IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Henry Castree and John Alfred Castree, of
the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, for the Invention of
Sealed the 15th September 1865, and dated the 23rd March 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Henry Castree
and John Alfred Castree at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 23rd March 1865.
We, GEORGE HENRY CASTREE and JOHN ALFRED CASTREE, of the City of
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as
follows:-
'The object of this Invention is to weave at one and the same time two
pieces of fabric on the same level and in the same front line, each with
perfect inside selvedges; for this purpose we make the yarn beam of
sufficient length to carry two warps, or employ two separate yarn beams. The
said warps pass between the dents of two reeds on the same level and in the
same line, and the reeds are attached to one lathe or batten. Each warp has
its separate and independent shuttle or shuttles where the nature of the work

page_text: requires more than one color in the weft working across its own width
exclusively, and in the centre of the lathe there is a box or boxes or
receptacles where the work requires various colors of weft provided with
swells and springs for the reception successively of any shuttle or shuttles
belonging to either warp, the shuttles being propelled from each box at the
outer end of the lathe by an ordinary picking stick (one picking stick to each
end), and from the inner or central box or boxes by one picking stick, which
one picking stick works a picker having a back and front face. The central
picking stick passes through a slot in the lathe or traverses a space left
between the two reeds, and is worked by tappets or projections on the tappet
shaft of the loom or on shafts parallel with the shuttle boxes. In all cases
'there will be three pickers and three picking sticks. By these improved
arrangements the properties of two looms are condensed into one, and great
economy in expense and labour is thereby obtained; and this double loom is
peculiarly applicable and is intended for weaving all descriptions of plain or
fancy fabrics composed of cotton, flax, wool, silk, or other materials, either
singly or combined, and according to the different patterns required we
employ the ordinary drop, slide, or revolving boxes, jacquard machines, or
any other indexing apparatus.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Henry Castree and Alfred John Castree in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 22nd September 1865.
"TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, GEORGE
HENRY CASTREE and JOHN ALFRED CASTREE, of the City of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said George Henry Castree and John Alfred Castree, Hér special
license that we, the said George Henry Castree and John Alfred Castree, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said George
Henry Castree and John Alfred Castree, 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 expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom

page_text: 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 George Henry Castree and John Alfred
Castree, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
our, or their, or one of our or 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 we, the said George Henry Castree and John
Alfred Castree, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement (that is to say) :—
The object of this Invention is to weave in power looms at one and the
same time two pieces of fabric on the same level and in the same front line,
each with perfect inside selvedges; for this purpose we make the yarn beam
of sufficient length to carry two warps, or employ two separate yarn beams.
The said warps pass between the dents of two reeds on the same level and in
the same line, and the reeds are attached to one lathe or batten. Each warp
has its separate and independent shuttle or shuttles where the nature of the
work requires more than one color in the weft working across its own width
exclusively, and in the centre of the lathe there is a box or boxes or
receptacles where the nature of the work requires various colors of weft
provided with swells and springs for the reception successively of any shuttle
or shuttles belonging to either warp, the shuttles being propelled from each
box at the outer end of the lathe by an ordinary picking stick, one picking
stick to each end, and from the inner or central box or boxes by one picking
stick, which latter picking stick works a picker faced at both ends. The
centre picking stick passes through a slot in the lathe or traverses a space left
between the two reeds, and is worked by tappets or projections on the tappet
shaft of the loom or on shafts parallel with the shuttle boxes, there being in
all cases three pickers and three picking sticks. By these improved-arrange-
ments the properties of two power looms are combined in one, and. great
economy in expense and labor is thereby obtained ;- and this double-loom is
peculiarly applicable and is intended for weaving all descriptions of plain or
fancy fabrics composed of cotton, flax, wool, silk, or other materials, either
singly or combined, and according to the different patterns required we employ
the ordinary drop slide or revolving boxes, jacquard machines, or any other
indexing apparatus.

page_text: This Invention will be clearly understood by referring to the figures and
letters on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which Figs. 1 and 2 are end
and front elevations of the principal parts of our improved double power loom ;
Fig. 3 is a transverse section, and Fig. 4 a plan of part of the same.
a represents the framework; b, the crank shaft; c, the tappet shaft; d, the
sword arms; e, the connecting rods; f, the lathe or batten; g, the reeds ;
h, the breast beam; 1, the warp beam or beams; k, the cloth beams; and 1,
the shafts to which they are fixed. The shaft carrying the warp beam or
beams is shewn at m, it works in bearings in the framework a, and the two
sheds are formed by one or two sets of healds acted upon by levers and
tappets similar to those in a single loom. For two pieces of plain cloth or
fabric the two wefts are thrown by two shuttles n, o, for receiving which there
are three shuttle boxes or receptacles p, q, r, one at each end of the lathe and
one in the middle, and for checks and other fancy fabrics there are three drop
boxes, one at each end and one in the middle, which drop boxes are worked
by any of the ordinary mechanical arrangements. For throwing the shuttles
and picks there are three picking sticks u, v, w, one at each end of the lathe
and one in the middle, which latter works a picker faced at both ends. The
two end sticks are worked by tappets s, levers t, and springs y in the same
manner as in a single loom, but the central stick by tappets s without the
springs. The lathe shewn in the Figures is of one piece extending from end to
end beyond the end frames of the loom, there being a slot in the middle for
the central picking stick to pass through. The said central stick carries a
picker x, with two faces as aforesaid for throwing alternately both shuttles
through the sheds from the central to the end boxes, the movements of the
end sticks and pickers being timed to work in unison. The lathe is provided
with the ordinary stop rod swells and fingers for stopping the loom when the
proper shuttle is not boxed in either of the end boxes, and to these we add an
additional swell a', finger b', and frog c¹, for the central box q, the swell and
finger being made of one piece and working loose on the stop rod or upon a
short shaft used for the purpose, so that if no shuttle arrives at the central
box the finger will be depressed and come in contact with the frog and
thereby stop the loom.
It will be seen that the main features of our. Invention consist in placing
the two warps, reeds, and cloth beams on the same level; in using two,
shuttles for plain fabrics, and two sets of shuttles for fancy, fabrics, and in
employing three picking sticks, one at each end of the lathe and one in the
middle, which arrangements, enable two pieces of fabric to be woven at one
and the same time and be tended by one operative with ease and dispatch,

page_text: and also economize the material of the looms and allow a greater number of
pieces with perfect selvedges to be woven in a given space than by employing
single looms.
In Figs. 2 and 4 we shew two cross frames carrying bearings for the shafts,
but in some cases we only use one, and although we have only shewn the
central picker worked by an under picking stick, it is evident we can employ
an over picking stick for the same purpose.
Having now described the nature and particulars of our said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, we desire it to be
understood that we claim, in double power looms for weaving, the under and
over central picking stick for moving a picker faced at both ends and working
in connection with two end picking sticks and pickers for enabling two pieces
of fabric to be woven at the same time and on the same level, for the purpose
of effecting great economy of labour, time, space, and material, as all such
improvements are herein described and illustrated in the accompanying Sheet
of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Alfred Castree, for and on behalf of
myself and the said George Henry Castree, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
JOHN ALFRED CASTREE. (L.S.)
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named John Alfred Castree,
in the presence of
E. J. HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.