Improvements in the Mechanism for Actuating the Shuttle Boxes of Drop-box Looms.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 18th June, 1889-Accepted, 20th July, 1889
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Mechanism for Actuating the Shuttle Boxes of
Drop-box Looms.
I WILLIAM SMITH of Park View House, Heywood in the county of Lancaster,
Machine Maker do hereby declare the nature of my invention for “ IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MECHANISM FOR ACTUATING THE SHUTTLE BOXES OF DROP-BOX LOOMS
"
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement and accompanying drawings :——
My said invention relates to certain improvements in a former invention for which
Her Majesty's Letters Patent bearing the official number 8827 and dated the 16th day
of June 1888 were granted to me and has for its object firstly an improved method of
operating the cards which determine the order in which the different shuttles are
brought into action and secondly an improved device for transferring the movements
of the levers actuated by the pattern cards to the usual mechanism employed for
changing the position of the shuttle boxes.
In order that my invention may be more clearly understood I will describe the
same with reference to the accompanying sheet of drawings in which Fig. is a side
elevation of so much of a drop-box loom as is necessary to show the application of my
invention thereto. Fig. 2 is a plan and Fig. 3 is a front elevation with some of the
parts omitted in order to shew more clearly the parts behind them. Figs. 4 and 5 are
respectively a plan and elevation on a larger scale of some of the details. In all the
figures the same letters refer to the same parts.
A is the crank shaft of the loom from which a cam shaft C is driven by means of
the toothed wheels B B¹. At the outer end of the shaft C is a cam D on which lies a
roller D¹ pivoted on a lifting bar E in such a manner that the rotation of the cam D
causes the lifting bar E to rise. The weight of the lifting bar E and the mechanism
which it carries is sufficient to cause it to fall when the swell of the cam has passed its
highest point so that the roller D' is continually in touch with the periphery of the
cam D. The lower end of the lifting bar E fits in a guide E' and is also provided
with a slot to clear the cam shaft C. In this manner the path of the lifting bar E is
constrained so as to cause it to rise and fall vertically.
The upper end of the lifting bar E carries a short horizontal shaft or stud on which
the card barrel H rotates. Attached to the barrel H is a disc J provided with a
number of projections K. A curved spring L pressing on the projections serves to
prevent the card barrel H from rotating when the lifting bar E rises.
The before mentioned parts are well known and are only described in order that my
present invention may be more clearly explained.
The mechanism hitherto employed for rotating the card barrel H is subject to the
disadvantage that when the loom is weaving the card cylinder can only rotate in a
forward direction so that it is necessary to employ as many pattern cards as there are
double picks in the design to be woven. For example in a symmetrically formed
design of 1000 double picks the centre of which is arrived at at the 500th double pick
a chain of 1000 cards would be required, so that the cards would be presented in the
order 1. 2. 3
31 21 the
498, 499, 500, 499¹ 498¹
cards for the second half being thus like like those of the first half but arranged in a
reverse succession.
-
When using my present invention only 500 cards are needed for such a pattern
because by reversing the direction of rotation of the card barrel at the centre of the
design while the loom is weaving the cards are brought back again in the reverse
order to that in which they had just been brought into play.
For rotating the card barrel I employ two horn levers M M' abutting against each
other at M' and pulled towards each other by a spiral spring M'. The horn

page_text: levers M M fit loosely on the cam shaft C. Supposing them to occupy the position
shown in Fig. 1 the card cylinder will move in the direction of the arrow.
On the rising of the lifting bar E and the disc J one of the projections K presses
against the rounded nose M of the right hand horn lever M' and by the elasticity of
the spiral spring the horn lever is enabled to yield so that the projection K may pass
the nose M. The curved spring L meanwhile prevents the rotation of the card barrel.
Immediately after the passage of the projection K the horn lever M¹ is drawn in again
by the spiral spring. On the falling of the lifting bar E the projection K presses
against the upper part M of the nose of the horn lever M' and as the latter cannot
yield to a pressure applied in this direction the disc J and the card barrel H are
sompelled to rotate. In this manner the card barrel is caused to rotate sufficiently
far to bring forward the next pattern card each time the bar E falls. From the
drawing it may be easily seen that if the horn lever M' is pushed to the right so as to
be removed from the possibility of contact with the projections K and if at the same
time the other horn lever M is brought into action the card barrel will be caused
to rotate in a similar manner but in a reverse direction. In order to effect this
change in the positions of the horn levers M M¹ I make use of a lever N mounted
loosely on the shaft and connected by a link N' with the lever N' having its
axis at O. The lever N³ carries a pawl N³ acting on the ratchet wheel N. Figs. 4
and 5 show enlarged views of these details but in Fig. 4 the lever N' is left out
so as to show the parts behind. Attached to the ratchet wheel N is a cain .N'.
Owing to the ratchet wheel having twice as many teeth as the cam has swells or
projections the cam will be rotated from a projection to a depression or vice versa
ench time the ratchet wheel is advanced the distance of a tooth. The horn lever M
has a projecting arm M³ carrying a finger M which a spiral spring P pulls
downwards.
When the finger M rests on a leaf of the cam as in Figs. 1 and 4 the horn M¹ is
in a position to rotate the card barrel but if the finger M lies in a depression of the
cam the left hand horn lever M comes into play and the direction of the card cylinder
is reversed. In a like manner as the levers for actuating the shuttle boxes herein-
after described the lever N carries a peg R Fig. 3 which enters into a groove in the
card barrel each time the latter rises and so long as no obstacle intervenes between
the peg and the groove. The lever N is not affected by the ordinary pattern cards
but when it is desired to reverse the succession of the cards as for instance at the
500th card herein before referred to a special pattern card is inserted in the chain at
the point where the reversing action is required to take place. This special card is
made somewhat longer than the ordinary pattern cards so as to cover the groove in
the card barrel and on the rising of the card barrel to prevent the peg R from entering
the groove. The lever N will then be raised and cause the pawl N³ to rotate the
ratchet wheel the distance of a tooth and the cam N' will present a depression instead
of a projection to the finger Me or vice versa according to its position prior to the
special card coming into play. A corresponding change is effected in the position of
the projecting arm M³ and thus one or the other horn lever M or M¹ is brought into
action.
When the special card has passed and the groove is open the lever N falls and
pushes down the pawl N to its lowest position where it remains until the special
card again raises it.
In place of the disc J with projections K thereon and horn levers with noses for
intermittently rotating the chain barrel other mechanical equivalents for this device
may be used for instance a star or ratchet wheel actuated alternately by pawls at the
right and left hand might be employed.
As hereinbefore mentioned another part of my said invention relates to a device
for transferring the movements of the levers actuated by the pattern cards to the
usual mechanism employed for changing the position of the shuttle boxes.
Mounted loosely on the shaft fare two bell crank levers a, b commonly known as
cockheel levers the horizontal arms of which are provided with pegs a¹ b¹ corresponding
to grooves in the card barrel H so that when for example a pattern card with two;

page_text: holes comes under the pegs they are not raised but pass through the holes into the
grooves in the card barrel. If there is only one hole in the pattern card one or other
of the levers a. b will be raised and if a pattern card having no holes is on the barrel
both levers will be raised.
The lower ends of the vertical arms of the bell crank levers a and b are provided
with studs c on which the toothed wheels d d' can freely rotate. The shaft carries
a pinion m and is driven by the toothed gearing from the crank shaft.
I make no claim to the invention of the bell crank levers a and b, or the studs a¹ b¹
carrying toothed wheels d and d, nor to the piniou m separately, as these parts are
already known and in use nor for the same reason do I make any claim to the system
of links g g and compounded levers w x y and z. The combination and mode of using
these parts as hitherto practised has however been attended by the disadvantage that
when the loom is required to be turned backwards by hand as is frequently the case
when for instance the weft breaks it has been necessary to put the shuttle changing
motion temporarily out of gear as it could not work in a retrograde direction and the
position of the shuttle boxes relative to the design has then had to be regulated by
hand.
In my former invention herein before referred to two pinions were arranged for
driving the toothed wheels d and d' the latter lying between the pinions and according
as the wheels d d were brought into contact with one or other of the pinions the
wheels d d were caused to rotate to the right or to the left and studs or projections
had to be applied to the wheels d d¹ to prevent them making more than a half
revolution. These studs along with the necessary arrangement of the other parts
prevented the wheels d d from turning backwards when the loom was worked back-
wards by hand.
According to my present invention I only use a single pinion m and according
as one or other, both, or neither of the wheels d d' are brought into gear therewith
four different effects are produced on the compound levers and the shuttles
No. 1, 2, 3, or 4 are accordingly brought to the level of the slay for the purpose of
weaving.
Attached to the wheels d d' are discs e e¹ carrying studs on which the upper ends
of the links g g¹ are fitted.
On lateral projections of the levers a and b bolts are mounted in suitable
guides and provided at their ends with rollers p p¹. These rollers are pressed by
means of springs rr against the discs e e¹ and by entering hollows in the peripheries
of the discs they keep them in the position in which they are left after contact with
the pinion m.
When the discs are rotated the springs r yield and allow the bolts to
recede. The pinion m is not provided with teeth on its whole periphery and the
number of teeth is so proportioned to those on the wheels d d' that at each contact
the latter are rotated half a revolution and the links g g are correspondingly raised
or lowered.
In this arrangement there is nothing to prevent the wheels d d¹ from being rotated
either to the right or to the left according to the direction of rotation of the pinion m
and whether the loom works forwards or backwards the changing of the shuttles
corresponds exactly pick for pick with the motion of the loom and the design and no
adjustment by hand is necessary.
A bracket S shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 carries a cross bar lying under the
levers a b and N to prevent them from falling too low.
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 :-
1. In a drop-box loom the use, combination and arrangement of parts constituting
a reversible card barrel actuating apparatus acting substantially as and for the purpose
herein before described and shown.
2. In a drop-box loom the use, combination and arrangement of two toothed
wheels d d rotated backwards or forwards by intermittent contact with a single

page_text: pinion m with stop bolts acting on discs e o substantially as and for the purpose
herein before described and shown.
3. In a train of mechanism for raising and lowering the shuttles of a drop-box loom
the use of two toothed wheels d d rotated backwards or forwards by intermittent
contact with a single pinion m substantially as and for the purpose herein before
described and shown.
4. The use of the sliding stop bolts h³ acting on the peripheries of the discs d d¹
substantially as and for the purpose herein before described.
Dated this Twelfth day of June 1889.
JULIUS ALLMANN & Co.,
70, Deansgate, Manchester, Agents for Applicant.