CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING, AND IN APPARATUS FOR CUTTING THE LOOPS TO FORM PILE FABRICS."
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Smith, Isaac Smith, and John Smith, all of
Hopwood, near Heywood, in the County of Lancaster, Manufacturers,
for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING,
AND IN APPARATUS FOR CUTTING THE LOOPS TO FORM PILE FABRICS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Smith, Isaac
Smith, and John Smith at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 25th November 1859.
We, CHARLES SMITH, ISAAC SMITH, and JOHN SMITH, all of Hopwood, near
Heywood, in the County of Lancaster, Manufacturers, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR
WEAVING, AND IN APPARATUS FOR CUTTING THE LOOPS TO FORM PILE FABRICS,"
to be as follows:-
The nature of our Invention consists in improved combinations of machinery
applicable to looms for weaving terry and other fabrics in which wires are
employed. Our Invention consists, first, in the employment of suitable ma-
chinery for loosening or partly drawing the wires out of the terries, and in the
application of two endless chains, straps, or belts working in contrary direc-
tions for inserting and withdrawing the wires. In performing our Invention,
the wires are laid side by side on a table, and a catch on the inserting chain

page_text: acts on the wire nearest the reed and pushes it into the open shed; when any
convenient number of wires have been woven into the fabric the wire nearest
the breast beam is taken hold of and partly drawn out of the fabric by a hook
or other instrument worked by a lever or otherwise, and then the catch on the
withdrawing chain acts on the wire previously loosened or partly withdrawn
and deposits it again on the table; we prefer to make the withdrawing chain
work much slower than the inserting chain, and to have two or more catches
upon it.
Another part of our Invention consists in the application of a spring to
steady and stop the wires from entering too far into the shed; also in the
application of catchers or holders for keeping the wire with the right side
upwards in the shed, and when struck up into the fabric by the reed.
Another part of our Invention consists in inserting and withdrawing the
wires by a system of levers with catches, which, first partly withdraw or
insert the wire, and then complete the drawing out or insertion; the wire
head is guided in a groove or guide with a curved or diagonal bend in it, by
which the wire is moved from the plane in which it is withdrawn to the plane
in which it must be reinserted. Or a combination of the chains and levers may
be employed for inserting and drawing out the wires.
Our improvements in apparatus for cutting loops to form pile fabric consists
in applying two or more knives or cutting instruments to the same rod, the
knives being fixed lengthwise to the rod; the rod is placed above the wire with
the loop to be cut, and motion is given to the rod by a lever or other agent; by
this means all the loops on the wire are cut by moving the rod only the half
or other portion of the width of the fabric.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Charles Smith, Isaac Smith, and John Smith in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 24th May 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, CHARLES
SMITH, ISAAC SMITH, and JOHN SMITH, all of Hopwood, near Heywood, in the
County of Lancaster, Manufacturers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said Charles Smith, Isaac Smith, and John Smith, Her special licence

page_text: that we, the said Charles Smith, Isaac Smith, and John Smith, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Charles Smith,
Isaac Smith, and John Smith, 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 of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING, AND IN APPARATUS FOR CUTTING
THE LOOPS TO FORM PILE FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
we, the said Charles Smith, Isaac Smith, and John Smith, 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 Charles Smith, Isaac Smith, and John
Smith, 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 nature of our Invention consists in improved combinations of machinery
applicable to looms for weaving terry and other fabrics, in which wires are
employed.
The first part of our Invention consists in the application of an endless
chain, strap, or belt, for inserting the wires into the open shed; secondly, in
an improved arrangement of levers with hooks or catches for drawing the
terry wires out of the fabric; thirdly, in an improved combination of springs
and holders for retaining the wires with the right side upwards whilst they
are being drawn out of the fabric and inserted into the shed, also for checking
their motion when entering into the shed; fourthly, in the application of a
single curved or diagonal grove or guide, by which the wire while being with-
drawn is moved from the plane in which it was held in the fabric, to the planc
in which it is required to be inserted into the shed, the withdrawing and inserting
of the wire being effected by our improved combinations of machinery or
otherwise; fifthly, in the application of two endless chains, straps, or belts
working in contrary directions for inserting and drawing out the wires, in
combination with a lever and catch, or other suitable agent for loosening or
partly drawing the wire out of the fabric before it is taken hold of by the
withdrawing chain, strap, or belt; and lastly, in an improved apparatus for

page_text: cutting the loops to form the pile of fabrics, whereby all the loops on the terry
wire are cut, by moving the rod to which the cutters are attached, only the
half or other portion of the width of the fabric.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect, we will proceed to describe the accompanying Three Sheets of
Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Fig. 1 is an end view; Fig. 2, a front view; and Fig. 3, a plan of part of
a loom for weaving terry carpets, to which certain of our improvements are
applied. In this loom an endless chain is employed for inserting the wires
on which the terries are formed into the shed, and the wires are withdrawn
from the terry loops by an improved combination of levers. a is the crank
shaft; b, the lay or batten; c, the tappet shaft; d, the figure warp beam; and
e, e', the warp beams for the back or foundation of the carpet; f, the healds;
and g, the wires which when drawn out of the fabric are supported on the
table g¹. These and all the other parts of the loom which are not shewn in
the Drawing, or not particularly referred to hereafter, are made in the usual
manner; h is the endless chain for inserting the terry wires 9 into the shed,
shewn detached in Figs. 4 and 5. This chain passes over the pulley h' and
under the guide pulleys h² and h³, and to it is fixed a catch i shewn full size
in Figs. 4 and 5; the chain h is constantly moving in the direction of the
arrows in Fig. 2, and the catch i coming against the head of the wire pushes
it gently into the shed; the inserting chain is put in motion by the bevel
wheel a¹ on the crank shaft a, gearing into the pinion j fixed to the lower
end of the vertical shaft j, to the upper end of which is fixed the mitre
wheel gearing into a similar wheel keyed to the shaft 3, to which the
pulley h¹ is fixed; this pulley makes two revolutions for one of the crank
shaft. The wires after having been woven into the fabric are withdrawn by
the levers and l, and catches ¹ and P, which are jointed to the said levers.
These levers are actuated by the eccentrics k² and 12, fixed to the shaft c'
driven from the tappet shaft c, by bevel wheels as shewn in Fig. 1; the levers
k and vibrate upon their fulcrum studs from the positions in which they are
shewn in full lines to those indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2. The
spring piece m seen best in Fig. 3, is to guide the catch over the head of
the wire after it has been partly drawn out of the fabric by the catch P, as will
be described hereafter. To the side of the table g' is fixed the guide rail g³, in
which the chain h works between the pulleys h² and h³. This guide plate, the
bent piece 92, bar g³, wires 910 and 91%, and the spring 9", see Fig. 5°, retain
the wires with their right sides upwards on the table g¹; the lever m² shewn
in dots in Fig. 3 is jointed to the under side of the table g', and to it are

page_text: hinged the bars m² and m³; the former is acted upon by the lever / coming
against the stop m³, when it is nearly at the end of its stroke, and the latter
acts on the head of the wire nearest the pulley h³, thereby moving it slightly
towards the selvage of the fabric, so as to bring the head in a position for being
taken hold of by the catch i, when it is brought round by the chain h. The
stop-piece which has before been used in certain carpet looms prevents the
wires entering too far into the shed, and retains them with the right side
upwards, and the spring serves as a break to arrest the motion of the
wire when inserted into the shed.
In Fig. 3 the wires are shewn in the positions they assume when a certain
length of fabric has been woven, that is to say, the full number of wires are
in the fabric and on the table g', and one wire is about half way out of the
fabric.
The mode of operation is as follows:-When the levers and are in the
positions shewn by the full lines in Fig. 2, the wire nearest the breast bcam
has been drawn partly out of the fabric by the lever and catch '; this catch
takes hold of the head of the wire at the shoulder marked ; the catch ',
shewn in full lines, fits in the hollow part of the wire head, and is now in
position for taking hold the wire that has been partly drawn out of the
fabric by the catch ', and while the eccentric & pushes the lever k from the
position indicated by full lines to that indicated by dotted lines, the catch k¹
completes the drawing out of the wire from the fabric, and brings the head of
the wire against the end of the table g'. When the head of the wire is near the
end of the table g¹, it has to overcome the resistance of the spring g¹¹, which
presses the wire heads towards the guide rail g³. While the catch k¹ is taking
the wire forward, as above described, it passes under the spring m, over the
bent piece g², and it is guided between the rail go, and the grooved piece 9º,
fixed to the table g¹; this grooved piece g also serves to hold down the catch k¹.
While the lever k is moving from the position shewn in full to that shewn by
dotted lines, the lever 7 is moving in the opposite direction, that is to say, from
the position shewn in full to that shewn in dotted lines, thereby bringing the
end of the catch close up to the selvage of the fabric, aud in position for
taking hold of the shoulder of the head of the wire g nearest the breast
beam. When the lever is again moved in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2,
to draw another wire partly out of the fabric, the lever l, coming against the
end m³ of the rod m³, causes the end of the rod m³ to push forward the head of
the wire nearest the chain h, so as to bring it into position for being taken
hold of by the catch i on the chain h; but when the lever is moving towards
the position shewn by dotted lines, it comes against the end m³ of the rod m²,

page_text: and moves this rod, and with it the lever m¹ into the position shewn by a
dotted line in Fig. 3, thereby taking the end of the rod m³ out of the way of
the catch on the chain h. The head of the wire to be inserted into the shed
having been thus brought forward, as shewn by dotted lines in Fig. 2, and the
end of the rod m³ having been taken out of the way again, the catch i is at
liberty to take hold of the head of the wire as soon as it is brought forward by
the chain h. The wire in entering the shed is guided by the rail 98, and by a
flat wire g, see Fig. 5, attached to the pieces g² and g³, the point of the wire
entering the shed is guided by the plates g' and g', and when the chain h rises
upwards, after passing under the pulley h³, the catch i liberates the head of
the wire; at this time the head of the wire is hooked on the plate g*, which
retains it, the right side upwards, whilst it is being struck up into the fabric
by the reed. The wires are drawn forward in the fabric by the taking-up
motion in the usual manner. When the catch is near the selvage of the
fabric the head of the wire nearest the breast beam is in the proper position
for being taken hold of by the catch ', which catch is guided on the plate g¹
by the rail go. When the end of the catch is approaching the selvage of the
fabric it comes against the left-hand end of the double lever n, seen in Fig. 3,
which is jointed to a stud in the guide rail go, and is placed between it and
the top of the plate gt; this action on the left-hand end of the double lever n
causes its right-hand end to push the end of the wire, which had previously been
drawn out of the fabric, towards the back of the plate g', so that it may be
out of the way of the wire to be withdrawn. The spring 91%, see Fig. 3, fixed
to the piece 92, serves to hold the head of the wire against the rail go to retain
it upright; this spring g may be continued nearly to the spring g", as shewn
in Fig. 5. The mode of weaving the wires into the fabric, and the number
of picks of binding weft to secure the figure warp do not need to be particularly
described, as these details are well understood by persons conversant with
carpet weaving.
On Sheet 2, Fig. 6, is an end view, Fig. 7, a front view, and Fig. 8,
a plan of part of a loom to which some other of our improvements are
applied; in this loom the chain h for inserting the wires and the levers k
and for withdrawing them are similar to those previously described in refer-
ence to Sheet 1; but the wire head, while being withdrawn, is guided by the
curved or diagonal rib o, which is fixed to the table g¹, as shewn best in Fig. 8.
The Drawings represent the various parts in the positions they occupy ; when
the catch ¹ has taken hold of the wire head partially drawn out of the fabric
by the catch ', and when it is moving it towards the guide pulley h³; the wire
head, while thus being withdrawn, is guided by the curved rib o from the plane

page_text: in which it was held in the fabric to the plane in which it must be re-inserted,
that is to say, when the catch ¹arives at the end of its traverse in the direction
of the arrow in Fig. 7; the head of the wire is brought close to the guide
pulley h³, and into the groove formed between the straight part of the curved
ribo and the rail g³, in which the chain h moves between the pulleys h² and
h³, consequently as soon as the catch i is brought round, it comes against the
head of the wire, and moves it forward to enter the shed. In Fig. 8 the
catch i is shewn acting on one of the wires g, and pushing it gradually into
the shed; the shoulder r on the rail m¹ is to move the lever k and catch k¹
out of the way of the catch i when the catch ¹ is moving towards the loom
side. As soon as the catch i is taken over the guide pulley h³, the wire is in
the shed, and it is struck up into the fabric by the reed in the usual manner; at
this time the catch has approached the selvage of the fabric, and taken hold
of the shoulder * of the head of the wire nearest the breast beam, which it
partially draws out, and delivers to the catch ¹, as before described. By this
means any convenient number of wires may be woven into the fabric before
the one nearest the breast beam is withdrawn.
On Sheet 3, Fig. 9, is an end view, and Fig. 10 is a front view of part of
a loom to which certain other of our improvements are applied. In this
arrangement of parts we have shewn two endless chains; the one marked his
similar to that before described for inserting the wire into the shed, and the
one marked p is for drawing the wire out of the terries when it has been
loosened or partly withdrawn by the catch . The chain p is driven by the
pulley p', and passes over the guide pulleys p² and p³ fixed to the front of the
plate g'; the catch ' is jointed to a lever worked by an eccentric 12, but this
eccentric is only required to give the requisite traverse to the catch 1¹ for
drawing the wire head from the position in which it is held in the fabric to
the position in which it is required for being taken hold of by the catch on the
chain p, by which, as before stated, the drawing out of the wire is effected.
I wish to remark here, that the chain p may be made to move much slower
than the chain h; when such is the case, the pulley p¹ must be driven slower
than the pulley h', and there must be two or more catches upon it to act on
the heads of the wires in drawing them out. When both chains h and P
move at the same speed, the pulleys h¹ and p¹ can be fixed to the same shaft,
and the chain P is then crossed to give it the requisite direction between the
pulleys p² and p³; the other parts of the loom are similar to those shown
in Sheet 1.
Our improvements in apparatus for cutting loops to form pile fabrics is shewn
in Figs. 11 and 12; in the former Figure we have shewn two knives or cutting

page_text: instruments s, s, (but a greater number may be employed) which are attached
to a rod s¹ supported in brackets s² fixed to the breast beam, or to the loom
sides, and guided by a rod s8, shewn best in Fig. 12; the rod s¹ with the
knives is traversed to and fro by the eccentric t, lever t¹, and link t³, which is
jointed to the rod s¹; the wire g nearest the breast beam is brought up against
suitable guides, so as to bring the groove in the wire directly under the knives s,
which, on being traversed along by the lever t¹, drop into the groove of the
wire, and then cut the loops or terries formed on the wire; the object of this
part of our Invention is to cut all the terries on the wire, while the knives or
cutting instruments are only moved the half or other portion of the width of
the fabric according to the number of knives employed.
Having now stated the nature of our Invention, and described the manner of
performing the same, we wish it to be understood that we do not claim any of
the well-known parts of the looms which we have had occasion to refer to for
the purpose of illustrating our improvements, nor do we claim the application
of a chain for drawing the wires out of the fabric, except when combined, as
above described; but what we do claim is,―
First, the application of an endless chain, strap, or belt, for inserting the
wires into the shed in weaving terry and other fabrics, as herein described.
Secondly, the improved combination of levers with hooks or catches for
drawing the terry wires out of the fabric, as shewn and described in reference
to Sheet 1.
Thirdly, the causing the hooks or other withdrawing instruments to act on
different parts of the head of the terry wire, as herein described.
Fourthly, the improved combination of holders marked go and g¹ attached
to the pieces g² and g³, for keeping the wire with the right side up while
entering the shed and while being withdrawn from the fabric, and the
spring 9 for checking the motion of the wires entering into the shed, as shewn
and described in reference to Sheet 1.
Fifthly, the application of the sliding piece m³, or other equivalent agent,
for moving the head of the wire to be inserted into position for being taken
hold of by the catch i on the chain h, or other instrument for inserting the
wire into the shed, as shewn and described in reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 3.
Sixthly, the application of a single, curved, or diagonal groove or guide for
moving the wire whilst it is being drawn out of the fabric from the plane in
which it was held in the fabric, to the plane in which it must be inserted into
the shed, as shewn and described in reference to Figs. 6, 7, and 8.
Seventhly, the application of the lever and hook ', shewn and described
in reference to Figs. 9 and 10, or other suitable machinery for loosening or

page_text: partly drawing the terry wire out of the fabric previous to the wire being
taken hold of and finally withdrawn by the catches or other instruments
usually employed for drawing out the wires.
Eighthly, the combination of the lever or other instrument for loosening or
partly drawing out the terry wire, with an endless chain, strap, or band, for
finally withdrawing the wire.
And, ninthly, the application of two or more cutters for cutting the terries
on wires, so that the whole row of terries may be cut by moving the cutters
only the half or other portion of the width of the fabric, as shewn and
described in Figs. 11 and 12.
In witness whereof, we, the said Charles Smith, Isaac Smith, and John
Smith, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-first day
of May, in the year of our Lord, One thousand eight hundred and
sixty.
CHARLES SMITH. (L.S.)
ISAAC SMITH.
(L.S.)
JOHN SMITH.
(L.S.)