CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Sidebottom, of Broadbottom, near Mottram, in
the County of Chester, Cotton Spinner and Manufacturer, for the Inven-
tion of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 14th August 1860, and dated the 5th March 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Sidebottom at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 5th
March 1860.
I, JOHN SIDEBOTTOM, of Broadbottom, near Mottram, in the County of
Chester, Cotton Spinner and Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as
follows:-
In looms of the ordinary construction it is customary to apply the "swell"
to the back of the shuttle box; when the swell is in this position the action of
the swell on the shuttle has a tendency to cause it to deviate from a straight
line when thrown across the shed.
Now my Invention consists in applying the swell above or below the shuttle
by which means the defects of the present mode of construction are obviated, and
the loom may be worked with less power and at a greater velocity than is now
attainable with safety.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Sidebottom in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th September 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JoпN
SIDEBOTTOM, of Broadbottom, near Mottram, in the County of Chester, Cotton
Spinner, and Manufacturer send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of March in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Sidebottom, Her special licence that I, the said John
Sidebottom, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Sidebottom, 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 "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said John Sidebottom, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 John Sidebottom, 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 fol-
lowing statement (that is to say):
In looms of the ordinary construction it is customary to apply the "swell"
to the back of the shuttle box. When the swell' is in this position, the action
of the swell on the shuttle has a tendency to cause it to deviate from a straight
line when thrown across the shed.
Now my Invention consists in applying the swell above or below the
shuttle by which means the defects of the present mode of construction are
obviated and the loom may be worked with less power and at a greater velocity
than is now attainable with safety.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood, and readily carried

page_text: into effect, I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Fig. 1 is an elevation of a loom, with a loose reed of the ordinary construc-
tion, to which one mode of applying my improvements is attached; Fig. 2.is
a front view, and Fig. 3 a plan of part of the same. a is the crank shaft; b
the connecting arms, and c the lay or batten, the shuttle boxes of which are
furnished with my improved swells marked d: these swells are hinged at è,
to the plate f, which forms the top of the shuttle box; the picking sticks 9
pass through a slot in the lay bottom, as is now customary in some looms, and
the upper end of each picking stick passes through a slot in the swells d; each
swell enters in a slot in the plate f, but is prevented from passing too far
through the said slots by the projections d', which are cast or fixed to the
swells. The springs el fixed to end of the lay press upon the swells & and
hold them down. On referring to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the swell at the
right hand side of the lay is raised by and bears upon the shuttle, shewn by
dotted lines, which is now in the right hand shuttle box, while the swell at
the left hand side is down; when the shuttle leaves the right hand shuttle
box the swell that was bearing upon it drops until the shoulders d¹ bear on
the plate f, and when the shuttle enters the left hand shuttle box, it raises the
left hand swell; the weight of the swell assisted by the spring e¹ prevents the
rebound of the shuttle when it has been thrown into the shuttle box. The
swells bear evenly on each side of the shuttle, consequently when it is thrown
out of the shuttle box by the action of the picking stick, it is propelled in a
direct line across the shed, whereas when the swell is placed at the back of the
shuttle box, as now customary, the action of the swell has a tendency to cause
it to deviate from a straight line in crossing the shed.
Fig. 4 is an end view, and Fig. 5 a front view of part of the lay of an
ordinary loom having a fast reed, to which my improvements are applied; in
this case the stud d is fixed near the end of the swell d, and the link h
hinged above to the stud d is connected below to the lever i, fixed to the stop
rod j, to which the stop finger is fixed in the usual manner.
Fig. 6 is an end view and Fig. 7 a front view of part of the lay of a loom
with a fast reed, to which a modification of my improvements is applied; in
this instance the swell d is hinged to the plate f at e, the swell is made with
a lever, to which a stud d' is fixed; the upper end of the link h is jointed
to the stud d², and the lower end fits on the lever i, fixed to the stop rod j, to
which the stop finger ¹ is fixed in the usual manner.
Fig. 8 is an end view, and Fig. 9 a front view of part of a lay of a loom

page_text: with a fast reed,, to which another modification of my improvements is applied,
in this case the roller k answers the purpose of the swell; this roller is mounted
.on a stud d, fixed in the upright 1, which slides up and down in the bracket
m, fixed to the back of the lay; to the stud dis jointed the link h which
passes below through the stop finger . When the shuttle enters the shuttle
.box, it raises the roller k, and this roller in rising lifts the stop finger clear of
the frog in the same manner as the swell d in the Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7.
Various other combinations of parts for effecting the same object might be
shewn, but the foregoing are sufficient to illustrate the nature of my Invention.
I would also remark that the swell instead of being placed at the upper part
of the shuttle box may be applied below, the object of my improvements
.being to apply the pressure on the shuttle in a line with its traverse across
the shed, thereby enabling the gloom to be worked with less power and at a
greater velocity than is now attainable with safety.
.
Having thus described the nature and particulars of my Invention, .I
declare that I claim the application of the swell either above or below the
shuttle, in the manner and for the purposes described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Sidebottom, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of August in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
JOHN SIDEBOTTOM.
(L.S.)