IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES.
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Eddlestone Elliott, Woollen Manufacturer, Cyrus
Leach, Blacksmith, and James Ratcliffe, Spinner, all of Ridings, in the
Parish of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS
SUBSTANCES.
Scaled the 29th July 1856, and dated the 15th February 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Eddlestone Elliott, Cyrus
Leach, & James Ratcliffe at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 15th February 1856.
We, EDDLESTONE ELLIOTT, Woollen Manufacturer, CYRUS LEACH, Black-
smith, and JAMES RATCLIFFE, Spinner, all of Ridings, in the Parish of Roch-
dale, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING WOOL, AND OTHER
FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
These improvements consist in adapting to that description of spinning
machines known and distinguished as mules, certain novel and improved
mechanism or apparatus, hereafter described, for the purpose of rendering such
machines more efficient than the machines as heretofore constructed, and
capable of producing a superior yarn and making less waste of material, and

page_text: effecting considerable saving of time and speed of the machino, as by these
improvements the mule is not required to be put on at full speed, and the
whole of the twist put in at once as commonly practised. But the mule is
gradually allowed its speed, thus putting in only a part of the twist, and
thereby rendering the yarn less liable to break than when the whole of the
twist is put in at once, and consequently, there will be fewer ends to piece, less
waste made, and the necessity for stopping the machine less frequent than
heretofore.
The nature of these improvements will be better understood by the follow-
ing description of the means by which they may be effected: that is to say, to
the bottom of the mule are fixed two pieces of wood, upon which are fixed
bearers for supporting a counter-shaft of any desired length. To one end of
this shaft a pulley is fixed instead of placing the same on the tin roller-shaft as
commonly practised, thus imparting motion to the tin roller-shaft through the
agency of the counter-shaft, instead of imparting motion direct to the tin roller-
shaft as heretofore. At a suitable distance on said counter-shaft there is placed
tightly a small iron drum, and by the side thereof a loose drum of corresponding
diameter; and at a short distance from these last-mentioned drums two other
drums (one fast and one looso), of larger diameter than the former ones, arc
placed upon the said counter-shaft. Upon the tin roller-shaft there is fixed
an iron drum opposite to the before-mentioned drums on the counter-shaft, and
there are two endless straps or bands passing over the said drums in the
following order: that is to say, whilst one of the said straps or bands is upon tho
small fast drum on the counter-shaft for imparting motion to the tin roller-shaft,
the other strap or band should be upon the large loose drum on the counter-
shaft. There are two strap forks, one to each strap or band fixed upon a
sliding bar; which bar is moved by a fixed curved bar, one end of which is
fixed to the headstock of the mule, and the other end to the flooring. The
piece which connects the aforesaid sliding bar with the fixed bar has a hole,
which, as the carriage runs in and out, slides upon the fixed bar, and thus shifts
the aforesaid straps or bands from the fast to the loose drum, and vice versa,
altering the speed of the mule as above stated. For example, supposing the
mule to be put up or at rest upon imparting motion thereto, at the commence-
ment the mule will run at about half its speed, during which time it will be
taking in its length of yarn for spinning, and causing it to be only half
twisted until the strap forks are moveil, by which the strap of the small drum
on the counter-shaft will be shifted on to the loose drum, and the strap of the
large drum on the said shaft will be shifted from the loose drum to the fast
drum; and the speed of the mule thus increased and caused to run at full

page_text: speed, and will continue to do so until it has run out, when, upon the mule
being "backed up," the straps or bands will be again shifted into their
original position, and the operations of the mule repeated as before.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Eddlestone Elliott, Cyrus Leach, and James Ratcliffe in thọ
Great Seal Patent Office on the 15th August 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, EDDLE-
STONE ELLIOTT, Woollen Manufacturer, CYRUS LEACH, Blacksmith, and JAMES
RATCLIFFE, Spinner, all of Ridings, in the Parish of Rochdale, in the County
of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Eddlestone Elliott, Cyrus Leach, and James Ratcliffe, Her special licence
that we, the said Eddlestone Elliott, Cyrus Leach, and James Ratcliffe, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Eddle-
stone Elliott, Cyrus Leach, and James Ratcliffe, 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 King
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man,
an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING WOOL AND OTHER
FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
Eddlestone Elliott, Cyrus Leach, and James Ratcliffe, our executors, or admi-
nistrators, by an instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals,
or ander the band and seal of one of us or them, 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 Eddlestone Elliott, Cyrus Leach and
James Ratcliffe, 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 thereof, that is to say:-

page_text: Our Invention consists in adapting to that description of spinning machine
known and distinguished as the self-acting mule, certain novel and improved
mechanism or apparatus for the purpose of rendering such machines more
efficient than the self-acting mules as heretofore constructed, capable of
producing a superior yarn with less waste of material, and also effecting a
considerable saving of time and in the speed of the machine, as by the use
of our said improvements the mule is not required to be put on at full speed,
and the whole of the twist put in at once as commonly practised by spinners.
But the mule is gradually allowed its speed so as to put in only a part of the
twist, by which we render the yarn less liable to break than when the wholo
of the twist is put in at once. By these means there will be fewer ends to
piece," less waste will consequently be made, and the necessity for stopping the
machine for "pieceing" will be very much less frequent than heretofore.
The nature of our said improvements will be better understood by the fol-
lowing description of the means by which they may be effected, that is to say:
-Our improvements consist in fixing to the bottom of the mule two lung
pieces of wood or other suitable material, upon which bearers are fixed for
supporting a counter-shaft of any desired length; to one end of this shaft a
pulley is fixed, instead of placing the same on the tin roller-shaft as heretofore
commonly practised, thus imparting motion to the tin roller-shaft through the
agency of the counter-shaft, instead of imparting motion direct to the tin
roller shaft as heretofore. At a suitable distance on said counter-shaft thero
are placed two small iron drums, one fast and the other loose on the counter-
shaft. At a short distance from the above-mentioned drums two other drums
(one fast and one looso), of larger diameter than the former ones, are placed
upon the said counter-shaft. Upon the tin roller-shaft there is fixed an
iron drum, same being placed opposite to the before-mentioned drums which
are on the counter-shaft, and there are two endless straps or bands passing
over the said drums in the following order, that is to say, while one of the
said straps or bands is upon the small fast or fixed drum on the counter-shaft
for imparting motion to the tin roller-shaft, the other strap or band should be
upon the large loose drum on the counter-shaft. There are two strap forks,
one to each strap or band, said forks are moved by a fixed curved bar for
shifting the aforesaid straps or bands from the fast pulley to the loose pulley
as desired, by the running in and out of the carriage, one end of the aforesaid
curved bar is fixed to the headstock of the mule, and the other end to the
flooring. The piece which connects the aforesaid sliding bar with the fixed
curved bar has a hole formed therein, which, as the carriage runs in and out,
slides upon the fixed bar, and by these means effects the shifting of the

page_text: aforesaid straps or bands from the fast to the loose drum, and vice versa,
altering the speed of the mule as above stated. For example, supposing the
mule-to be put up or at rest, upon imparting motion thereto at the commence
ment, the mule will run at about half its speed, during which time it will be
taking in its length of yarn for spinning, and causing it to be only half twisted
until the strap forks are moved, by which the strap of the small drum on the
counter-shaft will be shifted on to the loose drum, and the strap of the large
drum on the said shaft will be shifted from the loose drum to the fast drum,
and the speed of the mule will thus be increased and caused to run at full
speed, and will continue to do so until it has run out, when upon the mule
being backed up the aforesaid straps or bands will be again shifted into
their original position, and the operations of the mule repeated as before.
In order to explain our said Invention as completely as possible, we now
proceed to describe the best means we are acquainted with for carrying the
same into practical effect, reference being had to the illustrative Drawings
hereunto annexed, and to the numeral figures and letters of reference marked
thereon respectively, as follows:-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGB.
Fig. 1 is a top plan view of our improved machinery, shewing the mode of
arranging the same in the carriage, and the framing of the headstock of tho
mule; Fig. 2 is a transverse and vertical section of the same, taken across
the said framing. Figs. 8 and 4, respectively, exhibit a top plan view and
cross section of a more convenient manner of arranging the improved
machinery exhibited at Figs. 1 and 2. At each of the foregoing Figures
5 we employ similar letters of reference to denote corresponding parts, in so
far as such parts appear or can be seen at each of such said Figures
respectively.
We now proceed to describe the arrangement exhibited at Figs. 1 and 2,
as follows:-A is the position of the ordinary framing and driving gear of the
headstock of the mule; B is the carriage carrying the spindles in the ordinary
way; C is the tin roller-shaft; D, the counter-shaft; this shaft, which may be
made of any required length, is connected at each end to uprights or bearers
a, a, fixed to two other upright pieces b, b, extending lengthways along the
bottom of the carriage of the mule, and securely fixed thereto in any con-
venient manner; upon one end of the aforesaid counter-shaft a pulley E is
fixed, over which passes a band, for working the tim roller-shaft for imparting
motion to the spindles. In ordinary mules the above-mentioned band pulley
is fixed on the tin roller-shaft, thus imparting motion thereto direct from the

page_text: headstock, whereas by our said improvements the motive power is first
imparted to the counter-shaft, and communicated from thence by straps or
bands c, c, to the tin roller-shaft. At a suitable distance on the counter-shaft
Da small fast and loose drum G and II are placed, as also two other larger
fast and loose drums I and K; and immediately opposite thereto, and upon the
tin roller-shaft, is fixed a fast iron drum L, the several drums being connected
together by straps or bands d and e; the strap d runs from the small fast
drum G on the counter-shaft to the drum L on the tin roller-shaft, and the
strap e runs from the loose drum K on the counter-shaft to the drum L'on
the tin roller-shaft. Over the aforesaid straps or bands, and about midway
between the shafts C and D, a sliding iron cross beam M passes, and is
supported by, and slides in, a standard at one end, and the other end is made
fast and secured to a wire spring f; fixed to the under part of the carriage
there is an eyelet hole made in the sliding cross beam M, and acts as a strap
guider; is a strap guider or fork, securely fixed to the sliding cross beam M
and moving therewith, said fork and guider respectively embracing the straps
d and e, for shifting them alternately from the fast to the loose drums, and vicê
verså as desired. N is an iron tappet, securely fixed by a screw to any desired
part of the sliding cross beam M, which is so fixed as to run along and act
against one side of a flat bent or curved rod or bar O, said rod O being
capable of being moved so as to regulate the fineness of the yarn or other
fibrous material, as required; one end of said rod being securely connected by
a pin or bolt to the framing of the headstock of the mule at the front thereof,
the other end of said bent rod passing through an iron standard P, fixed to
the back of the mule.
Having now described the several separate parts of our improved machinery
we now proceed to describe the mode of operating therewith collectively as
follows:-
MODE OF OPERATING.
Suppose the mule to be set on, in which case it will be running at about
at the anaeil man ho) during this time it will be taking

page_text: and immediately upon the strap e being shifted from the large loose drum I
on the counter-shaft C to the large fast drum h thereon, the mule will be
caused to run at full speed, and will continue to do so until it has run out
when, upon the mule being backed up, the strap fork and guider g and h will
again shift the straps or bands X, O, into their original position, and so on at
each stretch of the mule.
We now proceed to describe the modifications exhibited at Figs. 8 and 4,
which we prefer to the foregoing mechanical arrangements, lastly above
described, as being more simple and affording more power, in consequence of
our being enabled to employ a longer driving strap or band.
The following is the mode of arranging the several parts:-On the ordinary
twist pulley shaft, at the front of the mule, we place two loose band pulleys a, a,
and one fast drum pulley b, and on the tin roller-shaft A we place two fast
band pulleys c, c; and between the twist shaft and the tin roller-shaft we place
on small shafts d and d, fixed to the mule, two loose band pulleys and e,
such as is used in ordinary mules for tightening the other pulleys; and on the
shaft f, fixed on the headstock at the back of the mule, we place a fast band
pulley g, as also fast and loose drum pulleys h and i; and on one side of the
latter we fix a small loose band pulley k; by the above arrangement it is only
the two fast band pulleys c, c, on the tin roller-shaft, and the small tightening
pulleys e and e, on the shafts d and d', fixed to the carriage of the mule, that
move with the carriage, thus making it much easier for the spinner in drawing
out and putting up the carriage, in consequence of their being less weight on
the carriage than heretofore. The sliding cross beam M, exhibited at Figs. 1
and 2 is placed on or connected to the headstock at the back of the mule,
which is an improvement, as it only requires one strap guider, (there being
only one strap employed in this arrangement,) said guider being fixed to the
top of the sliding cross beam M, by a set screw, or other suitable means, in a
somewhat similar manner to that previously described with reference to Figs.
1 and 2. At one end of the cross beam M a notch or catch is made, and to
the other end a strong check spring is connected, and instead of the bent
lover or rod O, shewn at Figures 1 and 2, we employ a vibrating lever #, to
one end of which an iron tappet piece is securely fixed, and capable of being
adjusted thereto (by means of the slot * and screw) in accordance with the
desired speed of the spindles, or to allow the mule to be set on at full speed
sooner or later as desired. The lever turns on a pivot, secured to the
cross beam M of the headstock at the back of the mule, and is adjustable by
a slot formed therein and a set screw. On the back part of the carriage of
the mule there is fixed an iron wedge shaped tappet n, which on the backing

page_text: up of the carriage comes into contact with the under side of the cross beam M.
lifts it up, and on being set free (by the running out of the carriage) is pulled
or pushed forward by the spring, connected to the other end of the cross
beam M, thereby shifting the strap X on to the loose pulley i at the back of
the mule, so as to allow the mule, on being set on, to take in its length of
slubbing or yarn, until the strap X is again pushed on to the fast pulley h at
the back of the mule, which is effected by a straight piece of iron o, fixed to
the back of the carriage, which picco, acting on the tappet / draws the sliding
cross beam M till the notched end thereof falls down and catches, and
immediately sets the mule on at full speed, and so on at each stretch of the
mule.
Having now fully described and set forth the nature and object of our said
Invention of "Improvement in Machinery for Spinning Wool and other
Fibrous Substances," together with the best means we are acquainted with for
carrying the same into practical effect, we would remark, in conclusion, that
we claim as our Invention the imparting motion indirectly to the tin roller-
shaft instead of directly as heretofore practised, in the manner above particularly
described and represented, and for the purposes set forth.
In witness whereof we, the said Eddlestone Elliott, Cyrus Leach, and
James Ratcliffe, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Four-
teenth day of August One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.