IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Hugh Holden and Enoch Samuel Forshaw, of
Preston, in the County Palatine of Lancaster, for the Invention of
." IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Hugh Holden and Enoch
.Samuel Forshaw at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 29th March 1864.
We, HUGH HOLDEN and ENOCH SAMUEL FORSHAW, of Preston, in the County
Palatine of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the self-acting break mechanism of looms, and also
to the weft fork.
According to one part of this Invention it is proposed to combine two levers
on the present one-lever break, the one serving as the welf break lever, and
the other as the concussion break lever. These two levers are both carried
on one bolt, pin, or fulcrum, so that they may act independently of each other,
but with the assistance of a weight on the weft lever. By the combination of
these two levers, and by a joint near the break head on the weft lever,
facilities are obtained whereby the loom can be stopped instantly the spring
handle is thrown off by the weft breaking with the shuttle at home or boxed,,
thereby preventing all uneven places in the cloth and likewise by preventing

page_text: damage to both looms and fabrics by concussion or banging off, and likewise
by enabling the weaver, in case of concussion or banging off, to remove the
entire break, and so release the loom in preference to turning the break wheel
as at present. The end of the weft lever is supported upon either a solid or
an eccentric bracket (whichever is best adapted) bolted to the spring handle
in such a manner as to admit of its position being regulated thereon. It is
further proposed to employ, in substitution for the ordinary rivetted-pin which
serves as the fulcrum for the weft fork, a pin made tapering, and screwed
parallel a short distance down at one or both ends, as may be found
practicable.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Hugh Holden and Enoch Samuel Forshaw in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 29th September 1864..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS "SHALL COME; I, 'JOSEPH
HOLDEN and ENOCH SAMUEL FORSHAW, of Preston, in the County Palatine of
Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Hugh Holden and Enoch Samuel Forshaw, Her special license that we, the
said Hugh Holden and Enoch Samuel Forshaw, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said Hugh Holden and Enoch Samuel
Forshaw, our executors, administrators, or 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 we, the said Hugh
Holden and Enoch Samuel Forshaw, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal
of one of us or them, 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

page_text: ✓ NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Hugh Holden and Enoch Samuel
Forshaw, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say:-
.
Our said Invention relates to the self-acting break mechanism of looms,
and also to the weft fork.
According to one part of this Invention it is proposed to combine two levers
on the present one-lever front break, the one serving as the weft break lever,
and the other as the concussion break lever. These two levers are both
carried on one bolt, pin, or fulcrum, so that they may act independently of
each other, but with the assistance of a weight on the weft lever. By the
combination of these two levers, and by a joint at or near the break head on
the weft lever, facilities are obtained whereby the loom can be stopped
instantly, the spring handle is thrown off by the weft breaking with the shuttle
at home or boxed, thereby preventing all uneven. places in the cloth, and
likewise preventing damage to both looms and fabrics by concussion or banging
off, and enabling the weaver in case of concussion or banging off to remove the
entire break, and so release the loom in preference-to turning the break. wheel
as at present.. The end of the weft lever is supported upon either a solid or
an eccentric bracket, bolted to the spring handle in such a manner as to admit
of its position being regulated. thereon. It is further proposed. to employ in
substitution for the ordinary rivetted pin which serves as the fulcrum for the
weft fork, a pin made tapering, and screwed parallel a short distance.down at.
one or both ends, as may be preferred.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully..understood, we shalli
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose we
shall refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,.
the same letters of reference indicating corresponing parts throughout all the
Figures.
Fig. 1 of our Drawings represents a side elevation of a portion of a power-
loom fitted with a sliding "frog," and having our improved self-acting con--
cussion and weft break apparatus applied thereto. The rest of the Figures-
are details, which we shall herein-after more fully refer to. . :
A represents the main framing of a power loom; and B, the crankshaft
provided with the usual break wheel C; D. is. the break, which. works. on: a.
stud, centre, or bolt E, secured to the main framing at the driving end of the
loom; F is the concussion break lever; and G is the weft break lever,

page_text: shewn in detail, side elevation, and plan on an enlarged scale at Figs. 2 and 3,
the former F being rigidly secured to a lug a cast on the break, whilst the
latter lever G is allowed to work freely on the bolt E as a fixed centre. This
lever G has a step or shoulder formed upon it at b, which bears against a
corresponding part formed upon the break, so that when the front end of this
lever is depressed it causes the break D to turn slightly upon its.centre or
bolt E, and to be applied against the rim of the break wheel, thereby
stopping the revolution of the crank shaft. As the weft break lever works
Joose upon the bolt E, it allows the concussion lever with the break to which
it is attached to be brought into action a little before the weft break lever G
is acted upon, but by the time the concussion break lever F has been fully
depressed or brought into action, the weft break lever G is released and drawn
down by the weight H suspended therefrom, and consequently the breaking
action of the concussion break lever F is assisted and increased by the weight
H; I is the sliding frog (if preferred the ordinary spring frogs may be used),
which works along the top of the rail A¹ of the main framing, as shown in the
enlarged transverse sectional and detail views at Figs. 4 and 5 ; it is extended.
at I' down the inner side of the rail A¹, and has at this part two guiding
snugs c, c, cast thereon, which work in a slot d, made in the framing. On the
outer side of this rail A¹ there is a washer plate K, which has two holes
therein, fitting on to the ends of the snugs c, c, and these snugs, are formed;
with shoulders upon them to prevent the plate K from being unduly tightened.
up against the framing. L is a bolt or pin, which passes through the plate K,.
through the slot in the rail A', and through the extended portion I' of the
frog, thereby serving to secure the plate K in its place. The head of this
bolt is prolonged so as to form a stud or pin e, projecting laterally some
distance beyond the face of the plate K. Immediately under this stud' or
pine is situate the concussion lever F, the end of which is inclined upwards,
as shown in the Drawing, so that when the frog with the pin is moved
forward by the usual mechanism, which is brought into play when the shuttle
does not box properly, as shown in Fig. 1, the pin e will, by sliding along
the inclined end of the concussion lever, depress that lever, and so apply the
break. Immediately after this movement has been effected, the weft break
lever is released and brought into action. This is accomplished by means of
the arm L' cast in one piece with the frog, which arm, when the frog is
pushed forward, strikes against the head of an adjustable screw pin M fitted
into the ordinary spring handle N, and consequently releases that handle from.
its detaining notch, and allows the free end of the weft break lever G to
descend and assist by its weight in applying the break. The free end of this:

page_text: lever G is supported upon an inclined bracket O, shown in enlarged detail at
Fig. 6, fitted to the spring handle N, so as to be adjustable thereon; and to
this bracket is binged or pivotted eccentrically the piece of metal f. By
pivotting.this piece f.eccentrically, so as to give greater weight to the lower
portion thereof, it always assumes a vertical position when at rest, and serves
when in that position:as a prop or support for keeping the end of the weft
break lever elevated when the spring handle is released from its retaining
notch, and consequently the break remains out of contact with the break
wheel; as the weight of the break head itself causes it to hang some, little
distance below the periphery of such. wheel. In this position, the loom is free
to be turned by hand when required. So long as the spring handle is held
back in its retaining notch the end of the weft break lever is supported and
kept elevated by the higher portion of the incline g on the bracket O, but so
soon as the spring handle is released from its retaining notch it moves in the
direction of the arrow, carrying with it the inclined bracket O, and con-
sequently the end of the weft break lever descends to nearly the bottom of the
incline 9, pushing to one side the eccentric piece f, as shewn in red lines) and
by its descent applies the break, the weight H giving the necessary
pressure.
Fig. 7 represents a sectional plan of a weft fork constructed according to
our Invention, the fork P being hinged or pivotted upon a tapered pin h, in
lieu of upon a parallel rivetted pin as heretofore. One or both ends of this
pin are screwed parallel a short distance down, as shown at i in the detail
Fig. 8; these screwed portions passing through the jaws in the supporting
rod Q. By screwing this pin forwards or backwards it may be made to fit
with the greatest accuracy into the hole or socket in the fork, such hole being
tapered to correspond to the taper of the pin, and consequently all undue
looseness or shaking of the fork is obviated.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1st, the general construction and arrangement of the break actuating
mechanism of power looms, substantially as herein-before described.
2nd, the combination of a concussion break lever and a weft break lever
with one front break, the whole being arranged and made to operate
substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein-before described.
3rd, the application and use of the herein-before described peculiar solid

page_text: bracket or support for the weft break lever attached to the spring handle. of a
power loom, for the purpose herein-before described.*.
4th, the application and use of the eccentric bracket or support f, sub>
stantially in the manner and for the purpose herein-before described.
⚫ 5th, the application and use to and in the weft forks of power looms of a
tapered joint, pin, or pivot having one or both of its ends screwed parallel for a
short distance, substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein-before
described and illustrated by our Drawings.
In witness whereof, we, the said Hugh Holden and Enoch Samuel
Forshaw, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-sixth
day of September, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
HUGH HOLDEN:
(1.8.)
ENOCH SAMUEL FORSHAW. (L.S.)