IMPROVE- XENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Wallace Drummond, of the City and State
of New York, United States of America, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
XENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 12th January 1864, and dated the 18th November 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Wallace Drummond
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 18th November 1863.
I, JOHN WALLACE DRUMMOND, of the City and State of New York, United
States of America, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
The weaving operation in my loom is entirely progressive and without
concussion, and this is effected by means of the following devices:-
First, the motive power of the loom is communicated through two pulleys,
around which is an endless belt with a crank pin or stud on such belt, taking
a cross slot in a contiguous belt, by which means said belt with the cross slot
is given a reciprocation equal to the travel of such crank pin on the endless
belt, and the stopping and starting of this reciprocating belt is gradual as the
stud travels with the belt around the pulleys acting like a crank pin. The
movements of this reciprocating belt are communicated to the shuttle, the
lay up, and the heddles, so that the action of these is reciprocal and progressive
from side to side of the fabric being woven.

page_text: Second, my shuttle is fitted with rollers, and runs under a stationary comb
that receives the top shed of warp and above the lower shed of warps as they
lie on a belt stretched from side to side of the loom. Under this belt which
remains stationary is a carriage (reciprocated by aforesaid reciprocating belt
or a connection thereto) with rollers that take the under side of said stationary
warp belt, and forming a ridge therein, drive the shuttle from side to side
by the action of this ridge behind the rollers of the shuttle. The shuttle
carries the filling thread that is delivered near the point where it is laid up to
form the cloth.
Third, my lay up is effected by a series of hanging or sliding plates cor-
responding in number with the warps, and entering between them. These
plates are drawn toward the shuttle at the time of its passage by cams tra-
velling with such shuttle, so that the filling thread or weft can be deposited
between them and the cloth, and afterwards the said plates are pressed away
from the shuttle and lay up the weft thread to its place, the movement being
progressive and in harmony with the shuttle.
Fourth, I move my warps to form a shed at the point where the shuttle is
passing by fitting a series of heddle plates to slide vertically, each having a
projection, and the said plates being arranged in two or more rows. Between
these rows of heddle plates is a belt connected to the reciprocating belt afore-
said, and on this are cam pieces that act in going in one direction to hold up
the heddle plates and warps to form the upper shed, and depress the other
row of heddle plates and warps, and when moving in the other direction, the
action is reversed and the shed changed.
By the association of all these elements the shuttle is reciprocated any
required distance for the width of goods by a regular progressive reciprocating
motion; the lay up acts simultaneously and in harmony by a similar motion,
and the heddles form the shed in the warps at the point where the shuttle is
passing, so that all the movements are progressive, and without sudden con-
cussion or jar.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said John Wallace Drummond, Her special license that I, the
said John Wallace Drummond, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said John Wallace Drummond, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 FOR WEAVING," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Wallace Drummond, 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 John Wallace Drummond, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
Fig. 1 is a plan of my improved loom.
"
2 is a longitudinal section.
"
3 is a side elevation, and
"
4 is an elevation at the back end of said loom. Similar marks of
reference denote the same parts.
In the looms heretofore constructed the weaving operation has been per-
formed in a manner to produce violent concussions; the shuttle is thrown by
a blow, the lay comes up with concussion against the filling, and the heddles
move suddenly in forming the shed of warp. These operations are very noisy,
and produce great wear on the parts, and the concussions are injurious to
buildings containing a number of looms.
My Invention consists in a progressive weaving operation, in which,
first, the shuttle is rolled across the fabric, and can consequently be carried
an indefinite distance as may be required for the goods being woven;
second, the weft or filling thread is laid up progressively. in harmony with
the travel of the shuttle, and hence any required pressure can be applied to

page_text: such thread without any concussion; and, third, the heddles are operated
upon by a progressive movement to raise the warps sufficiently for the
shuttle, and at the part where it is passing, and hence the sudden change
of the entire shed and the concussion consequent thereon are avoided.
These features when all associated together produce an almost noiseless loom,
and one in which no part is exposed to undue strain arising from concussion
or sudden motion, and there is no limit to the speed except the ultimate
strength of the warps and filling, and these not being exposed to sudden
motion are not as liable to injury as in the present looms.
In the Drawing, a, a, are pulleys on shafts b, b, sustained in the frame d,
to one or both of which shafts rotation is communicated by any convenient
means; c is an endless belt over these pulleys a, a, on which is a crank pin
or stude that takes a slot f in a belt g, that passes around the rollers h, h,
and is connected to or formed with the portions g', g³, and g³ of an endless
belt that are connected to and reciprocate in unison the different portions of
the mechanism.
It will now be understood that the stud e will communicate to this belt ga
reciprocating movement, and that the extent of said movement will be deter
mined by the distance across from the outside of one pulley a to the outside
of the other, and that the various devices connected to the said belt will
receive a motion of a corresponding extent; hence I here observe that the
extent of motion is to be as much as the width of the fabric to be woven,
added to rather more than the length of the shuttle employed; and I am in
no manner limited in the arrangement of the belt g nor the position of the
belt c relatively to the rest of the loom, so long as the reciprocations, to the
extent aforesaid, are communicated to the parts hereafter described.
i, i, are slide ways on which the shuttle carrier k travels; this carrier k is
provided with rollers 1, 1, see Plan, Fig. 6, and is reciprocated across the
loom by a connection to the portion 91 of the belt g, or otherwise. 2 is a
horizontal fixed belt drawn across over the shuttle carrier, and extending from
end to end of the ways i, i, slightly above them, and securely fastened at the
ends; is the shuttle that is formed as an open frame, see Fig. 6, with
rollers 3, 8, the axes of which are farther apart than those of the rollers 1, 1,
and 4 is a rib extending down from the cross bar m, and 5, 5, are rollers in
said shuttle frame travelling behind the rib 4 and against the under side of m,
so that the shuttle is guided by this rib 4, being between the front plate of
the shuttle and the sides of these rollers 5, 5.
By reference to Fig. 5, in which the shuttle and driver are shown sepa-
rately, it will be seen that the rollers 1, 1, of the driver form a ridge in the
•

page_text: belt 2, and hence that the shuttle itself is driven by the progression of that
ridge from side to side, acting upon the rollers 8, 3, in the said shuttle, thus
driving the shuttle by means of the shuttle driver, although the belt 2 inter-
venes and remains stationary, the object of this being that the warps may lie
upon this belt undisturbed, notwithstanding the motion given through that
belt to the shuttle, the rollers 3, 3, travelling over the warps.
The warps are raised by any suitable device; I however prefer that here-
after described, and the rib 4 is notched to form fine smooth teeth at the
parts where the warps pass through, so that the warps of the upper shed
shall be received in such teeth, and not be injured by the passage of the
shuttle.
The shuttle itself carries the filling or weft thread n, being the bobbin from
which the thread passes through an eye 6, thence across through holes in the
shuttle to the long delivery slot 7 formed at the upper edge of the shuttle, so
that the filling thread will pass off near the under side of the top shed of
warps, and be deposited between the laying up device and the cloth as the
same lies over the breast beam, in order that said laying up device may press
the filling thread up to the cloth.
Having thus described the mode of depositing the thread by the regular
progressive movement of the shuttle without the concussion due to sudden
stopping or starting, I will next describe the lay-up apparatus for pressing
the weft thread to its place.
p, p, are plates that correspond in thickness to the distance from the centre
of one warp thread to the centre of the next, but the upper parts of these
plates are made thinner so as to pass freely between the warps similarly to
the reeds of a lay. A series of these plates corresponding in number with the
warps extends across the machine in such a position that the top part of one
plate may come between each two warps, and these plates are fitted on a
center bar or rod 8, or they might be fitted to slide back and forth, the object
being that they shall be drawn back at the point where the shuttle is passing
in order that the filling thread may be laid in by the slot 7 over their upper
ends and between them and the cloth, and as near to the cloth as convenient,
and then that said lay up be caused to press said thread up to place by a
movement that acts progressively from end to end of the filling. The
mechanism that presses these lay-up plates forward is to travel with the
shuttle, and may be so located as to press up the said filling thread as soon as
it is laid, or it may act upon the return movement of the shuttle previous to
the laying in of the next weft thread. A cam-formed projection 9 upon the
shuttle driver k acts to press the upper part of the plates p forward as said

page_text: driver is reciprocated across the loom, and this projecting cam q may be armed
with a roller to relieve the friction of acting upon the plates p and a double
cam r attached to a part 9' of the belt g, and travelling upon a ledger³, acts
upon the lower ends of the plates p to throw their upper ends back towards
the shuttle slides i, so that the weft thread may pass over their upper ends as
the shuttle passes along. The normal condition of these plates p is with
their upper ends towards the slide ways i, i, and the weft thread draws off
through the long slot 7, and will hence always deliver at the hindmost or rear
end of said slot after the upper ends of the plates p have been pressed by the
cam back towards said slide ways, and said slot 7 being higher than the ends
of said plates p, the filling thread will pass over and in front of their upper
ends, and be deposited between them and the point to which the filling is driven
to form the cloth.
I here remark, that in the construction represented the filling thread passes
off from the rear end of the shuttle, and hence is not driven up until the
shuttle returns, but if the weft thread were delivered from an eye at the end
of an arm extending from the center of the shuttle and the cams q and r
transposed in position, the weft might be driven up as soon as delivered from
the shuttle.
Upon opposite
In order to actuate the heddles, I employ the part g³ of the belt g, and the
heddles themselves I make of thin metallic plates or strips t, t, set to slide
vertically in suitable guides t¹. Each plate is perforated for the passage of
its warp, and is provided with an arm u, and said plates are so placed that the
arms u project from the two rows of heddles inwards or towards each other,
and when the warps are level said arms are a little above the lower guide t¹.
The part of the belt 9 runs between these heddles and may be guided
at the top and bottom edges in grooves in the guides t¹.
sides of this belt are fixed cams v, v, see the detached Fig. 8, provided
with hinged inclines or switch bars , which are placed at opposite ends
of said cams. The action of these is, that as the belt g³ reciprocates, the
switch v', which is advancing, acts under the arms u of one range of heddles,
raising them and the warps to the necessary height, where they remain
elevated on the cam v and hold the warps up over the shuttle, and when said
shuttle and cams have passed, the warps drop to their normal position;
during this same time the warps in the plates forming the other heddle have
either remained stationary or been depressed, the cam having passed over
said arms u, and the switch v' having been raised by such arms, and running
back over them. When the reverse movement of the belt g³ takes place, the
heddle plates that had before remained in a normal position or been depressed,

page_text: are raised by the hinged incline v¹ acting under their said arms u, u, while the
heddle plates that had been raised are depressed, or remain in a normal
position. Each cam v is formed with an incline on its under edge at the end
opposite the switch v¹, so as to pass over the arms u of the heddles when the
cam is moving with that end first, and the heddles may be depressed by that
means to draw down the lower shed of warp. The cloth as woven passes
over the breast beam w and between the rollers x, x, that are pressed together
by springs and screws or otherwise, so as to grip and draw the cloth along as
woven. These rollers are to be geared together, and a ratchet wheel y is
provided, the teeth of which bear such a relation to the size of the roller to
which the wheel is connected directly or by intermediate gearing that the
movement of said wheel to the extent of one tooth draws the fabric along two
picks or the width of two filling threads. I actuate this wheel y half a tooth
each reciprocation of the loom by the pawls 10 and 11 hinged at 12 and 13
to the bent lever y¹, see Fig. 3. 2,2, are the springs for such pawls, and q
the fulcrum of y; z¹ is a bent lever on the centre 15, and attached to y¹ by a
screw and slot at 14 or similar device; 16 and 17 are adjustable tappets or
studs affixed to the belt g, g', and projecting sufficiently therefrom to take the
upper end of The position of these tappets is such that one of them takes
against the side of z' at the time the belt has to move as much before com-
mencing its return reciprocation as the upper end of said lever 21 has to be
moved. By this arrangement, when the tappet 17 takes the lever 2, the
pawl 11 moves the wheel y half a tooth, and on the return movement the
tappet 16 causes the pawl 10 to move the wheel y half of a tooth, and carry
the pawl 11 back sufficiently to take the next tooth on said wheel y, so that
the take-up is a positive movement acting each reciprocation of the shuttle.
What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,―
First, the mode of operation for opening the shed, as described.
Second, the mode of operation for carrying the weft thread across, as
described.
Third, the mode of operation for laying up the weft thread, as described.
Fourth, the combination of the mode of operation for opening the shed
with the mode of operation for carrying the weft thread across, as described.
Fifth, the combination of the mode of operation for carrying the weft
thread across, with the mode of operation for laying the weft thread, as
described.
Sixth, the combination of the mode of operation for opening the shed
for carrying the weft thread across, and for laying up the weft thread,
as described.

page_text: Seventh, I claim the mechanism for moving the shuttle, the mechanism
for opening the shed by the heddle plates, the mechanism for laying up the
filling or weft thread, and the mechanism for actuating the take-up, as
described.
Eighth, I claim a crank pin attached to and travelling with a belt over a
pair of pulleys in combination with a cross slot for giving a reciprocating
movement, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Wallace Drummond, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of April, in the year of our
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
JOHN W. DRUMMOND. (Ls.)
Witnesses,
CHA. H. SMITH,
119 & 121, Nassau St., New York.
THO. GEO. HAROLD,
119 & 121, Nassau St., New York.