CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Mark Nield Mills and Nathan Sidebotham, both
of Ashton-under-Lyne, in the County of Lancaster, Machinists, for the
Sealed the 19th April 1859, and dated the 18th November 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Mark Nield Mills and
Nathan Sidebotham at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 13th November 1858.
We, MARK NIELD MILLS and NATHAN SIDEBOTHAM, both of Ashton-under-
Lyne, in the County of Lancaster, Machinists, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to
be as follows:-
Our Invention is applicable to looms for weaving figured fabrics, and it
consists,-
First, in working the jacquard cylinder of the pattern card by means of an
improved shaped cam fixed to the crank or tappet shaft.
Secondly, in making the hooks of the jacquard to swivel on centres; these
hooks, which are of an improved shape, may be taken down from the top by a
lever or knife, or the shed may be divided in the centre by two levers, the said
levers or knife for forming the shed being worked by a single or double tappet
or excentric of an improved construction.
Thirdly, in the application of elastic bands to the shafts and healds for the
purpose of raising them after they have been drawn down by the improved
shaft motion described, or by any other means.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Mark Nield Mills and Nathan Sidebotham in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 13th May 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, MARK
NIELD MILLS and NATHAN SIDEBOTHAM, both of Ashton-under-Lyne, in the
County of Lancaster, Machinists, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of November, 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 Mark Nield Mills and Nathan Sidebotham, Her special licence
that we, the said Mark Nield Mills and Nathan Sidebotham, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Mark Nield Mills
and Nathan Sidebotham, 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
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR WEAVING," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Mark Nield Mills and Nathan Sidebotham, our
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or
one of our or their hands and seals, 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 we, the said Mark Nield Mills and Nathan Side-
botham, 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 (that is to say):-
Our Invention is chiefly applicable to looms for weaving figured fabrics,
and it consists,―
First, in working the jacquard cylinder of the pattern card by means of an
improved shaped cam fixed to the crank or tappet shaft.

page_text: Secondly, in making the hooks of the jacquard to swivel on centres; these
hooks, which are of an improved shape, may be taken down from the top by a
lever or knife, or the shed may be divided in the centre by two levers, the said
levers or knife for forming the shed being worked by a single or double tappet
or excentric of an improved construction.
And, thirdly, in the application of elastic bands to the shafts or healds of
looms for the purpose of raising them after they have been drawn down by
the improved shaft motion described, or by any other means.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into operation, we will proceed to describe the means pursued by us, reference
being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, and to the figures and
letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the principal parts of a loom to which
our improvements are applied; Figure 2 is a front elevation; and Figure 3, a
plan of the same. a is the crank shaft; b, the tappet shaft; c, the warp
beam; d, the healds or shafts; e, the breast beam; and f, the taking-up
roller; the parts above enumerated and all the others requisite to complete
the loom, which are not particularly referred to hereafter, are made in the
usual manner. In weaving figured fabrics by means of jacquard machinery it
is customary to place the jacquard above or at one side of the loom, thereby
causing a loss of space; we prefer to place it under or within the framing of
the loom, as shewn in the Drawings, but we make no claim to this, as it has
before been attempted.
The healds or shafts d are connected below to the projections g¹ of the
hooks 9, the upper parts of which have slots for the round part of the lever h
to pass through; the object of these projections on the hooks g is to be able to
dispense with the springs usually employed to bring the hooks back into a
vertical position after they have been acted upon by the needles q, as will be
explained hereafter. The lower ends of the hooks g are acted upon by the
knife i fixed to the lever j; the levers h and j vibrate upon studs fixed in the
bracket k, and they are caused to vibrate by the double tappet 1 fixed to the
tappet shaft 6; this tappet is formed with dwells, so that when the shed is
open, as shewn in Figure 1, it remains open for a sufficient time to allow the
shuttle to pass; this improved double tappet is also applicable to work the
ordinary jacquard placed above the loom, or to work the healds in plain looms.
The jacquard cylinder m is supported in the swing frame n, to which is jointed
the longer arm of the lever o mounted on a stud o¹; the shorter arm of this
lever has a bowl taking into the groove of the camp fixed to the tappet shaft b,
when this shaft revolves it moves the jacquard cylinder m to, and from the

page_text: needles q, which act on the hooks g; the cylinder m is turned partly round
every time it recedes from the needles q by catches of the usual construction.
The jacquard cards which we prefer to employ in combination with our
improvements are shewn detached in Figures 4 and 5; the plates r are made
of tin or other suitable metal or material; these plates have holes r³ punched
through them corresponding to the needles q, and each hole can be made up
or opened by the lids rivetted to the plates r; some of the holes are shewn
covered by the lids. The plates r are jointed together by the hinges ³, the
ends of which are bent and take into slots in the plates r, thereby effecting a
cheap and expeditious mode of connecting and disconnecting the jacquard
cards.
When the loom is in operation, the lever h, acting on the lower end of the
slots in the hooks g, draws down those healds that had previously been raised,
and the lever j in rising allows those healds that had been depressed to rise,
thereby bringing all the hooks into a line when the shed is closed; the
jacquard cylinder m then advances, and the needles q, corresponding with the
healds that are required to be drawn down to form the next shed, are pushed
forward by the blank spaces in the jacquard cards or plates r; by this means
the lower ends of the hooks g, which swivel on the round part of the lever h,
are pushed forward, and the knife i on the lever j takes these hooks down
when the lever is depressed by the double tappet 1. While the lever j is
being depressed by one side of the tappet 1, the lever his rising, and those
healds that had been held down by the lever h are then at liberty to be raised
by the springs d'; by this means an even shed is formed, as the healds furthest
from the breast beam are raised and depressed proportionately more than
those near to it, as shewn in Figure 1. We prefer to make the springs d' of
strips or bands of vulcanized india-rubber, but the wire springs usually em-
ployed may be used. We wish to remark here that in some cases the top
lever h may be dispensed with, and the shed formed by the lever j. It will
be evident to any practical weaver that the number of healds or shafts d can
be increased or diminished according to the pattern to be woven.
A modification of our Invention is shewn in Figure 6, which represents a
mode of selecting the hooks g without the aid of a jacquard; in this case we
place tappet discs & on the shaft s', the tappets on these discs act on elbow
levers s³, the upper arms of which are in contact with the hooks 9. The
dises s are moved slowly round in the direction of the arrow by a worm on the
tappet shaft gearing in a wheel on the shaft s¹, or by any other suitable
arrangement of mechanism, and each tappet acting on the corresponding
elbow lever s³, pushes forward the hook g that is in connection with the heald

page_text: required to form the lower portion of the shed. It is evident that the number
of discs & must be equal to the number of shafts or healds in the loom, and
that the positions of the tappets on the discs are varied according to the pattern
to be produced in weaving. We have supposed the discs & to be divided into
forty-eight parts in the round, but this number of divisions may be increased
or diminished as required.
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention and described the manner
of performing the same, we wish it to be understood that we do not limit
ourselves to the details set forth, but what we do claim is,―
First, the tappet marked p for working the jacquard cylinder, as shewn and
described in reference to Figures 2 and 3.
Secondly, the improved jacquard hooks marked g and the mode of con-
necting them to the healds, whereby the springs usually employed to hold the
hooks vertical are dispensed with, as shewn and described in reference to
Figures 1, 2, 3, and 6.
Thirdly, the improved arrangement of levers for acting on and supporting
the jacquard hooks, as shewn and described in reference to Figures 1, 2, and 3.
Fourthly, 'the improved tappet marked 7 for working the healds of plain and
jacquard looms, as shewn and described in reference to Figures 1, 2, and 3.
Fifthly, the application of elastic bands for raising the shafts or healds of
looms, as shewn in Figures 1 and 2.
And, lastly, the improved combination of parts shewn and described in
reference to Figure 6, for selecting the shafts or healds.
In witness whereof, we, the said Mark Nield Mills and Nathan
Sidebotham, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Eleventh day
of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-nine.
MARK NIELD MILLS.
(L.S.)
NATHAN SIDEBOTHAM. (L.S.)
MARK NIELD MILLS. (L.S.)
NATHAN SIDEBOTHAM. (L.S.)