IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1867

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by David Welsh at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 22nd July
1867.
I, DAVID WELSH, of the City of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Mechanic, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This said Invention has reference to new or improved constructions and
arrangements of mechanism for actuating the compound shuttle boxes of
looms for weaving striped, checked, and other figured fabrics, in which two,
three, four, or more shuttle boxes are used in each set, carrying a corresponding
number of shuttles containing as many different kinds of weft necessary in
the weaving of such fabrics; and the objects and advantages of the said
Invention are greater simplicity of the mechanical arrangements and their
movements, as well as the fewness of parts and their less liability to wear or
derangement, causing less expence or labour in "first cost" or production and
in their "maintainence" or retention in proper working order than in such
mechanism for working the shuttle boxes of looms as heretofore constructed.
And this said Invention mainly consists in actuating the compound shuttle
box of such looms in any of the following cases, namely, when the compound
shuttle box is composed of two, three, or four single boxes moved in either a
linial or radial reciprocatory manner, or for three, four, five, or six single
boxes in a circular box moved in a revolving manner by the positive drawing
or pushing action of a small revolving crank or crank pin fixed in a boss or

page_text: disc connected to the shuttle box or its main moving rod or lever direct, or
by a connecting rod, or otherwise by a wheel on the disc and shuttle box
gearing into each other when a circular revolving shuttle box is used, or
otherwise the shuttle box may be connected by a toothed rack to a wheel
either on the actuating boss (of the crank pin instead of it and the connecting
rod) or the second motion boss and wheel actuated by the former. This
crank or actuating boss is carried on a pin or axis on a moving part of the
lathe, or by preference on the upper part of the "sword" below the shuttle
box, so that the positive motion of the lathe can be made to turn the boss
just after the shuttle has passed through the "shed" and got safe "home"
into the box, and complete the change of the shuttle box before the lathe has
reached its extreme forward motion in beating up the weft shot to the "fell"
of the cloth.
The primary distances and positions to which the crank boss and pin can
be turned or moved, and at which it can be stopped to put any shuttle box
in a line with the race which may be required, depends upon the number of
boxes in the set. For a two "change" or shuttle box the boss would be
arranged to stop only at the two extreme positions of the stroke of the crank
corresponding to the "dead centres" of its motion, the whole stroke or throw
of the crank being equal to the distance of the one shuttle box from the other,
thus in this case giving two stop positions in the revolution of the crank.
For a three-changed colour shuttle box there would be two other movements
and positions of the crank equivalent or corresponding to the half stroke or
throw of the crank on either side or half of its revolution, which would give
the second or centre box between the two extreme or first and third boxes,
which in this case would also be given by the position of the crank at the end
of its stroke in either direction, the whole throw of the crank being equal to the
two distances or spaces between the bottoms of the three shuttle boxes, and
therefore the crank has four stop positions in its revolution; while for four
boxes there would be two intermediate stop positions of the crank on each
side in the half stroke or revolution, the distance moved through corresponding
each to one-third of the whole stroke or throw of the crank, which in this
case would be equal to the three spaces between the soles of the four boxes,
and in this case, therefore, the crank would have six stop positions in its
revolution, the extreme positions of its stroke giving the first and fourth
boxes and the two on each side giving the second and third or third and
second respectively according to the direction in which the crank may be
turning. The actuating crank boss has notches, flat faces, or other equivalent
stop parts formed and divided round its periphery corresponding in each case

page_text: to the positions in which it has to be held for the time being. A catch or
flat part on the end of a strong spring attached to the "sword" of the lathe
for the purpose takes into the said notches or the other equivalents so as to
hold the crank and box or boxes in the proper position to which they had
been turned and set by the motion of the lathe and the action of the catch
or hook palls, bars, or levers, which shall be herein-after more fully
described.
The actual turning of the crank boss and shuttle box to their various stop
positions is effected by one or more catch bars, palls, or levers, by preference
binged at their back end in a horizontal position to a spring strong enough to
resist the force of the lathe in turning the actuating crank boss by any of the
catch palls, but capable of yielding to prevent the pall or other actuating part
from breaking in case of some obstruction intervening to prevent the crank
from turning or the box from moving, such as a shuttle not reaching quite
into the box. The front part of these hook or catch bars or levers either pass
close under or over lateral projections or pins fixed in the crank boss or in
the side of a wheel in gear with a pinion upon it, so that the raising or
lowering of the front end of any one of these levers respectively by a light
rod or needle" attached to each for the purpose moved by a small barrel
carrying the pattern chain of "cards," having as many holes or spaces in the
width of the barrel and cards as there are "needles" and catch levers to
actuate, will in either case bring the catch or catches of the said bar or lever
within the moving range of the said projections, when their boss or bosses are
carried forward by the motion of the "sword" or lathe which force; the pro-
jections against the hooks or catches so as to turn round the crank boss in
either direction, or to any one of its stop positions, according to the particular
catch, pall, or lever which the pattern card brings into acting position.
The number of levers and the length or distance of the catches on them
from the extreme forward position or "throw" of the bosses along with the
"sword" of the lathe and the pattern cards for bringing the catch levers into
action are all arranged to suit the number of single shuttle boxes and the mode
of actuating them, whether reciprocatory or revolving, and which necessarily
vary considerably in these details to suit the particular application or case.
For a two shuttle box one pall lever only is required, having two hooks or
catches on it and four projecting pins on the crank boss, and for three boxes
a top and bottom pall is required, oue with one catch for giving a uniform
shift of one box in one direction, and the other with two hooks or catches in
slightly different lateral planes which would give a regular shift of two boxes
in the opposite direction every alternate quarter turn of the crank (say when

page_text: the crank is at the "dead centres"), and when the crank is on the inter-
mediate quarter or half stroke it would only take one-quarter of a turn, equal
to one change of a box in the same direction, which would thus give any one of
the three reciprocating boxes with only two catches and "needles," the lateral
projecting pin being made long and short alternately to enable the double
catches in the different planes of the one pall lever to effect the said double
and single shift, but this may also be done by a single catch pall acting on
four projecting pins in the supplementary or second motion wheel gearing into
a pinion on a crank boss of two to one, the first single catch pall working in
the projecting pins in the crank boss itself.
In some other particular cases or applications of these improvements, as for
working three, four, five, or six boxes, whether reciprocatory or in circular
revolving boxes, the number of the projecting pins in the boss of the crank or
the boss of the wheels which work or give motion to a wheel on the revolving
box, as the case may be, are divided and arranged variously and proportionally
to suit the number of boxes in the set. These projecting pins on the second
motion wheel cause it to transmit motion to the crank boss or to the spindle
of the revolving box according as they are geared to it, so as either to work
the reciprocating or revolving boxes. Two or three catch levers may in some
cases be used to turn these bosses and wheels by their projecting pins, and
even a third wheel with pins and catch levers may be used for a like purpose
geared into either of the other two wheels before named, to effect a particular
back or reverse action of the boxes when a considerable number are required
in the set, as in the case of four, five, or six shuttle boxes being used, for
which latter numbers of shuttle boxes, five-hooked levers and needles are
sufficient for all the changes required. On each case a needle and a space in
the pattern card are required for bringing each catch bar or lever into action,
and when holes are pierced in the cards the needles and their catch bars or
levers are unmoved and remain out of acting range, but when a blank or
unpunched space intervenes it raises the needle in a line with it so as to bring
the catch lever into the range or plane of action, and the reciprocatory action
of the barrel frame turns the barrel to a fresh card by a pall lever and ratchet
or star wheel and a fixed stop at every single or double shot as desired. As
all these parts to be worked by the change barrel and pattern card chain are
very light they only require a light lever to work them either from a cam on
the crank shaft or on the second motion tappet shaft, as desired, and the frame
of the barrel may either slide in fixed guides and be connected to the lever by
a slot and joint pin, or by a link, or otherwise oscillate with the lever without
guides; from all which it will be seen that little power is required to work

page_text: this part of the said improvements compared to the usual mode of shifting the
shuttle boxes by the pattern cards and actuating parts connected therewith.
When vertical reciprocating or drop boxes are used they are preferred to
be balanced by a weighted lever or other equivalent to the "sword" of the
lathe, so that no great power is required or perceptible shock is sustained by
it in actuating them by the direct forward action of the lathe, which con-
stitutes the most novel feature of these improvements taken in connection with
the crank and wheel bosses, directly connected to the shuttle boxes, and only
brought into action when a change of box is required by the catch palls and
variously projecting pins in the bosses through the needles and pattern card
chain and barrel, which is so light that it is simply overhung on a stud with
the needle holes bored right through the stud, which admits of a very small
barrel being used, and the easy removal of the card chain for altering the
pattern.
Another modification of these said improvements has reference to a simple
arrangement for actuating reciprocating two shuttle boxes alternately every
two, four, or six shots, and consists in connecting the horizontal single arm of
a tilted tee ()-shaped lever fulcrumed on a stud in a bracket fixed to the
"sword" or to the lathe beneath the shuttle box by a connecting rod or link
either to the box itself or its spear or guiding rod, the arm of the lever having
as top spring acting on it so as to retain it and the boxes at the two horizontal
positions to suit for either shuttle box being in a line with the "race" when
shifted to these positions by the forward motion of the lathe, which brings
one or other of the two vertical arms of the -shaped lever into contact
with a fixed horizontally hinged catch or pall lever just before the lathe
reaches the "fell" of the cloth. This pall or catch lever (which is hinged at
the back end to a strong spring in the same manner as the hooked levers
were in the former modifications) is raised or lowered by a connecting bar or
rol with a antifriction roller on its lower end resting on a cam on the first
or second motion or tappet shaft, or on a can attached to a separate wheel
revolving on a fixed stud for the purpose in gear with a pinion a half or a
third of its own size on either of the said shafts according to the number of
shots desired to be taken between the changes and the form of the cam to be
employed so as to cause the catch to hold either the upper or lower arm of the
changing lever at the proper time after every second, fourth, or sixth shot, so
as to change or depress the top box or raise the lowest box in a line with the
"race" by the forward motion or action of the lathe just before reaching
its extreme forward position or stroke at these times. In some cases an
improved form of cani is preferred to be employed for this purpose on either

page_text: of the shafts which will only raise the friction roller, bar, and catch lever
every two or three revolutions, and thus do away with the necessity of having
the cam worked on a second shaft or stud with extra gearing wheels. The
cam has a rather broad nearly concentric part at the boss, into which the
narrow eccentric disc part gradually and tangentially glides on both sides,
and has a parallel groove passing round the periphery of the raised part in a
plane at right angles to the axis until it reaches near to the boss part on both
sides, where it diverges at an angle and then passes round annularly or in the
form of a curvilineal or screw-formed groove for either one or two turns, and
returns gradually into the other end of the groove round the eccentric part
so as to join and form one curved groove, into which the bent friction roller
works so as to follow the course of the groove, and only rise or fall over the
eccentric part of the cam once in every second or third revolution of its
periphery, which would cause the catch lever to rise and fall correspondingly
to catch and move the boxes, as before described, every four or six shots of
the weft, and the simple cam on the first and second motion shaft would give
the change every single or double shot if desired.