IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Illingworth Butterfield, of Bradford, in the
County of York, Manager, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN AND APPLICABLE TO LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Illingworth But-
terfield at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 28th May 1858.
1, ILLINGWORTH BUTTERFIELD, of Bradford, in the County of York,
Manager, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO LOOMS FOR WEAVING" to be as
follows:-
a bushi
My Invention consists in an improved combination of parts to be
used in place of the ordinary self acting or hand temples, by which the
cloth as it is woven in the loom is maintained to its proper width.
One mode of constructing my improvements is in attaching
near each end of the breast bean; in each bush is supported a
horizontal rod, around which is coiled a spring for pushing the rod
towards the reed. Near the end of each rod is formed a pair of
pincers, between which each selvage of the fabric passes; the upper
jaw of the pincers is furnished with a pin, which, when the pincers are
closed, pass through holes in the lower or stationary jaw; the upper

page_text: jaw is opened at every stroke of the lay by the shuttle board striking
against a trigger under the pincers: the action is as follows:-When
the reed strikes home the weft, the shuttle board comes against the
triggers and opens the pincers, and by overcoming the spiral springs
forces the rods and pincers back towards the breast beam; but as soon
as the reed leaves the cloth (being drawn back by the lay) the triggers are
liberated, thereby allowing the pincers to spring forward again and to
close; the weft is by this means held by the pin in the upper jaw,
which remains closed until the shuttle has been thrown across the
shed, consequently the selvage of the fabric is protected, as the strain
is taken entirely off the warps by the weft being doubled over the
pin in the pincers; the moment the jaws of the pincers are opened the
fabric is taken forward by the taking up motion in the ordinary manner,
and the closing of the jaws takes hold of the succeeding shoot of weft.
Other modes of constructing my improvements might be given, but the
foregoing is sufficient. My Invention consists in taking the strain of
the weft off the selvage of the fabric by the pins in the upper jaw of
the pincers, or by other equivalent means.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Illingworth Butterfield in the Great Seal Patent
Office, on the 28th November 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
ILLINGWORTH BUTTERFIELD, of Bradford, in the County of York,
Manager, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of May, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the
sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Illingworth Butterfield, Her special
licence that I, the said Illingworth Butterfield, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Illingworth But-
terfield, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-

page_text: after 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 In-
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO LOOMS FOR WEAVING,"
upon the condition, amongst others, that I, the said Illingworth
Butterfield, 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 Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Illingworth Butterfield, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement (that is to say):
My Invention consists in improved combinations of parts to be used
in place of the self acting or hand temples, by which the fabric in the
loom is made to its proper width; and in order that my Invention may
be fully understood, and readily carried into effect, I will proceed to
describe the means pursued by me, reference being had to the annexed
Drawing, and to the letters and figures marked thereon.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1, represents an elevation of a loom to which my improve-
ments are applied; Figure 2, is a plan, and Figure 3, a front elevation
of part of the same. a, is the loom side; b, the crank shaft; c, the
lay swords; d, the lay bottom; and e, the breast beam; all of which
are made in the usual manner. To the breast beam are bolted
two small angle brackets f, to which are fixed the bushes y, sup-
porting the horizontal bars ; the front of these bars forns the lower
jaw of a pair of pincers; the upper jaw marked ¹, is hinged to the
lower one at i the upper jaws are furnished with pins, which are
long enough to enter in holes in the lower jaws when the pincers are
closed. The bars h, are held in their proper positions by the studs
projecting from them, fitting in slots in the bushes g, as seen best in
Figure 2. A spring is coiled round each bar h, one end of which abuts

page_text: against the end of the bush g, and theother end against the stud, by
whcih the bar is held in its proper position; to cach of the bars h, is
also hinged a trigger k, the object of which will be explained hereafter.
The lines 7, 7, in Figure 1, represent the warps, which unite at m, see
Figure 2, to form the fabric, and the lines n, n, in Figure 2, indicate
the width of the fabric; the distance between the pincers must be such
that the pins projecting from the upper jaws shall drop within the
outermost warp threads. In Figure 1, the lay is shewn back, and the
jaws of the pincers are closed. The shuttle is now supposed to be in
the left hand shuttle box, and the weft thread, which is shown in
Figure 2, by the line o, is now caught hold of by the pin in the upper
jaw of the left hand pair of pincers. As soon as the shuttle is picked
from the left to the right hand shuttle box, the weft assumes the
position indicated by the dotted line o', and forms a loop round the pin
in the left hand jaw. The object of this pin is to take the strain off
the warps when the weft, in traversing across the shed, is drawn off
the bobbin or cop in the shuttle. When the shuttle has traversed the
shed, and the lay is moved towards the breast beam, the shuttle board
or lay bottom comes in contact with the triggers k, and by moving
them towards the breast beam elevate the upper jaws ', into the
position shewn by dots in Figure 1. The pin in the moveable jaws is
thus lifted out of the loop of the weft, and the lay advances to beat the
weft into the fabric; when the weft is home the pincers and lay bottom
are brought into the positions indicated by dots in Figure 1, the resist-
ance of the springs having been overcomic, and the pincers having been
moved towards the breast beam the advancing lay; but as soon as
the lay recedes from the breast beam the upper jaws drop by their own
gravity, and the springs acting on the bars h, push the pincers again
into their original position. As soon as the triggers are liberated the
moveable jaws fall, and the pin of the right hand pincer drops into the
proper position for catching hold of and forming a loop, when the weft
is again thrown across the shed. By this combination of parts it is
evident that the strain of the weft against the outer warp threads is
entirely removed from the warps and borne by the pins in the pincers,
whereas in the temples now in use the strain of the weft comes against

page_text: the outer warps, consequently by my improvements strong weft can be
used with fine warps, which is desirable in weaving many descriptions
of fabrics; the reed is also at liberty to work freely in the warp, and
the strain on the outer dents of the reed is greatly diminished.
In Figure 4, I have shewn another modification of my Invention; by
this arrangement the upper jaw of the pincers, instead of opening from
a fixed centre, as above described, is made to open in a perpendi-
cular direction; the bar h, and lower jaw remain very similar to those
shewn in Figure 1, but the upper jaw ', is furnished with a stud h²,
moving freely in a hole through the boss of the lower jaw. The lay
bottom is provided with an inclined piece m, which, in advancing
towards the breast beam, raises the lower jaw so as to draw the pin
out of the loop formed by the weft; to the incline m, is fixed a stop
notch, which, when the stud 3, of the upper jaw has been raised,
comes against the stud and pushes the bar h, and parts combined with
it, back into the position now shewn in the Drawing. When the lay
recedes from the breast beam the upper jaw drops by its own gravity,
and the spring coiled round the bar h, pushes the pincers towards the
reed in the manner previously described in reference to Figure 1.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
of performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit
myself to the details shewn in the Drawing, as the same may be varied
without departing from the peculiar character of my Invention; but
what I claim is, the self acting temples or weft holders, herein-before
described, or any equivalent machinery, whereby cach shoot of weft is
held at the selvage of the fabric while the shuttle is crossing the shed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Illingworth Butterfield, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of November,
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
ILLINGWORTH BUTTERFIELD. (L.S.)