IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE HEALDS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1884

page_text: We, RICHARD ECROYD of Charlestown Mills, Charlestown, near Shipley in the
County of York, Manufacturer, and JOSEPII BENTLEY of the same place, managing
overlooker, do hereby declare the nature of our Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE HEALDS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:—
Our Invention relates to certain improvements in apparatus for regulating the
healds in looms for weaving, and has for its object the arrangement and combination
of the moving parts so that the apparatus is simplified, having fewer working parts
than machines now used for the purpose, and consists in fixing the apparatus to
the loom in the usual position and mounting in the framework a sliding draw-bar
to which a reciprocating motion is given, and placing between grate guides draw
knives which are in connexion with needles that are operated upon by the pattern
card surface selecting those needles and draw knives connected to healds that are
to be raised by the receeding draw bar.
We will now describe our Invention more in detail by aid of the accompanying
drawings in which Fig 1 represents a side elevation of our improved heald
regulating apparatus and connexions with the healds, one of the side frames is
removed in order to more clearly shew the working parts. Fig 2 is an end view
looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig 3 is a detail of one kind of lever we
use when weaving heavy goods. Fig 4 is an end view of the same, shewing the
face of the link on the lever and Fig 5 is a detail of one of the needles.
The top rail of the looms is indicated by the letter A, and secured thereto are
brackets B upon which rests our apparatus. Mounted to one end of the apparatus
is a shaft C to which are secured at each end thereof levers D and D₁ the latter
being what is usually termed a bell crank lever, and is connected by rod E to an
eccentric or crank secured to one of the shafts of the loom by which an oscillating
motion is given to the said levers, to each of which is also secured a connecting
rod R (shewn by dotted lines in Fig 1) thereby coupling the levers to the draw
bar F, and imparting a reciprocating notion to the same. Through cach space in
the grate guide G or as many spaces as are required by the pattern of the fabric
being woven, and through the eye of the corresponding needle, we place a hooked

page_text: draw knife H, one end of which is connected to a sliding bar J, to each of which
is attached one of the heald shafts K, by cords K' passing over pullies L.
The card cylinder M is actuated in the usual manner and cards of the ordinary
construction are mounted thereon; and at every upward movement of the card
cylinder some of the needles N are raised, thereby raising the corresponding draw
knives H clear of the reciprocating draw bar F; those that are not so raised are
taken back in the direction of arrow 2 on the return of the draw knife F, thereby
raising the healds connected therewith which are lowered again to their normal
position on the return stroke of the draw bar F.
The healds are kept in tension by a series of levers mounted on a fixed shaft or
bar S, carried by suitable brackets; those levers indicated by the letter P are used
when fine or light fabrics are woven and are connected to the healds by cords, and
arranged with projections R¹ on the underside one pointing in one direction
and on the next lever in the opposite direction, to each of which are attached a
spring S¹.
By placing the projections on the levers in the manner described, more space is
obtained below for the springs S¹, and when weaving heavy goods we mount levers
as shewn by Fig 3 on the shaft S, these levers are prepared with a projection W,
on the top of which is placed link T, to the bottoni part of which at T' we attach
a spring as described in connexion with other levers which draws the healds back
after being raised. By the use of the link T in combination with the lever, the
tension on the spring is more uniform than when coupled direct to the lever,
because the link rides on the top of lever projection W, allows the bottom of the
link to which the spring is attached to move towards the shaft S and therefore
does not stretch the spring so much as when connected direct to the lever.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is:-
A heald regulating machine in which are combined with the reciprocating draw
bar F, the hooked draw knives H and the sliding bars J working through guides
or grates G and G' arranged substantially in the manner and for the purpose as
herein before described and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 27th day of August 1881
WAUGH & CHAPMAN,
Agents for the Applicants.