AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER-LOOM WEAVING
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Liddell, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, Merchant, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT OR
IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER-LOOM WEAVING."
Sealed the 25th January 1854, and dated the 15th November 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Liddell at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 15th November 1853.
I, JOHN LIDDELL, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, Merchant,
do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT OR
IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER-LOOM WEAVING" to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in the application of certain mechanism to the
ordinary gearing of the power loom as shall cause one or more leaves
of heddles to be dropped and re-engaged at certain regular intervals, so
as to produce that kind of fancy fabric known as mignonette. This
kind of work has hitherto been produced in the hand loon by means of
an additional treadle or sets of treddles to those employed in the

page_text: which
ordinary shedding, and my Invention consists in applying such a modi-
fication of this arrangement to the power loom as shall answer the same
purpose. I employ a subsidiary or additional treadle and
wyper,
wyper is actuated by such a train of gearing as shall produce the tread
at such successive intervals as may be desired, for example, every
sixth shot. This mechanism is necessary and sufficient for producing
longitudinal stripes of open work by means of a single extra leaf of
heddles; and in order to produce the open work on any other part of
the set of the pattern, another leaf or leaves of heddles employed in
making the plain part of the pattern is or are detached from the
ordinary system, and brought likewise under the action of the addi-
tional treadle and wyper or treadles and wypers above described. For
this purpose shifting catches are connected with the upper gear
of the heddles, and these are actuated at the required intervals by
means of a ratchet wheel and fall motion similar to that employed in
lappet work.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Liddell in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 13th May 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
JOHN LIDDELL, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, Merchant, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the
seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said John Liddell, Her special
licence that I, the said John Liddell, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Liddell, 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,

page_text: within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT OR IM-
PROVEMENTS IN POWER-LOOM WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said John Liddell, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, 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 John Liddell, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof (that is to say):
My Invention consists in the application of certain mechanism to the
ordinary gearing of the power loom, by which one or more leaves of
heddles are caused to be dropped and re-engaged at regular intervals,
so as to produce that kind of flushed open work or fabrics known as
mignonette. And in order that my Invention may be fully understood,
and easily carried into effect, 1 have made Drawings, hereunto annexed,
of a power loom to which my Invention is applied, and which Drawings
I will now proceed to describe. The same parts in both Figures are
indicated by the same letters of reference.
A, is the wyper shaft employed to produce the shedding and picking
motions according to the usual arrangements. On the end of this shaft
is keyed a spur pinion B, which is in gear with a wheel C, on a
secondary shaft D, which by this connection receives a motion from the
wyper shaft inversely as the ratio of these two wheels.
On this shaft D, is keyed a set of wypers E, which act upon corre-
sponding levers F, the motion of which is transferred to the heddles by
means of the cords G, which pass over pulleys on the upper frame of
the loon, and are returned to the upper shafts of the heddle leaves, to
which they give motion from the levers F, and which work in some
certain definite ratio with the picking, determined by the ratio of the
wheels B, and C, which in this case is three to one, and which there-
fore actuates the heddles so connected every sixth shot of the shuttle.

page_text: This arrangement or apparatus is sufficient for producing such work as
striped mignonette, in which a portion of the warp is dropped out or
flushed over or under five shots of the weft, and brought up into action
at the sixth shot, and this uniformly along the whole length of the
web.
In order to produce the mignonetting, or the operation of the heddle
leaves at intervals, a ratchet wheel K, is carrried loose on a stud, and
put in motion by a click H, keyed on the end of the shaft D. On the
ratchet wheel K, two cam plates L, are fixed, which act upon two
levers M. These two levers give a lateral motion to the two shifting
catch rods P, Q, which move the shifting catches R, S, on or off the
brackets T, fixed on the heddle gear V. The object of which is to
bring the mignonetting heddles into action along with the common
heddle leaves, or to throw them either together or separately out of
connection at definite intervals in accordance with the pattern to be
produced. These catch rods are drawn back and kept in their places
by springs or weights applied in any convenient way when the wypers
cease to act upon the levers, and the heddle leaves are similarly drawn
down by weights or springs W, when not acted upon by the levers.
From this arrangement it will be perceived that cords from both sets of
levers F and M pass over the pulleys X and Y in the upper framing of
the loom to the same heddle shafts, thereby ensuring the mignonetting
action of the heddle leaves when unconnected with the brackets on the
heddle straps.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the best
means of carrying it into practice, I would have it understood that I do
not confine myself to the details herein set forth, these details being
variable at pleasure according to the pattern to be produced. Nor do I
claim as my Invention the employment of additional treddles and wypers
to the power loom, but only when they are used in connection with the
particular kind of top mounting herein described. But what I do
claim is, the employment of a ratchet wheel and fall or cam motion to
the gearing of the common power loom for the purpose of giving
motion to heddle leaves in such manner as herein-before described.
And I also claim as my Invention the employment of shifting catches

page_text: for dropping and taking up flushing heddles at such intervals as are
required to produce the particular pattern.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Liddell, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Tenth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
Witness,
FRANCIS JENKINS,
Engineer, Liverpool.
WALTER MALCOM BUCHANAN,
37, Paterson Street, Glasgow.
JOHN LIDDELL. (L.S.)