CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jules Belicard, of Salford, Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Engineer, and William Ditchfield, of Black-
burn, in the said County of Lancaster, Accountant, for the Invention
of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 7th July 1871, and dated the 10th January 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jules Belicard and
William Ditchfield at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 10th January 1871.
We, JULES BELICARD, of Salford, Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, and WILLIAM DITCHFIELD, of Blackburn, in the
said County of Lancaster, Accountant, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to
be as follows:-
Our Inventions are improvements on and extension of Letters Patent
granted to Arséne Bourdon, of 62, Boulevard du Prince Eugene, Paris,
in the Empire of France, and dated the 10th day of March One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, Number, Eight hundred and
twenty-seven, and consists of,-
.
_:

page_text: relieving the shuttle from the pressure upon it when going in and
coming out of the shuttle box, which pressure is caused by the shuttle
having to lift the wings of the protecting rod, and is so detrimental to
the free working of fast reed power looms. In these looms the shuttle
as now used has the double office of carrying the weft thread across the
warp and of lifting the wings of protecting rod as it enters the shuttle
box at each end of the slay or batten. The shuttle performs this by
means of a swell or inclined plane placed horizontally in each shuttle
box, and projecting a considerable distance into said shuttle box; the
said swell is jointed at one end and so becomes a lever and is kept in
its place by an upright finger (called a swell finger) rising from and
attached to the protecting rod which is placed underneath and extends
the whole length of the batten. To this rod is attached one or two
wings at or nearly right angles with the upright swell finger; these
wings have springs attached to them to ensure their entering into and
taking hold of a notch in a fixing or frog on one or both sides of the
loom for the purpose of stopping the loom when the shuttle fails to
enter the shuttle box, and so prevent damage to the warp threads. To
avoid this waste of power and material we transfer the lifting of the
wings of protecting rod from the shuttle as now used, first, to a slide
bracket or rail fixed at one end of the loom framing and underneath the
swell finger; we then, place a supplementary finger or feeler on the
protecting rod in the direction of its wing or wings; this finger carries
a bowl which runs on the slide rail by the motion of the batten and so
keeps the wings of protecting rod suspended from the time the shuttle is
required to be propelled across the loom till it has arrived at home on
the other side; and should the shuttle fail to get home the slide rail is
so fixed as to allow the wings of protecting rod to take hold of the
notches in the frog and so prevent damage to the warp threads, as shewn
in Figures 1, 2, & 3 of the afore-named Specification, Numbered Eight
hundred and twenty-seven, and dated the Tenth day of March One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
Secondly. In place of fixing a bowl or pulley on the end of supple-
mentary finger herein-before named, we mount the said bowl or pulley on
a stud or suitable bracket, and fix it on loom framing immediately
underneath the wing of (or a feeler attached to) the protecting rod, as
the nature or make of loom to be operated upon may require, and in such
a position that just before the shuttle is about to be propelled across the
loom the wing of (or feeler attached to) protecting rod is brought into

page_text: contact with the said bowl or pulley by the backward motion of the batten
which causes the swell finger to fall back and so relieve the shuttle from
any pressure caused by the swells or their equivalents till said shuttle
has arrived at the other side of the loom. We prefer dispensing, with
tlic said swells and using bow or bent steel springs, one end being
attached to shuttle box back, the other end resting on the upright finger
known as swell finger. By this means a much more free action of the
shuttle is obtained.
Thirdly. In place of the said slide rail or fixed bowl we use a lever
formed of one or two parts, one end being mounted on a stud in the loom
framing in front of the frog, the other end resting on a cam or eccentric
mounted on and revolving with the crank shaft. This cam is so timed
that when the shuttle is about to be propelled across the loom it lifts
the lever into an inclined position, and the supplementary finger resting
on it causes the swell finger to fall back; (or in place of making the
above lever one may be used having its fulcrum equidistant or nearly so
between the crank shaft and the swell finger, and the cam will by
pressing down the lever lift the swell finger) which will allow the shuttle
to go free, and when the shuttle has, arrived home the cam allows the
springs attached to the wings of protecting rod by means of finger and
swell to grip and retain the shuttle till it is again required to be
propelled. This lever or levers can be worked from any of the moving.
parts of the loom and so modified as to be applicable to any make of
loom.
Our second improvement has reference to dispensing with one half of
the healds as now used in manufacturing plain cloth. We first draw
the warp threads alternately through one heald made of wire or any
other suitable material; we then mount it in the loom in the usual way,
the one half of the warp threads not drawn through the heald is raised
and depressed by means of bars, two, three, or four in number, as is best.
suited to the kind of cloth required to be woven. These bars are placed.
parallel to each other behind the heald and are actuated by the heald
roller and treadles in the usual way. When the heald is required. to.
raise one half of the warp threads the cross bars are lowering the other
half to allow the shuttle free passage through the shed and vice versa.
The rising and depressing bars are attached to levers which are mounted.
on studs at each side, and near the back of the loom.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Jules Belicard and William Ditchfield in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 10th July 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JULES
BELICARD, of Salford, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer,
and WILLIAM DITCHFIELD, of Blackburn, in the said County of
Lancaster, Accountant, send grecting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Jules Belicard and William Ditchfield,.
Her special licence that we, the said Jules Belicard and William
Ditchfield, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such, others as
we, the said Jules Belicard and William Ditchfield, 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, usc, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
NENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst others) that
wc, the said Jules Belicard and William Ditchfield, our executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of
their hands and scals, 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 Ditchfield, for myself
and on behalf of my co-patentee, 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 state-
ment :-
The nature of our Invention consists in certain improved combina-
tions of machinery for actuating and controlling the pressure on the
shuttle during the operation of weaving in fast reed power looms, and of
a novel arrangement of mechanism for dispensing with one half of the
healds as now used in power looms.

page_text: And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation, I will proceed to describe the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked
thereon.
Figures 1 and 2 are the end elevations of a power loom; Figures
3 and 4 are plans of the same; Figures 5 and 6 are parts of end
clevation of a power loom having two modifications of our improvement
attached.
A is the framework; B is the slay or batten; C is the stop or pro-
tecting rod; D are the swell fingers; E are the frogs.
Our first improvement is shown at Figure 6 and consists of a fixed
bracket 1 having a bowl 2 mounted thereon. A supplementary finger 3
is mounted on protecting rod C and so placed that as the slay or batten
niöves back finger 3 is drawn over bowl 2, and thereby causes swell
finger D to fall back from swell 4 and allows the shuttle to go free;
but should the shuttle fail to complete its course the finger 3 is
so placed that the wing of protecting rod C comes into contact with
frog E, and so prevents damage to the warp threads commonly called
"traps."
A modification of our first improvement is shewn in Figures 2 and 4.
We mount a lever 1' on loom framing A, having its fulcrum in a box or.
fixing 4, on the other or front end of which is mounted a bowl 21. The
said lever is kept in its position by a spiral spring 5. Finger 3' is
mounted on protecting rod C as the slay or batten comes forward, and is
at or near the top centre, the point of finger 3¹ has come into contact
with bowl 21, and on lever 1, and should the shuttle not have arrived at
home, lever 1' by means of spring 5 will cause wing of protecting rod C
to fall down and take hold of notch in frog E by pressing on finger 31
and so stop the loom and prevent damage. By this means or method all
springs as heretofore used on protecting rod C are dispensed with, and
the shuttle is held in its position in the shuttle box when arrived home
by the said lever 1' and finger 3' until required to be shot across the
loom.
Another modification of our first improvement is shown in Figures.
1 and 3. Parts 1 and 2 form a lever mounted on a stud in loom.
framing A at 3; the opposite end of this lever rests upon a cam 4"
which is mounted on and revolves with the crank shaft. 5" is a finger
connected with the stop or protecting rod, C, and this finger carries a

page_text: bowl at one end which runs along the lever 1". When the shuttle is
about to be propelled across the loom cam 4" comes in contact with
lever 1 and 2 which raises the finger 5", and this forces back the swell
finger D; thus the pressure is taken off the shuttle which is then free
and ready to be propelled across the loom. When the shuttle has
arrived in the box the cam 4" is not. in contact with lever 1" and 211-
which therefore fall down and allows the swell finger D. to come into play
and press upon and detain the shuttle.
And another modification of our first improvement, shown in Figures
1 and 3, may be seen in Figure 5. In place of a lever in two parts, as
shown at Figures 1 and 3, we use one lever 1¹¹ having its fulcrum equi-
distant or nearly so between the crank shaft and the swell finger D..
Cam 2 which is mounted on the crank shaft will by pressing down the
lever 1 lift the swell finger D by means of supplementary finger 5¹¹¹ and
allow the shuttle to go free. The said lever or levers can be worked 1
from any of the moving parts of the loom and so modified as to be
applicable to any make of loom.
Our second improvement relates to dispensing with one half the
healds as now used in power looms. To accomplish this we mount a
heald made of metal or any other suitable material in the usual way;
we then proceed to draw the warp threads alternately through the said
heald as shown at F, Figures 1 and 2. The one half of the warp, threads
not drawn through the heald is raised and depressed by means of parallel.
rods two, three, or four in number, as is best suited to the kind of cloth
to be woven. These rods Gare placed parallel to each other behind the
heald F (Figures 1 and 2), and fixed at each end to a horizontal lever.
inside the loom, as seen at N, Figure 1. These levers N are provided.
with slots so that they can be mounted on a stud near the back part.
of the loom to admit of a steady motion being given to the rods, and.
are actuated by the heald roller and treddles in the usual way..
3
A further improvement is effected in working these rods by placing.
a rod near the back part of the loom and actuating the same by means
of cam K mounted on tappet shaft L, and a lever H mounted on a
stud M. As the tappet shaft revolves the cam K is so timed that when
the heald F begins to rise cam K begins to actuate lever H, and thereby 3
causes that half of the warp threads which are not put through the
heald to be depressed, and thus equal tension on cach half of the warp
threads is obtained.

page_text: Having now described our Invention for certain improvements in
looms for weaving, and having explained the manner of carrying the
same into practical effect, we wish it to be particularly understood that
we claim as our Invention,-
First. The arrangement of mechanism or modifications thereof as
shown in Figures 2 and 4 for the purpose of keeping down the wing of
stop or protecting rod, when the shuttle fails to complete its course,
without the aid of springs, as now used on stop or protecting rods, and
also for holding the shuttle in the shuttle box until it is required to be
propelled across the loom.
Secondly. The modifications and arrangements as shown in Figures
1, 3, 5, and 6 for the purpose of relieving the shuttle from the pressure
caused by the springs attached to the stop or protecting rod, as herein
described and set forth.
Thirdly. The means and arrangement set forth for working looms with
one licald and the application of similar methods for suppressing one
half of the healds in looms where more than two are employed.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Ditchfield, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventh day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
WILLIAM DITCHFIELD. (L.S.)
Witness to the signature of the
said William Ditchfield,
JOHN KNOWLES,
Engineer, &c.,
Blackburn.