CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ECCLES, of Walton-le-Dale, in the County of Lancaster, Cotton Spinner, send
greeting.
WHEREAS, Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Nineteenth day of September, One thousand eight hundred
and fifty, and in the fourteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Der heirs
and successors, give and grant unto me, the said William Eccles, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William
Eccles, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said William
Eccles, my exors, admors, or assigns should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England and Wales and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING ;". in which said Letters Patent
is contained a proviso, that I, the said William Eccles, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar. months next, and immediately after the date of the said in
part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto
had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Eccles, do hereby declare, that the nature of the said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereto annexed, and the following
explanation thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention consists, firstly, in a method of determining a backward
movement of the cloth and warp beams when the shuttle shall have failed in
duly carrying the weft thread between the shed of the warp, and which back-
ward motion is usually called a "recoil." This I effect by the application of
a stop or stops, so mounted as to be capable of revolving with the cloth beam
during its regular motion, but which, not being free to revolve in the other
direction, become an abutment for determining the amount of recoil when the
cloth beam shall have been rendered free to perform its retrograde action,
such stop or stops, and that part of the loom which then arrives in contact
therewith, or one of them, being capable of adjustment, so as to vary their
relative usual positions, and thus provide for any required amount of recoil.
Secondly, my Invention relates to the means of raising the "taking up
catch" of a loom from its ratchet wheel, and consists in the employment of a
spring or other elastic substance acting as a medium for such purpose, the
object being to render the catch capable of rising from the tooth without
that straining effect which is consequent upon the usual construction of such
parts.
Thirdly, in a method of breaking the impetus of the working parts of a
loom when the driving strap is thrown off. This I accomplish by the appli-
cation of a spiral spring, one end thereof being attached to some stationary
part of the loom, and the ether to the "frog piece," or other part which is
brought into action by the effect of the "stop motion."
And in order that these several parts of my Invention may be clearly
understood, I will now proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Fig. 1 is an end view of a loom with my firstly mentioned improvement
The taking-up
applied thereto, and Fig. 2 is a detached view of the same.
motion I have shewn in the Drawing, as proceeding from the vibrations of the
sword of the loom, there being a projecting part a affixed thereto, the outward
end of which is provided with a pin which works in a slot formed within a
lever ; this lever turns upon a fixed centre pin c, and its upper part is con-
nected to one end of the driving click d, which being placed within the teeth
of a ratchet wheel e, causes it to move in the direction of the arrow at each
pick of the loom. Upon the axle of the ratchet wheel c there is a pinion f
taking into a toothed wheel g, which is mounted upon a stud h, projecting

page_text: from the framework of the machine, and upon this stud is another pinion i,
which, by the means shewn in the Drawing, communicates the necessary
motion to the cloth beam j. Mounted loosely upon the stud h there is a
ratchet wheel, within the teeth of which is placed a retaining click 7, the
other end thereof being capable of turning upon a fixed centre pin m. One of
the arms of the ratchet wheel k is provided with a slot n, and through this a
pin passes so as to bolt a projecting piece o, firmly to the arm of the ratchet
wheel, nevertheless, such projecting piece may, by loosening the bolt, be
adjusted in any desired part of the said arm. The piece o extends inwards far
enough to protrude beyond the line in which the arms of the wheel g revolve,
when, therefore, by the before-mentioned means they are caused to rotate, one
or another of them, as the case may be, will, on arriving in contact with the
piece o, carry it forward, and thus effect a revolution of the ratchet wheel .
The ordinary spring lever is shewn at p, and is connected by any of the usual
méthods, so as to move from its notch when-the weft thread is unduly absent,
or the shuttle misses boxing, such motion (when a recoil is effected by
mechanical agency) causing, as is well understood, the driving and detaining
click d, g, to rise from the ratchet wheel e, so as to allow the cloth and yarn
beams to recoil. In the Drawing (see Fig. 2) I have shewn the clicks d, q
mounted upon an axle r, to which is also attached an arm s, extending under
pin which projects from the driving click d. The axle r being cause: to
turn upon its centre by the motion of the spring lever p will therefore lift the
two clicks d, g, from the teeth of their ratchet wheel, so as to allow the ordinary
apparatus, by which the yarn beam is weighted, to draw back the woven cloth.
The operation of this part of my Invention is as follows:-Upon the welt
thread failing, or the shuttle having become "trapped," the ratchet wheel c
will, by the above mentioned or other ordinary means, become liberated, the
recoil then taking place, the spur wheel 7 will also be caused to turn in a
backward direction, the ratchet wheel k, however, being kept stationary by the
detaining click . This retrograde motion will continue until that arm of the
spur wheel which is in advance of the stop piece o shall have arrived in contact
therewith; the recoil will then be arrested, for as the ratchet wheel & cannot
move onward therewith, no further sucli motion can take place. The stop piece
o therefore becomes the means of determining the extent to which the clothi
and yarn beams shall act with a reversed motion, and by shifting the position
of its confining bolt within the slot n, a variation may be effected so as to suit
the amount of recoil to the description of goods in progress of being manu-
factured, for it is evident that as the stop occupies an angular opening in the
wheel g, a situation nearer to the centre of motion will decrease the space
a

page_text: through which the arm 1 can travel, and that a similar adjustment to a point
further from such centre will increase the capability of recoil. In order to
steady the action of the ratchet wheel k, I affix a spring t or other yielding
substance to the framework of the loom, and allow another part thereof to
press against the face of the wheel, so as to act with a slightly retarding
power. Fig. 3 represents a modification of this part of my Invention. In
this instance the stop piece o is mounted so as to be adjustable upon an arm of
a drum or pulley u, around part of the circumrèrence of which is placed
a friction break ; this break is capable of turning upon a fixed centre
at w, and at another part is connected by means of any suitable arrange-
ment to the ordinary spring lever, so that upon such lever being thrown
from its notch the break will press against the periphery of the drum or
pulley, and thus prevent it from being carried back when the arm of the
wheel g shall have arrived in contact with the stop o. In this modification,
therefore, the drum or pulley occupies the place of the ratchet wheel k, 'and
the friction break v that of the detaining click l. Fig. 4 represents another
modification for regulating the amount of recoil. In this instance one of the
arms of the ratchet wheel k, or drum or pulley is provided with a slot
extending on each side therefrom, and in this are placed two adjustable studs
o, o, projecting as before, so as to intercept the arms of the spur wheel g; it
will be evident that by decreasing the distance between these two studs a
greater amount of recoil will be effected, and that by increasing such relative
position a less will be provided for. In the foregoing description I have men-
tioned the projecting piece or pieces which are mounted upon the ratchet
wheel or drum as being adjustable; precisely the same effect however may
be accomplished keeping them in a fixed position, and gaining the required
variation by providing for an alteration in position of the arm 1 of the
wheel g, or the said arm may be cast with the wheel as usual, and an
additional part connected thereto, so as to be capable of being moved nearer to
or further from the stop piece or picces o.
My second improvement is shewn in the detached Fig. 5 of the accom-
panying Drawing. The ratchet wheel, through which the woven cloth is
taken up, is shewn at a, and the driving click at b; the detaining click is
represented at c, to the upper part.of which is affixed a projecting spring d,
the outward end thereof passing into a link which rises from the driving
click b. Upon the click c being raised from its ratchet wheel, the driving
click b will also be removed therefrom through the intervention of the spring d
should there be no impediment thereto; if, however, the front of a tooth
should so much overhang as to cause a binding action, then the spring & will

page_text: be kept downwards, and allow an independent motion to the detaining click c,
until the reaction of the parts incident upon the stopping of the loom has
loosened the confining position, at which time the elasticity of the now bent
spring d will lift the driving catch so as to admit of the recoil.
My third improvement is shown in the side elevation of a loom at Fig. 6,
one end of a spiral spring a is attached to the framing of the loom, and the
other connected to the moveable "frog piece "b; when, therefore, the arm c
of the "protector rod" (as is well understood) arrives in contact with the
frog" the spring a will be caused to expand, and by its elasticity considerably
break the concussion.
Having thus described my Invention, and the manner in which the same is
to be performed, I claim as secured to me under the above in part recited
Letters Patent,-
Firstly, the application of parts adjustable with respect to each other, and
revolving uniformly (in such adjusted relative positions) during the ordinary
operation of the loom, the one however becoming an abutment for the other,
so as to effect a stoppage of the retrograde movement of the cloth beam, and
thus effect a positive quantity of recoil capable of being varied in amount, as
desired.
Secondly, the use of an elastic medium for the purpose of disengaging the
driving click from its wheel.
Thirdly, the application of a spiral spring to the purpose of breaking the
impetus of the different parts of the loom when suddenly stopped.
In witness whereof, the said William Eccles has hereunto set his hand
and seal, the Fifteenth day of March, One thousand eight hundred and