IMPROVEMENTS IN JACQUARD LOOMS
Year: 1877

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Levi Fish at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 1st June 1877.
LEVI FISH, of the Firm of Woods, Hampson, and Company, of Preston, in the
County of Lancaster, Cotton Manufacturers. "IMPROVEMENTS IN JACQUARD
LOOMS."
This Invention is designed to simplify the apparatus employed in looms for fancy
weaving, known as the "dobby" or jacquard machine.
According to my Invention the jacquard apparatus is contained in a suitable
metal frame fixed above the loom. The jacquard cylinder or drum, which is
arranged at right angles to the body of the loom in a horizontal position, rotates in
end bearings or blocks, which are free to slide within vertical slots. The two ends
of the cylinder shaft pass through holes in the upper ends of links jointed at their
lower ends to the extremities of two arms projecting from a rocking shaft. This
rocking shaft is actuated by a rod connected to an eccentric on the crank shaft in
such a manner that each revolution of the crank shaft imparts an up and a down
motion to the cylinder.
To rotate the cylinder as required its shaft carries a catch wheel, so arranged
relatively to a suitably mounted hook or catch that the upward movement of the
cylinder will cause one of the teeth of the catch wheel to be arrested by the hook
or catch, thus the catch wheel and cylinder will be pulled round one tooth; a spring
is arranged above the catch wheel to hold the cylinder in the required position on
its return or downward movement. Below the cylinder are arranged a number of
flat rods or levers placed on edge, through which the rocking shaft above referred
to passes, thereby answering as a fulcrum. From these levers at one end are
suspended the several healds, the other ends of the levers are made each fork-like,
with a central space within which is fitted a hooked finger jointed loosely about
midway of its length. The outer end or hook of each finger hangs over the end of
its lever, and is made to overbalance-the other end or arm, which occupies a
position between the under side of the cylinder and the upper, edge of such lever.
The hooks on the outer ends of the fingers point inwardly, and an ordinary
jacquard knife is so placed within the hooks as to come in contact with them,
excepting when prevented from so doing, as herein-after described.
The knife is supported at its two ends upon the extremities of arms projecting
from a second rocking shaft, which is actuated by a rod in connection with an

page_text: eccentric or box tappet, also on the crankshaft. The cylinder may be arranged to
carry a lattice and pegs, or cards with perforations.
Both arrangements are sufficiently well known to require no further description.
When a lattice and pegs are employed the action of the apparatus is as follows:-
At each downward movement of the cylinder the pegs on the lattice presented on
the cylinder's lowest side will be brought down upon the fingers of the levers
beneath, thereby causing the hooks of such fingers to be moved out of the way of
the knife, so that such levers along with the healds suspended from their opposite
ends will remain unmoved; those of the fingers, however, and their corresponding
levers upon which no pegs press, will be caught by the knife as it descends, thereby
causing the opposite ends of the levers and the healds they support to be lifted up,
thus making the "shed." At each pick the cylinder will be moved round one
tooth by means of the catch wheel and catch, and will present the next lattice bar
and its arrangement of pegs to operate upon the fingers and levers in-the-desired
order in the manner above described.
Should perforated cards be employed instead of a lattice and pegs, the same
action as that above described may be obtained by fixing pins or nipples upon the
upper sides of the fingers, so as to correspond with the lines of perforations in the
cards in the position that obtains when they are in turn brought round on the lower
side of the cylinder.
Although I prefer the fingers and levers to be actuated by the downward
movement of the knife, my arrangement of apparatus may be easily modified, so
that the levers may be actuated, by the upward movement of the knife. This may
be done by making the levers in two portions, having separate fulcra, the inner ends
of the two portions being toothed and gearing into each other.
It will be evident that under such conditions when one end of the double lever
has to be raised the other end must be raised also instead of depressed, as in the
case of the single levers herein-before described. All that is necessary to cause
the knife to lift the levers is to reverse the position of the fingers and to dispense
with the hook. The knife on its upward stroke will come in contact with the
lower sides of those portions of the fingers which before were the hooks, and by
lifting the levers above will also lift the corresponding extremities of the second
levers.
The levers are near the ends carrying the healds arranged in a frame containing
a series of vertical guide slots, within which the levers work. This arrangement
not only answers the purpose of keeping the levers separated and in working
position, but the lower rib of the frame also serves as a stop bar, upon which the
levers when not in action rest, thus causing the tops of the corresponding healds to
be level or in line with each other.
Suitable stops are also provided for determining the positions of the fingers
relatively to the levers.
In the above described arrangements the needles, springs, and wires ordinarily
employed in jacquard apparatus are dispensed with, the working parts are fewer,
and the action between the lattice or cards and the healds is more direct than in
other apparatus with which I am acquainted: Morcover, by my Invention the.box
tappet and the knife are so arranged relatively to the fingers and levers that a.
_certain-amount-ofdwell"takes place at one portion of the shed, thereby causing
the levers-to-be-at-rest, and the shed always level whilst the crank is passing over
the top and bottom centres.