IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Heyes, of Bolton, in the County of
Lancaster, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LOOMS."
Sealed the 3rd November 1853, and dated the 19th August 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Heyes
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 19th August 1853.
I, GEORGE HEYES, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS" to be as follows:-
Firstly, to an improved method of working the shuttle box when
more than one shuttle is used; and instead of allowing it to rise or drop
I make it slide backwards and forwards on the slay by fixing a lever or
wheel on the tappet shaft, one end of the lever extending to the under
side of the slay, and by acting upon a spring under the shuttle box,
moves it backwards or forward, or in other words causes it to slide,
and thus act upon the shuttle requisite to form the pattern.
Secondly, to an improved shape of the tappet. By giving it a sharp
point I cause the warp threads to twist or cross the weft thread before
it is beaten up, and thus prevent it returning or rebounding.

page_text: Thirdly, to an improved method of working the picker, by a con-
tinuous check strap across the loom acting upon a spring in the middle.
The said check strap acting both on the picker sticks, and the said
spring acting upon buffers at the end, serves to stop the loom when
necessary.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Heyes in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 18th February 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
GEORGE HEYES, late of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster (now
residing at Aspull, near Wigan, in the same County), Manufacturer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of August, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in
the seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said George Heyes, Her special
license that I, the said George Heyes, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said George Heyes, 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," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George
Heyes, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Royal Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Heyes, do hereby declare
the nature of my 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 (that is to say):
My Invention relates,-Firstly, to an improved method of working
the shuttle box, when more than one shuttle is used; and instead of
allowing it to rise or drop, as hitherto adopted, I cause it to slide back-
wards and forwards on the slay, which I accomplish by fixing on the
slay sword a pin or bearing, upon which a ratchet wheel and cam turn
together, when they come in contact with a catch, giving effect to com-
pound levers which move a sliding box on which the shuttles rest. For
large checks I keep the catch up by means of a lever or trigger, which
is released by means of a wheel placed outside or inside the frame,
in which wheel pins or projections are adjusted at certain distances
on one or both sides, according to the number of picks to be made
by each shuttle before changing its position, that is, according to
the requirements of the pattern to be produced. Secondly, to an
improved shape of the tappet, by giving it a sharper point, by which
I cause the warp threads to twist or cross the weft thread before
it is beaten up, and thus prevent it returning or rebounding, which
being eased by springs or other elastic substances on or under
the treddles, allows a kind of feeling which is necessary where all
threads are crossed. Thirdly, to an improved method of working a
spring check strap, having connection with the pickers by buffers, and
passing round rollers attached to the slay, and also under a finger or
lever acted upon by a spring, which finger is raised when the shuttle
is boxed, but falls when it is lodged in the warp; it then acts upon
a projection giving motion to an arrangement which comes in the
way of the slay or slay sword, and then stops the loom.
These my improvements will be clearly understood by reference to the
accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which the same letters of reference
are used to represent similar parts where different views or diagrams
are shewn. Fig. 1, is a front, and Figs. 2, and 3, are end elevations
of a loom with the first and second parts of my improvements attached,
having a part in detail at Fig. 4; and Figs. 5, and 6, are front and end
views of the third part. a, represents the side frames of the loom;

page_text: the
b, the crank shaft; c, the tappet shaft; d, the yarn beam; e, the breast
beam; f, the cloth beam; g, the connecting rods; h, the slay; and i,
the slay sword, to which is fixed the pin or bearing k, upon which the
ratchet wheel, and cam m, turn. On the slay sword at n,
fulcrum of a lever o, having its upper end fitted to another lever p,
moving on its fulcrum at q, and attached to its other end to the
To the lever o, is fixed a cross
box r, containing the shuttles s.
piece t, having rollers or projections touching the edge of the cam m,
for the purpose of acting on the ratchet wheel 7. I place a catch u, on
the under side of which is the notched projection a, on the pin v,
fixed to the support w, which is attached to one of the side frames a.
The catch u, can be allowed to act upon the ratchet wheel and cam on
the slay sword only, but for extra size of checks I adopt the following
arrangement:-On the large wheel a', I fix a tappet which acts upon
a lever b', moving on its centre at c', and furnished with a ratchet d¹,
moving in the direction of the arrow. On the side of the ratchet
wheel e', are pins or projections f¹, which acting upon the end of a
small lever g', which turns downwards, and is made fast to or forms part
of a shaft h', having at its opposite end another lever i', placed upwards.
To a pin on the shaft h', is attached a cord passing round the shaft, and
is fastened to a spring which keeps the lever in the notched projection
under the catch, when it is required to be out of the way of the
ratchet wheel; or I employ a balance weight to attain the same result.
When the catch has to be in a position to act upon the internal ratchet
wheel, the wheel e¹, as it advances onwards, brings alternately the
pins or projections in contact with the lever g', moving the other
lever out of the notch a, and allowing the catch to fall; it is then in
the way of the ratchet wheel 1, which, advancing with the slay sword,
turns a tooth, and the projections and indents on the cam are so
arranged, that for each movement of one or more teeth motion is
given to the cross beam t, and then to the levers o, and p, and finally
to the shuttle box r. For smaller patterns the projections and indents
on the cam m, worked by the ratchet wheel 1, are longer or shorter as
the pattern may be required; and by using a spring or balance weight

page_text: to the lever o, the necessity of using the cross piece t, and other extra
work, is avoided. The shuttles being required to change their position,
it is necessary to prevent them going too far, or in other words to check
their progress, which I accomplish as follows:-At Figs. 5, and 6, my
improved check strap and stop motion are shewn. s¹, is the strap con-
nected by the buffers to the pickers in the usual way; it passes round the
rollers t, and under a finger or lever w¹, which rises and falls when the
loom is in motion. At w', is a lever keyed on the shaft v², against which
the finger comes in contact when the shuttle is lodged in the warp, and
turns the shaft v', and levers y', and a¹. The lever y', comes in contact
with the slay or sword and advances, thus giving sufficient motion to
the shaft and lever a, with its projection to release the handle and
stop the loom. After the picker is stopped by the check strap as
aforesaid, it is further removed by a lever k¹; with a rasped like head in
a line with the picker, which lever works in an angular slot attached
to the side frame a, as shewn at Fig. 4, and is acted upon at the
bottom by the springs m', and n', causing it, by the motion of the slay,.
to be alternately pressed against and released from the picker, such
pressure removing it towards the end of the [slay, or away from the
shuttles, thus allowing them to move from one position to another, and
giving to the loom all the advantages of the ordinary pickers and check
straps. At 6, Figs. 1, and 2, are shewn my improved tappets acting
upon the treddles p', on the under side of which is a spring g', to which
is attached the cord ¹, and which is also connected to the heddles.
There is also a projection placed on a shaft which supports a fork on
each side, having a loose lever touching the slay, which stops the loom
by the same rod in case of breakage of the weft, and which is clearly
shewn in Fig. 6, of the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
Having thus fully described the nature and particulars of my said
improvements in the loom, I desire it to be distinctly understood that
I do not confine myself to the precise details herein set forth, as such
may be varied or modified without departing from the principle thereof.
But I claim, firstly, the method of working and causing the shuttle
box to slide backwards and forwards; secondly, the improved shape of

page_text: the tappet; and, thirdly, the method of working the stop motion by a
spring check strap connected to the pickers; as all such improvements
are herein described and illustrated in the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Heyes, have hereunto 5
set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of February, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named George Heyes in
the presence of
E. J. HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
GEORGE HEYES. (L.B.)
Manchester.