IMPROVE- MENTS IN SHUTTLES FOR WEAVING
Year: 1866

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Allanson and Robert
Lowe at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 27th February 1866.
We, WILLIAM ALLANSON and ROBERT LOWE, of Preston, in the County of
Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SHUTTLES FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
The improvements consist, first, of a float detector, by means of which the
weft thread is broken, causing the stoppage of the loom whenever a float is
being formed in the shed; and, secondly, of a bolt instead of the usual pin
for the firm holding and proper steadying of the skewer, and for preventing
the wear and tear consequent upon the necessary frequent changing of the pin
and skewer as at present used.
The float detector comprises the ordinary shuttle now in use with the
addition of a joint, lever, check, spring, and guide pin. The joint is for the
purpose of sustaining one end of the lever, which is fastened to it by a hinge.
This joint is embedded in the hollow part of the back end of the shuttle close
to the shank of the skewer. The lever is formed of a piece of rigid metal or
wire connected with the joint, as above stated, at the back end of the shuttle,
and curved in its shape so as to rise from the joint above the side of the shuttle

page_text: and descend again towards the front part of the shuttle, where it terminates
in the form of a slot or loop, by which it is connected to a loop or crank fixed
in the check. The shuttle must have the upper surfaces of its sides hollowed
out a little about the middle, so as to give the lever more room for being acted
upon by the obstruction in the shed when a float is making. The check
consists of a small metal plate nearly the breadth of the inner part of the
shuttle and connected with the lever as already described; it may be about
one-sixteenth of an inch thick, with projections on the under side sufficiently
large for a pin to pass through, the ends of which pin rest in the sides of the
shuttle and form the axis on which the check works. This plate is fitted into
the shuttle a little below the skewer, and when at rest is in a horizontal
position or nearly so; but during the formation of a float by the action of the
shed upon the lever the plate or check is turned upwards and the top part
rises above the level of the skewer point, a hole being provided in the top
part of the plate or check to allow it to turn freely in the direction of the
skewer point without touching it. The spring is fixed at one extremity in the
under side of the front end of the shuttle, and when at rest presses with the
other extremity on the bottom or under side of the check, so as to keep the
plate in its horizontal position, in which position the weft can pass freely over
the check on its way out of the shuttle in the usual manner; but when the
shed is obstructed by a float the pressure of the lever caused by the action
of the shed on its curved upper portion turns the check upon its axis, in
doing which it depresses the end of the spring, which is furnished with
a small projecting knob or catch, which slipping over the bottom edge of
the plate secures the plate or check in its upward position, whereby the
end of the skewer being covered the weft is prevented from running
off the cop, and consequently breaks, thereby stopping the loom by the
ordinary and well-known weft motion. The guide pin is a smooth piece
of wire or bar placed across the inside of the shuttle on a level with the
skewer and between the point of the skewer and the eye of the shuttle,
and is so placed to prevent the weft falling upon the check when at rest
or becoming entangled in any way with the detector apparatus already
described.
:
The second part of our Invention consists of a conical bolt, nut, and socket
plate. The bolt is conical or tapering in the part which passes through the
shank of the skewer, the hole in which is of the same form to receive it; the
larger end of the bolt is made square and fits in a metal socket placed in
the side of the shuttle, the bolt terminating at this end in a round flat head,

page_text: the socket plate being countersunk at its outer surface to receive it. The bolt
terminates at the narrower end in a screw thread, which has a nut fitted on
it to draw the bolt up through the shank of the skewer as the parts in friction
get worn.