IMPROVEMENTS IN DROP-BOX LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Stead and James Conlong, both of Radcliffe
Bridge, in the County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN DROP-BOX LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 12th July 1878, and dated the 17th January 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Stead and James
Conlong at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 17th January
1878.
WILLIAM STEAD and JAMES CONLONG, both of Radcliffe Bridge, in the County
of Lancaster. IMPROVEMENTS IN DROP-BOX LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
"6
Our Invention relates to the looms which are fitted with drop boxes, that is to say,
with boxes formed to hold a number of shuttles and to be raised and lowered in
order to bring any one of the shuttles into action, as is well understood, and our
Invention has for its object to adjust the position of the drop box, aud to steady it
prior to and during the action of the picking apparatus. To this end we employ
moving or sliding fingers, bolts, latches, or parts which are caused to engage with
notches, slots, or projections in or upon the drop box, and to adjust its vertical posi-
tion either by raising it or lowering it, as may be required, and to hold it with
sufficient firmness during the picking or throw of the shuttle.
In the arrangement which we now consider to be suitable, we mount a rocking
shaft in bearings fixed to the sley, and on this shaft we fix or form arms which are
formed with rounded or beveled heads.
On the back of the drop box we form or fix projections between which are spaces
into which the heads on the said arins are caused to enter prior to the throw of the
shuttle. The said heads are formed to fit between the said projections and to hold

page_text: the drop box with sufficient steadiness. When moved towards the drop box, the
said heads, in consequence of being rounded or beveled, act upon the projections in
the drop box, and raise or lower the said box as may be necessary to ensure its
correct adjustment in height.
The said shaft is also provided or formed with an adjustable lever or arm which
is jointed to one end of a rod or link, which is jointed by the other end to a bracket
bolted to the loom side, or is otherwise hinged to a fixed point, the arrangement
being such as that as the sley vibrates to and fro, the said shaft is caused to rock in
its bearings, and the heads on the said arms to move towards and from the drop
box. The arrangements for actuating the said rocking shaft, or the said arms, or
the bolts, latches, or parts used to adjust the position of the drop box and to steady
it, may be varied as considered to be most suitable.
If preferred, sliding or moving bolts or parts may be acted upon by springs which
tend to force them towards the drop box and to lock it in position, such bolts or
parts being withdrawn at the proper times in the manner herein-before indicated.
If preferred the sliding or locking bolts or parts may be attached to the drop box
and be caused to enter or engage with slots, recesses, or projections in or on the
sley, or in or on a part or parts attached thereto.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Stead and James Conlong in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 17th July 1878.
WILLIAM STEAD and JAMES CONLONG, both of Radcliffe Bridge, in the County
of Lancaster. "IMPROVEMENTS IN DROP-BOX LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Our Invention relates to the looms which are fitted with drop boxes, that is
to say, with boxes formed to hold a number of shuttles, and to be raised and
lowered in order to bring any one of the shuttles into action, as is well under-
stood, and our Invention has for its object to adjust the position of the drop
box, and to steady it prior to and during the action of the picking apparatus.
To this end we employ moving or sliding fingers, bolts, latches, or parts which
are caused to engage with notches, slots, or projections in or upon the drop box,
and to adjust its vertical position either by raising it or lowering it, as may be
required, and to hold it with sufficient firmness during the picking or throw of the
shuttle.
If preferred, the sliding or locking bolts or parts may be attached to the drop box
and be caused to enter or engage with slots, recesses, or projections in or on the
sley, or in or on a part or parts attached thereto.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood, we have appended
hereunto a Sheet of Drawings made to a scale of about three inches to the foot, and
marked with letters of reference.

page_text: Referring to the said Drawings, Fig. 1 represents a back elevation of one end of
a loom sley supplied with our Invention; and Fig. 2 is an end or side elevation of
the parts appearing in Fig. 1, the drop box being represented in section.
The parts of the loom not necessary to the illustration of our Invention do not
appear in the Drawings, and it will be understood that such parts may be of any
usual or suitable construction.
The said Figs. illustrate the arrangement which we have adopted when carrying
our Invention into effect.
"
In the said Figs. A is a portion of a loom side; B is a portion of a "sley"; C is
one of the "sley swords; and D is the drop box. The said drop box is fitted to
slide up and down as is usual, and may be raised and lowered by means of a
"Diggles" motion, or by any other suitable means.
A shaft e is mounted in bearings f. f. In the example, one of these bearings is
attached to the sley C, and the other to the frame in which the drop box slides.
Upon the shaft e are fixed two arins g, g, the upper ends of which are cranked
towards the drop box, and terminate with cylindrical or rounded heads. On the
shaft e is also fixed a lever h which is slotted for convenience of adjustment of a
stud which is fixed in any desired position within the slot by means of a nut.
Upon the said stud is mounted a radius rod i, and the lower end of this rod is also
mounted upon a fixed stud j which is secured to a bracket 1 which is slotted in
order that the position of the stud may be adjusted. In the example the said bracket
is secured to the loom side, this arrangement facilitating the application of the In-
vention to a loom not specially arranged to receive it, but if preferred, the stud may
be bolted directly to the loom side or to a part cast thereon.
The effect of the arrangement is that as the sley moves to and fro, the shaft e
is caused to rock in its bearings, and the heads of the arms g move towards
and from the drop box. On the drop box are secured two parts k, k, which are
cast or formed with curved projecting fingers, which are preferably rounded at
their outer ends. The curvature of these fingers is made suitable to the path of
movement of each of the cylindrical heads of the arms g. When the sley is beating
up the weft, the heads of the arms gare clear of the ends of the fingers k, so that
the drop box can be moved up or down, if required. As the sley moves back, each
of the heads of the said arms moves forwards, and enters the spaces between two of
the said fingers, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2.
The parts should be so proportioned, as that the pitch or distances apart of the
spaces measured "centre to centre" shall be equal to the corresponding measure-
ment of the shuttle boxes, so that whatever shuttle box may be in use, the hands on
g may enter the spaces corresponding to such box, and also that any action of the
said heads upon the fingers k may tend to the correct adjustment of the shuttle box
in use.
Supposing for example that at any time the drop box shall be dropped an eighth
of an inch too low, the heads on g must, when entering, raise the said box an eighth
of an inch; or if the shuttle box is not otherwise in line with the shuttle race, the
said heads must adjust the drop box, so that the said shuttle box shall be in line
with the said race.
In the examples, the bottoms of the spaces between the said fingers are rounded,
and the heads of the arms g may pass into the spaces entirely to those rounded
bottoms or may only enter sufficiently to effect the adjustment of the drop box,
according to the adjustment of the parts.
The arrangement also acts to prevent or check the rebound of the drop box
and enables us to accelerate the movements of the loom, and also lessens the wear
and tear of the shuttle, and other parts of the loom.
The arrangement illustrated by Figs. 1 and 2 is such as we now prefer to use,
but it may be greatly varied without departing from the intent of our Invention,

page_text: Fig. 3 illustrates a variation which may be made. In this example the fulcrum j
of the rod i is above the shaft e instead of being below it, as in the previous ex-
ample. This arrangement is suitable for certain descriptions of woollen looms,
having the fulcra of the sleys above instead of below the sleys, but may also be
adopted in cases wherein the said fulcra are below the sleys, as in ordinary gingham
looms, if preferred, for any reason to the arrangement in Figs. 1 and 2.
The arrangement may be further modified by dispensing with the radius rod i.
In Fig. 4 a lever m fixed on the shaft e is provided with an antifriction bowl which
is arranged to run to and fro in a fixed race indicated by n as the sley vibrates. By in-
clining the said race, or by making it of a curved form, or partly curved or inclined
and partly straight, any desired movements may be imparted to the heads or ends
of the arms g. The forms of these arms, or of the said heads, or of the fingers or
spaces k, may be greatly varied, so long as vibrating parts are caused to lock or
engage with parts upon the shuttle or drop box. We do not confine ourselves to
the vibrating movements of the arms g.
If preferred, sliding bolts or parts may be employed. Fig. 5 illustrates such an
arrangement. In this example, studs, projections, or bowls, indicated by dotted
circles at o, o, are fixed, formed, or mounted upon a bar p, which is arranged to slide
to and fro in bearings, and is jointed by one end to a bell-crank lever r, which is
mounted upon the sley sword, or upon a part carried by the sley. The lever is
connected by a rod a with a lever t, which is provided with a bowl which runs in a
fixed race u, which is suitably formed to impart a to-and-fro sliding movement at
the required times, and to the required extent to the bar p. When the drop box is
to be locked, the said bar is slid until the projections o enter into and engage with
suitably formed recesses in the parts v upon the drop box indicated by D.
The arrangements for sliding the bar p may be varied.
Fig. 6 indicates another method of effecting this object. In this example the end
of the bar is provided with n wheel w which runs in contact with a fixed plate or
part which is or may be formed with a path curved to suit the movement of the
sley, and is formed with an incline which acts to slide the bar inwards, so as
to cause projections on the bar to lock into or engage with recesses in the parts x
fixed to the drop box. This Fig. also indicates one of the variations which may
be made in the forms of the interlocking parts. The return movement of the bar
may be effected by means of a spring which tends to keep the wheel w pressed
against the fixed plate or wheel path.
As herein-before mentioned, if preferred, for any reason sliding or moving fingers,
bolts, or parts carried by the drop box inay be arranged to engage with recesses
fixed to the sley, but we do not consider this arrangement so convenient as those
indicated in the Drawings. Also, any of the arrangements may be varied by causing
the parts which move to be forked or recessed, and adapted to engage with studs or
projections fixed to the drop box being the converse to the arrangements illustrated,
wherein the parts fixed to the drop box are recessed or sliding or moving bolts or
parts may be acted upon by springs which tend to force the said parts towards the
drop box, or to interlock or engage with parts upon the said drop box, so as to
adjust it and to steady it in position, the said sliding or moving parts being with-
drawn at the proper times by any of the means herein indicated, or by suitable
arrangements having the desired effect.
Having now fully set forth and indicated the nature of our Invention, and means
whereby the same may be carried into effect, we would have it to be understood in
conclusion that we claim,-
First. The arrangement substantially as and for the purposes set forth and indi-
cated herein-before, and in and by the accompanying Drawings.
Secondly. The vibrating fingers or parts interlocking or engaging with parts fixed
to the drop box, substantially as and for the purposes set forth and indicated.

page_text: And, lastly. The employment of sliding or moving studs, projections, or parts
which enter, engage, or interlock with recesses, fingers, studs, projections, or parts to
adjust and steady the drop box, substantially as set forth and indicated.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Stead and James Conlong, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Sixteenth day of July, in the year
of Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
Signed and Sealed by the said William
Stead and James Conlong in the
presence of
EDWARD K. DUTTON,
Agent to the Patentoes,
St. Ann's Churchyard,
WILLIAM STEAD.
(L.S.)
JAMES CONLONG. (L.S.)
Manchester.