IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREADING MOTION OF LOOMS FOR WEAVING, AND ALSO IN SHUTTLE BOXES AND SWELLS CONNECTED THREW
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Matthew Caton, of Preston, in the County of
Lancaster, Overlooker of Looms, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE TREADING MOTION OF LOOMS FOR WEAVING, AND ALSO IN SHUTTLE
BOXES AND SWELLS CONNECTED THREW
"
Sealed the 18th March 1859, and dated the 17th November 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Matthew Caton, at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
17th November 1858.
I, MATTHEW CATON, of Preston, in the County of Lancaster, Overlooker of
Looms, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE TREADING MOTION OF LOOMS FOR WEAVING, AND ALSO IN SHUTTLE
BOXES AND SWELLS CONNECTED THEREWITH," to be as follows:-
In carrying out the first part of my Invention I place upon the ordinary
tappet shaft of the loom a plate wheel or cam having an excentric groove in
the face. In this groove works a pin which is fixed to a lever. One end of
this lever works on a fulcrum, and to the other end the heald or harness is
attached. As the excentric grooved cam revolves it imparts a vertical recipro-
cating motion to the healds, and thus effects the treading or shedding of the
warp threads.
In carrying out the second part of my Invention I place at the end of the
shuttle box (against which the shuttle strikes) a plate, to the back of which is

page_text: attached a spiral or other spring. This spring plate acts as a sort of cushion
and breaks the force of the blow of the shuttle against the end of the
shuttle box.
In carrying out the third part of my Invention I attach to the ordinary
"swell" a spring catch. When the shuttle has arrived at the end of the box
a stud is arranged to hold the spring, and consequently the shuttle stops in its
place until it is required to be delivered, when the spring catch is so arranged
as to release the "swell "spring.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Matthew Caton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
17th May 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MATTHEW.
CATON, of Preston, in the County of Lancaster, Overlooker of Looms, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Matthew Caton, Her special licence that I, the said Matthew Caton, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Matthew
Caton, 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 TREADING
MOTION OF LOOMS FOR WEAVING, AND ALSO IN SHUTTLE BOXES AND SWELLS CON-
NECTED THEREWITH," upon the condition, (amongst others) that I, the said
Matthew Caton, my executors or administrators, 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 months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Matthew Caton, 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

page_text: statement in writing, and on reference to the accompanying Drawings, that is
to say:-
In carrying out the first part of my Invention I place upon the ordinary
tappet shaft of the loom a plate wheel or cam having an excentric groove in
the face. In this groove works a pin or roller which is fixed to a lever. One
end of this lever works on a fulcrum, and to the other end the healds or
harness are attached or connected. The healds may be connected to this
lever in any convenient manner, so that the rising and falling of the end of
the lever occasioned by the working of the pin or roller in the eccentric groove
of the cam, shall cause an alternate rising and falling of the healds, one heald
rising as the other falls, and vice versâ, so as to produce the requisite opening
or shedding of the warp threads. This may be done by fixing a segmental
toothed rack on the end of the said lever, working into a corresponding toothed
pinion keyed upon the heald roller shaft, or by making a sort of T head to
the lever, and fixing the ends of a strap or band thereto, the centre part of
such strap or band taking a complete turn round a pulley fixed on the heald
roller shaft, or in any other suitable or convenient manner.
The second part of my Invention is intended to lessen the wear and tear of
the picker, and to dispense with the "check strap," as ordinarily employed in
power looms for intercepting or lessening the force of the blow of the shuttle
and picker against the end of the shuttle box..
In one modification of this part of my Invention I place at the end of the
shuttle box (against which the shuttle strikes the picker) a plate, to the back
of which is attached a spiral or other spring. This spring plate acts as a sort
of cushion, and breaks the force of the blow of the shuttle and picker against
the end of the shuttle box. In a second modification of this part of my
improvements, I employ two levers vibrating on fixed studs, and each provided
at their upper ends with a finger resting on the spindle on which the picker
works. The lower ends of these levers are connected to a spring in such a
way that upon the picker striking against the finger attached to either of
them, the spring receives the force of the blow and the shock, and consequent
wear and tear of the pickers is greatly reduced.
With regard to the third part of my Invention (or that which relates to
the "shuttle box swells"), since the filing of my Provisional Specification, I
have discovered that this part of my Invention is not so new as I then believed
it to be, and therefore to this part of my Invention I lay no claim.
In order more clearly to illustrate my improvements and to describe the
same more in detail, I have annexed hereunto a Sheet of Drawings repre-
senting the application of my Invention to an ordinary power loom, and have

page_text: marked the same with figures and letters of reference corresponding with
those in the following explanation thereof.
Figure 1 is a front view of the elementary parts of a power loom, with the
first part of my Invention shewn as applied thereto, and drawn to a scale of
about one inch and a quarter to a foot. Figure 2 is a side view of my
improved treading or shedding apparatus detached from the loom, and drawn
to a larger scale; and Figure 3 is a plan view of the same, as seen from
above.
In Figure 1, A, A, is the framing of the loom; B, B, the crank shaft;
C, C, the slay; D, D, the reed; and E, E, the healds or harness; F, F, is
the tappet shaft, upon which is keyed the cam or eccentric G, G. This cam
or eccentric G, G, has a groove in its face (see face view, Figure 4), in which
a roller Hattached to the lever I, I, works. The lever I vibrates on a fixed
fulcrum at K, and has attached to its other end a segmental toothed rack or
quadrant L, L, gearing with a toothed wheel or pinion M keyed fast on the
heald roller shaft N, N, to which the healds E, E, are attached by the straps
O, O. It will be evident that the revolution of the eccentric cam G on the
tappet shaft F, F, will cause the lever I, I, to vibrate, and by means of the
rack L, L, acting on the pinion M will impart an alternate circular motion to
the heald roller shaft N, N, which will (by means of the straps O, O,) com-
municate an alternate rectilinear motion to the healds or harness E, E, and
thus effect the requisite treading or shedding of the warp threads.
Figure 5 represents a modification of this arrangement, in which the lever
I, I, is provided with a T head P, P, to which the ends of a strap Q, Q, are
attached; the central portion of the said strap passing around a pulley keyed
on the heald roller shaft N. In this case the vibration of the lever I, caused
by the revolution of the cam G, will have a similar effect of imparting an
alternate circular motion to the shaft N.
Figure 6 represents in plan view, and Figure 7 in front view, the second
modification of the second part of my improvements. C* represents the end
of the slay which forms the shuttle box; a, a, is the slay sword; b, b, the fly
spindle on which the picker c, c, works; and d, d, (Figure 7,) is the shuttle;
e, e, is the shuttle box end; f,f³, are two levers mounted on fixed pins g, g¹,
and carrying at their upper ends the fingers h, h¹, resting on the fly spindle b, b.
The foot of the lever f is attached to a spring i, i, the other end of which is
fixed to the front part of the slay, and the foot of the lever f¹ is connected to
the foot of the lever f by means of the jointed lever k, k. It will be evident
that when the shuttle is driven across the loom, the picker c will be brought
into contact with the finger h of the lever f, which being in connection with.

page_text: the spring i, will form an elastic check, and the foot of the said lever acting
by means of the jointed lever k, k, on the lever f¹, will bring its finger h¹
forwards ready to receive the shock of the blow of the picker c as the shuttle d
returns. I would here observe that if preferred a strap of leather or other
suitable material may be attached to the ends of the levers f, f', in place of
the fingers h, h¹.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention, together
with the manner of carrying the same into practical effect, I would remark in
conclusion that I claim as my Invention,-
Firstly, treading or shedding the warp threads in a power loom by means of
an eccentric grooved cam on the tappet shaft, in connection with a vibrating
lever furnished with a toothed rack and pinion, or a T head and strap, so as
to give an alternate circular motion to the heald roller shaft.
And, secondly, I claim the adaptation to the shuttle box of the spring plate,
or spring finger levers above described, in order to diminish the wear and tear
of the pickers, and to dispense with the "check strap."
In witness whereof, I, the said Matthew Caton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
MATTHEW CATON. (L.S.)