Improvements in Swivel Power Looms for Weaving Figured Goods.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Apr., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 30th Dec., 1890-Accepted, 31st Jan., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Swivel Power Looms for Weaving Figured Goods.
We WILLIAM TAYLOR BIRCHENOUGH of the firm of John Birchenough and
Sons Macclesfield in the County of Chester, Silk Manufacturers and AMOS WOOD
of the same place, Foreman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
Our invention is particularly applicable to swivel looms for weaving silk
fabrics.
In weaving a flowered or figured swivel china cloth in a power loom the
minimum space between the adjacent flowers or figures has hitherto been necessarily
governed by the space required for the toothed rack and pinion employed to give
the swivel shuttles their motion.
The object of our invention is to swivel a flower or figure of a closer setting
than it has hitherto been possible to produce by a power loom and we effect this
object by the application of a modified form of handloom swivel rack.
In carrying out our invention we dispense with the toothed racks and pinions for
driving the swivel shuttles and in their stead we mount the swivel shuttles in slide-
ways connected to the swivel rack attached as usual to the reed cap.
We propose to actuate the swivel shuttles intermittently from the main shaft by
a clutch mounted upon the tappet shaft as usual or in other convenient manner and
we propose to govern the position of the levers which act upon the studs of the
swivel motion treadles by a scroll fixed upon the tappet shaft in place of by
eccentrics as now usual in swivel looms.
In order to change the position of the swivel rack and shuttles after weaving
one set of swivel figures we employ only one hole in the first ground card instead
of several holes as hitherto, so as to bring the shuttles into position for the next
set of swivel figures and this we effect by means of a swell secured to the side of
the loom and a suitable connection to the Jacquard machine in place of a scroll
attached to the lathe as heretofore customary.
Although we have referred only to weaving silk goods our improvements are
applicable to swivel looms for weaving other figured fabrics.
C A
"1 1000
H. B. BARLOW,
Agent for Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Swivel Power Looms for Weaving Figured Goods.
We, WILLIAM TAYLOR BIRCHENOUGH, of the firm of John Birchenough
and Sons, Macclesfield, in the County of Chester, Silk Manufacturers, and
AMOS WOOD, of the same place, Foreman, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Our invention is particularly applicable to swivel looms for weaving silk
fabrics.
In weaving a flowered or figured swivel china cloth in a power loom the
minimum space between the adjacent flowers or figures has hitherto been necessarily
governed by the space required for the toothed rack and pinion employed to give
the swivel shuttles their motion.
The object of our invention is to swivel a flower or figure of a closer setting

page_text: than it has hitherto been possible to produce by a power loom and we effect this
object by the application of a modified form of handloom swivel rack.
In carrying out our invention we dispense with the toothed racks and pinions for
driving the swivel shuttles and in their stead we mount the swivel shuttles in slide-
ways connected to the swivel rack attached as usual to the reed cap.
We propose to actuate the swivel shuttles intermittently from the main crank
shaft and by a clutch mounted upon the tappet shaft as usual or in other convenient
manner and we propose to govern the position of the levers which act upon the
studs of the swivel motion treadles by a scroll fixed upon the tappet shaft in place.
of by eccentrics as now usual in swivel looms.
In order to change the position of the swivel rack and shuttles after weaving
one set of swivel figures we employ only one hole in the first ground card instead
of several holes as hitherto so as to bring the shuttles into position for the next
set of swivel figures and this we effect by means of a swell secured to the side of
the loom and a suitable connection to the Jacquard machine in place of a scroll
attached to the lathe as heretofore customary.
Although we have referred only to weaving silk goods our improvements are
applicable to swivel looms for weaving other figured fabrics.
And in order that our invention may be fully understood and readily carried into
effect we will describe the accompanying three sheets of drawings reference being
had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Fig. 1 is a front view of a loom to which our improvements have been applied.
Fig. 2 is an end view of the same showing the mechanism for actuating the
swivel shuttles.
Fig. 3 is a plan of part of Fig. 2 and Fig. 4 is a detail view of the scroll on the
tappet shaft.
Fig. 5 is an end view of the mechanism for raising and lowering the swivel
shuttle motion and
Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are views on a larger scale of the swivel rack.
In these views a designates the frame of the loom of which only so much is
shown as is sufficient to illustrate the application of our invention; 6 the lathe,
b' the lathe swords, c the reed and c¹ the reed cap, d the main or crank shaft and
e the tappet shaft.
с
The modified form of handloom swivel rack which we apply to a power loom
according to our invention consists of the following parts:-
On the reed cap c' is fitted a flat bar f which can be moved a certain distance
endwise as required and to which is connected the swivel rack g with its shuttles h.
The swivel rack g is connected in this case to the bar f by two L shaped pieces g¹
which are fixed on the rack g one at each end and enter two sockets fl fixed upon
the bar, consequently the swivel rack g with the swivel shuttles is capable of
being raised and lowered when required by the means hereinafter described.
At the front of the rack g are mounted, one in front of the other, two sliding
swivel shuttle drivers i j furnished with shuttle driver tongues ¹ and j' respectively.
The drivers i j have a compound motion that is to say a rising and falling motion
in addition to a longitudinal sliding motion, and this compound motion is in addition
co and independent of the endwise movement of the bar f and the rising and
falling motion of the swivel rack g above mentioned.
In order to facilitate the description and make the object of these movements
clear and intelligible we will here insert a short description of the mode of weaving
-figured-goods- with our improved-swivel loom.
After a sufficient length of the ground or body of the fabric has been woven the
rack g with the swivel shuttles h is lowered, then the swivel shuttle drivers i and j
begin to move lengthwise one of them say the driver i being down and the other j
raised, in which case the tongues i would engage the swivel shuttles and move
them half the length of their traverse, then the shuttle driver i being raised its
tongues are disengaged and the shuttle driver being lowered its tongues j
engage the swivel shuttles and move them the remaining half. After each throw

page_text: of the swivel shuttles / as described the swivel rack g with its shuttles h is raised
and the ground shuttle throws a pick of weft across the open shed, then the swivel
rack g is lowered and the swivel shuttles moved back the first half of their
traverse by the tongues of the driver; and the remaining half by the tongues i¹
of the driver i, then the swivel rack g is raised, another pick of ground weft thrown
across, the swivel rack g again lowered, and so on until the swivel figures have
been completed, then the rack g is raised and the swivel shuttles kept up while
the next length of ground is being woven.
The flat barf with the swivel rack g, shuttles and drivers ij is moved a certain
distance endwise before the rack g is lowered prior to the swivel shuttles /
beginning to weave the next set of figures and after their completion is moved
back again, so that each alternate set of figures are woven in the same line.
Having indicated the operation of weaving we will now describe the mechanism
by which these various movements are effected.
First the end wise movement of the shuttle drivers and is effected by a strap k
j
which passes over two guide pulleys " mounted on the bar fand is secured to a
stud fixed on a slide which is mounted on the bar f. To the slide is secured a
finger or projection m which is alternately engaged with one or other of two hook
shaped plates and secured respectively upon the shuttle drivers i and j. Thus
when the slide is in motion and the driver is lowered the hook i¹ comes over the
finger m and moves with it until the driver i is raised and the driver lowered
when the hook passes over the finger m and the hook" descends and engages
the finger, consequently when the hook is engaged with the finger m the
driver is moved and by its tongues i actuates the swivel shuttles and when the
hook is engaged with the finger m the driver j is moved and by its tongues j¹
actuates the swivel shuttles at the time and in the manner hereinbefore indicated.
Secondly the alternate rising and falling of the shuttle drivers i and j is effected
by means of inclines and which are cut in the reverse direction upon the
edges of the drivers i andrespectively and so when the drivers i and jare moved
by the finger m as described and the said inclines travel upon or against the shunt
pins n, which are fixed on the rack g, the drivers i and j are each alternately raised
and lowered; two light spiral springs o are secured at one end to the fixed portion of
the slide and at the other end one spring is fastened to the driver i and the other
to the driver to assist the drivers in rising and insure the smooth working of the
motion. Each pair of shunt pins is preferably coupled by a plate p to hold the
drivers i and j in position; but other suitable means could be employed for this
purpose.
9.
111
Thirdly the raising and lowering of the swivel rack g with its shuttles and the
drivers i and j is effected by a pair of levers q' fixed upon a shaft 9 supported in
brackets on the bar f. The end of each lever is jointed to a rod q" which is
pivoted to the rack 9 and on the shaft q is fixed a lever q which is connected by
a rods to one end of a lever s' which is fulcrumed at and at the other end ís
connected by a link to a treadle lever. This treadle lever is fulcrumed at t'
and is kept normally raised in the position shown in Fig. 5 by a spring t" connected
to the underside of the lathe but the treadle lever t is depressed when the double
tappet e on the tappet shaft e attains its vertical position thereby allowing
spring u to draw the pivoted lege towards the tappet shaft e and over a stud on
the treadle lever t, consequently when a lever to which the leg is pivoted is
depressed by the half moon on the crank shaft d the treadle lever t is forced
down and through its connections actuates the shaft and lowers the swivel rack
with its shuttle drivers and shuttles k which parts are again raised by the spring th
as the half moon di leaves the lever v' which is then raised by a spring v".
a
Where the construction of the loom will permit we propose to dispense with the
parts and and to reverse the position of the lever q which would be
prolonged and stand out in front of the swivel rack g instead of at the back as
shown and in this case we should connect the rod 's directly to the treadle lever t.

page_text: Fourthly the end wise movement of the bar with the rack and its appurtenances
is effected by means of two swells w pivoted one on each side of the loom and
connected by a cord or equivalent w¹ to the Jacquard machine.
Each swell is controlled by a single hole in a ground card and when its
respective pin enters its hole one of the swells to is depressed by the cord w and as
the lathe swings back the end of the bar coining against the lowered swell wis
pushed lengthwise on the reed cap c¹ and the said swell to is subsequently raised by
its spring Prior to weaving the next set of swivel figures the swell on the
opposite side of the loom is lowered and the bar with the rack g pushed back
again, and so on, this traverse taking place after the completion of one set of
swivel figures and before the commencement of the next set. The shape of the
swell wis clearly shown in the detail view Fig. 1*.
The strap by which the swivel shuttles h are actuated as above described is
driven intermittently from a rocking shaft which is carried in bearings secured
to the lathe swords &¹. Each end of the strap is secured to a pulley " fixed on
the shaft whereby as the shaft k¹ rocks, one end of the strap is unwound from
its pulley while the other is wound upon its pulley and so a to-and-fro motion is
communicated to the slide and thus to the swivel shuttles through the shuttle
drivers and as hereinbefore described.
The rocking of the shaft k¹ is effected by the treadle lever motion illustrated by
Figs 1, 2 and 3 which is a similar motion to that already described for raising and
lowering the swivel rack g. In this case however two treadle levers care
employed the ends of which are coupled in opposite directions by straps r¹ to a
double pulley fixed on the rocking shaft . The leg y by which these treadle
levers are alternately depressed is suspended between and is guided from one to
the other by a scroll e fixed on the tappet shaft e so that when the legy is depressed
by the action of the half moon d¹¹ on the crank shaft dit alternately depresses first
one and then the other of the treadle levers and so rocks the shaft kf backwards
and forwards on its axis and drives the strap k as required. The tappet shaft
clutch gear is worked as usual from the Jacquard and remains stationary while the
swivel pick is being inserted, the slide on which is mounted the bowl z¹ being
raised and lowered to throw the spur wheel on the tappet shaft out of gear with
the pinion on the crank shaft after the former has made half a revolution.
=
The scroll e might be used instead of eccentrics to actuate an ordinary rack and
pinion swivel motion as well as the modified handloom motion herein shown and
described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The combination with a power loom, of a modified form of handloom swivel
rack in which the swivel shuttles are moved half the distance of their traverse by
one shuttle driver and the remaining half by another shuttle driver whereby the
flowers or figures can be set closer together than has hitherto been possible in a
power loom with an ordinary swivel motion.
2. The combination with the bar f arranged to slide lengthwise upon the reed
cap, of the swivel rack arranged to be raised and lowered, and furnished with
two shuttle drivers and j for actuating swivel shuttles substantially in the
manner and for the purposes herein described and as illustrated by the accompanying
drawings.
3. The arrangement use and application of the scroll e¹ substantially as and for
the purposes herein set forth.
4. The mode of moving the swivel rack and shuttles as required by means of
the swells actuated from the Jacquard machine substantially as and for the
purposes herein set forth.
5. The general combination arrangement and construction of the parts embodying

page_text: our improvements in swivel power looms for weaving figured goods substantially as
and for the purposes herein described and as illustrated by the drawings
annexed.
Dated this 29th day of December 1890.
H. B. BARLOW,
17, St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agent for Applicants.