CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING RIBBONS, TAPES, AND OTHER FABRICS
Year: 1838

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PETER
FAIRBAIRN, of Leeds, in the County of York, Machine Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date.
at Westminster, the Twenty-second day of June, in the second year of Her
reign, and in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-
eight, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Peter Fairbairn, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said Peter Fairbairn, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, and such others as I, the said Peter Fairbairn, my executors,
administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times during the. term of years therein mentioned,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, an Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING RIBBONS, TAPES, AND OTHER FABRICS,"
being a communication from a Foreigner residing abroad; in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Peter Fairbairn,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe
and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's.
High Court of Chancery. six calendar months next and immediately after:

page_text: the date of the said-in-part-recited Letters.Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Peter Fairbairn, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference
being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention of improvements in looms for weaving ribbons, tapes, and
other fabrics consists in a new arrangement of mechanism suited to the
construction and working of a machine for weaving narrow goods by the
agency of steam or other power applied to a rotary shaft, the leading features
of which are,
Firstly, a peculiar disposition of the treadles or harness, and of the batten or
lathe, and of the mechanism by which they are actuated.
Secondly, a method of driving the shuttle by pointed levers worked by
segment racks instead of employing peckers..
Thirdly, a mode of effecting the taking up of the work, and of regulating
that taking up, according the increasing diameter of the work roller.
Fourthly, the mechanism for knocking off, that is, stopping the evolutions
of the loom in the event of the shuttle. failing to reach.its proper destination.
And,
Fifthly, the combination of a series of such looms in one general frame, all.
of which are independent of each other, though driven by one common shaft.
extending through the whole series.
In the accompanying Drawing, Figure 1, is an end view of the. loom taken.
in geometrical elevation, a part of the frame being removed in order to shew
the mechanism which is attached to the inner side of the frame. Figure 2
is a front elevation of the same, the similar letters of reference pointing out
corresponding parts of the machinery. The warp. beam or roller A is mounted
in adjustable arms B at the upper part of the back of the frame, from whence
the warp threads proceed through stationary guide pins C, between the
dividing, rods D, and thence through the headles E, E, and reed F,, over
the breast; beam G-to the work beam or roller, H., The warp, beam A and
work beam H are held, tight by a friction band, I, I, I,, which passes, over
a pulley, J on the axle of the work roller, and also over, a, pulley, on the warp
roller A, and under the tension pullies K, K, attached to, a weighted lever L,
for the purpose of keeping the warp threads at their proper tension. The
main driving, shaft shewn at M, extending through the machine (indeed

page_text: through the series of machines), is mounted in suitable bearings on the lower
part of the frame. At the outer end of this shaft the rigger or driving
pulley N is affixed, by which the shaft is driven through the agency of a band
'from the steam engine or other first mover. Upon this main shaft M a strap
pulley O is likewise fixed, which carries an endless strap P, communicating
with a corresponding pulley Q fast on the crank shaft R, mounted in bearings
in the frame above; and alongside of this fast pulley Q there is also a loose
pulley S sliding round upon the crank shaft, so that by shifting the endless
strap P sideways on to the fast or to the loose pulley, the working parts
of the loom may be set going or brought to rest, and when going their move-
ments are regulated by a fly whcel T fixed on the crank shaft. The batten or
lathe U, holding the reed and the shuttle, and the apparatus for driving it, is
affixed to the legs or swords V, which have their bearings or pivots in the
frame below. A connecting rod W, attached to the crank on the shaft R,
is also attached by a joint to the legs V, hence, as the crank shaft revolves,
the batten or lathe is made to vibrate. On the crank shaft R there is also
affixed a toothed wheel X, which takes into another toothed wheel Y of twice
the diameter of the former on a shaft Z below, turning in suitable bearings or
brackets extending from the end frames. Upon this shaft Z there are like-
wise certain tappets or cams for working the levers attached to the under parts
of the headles or harness, which answer to tréadlé levers, and there are also
other cams for moving two lower levers which are connected to the mechanism
that actuates the shuttle.
Having now pointed out the general construction of the loom, I proceed
to describe the manner in which it affects the operation of weaving, and the
minor parts of the mechanism by which its evolutions are performed. The
warp threads being distended as said, and the driving power applied to the
shaft M through the rigger or driving pulley N, the first thing to be done, in
order to set the loom at work, is to raise the perpendicular rod a by drawing
up its handle in front of the machine into the position shewn in Figure 1,
where it will be seen that a spring acting against the rod will press it back
and cause a notch at the hinder part of the rod to take hold on a
horizontal catch bar b, which will hold up the rod, and thereby keep the
works going until they may be required to be stopped. The lower end of this
upright rod a is attached by a joint to a lever c affixed on the end of a
horizontal shaft & mounted on brackets on the further side frame. The
reverse end of this shaft d carries an arin e connected by a joint to the strap
guider f; hence, by drawing up the perpendicular rod a, the strap guider will
be made to turn upon its fulcrum pin, and to shift the driving strap P from:

page_text: -the-loose-to-the-fast-pulley-Q, and consequently-to-give-rotary-motion to the
crank shaft R, and from thence through the wheels X and Y to the tappet
shaft Z. These two shafts R and Z being thus made to revolve, the crank
will work the connecting rod W, and thereby give the required vibratory
action to the batten or lathe U, at the same time the rotation of the tappets
on the shafts Z will lift the levers 9, 9, alternately, and by that means cause
one of the headles or harness E to rise whilst the other headle descends,
opening the sheds of the warp for the purposes of allowing the free passage of
the shuttle between them.
The means by which the headles are worked and the batten or lathe made
to vibrate being now understood, I proceed to described the mechanism
employed for driving the shuttle to and fro in the lathe. To assist this
description the lathe is shewn detached from the machine at Figure 3, which
represents its front side. U is the lathe. V, V, its legs, and F, the reed, as
in the former Figures. The shuttle h is moved to and fro in the race or
groove i, i; of the lathe by means of the pointed ends of two levers k, k, which
points alternately take into holes shewn by dots in the shuttle, and as the
leversk, k, slide to and fro carry the shuttle through the sheds of warp.
The movements of these pointed levers are derived from the rotary cams on
the shaft Z (see Figure 1), which cams act upon the levers 1, 1, connected to
the bent rods m, m. The upper ends of these bent rods m are attached to
arms extending from a segment rack n (see Figure 3), which segment rack n
turns upon a centre pin in a bar affixed to the upper parts of the legs of the
lathe, consequently as the levers l, l, are moved up and down by the rotary
cams the bent rods m will be moved up and down also, and give vibratory
actions to the segment rack n. The teeth of this segment rack n take into
another segment rack o affixed to the upper part of a forked lever p
mounted on a fulcrum pin in a bar attached to the legs of the lathe
below; hence, as the rack n vibrates, the rack o and the forked lever p will
be made to vibrate likewise. The forked lever p carries upon a stud fixed
near the middle of its length a rocking lever q, q, which rocking lever supports
In the under part of
on pivot joints the lower ends of the pointed levers k, k.
each fork of the lever p. there is a notch r, which notches respectively, as the
forked lever p vibrates, take hold of a square studs fixed in the back of each
of the levers k. By these means the movements of the forked lever p cause
the pointed ends of the lever k to pass to and fro with a sliding movement in
front of the shuttle race for the purpose of drawing the shuttle through the
sheds of warp; and in order to guide the points of the levers k at the proper
times into and out of the holes in the shuttle, recesses or curved grooves t, t

page_text: are formed in the front of the batten or lathe to receive the studs or anti-
friction rollers-u, u, which are attached to the backs of the pointed levers k.
It will now be perceived, that as the levers k are carried to and fro, the studs
acting in the curved grooves t, t, will cause the point of each lever to rise
on the approach of the shuttle for the purpose of entering, and take hold of
the shuttle, and to descend again and quit the shuttle when the point of the
lever has performed its duty. It is only necessary to add, that a plate must
be placed over that part of the face of the lathe or batten in which the
grooves t, t, are formed, for the purpose of confining the movements of the
levers k, that is, keeping them close against the face of the lathe. This plate
is removed in Figure 3 in order to shew the grooves, but in Figure 2 it is
seen in its place at v, v.
"
The first and second heads of the Invention having been now fully
explained, as well as the manner in which this improved machinery performs
the operation of weaving, I proceed to describe the apparatus by which the
taking up of the work is effected and regulated, according to the quantity accu-
mulated upon the work beam. To the leg v of the lathe a connecting rod w
is attached by a pin passed through a long slot in the rod (see Figure 1), which
allows the rod to slide lengthwise as the lathe vibrates. The reverse end of
the rod w is attached to the arm a of a three-armed lever x, y, z, mounted
upon a stud (a) fixed in the frame of the machine at the right-hand side of
Figure 2. Upon this stud a ratchet wheel (b), baving very fine teeth, turns
loosely, and the end of a click or catch (c), connected to the arm y of the three-
armed lever, takes into the ratchet teeth. As the lathe vibrates the connecting
rod w will cause a small rotary movement to be given to the three-armed
lever, and at every stroke of the lathe cause the click (c) to drive the ratchet
wheel onward. A pinion affixed to the side of the ratchet wheel b, shewn by.
dots, takes into a toothed wheel (d) turning loosely on another stud below,
and a pinion e on the side of the wheel d takes into a toothed wheelf fixed
on the shaft of the work roller H: Thus, by the occasional movements of
the ratchet wheel b, driven by the vibratary actions of the lathe, the train of
wheels and pinions will be made to turn slowly, and the work roller H to take
up or wind on the work as it comes down from the breast beam. As, however,
the amount of the taking-up motion of the roller H, upon which the work
is wound, required to be diminished in proportion to its increasing diameter,
that object is effected through the agency of a friction roller g mounted at the
end of a lever h turning on a fulcrum pin at i, the roller g being made to
bear against the periphery of the work roller by the force of a weight appended
to the lever. The reverse end of this lever h is connected to a perpendicular.

page_text: sliding rod k, having a small arm extending from its upper end, on which
the army of the three-armed levers bears, consequently, as the diameter
of the work roller II becomes enlarged, the roller g will become depressed,
and the reverse end of its lever h will be made to raise the perpendicular
rod k with its arm l, and thereby to contract the extent of rotary action of the
three-armed lever, and cause the driving click c to move the ratchet wheel b
a smaller portion of a rotation at every stroke of the lathe.
p.
I now proceed to shew the manner in which the knocking off or stopping
the evolutions of the loom is effected.. It has been before said, that in
order to keep the machinery going the perpendicular rod .(a) must be held up
by the catch bar b. This catch bar is mounted on two perpendicular rocking.
levers m, m, the pivots of which are below, fixed in the side frame. As the
three-armed lever is made to vibrate through the agency of the lathe or batten,
as before described, a tooth on the arm is brought against a projection on
the inner side of a butt lever n, which pushes back that lever, and also the
catch bar b, with the rocking levers connected to it: But this movement
is not intended to be sufficient to withdraw the end of the catch bar b
completely from the rod (a), but only to prepare it, in order that the rod a
might be readily released, in case of the shuttle by accident stopping between.
the studs of the warp. On the plate in front of the loom, immediately over
the breast beam G, a pronged lever o is mounted upon an axle The end
of the prongs of this lever are bent downwards, as shown in Figure 1, and the
tail of the lever has a nib q, which is in contact with a tooth r upon a small
shafts extending across the front of the machine. This tooth r is kept
against the nib or tail of the lever by a weighted cord t attached to a pulley
fixed on the shaft s, and another tooth u fixed on the same shaft acts against
the butt end of the lever n. Now, in the event of the shuttle h stopping short
of its destination in the groove or race i, i, the edge of the shuttle will, by
the beating up of the lathe, be made to strike against one of the bent prongs
of the lever o, which will lift the pronged lever, and in so doing depress the
nib q, and force back the tooth r fixed on the small shaft s.
The rotary
movement thus given to the shaft s will cause the tooth u to force back the
lever n, and in so doing to draw the end of the catch bar 6 from supporting
the rod a, when the rod a will instantly descend, and by turning the shaft d
move the strap guider f, and throw the driving strap from the fast to the loose
pulley, by which means the evolutions of the loom will be suspended.
The last feature of the improvement is associating a series of these narrow
looms in one general frame side by side, in which the side frame of one loom
is made the side frame of the next loom adjoining it, the whole being driven

page_text: by one shaft H extending through the series, but each loom being inde-
pendent of its neighbour, and actuated by its own particular mechanism and
driving strap, as above described.
Lastly, I desire it to be understood, that though I have shewn in the
Figures of the accompanying Drawing many parts of machinery and
apparatus which are common to other looms, yet I do not intend to
claim the same as forming any parts of these improvements, except the
particular way in which they are arranged and adapted, as described. But
the improvements which I do specifically claim as new, and which are
secured to me by the above-recited Letters Patent, are those set out under
the five several heads at the commencement of this my Specification, and the
details of which are fully described by the Drawings and subsequent expla-
nations thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said Peter Fairbairn, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight.