IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Boardman, of Pendleton, near Manchester,
in the County of Lancaster, and John Allcock, of Stockport, in the
County of Chester, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS.”
Sealed the 25th September 1858, and dated the 1st April 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Boardman and
John Allcock at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 1st April 1858.
We, THOMAS BOARDMAN, of Pendleton, near Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, and JOHN ALLCOCK, of Stockport, in the County of Chester, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS,"
to be as follows:-
Firstly, we employ an improved arrangement of mechanism for working
two or more shuttle boxes. We fix behind the shuttle boxes a stud or
stationary shaft to the framing of the loom having upon it two ratchet wheels,
a lock or check wheel, and also a pattern plate, the latter being furnished with
projections of various depths according to the number of shuttles employed,
the said projections acting as they revolve upon a lever giving motion by means

page_text: of a rod to another lever, which rods are connected to the shuttle boxes which
thereby rise and fall according to the motion of the pattern plate. The teeth
of the ratchet wheels are in contrary directions, and acted upon when required
by rods or catches connected to a lever having motion given to it by means of
an eccentric on the tappet shaft. The pattern plate may have a dwell or be
turned either way, and thereby produce an indefinite number of changes, by
means of revolving pattern chains placed under the rods and catches, so that
both may be lifted off and thereby cause a dwell according to the number of
picks required to be thrown; or the ratchet wheels put in motion turning the
pattern plate backwards or forwards, and consequently shifting the boxes;
or, the rods and catches may be lifted by means of a cylinder furnished with
any desired number of pattern cards.
any
Secondly, we employ an improved positive shedding motion for acting in
convenient number of healds. We place outside the framing of the loom
two treddles, and give them a vibrating motion by means of eccentrics or
tappet plates, the said treddles are connected by rods to slides which have a
continual up-and-down motion so as to lift and depress by means of inter-
mediate levers and springs, a series of rods having two hooks or projections
upon each of them, the rising and falling taking place when the said projec-
tions are in the way of the slides, their positions being regulated by pegs, lags,
or revolving pattern bowls placed on spindles linked together. The hooked
rods are connected to the top and bottom jacks or levers, giving to each of
them half of the shedding motion when the pattern bowls act upon the said
hooked rods, and place them in the way to be operated upon by the slides.
Motion is given to the pattern cylinder by means of a catch placed on one of
the slides, which as it moves up and down acts on a ratchet wheel on the
cylinder shaft.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed.
by the said Thomas Boardman and John Allcock in the Great Seal
.Patent Office on the 1st October 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, THOMAS
BOARDMAN, of Pendleton, near Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, and
JOHN ALLCOCK, of Stockport, in the County of Chester, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of April, in the year of our Lord 3

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Thomas Boardman and John Allcock, Her special licence that we, the
said Thomas Boardman and John Allcock, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Thomas Boardman and John Allcock
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 Lооиs," upon
the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Thomas Boardman and John
Allcock, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under
the hand and seal of one of us, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 Thomas Boardman and John
Allcock, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement (that is to say) :-
Our said Invention consists, firstly, of an improved arrangement of mechanism
for working two or more shuttles; and, secondly, of an improved positive
shedding motion for acting on any convenient number of healds.
These improvements will be clearly understood by reference to the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings, with the figures and letters of reference thereon.
Fig. 1 represents an end view of the framing of a loom having our improved
shuttle or drop-box motion attached to it; Fig. 2, a front view of the motion
connected to one of the end frames of the loom; Fig. 3, a plan of the principal
parts; Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7, detached views of some of the details; Fig. 8, a
front external elevation of our improved shedding motion; Fig. 9, an end
view of the same; Fig. 10, a plan thereof; and Fig. 11, a vertical section
shewing the working parts.
In order to work the first part of our improvements, represented in
Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, we fix to the loom side a stud. or stationary shaft a,
having upon it two ratchet wheels b and c, a lock or friction. plate d, and also
a pattern plate e, which latter is furnished with. projections f of various depths,
according to the number of shuttles employed. The projections f act as they

page_text: revolve upon a lever g on the stud h, giving motion by means of a rod i to
another lever k, from which rods are connected to the shuttle box frame mi
which thereby rises and falls according to the projections on the pattern
plate e. The teeth of the ratchet wheels b and c are in contrary directions;
and acted upon when required by catches'n and o connected to the levers
p and q, having motion imparted to them by means of eccentrics » and s on
the tappet shaft t. The pattern plate may have a dwell, so as to throw in any
number of picks or be turned either way, and thereby produce an indefinito
number of changes by means of a revolving pattern chain u, having the
necessary pins or projections v placed under the catches, so that both may be
lifted off from the ratchet wheels, and thereby cause a dwell according to the
number of picks required, or by the absence of pins one or the other of
the catches may fall upon one or the other of the ratchet wheels and give
it motion, thereby turning the pattern plate backwards or forwards, as the
case may require, and consequently shifting the shuttles according to the
pattern desired.
.
Figs. 4 and 5 represent enlarged views of the pattern chain, on the pins of
which the catches slide to and fro when they are lifted off by the said pins
from the ratchet wheels.
Figs. 6 and 7 represent enlarged views of the drum for carrying the chain,
and also the ratchet wheel for turning it round, which wheel is seen in Fig. 1
at w acted upon the catch x.
It will be seen that the above is a very simple and efficient arrangement,
affording the power of giving an indefinite number of changes with ease and
certainty.
The second part of our improvements represented in Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 11,
consists of a positive shedding motion for acting on any convenient. number of
þealds.
We place outside the framing of the loom two treddles or levers a³,
and cause them to vibrate by means of the tappet plates 6'; turned by means
of the toothed wheel c¹ and pinion d¹ on the crank shaft e¹. The said treddles
are connected by rods f¹ to slides g', Fig. 11, which move up and down in
guides in the frame when the loom is at work, so as to lift and depress
certain rods k', baving an under hook
and an over hook m¹ upon each of
taking place when the said hooks
them, the rising and falling of the rods
or projections are in the way of the slides g¹, according to the pattern required.
At one side of the rods k', and resting upon them, are the intermediate arms
or levers n', which are acted upon by pegs or lags o¹ on the pattern chain p¹,

page_text: so that when one hook is pushed under one slide the other hook is pushed off
the other slide, the return actions of the rods and hooks being caused by
springs q, one of which presses against each of the rods, so that when required
the under hook is taken out of the way of one of the slides and the upper
book allowed to be on the other. We employ an under grid 1ª connected to
one of the slides g', and an upper grid s¹ connected to the other slide g',
so that as one of the slides moves up, the lower grid may come in contact with
the lower hooks, and as the other slide moves down, the upper grid comes in
contact with the projections t¹, and closes the shed.
Motion is given to the pattern cylinder by means of a catch u¹ placed upon
one of the slides g', which as it moves up and down acts on a ratchet wheel v
on the cylinder shaft, the cylinder being kept steady by a friction strap w',
which clips a pulley on the cylinder shaft. The rods are connected to one
end of the jacks or levers a¹, which are connected at their other ends to the
healds in the usual manner.
In Figs. 8, 9, and 10 it will be seen that the frame h¹, and also the rods k¹,
are placed in an oblique direction to the framing of the loom, which position
is for the purpose of giving a gradually increasing depth of shed from the
front to the back, inasmuch as the arms of the jacks are gradually shortened
on the side they are attached to the rods k¹, thus increasing the motion of the
arms attached to the healds. Although the rods are shewn oblique, we
may place them parallel or square with the framing of the loom, or in any
other position which may be found convenient.
Having thus fully described the nature of our said Invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, we desire it to be distinctly understood
that we do not confine ourselves to the precise details herein set forth, as such
may be varied or modified without departing from the principle thereof; but
we claim as our Invention, and which to the best of our knowledge and belief
has not been hitherto used within the realm,—
Firstly, the employment of two ratchet wheels having teeth in contrary
directions, so that motion may be given either way to a pattern plate acting
on two or more shuttles, and thus cause an indefinite number of changes.
Secondly, the employment of pins on a pattern chain for the purpose of
raising the catches which work the ratchet wheels, thereby giving more or less
dwell and forming the pattern.
Thirdly, the employinent of rods having under and over hooks in connection
with intermediate levers and springs acted upon by pattern pegs, and also tho
moveable grids for closing the shed.

page_text: And, fourthly, the general arrangement of our improvements as herein
described, and illustrated in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, we, the said Thomas Boardman and John Allcock,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-ninth day of
September, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-eight.
THUMAS BOAKUMAN.
JOHN ALLCOCK.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the within-named
Thomas Boardman and John Allcock, in the
presence of
JOHN BLOODWORTH, Patent Agent,
Manchester.
(L.S.)
(L.S.)