IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to.Henri Parent, of Roubaix, in the Empire of France,
Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO
LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 30th December 1859, and dated the 19th July 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henri Parent at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th July 1859.
I, HENRI PARENT, of Roubaix, in the Empire of France, Manufacturer, do
hereby declare the nature of my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPLI-
CABLE TO LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention consists in the construction and application to power looms
of an improved mechanism for producing thereon fabrics with designs, such
as those which until now, have been obtained by hand looms only. The
action of this mechanism is as follows:-The lams are raised and lowered by
drawing them with iron hooks placed horizontally above and below, with
which hooks the lams are connected by means of straps or bands. The hooks
are drawn along by two grabs which move in a horizontal position outside the
loom opposite to the driving pulley. The upper grab by means of a hook
causes a card cylinder to turn, which puts in motion pierced iron cards
provided with keys. The same means may be employed for working on each

page_text: side of the loom a card cylinder, the keys of which are made to raise levers
which raise hooks, and the latter catch the square cylinders, one on each side
of the batten, and have on each face a shuttle box; one of the shuttle boxes is
empty to facilitate the weaving operation, several shuttles may therefore be
employed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henri Parent in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
17th January 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENDT
PARENT, of Roubaix, in the Empire of France, Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
ine, the said Henri Parent, Her special license that I, the said Henri
Parent, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Henri Parent, my 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 "Ix-
PROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Henri Parent, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of 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
month: next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henri Parent, 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 follow-
ing statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereto annexed, and to the
figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in the construction and application to power looms
of an improved arrangement of mechanism for producing thercon figured
fabrics, such as have hitherto been produced by hand looms only. The action

page_text: of this mechanism is as follows:-The lams are raised and lowered by drawing
them with iron hooks placed horizontally above and below, with which hooks
the lams are connected by means of straps or bands. The hooks are drawn
along by two grabs which move in a horizontal position outside the loom
opposite to the driving pulley. The upper grab by means of a hook causes a
card cylinder to turn, which puts in motion pierced iron cards provided with
keys or pieces of wood. The same means may be employed on each side of
the loom for working a card cylinder, the keys of which are made to raise
levers which raise hooks, and the latter catch the square cylinder one on each
side of the batten, and have on each face a shuttle box; one of the shuttle
boxes is empty to facilitate the weaving operation, several shuttles may
therefore be employed.
The object sought by this improved mechanism is to obtain the means of
producing figured fabrics at a lower price than at present. Hitherto it lins
been difficult to weave a fabric, necessitating the employment of twenty-five
treadles, which is equivalent to twenty-five weft threads, but by this mechanism
from three to four hundred can be put in a design. As to the number of lams
or heddles, twenty or more may be employed if required, but rarely, even for
complicated fabrics by hand looms, are so many used.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
The Drawing shows the principal parts of an ordinary power loom with the
improved mechanism applied. To construct a power loom with the improved
mechanism applied, I employ two bars A, A, Figures 1 and 4, fixed on each
side of the loom, at about ten to twelve inches apart at the part where the
heddles generally work, and in the interior of the loom are two other bars c, c,
Figure 1, fixed in the same direction as the first and perpendicularly under-
neath them, so as to be at about six inches below the heddles. To unite
together the parts of the improved mechanism which work outside the loon, a
piece D is fixed on the opposite side to the driving pullies and near the lower
part of the loom. Two uprights E, E, Figures 1 and 2, serve to support the
driving shaft F, the lower grab G and its accessories, and should be fixed to
the piece D as also to the upper bars. In Figures 1 and 2 F is the driving
shaft. To this shaft is fixed a cog wheel H, Figure 2, half the size of another
cog wheel I, into which it works. At the exterior end of the driving shaft F
is fixed a cam J (or an excentric may be employed in its place), which puts
in motion a lever X, to which are attached two straps L, one of which com-
municates with the upper griff or grab M, Figure 4, and the other with the
lower grab G, Figure 1; while passing over a roller C, Figures 1, 2, and 4,

page_text: placed on a line with the grabs, the claw of the lever is held to a piece fixed
to the loom. Another lever placed in the interior of the loom and worked by
an excentric in the same manner, is fixed at the other end of the driving shaft
F, and communicates also by means of straps with the grabs, and so brings
back the grabs to their position at the end of each motion. The upper
grab M, Figure 4, draws along the hooks which rest on its bar, a small
hook is attached to one of its sides, and rests on the cylinder P, Figure 4,
which it causes to turn a quarter of a revolution every time the grab is
drawn along.
The lower grab G, Figures 1 and S, has its bar placed
at top, and draws along the hooks when they are lifted up against its
bar. A hole is made on each side of each of the grabs outside the bar
to permit the grabs to slide on two rods R, R. The rods of the upper
grab are fixed to two supports held between the bars A, A, and the rods of
the lower grabs are fixed to the loom and to a support u, held between the
two uprights E, E. In Figure 4. S are the upper hooks, which are jointed
at about fifteen inches from the end. In Figures 1 and 3, T are the lower
hooks, which are reversed, so that they may hook up their grab bar, and are
jointed at about eleven inches from the end. These hooks are flat, and are
placed in gratings which guide them. Iron wire hooks can also be employed
and turned ringways at the parts where the others are notched, but in such
case strings are used instead of straps to attach them to the heddles, and to
the rollers which bring back the hooks of the heddles; and in order that the
hook may not turn, it has its claw bent or curved into the grating. The lower
hook T, Figures 1 and 3, communicates with the upper book by a piece of
wire U, bent back at both ends, and is thus suspended to the upper hooks.
This wire is passed through two small holes, made in iron pieces fixed to the
inside of the loom, to prevent the wire from being drawn out of its place by
the hooks. V, Figures 1 and 2, are perforated iron plates or sheets, which I
call cards, furnished with wooden pieces or buttons glued thereon, the number
and arrangement of which vary according to the figure or design. To fasten
the buttons, a band of paper must be glued on each side of the plate, so that
the two bands may adhere together through the holes. I glue the buttons
to one of the bands of paper, and thus fix them to the plate. The cylinder P,
Figure 4, is chamfered off at the part where the looks wo.k, and the hook
attached to the upper grab M causes it to turn, and thus gives motion to the
cards. A lever W, Figure 4, is attached to the upper bar opposite to the
weaver, which lever is pulled by an elastic band fixed underneath in the inside
of the loom, and acting on the cylinder, it replaces it in its position after each
movenient. The heddle B, Figure 1, is suspen led at its upper part to the

page_text: upper hooks by means of straps passing over pulleys O, Figure 4, and is
attached at its lower part to the lower hooks in a similar manner, the straps
passing under the pulleys. These straps have, at about th of an inch from
their ends an opening in the form of an elongated button-hole made length-
ways, through which pass the hooks, having notches in the form of saw teeth,
to prevent the straps from slipping. The pulleys or rollers O serve as supports
to the straps and hooks. I also employ a strap for each hook, which I call
centre straps, having at about one-fifth of an inch from the end an opening,
into which its hook is passed. These straps work between two rows of small
pullies, which have only a small space between them. A notch is made in
the hook to fix one end of the strap in, the other end of the strap being carried
round a roller Q, Figures 1 and 2 placed above, and to which it is attached.
This roller communicates, by means of a strap N, Figure 1, with a lever,
which puts it in action, and which is worked by a can or excentric placed on
the shaft which drives the batten. This lever is held under the bar which
supports the warp, and passes under the shaft which sets the batten in action,
and comes out in the centre of the bars outside the heddles. When the
hook is drawn along by its grab, it draws with it its strap under one of the
small pullies, and the roller turns aside, the grab returning to its position;
the lever then causes the roller to turn, which brings back the hooks also to
their position; the motion of the lower hooks is caused by similar means.
The hook for drawing back the cards rests on the cylinder P, which it passes
beyond externally about one-third of an inch; it extends along the upper bar
nearest to the weaver until it arrives opposite to his shoulder. This hook is
attached to a handle v, which may be inclined towards the centre as far as a
stopping point, and an elastic band brings back the hook to its position every
time the weaver inclines the handle against the stopping point to bring back
a card. Motion is given by the driving axle F, Figures 1 and 2, the external
eccentric J of which lowers its lever X, which draws on the grabs, and the
upper grab M draws along the heddle hooks not raised by the card on the
cylinder, and raises the heddles suspended to the said hooks; the lower
grab G, Figures 1 and 3, draws along the hooks raised against its bar, and
these hooks draw and lower their beddles; in this way the opening for the
passage of the shuttle is formed. The cylinder P, Figure 4, makes a quarter
of a revolution, which causes the cards to work when the external cam or
eccentric J roturns to its upper point, the grabs are brought back to their
position by the interior lever, which draws them back, while the other lever
liberates them.
To apply the improved mechanism to existing power looms it is necessary

page_text: to modify the former. This modification consists in suppressing the lower
grab G, its strap L, its roller C, the lower pullies allowing the centre pullies
to remain (the lower pullies and lower central pullies are not shewn in the
Drawing), the bent wire U, Figure 3, the small central upper pullies, the
upper centre straps s, the roller Q, the band N and its driving lever, and
I replace these parts by stops, against which the claws of the upper hooks
strike at the end of each motion. For this purpose I connect the lower parts
of the heddles by means of straps with a roller similar to the roller Q, but
which is placed underneath the heddles and worked in a similar manner to
that described for the upper part. The improved mechanism herein-after
described allows of varying the designs
different coloured weft threads, as
will be understood by the following description, which shews the employment
of four shuttles:-The under part of the batten is formed of a band of iron
raised at right angles at the side where it is desired to mount the four shuttle
boxes. From the exterior part of the upright of the batten to the other, the
groove of the comb and course of the shuttle on this band are made of wood as
is usually the case. In the place in which the shuttle box is ordinarily fixed
is set a square cylinder, which has on each face a shuttle box. This cylinder
which I call a box cylinder turns on two pivots, the outer pivot is supported
by a rectangular piece, the other pivot by the interior part of the batten, so
that each face or box is set on a level with the course of the shuttle.
The boxes are an inch to an inch and a balf shorter at each end than the
cylinder, which is, after each movement, caused to return to its position by a
lever attached to the upright of the batten near to the heddles, which lever is
pulled by an elastic band also attached to the upright of the batten in front of
the beam, and to a strap which passes over a pulley fixed underneath the iron
band. Inside the loom on the side opposite to the grabs, and between the
two upper bars A, A, is set a six-sided cylinder provided with buttons as
required, or in lieu thereof a square cylinder with plates or cards as before
described (the description here given applies to the former). Two hooks
which work like the heddle hooks put the six-sided cylinder in motion, one
hook catching it at the upper part causes it to turn in one direction, the other
catching it at the lower part causes it to turn in an opposite direction; after
each movement an elastic band, fixed to the inside of the loom, and connected
with the first look by a strap passing over a pulley, brings back the claw of
the book to its position against a stopping point; the second hook has a two-
inch bend or plete about ten inches from the claw to enable it to catch the
six-sided cylinder underneath. This book is suspended by an elastic band
attached to a rectangular piece above it, which is fixed to one of the upper

page_text: bars; the hook is thus brought back to its position in the same way as the
heddle hooks. These hooks are drawn along in like manner as the heddle
hooks when they are not raised by the cards. When one of the books is not
raised by a card it is drawn along by the grab, and catches the six-sided
cylinder and causes it to turn. A lever attached to the upper bar opposite
to the weaver, and pulled back by an elastic band attached to the inside of
the loom, keeps the six-sided cylinder in its position after each movement.
Three levers 1, Figure 4, about eight to nine inches long, placed between the
two upper bars in the direction of the heddle hooks, and held by their claws
to a pin or bolt, press on the six-sided cylinder, which they go beyond a little,
and which, when it is caused to turn, raises one or other of the levers as
required by means of the buttons with which it is provided. The first lever
communicates by means of a piece of wire with a hook underneath, which
passes under the box cylinder, and under the beam, which it passes about
four or five inches beyond, and is held by the claw to a piece fixed to the
loom, so that when the batten comes against the fabric, the hook, if raised by
a lever, will catch the box cylinder, which makes a quarter of a revolution,
when the batten returns, which brings over another shuttle. The second lever
to which is connected an elastic band attached to a strap which passes under a
pulley underneath it, puts in motion a rectangular piece also held under the
beam, and with which it communicates by a piece of wire attached to the
strap, which wire passes under the box cylinder. When the lever is raised
the rectangular piece presents one of its points to the lower angle of the box
cylinder, which butts against it, and is thus caused to make a quarter of a
revolution, and bring over another shuttle. The third lever moves in a similar
manner. A rectangular piece also held underneath the beam one end of
which is directed towards the upper angle of the box cylinder, and meets it
when the batten comes against the fabric, makes a quarter of a revolution in a
contrary direction, but only when the rectangular piece has not been forced by
the lever to rise above the box cylinder. If required, seven shuttles can be
employed and worked by a similar arrangement on the other side of the loom.
In this case only one hook is employed for catching the six-sided cylinder on
the top for causing it to turn. At about one-tenth of an inch from the angles
of the box cylinder a few grooves should be made.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be carried into execution, what I claim as new and intended to
be protected by the said Letters Patent is,―
First, the general construction and application to power looms of an improved

page_text: arrangement of mechanism for producing figured fabrics, as herein-before
described and shewn in the accompanying Drawing.
Secondly, the employment of two grabs M and G, placed externally at the
side of the loom, and working horizontally, as herein-before described and
shewn in Figures 1, 8, and 4, of the Drawing.
Thirdly, the employment of notched hooks S and T, also working horizontally,
and communicating together by means of a piece of wire for the purpose of
raising and lowering the heddles, as herein-before described and shewn in
Figures 1, 8, and 4, of the Drawing.
Fourthly, the mode of working the shuttle boxes, as herein-before
described.
hand
In witness whereof, I, the said Henri Parent, have hereto set my
and seal, this Fourteenth day of January, in the year One thousand