threads of
the fabric on the loom. This plate is supported at its centre by a rodƒ,
the position of which is regulated by means of a screw 9 in such a
manner as to prevent the plate from bending, as might otherwise 2
happen, particularly in looms of great width. At the extremities of the
plate d two hinged covers are provided for the purpose of enabling the
shuttle a to be placed in position.
Motion is imparted to the carrier in the following manner, referenco
being had to Figures 4, 5, and 6 of the Drawings:-The shaft h of tho å
loom is provided_with_two_pinions engaging-with-two-similar-pinions
mounted on sleeves k, upon which are fitted cams or excentrics 1; these
cams or excentrics act upon a lever m, which turns on a centre or
fulcrum n, and which, by reason of the arrangement of the two cams or
excentrics (which are placed inversely in relation to each other,) is 3
caused to partake of a continuous oscillating motion.

page_text: The lever m is provided at each extremity with a toothed segment o
gearing into a pinion p, upon the shaft or axis of which there is also
keyed a grooved pulley 9 (or a drum provided with several grooves,)
having attached to it the corresponding end of the cord 2, which is
connected with the carrier of the shuttle. The cams are formed of
two arcs of a circle connected by curves, and arranged in such a manner
that the cams shall remain constantly in contact with the lever m, the
action of which is thus rendered extremely smooth and regular, whereby
all sudden shocks in the mechanism, and consequently in the operation.
of weaving are obviated.
In order to prevent all liability of the cords escaping from the
grooves of the pulleys 9 small rollers s are provided underneath the
latter, which serve to retain the cords in position.
Having now described and. particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be used
or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider
to be novel and original and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,—
First. The system or mode of actuating shuttles in looms by the
employment of a lever oscillating under the action of cams or eccentrics
arranged in inverse positions in relation to each other, such lever being
provided with a toothed segment or segments operating pulleys or
drums, which impart motion by means of ropes or cords to the shuttle
carrier, substantially as herein-before described.
Secondly. The application to the shuttle of conical rollers for the
purpose of facilitating its passage through the shed, substantially as
herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to
this my Specification set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day