CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1852

page_text: THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
FISH, of Oswaldtwistle, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-sixth day of August, in the sixteenth year of Her reign,
and in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said John
Fish, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the
said John Fish, my exors, adñors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said
John Fish, my exors, admiors, 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
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England and Wales and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said John Fish, shall cause a par-
ticular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the same 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
John Fish, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described and

page_text: ascertained in and by the Drawings hereto annexed, and the following
explanation thereof, that is to say :-
My Invention relates to a method of adapting a loom to the purposes of
weaving cloth of various widths, and consists in so arranging and constructing
the several parts that the shuttle box and picking motion at one side of the
machine, or those at both sides thereof, may be shifted so as to approach
towards or recede from each other, and be retained at any desired width
apart; and to suit this moveable arrangement I also adapt the treadles and
cams used for actuating them, so that they may be moved in order to occupy
a central position for all widths of work to be produced. And in order that
my Invention may be fully understood, I have appended to this my Specifica-
tion certain illustrative Drawings which I will now proceed to describe.
Fig. 1 is a front view of a loom constructed according to my improvement,
and Fig. 2 is a cross section of the same, taken just within the end framing.
The lathe a is mounted upon the sword arms 6 in the usual manner, and
upon it are placed the two shuttle boxes c, d, secured to the lathe by means
of bolts e. The box shewn at c is adapted at the end of the lathe as in
ordinary looms, but the opposite one is (according to the present arrange-
ment) attached further in towards the centre of the loom. The shafts upon
which the picking sticks are mounted are represented at f, g, the former being
mounted in bearing i, j, attached to the end framing, but the latter is situate
more towards the centre of the loom, so as to occupy the same position in
relation to the shuttle box d as the shaft f does to the box c. In this position
the rod g turns in a step k at bottom, and in a bearing attached to a cross
rail at its upper part. The tappet shaft is shown at m, upon which are
mounted the cams 2 for giving the impulse to the picking shafts f. g. The
treadles o, o, for shedding the warp are actuated in the ordinary manner by
the tappets p, p, but these two portions of the machine are situate nearer to
one end of the loom than the other, so as to occupy a position at or about
midway between the two shuttle boxes. The loom as above described is
suitably arranged for weaving cloth of a comparatively narrow width. When
it is desired to produce the widest fabric for which the loom is suited, I shift
the shuttle box d to the end of the lathe a, so as to cause it to assume a
corresponding position on the opposite side of the central line to the other
box c, fixing it there by means of the bolts e, there being an extra series of
holes bored for receiving them. The picking shaft g is then adjusted to the
step 9 and a top bearing at r, and the picking cam n slidden along the shaft m,
so as to occupy its proper relative position. The treadles are then moved
along the front rail, and their bracket bolted by means of an extra series of

page_text: holes, so as to cause them to act at the centre of the warp, the tappets p
being slidden along their shaft and fastened thereon at the proper situation.
The loom so arranged has only to be provided with a proper width of reed,
and it is then suited for producing the desired breadth of cloth.
In the foregoing description I have supposed that two widths only are
intended to be produced; it will, however, be evident that suitable attachments
may be provided for bringing the several parts closer together than is repre-
sented in the Drawings, so as to effect the weaving of a still narrower cloth,
or that a greater number of variations may be made by providing means for
intermediate attachments. It will also be evident, that instead of shifting one
shuttle box and its appendages only, both may, if desired, be moved so as to
approach or recede from each other.
I have also alluded to a particular arrangement and construction of parts,
but I desire it to be understood that I do not intend to confine myself thereto,
as the same may be varied according to the general arrangement of loom
employed, or desire of the manufacturer, without departing from the spirit of
my Invention, that which I claim as secured to me under the above in part
recited Letters Patent being the adaptation to looms of shuttle boxes and
picking motions, capable of being arranged so that the width between them
may be varied for the purpose above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Fish, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of February, One thousand eight
hundred and f thron
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-fourth day of February,
in the year of our Lord 1853, the aforesaid John Fish came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-sixth day of February, in the year of our Lord