AN IMPROVEMENT IN SHUTTLES FOR LOOMS, SUCH INVENTION BEING FOR THE PREVENTION OF THE FORMATION OF 'FLOATS' IN CLOTH DURING THE PROCESS OF WEAVING THE SAME.
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Isherwood, of Connecticut, of the United
States of America, for the Invention of " AN IMPROVEMENT IN SHUTTLES
FOR LOOMS, SUCH INVENTION BEING FOR THE PREVENTION OF THE FORMATION
OF 'FLOATS' IN CLOTH DURING THE PROCESS OF WEAVING THE SAME.
"
Scaled the 15th September 1871, and dated the 27th April 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Isherwood at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 27th April 1871.
I, THOMAS ISHERWOOD, of Connecticut, of the United States of
America, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVEMENT IN SHUTTLES FOR LOOMS, SUCH INVENTION BEING FOR THE PREVENTION
OF THE FORMATION OF FLOATS' IN CLOTH DURING THE PROCESS OF WEAVING THE
SAME," to be as follows, or in other words to be described in the following
Specification, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing,
making part thereof, of which Figure 1 is a top view of a shuttle with
my "float motion" ΟΙ "float preventive"; Figure 2 is a horizontal
section; Figures 3 and 4 longitudinal sections; and Figure 5 a trans-

page_text: verse section of the said float preventive and that part of the snuttie
to which it is applied.
By the word or technical term "float," as used by weavers, is meant
the defect which results in the weaving of a piece of cloth when a
shuttle while being thrown carries the weft. either over or underneath
any of the upper warps of a shed, or underneath any of the lower warps
thread
of a shed. This defect may be caused by the breakage of a warp
and its getting between the other warps so as to prevent a proper crossing
of any portions of them to make a shed for the passage of the shuttle,
or such defect may be caused by waste or extraneous matter getting
between the warps so as to prevent them when crossed by the harness
from forming a proper shed. In either of these cases the shuttle while
passing across the race beam of the loom will cither cross over or go
under the estopped warps. Scarcely a piece of cotton cloth is woven
without more or less of such defects or faults they frequently requiring
much loss of time and labor to "pick out" the badly woven weft.
In carrying out my Invention I combine with the loom shuttle a
-mechanism which during an imperfectly formed shed due to a cause as
stated will either cut the filling or weft thread or stop it from-flowing
from the shuttle. On stopping the weft from flowing from or being
drawn out of the shuttle the thread as a natural consequence will
be broken by the shuttle or the draft on such thread by the shuttle
during its flight. If the weft thread be thus broken or cut an imme-
diate stoppage of the loom will follow through the operation of what
is termed its "stop motion," all of which will be well understood by
weavers.
In the Drawing A denotes the shuttle body; B, the spindle; and C, a
cop on the latter; D is the thread eduction tube arranged in the shuttle
body and opening through one side of it.
A knife or clamp E is arranged to slide laterally into the tube D and
across the bore thereof, such knife or clamp being provided with a spring
a for impelling it forward. The knife or clamp also has a shoulder b
and is provided with an arm c, the latter being extended upward from or
near the shoulder as shown. The said arm is to enable the knife or
clamp to be readily retracted by the finger of an operative applied to the
arm. A furcated lever, trigger, or latch d formed as represented is
arranged in the shuttle in manner as indicated by the Figures, and is sup-

page_text: ported on a fulcrum or pivot e. A wire bent and arranged as exhibited
in the Drawing turns on a pivot g, enters the fork of the latch d, projects
above the shuttle body, and is provided with a spring h, all as shown
in the Drawing, the said spring being fixed to the shuttle body and
serving to press the wire upward. While the entire shed of the warp
may be correctly formed, the shuttle on being thrown will go through
the shed without there being any interruption to the free flowage of
the weft from the shuttle, the knife or clamp being supposed to be held
back by the trigger; but should from the cause herein-before mentioned
a false shed be made in any part of the series of warps, the angle of inter-
section of the warps will be so reduced as to cause the wire f to be
depressed during the flight of the shuttle. On such a movement of
the wire f taking place the trigger latch will be moved so as to set
free the clamp or knife E, which by means of its spring will be driven
forward into the bore of the eduction tube and against the weft thread,
so as either to cut or bind the thread in a manner to cause it to be
broken by the shuttle during its further movement. On the weft
thread leading from the shuttle to the selvage of the cloth being broken
a stoppage of the loom through the action of the stop motion or
mechanism necessarily will immediately follow.
Thus it will be seen that with my addition to the shuttle the loom
will be stopped in time to prevent the formation of a "float" in the
cloth, the attendant being thereby enabled to subsequently, remove
the obstruction, or repair the warps as the case may require.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Isherwood in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 17th October 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
ISHERWOOD, of Connecticut, of the United States of America, send
greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
thirty-fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-

page_text: cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Isherwood, Her special
licence that I, the said Thomas Isherwood, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Isherwood, 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, usc,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"AN IMPROVEMENT IN SHUTTLES FOR LOOMS, SUCH INVENTION BEING FOR. THE
PREVENTION OF THE FORMATION OF FLOATS' IN CLOTH DURING THE PROCESS OF
WEAVING THE SAME," upon the condition, amongst others, that I, the
said Thomas Isherwood, 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-Thomas-Isherwood,-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 accompanying
Drawing making part of this Specification, of which Figure 1 is a
top view of a shuttle with my "float motion" or "float preventive";
Figure 2 is a horizontal section; Figures 3 and 4 longitudinal sections;
and Figure 5 a transverse section of the said "float preventive" and
that part of a shuttle to which it is applied.
By the word or technical term "float," as used by weavers, is meant
the defect which results in the weaving of a piece of cloth when a
shuttle while being thrown carries the weft either over or underneath
any of the upper warps of a shed, or underneath any of the lower warps
of a shed. This defect may be caused by the breakage of a warp thread,
and it getting between the other warps, so as to prevent a proper
crossing of any portions of them to make a shed for the passage of the
shuttle, also such defect may be caused by waste. or extraneous matter
getting between the warps, so as to prevent them when crossed by the
harness from forming a proper shed. In either of these cases the shuttle
while passing across the race bean of the loom will either cross over or

page_text: go under the estopped warps. Scarcely a piece of cotton cloth is woven
without more or less of such defects or faults, they frequently requiring
much loss of time and labor to "pick out" the badly woven weft.
In carrying out my Invention I combine with the loom shuttle a
mechanism, which, during an imperfectly formed shed, due to a cause as
stated, will either cut the filling or weft thread, or stop it from flowing
from the shuttle. On stopping the weft from flowing from or being
drawn out of the shuttle the thread as a natural consequence will be
broken by the shuttle, or the draft on such thread by the shuttle during
its flight. If the weft thread be thus broken or cut an immediate
stoppage of the loom will follow through the operation of what is
termed its "stop motion," all of which will be well understood by
weavers.
In the Drawing A denotes the shuttle body; B, the spindle, and C, a
cop on the latter; D is the thread eduction tube arranged in the shuttle
body, and opening through one side of it. A knife or clamp E is
arranged to slide laterally into the tube D and across the bore thereof,
such knife or clamp being provided with a spring a for impelling it
forward. The knife or clamp also has a shoulder b, and is provided with
an arm c, the latter being extended upward from or near the shoulder,
as shown. The said arm is to enable the knife or clamp to be readily
retracted by the finger of an operative applied to the arm. A furcated
lever, trigger, or latch d formed as represented is arranged in the shuttle
in manner as indicated by the Figures, and is supported on a fulcrum or
pivot e. A wire f bent and arranged as represented in the Drawing
turns on a pivot g, enters the fork of the latch d, projects above the
shuttle body, and is provided with a spring h, all as shown in the
Drawing, the said spring being fixed to the shuttle body, and serving
to press the wire upward. While the entire shed of the warps may be
correctly formed the shuttle on being thrown will go through the shed
without there being any interruption to the free flowage of the weft
from the shuttle, the knife or clamp being supposed to be held back by
the trigger; but should from the cause herein-before mentioned a false
shed be made in any part of the series of warps, the angle of intersection
of the warps will be so reduced as to cause the wire f to be depressed
during the flight of the shuttle. On such a movement of the wire f
taking place the trigger latch will be moved, so as to set free the clamp

page_text: or knife E, which by means of its spring will be driven forward into the
bore of the eduction tube and against the weft thread, so as to either
cut or bind the thread in a manner to cause it to be broken by the
shuttle during its further movement. On the weft thread leading from
the shuttle to the selvage of the cloth being broken a stoppage of the
loom through the action of the "stop motion" or mechanism necessarily
will immediately follow. Thus it will be seen that with my addition to
the shuttle the loom will be stopped in time to prevent the formation of
ค "float" in the cloth, the attendant being thereby enabled to sub-
sequently remove the obstruction or repair the warps, as the case may
require.
In Figures 6, 7, and 8, I have exhibited another form or construction
of a float preventive mechanism as applied to the shuttle. Figure 6
being a top view of the shuttle; Figure 7, a longitudinal section of it;
and Figure 8, a side view of the tripping mechanism.
In the said Figures 6 and 7, A is the shuttle body; B, the spindle;
and C, a cop on the latter; D, the thread eduction tube. a' is a shaft
carrying an arm or bow b¹, and provided with..a-retractive-spring c¹.
On one-end-of--the said shaft is a notched wheel d³, to operate with a
catch spring e¹ fastened to a bent plate f¹, which is arranged in and
fastened to the shuttle, as shown. A lever or trigger g' formed and
pivoted to the plate f, and arranged with it and the catch spring, as
shown in Figures 6 and 8, serves when moved in one direction to release
the catch from the notched wheel, and allow the shaft to be turned back
by the spring c¹, so as to move the arm or bow over upon the spindle. 1
While the bow is against the spindle it will prevent the thread from-
unwinding from the nose of the latter, and cause such thread to so
gather about the spindle as to be broken by the shuttle during its flight.
While the bow is against the abutment i the thread can freely unwind
from and be drawn off the spindle. When, however, a false shed of the ;
warps takes place the trigger during the flight of the shuttle will be
moved, so as to unlatch the bow shaft wheel, and thereby allow the
spring to move the shaft, so as to throw the bow over upon the spindle.
I claim the combination of a "float preventive," as described, or its
equivalent, with a shuttle, such "float preventive" consisting of the 3
knife or clamp E, its operative spring.a, shoulder b, the trigger d, and
the bent wire f, and its spring h, (shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5,)

page_text: or the projection or bow 61 (see Figures 6 and 7), and its operative
mechanism, all arranged in and applied to the shuttle body A and its
eduction tube D, substantially in manner and so as to operate as specified.
I also claim cither "float preventive," as described, for application to
a shuttle and its eduction tube, as and for the purpose as hercin-before
sot forth.