IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TERRY OR LOOPED FABRICS, AND IN MACHINERY FOR PRODUCING THE SAME
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Henry Ewbank, of South Square, Gray's
Inn, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TERRY OR LOOPED FABRICS, AND
IN MACHINERY FOR PRODUCING THE SAME."
Sealed the 25th July 1854, and dated the 1st March 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Henry Ewbank
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st March 1854.
I, THOMAS HENRY EWBANK, of South Square, Gray's Inn, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TERRY OR LOOPED FABRICS, AND IN
MACHINERY FOR PRODUCING THE SAME," to be as follows:-
Instead of using wires or tags introduced at the sides of the work, I make
use of wires or carriers, each of which has a spur or nib on one side thereof,
and are supported by being passed with the spurs or nibs towards the front of
the loom through the dents of the reed into a comb or bar, and through a plate
or bar at the back, which are connected together, and form a frame in which
the carriers may be turned, and, being so fixed, the wires or carriers, with the
spurs or nibs turned down, are, together with the comb, raised and carried by
means of a tappet and levers, or other machinery necessary for that purpose,

page_text: towards the reed; the said wires or carriers are then, by means of another cam
or tappet, connected with a plate or bar at the back of the wires, turned until
the whole of the spurs or nibs are brought into a line, with the terry warps
lying across and over them; the carriers are then, by the action of the tappet,
brought to the front of the cloth, with the terry warps over the spurs or nibs
upon which the terry warps are fastened, in the usual way of weaving terry
fabrics; the spurs or nibs are then, by the action of the cam or tappet, turned
down, whereby the spurs or nibs upon the wires or carriers are allowed to be
withdrawn from the terries.so made; the carriers with the comb are then raised
and drawn back towards the reed, and the spurs or nibs being again turned to
allow the terry warps to rest thereon, are brought up to the cloth, to form the
next series of terries, and are withdrawn in the manner before described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Henry Ewbank in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 1st September 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
HENRY EWBANK, of South Square, Gray's Inn, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Thomas Henry Ewbank, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas Henry
Ewbank, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Thomas Henry Ewbank, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TERRY OR LOOPED FABRICS, AND IN MACHINERY FOR
PRODUCING THE SAME," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Thomas Henry Ewbank, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Henry Ewbank, 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 fol-
lowing statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto. annexed, with
the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
My Invention consists of an improved method of raising or forming the
terries or loops of terry or looped fabrics during the weaving or manufacturing
the same, which I perform as follows (that is to say):
1
.. Instead of forming such terries or loops upon wires or tags introduced at the
sides of the work as is now ordinarily done in weaving looped fabrics, I make
use of a series of wires or carriers (which I call carrier wires) passing through
between the dents of the reed, there being one such carrier wire passing
through each of such spaces in the reed. Each of, those carrier wires is fur-
nished with a spur or nib on one side of it near to the front. end of it, at which
end the wire is pivotted into one of the teeth of a comb extending across the
loom, by which the front ends of these carrier wires are supported, the orifice
which is made in each such tooth being made near to the lower end thereof, so
that the carrier wire shall be at a right angle, or nearly at a right angle with
the side of the comb. The comb is made of the same width, or length as the
reed, and with as, many teeth as there are spaces between the dents of the
reed, and the comb extends across the loom and parallel with the reed, and in
front thereof. The back ends of these carrier wires are mounted in a trans-
verse bar placed behind the heddles, and the ends of this bar are connected with
the ends of the bar of the comb (supporting the front ends of the carrier wires,
as already mentioned), by means of two side plates or rods, so as to form a
frame, in which the carrier wires are mounted, and may be turned, and which
may be termed a wire-carrier frame. This frame is mounted in the loom so
as to be capable of a forward and backward motion, and also so that the comb
(which is placed with its teeth downwards) shall be capable of an up-and-down
motion, and also, so that when moved backwards, the teeth of the comb nearly
coincide with the spaces between, the dents of the reed, the variation made a
little to one side, being' merely sufficient to cause the teeth of the comb to pass
downwards in the right direction, and the teeth of the comb are pointed in
such a way as also to promote the same object, and insure the entry of every
tooth between the right pair of warp, threads. When the frame is moved
backwards, the lower ends of the comb teeth are above the terry warp, and it.
is inoved back until the comb comes near to the reed, and there the front of
the frame is depressed, so that the points of the comb teeth, carrying, with them
the front ends of the carrier wires, with their spurs or nibs, may be caused to

page_text: descend and dip below the terry warp, which is now raised. The carrier wires
are cranked or bent at their rear ends, and the ends of the cranks are con-
nected with a sliding plate or bar at the back, by means of which the carrier
wires may be partially turned in their bearings, until each of the spurs or nibs
is brought up into a horizontal line, and caused to fill up the space between two
adjoining carrier wires, and thus form a pin or stud, upon or over which a loop
or terry of the terry warp may be formed. The ends of the teeth of the comb
having been depressed until the front ends of the carrier wires, with their spurs
or nibs turned downwards, descend below the terry warp, the carrier wires are
turned, and the spurs or nibs thus brought into a horizontal position, when the
frame is brought forward to the edge of the work, so that the spurs or nibs, all
held in a horizontal position, may form a series of pins or holders extending in
a line across the loom upon which the terries or loops may be formed by the
action of the loom; for which purpose, the terry warp is to be sunk or depressed,
and two or more picks or shoots thrown in and beaten up, and the loops or
terries thus secured in the usual way of weaving terry fabrics. The carrier
wires are then to be turned until the spurs or nibs are turned downwards,
whereby they will be released from the terries or loops made upon them, and
the teeth of the comb carrying the front ends of the wires are then to be raised,
and the frame pushed back towards the reeds, as before, for a repetition of the
action just described. The nature of this Invention, and the mode of working
the same, will be more clearly understood by reference to the annexed Draw-
ings, shewing how my Invention may be applied to an ordinary carpet loom.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of such a loom, with my improvements adapted
thereto; Figure 2 is a sectional plan view of the same; Figure 3 is a longi-
tudinal vertical section; and Figure 4 is a transverse vertical section, taken in
the line 1, 2, of Figure 1. The same letters of reference are used to indicate
A, A, is the
corresponding parts throughout the whole of the Figures.
stationary framing of the loom; B, the batten, or lay, which is connected to the
crank shaft C by the rod C*; D is the tappet shaft; E, E, are the beams
which carry the warps for forming the ground or body of the fabric, and F is
the beam which carries the terry warp; G is the breast beam; and H, the take-
off roller. I and J are cross-bars or rollers, intended to maintain a regular
tension upon the warps E* and F* as the shed is opened and closed. The
roller J, it will be seen, is mounted on rocking levers K, which are acted upon
by the cam L depressing the lever M situated below, causing that lever, by
means of the rod N, to draw down the front ends of the levers K, thereby
reducing the tension of the warp when required, and the levers K and M are
caused to assume their former positions by the further action of the cam L,

page_text: causing the lever M to move in the opposite direction, and thus causing the
roller J to assume its former position. Simultaneously with the slackening
of the warp, by depressing the front end of the levers K, takes place the
action of the lever P, which is raised, thereby slackening the friction band Q
on the beam F, thus allowing the warp to be easily drawn off its beam. R
are the heddles, which are worked by the tappets S on the tappet shaft D in
the usual way; this shaft receives its motion from the crank shaft by means of
the tooth gearing T and U, as shown in Figure 2. V, V, are the ordinary
picking levers which are actuated by tappets on the fly wheels through the
agency of the shafts W, W, in the usual manner.
Having described the ordinary parts of the loom as far as necessary, I will
now proceed to describe the several parts which constitute the chief feature of
my Invention. The carrier wires, carrying the spurs or nibs for raising the
terriers or loops to form the surface of the fabric, are shewn at a, a, Figure 2,
arranged longitudinally, and passing through the spaces between the dents of
the reed. These carrier wires, with their spurs or nibs b, are more clearly
shewn in Figures 5 and 6, and they are mounted, and turn, when required, in
the moveable frame X, (Figure 2,) their front ends being supported by pivots
or pins placed in orifices near to the ends of the teeth of the comb c, and their
rear ends by orifices in the plate or bar d. The back or top bar of the comb
c and the plate or bar d are connected together near each of their ends by the
longitudinal plates or bars e, e, which constitute the sides of the frame X. The
ends of the comb teeth are pointed in the manner shewn, in order to facilitate
the entry of each of them between the proper pair of warp threads. It will be
seen, by referring to Figures 8 and 9, that the rear ends of the wires a, a, are
cranked or bent in the manner shewn in the Drawings, and the cranked ends
are passed through holes made in the plate or bar f, and are retained in their
places by plates d¹ and f¹ fastened to the back of the plates or bars d and f,
which are connected together by two links g, g, in a manner similar to the links
or arms of the description of mathematical or drawing instrument termed the
parallel ruler. The length of these links between their centres of motion
must of course be the same as the length of the cranks of the wires a, a, so
that when the plate or bar f is moved in either direction within the limits of
the movements allowed by the links g, g, the wires, by reason of their cranks,
will be caused to perform a certain portion of a revolution for the purpose of
bringing the nibs or spurs b, b, into a proper position for receiving and taking
up the warp threads of which the terries or loops are to be formed, or for the
purpose of withdrawing those nibs or spurs from the terries or loops after
they have been formed. By referring to Figures 4 and 8, it will be seen that

page_text: each end of the plate or bar f is provided with a forked piece f*, fx, which
respectively embrace the rods h, h; one end of each of these rods is jointed at
h*, h*, to the inclined plates A*, A*, fastened upon the framing A, the other
ends being attached to horizontal sliding pieces i, i, which sliding pieces are
connected together by a bar, that also serves as a support for the wires a;
these sliding pieces i, i, are worked by means of a cam or tappet j, on the
tappet shaft D acting upon the lever k, below which, through the agency of
the rod and lever and ², communicates to the 'slides i, i, a horizontal
reciprocating motion, and by means of the rods h, h, in connection. therewith,
also communicates a circular reciprocating motion to the plate or bar f, which
thereby turns the carrier wires a portion of a revolution, in the manner and
for the purpose above mentioned. Within bracket bearings at the top of the
loom is mounted a horizontal bar or shaft l, from which project arms 1, 12;
connected by rods 3, 4, to the side bars e, e, of the frame X. There is also
another arm projecting from the shaft 1, but in an opposite direction to the
arms and ; this shaft is connected by a rod to a lever m, below which
is acted upon at suitable intervals by the cam n, in order to raise the front
part of the wire frame X, after forming the loops preparatory to its being
slidden or carried backwards towards the reed: The manner in which the
wire frame X is moved back towards the reed is as follows:-In the upper
part of the framing of the loom is placed a shaft o; (see Figures 1, 3;
and 4;) from this shaft extend downwards two arms p, p, their lower ends
being passed through lugs projecting from the bar d of the frame X; another
arm q also projects from the shaft o, which arm q is connected by means of a
rod r to the lever s, upon which the cam tacts; hence it will be seen, that by
the action of the cam t upon the lever s, the wire frame X will be caused,
through the agency of the parts just noticed, to move backwards and forwards
along the inclined planes A*, A*, being guided in its course by the projections
dx, d*, of the plate or bar d sliding in the grooves or long slots 1, formed in
the bars A*, 'as shewn in Figures 1 and 2 and 3, thus bringing the front ends
of the wires into a position to be passed below the terry warp... The relative
positions of the cams j, n, and t, are shewn at Figure.q*. The comb c, which
forms the front side of the frame X, is placed with its teeth downwards, as
shewn at Figure 7, between which the terry warp threads pass, when the front
part of the frame X descends, thereby allowing the front ends of the wires
with the spurs 6 to pass down below the terry warp into a proper position for
receiving the same upon their nibs when the shed is reversed or sunk. I
will now proceed to describe the operation of the various parts above alluded
to, which constitute the loom for the production of terry or looped fabrics.

page_text: The beams furnished with the warps to be woven into a fabric having been
placed in their proper positions in the loom, as shewn in the Drawing, the
warps are then led off therefrom and passed through the loops or eyes of the
harness, thence through the reed of the batten, and onward to the take-up
roller, where they are secured in the usual manner. This having been done,
motion may be communicated to the crank shaft C by means of a band from
some intermediate driving gear, in connection with a steam engine or other
prime mover; which shaft C, by means of a pinion T on its end gearing into a
toothed wheel on the tappet shaft D, causes that shaft to revolve, and by means
of the cams or tappets S, actuates at suitable intervals the system of ordinary
tappet levers W below, which, by the agency of the rods and levers Y, operate
the heddles or harness, and thereby form the different successive sheds or
openings of the warps in the manner required, as is well understood by
weavers.
Now, in order the better to describe the operation of my improvements, I
assume that a certain portion of the fabric has been already woven, and that the
shed of terry warp (which is colored red in the Drawing) is raised (as shewn
at Figure 10), preparatory to forming a line of loops. A cam n, mounted upon
the tappet shaft D, now acts upon and depresses the lever m, which, by means.
of the rods and lever arms,, ', and l³, in connection with the shaft l, raises
or elevates the front side c of the carrier wire frame X from the dotted
position to that shewn at ', Figure 10; another cam t now depresses the
levers, which, through the agency of the rods and arms r, q, and p, projecting
from the shaft o, causes the carrier wire frame X to move backwards to the
dotted position shewn in Figure 3, and bring the front ends of the carrier
wires near the reed of the batten, as shewn by the dots at 2, Figure 10, when
the front side c of the frame X is allowed to descend into the position shewn
at 23 of the last-mentioned Figure, by the projection of the cam n escaping
from the lever m, and carry the front ends of the carrier wires with their nibs
below the elevated terry warp, which the teeth of the comb c are enabled to do
by reason of the warp threads entering the spaces or slits between those teeth,
as shewn at Figures 4 and 7; the front ends of the carrier wires having been
thus sunk or depressed, as shewn at 3, Figure 10, they must be turned so ás
to bring their nibs into a horizontal line, as shewn, Figure 11, for the
purpose of receiving the warp threads thereon to form the loops, which turning
of the carrier wires is effected as follows:-The cam j depresses the lever k,:
which, by the agency of the rod k and lever ², that connect it to the slide i,
moves the rods h, h, a short distance around their centres of. motion hx;
(Figure 2,) and as these bars or rods are embraced by the forked ends f*, f**

page_text: of the plate or bar f, they will communicate to the bar f a motion upon the
links 9, 9, and thereby move it towards the left into the dotted position, shewn
at Figure 8; and this bar f, being connected to the cranks of the carrier wires a,
as before mentioned, will turn those wires, and bring their nibs into a horizontal
position (as seen at 2, Figure 11); the end of each nib being in close contact
with the next adjoining carrier wire, and the nibs being exactly opposite or in
a line with each other, form, as it were, one continuous line of wire or nibs for
the formation of a row of terries or loops. The front ends of the carrier wires
having been sunk or dipped below the warps, and turned, as just mentioned,
the frame X with the carrier wires is again moved forward towards the front,
and close up to the work, as shewn at 2, Figure 11, the nibs still remaining
below the terry warp threads, when a change of the shed immediately takes
place by raising part of the warps that form the ground of the work and
sinking the terry warp threads, as in the ordinary way of weaving terry fabrics,
which latter warp threads, are, by being sunk, laid over the nibs, and made to
form terries or loops, as shewn by the dotted line, Figure 10, which nibs
remain in the position shewn during two or more picks and beatings up of
the batten that immediately follow for the purpose of binding and preventing
the loops from being drawn out when the nibs are withdrawn therefrom.
This having been effected, the cam j on its further progress raises the lever k,
which, by means of the intermediate parts k³, k², and slides i, causes the bar f
of the frame X to move in a reverse direction to that before described (as
shewn by the arrow y, Figure 8), in order to turn the carrier wires, so as to
bring the nibs back into their original positions, as shewn at ', Figure 10,
being perpendicular and projecting downwards, when the cam n again
depresses the lever m, and raises the comb and front of the frame X, with the
carrier wires clear of the work, as before. A course or row of loops having
thus been completed, the terry warp is again raised, and the frame moved
back towards the batten, and the operations repeated in the manner above
described.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner in which the same
is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not intend to claim as
of my said Invention any of the parts of an ordinary loom, which have been
described, nor do I intend to claim any of the parts of the carrier wire frame,
which I have described, except the carrier wires, as being separately or
apart from the combination and application thereof, in manner and for the
purposes herein-before described, any part of my said Invention. But that
what I do claim as my said Invention is, the raising or forming of terries or
loops in the weaving or manufacturing of terry fabrics, upon or by means of

page_text: ibs or spurs fixed upon carrier wires near to the front ends thereof, and such
ront ends of the carrier wires mounted and working in bearings at or near to
the ends of the teeth of a comb, so as to be capable of being depressed below
the terry warp and between the threads thereof, and the nibs turned into the
proper positions for that purpose, in manner above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Henry Ewbank, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this First day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the above-
named Thomas Henry Ewbank in the
presence of
C. J. PARTINGTON,
T. H. EWBANK. (L.S.)
Gray's Inn.