LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Richardson, of No. 75, Gracechurch St.,
in the City of London, for the Invention of
LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
"IMPROVEMENTS
IN
Scaled the 16th July 1872, and dated the 16th May 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Richardson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 16th May 1872.
$5 IM-
I, CHARLES RICHARDSON, of No. 75, Gracechurch St., in the City of
London, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
PROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
"
My Invention relates to Improvements in Looms for Weaving in
which the shuttles are actuated by compressed air, and especially to
apparatus such as that for which Letters Patent were granted to me,
bearing date the 3rd day of February 1868, No. 366, and the 17th
November 1868, No. 3499.
It is found that the action of the air compressing instruments when
effected by the means described in Specifications of these Patents is

page_text: not so perfect in some respects as is desirable, and these means are
specially defective in respect to the employment of the suction to draw
the shuttle into the box.
One part of my present improvements has for object the remedying
of these defects, and consists in the employment of cams placed in
but
suitable positions on the loom, and driven in any suitable manner,
so arranged and adapted in relation to the air compressing instruments
that they shall cause them to act at the exact time and in the exact
manner required, the cams being so formed that not only shall the air
compressing instruments be caused to act at the proper times, but when
they are required not to act their moving parts shall be retained by the
cams in a quiescent or nearly quiescent state relative to the sley beam
notwithstanding the motion of the latter. By these means not only the
compression of the air to drive the shuttle out of the box, and the
exhaustion of the air to draw the shuttle into the box, may be effected
at the right time, but the air compressing instruments may be retained
under control at all times, whether whilst acting or not.
In order to regulate the amount of exhaustion or suction to draw the
shuttle into the box an adjustable relief valve may be inserted into the
air-compressing instrument.
Another part of my Invention consists in so arranging and adapting
shuttle boxes fitted with a spring, pawl, catch, or other locking or
holding instrument to retain the shuttle that they may be adjusted so as
to compensate for the vertical wear of the shuttle, the horizontal wear
being compensated for by the ordinary well-known meaus, In order to
effect this I mount the said spring, pawl, catch, or other locking or
holding instrument in a plate which is recessed into the under side of
the lid of the box, being raised or lowered therein by means of nuts
and screws from the exterior of the lid in such manner as to expand
or contract the space between the lid and the bottom of the box at
will.
Another part consists in applying to each air compressing instrument
a small tap, by opening or closing which more or less of the air may
be allowed to escape when the stroke is given to the shuttle, whereby
the strength of the pick may be regulated to any degree of nicety.
Another part consists in connecting the spring, catch, pawl, or othe
locking or holding instrument in the shuttle box with the frog pawl
«

page_text: in fast reed looms " by a direct attachment in such manner that when
the shuttle misses the box or sticks in the shed the spring, catch, pawl,
or other locking or holding instrument not being acted on by the shuttle
allows the frog pawl to operate on the stop rod, and thus to stop the
loom.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Charles Richardson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 15th November 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
RICHARDSON, of No. 75, Gracechurch Street, in the City of London,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Charles Richardson, Her special licence
that I, the said Charles Richardson, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles Richardson, 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 FOR WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Charles Richardson, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 Charles Richardson, 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 accom-
panying Drawings, that is to say:

page_text: My Invention relates to
Improvements in Looms for Weaving," in
which the shuttles are actuated by compressed air, and especially to
apparatus such as that for which Letters Patent were granted to me
bearing date the 3rd day of February 1868, No. 366, and the 17th
November 1868, No. 3499.
'It is found that the action of the air compressing instruments, when
effected by the means described in the Specifications of these Patents
is not so perfect in some respects as is desirable, and these means are
specially defective in respect to the employment of the suction to draw
the shuttle into the box.
One part of my present improvements has for object the remedying
of these defects, and consists in the employment of cams placed in
suitable positions on the loom, and driven in any suitable manner, but
so arranged and adapted in relation to the air compressing instruments
that they shall cause them to act at the exact time and in the exact
manner required, the cams being so formed that not only shall the
air compressing instruments be caused to act at the proper times, but
when they are required not to act their moving parts shall be retained
by the cams in a quiescent or nearly quiescent state relative to the sley
beam notwithstanding the motion of the latter. By these means not
only the compression of the air to drive the shuttle out of the box and
the exhaustion of the air to draw the shuttle into the box may be
effected at the right time, but the air compressing instruments may be
retained under control at all times whether whilst acting or not.
In order to regulate the amount of exhaustion or suction to draw the
shuttle into the box, an adjustable relief valve may be inserted into the
air compressing instrument.
Another part of my Invention consists in so arranging and adapting
shuttle boxes fitted with a spring, pawl, catch, or other locking or
holding instrument to retain the shuttle that they may be adjusted so
as to compensate for the vertical wear of the shuttle, the horizontal
wear being compensated for by the ordinary well-known means. In
order to effect this I mount the said spring, pawl, catch, or other locking
or holding instrument in a plate which is recessed into the under side
of the lid of the box being raised or lowered therein by means of nuts
and screws from the exterior of the lid in such manner as to expand or
contract the space between the lid and the bottom of the box at will.

page_text: Another part consists in applying to each air compressing instrument
a small tap or valve, by adjusting which more or less of the air may
be allowed to escape when the stroke is given to the shuttle, whereby
the strength of the pick may be regulated to any degree of nicety.
Another part consists in connecting the spring, catch, pawl, or other
locking or holding instrument in the shuttle box with the frog pawl"
in fast reed looms" by a direct attachment in such manner that when
the shuttle misses the box or sticks in the shed the spring, catch, pawl,
or other locking or holding instrument not being acted on by the shuttle
allows the frog pawl to operate on the stop rod and thus to stop the
loom.
Fig. 1 of the Drawing represents an elevation of a loom side frame
with my improvements attached; Fig. 2, a back view of same showing
the apparatus as arranged at one end of the loom, it being understood
that similar apparatus is applied to each end thereof; Fig. 3, a section
through the air cylinder, sley beam, and shuttle box.
Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7 respectively, plan of shuttle box with lid removed,
top plan of shuttle box lid, under side view of shuttle box lid, and
longitudinal section of shuttle box, and part of sley beam.
A is the side frame of the loom; B, the sley beam; C, the air com-
pressing instrument, which I prefer to consist of a cylinder and piston
as shown, the cylinder C is fixed on the sley beam and communicates
by the pipe D with the end of the shuttle box. The piston E receives its
motion in the cylinder from a lever F, this lever is jointed thereto as
shown and operated by a slide link G, jointed to it and receiving motion
from a cam H, which is by preference fixed to and revolves with the
second motion wheel I so as to turn once for every two movements of
the sley backwards and forwards. A bowl J in the slide link G takes
into the groove of the cam H, which is so formed that at the time when
the shuttle is to be thrown across the shed, the part 1 of the cam operates
on the bowl J forcing in the piston E and compressing the air, which
passes by the pipe D into the shuttle box so as to eject the shuttle or
effect the pick.” The part 2 of the cam next operates to keep the
piston quiescent in the cylinder during the further outward motion of
the sley beam, during its forward motion to beat up the weft, and during
its next outward motion until just before the time of the arrival of the
67

page_text: ,,
shuttle from the opposite side of the loom into the box on the side on the
side under description when the part 3 of the cam operates to draw out
the piston, and thus to suck the shuttle completely and certainly into
the box, where it is then locked by the pawl. The part 4 of the cam then
operates to retain the piston drawn out in the cylinder in the position
shown in Fig. 3 during the further outward motion the beating up of
the weft and the next outward motion of the sley, until the moment of
again picking from the side under description, when the part 1 of
the cam once more comes into operation to force the piston inwards, and
the cycle of operations is repeated. At the moment of compression of
the air by the part 1 of the cam, the finger K fixed on the lever F acts
by the V piece upon the lever K" depressing the pin L, which presses
upon the shorter end of the pawl M raising the longer end out of the
notch in the shuttle so as to liberate the latter at the exact instant
required.
In order to regulate the amount of the exhaustion or suction to draw
the shuttle into the box and to facilitate the drawing out of the piston
one or more relief valves E' may be adapted to the piston E, and
adjusted to open inwards to any required extent, so as to admit more
or less air behind the piston during its outward stroke.
,,
دو
The strength of the "pick,' or force of air to drive the shuttle may
be regulated within certain limits by means of a tap or valve N applied
to each air compressing instrument, by suitably adjusting which, more
or less of the air will be allowed to escape when the " pick is given,
thereby modifying the effect on the shuttle. The shuttle box is provided
with a sliding spring buffer O of any suitable construction, but I prefer
that it be similar to one of those described in the Specification of my
before-mentioned former Patent, No. 3499, A.D. 1868.
It will be understood that other forms of air compressing instruments,
such, for example, as flexible bellows may be employed instead of
cylinders and pistons, and that other means than those described may be
used to convey motion from the cam to the air compressing instrument;
also, that if preferred the cams instead of being rotated once for every
two revolutions of the crank shaft may be arranged either on the crank
shaft itself or otherwise so as to revolve once for each revolution.
In order to enable shuttle boxes fitted with pawls, or other locking or
holding instruments in their lids, to be readily adjusted so as to com-

page_text: pensate for the vertical wear of the shuttle, I mount the said pawl M,
see Figs. 4, 5, 6, & 7, in a plate which is recessed into the under side of
the lid of the shuttle box, being raised or lowered therein by means
of nuts and screws from the exterior of the lid, in such manner as to
expand or contract the space between the lid and the bottom of the box
at will, an elastic material or suitable springs being by preference
interposed between the plate and the lid of the box. When the retaining
pawl is inserted in the bottom of the box, as in Figs. 8 & 9, the adjustable
plate in the lid is left plain, but otherwise arranged as above described.
and passing
nut S at its
frog pawl"
The means by which I connect the "frog pawl" with the retaining pawl
or other locking or holding instrument as in " fast reed looms so as to
stop the loom when the shuttle misses the box or traps in the shed, are
illustrated in Figs. 8 & 9; Fig. 8 being a longitudinal section of a
shuttle fitted with this arrangement, and Fig. 9 a cross section of
the same.
M is the retaining or shuttle pawl disposed at the bottom
of the box; S is a rod loosely jointed to the end of the pawl
down through the sley beam, has an adjustable collar or
lower end on which rests the end of an arm T fixed on the
rod on its centre, the end of the ** frog pawl" M" is thus raised
clear of the ** knocking off"
projection V on the stop lever V, but if the
shuttle does not enter the box the end U of the pawl M, and con-
sequently the arm S and the "frog pawl" M" remain down; the end
of the latter then comes in contact with the knocking off" projection
on the stop lever, pushing it out of its notch, and allowing it to act to
stop the loom in the ordinary well-known manner. The notch in the
shuttle must be of such a depth that the end U₁ of the pawl M' cannot
drop lower after the shuttle is "boxed" and locked, than will allow
the frog pawl" to miss the "knocking off "projection.
in this case be acted upon to liberate the shuttle at the
a suitable modification of the mechanism above described for liberating
the pawl when placed in the lid of the shuttle box or .in any other
convenient manner.
68
The pawl may
right time by
Having now described the nature of my said Invention and the manner
in which the same is to or may be carried into effect, I wish it to be
understood that what I claim as my Invention is,-
First. The employment of cams for operating the air compressing
instruments, constructed, arranged, and adapted substantially as described
and shown.

page_text: Second. The means of adjusting shuttle boxes, so as to compensate for
the vertical wear of the shuttle, substantially as described and shown.
Third. Connecting the retaining pawls in the shuttle boxes with the
frog pawl for the purpose of effecting the stoppage of the loom when
the shuttle fails to enter the box or traps in the shed, substantially as
described and shown.
22
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Richardson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this 15th day of November in the year of
(Signed)
CHAS. RICHARDSON. (L.S.)