IMPROVE- MENTS IN WEAVING
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George White, of Port Glasgow, in the County of
Renfrew, North Britain, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN WEAVING."
Sealed the 22nd May 1857, and dated the 26th March 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George White at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 26th March
1857.
I, GEORGE WHITE, of Port Glasgow, in the County of Renfrew, North
Britain, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVING," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to a system of weaving whereby what may be termed
an "artificial resilience" is given to the warp being woven, to allow or compen-
sate for the inordinate or excessive tensional action to which the warp threads
are subjected at the formation of each shed. This end may be accomplished
in various ways, but it is conveniently provided for by causing the tappet cam
or wiper shaft of the loom to impart a continuous action to a duplex ratchet
movement working a worm wheel movement connected with the yarn or warp
beam. This combination of parts is so arranged, that at the instant when the
shed is formed in the warp the tappet shaft acting upon the worm wheel move-
ment turns the warp beam slightly round in a forward direction, so as to slack
off the warp threads sufficiently to allow of the formation of the shed without
straining the warp threads. Then as the shed closes prior to the formation of

page_text: the succeeding shed the slack of the warp threads is taken up by a reverse
turn of the warp beam. This reverse or backward turn of the warp beam,
rewinds up the slackened warp threads to an extent slightly less than the
forward turn slackened them, so that in this way the take-up of the woven
fabric fully allowed for, without resorting to pacing the warp beam or to any
other contrivance. The duplex ratchet action or other substantially similar
movement effects both turns of the warp beam, but this giving-off and taking-
up of the warp may be effected by various mechanical combinations.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George White in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
26th September 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
WHITE, of Port Glasgow, in the County of Renfrew, North Britain, Manu-
facturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date. the Twenty-sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George White, Her special license that I, the said George White,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
George White, 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 Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George
White, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly 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 George White, 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 in writing, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon that is to say:--

page_text: My said Invention relates to a system of weaving whereby what may be
termed an "artificial resilience" is given to the warp being woven, to allow or
compensate for the inordinate or excessive tensional action to which the warp
threads are subjected at the formation of each shed. This end may be accom-
plished in various ways, but it is conveniently provided for by causing the
tappet cam or wiper shaft of the loom to impart an intermittent action to
a duplex ratchet movement working a worm wheel movement connected with
the yarn or warp beam. This combination of parts is so arranged, that at the
instant when the shed is formed in the warp the crank shaft acting upon the
worm wheel movements turns the warp beam slightly round in a forward
direction, so as to slack off the warp threads sufficiently to allow of the for-
mation of the shed without straining the warp threads. Then as the shed
closes, prior to the formation of the succeeding shed, the slack of the warp
threads is taken up by a reverse turn of the warp beam or by the cloth beam.
This reverse or backward turn of the warp beam rewinds up the slackened
warp threads to an extent slightly less than the forward turn slackened them,
so that in this way the take-up of the woven fabric is fully allowed for, without
resorting to pacing the warp beam or to any other contrivance. The duplex
ratchet action or other substantially similar movement effects both turns of the
warp beam, but this giving-off and taking-up of the warp may be effected by
various mechanical combinations.
My Invention consists of a particular adaptation of machinery to the art of
weaving, the object being to relieve the yarn in the loom from unnecessary
strain arising from the action of weaving. Now, the strain to which the yarn
is necessarily subjected, according to the present or ordinary system of weaving
by hand and power looms, arises chiefly from three great sources; first, from
shedding; secondly, from traction by the motion of the cloth beam; and,
thirdly, from the reaction of the lathe in striking the shot home.
In hand-loom weaving, when the art is properly exemplified according to the
present system, the yarn sustains the reaction of each of these actions in suc-
cession; but in weaving by power, the three actions are conjoined, and fall on
the yarn at the same time, hence the severity of the power loom in action as
compared with the hand loom. But in weaving by the new system, which is
the subject of this Patent, two of these sources of strain may be quite removed,
namely, that arising from shedding and that from traction by the motion of
the cloth beam, and thus the necessary strain to which the yarn is now
exposed in weaving by power by this new system is reduced to that only result-
ing from the required traction of the yarn to make good work on the striking
home of the shot, or to less than one-third of its original amount. The power

page_text: loom is thus by this means in advance of what the hand loom by any art which
the present system possesses can accomplish, and yet the principle on which
the improvement rests is applicable to both classes of loom, and is simple in
theory. It consists in making the yarn beam turn forward by the action of
machinery, so as to make the delivery of the yarn meet the strain to which it
would otherwise be exposed by the lateral deflexion of the yarn in shedding,
and to tighten the yarn again as it may require, either by the resilience of the
yarn beam alone, or conjointly by the forward motion of the cloth beam as the
stroke of the lathe is being given, or without the resilience of the yarn beam.
This is the principle of the Invention, and this principle applied by machinery
to power or hand looms is what constitutes my Invention.
The modes by which this improvement may be produced by machinery are
various, and need not be individually specified. That which I prefer for tho
purpose is the conjoined action of a wheel and screw. The wheel is fixed on
the spindle of the yarn beam, and the screw is placed either to act on it hori-
zontally or vertically. In the accompanying Drawing the position of the
screw is vertical, and motion is communicated to it by the crank action from
the end of the crank shaft. One turn of the crank shaft involves a shot, and
as at this action there is to be resilience and delivery, the one half of the turn
delivers and the other gives resilience. The crank is therefore furnished with
two catches, the one to push and the other to pull accordingly as the crank
makes its revolution.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood I shall
now proceed to describe the several illustrative Figures on the explanatory
Sheet of Drawings, which I have hereunto appended for the purpose of showing
certain modifications under which my improvements may be judiciously carried
out in practice.
Figure 1 of my Sheet of Drawings is an elevation of one side of a loom,
representing especially what relates to my improvements; Figure 2 is a plan,
corresponding to Figure 1. The framework A of the loom is of the open
rectangular kind in ordinary use. Upon the end of the crank shaft B, and
outside the framing, is a slotted lever C, to which one end of the intermediate
lever D is secured. The other end of the lever D is jointed to the vertical
rocking shaft E; the lower end of this shaft is attached by a stud to the lower
part of the loom framing. About the centre of the rocking shaft E is fixed
a stud, to which the horizontal pawls or catches F and G are attached. Each
of these pawls has upon its under side a projecting tooth or catch, which take
into the teeth of a horizontal ratchet disc II. This disc II is simply a circular
metal plate, with two concentric rows of teeth I and J, set to act in opposite

page_text: directions, and bolted to the disc H. The two pawls or catches F and G are
arranged parallel to each other, one for pushing the ratchet disc backwards
and the other for pulling it forwards. The pulling action delivers the yarn,
and the quantity delivered is regulated by the crank action of the slotted
lever C. Resilience again is effected by the contrary action of the pushing
catch or pawl G. The free ends of the pawls F and G are passed through a
guide K, which serves to keep the pawls in a horizontal position. The ratchet
disc II is fitted upon the screw or worm shaft L, which may be arranged
either vertically or horizontally; preference is, however, given to the vertical
position, as shown in my illustrative Drawing. The shaft is supported in the
brackets M, which project from the framing of the loom, one from the base
of the horn of the loom framing, and the other from the lower part of the
sole. On the upper part of the shaft L is a screw or worm N, which give
motion to the wheel O on the spindle of the yarn or warp beam P. In this
modification of my improvements the warp beam is made of much larger
diameter than those in ordinary use, as applicable to linen sailcloth, that the
beam may be sufficiently stayed to withstand the shock of the lathe. The
warp passes from the beam P over the roller Q to the heddles and reed in
the usual manner. When the ratchet disc H is partially rotated in either
direction, the effect will be to give to the screw N a corresponding amount of
motion which is imparted to the wheel O and warp beam P; consequently,
if the ratchet disc H is pulled forwards by the pawl F a certain distance the
warp beam will deliver a like amount of yarn; and, on the contrary, if the
disc is pushed backwards by the pawl G, the warp beam will take up a cor-
responding amount of yarn. There will thus be an uniform delivery from the
action of these pawls by this arrangement of mechanism, and what is wanted
is to regulate this delivery so as to make it independent of the varying
diameter of the beam. This is accomplished by two means or ways: first, by
mounting the ratchet disc upon a moveable clutch, as shown in the Drawing,
and making the tapered form of the feather the means of regulating the
uniformity of the delivery; and, secondly, by making the guides moveable, so
as to alter the radial distance of the pawls from the centre of the ratchet disc.
Thus, when the beam is full it will require less actual motion forward than
when emptied. And this motion is so arranged as to regulate itself in this
manner: A lever R is fitted to the loom framing, so that one end of it presses
upwards against the yarn on the warp beam; the other end of the lever is
forked, so as to pass between the collars of the clutch S. This clutch slides
upon a tapered feather T, made on the screw shaft L, so that when the yarn
beam is full the clutch is held up to the upper part of the feather, where

page_text: there is a certain amount of play, by reason of the feather being narrower at
the upper part. As the yarn is wound off the beam P, the upper end of the
lever R rises and the forked end falls in proportion; as the clutch hangs upon
the forked end of the lever it of course descends with it to the wider part of
the feather, where the play of the clutch is diminished by the increased width
of the feather. Now, as the yarn is wound off by the weaving action, and
the beam decreases in diameter, the clutch by this arrangement of leverage
will descend. In order, therefore, to make the arrangement available for regu-
lating the delivery of the yarn, the feather T in the vertical shaft L is
tapered. At the commencement then there is a certain amount of play
between the feather and the groove in the clutch, and as it descends to the
thicker or wider part of the feather the play or looseness is made to diminish
in the same ratio as the beam itself decreases in diameter, and thus is
obtained an equal delivery from a varying diameter. This is the arrangement
of means according to the first mode of regulating the diameter of the warp
beam. And according to the second, instead of tapering the feather, which is
not required, it is to make this regulating action act upon a guide, which
actuates the pawls, so as gradually to move them from the centre of the
ratchet disc, in order to gradually increase their action as the beam itself
decreases in diameter; this movement of the pawls is so small as to be
scarcely perceptible throughout the working of a whole piece.
Referring to the first mode of regulating the delivery from the warp beam.
As it is wholly dependent upon the form of the feather on the screw shaft,
it must be considered that there are so many teeth to a shot, say two, and in
that case, by making the resilience one, there is then one shot to one tooth, and
if there is allowed some excess of motion beyond the two teeth, this excess of
motion will be the sum upon which the regulation is to be effected. Thus, at the
beginning of the action there will be two teeth taken, but some portion of this
action will be waste, arising from the space between the feather and the side
of the clutch. Now, if so many strokes are taken as to enable us to measure
the delivery of so many inches of the warp at its largest diameter, the same
number of strokes of equal length are to be taken to give the same delivery
at the smallest diameter, when the disc is at its lowest range. With respect
to the up-taking motion of the cloth beam, an arrangement of means for
regulating its diameter, similar to that for the yarn beam, may be adopted.
The object is simply to take up what the yarn beam delivers, and therefore I
prefer to produce this motion by means of a pair of friction plates U, to
which a lever V is attached. The friction plates U are fitted upon the spindle
of the cloth beam, and the periphery of one of the plates is made with fine

page_text: ratchet teeth, into which the triple pawls W take, so as to prevent recoil of
the ratchet disc. The number of the pawls required depends upon the
number of teeth in the friction plate, and the number of these teeth depend
also upon the fineness of the web. One end of the lever V is fitted on to the
boss of the plates U, and is fastened thereto by a pinching screw U', in the
usual manner. An internal screw is made. in the shaft of the cloth beam,
and just beyond this screw is a slot in which a cotter is fitted; the ends of
this cotter press against the inner rim of the boss of the friction plates, so
that when the cotter is screwed, by means of a nut made to fit the internal
screw in the shaft, the cotter is forced against the rim of the boss. The free
end of the lever V rests upon a cam X on the tappet shaft, so that the
rotatory motion of the cam lifts the lever V, and this causes the ratchet disc
U to move according to the amount of lift, whilst the arrangement of the
pawls prevents the recoil of the cloth beam. If, however, the strain on the
yarns is too severe, the friction plates are so regulated as to slip round, and
prevent injury to the yarn or fabric. If then this motion is a little in excess,
as it should be, slipping takes place, and the tension is greater than that which
is required to tighten the yarn on the stroke of the shot. From this view of
the action the delivery from the yarn beam is made to take place when shed-
ding is going on, and the action on the cloth beam takes place just as the
stroke of the lathe is given to the fell. If then resilience is brought into
play, the yarn is drawn from each end, and whatever tension is required is
given by the pinching of the friction plates. The cloth beam thus just takes
up the slack as delivered by the yarn beam. All excess of tension is avoided
by the sliding of the friction plates.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, I may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or
restrict myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had
occasion to describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom
without deviating from the principles or main features of my Invention; but
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,―
First, the general arrangement and construction of looms, in which the
yarn is slackened off the warp beam at or about the moment of shedding
and tightened at or about as the lathe strikes the fell, as herein-before
described.
Second, the system or mode of effecting the alternate slackening and

page_text: tightening of the yarn by mechanical means, in order to avoid the injurious
strain upon
the yarn from the action of shedding.
Third, the system or mode of regulating, the amount of the slackening
action imparted to the warp beam, and the mechanical arrangement by means
of which the varying diameter of the warp beam is made to produce a
delivery sufficiently uniform for practical purposes, as herein-before described.
Fourth, the system or mode of slackening and letting off the warp by
mechanical means, and so adjusting the slackening of the yarn, that yarn of
rigid or elastic fibres, fine or coarse, whether the work is plain or fancy, may
be wrought with facility in the power loom, and with advantage the same action
may be applied to the hand loom.
In witness whereof, I, the said George White, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of September, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-seven.
GEORGE WHITE (L.S.)