IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOKS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to David Speirs, Manufacturer, Alexander Boyd,
Pattern Maker, John Aitken, Weaver, and Matthew Gilmour, Smith,
all of Paisley, in the County of Renfrew, North Britain, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOKS FOR WEAVING"
Sealed the 7th February 1865, and dated the 9th August 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said David Speirs, Alexander
Boyd, John Aitken, and Matthew Gilmour at the Office of the Com-
missioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 9th August 1864.
We, DAVID SPEIRS, Manufacturer, ALEXANDER BOYD, Pattern Maker, JOHN
AITKEN, Weaver, and MATTHEW GILMOUR, Smith, all of Paisley, in the County
of Renfrew, North Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention comprises various improvements in looms for weaving, the
improvements being designed more particularly to promote the weaving by
power of figured fabrics of and similar to the "Paisley shawl" class, and
being in connection with some of the arrangements described in the Specifi-
cation of Letters Patent dated 22nd February 1862 (No. 427), and granted!
to James Kirkwood, and in the Specification of Letters Patent dated 29th.
August 1863 (No. 2188), and granted to David Speirs, Alexander Boyd, and:
James Kirkwood.
By the present Invention the heddle leaves for producing the twill are.:
actuated by the main cylinder and lift board of the jacquard apparatus which acts

page_text: on the figuring harness. The cylinder has as many sides as there are cards in a
bridle, and the number may be varied, but for convenience will be assumed to be
seven. The part of the cylinder acting on what may be termed the heddle needles
has the proper holes for the purpose formed in its surface, thus dispensing with
separate cards or plates, whilst as in "twice drawing" a different action is
required when going over a bridle of cards the second time, the front ends of
the needles or of some of them are passed through a sliding plate by which the
needles are shifted a little up or down to make them face different parts of
the cylinder sides, which last are of course holed to suit the different actions
required. The sliding plate is shifted by the jacquard apparatus itself. For
depressing each of the heddle leaves in succession there is a shaft with a wiper
or cam on it for each heddle lever, and at the end of each run of shots this shaft
is turned a part round by means of a lever and pawl acting on a ratchet wheel
on it; and acted upon by the jacquard apparatus. The proper heddle leaf is
thus held down during the run of (seven) shots, whilst it is released by the
turning of the cam shaft to put down the next leaf, being then drawn up to
the mid position by a spring above. When a heddle leaf is depressed, the
button or knot on its wire or tail is drawn down below the lift board of the
jacquard apparatus, but on the release of the leaf the spring draws the button
or knot up again to the level to be caught by the lift board for being raised
thereby at the proper time, so that on the lift board rising it can act on the
button or knot through its entire stroke, which permits of its connection to the
heddle leaf with a more favorable leverage, and of the parts being better
balanced and more easily worked, than in the older arrangement, in which the
heddles were depressed directly by the jacquard apparatus, and in which the
lift board had to move through a large portion of its stroke before beginning
to act on the heddle levers. Rotating shuttle boxes are used, being connected
by pitch straps or chains to pulleys on a shaft extending across the loom and
mounted on the lower parts of the lathe swords. The details for turning the
boxes are by preference applied to the shaft below, and a foot lever is provided,
whereby the attendant can relieve the hammer and turning catch when adjust-
ing the boxes by hand; or the turning catch may be relieved by means of a
separate rod or cord. The shuttle boxes may be arranged for picking either
from the front side or from the top; when arranged for picking from the top,
each shuttle cell is provided with a protector or swell lever which is set in a
cavity cut obliquely between the two cells, and so that its outside projects
beyond the outer surface of the shuttle box in order to act on 'the protector'
lever, which last is curved over into a suitable position. The pressure of the
protector lever is taken off at the time of throwing the shuttle by the riding of

page_text: the dog or catch over a projection whereby it is lifted up. There is a weft
fork at each side of the loom, and each fork has attached to it a cord in con-
nection with the heddles, whereby it is turned completely down out of the way
when the shuttles are passing from its side, and its action is not needed. To
keep all the threads but the last one thrown out of the way of the acting weft
fork, a jointed finger is made to rise up through a hole in the lathe or race in
front of the line of the shuttle, and at the beat up this finger tumbles forward
and presses the previously thrown wefts down clear of the fork. In connection
with the forks, arranged as herein-before described and with the tumbling
finger, or in connection with the improved fork only, a lifting finger may be
arranged to lift up the last weft thrown to be more certainly in the way of the
fork, such finger when not lifting being in a groove cut across the race.
When picking from the top of the shuttle box the "top cone picking motion
may be used, being arranged so that the vertical shafts are actuated on both
sides at every stroke. The upper part of each shaft carrying the picking stick
or lever is connected to the lower part by a common clutch, and when not
required to pick is lifted out of gear by rods and levers actuated from the
jacquard apparatus or heddle movements.
The herein-before described improvements, or some of them, are obviously
applicable to looms for weaving fabrics more or less differing from those
referred to, the parts being modified to suit the requirements of each case.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
'by the said David Speirs, Alexander Boyd, John Aitken, and Matthew
Gilmour in the Great Seal. Patent Office on the 8th February 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, DAVID
SPEIRS, Manufacturer, ALEXANDER BOYD, Pattern Maker, JOHN AITKEN,
Weaver, and MATTHEW GILMOUR, Smith, all of Paisley, in the County of
Renfrew, North Britain, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most. Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and. successors, give and grant unto us, the
said David Speirs, Alexander Boyd, John Aitken, and Matthew Gilmour, Her
special licence that we, the said David Speirs, Alexander Boyd, John Aitken,
and Matthew Gilmour, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as we, the said David Speirs, Alexander Boyd, John Aitken, and Mat-

page_text: thew Gilmour, our, 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," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
David Speirs, Alexander Boyd, John Aitken, and Matthew Gilmour, our exe-
cutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, 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-we, the said David Speirs, Alexander Boyd,
John Aitken, and Matthew Gilmour, do hereby declare the nature of our
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement in
writing, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters
and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
Our said Invention comprises improvements in looms for weaving, the
improvements being designed more particularly to promote the weaving by
power of figured fabrics of and similar to the "Paisley shawl" class, and being
in connection with some of the arrangements described in the Specification of
Letters Patent dated 22nd February 1862 (No. 472), and granted to James
Kirkwood, and in the Specification of Letters Patent dated 29th August 1863
(No. 2188), and granted to David Speirs, Alexander Boyd, and James
Kirkwood,
And in order that our said Invention and the manner of performing the
same may be properly understood we have hereunto appended a Sheet of
explanatory Drawings to be herein-after referred to, and representing various
loom details with modifications of our improved arrangements applied thereto.
Figures 1 and 2, the principal views, are sectional front and side elevations.
The other Figures will be more conveniently referred to in the course of the
following description.
By our present Invention the heddle leaves 1, for producing the twill or
twilled texture, are actuated by means of the main cylinder 2 and lift board
3 of the jacquard apparatus 4, 4, which acts on the figuring harness. The
cylinder 2 has as many sides as there are cards in a "bridle," and the number
may be varied, but is commonly seven, as shown in Figure 1. The part of the
cylinder 2 acting on what may be termed the heddle needles 5 has the proper

page_text: holes for the purpose formed in its' surface, thus.dispensing with separate cards
or plates f, whilst as in "twice drawing a different action on the heddles is
required when going over the bridle of cards the second time, the front ends
of the needles 5 (or it may be of some of them only) are passed through a
sliding plate 6, which is best seen in the detached face view Figure 8, and. by
which the needles are shifted a little up or down, to make them face a higher
or a lower part of the cylinder sides, which last are of course holed to suit the
different actions required. The sliding plate 6 is drawn down by a spring 7,
and is raised by a cord 8, lever 9, and cord 10, which last passes downwards
to a lever actuated by or in connection with one of the heddle leaves. For
depressing each of the heddle leaves 1 in succession, according to one modifica-
tion, shown separately in Figure 4, there is a shaft.11, with a wiper or cam
12 on it for each heddle lever 13, and at the end of each run of shots this
shaft is turned a part round by means of a lever and pawl 14, acting on a
ratchet wheel on it, and acted upon by the jacquard apparatus through a cord
and lever 15, in connection with which lever there is a catch lever 16, to
prevent the shaft from being turned too far round, and engaging with ratchets
disposed reversely to those by means of which the shaft is turned. With these
arrangements the proper heddle leaf is held down during the run of (seven)
shots, whilst it is released by the turning of the cam shaft 11, to put down the
next leaf, being then drawn up to the mid position by a spring (17, Figure 1,)
above.
.
Figures 5 and 6 are views, at right angles to each other, showing an
arrangement for effecting the same actions as that last herein-before described
and somewhat varied therefrom, although embodying the same mechanical
principles. In place of the cam shaft 11, there is a barrel 11', with pins. 12¹
upon it, corresponding to the cams 12; but in place of the beddle levers 13
being depressed directly by the barrel 111, this shifts them, as required, into
the position to be depressed by a lever 17; acted on by a cam 18 on the low
shaft 19 (Figure 2).. It will be seen that with the pinned barrel arrange-
ment a greater number of actions.can be conveniently effected in one turn,
whilst the force for actually depressing the heddle levers is derived directly
from the low shaft 19, and is not transmitted through the jacquard apparatus
and barrel. The heddle levers 13 are formed with elongated holes for the
pin or spindle to pass through, on which they turn, and springs 20 are arranged
to draw them towards the barrel 1.1¹, which is moved towards them by a spring.
being moved away from them by a bell-crank lever connected to the lever 17,
and being turned a part round at the proper periods by means of ratchet wheel.
details acted on by the jacquard apparatus, and similar to those for turning,

page_text: the cam shaft 11 (Figure 4). When a pin 12¹ on the barrel is opposite any
lever 13, that lever is by it pushed over, so that its other end projects through
the guide frame 21, and is caught and depressed by the lever 17, whilst the
other levers 13 are kept back by their springs 20, and are not depressed.
A third modification of these parts is shown in Figures 1 and 2, but this
differs from that shown in Figures 5 and 6 merely in there being substituted
for the pinned barrel 11' a series of heavy cam-shaped pieces 22, which slide
vertically in a casing 28, and are drawn up by cords 24 from the jacquard
apparatus, whilst they descend by their own weight. When any one cam
piece 22 is drawn up, it acts cam-wise or wedge-wise on the end of the
corresponding heddle lever 18, and pushes it over so as to be caught and
depressed by the lever 17. The heddle levers 13 are employed for raising
as well as for depressing the heddles 1, those for depressing_being_connected
directly to the bottoms of the heddles, whilst cords 25 from the others pass
up to overhead reversing levers 26, the opposite ends of which are connected
by cords 27 to the tops of the heddles, an arrangement which is well understood.
"The arrangement for holding down the (depressing) levers 13, (Figures 2,
5,) is similar to that described in the earlier Specification, (No. 2138, year
1868,) herein-before referred to. When the arrangement shown in Figure 4
and herein-before described is employed, the depressing of a heddle leaf
causes the button or knot on its wire or tail to be drawn down below the lift
board 3 of the jacquard apparatus, but on the release of the leaf a spring
applied to the upper end of the tail or wire draws the button or knot up again
to the level to be caught by the lift board for being raised thereby at the
proper time, so that on the lift board rising it can act on the button or
knot through its entire stroke, which permits of the connecting of the tail or
wire to the heddle leaf or lever with a more favorable leverage, and of the
parts being better balanced and more easily worked than in the older arrange-
ment, in which the heddles were depressed directly by the jacquard apparatus,
and in which the lift board had to move through a large portion of its stroke
before beginning to act on the heddle levers.
.
We employ rotating shuttle boxes 28 (but of which one only, with the
details in immediate connection therewith, is shown in Figure 1), these shuttle
boxes being both connected by pitch straps (or it might be pitch chains) 29
to pulleys on a shaft 30, extending across the loom and mounted on the lower s
parts of the lathe swords 31. The details for working the shuttle boxes are
by preference applied to the shaft 30 below, and consist in the example
represented of a ratchet wheel 32, acted on by a catch or pawl 33, jointed to:
a lever 34, which last is actuated by a rod 35 from an eccentric 36 on the

page_text: low shaft 19. A foot lever 37 is provided, whereby the attendant when
requiring to adjust the boxes by hand can relieve the hammer 38, which is
pressed upwards by a spring against a concave faced wheel 39, to keep the
shaft 30 steady between the shifts. The turning catch 33 can be relieved by,
a cord and button 40; or it might be connected to the foot lever 37, to be
relieved by it. The shuttle boxes 28 may be arranged for picking either from
the front side or from the top; when arranged for picking from the top, as.
shown in Figures 1 and 2, each shuttle cell is provided with a protector or
swell lever 41, which is set in a cavity cut obliquely between the two cells,
and so that its outside projects beyond the outer surface of the shuttle box in.
order to act on the protector lever 42, which last is curved round into a.
suitable position. The pressure of the protector lever 42 is taken off at the
time of throwing the shuttle by the riding of the dog or catch 48 over a pro-
jection 44, whereby it is lifted up. There is a weft fork at each side of the
loom, and each fork 45, as shown on an enlarged scale in Figure 7, has
attached to it a cord 46 in connection with the heddles, whereby it is turned
completely down out of the way, as indicated by the dotted lines, when' the
shuttles are passing from its side and its action is not needed. To keep out
of the way of the acting weft fork all the weft threads but the last one thrown,
a jointed finger 47, shown in the enlarged section Figure 8, is made to rise up.
through a hole in the race piece 48, in front of the line of the shuttle's motion,
and at the beat up of the lathe this finger tumbles forward and presses the
previously thrown wefts down clear of the fork. In connection with the forks
45, arranged as herein-before described, and with the tumbling finger 47, or
in connection with the improved fork 45 only, a lifting finger. 49, Figure 8,
may be arranged to lift the last weft thrown, to be more certainly in the way
of the fork, such finger 49, when not lifting, being in a groove cut. across the
race piece 48. When picking from the top of the shuttle box 28, as shown in
Figures 1 and 2, the "top cone picking motion "may be used, but it is ar-
ranged so that the vertical shafts 50 are actuated on both sides at every stroke,
the low shaft 19 having both picking wipers 51 on the same side, and being
driven at the same speed as the crank shaft (which speed suits the other move-
ments derived from the low shaft as herein-before described). The upper
part 52 of each shaft 50, carrying the picking stick or lever 53, is connected
to the lower part by a clutch 54, having a hole into which there enters a
short strong pin, projecting up from the top of the shaft 50, which last is
made tubular to receive the spindle of the upper part. When either picking
stick is not to pick it is lifted out of gear by a clutch lever 55, actuated from
the jacquard apparatus or from the heddle movements as may be convenient.

page_text: The herein-before described improvements, or some of them, are obviously
applicable to looms for weaving fabrics more or less differing from those
herein-before referred to, the parts being modified to suit the requirements of
each case..
Having. thus particularly described our said Invention, and the manner in
which the same.isior may be, performed, we have to state that we do not
restrict ourselves to the precise details herein described or delineated, but that
what we believe to be:novel and original, and claim as the Invention secured
to us by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is, the constructing
of looms for weaving with details .combined and arranged substantially in the
improved manner herein-before described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Alexander Boyd, John Aitken, and
Matthew Gilmour, on behalf of the said David Speirs and of ourselves,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Seventh day of February,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
ALEXANDED DAVA
Witness,---
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
ALEXANDER BOYD.
JOHN AITKEN.
(2.5.)
"
(L.S.)
MATTHEW GILMOUR. (L.S.).