IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING CERTAIN DESCRIPTIONS OF PILE FABRICS."
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Weild, of Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LOOMS FOR WEAVING CERTAIN DESCRIPTIONS OF PILE FABRICS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Weild at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 21st October 1852.
I, WILLIAM WEILD, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING CERTAIN DESCRIP-
TIONS OF PILE FABRICS" to be as follows, that is to say :-
It relates to those looms for weaving pile fabrics in which the pile
is formed by means of wires, the common mode of using which, as is
well understood, is by inserting them at intervals between the pile warp
and the body warp, the warps being afterwards crossed previously to
the weft being beaten up. The wires are subsequently either cut out
or drawn out, according to the nature of the fabric.
Now my Invention consists in a new and improved mode of inserting
the wires in the shed, and of cutting out the wires and returning them
to be again inserted, all the operations being performed by self-acting
means.

page_text: The essential feature of my improved mode of putting in the wires is
a method of supporting them during their passage in such a manner as
to insure their being placed properly in the shed. This I effect by
suspending at the back of the reed a series of hooks or bent levers
composed of very thin metal, and giving them such a motion by means
of an inclined plane that when the slay is back they enter between the
dents of the reed into the shed, and form a support for the wire which
is now passing, but retire before the shed closes until their points are
flush with the face of the reed. In order to keep the looks clear of
the warp I split several of the dents into two, and pass the hooks
between the two parts.
Having thus formed a suitable support for the wire, I pass the latter
into the shed by means of a picker attached to a band which passes
through a tube over the top of the slay, down the sides, and round the
centre of motion.
The band thus follows the motion of the slay, but an alternating end
motion is imparted to it for the purpose of picking by means of its
passing at the centre of motion of the slay round the periphery of a
pulley or quadrant which is caused to vibrate by the action of a camb.
By means of the return stroke of this camb I also actuate a knife
which traverses across the web guided by a slide and cuts out the wire,
at the same time bringing with it, by means of a projecting finger,
another wire which has been previously cut out; and in order to receive
this wire, and return it to a proper position for being again passed into
the shed, I fix to the slay a lever or levers, mounted on which is a
trough. This apparatus follows with the slay, but is also independently
actuated by a camb, which gives it a motion in advance of the slay for
the purpose of receiving the wire as it is drawn or pushed off the web,
and brings it back opposite the picker at the moment when the wire is
required to be inserted.
Thus one wire is inserted and another drawn out alternately by the
forward and backward motion of the cambs combined with the action
o a trough which receives the wires cut out, and returns them to a
suitable position to be again inserted in the ske.l.
The manner in which the above Invention is carried cut and per-

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Weild in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 19th April 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
WILLIAM WEILD, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the six-
teenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Weild, Her special licence
that I, the said William Weild, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Weild, 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 CERTAIN DESCRIPTIONS OF PILE FABRICE," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Weild, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 William Weild, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereto
annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon (that is to say):

page_text: My Invention relates to those looms in which the pile is produced on
fabrics by means of wires. The ordinary modes of using these wires
to produce the pile is well understood to practical men, and need not
be explained here further than to state that the wires are inserted at
fixed intervals in the shed formed between the pile warp and body of
the fabric, and are beaten up in the ordinary manner of beating up
weft. The wires are afterwards either drawn out or cut out according
to the nature of the fabric required, whether common pile or cut pile.
My Invention consists of a new and improved mode of inserting the
wires in the shed, and of cutting or otherwise drawing out the wires
and returning them to be again inserted; all the operations being per-
formed by self-acting means. The nature of these improvements and
the manner of carrying them out will be clearly understood from the
annexed Drawings, which represent an ordinary carpet loom, with the
said improvements attached. In Sheet 1, Fig. 1, is a side view of the
loom, the parts nearest the breast beam or roller being supposed to be
principally in section. Fig. 2, is a section of the part adjacent to the
breast beam through the line 1, 2, in Fig. 3; and Fig. 3, is a view of
the same part looking from the inside. In Sheet 2, Fig. 1, is a view of
the interior of the loom, the breast beam and part of the wire apparatus
being removed; and Fig. 2, is a diagram of the working of a camb
hereafter referred to. The same letters in all the views refer to the
same parts. A, Sheet 1, is the ordinary warp beam, and B, the pile
warp beam. From these the ends proceed in the usual way through
the reed of the slay C, at which point the weft and the wires are put in,
and the fabric as it is woven then passes over the breast beam D, and
is taken up by the cloth beam E. For the sake of distinctness I have
omitted to illustrate in the Drawings the mode of working the headles
and of throwing the shuttle, as well as such other parts as are well
understood, and form no part of the general features of my Invention.
The mechanism which I make use of for putting in the wires is the
following: On the shaft F, which derives its motion by means of wheels
(shewn in blue lines, Sheet 1,) from the main or crank shaft G, is
keyed a grooved drum or scroll camb H; suspended to a cross bar in
the framing is a toothed scetor or quadrant K, to which a vibrating

page_text: motion is communicated by means of a bowl k, entering the groove of
the camb. The sector in its vibrations actuates the pinion L, and
through it the pulley M, which is keyed on the same shaft. Round
the periphery of the pulley is passed an endless cord, band, or chain
m, which is moreover brought completely round the slay, vertically
traversing in its course through the centres of motion of the slay
swords C', round the pullies n, n, &c., and through a tube o, on the top
of the slay cap. At a fixed point of the band or chain is attached a
picker or finger p, which is also guided by steadying rods q. Thus, as
the pulley M, revolves alternately backwards and forwards by the action
of the camb and sector, the picker p, will also alternately traverse to
and from the extremity of the reed or selfedge of the fabric. The
length of the traverse should in all cases be regulated according to the
breadth of the fabric or length of the wire. It will be observed that in
consequence of the band m, passing through the centres of motion of
the slay swords, and being brought round pullies attached to the same;
that part of it which is above the centres will oscillate along with the
slay, which will in no way interfere with the proper end motion of the
picker p. On the under side of the slay bed is a shaft r, fitting loosely
in bearings attached thereto, and from this shaft spring two or more
arms or levers r³, carrying on their top the trough R. This apparatus
vibrates also along with the slay, but an independent motion is also
given to the trough by the following means: on the shaft F, is keyed
another camb S, which in its revolution acts on bowls S, on the slotted
bar T, thus traversing the bar backwards and forwards atstated intervals,
the shaft F, passing through the slot and tending to keep the whole
steady. The other end of the bar is jointed to the lever t, which is
keyed on to the shaft r. Thus, according to the shape and throw of
the camb S, the trough R, will have a motion communicated to it
independently of its motion with the slay. It will be already observed
that the parts of the loom which I have now described are for the
purpose of putting in the wire, the extra motion of the trough T, being
for the purpose of receiving the wire after having been cut out. The
cutting out is performed by the sliding block b, (Sheet 1,) on which is
fixed a stud carrying a lever with three arms c, c, c". The upright

page_text: arm c', is attached to an endless band or chain d, which passes over
pulleys f, round the framing, in the same manner as the other band
already described, and round the pulley g, keyed on the same shaft
with M. The block b, slides in a groove in the framing, as shewn, so
that as the camb H, revolves, it will have a backward and forward
motion given simultaneously with and corresponding to the motion of
the picker p; when it thus moves in one direction the pull of the band
will depress the arm C, which carries a cutter and projecting finger i,
and ; and when it moves in the other direction the arm C", will be
depressed until it comes against the framing, along which it will then
slide. The wire will in this manner be cut out by the forward stroke,
while by the backward the cutter is lifted clear of the fabric. The
object of the finger i, is to slide out laterally a wire which has been
already cut at the same time that another is being cut. If the pile
of the fabric is not required to be cut, instead of a cutter pliers must be
used in the way already practised. The wire as it is slid out is received
into a trough shaped recess formed between a part of the framing and
the plate h. This plate or longitudinal strip is mounted on arms which
work on studs a, fixed to the framing so as to be capable of a slight
degree of oscillation, and it is kept in its proper position (when not
acted upon) by a spring j, which is attached to another arm, and keeps
the whole at rest against a stop e.
The action of the different parts
described will now be readily understood to be simply as follows: the
speed of the shaft F, and the curvature of the scroll H, are so arranged
as to throw or slide a wire into the shed at the right moment. (The
motion of the camb in the present instance may be traced from the
diagram Fig. 2, (Sheet 2,) where the curvature is shewn projected on a
plane.) For every wire now passed into the shed it will be obvious
that (with the return stroke of the picker) one will be also slided out
into the plate h, while another will have the fabric cut open above it.
To transfer, therefore, the wire on the plate h, to a proper position for
being acted upon by the next stroke of the picker 2, the camb S, is
constructed in such a manner as, by acting on the lever t, to bring the
trough T, at the right moment in contact with the plate h. The spring
j, thus yielding to the pressure, the plate will recede, and the wire will

page_text: drop into the trough. The camb S, then brings the trough back to
its proper position for the wire to be acted on by the picker.
It now only remains to describe the method which I employ for sup-
porting and directing the wire during its passage from the trough into
the shed, a provision rendered necessary in consequence of the wire being
commonly of a considerable length. This I effect in the following way:
the tube o, through which the band m, passes, as before stated, is made
moveable in journals on the slay cap, and on it I mount a number of
hooked levers a, a, a, &c. These hooks are constructed of thin metal, and
their extremities are passed between the dents of the reed. Fixed to
the tube is another lever y, having a bowl on its end, which as the slay
moves backwards and forwards traverses on the inclined plane z. With
the vibration of the slay, therefore, the tube o, receives an oscillatory
motion, causing the hooks x, x, &c., alternately to protrude through the
reed into the shed and to retire. The curvature of the inclined plane
is so formed that the hooks protrude through the reed into the shed
during the time that the slay is going back, and remain stationary
while the wire is being inserted; while, during the time that the slay is
moving forward, the hooks are withdrawn again within the face of the
reed, to allow the shed to cross and the wire to be beaten up. The
hooks by this means form a support for the wire while it is being
inserted in the shed. In order to keep the hooks a, a, &c. clear of the
warp ends passing through the reed, I split those dents, where they
are required to enter, into two, and I pass the hooks through the two
parts. A convenient mode of taking up in this loom is shewn by the
attachment of the rod u, to sector K, and to the ratchet lever V.
Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of my
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I
would have it understood that I do not confine myself to the precise
arrangement or to the details herein described, so long as the leading
features of my Invention are maintained; moreover, I do not claim as
new the whole as hercin described; but what I claim as new and of my
Invention is,-First, the mode of putting the wire in the shed by means
of an endless band passing through the centres of motion of the slay.
Secondly, the mode of cutting out the wire by the same camb which

page_text: actuates the putting in. Thirdly, I claim the mode of receiving the wire
in a trough, and transferring it to its due position for being again
inserted; and Fourthly, I claim the mode of supporting the wires while.
passing into the shed by means of hooked levers passing through the
reed; the whole as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Weild, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
above-named William Weild in
the presence of
RD. K. COOPER,
WILLIAM WEILD. (L.S.)
Solicitor, Manchester.