IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1872

page_text: :
LETTERS PATENT to Charles. Richardson, of No. 75, Gracechurch
Street, in the City of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Richardson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 2nd August 1872.
I, CHARLES RICHARDSON, of No. 75, Gracechurch Street, in the City
of London, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:
-
My Invention relates to improvements in the means of operating the
air compressing instruments in looms for weaving in which the shuttles
are actuated by means of compressed air, and especially refers to those
in, which the air is supplied to the shuttle boxes by means of air com
pressing instruments fixed upon the sley beam.

page_text: Part of the said improvements are applicable to apparatus such as that
for which Letters Patent were granted to me bearing date the Sixteenth
day of May One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
. My present improvements consist in the employment of eccentrics or
cranks mounted on a revolving shaft or shafts or on suitable fixed studs,
and driven in any convenient manner but so as to revolve once for every
two movements of the sley beam back and forth; these eccentrics or
cranks are connected by rods, or other mechanical contrivances with the
compressing instruments, causing them to act alternately to compress.
the air and drive the shuttle from the shuttle box across the shed on its
liberation by the retaining pawl. The eccentrics or cranks may be so
set in this arrangement as to effect also the suction of the shuttle into
the shuttle box on its arrival from the opposite side of the sley beam.
In certain forms of this arrangement the compressing instruments
necessarily commence to compress the air sooner than is requisite for
driving the shuttle; in such cases I allow the surplus air to escape
through holes or valves in the compressing instrument until the proper
moment arrives for compression to commence.
Instead of employing eccentrics or cranks mounted on the shaft for
the purpose of operating the compressing instruments I sometimes
employ for that purpose cams such as those described in the Specifica-
tion of my Patent herein-before referred to, dated the Sixteenth day of
May One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
I impart motion for driving the loom direct to the shaft carrying the
compressing eccentrics, cranks, or cams, and transmit motion therefrom
to the crank shaft of the loom, but motion may be imparted to the crank
shaft in the ordinary manner, and from thence to the other shaft, if
preferred.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Charles Richardson in the Great Seal Patent 30
Office on the 1st February 1873.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of August, in the year of
our Lord. One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Charles Richardson, Her special licence,
that I, the said Charles. Richardson, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said. Charles Richardson, 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," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles
Richardson, 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 Charles Richardson, 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 accompanying
Drawings:-
My Invention relates to improvements in the means of operating the
air compressing instruments in looms for weaving in which the shuttles
are actuated by means of compressed air, and especially refers to those
in which the air is supplied to the shuttle boxes by means of air com-
pressing instruments fixed upon the sley beam.
Part of the said improvements are applicable to apparatus such as
that for which Letters Patent were granted to me bearing. date the 16th
day of May 1872.
My present improvements consist in the employment of eccentrics or
cranks mounted on a revolving shaft or shafts and driven in any con-
venient manner, but by preference so as to revolve once for every
two movements of the sley beam back and forth; these eccentrics or
cranks are connected by rods or other mechanical contrivances with the

page_text: compressing instruments, causing them to act alternately to compress
the air and drive the shuttle from the shuttle box across the shed on its
liberation by the retaining pawl. The eccentrics or cranks may be so set
in this arrangement as to effect also the suction of the shuttle into the
shuttle box on its arrival from the opposite side of the sley beam.
In certain forms of this arrangement the compressing instruments
necessarily commence to compress the air sooner than is requisite for
driving the shuttle; . in such cases I allow the surplus air to escape
through holes or valves in the compressing instrument until the proper
moment arrives for compression to commence.
Instead of employing eccentrics or cranks mounted on the shaft for
the purpose of operating the compressing instruments I sometimes
employ for that purpose cams such as those described in the Specifica-
tion of my Patent herein-before referred to, and dated the 16th day of
May 1872.
For driving the loom I prefer to impart motion direct to the shaft
carrying the compressing eccentrics, cranks, or cams, and to transmit
motion therefrom to the crank shaft of the loom, but motion may be
imparted to the crank shaft in the ordinary manner, and from thence to
the other shaft, if preferred.
Figure 1 of the Drawing represents an elevation of part of the side
frame of a loom with part of my improvements attached; Fig. 2, a plan of
the same, showing the apparatus as arranged at one end of the loom, it
being understood that similar apparatus is applied to each end thereof.
A is the side frame of the loom; B, the sley beam; C, the air com- a
pressing instrument, which I prefer to consist of a cylinder and piston ;
D is a shaft extending from side to side of the loom, revolving in
bearings E, as shewn, and connected at one or both ends to the crank
shaft F by gearing G, or made by any other convenient means to
revolve once for every two movements of the sley back and forth. An a
eccentric or crank H is fixed or formed on the shaft D, the eccentric
or connecting rod I being jointed to the piston of the compressing
instrument. It will now be understood that the revolution of the
eccentric in the direction of the plain arrow and the motion of the sley
beam in the direction of the feathered arrow will cause the piston to a
compress the air in the cylinder until the retaining pawl holding the
shuttle in the shuttle box is liberated by any suitable arrangement. of

page_text: mechanism. The shuttle being thus liberated is thrown across the sled
by the compression, and the crank shaft continues its revolution to
beat up the weft and, to bring out the sley for the "pick" from the
other side of the loom. By the time the shuttle has returned from the
other side of the loom and is about to enter the box on the side under
description, the eccentric H will have moved round to its upper arc in
the direction of the plain arrow, so as to be moving away from the sley
beam, which at that time will in like manner be moving away from it;
this action effects the drawing out of the piston in the cylinder, and
consequently, if desired; the suction of the shuttle into the box. By
fixing the eccentric on the other end of the shaft, that is, at the other
side of the loom), in a position diametrically opposite to that above
described, these effects are obtained alternately on each side of the loom,
so as to drive the shuttle. backwards and forwards, and to secure its
"boxing" as required.
•
In the arrangement above described the cylinder has to be made of
considerable length in order to retain the piston in the cylinder during
the relative motions of the eccentric and sley beam; a very considerable
amount of compression of the air beyond, what is necessary to throw the
shuttle would result and power be thereby wasted were it not for the
slots J, J, J, in the cylinder so arranged that the plenum of air in front
of the piston escapes until near the time for the "pick" to take place,
when the piston will have arrived at the end of the slots, and actual
compression of the air in the cylinder then commences. If preferred-
small holes or relief valves may be arranged in the cylinder for the
escape of the plenum of air until the piston has moved to the position
for the "pick" to begin.
Figs. 3 & 4 show how cams similar to those described in the
Specification of my Patent herein-before referred to may be applied to
the shaft D so as to operate the compressing instruments at each side of
the loom alternately, in order to effect the throwing of the shuttle and
its suction into the box at the correct times.
The cam H' acts by the part H³ on the bowl K of the side link L to
effect the "pick," the groove h in the cam H' operating on the bowl K
of the slide link L to effect the pull out of the piston and suction of
the shuttle into the box at the proper time, and to retain the piston
quiescent or nearly so in the cylinder at other times, in a similar manner
to that described in my said former Specification. I impart motion to

page_text: the shaft D either direct by the pullies and communicate motion to the
crank shaft therefrom by the gearing G, G', or, in cases where there is
sufficient room, I apply motion to the crank shaft in the usual way, and
communicate motion therefrom to the shaft D by the said gearing G, G'.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention and the manner
in which the same may be carried into effect, I would have it understood
that what I claim as my Invention is,―
First. The use of eccentrics, cranks, or cams on a shaft D so arranged,.
combined, and adapted together and in relation to the air compressing
instruments that each of the said air compressing instruments shall be
operated alternately to throw the shuttle and to draw it into the shuttle
box, substantially as described and shewn.
•
Second. The means when using eccentrics or cranks of allowing the
plenum of air in the air compressing instruments to escape until the
proper moment for compression" to commence, substantially as described
and partially shewn.
.C
له
1 "
In witness, whereof, I, the said Charles Richardson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.