IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER LOOMS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Erastus Brigham Bigelow, of Boston, United States
of America, at present residing at the Gresham Hotel, Dublin, Ireland,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER LOOMS."
Sealed the 7th January 1868, and dated the 12th July 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Erastus Brigham Bigelow
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th July 1867.
I, ERASTUS BRIGHAM BIGELOW, of Boston, United States of America, at
present residing at the Gresham Hotel, Dublin, Ireland, do hereby declare
the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER Looms," to be as
follows:-
The object of my Invention is to facilitate the construction and operation of
power looms, especially such as have a series of leaves of harnesses.
My Invention relates to a mode of constructing, arranging, and operating
the apparatus which works the leaves of harnesses, and may be understood as
follows:-The leaves of harnesses are hung in the loom in the usual way, and
the levers which operate them (one for each leaf of harness) are placed side
by side in a vertical position at a side of the loom, and vibrate towards and
from the loom on a central axis. The upper bars of the leaves of harnesses
are connected with the upper arms of the vertical levers just mentioned by
means of cords or chains suitably guided by guide pulleys, whilst their lower
bars are connected in a similar manner to the lower arms of said vertical

page_text: levers, so that when any one of said vertical levers is moved in one direction it
will raise the leaf of harness with which it is connected, and when moved in
the opposite direction it will depress it. To operate these vertical levers two
vibrating bars are placed parallel to their axis near their lower ends (one on
either side of the series), which vibrate on an axis perpendicular to the cloth
forming line, and open and close like the blades of shears at each beat of the
lay. When they are closed they press against the edges of the vertical levers
and bring them all to a line and close the shed of the warps; and when opened
they, by means soon to be explained, engage with and draw some of them in
one direction and some in another, and form the open shed. To cause the
vibrating bars just mentioned to engage with the vertical levers to form the
open shed horizontal latch levers are jointed to the lower ends of the vertical
levers just above the vibrating bars, which latch levers are provided at both
ends with depending latches or hooks, so placed with respect to the vibrating
bars as to latch or hook on to one or the other of them when they are
closed, to bring the vertical levers into a line as above explained, the axis of
the said latch levers being so placed that only one of their latches or hooks
can engage with their vibrating bars at the same time, that is to say, when
one end of the latch levers is depressed, so as to bring its latch or hook into
contact with its vibrating bar, the latch or hook on its opposite end will clear
the other bar, and vice versa, and whether the latches or hooks which raise
the harnesses or those which depress them engage with their respective
vibrating bars depends on the direction in which the latch levers are tilted.
From the foregoing description it will be obvious that the leaves of the
harnesses may be caused to rise and fall in any order required by merely
raising and depressing the ends of the latch levers, and the manner in which
this is effected in conformity with any desired pattern will now be described.
A series of balance levers corresponding in number with the vertical levers
are placed in a horizontal position on an axis above the axis of the vertical
levers, and parallel to it. The inner ends of these balance levers are
connected with the outer ends of the latch levers before mentioned by cords
or their equivalents, which pass through a tier of guides in such position near
the axis of the vertical levers as to allow the vertical levers to vibrate to open
and close the shed without materially contracting the ends of the cords. The
outer ends of the latch levers to which the cords are attached are weighted
(cast heavier) sufficiently to cause them to fall and engage with their vibrating
bar when unsupported, and the outer ends of the balance levers are also
weighted sufficiently to raise the weighted ends of the latch levers (when
allowed to act on them), and cause their opposite ends to descend and engage

page_text: with their vibrating bar, from which arrangement it will be seen that if
the weighted ends of all the balance levers were in a raised position when the
vibrating bars begin to open after being closed to close the shed all the
harnesses would be depressed; whereas on the other hand if they were all left
unsupported, that is, the weighted ends of the balance levers allowed to raise
the weighted ends of the latch levers, all the harnesses would be raised, so that
to vary the action of the harnesses in conformity with any desired pattern of
cloth it is only necessary to raise at the appropriate time at each action of
the harnesses the weighted ends of such of the balance levers as are connected
with the levers of harnesses which are to be depressed, as the leaves of
harnesses connected with the other balance levers will, as above explained, be
raised. To raise the weighted ends of the balance levers in the required
order at each action of the harnesses a revolving cylinder having upon its
surface interchangeable cam surfaces or an endless chain formed with similar
surfaces is placed under the weighted ends of the balance levers, and
parallel to their axis, which cam surfaces by a continuous rotary movement
act on similar services on the enus of the balance levers and raise them as
required.
By the above-described arrangement of weighted levers, cords, and hooks,
I am enable to give to the pattern cylinder or chain a continuous instead of
an intermittent movement, and to reverse the motion of the loom without
deranging its relative time of action; for when the loom is turned backwards
the pattern wheel or chain moves back with it, and thus maintains its proper
relation therewith. I am also enabled to make the pattern chain of less
width than has been required heretofore. For this purpose I make the
balance levers much thinner than the vertical levers which work the harnesses,
so that when the former are placed side by side they need not occupy more
than our fourth or one-third as much space as the latter, and the pattern
chain may be diminished in width in the same ratio. The cords which
connect the latch levers with the vertical levers after passing parallel to each
other up through the tier of guides before mentioned are deflected from the
sides of the series towards the centre thereof to meet the balance levers in
their contracted position.
Motion is imparted to the pattern surface and to the vibrating bars which
move the harnesses by a vertical shaft which is geared to the end of the lay
shaft by mitre gears. The upper end of the vertical shaft gears with the
pattern cylinder or chain, and its lower end carries a crank which by suitable
rods and levers is connected with and vibrates the vibrating bars. The axis
of the vibrating bars, as before stated, is perpendicular to the cloth forming

page_text: line. It is placed in this position in order that the vibrating bars may open
on the same angle as the shed of the warps, and thus move the various leaves
of harnesses the required distances to make an even shed, the leaves farthest
from the reed requiring more motion than those nearer to it. The edges of
the vibrating bars which press against the edges of the lower ends of the
vertical levers to bring them to a line to close the shed are cushioned with
vulcanized india-rubber in order to soften the shock and to serve as a spring
to assist in holding the hooks or latches of the latch levers in proper contact
with the vibrating bars.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Erastus Brigham Bigelow in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 11th January 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ERASTUS
BRIGHAM BIGELOW, of Boston, United States of America, at present residing
at the Gresham Hotel, Dublin, Ireland, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Erastus Brigham Bigelow, Her special licence that I, the said Erastus
Brigham Bigelow, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Erastus Brigham Bigelow, 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 POWER LOOMs," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Erastus Brigham Bigelow, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under ny, 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 Erastus Brighain Bigelow, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to

page_text: be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :-
The object of my Invention is to facilitate the construction and operation
of power looms, especially such as have a series of leaves of harnesses.
My Invention relates to a mode of constructing, arranging, and operating
the apparatus which works the leaves of harnesses, and may be understood as
follows: The leaves of harnesses are hung in the loom in the usual way, and
the levers which operate them (one for each leaf of harness) are placed side
by side in a vertical position at a side of the loom, and vibrate towards and
from the loom on a central axis. The upper bars of the leaves of harnesses
are connected with the upper arms of the vertical levers just mentioned by
means of cords or chains suitably guided by guide pullies, whilst their lower
bars are connected in a similar manner to the lower arms of said vertical levers,
so that when any one of said vertical levers is moved in one direction it will
raise the leaf of harness with which it is connected, and when moved in the
opposite direction it will depress it. To operate these vertical levers two
vibrating bars are placed parallel to their axis near thir lower ends (one on
either side of the series), which vibrate on an axis perpendicular to the cloth-
forming line, and open and close like the blades of shears at each beat of the
lay. When they are closed they press against the edges of the vertical levers,
and bring them all to a line, and close the shed of the warps, and when
opened they, by means soon to be explained, engage with and draw some of
them in one direction and some in another, and form the open shed. To
cause the vibrating bars just mentioned to engage with the vertical levers to
form the open shed horizontal latch levers are jointed to the lower ends of the
vertical levers just above the vibrating bars, which latch levers are provided
at both ends with depending latches or hooks so placed with respect to the
vibrating bars as to latch or hook on to one or the other of them when they
are closed to bring the vertical levers into a line as above explained; the
axis of said latch levers being so placed that only one of their latches or hooks
can engage with their vibrating bars at the same time, that is to say, when
one end of the latch levers is depressed, so as to bring its latch or hook into
contact with its vibrating bar, the latch or hook on its opposite end will clear
the other bar, and vice versa, and whether the latches or hooks which raise
the harnesses or those which depress them engage with their respective
vibrating bars depends on the direction in which the latch levers are tilted.
From the foregoing description it will be obvious that the leaves of bar-
nesses may be caused to rise and fall in any order required by merely raising
and depressing the ends of the latch levers, and the manner in which this is

page_text: A
effected in conformity with any desired pattern will now be described.
series of balance levers corresponding in number with the vertical levers are
placed in a horizontal position on an axis above the axis of the vertical levers,
and parallel to it. The inner ends of these balance levers are connected with
the outer ends of the latch levers before mentioned by cords or their equiva-
lents, which pass through a tier of guides in such position near the axis of
the vertical levers as to allow the vertical levers to vibrate to open and close
the shed without materially contracting the ends of the cords. The outer ends
of the latch levers to which the cords are attached are weighted (cast heavier)
sufficiently to cause them to fall and engage with their vibrating bar when
unsupported, and the outer ends of the balance levers are also weighted
sufficiently to raise the weighted ends of the latch levers. (when allowed to act
on them), and cause their opposite ends to descend and engage with their
vibrating bar; from which arrangement it will be seen that if the weighted
ends of all the balance levers were in a raised position when the vibrating
bars begin to open after being closed to close the shed all the harnesses would
be depressed, whereas, on the other hand, if they were all left unsupported,
that is, the weighted ends of the balance levers allowed to raise the weighted
ends of the latch levers, all the harnesses would be raised, so that to vary the
action of the harnesses in conformity with any desired pattern of cloth it is
only necessary to raise at the appropriate time at each action of the harnesses
the weighted ends of such of the balance levers as are connected with the
leaves of harnesses which are to be depressed, as the leaves of harnesses con-
nected with the other balance levers will as above explained be raised. To
raise the weighted ends of the balance levers in the required order at each
action of the harnesses a revolving cylinder having upon its surface inter-
changeable cam surfaces or an endless chain formed with similar surfaces is
placed under the weighted ends of the balance levers, and parallel to their axis,
which cam surfaces by a continuous rotary movement act on similar surfaces
on the ends of the balance levers, and raise them as required.
By the above-described arrangement of weighted levers, cords, and hooks
I am enabled to give to the pattern cylinder or chain a continuous instead of
an intermittent movement, and to reverse the motion of the loom without
deranging its relative time of action; for when the loom is turned backwards
the pattern wheel or chain moves back with it, and thus maintains its proper
relation therewith. I am also enabled to make the pattern chain of less
width than has been required heretofore. For this purpose I make the
balance levers much thinner than the vertical levers which work the harnesses,
so that when the former are placed side by side they need not occupy more

page_text: than one-fourth or one-third as much space as the latter, and the pattern
chain may be diminished in width in the same ratio. The cords which con-
nect the latch levers with the vertical levers after passing parallel to each
other up through the tier of guides before mentioned are deflected from the
sides of the series towards the centre thereof to meet the balance levers in
their contracted position. Motion is imparted to the pattern surface by a
shaft which is geared to the end of the lay shaft by mitre gears. The upper
end of the shaft gears with the pattern cylinder or chain. The axes of the
vibrating bars as before stated are perpendicular to the cloth forming line. It
is placed in this position in order that the vibrating bars may open on the
same angle as the shed of the warps, and thus move the various leaves of
harnesses the required distances to make an even shed, the leaves farthest
from the reed requiring more motion than those nearer to it. The edges of the
vibrating bars which press against the edges of the lower ends of the vertical
levers to bring them to a line to close the shed are cushioned with vulcanized
india-rubber in order to soften the shock and to serve as a spring to assist in
holding the hooks or latches of the latch levers in proper contact with the
vibrating bars.
And in order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto
Figure 1 is an end view, and Figure 2 a back view, partly in section, of
the parts of a loom to which my Invention relates, and of some other parts
immediately connected therewith.
a, a, is part of the frame of the loom, and b, b, are leaves of harnesses or
heddles, each made with a complete frame, as is shown, and suspended at the
top by two cords 61, 61, which pass over pulleys c, and are fixed to the upper
ends of a vertical lever d turning on a centre at d carried by a bracket fixed to
the frame; thus there are a number of levers d corresponding to the number
of leaves of harnesses or heddles employed, and each lever d near its lower end
is connected by a cord be passing over a pulley on the frame of the loom with
the under side of the leaf of harnesses or heddles with which it corresponds.
The ends of the levers d project beyond their connections with the cord b³, and
on either side of them there is mounted a bar e which vibrates on a centre in
a horizontal plane; a plan of these bars is shown separately at Figure 3;
their centres e¹ are carried by a bracket on the frame, and are vertically below
the line to which the reed beats up the weft. The bars e receive their move-

page_text: ment from a surface f having cam grooves formed in it which receive small
friction rollers e carried by the bars e. The surface f is carried by an axis f³,
on which is also an arm f2, which by a connecting rod g is linked with the
lay or batten h; thus the bars e are caused to vibrate in unison with the
batten, and when they are closed together, as they are when the batten is
forward with the reed bearing against the cloth, they nip the ends of the
levers d between them and hold them and the harnesses or heddles in a
central position; each of the levers d has jointed to it near its lower end a
latch lever i, of which details are shown separately at Figures 4; these latch
levers are so formed, as the Drawing shows, that as they are tilted to one side
or the other on their centres they will catch over the edge of one or other of
the bars e; the outer end of each lever i is weighted, so that if it be left free
it will catch upon the outer bar e; but if this end of the latch lever is drawn
up, as it can be by a cord k with which each lever is furnished, then the inner
end of the latch lever is depressed and it catches on the edge of the inner
bar e; thus according as the latch levers have caught in the one way or the
other, so will the levers d' with which they are connected be drawn in one
direction or the other, and the corresponding leaves of harness or beddles will
rise or fall. The cords k are connected with balance levers 7, which are
thinner than the levers d and set nearer together, and cords k are passed up
vertically until they come to the guide k¹ alongside of the centre d', and thence
they pass in a more or less inclined direction to the inner ends of the balance
levers ; each of these levers has at its outer end a weight sufficient to pull up
the cord and lift the weight on the corresponding catch lever i. are
inclined projections formed upon the balance levers 7, and their ends bear upon
a pattern chain or band, or it may be a cylinder; I prefer however to use a
band of leather, such as is shown more fully at Figure 5, with metal pro-
jections secured to its face; this band is marked m in Figure 2, and passes
around a cylinder n, the centre portion of which is plain, but it has pegs upon
it on either side which work with holes in the edges of the band; these pegs
and holes prevent the band slipping upon the face of the cylider n.
nt is a
worm wheel on the axis of this cylinder; it gears with a worm o¹ on the
shaft o, which by a bevilled wheel at its lower end takes motion from a similar
bevilled wheel on the axis p, which works the lay or batten.
As the pro-
jections on the band m are brought under the balance levers 7 they lift then,
and then the weighted end of the corresponding latch lever falls it catches on
to the outer bar e and the leaf of harness or heddles is depressed. On the
contrary when no pattern surface raises the balance lever it holds up the
weighted end of the latch lever, which is thus caused to catch upon the inner

page_text: bar e, and the corresponding leaf of harness or heddles is raised at the next
outward movement of the bars e; these bars are faced with vulcanized india-
rubber at e³, where they come against the levers d, so as to ease the blow of
the bar against the levers, and the india-rubber also serves as a spring to
prevent the latches escaping from the bars, except at the time when the india-
rubber is compressed by the bars closing upon the levers d in their central
position; the vulcanized india-rubber is fitted into undercut recesses in the
bars e.
In applying my improved apparatus for shedding the warps to looms of
different forms the shape of its parts and the location of some of them may
be varied without departing from the principle of my Invention, as, for
example, the horizontal bars which impart motion to the upright levers with
which the leaves of harnesses or heddles are connected may be made to act on
the upper instead of the lower arms of said upright levers; but I prefer to have
them act on the lower arms, as above described. Parts only of my improved
apparatus may also be used, and other devices than those above described
substituted for the other parts. As an illustration the upright levers with
which the leaves of harness or heddles are connected may be used in combi-
nation with the horizontal vibrating bars which actuate them, though other
devices than those above described for varying the pattern may be used in
co-operation with them.
Having thus described my Invention, and its mode of operation, and pointed
out some of the modifications of which it is susceptible without essentially
changing its character, what I claim is, the combined arrangement of
mechanism herein-before described for operating the leaves of harnesses or
heddles, consisting of the upright levers with which the leaves of harnesses or
heddles are connected, the horizontal vibrating bars which actuate them, and
the latch levers, balance levers, connecting cords, and pattern surfaces by
which the several leaves of barnesses or heddles are caused to rise and fall in
accordance with any desired pattern.
I also claim the employment of the latch levers, balance levers, and con-
necting cords, together with a suitable pattern surface, as a combined arrange-
ment for governing the action of the leaves of harnesses or heddles in
accordance with any desired pattern, whether this combined arrangement be
used in connection with the above-described upright levers with which the
leaves of harnesses or heddles are connected and the horizontal vibrating bars
which actuate them, or with any other device or devices which may be
substituted for them or either of them.
I also claim the employment of horizontal vibrating bars having their axes

page_text: in a plane vertical to the cloth forming line, or nearly so, in combination
with upright levers for operating the leaves of harnesses or heddles, so as to
form an even shed, as above described.
I also claim the application to the vibrating bars of elastic cushions serving
to ease their action on the levers which they actuate, and to retain the latch
levers in proper connection with the bars.
I also claim the arranging the levers acted on by the pattern surface within
a narrow space as compared with that occupied by the upright levers con-
nected with the leaves of harness or heddles, so that a narrow and
inexpensive pattern surface may be employed in the manner substantially as
above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Erastus Brigham Bigelow, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
E. B. BIGELOW. (L.S.)