IMPROVED ARRANGEMENTS OF APPARATUS FOR STOPPING THE MOTIONS OF SPINNING MACHINERY, AND MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING TEXTILE FABRICS WHEN A THREAD BREAKS OR A BOBBIN IS EXHAUSTED, OR THE TENSION OF A THREAD IS TOO GREAT."
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Sigisbert Richard, of La Mairie du
Temple, Paris, in the Empire of France, for the Invention of
"IMPROVED ARRANGEMENTS OF APPARATUS FOR STOPPING THE MOTIONS OF
SPINNING MACHINERY, AND MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING TEXTILE
FABRICS WHEN A THREAD BREAKS OR A BOBBIN IS EXHAUSTED, OR THE
TENSION OF A THREAD IS TOO GREAT."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Sigisbert
Richard at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition on the 23rd May 1868.
I, JOSEPH SIGISBERT RICHARD, of La Mairie du Temple, Paris, in the
Empire of France, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVED ARRANGEMENTS OF APPARATUS FOR STOPPING THE MOTIONS OF SPINNING
MACHINERY, AND MACHINERY POR MANUFACTURING TEXTILE FABRICS WHEN A
THREAD BREAKS OR A BOBBIN IS EXHAUSTED, OR THE TENSION OF A THREAD IS TOO
GREAT," to be as follows:-

page_text: The Invention has for its object improvements applicable to spinning
machinery and to machinery for the manufacture of textile fabrics, and
onsists in novel arrangements and combinations of parts to facilitate
the employment of electricity to stop the motions of such machines
when from any cause a thread breaks or a bobbin is exhausted, or
when the tension of a thread is too great. For this purpose I pass
each thread between two pieces or surfaces, one of which is fixed
rigidly whilst the other is fixed to or formed on a spring, there being
suitable guides or stops to retain the thread in correct position between
these two pieces or surfaces. To each side of the spring I fix a
suitable contact piece, one of which when so caused or allowed comes
into contact with one or other of two fixed contact pieces. This
apparatus is fixed to any suitable part of the machine or in proximity
thereto in suitable position, but insulated therefrom, and suitably pro-
tected from dust or dirt, and the contact pieces are connected to the.
opposite poles of any suitable electrical apparatus, and so long as the
thread remains entire and with a suitable tension applied thereto, the
electric circuit remains interrupted, but when a thread is broken or
exhausted, or has too great a tension applied thereto, one of the contact
pieces carried by the spring comes into contact with one or other of the
fixed contact pieces, and thereby completes the electric circuit, which
by allowing the electric current to act on any suitable apparatus imme-
diately stops the motions of the machine or of one part of the machine.
The arrangement of stopping apparatus which I employ is constructed
as follows:-The armature of an electro-magnet has formed thereon a
hook catch or stop, which when the circuit is broken retains a lever in
position to keep a clutch or driving wheel in gear with the machine or
particular part thereof; but when the circuit is completed and the
armature is attracted to the electro-magnet the hook catch or stop is
released from the lever, and a spring acting upon such lever causes it to
take the clutch or driving wheel out of action, and thereby stop the
machine or particular part thereof. Or the lever may have a fork
formed thereon or operated thereby, so as to shift the driving strap or
act on any other suitable part of the machinery to stop the motion
thereof.

page_text: SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said Joseph
Sigisbert Richard in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 16th
December 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
SIGISBERT RICHARD, of La Mairie du Temple, Paris, in the Empire of
France, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Joseph Sigisbert Richard, Her special licence
that I, the said Joseph Sigisbert Richard, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph Sigisbert Richard, 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 "IMPROVED ARRANGE-
MENTS OF APPARATUS FOR STOPPING THE MOTIONS OF SPINNING MACHINERY AND
MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING TEXTILE FABRICS WHEN A THREAD BREAKS OR A
BOBBIN IS EXHAUSTED, OR THE TENSION OF A THREAD IS TOO GREAT," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Joseph Sigisbert
Richard, 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 on or before the Sixteenth day of
December One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph Sigisbert Richard, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
The Invention has for its object improvements applicable to spinning
machinery and to machinery for the manufacture of textile fabrics, and
consists in novel arrangements and combinations of parts to facilitate the
employment of electricity to stop the motions of such machines when
from any cause a thread breaks or a bobbin is exhausted, or when the

page_text: tension of a thread is too great. For this purpose I pass each thread
between two pieces or surfaces, one of which is fixed rigidly whilst the
other is fixed to or formed on or carried by a spring, there being suitable
guides or stops to retain the thread in correct position between these two
pieces or surfaces. On each side of the spring I fix a suitable contact
piece, one of which when so caused or allowed comes into contact with
one or other of two fixed contact pieces. This apparatus is fixed to any
suitable part of the machine or in proximity thereto in suitable position
but insulated therefrom, and suitably protected from dust or dirt, and
the contact pieces are connected to the opposite poles of any suitable
electrical apparatus, and so long as the thread remains entire and with
a suitable tension applied thereto the electric circuit remains interrupted,
but when a thread is broken or exhausted, or has too great a tension
applied thereto, one of the contact pieces carried by the spring comes into
contact with one or other of the fixed contact pieces, and thereby
completes the electric circuit, which by allowing the electric current to
act on any suitable apparatus immediately stops the motions of the
machine or of one part of the machine,
The arrangement of stopping apparatus which I employ is constructed
as follows: The armature of an electro-magnet has formed thereon
a hook catch or stop, which when the circuit is broken retains a lever
in position to keep a clutch or driving wheel in gear with the machine or
particular part thereof; but when the circuit is completed and the
armature is attracted to the electro-magnet the hook catch or stop is
released from the lever, and a spring acting upon such lever causes it to
take the clutch or driving wheel out of action, and thereby stop the
machine or any particular part thereof. Or the lever may have a fork
formed thereon or operated thercby, so as to shift the driving strap or
act on any other suitable part of the machinery to stop the motion
thereof.
And in order that my Invention may be more fully understood and
readily carried into effect I will proceed, aided by the accompanying
Drawings, more fully to describe the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a sectional side view, and Figure 2 is an end view of
apparatus constructed according to the first part of my Invention, and
suitable to be employed for effecting metallic contact and so completing

page_text: the electric circuit when from any cause there is a want of continuity in
the thread or yarn, or when a bobbin is exhausted, or when the tension
of a thread is too great, such apparatus being also capable of acting when
a knot or lump is on the thread or yarn. a is a contact piece which is
fixed rigidly to the support A, and b is a spring carrying contact pieces
b, 6, which spring is fixed to the support B. The supports A and B are
fixed to each other by the screw C, but are insulated from metallic contact
with each other by a piece of ebony or other suitable material D, as will
be readily understood. The support B is also insulated from the part of
the machine or other support to which it is attached, and is placed in
metallic communication with one pole of a suitable battery or other
electrical apparatus by means of the wire E, whilst the support A is in
metallic communication with the opposite pole by means of the wire F.
The yarn or thread G is shewn in position between the fixed contact
piece a and the contact piece at 6' carried by the spring b, guides 6" being
employed to retain the thread G in correct position between the contact
pieces.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-When. the machine to
which it is applied is at work and the threads or yarns are unbroken and
working at a suitable tension, the parts just described remain in the
position shewn in the Drawings, but if from any cause there is a want of
continuity in the yarn or thread, and it has ceased to be held between the
two contact picces a and b, the spring b forces these contact pieces
together, and metallic contact being thus made between the two poles of
the electrical apparatus the electrical circuit is completed, and the
stopping apparatus is thereby put into action to stop the motions of the
machine. Or supposing from any cause the tension of a thread or yarn
becomes too great or a knot or lump is on such yarn or thread, then the
spring b is depressed and the contact piece b² is brought into contact with
the contact piece a¹, whereby the electrical circuit is completed and the
stopping apparatus put into action to stop the motions of the machine.
Figure 3 is a sectional side view of a slight modification of this part of
my Invention in which the parts are differently shaped but operate in a
similar manner to those before described, similar parts being marked with
similar letters of reference to those employed in the previous Figures.
Figures 4 and 5 are separate views of some of the parts. In this case
however the thread or yarn is led between the parts 6' and B¹ and the
contact piece 6¹ is formed on the top of a pin 63, the bottom of which
forms the contact piece b². Thus when the thread is between the

page_text: parts 6 and B' and working at a suitable tension, the electric circuit
remains interrupted in consequence of the metallic contacts being kept
apart by the thread or yarn, as shewn in the Drawings, but when the
thread or yarn is from any cause absent from between the parts 6' and B',
then the spring b forces the contact piece 6' into contact with the contact
piece at a and the circuit is completed; or when from any cause there is
too great a tension on the thread or yarn, or a knot or lump comes
between the parts and B', the spring b is compressed and the contact
piece is brought into contact with the contact piece at a', thereby
completing the electric circuit. It will be seen by reference to the
Drawings that there are four sets of apparatus, or as I prefer to call
them thread feelers, such as I have just described, carried by the parts
A and B, and that the pins 65 are guided in suitable holes formed for
them, whilst they are prevented turning round by means of the pins c
passing through holes 6° formed in the parts b', whilst the contact pieces
are securely protected from dirt or the contact of any foreign substance,
the springs b being also protected from dust and dirt, as shewn.
Figure 6 is a plan, Figure 7 is a sectional side view, and Figures 8, 9,
and 10 are separate views of a shuttle having the first part of my
Invention applied thereto, similar parts being marked with similar
letters of reference to those employed in the previous Figures. d, d, is
the body of the shuttle, and e is the bobbin carried thereby, the thread G
from which is passed between the parts 6' and B' and then through the
eye of the shuttle. Instead, however, of the contact piece 62 being
employed, as in the previous arrangement, I employ a contact piece b' of
a wedge form, which when the spring b is compressed by too great a
tension being exerted on the weft thread is caused to enter between the
inclined ends of two contact pieces 68, 69, until such parts 67, 68, 6º, assume
the position shewn at Figure 10, in which position they are retained, as
will be readily understood, until the shuttle has entered the box on either
side of the race, when the strips of metal g, g' on the sides of the shuttle
come in contact with the metallic connections h and i, which are con-
nected to the opposite poles of a suitable electrical apparatus when the
stopping apparatus is caused to act and stop the motion of the loom,
but if from any cause the thread should be absent from its proper position
between the parts and B', then the contact piece 6' is forced by the
spring 6 into contact with the contact piece a, and the clectrical circuit
is completed on the arrival of the shuttle at the end of its throw by
the metal strips g, g', touching the metallic connections and i, and

page_text: the stopping apparatus is thrown into action as before described when
the fault in the thread is corrected or a new bobbin is placed in the
shuttle. In order to release the contact piece 6' from the contact
pieces 6 and 6° I employ a small knob j with a wedge-formed piece j
carried thereby, which when pressed inwards separates the contact pieces
68 and be a short distance further apart from each other, when the action
of the spring b releases the contact piece 67 therefrom and places it in
position ready for again operating. The piece A is in metallic connection
with the metal strip g and the picce B is in metallic connection with
the strip g'.
Figure 11 is a plan, Figure 12 is a sectional end view, and Figure 13
is a front view of another modification of my Invention. These Figures
represent a portion of a comb bar to be placed in any suitable position
in a loom or other machine in which a great number of threads are
employed. a is one set of combs having suitable platinised or other
contact pieces on each side of their upper ends, and 6 is another similar
set, the set a being in metallic connection through the bar a' and
wire a with one pole of the battery or other electrical apparatus, whilst
the comb 6 is in metallic connection with the other pole of the electrical
apparatus by the bar 6' and wire 6. The comb bar a' and 6' are fixed
to the bar or support c, but insulated therefrom by a piece d of ebonite
or other suitable material, and the combs are so fixed that the
plates of one comb come intermediate of the plates of another comb.
Each thread or filament is passed between the combs, and so long as
they remain so the plates of the combs are separated from each other,
but so soon as any of the threads are absent the vibration of the plates of
the combs caused by the motion of the machine causes the platinised or
other contact pieces carried by the upper ends of the plates between
which there is no thread to touch each other and thus effect metallic
connection, and so complete the electrical circuit when the stopping
apparatus is thrown into action. If desired two sets of combs may be
employed, every intermediate comb plate of each set being sprung
towards the next adjacent plate.
Figure 14 is a plan, and Figure 15 is a side view of stopping apparatus
constructed according to the second part of my Invention. a is an
electro-magnet, and 6 is an armature mounted on an axis of motion at 6',
and having formed thereon a hook catch or stop 62, which when the
electrical circuit is broken retains a lever c in position to keep a wheel d¹

page_text: on the driving shaft d in gear with a wheel e giving motion to the machine,
but when the circuit is completed the armature 6 is attracted to the
electro-magnet a, the hook catch or stop 62 is released from the lever c,
and a spring f then acts to take the wheel d¹ out of gear with the
wheel e and thereby stop the motions of the machine or of any particular
part thereof.
Figure 16 is a front view, and Figure 17 is a plan, and Figure 18 is a
sectional end view of a modification of the stopping apparatus just
described, similar parts being marked with similar letters of reference to
those employed in Figures 14 and 15. In this case, however, when the
electric circuit is complete, the lever c instead of being caused to take
the driving wheel out of gear as before described is by the spring facting
thereon caused to withdraw a stop c¹ carried thereby from acting against
a stop g¹ on the bar g, when a spring acting upon such bar g draws it
with the pulley g² in the direction of the red arrow, and slackening the
driving band or strap h causes it to cease giving motion to the machine.
But when the fault is corrected and it is desired to again set the machine
in motion the bar g is moved into the position shewn in the Drawing, so
as to tighten the driving strap or band and thereby cause it to bite on
the driving pulleys and give motion to the machine. In moving the
bar g to this position the stud or pin g² carried thereby is caused to strike
against the upper end of a lever i and cause it to turn on its axis of
motion at , thereby causing its shorter arm to lift the lever c into the
position shewn in the Drawings when the apparatus is again ready for
action. And in order to break the electrical circuit directly the stopping
apparatus comes into action, and thereby prevent the battery or other
electrical apparatus working uselessly, I fix to the lever c a piece of ebony
or other suitable material c, which when the lever is acted upon by the
spring fis caused to pass between the contact pieces j, j', and thereby
break the electrical circuit.
I would remark that my Invention is applicable to all descriptions of
spinning machinery and machinery for the manufacture of textile fabrics,
and that there will be as many thread feelers as there are threads
employed in the machine, and that the thread feelers may be placed in
any convenient position according to the class of machine to which they
are applied, and in machinery for spinning a feeler and stopping apparatus
may if desired be applied to each spindle so as only to stop the spindle
which requires attention and permit the other spindles to continue their

page_text: motion. And I would further remark that I sometimes make the contact
pieces and other parts of the thread feeler of aluminium bronze or
German silver, so as to prevent as much as possible any oxidation of the
parts, and the parts through which the thread or yarn is passed may be
formed of glass, enamel, or other suitable material.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the
mode in which the same may be carried into effect, I would have it
understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details herein
shewn and described, but what I do claim is,-
First. The novel combinations and arrangements of apparatus for
completing the electric circuit when it is required to stop the motions of
spinning machinery and machinery for the manufacture of textile fabrics
in manner substantially as herein shewn and described.
Secondly. I claim the novel combinations and arrangements of
apparatus for stopping the motions of spinning machinery and machinery
for manufacturing textile fabrics by means of electricity, in manner
substantially as herein shewn and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Sigisbert Richard, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of November,
in the year of our Lord. One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-eight,
Witness,
FRED. HARRIS,
Patent Agent,
35, Southampton Buildings.
J. S. RICHARD. (L.S.)