Improvements in the Manufacture of Pickers for Looms.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 27th July, 1897-Accepted, 28th Aug., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Pickers for Looms.
I, SAMUEL FIELDEN, of Inchfield Picker Works, Walsden, in the County of
Lancaster, Picker Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this Invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:―
My invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of pickers for looms and
particularly to those pickers in which the picking band or strap is attached at such
a point that the centres of the pull of the picking band and of the resistance of the
shuttle are brought as near together as practicable, and the pull of the picking band
being nearly straight the picker does not cant appreciably when sliding on the shur
spindle.
Examples of such pickers are illustrated in the Printed Specification of my prior
Patent No. 12270 of 1887.
In the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings-
Fig. 1 represents a piece of buffalo hide cut and folded to form the outside of my
improved picker, and Fig. 2 represents a smaller piece of "buffalo" hide cut and
folded to fit inside, the two pieces being shown combined in Figs. 3 and 4.
Figs. 5 and 6 are front view and end view respectively of a finished picker made
according to my improvements. Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate a slight modification in the
construction. Figs. 9, 10 and 11 are three views representing an alternative
manufacture of my improved picker out of a single piece of "buffalo" bide which is
shown at three different stages in the course of manufacture and Fig. 12 is a plan
view of Fig. 11.
In Fig. 1. a represents in full and dotted lines a piece of hide cut into the
requisite form for the outside of my improved picker. The hide is slit along the
lines a¹ and the pieces thus formed are folded over at a² as shown in full
lines.
Fig. 2 represents in full and dotted lines a smaller piece of hide 6 slit along the
lines 6 and folded over at 62 to fit inside the folds a² of the piece a and occupy the
position shown in Fig. 3. A piece of hide is cut away from the middle of b, as shown in
Figs. 2 and 3, in order to reduce the bearing and diminish friction on the shur
spindle in the finished picker, Fig. 5.
In Fig. 7 an extra piece of doubled hide f, shown detached in Fig. 8 has one
portion inserted between the folds 62 and body b and so clamps the ends of the
piece b together in order to give greater strength to the picker; or as an alternative
the sheet of hide a may be reduced in length to correspond with b in which case a
separate doubled piece f could be passed as previously described under and over the
folds or a and prolonged in length to form the foot of the picker.
When the pieces of hide have been doubled as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 they are
put into dies and pressed to mould them into shape in the usual way ready to be
clamped and rivetted together by the cramps and rivets c, d, which may be placed in
the positions shown in Fig. 5, or in any other suitable positions to strengthen the
picker especially at its point of contact with the shuttle,

page_text: The picking band, or an intermediate strap, not shown, is passed through a slot e
(which may be curved) formed in the picker below the holes through which the shur
spindle passes.
Figs. 9, 10, 11 and 12 illustrate my improved picker formed of a single piece of
hide, pieces being cut away at a³ to allow the hide to bend round to form the hole for
the shur spindle. The extra piece of hide f, Fig. 8, might also be used in the
construction of this picker as a thickening piece or foot.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
:-
1. The herein described improvements in the manufacture of pickers, said
improvements consisting in cutting a piece or pieces of "buffalo" hide to the required
shape, slitting, folding, making up and then pressing and otherwise finishing the
same to form the picker herein described and illustrated.
2. The improved coiled or rolled picker made substantially as described and as
illustrated by Figs. 1 to 8.
3. The improved coiled or rolled picker made substantially as herein described
from a single piece of hide as shown in Figs. 9 to 12.
Dated this 26th day of July 1897.
H. B. BARLOW & GILLETT,
17 St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agents for Applicant.