IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR . SPINNING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR
. SPINNING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS."-A communication from
Messieurs Constaut Pengeot and Company, of Andincourt, in the Empire
of France, Manufacturers.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION, left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st April 1855.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
POR SPINNING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS," a communication to me
from Messrs. Constant Pengeot and Company, of Andincourt, in the Empire of
France, Manufacturers, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved system or mode of driving the spindles
of hand or self-acting mules employed in the spinning of cotton & other fibrous

page_text: materials, and to an improved construction and arrangement of the framing
or supports for carrying the driving gear. According to this Invention, each
spindle is fitted near its lower extremity with a small spur pinion, and inside
the boss of such pinion is coiled a spiral or volute spring, making rather more
than half a turn round the spindle to which one of its extremities is secured,
whilst the other presses against the inside of the boss of the pinion. The
spindles are thus driven by the frictional contact alone of the springs against
the bosses of their respective pinions. Behind the pinions, and in a line
parallel to them; are arranged a series of spur wheels, each wheel gearing into
and driving two pinions and spindles, but quite independant of the wheels on
either side of it, that is, the spur wheels which drive the pinions do not gear
together. These wheels are fitted on to short shafts or spindles, having each
a bevil pinion fitted on to its upper extremity which receives motion from bevil
wheels fast on a longitudinal main driving shaft, which runs the entire length
of the mule carriage. By-the.friction of the spring. arrangement herein-before
described, each individual spindle may be stopped instantly by simply taking
hold of it, and applying a slight pressure thereto with the fingers, when the
friction of the spring will be overcome, & the pinion will then rotate without
the spindle. The whole of the spindles and driving gear are contained in an
iron framework, with cast-iron standards at intervals along the mule carriage,
by which means any unequal expansion or contraction in long carriages arising
from the employment of wood & iron are avoided. The footsteps for the
spindles & short shafts carrying the spur wheels are all fitted into a wrought-
iron plate, and the collars or bushes for the upper portion of the spindles are
also fitted into a wrought-iron plate, which is carried by the cast-iron standards
before referred to. This plate is fitted to slides, which may be raised or
lowered on the standards so as to support accurately the entire length of plate
throughout the carriage, & consequently increase its stability & firmness.
The arrangements herein-before described may be applied to the old mules
when the carriages are not so long as in the more modern ones, & consequently
the evils arising from unequal expansion & contraction are not so great; in
which case the standards alone, with the improved driving gear, may be
employed, bolted down on to the timber of the carriage, the lower plate for
carrying the footsteps for the spindles being dispensed with.
30.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said. John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 20th October 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JoпN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn, Fields, in the County of Middlesex, and
of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, send greeting.
the
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Henry Johnson, ny executors, administrators, or 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 MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SPINNING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS
MATERIALS," a communication from Messieurs Constant Pengeot and Company,
of Andincourt, in the Empire of France, Manufacturers, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the. said John Henry Johnson, do hereby.
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say
This Invention relates to an improved system or mode of driving the spindles
of hand or self-acting mules employed in the spinning of cotton and other
fibrous materials, and to an improved construction and arrangement of the
framing or supports for the spindles and driving gear. According to this Inven-
tion, each spindle is fitted near its lower extremity with a small spur pinion,
and under the boss of such pinion is coiled a flat spiral or volute spring, making
1

page_text: rather more than half a turn round the spindle to which one of its extremities is
secured, whilst the other presses against the inner side. of a socket formed in the
boss of the pinion. The spindles are thus driven by the frictional contact only of
the springs against the bosses of their respective pinions.. Behind the pinions,
and in a line parallel to them, are arranged a series of spur wheels, each wheel
gearing into and driving two pinions, but quite independent of the wheels on
either side of it, that is to say, the spur wheels which drive the pinions do not
gear together. These wheels are keyed upon short shafts or spindles, having
each a bevil pinion fitted on to its upper extremity, which shafts or spindles
receive motion from bevil wheels keyed on a longitudinal shaft which extends
the entire length of the mule carriage. By this friction spring arrangement
any individual spindle may be stopped instantly by simply taking hold of it,
and applying a slight pressure thereto with the fingers, when the friction of the
spring will be overcome, the pinion rotating without imparting motion to the
spindle. The whole of the spindles and driving gear are contained in an iron
framework, with cast-iron standards at intervals along the whole length of the
mule carriage, by which means any unequal expansion or contraction arising
from the employment in long. carriages of wood and iron combined is entirely
avoided. The footsteps for the spindles and for the short shafts carrying the
spur wheels are all fitted into a wrought-iron plate, and the collars or bushes
for the upper portion of the spindles are also fitted into a wrought-iron plate,
which is carried or supported by the cast-iron standards above referred to.
This plate is fitted with slides, which may be raised or lowered on the standards
so as to allow of the plate being adjusted accurately throughout the entire
length of the carriage. The arrangements herein-before described may be
applied to old mules, where the carriages are not so long as those of the more
modern construction, and consequently the evils arising from expansion and
contraction are not so great; in which case the standards alone, with the
improved driving gear, may be employed, bolted down on to the timbers of the
carriage, the lower plate for carrying the footsteps for the spindles and shafts
being dispensed with.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall pro-
ceed more particularly to describe the same with reference to the Drawings
hereunto annexed; the same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts
in each of the Figures.
Fig. 1. is a front elevation, a Fig. 2 a transverse section; of a portion
of a mule carriage with my improvements applied thereto; Fig. 3 is a plan
view of the same. In this arrangement each spindle A is fitted with a spur
pinion a gearing with one of the spur wheels B placed behind the spindles

page_text: on the short shafts C parallel thereto. The diameter of these wheels B is
rather less than double the distance between the spindles, and each wheel
drives two spindles. The short shafts upon which these wheels are keyed, and
which are mounted in bolster rails like the spindles, carry each at their upper
end a bevil pinion c, gearing with a similar wheel fixed upon a longitudinal
shaft E, extending throughout the entire length of the carriage. This shaft E
being driven at one end; communicates motion to the bevil wheels and thereby
to the spur pinions a upon the spindles. A constant-rotary motion being thus
communicated to the spur pinions a, it is necessary that it should be com-
municated to the spindles in such a manner as to allow of each or any spindle
being separately stopped without stopping the machine or the remainder of
the spindles. The spur pinions are therefore connected to the spindles by
friction in the following manner :-The upper part of the long boss b of the
spur pinions is bored out rather larger than the diameter of the spindle so as
to leave an annular space around the spindle to receive the flat convolute
spring a (see Figs. 2 and 4) fixed to each spindle by means of a pin. This
spring being compressed and placed in the annular space or spring box above
mentioned, will exert sufficient friction against the inside of the boss of the
pinion to cause it to drive the spindle, but will still allow of the spindle being
stopped by pressure of the fingers, when necessary, for piecing or otherwise.
This spring box is sheltered from oil or other matter, which would interfere
with the proper working of the spring a by a small brass cover d, which is
fitted on the spindle immediately above the socket b. The spindle is main-
tained in its position by means of a collar e secured thereto immediately below
the spur pinion a. The cast-iron standards M which support the longitudinal
shaft E extend upwards, and also carry the bolster rail G, which is furnished
with sliding brackets m, by means of which the rail may be adjusted. The
standards M are bolted on to a rail G³, which also carries the footsteps of the
spindles A and shafts C. Thus it will be seen that all parts of the apparatus
being made in metal, and mutually dependent upon each other, the unequal
expansion and contraction of the several parts so often experienced when wood
and metal are employed in combination are obviated.
In mules of the old construction wherein the carriages employed are much
shorter than in the modern mules, the inconvenience arising from unequal
expansion and contraction of the parts is not so serious, and to such mules
this system of driving the spindles may be applied with advantage, and the
cast-iron brackets, which will then only have to support the longitudinal shaft,
may be fixed to the wood-work of the carriage which carries the footstep rail
and bolster rail without any alteration in the other parts of the carriage.

page_text: Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the, manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of the said Invention; but
what I consider to be;novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent; is,-
Firstly the new system or mode of driving the spindles of mules by gearing
and friction combined.
And, secondly, the improved construction and arrangement of the framing or
supports for the spindles and driving gear, as shewn in the annexed Drawing,
and herein-before more particularly described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of October, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-five.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)