CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Knowles, of Holcombe Brook, in the County of
Lancaster, Manufacturer, and William Clarke, of Manchester, in the
same County, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 10th February 1857, and dated the 14th August 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Knowles and
William Clarke at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 14th August 1856.
We, JOHN KNOWLES, of Holcombe Brook, in the County of Lancaster,
Manufacturer, and WILLIAM CLARKE, of Manchester, in the same County,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of ".CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS POR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
Our said Invention applies to power looms, in which the shuttles are
required to be changed from time to time, and consists, firstly, in mounting
moveable shuttle boxes so that they may turn radially on a central stud or
pivot moving as they turn in an are of a circle, instead of sliding up and down
rectilineally between vertical guides, and not revolving round the centre, but
moving to and fro between fixed points in the circle.
Secondly, in a method of governing the changes of position in moveable
shuttle boxes, so as to produce a change of shuttles from time to time in-a
predetermined order.

page_text: The change of position of the boxes is effected by levers actuated by swells
or prominences projecting from a cam wheel, which latter is turned so as to
bring the swells or prominences by turns into their respective acting positions,
by a catch or catches deriving motion from one of the shafts of the loom, and
laying hold of pins or notches on the cam wheel at intervals, corresponding
to the changes in the pattern to be produced in the fabric.
The order in which the shuttles are changed, and the length of the intervals
occurring between the changes are determined by a pattern chain, strap, or
wheel furnished with prominences, depressions, or perforations, by means of
which the action of the catches upon the pins or notches of the cam plate is
alternately permitted and suspended in a manner well known. The pattern
chain, strap, or wheel is worked by a connection with one of the principal
shafts of the loom.
This our method of producing the changes of the shuttles is applicable to
Flooms with vertically sliding boxes, as well as to those with our improved
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Knowles and William Clarke in the Great Seal 'Patent
Office on the 10th February 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
KNOWLES, of Holcombe Brook, in the County of Lancaster, Manufacturer, and
WILLIAM CLARKE, of Manchester, in the same County, Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
'did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
John Knowles and William Clarke, Her special license, that we, the said
John Knowles and William Clarke, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said John Knowles and William Clarke, our
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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said John Knowles and
William Clarke, by au instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or

page_text: under the hand and seal of one of us, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same. was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Offico.
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said John Knowles and William Clarke,
do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner.
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement (that is to say) :—
Our Invention applies to power looms in which two or more shuttles are
employed interchangeably, and consists, firstly, in mounting the moveable
shuttle boxes in the form of a cylindrical segment, the said boxes being
arranged parallel to the axis of the cylinder, and partially rotating upon such
axis, for the purpose of bringing the boxes in due succession into their
respective working positions.
Secondly, in an improved arrangement and combination of self-acting
mechanism for governing the position of the moveable boxes, so as to change
the shuttles from time to time according to a determinate order, and at.
prescribed intervals.
For the purpose of better explaining the manner of carrying into effect our
said improvements, we have appended to these Presents a Sheet of Drawings.
Of these Drawings Fig. 1 is an elevation of the side of a loom furnished with
boxes for three shuttles, the ordinary parts of the loom not required in nid of
our explanation being omitted. The nature of the detached views given in
the other figures will be stated as occasion requires. To all of them reference
will be made by means of the letters and numerical characters marked thereon,
such letters or characters- when they recur always indicating the saine or
similar parts.
Our improved system of arranging the boxes is shewn in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.
An ond view-of the boxes appears in Fig. 1, and in Fig. 2, a front view as
projected upon a vertical plane, dividing the sley longitudinally at the line A, B,
Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shews a cross section at the line C, D, in Fig. 2. a, a, is a
rectangular frame, having flanches a', a', by which it is affixed to the end of
the sley beam at one side, and to the sley sword at the other. From the sides
of the frame two arms a³, a³, project backwards, having slots near their extre-
mities for the reception of two studs b, b. These studs form the pivots on
which the system of boxes is suspended and partially rotates. c, c, are sector-
shaped pieces, each composed of a boss carried by one of the studs b, b. From
this boss radiate two arms c, c, between the extremities of which extends an

page_text: arched piece c', to which the backboards of the shuttle boxes are attached
by bolts or otherwise; d, d, d, are the backboards; d', d', d', are plates form-
ing the soles of the boxes, the front edges thereof being turned upwards, so as
to supply the place of shuttle guards; is the cover of the highest box; e is
the rod by which the system of boxes is raised or lowered, and e¹, a pin
joint connecting it with the lowest box. Each of the soles d' is attached to
its backboard, and these parts can be adjusted by the bolts which attach the
backboards to the curved parts c¹, of the sectors. The centre studs or pivots
b, b, upon which the latter turn, are also adjustable in the slots of the arms a², a².
The system of boxes is thus suspended in the frame a, a, and it will be evident
from inspection, that, by the rotary movement thereof upon the pivots sustain-
ing-it, any one of the boxes composing it can be made to assume its proper
working position.
For the purpose of raising and lowering the boxes, we employ a cam wheel,
having on its rim swells or protuberances of different degrees of prominence.
In Fig. 1, p is the cam wheel, the reverse side of which is represented in
the detached view, Fig. 7, and a section of it in Fig. 8. It is carried by
a stud o, attached to the framing; p³ is the rim, and q, q, the cams thereto
attached, each of them consisting of two parts of different elevation q, q..
A levers is pivoted on a stud s³, and furnished with a friction roller.s², which
latter rests upon the highest part for the time being of the cam wheel p, so
that the elevation of the lever varies according to the position of the cam
wheel. The levers is connected by the rod t and lever v, with the lifting
rode of the moveable boxes, so that every rise or fall of the lever s is accom-
panied by a corresponding change in the position of the boxes. The adjust-
ment of these parts, and the gradations in the heights of the swells q', 9, are
such, that when the friction roller rests upon the rim of the wheel pat either
of the points marked 1 (Fig. 7), the highest of the boxes, marked also 1,
will have assumed its working position. In like manner the roller s² being in
contact with the cam wheel at either of the points 2 or 3, the corresponding
box 2 or 3 will have been brought into operation. The cam wheel p is
furnished with a deep hexagonal rim p³, and a spring r, carried by the bracket
, bears against the highest side of the hexagon for the purpose of steadying the
wheel P while working. The cam wheel p is moved by means of six equidistant
pins projecting from its outer face, and marked p', p', p², p', p', p'. When a
change of shuttles is required, one of these pins is caught and drawn down by
one of the catches m³, m', disposed on opposite sides of the cam wheel, so that
they operate to turn the same in opposite directions. The catches m³, m', are
carried by a stud m', in the shorter arm of the lever m, which vibrates on the

page_text: stud h', and has its longer arm weighted, so as to give it a preponderance over
the shorter arm which carries the catches, and to keep a friction roller m³
upon the stud m² constantly in contact with the edge of a small elongated
eccentric tappet n, keyed on and turning with the tappet shaft f. At every
revolution of the tappet shaft the tappet n depresses the shorter arm of the
lever m, and the catches attached to it into the position shewn by the dotted
lines, and if at the moment of such depression either of the catches is advanced
sufficiently near to the stud o, such catch will become engaged with one of the
pins p¹ next above the horizontal diameter of the cam wheel, and will thereby
move that wheel partly round, so as to bring another part of its circumference
under the rollers, and thus raise or lower the levers and the system of move-
able boxes. The catches m³, m³, rise and fall at each revolution of the tappet
shaft, but in consequence of their inclination from the vertical position they
pass clear of the pins p³, and leave the cam wheel p, undisturbed, except when
a change of shuttles is required, when one of them is brought into operation as
follows:-
The catches m³, mt, recline in forks or guides 1, 17, the latter of which is
affixed to the loom side; the former being attached to the upright arm of the
bent lever 1, which lever vibrates on the stud P, carried by the arm l. The
opposite arm or tail of the last-mentioned lever is armed with a roller l'. The
stud carries also a second bent lever ³, one arm of which projects over and
acts upon a spur or arm m springing from the boss of the catch m', the
opposite arm or tail being armed, like that of the lever, with a roller
(Fig. 6).
The configuration of these levers is shewn in the detached views, Figs. 5
and 6. 1, 1, are small blade springs, against which the catches rest, and
which yield slightly to accommodate the same when forced back by the pins p¹
in consequence of the aberration of the latter from the vertical line of descent.
Upon the tappet shaft f is fixed a pin wheel g, the pin of which takes into the
notches of an intermittent wheel h, revolving on the stud h¹. On the same
boss with the intermittent wheel h is a cylinder or barrel h³, furnished with
radial pins, which enter holes pierced at equal distances along the middle of
an endless gutta percha strap k, k, which embraces the barrel h². Part of this
strap is represented in plan view at Fig. 4. It carries two lines or courses of
risers,, disposed on opposite sides of and equidistant from the line of holes
perforated down the middle of the strap. The strap k is advanced gradatim
by the rotary motion of the cylinder h², the advances being each of them equal
to the space occupied by a riser, and being repeated at every second pick of
the loon. The length of the strap must therefore contain balf as many such

page_text: spaces as there are picks in the round of the pattern. At every place on the
strap corresponding with a point in the pattern at which a change of shuttles
is required, a riser is placed, the side of the strap which it is made to occupy
being determined by the position of the lever and catch, which will actuate
thé cam wheel p in the required direction. The intervals on the strap between
the risers are left blank. Each riser when brought by the advance of the
strap under its respective roller * or 1 raises the tail of the corresponding
lever or, and causes the catch m³ or m' connected with that lever to be
advanced sufficiently to seize the next pin p¹ presented to it in its descent.
The tappet n accomplishes such descent by depressing the stud m', and the
cam wheel p is moved partly round, so as to receive the roller s on a fresh
part of its circumference, the elevation of that part being such as will bring.
into use the shuttle next required.
A
The pattern strap has been mentioned as made of gutta percha, because
we prefer that material, the risers being easily affixed thereto by cement.
leather strap or-metal-chain may, however, be substituted for it, and instead
of the rollers., 1, and risers k¹, k², pins upon the levers P, P, may be made
to enter perforations in the strap with like effect.
We have exemplified our improvements by describing the application of
them to the employment of three shuttles. If more are required the number
of pins and of swells on the cam wheel must be regulated accordingly.
Figure 9 is intended to explain a manner of composing a cam wheel with.
moveable sections. It consists of a disc or wheel w¹, to which are bolted a
series of plates w, w, w, w, w, w, w, w, bounded by flanches extending to
different distances from the centre of the wheel, so that such plates can be
shifted and rearranged from time to time according to the requirements of the:
pattern adopted. The wheel represented is adapted for five shuttles.
For simple patterns involving the use of only two shuttles, the pattern strap
and catches may be dispensed with, a pattern plate being substituted for the
former, and the pin which moves the intermittent wheel being made to serve
the purpose of the latter.
Figure 10 will explain the arrangement. x is a pattern wheel or disc, in
the circumference of which at. the intervals required by the pattern arc
hollows a, x. On the boss of the pattern wheel is fixed an intermittent
wheel h. g is the pin wheel attached to the same boss as a toothed wheel,.
which latter gears with another toothed wheel y upon the tappet shaft. The
toothed wheels y, z, communicate motion to the pin wheel g, which shifts the
intermittent wheel h and pattern wheel a from time to time at intervals
regulated by the relative proportions of the toothed wheels. As the pattern

page_text: wheel revolves it changes the shuttles by raising or depressing the roller 8, in
a manner sufficiently intelligible from the Drawing without further explana-
tion. This is a cheap and efficient arrangement for working two shuttles.
Having described the nature of our Invention, and the manner of carrying
the same into effect, we now conclude this statement by declaring that we do
not claim as new either the use of the intermittent wheel or of the pattern
strap or chain, or any other of the individual parts of the mechanism berein-
before described for effectuating and regulating the changes of position of the
moveable boxes, nor any other of the parts, matters, or things previously
described, save as herein-after mentioned; and that we do claim as of our
Invention,
-
The arrangement and mode of suspension of the moveable shuttle boxes
upon central pivots or studs, upon which the said boxes move up and down,
not rectilineally, but in an arc of a circle, of which the said pivot or stud is the
centre.
The mode of construction of the cam wheel p moveable in both directions,
and the application of the same for changing the position of the boxes from
time to time; also the combination of the said cam wheel with the arrange-
ment of mechanical parts applied to actuate the same, and to regulate the
intervals between the changes of the shuttles.
The arrangement and construction of the cam wheel with moveable sections
or segments represented at Figure 9.
The use of gutta percha as a material for the pattern straps of looms.
And the combination and arrangement of the wheels and other parts
illustrated by Fig. 10, and the application thereof to two shuttle looms, as
described.
In witness whereof, we, the said John Knowles and William Clarke,
have hereunto set our hands, and seals, this Ninth day of February,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Signed & sealed in the presence of
J. TAYLER Patent Agent,
Manchester.
JOHN KNOWLES.
(L.S.)
WILLIAM CLARKE. (L.S.)