IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT
to Archibald Turner, of Leicester, Elastic Fabric
to Archibald Turner,
Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR
WEAVING."
Sealed the 19th September 1865, and dated the 11th April 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Archibald Turner at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th
April 1865.
I, ARCHIBALD TURNER, of Leicester, Elastic Fabric Manufacturer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS
FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
My Invention of "Improvements in Looms for Weaving" relates, firstly, to an
improved method of actuating the batten so as to shorten its motion and obtain a
"dwell." By means of this "dwell" of the batten I am enabled to take off the
greater part of the friction of the reed upon the warp threads during the passage
of the shuttle through the shed. By thus shortening the motion of the batten
not only is the friction of the reed on the warp threads considerably reduced,
but the heddles may be brought nearer to the woven part of the fabric, and
the shed will thus be stiffened and made clearer than heretofore, and con-
sequently a much better selvage can be produced than in looms of the ordinary
construction.
In carrying out this part of my Invention instead of connecting the batten
to the crank of the driving shaft by means of a connecting rod in the ordinary
manner, the batten is attached to a sliding box or block, which works to and
fro in horizontal guides. This sliding box or block is connected by a rod or
link to a vertical vibrating lever or arm, which works on a pin or stud fixed

page_text: in the framing. The crank of the driving shaft is made to work in a curved
slot formed in this vibrating lever, and as part of this slot corresponds with
the are described by the crank in its revolution, it follows that during a
portion of the revolution of the crank the batten will be allowed to dwell, and
will not recede in the usual manner while the shuttle is passing through the
shed.
As a modification of the above arrangement the same object may be effected
by means of a pair of cams on the main driving shaft, one at each end of the
loom, instead of cranks as in the arrangement just described. The ends of the
batten are made to work in borizontal slots or guides in the framing as in
the former instance, but it will be evident that the batten may, if preferred,
be suspended in the ordinary way. In the present modification the batten is
provided with a pair of arms or rods, at the ends of which are trucks or anti-
friction rollers against which the cams on the main driving shaft bear, the
trucks of the batten being kept, in contact with the cams by means of strong
springs, which will draw or force back the batten after it has beaten up the
weft. It will be obvious, however, that in place of the springs to keep the
trucks in contact with the cams, a countershaft with counter cams on the
opposite side of the trucks may be employed.
The second part of my Invention relates to a novel mode of constructing
the shuttle plank or batten of looms for weaving narrow fabrics of, say, from
two to six or eight inches wide, and consists in the employment of antifriction
rollers or small trucks for the purpose of holding up the shuttles in a hori-
zontal position while they are being driven through the shed.
In carrying out this part of my Invention the upper half of the shuttle
plank is cut away, and in place thereof a metal plate on which the supporting
antifriction rollers are mounted is fixed thereto. The shuttles are moved to
and fro by a peg motion in the ordinary manner, and in so doing they pass
under the above-mentioned antifriction rollers, which will hold them up in a
perfectly horizontal position, and will prevent their ends from dipping down
when passing through the shed. One of the advantages of this improvement
is, that when the shuttle race or shuttles wear away by continual use the
antifriction rollers can be lowered in proportion so as to cause the worn
shuttles to fit the race as well as they originally did. By thus being enabled
to adjust the position of the antifriction rollers so as to prevent the ends of
the shuttles from dipping, it will be obvious that a shorter shuttle than
heretofore can be employed, thus admitting of more breadths being woven in
the loom.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Archibald Turner in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
11th October 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ARCHIBALD
TURNER, of Leicester, Elastic Fabric Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of April, in the year of our Lord Ono
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Archibald Turner, Her special licence that 1, the said Archibald Turner, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Archibald
Turner, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR
WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Archibald
Turner, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of 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 I, the said Archibald Turner, 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 Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
:-
My Invention of "Improvements in Looms for Weaving relates, firstly, to
an improved method of actuating the batten of the loom so as to shorten its
motion and obtain a "dwell." By means of this "dwell "of the batten I am
enabled to take off the greater part of the friction of the reed upon the warp
threads during the passage of the shuttle through the shed. By thus short-
ening the motion of the batten not only is the friction of the reed on the
warp threads considerably reduced, but the heddles may be brought nearer to
the woven part of the fabric, and the shed will thus be stiffened and made
clearer than heretofore, and consequently a much better selvage can be
produced than in looms of the ordinary construction.
1

page_text: The mode of carrying out this part of iny Invention is shewn in Sheet I. of the
accompanying Drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of so much
of a loom as is necessary to explain the improvement. In Fig. 1 the batten
is shewn in its most forward position, that is, in the act of beating up the weft.
Fig. 2 is a similar view, but shewing the batten in its most backward position,
that is at the "dwell," during which the shuttle is passing through the shed.
It will be seen that instead of connecting the batten a to the crank of the
driving shaft by means of a connecting rod in the ordinary manner, the
batten is attached to a sliding box or block a', which works to and fro in
horizontal guides c formed in or connected to the side standards. This sliding
box or block a¹ is connected by a rod or link d to a vertical vibrating lever or
arm e, which works on a pin or stud e¹ fixed upon the floor or in the framing.
The crank or crank pin b' of the driving shaft is made to work in a curved
slot f formed in this vibrating lever e, and as part of this slot corresponds with
the are described by the crank in its revolution, as shewn by red lines in the
Drawing, it follows that during a portion of the revolution of the crank & the
batten a will be allowed to dwell, and will not recede in the usual manner
while the shuttle is passing through the shed.
As a modification of the above arrangement the same object may be effected
by means of a pair of cams on the main driving shaft as shewn at Fig. 2,
Sheet I. A cam & is mounted on the driving shaft b at each end of the loom
instead of cranks as in the arrangement just described. The ends of the
batten a, or rather the blocks which carry the batten are made to work in
the horizontal slots or guides c, c, in the framing as in the former instance,
but it will be evident that the batten may, if preferred, be suspended in the
ordinary way. In this modification the batten a is provided with a pair of
arms or rods d', at the ends of which are trucks or antifriction rollers d³,
against which the cams on the main driving shaft 6 bear. The trucks of
the batten are kept in contact with the driving cams either by means of strong
springs, as shewn in the Figure, which will draw or force back the batten after
it bas beaten up the weft, or by means of a weighted lever. It will be
obvious, however, that in place of the springs or weighted lever to keep the
trucks of the batten in contact with the cams be, the arrangement with
counter cams shewn in Fig. 2b may be employed.
The second part of my Invention relates to a novel mode of constructing
the shuttle plank or batten of looms for weaving narrow fabrics of, say, from
two to six or eight inches wide, and consists in the adaptation to the shuttle
plauk, or to a plate attached thereto of antifriction rollers or small trucks for

page_text: the purpose of holding up the shuttles in a horizontal position while they are
being driven through the shed.
This part of my Invention is shewn in Sheet II. of the Drawings, in which
Fig. 3 is a plan view, Fig. 4 a front elevation, and Fig. 5 a sectional view of
a batten with my improvements adapted thereto. It will be seen that the
upper half of the shuttle plank g is cut away, and in place thereof a metal
plate h, on which the supporting antifriction rollers i, i, i, are mounted is
fixed thereto. One of these plates is shewn detached in elevation at Fig. 6.
The shuttles are moved to and fro by a peg motion in the ordinary
manner, and in so doing they pass under the above-mentioned antifriction
rollers i, i, which will hold them up in a perfectly horizontal position, and
will prevent their ends from dipping down when passing through the shed
as is sometimes the case in looms of the ordinary construction. One of the
advantages of this improvement is that when the shuttle race or shuttles wear
away by continual use, the metal plate h which carries the antifriction rollers
i, i, can be lowered in proportion so as to cause the worn shuttles to fit tho
race as well as they originally did. In order to admit of this adjustment the
plate h has two slots h', ', made in it to receive the tightening screws k, k,
whereby the plate h is attached to the shuttle plank of the batten. By thus
being enabled to adjust the position of the antifriction rollers i, i, so as to
prevent the ends of the shuttles from dipping, it will be obvious that a shorter
shuttle than heretofore can be employed, thus admitting of an additional
number of breadths being woven in the loom.
Having now described my Invention of " Improvements in Looms for
Weaving," and having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect,
I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid,
First, the combination of parts herein shewn and described, or their
equivalents, for working the batten so as to obtain a dwell for the purpose
herein set forth.
Second, I claim the mode herein set forth, or any mere modification thereof,
of constructing the shuttle plank.
In witness whereof, 1, the said Archibald Turner, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
A. TURNER. (L.S.)