CERTAIN IMPROVE- MENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Whitehead, of David Street, in the City of
Manchester, Commission Agent, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 24th February 1863. and dated the 8th September 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Whitehead at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th September 1862.
I, JAMES WHITEHEAD. of David Street, in the City of Manchester. Com-
mission Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
The object of the first part of my present Invention, which consists in
improvements on a former Patent granted to me on the Tenth June. One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, No. 1470. is to enable the chain drum
mentioned in the Specification of the above Patent to be moved in either
direction backwards or forwards as may be required. and it consists in causing
the star wheel which was formerly fast on the hollow shaft to move loosely;
to one side of this star wheel is affixed a spur wheel, which gears into a wheel
fixed on a stud in the frame side: fast to this last-mentioned wheel is a pinion
working into a carrier, which gears into a pinion which, like the star wheel,
moves loosely on the hollow shaft; it will be evident from this arrangement
that the pinion on the hollow shaft and the star wheel on the same shaft
move always in contrary directions; the inside bosses of the pinion and star
wheel are made in the form of a catch box. and that part of the hollow shaft
between the bosses is slotted so as to allow a short key to be moved either
into the one of the other, thus turning the chain drums backwards or forwards
[Price 8d 1

page_text: as required.
The short key is actuated by a lever and spiral spring, and
governed by the plates on the jacquard barrel in a similar manner to that
described in the Specification above referred to for bringing either of the chain
barrels into action; this reversing motion is applicable to looms with one, two
or more chains of tappets.
The second part of my Invention consists in an arrangement of mechanism
for the purpose of allowing the loom to take up a variable quantity, such
quantity being governed by the shuttle box then in working position; to the
lay or other moving part of the loom is attached a rod, one end of which is
connected to a lever which moves on the centre of or near to any of the
taking-up wheels; to this lever is attached a catch working into the teeth of
the taking-up wheel. It is evident this motion will take up a fixed quantity;
in order to vary this quantity a rod is attached to or actuated by the lever
which raises or depresses the shuttle boxes; one end of this rod moves an
eccentric guard, also on the centre of or near to the taking-up wheel; the
object of this guard is to allow the catch to take into any required number of
teeth of the taking-up wheel, according to the position of the shuttle boxes.
The third part of my Invention relates to those looms to which weft forks
are attached, and it is for the purpose of arresting the stopping of the loom by
the weft fork when the weft is withheld for the purpose of making a fringe, or
for other purpose. On one or more of the shuttle boxes is placed a swell or
swells, which actuate a finger on a rod fixed underneath the lay; to the other
end of this rod is attached a lever, which, when the shuttle box containing an
empty shuttle and with the swell attached is in the right position. presses
against the grid, thus preventing the weft fork from knocking off and stopping
the loom.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Whitehead in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
7th March 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
WHITEHEAD, of David Street, in the City of Manchester, Commission Agent,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of September. in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of
ller reign, did. for Herself. Her heirs and successors. give and grant unto
me, the said James Whitehead, Iler special license that I, the said James

page_text: Whitehead, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said James Whitehead, my 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 of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands. and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Whitehead, my exe-
cutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their,
or one of their hands and scals, should particularly describe and ascertain
was to be
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
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 Palent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Whitehead, do hereby declaro
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, that is to say):-
The nature of my Invention consists, first, in certain improvements on a
former Patent granted to me on the Tenth day of June One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-one, Number 1470, whereby the chain drums referred to
in the Specification of the said Patent may be moved in either direction
backwards or forwards as may be required.
Secondly, in an arrangement of mechanism for varying the quantity of fabric
taken up, such variation being governed by the shuttle box then in working
condition.
:
And, thirdly, in an arrangement of mechanism for preventing the stopping
of the loom by the weft fork when the weft is withheld for the purpose of
making a fringe, or for other purposes.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is an end elevation, Figure 2 is a front view, and Figure 3 a plan
of a loom to which the improvements above referred to are applied; but I
wish to observe that my improvements may be employed either conjointly or
separately. Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, are detached views of parts of my
improvements.
a, a, are the side frames of the loom; b, the crank shaft; c, the lay or
batten; e, the drop box, containing in this instance five compartments;

page_text: d. the breast beam: e. the weft fork e¹ the cloth beam, and e the taking-up
roller: these and all the other well-known parts of the loom are made in any
convenient manner.
To the crank shaft bis fixed a pinion b'. gearing into the
carrier and lock wheel b, in the face of which are two studs b³. for giving
motion to the star or intermittent wheel f. which instead of being fast on the
hollow shaft p. as described in the Specification of the Patent above referred
to, is loose thereon, but capable of being connected with it when required by a
key. To one side of the star wheel . is affixed the pinion, which gears
into the wheel F. to the boss of this wheel is fixed the wheel f. which drives
by means of the carrier the pinion . also loose on the hollow shaft p: from
this arrangement of wheels it is evident that the pinion and star wheel /
revolve in contrary directions: the inner bosses on the pinion and the star
wheel are made in the form of catch boxes. and that part of the hollow
shaft p between the bosses is slotted to allow the key r¹ to be moved into gear
with either one or the other. as will be described hereafter. The chain
barrels and g' are loose on the hollow shaft p. and they are connected with
it when required by the key r. as described in the Specification above referred
to; around the barrels g. g', the tappet chains and pass; these chains
act on antifriction bowls ; and j'. mounted on studs fixed on the lever h. to
which is jointed the link connected below to the lever h, and this lever is
connected by the links to the drop box c¹. The hollow shaft p. above
referred to. is supported in the frame side a and outer frame a', see Figure 5,
and within the hollow shaft are the rods q. q. see Figure 6. projecting at each
end of the hollow shaft: the keys r and rare attached to the rods q. q'. which
are connected by a spring q. The rods are moved lengthwise to and fro when
required to reverse the direction of motion of the chains and k', in the
following manner: .. are two bell-crank levers vibrating on studs fixed to
the framing, these levers fit on the rods q. q. and to the other extremities
of them are jointed the rods or fingers . '. passing through and projecting
beyond the plate : . r, are two levers supporting the jacquard barrel r.
around which passes the jacquard chain ', the plates or cards of which
are perforated or lett blank in the required order and as fully described
in the Specification above referred to. When a blank space is opposite
the end of the finger w, and a hole opposite the finger w. the jacquard
plate will push against the lever t, and will move the key out of gear
with the catch in the intermittent wheel, and into gear with that of the
pinion f. while the contrary action takes place when the succeeding card
plate has a blank space and hole in opposite positions; in this latter case
the jacquard plate acting on the lever 'causes the rod q' to act on the key r,

page_text: for moving the key r from the chain barrel to g'. When either of the
levers t, t, has been operated upon by a jacquard plate, it is held in its place
by the elbow catch t, which is acted upon by a spring to take hold of the end
of the bell-crank lever, or both of them; if the link in the jacquard barrel has
pushed forward, both the pins u and u', and when it is requisite to liberate the
lever or levers so held, the jacquard plate acting on the pin u² causes the end
of this pin to press upon the elbow of the catch 13, thus releasing the end
of the lever or levers, and allowing the spring q to move the key r into the
catch of the drum g, or the key r into the catch of the intermittent wheel f,
or both of them. The jacquard barrel is worked to and fro by the studs b³,
on the lock wheel be, acting on the lower extremity of one of the levers to,
and it is turned round by the following mechanism:-When a change is
required in the direction of motion of the tappet chains, or either of them, one
of the joint pins of the tappet chains kor k¹ is made to project at one side,
to act on the catch rod y, which slides in the bracket fixed to the framing
of the loom, and to it are jointed the catches y', which have inclines upon
them resting on the bracket ; the levers z are mounted on a stud fixed to a
projection from the bracket 3, and they are also acted upon when required
by the pins of the tappet chains; the weighted lever z' is cast with or fixed to
the levers z, and it is connected to the catches by the link y, by this
arrangement, when the chain barrels g and g', or either of them, revolve in
the direction of the full arrow in Figure 4, the pin of the tappet chain acts
on one of the catches y' and on the catch rod y, which moves the jacquard
barrel a partly round; during this action the inclines on the catches slide
up the bracket, and raise the hook y¹, so as to clear the pin by which it had
been put in motion. When the chain barrels, or either of them, revolve in
the direction of the dotted arrow in Figure 4, the pin on one of the tappet chains
acting on one of the levers z'causes these levers to swivel on their fulcrum
stud, and the lever z', acting on the link , catches y', and catch rod y, also
imparts the requisite partial rotation to the jacquard barrel z; the spring 1',
is for drawing back the catch bar y, after the jacquard barrel has been turned
partly round.
The Drawing represents the various parts of the loom in the positions they
occupy when the drop box c' is down and the top compartment is in line
with the shuttle race. The chains and k', are made with tappet links of
different heights, and the position of the drop box is varied according to the
height of the tappet brought forward on moving the tappet chains, as described
in the Specification above referred to, the main object of my present Invention
being to enable the chains to be worked in both directions, thereby producing

page_text: patterns of greater variety with comparatively short tappet chains. I would
also remark that my improved arrangement of machinery for working the chain
barrels may be applied where only a single tappet chain is employed.
I will now proceed to describe the second part of my Invention, shewn in
Fig. 7, which consists of an improved arrangement of machinery for varying
the quantity of fabric taken up according to the thickness of the weft employed
or according to the space required between the weft threads. To the lever h³,
by which the drop box is actuated, is jointed the rod ³, to which is fixed the
plate . which is furnished with as many adjustable elevations as there are
compartments in the drop box. To the rocking shaft c' is fixed the upright c
to which is jointed one end of the link o', the other end being jointed to the
link o suspended to the stud of the wheel e³. On this stud is also jointed the
guard o, to which is connected the rod o, furnished with a bowl which is
acted upon by the elevations on the plate P; the catch o, laking into the
wheel e, is jointed to the stud connecting the links o' ond o². When the
loom is at work, the catch of acts partly on the wheel e³, and partly on the
guardo, the amount of motion imparted to the wheel e depending upon the
position of the guard. which is governed by the clevations on the plate P, and
the height of these elevations is regulated according to the weft employed;
the motion of the guard o con also be varied by altering the position of the
stud of the rod o. which stud passes through a slot in the guard. The
guard o may be placed over the ratchet wheel e, and the mechanism for
working is adapted accordingly.
The last part of my Invention which is applicable in producing a fringe is
constructed in the following manner: To the bottom compartment of the
drop box c' is fixed the swell c, see Figure 1; this swell may however be
fixed to any other compartment of the drop box, or more than one swell any
be used, but in all cases the compartment to which the swell is attached
must contain an empty shuttle, that is to say, a shuttle without weft, or if the
usual swell of the shuttle box is held back, no shuttle is required in that
compartment of the drop box. To one of the links is secured an adjustable
stud, which, when the drop box has been raised, comes against and lifts the
end of the double lever o, the fulcrum of which is a stud fixed in the link o';
one end of this link is jointed to the upright c. fixed to the rocking shaft c',
and the other end is jointed to the link o suspended to the stud of the
wheel e³. To the stud connecting the links o' and o³, is also jointed the
catch o, the end of which is weighted and rests upon the double lever o.
When the drop box c¹ has been raised to bring the swell c in line with the
upper end of the lever c it presses this upper end back; the lever c³ is fixed to

page_text: the rod c, to which is also fixed the lever c', see Figure 8. The rod c is
supported in bearings fixed to the under side of the ley or batten, it is therefore
evident that the action of the swell on the lever c brings forward the upper
end of the lever c', and causes it to press against the grid of the usual weft
fork e, which is connected in the ordinary manner to the knocking off lever cº.
The mode of operation is as follows:-As long as the loom is working to
weave the fabric, the take up roller e' is turned round in the usual manner
by the catch e, ratchet wheel e, pinion e, wheel e, pinion e, and wheel eº,
and the catch of is held out of contact with the wheel e, by the spring o³,
drawing down one end of the double lever o, as shewn in Figure 1, but as
soon as the fringe has to be commenced the stud 1, raising one arm of the
double lever o lowers the other, and allows the catch o' to take into gear
with the wheel e, the take up then continues at a greatly accelerated speed,
which continues until the fringe is completed; during this time, the weft not
being required, the drop box c' having been raised to bring the swell c³ in
contact with the lever c, the end of the lever c presses against the grid to
prevent the action of the weft fork, which owing to the absence of the weft
would otherwise pass through the grid and stop the loom. When sufficient
warp has been drawn forward by the take up roller actuated by the catch o*,
to form the fringe, the position of the drop box c¹ is changed, and the swell c³,
by liberating the lever c³, removes the end of the lever c' from contact with the
grid, and then allows the weft fork to act as usual; the ordinary take up motion
comes into operation by the dropping of the stud l' and double lever o..
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, I declare that I claim,-
First, the improved combination and arrangement of machinery shewn and
described for moving the tappet chain or chains backward and forward as may
be required.
Secondly, the improved arrangement of machinery for varying the take up,
which variation is governed by the position of the shuttle box.
And, thirdly, the improved mode of preventing the stoppage of the loom
when weft is not required, as in producing a fringe or for other purpose.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Whitehead, have hereto set my.
hand and seal, this Fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.