IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Lovelidge, of Philadelphia, State of Penn-
sylvania, United States of America, Manufacturer of Hosiery, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Lovelidge at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd February 1860.
I, THOMAS LOVELIDGE, of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, United States-
of America, Manufacturer of Hosiery, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of self-
acting apparatus for letting off the warp and maintaining it at a uniform
tension during the process of weaving, which mechanism is equally applicable
to ordinary hand or power looms, whether for weaving plain or figured goods,.
and to knitting and lace-making frames where delicate warp threads are used.
According to this Invention it is proposed to employ an escapement or pallet
wheel fitted on to the end of the warp beam, and regulated in its movements
by means of a pallet lever provided with two teeth. This lever is so weighted
as to keep the lower tooth in contact with the teeth of the pallet wheel, whilst
the upper tooth of the lever is held out of contact therewith. On the upper

page_text: end of the pallet lever is an arm, to which is hung a horizontal lever, one end
of which extends towards the rear of the lathe, and the other passes beneath
one of two connected weighted levers placed individually on each side of the
loom. The weights on these levers are made to slide so as to regulate their
downward pressure. The free ends of the weighted levers bear upon the warp
as it passes over two rollers above the warp beam, and depress it between
them. On the rear side of the lathe is fitted a projection, which strikes,
during the back motion of the "beat up," the front end of the horizontal lever
or arm when that end is lowered sufficiently to come under its influence, but
when elevated, the projection passes freely beneath the lever without acting
upon it. The warp is "let off" intermittantly, that is, after that portion
depressed between the rollers has been taken up by the warp beam, when this
occurs the depression of the front end of the horizontal lever caused by the
gradual rising of the rear end as the warp is taken up between the rollers,
brings the front end under the action of the projection of the lathe, which,
on its back stroke, strikes the end of the horizontal lever or arm, and liberates-
the lower tooth of the pallet lever, at the same time momentarily engaging
the upper tooth with the pallet wheel' on the warp beam. The effect of this
movement is to allow the warp beam to turn the extent of one tooth of the
pallet wheel and "let off" a fresh length of warp, which is again depressed by
the weighted levers between the rollers, the descent of the weighted levers
elevates the front end of the horizontal arm or lever again, so as to throw it
out of the action of the lathe. The lower tooth of the pallet lever is again
brought by the weight attached thereto into contact with the pallet wheel, and
checks its further rotation until the warp between the rollers is worked up,
when the operation of "letting off" is repeated as before. It is obvious that
this mechanism suitably modified may be applied to other than ordinary
weaving looms, and may be found of great service in lace frames and knitting
machines where it is important that the delicate warps employed therein should
not be subjected to unequal strains.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Thomas Lovelidge, Her special license that I, the said
Thomas Lovelidge, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Thomas Lovelidge, my executors, administrators, or 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 of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Thomas Lovelidge, 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 Thomas Lovelidge, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following.
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
self-acting apparatus for letting off the warp and maintaining it at a uniform
tension during the process of weaving, which mechanism is equally applicable.
to ordinary hand or power looms, whether for weaving plain or figured goods,
and to knitting and lace-making frames where delicate warp threads are used.
According to this Invention it is proposed to employ an escapement or pallet
wheel fitted on to the end of the warp beam, and regulated in its movements
by means of a pallet lever provided with two teeth. This lever is so weighted
as to keep the lower tooth in contact with the teeth of the pallet wheel, whilst
the upper tooth of the lever is held out of contact therewith. On the upper
end of the pallet lever is an arm, to which is hung a horizontal lever, one end
of which extends towards the rear of the lathe, and the other passes bencath
one of two connected weighted levers placed individually on each side of the
loom. The weights of these levers are made to slide so as to regulate their
downward pressure. The free ends of the weighted levers carry a pressuro
bar, which connects them together, and bears upon the warp as it passes over

page_text: two rollers above the warp beam, and depresses it between them. On the
rear side of the lathe is fitted a projection or finger, which strikes, during the
back motion of the "beat up," the front end of the horizontal lever or arm
above referred to when that end is lowered sufficiently to come under its
influence, but when elevated, the projection or finger passes freely beneath the
lever without acting upon it. The warp is "let off" intermittantly, that is,
after that portion depressed between the rollers has been taken up by the
work beam, when this occurs the depression of the front end of the horizontal
lever caused by the gradual rising of the rear end as the warp is taken up
between the rollers, brings the front end under the action of the projection or
finger of the lathe, which, on its back stroke, strikes the end of the horizontal
lever or arm and liberates the lower tooth of the pallet lever, at the same time
momentarily engaging the upper tooth with the pallet wheel on the warp
beam. The effect of this movement is to allow the warp beam to turn the
extent of one tooth of the pallet wheel, and "let off" a fresh length of warp,
which is again depressed by the pressure bar and weighted levers between the
rollers, and the descent of the weighted levers elevates the front end of the
horizontal arm or lever again, so as to throw it out of the action of the pro-
jection or finger of the lathe. The lower tooth of the pallet lever is again
brought by the weight attached thereto into contact with the pallet wheel, and
checks its further rotation until the warp between the rollers is worked up,
when the operation of "letting off" is repeated as before. It is obvious that
this mechanism suitably modified may be applied to other than ordinary
weaving looms, and may be found of great service in lace frames and knitting
machines where it is important that the delicate warps employed therein
should not be subjected to unequal strains.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, tho
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of the annexed Sheet of Drawings is a side view of sufficient of an
ordinary power loom to illustrate my improvements; Figure 2 represents
the same view with the mechanism in a position differing from that shewn in
Figure 1; Figure 3, a back elevation of the loom; and Figures 4 and 5 are
Diagrams illustrating the operation of my improvements.
A and A' are the two side frames or standards of an ordinary power loom,
connected together at suitable points by appropriate stay rods; B, the cloth
beam, situated in front of the loom, and turning in bearings in the opposite

page_text: frames; C is the breast beam; D, the "slay" or "lathe," secured to the slay
swords or arms E, E, which work on centres in the two frames; F is a spindle
for supporting the harness or beaddles; and G is the warp beam hung to the
rear end of the loom, and turning on centres carried in bearings in the opposite
frames A and A'. The necessary vibrating motion is imparted to the slay or
lathe by the cranked driving shaft and connecting rods common to power
looms generally. To one end of the warp beam G is secured an escapement
wheel H, to the teeth of which are adapted the two pointed projections a
and a' of the "pallet lever "I, which vibrates on a pin on one of the side
frames of the loom, and has a weighted projection or lever tending to maintain
the projection a¹ in gear, and the projection a out of gear with the teeth of the
pallet wheel. On the upper end of the pallet lever I, and forming part of the
same, is a projecting arm i, to which is hung the horizontal lever J, which will
be more particularly alluded to hereafter. K and K' are two levers, secured
one near each end of a shaft h, which is hung loosely to the opposite frames of
the loom. Each lever is furnished with a sliding weight L, which may bo
adjusted to any desired position, and the bent ends of the opposite levers are
connected together by a pressing bar m, which is situated between the two.
rollers and n', the latter turning in brackets M, one of which is secured to
each frame of the loom. The position occupied by the pressing bar m in
relation to the rollers n and n¹ will be best seen on referring to the Diagrams,.
Figures 4 and 5. One of the weighted arms K, or the end of the bar m,
near one of these arms, bears on the end of one arm of the horizontal lever J,
the opposite arm projecting forwards towards the rear of the lathe D, to which
is secured an arm or finger f.
The warp, which is shewn in red lines, passes from the beam G upwards
over the roller n', under the pressing bar m of the levers K and K', over the
roller n, thence through the harness and through the usual reed in the
lathe D, where it is woven, the woven fabric passing over the breast beam C,
and thence to the cloth roller B, round which it is wound by the usual ratchet
wheel and catch operated by any suitable moving part of the loom. The
position of the weighted arms K and K', and their transverse pressing bar m;
depends upon the position assumed by the warp between the two rollers n
and n', the bar m bearing on the warp at this point with a pressure invariably
the same.
Now, suppose the bar m to be in its lowest position between the rollers n
and n (see Diagram, Fig. 4), as the fabric is wound round the cloth beam
the warp will be stretched, and as the warp beam is prevented from turning
by the pallet lever I, excepting on certain occasions, referred to hereafter,

page_text: the warp which had been previously depressed or drawn down between the
two rollers, as seen in Figure 4, will be gradually raised, as seen in Figure 5,
thereby raising the bar m, and with it the levers K and K. Now the posi
tion of the lever J'depends upon that of the arm K, against which this lever
bears, so that as the bar m with its arnis are raised the forward end of the
lever J will be lowered, passing from the position shewn in Figure 1 to that
shewn in Figure 2, where it is within the range of the projection or finger f
on the lathe. So long as this lever remains elevated above the range of this
projection or finger its position is undisturbed, and the pallet lever continues
to prevent the warp beam from turning, and the warp consequently from
escaping. The necessary amount of warp to take the place of that woven by
the lathe and taken up on the cloth beam is supplied by the gradual rising of
that portion of the warp depressed between the two rollers n and . When
no more of this depressed warp, however, remains to be delivered out it
becomes necessary to abstract another supply from the warp bean, and
it is at the point where the supply of warp between the rollers is exhausted
that the forward end of the lever J comes within the range of the pro-
jection of the lathe. This projection strikes the end of the lever J, and
moves the pallet lever I, so that its projection a' moves out of gear and the
projection a into gear with the escapement wheel H. The moment the pro-
jection is, by the forward movement of the lathe, free from contact with the
end of the lever J the weight on the pallet lever instantly restores the latter
to its original position. On this sudden movement of the pallet lever the
escapement wheel will be turned round to the extent of one tooth, and a limited
amount of warp will be delivered off. The sudden letting-off of the warp does
not in any way impair that uniform tension which is necessary for the proper
weaving of the fabric, for the moment this slack is given out it is taken up by
the bar m, which depresses it between the rollers n and n¹, as before (sco
Figure 4), at the same time, by the depression of the arms K and K', the
forward end of the lever J is raised, and remains beyond the range of the
projection f until another supply of warp has to be obtained from the beam,
which becomes necessary when the supply between the two rollers and n¹
has been expended. A repetition of the above-described movement then takes
place.
. In ordinary looms the proper tension of the warp is obtained by applying
friction to the warp beam; this friction is uncertain, and liable to vary, con-
sequently imparting a varied tension to the warp, when defects in the fabric will
bo the the certain result. It becomes necessary also in ordinary power looms
to vary the amount of friction to compensate for the lessened diameter of the

page_text: warp beam as the warp is drawn from the latter, thereby causing repeated
stoppages and delays.
It will be readily seen that my Invention obviates the above difficulties, as
the tension on the warp caused by the pressure of the weighted pressing bar m
remains invariably the same.
Although I have illustrated and described my improvement as applied to an
ordinary power loom, it is equally well adapted to jacquard and other fancy
looms, as well as to ordinary band and carpet looms.
My Invention can also be applied with much advantage to that class of
knitting and lace machines in which a warp composed of delicate thread and
requiring uniform tension is used.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion, that what I consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
1st, the general construction and arrangement of looms for weaving, as
herein-before described.
2nd, the system or mode of maintaining the warp at a uniform tension by
means of a pressuro bar in combination with two rollers, as herein-before
described.
3rd, the system or mode of letting off the warp from the warp beam, by
means of an escapement wheel and pallet lever, when the time for so letting
off the warp is determined by the action of a pressing bar and rollers or their
equivalents, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Lovelidge, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of July, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty.
GEORGE CRUMP.
HENRY HOWSON.
THOMAS LOVELIDGE. (L.S.)