IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Matthew Andrew Muir and James McIlwham,
of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Machinists,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING."
Sealed the 14th November 1871, and dated the 3rd June 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION, left by the said Matthew Andrew Muir
and James M'Ilwham at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 3rd June 1871.
We, MATTHEW ANDREW MUIR and JAMES MºILWHAM, of Glasgow, in
the County of Lanark, North Britain, Machinists, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING,"
to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to loom mechanism of the kind described in
the Specification of Letters Patent granted to the present applicants,
and dated 9th July 1869 (No. 2068), and consists principally in fitting
certain appliances to secure steadiness of action when the mechanism
referred to is arranged in connection with a rotating shuttle box.
In carrying out the present Invention the action of the said mechanism
is transmitted to the rotating shuttle box either by a rack (corresponding
to the shuttle box spear (1) of the carlier Specification) gearing with

page_text: a pinion on the shuttle-box spindle, or by a rod connected to the shuttle-
box spindle by two chains which wrap partly round a small boss or
barrel on the spindle, having each one end fixed to such boss whilst the
other end of each is fixed to the rod. A lever to which the bottom end
of the spear, rod, or rack is jointed is described in the earlier Specifi-
cation as having a spring applied to it in a manner to counterbalance
the weight of a vertically shifting shuttle-box, and such spring is retained
in the present modification, whilst there is an additional spring applied
to the rotating shuttle box to act oppositely to the lever spring. Such
added spring is connected to a short arm of a small bell-crank lever,
and a long arm of the same lever has jointed to it one end of a chain
having its other end fixed on a boss or barrel on the shuttle-box spindle.
The added spring is applied to its small bell-crank lever in the same
manner as that in which the oppositely acting one is applied to the
other lever, that is, so that its leverage action is reduced as it becomes
extended, and the result is that in every position of the shuttle box a
strain in one direction on the rack is opposed by a nearly equal straîn
in the opposite direction on the pinion, thus preventing all play or
"back lash" between the teeth. Then as the movements in either
direction are controlled by the springs they are easy and yet steady,
and when a shift takes place the shuttle box does not tend to run
beyond or fall short of its proper position. The arrangement also
dispenses with locking details and with the application of frictional
brake appliances to the shuttle box or to parts in connection with it.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, 2
filed by the said Matthew Andrew Muir and James M‘Ilwham in
the Great Seal- Patent Office on the 1st December 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, MATTHEW
ANDREW MUIR and JAMES MILWHAM, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Machinists, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of June, 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 Matthew Andrew Muir and James M*Ilwham, 3

page_text: Her special licence that we, the said Matthew Andrew Muir and
James M'Ilwham, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as we, the said Matthew Andrew Muir and James M'Ilwham,
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 FOR WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Matthew Andrew Muir and James M.Ilwham,
our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
our, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 we, the said Matthew Andrew Muir and James
McIlwham, 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 in writing, reference
being had to the accompanying Drawings, that is to say :-
Our said Invention relates to loom mechanism of the kind described
in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to us, and dated 9 July
1869 (No. 2068), and consists principally in fitting certain appliances
to secure steadiness of action when the mechanism referred to is
arranged in connection with a rotating shuttle box.
And in order that our said Invention and the manner of performing
the same may be properly understood we hereunto append a Sheet of
explanatory Drawings, to be herein-after referred to, and showing the
application of our present improvements to a loom constructed otherwise,
as described and delineated in our earlier Specification herein-before
referred to.
Figure 1 is a side elevation corresponding to Figure 2 of our earlier
Specification, and the various parts are shown in the same or corre-
5 sponding positions in both, so as to facilitate comparison. The same
reference numerals are also used to mark any parts in the present
Drawing which are the same as in the earlier one.

page_text: In carrying out our present Invention the action of the shifting
mechanism is transmitted to the rotating shuttle box at 42 by a rod 41
(corresponding to the shuttle box spear (1) of our earlier Specification),
which rod in the modification shown in Figure 1 has a rack 43 formed
or fixed on its upper end to gear with a pinion on the shuttle box
spindle 44. A lever 3 to which the bottom end of the spear (1) or
rod 41 is jointed is described in our earlier Specification as having
a spring 29 applied to it in a manner to counterbalance the weight
of a vertically shifting shuttle box, and such spring 29 is retained
in our present modification, whilst there is an additional spring 45
applied to the rotating shuttle box to act oppositely to the lever
spring 29. Such added spring 45 is hooked upon a pin adjustably
fixed in a short arm 46 of a bell-crank lever, and a long arm 47 of the
same lever has jointed to it one end of a chain 48, having its other
end fixed on a boss or barrel 49 on the shuttle box spindle 44. The
bell-crank lever 46-47 is carried on a stud fixed in a bracket 50 partly
indicated by dotted lines and fixed to the casing or framing 51, also
partly indicated by dotted lines within which the rotating shuttle box
is carried, and which is fixed to the lathe sword, and the other end of
the spring 45 is fixed to a bracket 52 bolted to the casing 51. The :
added spring 45 is applied to its small bell-crank lever 46-47 in the
same manner as that in which the oppositely acting one 29 is applied
to the other lever 3, that is, so that its leverage action is reduced as it
becomes extended; and the result is that in every position of the shuttle
box a strain in one direction on the rack 43 is opposed by a nearly
equal strain in the opposite direction on the pinion, thus preventing all
play or "back lash" between the teeth. The springs 29 and 45 are
held by screws so that they can be adjusted to counterbalance each other
as nearly as possible. Then as the movements in either direction are
controlled by the springs they are easy and yet steady, and when a shift
takes place the shuttle box does not tend to run beyond or fall short
of its proper position. The arrangement also dispenses with locking
details and with the application of frictional brakes to the shuttle box,
or to parts in connection with it.
Instead of the rod 41 communicating motion by means of a rack 43
and pinion to the shuttle box spindle 44, it may do so by means of two
chains, 53, 54, as shown in Figure 2. One of these chains 53 has one
end fixed to the upper part of the rod 41 and passing under and round
a barrel 55 on the shuttle box spindle 44 has its other end fixed to that

page_text: barrel, whilst the other chain 54 is placed a little to one side of the first
and has one end fixed to a lower part of the rod 41, whilst its other end
is passed over and round the barrel 55 and fixed thereto, or one of the
two chains may be dispensed with as shown in Figure 3, the single
chain 53 retained being kept in tension by the action of the spring 45.
We prefer to actuate the lever 3 by means of mechanism of the kind
described and delineated in our earlier Specification. The details of
such mechanism we have not considered it necessary to show in the
present Drawing, but may remark that with a rotating shuttle box
constructed for six shuttles they may be precisely as shown in our
carlier Specification, whilst for shuttle boxes for different numbers of
shuttles they must be correspondingly modified, as will be understood
by the practical machinist.
Our present improvements are, however, also quite applicable in cases
in which the lever 3 or rod 41 is actuated for shifting the shuttle by
any other convenient mechanism.
Having thus particularly described our said Invention and the manner
of performing the same, we have to state that we do not restrict
ourselves to the precise details herein described or delineated, but that
what we believe to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention
secured to us by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,
the applying of two oppositely acting springs in connection with a
rotating shuttle box, one spring being connected to the shuttle box
spindle and the other to a lever by which the shuttle box is turned,
in the manner and for the purposes substantially as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James M'Ilwham, on behalf of the
said Matthew Andrew Muir and myself, have hereunto set my
. hand and seal this Thirtieth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
JAMES M'ILWHAM. (L.s.)