IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Whitehead, of Broughton, near the City of
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Gentleman, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 30th April 1867, and dated the 14th November 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Whitehead at the.
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
14th November 1866.
I, JAMES WHITEHEAD, of Broughton, near the City of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
My Invention is applicable to looms in which one or several shuttles are
used, and is intended to supersede or dispense with the use of all or part of
the long and often cumbrous checking chains now generally used for
producing patterns by the weft; it is also intended in connection with a
suitable "index machine" to vary at pleasure the make of cloth to be woven.
It consists, in the first place, of a combination of mechanism, which may be
called a "counter" or "calculator," capable of being quickly adjusted or set
to any required number, which number is "worked" off by the loom pick
by pick until the whole is computed. The motion which sets the calculator

page_text: also selects the shuttle desired, or may be made to put in action any existing
mode of doing so, and at the same time is available when required to alter
the make or texture of the fabric. The counter or calculator consists of a
serics of ratchet wheels of ten teeth each, working loose on a spindle. On
one side of each ratchet wheel is a guard having an opening at one point
only. Upon these guards rest as many levers, which being fixed on one axis
can drop only when the openings on the guards are all in one line under the
levers. The ratchet wheels are driven by as many pauls or catches vibrating
together on a frame. The first catch propels the first ratchet wheel one tooth
at each vibration, and so computes the units. The second catch is prevented
from acting upon the second ratchet wheel by a guard upon the first wheel,
except once in each round of the first, so that the second ratchet wheel is
propelled one tooth for every ten vibrations, thus computing the tens. The
same arrangement applies to the rest of the series, which can be carried as
far as may be required, the third computing hundreds, fourth thousands, and
Loose on the spindle carrying the ratchet wheels, and connected each
by a spring catch, are as many pinions worked by racks. On the latter are
stepped or graduated slides; these are acted upon by a series of fingers, any
number of which can be raised in succession by moans of a chain of lags and
pegs, or bowls, or other equivalents, or the slides may be acted upon directly
by pins fixed in a suitable chain, the whole being mounted on a swing or
sliding frame to which a single stroke or motion is communicated from any
convenient part of the loom whenever a change is to be made, the connection
being formed by the falling of the levers in the openings of the guards already
mentioned. Instead of ratchet wheels intermittent wheels may be used if
desired.
so on.
The motion for effecting the change of shuttle consists of two graduated
sliding plates working over each other with the steps or graduations reversed,
acted upon by hooks, and connected to the shuttle box in any convenient
manner, any one of the hooks being depressed into one of the steps of both
slides by one of the fingers above described, or by one or more separate chains
of lags and pegs or their equivalents acting with or independently of the
counter. A stepped slide acted upon by one of the fingers or pins before
named and held by a catch is used for raising or lowering the jacquard barrel
of a jacquard or index machine, each of the cards of which are prepared for-
producing different textures of cloth.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Whitehead in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
14th May 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
WHITEHEAD, of Broughton, near the City of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said James Whitehead, Her special license that I, the said James'
Whitehead, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said James Whitehead, 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 James Whitehead, my executors or adminstrators, 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 Scal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Whitehead, 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 (that is to say):-
My Invention is applicable to looms in which one or more shuttles are
used, and it is intended to supersede or dispense with the use of all or part of
the long and often cumbrous checking chains now generally used for producing
patterns by the weft; part of my Invention is applicable, in connection with a
suitable "index machine or jacquard," to vary at pleasure the make of cloth
to be woven.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation, I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet
of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is an elevation of part of a loom to which my improvements aro

page_text: applied; Figure 2 is a plan of the top, and Figure 3 a plan of the lower part
of the same.
a is the crank shaft; b, the lay sword; and c is a circular shuttle box,
containing in this instance six compartments, but my Invention is equally
applicable to looms with a greater or less number of shuttles contained in
circular or drop boxes. To the crank shaft a is fixed the pinion a¹ gearing
into the wheel d¹ mounted on a stud fixed in the loom side; to the wheel d¹ is
fixed the cam & by which a to-and-fro motion is given to the sliding rod d³; a
projection from this rod gives an oscillating motion to the swing frame e,
which is suspended to the axle e¹; this axle supports the counter or calculator,
consisting of three or other convenient number of ratchet wheels e³, each con-
taining ten teeth, which are turned partly round when required by the
catches the first of which is fast and the others loose on the shaft f¹,
passing through the swing frame e. The ratchet wheels e³ have a guard on
each side, the larger guards having an opening at one point corresponding to
the shape of the ratchet teeth, for the purpose of regulating the movement of
the catches f. These catches are drawn detached in Figure 4; the first is
a single catch which propels the first ratchet wheel one tooth at each vibration
of the swing frame e, and so computes the units; the second catch when the
opening in the guard of the first ratchet wheel comes opposite to it acts upon
the second ratchet wheel, so that the second ratchet wheel is only propelled
one tooth for every ten vibrations of the swing frame, thus computing the tens.
The same arrangement applies to the rest of the series which can be carried
as far as may be required, the third ratchet wheel computing the hundreds,
the fourth, when required, thousands, and so on to any extent. All the
catches are held in gear with the ratchet wheels by springs, and the ratchet
wheels are held when they have been moved by the retaining catches e³.
To cach catch fis fixed a projection f³, which projections provent the adjacent
catch falling into gear with the ratchet wheels, except at the proper time for
giving motion to the ratchet wheels for the tens and hundreds. The other
guard of each ratchet wheel is provided with an opening at one point. On
these guards rest the levers g which are fixed on the shaft g', consequently the
points of these levers can only drop into the openings of the guards when all
the openings are in one line under the points of the levers. To one of the
levers is fixed a stud, from which is suspended the rod g; to the lower
end of this rod is attached the end of the chain 93, which passes under the
pulley g', connected to the weight g*; the other end of the chain after passing
over a suitable guide pulley is attached to the sliding rod d³; by this
arrangement the weight g³ is made to hold the bowl of the rod * against

page_text: g
the cam d, and to give the requisite pressure to the levers 9 for causing them
to drop suddenly into the openings in the guards of the ratchet wheels. Loose
on the spindle e' are the spur pinions et, each of which is connected by a
spring catch e to one of the ratchet wheels e; these pinions gear into racks
formed at the under side of the graduated slides h; there are nine steps in each
slide, being one less than the number of teeth in the ratchet wheels. The
slides are acted upon when required by the series of fingers i mounted on a
spindle in the swing frame 2%; these fingers are raised in any required
succession by means of the chain of lags and pegs passing over the barrel ³,
each lag having as many holes as there are fingers i in the series employed,
or by any other equivalent mechanism, or the slides h may be acted upon
directly by pins fixed in a chain, one link of which is shewn detached in
Figure 6. The swing frame i' is counterbalanced by the weight it, and it is
drawn forward when required by the hooked lever jointed to the swing
frame, being caught by the hook in the sliding rod d²; this hooked lever i³
is held out of contact with the hook of the rod d by the spring ", and it is
lowered by the bowl on the rod 9³, when the points of the levers 9 drop into.
the openings of the guards of the ratchet wheels e³. There is an incline on
the lever ³ to raise the bowl and rod g², and thereby to lift the levers g out
of the openings in the guards. The barrel is turned partly round to bring
forward another lag of the chain by the catch at the return stroke of the
swing frame.
g
In addition to the series of fingers i for actuating the graduated slides h I
employ additional similar fingers corresponding in number to the number of
compartments in the shuttle box; these additional fingers act on the hori-
zontal rods j, only three of which aro shewn in Figure 2; these rods are
each connected to an elbow lever j³, to the horizontal arms of which are
suspended the rods j³, the lower ends of which pass through the guide plate k,
forming part of the motion for changing the position of the shuttle box.
When one of the rods ; has been pushed forwards it is held in position by the
weighted or spring catch 1. The shuttle motion consists of the two
graduated sliding plates 1, 1, working to fro over each other, and with the
graduations or steps reversed; the number of these graduations must
correspond to the number of compartments in the shuttle box employed.
To the plates 2, 1, are fixed the racks A gearing above and below in the
pinions; these pinions are fixed on a shaft coinciding with the axle of the
lay swords; on this shaft is fixed the toothed pulley P, around which passes
the chain by which the shuttle box c is turned round. The plates / are
moved by the catches m mounted in a swing frame ³, to which motion is

page_text: given by the tappet x' on the ordinary tappet shaft x, or in any other con-
venient manner. The hooked ends of the catches m are held up above the
plates by springs m² connected to the swing frame x³.
เ
The parts required for producing the variations in the make of cloth are
shewn best in Figure 2, and they consist of the small graduated slide plate n
having three steps, or sufficient for producing in combination with a suitable
index or jacquered machine four changes of the fabric; the plate n is moved
when required by fingers i actuated by pegs on the chain, and the plate n
is connected to the elbow lever ¹, to the horizontal arm of which is jointed
the lower end of the rod n³, the upper end of which is connected to the
moveable barrel of the index or jacquard machine so as to vary the level of
the portion of the pattern cards presented to the needles. The plate » is held
when pushed in by a spring catch similar to.j³.
The mode of operation is as follows:-The first operation to be performed
is to put together the chain of lags of the length corresponding to tho
number of changes required in the pattern to be produced; the number of
picks of each shuttle is regulated by inserting pegs in the holes in the lags,
which holes are in sets of nine corresponding to the sets of fingers i and to
the graduations in the sliding plates 7, and indicating units, tens, and hundreds,
as before described.
In Figure 2 the parts are shewn in the positions they occupy when the
pegs have been inserted in the lags of the chain for giving eight hundred
and fifty consecutive picks with one shuttle. The pegs required for the
selection of the shuttle and for the make of cloth are also inserted in their
respective holes in the lags of the chain . When the cight hundred
and fifty picks have been computed by the action of the catches fon
the ratchet wheels e the openings in the smaller guards will be in
line under the points of the levers g, and these levers in dropping bring
down the catch lever into the notch in the sliding bar d², consequently
at the next rotation of the tappet & the swing frame is again brought a
forward and the next lag of the chain (having been brought into position
on the back stroke of the swing frame ) again sets the counting ratchet
wheels according to the number of picks indicated by the position of the pegs,
at the same time selecting the desired shuttle and varying if required the
make of cloth. When a change is required in the position of the shuttle box
the corresponding rod is pressed down by the slide j and elbow lever j',
the end of the rod pressing on the corresponding catch m depresses its
hooked end, so that as the catches are moved by the swing frame a³ the hook
takes hold of one of the steps in the two plates and brings the two plates / with

page_text: 2
the two corresponding steps together; the motion thus given to the plates is
_transmitted by the racks to the pinions and toothed pulley P, which, as
before described, governs the position of the shuttle box c, and as the swing.
frame has sufficient motion given to it to traverse the hooked catches m
and plates through a space equal to the circumference of the pinions &, it
is evident that any compartment of the shuttle box may be brought in line
with the shuttle race when required, and the overrunning of the shuttle box
is prevented. The circular shuttle box is held in position when set by the
usual spring catch. When a change is required in the position of the shuttle
box the swing frame acting on the bent end of the spring catch releases
the horizontal rod; that had been in operation, and at the same time another
of the fingers i acting on another rod j brings by the means above described
another shuttle in line with the shuttle race.
The apparatus shewn in Figure 5 may be used in combination with the
machinery above described for weaving fabrics having several repeats of a
small pattern combined with a largo pattern, as, for instance, in a scarf the
centre part of which is composed of small checks and the border of large
checks; represents the counting ratchet wheels above described, f the
catches, and d the sliding rod; ; are the vertical rods connected to the
shuttle motion; o is a chain of lags and pegs similar to ; this chain o
passes over the barrel o³, which is turned partly round when required
by the hook d jointed to the sliding rod d. The pegs of the chain o
act upon one end of the fingers p, the other ends of which are connected
to the rods. One of the pegs of the chain o acts on a similar finger p
connected by the link p¹ to the eccentric segment p³, which is looso on the
axle e'. The hook d is connected by the link d to the spring catch j³
above described. When the chain o is to be brought into .operation
the peg in the chain & for selecting the shuttle is omitted, and those for
governing the number of repeats of the small pattern are inserted; the
catch in .dropping allows the hook d to act on the barrel o', and the first
partial rotation of the barrel o' removing the peg from under the finger p
connected to the segment p² allows the segment to be moved partly round by
the spiral spring p³, thereby throwing the catches fout of gear with the
ratchet wheels e³. These catches remain out of gear until the chain o has
completed its round, when the segment p* is moved back by the action of the
same peg to allow the catch f to turn one tooth of the counter, and these.
operations continue until the number of rounds of the chain o have been
computed.

page_text: I wish to observe that that part of my Invention called the counter or
calculator is applicable to looms in which the change in the position of
the shuttle box is produced by tappet chains or other equivalent apparatus.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and described the
manner of performing the same, I declare that I claim,―
First, the apparatus described for counting or governing the number of
picks to be given by each shuttle in succession, and particularly the graduated
plates for setting the ratchet wheels.
Secondly, the apparatus described for changing the position of the
shuttle box, and particularly the traversing plates with steps in contrary
'directions.
Thirdly, the application of the second chain marked o when used in
combination with the counting or governing apparatus as described.
And, lastly, the mode of constructing index chains, as shewn in Figure 6.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Whitehead, have hereto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of May, One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-seven.