IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING SHUTTLES FLYING FROM POWER LOOMS DURING WEAVING
Year: 1884

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, WILLIAM EDWIN HEYS of Blackfriars Street Manchester in the County of
Lancaster Mechanical Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING SHUTTLES FLYING FROM POWER
LOOMS DURING WEAVING and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
These improvements relate to safety guards or apparatus for preventing shuttles
flying from looms during weaving and have for their object to arrange or construct
the apparatus in such a manner that it shall be in operation during weaving and
be removed from its acting position when the loom is stopped so as not in any
way to interfere with or impede the work of the weaver.
And in order that this Invention may be more readily understood and carried
into practical effect I have hereunto appended seven Sheets of Drawings reference
being hereinafter had thereto and to the letters of reference marked thereon.
As shown on Sheet I, Figa 1, 2, 8, 4, 5 the safety apparatus consists essentially.
of four parallel steel wire rods a moveably connected to two stepped carriers b,
which are attached by hinges to the front of the slay cover O and connected by
straps passing over the guide rollers d. d. and e. e¹. by means of the leverf and
link to the stopping lever . Fig. 1 Sheet I shows the apparatus as it lies
against the slay cover O when the loom is stopped. If the lever h is moved to the
left and the loom started the lever is also moved to the left by means of the
link g and by means of the straps and p. pl. attached to the studs sal on
the lever of the apparatus is brought into the position shown by Figs. 2 and 3
over the shuttle race and kept in this position while the loom is working, so that
if the shuttle is deflected from its course and endeavours to fly out, it strikes
against the elastic steel rods a and its moment being deadened remains arrested.
On stopping the loom the apparatus is immediately placed flat against the slay
cover C by the spiral springs and lifted by the springs into the position

page_text: shewn on the Drawing, so that the weaver can perform all manipulations as freely
as if the apparatus were absent. The stepped carriers 6 turn on cylindrical
pivots n. and are moveable up and down in front of the slay cover on the prisms n¹.
The straps kk. and p p¹. are so connected with the carriers b that the straps k
and P draw the apparatus down and the straps and pl. turn it to bring it into
the position shown on Figs. 2 and 3. The straps k and k¹ are attached to the
studs and s¹. by metal hooks so that these hooks can follow the backward and
forward motion of the slay, and an oscillation of the apparatus during the weaving
is avoided.
Instead of prismatic guides for the vertical movement of the apparatus, the
cylindrical pivots may be used for this purpose as well as the horizontal swivelling,
as shewn by Figs. 4 and 5. The lever f has its fulcrum attached to the breast
beam W. The point to which it is attached depends on the construction of the
different looms. The guard rods a are connected to each other at the points
by straps or metal chains and further suspended from the slay cover Ŏ in the
middle.
Fig. 1. Sheet II of the appended Drawings shows a modification of the safety
apparatus as it lies against the slay cover while the loom is stopped and in Fig. 2
in its guarding position over the shuttle race while the loom is at work. The
guard rods a are hooked into eyelets on the carriers b. The carriers b are moveable
vertically on hinge pieces n and the latter can swivel horizontally on brackets n'
in front of the slay cover. The spiral springs fixed at one end to the cover
and at the other excentrically to the hinge pieces n turn the apparatus horizontally,
while it is lifted vertically on helical inclines of the brackets n' and thus folded
against the slay in the position shewn by Fig. 1.
In order to bring the apparatus into operation on starting the loom without
having to exert the power required for this directly at the starting lever h, a
special apparatus is inserted into the strap p for moving the safety apparatus
into its preventive position so that this movement is effected by the slay swords v
as the slay moves backwards. This shifting apparatus is fixed to the loom side S
and connected by the rod i to the starting lever h'. On Sheet III Figs. 3 and 4
show the manner in which the shifting apparatus is employed and attached to
the loom; Figa, 5 and 6 show the apparatus by itself drawn on a larger scale,
Fig. 5 in a side view and Fig. 6 in plan. On the bracket A fixed to the loom
side the lever B can swivel on the vertical stud g. A slide El can move on the
long arm of this lever and the strap p of the safety apparatus is attached to
this slide and guided by a horizontal pulley R. The short arm of the lever B
is connected to the starting lever by the rod i in such a manner that the
lever B with the slide E assume the position shewn in dotted lines on Fig. 6
while the loom is stopped. If the loom is now started by the starting lever,
the lever B is placed parallel to the direction of the motion of the slay; on going
back the slay sword V catches the pawl E on the slide E and carries it back to
the extent of its own backward stroke; The catch D then drops behind a projection
at the bottom of the slide El and the latter is retained in the position 2 in Figs. 5,
3, and 4, consequently as the strap p is attached to the slide E the safety apparatus
is drawn simultaneously over the shuttle race and kept in this position while
the weaving proceeds, as shewn on Fig. 2 Sheet II; and the flying out of the
shuttle prevented thereby. On stopping the loom the lever B of the shifting
apparatus is brought again into the position shown in dotted lines on Fig. 6;
the slide E' is thereby drawn sideways from the catch D and is moved by the
springs of the safety apparatus back into the position 1 Fig. 5 while the safety
apparatus is placed at the same time into the position shewn by Fig. 1 Sheet II
in front of the slay cover.
On Sheet IV in Figa 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 the acting parts of this safety apparatus are
shown about half size in their different positions. Fig. 7 shews the apparatus as
seen from the left band side in its guarding position; Fig. 8 a front view (left

page_text: hand part as it lies against the slay when the loom is stopped and the manner in
which the strap p is guided by the pulleys e e¹. Fig. 11 indicates the same position
for the left hand side. To prevent the safety apparatus from lifting when in its
guarding position a lug o is cast on the left hand bracket n¹ so as to keep the
carrier b down in a vertical position when the latter has been turned into its lowest
position.
In the arrangement shewn on Sheet V Figs. 1 and 2 and Sheet VI Figs. 1,
2 and 3 the vertical and horizontal motion of the carriers b of-the safety guard
is replaced by a single oscillating motion on one hinge each. The axis of these
hinges are placed for this purpose at an angle of 30 and 150 degrees to the
horizontal direction of the slay and at an angle of 60 and 120 degrees to the
centre line of the carriers respectively. The apparatus is placed by the spiral
spring into the position shown by Fig. 1 Sheet V and Figs. 1 and 2 Sheet VI in
front of the slay cover and is put into operation in the same way as the
arrangement previously described on starting the loom by the starting lever hand
by means of the shifting motion and the strap p, but can also in consequence of
its lightness be shifted directly by the starting lever through the lever f. The
guard rods a have hooks at their ends by which they are fastened in holes formed
in the carriera. The hinges have a stop for the lowest position of the guard
apparatus. The skew position of the links also permits both carriers b to be
moved by one strap p only, with the assistance of the guard rods a and to be kept
in their guarding position.
As shown by Figa 3 and 4, Sheet V and Figs. 1. 2. 8. 4 Sheet VI the carriers b
consist each of two parts hinged together in the middle. Into each part two guard
rods are rivetted and the rod a next to the slay also serves as main pivot for the
apparatus. The bearings for this pivot are attached to the underside of the slay
cover. When the loom is stopped the apparatus folds itself by means of the
springs against the front of the slay top as shown by Figs. 3 and 4 Sheet V
and Figs. 1 and 2, Sheet VII. Figs. 3 and 4 Sheet VII show the apparatus in its
protecting position before the slay cover C. On starting the loom the apparatus is
drawn by means of two cords or chains p pl as shown by Fig. 3 Sheet V in
connection with the lever f rod g and the starting lever h into the protecting
position over the shuttle race and kept in it while the weaving proceeds and the
flying out of the shuttle is prevented thereby.
The lever B and bracket A of the shifting motion Fig. 5 and 6 Sheet III are
made in different ways to suit the different constructions of the looms, but the
arrangement of the slide E' in combination with the cord or strap p remain the
same and can be applied to any of the arrangements or modifications of
the apparatus herein described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
;
(1) A safety guard or apparatus for preventing the flying out of the shuttle
from power looms during weaving consisting essentially of the combination of the
wire guard a; the stepped carriers 6 moveable on prisms or cylindrical pivota
vertically and horizontally attached to the front of the slay cover; the springs
the strap cords or chains k k³p pl; the guide rollers & de e¹; the lever fand
cylindrical studs and the rod g connected with the starting and stopping lever h
substantially as described and as illustrated on Sheet I Figs. 1 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the
appended Drawings.
(2) The modification or arrangement of the safety apparatus substantially as
herein before described and as illustrated on Sheet II Figa 1 and 2 and on Sheet IV
Figs. 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the appended Drawings.
(8) The method of placing the apparatus in its preventive position by the
backward motion of the slay substantially as hereinbefore described and as
illustrated on Sheet III Figs. 5 and 6 of the appended Drawings.

page_text: (4) The adaptation; or combination of the skew or inclined hinges with the
safety apparatus substantially as described and as illustrated on Sheet V Figs. 1
and-2 and Sheet VI Figs. 1; 2; and 8 of the appended Drawings.
(5) The adaptation or combination of the folding hinged carriers with the safety
apparatus substantially as herein before described and as illustrated on Sheet V 5
Figs. 3 and 4 and Sheet VII Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the appended Drawings.
Dated this 24th day of June A.D. 1884.