IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVING
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Smith, of Heywood, in the County
Palatine of Lancaster, William Hunter, and Andrew Pinkerton,
both of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVING."
Scaled the 11th September 1874, and dated the 13th March 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Smith,
• William Hunter, and Andrew Pinkerton at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 13th March
1874.
We, WILLIAM SMITH, of Heywood, in the County Palatine of Lan.
caster, WILLIAM HUNTER, and ANDREW PINKERTON, both of Glasgow,
in the County of Lanark, North Rritain, do hereby declare the nature
the said Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVING," to be as follows, that
is to say :-
This Invention relates to improvements in weaving designed to
simplify the weaving of fabrics, such as muslin or leno curtains, or other

page_text: figured fabrics in which jacquard apparatus is used to produce a figuring
or pattern on the cloth..
In one modification of apparatus embodying the improvements a
double lift or other suitable jacquard machine is employed. The figuring.
is effected by one lifter only, which acts in concert with the jacquard
barrel, and derives its movements through levers and connecting links
from a wiper, cam, or tappet driven so as to make one revolution for
every four or eight picks. The cam is shaped so as to keep the figuring
shed open during two picks, whilst the figuring weft passes across and
back again.
By the present Invention the ordinary lever and leaf or leaves
required in forming the ground or plain shed are dispensed with. The
warp is actuated by the harness alone. The second wiper, cam, or
tappet lifts the second plain or ground shed, then the figuring part of
the warp is lifted from the same shed. Thus, for example, a flowering
shed may be formed between every single plain or ground shed, or at
any other devised intervals, such as two figuring sheds between every
plain shed with either one or two picks of weft to each shed by suitably
shaping the principal and other wiper, cam, or tappet, and driving them
at a speed to suit; or different sets of wipers, cams, or tappets may
be provided with shifting gear for putting one other set into gear as
required by means of a pattern wheel or chain.
If the improvements are applied to a loom with shifting shuttle boxes
at both sides, and in which single picks of the different wefts can be
thrown, the flowering shed will not require to be kept open during
more than one pick.
In carrying out these improvements a double harness is required.
The top droops are fixed to the holy or cumber board, and the two
under droops are attached to one lingo, so that in forming the plain or
ground shed the front droop passes in below the top droop. So by
lifting the front droop that is attached to the same lingo it slackens the
back droop, and allows it to pass below the first thread. Then to form
the second plain or ground shed the back droop is lifted, and allows the
front droop to pass below the other thread, so that a clear and
open shed
is formed the same as in any other plain web without the aid of double
beams or vibratory motion. The first thread is drawn through the
front under droop, and then passed through between the two 'uppor

page_text: droops, and then through the back under droop. The second thread is
drawn through the front top droop, then passes over the top of the first
thread, then through the back top droop, and so on.
The second part of this Invention consists in the adaptation of the
loom known as the "twin loom," i.c., wherein two shuttles are drawn at
once through two simultaneous sheds of warp for weaving figured and
fancy fabrics in which the intermediate portion of the warp, that is to
say, the portion between the two shuttles is always kept evenly stretched
with one yarn beam only being employed. The intermediate portion of
the warp is kept so stretched by the addition to the loom of a leaf of
heddles and tappets for operating it.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Smith and Andrew Pinkerton in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 12th September 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
SMITH, of Heywood, in the County Palatine of Lancaster, and ANDREW
PINKERTON, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, send
greeting.
.
•
:
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the 37th
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said William Smith, Andrew Pinkerton, and
to William Hunter, since deceased, Her special license that the
said William Smith and Andrew Pinkerton, and the said William
Hunter, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said William Smith, William Hunter, and Andrew Pinkerton,
our executors, administrators, or 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 "IMPROVE-
"MENTS IN WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the
said William Smith, William Hunter, and Andrew Pinkerton, our

page_text: intervals according to the flowering or pattern to be produced, such as
two figuring sheds between every plain shed, with either one or twọ
picks of weft to each shed, by suitably shaping the principal and other
wipers, cams, or tappets, and driving them at a speed to suit; or different
sets of wipers, cams, or tappets may be provided with shifting gear for
putting any one set into gear as required by means of a pattern wheel or
chain.
t
If the improvements are applied to a loom with shifting shuttle boxes
at both sides, and in which single picks of the different wefts can be
thrown, the flowering shed will not require to be kept open during more
than one pick of weft, that is to say the shed may be closed, so as to
take off the strain on the warp, and reopened for the second pick of
weft..
"
"
:
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In working the Invention according to this modification a double
harness is required. The top droops" are suspended from the "holy"
or cumber board," and the two under " droops," are attached to one
"lingo," so that in forming the plain or ground shed the front "droop
passes in below the top "droop." Thus by lifting the front "droop,"
which is attached to any one "lingo," this slackens the back "droop,"
and allows it to pass below one warp thread. Then to form the second
plain or ground shed the back "droop" is lifted, and allows the front
"droop" to pass below another warp thread, so that a clear and open
shed is formed the same as in any other plain web without the aid of
double beams or vibratory motion. In drawing the warp through the
droops" one warp thread is drawn through the back under "droop,"
and then passed through or between the two upper droops," and then
through the front under "droop." Another or the next warp thread is.
drawn through the back "droop," and then passes over the top of the
former thread, then through the front top "droop," and so on in
alternate succession throughout the whole width of a warp.
"
.
"
Under another modification of this Invention figured lenos are woven
partly by jacquard harness and partly by "heddles" or "healds."
When using "heddles " or "healds in combination with jacquard
harness for weaving according to this Invention the "heddles
"bealds" are attached to leaves; but instead of the ordinary "mails"
the ." droops are substituted, and arranged in the same manner as the
harness already set forth. The warp being drawn through them also in
"
or

page_text: the manner herein-before described produces the plain leno or ground
portion of the web, the flowering or pattern in this case being produced
by means of the harness.
"
"
Under another modification of our Invention, and when weaving
plain leno and lappet cloth, that is to say without flowering or figüring 5
thereon, the jacquard harness may be dispensed with, and "heddles" or
"healds" alone used for shedding the warp. In this case there are four
ordinary or plain leaves of " " heddles or "healds" and four." droop"
leaves of "heddles" or "healds." Two of the "droop leaves are cast
or tied together, so that by lifting the one half of the "droops" on the 1
under leaves the other half is allowed to slacken and pass by the side of
the warp thread; and by taking down the one half of the top "droop
leaf" the other half is allowed to pass by the other side of the warp
thread, and so on.
The second part of this Invention consists in the adaptation of the 1
loom known as the "twin loom," i.e., wherein two shuttles are drawn at
once through two simultaneous sheds of warp for weaving figured and
fancy fabrics in which the intermediate portion of the warp, that is to say
the portion between the two shuttles, is always kept evenly stretched with
one yarn beam only being employed. The intermediate portion of the
warp is kept so stretched by the addition to the loom of a leaf of
"heddles" or "healds" and tappets for operating it, and the warp is
shed into two portions by means of the harness and "heddles" or
"healds" herein-before described.
From the foregoing Specification the practical weaver will understand
the present Invention, and the manner of arranging the loom to operate
with the same; but as the difficulty is great of representing the same by
Drawings, and as it cannot be effectively shewn otherwise than by a
model, we have hereunto appended a Sheet of Diagrams, which so far as
it is possible to illustrate the same by Drawings will facilitate the proper
understanding of our Invention.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of our
said Invention, and the system, mode, or manner in or under which
the same is or may be used or practically carried into effect, we would
observe in conclusion that what we consider to be novel and original, and
therefore claim as the Invention secured to us by the herein-before in
ted Tattown Datout in

page_text: First. The arrangements of the "droops" and "leaves," and mode of
operating the same, whether worked by jacquard harness combined or
not with "heddles or "healds," or operated by "heddles" or "healds"
alone, as herein-before described.
"
Second. The application to the "twin loom". of a leaf of "heddles"
and "tappets" for operating the intermediate portion of the warp, so
that the "twin loom" is adapted for weaving figured and fancy
fabrics.
In witness whercof, I, the said Andrew Pinkerton, on behalf of
the said William Smith, the administrators of the late William
Hunter, and myself, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this
Tenth day of September, One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-four.
ANDREW PINKERTON. (L.S.)