IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS."-A communication from abroad
by George Martin Gibson and Thomas Alexander Johnston, both of Boston,
in the County of Suffolk, and. State of Massachusetts, United States of
America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on' the
29th October 1860.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN Looms," to be as follows:-
This Invention of improvements in: looms relates to what is generally known
as the let-off motion. One of the greatest desiderata in weaving cloths is, that
the tension .of, the yarns. shall be always the same during the entire time
occupied in the,weaving, in order that the closeness of texture of the goods
made shall be the same throughout the entire length of the piece.
As the circumference of the warp beam decreases from the unwinding of
the warp, the tension on the warp increases in the same ratio, and to provide

page_text: for this increase of the tension it is necessary that some arrangement of
mechanical devices should be contrived that will balance this increase of
tension by the letting out of more of the warp yarn, thereby rendering the
tension uniform.
The present Invention consists in a new and improved let-off motion for looms,
comprising in itself the combined qualities of simplicity, cheapness, efficiency of
action, and easy application to the ordinary looms. The warp passes upwards
over a guide roller, whose bearings rest on springs, so as to admit of the roller
rising and falling as the tension of the warp varies. The warp passes through
a reed placed in the lathe, after which the weft or woof is thrown in by the
ordinary mechanism. A filling warp may also be used, and passes upwards
and between two guiding and nipping rollers, and thence through the reed, the
same operation then taking place in conjunction with the warp, as has been
above referred to. The whole warp, filling, and weft, being in the form of cloth,
is then wound upon the cloth bedin or roller, having a ratchet wheel upon one
end, with which engages a pawl for preventing the unwinding of the cloth.
The two rollers between which the filling passes are so arranged with regard
to each other that the filling will receive a little binding force and nipping,
which, together with the tension acting upon the filling passing through the
reed, will serve to stretch or lengthen out the fibres or filaments of the same.
The filling is supposed. to be composed of elastic or rubber. filaments or threads,
from which it will be understood that the goods wove will belong to that class
of goods called "shurred." The filling, however, can consist of any desired
material other than rubber. The elastic breast roller acts upon a lever, which,
by means of suitable gearing, imparts motion to the warp beam; the variation:
of the tension of the warp also causes a variation in the movement of the lever,
and a consequent variation in the delivery of the warp from the beam.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 29th April 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County,
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
•
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord's

page_text: One thousand, eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Edward Newton, 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," being a communication from abroad
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
:-
This Invention of "Improvements in Looms" relates to what is generally
known as the let-off motion. One of the greatest desiderata in weaving.cloths
is, that the tension of the yarns shall be always the same during the whole.
time that is occupied in the weaving operation, so that the closeness of texture
of the fabric made shall be the same throughout the entire length of the
piece.
It is well known that as the circumference or periphery of the warp beam
is decreased by the unwinding of the warp, the tension on the warp increases
in the same ratio, and in order to provide for and compensate for this increase
of the tension, on the warp, it is necessary that some mechanical arrangements
should be contrived that will balance this increase of tension by letting out
more of the warp, thereby rendering the tension uniform.
Many.contrivances have been devised for accomplishing the desired result in
weaving, viz., maintaining the uniform tension of the warp or yarn, but the
great objections to them all have been the complication of their parts, the
great expense of their manufacture, and the difficulty of applying them to the
ordinary doom machinery, so that they have proved practically unsuccessful:

page_text: The present Invention "consists of a new and improved let-off motion for
looms, and possesses the combined qualities of 'simplicity, cheapness, efficiency:
of action, and easy application to ordinary looms.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan or top view of a loom with
the present improvements adapted thereto; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the
same; and Fig. 8 is a longitudinal vertical section..
19
'
The
a, a, a, represent the supporting framework of a loom; b, b, is the warp,
shewn by red lines, and is wound upon a warp beam or roller c; d, d, is the
"filling warp, indicated by blue lines, and is wound upon the roller e.
warp bpasses upwards over a guide roller f; thence through an ordinary reed
placed in the lathe g, after which the weft or woof is thrown in by means of
the ordinary mechanism. The filling warp d, d, passes upwards and between
two guiding and nipping rollers h, h; (Fig: 3,) and thence through the reed.
The warp b, filling warp d, and weft combined in the form of cloth is then
wound upon the cloth. beam or roller i, which is provided with a ratchet
wheel upon one end, with which engages the pawl k. (Fig. 2), for the purpose
preventing the cloth from unwinding. The two rollers h, h; between which
ling warp passes, arè so arranged with regard to each other that the
filling will receive a little binding force and nipping, which, together with
the tensioning upon the filling warp while passing through the reed, will
serve to stretch or lengthen out the fibres or filaments of the same. The
filling is supposed to be composed of elastic or rubber filaments or threads,
from which it will be understood that the goods when woven will belong to
that class of goods called "shurred.". The filling, however, may consist of any
desired material other than rubber.
f
In Fig. 2, 1 is a pulley upon the horizontal shaft m, on the other end of
which is a toothed wheel n, which gears into another toothed wheel o placed
on the horizontal shaft p, on the other end of which is a bevil wheel q engaging
with a similar wheel r on the lower end of the vertical shaft s, mounted in
suitable bearings in the framework. On the upper end of the shaft s is a bevil
wheel t, engaging with a similar wheel u on the shaft of the lowermost of. the
rollers h, h. By communicating motion to the pulley 7 by means of a belt or
band, it will, by means of the arrangement of gears described, communicate a
rotary motion to the roller h, thereby feeding the filling between the rollers h, h.
On the lower shaft p (Figures 2 and 3) is a cam v, upon which bears a
pawl w, engaging with a ratchet wheel x, placed on a shaft y, upon the other
end of which is an endless screw z; engaging with the toothed wheel a¹ placed
on the shaft of the warp roller c, which will consequently receive an inter-

page_text: mittent rotary motion. The guide roller f, over which the warp or yarn passes,
is so arranged that any increase of tension upon the yarns will create, a down-
ward pressure upon the same, and by means of a bent rod 'b1; 6, (Fig. 2)
turning upon a fulcrum at c¹, and passing under the pawl w of the ratchetræ,
will allow the pawl to drop over more' teeth of the ratchet wheel, and con-
sequently will revolve the warp roller a greater distance, thereby increasing
the let-off of the yarn to correspond with the increase of the tension: .d', d², are
springs placed under 'the bearings of the roller f; and serve to keep up or
support the roller so as to maintain the necessary tension which is to be
imparted to the yarn. The rod 6' is also brought to its normal position by
means of a spring coiled around the fulcrum or turning point. The pawl w
is connected with the spring e', coiled upon the ratchet shaft.y, which spring is
also connected with another spiral spring f', attached to the framework a, a,
the two springs serving to keep the pawl w bearing upon the cam v and the
ratchet wheel a.-
It will be seen by the above described arrangement that as the tension of
the yarn increases by reason of the diminution of the periphery of the yarn
beam, the let-off is increased by the action of the roller f, bearing down upon
the rod 6', which passes under the pawl, which rod 6 will, by its different
positions, allow the pawl to pass over more or less teeth of the ratchet wheel a,
thereby, when the pawl is actuated by the cam letting off more or less of the
yarn of the warp beam.
It will be evident that a variety of modes of imparting motion to the pawl
or to the ratchet wheel otherwise than by the cam may be devised, such, for
instance, as the following:-The pawl could be connected with the lathe or
slay in such a manner that the lathe or slay by its forward and backward
movement, would communicate the necessary motion to the pawl, and be by
that transmitted to the ratchet wheel shaft.
The above described arrangement, it will be seen, renders the loom entirely
self-regulating, and very sensitive with regard to the essential object of keeping
up a perfectly uniform tension on the yarns, as the slightest variation in the
movement of the guide roller f will be instantly conveyed to the warp beam.
This arrangement, moreover, renders it impossible for the operative to tamper
with the loom with a view to altering the tension so as to increase the rapidity
of weaving, and thereby injure the goods by loosening the texture, as is
frequently done where the work is paid for by the number of yards made.
Having now described the Invention of "Improvements in Looms," and
having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect as communi-

page_text: cated to me by my foreign correspondent, I claim as the Invention secured
to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid; securing a uniform; tension to the yarns
or threads in a loom, by means of the spring guide roller f, or its equivalent,
so as to increase or diminish the speed of the warp beam by the up-and-down
motion of the said spring guide roller, occasioned by the passage of the yarns
or threads over it, as described.
In witness whereof; I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-ninth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.B.)