A NEW SYSTEM OF MACHINE FOR SPINNING WOOL AND ANY OTHER FIBROUS MATERIAL
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Augustin Simeon Vimont, Practical Engineer, of
Vire (Calvados), in the Empire of France, for the Invention of "A NEW
SYSTEM OF MACHINE FOR SPINNING WOOL AND ANY OTHER FIBROUS MATERIAL."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Augustin Simeon Vimont
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd April 1856.
I, AUGUSTIN SIMEON VIMONT, Practical Engineer, of Vire (Calvados), in the
Empire of France, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
A NEW SYSTEM OF MACHINE FOR SPINNING WOOL AND ANY OTHER FIBROUS
MATERIAL, to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is, 1°, to give the means of drawing or elon-
gating the sliver of carded wool in a regular manner and without breaking;
2°, sundry modifications in the common flyer and its collar, and also in several
parts of the bobbin, for the purpose of obtaining from the said organs the
regular spinning and winding of the yarn either for the weft or the warp.
Accordingly, my Invention consists in certain improvements in throstle
spinning frames for simultaneously drawing, twisting, and spinning fibrous
substances, and particularly carded wool. The annexed Drawing is a vertical
A

page_text: section of my improved spinning frame. The disposition of the frame, and of
the parts for transmitting motion, and the spindles, is about the same as in
the spinning frames of this kind in ordinary use, but any other suitable form
and disposition might be used for obtaining the same result. B, B, B, cast-
iron frame; C, C, E, wooden tie-pieces or sleepers of the length of the
frame; A, bundle of woolen slivers placed on the unrolling cylinder D, the
axle of which is in the fork of the rest S. The sliver passes between
the feeding cylinder a and the upper one c, then over the small board F. The
sliver or yarn is represented in red lines. e, drawing cylinder; c, upper free
cylinder. The twist is given by the small tube t; it might be given by the
spindle; the twisting is intercepted by the board F. The metallic blado L
with a smooth edge, actuated by the excentric Q and connecting rod H, raises
the yarn, and at this moment, when the yarn is raised, the twisting effect is
spread along the whole length between the cylinder a and e, and the swollen
parts of the sliver, if any, are drawn out or elongated. The chief object of
this part of the machine is the intermittence of the twisting given to the
sliver during its regular drawing or elongation, and for the purpose of pro-
ducing the said drawing and elongation. The yarn when issueing from the
drawing cylinder receives its twist from the spindle b, and is wound round the
bobbin T without breaking, notwithstanding the great velocity of the spindle
and the increase of the yarn on the bobbin. The bobbin seen, Figure 2, on a
larger scale, has a central hole larger than the spindle, and an internal spring
R bearing against that spindle causes the bobbin to revolve with the former,
thereby stretching and winding the yarn in a regular manner and preventing
its breaking. The bobbin rests on the small board m, and a long screw V,
acting as a break, is kept by a small string and counterpoise p against the edge
of the bobbin, for the purpose of preventing it from going too rapidly. The
yarn, instead of being drawn only once, as just described, might be submitted
twice or thrice to the same process, so as to obtain a yarn of greater fineness.
This system of spinning may be applied; 1st, to spinning or slivering machines
to reduce or regularise the sliver; 2nd, to throstle frames or mull jennies;
3rd, to a preparatory machine for doubling, reducing, and regularising the
sliver of wool or of other fibrous materials.
Although I have only mentioned flyers spindles, I can in certain cases
employ with advantage the improved friction winding spindle for the regular
stretching of the thread.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Augustin Simeon Vimont in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 18th October 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, AUGUSTIN
SIMEON VIMONT, of Vire (Calvados), in the Empire of France, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of April, 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 me, the said
Augustin Simeon Vimont, Her special license that I, the said Augustin
Simeon Vimont, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Augustin Simeon Vimont, my 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 A NEW
SYSTEM OF MACHINERY FOR SPINNING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS, upon
the condition (amongst others that I, the said Augustin Simeon Vimont, my
executors or administrators, 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 Augustin Simeon Vimont, 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 :-
My improvements consist principally in certain contrivances by means of
which the two chief operations of drawing and spinning are effected by my
machine in a better manner than heretofore, and in the use of a spindle of a
novel construction or disposition, as will appear from the present Specification,
and from the Drawings annexed thereto, and in which the same letters
represent the same pieces in all the Figures except in Figure VII. and VIII.
Figure I. is an end view of the machine, which is a throstle spiuning frame,
it is represented out of the frame on the side on which the motion is given, so
as to shew, on one hand, the motion of the pulleys driven by the straps, and on
the other hand, the motion of the cog wheels, which in part motion to the
cylinders and other organs of the frame.

page_text: Figure II. is likewise an end view of the machine, but representing the other
end, so as to show the ascending and descending motion of the bobbin bearers
for the distribution of the yarn, and also the motion of the other organs
situated on this side of the machine.
Figure III. is a front elevation of the spinning frame, exhibiting only the
two extremities thereof, so as to define the place and precise position of some of
the pieces represented in the two first Figures, and which stand as it were
apart from the frame, such as the cog wheels and pulleys, the frame N, N,
and the fore stand M, M.
Figure IV. is a view of a vertical transverse section, taken within and
close to one of the stands of the machine, in order to shew at once the
principal parts of the new organs, which constitute the essential object of
the free spinning frame. Figure V., vertical section through the axis of the
bobbin, drawn half the real size in order to shew better the new or improved
parts of this piece.
Figure VI., plan and vertical transverse section of the moveable collar of
the spindles, drawn also half the real size, and the novelty of which will be
understood by the description given further on.
Figures VII. and VIII. are two vertical sections through the axis of the
friction winding spindle, which will be explained hereafter; these two Figures
are one-fourth of the real size. Figure VII. is a section made in a plane
parallel to the frame, and Figure VIII. in a plane crossing it, so as to shew
the construction of the spindle, the mode of action of its chief organs for
winding the yarn, and the mechanism by which it is made to descend in
an almost imperceptible manner and gradually as the bobbin is filling up, as
will be further explained. The Figure I. to IV. are one-fifth of the real size.
I will now proceed to explain the first and most important part of the
Invention, namely, the drawing of the yarn.
The operation of drawing the yarn is performed by my machine
very much
in the same manner as with the mule spinning frame for spinning carded
wool; but the principal and distinguishing feature of my Invention is the
calculated intermittence of torsion which is given to the sliver during and for
the purpose of securing its regular and continuous drawing, whatever may be
the contrivance employed for giving the yarn this intermittent twisting, for
the main and principal object of the Invention being to produce this intermittent
effect, the contrivance or means for producing it may of course vary, and I
will therefore proceed to describe one of the means by which the drawing of
the yarn according to the principle just mentioned can be effected.
The Figure I. and II. are end views of the throstle spiuning frame, with the

page_text: cast-iron stands M and N, and fitted with all their pieces. These stands are
placed at the opposite ends of the machine, and are united together by longi-
tudinal sleepers or tie pieces t, t', t", "", as seen, Figure 4, bolted on the said
stands, and likewise to intermediate N, N, nearly similar to the first, and
placed as usual at regular distances from each other. The tie pieces t', '', t",
are represented here as being made of wood, but they may be made of iron,
and of any convenient and suitable shape. c, c, c', c', Figure IV., iron rollers,.
of an equal thickness, running the whole length of the frame from one end of the
stand to the other, and consisting of partial cylinders one or two yards in length
and united together; proper collars are turned in the said rollers for the purpose
of securing their steady motion; the collars run on bearings fixed on the top
of the frame, where, if necessary, they may be made to slide, for the purpose of
regulating the drawing in a better manner, and when in the best position they
may be kept in it by means of a screw nut. Other free pressure cylinders or
rollers d, d, are placed over the first rollers c, c'; their collars are engaged in
forked rests, within which they can freely slide up and down, and their weight
is pressing upon the sliver, which is drawn in by both. For such machines as
are intended to spin coarse and long wool, or wool containing impurities, it is
advisable that both the upper end the lower rollers should be fluted, and should
catch into one another, in order that the speed of the pressure rollers may not
be impeded and retarded in their motion, which would more or less frequently
happen unless this or some other similar arrangement be adopted. c, c, are
called drawing rollers, and c', c', feeding rollers, and, as will be seen further
on, they are driven by their own tooth wheels e and h'. Fig. II. and III.,.
f, is a cylinder made of tin sheets, called unrolling cylinder, extending the
whole length of the frame; its shaft runs on bearings fixed on the end.
stands; the motion is given to this cylinder by its own cog wheel f', keyed
on the shaft. The wool slivers f" as they are produced by the sliver cards
are placed on the unrolling cylinder, and the shaft of the rollers round
which they are wound entering the forked projecting bearings S, allows the
slivers to unroll gradually, and in proportion, as the circumference of the
unrolling cylinder becomes displaced. n, n, rounded rest pieces of cast-iron,
which, however, may have another suitable shape, placed lengthways between
the drawing and feeding rollers; they are divided into lengths as the rollers,
and the ends of the said lengths are resting upon suitable bearings n', n', which
can be shifted on the frame on which they may be fixed in their proper place
by means of screw nuts.
The said rest pieces, over which the wool slivers pass with friction, are
slightly rounded at their top, as mentioned, the highest point being towards the

page_text: feeding roller, so that the sliver k' in its way from the latter to the drawing
roller may bear upon or be in contact with the whole of the plane surface of
the pieces n, whatever their shape may be, whether narrow, wide, fluted, or
smooth, according to the nature of the sliver to be drawn. The pieces n are
called insulators, because their function consists in intercepting the twisting
given to the sliver by the tube a, which will be described presently. The sliver
during its passage on the insulating piece n having to bear the friction pro-
duced there as it touches it, and the angle which it forms as it descends
towards the said tube, just produces the isolated twisting, which it is important
to secure. a, a, small metallic tubes, receiving a quick rotative motion on
their forked metallic bearings a', a', which are placed on sliding rests a", a",
where they may receive a short and slow reciprocating motion, in order to avoid
the drawing of the sliver taking place constantly at the same spot on the
drawing and pressure rollers between which it rotates. Each twisting tube is
placed opposite a spindle, with which it corresponds; these tubes through
which the sliver passes are actuated by endless strings ', ', running round
sheet tin cylinders g', g', and the pulleys of the tubes, each tube being actuated
by a separate string; the said tubes, known under the names of drawing
tubes, are pierced through at their centre; the aperture of the hole is slightly
enlarged in the forepart, and the end nearest the drawing roller is provided
with a kind of ring or V-shaped piece, round one of the branches of which
the sliver passes for the purpose of being twisted; this part of the twisting
piece, which is used in common throstle spinning frames, might be so far altered
that instead of a V-shaped ring it might have only one limb, but its extremity
should be slightly bent, so that the sliver being thus maintained might be
rolled round it in order to procure the twist without the necessity of passing
it in a ring. i, i, are cranked shafts placed lengthways on each side of the
frame, they run freely in bearings placed at suitable distances, and the shafts
have cranks near the bearings; metallic connecting rods m³, m', are adjusted
on the cranks as usual, to be actuated by the latter; at their upper part the
rods m' slide in cscillating guides j', j'; the piece bearing the pivot of the
guides j' is capable of being adjusted on the stands N, N. m, m, metallic
rods, of suitable lengths and properly mounted, serving to connect the two
opposite rods m', the upper portion of which has a screw; they are fixed and
maintained at both ends in their proper position between two screw nuts. The
elbows or cranks of the shafts i, i, supporting the weight of the pieces m, m,
are disposed, two by two, in contrary directions; in order to equilibrate that
weight, thin blades of metal of the same length as the pieces m are fixed to
the latter on the side of the insulating piece n; the upper edge of the said

page_text: blades, a little higher than the piece m, is rounded and smooth. At each
ascending motion of the rods m' the blades are brought near the slivers,
which they lift up a little on the insulator, and thus a small part of the
(intercepted twisting) is transmitted from the fore part to the back part,
and by means of this intermittent effect, and also of the calculated speed,
the drawing of the carded wool sliver is performed as easily and regularly,
and, so to speak, in a similar way as with the mule frame: On- account of
the effect produced by those-pieces m, m, I have called them communicators.
Having thus described the various pieces which constitute the ensemble of
the mechanism by which the drawing of the sliver is accomplished, and also
their respective mode of action, I will now suppose this part of the machine
to be in motion, and, summing up the particular effect of each of the parts
compared to the general effect obtained, show the transformation and progress
of the sliver submitted to this drawing process. But first I will describe the
way the motion is transmitted to each separate organ. l, l', Figure III.,
driving pulleys, actuated by a belt from the motive engine; one of them is loose,
the other is keyed on the shaft D, which runs on bearings placed one on the
stand N of Figure I., the other on the stand M, seen Figure II. and III.
The shaft D carries a larger pulley L', Figure III., which by means of the
belt o, o, Figure 2, actuates the pulleys p,p, of the cranked shafts i, i, and p' of
the sheet tin cylinder of the spindles, and also the pulley p", the shaft of which
carries a smaller pulley p'", which drives the cylinder g' of the drawing tubes
through a second endless strap o', o'; the motion may be communicated to
the pulley g", which is of a size calculated for the speed required. In order
that the straps or belts o, o, and o', o', may be stretched constantly to a suitable
degree, the stretching pulley 9 bears, as may be seen, on the strap o', o', and the
pulley g' on the strap o, o. A small pulley, placed on the cranked shaft i inside
of the frame; moves another pulley, the shaft of which runs through the
stand M, Figure II., and on the outermost end of which at e" there is a pinion,
which serves to give the required motion to the drawing cylinders, according
to the twisting or thickness of the yarn. This pinion may be removed when
necessary, and may be replaced by a larger or a smaller one; it cogs with the
intermediate wheel e", thus impelling the wheel h, behind which the pinion h
is fixed, which pinion h' actuates the drawing rollers.c, c, on both sides through
the intermediate wheels and. pinions h", h", which cog directly with the
wheels e, e, of the rollers. The drawing cylinder c carries.a pinion j outside of
the stand, Figure I; this pinion is removed and replaced by a larger one or a
smaller one, according to the degree of drawing to be given to the sliver,
smaller pinion being put on when a finer yarn, and a larger one when a thicker

page_text: yarn is required; since, in addition to the intermediate wheels j', j', j', the axles
of which are turning in the rocking support j", the feeding rollers are actuated
by the pinion j, and according to the difference in the quicker or slower rate of
speed between the feeding and the drawing rollers, the elongation of the sliver
becomes, as a natural consequence, greater or less also. Now, the feeding
roller c¹ carries a pinion r on its end outside (Figure III.), and through the
intermediate wheel r' it gives motion to the unrolling cylinder f, the motion
and surface of which is about the same as that of the feeding cylinder; the
sliver unrolling itself from the former to come to the latter is submitted to
only a very slight tension.
Let us now suppose that the machine just described is in motion, the
slivers are unrolling themselves from their rollers on the cylinder or drum f
half of the slivers passing on one side of the machine and the other half on
the other side, and this alternately, that is to say, the first sliver of one of the
rollers is unrolling itself on the right, the second on the left, the third on the
riglit, and so on; they descend towards the feeding rollers, which pull them with
a slight tension, thence the slivers pass over the insulators and communicators,
thence through the twisting tubes, and finally they go to the drawing rollers.
During that time the tubes are rotating at a proper speed and the com-
municators are swinging; the tubes revolve with speed which is about
double that of the rate of swinging of the communicators, (the speed of both
may be increased or diminished according to the kind or the fineness of the
material to be spun, and it is always easy at the beginning to regulate the
amount of twisting to be given to the sliver in order to produce a good
drawing,) the unrolling sliver is constantly under the action of the drawing
roller, but passing in a bent state over the insulator, which it rubs in an inter-
mittent manner, the twisting which the tube gives it constantly during its
passage over the first part k, which has a slanting direction, is felt in the
second horizontal part ', where the drawing or elongation takes place, only
when the smooth upper edge of the communicator touches it and lifts it a
little above the insulator; by driving the yarn a little towards itself, the
thinner and irregular parts of the sliver, if any, are the first to be affected by
the twisting thus transmitted, and they resist the attractive force of the
drawing rollers, whilst the thicker parts, which have not been affected at all,
or but little, by the twisting, become elongated, and attain in that manner a
diameter, which is at any rate the mean; if not the same, of that of the
others, the transformed sliver always progressing towards the cylinder which
draws it.
Such, then, is the working of this most important part of my machine, and.

page_text: the contrivance which I resort to in order that the intermittent torsion (which
is indispensable to the drawing of the wool or other carded materials to be
treated in an analogous manner) may be communicated to the sliver at that
part of the machine where the sliver is elongated. This effect, as I said before,
may be produced in a variety of ways, but this part of the Invention consists
in producing an intermittence in the twisting of the sliver during and for its
continucus elongation. This new method of drawing may be established on
each side of the spinning frame, as described and as represented in the annexed
Drawing, but instead of having a single intermittent drawing and twisting
frame, it may be repeated a second or a greater number of times, in order to
obtain at a single operation over spun yarns, which are yarns of a great
fineness.
After having tried several kinds of spindles, those which I prefer are the
flyer-spindles, but by means of the improvements which I have made in them
and in their use, I am enabled both to twist and at the same time to distribute
the windings of the yarn with an equal stretch and without breaking, whatever
may be the variations in the diameter of the cop, and this constitutes the second
part of my Invention. This regular spinning may be performed with the
thinnest warp or weft yarn, and in giving the greatest speed to the spindles.
This improvement in spinning is due, first, to the disposition of the collar in
which my spindle rotates, a disposition which prevents any vibratory effect or
stiffness prejudicial to the good working of the spindles; second, to the
particular improvements of the bobbin round which the yarn is wound, which
is larger but nearly similar externally to those in use in the common cotton
throstle frames. But internally I have made some improvements in those
parts where it is subjected to friction, and I have also added a spring, or a con-
trivance acting in the same manner, bearing against the body of the spindle,
and by means of which the motion of the bobbin drawn by the yarn is pro-
moted, so as to relieve the yarn in its winding action, and avoid any strain which
might break it; third, to the regular stretching of the yarn during the whole
time of the winding of the bobbin, by means of a friction moderator encircling
automatically a larger portion of the neck of the bobbin from the beginning of
its winding up till it is completely loaded. The spindles are placed in a single
line on the edge of each side of the frame, but in order to double their number
without incurring the necessity of a longer frame, they may be placed in two
rows, as in the common throstle frames; I make them of steel, as usual, and
give them the shape represented on the Drawing, but they may of course have
any other shape suited for the kind of work they have to do; they run on brass
or other socket or bearing, placed as usual on the lower pieces t, t, fixed on the

page_text: longitudinal lower tie pieces t', t', Fig. IV., called spindle bearings; they are
maintained in a vertical position by a kind of socket or collar in which they
run freely, and they are actuated as usual by endless strings running from a
longitudinal sheet tin drum g, but they might be actuated by any other suitable
contrivance.
The collars through which the spindles run are not fixed in a steady manner
on the sleeper s', as is customary in the frames of that kind. These collars s, 8,
are made of metal, or any other suitable material, but the place where the
spindle runs and where friction takes place should be of brass, or any other
suitable metal, for the purpose. The said collars are shaped so as to rest on the
piece s', in which their lower extremity or foot enters freely in a recess, the
middle of which is the centre of the spindle. The object of this new disposition
of moveable collars is to prevent vibrations from taking place and being felt in
that portion of the spindle which is surrounded by the bobbin or cop when the
spindle, either because it is not absolutely well constructed or on account of its
length and of the momentum acquired, sets up revolving on a sudden with an
excessive velocity. When fitted in the usual manner, the spindle of a throstlo
frame could not revolve two thousand times in a minute, whilst with the mode
of fitting which I have described it can make a greater number of revolutions
without any prejudicial vibration.
The cops or bobbins v, v, Figures I., II., IV., and V., are in wood, as usual,
but can be made of any other suitable material and of any suitable shape; they
are bored through at their centre, the hole being larger than the spindle, as
usual, at each end there is a small metallic ring made fast, provided with a
central hole for the free passage of the spindle, which is thus kept in the centre
of the bobbin. Figure V is a longitudinal section of the bobbin on a larger
scale and showing this disposition. I prefer that the rings r, r', should be made
of hardened steel like the spindle; and as these rings are very thin, and offer
but a very small rubbing surface to the spindle, it is found, practically speaking,
that no dirt or coagulated oil can stick to them and prevent the free rotation
of the bobbin, which yields constantly to the action of the spring v' and winding
yarn which impels it, so that it remains always sensible to the differential
action of the friction brake u, which presses in its groove, and thus retards or
impedes its motion, as required, and this with greater force for each new layer
of yarn wound up. The small under rings r' of the bobbins are smooth; they
rest and run upon small rings of leather, felt, or any other suitable matter
placed on the bobbin bearer v"", Fig. I., II., & IV. The latter are fixed on
standing racks h, h, are
brackets bearings E, E, Figure 1V., behind which
placed, which racks slide in guides fixed on such pieces of the frame as are

page_text: best suited for the purpose; these racks are actuated up and down successively
for distribution of the yarn on the bobbin; this well-known contrivance is
represented Figure IV, and also Figure I. ', ', helicoidal pinions cogging
with each other; one of them, Figure I., is placed on the end of the drawing
roller c, the other on the slanting shaft z. An endless screw cut on this shaft
cogs with a wheel 2", on the shaft of which is a heart-shaped eccentric, the
rotative motion of which drives these horizontal racks "" alternately on the
right and on the left; the latter actuates the pinions y, which cogging with the
racks h, cause the latter to have the required up-and-down motion for dis-
tributing the yarn on the bobbins, which are carried up and down by the top
piece". If instead of winding the yarn, for obtaining cylindrical cops, conical
or doubly conical cops are required to suit them at once for the weaver's shuttle,
it may be done by modifying the mechanism just described, as is already done
with many machines, by winding the yarn on a cop, as we have just described;
but on a cop unprovided with rings and springs, and fitted on other cops or
bobbins provided with those organs, there is no difficulty in disposing things
so as to set the former on the latter, the motion of which they would of course
follow; in such cases the number of the cops of the frame should be equal to
that of the bobbins on which they would be placed.
The spring v, Figure V., is lodged in the interior of the body of the cop, as
already stated; it is firmly attached or soldered to the lower part of each cop
or bobbin, so that its free end presses against the spindle. The object of this
spring is, as I have had already occasion to mention, for the purpose of carrying
the cop or bobbin along with it, by causing it slightly to adhere to the stem of
the spindle. The driving effect of the spring, moreover, is adjusted as required
by means of a small moderating friction-brake, which will be described
presently, and which, pressing below the bobbin or cop, regulates itself auto-
matically and gradually as the bobbin is getting filled with yarn, so that from
the beginning to the end of its winding the said bobbin offers the same
resistance.
u', u', Figures I., II., III, and IV., are screw-threaded rods, as long as the
frame, resting at both extremities, and at convenient places between, but with
freedom of motion. On bearings placed on the cops bearer "", "", strings u', u'
are attached, somewhere at the back of the cops bearer; they are engaged in the
threads of the screw and hang in front; a little weight u, u, is attached at their
end, and their effect is to moderate the speed, as in common brakes. A little
pinion w" is fixed at the end of the screw (Figure I.), and a catching hook
and ratchet are fixed on the cops bearer, so that at each up or down motion of
the latter the screw u' turns slightly, and the string engaged in the threads of

page_text: the screw presses with greater force in the grooved part of the bobbin, and thus
removes the excess of facility to revolve, which it would.acquire gradually as
each layer of yarn is wound on the bobbin. The result of this equilibrium
between the strain, which tends to drag the bobbin, and the augmentated
friction on its bearing, which is communicated to it by its increasing weight, is,
that the yarn is equally stretched during the whole of its winding, and it is thus
possible to regulate the degree of stretching which is necessary to give to it
according to its, nature and fineness and insure the regularity of the winding.
It is easy to give the yarn the required degree of stretching (which it preserves
during all the time of the winding) by bringing with the fingers the brake
nearer the groove of the bobbin at the beginning of the winding. w', w',
Figure III., are thin metallic partitions, placed between each spindle on tho
cops bearers, for the purpose of protecting the bobbins from the effect of the
air driven by the contrifugal force of the flyers, and preventing the yarn of any
of the bobbins, which might accidentally be broken, from being caught by the
next. w, w, Figure IV., are small cleaning rollers, covered with thick velvety
stuff, in the same way and for the same purpose as those generally in use with
ordinary frames.
Having thus described the effect or principle of this second part of my
Invention, that is to say, the improvements produced by the use of moveable
collars for the spindles of springs or equivalent organs, and of thin steel rings
for the cop or bobbin, and also the moderating and self-regulating friction
brake, all of which cooperate in the performance of the main part of the
Invention, namely, the drawing or elongation of the sliver or yarn; having
also described at the beginning the improvements resulting from the first
part of my Invention as regards the effects produced, but not indeed as
regards any particular shape or disposition of the organs represented in the
Drawings, and in which the slivers produced by any slivering or other cards
can be drawn to a length twice or several times as great as that which they
originally had, I have now to state that both parts of my improvements can
be separately applied; 1st, to a preparing frame, on which the slivers could be
drawn and doubled if required, made regular, and wound up on rollers in the
state of slivers, that is to say, without twisting, as when issuing from the card,.
the slivers or bands of any shape, either of carded wool or any other textile
materials, which thus prepared, could be employed for obtaining the yarns
called over spun, and which could be spun afterwards either on my own throstle
frame or on common spinning frames.
Second, to a carding machine in front of the slivering apparatus, where, if
properly disposed for that purpose, it would reduce the thickness of the sliver

page_text: furnished to it by the combing or other carding cylinder, thus allowing the
carding machine to increase the product rendered from a given bulk of sliver.
The sliver thus drawn and doubled, if necessary, may be, according to its desti-
nation, either drawn anew on the preparatory frame just alluded to, or on any
other frame of a similar nature, in order to obtain a yarn of great fineness,
or again placed and spun either directly on my throstle frame or on any other
spinning frame.
Third, to a mull spinning frame, with which, in combining both systems of
drawing, it would be possible to obtain at once yarns called over spun (surfilis).
In this last application of my drawing system, the drawing roller becoming the
feeding roller of the spindles of the carriages, would stop and resume alter-
nately its motion, as well as the other pieces belonging to the intermittent
mechanism of the mull spinning machine, which would thus be enabled to
spin slivers of carded wool and other slivers in a manner analogous to that by
which those of combed wool, cotton, and other fibrous materials are spun.
Fourth, to any other machine of a like nature, either alone or combined
with any other contrivance, as for instance, in the throstle and mull frames for
cotton and other textile materials, and in which, if combined with the drawing
in ordinary use, it would be operating on the sliver, either before or after the
drawing rollers of the said machines, or even at once in both places render it
(the sliver) regular or more regular than it otherwise would be. With respect
to the second part of my improvement, namely, the spindle, I intend to use it
exclusively, either with all or with part of its new organs, alone or combined
with other pieces, and adapted to all kinds of spinning frames, intermittent or
not, by which textile fabrics may
be spun.
Many modifications may of course be introduced in this improved machine,
either in its main or in its accessory parts, and my Invention does not evidently
consists in producing the effects or work precisely in the manner described,
but indeed in the result obtained, the process represented in the Drawing
being only one of the means, and at the present moment the best I know of
for obtaining the said result; or in other words, whatever may be the mechani-
cal means made use of for carrying on and stopping in an intermittent manner
the twisting action at the place where the drawing of the sliver is operated,
the essential part of the Invention is any contrivance by which an intermit-
tence in the twisting is produced, whilst the drawing or elongating of the sliver of
carded wool or any other fibrous substance is carried on in a continuous manner.
And in the same manner, in reference to the second part of the Invention,
whatever may be the means employed, my improvement consists in driving
forward the friction brakes of the cops or bobbins for producing the regular

page_text: stretching of the yarn in its distribution, and carrying the bobbin by the action
of a spring or any other contrivance pressing against the spindle, for obtaining
the winding of the yarn by the sole effect of friction, all the organs herein-
before described or other similar contrivances cooperating to the result.
The third part of my Invention, which, though a distinct improvement, is as
it were a part of the whole, and with the rest of the organs described com-
pletes my improvements, and constitutes at the same time one of the features
of my new system of machinery for spinning, is a particular disposition of a
spindle which I am now going to explain, with the aid of the Drawings repre-
sented in Figures VII. and VIII., on a scale one-fourth of the real size, and
which spindle I more particularly use for spinning yarns of great fineness.
" is a wood or cast-iron piece fixed lengthways to the spinning frame; a
groove i is made in the upper side of this piece, which groove corresponds to
the centre of the spindles; p" is another similar piece; grooved in the under
face at ', and fixed also to the frame above the first one; the latter carries the
socket bearings of the spindles. I prefer these bearings p to be made of brass,
and their cylindrical stem enters freely in a ring p', where they can slide up
and down; the lower end of the said bearings is cut in slanting direction and
is slightly grooved, it rests on a small inclined metallic plane or wedge t, which
enters the groove of the rest p, and slides in the grooves i and of the sleepers
t", p"; each one of the wedges t is morticed, and a rod t', t', passing through
the mortice, is attached to the frame on an axis, where it can hinge; a screw v
with deep and thin threads lays along the frame where it can turn in threaded
dice; small and thin pincers s, attached to the rods t', enter the threads of the
screw v, and at the slightest motion of the latter carry along the rods t', which
actuate the wedges t, which wedges moving from left to right cause the bear-
ings p to move downwards.
By means of a contrivance similar to that which actuates the screws of the
friction brakes, herein-before mentioned, whenever the moveable bobbin bearer
g" touches the highest or lowest point of its motion the screw v receives an
imperceptible impulse, causes the rods of the wedges t to move a little to the
right, and the bearings p with the spindles of course to descend, when, in
consequence of the screw having made a certain number of revolutions, the
rods t' have carried the wedges t forward the whole distance assigned to them,
or in other words, and anticipating for a moment the explanation which will
be given presently, when a bobbin being completely filled with yarn has to be
removed and replaced by an empty one, the pincers of the rod t corresponding
to its spindle should be taken with the fingers at the point or button o', and
as it can move up and down in the slide of the wedge t, it may be disengaged

page_text: from the screw on which it rests, and being carried back from right to left, the
wedge will be thus made to slide in the grooves i, ', the spindle will accordingly
be thereby lifted and brought back to its starting point. This contrivance has
for its object to compel the spindle to descend insensibly at regular intervals,
and then to allow the individual remounting of those of the spindles which
will have thus descended, that is to say, the bobbins of which are filled up, to
be removed and replaced by empty ones without stopping the machine. The
spindles revolving in the bearings.p are maintained in their middlo part by
collars or rings 1, fixed either as usual, or as those of the flyer spindles on
the collar bearer l'. " is a piece placed lengthways of the frame, capable of
moving upwards, and upon which the bobbin bearers g" are fixed, which
bobbin bearers are a kind of long and thin rings, which sometimes cover up
the collars, and at other times enter the empty space of the piece ni, of which
I shall speak by and bye, and to the upper part of which the bobbins to be
loaded with yarn present themselves. m³ is another wooden or cast-iron piece,
placed parallel to the frame, and fixed on bracket pieces, screwed tight to the
said frame; it is bored through with holes corresponding to each spindle which
runs through it. A hollow cylindrical metallic piece m is placed in each hole, and
the bobbins pass freely without touching these pieces, which are immoveable in
the holes of the board m'; their upper edge projects outside, and is rounded as
a ring; the spun yarn y passes on this rounded and smooth edge, on which it is
pressed by another piece n, which compels it to wind itself round the revolving
bobbin. To this piece m I have given the name of "winder." The spindle,
as may be seen, is divided into two parts, the stem q and the upper tapering
hollow covering piece n, n, which I call provocator, on account of its action on
the yarn y, which is, as it were, induced or incited to follow its rotative motion.
The steel stem of the spindle is uniformly cylindrical from the swelled part q'"
up to the extremity q", where it is drilled in the centre and cylindrically, for
the reception of the stem n' of the picce n, which lodges in that hole from the top
of the spindle down a narrow groove q", as long as the bobbin is cut, and a small
flat or round pin q' fitted across the top of the bobbin enters the groove, where
it can freely slide up and down, so that the bobbin may exactly follow the revolu-
tions of the spindle; the top of the spindle is notched to receive a little key n",
which fits the top part of the provocator, which in this way follows exactly the rota-
tive motion of both the spindle and bobbin; this motion is imparted as usual.
The provocator n, n, as already stated, is a kind of hollow metallic troncated
cone, the central rod or stem of which enters and fits into the spindle. This
provocator can be easily removed, for the purpose of taking out and replacing
the bobbin, which it covers, and within which the said bobbin is playing up

page_text: and down. The provocator n, n, is cylindrical at its lower part, which is
rounded and smooth, and revolves round the winder m, which it does not
touch, although it runs very close to it. The provocator is made of very thin
metal, but the top part of it is thicker, in order to give it more strength; the
stem n' and key n" are fixed on that swelled upper end. The edges of both
the winder and provocator are very smooth, so as not to scratch the yarn
which passes between them, and where it is bruised during its passage.
The bobbin g is a cylindrical piece of wood or metal, or of other substance,
pierced through with a central hole, so as to slide freely up and down the
spindle, and the small key g' is fitted in its upper extremity or top, as already
stated. A little above the spindle there is, as usual, a steady eye for the
passage of the yarn y.
The working of the spindle just described is as follows:-The rotative
motion being given, the spindle, bobbin, and provocator run altogether with the
same velocity, the sliver issuing from the drawing rollers joined or united to
the tieing yarn left on the bobbin for that purpose, as usual, and passing
through the guiding eye z, which supports it in the centre of the spindle, is
twisted and carried away, on the one hand, by the provocator, on which it passes,
and along which it descends; on the other hand, by the bobbin, to which it is
attached; meanwhile, the yarn, as it leaves the provocator n, before reaching
the bobbing, is resting on the edge of the winder m, on which it moves with
friction. On account of this rubbing, the resistence encountered by the yarn
being proportionate to the difference of the rubbing surfaces, which difference
is much greater than the force which strives to carry it along the yarn, being
bruised or pressed (froissé) under, the lower edge of the provocator, which
edge it touches only because the centrifugal force drives it away from the
surface, as seen, Figures VII. and VIII., it (the yarn) cannot follow the
provocator, and it is therefore compelled to wind itself on the bobbin
gradually and as fast as it is formed, and this with whatever tension it may
possess, and which by the gradual lowering of the spindle it preserves con-
stantly in a uniform degree, notwithstanding the change of volume which the
bobbin undergoes. The up and down motion on which the distribution of the
yarn on the bobbin depends is slow, and the bobbins become gradually charged
and swollen, but at each notable increase in their diameter, viz., every time the
bobbin bearer reaches its upper or lower pitch, the spindles, as has been
already described, descend a little, so that the same length of yarn being kept
between the bobbin and the lower edge of the provocator during all the
successive swellings of the bobbin, the stretching of the yarn
remains constantly
the same during all the phasis of the swelling of the bobbin.

page_text: The result of this state of things is, that the spindles with empty bobbins
keep the highest point of their position, the lower edge of the provocator being
nearly even with the upper edge of the winder, as shewn in Figure VIII.,
whilst the spindles, the bobbins of which are charged or swelled, keep the
lowest position, the provocator n covering the winder m almost entirely, as
shewn by Figure VII. The first of these positions, however, may be altered
at the starting point of the winding, according to the degree of stretching
which it is desired to give to the yarn; when stronger stretching is wanted the
provocator is lowered to a greater extent; for a weaker one, on the contrary,
it is raised more. The second position is always relative to the first, the screw
v always giving the same impulse for a same kind of work. The spindle which
I have just described is, in my opinion, more particularly applicable to the
spinning of very fine and but little twisted yarn.
It may be thought, on account of the form of the provocator, that my
system bears some resemblance to some other systems of covered spindles
formerly used, but now abandoned; but I must observe, that the friction-
winding spindle which I have described is essentially different from any other
in principle, in its effects, and in its construction; it naturally bears directly
upon the main part of my Invention, and I claim its application not only in
connexion with my own spinning frame, but also with any other throstle
spinning frame used for spinning any kind of fibrous material.
Having thus fully described my Invention, I wish it to be understood that
I do not confine myself to any particular shape and arrangement of the
several pieces, as represented in the annexed Drawing, and described in the
present Specification, and that they may be modified in various ways, so as to
produce the improved effect in drawing, twisting, and winding slivers and yarn
of wool or any other fibrous substances, as herein-before mentioned.
In witness whereof, I, the said Augustin Simeon Vimont, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Signed and sealed in presence of
ROBERT GASTEBOIS,
Manufacturer, à Vire (Calvados).
A. S. VIMONT. (L.8.)