CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN WINDING AND DOUBLING SILK, A PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS APPLICABLE TO THE TREATMENT OF OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1853

page_text: application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas Molyncaux at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th Decem-
ber 1858.
1, THOMAS MOLYNEAUX, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN WINDING AND DOUBLING SILK, A PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS
IS APPLICABLE TO THE TREATMENT OF OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," to be as fol-
lows:-
It consists in certain combinations of machinery for bringing the raw silk
from the cocoon, by winding and twisting to the different states in which it is at
present mostly imported into this country from abroad, and in the application
of one of such combinations to the twisting of other fibrous substances, such as
cotton. In winding the raw silk from the cocoon, 1 employ a modification of
the machine known as the turning jenny, or mule, without drawing rollers.
A sketch of this is shown in Fig. 1 of the accompanying Drawing, where A is
the carriage, carrying a trough a, containing the cocoons; b, the spindle, driven
in the usual manner. The ends from the cocoons pass round glass rods c, and
across a longitudinal strip d, of india-rubber, immediately over which is a knife-
edged nipping plate. When the carriage is stationary, and the twist is being

page_text: put in, the knife-edge presses the ends upon the india-rubber to confine the
twist to the part between it and the spindle, and it also maintains its place
during the time that the carriage goes up, and the winding on takes place; but
at the point where the carriage goes back it rises, and clears the ends, so as to
allow more fibre to be drawn off the cocoons. As it is requisite that the
cocoons should be immersed in warm water, I employ a fan or a steam pipe,
or a combination of both, to dry the fibres on their passage to the spindles. In
cases where I desire to produce the kinds of thread called "tram" and "single
twist," instead of the foregoing arrangement of machinery 1 'use for the former
revolving tubes. after the manner-of-the-machine-known as Dyers frame, and
for the latter also the same method, but with the addition of a common spindle
and flyer, as in the doubling frame.
In the sketch, Fig. 2, is the revolving tube, which twists the ends as
they approach it from the cocoon-trough, but delivers them untwisted on to the
bobbin 8, as well understood. Fig. 3 represents a similar arrangement, with
the spindle and flyer madded, by which means a thread is wound on to the
bobbin in a twisted state. In some cases, for the production of "single twist,"
I employ a revolving can for containing the cocoons, as in Fig. 4, n being
the can, which is divided into compartments to prevent the cocoons from
becoming entangled together, and is further provided with a false bottom for
the purpose of admitting steam to surround it, and maintain the water in which
the cocoons are immersed at a regular temperature. The can is caused to
revolve, and this twist the ends, while the bobbin o takes them up by contact
with the roller p. This plan of revolving the receptacle from which the ends
are drawn I also carry out, for the production of what is known as "organzine"
or doubled twist, in which case, instead of a can containing cocoons, I substitute
a frame containing cops, such as are produced by the turning jenny first
described. An outline of this method is shewn in Fig. 5, where are the
cops delivering their ends to the rollers y. The whole of this apparatus is
attached to a revolving frame, and the axis of one of the rollers is furnished
with a pinion, which takes into a stationary crown wheel w, so as to com-
municate motion to the rollers, to draw off the thread during the revolution.
The ends are thus at the same time doubled and twisted, and the produce is
taken up by the bobbin a, revolving by contact, as in the case last described.
It is this part of my Invention which I apply to the twisting of yarns com-
posed of other fibrous materials, employing such modifications as are suitable
to the treatment of the particular kind of material used. For instance, in the
case of cotton, I use rovings in the place of cops, and for the bobbin and
contact roller substitute drawing rollers, which deliver to an ordinary throstle
.

page_text: bobbin and flyer, and I give an intermitting motion to the rollers y, by taking
out a number of teeth in the crown wheel w, so that the rollers are alternately
stretching and drawing off. In the treatment of silk by any of the above
described processes, inasmuch as the raw fibre of the cocoon contains much
gummy matter, which causes it sometimes to adhere to the rollers through
which it passes, more especially after they have been standing, I immerse
such rollers, where necessary, in a trough containing warm water, in order to
dissolve the gum.