IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Aitken, of Irwell Vale Mill, Edenfield, near
Bury, in the County of Lancaster, Manufacturer, and John Brooks, of
the same Place, Overlooker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LOOMS."
Sealed the 31st May 1859, and dated the 18th December 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Aitken and John
Brooks at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 18th December 1858.
We, JOHN AITKEN, of Irwell Vale Mill, Edenfield, near Bury, in the County
of Lancaster, Manufacturer, and JOHN BROOKS, of the same Place, Overlooker,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
Looms," to be as follows:-
We employ a moving "back bearing rail," and give it motion by attaching
to it one or more arms, each furnished with a block of wood or other suitable
material, which block or blocks are in a line with one or both of the con-
necting links from the cranks to the sword arms, so that as the links move up
and down in their to-and-fro movement, either one or both come in contact at-
certain intervals with the block or blocks, thus causing the rail to vibrate so as:
to maintain an equal tension of the yarn when shedding, and thereby prevent
the oscillation of the yarn beam and consequent strain upon the yarn.
Or we:
produce the same effect by placing on the crank shaft an irregularly-shaped>

page_text: cam or tappet, which comes in contact with an arm fixed to the "back bearing
rail," thereby causing the latter to vibrate at the exact time required.
In connection with the aforesaid movements we employ a stationary rod
fixed across the loom, for the purpose of holding the yarn in the same relative
position with respect to the moving "back bearing rail" and yarn bean.
Secondly, we employ at the back of each shuttle box a coiled spring, to
which is attached a strap, so placed as to receive the picker gently when
throwing the shuttle. Each strap may be readily adjusted as required, and, in
connection with the spring, forms a yielding check of great efficiency.
Thirdly, we employ an elastic break, by attaching leather or other friction.
material to an arm or lever of wood or other suitable material, of sufficient
strength, but capable of slightly yielding, so as to temper the shock when the
break acts, and also its mode of adaptation.
Fourthly, we employ for working the stop rod an elastic swell, consisting of
a spring of the same form as the present swell, thus lessening the difficulty of
communicating motion to the stop. rod, and preventing the excessive strain
upon the fingers and chisel, in the event of trapping the shuttle, and, also
diminishing the wear of the shuttles.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Aitken and John Brooks in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 15th June 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
AITKEN, of Irwell Vale Mill, Edenfield, near Bury, in the County of Lancaster,
Manufacturer, and JOHN BROOKS, of the same Place, Overlooker, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by.Her Letters.
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year.
of Her reign, did, for Herself,. Her heirs, and successors, give and grant. unto
us, the said John Aitken and John Brooks, Her special licence that we,.
the said John Aitken and John Brooks, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said John Aitken and John Brooks,.
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

page_text: Looms," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said John Aitken
and John Brooks, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals,
or under the hand and seal of one of us, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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 John Aitken and John Brooks, do
hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement (that is to say)
We employ a moving "back bearing rail," and give it motion by attaching
to it one or more arms each furnished with a block of wood or other suitable
material, which block or blocks are in a line with one or both of the con-
nect ng links from the cranks to the sword arms, so that as the links move up
and down in their to-and-fro movement, either one or both come in contact at
.certain intervals with the block or blocks, thus causing the rail to vibrate, so
as to maintain an equal tension of the yarn when shedding, and thereby
prevent the oscillation of the yarn beam and consequent strain upon the yarn.
Or we produce the same effect by placing on the crank shaft an irregularly-
shaped cam or tappet, which comes in contact with an arm or arms fixed to
the back bearing rail," thereby causing the latter to vibrate at the exact
time required.
In connection with the aforesaid movements we employ a stationary rod
fixed across the loom, for the purpose of holding the yarn in the same relative
position with respect to the moving "back bearing rail" and yarn beam.
Secondly, we employ at the back of each shuttle box a coiled spring, to
which is attached a strap, so placed as to receive the picker gently when
throwing the shuttle. Each strap may be readily adjusted as required, and,
in connection with the spring, forms a yielding check of great efficiency.
Thirdly, we employ an elastic break, by attaching leather or other friction
material to an arm or lever of wood or other suitable material, of sufficient
strength, but capable of slightly yielding, so as to temper the shock when the
break acts, and also its mode of adaptation.
Fourthly, we employ for working the stop rod an elastic swell, consisting of
a spring of the same form as the present swell, thus lessening the difficulty of
communicating motion to the stop rod, and preventing the excessive strain
upon the fingers and chisel, in the event of trapping the shuttle, and also.
diminishing the wear of the shuttles.

page_text: These improvements will be clearly understood by referring to the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings, with the letters of reference thereon.
Fig. 1 is an end elevation of the framing and other parts of a loom to which
our improvements are attached; Fig. 2 a back elevation thereof; Fig. 3 a
transverse elevation of the same, with one of the frame ends removed; and
Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, are enlarged views of detached parts.
warp.
In the aforesaid Figures a represents the crank shaft of the loom; b, the
'sword arms; c, the links or rods which connect the cranks and sword arms
together; d, the yarn beam; and e, the healds. The back bearing rail is shewn
at supported upon the stationary rod g, under which the yarn passes to the
upper surface of the rail, from whence it proceeds to the leasing rods, healds,
temples, and breast beam, in the usual manner. We fix to the back bearing
rail the rods or arms h furnished with blocks i, of wood or other suitable
material, which slide at a certain portion of the stroke upon the upper part of
the links or rods c, causing the back bearing rail to vibrate upon the stationary
rod g, and thereby, according to its position, slacken or tighten the yarn or
The yarn is maintained at an equal tension when shedding by the
blocks resting upon the links during a portion of their traverse, the extent of
which is regulated by brackets or supports j, which hold the arms and prevent
further descent of the back bearing rail. At k, Fig. 3, the cranks and links
are at the top centre, at which position the healds are closed; and during
their passage to the point the healds open, thereby requiring a certain length
or slackening of the yarn. Simultaneously with the movement of the cranks
the blocks resting upon the links are lowered, and with them the back bearing
rail, until the yarn is slackened so as exactly to equal the length required for
the opening of the healds. During the passage of the cranks from the point /
'through the point m to the point n, the healds remain, open for the passage
of the shuttle, commonly called the dwell of the shed, at which interval the
arms h are arrested in their downward progress and supported by the bracketsj;
but at or about the position n the links come in contact with the blocks i, and
as the cranks and links advance the blocks and arms are raised so as to elevate
the back bearing rail, and take up the yarn that was required for the opening
of the healds, by the time the cranks and links have arrived at the top centre
or the position k.
We desire it to be understood that the aforesaid positions are not arbitrary,
but depend upon the nature of the cloth to be woven, the cranks and tappets
being placed in such relation to each other as may be required, the connecting
links operating upon the back bearing rail so as to tighten and slacken the
yarn at the exact time desired.

page_text: We also obtain an equal shedding of the yarn by fixing to the back bearing
rail one or more arms p, seen in Fig. 5, which are operated upon by one or
more cams fixed to the crank shaft, so that as they revolve they raise the
arms and back bearing rail when the healds are closing, the arms resting upon
the crank shaft during the portion of the stroke it is required for the back
bearing rail to be at rest or during the dwell of the shed. We vary the form
of the cam according to the desired position of the dwell, which it is well
known depends upon the kind of fabric to be woven.
By the employment of a moving back bearing rail operated upon by either
of the foregoing arrangements, we prevent the oscillation of the yarn beam
and consequent strain upon the yarn, and are also enabled to substitute for the
present cumbrous and inconvenient weighting levers, others of a different order
and a lighter construction, which levers are represented at r, Fig. -2, working
on their fulera s, and attached at any desired point t to the yarn beam by the
ordinary ropes u. Thus, instead of the heavy dead weights heretofore found
necessary, we only require the light weights v, which are shifted as required, to
obtain the necessary effect upon the leverage and resistance of the yarn
beam.
Our improved yielding checks for the shuttle are shewn in Figs. 2, 7, and 8,
and consist in fixing near the centre of the shuttle box, the internal end of a
coiled spring w, the other end of which is attached to a strap a passing through
the back of the shuttle box in a slanting direction on to the picker spindle y,
at a short distance from the stud, at the time the straight part of the
spring is perpendicular to the slay. On receiving the blow of the picker a¹,
the strap is driven towards the stud z, and the spring is drawn to the position
shewn by the dotted lines. After the blow has expended itself the spring
uncoils, and the straight part resumes its upright position, and is again ready
to receive the picker. In the strap x, a number of holes are punched in
order to take up any elongation of the leather, and thus preserve the necessary
tightness.
We may also vary the form of spring, and employ an ordinary spiral spring
or a band of caoutchouc connected either to the back of the shuttle box or for
greater strength attached to a frame or standard fixed to the slay.
Our improved elastic break is shewn in Figs. 1 and 2; it is composed of a
bar of wood or other suitable material, the. upper part of which is recessed
and curved to fit the periphery of the fly wheel c¹, leather or other material
being employed to create sufficient friction. To the lower part of the break is
attached a small frame or shoulder d', working upon a pin e' fixed to one of
the frame ends of the loom so that the centre of gravity is outside the point of

page_text: J
-support, and thus allow the break to fall back and leave the fly wheel at perfect
liberty unless held up to it for the purpose of stopping the loom. In order to
. cause the break to press forcibly against the fly wheel, we connect it by the
rod f¹, furnished with a screw and the adjusting nuts g' to the frog h¹, so that
in the event of the chisel of the stop rod striking or catching the frog, the
break will be brought into tight contact with the fly wheel, and thereby stop
:the loom.
The advantage of this form and arrangement of elastic, or yielding break
-consists in their being no excessive or detrimental shock inasmuch as the fly
.wheel and other moving parts of the loom are capable of a slight advance and
.thus prevent the injury arising from sudden concussion.
Our improved elastic swell for working the stop rod is shewn at k¹, Figs. 7
-and 8.
The curve is similar to the swell at present in use; but instead of
. being composed of cast metal or wood it is made of a blade of steel bent to the
necessary form, which contrivance prevents the excessive strain upon the
fingers and chisel, in the event of trapping the shuttle, and also diminishes
the wear of the shuttles. In the old plan, if the shuttle should enter weakly
into the box, and only partially raise the chisel, the latter would come in
contact with the frog, edge to edge, and cause considerable wear and imperfect
action; but the elastic swell allows the chisel to go at once to the bottom of
the catch without any strain upon the fingers, stop rod, swell, or shuttle, and
thereby prevent consequent derangement of any of the working parts of the
.stop rod. In order to prevent the swell giving too much motion to the stop rod
from being pushed too far back, we place a small finger l', see Figs. 1 and 6,
which comes in contact with the under side of the slay. The aforesaid finger
.can be adjusted to any desired position by the screw m¹.
Having thus fully described the nature of our said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, we desire it to be distinctly
understood that we do not confine ourselves to the precise details herein set
forth, as such may be varied or modified without departing from the
principle thereof; but we claim as our Invention, and which to the best of
our knowledge and belief has not been hitherto used within the realm,-
Firstly, the application to looms of a stationary rod upon which a moving
back rail works by means of arms operated upon by cams or by connecting
links, and also the improved system of weighting the yarn beam with light
weights and levers.
Secondly, the employment of a coiled or other spring attached to a band or
strap, one end of which passes over the picker spindle near the stud, so as to
-give to the picker, a yielding check of great efficiency.

page_text: Thirdly, the adaptation and employment of an elastic break of wood or other
slightly yielding material connected by a rod to the frog, in order to prevent
the injurious effect of violent concussion.
Fourthly, the application of an elastic swell for working the stop rod instead
of the heavy metal swell at present in use, so that the chisel may fairly come
in contact with the projection on the frog and thus prevent slipping, and also
wear and tear, as such improvements are herein described and illustrated in
the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Aitken, for and on behalf of
myself and the said John Brooks, have hereunto set my hand and seal,
this Fourteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the within-
named John Aiken, in the presence of
E. J. HUGHES, Patent Agent,
Manchester.
JOHN AITKEN. (L.S.)