Improvements in Shedding Mechanisms of Looms for Weaving.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Jan., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 28th Oct., 1896-Accepted, 23th Nov., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Shedding Mechanisms of Looms for Weaving.
We JAMES HILL of Cavendish Works Keighley in the County of York
Machine Maker and EDWARD HILL of the same place Machine Maker, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
It relates firstly to improvements in shedding or dobby mechanism of looms for
weaving and consists of arranging and constructing the parts forming said mechanism
in such a manner that the tilting of the healds is avoided.
The second part of our invention relates to means for obtaining a positive action
in the shedding or dobby mechanism, that is to say, the said mechanism is so
arranged that it will not only lift the healds and warp in loom but will pull them
down to their original position again.
The third part of our invention consists of means for taking out the backlash or
scape when the healds are being operated.
The first part of our invention is attained by making use of suitable framework.
which extends over the centre of the loom. In the said framework are fixed two.
shafts at a suitable distance from each other. Upon each of these shafts we mount
a series of levers. The inner ends of these levers overlap each other, when
mounted on their respective shafts, while the outer ends are so arranged that the
heald cords may be readily attached thereto. These levers are held in position by
suitable side binding plates and grates. Upon the upper sides of the outer ends
of the inner levers, we form, at a suitable distance from the centres and ends
thereof, curved fingers.
The bell levers, in shedding or dobby mechanism, we arrange with arms which
project and come under the curved levers of the before named levers, so that when
the bell levers are drawn forward they lift the outer ends of the inside levers, and
by reason of the said levers being mounted upon a shaft their opposite ends are
depressed. The inner ends of these levers overlapping the inner ends of the
outside levers, these, the inner ends of the outside levers, are also depressed. The
outside levers being fulcrumed upon a shaft, when the inner ends are depressed
the outer ends are raised and by these means a parallel lift in the healds is obtained.
As an alternative method, instead of the inner ends of the above named levers
overlapping each other, we arrange these levers so that the inner ends of the
outside levers, come over, but at a suitable distance from, the inner ends of the
inside levers, the ends of said levers being coupled together by suitable connecting
rods. When the outer ends of the inside levers are lifted by the bell levers, they
cause their inner ends to be depressed, and by reason of the inner ends being
coupled by suitable connecting rods to the inner ends of the ontside levers, these
the inner ends of the outside levers are also depressed, therefore causing the outer
ends to be lifted, and by these means a parallel lift in the healds is obtained.
Again instead of the levers overlapping each other we dispense with their inner
ends and form the outside levers with vertical arms which we connect, by suitable
connecting rods, to the bell levers in the shedding or dobby mechanism, said levers
having pins cast upon them for this purpose.
The inside levers are arranged with curved fingers, as before described, therefore
when the bell levers are drawn forward they lift the before named levers, by
reason of the arms of the bell levers coming into contact with the curved fingers,

page_text: and the opposite levers having vertical arms and being coupled to the bell levers
by suitable connecting rods, they the said levers are also lifted when the bell
levers are drawn forward. The levers we arrange with open ends and radius
holes, through which, when the levers are in position, we pass guard pins so that
by taking away the guard pins any lever may be removed or replaced without
interfering with the rest.
The second part of our invention is attained by making use of suitably formed
draw catches, they being so formed that when engaged with the draw har, there
is a lug or hook on either side of the said draw bar, therefore the draw bar not
only draws the draw catches forward but pushes them back to their original
position again. In suitable positions on the framework we fix stop bars, they being
SO arranged that when the draw catches are not being drawn forward and are
lifted clear of the draw bars, they, the said draw catches, come against the stop
bars and are thereby prevented from moving. The stop bars also prevent the
draw catches from getting out of contact with the draw bars, when they the said
draw catches are being drawn forward or pushed back, until they reach their
original position.
The third part of our invention relates to taking out the blacklash or scape in
shedding or dobby mechanism.
That is to say, up to the present time, when the healds have been lifted and are
required to stay up another pick they, the healds, are let down a portion of the
distance and then drawn up to their highest position again.
The reason for this being that there is forced to be a sufficient distance allowed
from the hook of the draw catch to the edge of the draw bar for the purpose of
letting the draw catch engage and disengage with the draw bar.
For instance if the top draw catch is engaged with the draw bar and has lifted
the heald, and it is required that the heald should remain up another pick, the
bottom draw catch is allowed to engage with the bottom draw bar, but before the
bottom draw bar commences to draw the draw catch it has to travel the distance
allowed for the draw catch to engage with the said draw bar, but the draw catch
which is engaged to the top draw bar is returning and therefore the heald is let
down until the bottom draw bar engages with the bottom draw catch.
To get over this we make use bell levers having projecting arms. We also
make use of suitably shaped levers which we mount upon a shaft fixed to the
framework of the mechanism.
In suitable positions upon the upper sides of the said levers we form curved, or
other suitably shaped, fingers which come into contact with projecting arms of bell
levers.
The onter ends of the arms and fingers are so formed, that, after the bell
levers have lifted the other levers sufficiently high, they commence to travel on
the dead surface thereby holding the levers perfectly still and not allowing them to
go down until the arms of the bell levers have again moved off the dead surface.
We make use of another series of levers which are mounted upon another
shaft, the inner ends of the outside levers being coupled by any of the before
described methods, to the inner ends of the inside levers, therefore the outer
ends of these levers are lifted and held motionless until the arms of the bell
levers come off the dead surface.
To get the said levers off the dead surface in a non-positive mechanism, we
make use of a rod or roller which comes into contact with the arms of the
bell levers and which is swung from suitable brackets fixed to the framework of
the mechanism.
A spring is attached to the rod or roller, sufficiently strong as to force the bell
levers off the dead surface.
Dated this 27th day of Januar 1900
JAMES HILL.
EDWARD HILL.

page_text: Improvements in Shedding Mechanisms of Looms for Weaving.
We JAMES HILL of Cavendish Works Keighley in the County of York
Machine Maker and EDWARD HILL of the same address Machine Maker do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
It relates firstly to improvements in shedding or dobby mechanism of looms for
weaving and consists of arranging and constructing the parts forming said
mechanism in such a manner that the tilting of the healds is avoided.
The second part of our invention relates to means for obtaining a positive action
in the shedding or dobby mechanism, that is to say, said mechanism is so arranged
that it will not only lift the healds, but will push them down to their original
position again.
The third part of our invention consists of means for taking out the back lash
or scape when the healds are being operated.
In the accompanying sheets of drawings
Figs. 1 and 2 are views showing our arrangements for preventing the tilting of
the healds..
Fig. 3 is a view showing how we obtain a positive action in the healds and our
method of taking out the back lash or scape when the healds are being operated
and Fig. 4 is a view in detail of part of Fig. 3.
The first part of our invention is attained by making use of a series of levers a
and b which we mount upon shafts c and d fixed to the framework of shedding.or
dobby mechanism. The inner ends a' and b', of the levers a and b, overlap each
other and the outer ends are so arranged that the heald cords may be readily
attached.
Upon the upper sides of the levers a we form curved fingers a². We make use
of suitable bell levers e, which we mount upon the shaft f, and which we arrange
with arms e', said arms el coming under the curved fingers a² of the levers a. Upon
the bell levers e we mount the swing levers of shedding or dobby mechanism in the
usual manner. When the bell levers e are drawn forward the outer ends of the
arms el are raised, and by reason of the outer ends of said arms el coming under
the curved fingers a' of the levers a, the outside ends of said levers a are also
raised.
The inner ends a¹ of the levers a overlap the inner ends 6 of the levers b,
therefore when the outer ends of the levers a are raised, the outer ends of the
levers bare also raised, by reason of the inner ends being depressed by the
inner ends a¹ of the levers a, therefore by attaching the heald cords to the outer
ends of the levers a and b we obtain a parallel lift in the healds and any tendency
to tilt is avoided. If desired, instead of the ends a¹ and b' overlapping each other,
we can crank one up and the other down and couple them together by suitable
rod 9 (see Fig. 2).
The second part of our invention consists of forming the drawcatches h and k
in such a manner that when they engage with the drawbars m or n, the lugs or
hooks h¹, h and k¹, come on either side of the drawbars m or n and by these
means said drawcatches are both drawn forward and pushed back by said
drawbars.
In suitable position upon the framework we fix stopbars o and p, they being
arranged so that when the drawcatches h and k are not being drawn forward, but
are lifted clear of the drawbars in the usual manner; said drawcatches h and k
come against said stopbars o and p and are prevented from moving thereby.
The stopbars o and p also prevent the drawcatches h and k from getting out of

page_text: contact with the drawbars m or n when they, the said drawcatches, are being drawn
forward or pushed, until they reach their original position.
The third part of our invention relates to taking out the backlash or scape in
shedding or dobby mechanism. To attain this we make use of the levers a and b
and the lever e as before described, with the exception that upon the levers a we
form two fingers a² and 3. When the lever e is drawn forward in dobby the arm e¹
is raised, and the arm e¹ and the finger a are so arranged that they dwell or rest
upon the dead surface (see Fig. 4) until the lever e is pushed down, and then the
arm el rests or dwells upon the dead surface of the finger a³ and by these means
the levers a and b are locked both in the top and bottom positions thus allowing the
drawcatches hor k to engage or disengage with the drawbars morn without letting
down the healds after they, the said healds, have been lifted and are required to
stay up a second pick.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The lever e having the arm e¹ and the lever a baving the finger a³ arranged
in the manner and for the purpose as herein described and illustrated by the
accompanying drawings.
2. The levers a and b having the ends a¹ and b' cranked and coupled together by
the rod g in the manner and for the purpose as herein described.
3. A dobby or shedding mechanism arranged to work the healds in a positive
manner as described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
4. In a dobby or shedding mechanism the drawcatches hand k having the lugs
or hooks ', ' and ', and the stop bars o and p arranged in the manner and for
the purpose as herein described.
5. The lever e having the arm e and the lever a having the fingers a³ and a
arranged in the manner and for the purpose as herein described and illustrated by
the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 27th day of October 1896.
JAMES HILL.
EDWARD HILL.