IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Lang Bridge, of Accrington, in the County of
Lancaster, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS
FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 29th September 1865, and dated the 31st March 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Lang Bridge at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 31st
March 1865.
I, LANG BRIDGE,. of Accrington, in the County of Lancaster, Manufacturer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to dispense with the emery beam, and
consists of using an ordinary wood beam or roller, on which the cloth is
taken up as it is woven, and to prevent it slipping I arrange an apparatus to
cause an additional rod to press upon the cloth on the beam or roller, and
thus keep it in a tight and regular position, but to allow this rod to adjust
itself to the increasing diameter of the roller beam as the cloth is taken up, I
attach a rod to an apparatus on the framing of the loom; this apparatus
consists of two brackets attached to the frame, one at the top, and the other
below, with a slot in each of them, this rod by moving in the said slots rises
and falls as it is required, and by means of a spring regulates the pressure
of the aforesaid rod on the cloth, thus making the cloth more even by prevent-
ing the slack so much complained of, and which is caused by the use of the
emery beam.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Lang Bridge in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 30th
September 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, LANG BRIDGE,
of Accrington, in the County of Lancaster, Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord
One 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 Lang Bridge, Her special license that I, the said Lang Bridge, my exe-
cutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Lang
Bridge, 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 Lang
Bridge, 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 Lang Bridge, 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 object of this Invention is to dispense with the enery beam, and
consists in using an ordinary wood beam or roller on which the cloth is taken
up as it is woven, and to prevent it slipping I arrange an apparatus to cause an
additional rod to press upon the cloth on the beam or roller, and thus keep it
in a tight and regular position, but to allow this rod to adjust itself to the
increasing diameter of the cloth as it is taken up I attach a rod to the aforesaid
apparatus, and connect it by a slide to another apparatus on the framing of
the loom. Part of this apparatus consists of two brackets resting on a frame
or lever, and having each a slot which clips a rim wheel, and are kept up to
their places by springs, as the cloth increases in diameter the rod upon it
rises and the other rod is depressed so as to give a gradually diminishing

page_text: stroke to the frame or lever which carries the slotted brackets and gives a
gradually decreasing speed to the taking-up motion. This Invention will
be clearly understood by referring to the figures and letters on the accompany-
ing Sheet of Drawings, in which Figs. 1 and 2 are end and front elevations
of part of a loom provided with my improvements, and Figs. 3 and 4 are
views of some of the parts drawn about full size.
a represents part of one of the end frames of the loom; b, the slay or
batten; c, one of the slay swords; d, the cloth; and 'e the beam or roller on
which the cloth is wound. On the top of the cloth I place a rod f extending
across the loom and having its ends fitted to levers g, working on studs fixed
to the end frames. In order to allow the rod f to adjust itself to the gradually
increasing diameter of the cloth as it is taken up I make one of the aforesaid
levers g, with a back arm h, to which I joint one end of the connecting rod i,
the other end of which is jointed to a slide k, working in a slot / in the
bracket m, fixed to the slay sword c, there being in the slide a hole through which
is passed the lever n which works the taking up motion. To one of the
pivots or shafts of the cloth beam I fix a toothed wheel o gearing into a
pinion p fixed to the spur wheel 9 gearing into the toothed wheel r fixed to
a shaft s which works in a boss or bearing t fixed to one of the end frames,
and carries a rim wheel u, shewn about full size in Figs. 3 and 4, and it is
on a boss on the rim wheel that the lever n is placed. In the boss or bearing
part of this lever there are two recesses supporting slotted brackets or clips v,
which clip one side of the rim wheel and are kept close up to it by springs w,
there being a lever x for overcoming the springs and loosening the clips
when required. To the boss t fixed to the end frame I fix a boss y having a
recess supporting a clipz, which clips the other side of the rim wheel and is
kept close up to it. by the spring a¹. This clip z acts as a holding clip and to
its top is linked one end of the connecting rod 6', having its other end hooked
to the arm c', fixed to the rod d', carrying the ordinary finger e¹, which is
moved back when there is a breakage or absence of weft in the usual manner,
and to this rod there is fixed an arm f¹ above the lever for serving as an
abutment when the said lever has to be moved by one hand of the operative
for loosening the slotted brackets or clips from the rim of the rim wheel;
at the commencement of winding the cloth on the cloth beam the rod f is in
its lowest position, and the slide k in the slot 7 in its highest position, and as
the cloth increases in diameter the rod is raised and the slide lowered, thereby
giving a gradually diminishing traverse to the lever n and slotted brackets
or clips v. When the slay sword c and lever n move back the said brackets
or clips clip the rim wheel and turn it in proportion to their traverse,

page_text: but when the slay sword is moving forwards the clips ride on the rim without
much pressure and the holding clip exerts its action on its side of the rim and
holds the rim wheel for the purpose of preventing any backward movement,
and as the rim wheel is fixed to the same shaft as the toothed, wheel r it follows
that when a forward movement is given to the rim wheel the cloth beam
must be turned at a speed in proportion to the movement of the rim wheel
and the diameters of the toothed wheels and pinion. When there is a breakage
or absence of weft and the loom is stopped through the medium of the weft
motion the weft lever pushes back the finger e¹ and slightly turns the
rod d, and brings back the arm c³, so as to pull by means of the connecting
rod 6 the holding clip free of the rim of the rim wheel, and thus prevent
any taking up, and when required the arm may be pulled back by hand for
loosening the holding clip. When for any purpose the cloth beam has to be
turned back it is advisable to loosen all the brackets or clips, and this is
effected by pressing down the lever x which acts upon both clips v and releases
them from the rim, and at the same time moves the rod d³, and brings back the
arm c¹, and loosens the holding clipz, thereby leaving the rim wheel, gearing,
and cloth beam free to be turned either way as much as required. In order
to adapt this taking-up motion for different numbers of picks to the inch I
change the toothed wheel or change wheel as in the ordinary loom, and do
not alter the rod or the bracket.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be
understood that I claim the improvements in looms for weaving as herein
described and illustrated in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Lang Bridge, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of September, in the year
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named Lang Bridge, in
the presence of
E. J. HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
LANG BRIDGE. (LS.)
Manchester.