IMPROVEMENTS IN SHUTTLES AND BATTENS FOR LOOMS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Percy, of Leicester, in the County of
Leicester, Batten Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SHUTTLES AND BATTENS FOR LOOMS."
Sealed the 23rd November 1875, and dated the 29th June 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Percy at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 29th June 1875.
I, THOMAS PERCY, of Leicester, in the County of Leicester, Batten
Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN SHUTTLES AND BATTENS FOR LOOMS," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to looms for weaving narrow fabrics, and with
reference to shuttles consists in hollowing out the body of the shuttle in
order to receive and prevent the quill from chafing the threads of the
material being woven, and admitting of the wire bow being placed in
the tongue of the shuttle. Also in fitting the shuttle pin without the
ordinary brass bush and spring by fixing it to the shuttle with a joint at
one end, the other end of the pin being prevented from falling out

page_text: (after the quill has been placed on it) by its entering a hook and being
secured by a spring. The requisite tension on the quill is produced by
means of a spring only, instead of a spring and thumb bit as usual, the
spring lying in a groove formed in the back of the shuttle, one end of
such, spring passing through the tongue of the shuttle to act on the
quill as required, and the other end being acted upon by means of a
wire hook in the back of the shuttle and a nut or screw in front thereof,
in order to regulate the tension of the spring on the quill. The con-
nection of the shuttle with the peg of the driver is effected by forming
a notch or cavity on the side of the groove in the back thereof.
And with reference to battens my Invention consists in the first place
in constructing the batten with a longitudinal bar of iron for supporting
the bottom of the slay, and a box at the top formed by three bars to
receive the top of the slay, thereby strengthening the batten.
Secondly. The batten is constructed.. with grooves in the uprights to
receive plates of tin or other suitable metal in the centre of the shuttle
race for preventing the admission of dust and dirt. The wood of the
!
uprights is also sunk in order to receive the shuttle boards in front, the
shuttle boards being fixed to a casting with a slot in it, and fastened to
the uprights by means of a catch.
Thirdly. There is a provision for the escape of dirt from the slay by
fixing two blocks of wood to receive the springs on the bottom of the
slay with a space between them.
Fourthly. There is formed in the bottom shuttle board an inclined'
slot at each end in order to allow the peg of the driver to pass into the
same and leave free motion for the shuttle, the said two inclined slots
being connected by a slot extending from one to the other.
7.
And, Lastly. The driver, instead of being in one continued length, is
formed in portions, each portion carrying a pcg and fitting into recesses
in the driving bar. The peg of the driver is inclined to suit the slot
in the bottom shuttle board, and at the end is bent in a vertical
direction for the purpose of entering the notch in the shuttle.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Percy in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 29th December 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
PERCY, of Leicester, in the County of Leicester, Batten Maker, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Percy, Her special
licence that I, the said Thomas Percy, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Percy, 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 SHUTTLES AND BATTENS FOR Looms," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Percy, 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 Thomas Percy, 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 here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say):
:-
My Invention of "Improvements in Shuttles and Battens for Looms,"
relates to looms for weaving narrow fabrics, and consists with reference
to shuttles, in hollowing out the body of the shuttle in order to receive
the quill and prevent. it. from chafing the threads of the material being

page_text: woven, and admitting of the wire bow being placed in the tongue of the
shuttle. Also in fitting the shuttle pin without the ordinary brass bush
and spring by fixing it to the shuttle with a joint at one end, the other end
of the pin being prevented from falling out (after the quill has been placed
on it) by its entering a hook and being secured by a spring. The requisite
tension on the quill is produced by means of a spring only instead of a
spring and thumb bit as usual, the spring lying in a groove formed in
the back of the shuttle, one end of such spring passing through the
tongue of the shuttle to act on the quill as required, and the other end
being acted upon by means of a wire hook in the back of the shuttle,
and a nut or screw in front thereof in order to regulate the tension of
the spring on the quill. The connection of the shuttle with the peg of
the driver is effected by forming a notch or cavity on the side of the
groove in the back thereof.
And with reference to battens my Invention consists in the first place
in constructing the batten with a longitudinal bar of iron for supporting
the bottom of the slay, and a box at the top formed by three bars to
receive the top of the slay, thereby strengthening the batten.
Secondly. The batten is constructed with grooves in the uprights to
receive plates of tin or other suitable metal in the centre of the shuttle
race for preventing the admission of dust and dirt. The wood of the
uprights is also sunk or hollowed out to receive the shuttle boards in
front, the shuttle boards being fixed to castings with slots in them, and
fastened to the uprights by means of catches.
Thirdly. There is a provision for the escape of dirt from the slay by
fixing two blocks of wood to receive the springs on the bottom of the
slay with a space between them.
Fourthly. There is formed in the bottom shuttle board an inclined
slot at each end in order to allow the peg of the driver to pass into the
same and leave free motion for the shuttle, the said two inclined slots
being connected by a slot extending from one to the other.
And, Lastly. The driver, instead of being in one continued length, is
formed in portions, each portion carrying a peg and fitting into recesses
in the driving bar. The peg of the driver is inclined to suit the slot in
the bottom shuttle board, and at the end is bent in a vertical direction
for the purpose of entering-the-notch-in-tho-shuttle...

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figures 1 to 6 represent the improvements in shuttles; Fig. 1 is a
longitudinal elevation; Fig. 2, a transverse section; Fig. 3, a top plan;
and Fig. 4, an underneath plan of a shuttle constructed in the manner
stated; Fig. 5 is a plan view of a similar shuttle with a double wire
bow; and Fig. 6 is an elevation of a shuttle showing a mode of adapting
the improvements to an ordinary shuttle.
Figures 7 to 13 represent the improvements in battens; Fig. 7 shows.
a back elevation of a portion of a batten; Fig. 8 is a transverse section";
Fig. 9 is an underneath plan of the bottom shuttle board; Fig. 10 is an
elevation of the shuttle board; Fig. 11 is a transverse section of the
same; Figures 12 and 13 show a portion of the driver detached. In
these several Figures the same letters of reference indicate corre-
sponding parts.
On reference to Fig. 1 it will be seen that the ordinary bulk of wood
for protecting the quill and carrying the spring and thumb bit, also the
shuttle pin and quill, is dispensed with.
Fig. 2 shows the manner in which the body of the shuttle A is
hollowed out to receive the quill B, which admits of the wire bow C
being placed in the tongue of the shuttle, as shown. One end of the
shuttle pin D is secured by a joint at E to the front part of the shuttle,
the other end passing into a hook at F and secured by a spring or
otherwise.
The wire bow C may be composed of a single wire, as shown in Fig. 3,
or a double wire, as shewn in Fig. 5. An elastic spring of india-rubber G
is secured to the front of the shuttle and passes along the inner side of
the bow C; it is also secured to the bow in order to prevent the spring
from falling when the thread is broken or the quill is empty.
In Figures 2 and 4 is represented a spring H inserted in a groove
formed in the back of the shuttle, one end of such spring passing
through the tongue of the shuttle and pressing against the quill, and at

page_text: the other end having a hook acted upon as required by a thumbscrew I
in order to regulate the tension of the spring on the quill; J, J, are
notches for connecting the shuttle with the peg of the driver.
In Figures 7 and 8 is shewn the mode of constructing the batten with
a longitudinal bar of iron K secured to the back of the batten block,
reaching up to the under side of the shuttle board and forming the front
part of the slay box, being adapted also to keep out the dust from the
slides which give motion to the shuttles. There is also a bar of metal L
secured to the back of the uprights M, M, to form the back part of the
slay box and give strength to the batten.
A box or spring boxes is or are secured to the batten block for raising
the slay, leaving the bottom of the slay box open to prevent the
accumulation of dust in the spring boxcs. The top of the batten
consists of three bars of metal O forming a box to receive the top of the
slay and giving strength to the batten, also keeping out dust; P is a
plate of tin or other metal (or it may be of wood) let into grooves
formed in the uprights. M. These plates P are fixed in the centre of the
shuttle races for preventing the admission of dust and dirt. The wood
of the uprights M is recessed, as shown in Fig. 8, in order to receive the
shuttle boards in front; Q, Q, are slotted metal castings with catches R, R,
by means of which the shuttle boards are fixed to the uprights. Similar
castings are fixed to the shuttle boards, as shewn in Figures 10 and 11;
S, S, are two blocks of wood to receive the springs on the bottom of the
slay with a space between them, as shown, thereby forming a provision
for the escape of dirt from the slay.
There is a strip of wood fixed on the batten block and rebated for the
reception and guidance of the driving bar, on which are small blocks
and spaces between them to receive the slides or portions of the drivers
that give motion to the shuttles. These slides T are shown detached in
Figures 12 and 13, and consist of small blocks of wood each with a
metal peg U bent, as shown in Fig. 13, in order to adapt it for working
in the slot of the shuttle board represented in Fig. 9, which slot is
inclined at each end for guiding the peg of the driver in and out of the
I in the shuttles.

page_text: thereof, a portion of such strip being movable for putting in or taking
out the small slides or drivers T. A metal peg V is fixed to the under
side of the shuttle board on which the small slides or drivers T work (by
means of their inclined slots corresponding with the slots in the shuttle
board) when entering or leaving the notches J in the shuttles.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I hereby declare that what I
claim as of my Invention is, with reference to shuttles, the construction
of shuttles in the manner represented and described, that is to say, by
dispensing with the ordinary bulk of wood and fitting the wire bow in
the tongue of the shuttle; also hollowing out the body of the shuttle to
protect the quill fitting the shuttle pin in the manner described, and
producing tension on the quill by the means described; and with
reference to battens, I claim,-
First. The general construction of the batten in order to give strength
as described.
Secondly. The arrangements for keeping out dust and dirt as
described.
And, Lastly. The construction of the shuttle boards and drivers in
the manner described, in order to adapt them for working the shuttles
as required.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Percy, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-third day of December, in
the year of our Lord Ono thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.
Witness,
WALTER PERCY,
19, Lower Gosling St.,
Leicester.
THOMAS PERCY. (L.S.)