IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Hudson, of Burnley, in the County of
Lancaster, Gentleman, and Christopher Catlow, of the
of the same Place,
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Hudson and
Christopher Catlow at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 19th April 1861.
We, WILLIAM HUDSON, of Burnley, in the County of Lancaster, Gentle-
man, and CHRISTOPHER CATLOW, of the same Place, Overlooker, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR
WEAVING," to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates, firstly, to apparatus for releasing the shuttle from
pressure when in the box, and for arresting the motion of the loom should
the shuttle become "trapped." For these purposes we employ a finger which
feels for the shuttle either with or without the ordinary swell. This finger
is mounted upon the stop rod and is drawn continually towards the shuttle box,
but is kept therefrom excepting at the proper periods by a compound
apparatus, one part of which, regulated by an incline and rest, is for the
forward motion of the crank, and another part, acted upon by a pin from
the connecting rod, is for the backward motion thereof.
This apparatus
is in connexion with the usual finger which acts upon the "frog."

page_text: Another part of our Invention relates to the brake used for suddenly
stopping the loom. To the usual brake bar we attach a rod, which is
connected at its other end to a lever, placed so as to be without the range
of a revolving tappet while the loom should be working, but when it is
desired to arrest its motion, the said lever is brought within range of the
tappet, and the brake is forced into action thereby. This change of position
we effect by connecting the aforesaid lever with the ordinary spring
lever.
Another part of our Invention relates to apparatus for governing the
positions and tension of the warp for the shedding and throwing the shuttle.
We propose to employ a lever carrying two bars or rollers, the one situate
above and the other below the warp. This lever is caused to turn upon its
centre by an excentric or other means so as to level the warp for the shedding,
and to allow it to rise when the shuttle has to pass.
Another part of our Invention relates to looms in which a short connecting
rod is employed between the crank and a projecting part from the slay, and
consists in applying a spring to the said slay in order to arrest the crank over
the dead centres.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Hudson and Christopher Catlow in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 19th October 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
HUDSON, of Burnley, in the County of Lancaster, Gentleman, and CHRISTOPHER
CATLOW, of the same Place, Overlooker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of April, One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself,
Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said William
Hudson and Christopher Catlow, Her special licence that we, the said
William Hudson and Christopher Catlow, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said William Hudson and Chris-
topher Catlow, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "IMPROVR-

page_text: "
MENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING,' upon the condition, amongst others, that
we, the said William Hudson and Christopher Catlow, by an instrument in
writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of
us, 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 Hudson, do hereby declare
the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to say):-
Our Invention relates, firstly, to apparatus for releasing the shuttle from
pressure when in the box, and for arresting the motion of the loom should
the shuttle become trapped, and is shewn in Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying
Drawings, the former being a partial vertical section of a loom with the
improvements adapted, and the latter a plan view of one end.
The
The crank shaft is shewn at a, and the connecting rod at b, adapted to
the slay c after the usual manner. To the connecting rod bis fixed a
projecting pin d, situate above a short lever e, which turns upon a centre at
f, and is extended on the other side of that centre as at g. To the axis f
(which is the usual stop rod) is adapted a short lever carrying a spring
plate i, which extends upwards and bears against the usual swell k.
axis is continually acted upon by a spring k*, so that the tendency of the
spring plate i is to bear upon the swell k, but it is at times prevented from
doing so, as hereafter to be explained. Upon the lever g is a bowl m, which
rests upon a bar n, fixed to the stationary framework of the loom; nevertheless
the said bowl is capable of passing to a lower position when permitted to
do so by running down the inclined end of n. The operation is as follows,
the crank shaft revolving in the direction of the arrow;-During the ordinary
and proper working of the loom, the pin d, moving with the connecting
rod b, will in the backward motion thereof bear against the lever e, so as
to cause it to turn slightly upon its centre, and this movement will carry
the spring plate i away from the swell so as to leave the way clear for
the passage of the shuttle, but during the forward motion of the crank the
lever e will be liberated by the pin d, and the spring plate i will be allowed
to advance so as to operate upon the swell in the usual manner, nevertheless
the lever g and stop rod are prevented from turning further than is
necessary for that purpose by reason of the bowl m resting upon the
horizontal part of the bar n, and when the slay is advanced so far as to

page_text: bring the said bowl over the incline, the shuttle being in its box will force
outward the swell so as to take the place of the other supports, and the
bowl m and lever will consequently remain as shewn on the Drawing;
but suppose the shuttle to have become trapped, then upon the advance of
the slay the swell will no longer act so as to keep the bowl up, and it will
be free to pass down the incline on n, the pin d being at this time carried
by the connecting rod away from the lever e. The spring know comes
into operation, and by drawing down its lever causes the stop rod to turn upon
its centre so as to bring the frog into action as usual.
The next part of our Invention relates to the break for suddenly stopping
the loom, and is also shewn in Figs. 1 and 2, before referred to. The break
bar is shewn at o, turning upon a fixed centre at p, and capable when
permitted to do so of bearing by its shorter end q against the wheel r. The
outward end of the lever is weighted at s, and is carried by a rod t, the upper
end of which is carried by a trigger u, capable of turning downward upon a
centre, but supported during the working of the loom by nibs which project
over the ordinary lever v, to which the weft fork w is adapted. At z is a lever
mounted, so as to turn upon a centre at y. its other end being situate over a
revolving tappet z, mounted upon the usual tappet shaft. To the lever is
connected a link 1, having a boss 2 at its other end, which boss is capable, at
certain times, of upholding the break lever x, so as to prevent it from acting
against the wheel r. The operation is as follows:-During the proper working
of the loom the trigger u is held up by its connection with the lever ; but,
suppose the weft thread to become broken, then by the usual means the lever v
will be caused to turn upon its centre at 4, thereby liberating the trigger u,
which will thus leave the lever o free to turn upon its centre and act against
the wheel r, but whether it can so act will depend upon the position of the
boss 2, which position is regulated by the revolving cam z. This cam is so
placed upon its shaft that it shall raise the lever z when the shuttle is in that
box on the opposite side of the loom to the weft fork, and if the thread then
break, the lever o, although allowed to fall, will be arrested by the boss 2, so
as not to bear against the wheel r; but upon a further revolution of the
tappet z, and when the shuttle is in the box at the weft fork side of the loom,
the tappet z will have passed the lever, the boss 2 will descend, and the
break lever will come into action.
Fig. 3 shews another method of employing a revolving tappet for bringing
a break into action. At o is the break lever turning upon a centre at p, and
weighted at s. To this lever is connected the rod t, described in Figs. 1 and 2,
and which is connected to the weft fork motion, as before explained. At 5 is

page_text: the ordinary spring. lever, to which is fixed a piece 6, projecting beyond the
said lever towards the break lever o, as
which is taken at right angles to Fig. 3.
which there is a revolving tappet z.
shewn in the detached view, Fig. 4,
The break wheel is shewn at r, upon
During the proper working of the loom
the parts remain in the position shewn, the lever o being held up by the rod t,
so as to allow the tappet z to run clear of it, but should the weft thread break,
then the rod t by dropping will allow the lever o to turn upon its centre in the
direction of the arrow, so as to cause its end to approach the wheel r. Simul-
taneously with this operation the spring lever 5 will, by the usual means, be
caused to move in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 4, so as to bring the pro-
jecting piece 6 over the lever o, which will therefore be prevented from turning
back again, and the tappet z not being able to pass the lever o, the motion of
the loom will be arrested.
Another part of our Invention relates to apparatus for governing the posi-
tions and tension of the warp for the shedding and throwing of the shuttle,
and is also shewn in Figs. 1 and 2, before referred to. The warp beam is
shewn at 7, and the warp thread at 8, passing over a stationary rod 9, and
beneath another rod 10, carried by levers 11, projecting from the rod 9. The
rod 9 is mounted so as to be capable of turning, and carries a lever 12 at one
end, which lever is furnished with a fork 13, acted upon by an eccentric 14
placed upon the crank shaft; when the shed is open the parts are in the posi-
tion shewn in the Drawing; but when a change is being effected the eccentric
14, acting upon the lever 12, causes the rod 9 to turn, so as to carry the rod 10
downward, and thus to tighten the warp threads, turning upward again when
a slackness is required for an open shed.
Another part of our Invention relates to looms, in which a short connecting
rod is employed, and is shewn in the detached view, Fig. 5; a portion of the
slay is shewn at 16, to which is adapted a projecting part 17; at 18 is the
connecting rod formed hollow at 10, within which hollow part is a step 20, in
which a pin 21, fixed to the projecting part 17 is situate; the step 20 is
capable of sliding in the connecting rod, but is retained in one position during
the proper working of the loom by a spring 22; should any obstruction occur
to the movement of the loom, the connecting rod will be thrust forward away
from the pin 21, so as to allow the crank to pass over the centre.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be understood
that we claim as secured to us under the above in part recited Letters
Patent,

page_text: Firstly, the compound apparatus represented by the pin and lever d, e, and
bowl and bar m, n, for the purposes set forth.
Secondly, the break apparatus, above shewn and described.
Thirdly, the method of governing the tension of the warp.
Fourthly, the application of the spring to short connecting rods of looms.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Hudson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Eighteenth day of October, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-one.
W. HUDSON. (L.S.)