IMPROVEMENTS IN MULES FOR SPINNING
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Pilkington, of Preston, in the County of
Lancaster, Agent, for the Invention of " IMPROVEMENTS IN MULES FOR
SPINNING."
Sealed the 9th April 1874, and dated the 14th October 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Pilkington
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 14th October 1873.
I, SAMUEL PILKINGTON, of Preston, in the County of Lancaster,
Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MULES FOR SPINNING," to be as follows:-
: The first part of my Invention relates to what is known as the
strapping or governing motion of self-acting mules, and acts directly
upon the screw of the quadrant or radial arm, communicating to it the
necessary motion for keeping the yarn one uniform tightness during the
forming of the cop bottom, thereby preventing snarls and cut yarn, at
the same time making a firmer and better cop. I place a lever near the
bottom of the quadrant or radial arm; a band or chain is fixed to one

page_text: end of this lever, taken round a pulley or wheel on the ordinary stud
fixed on the bottom of the quadrant arm; the end is then connected to
a weight, or spring, or other equivalent; motion is given to the quadrant
screw by the mule carriage coming in contact with the aforesaid lever
or its equivalent connected with it. Another lever is placed near the one
above named, and is acted upon by a screw and nut receiving their
motion by wheels, band, strap, or chain from the before-mentioned
wheel or pulley on the ordinary stud at the bottom of the quadrant arm;
this lever has attached to it a loose plate with adjusting screws, so that
its shape can be varied to suit the [different shape of cops; the object of
this lever is to regulate the position of the former lever so that the
carriage may come in contact with it sooner or later, as may be required,
to give the exact speed to the quadrant screw and thus secure the most
accurate winding of the yarn on the cop during the build of the bottom.
At the other end of the first-named lever I fix one end of a rod, the
other end of which I attach to a small lever fixed on the floor, over
which the mule carriage passes. Should the counterfaller get too low
while the mule is winding then another lever connected in the usual
way to the fallers comes in contact with the one on the floor, thereby
giving motion to the quadrant screw. I obtain the same result by
placing near the bottom of the quadrant arm an upright bracket with
a slot in; I place in this slot a weight, to which is attached a chain or
band which I pass over a wheel or pulley fixed at the top of such
bracket and down and under another small pulley below; attached to
another part of this same pulley is another chain or band end, the other
end of which is fixed to the nut on the quadrant screw, and as this nut
moves up the quadrant screw it raises the weight up the aforesaid slot
and places the adjustable lever in its proper position.
Another way of applying my Invention.-I fix an adjustable plate to
the quadrant arm and a swivel bracket to work loose on the nut of the
quadrant screw. One end of this swivel will press against and slide up
the adjustable plate; the other end will be attached to a chain or band,
which chain or band will pass round a pulley below the quadrant arm;
fixed to this pulley is a smaller one on which another chain or band
wraps, the other end of which is attached to the first named lever and
keeps it in its proper position.
The second part of my Invention relates to cop noses, being an
improved method of bringing the nose peg into contact with the winding

page_text: chain without the aid of the minder. The ordinary nose peg bracket is
exchanged for a lever placed on a stud fixed in the quadrant arm; in
one end of this lever is the ordinary nose peg or stud that presses on the
chain; a finger connected with a taper scroll, or an eccentric pulley, or
equivalent, working on a stud and fixed to the side of the mule head-
stock is brought into contact with the other end of the lever as the
quadrant arm moves forward and thus puts greater pressure on the
winding chain; this pressure is gradually increased as the cop enlarges
by the action of the copping faller in its connection with certain levers
without the attention of the minder.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Samuel Pilkington in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 14th April 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
PILKINGTON, of Preston, in the County of Lancaster, Agent, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in
the thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Samuel Pilkington, Her
special licence that I, the said Samuel Pilkington, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Samuel
Pilkington, 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 MULES FOR SPINNING," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Samuel Pilkington, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, 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

page_text: Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel Pilkington, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :—
The objects of my Invention relate to the winding of the yarn on the
cop, and is what is termed in the trade "strapping" and "nosing."
The one regulates the winding of the yarn during the formation of the
cop bottom, the other is for winding the yarn tighter on the cop
nose.
Hereunto I annex two Sheets of Drawings, reference being had to the
several figures and letters marked thereon.
Fig. 1 shews a side view of one mode of applying my apparatus to
mules, known as "sharps" or "backing-off" mules.
A is the quadrant arm as already used; B, the nut on quadrant screw;
C, winding chain; D, winding on block; E, carriage; F, an ordinary
catch box; G, the ordinary stud carrying catch box and mitre wheel at
the bottom of quadrant arm. These several Figures represent old parts
of the mule. H is a bracket placed in front of the headstock, which
carries lever I fulcrummed at J. To the top end of such lever is
attached a band M at K, which band passes twice round a pulley L on
front part of catch box F; thence, as per dotted lines N, to a weight or
spring in any convenient position. The upper part of lever I may be
lengthened or shortened by slot K 1. At the back side of catch
box F I place a chain wheel; on screw spindle N I place another chain
wheel O; round these two chain wheels I connect chain P, thus giving
motion from one wheel to the other. On this screw N is a side stud
nut Q (similar in all respects to H in Fig. 3.) R is end view of frame,
similar, and for the purpose of carrying screw and nut for lifting
lever S (similar to lever I on Fig. 3.) From the lower end of lever I at
ol is a chain passing under guide pulley T, and connected to the end of
lever S at 02. At the lower end of lever I is likewise connected one
end of rod U; the other end of such rod is connected to catch lever V,
fulcrummed on the floor by bracket W. At the front of carriage E is
bracket X; working horizontally in it is a slide bar Y with a guide stud.

page_text: On the end of this slide bar is a pin a, which, when the carriage comes
out, strikes lever I. On the lower and inner end of this slide bar is a
projecting stud b, which is acted upon by circular projection c on the
upper end of pendent lever d, to which is secured catch wheel e
fulcrummed into bracket X at f. In the side of pendent lever d is a
slot, up and down which slides a catch by stud g. There is a pawl
pendent lever i having at the bottom a swivel catch finger ; fulcrummed
at k on bracket X. On the floor I fix at proper distances brackets /
and m, against which the pendent levers h and j come in contact.
The action is as follows:-When the mule carriage is nearly out the
end at a of slide bar Y comes in contact with lever I, pushing it out at
the upper end, therby pulling band M, giving motion to catch box F,
on which is mitre wheel, thereby giving motion to screw of quadrant
arm, raising the nut B nearer the top end of arm. On the return of the
carriage as it gets near the roller beam a bracket on such carriage comes
in contact at top end of catch lever V, thereby drawing the lower end
of lever I by connecting rod U giving a second action to the screw in
radial arm. Should the yarn become so tight during the winding as to
allow the counterfaller to get too low then the catch / (connected by
chain to bracket on the counterfaller) drops, and on its traverse comes
in contact with bracket m, bringing the circular projection c on pendent
lever d against projecting stud 6 on sliding bar Y, thereby pushing
sliding bar Y further out, being held in that position by catch wheel e
and pawl until the carriage gets out, thus bringing a, end of slide
bar Y, in contact with lever I sooner, thereby giving greater effect to
the screw in radial arm. The pawl pendent lever i having now passed
the bracket on floor on its return motion comes again in contact with
this bracket 1, thus the pawl end of such lever will be lifted out of
catch wheel e, allowing pendent lever d to fall back to its proper
position.
The weight or spring connected to the back end of band M will
allways keep the band tight round pulley L and bring back the lever I
to its proper position as the carriage goes in.
The chain wheel on the back of the catch box F communicates motion
to similar chain wheel on screw spindle N by means of chain P, which
motion works a screw and nut Q, (similar to that marked in Fig. 3 of
my Drawings, in lever I. plate J. screws K, nut H, and screw spindle G,)

page_text: as the screw works the nut up it raises the end of lever S, which is
connected at 02 to chain, as dotted lines indicate, passing under guide
pulley T to lower end of lever I attached at ol. As the end of lever S
arises it draws by the dotted chain the lower end of lever I nearer the
guide pulley T, throwing the upper end further from the carriage,
thereby gradually diminishing the winding at every stroke of the slide
bar Y.
Fig. 2 shews a side view of another mode of applying my Invention
to the same kind of mule without the screw described in Figs. 1 and 3.
A is quadrant arm; B, nut on quadrant screw; C, a chain attached to
swivel link on quadrant nut, the bottom end of which is attached to a
pulley D, on the side of which is a smaller pulley E; F is a catch wheel
fixed on the back of the pulley D; G is a pawl for same; H is a chain,
one end of which is secured to pulley E, passing over pulley I, down
back of bracket J, and attached to top end of weight K, on which is a
stud M., working in a guide slott L in bracket J projecting through
sufficient for adjusting plate N to rest upon; O is adjusting lever with
adjusting screws P, same as in Fig. 3; Q is the lower end of lever O,
to which is one end of connecting rod R, the other end being connected
to the lower end of pendent lever S, which may be hung to headstock
frame or bracket on the floor; T, catch box on stud of quadrant arm, as
set forth in Fig. 1; U, catch box pulley, round which band V passes
twice, one end being attached to top end of lever O, the other end to a
weight or equivalent, as in Fig. 1. The difference of action between this
and Fig. 1 results from the substitution of weight K in bracket J, and
chains C and H, and their appliances, as shewn for the screw and studded
nut, as described in Drawings, Figs. 1 and 3.
Figure 3 shews a side view of another mode of applying my apparatus
to mules where the radial arm is fixed and worked on the carriage square,
or what is commonly known as " Smith's "mule. A, A, is the mule head-3
stock; B, carriage square; C, stud bracket that carries lower end of
radial arm; D, stud for do. on which works the lower end of radial
arm. I have not shewn the radial arm, having nothing to do with it,
but immediately behind where the radial arm should work I shew a
pair of mitre wheels E, F, which give motion to screw G, working up or 3
down nut and pivot H. This nut pivot H raises lever I, at the back of
which is a regulating plate J, which is regulated by screws K; K 1, is
fulcrum stud for I to freely work on; at the outer and lower end of lever

page_text: I is connected a branch leg lever L, to which is one end of a connecting
rod M; the other end of such rod is connected to the lower end of lever
N. This lever works on pivot O; fixed to the inside of lever N is a
ratchet wheel P, working loose on the pivot O, but further inside of
ratchet wheel P is pawl lever Q, carrying pawl R, acting in ratchet P;
S, S, is a bracket attached to the carriage square which supports the
levers N and Q by stud O; T is a stop piece on bracket S for lifting
catch end of pawl out of ratchet when the slide U is away from bracket
V, but soon as such slide U comes in contact with bracket V the back
of pawl or catch R leaves the stop piece T, and is thereby liberated, and
drops into ratchet P. The slide U works freely up and down a slott in
lever Q, the top end of which is connected by chain W to counterfaller
finger X; on the builder faller is a similar finger Y, with a short slack
chain Z, the lower end of which is connected to chain W at W 1. This
chain gradually becomes tighter as the cop bottom enlarges, and by the
time the bottom is completely formed it is sufficiently tight to prevent
the slide U from coming in contact with bracket V.
al is a cross piece for coupling the carriage; 61, is a bracket; cl,
is a spring connected to the top of bracket; dl, is a lever secured by
stud gl to bracket 61; el, is a cord or equivalent secured to end of
lever dl, passing from thence twice round pulley f1, and connected to
the end of lever I; hl, is a sliding bracket attached to the headstock
that can be set in or out to suit the winding; its action is as follows:-
The mule carriage coming out near the termination of its traverse the
lever N is brought in contact with the round end of pusher hl, the
lever N being fulcrummed at O, gives motion to connecting rod M, leg
lever L, and thence lifts lever I off pivot nut H, which pulls the cord
el round pulley f1, drawing down the lever end dl against its
resisting power in spring cl, and thereby giving motion to screw G, and
also to quadrant screw (which is not necessary here to shew).
The above describes the strapping or regulating motion when the
carriage is coming out; when the carriage is getting up to the roller
beam the leg L of lever I comes in contact with the frame A of
headstock, as shewn, lifting the outer end of lever I, thus creating
the same motion as before described when out. If the yarn should
still get too tight when the mule is winding the counterfaller X1
is brought down, allowing the chain W₁ to slacken and let down
the slide U, so that it comes in contact with bracket V as the carriage

page_text: passes over it, putting the pawl or catch R in gear of ratchet wheel P,
thus lifting again through lever N the lever L, and thus preventing the
breakage of yarn.
The winding of the yarn on the cop is gradually diminished as the
cop enlarges by the traverse of nut H up screw G raising the end
of lever I, thereby bringing lever N later in contact with pusher kl.
Fig. 4 represents the second or nosing part of my Invention.
A, A, are the two faller rods; B, the winding block; C, the winding
chain; D, the cross piece for coupling the carriage; E, a catch
bracket; F, a fulcrum stud on which levers G and H are fulcrummed;
I is a pendent lever hung from stud J; K. is a connecting rod, one
end of which is connected to pendent lever I at L, the other end
is connected to lever M at N; this lever is fulcrummed at O to head-
stock; P is a finger on the builder faller rod, to the lower end of
which is connected chain Q attached to the lower end of lever G;
R is a pawl fulcrummed on to top end of lever G at S; T is a
stud fixed in lever H passing through slot U into top end of pawl;
V is a stud in pendent I. The pendent lever I being fulcrummed
to the headstock near the back, the levers G and H being carried
by the carriage are brought against stud V in such lever, carrying
lever I forward, and thus by connecting rod K draws over N, end
of lever M lifting up the curved end against the winding chain in
front of winding block, thus accelerating speed of block, thereby
winding the yarn tighter on the cop nose as the mule is geting in,
as a nosing motion is not required during the formation of the cop
bottom the levers G and H being connected by finger P and chain Q
to builder faller A are worked with the faller, as the faller goes down
to the bottom they are drawn inward out of the way of the pendent
lever I, but as the cop gradualy enlarges, and the faller rises higher
up the spindle, it allows these levers gradually to approach the stud V
in pendent I until it ultimately comes in contact and gradually increases
its pressure until the cop is finished. It will be thus understood that
the two levers are at liberty to work with the faller until the lever H
comes in contact with stud V, when its pressure moves lever H, being
fulcrummed at f, the stud T working in slot U, being at the upper
end of pawl R fulcrummed at S puts the tooth end of pawl in the
catch bracket, holding it in such position until the carriage gets in,
and as the pressure is taken off the bottom end of lever H it naturally

page_text: falls back by its own gravity, thereby lifting the catch out of the teeth
and keeps free until the next operation.
Having fully described my Invention, and the several ways in which
it may be used, I beg to say I do not confine myself to the precise
details I have had occasion to refer to; but what I claim as secured
to me is,―
First. A separate screw adjustable lever and its connections for
diminishing the winding as the cop enlarges, substantially as and for
the purposes herein-before set forth.
Second. The sliding weight as used, and mode of lifting it by the
traverse of nut up quadrant screw, substantially as and for the purposes
herein-before set forth.
Third. The pendent slotted lever with its combination of pawl,
ratchet, and slide, substantially as and for the purposes herein-before
set forth.
Fourth. The adjustable lever with its appliencies, substantially as and
for the purposes herein-before set forth.
Fifth. The general arrangement of the various parts shewn in Fig. 4,
or any mechanical equvalent of the same, substantially as and for the
purposes herein-before set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Pilkington, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.
Witness,
JOHN LEWIS,
Engineer & Patent Agent,
Preston,
Lancashire.
SAMUEL PILKINGTON. (L.S.)