Improved Apparatus for Raising and Lowering the Healds in Looms for Weaving.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Jec., 1887
Complete Specification Left, 22nd Sept., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 26th Oct., 1888
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus for Raising and Lowering the Healds in Looms
for Weaving.
I, CHARLES BEDFORD, of Wood View Terrace Carlinghow, Batley, Yorkshire,
Machine Shop Manager, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:
--
My invention has reference to a new form of apparatus for ensuring a positive up
and down motion to the healds of looms for weaving.
In carrying out my invention in regard to the healds or shedding motion, I employ
a series of horizontal hooked bars, the number corresponding to the number of healds.
One end of the hooked bars is slotted and supported by a cross bar, such end of the
hooked bar being provided with teeth forming a rack, whilst the other end of the
said hooked bar is carried and supported by vertical needles which are raised according
to selection by lags, rollers, or other known form of jacquard mechanism; spiral
spring being also employed to operate the said needles. A series of toothed segments
are arranged underneath the racks formed on the hooked bars, the number of segments
corresponding to the number of hooked bars, each segment being made with a
tailpiece or projection working in a claw attached to a bell crank lever, the number of
which also corresponds to the number of healds, therefore when the ordinary
reciprocating crossbars are operated, they catch (according to selection) into the
hooked end of the horizontal bars previously mentioned, causing such hooked bars to
reciprocate backwards and forwards, consequently the toothed segments are caused to
oscillate upon the axis, so that the claws of the bell crank levers are also made
to oscillate upon their axis, raising and lowering the healds thereby, consequently
ensuring the positive up and down motion thereof.
In order to prevent the pull and weight of the healds operating the hooked bars
and so spoiling the shed, the claw of the bell crank lever is formed of such a shape
that when the segment is oscillated, the tail end of the segment will occupy such a
position in regard to the relative centres of the segment and beli crank levers, that
the pull or weight of the healds will be overcome, so that the hooked bars would not
Pin 77

page_text: be operated by them; but in order to further ensure that the pull or weight of the
healds and parts connected therewith shall not operate the hooked bars I employ a
retaining bar, forced by a spiral spring upon the top of and between projections
formed over the top of the racked end of the hooked bars, the retaining bar however
is removed from the projections on top of the racked end of the hooked bars at the
proper time by means of a wedge or in-line formed on the upper side of a short
sliding bar caused to slide underneath the retaining bar by a stud working in a slot
bar formed in the end of the said short bar. The pin is attached to and projects from
the framework carrying the reciprocatory crossbars, so that the movement thereof at
a given time either places the inclined bar under the retaining bar and moves it clear
of the projections on the hooked bars, or allows the retaining bar to be forced by a
spring between the projections on the top of the hooked bar.
Dated this 21st day of December 1887

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus for Raising and Lowering the Healds in Looms
for Weaving.
I, CHARLES BEDFORD, of Wood View Terrace, Carlinghow, Batley, Yorkshire,
Machine Shop Manager, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
My invention has reference to a new form of apparatus for ensuring a positive up
and down motion to the healds of looms for weaving.
In carrying out my invention in regard to the healds or shedding motion, I employ
a series of horizontal hooked bars, the number corresponding to the number of heald
shafts. One end of the hooked bars is slotted and supported by a crossbar, such end
of the hooked bar being provided with teeth forming a rack, whilst the other end of
the said hooked bars is carried and supported by vertical needles which are raised
according to selection by lags, rollers, or other known form of Jacquard mechanism,
spiral springs being also employed to operate the said needles. A series of toothed
segments are arranged underneath the racks formed on the hooked bars, the number
of segments corresponding to the number of hooked bars, each segment being made
with a cam or curved tailpiece or projection working in a claw or opening formed in
a bell crank lever, the number of which also corresponds to the number of heald
shafts, therefore when the ordinary reciprocating crossbars are operated they catch
(according to selection) into the hooked ends of the horizontal hooked bars previously
mentioned, causing such booked bars to reciprocate backwards and forwards, con-
sequently the toothed segments are caused to oscillate upon their axis, so that the
claws of the bell crank levers are also made to oscillate upon their axis, raising and
lowering the healds thereby, consequently ensuring the positive up and down motion
thereof.
In order that my said invention may be better understood, I will now proceed to
describe the same more fully, and for that purpose make reference to the accompanying
sheets of drawings illustrative thereof.
Fig. 1 is front elevation of the apparatus I employ for carrying out my invention,
wherein a is a horizontal hooked bar having a slot bat one end for riding upon a
stud c, which stud is employed for the purpose of supporting one end of the said
sliding bar whilst the other end of the said bar passes through a slot e formed in an
ordinary vertical Jacquard needle, by which means the bar a is maintained in a
horizontal position. The slotted end of the bar a is made with a rack, into the teeth
of which gears a toothed segment g, the other end of the segment being formed with
a cam or tailpiece / working upon a fulcrum i. The letter j represents a series of ordinary
bell crank levers working upon a stud k, the lower arm of such bell crank levers being
connected to the heald shafts. The bell crank levers j, are formed with claws 1, into which
works a cami or tailpiece h for the purpose of giving the necessary oscillatory motion to

page_text: the said bell crank levers when opening and closing the shed. The letters m and n
represent two ordinary reciprocating crossbars, which are caused to reciprocate back-
wards and forwards horizontally by ordinary and well known mechanism, such cross-
bars being employed for the purpose of giving reciprocatory motion to the horizontal
bars which takes place when the hooks on the said bars a are put into position to
be caught hold of by the said crossbars. The manner of putting the hooks of the
bars a into position to be operated is effected by means of the peg lags o or other
form of Jacquard mechanism, which raises the hinged bars p, causing such hinged
bars to lift the Jacquard needles f as shewn in dotted line, so that when they are
raised by the peg lags, the hook on the upper side of horizontal bar a is caught, hold
of by the upper crossbar m, whereby such horizontal bar is carried forward, but when
the peg on the cylinder is absent, the needle on horizontal bar a will drop, in which
case the lower crossbar a will catch hold of the hooks on the underside of the bar a.
carrying such bar back again to its original position, and this goes on, first forward
and then backward, according to selection of the various needles, consequently the
segment g is oscillated upon its fulcrum, causing the cam or tailpiece to give the
necessary upward or downward motion to the bell crank levers and healds. In order
to prevent the pull and weight of the healds from operating the segment and hooked
bars without being selected and thereby spoiling the shed, the claw of the bell
crank lever is formed of such a shape that when the segment is oscillated to the end
of its movement either way, the cam or tailpiece thereon will occupy such a position
(shewn at 2 and 3) in regard to the relative centres of the segment and bell crank
levers that the pull or weight of the heald's cannot operate the parts in the reverse
way, and in order to further ensure that the pull or weight of the healds and parts
connected therewith shall not operate the hooked bars without selection, I employ a
retaining bars forced down by a spiral or other form of spring, upon the top of
and between projections formed on the upper part of the racked end of the hooked
bars, but in order that the pressure of the retaining bar may be removed from the
top of the racked end of the hooked bars at the proper time, I employ a wedge or
incline formed on the upper side of the short sliding bar or rod w, which is caused
to slide underneath the retaining bars by means of a stud æ, which works in a slot y
formed in one end of the said bar or rod w. The stud a is attached to and projects
from the sliding block which carries the reciprocatory crossbar m, so that the move-
ment thereof at a given time places the inclined bar or rod w under the retaining
bars and raises it clear of the projections on the top of the hooked bars, as the
drawing illustrates, but when the wedge is not under the retaining bar, it is forced
upon the top of the hooked bar by a spring, which, together with the peculiar centreing
of the segment g, absolutely prevents the hooked bar from being operated by the pull
and weight of the healds.
=
From the above description of mechanism it will be observed that the crossbars m
and only operate the hooked bars in one direction, though they have a forward and
backward motion, for every revolution of the crank shaft, that is to say, the upper
bar m is only capable of taking the horizontal bars forward, and on its backward
movement it returns alone; and the lower bar always advances alone, but on its return
brings a horizontal bar with it, if selected. By a slight modification of the improved
apparatus already described, I am enabled to make the crossbars double acting, that
is to say, the crossbars can carry the hooked bars forward in one direction and pull
them back in the opposite movement, according to selection, and this form of
mechanism is illustrated in Fig. 2, which consists in attaching to a rack A two hori-
zontal hooked bars a and a', and instead of employing only two crossbars m and n,
as seen in Fig. 1, I en ploy three, as shewn at 1, 2, and 3. The crossbar 2 works in
a slot 2, whilst crossbars 1 and 3, which are attached to the same sliding block,
work in slots 1" and 3" respectively. It will therefore be seen that if the Jacquard
needles, which are double or made in two parts, one for each of the hooked bars a
and a', be raised by the pegging mechanisin, one of the hooks 4 or 5, formed on the
upper side of the said bars, will be caught hold of by one or other of the reciprocating
crossbars 2 and 3, causing the rack to oscillate the segment; and if a peg on the lags is

page_text: absent, the Jacquard needles and one of the hooked bars a and a¹ will fall, putting
the notch 6 or 7 formed on the underside of the bars a and a into position to be
caught hold of by the return motion of the crossbar 2 or 1, by which means the
rack will be brought back; consequently, at each movement of the crossbars the
hooked bars will be operated by the crossbars; therefore, for one revolution of
the crank shaft the crossbars 1, 2, and 3 have only one movement backwards or
forwards, and a movement backwards or forwards is given when required to the
hooked bars and rack A operating the segment g, cams, and bell crank lever J, thus
imparting a positive up and down movement to the heald shafts.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
Firstly. In apparatus for operating the healds of looms for weaving, the combina-
tion therewith of the hooked racked bar a, compound segment and cam g, h, together
with the clawed bell crank lever j, all arranged and operated substantially as
described.
Secondly. In apparatus for operating the healds of looms for weaving, the employ-
ment of the racked bar A, compound segment and cam G and H, bell crank lever j,
in combination with the hooked bars a and a' and the reciprocatory bars 1, 2, and 3,
substantially as described.
Thirdly. The retaining har sin combination with the bar or rod w, having an
incline and slot y operated by pin substantially as described.
Dated this 21st day of September 1888.
TASKER & CROSSLEY,
Halifax, Agents.