No nameBreakdown of inventions
Although Sakichi Toyoda attained a patent for his wooden hand loom, his ultimate aim was to design a power loom.
Toyoda power loom (Japan's first self-powered loom; wood-iron composite）
The first power loom invented in Japan was the device awarded patent No. 3173 "Loom" in August 1898. The Toyoda Power Loom, based on this patent, was a wood-iron composite power loom which featured a wooden frame combined with iron gears and shafts in the power transmission mechanism.
During his lifetime, Sakichi was awarded a total of 45 industrial property rights, including 40 patents and five utility model rights. Furthermore, he filed eight of his Japanese patents in 19 countries outside Japan, obtaining 62 overseas patents in total1, including a circular loom2, a thread reeler and automatic stoppage device3, and an automatic shuttle changing mechanism (push-up mechanism).4
Of the 45 industrial property rights awarded to Sakichi, 38-the majority-were looms or loom-related mechanisms. Of his other inventions, four were devices related to fabric preparation, including a yarn-winding machine and a weft winding machine, while three were related to a circular single flow motor (rotary steam engine).
Characteristics of Sakichi's inventions
Excluding his first wooden hand loom, all of Sakichi Toyoda's inventions and ideas were related to power looms.
Power looms are weaving machines operated by a driver such as a water wheel, steam engine, gas engine or electric motor. Of the types of power looms, those that automatically replace the weft thread in the shuttle when thread runs out are known as automatic looms, and those without this function are known as regular looms.
Types of automatic loom include the shuttle-changing type, which replaces the shuttle containing the bobbin as the weft thread is about to run out, and the cop-changing type, which restocks the bobbin only. Although Sakichi invented automatic looms of both types, he placed greater focus on the shuttle-changing type. This shuttle-change automatic loom would require further inventions by Kiichi and others before it could be fully appreciated and ready for widespread use. Sakichi’s inventions were primarily related to ordinary weaving mechanisms, but these were an essential technology for automatic looms.