CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Berrisford, of Stockport, in the County of
Chester, Engineer and Machinist, and William Ainsworth, of the same
Place, Overlooker, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 8th April 1864, and dated the 17th October 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Berrisford and
William Ainsworth at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents with
their Petition, on the 17th October 1863.
We, SAMUEL BERRISFORD, of Stockport, in the County of Chester, Engineer
and Machinist, and WILLIAM AINSWORTH, of the same Place, Overlooker, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists, in the first place, in an improved method of raising
shuttle boxes when not more than two boxes are required, and a simple
method. or arrangement for weaving long patterns by connecting the aforesaid
motion with a suitable pattern or leading chain. On the swing rail, which
is prolonged to a suitable distance, or upon a stud coinciding with it, is
mounted an eccentric, which eccentric is caused to revolve half way round by
an intermittent motion derived from a star wheel from the tappet shaft ; this
eccentric is connected by a rod to the drop boxes, the half revolutions of
the eccentric causing the boxes to rise or fall with great steadiness, no matter

page_text: at what speed the loom may be running. Perforated cards or a chain of
different elevations cause a cessation of movement for any number of picks by
pushing away or withdrawing the pin that gives motion to the star wheel.
Secondly, in an improved taking-up or letting-off motion formed by a new
arrangement of pinion and ratchet wheels. On each side of a spur wheel are
slotted levers mounted on the same bearing, which levers carry small pinions
connected with light ratchet wheels of a suitable diameter; to these levers is
given an oscillating motion, which motion is obtained from any suitable part
of the loom. As the cloth accumulates on the roller, it elevates or depresses
a rod, and this causes a proportionately lesser motion of the oscillating levers;
one of these levers may, if required, remain stationary. When applied to
letting off the yarn its action will be the reverse of the above; we can employ
either a clip or a catch to the aforesaid ratchet wheels.
Thirdly, in a new and improved method of forming a shed with any
number of shafts. The healds are mounted in the usual manner by top and
bottom levers; on one side of the loom is fixed a frame which supports the
grid or grids, and which form guides for flat bars; these bars are connected
to the top and bottom levers by cords. This frame also supports a barrel
which revolves, and thus takes the pattern chain along with it; it receives its
motion from a star wheel and suitable gearing from crank or tappet shaft.
To the framing of the loom are fixed two studs, upon which work two bell-
crank levers fitting into each other by means of teeth; the end of one of
these levers receives a vertical motion from the end of the crank shaft by
means of a stud or eccentric, and moves up and down at every revolution.
To each of the aforesaid levers is bolted a knife which takes hold of hooks at
each end of the before-named flat bars as they are pushed forward by pegs on
the pattern chain; the flat bars return to their original position by the
elasticity of the cords alone, thus avoiding the necessity of springs.
Fourthly, in an improved arrangement of machinery for obtaining any
number of picks from either side of the loom as the pattern to be woven may
require. A rod lies across the loom parallel with the tappet shaft, and is
connected to sliding picking tappets which the said rod pushes in and out of
action according to the elevations and depressions of the pattern chain. The
tappet is so constructed that one part never leaves the surface of the of the
picking bowl, the other part being at liberty to slide freely on the tappet shaft.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Berrisford and William Ainsworth in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 15th April 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, SAMUEL
BERRISFORD, of Stockport, in the County of Chester, Engineer and Machinist,
and WILLIAM AINSWORTH, of the same Place, Overlooker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Samuel Berrisford and William Ainsworth, Her special license that we,
the said Samuel Berrisford and William Ainsworth, our executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Samuel Berrisford and
William Ainsworth, 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst others) that we,
the said Samuel Berrisford and William Ainsworth, our executors or admi-
nistrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of our
or 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 Samuel Berrisford and William
Ainsworth, 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 (that is to say) :-
The nature of our Invention consists, first, in an improved combination of
machinery for raising and lowering the drop boxes of looms, such drop boxes
baving two compartments, and connecting therewith a pattern chain for
producing long patterns.
Secondly, in improved combinations of machinery for taking up the fabric,
and letting the yarn off the warp beam.
Thirdly, in an improved combination of machinery for forming the shed
with any convenient number of shafts.

page_text: And, lastly, in an improved combination of machinery for governing the
number of picks to be given from each side of the loom.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood, we will proceed to
describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
Fig. 1 is an end view; Fig. 2, a partial front view; Fig. 3, another end
view; and Fig. 4, another partial front view of a loom to which our improve-
ments are applied.
a is the crauk shaft; b, the tappet shaft; c, the lay; c', the drop box;
c, the lay swords; c³, the swing shaft or rail; d, the breast beam; c, the
taking-up roller; f, the top jacks; and g, the bottom jacks. These parts are
made as usual. To the end of the swing rail, or to the stud c', which coincides
with it, is mounted the eccentric h, see Figs. 1 and 2, which is cast or fixed
to the pulley h'. The drop box c' is connected to the eccentric h by the rod h³;
the pulley h is turned half round when required by the toothed chain h
passing over the pulley h¹ and over the pulley fixed to the intermittent or
star wheel i, which is driven by a stud or pin in the sliding bush ' loose on
the tappet shaft b, and guided in a recess in the disc be fixed to the shaft b,
and by which the intermittent wheel i is held after it has been moved round
for one slot. The stud in the sliding bush b' is moved so as to act, in
revolving, on the intermittent wheel i, or to pass without acting on it by means
of a chain of tappets passing over the barrel j, which is driven from the
crank shaft a by the pinions a' and ', the latter of which has a stud projecting
from its face taking into the intermittent wheel fixed to the barrel j. The
tappets act on the lever k, which is connected by the link to the horizontal
arm of the elbow lever 2, the vertical arm of which takes into a groove in
the bush . By this means the elevators and depressors of the tappet chain
cause the stud in the bush b' to act when required on the intermittent wheel i,
so as to turn it one-sixth round, or sufficient to move the eccentric h one-half
round, thus bringing either the upper or lower compartment of the shuttle-
box c in line with the shuttle race.
Our improved taking-up motion is also shewn in Figs. 1 and 2; the
taking-up roller e derives a positive motion from the spur wheel, which is
connected to the roller e by the usual train of pinions and wheels, as shewn in
the Drawing. On one side of the wheel 1, and vibrating on its axle, is a
slotted lever m, and at the other side is the bracket m' projecting from the
bearing in which the axle of the wheel rotates; in the lever m, and in the
bracket m² are fixed studs, on which are mounted the pinions n, n', the ratchet
wheels o, o¹, and the catches p, p'. A vibrating motion is given to the lever m
by the eccentric 63 on the tappet shaft b and the connecting link 6, the stud

page_text: of which is moveable in the slot of the lever m, being raised by the link e¹,
the upper end of which is suspended to the rod es, bearing as usual on the
fabric wound on the cloth roller c, and the lower end is jointed to the same
stud as the connecting link 1. As the cloth accumulates on the roller c, it
raises the end of the connecting link e', and reduces the vibration of the
lever m in proportion to the increasing diameter of the fabric wound upon it;
or, instead of making the bracket m³ stationary, and giving a vibrating motion
to the single lever m, as above described, two vibrating levers may be
employed; these levers, in vibrating, give motion to the wheel by the
catches p, p', ratchet wheels o, o', and pinions n, n', the combined action of
which is transmitted to the cloth roller by the usual train of wheels and pinions
shewn.
When this improved machinery is applied as a letting-off motion, the
action will be the reverse, that is to say, as the warp beam diminishes in diameter
the action of the catches p, p, on the ratchet wheels o, o', must be increased,
and a friction clip may be employed instead of the catches and ratchet.
wheels.
Our improved shedding motion is represented in Figs. 3 and 4. The healds
are mounted in the usual manner between the top and bottom jacks or levers
f and g. To the loom side is fixed the frame supporting the grids 2, which
form the guides for the flat bars s connected to the levers ƒ and g by cords;
the frame also supports the barrel, around which passes the pattern
chain . The barrel is turned round by the pinion a² on the crank shaft a
gearing into the pinion a³, fixed to the same shaft as the bevel disc a', the
stud in which gives motion to the intermittent wheel on the shaft of the
barrel. To the framing of the loom are fixed the studs t, t, which serve as
fulcra for the bell-crank levers u, u', the toothed segments of which gear into
each other, as shewn in Fig. 3. The lever u has a vertical up-and-down
motion imparted to it by the crank a fixed to the crank shaft, consequently
every revolution of the crank shaft causes the levers u and u¹ to approach and
recede from each other. To the lever u is connected a knife u² for raising
the flat bars s that are selected by the pegs projecting from the pattern
chain, and to the lever u is fixed the knife u³ for depressing all the flat
bars s that have not been selected by the studs in the pattern chain. After
every shed has been formed, the flat bars are brought in line again by the
knives * acting on a projection from each flat bar; the flat bars return to
their original positions against the back of the grids, without the aid of
springs, being acted upon by the cords connecting them to the jacks f and g.
Our improved machinery for governing the picks is also shewn in Figs. 3

page_text: and 4. The rod v passes through the loom sides parallel to the tappet
shaft b, and it is connected by the forks v¹ to the sliding picking tappets w on
the tappet shaft b. To the tappets w are cast projections taking into slots in
the discs fixed to the tappet shaft; the sliding rod is moved laterally by
the pattern chain y passing over the barrel y', which receives motion from the
tappet shaft by the stud in the disc bo taking into the intermittent wheel y²;
the pattern chain acts on a bowl in the lever, to the outer end of which is
connected one end of the chain 2, the other end of which, after the chain has
passed around the pulley is secured to the end of the slidng rod v. By
varying the succession of the elevators and depressors of the pattern chain Y,
the rod vis moved endwise so as to bring each picking tappet w into action as
often as may be required at each side of the loom.
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, we declare that we claim,-
First, the improved combination of machinery shewn and described for
raising and lowering drop boxes having two compartments.
Secondly, the improved combination of machinery shewn and described for
taking up the fabric and letting the yarn off the warp beam.
Thirdly, the improved combination of machinery shewn and described for
forming the shed.
And, lastly, the improved combination of machinery, shewn and described,
for governing the number of picks to be given at each side of the loom.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Berrisford, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Fourteenth day of April, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-four.
SAM. BERRISFORD. (L.S.)