IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR WEAVING ORNAMENTAL FABRICS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Smith, of Coventry, in the County of Warwick,
Ribbon Weaver, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
WEAVING ORNAMENTAL FABRICS."
Sealed the 2nd December 1864, and dated the 4th June 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Smith at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th June 1864.
I, JOSEPH SMITH, of Coventry, in the County of Warwick, Ribbon Weaver,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR WEAVING ORNAMENTAL FABRICS," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to effect double or treble figuring on fabrics
of broad width, that is, producing detached patterns without a counterpart a
the back, with two or more colours, without displacing the shuttles from the
batten. To this end I use, say, for double figuring a double batten, which
contains two sets of shuttles that run in the same race, but are driven by
independent mechanism, which mechanism may operate the two sets of
shuttles alternately, or cause either set to throw a succession of shoots,
according to the work in hand. The shuttles may be operated in any
approved manner, but I prefer to work each set by means of a sliding notched
bar, which traverses sliding hooks or shuttle drivers (that are mounted loosely
on fixed guide rods in the batten) to and fro, and throws the hooks in and
out of contact with their respective shuttles to engage them with and dis-

page_text: engage
them from the shuttles. If desired more than two sets of shuttles
may be applied to the same race to produce a greater variety of colours in the
woven pattern. The batten, with its ornamenting shuttles, is raised from the
work to allow of the ground being woven, which weaving is effected by the use
of the ordinary fly shuttle, and it is capable of being shifted endwise, so as to
distribute the repeats over the ground instead of their being woven in line
of the last finished ou
CEO
3rd December 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
SMITH, of Coventry, in the County of Warwick, Ribbon Weaver, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth, day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Joseph Smith, Her special license that I, the said Joseph
Smith, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I; the
said Joseph Smith, 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,
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 APPARATUS FOR WEAVING ORNAMENTAL FABRICS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Joseph Smith, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, 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 Office.
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph Smith, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the. Drawing hereunto annexed; and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):

page_text: The object of this Invention is to effect double or treble figuring ou fabrics
of broad width, that is, producing detached. patterns without a counterpart at
the back, with two or more colors, without displacing the shuttles from the
batten. To this end I use, say, for double figuring, two sets of shuttles that
run in the same race, but are driven by independent mechanism, which
mechanism may operate the two sets of shuttles alternately, or cause either
set to throw a succession of shoots, according to the work in hand. The
shuttles may be operated in any approved manner, but I prefer to work each
set by means of a sliding notched bar, which traverses sliding hooks or shuttle
drivers (that are mounted loosely on fixed guide rods in the batten) to and
fro, and throws the hooks in and out of contact with their respective shuttles
to engage them with and disengage them from the shuttles. If desired more
than two sets of shuttles may be applied to the same race to-produce a greater
variety of colors in the woven pattern. The batten, with its ornamenting
shuttles, is raised from the work to allow of the ground being woven, which
weaving is effected by the use of the ordinary fly shuttle. The batten is
capable of being shifted endwise, so as to distribute the repeats over the
ground instead of their being woven in line with the patterns of the last
finished row.
The Figures in the accompanying Drawing shew a double batten con-
structed according to my Invention, for producing ornamental weaving with
three colours.
Fig. 1 is a transverse vertical section of the batten; Fig. 2 is a partial
longitudinal view of the ornamenting batten, or batten which carries the
ornamenting shuttles, and the apparatus for operating the same detached from
the batten and looking towards the inner face thereof; and Fig. 3 is a plan
view of the under side of the same.
a, a, and b, b, are the two sets of shuttles; which run in the same race in the
batten A, and are supplied with silk of different colors. This batten is
attached to the ground batten B by metal straps C; secured to the ends of the
ornamenting batten, which straps embrace metal guides D, affixed to the
batten B. This mode of attachment allows of the ornamenting batten being
lifted out of the shed to allow the ordinary fly shuttle to act and form the base
of the fabric to be ornamented. When the ornament is required to be
woven, the batten A is dropped to allow the shuttles to enter the shed. These
vertical movements of the batten A are effected by means of ordinary rocking
apparatus operated by tappets, as will be well understood by weavers. a', b',
are fixed guide rods carried by brackets at the ends of the batten A. Upon
these rods are mounted loosely the driving hooks a2, 63, a pair of each of

page_text: which is required for every shuttle. The ends of these drivers a*, *, enter
slots in a horizontal plate c, which slots are arranged as shewn in Fig. 4.
The slots are curved at their ends, as shewn, in order to give the driving hooks
a swinging motion, and thus to engage them with and disengage them from
the shuttles as required. The line of slots a³ act upon hooks which drive the
shuttles a, and the line of slots 63 act upon the hooks which drive the
shuttles b. For giving the transverse motion to the hooks or drivers a² and 6,
the notched bars a', 6', are employed. These bars are supported by fixed
guides d, d, and to each of the bars a pair of cords a³, 65, are respectively
attached and led through slots cut in the plate c and over guide pullies fitted
in the batten. These cords are led up to suspended hooks, which are worked
by levers and tappets controlled by the action of the jacquard apparatus. As,
therefore, the draught is put upon one or other of these cords, one or other of
the notched bars will be caused to moved endwise. The notches are made in
the bars, as shewn by Figures 5 and 6 (which shew the bars detached), for
the purpose of receiving alternately one of the pairs of hooks and propelling
the same forward. If now, for example, the upper end of a hook or driver a²
projects into the long slot 1 of the plate c, and is caught in the notch of the
bar a', as shewn, a movement of that bar in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 5,
for the length of the slot 1, will cause the hook a³ to carry its shuttle forward
in the race a corresponding distance, or close up to the adjacent "space" in
the shuttle race; as however the driver a reaches the termination of the
slot 1 it will enter the curve, which will cause it to rock on its guide rod and
disengage itself from the shuttle which it has propelled thus far, it will also
at the same time leave the notch of the bar a', which now continues its forward
course, to complete the throw of the shuttle. It now becomes the duty of
the other driver of the pair to take hold of the shuttle, which driver is at this
time in the curved portion of the slot 2 of the plate c. As the sliding bar a
continues its course a projection 8 upon it strikes against the driver in the
slot 2, and causes it to rock on its guide rod and engage with the shuttle,
The further forward
which is now lying over the "space" in the race.
movement of the sliding bar will cause the driver to carry the shuttle to the
end of its course. The bar 6 will now come into action, and by means of the
drivers 6 the shuttles 6 will be acted upon in a precisely similar manner to
that described. Thus supposing the shuttles a to carry red silk and the
shuttles the blue, a blue and red shoot will be alternately laid in the fabric
to produce the double figuring required. It will be obvious from the above
explanation that a succession of shoots may be thrown by either set of shuttles
to suit the requirements of the pattern in hand, the jacquard controlling

page_text: which of the pairs of cords shall be operated upon after every completed
shoot. I would remark that the hooked drivers a and b must be so
arranged with respect to each other as not to interfere with each other's move-
ments. I would also remark with respect to the proportions of the parts in
my improved ornamenting batten that the spaces should be equal to about
one-half the length of a shuttle, and that the distance between space and
space should be the length of four shuttles when ornamenting with two colours
or two sets of shuttles, and that when ornamenting with three colours or three
sets of shuttles that distance should be equal to six shuttles, and so on in
proportion. Each set of shuttles, it will be understood, will require a separate
arrangement for driving them.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in
Apparatus for Weaving Ornamental Fabrics," and explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in
part recited Letters Patent I claim, placing two or more sets of ornamenting
shuttles in one and the same race, and actuating them in the manner and for
the purpose above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Smith, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Second day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
JOSEPH SMITH. (L.S.)