IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS.
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Harling, John Matthew Todd, and Thomas
Harling, all of the Calder Foundry, Burnley, in the County of Lancaster,
Machine Makers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS.".
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Harling, John
Matthew Todd, and Thomas Harling, at the Office of the Commis-
sioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 27th August 1857.
We, WILLIAM HARLING, JOHN MATTHEW TODD, and THOMAS HARLING, all
of the Calder Foundry, Burnley, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Makers,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
Looms" to be as follows:-
We employ one or more lever breaks acting on break wheels, connected to
the shaft of the yarn beam in any convenient manner, or upon flanges or break
wheels connected to the yarn beam itself, which break or breaks can be
weighted by weights, springs, brackets, or screws. We also, if desirable, place
the break wheel on a counter shaft, and employ gearing to obtain more power
and pressure.
These arrangements are for maintaining the tension of the
yarn, and are intended to be used instead of the levers and weights at present
in use for giving resistance to the yarn beam.
Instead of the levers and weights for keeping up the cloth beam to the said

page_text: roller, we employ springs made of india-rubber, or other suitable material,
the said springs being attached to the framing of the loom, and also connected
to chains, straps, or cords, passing over guide pulleys on the shaft of the said
roller and made fast to a boss on the shaft of the cloth beam; the springs
supersede the use of the aforesaid levers and weights, and enable us to put
a greater length of cloth upon the beam.
We also give the necessary motion to the healds for forming the shed, with
one tappet and lever, instead of two as at present; if the tappet be internal,
no weight or spring is required, but if external, the lever is kept up to the
said tappet by a weight or spring in any convenient manner. The tappet
lever is connected to another lever placed upon a heald roller shaft, under-
neath the healds, giving motion to the said shaft as the tappet revolves, and
also operating upon the healds for forming the shed. By this arrangement,
much of the strain from the healds and yarn is taken off.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Harling, John Matthew Todd, and Thomas Harling,
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 27th February 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
HARLING, JOHN MATTHEW TODD, and THOMAS HARLING, all of the Calder
Foundry, Burnley, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Makers, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said William Harling, John Matthew Todd, and Thomas Harling,
Her special licence that we, the said William Harling, John Matthew Todd,
and Thomas Harling, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as we, the said William Harling, John Matthew Todd, and Thomas
Harling, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
Looms," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said William
Harling, John Matthew Todd, and Thomas Harling, by an instrument in

page_text: writing under our hands and seals, or 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 Office within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Harling, for, and on behalf of
myself, and the said John Matthew Todd and Thomas Harling, 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 relates to a novel arrangement of mechanism, for the purpose
of releasing the yarn from the yarn beam, as it is required to be woven, and
consists in employing one or more lever breaks, acting on break wheels con-
nected to the shaft of the yarn beam in any convenient manner, or upon the
beam flanges or break wheels connected to the yarn beam itself, the lever
breaks being weighted by weights or springs. We also place the break wheel
on a counter shaft, and employ gearing to obtain more power and pressure
upon the yarn beam, with less diameter of break wheel, length of lever, and
size of weight. The aforesaid arrangements supersede the usual weights and
levers connected by ropes to the yarn beam, and maintain the proper tension
of the yarn in a more efficient and satisfactory manner, and also enable us,
by the addition and alteration of a few parts, connected with the vibration or
rocking beam, to ease or let off the yarn, when there is an undue strain, the
release taking place at the time of making the shed. These improvements
will be clearly understood, by reference to the accompanying Sheet of Draw-
ings, with the letters of reference thereon, the said letters referring to each
Figure separately.
Fig. 1 represents a back longitudinal elevation of the framing of a loom,
and the application of a lever break and gearing to the yarn beam, and also
the easing motion connected with the vibrator; and Figs. 2 and 3, are
transverse elevations of the same; Fig. 4 represents a lever break without
purchase or gearing; Fig. 5 another break without gearing, but shewing a
mode of obtaining a double purchase, and also the application of the easing
motion; Figs. 6, 7, 8, and 9, are parts of the lever and break, drawn to an
enlarged scale.
In Figs. 1, 2, and 3, representing the application of a lever break and
gearing to the yarn beam, a is the framing of the loom; b, the crank shaft;
c, the
yarn beam; and d, the vibrator or rocking shaft. The break wheel
is shewn at e, on the counter shaft f, fixed to which is the pinion g..

page_text: gearing into the toothed wheel h, connected with the yarn beam; the break
itself is represented at i, furnished with wood, leather, or other friction material,
and rests upon pivots k, in the break lever l, so that when pressure is given,
the break touches every part of the periphery of the wheel; the break levert,
works on a fulcrum m, fixed to the framework of the loom; it is furnished
with a weight n, and can be raised by the operative, so as to release the yarn
beam when required, by means of the rod o. The foregoing arrangements are
exceedingly simple, for, by the adjustment of the weight n, any suitable
amount of friction or resistance is given to the break wheel, which resistance
is transmitted in the proportion of the gearing to the yarn beam. If the yarn
should be unduly tight, or if it be desirable to ease the yarn at each stroke of
the slay, we employ an elastic arm or bow spring p, for giving motion to the
vibrator or rocking shaft d, so that both may yield according to the tension or
tightness of the yarn, and also depresses the lever q, for the purpose of giving
motion to the lever r, one end of which is connected by the rods to the break
lever 1, so that at each stroke, according to the depression of the lever q, arising
from the yielding of the bowed spring p, the break lever rises and slightly
eases or releases the yarn beam, thereby preventing breakages of the yarn
and cracks in the cloth, as well as producing greater uniformity and better
quality of work.
In Fig. 4 we show a lever t, acting on a break wheel u, placed on the
shaft v, of the yarn beam w; the lever is furnished with the weight a,
and also another weight y placed at the back, for the purpose of regu-
lating the pressure, but to be used only when required. The easing
motion is not shewn, but it is evident that it may be applied when desired.
In Fig. 5 we shew a mode of giving great pressure or resistance to the
yarn beam, without the intervention of gearing, by causing a single lever a¹ to act
upon the two breaks 6, by means of a rope or chain c¹, resistance or pressure
being given by the spring d³, instead of weights. It will be perceived,
that the action of the main lever a¹ is transmitted to the friction surfaces,
thereby producing great effect. The easing or releasing motion is similar to
that described in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.
In Figs. 6 and 7, we shew the break segment detached, having at the
bottom semicircular bearings f¹, so that the friction surface g' may press
uniformly over the surface of the wheel. In Figs. 8 and 9, shewing the end
of the lever h³, are pivots, upon which rest the bearings of the break,
and the fulcrum of the lever. In order to prevent breakages when
the shuttle misses the box, we connect a finger ", Fig. 3, with the usual stop
rod, so that when the finger is depressed by the absence of the shuttle, it

page_text: comes in contact with the notch m¹ of the arm n', pressing the latter
forwards, and by means of the pin o¹ moving up the inclined end of the
lever p', presses that end down and raises the other, which acting on a knob q'
on the rod s, raises the break lever l, and eases the yarn beam, thereby
enabling the warp to be released or slackened, so that the crank may make its
revolution without breaking the yarn. At Fig. 10 we shew a modification of
our improved method of weighting the yarn beam. To the framing of the loom
we attach a spring r¹, connected by the rod s', to a break t¹, on the break
wheel u; at one end of the break is the pulley v', with the chain w passing
over it, and fixed at one end to the break lever x, and at the other to the
framing, so that when the warp is too tight, the spring r¹ may yield.
Having thus fully described the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, we desire it to be distinctly understood,
that we do not confine ourselves to the precise details herein set forth, as such
may be varied or modified without departing from the principle thereof; but we
claim as our Invention, and which to the best of our knowledge and belief,
has not been hitherto used within the realm the placing of the break
segment upon pivots, studs, or other suitable swivel centre; the self-acting
easing or releasing motion; the hand releasing motion; and also the general
arrangement of machinery or apparatus for carrying the same into practical
effect, as herein described and illustrated in the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Harling for and on behalf of
myself, and the said John Matthew Todd, and Thomas Harling have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of February, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
WILLIAM HARLING. (L.S.)
Signed, sealed, and delivered, by the within-
named William Harling, in the presence
of,
WILLIAM HARLING. (L.S.)
Signed, sealed, and delivered, by the within-
named William Harling, in the presence
of,
E. J. HUGHES, Patent Agent,
Manchester.