CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Mark Smith, of the Firm of William Smith and
Brothers, of the Sun Foundry, Heywood, in the County of Lancaster,
Machine Makers, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS
FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 1st July 1859, and dated the 4th February 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Mark Smith at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th February 1859.
I, MARK SMITH, of the Firm of William Smith and Brothers, of the Sun
Foundry, Heywood, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Makers, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS
FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
The first part of my Invention is applicable to those looms in which a
jacquard or index machine or other apparatus of the like nature is employed for
working the healds in combination with a box containing two or more shuttles.
In performing my Invention, when a chain of lags with pegs is employed to act
on the hooks which work the healds, I make use of a series of pegs on the
same lags which act on a lever when a change in the shuttle box is required,
and liberates a catch lever, by which the mechanism for working the chain of
tappets or other suitable mechanism for working the shuttle box is brought

page_text: into action; as soon as the requisite change in the position of the shuttle box
has been effected, the catch lever is again held by the lever actuated by the
pegs, and the parts remain inactive until another peg on the chain of lags again
liberates the catch lever, and the position of the shuttle box is then again
changed according to the shape of the next link in the tappet chain. When
jacquard cards are used to act on the healds, I produce the requisite changes
in the position of the shuttle box by a needle acted upon by the jacquard card.
Another part of my Invention applicable to those jacquards or index
machines in which a single row of needles is used, consists in supporting the
needles in a moveable frame, and in making two or more rows of perforations
in the cards according to the number of patterns required; the needle frame is
moved so as to bring the needles in a line with either row of perforations by a
cam or chain of tappets with a corresponding number of rises, according to the
number of rows of perforations.
The last part of my Invention is applicable to the looms for which Letters
Patent were granted to William Bramwell Hayes, of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Manufacturer, bearing date the Fourteenth day of
September, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, No. 2001, for the
Invention of "Certain Improvements in Looms for Weaving," and consists in
supporting the axles of the endless.chain shuttle box in stationary bearings
instead of allowing the shuttle box to move with the lay; also in moving the
shuttle box by a star wheel, and in the machinery for stopping the loom when
the shuttle fails to enter that compartment of the shuttle box that is in a line
ith the chuttle race.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Mark Smith in the Great Seal. Patent Office on the
3rd August 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MARK
SMITH, of the Firm of William Smith and Brothers, of the Sun Foundry,
Heywood, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Makers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Mark Smith, Her special licence that I, the said Mark Smith, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Mark

page_text: Smith, 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS
FOR WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Mark
Smith, 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 Mark Smith, 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 (that is to say) :-
The first part of my Invention is applicable to those looms in which a jacquard
or index machine or other apparatus of the like nature is employed for working
the healds in combination with a box containing two or more shuttles. When
a chain of lags with pegs is employed to act on the hooks which work the
healds, I make use of a series of pegs on the same lags, which act on a lever
when a change in the shuttle box is required; and liberates a catch lever, by
which the mechanism for working the chain of tappets, or other suitable
mechanism for working the shuttle box, is brought into action; as soon as the
requisite change in the position of the shuttle box has been effected, the catch
lever is again held by the lever actuated by the pegs, and the parts remain
inactive until another peg on the chain of lags again liberates the catch lever,
and the position of the shuttle box is then again changed according to the shape
of the next link in the tappet chain. When jacquard cards are used to act on
the healds, I produce the requisite changes in the position of the shuttle box by
a needle acted upon by the jacquard card.
Another part of my Invention is applicable to the looms for which Letters
Patent were granted to William Bramwell Hayes, of Manchester, in the County.
of Lancaster, Manufacturer, bearing date the Fourteenth day of September,
One thousand.eight hundred and fifty-four, No. 2001, for the Invention of
"Certain Improvements in Looms for Weaving," and it consists in supporting
the axles of the endless chain shuttle box in stationary bearings, instead of
allowing the shuttle box to move with the lay; also in moving the shuttle box
by a star wheel, and in the machinery for stopping the loom when the shuttle

page_text: fails to enter that compartment of the shuttle box that is in a line with the
shuttle race.
And in order that my said Invention may be readily understood, I have
hereunto appended and shall now proceed to describe two Sheets of explanatory
Drawings, showing how the same may be performed, similar letters of reference
being put upon corresponding parts in the different views..
On Sheet 1, Fig. 1 is an end view, and Fig. 2 is a front view of a loom, to
which a part of my improvements is applied. a is the crank shaft; b, the
jacquard or index machine for working the healds c; d, the lay or batten, at
one end of which is the drop box d', having in this instance five compartments
for shuttles. This drop box is raised and lowered in the ordinary manner by the
endless chain of tappets e acting on the lever f, to the extremity of which is
jointed the upper end of the link f¹, the lower end being connected to the
lever f, to the extremity of which is jointed the double rod f³, connected
above to the drop box d. The chain e passes over the barrel e¹, fixed to the
intermittent wheel e, which is turned round by the pin h projecting from the
sliding box ', which moves laterally on the stud hs; on this stud is mounted
the spur wheel h³ driven by the pinion a² on the crank shaft a, and the pin h
passes through the wheel h³, to which is cast or fixed the rim. for locking or
steadying the intermittent wheel e. To the front of the wheel h³ is fixed the
projection, which acts against the bowl j connected to the lever.j¹, and moves
this lever to and from the loom side; this part of the loom is fully described in
the Specification of Letters Patent granted to me on the Twelfth day of March,
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight. To the same shaft as the lever j¹
are fixed the little pulley for the spring to act upon, and the slot lever j³,
the object of which will be explained hereafter. The jacquard or index
machine b, and the chain of lags b, with pegs for selecting the needles and
hooks connected to the healds c, are made and worked in the usual manner;
but in addition to the holes and pegs required for the healds, I make the lags
with an additional series of pegs to act on the lever m; this lever is connected
by a set screw to the catch lever m², and both levers m and m² aro mounted
on a stud fixed to the jacquard or index machine frame; the end of the catch
lever m¹ is guided in the slot of the lever je, above referred to.
The mode of operation is as follows:-The Drawing represents the parts of
the loom in the positions they occupy when the centre compartment of the
shuttle box d¹ is in a line with the shuttle race, and when the peg on the chain
of lags b¹ is not acting. on the lever m; consequently the catch lever m¹ is at
the bottom of the slot in the lever, and holds the pin in the sliding bush h¹
beyond the reach of the intermittent wheel &*; the wheel h³ can now revolve

page_text: without changing the position of the chain of tappets e, and of the drop box d¹.
When the cylinder &, over which the chain of lags b₁ passes, is put in motion,
another lag is brought forward, and if the lag so brought forward is without
the peg to act on the lever m, the parts for moving the drop box remain in
the positions shewn; but as soon as a lag is brought forward with a peg to act
on the lever m, the catch lever m¹ is raised into the position shewn by dotted
lines in Fig. 2; the spring then acting on the pulley j draws the slot lever ³
into the position shewn by dotted lines in Fig. 2; and the sliding bush ¹ is
moved toward the loom side, thereby pushing the pin h through the wheel ³;
into the proper position for acting on the intermittent wheel, which as the
loom continues its work, is moved round one-eighth of a revolution, thereby
bringing round the next link in the chain of tappets e, and as this link in
Fig. 1 is shewn of the lowest size, it follows that the lever f will be allowed.
to drop the required depth for bringing the top compartment of the drop box
in a line with the shuttle race; as soon as the intermittent wheel eⓇ has thus
been turned round the eighth of a revolution, the incline 12, acting on the bowlj
in the lever, moves the slot lever back to its original position, as shewn
by full lines in Fig. 2. If the next lag of the chain 6 is provided with a peg
to act on the lever m, the same action takes place as before, and a fresh link
in the tappet chain e is brought forward, but if no change of shuttles is required,
the following lag of the chain must be without a peg. It is evident that by
varying the arrangement of the tappets forming the chain e and of the pegs in'
the chain 6, the position of the drop box can be altered so as to bring the
shuttles in a line with the shuttle race in any required succession, and that
each shuttle can be picked any desired number of times in succession.
When jacquard cards are used to act on needles and hooks connected to
the healds, I produce the requisite changes in the position of the shuttle
box, by causing a needle to act on the upper end of the lever m, which needle
is acted upon by an extra row of perforations or blanks in the jacquard
card; this modification of my Invention may be clearly understood without
Drawings.
In Sheet 2, Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a loom with an endless chain
shuttle box similar to that described in the Specification of Letters Patent
granted to William Bramwell Hayes, on the Fourteenth day of September,.
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, to which my improvements are.
applied. Fig. 4 is a front elevation; Fig. 5, a plan; Figs. 6 and 7, a trans-
verse section, and end view of part of the same. In this loom the lay or
batten dis actuated by tappet plates a' fixed to the shaft a; the lay or
batten is furnished with a single shuttle box d' at one end, and the other end

page_text: terminates close to the lay sword d', to allow the endless chain shuttle box x
to be brought close to the end of the reed. This shuttle box has in this
instance twelve compartments, but the number of compartments may be
diminished or greatly increased according to the number of shuttles required to
produce the pattern. The compartments of the shuttle box are attached to
the links of chains passing over pulleys fixed to the hollow axles a¹ and a³,
fitting on studs fixed in standards screwed to a frame projecting from the loom
side; the hollow axle ¹ has a star or intermittent wheel a³, actuated when
required by the pin projecting from the sliding lever o, and passing through the
wheel o¹; this lever and wheel are mounted on a stud, and revolve at the same
speed as the shaft a, being driven by the wheel a fixed to the shaft a, and the
carrier pinion a³. To the shaft a is also fixed the disc a³, which has a pro-
jecting pin for driving the star wheel p, to which is fixed or cast the drum p¹,
for the chain; some of the links of this chain are blank; and others are
perforated to govern the position of the endless chain shuttle box x, as will be
explained hereafter; the feeler q' is raised at every revolution of the shaft a, by
a cam cast to or fixed to the wheel a' acting on the lever q²; this lever q³, the
feeler q', and the forked lover are all fixed on the shaft q'; the feeler is
drawn down by a spring, and when a blank link on the chain 2 comes over the
top of the drum p', the descent of the fecler is arrested by the said blank link,
and the pin in the lever o in passing round does not act on the star wheel a³;
consequently no motion is communicated to the endless chain shuttle box. If
the link of the chain 2, instead of being blank, has a perforation in it, the
feeler g¹ is drawn into the perforation, and the forked lever q³, acting on the
sliding lever o, pushes the pin sufficiently through the wheel o¹ to enter the
slot of the star wheel 2; consequently as the wheel o¹ revolves it takes the star
wheel a³ round the one-sixth part of a revolution, or sufficiently to bring another
compartment of the shuttle box in a line with the shuttle race.
The picking stick r at the same side of the loom as the shuttle box a is
mounted on a stud fixed to the stationary bracket, but the picking stick at
the other end of the loom is mounted on a stud projecting from a bracket,
fixed in the usual manner to the cross shaft of the lay swords. The picker s,
shewn in Fig. 5, is guided by the spindle s', and by the ledge of each com-
partment of the shuttle box, and when the picker is back, it rests on the
guards, fixed to the frame of the loom. The picking stick is moved
outwards after every pick, so as to bring the picker s out of the way of the
shuttle box & by an incline on the bracket fixed to the cross shaft of the
lay swords acting on the shoe of the picking stick. The lay or batten dis
furnished with a stop rod t, see Fig. 6; having a feeler t¹ and a stop finger t³ of

page_text: the usual construction at one end, and the feeler at the end near the shuttle
box ; the rod u, which vibrates in stationary bearings, forms as it were the
continuation of the stop rod t. To this rod is fixed the catch u¹ and the feeler
u; these parts are seen best in Figs. 6 and 7. The spring u³ is also in con-
nection with the rod u, and has a tendency to move the feeler u from the
shuttle box x. To the shaft a or to one of the tappet plates a² is fixed the cam
as, which acts on a bowl projecting from one arm of the lever v, which is:
mounted on a stud fixed in the loom side; the other arm of the lever v passes-
under a stud projecting from the catch u¹.
The Drawings represent the various parts of the loom in the positions they
occupy when the shuttle has entered the shuttle box d, forming part of the
lay, as shewn in Figs. 4 and 5; the swell of this shuttle box, acting on the
feeler t fixed to the usual stop rod t, holds down the point of the feeler t³ and
raises the feeler t clear of the frog. When the shaft a in revolving causes
the cam a to depress one end of the lever v, the other arm, acting on the
catch u, raises it into the position shewn by dotted lines in Fig. 6, and brings
the feeler u³ partly into one of the compartments of the endless chain shuttle
box x.
At this time-the reed is supposed to be striking the weft into the
cloth. When the reed returns, the feeler t³ slips under the projection on the
catch u³, and as soon as the shuttle has been picked from the shuttle box d*,
and enters the compartment of the endless chain shuttle box x, the feeler u² is
pushed back slightly; by this means the catch u³ depresses the feeler t³ and
raises the feeler & clear of the frog. If the shuttle, instead of entering the
compartment of the endless chain shuttle box x, had been caught in the shed,
the feeler u would have remained partly in the said shuttle box, and the
catch u would not have depressed the feeler t³, consequently the feeler t³ would
not have been raised above the frog, but would have struck against it, thereby
arresting the motions of the loom in the usual manner, before the reed had
struck home the weft. A provision is also made to prevent injury to the
endless chain shuttle box, when the shuttle has not been properly boxed
at the time the reed approaches the cloth. To the cover y, which is bolted to
the breast beam, is jointed the plate z, and a spring is applied to the plate z
to hold it against a stop, if the shuttle should be partly in the shuttle box. 30, when
the lay approaches the cloth, the plate z yields, and prevents the injury that
would otherwise occur. The cover y serves also as a table for the ends of
weft reaching from the various shuttles in the shuttle box x to bear upon, as
shown by dotted lines in Fig. 5.
By means of these improvements in looms for weaving, a greater variety
can be produced in the fabrics woven than by the looms now known and in

page_text: The machinery is also less complicated, and consequently less liable to
become deranged when in use.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself
to the details given; but what I claim is,―
First, the improved combination and arrangement of machinery described
and shewn in Figs. 1 and 2 for governing the position of the shuttle box and
for regulating the number of picks to be given with each shuttle.
Secondly, I claim as an improvement upon the Invention for which Letters
Patent were granted to William Bramwell Hayes in One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-four, the supporting of an endless shuttle box in stationary
bearings, as shewn and described in reference to Figs. 3, 4, and 5.
Thirdly, the application of a star or intermittent wheel for moving endless
chain shuttle boxes.
And, lastly, the improved machinery shewn and described in reference to
Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7, for stopping the loom when the shuttle fails to enter the
shuttle box.
In witness whereof, I, the said Mark Smith, have hereunto set my hand'
and seal, this First day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
MARK SMITH. (L.s.)
MARK SMITH. (L.S.)