CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1848

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
HUDSON, of Burnley, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker, and
JOHN DODGEON, of Burnley, in the same County, Overlooker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-second day of January,
in the eleventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said William Hudson and John Dodgeon, our
exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that we, the said William Hudson and John Dodgeon, our
exors, admors, and assigns, and such others as we, the said William Hudson
and John Dodgeon, our exors, admors, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within that part of Her said Majesty's United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her Dominion of Wales, and Town
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, our Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS
FOR WEAVING;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that we, the
said William Hudson and John Dodgeon, shall particularly describe and ascer-
tain the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, to be enrolled
in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as,
upon reference being thereunto had, shall more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that, in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
William Hudson and John Dodgeon, do hereby declare that the nature of ou
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed and
carried into effect, is particularly set forth, described, and ascertained in
and by these Presents and the Drawings thereunto annexed, the Figures upon
which Drawings are made to the scale or proportionate size marked upon them,
the same letters of reference being employed to represent the same part or
parts throughout the various Figures there exhibited, that is to say :-
Our Invention relates more particularly to improvements applicable to that
description of looms known as power looms, in which all the motions are
rendered self-acting, or the various operations required in weaving are per-
formed without the intervention of manual assistance. These looms, which are
usually driven in large numbers by steam or other motive power, at a great
acceleration of speed over the common or hand loom, are often subject to
breakage and derangements of the working parts from their motions being
arrested while running at such high velocities, and to remedy these defects is
the chief object of our present Invention. Our improvements will therefore
be found to consist :-
Firstly, in imparting certain novel shapes or forms of construction to the
fly wheels of power looms.
Secondly, in the novel application of a brake or brakes to the fly-wheels of
power looms, whether of our improved construction or of the ordinary kind, in
order to reduce the shock or strain to which the loom is subject when its
motion is arrested.
Thirdly, certain improved methods of reducing the concussion resulting from
the contact of the finger of the stop rod with the frog upon the loom side
when the shuttle is absent from both shuttle boxes, and the reed is beating up.
Fourthly, improvements in reducing the momentum of the picking lever
when completing its traverse.
Fifthly, an improved method of dispensing with the swell in the shuttle box,
and at the same time making use of the stop rod and frog for applying a brake
to the fly wheel whenever the shuttle traps or is caught in the shed.
Referring to Drawing No. 1.-Fig. 1 is an elevation of one of our improved
fly wheels taken on that side which is placed nearest to the loom frame; and
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same; while at Fig. 3, which is a partial
elevation, and at Fig. 4, which is a part plan of a loom, it is seen attached to
the crank shaft; it will also be observed in other Figs. upon the various
Sheets of Drawings. This wheel is cast solid throughout, and consists of a
nave a, from which the disc a' radiates. This disc or side of the wheel is suffi-

page_text: ciently strong to supply the absence of arms or spokes, which it is intended to
supersede. Projecting from it are the cylindrical rings a³, a, concentric with
each other, and prepared with accuracy, in order to receive the pressure of
the brakes, as hereafter explained. The advantages resulting from the use of
this wheel are, that two circumferenting surfaces are exposed to the action of
the brake in place of one surface only, as in the old form of wheels, and con-
sequently the retarding power of the brake is proportionably increased.
Another improved form of fly wheel is seen in Drawing No. 2.--Fig. 6 is a
plan, and Fig. 7 is an elevation of the wheel upon that side which we place
nearest to the loom frame. This wheel has only one cylindrical surface b', whose
diameter is less than that of the disc or side b, which in this case, as in the
wheel last described, is sufficiently strong to supply the absence of arms or
spokes. In making use of wheels of this construction, the possibility of applying
a brake on the inner and outer circumference of the cylindric part 6¹ will be
apparent. Brakes acting concentrically can also be applied to this form of
wheel with great advantage.
A third improvement in the form of fly wheels is also shewn in Drawing
No. 2. Fig. 8 is an elevation of that side nearest to the loom frame, and Fig. 9.
is a transverse section; this wheel has a solid side or disc C like the wheels
last described; it has only one cylindrical surface C¹, which, in this case, is of
equal diameter with the side or disc of the wheel, and to wheels of this form
we apply the brake by an arrangement of levers, as herein-after described.
Before describing our second series of improvements we would remark that
our method of causing the brake to act upon the fly wheel is the same as that
for which John Sellers, of Burnley, obtained Letters Patent on the Seventeenth
of March, One thousand eight hundred and forty-five, and that we do not make
nor lay any claim thereunto, although it will be necessary to enter into a brief
description of the same, in order to make our improvements more fully under-
stood.
In the Specification of the Patent of John Sellers, before mentioned, the
"finger" of the "stop rod" being brought in contact with a "stop or notch "
upon the loom side, the application of a brake to the fly wheel was effected.
Referring to Drawing No. 1, Figs. 3 and 4, A is the horizontal finger of
the stop rod A, and A' the upright arm acted upon by the spring B, which
spring also acts upon the swell or projection B' in the shuttle box; when the.
slay D is in the position shewn in the Drawings, and the shuttle D¹ is in either
of the shuttle boxes, "the swell" D₁ is pushed out, and the action of the
spring B upon the upright arm A¹ causes the finger A to be lifted up, by.
which it is preserved, from contact with the stop or notch e upon the frog E;.

page_text: when, however, the shuttle is absent from both shuttle boxes, and the slay is
in the position exhibited, the spring B forces the "swell" inwards, and the
finger A is brought into contact with the stop or notch e as the slay proceeds
to beat up; this causes the frog E to advance slightly, and the lever Fattached
to it is made to apply a brake to the fly wheel and relieve the shock or strain
to which the suddenly arrested motion of the loom would subject the working
arrangements. The brake described in John Sellers' Specification was of single
action, and the fly wheel of the ordinary kind, while our improvements relate
to a series of compound brakes, one of which is shewn in dotted lines in
Figs. 3 and 4, applied to the improved form of fly wheels first described, better
seen also at Fig. 1, where the wheel is shewn detached. This brake is com-
posed of two arms G, G¹, vibrating upon a stud or pin fattached to the
framing of the loom, the brake g upon the arm G acts upon the outer cylin-
dric ring a³, and the brake g¹ acts upon the inner cylindric ring at of the fly
wheel, which arm is also attached to the lever F at g³, so soon as the finger of
the stop rod A comes in contract with the notch e upon the frog E placed upon
the framing of the loom, the shuttle being absent from both shuttle boxes, as
described, and immediately arrests its motion.
Another improved description of brake is shewn in dotted lines at Fig. 10,
and with the wheel detached from the loom at Fig. 11, Drawing No. 2. This
brake is especially adapted for that description of fly wheel shewn at Figs. 6
and 7, and is brought into operation by means of the stop rod and frog upon
the lever F, as before described. This brake consists of two arms H, H',
vibrating upon a stud attached to the loom frame; the brakeh upon the arm H
acts upon the inner, and the brake h' acts upon the outer circumference of the
cylindric portion of this fly wheel whenever the finger of the stop rod strikes
against the frog, the arm H' of the brake being connected to the lever F by
the pin h. At Fig. 8 is shewn a form of brake which we apply to the con-
struction of fly wheel shewn at Fig. 8, Drawing No. 2. In this the lever F,
connected to the frog E, is attached to the bell crank lever I, which vibrates
upon the crank shaft of the loom; to the other arm of this lever is affixed the
bowl i, which, whenever the finger of the stop rod comes in contact with the
frog, presses the brake I¹ against the inner circumference of the cylindric
portion C of this fly wheel, which brake is suspended from the loom frame by
a stud. I, a concentric brake applied to our first-described form of fly wheels,
is shewn at Fig. 25.
Drawing No. 4. The arms J, J', upon which are placed the brakes j, j, are
suspended from the framing of the loom upon the stud Je, and are placed
between the two cylindric surfaces a³, a', without contact with either, so long

page_text: as the motions of the loom are uninterrupted; these arms are attached to the
lever K by the links K, K¹, which lever vibrabes upon its fulcrum at K¹, its
opposite arm being furnished with the incline K3, at the bottom of which rests
the stud or pin E', projecting from the frog E. Whenever the finger of the stop
rod strikes the frog, the pin E mounts the incline K, and causes the lever K
and links K', K, to apply the brakes j,, to the inner circumference of the
outer cylindric ring a³ of the fly wheel.
Another description of concentric brake applied to our secondly described
fly wheel is shewn at Fig. 12, Drawing No. 2. This brake consists of the
arms L, L, suspended from the stud L, furnished with the brakes t¹, t³, which
are preserved from contact with the cylindric ring 6 by the links 1', ', con-
nected to the lever M. This lever vibrates upon its fulcrum m, and its
opposite arm is furnished with the incline m', which rests upon the projecting
pin or stud E¹ of the frog E. When the finger of the stop rod strikes the
frog, this pin E¹ raises the incline m and causes the brakes P, P, to press
against the outer circumference of the cylindrical part 6 of the fly wheel.
In old looms experience has shewn that the crank shaft has often so much.
play as to counteract the beneficial effects of the brake. To remedy this we
propose to apply a "dead" or fixed brake N nearly in contact with the fly, see
Fig. 5, Drawing No. 1, attached to the framing of the loom, on the opposite
side of the wheel to that on which the brake applied from the "frog" acts, by
which means the fly wheel will be securely held between both brakes whenever
the motion of the loom is arrested. Figures 13, 14, and 15, Drawing No. 3,
exhibit a method of applying a brake to the fly wheel entirely distinct from the
principle patented by John Sellers aforesaid, which consists in causing the
brake to be applied by the action of a cam or tappett upon the crank shaft.
Fig. 13 is a partial elevation, and Fig. 14 is a part plan of a loom to which
these improvements are applied, some portions of which are shewn in dotted
lines, but are more clearly seen in the detached view Figure 15, where the
brake is shewn applied to the wheel. We would also observe that the fly
wheel and brake attached to these Figures are of the form and construction
which we first described, although either of our improved fly wheels or brakes
may be applied. O is a cam or tappett upon the crank shaft O', which, with
every revolution, is brought in contact with the bowl P upon the lever P'.
This lever vibrates upon its fulcrum P2 upon the lower rail of the loom when-
ever the motions of the loom are uninterrupted. This lever is merely pushed
back by the tappet O, and immediately recovers its position, as hereafter
explained. This lever is also furnished with an arm opposite to that on which

page_text: the bowl P is placed, which arm is provided with a stop or notch p. Vibrating
upon a stud upon the lever Q, to which the brake is attached, is the bell crank
lever R, one arm of which is fitted so as to drop into the stop or notch p upon
the arm of the lever P¹, but which, when the shuttle "boxes" continuously, it
is prevented from doing by the action of the finger A³ attached to the stop rod
A', which is as follows:-Whenever the shuttle D¹ enters the shuttle box and
presses the swell B and upright arm A¹ outwards, the finger A³ is depressed
so much as to permit of its acting upon the lever R and raising its horizontal
arm out of the notch P upon the lever P¹ almost simultaneously. With
this the cam O upon the crank shaft forces the lever P¹ outwards, which
immediately recovers its position, as before stated. When, however, the
shuttle fails to enter either of the shuttle boxes, or to act upon the "swell" B¹;
the finger A³ ceases to act upon the lever R, and the cam O upon the crank
shaft, pressing against the lever P¹, forces it in contact with the horizontal arm
of the lever R resting upon the notch p. This lever, as before stated, is
attached to the lever Q, which with it is carried forward by the action of the
cam O, causing the brake to be applied to the fly wheel, while at the same
time the extremity of the lever Q, striking against the spring handle R, throws
it from the notch q to the notch q', and acting upon the lever R¹ shifts the
driving strap R2 from the fast pulley R³ to the loose pully R, by which the
instantaneous stoppage of the loom is effected; with this arrangement the frog
upon the loom side is dispensed with, while the application of the brake when
the shuttle traps is secured.
Our improvements, relating to the reduction of concussion arising from
the contact of the finger of the stop rod with the frog are shewn applied
to the loom in Fig. 1, Drawing No. 1, and under various modifications
throughout the other Figs., as hereafter referred to.
E is the frog.
and E' is a bracket attached to the framing. This bracket has a small
aperture e¹, in which we place a small piece of caoutchouc or other elastic
material, best seen detached in section at Fig. 18, Drawing No. 1, which
when the frog is driven forwards by the action of the finger of the stop rod
yields, and thus reduces the strain to which the arrested motion of the loom
would subject the working parts. A modification of this principle is shewn at
Fig. 10, Drawing No. 2, and separately in section at Fig. 19, Drawing No. 1.
In this case we attach the stud or pin e as a permanent projection from the
Joom side, and place the aperture e¹ containing the caoutchouc or other clastic
material in the frog E, by which means we obtain the same results as those
last described. A further modification is shewn in the detached Fig. 26,

page_text: Drawing No. 1.
We make the aperture e¹ in the framing of the loom, and
the caoutchouc or other elastic material contained therein is acted upon by the
stud or pine projecting from the frog E.
In Fig. 17, Drawing No. 4, another method of effecting this purpose is
shewn. The rod e* attached to the frog E works through a bracket R³ secured
to the framing of the loom. Between this bracket and the nut r¹ is placed the
piece of caoutchouc or other elastic material r³, which, whenever the motion of
the loom is arrested, permits its stoppage to be effected without shock or
damage to the machine. We also modify this principle, and, dispensing with
the caoutchouc, connect the rod e* to the upright elastic spring ³, attached to
the bottom rail at the back of the loom, which, whenever the finger of the stop
rod strikes the frog, not only tends to lessen the concussion, but also applies
the brake to the back of the fly wheel.
Our improvements which refer to reducing the momentum of the picking
lever when completing its traverse are shewn in Drawing No. 2, where
Fig. 24 is a
partial clevation, and Fig. 23 a plan of the picking lever and
sector usually attached thereon. This sector S is driven by a band (not
shewn) in the ordinary manner, and our improvements consist in causing the
sector, when completing its traverse, to impinge against the elastic spring S¹
attached to the loom in any convenient manner; by this means the momentum
of the picking stick is gently arrested, from which a great economy in pickers
and picking bands must result.
Our improvements whereby we dispense with the swell in the shuttle box,
and secure the application of a brake by the contact of the stop rod and frog,
are shewn in Drawing No. 4, Figs. 20, 21, and 22. Fig. 20 is a partial
elevation, and Fig. 21 a part plan of a loom, while Fig. 22 is a detached
representation of the action of our arrangements. These improvements con-
sist in the application of a transverse rod T extending from each side of the
loom, immediately beneath the breast beam T¹. Upon the middle of this rod
is placed the horizontal arm or lever t, and nearer to the loom side placed so
as to stand clear of the cloth and reed is also fixed upon it the lever t'. A
similar lever to this, though not seen in the Drawing, is placed upon the rod T
on the opposite selvage of the cloth. The stop rod A' is also furnished with a
vertical dependant finger A³ placed midway between the loom sides, which,
when the motions of the loom are uninterrupted, is preserved from contact
with the horizontal lever t, but when the shuttle is caught in the shed is acted
upon thereby, and made to apply the brake to the fly wheel of the loom. This
action we will now proceed to explain: the lever and the similar lever
placed upon the opposite sides of the cloth are connected with each other by

page_text: the rod V, and the points of these levers enter a short distance into the shuttle
race when the crank is at half stroke, as shewn, and project nearly across the
slay when the reed is beating up. When the shuttle D is in either of the
shuttle boxes these levers offer no interruption to the beating up; but should
the shuttle trap or be caught in the shed, the motion of the slay brings
it in contact with the rod V or with the ends of the levers t¹, as shewn in
dotted lines at Fig. 21, which, being forced towards the breast beam T
raises the lever t and causes it to strike against the dependent finger
of the stop rod A³, by which means the horizontal finger A is depressed and
brought in contact with the notch e upon the frog E, as seen at Fig. 22, by
which the brake can be applied to the fly wheel in any of the methods before
described. With this arrangement the swell in the shuttle box is dispensed
with, resulting in an accelleration of speed to the loom, and the upright arm of
the stop rod A¹ is preserved only to act as a counterpoise to the horizontal
finger A.
Having now fully described our Invention of "Certain Improvements in
Looms for Weaving," and the manner in which the same are to be performed
and carried into effect, we wish it to be distinctly understood that we do not
claim any of the ordinary and well-known parts of looms made use of to
describe and illustrate our improvements, nor do we confine ourselves to the
precise details and arrangements herein specified, so long as the features of our
Invention or any part thereof be retained; but what we claim as new and of
our Invention in these presents are,
Firstly, the improvements in the form and construction of fly wheels for
power looms, as described.
Secondly, the application of the various improved descriptions of brakes to
the fly wheels of power looms, whether used in connection with our improved
fly wheels, or with fly wheels of the ordinary construction, as described, or any
mere modifications of the same.
Thirdly, the method of causing a cam or tappett placed upon the crank
shaft of the loom to apply a brake to the fly wheel, or any modifications of the
same acting in conjunction with the mechanical arrangements described for
arresting the motions of the loom.
Fourthly, the application of metal springs, caoutchouc, or other elastic
medium to counteract the effects of the concussion resulting from the contact
of the finger of the stop rod with the frog, as described.
Fifthly, the application of a spring or elastic medium to reduce the momen-
tum of the picking shaft, as described.
Sixthly, the mechanical arrangements described, or any modifications of the

page_text: same, whereby the swell in the shuttle box is dispensed with, and the finger of
the stop rod is brought in contact with the frog in order to apply a brake to
the fly wheel of the loom; the whole of which being to the best of our know-
ledge and belief new and never before practised in that part of Her said
Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her
Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, we deliver this as our
true and faithful Specification of the same.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Hudson and John Dodgeon,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-first day of July,
One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.
(L.B.) DODGEON.
WILLIAM (L.s.) HUDSON.
Signed, sealed, and delivered (being
first duly stamped) by the within-
named William Hudson and John
JOHN (L.B.)
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-first day of July, in the
year of our Lord 1848, the aforesaid William Hudson and John Dodgeon
came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged
the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and
specified, in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was
stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-second day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.