IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CARPETS AND OTHER TERRY FABRICS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Collier, of Halifax, in the County of York,
Engineer, for the Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
CARPETS AND OTHER TERRY FABRICS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Collier at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
5th October 1854.
I, GEORGE COLLIER, of Talifax, in the County of York, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF CARPETS AND OTHER TERRY FABRICS" to be as follows:-
Several Patents have been granted to me for improvements I have made in
power looms for introducing and withdrawing wires to make terry fabrics
where a series of wires are employed, but in every instance I have employed
one instrument to introduce, and another and a different one to withdraw, the
wires; but I find that when quick speeds are required there is some difficulty
in the instrument that withdraws the wire, transferring it safely to the other
instrument that inserts it.
My present improvements consist in an arrangement by which the same
instrument that I use to insert the wire withdraws the one required to be
withdrawn. The mode by which I accomplish this is as follows:-After the
wire carrier has advanced and inserted a wire into the shed, a finger or instru-
ment is caused to be inserted into the head of the wire, for the purpose of

page_text: holding it in its proper position.
instrument is advanced from the
objects simultaneously, one being to withdraw the wire nearest to the breast
roller a little out of the fabric, and the other to withdraw the front plate of
the wire carrier sufficiently to release the last wire introduced from its holder.
A tappet takes back the wire carrier from the rest of the wire heads; another
tappet removes the carrier so far from the fabric that it is opposite the head
of the wire that has been withdrawn a little from the fabric; a catch is made
to hold the front plate of the wire carrier back; the tappet causes the wire
holder or carrier to advance, so that the pin or stud goes into the head of the
wire, and the catch is then lifted, so that the spring is allowed to pull the
plate in front of the wire holder, in order to firmly secure and keep the wire
upon the pin or stud on the holder, and the tappet withdraws the wire, and
inserts it again into the shed. I also find that the same instrument can be
made to insert a wire and withdraw the one required to be withdrawn without
the aid of the instrument that works from the side of the breast beam roller,
(which withdraws one wire a little from the rest of the wires in the fabric,)
and which is accomplished by the following means:--The plate for securing
the wire to the carrier or holder fits upon the back of it, and when a terry
wire has been inserted into the shed, an instrument from the back is caused to
descend upon the terry wire so inserted; a shoulder or sneck on the terry wire
fits the instrument which descends upon it, and makes it perfectly secure, so
that the terry wire cannot be moved, and at the same time that the instrument
is descending upon the wire, it comes in contact with a small projection on the
plate, which withdraws the plate from the wire carrier, and thus prepares the
wire carrier for being released from the last terry wire introduced. The tappet
causes the wire carrier to move sufficiently near to the breast beam, so that the
pin or stud is clear of the last wire it has introduced; it then moves from the
fabric sufficiently to clear the heads of the wires, and is then caused to move
nearer to the breast roller, so as to be opposite the wire that is nearest to the
breast roller; it then moves upon the head of the said wire, and, being made of
a bevilled shape, it passes easily over the wire head, and when over the pin or
stud goes into the wire head, and being of a hooked shape it more easily lays
hold of the wire head; the tappet then causes the wire carrier to recede from
the fabric with the wire, and as soon as the wire carrier is clear of the heads
of the wires, it comes into contact with a fixed plate, which causes the catch
to rise, and the spring draws the plate over the wire carrier, so that it is quite
secure, and the tappet withdraws and inserts as before.
When the wire carrier is removed, another
side of the breast roller to accomplish two

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Collier in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
29th March 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
COLLIER, of Halifax, in the County of York, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
George Collier, Her special licence that I, the said George Collier, my execu-
tors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George Collier,
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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFAC
TURE OF CARPETS AND OTHER TERRY FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said George Collier, 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 George Collier, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof (that is to say):
--
Several Patents have been granted to me for improvements I have made
in power looms for introducing and withdrawing wires to make terry fabrics
where a series of wires are employed, but in every instance I have employed
one instrument to introduce, and another and a different one to withdraw, the
wires; but I find that when quick speeds are required there is some difficulty
in the instrument that withdraws the wire, transferring it safely to the other
instrument that inserts it.
My present improvements consist in an arrangement by which the same
instrument that I use to insert the wire withdraws the one required to be
withdrawn. The mode by which I accomplish this is as follows:-After the
wire carrier has advanced and inserted a wire into the shed, a finger or
instrument is caused to be inserted into the head of the wire, for the purpose

page_text: of holding it in its proper position. When the wire carrier is removed, another
instrument is advanced from the side of the breast roller to accomplish two
objects simultaneously, one being to withdraw the wire nearest to the breast
roller a little out of the fabric, and the other to withdraw the front plate of
the wire carrier sufficiently to release the last wire introduced from its holder.
A tappet takes back the wire carrier from the rest of the wire heads; another
tappet removes the carrier so far from the fabric that it is opposite the head of
the wire that has been withdrawn a little from the fabric; a catch is made to
hold the front plate of the wire carrier back; the tappet causes the wire holder
or carrier to advance, so that the pin or stud goes into the head of the wire,
and the catch is then lifted, so that the spring is allowed to pull the plate in
front of the wire holder, in order to firmly secure and keep the wire upon the
pin or stud on the holder, and the tappet withdraws the wire and inserts it
again into the shed. I also find that the same instrument can be made to
insert a wire and withdraw the one required to be withdrawn without the aid
of the instrument that works from the side of the breast beam roller, (which
withdraws one wire a little from the rest of the wires in the fabric,) and which
is accomplished by the following means:-The plate for securing the wire to
the carrier or holder fits upon the back of it, and when a terry wire has been
inserted into the shed, an instrument from the back is caused to descend upon
the terry wire so inserted; a shoulder or sneck on the terry wire fits the
instrument which descends upon it, and makes it perfectly secure, so that the
terry wire cannot be moved, and at the same time that the instrument is
descending upon the wire, it comes in contact with a small projection on the
plate, which withdraws the plate from the wire carrier, and thus prepares the
wire carrier for being released from the last terry wire introduced. The
tappet causes the wire carrier to move sufficiently near to the breast beam, so
that the pin or stud is clear of the last wire it has introduced; it then moves
from the fabric sufficiently to clear the heads of the wires, and is then caused
to move nearer to the breast roller, so as to be opposite the wire that is
nearest to the breast roller; it then moves upon the head of the said wire, and
being made of a bevilled shape it passes easily over the wire head, and when
over the pin or stud goes into the wire head, and being of a hooked shape it
more easily lays hold of the wire head; the tappit then causes the wire carrier
to recede from the fabric with the wire, and as soon as the wire carrier is clear
of the heads of the wires, it comes into contact with a fixed plate, which
causes the catch to rise, and the spring draws the plate over the wire carrier,
so that it is quite secure, and the tappet withdraws and inserts as before.
Having stated the nature of my said Invention, as well as the means whereby

page_text: the same was performed, I will now proceed to describe the accompanying
Drawings, in the various Figures of which the same letters in all instances
denote like parts wheresoever they occur.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A.
Figure 1 shews a section, Figure 2 a plan, and Figure 3 a front view, of so
much of a power loom for weaving terry fabrics (having my Invention applied
thereto) as will enable me to explain the first part of my Invention. a is the
main shaft or driving axis, which has keyed thereon a pinion b, which takes
into a toothed wheel c, fixed on the cam or tappet shaft d. There is a bevilled
toothed wheel e fixed on one end of the cam or tappet shaft d, which takes into
and drives another bevilled toothed wheel f, affixed upon the axis g. The cam
or tappet his affixed upon the axis g, and is the means of giving the requisite
to and fro action to the wire carrier or slide on the slide bar, herein-after
described. The cam or tappet hacts on the truck h' of the lever . The
lever works upon a fixed centre at h, and the truck his kept constantly up
to the cam by means of the spring h. The lever he is connected at its upper
end to the lever h' by means of the connecting link h'. The lever he works
on an axis h³, its lower end being connected to the slide h' of the wire carrier
by the short connecting link 10. The cam or tappet i on the shaft d acts
upon the truck
of the lever, which works on a centre at ³, its upper end
being connected to the swinging frame at it, by means of which the requisite
swinging to and fro action of the frame is effected. The cam or tappet j fixed
on the axis d acts on the truck j of the lever j², which works on a centre *.
The upper end of the lever is connected to the instrument, which is for
the purpose of holding the terry wire last inserted, when the wire carrier leaves
it to withdraw the wire that is nearest to the breast beam. The wire-supporting
instrument works in the bearing j', attached to the framing, in which it is
capable of sliding freely to and fro. The cam or tappet k, also on the axis d,
by acting on the truck k¹ of the lever k³, is the means which I employ
(according to this first part of my Invention) for moving the wire (which for
the time being is nearest the breast beam) a short distance out of the fabric,
The
in order to its being more readily taken hold of by the wire carrier.
upper end of the lever is connected to the lever by means of the con-
necting link . The lever is affixed to the vertical axis k³, which works in
bearings attached to the framing. These parts are best seen in Figures 4,
5, 6, and 7, which represent them on a full-sized scale. At the upper end of
the vertical axis is affixed the instrument for moving that wire which is for
the time being the nearest the breast beam a short distance out of the fabric

page_text: it is formed in two parts k, k³, so constructed that the part which enters
the eye of the wire is capable of sliding upon the part a short distance in a
direction towards the breast beam. There is a spring attached at its one
end to the part and at its other end to the parts; the action of this
spring is to force the part 8 outwards. The advantage derived from the
peculiar arrangement and formation of the parts k, s, is that when the
beating up of the lay takes place, the wires are at liberty to travel with
the fabric and be beaten up therewith without injury to the wires, which
would not otherwise be the case. When the beating up takes place, the
resistance of the spring is overcome, and the part is caused to yield and
slide a short distance towards the breast beam with the work. Upon the
part is formed or affixed an instrument k¹¹, which, at the time of the with-
drawal of the nearest wire to the breast beam, simultaneously acts upon the
stump of the locking plate of the wire carrier in such a manner as to force
it back into the position represented by dotted lines in Figure 6, and allow
of the wire carrier delivering itself of the wire it has just inserted into the
open shed.
I will now describe the wire carrier which I employ according to this part of
my Invention, and in doing so I will refer to the full-sized views thereof.
Figures 5 and 6 are respectively a plan and a front view of the wire carrier
and parts immediately connected therewith. is the slide bar, which is
attached to and forms a part of the swinging frame; is the slide; is the
back plate of the wire-carrying apparatus. The wire carrier travels forward
by the action of the cam or tappet h, and inserts into the open shed the terry
wire last withdrawn by the carrier from the fabric; the instrument j³ then
comes forward by the action of the cam or tappet j, and enters the orifice m
in the head of the terry wire.
The instrument is so formed as to enter only to the extent of the thickness
of the head of one wire (or two at most), there being a collar formed thereon
to prevent its entering to a greater extent, as will be seen by reference to the
separate view of this instrument in the Drawings. The cam k then acts
upon the instrument k, s, as herein-before described, thereby causing the
instrument to come against the stump on the locking plate l', and by over-
coming the resistance of the spring 1, it moves on its centre into the position
shown by the dotted lines in Figure 6, by which the spring
Z
acts and causes
the catch or trigger 18 to descend upon the stump 1, by which the locking
plate will be retained for a time in that position, the wire still remaining on
the stud of the back plate 13, so that when the cam causes the swinging
frame, and consequently the slide and wire carrier (attached thereto) to travel

page_text: back a short distance, the stud or hook P, upon which the wire was carried,
retires from the orifice n of the head of the wire, leaving that wire supported by
the holding instrument until it becomes wefted in, when the instrument 13
retires by the action of the cam j. The cam or tappet h then causes the wire
carrier to travel a little to the right, just sufficient to clear the heads of the
other wires, and then the cam or tappet i causes it to come forward until the
stud enters the eye or orifice n of the terry wire nearest to the breast beam,
which has been previously partially moved out of the fabric by the instrument
ki, ks, as above explained. The cam or tappet h causes the wire carrier to
retire with the wire, and in thus retiring the trigger 7° comes against a pulley
(or it may be a fixed plate) ", attached to a bracket from the framing by
which the trigger is depressed, and it causes the catch 18 to turn on its
axis 1*, and release the stump 1 of the locking plate, which is then at liberty
to descend again into its locking position by the force of the spring 1, and the
wire is thus secured in the wire carrier and is drawn out of the fabric, and is
carried thereby forward towards the reed by the cam or tappet, and the wire
is again inserted into the open shed, when the instrument j³ again comes
forward, and is inserted into the orifice m in the head of the wire, and the wire
is released as before. The wire carrier, as before explained, goes again to
withdraw another wire, and so on, the wire carrier continuously inserting and
withdrawing wires. I would remark that, although I have been particular
in thus showing the precise forms of the parts and the manner of their
action, I do not confine myself thereto so long as the wire carrier and apparatus
used therewith are arranged to work as herein described.
I will now describe the second part of my Invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS B.
Figure 1 shows an end elevation, partly in section, and Figure 2 shews a
front view, of so much of a power loom for weaving terry fabrics, having the
second part of my Invention applied thereto, as will, together with the following
description thereof, fully explain the nature of such second part of
my Inven-
tion. The same letters denote similar parts. Figures 3, 4, and 5 represent
some of the parts full size. a is the main shaft or driving axis, on which is
keyed a pinion b, which takes into and drives a toothed wheel c, fixed on the
cam or tappet shaft or axis d. There is a bevilled toothed wheel e, fixed on
the shaft d, which takes into and gives motion to another bevilled toothed
wheel f, fixed on the axis g. The cam or tappet h is fixed upon the axis g, and
the requisite to and fro action of the slide upon the slide bar of the swinging
frame is obtained from the tappet h, by its acting upon the truck h¹ of the

page_text: lever h². The lever h² works upon a fixed centre at h', and the truck h' is kept
constantly up to the cam or tappet h by means of the spring . The upper
end of the lever h² is connected to the lever 7 by the connecting link W. The
lever he works on an axis he; its lower end is connected to the slide by means
of a short connecting link . The cam i on the axis d gives motion to the
swinging frame by acting on the truck of the lever . The lever i², which
moves on the centre, is at its upper end connected to the swinging frame by
the connecting link . The cam j (shown in red) gives motion to the wire-
holding apparatus by acting on the truck j' of the lever j, which works on the
centre. The other end of the lever is connected to the wire-holding appa-
ratus (hereafter described) by the connecting link j. The wire-holding
apparatus is carried by a bracket 1, attached to the framing, and it is formed of
two separate parts 5, 7, (see Figs. 4 & 5). The part slides upon the part j,
and there is a spring which acts constantly to draw the part j' backwards
from the breast beam. Upon the front end of the part of the wire-holding
apparatus there is a small hooked piece ja, which, as soon as a wire has been
inserted into the open shed, descends by the action of the cam j, and parts
connected therewith, into a sneck formed in the head of the wire to receive it.
There is also a small projection upon the upper part 7 of the holding instru-
ment ", which, when the instrument descends upon a wire to hold it, comes
against a catch on the locking plate of the wire carrier, and thereby throws
the locking plate back, as indicated by the red lines in Fig. 3. The slide 12
travels forward on the slide bar l', as herein-before described in the preceding
arrangement, by the action of the cam or tappet h, until the catch of the
locking plate comes in position to be acted on by the instrument 3, which,
when the projection" descends upon it, 'overcomes the resistance of the spring
, attached to it at its upper end, and turns the plate l' on its centre lª, into
the position represented by the red lines in Figure 3, and then the catch 1 of
the trigger will, by the force of the spring 17, descend upon the stump /*
of the locking plate 4, so as to keep it in that position. The wire carrier then
is in a position to be moved away by the action of the tappet h, and
leave the wire last introduced firmly held (by the hook 8 of the instru-
ment upon the wire-supporting plate ; then by the cam i the wire
carrier travels forward to withdraw the wire which is nearest the breast beam,
and is caused to retire with it by the action of the cam h. The holding
apparatus rises by the action of the cam ; after the wire it retained has
been woven into the fabric, and the beating up of the lay has taken place;
and a pin or projection a, Figures 4 and 5, affixed to the batten, acts against
the incline of the part (see plan, Figure 5,) of the holding apparatus j³,

page_text: thereby pressing back the wires a short distance, in order to ensure the stud
or hook of the wire carrier entering properly the eye or orifice m in the
head of the wire. The projection affixed to the batten also acts upon
the stump *, attached to the part of the wire-holding apparatus, in such
manner as to overcome the power of the spring 12, and drive the part of
the wire-holding apparatus forward with the portion of the wire which is
within the fabric, by which arrangement injury to the wires by bending or
otherwise is prevented. The shed again opens and another wire is carried
forward by the wire carrier, and the wire holder again descends and the
hook comes down again into the sneck formed in the wire head, and the
wire carrier retires as before; the wire is wefted or woven in and is beaten
up as before, and so on continuously.
Having thus described my Invention, and also the means pursued by me in-
carrying the same into practical effect, I wish it to be understood that I do
not claim any of the mechanical parts separately, nor do I confine myself to
the precise details given, as the same may be varied without departing from
my Invention; but what I claim is,-
First, the combining machinery herein described whereby the same instru-
ment or apparatus is caused to insert and to withdraw terry wires, whereby
also the wire last introduced is held, and whereby the wire next the breast
beam is moved a distance to facilitate the withdrawing the same by the
wire carrier.
Secondly, I claim the means herein described of combining mechanical
parts, whereby the same wire-carrying instrument inserts and withdraws terry
wires; also the holding apparatus and peculiar form of wire head described in
respect of the Drawings B.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Collier, have hereunto set my
hand and scal, this Fifteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
THOS PALETHORPE,
Halifax.
GEORGE COLLIER. (L.s.)