IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Daniel Hussey, of Nashua, New Hampshire, United
States of America, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR
WEAVING."
Sealed the 20th October 1864, and dated the 23rd April 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Daniel Hussey at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd April 1864.
I, DANIEL HUSSEY, of Nashua, New Hampshire, United States of America
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in improved modes of regulating the motion of the
yarn or warp beam of the loom for the purpose of keeping the yarn at a
uniform tension. I connect the beam by gearing to a shaft carrying a disc
or wheel formed at one side like a ratchet or escapement wheel and at the
other side with as many projections as there are teeth. At the edge of the
disc there is a notched plate or its equivalent fixed to a spring or lever, which
plate unless prevented keeps the disc from turning by its being in contact
with one of the teeth. In those looms where the yarn is passed over a
vibrating bar I fix to the bar a lever which extends over the aforesaid notched
plate and presses it down at each downward motion of the lever, and allows,
one tooth of the ratchet wheel to escape, and in the act of doing so one of the

page_text: projections on the disc raises the notched plate and prevents another tooth
being taken until the lever is again moved downwards by the vibrating bar
being put in motion by the tension of the yarn, and this movement of the disc
is transmitted by the gearing to the beam and allows the yarn to be given off
at the tension required. When a vibrating bar is not used the lever which
acts upon the notched plate must have vibrating motion given to it according
to the tension of the yarn by other connections. Instead of forming the
ratchet teeth at one side of the disc I may form them on the exterior or
interior of the ring of a wheel, and place the projections for allowing one
tooth only to be moved at a time in corresponding positions. Or I may use
two separate wheels on one shaft, one wheel having the ratchet teeth and the
other wheel the projections facing the teeth, there being a pin moved in and
out by the tension of the yarn to allow the wheels to move one tooth at a
time. Or I place pins on the side or top of the disc and employ a spring or
lever formed with a projection and notch so placed that when the spring or
lever is pressed by the vibrating lever the notch will allow the escape of one
of the pins and corresponding movement of the disc, but at the same time one
of the pins comes in contact with the projection on the spring or lever and
prevents the notch from allowing the passage of another pin until the spring
or lever is again depressed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Daniel Hussey in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
22nd October 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DANIEL
HUSSEY, of Nashua, New Hampshire, United States of America, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters.
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Daniel Hussey, Her 'special license that I, the said Daniel
Hussey, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Daniel Hussey, 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,

page_text: the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Daniel Hussey, my executors or administrators, 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 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 Daniel Hussey, 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:―
This Invention consists in improved modes of regulating the motion of the
yarn or warp beam of the loom for the purpose of keeping the yarn at a
uniform tension. I connect the beam by gearing to a shaft carrying a disc or
wheel formed at one side like a ratchet or escapement wheel, and at the other
side with as many projections as there are teeth at the edge of the disc. There
is a notched plate or its equivalent fixed to a spring or lever, which plate
unless prevented keeps the disc from turning by its being in contact with
one of the teeth. In those looms where the yarn is passed over a vibrating
bar I fix to the bar a lever, which extends over the aforesaid notched plate and
presses it down at each downward motion of the lever and allows one tooth of
the ratchet wheel to escape when the tension of the warp presses the lever
down to the required point, and in the act of doing so one of the projections
on the disc raises the notched plate and prevents another tooth being taken
until the lever is again moved downwards by the vibrating bar being put in
motion by the tension of the yarn, and this movement of the disc is transmitted
by the gearing to the beam and allows the yarn to be given off at the tension
required without the levers and weights usually used on friction looms. Or
I place pius on the side or top of the disc and employ a spring bar or lever
formed with a projection and notch, so placed that when the spring bar or
lever is pressed by the vibrating lever the notch, will allow the escape of
one of the pins and corresponding movement of the disc, but at the same time
one of the pins comes in contact with the projection on the spring bar or
lever and prevents the notch from allowing the passage of another pin until
the spring bar or lever is again depressed.
This Invention will be clearly understood by referring to the figures and
letters on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which Fig. 1 is an end
elevation, and Fig. 2 a plan of part of a loom having one of my improved

page_text: letting off motions for letting the yarn off the yarn beam at a regular speed
and keeping it at a uniform tension; Figs. 3 and 4 are similar views of part
of a loom having another arrangement for the same purpose; and Fig. 5 a
detached view of one of the parts.
In all the Figures, except Fig. 5, a represents part of the end frames
of the loom; 6 the yarn beam; and c the vibrating back bar over which the
yarn passes to the healds or harness, which bar has at each end an arm or
lever & connected to a spring or carrying a weight to balance the tension of
. the
warp. To one end of the yarn beam I fix the toothed wheel e gearing
into the toothed wheel or pinion f fixed to one end of a short shaft 9 working
in a boss or bearing in the case or frame h, which is bolted to the end frame
of the loom, the shaft g carrying at the other end the toothed wheel i gearing
into the pinion k fixed on a tube which carries the bevil wheel and works on
a stud or pin fixed to the case or frame h, the bevil wheel gears into the
1
bevil pinion m fixed to a vertical shaft n working in a bearing on the case
and carrying at the top a horizontal escapement wheel o, Figs. 1 and 2,
having at the under side.a. number of teeth p similar to a ratchet wheel, and
at the top an equal number of projections or cams q.. At the edge of the
escapement wheel there is a notched plate r, shewn detached in Fig. 5, fixed
to a spring lever s, and having its top in contact with the lever d fixed to or
cast on the vibrating bar c, the notched plate being for the purpose of pre-
venting the escapement wheel from turning until required. The lever dat
each downward movement presses down the notched plate, but it is only when
the tension of the warp requires it that the plate is depressed sufficiently low
to allow one of the ratchet teeth of the escapement wheel to escape, and in
the act of doing so one of the projections or cams q raises the notched plate
and prevents another tooth from escaping until the lever d is again moved
sufficiently low by the tension of the warp, and this movement of the escape-
ment wheel is transmitted by the gearing to the beam and allows the yarn to
be let off at a uniform tension.
In Figs. 3 and 4 I shew. another arrangement of escapement wheel and
escape motion, the wheel communicating by gearing with the yarn beam, and
the escape motion being acted upon by a lever on the vibrating back bar, in
the same manner as shewn in Figs. 1 and 2. The escapement wheel is shewn
.at.u; it is fixed to the shaft n, and has a number of pins or teeth v in its
periphery and at the edge of the wheel there is a bar w which works in slots
or guides in the case or frame h, and has near the bottom a pin or projection
.x in contact with a spring y. Near the top of the bar there is a notch z,
above which there is a projection or catch a', and the top of the bar is bent at

page_text: right angles, as at b¹, Fig. 4, so as to form a projection with which the lever d
on the vibrating back bar c comes in contact. The downward movement of
the lever d, as in the former example, presses down the notched bar, but not
always sufficient to allow a pin to escape; but when the notch z is opposite the
pins of the escapement wheel one of the pins escapes, and the wheel turns
until the pin comes in contact with the projection a¹, after which the lever
rises, and the spring y raises the bar and projection, so as to release the pin
and allow a second pin to come in contact with the metal below the notch 2,
until the tension of the warp causes the lever d and bar to be sufficiently
depressed to place the notch again opposite the pins of the wheel and allow
the aforesaid second piu to escape and afterwards be held by the projection,
until as the lever rises the spring y again raises the bar and places the pro-
jection above the pin, which then allows the wheel to turn until a third pin
comes in contact with the bar, and so on continuously; and it is evident that
the escapement wheel as it turns gives motion to the gearing and turns the
yarn beam. Instead of forming the ratchet teeth at one side of the disc or
escapement wheel I may form them on the exterior or interior of the ring of
a wheel, and place the projections for allowing one tooth only to be moved at
a time in corresponding positions. Or I may use two separate wheels on one
shaft, one wheel having the ratchet teeth and the other wheel the projections
for preventing the escape of more than one tooth at a time. The said pro-
jections face the teeth, and there is a pin moved in and out by a lever on the
vibrating bar or its equivalent to allow the wheels to move one tooth at a
time. When these improved letting-off motions have to be applied to looms
without vibrating back bars the lever which acts upon the escape motions
must have a vibrating movement imparted to it, according to the tension of
the warp, and as these letting-off motions are somewhat on the principle of a
clock, a slow motion producing a quick one, it will be necessary that every
part shall work very free, all the bearings having a little play. In any of the
before-mentioned arrangements the tension of the warp will keep the escape-
ment wheel against the catch or catches until the vibrating lever is pressed
sufficiently low by the tension of the warp to lower the catch or catches and
allow the wheel to turn one tooth. The lever d, Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, or its
equivalent moves up and down each time the healds or barness change the
different positions of the bealds, causing a different tension of the yarn. The
escapement wheel does not let off at every stroke of the lathe, but only when
the warp causes the lever to vibrate low enough to let one of the teeth or pins
pass through the notch or escape the catch. The lever is not attached to the
notched plate or spring bar or lever, but only plays upon it, putting it lower

page_text: each time by the tension of the warp until it lets off a tooth in the escapement
wheel. When the yarn beam is full a tooth or pin is let off every third or
fourth stroke of the lathe, but when nearly empty a tooth or pin is let off at
almost every stroke. Some of these letting-off motions have been put to
work, and it has been found by experience that the piece of cloth woven is
always of the same width, whereas on other looms the width varies from one-
half to three-quarters of an inch.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be understood
that I claim as my Invention, and which to the best of my knowledge and
belief has not been hitherto used within the realm, the employment in looms
for weaving of escapement wheels communicating by gearing with the yarn
or warp beam of the loom and working in connection with escape motions
acted upon by a vibrating lever, the movement of which is regulated by the
tension of the warp or yarn, as all such improvements are herein described
and illustrated in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Daniel Hussey, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four..
Witnesses,
J. A. BALDWIN,.
W. P. HUSSEY,
C. A. KNOWLTON.
DANIEL HUSSEY. (L.S.)