IMPROVE- MENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Carter Ramsden, of Bradford, in the
County of York, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
ealed the 10th September 1870, and dated the 15th March 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION, left by the said John Carter Ramsden
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 15th March 1870.
I, JOHN CARTER RAMSDEN, of Bradford, in the County of York,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
These improvements relate to an adaptation and combination of means
for actuating and regulating the actuation of a series of shuttle boxes
arranged around an axis of motion, and now commonly known as rotary
shuttle boxes, or of those arranged only partially around an axis of motion,
and now commonly known as oscillating shuttle boxes, and consists in a
mode whereby I am enabled to bring any box of the series into operation

page_text: as required, and with a great degree of certainty, notwithstanding how
the speed of the loom may vary; this is a desideratum, which, so far as I
am informed, has never yet been accomplished.
The method by which I propose to actuate rotary shuttle boxes is
somewhat as follows :-I fix a hollow cylinder in the interior of the
shuttle boxes; in this cylinder a helical groove is cut, or there may be
more grooves than one. In the interior of the cylinder I place what may
be termed a piston, which is free to slide backwards and forwards, but
not to revolve; into this piston I fix a stud or studs, according to the
number of grooves cut into the cylinder, each stud taking into a groove,
therefore, as the piston is slided backwards and forwards the cylinder will
be caused to revolve, first one way and then the other, and by reason of
the shuttle boxes being attached thereto they will receive the same
motion. To slide the piston at the proper time, the required distance,
and in the proper direction, I proceed somewhat as follows:-In a line
with the fulcrum of the lathe swords, and projecting outwards from the
loom end, I place another cylinder, which is free to revolve in fixed
bearings; this cylinder is grooved similar to the one just described, and has
placed in it a similar piston which is free to slide backwards and forwards
but not to revolve; an upright lever, which has its axis of motion some-
where about the centre, is fixed so that each end is attached to one of the
piston rods, therefore, it follows, that whatever amount of motion is
imparted to the lowermost cylinder, so much and no more will be imparted
to the cylinder to which the shuttle boxes are attached. Motion is
imparted to the lowermost cylinder by gearing from another shaft; upon
this shaft I fix a spur wheel, and fixed in bearings in which they are free
to slide, I place two racks, one on each side of and taking into the spur
wheel; attached to these racks are two plates, betwixt these plates one
end of a lever is constantly working with a backward and forward motion.
The plates which are attached to the racks have each as many steps or
projections as there are shuttles in the circle. The steps or projections
do not project beyond the inner faces of the plates when the shuttle box
is at rest, but when the shuttle box is required to revolve, the proper step
or projection is caused to project beyond the face of the plate to which it
is attached, and upon the next stroke of the lever end it takes hold of
the said step or projection and causes the said rack to move, and thereby
the necessary amount of motion is imparted to the shuttle boxes. The
steps or projections can be operated upon by a contrivance similar to the

page_text: usual card motion, and suitable provision can be made in the usual manner
to prevent a breakage should the shuttle fail to land properly home in the
box. In the lever which connects the two piston rods a joint can be
made, covered with a cap, by which means the weaver can have command
over the boxes when the loom is at rest to refill the shuttles or any other
purpose, yet will be obliged to return the box to its original position before
the said cap can be replaced, which will serve to prevent many mistakes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Carter Ramsden in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 15th September 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
CARTER RAMSDEN, of Bradford, in the County of York, Manufacturer,
send greeting.
-
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Carter Ramsden, Her special
licence that I, the said John Carter Ramsden, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Carter
time
Ramsden, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make usc, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ircland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an In-
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Carter Ramsden, 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 John Carter Ramsden, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same

page_text: is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say :—
These improvements relate to an adaptation and combination of means
for actuating and regulating the actuation of a series of shuttle boxes
arranged around an axis of motion, and now commonly known as rotary
shuttle boxes, or of those arranged only partially around an axis of
motion, and now commonly known as oscillating shuttle boxes, and
consists in a mode whereby I am enabled to bring any box of the series
into operation as required, and with a great deal of certainty,
notwithstanding how the speed of the loom may vary. This is a
desideratum which, so far as I am informed, has never yet been
accomplished.
The method by which I propose to actuate rotary shuttle boxes is
somewhat as follows:-I fix a hollow cylinder in the interior of the
shuttles boxes; in this cylinder a helical groove is cut, or there may be
more grooves than one. In the interior of the cylinder I place what
may be termed a piston, which is free to slide backwards and forwards,
but not to revolve, into this piston I fix a stud or studs according to the
number of grooves cut into the cylinder, each stud taking into a groove,
therefore, as the piston is slided backwards and forwards the cylinder will
be caused to revolve first one way and then the other, and by reason of
the shuttle boxes being attached thereto they will receive the same
motion. To slide the piston at the proper time, the required distance,
and in the proper direction, I proceed somewhat as follows:-In a line
with the fulcrum of the lathe swords, and projecting outwards from the
loom end, I place another cylinder, which is free to revolve in fixed
bearings; this cylinder is grooved similar to the one just described, and
has placed in it a similar piston, which is free to slide backwards and
forwards, but not to revolve. An upright lever, which has its axis of
motion somewhere about the centre, is fixed so that each end is attached
to one of the piston rods, therefore, it follows, that whatever amount of
motion is imparted to the lowermost cylinder, so much and no more
will be imparted to the cylinder to which the shuttle boxes are attached.
Motion is imparted to the lowermost cylinder by gearing from another
shaft; upon this shaft I fix a spur wheel, and fixed in bearings in which
they are free to slide, I place two racks, one on each side of and taking
into the spur wheel; attached to these racks are two plates; betwixt
these plates one end of a lever is constantly working with a backward

page_text: and forward motion. The plates, which are attached to the racks, have
each as many steps or projections as there are shuttles in the circle.
The steps or projections do not project beyond the inner faces of the
plates when the shuttle box is at rest, but when the shuttle box is
required to revolve the proper step or projection is caused to project
beyond the face of the plate to which it is attached, and upon the next
stroke of the lever end it takes hold of the said step or projection and
causes the said rack to move, and thereby the necessary amount of
motion is imparted to the shuttle boxes. The steps or projections can
be operated upon by a contrivance similar to the usual card motion, and
suitable provision can be made in the usual manner to prevent a breakage
should the shuttle fail to land properly home in the box. In the lever
which connects the two piston rods a joint can be made, covered with a
cap, by which means the weaver can have command over the boxes when
the loom is at rest to refill the shuttles or any other purpose, yet will be
obliged to return the box to its original position before the said cap can
be replaced, which will serve to prevent many mistakes.
And in order that the said Invention may be more clearly understood
and readily carried into effect, I will proceed, aided by the accompanying
fall to describe the same
Figure 1 is an end view," and Figure 2 is a front view of parts of
a loom having my Invention applied thereto; Figure 3 is a plan of some
of the parts.
a is a rotating shuttle box, in the interior of which is fixed a tube or
cylinder 6 having a helical groove 6' formed therein, or, if desired, more
than one helical groove 6' may be employed. 'In the interior of this
tube or cylinder b, works a piston or slide c, which is free to slide back-
wards and forwards in such tube or cylinder b, but not to turn thercin, as
the rod c¹ of the piston c is provided with a groove or grooves in which
keys fixed in the guide c³ work, or it is otherwise secured against revolving
in its bearings. Into the piston c I fix a stud c³, which takes into the
groove b¹, or if more than one groove is formed in such cylinder b, then
an equal number of studs will be fixed in the piston c. It will be
seen that as the piston c is slided backwards and forwards the cylinder b,
and consequently the rotary shuttle box which is fixed thereto, will be
.caused to revolve in one direction or the other, according to the direction

page_text: in which the piston c is moved, and the amount of rotation given to
such cylinder and rotary shuttle box will be in proportion to extent of
travel given to the piston c. In a line with the fulcrum of the lathe
swords, and projecting outwards from the loom end, I place another
cylinder or tube d, which is free to revolve in fixed bearings ď¹³, d¹, this
cylinder or tube is provided with a groove or grooves d³ in a similar
manner to the cylinder.or tube b, and has placed within it a piston e
with a stud e fixed thereon similar to the piston c. This piston e is free
to slide backwards, and forwards but not to revolve. The ends of the
piston rods c¹, e³, are connected to the ends of a lever f, which has its
fulcrum or axis of motion at f₁, and is carried by a projection a² from the
bracket a¹, carrying one end of the rotary shuttle box a. This lever fis
provided with slotted openings in its ends to permit of its moving as
required, and yet enable it to receive motion from the piston e and
transmit it to the piston c, the piston e having a screwed end piece e³,
which is free to turn, in order to enable the lathe to move to and fro
freely. On one end of the tube or cylinder d is fixed a bevilled toothed
pinion d³, which receives motion from a bevilled toothed wheel g', mounted
on the lower end of an axis g, on the upper end of which is fixed a
toothed pinion g³ which takes: into and receives motion from two racks
h*, *, formed on or fixed to bars h, i, which are free to slide to and fro
in suitable bearings, as shown. These sliding bars h, i, are made broader
at their centres, and have attached to them by pin joints moveable teeth
or projections h¹, h³, h³, hª, h³, hº, and i¹, ³, i³, i³, i³, 2³, which teeth or
projections are connected together in pairs by suitable cords, the teeth
,, being connected together by such cords, and h², 22, and so on.
These cords are acted upon by a small jacquard apparatus or other pattern
surface carried on the end of the loom, as is now well understood.
Between the sliding bars h, i, works a projection from a sliding bar k,
and such sliding bar is connected to the upper end of a lever l, which
receives motion from a connecting rod m operated by an eccentric n, fixed
on the cam shaft o. Thus, as each pair h³, ³, h³, ³, and so on, of the
moveable teeth carried by the sliding bars h, i, are caused to project from
the inner sides of such bars, the projection k¹ is caused in its forward
motion to carry one or other of the teeth h³, h³, h³, h*, h³, h³, towards the
right hand of the end of the loom, until one or other of the teeth, ³, 2³,
,,, comes against such projection, when the motion of the bars h, i,
in opposite directions terminates. Thus, by causing the moveable teeth
to project on the inside of the sliding bars h, i, in pairs, the rotary shuttle

page_text: box is caused to rotate to any desired extent, so as to bring any required
shuttle into position to be thrown across the lathe. The cords or con-
nections from the moveable teeth are formed for a portion of their
lengths of india-rubber, so as to provide for the free movement of the
parts, and the jacquard apparatus is caused to keep such moveable teeth
in position long enough to enable the projection k¹ to act upon them, as
will be well understood. The lever fmay, if desired, be provided with
a joint therein, as shown at Figure 4, and with a cap f* to pass over
such joint and hold the two parts firmly together, so as to enable the
wearer to have command over the rotary shuttle box when the loom is
at rest to refill the shuttles, and yet insure the rotary shuttle box being
returned to its original or proper position before the said cap can be
replaced.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention and the mode
in which I carry the same into effect, I would have understood that
what I claim is, the mode of operating rotating shuttle boxes or partially
rotating shuttle boxes by means of helically grooved tubes or cylinders
and pistons acting therein and operated by moveable teeth carried by
sliding bars and parts connected thereto in manner substantially as
herein shown and described.
In witness whereof, I, John Carter Ramsden, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
JOHN CARTER RAMSDEN. .(L.S.)