IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODES AND MEANS OF AND MACHINERY FOR FINISHING THREAD AND YARN
Year: 1873

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Hugh Crawford and James
Crawford at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 13th November 1873.
We, HUGH CRAWFORD and JAMES CRAWFORD, both of Barr Mill,
Beith, in the County of Ayr, North Britain, Manufacturers, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODES
AND MEANS OF AND MACHINERY FOR FINISHING THREAD AND YARN," to be as
follows:-
Our said Invention has reference to certain improvements upon the
modes and means heretofore employed for stretching and glossing linen
thread or other thread or yarn in hanks or sets of skeins, in and by what
is known in the trade as the "iron man," and as the "pinning" or
"hooking" machine, being also improvements upon the Invention for
which Royal Letters Patent were granted to us, Number 2418, dated
14th August 1872, and in and by which heretofore each set of skeins or
hank has been hooked on an upper revolving hook, and a non-revolving
hook, pin, or pulley exactly below, which traversed in a nearly straight
or parallel manner up and down towards the revolving hook as it turned
in either direction to twist or curl the hanks up, and so shorten them

page_text: and untwist them again to lengthen them, thus stretching and posing
the threads by their own friction on each other, assisted by our improved
springs acting between the hooks, so as to give an increasing strain as
the twisting or curling increased, and vice versa; and the nature and
novelty of this Invention consists in giving to the lower pins, hooks, or
pulleys, whichever are employed, a new freedom and motion to oscillate
or swerve laterally in either direction by and while the hanks on them
are being twisted or curled, in addition to their free up-and-down rocking
motion on the centre of resistance, whether that be upon the said
improved resisting spring of our said former Patented Invention, or the
ordinary weights or the carrying bar to which the lower hooks are
attached.
One mode and means of performing or carrying out the said purpose
of this Invention, of giving the said lateral or horizontal oscillating
motion to the lower holders of the hanks while the former are rising
and falling, and while the latter are being twisted and untwisted, as
applied to an ordinary double hooking or pinning machine, with a row
of six twisting spindles and their hooks ranged longitudinally on each
side, as shown and described in reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the Final
Specification and Drawings of our said former Patented Invention,
consists in substituting duplex horizontal pins, preferably turned and
polished, on the opposite free ends of a long bar (or combined pair of
pins), each ranged transversely below the twisting hooks on the opposite
side of the machine, with a horizontal eye in the centre by which each
duplex pin is mounted on the turned ends of a longitudinal cross head,
with a large eye in the centre made to slide up and down on a strong,
round, central guide bar, with the improved resisting spiral spring
carried on it between the cross head and the upper frame, all so that
each of the three sets of duplex pins thus coupled in the form of the
figure H swivel freely and horizontally on their centre and vertical bar
and spring, while each duplex pin or opposite pair of pins forming the
side bars of the frame H, at the same time oscillating freely up and
down on the ends of the central cross bar, while the whole are rising or
falling by the turning of the upper hooks, and twisting and curling or
untwisting and uncurling of the hanks stretched between them and the
said holding oscillating pins below, thus giving a mobility to these in all
directions, which consequently equalizes the strain on each hank of the
set, also allowing them individually to take or form the most natural
twist or curl at the time of and in proportion to the strain on them.

page_text: Although four of these lower holding pins have been described as
coupled together and oscillated in the new or improved manner on one
guiding bar and resisting spring, considering this the best arrangement,
yet still it is to be understood that two or other number might be
coupled together and oscillated on a guiding and mobile eye or centre
between them, or even that each pin may be made to so oscillate on
such a centre out of the true line of the twisting hook above when
desired; and that although pins only have been mentioned for holding
the lower ends or loops of the hanks to which the improved freedom of
motion in all directions has been given, it will be understood that hooks
or pulleys might be employed instead, fixed to the bars or pins to which
the said free motion is given.