IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Laycock, of Sheffield, in the County
of York, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS
FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 27th January 1857, and dated the 22nd November 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Laycock
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 22nd November 1856.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD LAYCOCK, of Sheffield, in the County of York,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to such looms as are employed for weaving goods
known as horsehair seating, crinoline, or the like, and has for its object such
an arrangement as will facilitate the working by power.
The first point of novelty refers to the employment of the "jacquard" for
opening the shed, and for this purpose I employ two driving catches capable
of acting on opposite corners of the box or "cylinder," such catches being so
mounted that the attendant may bring the one or the other into action, so as
to effect a backward or forward motion at pleasure, without stopping the loom.

page_text: Also I form the said box or "cylinder" with five or more sides properly per-
forated, and dispenso with the cards usually mounted thereon.
Another part of my arrangement refers to the picking motion, and consists
in mounting the picking stick on a centre above the shuttlo race, to which
centre a lever is connected, actuated by means of a revolving tappet drivon
from a second motion.
Another part relates to a method of adapting the lathe, and consists in
mounting it upon pairs of vibrating lovers connected together by means of a
rod, to which motion is communicated by the crank.
Another part relates to the stopping and starting of the loom. For these
purposes I use two treadles, one acting upon the spring lever for the former
purpose, and the other upon a rod in connection with tho strap fork for the
latter; I also adapt to the said rod an inclined piece, which upon the starting
of the loom arrives in contact with a stop situate beneath the lathe, so as to
lift it, and allow the weaving to go on; also I apply springs and swells for
holding the shuttles of the aforesaid looms in a steady position on their return
from the shed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Laycock in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 21st May 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, J, WILLIAM
EDWARD LAYCOCK, of Sheffield, in tho County of York, Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year-of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Edward Laycock, Her especial license that I, the, said
William Edward Laycock, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Edward Laycock, my executors, administrators;
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no othors, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term thereiu expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man,
an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition,

page_text: amongst others, that I, the said William Edward Laycock, 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 said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Laycock, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to say):
:-
My Invention relates to such looms as are employed for weaving goods
known as horsehair seating, and crinoline, and has for its object such an
arrangement as will facilitate the working by power.
The first point of novelty refers to the jacquard apparatus, and consists in
a method of enabling the attendant to effect a backward or forward motion
thereof at pleasure; also in a method of constructing the jacquard "cylinder,"
so as to enable me to dispense with the cards.
Secondly, my Invention refers to the picking motion.
Thirdly, to a method of adapting the lathe.
Fourthly, to the stopping and starting of the loom.
And in order that the same may be fully understood, I have appended to
this my Specification two Sheets of Drawings; Fig. 1 being a front elevation
of the loom; Fig. 2, an end view; Fig. 3, a plan or horizontal view with the
upper part removed; and Fig. 4, a representation of a detached portion.
These I will now proceed to describe, taking the several divisions of my
Invention in the above order.
:
The main driving shaft is shewn at a. Upon this shaft is a crank b, con-
nected by a rod c to a lever d, capable of turning upon a fixed centre. The
lever d communicates the usual rising and falling to the "griff" of the
jacquard, and also the outward motion of the card cylinder f by means of
the scrol slide 9 and roller h. Upon the upper part of the framework is
mounted a hook i, and beneath this a second hook j, the two being connected
together by a link k; the lever of the hook j is continued beyond its centre
of motion, and at that end is attached a cord l, which passes over guide
rollers m, m, and is then attached to the lathe n by means of a leather
strap During the ordinary operation of the loom the card cylinder f, on
moving outward, will arrive after the ordinary manner in contact with the
book i, and will thereby be turned forward in order to change the pattern.

page_text: But supposing it desired to reverse the opening of the shed by a backward
motion of the loom, then the attendant by pressing the strap 1 of the cord
will cause the under hook j to turn upon its centre, and communicate a
similar motion to the upper hook i through the medium of the link k, by
which means the latter of these will be removed from range of the jacquard
cylinder, and the former brought into such a position as to intercept it at its
lower side, so as to cause it to turn in the opposite direction, so as to enable
the attendant to find that part of the fabric where the weft is missing; upon
the cord being liberated, the hooks will fall to their former position, and the
pattern will be woven as before.
According to the other part of my Invention relating to the jacquard, I
form the so-called cylinder with five or more sides, as shown at Fig. 5, and
furnish it with recesses according to the pattern to be woven; the cards are
therefore spensed with, and the cylinder acts by itself in lieu thereof, but
of course the pattern or twill to be woven will be limited by the five or other
number of sides; and instead of forming recesses in the cylinder projections
may be placed thereon, so as to act in the reverse manner upon the hooks.
In providing for the picking motion I do not propose avoiding the use of all
manual labor, but leave the attendant to serve the weft as is now practised
in hand looms of this class, but I employ a certain mechanical arrangement
for passing the shuttle or weft carrier between the warp. On one side of the
loom is adapted a shuttle race o; within which is a picker p, capable of sliding
to and fro therein, and to this is attached a weft carrier or shuttle similar to
those employed in ordinary hand looms. Upon the main shaft a is a pinion g
taking into a wheel mounted upon a shaft s; on this shaft is a grooved
camt, having four risings therein, acting upon a roller carried by a lever u
one end of which turns upon a fixed centre v, to the other end is jointed
rod w, the upper end of which is connected to a bell crank lever a, carrying
upon one arm the picking stick y, which passes through an aperture in the
picker p; as the cam t, therefore, revolves the thread carrier or shuttle i
caused to move to and fro between the warp threads, the attendant serving i
with weft on the other side of the loom; to the end of the shuttle race i
adapted a spring buffer, whereby the blow is eased upon the return of th
shuttle. To the lathe on either side is adapted a bracket 1, one of which i
shown by dots in Fig. 2; to each of these brackets are jointed two levers S
mounted so to turn upon centres 3; to these a vibratory motion is communi
cated by cranks 4, by which means therefore the lathe and reed are cause
to move to and fro..

page_text: The arrangement for stopping and starting the loom is as follows:-The
pring lever within its notched bar is shewn at 5, to which is jointed a bar 6,
xtending through the framing across the loom, and carrying at its other end
he strap fork 7. Behind the spring 5 is a lever 8, mounted so as to turn upon
centre 9, the bottom of this lever is formed as a treadle, and upon the
ttendant placing a foot thereon it is caused to turn upon its centre, so as to
ress by its upper end against the spring 5, thereby forcing it from its notch,
and allowing it, by withdrawing the rod 6, to shift the driving strap on to the
oose pulley; simultaneously with this sliding the rod 6 will bring an incline
piece 10 from beneath one end of a lever 11, so as to allow the other end
thereof to turn upward by means of a spring 12, and intercept a projecting
part 13 affixed to the bracket 1 (see Fig. 4), by which means an immediate
stopping of the loom will be effected. The blow arising from this is softened
by mounting the stop rod 14, on which the lever 11 is placed within bearings
situate within sockets 15, partly filled with india-rubber or spiral spring.
Upon the rod 6 being returned to its former position the lever 11 is removed
from the projection 18 by the advance of the incline 10. For the starting
of the loom I adapt a treadle 16 mounted so as to turn upon a centre 17
attached to the frame. To this treadle a rod 18 is connected by means of a
slot, and its upper end is jointed to a bell crank lever 19, one end thereof
being connected to the setting-on rod 6; by depressing this treadle, therefore
the said rod is caused to move in its guides, and carry forward the spring 5
into its notch. To the treadle 16 is attached a spiral spring 20, which draws
upward the treadle 16 and assists the action of the spring 5. The warp beam
is shewn at 21, from which the warp passes over the roller 22 and breast
beam 23 to the work roller 24, to which motion is communicated by the
click 25, ratchet 26, and toothed wheels 27, the said click being caused to act
by the vibrations of the sword arms.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be under-
stood that I claim, as secured to me under the above in part recited Letters
Patent, and as applied to looms for weaving horsehair seating and crinoline,
Firstly, the apparatus for reversing the operation of the jacquard and finding
open shed without stopping the loom; also the employment of a jacquard
5 apparatus commonly called a cylinder, with five or more sides, for the purpose
above set forth.
the
Secondly, the arrangement for effecting the picking.
Thisdle the method of mounting the lathe.

page_text: Fourthly, the arrangement of treadles and parts connected therewith, for
starting and stopping the loom; also the use of the inclined pieco and its
adjuncts, for the purpose above stated.
set
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Laycock, have hereunto
my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of May, in the year of our 5
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
WILLIAM EDWARD LAYCOCK. (L.S.)