IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edmund Hartley, of Oldham, in the County of
Lancaster, Mechanical Engineer, John Clegg, of the same Place, Machi-
nist, and Thomas Mellodew, and James Mellodew, of the same Place,
Manufacturers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR
WEAVING."
Sealed the 18th September 1868, and dated the 21st March 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edmund Hartley, John
Clegg, and Thomas Mellodew, and James Mellodew, at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 21st March
1863.
We, EDMUND HARTLEY, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Mechanical
Engineer, JOHN CLEGG, of the same Place, Machinist, and THOMAS MELLODEW
and JAMES MELLODEW, of the same Place, Manufacturers, do hereby declaro
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING,"
to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates, firstly, to making the shed in looms. For this
purpose we employ two endless chains or equivalent apparatus, the one acting
upon a lever so as to depress it, and the other so as to raise it. These chains
are both placed on the same side of the centre of motion on which the said
lever turns, and act upon the same roller carried thereby.

page_text: According to another method of making the shed, we employ an endless
chain acting upon two levers mounted upon the same centre. At the other
end of one of these levers is a band, which after passing over a guide pulley
carries a heald, and is then conducted over a second guide pulley to the other
lever. This arrangement, as well as that first described, is of course repeated
as often as may be desired.
Secondly, our Invention relates to that construction of picking motion of
looms in which the lever which is struck by the tappet is moveable, and
consists in the employment of an endless chain of tappets or equivalent
apparatus acting upon the said lever, whereby we are enabled to vary the
number of following picks at each side of the loom at pleasure.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by tho said Edmund Hartley, John Clegg, and Thomas Mellodew,
and James Mellodew in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 21st
September 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, EDMUND
HARTLEY, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Mechanical Engineer,
JOHN CLEGG, of the same Place, Machinist, and JAMES MELLOWDEW, of the
same Place, Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said Edmund Hartley, John Clegg, and James Mellowdew, Her special
license that we, the said Edmund Hartley, John Clegg, and James Mellow-
dew, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the
said Edmund Hartley, John Clegg, and James Mellowdew, our 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 ex-
pressed, 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 we, the said Edmund Hartloy, John Clegg
and James Mellodew, by an instrument in writing under our hands and
seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the

page_text: 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 John Clegg, do hereby declare
the nature of our 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 and accompanying Drawings (that is to say) :-
Our Invention relates, firstly, to making the shed in looms. For this pur-
pose we employ two endless chains or equivalent apparatus, the one acting
upon a lever so as to depress it, and the other so as to raise it. These chains
are both placed on the same side of the centre motion on which the said lever
turns, and act upon the same roller carried thereby.
Secondly, our Invention relates to that construction of picking motion of
looms in which the lover which is struck by the tappet is moveable, and con-
sists in the employment of an endless chain of tappets or equivalent apparatus
acting upon the said lever, whereby we are enabled to vary the number of
following picks at each side of the loom at pleasure.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 represents a portion of the loom in
side elevation with our first improvement adapted.
"
The crank shaft is at a, upon which is a pinion 6 driving a wheel c, which is
in gear with another wheel d. The axes g, h, of these two wheels carry
endless chains e, f, passing over other axes g, h, and they are provided with
tappets, as at i, ; k, k', fixed thereon at any desired intervals for the purpose
hereafter to be explained. Between the two series of chain tappets is a lever /
turning upon a centre at 'm, and provided at its other end with a cord n
leading to "jacks" or other such ordinary part of the loom. At the central
part of the lever is a roller o, situate so as to be acted upon by one or other of
the series of tappets i, k.
According to the position shown in the Drawing, the tappet k has acted upon
the roller o so as to raise the lever 1, and this motion acting upon the "jacks"
will have caused a sinking, and supposing that the next link of the chain e
were provided with a tappet the same result would take place at the next shed.
According however to the arrangement of tappets shewn in the Drawing,
the next link above mentioned is not provided with a tappet, and the lever Z
will be acted upon by the tappet i upon the chain. f, whereby the said lever
will be depressed, and its action upon the "jacks" will cause a "rise," and so
on at pleasure according to the determined arrangement of tappets, there being
always a top one absent when a bottom one is to act, and vice versa. We
have above spoken of one lover l only, and sets of tappets for acting on the

page_text: same, but the whole arrangement is of course repeated as many times as thero
are jacks to operate upon.
The next part of our Invention is shewn in two views at Figs. 2 and 3,
which represent certain parts of a loom in side and end elevations. The crank
shaft is at a, carrying a pinion 6, which drives a wheel c, on the axis of which
are two studs d, which actuate a star wheel e; upon the axis of this star wheel
is an endless chain f, provided with a series of tappets g, which may be arranged
in any order at pleasure. In contact with the endless chain f is a roller h,
carried by a lever i, turning upon a fixed centre k. This lever carries an arm l,
which is situate beneath the ordinary lever m, mounted in the picking shaft n.
This lever of the picking shaft is mounted in a slot formed therein, and is
capable of turning upward and downward upon a centre at o.
The fly
wheel is shewn at p, and a tappet which strikes the lever of the picking stick
at q.
.
The above arrangement of parts has reference to one side of the loom, but
it is repeated at the other side thereof, with the exception of the star wheel
which serves to drive the two endless chains.
According to the position shewn in the Drawing, the roller is resting upon
the lower part of the pattern chain f, and the arm is therefore free from the
lever m of the picking shaft, as therefore the fly wheel rotates it will bring the
tappet q in contact with the said lever, and a picking action will be effected on
this side of the loom. At the next motion however of the star wheel, and
consequently of the pattern chain, the tappet 9 will arrive in contact with the
roller h, thereby causing the lever i to turn upon its centre k and elevate tho
arm l, which arm will thus arrive in contact with the lever m and turn it
upward upon its centre o, when therefore the tappet 9 again comes round the
lever m will not be within its range and no picking action on this side of the
loom will be effected, but on the other side of the loom a tappet corresponding
to that shewn at 9 will not have been present and the picking motion
there will consequently have been effected; and thus by so arranging the
tappets 9 that when there is one in action at one side of the loom there is not
one in action at the other, and so on alternately, alternate picks will tako place,
or by making the said tappets to act consecutively for several times on one
side and at the same time miss on the other, any desired number of picks from
one side may be obtained.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention,
and the manner of carrying the same into effect, I desire it to bo understood
that we claim as secured to us under the above in part recited Letters
Patent

page_text: Firstly, in reference to making the shed in looms, the employment of two
endless tappet chains or equivalent apparatus acting upon opposite sides of a
lever, and situate on the same side of the centre of motion on which the said
lever turns.
Secondly, the application of an endless tappet chain for determining
whether the picking motion shall take place at the one or the other side of
the loom.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Clegg, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Eighteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
JOHN CLEGG. (L.B.)