IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE SPINNING OF HEMP, FLAX, MANILLA, OR OTHER LIKE FIBROUS MATERIAL
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Ronald, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR THE SPINNING OF HEMP, FLAX, MANILLA, OR OTHER LIKE FIBROUS
MATERIAL,"
Sealed the 19th September 1860, and dated the 26th March 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Ronald at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 26th
March 1860.
I, JAMES RONALD, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Merchant, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR THE SPINNING OF HEMP, FLAX, MANILLA, OR OTHER LIKE FIBROUS
MATERIAL," to be as follows (that is to say):-
These improvements consist of a revolving, rectangular, or other suitably
shaped frame, one end working upon a fixed hollow trunnion, and receiving
motion at the other end through a driving shaft upon which suitable driving
pullies are staked, or by means of other convenient mechanical equivalents.
The hollow trunnion is fitted on its inner end with a fixed bevil toothed collar,
into which is geared a toothed wheel staked on to the end of a short transverse
shaft which extends through one side of the rectangular revolving frame, and
carries on its outer end a small spur wheel, which gears into another toothed
wheel on the end of a transverse shaft which extends across the rectangular
Price &dl

page_text: revolving frame, and at the centre of its length is provided with a grooved
pulley, over which the yarn passes as it is spun. This transverse shaft is fitted
within the frame near one end, with a grooved driving pulley for giving
motion through a driving band to a yarn bobbin whichismountedtransversely
within the revolving rectangular frame, and having its axis parallel to the
shaft upon which the driving pulley is mounted. Thislastdescribed transverse
shaft is fitted with a worm motion near the opposite end to which the driving
pulley is placed for the purpose of giving motion to a lever which carries a
guide for causing the yarn to be wound equally on the bobbin. In some cases
it is preferred to use the double screw yarn guide motion in place of the lever
guide described. The fibre to be spun is supplied by hand, or otherwise
through the hollow trunnion on which the revolving frame works, the twist
being put into the fibre by the rotatory motion of the frame, passes over the
grooved wheel on the shaft which extends across the revolving frame, and is
then carried through the guide eye on the end of the guide lever or other
suitable mechanical equivalent, and is wound upon the take-up bobbin.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Ronald in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
25th September 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
RONALD, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty,in the twenty-second year of Herreign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said James Ronald, Her special licence that I, the said James Ronald, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Ronald, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR THE SPINNING OF HEMP. FLAX, MANILLA, OR OTHER LIKE FIBROUS MATERIAL,'
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Ronald, my exe-
cutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their,
or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain

page_text: 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 James Ronald, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say) :-
These my said improvements consist of a revolving, rectangular, or other
suitably shaped frame, one end working upon a fixed hollow trunnion, and
receiving motion at the other end through a driving shaft,(and which, in some
cases, I prefer to form hollow, for reasons hereafter explained,) upon which
suitably driving pullies are staked, or by means of other convenient mechanical
equivalents. The hollow trunnion is fitted on its inner end with a fixed bevel
toothed collar, into which is geared a toothed wheel staked on to the end of a
short transverse shaft which extends through one side of the rectangular or
other suitably shaped revolving frame, and carries on its outer end a small
spun wheel which gears into another toothed wheel on the end of a transverse
shaftwhich extends across the rectangular or other suitablyshaped revolving
frame, and at the centre of its length it is provided with a grooved pulley,
over which the yarn passes as it is spun. This transverse shaft is fitted within
the frame near one or both ends with a grooved driving pulley, for giving
motion to a yarn bobbin through a driving band or bands. The yarn bobbin
is mounted transversely within the revolving, rectangular, or other suitably
shaped frame, with its axis parallel to the shaft upon which the driving pulley
or pulleys are mounted. This last described transverse driving shaft may be
fitted near one end with a worm motion, for the purpose of giving motion to a
lever which carries a guide for causing the yarn to be wound equally on the
bobbin. In some cases I prefer to use the double screw yarn guide motion in
place of the lever guide described, or I make use of certain mechanical con-
trivances placed mainly in rear of the take-up bobbin, as hereafter described.
The fibre to be spun is supplied by hand, or otherwise, through the hollow
trunnion on which the revolving frame works, the twist being put into the
fibre by the rotatory motion of the frame. The yarn when formed passes over
the grooved wheel (or pulleys when more than one are used) on the shaft (or
shafts) which extends across the revolving frame, and is then carried through
the guide eye on the end of the guide, or the yarn may be first carried over a
second loose grooved pulley placed at the rear of the first described grooved
pulley, or other suitable mechanical equivalent, and is then wound upon the

page_text: take-up bobbin. Sometimes I use two fixed guide eyes, one in front and the
other in rear of the grooved drawing rollers, for smoothing and guiding the
yarn; and I also apply, for the like purposes, grooved friction rollers of gutta
percha, or other suitable material, which gears into the grooves of the
drawing rolls.
Another modification of my improved machinery for the spinning of yarns
for the manufacture of various descriptions of cordage from hemp, flax, and
other like fibrous materials, consists of a suitable fixed frame, upon which I
mount a revolving framework which carries a set of drawing rollers, which
are actuated by a small bevel wheel which works into and travels round a
stationary bevel wheel fixed on the inner end of a hollow axle uponwhich one
end of the revolving frame rotates, as already described. On the axle of the
rotating travelling wheel a small pinion is fixed, which works into a toothed
wheel on the transverse axle of the first pair of drawing rolls. The second
pair of drawing rolls, the shaft of which is placed parallel to the first pair, are
actuated by the friction of the yarn as it passes over them. On the shaft of
the first pair of drawing rolls are placed two small friction pulleys, which give
motion through endless bands to a small transverse shaft placed in front of
and parallel to the axis of the take-up bobbin on which the yarn is wound as
it is spun, and which bobbin receives motion through a second pair of endless
bands. The revolving frames which carries the drawing rolls, the yarn
receiving bobbin, and so forth, obtains a rotating motion through a friction
pulley staked into a hollow axle in rear of the bobbin upon which the formed
yarn is wound. A fixed shaft passes through the hollow axle of the revolving
frame in rear of the yarn bobbin, on the inner end of which I fix a worm
wheel, into which works a second worm wheel on a small transverse shaft
mounted on the revolving frame in rear of and parallel to the axis of the
yarn bobbin. A second worm wheel is staked on to this transverse shaft,
which works into an obliquely toothed wheel on a shaft having its axis
in the line of the revolving frame; the inner end of this shaft carries a
small cog wheel, the axis of which carries a heart-shaped cam working
within a double heart-shaped recess formed in a transverse reciprocating
sliding piece, which travels on a cross bar in rear of the take-up yarn
bobbin. The transverse reciprocating sliding piece carries a straight rack,
which gears into a toothed wheel formed on one side of a pulley disc,
which is mounted loosely on the inner end of the stationary shaft which
passes through the hollow axis of the revolving frame. Two small bands are
attached to the edge of the pulley wheel, and are laid into a groove cut into
the periphery of the wheel, and then carried over small antifriction rollers

page_text: fitted on each side of the revolving frame to the front of the yarn bobbin,
where they are attached to each side of a small guide eye, which travels back-
wards and forwards on a transverse bar fixed across the revolving frame in
front of the yarn bobbin.
To spin yarn, the operator places the hemp or other fibrous material round
the waist, as is ordinarily practised by rope makers, and connects the bite of
the fibre to the outer end of a previously formed piece of yarn which passes
through the hollow axis of the revolving frame in front of the drawing rolls
round which it passes, then through the travelling guide eye on front of the
yarn bobbin on to the take-up bobbin, upon which it is wound as described.
The fibre is twisted and formed into yarn by the rotation of the revolving
frame on which the drawing rolls, &c., are mounted, and is laid evenly on the
receiving bobbin by means of the reciprocating guide eye, which travels back-
wards and forwards in front of the bobbin.
That this
my said Invention may be the more readily seen and understood,
I have hereunto annexed Drawings in illustration of my last described modi-
fication of my improved machine, like letters and figures marked thereon
being used to denote similar parts.
Figure 1 shows an end elevation of the rear end of the machine; Figure 2,
a side elevation; and Figure 3, a top view or plan of the same.
A, fixed frame, upon which is mounted B, a revolving frame, which carries
the principal working parts of the machine; C, the main driving shaft, upon
which is mounted cand c,fast and loose driving pulleys; D, main driving strap;
E, driving pulley on the end of the main shaft, which gives motion through
F, an endless band, working over G, a driving pulley staked on, and gives
motion to H, a hollow axle, upon which the revolving frame (B) is mounted;
I, a fixed hollow axle, upon which the revolving frame (B) rotates, and
through which the fibre to be spun is fed by hand, as commonly practised by
rope makers; K, a stationary mitre wheel, fixed on the inner end of the
hollow axle (I) of the revolving frame (B), into which gears L, a mitre wheel,
which receives motion by rotating round the stationary wheel (K), and which
carries on the outer end of its axle M a small pinion, which works into N, a
toothed wheel on the end of O, the shaft of the first pair of driving rolls; P, a
second pair of drawing rolls, which are actuated by the friction of the yarn
passing over them; S, two small friction pulleys placed on T, a transverse
shaft, which carries V, two small friction pulleys, which communicate motion
through W, two small driving bands, to X, friction pulleys which drive Y, the
yarn receiving bobbin. a, the small fixed shaft, which passes through the
hollow revolving axis of the revolving frame in rear of the yarn bobbin ; b, a

page_text: P
stationary worm wheel on the shaft (a) into which is geared an obliquely
toothed wheel on c, a transverse shaft, which carries a worm wheel which
works into d, an obliquely toothed wheel on e, a small shaft in line with the
axis of the revolving frame, which carries on its inner end f, a small cog
wheel, which gears into g, a second cog wheel, which carries on its axle ha
heart-shaped cam, which works within a double heart-shaped recess formed in
the side of i, a reciprocating piece sliding on , a bar fixed transversely across
the revolving frame; 1, a straight rack attached to the side of the sliding
piece (2), which gears into and gives the required motion to m, a toothed
pinion formed on the face of n, a transverse pulley disc, which is loosely
mounted on the inner end of the small stationary shaft (a), and to which is
attached o, two small bands, which are carried over small friction pulleys
attached to the sides of the revolving frame for leading the bands (o) to q, a
yarn guide eye, which travels upon 7, a transverse rod in front of the yarn
bobbins, the fibre from which the yarn is formed, and which is fed by hand
in the ordinary way now practised by rope makers in spinning yarn; t, the
formed yarn; u and u¹, fixed yarn guides attached to the revolving frame (B).
In some cases I prefer to give motion to the take-up bobbin by means of the
transverse worm wheel shaft, which works into the worm on the stationary
shaft which passes through the hollow axle of the rotating frame in rear of the
take-up bobbin, and which I do by mounting a mitre wheel near one end of
the revolving worm wheel shaft, and mounting on one side of the rotating
frame a small driving shaft, having a mitre wheel at each end, one of which
mitre wheels gears into the mitre wheel on the transverse worm wheel shaft
and the other into a small mitre wheel on the axle of the take-up bobbin, by
means of two friction pulleys, one staked on to the transverse worm wheel shaft,
and the other on to the axle of the take-up bobbin, and connecting them by an
endless band. When I adopteither of the last described means of actuating the
take-up bobbin to prevent undue tention on the yarn, I use a friction plate on
the side of the bobbin, as is well understood. When I use a right and left-
handed screw (cut on one shaft) for actuating the travelling yarn guide in
front of the take-up bobbin, I also take the driving power from the transverse
worm wheel shaft. The double screwed shaft works through a hole in a block
of metal in or on which the yarn guide eye is formed, and which has a
reciprocating motion on a smooth fixed rod placed parallel with the doublecut
driving screw, and I place a small buffer spring at each end of the driving
screw to ensure the return screw taking into the corresponding female screw
cut in the inner surface of the hole in the guide block through which the screw
shaft works.

page_text: Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of this my said In-
vention, and how I believe the same may be best carried into practical effect,
I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details,
dimentions, or relative proportions herein-before described and set forth, as it
will be readily seen that the same may considerably varied without departing
from the Invention; but what I claim is,-
First, the general construction, arrangement, and combination of the various
parts of the apparatus herein-before described and set forth, or any mere
modification of the same.
Secondly, the use of the improved system of machinery herein-before
described, or any mere modification of the same, for the spinning of hemp,
flax, Manilla hemp, and other like fibrous materials.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Ronald, have hereunto set my
hand and affixed my seal, this Twenty-fourth day of September, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
Witness,
WILLIAM WALKER,
of 44, Castle Street,
Liverpool.
JAMES (L.S.) RONALD.