SELF-ACTING MULES." "IMPROVEMENTS IN
Year: 1879

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Thurlow at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 19th June 1879.
JOHN THURLOW, of Wakefield, in the County of York.
SELF-ACTING MULES."
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
The object of my Invention is to prevent any shock or jerk on the spindles at
the reversing point, this being effected by an arrangement of apparatus in such a
manner that the spindles are gradually brought to a standstill before the reversing
takes place, instead of the sudden stoppage which occurs on ordinary self acting
mules.
To effect this end I apply a governor attachment similar to those used on
ordinary steam engines. This is so connected with the movement of the machine
and driving gear of the spindles that at the reversing point it acts upon the friction
gearing in connection with the spindles so as to gradually bring them to a standstill,
after which the motion is reversed, which brings the governors automatically into
operation, and through it the friction gearing is brought into "play," and thereby
the spindles caused to rotate.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Thurlow in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 19th December
1879.
JOHN THURLOW, of Wakefield, in the County of York.
SELF-ACTING MULES."
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
The object of my Invention is to prevent any shock or jerk on the spindles and
gearing of the machine at the reversing point, this being effected by an arrange-
ment of apparatus in such a manner that the spindles are allowed to come to a
standstill before the reversing takes place.
To effect this end I apply a governor attachment similar to those used on
ordinary steam engines. This is so connected with the movement of the machine
and driving gear of the spindles as only to allow the reversing of the spindles after
they have been brought to a standstill by acting upon the reversing friction gearing
in connection with the spindles.
But to make my Invention better understood I will now proceed to describe the
same by reference to the accompanying Drawing, in which Figure 1 is a sectional
plan of part of a self-acting mule with my improved self-acting adjustable check
arrangement applied thereto; Figure 2 is a cross section, and Figure 3 an end
elevation of the same; Figure 4 is a detached view shewing the arrangement of the
pulleys for driving the governor attachment. Similar letters in all the Figures
represent similar parts.
a and b are the ordinary fast and loose pulleys of the mule on the main shaft c;
d is the ordinary reversing friction cone; e is the ordinary driving pulley of the
spindles.
To the frame of the mule I bolt a bracket g having a pillar h in which works
a shaft or spindle i, which is the governor spindle; on this spindle i I apply an
ordinary pendulum governor A, the shaft i being driven from the pulleys on the
main shaft c, and the arrangement of pulleys shown in Figure 4, or by any other
suitable arrangement. The outer end of the governor spindle is hollow, and con-
tains a short rod, one end of the said rod being connected by the cotter or key to
the governor, and the other end by the cotter to a tooth or projection k (shewn
in dotted lines), such tooth moving in a box l, which I call the catch box. To the
side of this box I pivot a weighted lever m with a loose escapement catch m², the
shorter arm of the lever passing into the box with the loose catch m' attached (the
catch being shewn in dotted lines), for the purpose hereinafter described. To
the bracket g is jointed a lever n, one end of which slides on the governor spindle
with the governor connection. The other end of the lever n is jointed to a rod o
working in brackets p, pl. The other end of the rod o is adjustably jointed at q to
a catch r, which passes behind the arm a connected by means of the semicircular
strapt to the corresponding arm a¹. The said arms & and s¹ are keyed on the
backing off shaft u, and the strap t connects the arms together by means of the
pivots v, v², thereon, and the strap fits in a groove in the boss x of the friction
cone d.
The operation of my improved self-acting adjustable check arrangement is as
follows:-
The mule being set in motion the governor shaft i in revolving will cause the
governor balls to fly out in the usual manner, and bring the parts of the attach-
ment into the position shewn in the Drawing ready to act on the friction gear on
the cessation of the revolution of the spindles. The driving belt having been passed
from the fast to the loose pulley the spindles will continue to revolve for a short
time, as also will the governor, the balls of which gradually falling will bring the
tooth k in contact with the catch m² of the lever m, and the adjustable weight B
thereof will prevent the governor balls from entirely falling during their velocity;

page_text: directly however the motion of the mule ceases the weight of the governor
balls
overcomes that of the weight B, and the balls falling move the lever n on its
fulcrum, thereby raising the rod o and releasing the catch from the arm a, thus
allowing the friction cone d to come into action to reverse the spindles. The mule
being again started the governor will act, carrying the parts back to the position
shown in the Drawing, the escapement catch falling by gravitation or by the action
of a spring.
It will thus be seen that the friction gear is only put into operation to reverse
the motion of the spindles after they have stopped, thereby avoiding sudden shock
or jerk; but by adjusting the weight B the reversing can be effected either before
or after the spindles have ceased to revolve.
In some cases the governor may be employed without the catch box arrangement,
but will not produce such good resulta
Although I have described and shown my self-acting adjustable check arrange-
ment as applied to the top part of a mule frame, it will be understood that it may
be applied to any other convenient part of a self-acting mule, according to the con-
struction of the male.
Having now described my said Invention and the best means with which I am
acquainted for carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do
not confine myself to the precise details herein laid down and shewn in the Drawing,
as the same may be varied without departing froin the peculiar character of my
Invention, but what I do claim is,―
Firstly. The construction and application to self-acting mules of a self-acting
adjustable check mechanism for preventing the reversing of the spindles until they
have completed their revolution, substantially as herein before described and repre-
sented in the accompanying Drawing, or any mere modification thereof.
Secondly. The combination with an ordinary pendulum governor of a lever and
escapement catch arrangement, whereby the governor balls are prevented from
falling until the revolution of the spindles is stopped, as and for the purpose herein-
before described and represented in the accompanying Drawing.
Thirdly. The application to a self-acting mule of an ordinary pendulum governor,
as and for the purpose herein before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Thurlow, have hereto set my hand and
seal, this Seventeenth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.
TATTIT ENTITATAM