Im- PROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Bowker, of the City of Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 27th June 1873, and dated the 1st January 1873.

page_text: For working the healds I employ a number of three-armed levers, ono
for each heald, two arms being connected by slotted links to quadrant
jacks attached by cords to the upper staves of the healds, and the other
arm having at each side a stud, to which is linked a hooked wire, one
for each knife, there being as many hooked wires for each knife as there
are healds, and the hooks are continually being caught by the knives,
and give motion to the threc-armed levers, jacks, and healds, unless
prevented by pins or projections on pattern cylinders or lattices.
Another improvement relates to that description of the dobby loom
in which the knives move up and down vertically, and consists in
improved modes of working the knives and pattern cylinders. The
knives are connected together by an endless band, and to one of the
knives is jointed a rod connected to one arm of a long double lever, the
other arm of which is connected by a rod to a crank on the tappett shaft
of the loom, so that the knives can have to-and-fro motion without the
inconvenience of having rods passing between the warps.
On the long lever there is a stud having a bowl placed in a slot in one
arm of a lever, the other arm of which is linked to the shaft of one of
the pattern cylinders, which shaft is connected by a rod to the other
pattern cylinder, so that when motion is given to the long lever the two
cylinders move to and fro simultaneously, and at the same time revolve
by means of ratchet wheels on their shafts and catches on stationary
studs to enable the required pattern pins or projections to act on the
hooked wires, or when motion is given to one pattern cylinder the
motion can be given to the other by two spur wheels, one on each
shaft.

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-fifth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Bowker, Her special license, that I,
the said William Bowker, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said William Bowker, my exccutors, 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,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Bowker,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and scals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner tho
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 William Bowker, 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, that is to say :—
This Invention relates to that description of dobby looms in which the
upper staves of the healds are connected by cords to quadrant jacks
worked by two sets of hooked wires and two knives which move up and.
down, there being as many hooked wires for each knife as there are
healds. The hooks are continually being caught by the knives, and
give motion to the healds, unless prevented by pins or pegs on pattern
cylinders or chains, and my improvements consist in an improved
arrangement and combination of levers and rods worked from the
tappet shaft of the loom for giving the required motion to the knives
and pattern cylinders, the object being to enable the loom to be worked
at a high speed, and to effect economy by the simplification of the
parts.
The manner in which this Invention is to be performed will be clearly
understood by the following particular description thereof, reference
being had to the figures and letters on the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings, in which Figs. 1 and 2 are front and end elevations, and

page_text: Fig. 3, a vertical section of a dobby, arranged and constructed according
to my improvements, and Fig. 4 is a front view representing the
connection of the dobby with the frame of the loom, and the mode of
giving it motion; Figs. 1, 2, and 3 being drawn about quarter size, and
Fig. 4, one-eighth.
a, Fig. 4, represents the framework of the loom; b, the crank shaft;
c, the tappet shaft; d, the healds; c, Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, the frame of
the dobby; f, the knives; g, the guides in which the knives work; i, the
hooked wires; k, the pattern cylinders, and 7, the pattern chains. The
healds d, Fig. 4, are connected at the bottom to springs m held to the
floor, and at the top by cords n to quadrant levers o, having studs or
knobs linked to hooked wires i, lifted as required by the knives or
lifters connected at each end to an endless band attached to wheels
or pulleys 8, t, the lower ones working on studs and the upper ones fixed
to the shaft u fitted in bearings in the dobby frame, and the wheels or
pulleys at the back are larger in diameter than those at the front in
order that a gradually increasing traverse can be given to the knives
from the front to the back. One of the knives f is connected by the
rod v to the arm w of a long double lever w, x, the other arm x being
connected by the rod y to a crank z on the tappet shaft c, and on the
arm w of the long lever there is a stud a¹ having on it a bowl placed in
a slot b¹ in the arm c¹ of a short double lever c, d, at one end of the
shaft e', at the other end of which there is another arm or lever f¹. The
arms d', f¹, are linked to the shaft g¹ of one of the pattern cylinders k,
which shaft is connected at both ends by rods or bars to the
shaft m' of the other pattern cylinder, the shafts working in slotted guides
so that they can move to and fro. When the loom is set to work and
motion given to the long lever, the two cylinders k move to and fro
simultaneously, and at the same time revolve intermittently, by means
of ratchet wheels n¹ fixed to the shafts g¹, m³, and catches p' on
stationary studs q¹ to enable the pattern pegs or pins 8¹ to act on the
booked wires i, in order to prevent them from being lifted by the knives,
and thereby regulate the movement of the healds according to the
required pattern of the fabric, and it will be seen that the slot in the
arm c¹ of the lever c', d', is cam shaped in order to give a dwell in the
to-and-fro motion of the cylinders so as not to interfere with the con-
tinuous and down motion of the knives.
up
By means of my Invention the knives and pattern cylinders are both

page_text: worked by a crank on the tappet shaft of the loom without the ordinary
central tappets, and therefore the inconvenience of having rods passing
between the warps is avoided, and the loom can be worked at a high
speed.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be
understood that I claim the improved arrangement and combination of
levers and rods worked from the tappet shaft of the loom for giving the
required motion to the knives and pattern cylinders, as herein described
and illustrated in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Bowker, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of June, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named William Bowker, in
the presence of
G. SEPTIMUS HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
W. BOWKER. (L.S.)