IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1868

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas Wrigley and Walter
Edward Yates at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 24th July 1868.
We, THOMAS WRIGLEY, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Mechanical Engineer, and WALTER EDWARD YATES, of the same Place,
Manager, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows :-
Our Invention is designed for the purpose of producing a more perfect
and uniform fabric than has hitherto been attained by means of several
improvements in the loom employed for weaving the fabric, and the
Invention relates, first, to the "healds" or
or "heddles" which are
employed for forming the shed through which the shuttle passes when
delivering the weft. The healds as now ordinarily employed are made of
worsted, cotton, or other fibrous substances, or of metal, or of fibrous top
and bottom, and a metal eye called the "male" in the middle through
which the warp passes.
The improvements consist, first, in knitting or forming the healds in
the ordinary manner, but constructing them wholly of a fine metal wire

page_text: material, the upper portion being of a stronger or coarser quality than
the lower, or in forming the top portion of the heald and the eye from
the fine wire, and the bottom portion of cotton, woollen, or other fibrous
thread, which is passed or looped through the metal eye, or the healds may
-be made of thread and fine wire twisted or doubled or combined together.
By thus constructing the healds considerable lightness and durability are
therein obtained.
Secondly. The improvements consist in passing the warp threads when
leaving the warp beam in their course to the healds over two fixed guide
bars and under a central or movable bar working between them; this
central bar is supported in a parallel position with respect to the two fixed
guide bars, and is connected at each end to the ends of a rod which is
connected with and actuated by an eccentric on the crank or other con-
venient shaft. When in action this movable vibrating bar regulates the
tension of the warp threads during shedding" and ",
closing up,"
diminishing or preventing thereby any great or undue strain upon the
warp during the time the "shed" is being formed and at the time of
'closing up," effecting a tension that will produce a more even pick and
superior surface or "cover" upon the cloth.
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Thirdly. Our improvements relate to the temples employed for keeping
the traverse tension of the cloth uniform across the selvedges during the
manufacture, and the improvements relate more particularly to that class
of temples known as the two or three roller temple in which the cloth is
caused to pass as manufactured over the under roller or rollers and under
the top roller, thus going between them; and the improvements consist
in supporting the top temple roller in a swivel or adjustable cap, in which
it is supported and revolves on set screw centres, the box or bottom
portion of the temple supporting the bottom roller or rollers being con-
nected to the temple bar or rod supporting the temple by means of a
swivel of jointed bracket, the portion of the temple connected to the
temple rod being ridged and fixed thereto by means of set screws or other
equivalent, and the box supporting the roller being supported and con-
nected to such jointed bracket by means of swivel pin or joint similar to
the well-known joint of an ordinary two-foot rule or measure. The roller
.keeping the traverse tension of the cloth uniform prevents any unseemly
scar or disfigurement to the cloth. The temple by means of its swivel
joint readily adjusts itself to the position of the cloth as the lathe
vibrates.

page_text: And, lastly. The improvements consist in the employment of a flat or
suitably shaped adjustable guard placed along and in front of the "reed"
closely above the open "shed." This guard is employed to keep the
shuttle in its course through the shed when passing from box to box,
thus preventing the shuttle "floating" or leaving its course.