CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Ainsworth, of Adlington, in the County of
Lancaster, Weaver, Ellis Heap, of the same Place, Engine Minder,
William Fielding, of the same Place, Overlooker, and Eli Openshaw, of
the same Place, Overlooker, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN POWER LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 28th February 1862, and dated the 7th September 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Ainsworth, Ellis
Heap, William Fielding, and Eli Openshaw at the Office of the Com-
missioners of Patents with their Petition, on the 7th September 1861.
We, WILLIAM AINSWORTH, of Adlington, in the County of Lancaster,
Weaver, ELLIS HEAP, of the same Place, Engine Minder, WILLIAM FIELDING,
of the same Place, Overlooker, and ELI OPENSHAW, of the same Place, Over-
looker, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention for "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates principally to that description of power looms wherein
the shuttle boxes rise and fall for the purpose of altering the color or
description of weft, and consists in a novel method of governing the rise and
fall of such shuttle boxes, and constitutes the first part of our improvements.
The second part of the Invention relates to a novel method of reversing the

page_text: action of the pattern chain and its drum, by which the shuttle boxes aro
actuated.
And, thirdly, the Invention relates to a novel method of varying the number
of "picks" of the shuttle.
In the accompanying Diagram, a is the drum carrying the pattern chain,
upon which are projections acting upon the rods 1, 1, so as to cause the lower
rods 2, 2, on the levers b, b, to be forced forward and beneath one of the
"
steps" in the head of the vertical rod c, which has a continuous vertical
reciprocating movement imparted to it by the lever d from the tappet shaft c.
When the motion of this rod is stopped by the presence of one of the rods 2
holding it up, the lower and thereof being attached to the slotted bar f causes
the double pawl upon the said bar to take into one of the corresponding steps
on the sliding pieces g, which are secured upon the endless chain h, and thus,
as the lever i draws the bar j, the chain causes a partial turn of the drum k
and raises or lowers the rod & secured to the shuttle boxes, and known as the
drop box rod, and so changes the shuttle box as required, the spring m releasing
the rod in the case of any obstruction to the motion of the shuttle box. A
motion for steadying the drum k also consists in the formation of indentations
in the periphery of the disc, in which a pawl or stopper is retained by the
lever and spring y, and is released by means of a cam acting upon the other
end of the lover.
In the second part of the Invention, the lever d imparts a continuous
reciprocating motion to the fork n, which carries two pawls acting upon the
ratchet on the pattern chain drum a, a. One end of the chain is secured
to a disc, which has also a connecting rod attached to the shield o, so that
when the pattern chain becomes tightened between the disc and drum the
disc is turned, and the shield transferred to the opposito side of the ratchet,
thereby throwing one pawl out and the opposite one into action, and causing
the reversing of the chain.
The arrangement for varying the number of picks consists in a series of
adjustable studs upon the disc fixed on the drum k, upon which stud a lever
rests, so arranged as to lengthen or shorten the motion of the lever, causing
the vibration of the slay sword according to the distance of the stud from the
periphery of the disc.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Ainsworth, Ellis Heap, William Fielding, and
Eli Openshaw in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 5th March
1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
AINSWORTH, of Adlington, in the County of Lancaster, Weaver, ELLIS HEAP;
of the same Place, Engine Minder, WILLIAM FIELDING, of the same Place,
Overlooker, and ELI OPENSHAW, of the same Place, Overlooker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said William Ainsworth, Ellis Heap, William Fielding, and Eli Open-
shaw, Her special license that we, the said William Ainsworth, Ellis Heap,
William Fielding, and Eli Openshaw, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said William Ainsworth, Ellis Heap,
William Fielding, and Eli Openshaw, 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 IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER LOOMS FOR WEAVING,"
upon
the condition, amongst others, that we, the said William Ainsworth, Ellis
Heap, William Fielding, and Eli Openshaw, by an instrument in writing
under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, 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 Eli Openshaw, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to say) :-
Our Invention relates principally to that description of power looms wherein
the shuttle boxes rise and fall for the purpose of altering the color or
description of weft, and consists in a novel method of governing the rise and
fall of such shuttle boxes, and constitutes the first part of our improvements.

page_text: The second part of the Invention relates to a novel method of reversing the
action of the pattern chain and its drum, by which the shuttle boxes are
actuated.
And, thirdly, the Invention relates to a novel method of varying the number
of "picks" of the shuttle.
In order that the Invention may be better understood and explained in
detail, I have hereunto attached a Sheet of Drawings, made upon a scalo of
about three inches to a foot, and having similar letters of reference marked
upon corresponding parts.
portion of the loom to which our
exhibiting clearly the mechanism
Fig. 1 represents an end view of that
improvements are shewn applied, and
hereafter to be explained; Fig. 2 is a detail Diagram, being a side view of
the "stepped bead" of the rod c, and Fig. 3 is also a sido view in detail of
the sliding bar f, carrying the double pawl g; Fig. 4 is a detached view
of the ratchets and shield on the chain drum, and Fig. 5 represents a side
view of that part of the loom to which the improved notion for regulating
the "taking up" of the cloth is applied.
In Figs. 1, 2, and 3, a is the drum carrying the pattern chain, upon which
are projections acting upon the levers 1, 2, 3, so as to cause the rod or elbow
at the lower end of any one of the levers to be forced forward and beneath one
of the steps" in the head of the vertical rod c, which is lifted at intervals
by the lever d, which is raised by the cam on the tapet shaft, and allowed
to fall until arrested by one of the steps 1, 2, 3, on its upper end, resting on
the lower end of the lever, which has been pushed forward by the pattern
chain. To the lower end of the rod c is attached the bar f, sliding in suitable
bearings, and having a slot, in which slides the stud 8, connecting the rod j
with the bar f, so that the vertical position of the end of the rod j is
determined by the pattern chain through the lovers and steps 1, 2, 3, at the
upper end of the rod c, so as to cause one of the shoulders on the end of the
rod to take into one of the corresponding steps on the sliding pieces g, g',
which are secured upon the endless chain h, and slide on the rods g³, g, and
thus, as the vibrating lover i, when acted upon by the cam on the end of the
"tappot shaft" e, draws the bar j, the chain causes a partial turn of the
drum k, and raises or lowers the rod secured to the shuttle boxes, and known
as the "drop box rod," and so changes the shuttle box as required. The
spring m releases the "drop box rod" in the event of any obstruction being
presented to the motion of the shuttle box, the said rod being secured to
the pieco m by means of a conical pin on the end of the spring, fitting into a

page_text: hole in the rod l, so that in the event of any obstruction the spring allows
the pin to be forced out, the rod 7 being then free to slide in the piece m'.
The action of this part of the Invention is as follows:-Supposing the parts
to be in the positions represented in Fig. 1, as when the shuttle in the top
box is in action, then if the next shuttle below is required to be brought into
operation at the next stroke of the loom, a button or peg on the pattern chain
raises the higher end of the lever 2, thereby causing its lower end to project
under the corresponding step 2 in the head of the rod c, which is raised to its
bighest point, and when allowed to fall is arrested by the step 2, resting on
the end of the lever 2, the sliding bar f, which supports the head of the rod j,
being in a position one step lower than shewn in the Drawing, so that when
the cam v, acting on the lever i, draws the rod j, the shoulder on its under
side comes in contact with the step 2 on the piece 9', and moves it forward
until it arrives at the end of its stroke, thereby causing the partial rotation of
the disc or chain pulley k by means of the chain h, which is attached to a
chain pulley in connection with the disc k, whereby the shuttle box is raised
the distance required. When the lowest shuttle is required to be raised into
action, the levers 1, 2, and 3 are not acted upon by the pattern chain, and the
rod c and sliding bar f fall to their lowest position, as represented by the
dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2, the shoulder on the rod j coming into contact
with the extreme end of the sliding piece g¹, it is evident that the shoulder
on the rod j must act upon the upper stepped bar g to lower the shuttle box,
and upon the lower one g¹ to raise it. The motion for steadying the drum k
is shewn in Fig. 1, and consists in the formation of indentations in the
periphery of the disc z, which is employed to hold the drop box in the required
position, in which indentations a pawl or stopper is retained by the lever
and spring y, and is released by means of a cam acting upon the other end of
the lever.
In the second part of the Invention for reversing the action of the pattern
cbain by which the shuttle boxes are actuated, the lever & imparts a continuous
reciprocating motion to the fork w, which carries two pawls n, o, acting upon
the ratchets 5 and 6 on the pattern chain drum a. One end of the chain is
secured to the lever q, which has also a connecting rod r attached to the
shield s, so that when the pattern chain becomes tightened between the lever
and drum the lever is moved, and the shield transferred by the connecting
rod r to the opposite side of the ratchet, thereby throwing one pawl out of
gear and the opposite one into action, and causing the reversing of the chain.
The action of this, the second part of the Invention, is as follows:-When by

page_text: the rotation of the chain drum, caused by the pawl o acting on the teeth of
the ratchet wheel 6, one end of the pattern chain has arrived at the point
represented by the termination of the pattern which is being woven, the parts
will be in the position shewn in Fig. 1, and the portion of the chain or cord
attached to the small lever 7 will be tightened, so that on the next movement
of the chain the rocking shaft 7, together with the lever 8 attached to it, will
be moved round into the position shewn in Fig. 4, and acting on the shield s
through the connecting rod r, will shift the shield to the opposite side of the
ratchet wheels, thereby throwing the pawl o out of action, and allowing the
pawn to act so as to reverse the direction of the motion of the chain,
the shield being restored to the position shewn in Fig. 1, by the other end
of the chain acting on the lever 9, as will be readily understood. In weaving
regular or geometric patterns the chain may be about one-half as long as is
necessary when the ordinary endless chain is used, in which case it is reversed
when the middle of the pattern is arrived at.
In Fig. 5 is represented the arrangement for varying the number of picks,
which consists in the use of a number of adjustable studs 1, 2, 3, 4, upon the
disc, which revolves partially in connection with the drum k, wheu tho
shuttle box is raised or lowered, so as to present the studs alternately to one
end of the lover t, the opposite end of the lever being connected to the lever u',
which carries the pawl actuating the taking-up motion, the lover u' being
worked by means of a stud v³, fixed upon the slay-sword, which pushes the
lever back at each stroke of the loom, the return of the lover being govorned
by the levert in the following manner :-In the Drawing the levers are shewn
in the position they assume when the ratchet wheel is moved one tooth at each
stroke, but when the stud marked 4 is brought immediately under the lever t,
the spring draws the levers into the positions indicated by the lines marked 4,
when the roller on the horizontal part of the levert will rest on the stud 4,
and the ratchet wheel will be moved round a space equal to 4 teeth at the
next stroke of the arın v¹ on the lever t.
Although we have herein explained the method we consider most efficient
for giving a "positive" rise and fall to the shuttle boxes, we are also aware
that the same may effected by other means of similar action, but not
precisely the same in mechanical arrangement; for instance, instead of using
the endless chain h, and the double-shouldered rod j, and the steps 1, 2, 3,
sliding rods may be employed, instead of the chain and a bar, having projections
thereupon, which may take into holes in the plates governing the disc; or
studs may be formed on the samo plates, so as to take into holes in the bar

page_text: being the reverse of the above; and other slight modifications of the same will
be required to suit various descriptions of looms.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, together with the
method of carrying the same into practical effect, we wish it to be distinctly
understood that we claim,-
First, effecting and regulating the rise and fall of the "shuttle boxes" iu
power looms by means of the novel and peculiar mechanism described.
Secondly, we claim reversing the direction and action of the pattern chain
actuating the shuttle boxes by means of the aforesaid mechanism, or other
slight variation thereof, so as to be enabled to weave certain patterns with half
the length of chain usually required.
And, lastly, we claim the novel method of varying the number of "picks"
of the shuttle by means of the adjustable bowls and mechanism connected
therewith, as herein-before described, set forth, and fully illustrated in the
accompanyind Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Eli Openshaw, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
ELI OPENSHAW. (L.S.)