IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1867

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Charles John Galloway at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th October 1867.
I, CHARLES JOHN GALLOWAY, of the City of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, do bereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
My improvements have reference principally to that description of looins in
which the shuttle is propelled in its race by a jet of air:
One part of my Invention has reference to certain "Improvements in Looms
for Weaving," for which Provisional Protection bas been granted to Charles
Litster and George Storey, bearing date the 18th September 1867, No. 2624,
which improvements consisted in fixing a cylinder with a piston on the side of
the shuttle box, and actuating the piston in such a manner by means of a stop
on the loom frame and by means of a rocking lever that at every alternate
backward beat of the lathe the piston was driven forward in the cylinder, and
in thus forcing the air in the latter through a passage into the back of the
shuttle box caused the shuttle to be propelled along the race.
One of my present improvements consists in employing in the place of the
piston and cylinder a bellows or collapsible air-tight bag, which may either be
actuated in the same manner as the piston in Litster and Storey's arrangement,
or by preference the bellows or bag is acted upon by a spring of any suitable
form, or an elastic cushion, inflated or otherwise, tending to compress the

page_text: bellows. At the forward beat of the lathe a rod connected to the bellows
comes in contact with and is thrust back by a stop on the loom frame, and
thus causes the bellows to be distended; the bellows are held in this position
by a catch on the lathe, which is so acted upon by a lever worked by the
gearing to the bealds of the loom, or by any other suitable part of the
mechanism of the loom, that at every alternate backward beat of the lathe the
catch is released, and the bellows are compressed by the spring so as by the
blast of air produced to throw the shuttle along the race. The force of the
spring may be regulated by an adjusting screw; this contrivance for actuating
the bellows may also be applied for actuating the piston in Litster and Storey's
arrangement, and the cylinder and piston or bellows may in this arrangement
be fixed either at top or bottom of the lathe, and either in front or at the back
thereof. This contrivance for actuating the bellows by means of a spring and
catch may also be applied to the arrangement described in the Specification to
certain Letters Patent granted to Joseph John Harrison, bearing date the
4th of February 1867, No. 814, in which a bellows or chamber and plunger
are fixed on each end of the lathe, and are actuated in the required manner by
an arrangement of levers. In this case the plunger or bellows are compressed
by a spring, the action of which is regulated by a catch, as before described;
also in place of distending or forcing out the bellows or plunger by the
arrangement of levers described in the said Specification, this may be effected
by a bell-crank lever attached to a rod connected to the bellows or plunger,
and so arranged as to distend or force out the bellows or plunger by coming
in contact with a stop on the loom.frame.
:
Another part of my Invention has for its object to form a cushion in the
shuttle box for the shuttle to strike against. For this purpose a chamber is
formed in the end or side of the shuttle box, having firstly an opening com-
municating with the bellows or cylinder; secondly, a valve through which air
enters the chamber and bellows or cylinder; and, thirdly, another valve through
which the air is forced from the chamber into the shuttle box, and which closes
as the shuttle passes into the box, preventing the air in the latter from escaping
back into the air chamber, and thus causing it to act as a cushion for the
shuttle. A small valve, which may be regulated by a screw or spring, may be
introduced to adjust the amount of air and power of the cushion to the required
strength. Or in place of or in combination with the cushion of air a washer
or small piston of leather, felt, or other suitable soft material may be inserted
in the shuttle box behind the shuttle, and so arranged as to travel backwards
and forwards in the box to a certain extent with the shuttle as the latter
passes in or out.

page_text: Another part of my Invention consists in providing the internal surfaces of
the shuttle box with a packing of leather, india-rubber cloth, or other suitable
material of a yielding nature, between which the shuttle. fits sufficiently tight
to prevent its rebounding from the shuttle box until it is forced out by the
action of the blast. For this purpose the sides of the shuttle box may be
recessed somewhat at one point, and a piece of leather or cloth be made to
project either on edge or otherwise from the recess, so as to be somewhat
compressed or bent by the shuttle.
This arrangement may also be employed in connection with looms in which
the shuttles are actuated in the ordinary manner by pickers.