IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1864

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Lee Norton and William
Ainsworth at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 9th August 1864.
We, JAMES LEE NORTON, of Belle Sauvage Yard, Ludgate Hill, in the City
of London, and WILLIAM AINSWORTH, of Stockport, in the County of Chester,
do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS
FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in looms for weaving, and
relates, first, to an arrangement for working the leaves of the healds and for
changing the order of succession in which the leaves of the healds are to be
moved when producing various patterns of weaving in the same fabric. For
this purpose a lever is employed at the top of the loom, and in the middle
thereof over the centre of the fabric which is being woven. It is at its fore
end jointed to a bracket from the frame, the joint being vertically or nearly so
over the line to which the batten beats up. At its hinder end, near the back
of the loom, this lever is jointed to a rod passing through and between the
warps, and at its lower end receiving motion from another lever, and a cam
on the tappet shaft, thus the lever at the top of the loom is caused constantly
to vibrate or move up and down on its centre. The top cords of the leaves of
healds are attached to hooks, and by means of a pattern surface these hooks
can be selected, so as to bring or leave such of them as correspond with the
leaves of the healds which it is required to lift over the lever so as to catch
on to it at its upward motion. It will be seen that the centre or axis of the

page_text: lifting lever being directly over the line to which the weft is beaten up, the
threads of the warp will each be raised accurately to the height required to
form the shed, and none of them higher.
The pattern surface we prefer to employ is a chain with studs upon it, and
moving one step for each motion of the top lever; the studs on the chain act
on short levers conveniently placed, and cords or wires communicate the
motion from these short levers to the hooks. The pattern chain may have
more than one set of studs upon it, and the additional set or sets may be
brought into position by shifting the position of the chain as respects the
levers on which they act. In place of producing the shed by raising the
selected portion of the warp, and leaving the remainder stationary, this latter
portion of the warp may be sunk down whilst the other warp is raised as
before. In this case two levers are employed at the top of the loom, and
those hooks which are not taken up by the first lever are left with the second
which descends and takes them down with it. Or there may be at the lower
part of the loom a lever working with hooks to take the leaves of the healds
down just as the lever at the top of the loom takes them up.
The Invention also relates to an arrangement for ensuring in wide looms
more especially that the healds shall rise and fall truly and parallel. For this
purpose each leaf of the healds is provided with two cords, one attached near
each end, these are led up vertically or nearly so, and passed over pulleys
fixed to the frame, the cords are then taken horizontally or nearly so and
passed under two other pulleys on axes fixed to the frame, and close the one
to the other, from these pulleys the cords pass upwards a short distance, and
are connected together, it may be into one cord, or they are fixed to one of
the hooks before mentioned, or to any other instrument by which the leaves
of the healds are worked.
The Invention also relates to mechanism for actuating change shuttle boxes;
for this purpose a star wheel mounted on an axis on the frame is employed,
this wheel (which is not in itself new) is a polygon of as many sides as there
are compartments in the change shuttle box; the sides of the polygon are
concave, and made so that they will fit to the circumference of a cylinder
(made double, as herein-after described,) which is also mounted on an axis
on the frame close up to the star wheel, so that the cylinder locks the star
wheel and prevents it revolving. The cylinder is divided midway of its length
into two parts, and the two parts are caused to revolve in opposite directions.
The star wheel is capable of being traversed along this cylinder, and when it
is moved towards either end it meets a hole in the periphery of the cylinder
which allows the star wheel to turn, and at the same time a pin or tooth on

page_text: the end flange of the cylinder enters a notch in the star wheel and turns it;
there is a notch formed in the star wheel to receive the pins or teeth for
turning it at each of the angles of the polygon. When the star wheel is
traversed up to the end of the double cylinder in either direction in addition
to the first pin or tooth which acts to turn it, as already described, it meets a
second shorter pin or tooth, which by entering another of the notches in the
star wheel turns it another, that is a second step, the hole in the periphery of
the cylinder at this part being sufficiently long to allow two of the angles of
the star wheel to pass, thus it will be seen that the star wheel will remain
stationary so long as it is retained at about the centre of the double cylinder,
but that when it is slid to either end it is moved at each revolution either one or
two steps, according to the distance to which it is slid, and these steps will be
made forward or backward according as it is moved towards one or other end
of the cylinder. Similarly the apparatus may be arranged to give three steps
either forwards or backwards if desired. The employing in this manner a
double locking cylinder, the two parts revolving in opposite directions, is an
important feature of this Invention.
Motion is communicated from the star wheel to the change shuttle box in
any convenient or ordinary manner. The traversing the star wheel along the
double cylinder is effected by a pattern chain with holes in it, arranged
according to the motions to be produced; this passes around a drum which
vibrates to and from fingers formed on two rods attached to the two ends of a
lever with a central axis, and by the chain coming against these fingers, the
lever is rocked when required, and a fork on its axis gives motion to the star
wheel.