IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Weightman Harrison, of Lorimer Road
"Walworth, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 15th May 1863, and dated the 18th November 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Weightman
Harrison at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 18th November 1862.
I, CHARLES WEIGHTMAN HARRISON, of Lorimer Road, Walworth, in the
County of Surrey, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
..
ThisInvention relates to certain peculiar constructions and arrangements of
apparatus for giving the necessary motions to the various moving parts of
looms bypneumatic pressure without requiring the intervention or complication
of parts ordinarily employed.
First. The sley beam is actuated by means of connectionwith the piston rod
of a cylinder which communicates with a reservoir of compressed air, the air
being admitted into the cylinder by suitable arrangements of valves, as in the
ordinary steam engine.
Second. The sley beam is constructed so as to move in a horizontal plane,
each end working in a groove formed in the cheeks of the frame, and to avoid
friction it is carried on wheels or rollers.

page_text: Third. By means of suitable connections with the piston of the air cylinder
which actuates thesley beam the heddles receive their proper motions.
Fourth. Motion is given to the shuttle by the direct action of compressed
air without the intervention of pickers or drivers, as heretofore. This is
effected by forming an aperture or chamber at each end of the sley beam
wherein the shuttle can wholly or partly enter, and by making an aperture in
each cheek of the frame to which by proper connections compressed air is
conveyed. As these apertures are brought opposite to each other by the
motion of the sley beam a suitable arrangement of valves is made to admit
compressed air which shoots the shuttle. To reduce friction in the motion of
the shuttle I form the race of glass, porcelain, or other similar material to
which a smooth or polished surface is given, or I case the shuttle therewith,
and to economise the propelling power I sometimes construct the race of
a tubular form with a longitudinal opening for the passage of the weft.
And, fifth. The motions for letting of the warp and winding off the fabric
are obtained by suitably formed connections with the piston of the air cylinder
that actuates the sley beam.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Weightman Harrison in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 18th May 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
WEIGHTMAN HARRISON, of Lorimer Road, Walworth, in the County of
Surrey, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Charles Weightman Harrison, Her special license that I,the said Charles
Weightman Harrison, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Charles Weightman Harrison, my executors, administrators, or
assigns, should at anytime agree with,and no others,from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed should and lawfullymight
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," upon the condition (amongst others)
thatI, the said Charles Weightman Harrison, my executors or administrators,

page_text: by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, or under the hand and
seal of one of them, 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 Charles Weightman Harrison, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement,reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
Mysaid Invention relates to certain peculiar constructionsandarrangements
of apparatus for giving the necessary motions to the various moving parts of
looms by pneumatic pressure, without requiring the intervention or compli-
cation of parts ordinarily employed.
First. Thesley beam is actuated by means of connection with the piston rod
of a cylinder which communicates with a reservoir of compressed air, the air
being admitted into the cylinder by suitable arrangements of valves, as in the
ordinary steam engine.
: .
Second. The sley beam is constructed so as to move in a horizontal plane,
each end working in a groove formed in the cheeks of the frame, and to avoid
friction it is carried on wheels or rollers.
Third. By means of suitable connections with the piston of the air cylinder
which actuates the sley beam the heddles receive their proper motions....
Fourth. Motion is given to the shuttle by the direct action of compressed
air without the intervention of pickers or drivers as heretofore. This is
effected by forming an aperture or chamber at each end of the sley beam
wherein the shuttle can wholly or partly enter, and by making an aperture in
each cheek of the frame to which by proper connections compressed air is
conveyed. As these apertures are brought opposite to each other by the
motion of the sley beam a suitable arrangement of valves is made to admit
compressed air which shoots the shuttle. To reduce friction in the motion of
the shuttle I form the ends of the race of glass, porcelain, or other similar
material to which a smooth or polished surface is given,or I case the shuttle
therewith,and to economise the propelling power I sometimes construct the
ends of the race of a tubular form with a longitudinal opening for the passage
of the weft.
Aud, fifth. The motions for letting off the warp and winding on or taking up
the fabric are obtained by suitably formed connections with the piston of the
air cylinder that actuates the sley beam.

page_text: And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose
I shall refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto
annexed, thesame letters of referenceindicatingcorresponding parts throughout
all the Figures.
Figure 1 represents a vertical section of my improved atmospheric loom;
Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same, shewing the shuttle boxes in
section; Figure 3 is a detail vertical section on a larger scale of the "pneu-
matome" or air director or distributor for working the shuttles; and Figure 4
is a corresponding side elevation of the same.
.
A is the main framing of the loom,and B is the sley, which is represented
as travelling to and fro in slots C in the end framing, and supported by anti-
friction rollers D, which run along guide rails E,cast on or fitted to the inner
sides of the end frames. To the longitudinal centre of this sley and to the
axis. or shaft d of the rollers is attached by a metal eye or otherwise the straps
or band F, F1; one of these straps or bands F passes over the two guide
pullies a,b,and is connected at its other end to one end of the piston rod G,
which works through both ends of the horizontal air cylinder H,bolted to the
loom framing in the longitudinal centre thereof. This air cylinder is supplied
with compressed air from any convenient receiver,any well-known arrange-
ment of valves being employed for causing the air to enter each end of the
cylinder alteruately and escape therefrom so as to impart a reciprocating
motion to the piston rod. The opposite end of the piston rod is attached to
one end of the strap or band F¹,which passes round the guide pullies c,e, and
f,and is connected at its opposite end to the metal eye on the shaft or axis d
of the sley beam rollers. On admitting the air to the cylinder the reciprocating
motion of the piston imparts a traversing to-and-fro motion to the sley in its
guides through the straps F and F¹, which alternately pull it in opposite'
directions, thus producing the "beat-up" of the weft. I,1', are the "heddles,'
which are suspended from the pullies g on the spindle g' by the straps h. The
lower portions of the "heddles "are connected by the straps h, which pass
under corresponding pullies to those above at 9; these pullies, which are not
shewn in the Drawing, are carried on the shaft or spin dle K. By imparting a
circular reciprocating motion to the lower shaft K it is evident that the
"heddles" will be made to rise and fall alternately. This reciprocating motion
is given to the shaft K by means of the combined guide roller and pulley e,
which is keyed on to the shaft K in the centre thereof. Against this pulley e
works by frictional contact the strap F, so that as the strap moves to and fro
it imparts a rotatory motion in one direction or the other to the pulley e,thus

page_text: working the "heddles." Bymaking this pulley e of smaller or larger diameter
it is obvious that a larger or smaller shed will be formed in the warp, as the
amount of rise and fall of the "heddles" will be increased or diminished. At
each end of the sley beam there is formed a chamber or shuttle box L, closed
at the sides but open at each end. Into these boxes or chambers the shuttle M
enters and fits accurately without beingperfectlyair-tight, so that unnecessary
friction between the shuttle and its chamber or box is avoided. To the outer
ends of these chambers are connected the air pipes N, N1, a portion of such
pipes being made either flexible or provided with sliding joints, in order that
they may follow the movements of the sley beam. These pipes N, N³, are
connected at their opposite ends to the arms 0, 0, the fixed bracket or
support P, which carries the pneumatome. Q, Q, are two discs, having a
series of holes i, i, made in them near their circumference, and equidistant
from each other. These discs are fast upon a shaft or spindle R, which
rotates in bearings attached to the main framing. The ends of the pipes N,N',
are in close proximity to the outer faces of the revolving discs, and coincident
with the circle of holes i,so that as the discs rotate each hole will in succession
be brought opposite to the mouth of one or other of the air pipes. S is an
annular air chamber fixed to the bracket P,and against the two opposite sides
or faces of this chamber work the discs Q, Q', so as to be air-tight. On each
side of the chamber is made a single perforation k, k¹, coinciding with the
end of the air pipes N, N¹. T is a pipe, which connects the interior of the
air chamber S with the compressed air receiver or magazine. On the shaft or
spindle R there is keyed a ratchet wheel U, to which a step-by-step or inter-
mittant rotatory motion is imparted at each forward stroke of the piston in the
cylinder by the small catch or pall l, carried on a short cross head, which con-
nects the piston rod with the valve spindle V. The motion is so regulated that
for each tooth the ratchet wheel is rotated one of the holes i in the disc Q or Q'
will bebrought opposite the end of the air pipe N or N',and the corresponding
hole k or k¹ in the air chamber, and a jet of air will consequently pass along
one or other of the pipes N, N1, to the shuttle box, and force out the shuttle
from that box, causing it to shoot across the loom and enter the opposite box,
from which it is shot back again at the proper time by a jet of air entering
that box. In order that the air may enter each shuttle box alternately I
make the holes I in one disc Q opposite to the spaces between the holes in
the corresponding disc Q', in place of making them coincident. By this
means,as each movement of the discs is equal to one half the distance between
the centres of the holes it follows that such holes will be brought alternately
in front of the holes k, k, in the air chamber, thus allowing the air to pass

page_text: alternately through the hole and pipe N, and through the hole and pipe N¹
to their respective shuttle boxes.
This part of my Invention maybe modified in various ways, as, for example,
the discs may be stationary whilst the chamber S revolves, or the two series of
holes i, i, in the two discs may coincide with each other, whilst the holes
k, k¹, in the chamber may be placed a little out of line, so that one shall
'coincide with a hole i in one disc whilst the other is opposite to the space
between the holes in the other disc, the only object being to direct the air
along the pipes N and N₁ alternately. The "take-up" motion for the cloth
beam is derived from the strap F, which works against a pulley W, and
rotates it by frictional contact only. On the axis of this pulley is fitted a
pinion X (shewn in red) which gears into a corresponding toothed wheel Y
on the shaft of the roller or cloth beam Z, and imparts a rotatory motion
thereto for the purpose of winding on the cloth. The pulley W and pinion X
are connected by a pall and ratchet wheel, in order that when the pulley is
rotated in a reverse or backward direction by the reverse traverse of the
strap Fit will be free to rotate without carrying round the pinion, and thus
an intermittant rotatory movement will be imparted to the cloth beam. For
the
purpose of increasing the friction between the strap and the pulley W, I
propose to attach a piece of india-rubber to that portion of the strap which is
to act upon the pulley.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invertiou, and the manner in which the same is or may 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 l'atent is,-
1st. The general construction and arrangement of looms for weaving as
herein-before described.
2nd. The system or mode of imparting the requisite movements to the
sley beam, "heddles," and cloth beam, by means of an air cylinder and
piston in combination with straps and pullies, substantially as herein-before
described.
3rd. The giving motion to the shuttles of looms for weaving by the direct
action of compressed air without the intervention of pickers, pistons, or
drivers.
4th. The peculiar construction and arrangement of valvular apparatus or
pneumatome for directing the air to the shuttle boxes alternately, as herein-
before described.
5th. The application and use to and in the shuttle and ends of the sleybeam

page_text: of looms for weaving of glass, porcelain, and other similar material to which a
smooth or polished surface is given.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Weightman Harrison, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
CHAS. W. HARRISON. (L.S.)