OF CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER LOOMS TO BE USED IN THE WEAVING OF COTTON, LINEN, SILK, WOOLLEN, AND OTHER CLOTHS
Year: 1834

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
HENRY HORNBY, of Blackburn, in the County of Lancaster, Cotton Spinner
and Merchant, and WILLIAM KENWORTHY, of Blackburn, aforesaid, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth, by
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster. the Twenty-seventh day of May, in the fifth year of His reign, did,
for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
William Henry Hornby and William Kenworthy, our exors, adñiors, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said William Henry Hornby and William
Kenworthy, our exors, adñors, or assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times during the torm of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, our Inventions
"OF CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER LOOMS TO BE USED IN THE WEAVING
OF COTTON, LINEN, SILK, WOOLLEN, AND OTHER CLOTHS;" in which said Letters
Patent there is contained a proviso that if we, the said William Henry
Hornby and William Kenworthy, shall not particularly describe and ascertain

page_text: the nature of our said Inventions, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, by instrument in writing under our hands and seals, and cause
the same to be enrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after the dato of the said Letters
Patent, that then the said Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages
whatsoever thereby granted shall utterly cease, determine, and become void,
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that, in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
William Henry Hornby and William Kenworthy, do hereby declare the
nature of our said Inventions by the following description thereof, reference
being thereunto had, and the manner in which the same are to be performed
and carried into effect, by the three Sheets of Drawings or Plans which are
hereunto annexed, and to the particular explanation thereof, reference being
thereunto had.
Our Inventions or improvements in power looms consist in the application
of certain machinery or apparatus herein-after described, adapted to perform
three distinct operations in the process of weaving by power. But in order
to explain clearly the manner of carrying our said Inventions or improvements
into effect, and to enable persons conversant with similar machinery to put
them in practice, we explain the construction and action of the power loom
in the three annexed Sheets of Drawings, so far at least as to render tho
nature and uses of our said Inventions or improvements apparent.
Figure 1, Sheet 1, is an horizontal plan of a power loom represented as
in the operation of weaving, and to which loom our said Inventions are
applied.
Figure 2, Sheet 2, is an external end elevation of the said power loom,
as seen at the driving end thereof; and Figure 3 on the same Sheet is a
vertical transverse section of the same, with the said driving end removed,
in order to represent those parts in the interior of the loom which could not
be shewn in Figure 2 without complicating the Drawing thereof.
Figure 4, Sheet 3, is a transverse section of a part of the said loom, as seen
from the opposite cud to the driving end, and is intended to represent more
distinctly and on a larger scale the whole or nearly so of our improvement
with regard to the machinery used to regulate the rate or ratio of speed at g
which the cloth is taken up, and which parts constituting this improvement
are coloured pink. Also parts of our improvement for stopping the loom
when the weft breaks are seen in this Figure, and are coloured green.
Figure 5, Sheet 3, is part of a front elevation of the driving end of the said

page_text: loom, and is intended to shew such parts of our said Inventions or improve-
ments as could not be shewn in Figure 4, and which parts are also respec-
tively coloured pink and green.
Figure 6, Sheet 3, is part of a back elevation of the said loom, and is
intended to shew principally the levers, bands, and weights used for stretching
the warp, and also part of the apparatus for raising and lowering the warp
beam.
Figures 7 and 8 are respectively a side and front view of the fast-and-loose
driving pullies, the upper parts of which, in Figure 7. are removed or shewn
in section, in order to shew the manner in which they are constructed and put
upon the driving or crank shaft of the loom. These two Figures are drawn to
the same scale as Figures 1, 2, and 3, videlicet, three inches equal to one
foot; but the rest of the Figures on the same Sheet are drawn to a scale of
four inches equal to one foot.
Figure 9 and 10, Sheet 3, are separate parts of the machinery used for
stopping the loom when the weft breaks, and which could not be so clearly
shewn in Figures 4 and 5.
The same letters or numbers of reference are employed to designate the
same parts in all the several Figures in which they occur; and in order to
avoid in the following description the multiplied use of the same letter or
number of reference when referring to similar or corresponding parts marked
with the same letter or number in the Figure or Figures in which they occur,
we declare that by a reference to any single letter or number, we intend to
refer to all the parts (if more than one) marked therewith in any Figure or
Figures in which they occur.
Figure 1, Sheet 1, is the horizontal plan of a power loom, of which A is the
fast, and B, with its fly wheel B2, the loose driving pullies, seen also in
Figures 2, 7, and 8. C, Figure 2, is the driving strap. D, Figure 1 and 2,
is the forked lever or strap guider, and E is the spring handle or lever
connected therewith for putting on or taking off the power, and A³,
Figures 1 and 7, is the joint or parting between the said fast and loose
pullies; and it will be seen, on inspecting the Drawing, that the fast
pulley is made only half the usual breadth, while the loose pulley is made
one half more than the usual breadth. And in order that the momentum of
the said fly wheel may be made available in the working of the loom, the
driving strap, when in operation, is thrown partly on to the fast and partly on
to the loose pullies, by which, and by means of a driving strap of a little more
than an ordinary breadth, we find that the advantage of the fly is preserved

page_text: and sufficient power for driving the loom is derived, giving this advantage over
the old or usual method of fixing the said fly on the fast pulley, that when the
loom is suddenly stopped by the shuttle making a false pick, or otherwise, the
great momentum which the fly wheel attains while the loom is working does
not, by any sudden check arising from the stopping of the loom, cause injury
or derangement to its parts, but will cause the loose pulley to slip under the
tension and pressure of the driving strap. F is the crank or driving shaft,
with its two cranks G. 11 is the lay or slay connected therewith by the two
arms or connecting rods I, with their moveable joints at each end. Jare
the two swords of the lay or slny (best seen in Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5,
Sheets 2 and 8), their bottom ends riding on the fulcrums K. Hence when
the said driving or crank shaft revolves the lay or slay receives a recipro-
esting or vibratory motion. L, Figure 3, Sheet 2, is the tappet shaft, driven
from the said crank shaft by means of the driving spur wheels M and N.
Q. (Figure 3, Sheet 2), are the treadles suspended at one end of the fulcrum P,
the other end being allowed to move freely in the guide plate Q. Rare n
pair of tappets fixed on the tappet shaft, and are mado to act on the treadles
when the said tappet shaft is put in motion. S are a pair of heddles or healds
through which the warp passes, and which are attached to the teazles below,
and suspended in the usual way over pullies placed at the upper part of the
loon, so that when the said treadles are put in motion the said heddles or
healds, receiving an alternate verticle motion, open the shets and make way for
the shuttle T to pass in order to make a shot. To the arms of the driving
spur wheel N the tappet U is fixed, and a corresponding tappet V is fixed
to the crank armn W, made fast on the outer end of the tappet shaft L.
which tappets are fixed diametrically opposite each to the other. X and Y
are a pair of picking levers suspended at their top ends on the fulcrums Z, and
at their bottom ends are fixed the straps a (seen in Figures 2 and 3, Sheet 2),
which pass therefrom, and are fixed to the segment pullies b, which pullies are
made fast on the upright shafts c, to the top ends of which shafts are fixed the
pickers d, which pickers are connected at their outer ends by straps and cords
in the usual way, to the boxes of the lay or slay, and to the usual apparatus for
striking the shuttle. Hence when the driving wheel N, and the tappet
shaft L are made to revolve, the tappets U and V striking the suspended
picking levers X and Y, the pickers d receive a corresponding impulse and
motion which are communicated to the shuttle T, which shuttle T receives
thereby its pick or reciprocated motion.
e, Figures 1, 2, 3, and 6, Sheets 1, 2, and 3, is the warp beam for giving out

page_text: I is
the warp, and is the cloth beam for taking up the cloth as it is woven.
the warp proceeding from the warp beam over and under alternately the leas
rods through the heddles or healds S, through the reed i (seen in Figures 3,
4, and 5, Sheets 2 and 3) and receives a shot of weft at the verge from the
shuttle T, every time the loom makes a proper pick, as aforesaid, and the
woven cloth passing on from thence over the roller k is received on the cloth
beam f. Now as the weaving thus goes on the rate or ratio of speed at which
the cloth is taken up depends wholly on the number of picks to be woven into the
cloth by the inch, and to vary which the usual method is to use what are termed
change pinions; but we adopt what are termed the friction pulley and face
plate, together with other apparatus which we shall now proceed to describe.
1, Figures 1, 2, and 4, is a friction pulley faced with leather on its periphery,
and made to slide longitudinally on the tappet shaft L, or to be fastened
thereto by the set screws m. is a face plate made fast on the lower end of
the shaft o, and which face plate is made true on its outer face, and receivis
motion by friction or pressure from the friction pulley 1; the said shaft o is
supported by the carrier p at its lower end, and by the carrier at its top end,
and in the upper part of which (as are represented by dotted lines in Figure 4,
Sheet 3), a box is formed containing a moderately strong spiral spring, by
which and the set screw any requisite pressure can be given between the
face plate n and the friction pulley 1. s is a small pinion made to slide on the
upper part of the shaft o, in the direction of its length, but is carried round
therewith when the said shaft is put in motion by a small steel key let into the
side thereof in the usual way. The said pinion s works into the spur wheel t.
made fast on the bottom end of the short shalf u, towards the middle of which
shaft the small worm vis fixed, and which said small worm v is made to work
into the worm wheel w, on the axle of the roller k; and a is a wheel handle
fixed on the top and outer end of the said short shaft . y is a bent orgbell
crank lever, best seen in Figure 2, Sheet 2, one end of which being made
forked takes a groove formed with and on the back of the pinion &, while the
other end, by means of the spring = (seen also in Figure 5, Sheet 3), is made to
Now it is evident that,
press constantly against the spring handle or lever E.
by a due calculation of the said wheel and worm wheel and pinion, friction
pulley, and face plate, and the shifting of the said friction pulley nearer to or
further from the centre of the said face plate, that with this apparatus and
within the limits of ordinary weaving any ratio of speed may be given to the
taking up. But we do declare that this said apparatus for producing, as
aforesaid, the proper rate or ratio of speed to the taking up, and which forms
a part of our said Inventions or improvements, does not and is not intended to

page_text: produce the differential motion requisite in the cloth beam during the operation
of taking up the cloth thereupon, this being accomplished by a different appa-
ratus, which we shall now proceed to describe, but to which we make no claim
of Invention.
The cloth beam f, which receives or takes up the cloth as it is woven,
is placed beneath and a little behind the roller k, over which the cloth
merely passes on its way to the cloth beam f. the centre or pivots of which
are carried by a pair of levers or arms marked 1 and 2, seen in Figures
I and, Sheets 1 and 2. One end of both the said levers is made fast to the
wrought-iron round bar 3, which bar passing in front of the loom from one
side to the other turns upon pivots formed at the extreme ends thereof. By this
means and by means of the weight 4, which is connected to the end of the said
lever or arm 1 by a light chain 5, a pressure is produced between the roller k
and the cloth beam sufficient for taking up the cloth thereby; and it is
evident that, although a uniform speed is given to the roller k, the surface of
the cloth beam f, or the cloth which it may be taking up, will, when thus in
contact therewith, partake of the same speed, but its number of revolutions in
a given time will decrease as its diameter increases with the quantity of cloth
taken up thereupon, thus producing the deferential motion required in the said
cloth beam. When the cloth is taken off the cluth beam, no pressure is required
between the said roller and cloth beam f. and the lever 1 is forced downwards
under a notch formed in the side of the spring lever or catch marked 6 (scen
in Figures 1 and 3), the bottom end of which is made fast to the frame of
and the cloth beam f may
the loom. The pressure between the said roller
also be given by placing the ends of the said levers or arms marked 1 and 2
loose on the bar 3, and connecting to the end of each of the said levers or
arms 1 and 2 a weight similar to the one which is applied to the end of the
lever or arm 1, by which means the pressure is more equally given. During
the operation of weaving, when the weft breaks, we, by the application of
certain mechanical contrivances, which we now proceed to describe, cause
the loom to stop, thus obviating serious inconveniences and disadvantages
arising from the working of the loom after such a circumstance has taken
place.
reed of the said loom, the top edge
while the bottom edge thereof rests on
i, Figures 4 and 5, Sheet 8, is the
of which is slipped into the reed back 7
a slipper or angle plate 8, the form of which is better seen in Figures 9
and 10. 9 is a steel spring, one of which is fixed at its top end to each end
of the said slipper or augle plate, the bottom end of such spring being fixed to
au arm projecting from the sword of the lay or slay. The bottom edge of the

page_text: said reed and slipper or angle plate are placed in a long groove or cavity
formed in the body of the lay or slay, liberty being therein given for the
bottom edge of the reed and slipper or angle plate to move or vibrate or fly
back in a slight degree transversely in the said groove every time the reed
meets the verge of the cloth in the laying of a shot, but when there is no
opposition presented to the reed, arising, as aforesaid, from its coming in
contact with the verge of the cloth in the laying of a shot, the spring 9 and the
slipper or angle plate 8 keep the reed close up against the side 10 (best seen
in Figure 4, Sheet 3) of the said groove, a due degree of pressure being given
to the reed by the action of the set screw 11 upon the said spring 9. To that
end of the said slipper or angle plate which is next to the driving end of the
Joom a catch 12 (seen in Figures 1, 2, 4, and 5, Sheets 1, 2, and 3), is hung
upon a pin formed with or made fast to the said slipper or angle plate, best
seen in Figures 9 and 10, which said catch proceeds through a hole formed in
the lay or slay at right angles with the reed of the loom, and protrudes to a
certain extent in the front thereof, a gentle pressure being given to the back of
the said catch by a small spring 13, fixed to the front of the lay or slay, and
best seen in Figure 5. Opposite to the said catch 12, and fixed on a short
shaft 14 (best seen in Figures 4 and 5, Sheet 3) is a short verticle lever 15,
and on the opposite end of the said shaft 14 is fixed another lever or stop 16
made in the form shewn in Figures 2 and 5. The top end of this lever or
catch, when the driving strap is thrown on to the fast driving pulley is brought
to act as a stop to the spring handle or lever E, to keep the same in a position
for driving the loom, as seen by the part coloured green in Figure 1; and in
about the middle of the said short shaft or lever, or counterpoise 17 is fixed, by
which the lever or stop 16 is made to resume its position as a stop to the spring
handle or lever E, after it has been removed for the purpose of letting the
said spring handle or lever throw the loom out of gear. Now this apparatus
is so adjusted, that when the operation of weaving is going on, every time tho
reed lays the weft or assumes the position shewn by the dotted lines in
Figure 4, the reed is made to fly back or recede from the bearing which it
previously had against the part of the said groove marked 10, and at tho
same time the catch 12 is brought within a small distance of dropping on to
or catching the tip end of the vertical lever 15. If, then, the weft breaks,
and the motion of the loom is still allowed to go on, there being no shot laid,
and the progress of taking up still going on, the opposition to the reed,
when it assumes the position of the dotted lines heretofore described, gradually
ceases, and after a few picks of the loom the catch 12 advances and drops on
to the tip end of the vertical lever 15, and at the returning of the stroke

page_text: of the lay or slay the said catch pulls the vertical lever forward in the
direction of its motion until it slips off the end thereof. The motion thus
given to the vertical lever 15 is, by means of the shaft 14, communicated to
the stop lever 16. The upper part of that said lever which forms the stop to
the spring handle or lever E, and which is seen in Figure 1, Sheet 1. is
instantly removed, the spring handle or lever liberated, and the loom is
stopped, when the weft is pieced, and before the loom is set again to work
(because the loom made a few picks without weft previous to the catch
dropping on the tip end of the vertical lever 15), the weaver, by means of the
wheel handle a, lets back the cloth to the place where it was when the weft
broke. But in order to accomplish this the small pinion s, which works into
the spur wheel t, is, by means of the bent or bell crank lever 3, thrown out
of gear with the said spur wheel t every time the loom is made to stop.
But by the application of a second spring handle or lever, similar to the one
marked e, but which must be unconnected with the said throwing out of gear
apparatus, and to which the bell crank lever y is made to press, as heretofore
described, our apparatus for stopping the loom when the weft breaks would
then stop the taking up motion only; either of which said modes or methods
of applying the said apparatus we do declare constitutes part of our Inven-
tions or improvements as aforesaid,
Our apparatus for raising and lowering the warp beam and for giving friction
to the same when the warp is let off, we shall lastly proceed to describe; but
to this apparatus, although it may contain some novelty, we make no claim
whatever of invention. 18, Figure 3, Sheet 2, is a short upright shaft, move-
able in its carriages 19, which are made fast to the side of the loom. At the
top end of the said shaft is fixed the wheel handle 20, and at the bottom end
thereof is fixed the worm 21, which is made to work into the worm wheel 22,
and which worm wheel is made fast on the horizontal wrought-iron shaft 23,
part of which is best seen in Figure 6, Sheet 3. On the extreme ends
of the said shaft 23 are fixed the spiral or snail-like pullies 24, one at each
end, and on the periphery of the said spiral or snail-like pullies the short
studs 25 take their bearing. These said studs are formed with and on the
bottom ends of the sliding carriers 26 of the warp beam, and are at liberty to
slide in a vertical direction on the upright bars 27. Now it is clear that
when the warp beam is placed too high, or the warp is so much let off as to
lower the horizontal plane of the warp towards that end thereof, more than is
consistent with the art of weaving, the weaver has nothing more to do than
by means of the said wheel handle 20, to put in motion the aforesaid
machinery connected therewith, and the adjustment required may be made.

page_text: The system of levers 28 and 29, the cord 30, and the weights 31 and 32,
which are applied in order to give a suflicient and proper tention to the warp.
and to prevent the weight thereof, with its several gears, from unwinding
itself from off the warp beam, are too plain, on inspection of the Figures
2 and 6, Sheets 2 and 3, to require any further explanation here.
Having now fully described our Inventions of " Certain Improvements in
Power Loomis to be used in the Weaving of Cotton, Linen, Silk, Woollen,
and other Cloths," together with the arrangement of parts by which the same
may be carried into effect, we hereby declare that we consider our claim of
invention or improvement to extend to the application of the machinery or
apparatus as herein-before described, by which, first, the momentum of the fly
wheel is taken off the fast and placed on the loose driving pulley, from whence
being brought to act on the driving strap, its force being thereunto communi-
cated is made available in driving the loom when the said strap is working
on the fast pulley thereof, and is prevented from causing injury or derange
ment to any of the parts belonging to the loom, when the said momentum
is suddenly checked by the shuttle making a false pick or otherwise;
secondly, the rate or ratio of speed in the taking up of the cloth is obtained
without the use of change pinions, and principally by the application and
use of the friction pulley and face plate, and which rate or ratio of speed
in the taking up of the cloth is unintermitting and uniform; and, thirdly,
by the combined effect of the vibrating or fly reed, together with a system
of levers or other machinery connected with or acting on the throwing
out of gear apparatus of the loom, the loom is made to stop when the
weft breaks. At the same time we must observe that we do not confine
our said Inventions or improvements to the exact construction and proportion
of the different parts herein-before described, nor yet to the materials of which
they are made, all which may be varied and modified, which variations
and modifications will and must depend on the discretion of the maker or
user, and also on the nature and construction of the loom or looms to which
our said Inventions or improvements are to be applied.
Thus our Inventions or improvements being, to the best of our knowledge and
belief new, and never before used within that part of His said Majesty's United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, His said Dominion of
Wales and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, we do hereby declare this to be
our Specification of the same, and we do verily believe that this our
said Specification doth comply in all respects fully and without reserve
or disguise with the proviso in the herein-before in part recited Letters

page_text: Patent contained, therefore we do hereby claim to maintain exclusive right
and privilege of our said Inventions or improvements.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Henry Hornby and William
Kenworthy, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twentieth
day of November, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and thirty-four.
WILLIAM HY (L..s.) HORNBY.
WILLIAM (1.S.) KENWORTHY.