IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Crook, of Blackburn, in the County of
Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 9th December 1862, and dated the 11th June 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Crook at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th
June 1862.
I, WILLIAM CROOK, of Blackburn, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR
WEAVING," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists, first, in an improved indexing apparatus or shedding
motion. On the tappet shaft I fix one or two internal tappets, which give a
vibrating motion to a corresponding number of treadles and compound levers,
each of which is composed of two parts, working on pins at the back and front
of the loom, and held together at about the middle by a pin working in a slot.
The bowl which works in the groove of the tappet is between the pin and
fulcrum of one of the parts, and thereby gives a larger traverse to its end than
the throw of the tappet, which traverse is transmitted to the other part to any
desired extent by shifting the pin in the slots of the two parts, by which
arrangement any depth of shed can be obtained by small internal tappets.
The top of each heald is connected to a slide and spring, and the bottom to
two slides, all guided in suitable grids. The bottom slides are in such positions

page_text: that their tops can be brought under the treadles when desired, and cause the
healds to descend with the downward movement of the treadles, their upward
motion being obtained by the springs at the top; the healds and bottom slides
are kept steady by having their connecting cords in contact with two small
rollers. The bottom slides, on account of their suspended position, have no
tendency to get under the treadles, and therefore require to be placed according
to the pattern. For this purpose I employ a vibrating plate, put in motion by
a lever communicating with an eccentric or tappet on the tappet shaft. On
each pair of bottom slides there are guides having notches at their under sides,
and when the notches are upon the vibrating plate, the slides are placed under
the treadles; but when the guide and notches are lifted up the slides resume
their natural position.
•
In order to regulate the action of the guides and notches I employ L levers,
each having upon its short arm a needle, corresponding with holes and spaces
upon a pattern cylinder or cards either on one or both sides of the slides, so
that when the needle comes in contact with the card or cylinder, the long arm
of the lever shall be raised, and raise the guide and notch above the
vibrating plate, and prevent its acting upon the bottom slides; but when the
needle enters a hole in the card or cylinder, the long arm of the lever is not
raised, and therefore the notch in the guide is on the vibrating plate, which
thereby moves the bottom slides alternately under the treadles. The to-and-fro
motion of the L.levers is obtained by means of the lever which works the
vibrating plate, and I give an intermittent revolving motion to the pattern
cylinder or drum by means of a worm having in it threads and spaces of an
irregular cam shape, which improved worm is suitable for giving intermittent
revolving motion to the pattern cylinders employed in all descriptions of
indexing apparatus.
To work this machine for some sorts of cloth it will be necessary to use two
-bottom slides attached to each heald, but for other sorts of cloth one bottom
slide attached to each heald worked by one compound lever and tappet will be
sufficient; and I move the cylinder instead of the needles by a slide lever and
cam.
I place over the cards and other parts of the apparatus a cover, to prevent
dust or refuse injuring the material.
Secondly, in an improved shuttle or drop-box motion in order to lift and let
fall the drop box having two or more shuttles, I simply require two extra
bottom slides acted upon by the treadle, and having their motions regulated.
by the pattern cylinder or cards, precisely in the same manner as that described-
for working the healds.

page_text: Thirdly, in an improved mode of working the regulating rod. I stop the
taking-up motion when desired for the purpose of making thick places in the
cloth by raising the catch of the ratchet wheel by means of two bottom slides,
connected at the top to a lever communicating with the regulating rod, the
said slides being worked in the same manner as the others before described.
Fourthly, in an improved self-acting temple. The cloth is stretched or held
at its proper width by two sets of pins on each side, one set entering the top.
and the other the bottom of the cloth alternately. Each set of pins is con-
nected to a rack, and the two racks are geared into a pinion, so that when one
rack and pins move one way, the other rack and pins move the reverse way.
The two sets of pins are alternately raised and depressed by means of cams
connected to arms or levers, which are turned backwards and forwards
by projections alternately acted upon by a pin on the slay or lathe.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Crook in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
11th December 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM.
CROOK, of Blackburn, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by. Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Crook, Her special licence that I, the 'said William Crook;
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Crook, 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
LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said.
William Crook, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Crook, do hereby declare
the nature of my 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 (that is to say) :-
This Invention consists, first, of an improved indexing apparatus or shedding
motion; secondly, of an improved shuttle or drop-box motion; thirdly, of an
improved mode of working the regulating rod; and, fourthly, in an improved
self-acting temple.
The first, second, and third parts of these improvements will be clearly
understood by referring to the figures and letters on the accompanying Sheet
of Drawings; but the description only of the fourth part renders it so self-
evident that no illustration is required.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation, and Fig. 2 a transverse section, of part of a
loom, having one arrangement of my improved indexing apparatus; and
Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 are views of detached parts; Fig. 12 is a
front elevation, and Fig. 13 a transverse section, of part of a loom, having
another arrangement of my improved indexing apparatus; and also my
improved mode of working the regulating rod; Fig. 14 a plan of part of the
indexing apparatus; Fig. 15 a plan of a modification of the same; Fig. 16
an end view of working the catch cord; and Fig. 17 a front view of the
mode of working two or more shuttle boxes; the letters referring to each
Figure separately.
In Figs. 1 and 2, a, are the end frames of the loom; b, the crank shaft;
c, the tappet shaft; d, the sword arms; e, the slay or lathe; and the healds.
On the tappet shaft c I fix one or two internal tappets g, which give a s
vibrating motion to a corresponding number of treddles or compound levers,
each of which is composed of two levers h, i, working on pins at the back
and front of the loom, and held together at about the middle by a pin k,
capable of being shifted in the slots of the levers. The bowl l, which works
in the groove of the tappet, is between the end and fulcrum of the lever h, and
thereby gives a larger traverse to the end of the lever than the throw of the
tappet, which traverse is transmitted to the other lever i to any desired extent
by shifting in the slots of the two levers the pin k, by which arrangement
any depth of shed can be obtained by small tappets. The top of each heald
is attached to a slide m and spring n, and the bottom to a lamm or lever o,
connected to two slides p. Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 for each heald, all guided
in suitable grids. The said slides p are in such positions that their tops can
be brought under the treddles when desired, and cause the healds to descend
with the downward movement of the treddles, their upward motion being

page_text: obtained by the springs n at the top. The bottom slides p are suspended at
their sides, so that they shall have no tendency to get under the treddles, and
therefore require to be placed according to the pattern. For this purpose I
employ a vibrating plate a working in bearings r, and having at one end the
lever s, communicating by the rod t with the lever u, which is moved up and
down by an eccentric or tappet on the tappet shaft c. On each of the bottom
slides there is a clasp w, acted upon when in its lowest position by the
vibrating plate q, so as to place the slides under the treddles; but when the
clasps are lifted up the slides resume their natural position out of the way of
the treddles, and the corresponding healds are not pulled down; one of the
clasps is shewn enlarged in Figs. 8 and 9. In order to regulate the action of
the clasps, I employ L levers x, working on a rod y in two levers, which are
held together so that they can move simultaneously, one of the levers being
shewn at ; each L lever has upon its short arm a needle a', corresponding
with holes and spaces upon a pattern cylinder 6', or cards either on one or
both sides of the slides p, so that when the needle comes in contact with the
card or cylinder the long arm of the L-lever shall be raised, and raise its
corresponding clasp above the vibrating plate, and prevent the slide from
being pushed under the treddle, but when the needle enters a hole in the card
or cylinder the long arm of the lever is not raised, and therefore allows the
clasp to be acted upon by the vibrating plate, which thereby moves the
bottom slides alternately under the treddles until the arm and clasps are
raised. The motion of the needles and L levers is obtained by causing a
bowl c¹ on the levers to act against one of the levers z, and give the levers
motion one way, the reverse motion being obtained by a spring. I. give an
intermittent revolving motion to the pattern cylinder or drum by fixing on the
tappet shaft a worm d', Figs. 1 and 10, having in it threads and spaces of an
irregular cam shape. The worm gives motion to a worm wheel e' on the
shaft f, which carries the: bevil wheel g', gearing into the bevil wheel h'
fixed to the shaft of the pattern cylinder. This improved worm is suitable for
giving intermittent revolving motion to the pattern cylinders employed in all
descriptions. of indexing apparatus. In some cases I employ two vibrating.
plates for acting on the clasps, and changing the position of the slides p. The
said plates. are made to move in reverse directions by means of toothed
quadrants, one on each of the shafts of the plates. In order to prevent any
action on the slides when turning back I lift up all the long arms of the
Llevers.by means of a treadle k¹, Figs. 1 and 11..
..
I represent another arrangement of my improved indexing apparatus in
Eigs. 12, 13, and 14. Part of the end frames of the loom are shewn. at a,

page_text: the tappet shaft at 6, the sword arms at c, and the bottom blades of the
healds at d. In this arrangement I employ only one treddle consisting of a
compound lever composed of two separate parts or levers e, f, as in the former
example, but acted upon by a double external or internal tappet g; I also use
in connection with this single treddle a helping lever h for closing the healds
when the crank is at or about its top centre, and thereby enabling the shed to
be formed by a small vibration of the treddle. The helping lever h is pressed
down at the required time by the double tappet i, and raised up by the
spring k, or a double internal tappet may be used, and thus dispense with the
spring. The healds are connected at the top to slides and springs and below
to lamms or levers, as in Figs. 1 and 2, but the lamms are connected to slides
which fall by their gravity, under the treddle. The lever h is connected to the
làmm's or levers attached to the bottom of the healds d, and when pushed
down make the lamms and healds level. The slides m are jointed to arms n,
working on a rod in the frame o, and unless prevented would be always under
the treddle. For pushing the slides out of the way of the treddle, I employ
needles and pattern cylinder or cards q. The needles are supported in
bearings, and the cylinder is moved to and fro so that when a plain part on
the cylinder or card comes in contact with the needle, the slide shall be
pushed back, but when the needle enters a hole in the cylinder- or card no
action takes place on the slide, and it is therefore brought down by the treadle.
The cylinder has intermittent revolving motion imparted to it by the cam
shaped worm, worm wheel s, and bevil wheels t, u, but the worm slides
upon a feather or key on the tappet shaft so that it may slide to and fro with
the pattern cylinder, the sliding motion of which is obtained in the following
manner-The frame which carries the shaft of the cylinder is connected to
the lever v, working on a fulcrum at the front of the loom, and having a bowl w
in contact with a cam or tappet on the tappet shaft b, so that as the tappet
revolves it pushes the frame and cylinder forwards, the backward motion
being obtained by the spring y. In Fig. 15 I shew another mode of giving
the to-and-fro motion to the pattern cylinder. On the stationary frame z
there is a loose frame a¹, having bearings for carrying the cylinder. One end
of the loose frame is linked to a lever b', which is moved to and fro by
on the tappet shaft, and moves the loose slide and cylinder with it. To give
intermittent revolving motion to the pattern cylinder, I fix on its shaft a
ratchet wheel d', acted upon by a ratchet or catch e¹ jointed to the stationary
frame z. When the top of the ratchet acts upon the wheel d' the cylinder is
turned in one direction, but when the bottom ratchet acts on the wheel the
cylinder is turned the reverse way, there being a treddle fi to lift up the
a cam c

page_text: bottom ratchet. The slides m, Fig. 12, are all pushed back together by a
lever acted upon by the foot. For working the catch cord at each side of the
warp I employ levers g', Fig. 16, connected to rods h¹, each having a hole for
carrying the cord, the levers being moved up and down'as required by tappets k¹
on the tappet shaft. In Fig. 12 I shew an improved mode of obtaining a.
great length of pattern cards in a small 'space.by: placing the cylinders and
spindles which carry, the cards in a zig-zag position, and I place over the cards
and other parts of the apparatus a cover to prevent dust or refuse injuring,
the material.
The second part of my improvements consists of an improved shuttle or
drop box motion. In order to lift and let fall the drop box with two
or more shuttles, I simply require the employment of extra slides acted
upon by the treddles, and having their motions regulated by the pattern
cylinder or cards precisely in the same manner as that described for working
the healds. The slides when depressed act upon one end of a lever having"
at its other end a rod connected to the shuttle box. In Fig. 17 the lever is
shewn at a, the rod at b, and the shuttle box at c. The lever a is adapted for
two shuttles, but by having different levers with their fulcra in different positions
more boxes can be raised and lowered by acting upon them with different sets
of slides.
My improved mode of working the regulating rod, forming the third part
of my improvements, is shewn in Figs. 12 and 13. The taking up motion is
stopped when desired for the purpose of making thick places in the cloth by
raising the catch d² of the ratchet wheel e² in the following manner: I employ
one or a pair of extra bottom slides connected at the top by a rod or cord f² to
a lever g fixed to the regulating rod h², which carries the catch d³, so that
when the slide or slides are depressed, they pull forward the lever g² and raise
the catch out of the teeth of the wheel, the length of time the catch is raised
being regulated by the cards or pattern cylinder.
The fourth part of my improvements consists in an improved self-acting
temple. The cloth is stretched or held at its proper width by two sets of pins
on each side, one set entering the top and the other the bottom of the cloth
alternately. Each set of pins is connected to a rack, and the two racks are
geared into a pinion so that when one rack and pins move one way the other
rack and pins move the reverse way. The two sets of pins are alternately
raised and depressed by means of cams connected to arms or levers which are
turned backwards and forwards by projections alternately acted upon by a pin
on the slay or lathe.
Having now fully described the nature and particulars of my said Invention

page_text: and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be
understood that I claim in looms for weaving, the improvements herein
described and illustrated in the accompany Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof I, the said William Crook, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named William
in the presence of
E. J. HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
Crook,
Manchester.
WILLIAM CROU
(L.B.)