IMPROVE- MENTS IN DRIVING LOOMS FOR WEAVING.
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Bowers Taylor, of Ballymena, in the County
of Antrim, in Ireland, Dyer and Finisher, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN DRIVING LOOMS FOR WEAVING.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Bowers Taylor at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th November 1857.
I, WILLIAM BOWERS TAYLOR, of Ballymena, in the County of Antrim, in
Ireland, Dyer and Finisher, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DRIVING LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to be as follows:-
In driving power looms it is customary to communicate motion by means
of a strap passing from the motive power to a pulley on the crank shaft of the
loom. Now, my Invention consists in dispensing with the driving power, and
in working the crank shaft and all the other parts of power looms by a treadle
or by a hand wheel connected to the crank shaft by multiplying gearing; the
object of this multiplying gearing is to increase at pleasure the velocity of the
crank shaft and other working parts of the loom while the treadle or hand
wheel remains at the speed best suited to the operator. By this means a

page_text: considerable saving in labour is effected, as the attendant who minds the loom
can also give motion to it, and the whole expense of motive power is avoided.
The above improvements are particularly beneficial when applied to looms for
weaving linen.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Bowers Taylor in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 27th May 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BOWERS TAYLOR, of Ballymena, in the County of Antrim, in Ireland, Dyer and
Finisher, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Bowers Taylor, Her special licence that I, the said William
Bowers Taylor, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Bowers Taylor, my 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 DRIVING LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Bouwers Taylor, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing, under my, 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 I, the said William Bowers Taylor, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement (that is to say):-
In driving power loomis it has heretofore been customary to employ steam
or water power to give motion to the shafting, by which the looms are driven.
Now, my Invention consists in dispensing with the steam or water power, and

page_text: in working the crank shaft and all the other working parts of power looms by
a treadle or by a hand wheel put in motion by the attendant of the loom, and
connected to the crank shaft by multiplying gearing, by which means I am
enabled to increase the velocity of the crank shaft and other working parts of
the loom while the treadle or hand wheel remains at the speed best suited to
the operator.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into operation, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me, reference
being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, and to the figures and
letters marked thereon.
e
Figure 1 is an end view of the principal parts of a power loom to which my
improvements are applied; Figure 2 is a plan of part of the same loom. a is
the crank shaft; b, the connecting links; c, the lay or batten; d, the tappet
shaft; and the breast beam. The parts above enumerated, and all the
others necessary to complete the loom, are made in the usual manner, except
that the fast and loose pulleys usually applied to the crank shaft are dispensed
with. My improvements consist of the hand wheel f, to which is connected
the crank handle f¹ and the crank g; this crank imparts motion to the tappet
shaft d by the link h, which is jointed at one end to the crank g and at the
other end to the crank pin i projecting from the wheel i fixed to the tappet
shaft d; the wheel gears in the wheel a fixed to the crank shaft a.
I prefer to leave the usual fly wheels on the crank shaft to equalize the
motion of the lcom. The treadle j is hinged to the loom side, and a link / is
jointed to one end of this treadle; the upper end of the link is furnished with
a hook to take on the crank pin i when required.
The Drawing represents the link h on the crank pin i; consequently, when
the hand wheelf is turned round the tappet shaft revolves and gives motion to
the crank shaft; the wheels and a¹ being in the proportion of two to one,
give the requisite multiplied velocity to the crank shaft. When the attendant
is tired of working the hand wheel f, the link his raised off the crank pin i,
and the link is hooked on to it, so that the attendant may then turn the
tappet shaft and other parts of the loom by means of the treadle j, the foot
board of which is taken by preference along the front of the loom. If the
wheel on the tappet shaft is not of the requisite proportion for giving motion
to the crank shaft, as above described, I then apply a pair of multiplying
wheels to impart motion to the crank shaft. By this means a considerable
saving in labour is effected, as the attendant who minds the loom can also
give motion to it, and the whole expence of steam or water power is avoided.

page_text: The above improvements are particularly beneficial when applied to looms for
weaving linen.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, I declare that I claim driving looms for weaving by
means of a band wheel and trendle, with the multiplying gearing, as herein-
before described, and shown in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings..
In witness whereof, I, the said William Bowers Taylor, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of May, in the year of
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
WILLIAM BOWERS TAYLOR. (L.S.)