IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING AND SPINNING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES.
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Falconer Macken, of Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING AND SPINNING WOOL
AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES.' -A communication from abroad by
Ferdinand Spineux, of Liège, in the Kingdom of Belgium.
"
Sealed the 9th May 1873, and dated the 11th November 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Falconer Macken at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th November 1872.
I, FALCONER MACKEN, of Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING AND SPINNING
WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is so to prepare (by the operations of
twisting and drawing out) slubbings or rovings of wool or other fibrous
substances, that the operation of spinning may be more effectually and

page_text: uniformly carried on than by the ordinary processes. To this end the
slubbings or rovings when placed in the preparing and spinning machine
are passed between feeding rollers, which carry them forward to the
drawing and preparing rollers and twisting apparatus. Two or more
pairs of drawing rollers are employed, the upper rollers of each pair being
simply pressing rollers. The lower rollers have parts of their periphery
cut away, so that at a certain part of their rotation they will not nip the
yarns; the latter will pass through rotating tubes, whereby a twist is
given to the yarns as they pass onward. The yarns will be released from
the nip of the drawing rollers whenever the cut away portions of the
lower rollers come round, then the twist which has been given to them
will pass up beyond the pressing rollers, and will thereby extend the
whole length of the yarn up to the last pair of feeding rollers, and will
be to a certain extent taken out again; the yarns will thereby be
alternately twisted and released, and then drawn out so that the thick-
ness of the yarn will be more uniform, and the subsequent process of
spinning will be more regular, and therefore finer yarns than heretofore
may be produced. From the last pair of drawing rollers the yarns will
pass to the spindles whereby the spinning twist will be given, and a fine
thread produced at less cost and with greater facility than by the ordinary
processes.
The twist in the preparing process may be regulated either by placing
the pairs of rollers at greater or less distance apart, or by modifying or
altering the speed of the twisting device, or by causing the yarn to pass
between bars which will bend it out of a straight line.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Falconer Macken in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 10th May 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FALCONER
MACKEN, of Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give

page_text: "
and grant unto me, the said Falconer Macken, Her special licence that
I, the said Falconer Macken, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Falconer Macken, my executors, admini-
strators, 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 OR
APPARATUS FOR PREPARING AND SPINNING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES,'
being a communication to me from abroad by Ferdinand Spineux, of
Liège, in the Kingdom of Belgium, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Falconer Macken, 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 per-
formed, 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 Falconer Macken, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say):-
It is well known that the slubs or rovings composed of corded wool is
condensed between the rollers of the drawing head or condenser in
order to impart to it the consistence required for the after twisting and
winding operations to which it is subjected in the spinning machine. As
this condensation therefore causes as much resistance to its draft as if it
had received a great amount of twist it is necessary to open it out upon
the drawing and spinning frame which is to form it into a thread. To
effect this opening out I employ the arrangement of drawing rollers
shewn in Diagram at Figures 1 and 2. Several pairs of drawing rollers
are here shewn, but differing from the drawing rollers hitherto employed,
inasmuch as the upper rollers act by reason of their weight upon the
lower rollers so as to allow of the longest threads to slip without breaking
when they are gripped by the pair of delivery rollers d 1, Figures 1
and 2, where the upper roller 1 exerts the greatest amount of pressure.

page_text: Further, and contrary to what takes places with the drawing heads now
employed all these rollers can in this case be smooth and without
fluting.
The series of upper rollers should exert different pressures upon the
passing sliver, thus acting with a gradually increasing and a greater effect
than the first pair of rollers 6 through which the sliver enters, unless the
pressure has taken place upon a covered surface of the roller a, Fig. 2.
These rollers are actuated at varying speeds in proportion to the length
and twist of the threads (besides which their action does not take place
here as is the case with the draft rollers employed for equalizing or
reducing the thickness of the slub or roving) in order to disengage the
threads, which are here retained in a disordered state, and consequently
to open the slub or roving out, at the same time forcing the fibres thus
loosened to place themselves as parallel as possible in the direction of
the draft or lengthening out to which the rove will be here subjected.
As it is principally the shortest fibres which condense most easily, a
triple result is thereby obtained :-First, to mix with the mass fibres of
the finest description, instead of leaving them at the surface, for it is well
known that the effect of condensing fibres is to carry to the exterior of
the slub the lightest wool; and, secondly, to allow the fibres thus dis-
engaged to stretch and slide with greater facility during their draft while
receiving simultaneously a twist; and, lastly, to thereby diminish the
obstacles which the thread has to overcome in drawing out, by lessening
the length of the draft to which the slub has been drawn out, by the
rearranging of the fibres of which it is composed, so that by this means
a more even, regular, strong, and fine thread is obtained, at the same
time preventing in a great measure loss from breakage. The greater the
number of pairs of rollers employed the less each of these should draw,
and consequently the less risk there will be of the slubs breaking; I
therefore reserve the right to increase the number of rollers at will, as
also to give a to-and-fro motion in the direction of their axis, and
inversely the one with regard to the other. One of the pairs of rollers
collect the fibres in the direction of the slub or roving.
A similar result may also be attained either by the well known means
of guides whether pointed or not, single or double, actuated by driving
screws, the differential movement of which will increase as the slub
elongates; or by means of a pressing roller which will allow of the
separation (while opening out), the filaments of the slub retained by pins;

page_text: or by a card clothing placed upon a roller with or without a pressing
cylinder; or by means of a to-and-fro motion imparted to a nipper or
comb and acting upon the slub held by rollers, the rotary motion of
which may be continuous or intermittent; or lastly, by means of a simple
bar rising and falling between the pairs of rollers.
The fibres of carded wool on account of their length require a certain
twist to keep them together during the drawing operation, the resistance
thereby acquired by the slub often prevents the slub from drawing out
to the desired fineness. The slub is then subjected to a second spinning
with a reverse twist. I dispense with this second operation by the
following means: -The opened out slub enters between the pairs of
rollers b, c, d, Fig. 3, and passes thence between the rollers F, 9, to the
rotating tube or nozzle V (of the character described in the Specification
of the Patent granted to John Dunn, 17 September, 1866, No. 2382) by
which it receives a twist in one direction and a reverse twist in the other
direction, that is to say, towards the third pair of rollers H, K, from which
it passes to be spun by the ordinary spinning mechanism.
It is evident that when one of the notches upon the roller F comes
immediately under the pressing roller g which is mounted above it the
slub is free, and that the twist imparted by the rotating tube or nozzle V
is distributed over the whole length of the slub to the rollers d, i, so
that when therefore the notch upon the roller F is passed this roller in
continuing its rotation will press the slub against the roller g, and thus
draw it out according to its increased speed over the first pair rollers d, i.
The slub thus drawn out and equalized by a twist in one direction is
drawn by the third pair of rollers H, K, through the tube V. It receives
a twist at the opposite end of the tube in an inverse direction, which
destroys the twist first received, and the slub leaves the drawing
head without any twist, to be afterwards operated upon by the
ordinary method. The twist imparted upon a given length diminishes
as it spreads itself over the greater distance consequent upon the greater
length which will be given to the slub in this part of the operation.
Instead of the twist being given by means of the tube V before
described the twist may be imparted by the ordinary spinning mechanism.
It is sufficient for this purpose to make the same number of notches in
the lower roller H as in the roller F of the second pair, and to arrange
the notches so that when the slub is free in one pair it is drawn by the

page_text: other. The twist given between the second and third pair in passing by
the openings or notches of the latter extends to the first pair d, i. The
drawing of the slub will then depend solely on the rollers H, K. It will
thus be seen that the second pair may be caused to draw from the first
and the third from the second, according to the combination employed.
The twist may be regulated either by the distance between each pair
of drawing rollers, or by modifying the speed of the twisting mechanism,
or by interposing an obstacle to the passage of the twist by means of an
arrangement of bars R, S, Fig. 4, which interlock, and between which
the slub in passing is bent to any desired angle according to the
resistance required.

page_text: described will obviate this and allow of the rollers B being dispensed
with.
It has been shown by the description of the notched rollers that the
draft may be facilitated by the arrangement of rollers indicated at
Fig. 5, by placing at C¹ a couple of these rollers, the rotation of which
will be in the same direction as the slub; moreover the same effect will
be produced in a contrary direction. In the first case the draft takes
place at at the side of the rollers A, and in the second case at
the side of the rotating tube V, or at m, and the slub passes through
Vm
cut spaces or notches instead of being twisted. The twist at m=- M
be varied the twist may be obtained
and at n
Vm
m+u
but as V
"
may
if desired at n, and consequently the draft may be operated at m or n.
However as for the same value of V the twist at m is greater, this difference
may be utilized for operating the draft by means of several pairs rollers by
augmenting the twist. Fig. 6 shews three pairs of cut rollers C, D, E,
placed between the tube or nozzle V and the distributor A; C and D
draw at the same time; the speed of C is greater than that of D, and this
latter exceeds that of A, but the sum of their draft is equal to that of E
upon A, and E only draws after C and D.
О
1
These combinations which may be varied shew the facility with which
the twist between the rollers may be modified, but if the employment of
notched rollers permits of doing away with the rollers B it is upon the
condition that the final twist takes place in the same direction as that
of the rotation of the tube or nozzle V. To this end if the slub in the
tube V will resist without alteration a force t, and if T represents the
weight or the tension which the thread which receives the final tension
can bear at T=K t, K then represents the multiplication corresponding
to the arc described by the thread, either upon a hook or between pins
affixed to the extremity of the tube V. This means allows not only of
the thread being held constantly stretched but the bars remaining
always in the same position keeps the fibres at tension, thereby enabling
them to resist the force applied. In the continuous draft with

page_text: simultaneous twist there is always these difficulties, the elasticity and
the necessary degree of twist.
The elasticity which varies according to the twisted state of the fibres
acts more than the twist upon the weak parts of the slub delivered
by the distributor A; the intensity of the first force is to the
18
second = : Further, the twist in order to bear upon the weak
a₁
d"
part of the slub and prevent it from giving to the twist caused by the
draft should overcome the inertia and resistance of the fibres upon
their whole length; its action therefore increases as this length
diminishes, whereas the elastic force decreases with the length of the
stretched thread. It is therefore advantageous notwithstanding what
has been said or done hitherto, first, to diminish this length of slub
in working; and second, as the maximum effort is limited by the
strength of the fibres which should always be in excess of the strain
which the friction of the bars opposes to their sliding, this strain should
never impair the strength of the fibres; and lastly, to obviate as much
as possible the destructive effect of elasticity an excess of twist must
be given to the front of the stub which is being drafted and which may
also be given to the other portion if desired.
The twist being first regulated for the ordinary slubs I formerly
modified it according to the inequalities which existed between them by
means of a small moveable plate placed before each slub. Thus the
power T required for causing the strained slub or sliver to slide with a
tension upon a given body more or less gripped, being represented by
S
Ꭱ .
the formula log: T = log +0.634 of SO that the obstacle to
the twist thus created varies, first, in proportion to the pressure of
the slub upon the apparatus; second, according as the coefficient of
the friction f varies with the bodies in contact with the thread; third,
according to the splayed are S divided by the radius R of the curve.
The twist may therefore be modified at will by following the above
formula. In accordance with which the different regulators shewn at
Figures 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 12ª, and 12b, have been made. In these
Figures the same letters of reference indicate like parts. The slub
which is drafted with variable tension presses upon the stop a of the
lever b, which carries at the other side of its axle a small weight equal a
to the strain exerted by the slub upon the stop a. So soon therefore as

page_text: mentioned, has been fulfilled, and as a slight excess of tension may be
given to all the slubs a mean position for these regulators may be
obtained so as to make them work at a greater or lesser tension which
will admit of obviating in a measure the effects of elasticity in carrying
out the third requirement above mentioned.
The best regulator for carrying out the three principles above-described
is that indicated by the Figures 12" and 12", which act only by means of
the splayed arch, for when the stop d of the lever b is at its highest
point the thread is then entirely disengaged from the obstacles created
by the projections or arms 1, 2, 3, (placed obliquely and in a lozenge like
position upon the plate H), and all the twist passes, whereas, according
as the tension augments and the stop a falls, the threads will then be
forced to embrace the greatest part of the circumference of these pro-
jections or arms on account of their oblique and inclined position inversely
with respect the one to the other, which causes the thread to deviate
from the straight line, thus forming angles, more or less great, until the
twist can no longer pass. The weight P can therefore be regulated so
that the tension holds the thread in a medium position. This little
apparatus changing slightly the direction of the thread, it is necessary,
when notched rollers are employed to effect the draft, to make the
openings or notches as large as possible, or, which is preferable, to hollow
out the upper rollers in the same way as the lower rollers as at Fig. 13,
by making them both of the same diameter, and by coupling them
together at one of their ends by means of like gearing, the number of
notches being increased with the diameter of the rollers, and these
notches are equal in number and length on both rollers, which are caused
to press the one against the other by means of weights or springs; they
have each a neck made in front one of the other on the side of the cut-off
portions or notches, and hollowed out to the depth of these latter, which
allows in case of the breaking of the thread of its being passed between
the rollers to be rejoined to the slub coming from the distributors A,
Fig. 14. The thread then leaves this neck and is replaced in the middle
notched portions of the rollers; these notches may also be dispensed with.
In this case the thread passes alternately through the neck and between
larger diameter of the rollers, being led in this manner by means of a
guide actuated by an excentric, so that the slub will be gripped by the
first pair of rollers, when it is in the neck of the second and reciprocally
according to the positions of the thread guide of one or the other.

page_text: Fig. 14 is an enlarged view of the working parts of the apparatus ;
and Figures 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, are plan, elevation, and end views
respectively of the complete machine, and shew the application of the
above-described improvements to a spinning machine. The slubs, which
are unwound from the beams c, are unwound by means of the rotation of
the roller c¹, and are distributed to feed both sides of the spinning
machine. They are first led in between the opening out rollers a and b
which feed them to the distributing rollers A, they are then drawn by
the notched rollers f, g, r, s, whilst they receive the twist of the tube V,
and hence passed to be wound or copped around the tubes of the
'Niagaras," or spindles W, which turn in the same direction as the
tubes V, so as to impart the final twist in the same direction.
One of the twist regulators 6 already described with reference to
Figures 7 to 12 is adapted to each slub immediately behind the
distributor A, so as to act according to the varying thickness of the
slub.
Motion is communicated to the machine by means of the pulley 1
placed upon the axle of the cone 1¹ which actuates the cone 2, and
consequently the tubes V by means of the pulley 2' which imparts
motion to the drum 3 which is in connection with the pullies of these
tubes V, the speed of which varies according to the position given by
means of the cranks 2" to the band which connects the cones 1' and 2,
according to the twist desired to be given to the slubs. Upon the axle
of the first cone 1' is mounted a pulley 4 which actuates the drum 4',
which imparts motion to the pulleys of the spindles W. A pinion 5
also placed upon the axle of the first cone 1' actuates by means of
wheels 51, 52, 53, the first distributor A which imparts motion to the
second by means of the wheel 5', which in its turn actuates the
wheels 6, 6', 62, of the drawing rollers f, g, r, s, by means of the
wheels 63, 64, 65. The drawing rollers of the first distributor are actuated
in the same manner on the other side of the machine by means of the
wheels 7, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, as are also the rollers which carry the slub or
warp beam C, by means of the wheels 8, 81, 8%, and further, the motion
of the thread guide of the spindles W by means of the wheels 9, 9¹,
93, 93, 9, the endless screw of which imparts motion to the wheel 10
placed upon the axle of the cam x, which causes the lever ¹ to fall, the
chain of which made fast upon the rollers supports at the other side
the thread guide y of the machine W. The lever a¹ receives at the samp

page_text: upon the
time a to-and-fro motion by means of the link ³ which is actuated by
the heart wheel placed at the extremity of the shaft, which imparts
motion to the wheel 9³. When the cops are "ended "
spindles W it suffices to lift the shaft Z to disengage the endless screw
of the wheel 10, so as to allow of the cam x taking its primitive position.
The roller x is connected with the roller which also supports the
thread guide y on the other side of the machine. The small chain
which unrolls from the one rolls around the other, and therefore causes
the two guide threads to take the same motion and in the same direction
at each side of the machine.
At Fig. 14 is shewn a small shifting roller u which is placed below
the tube V, and is also actuated by the same drum 3. This roller by
means of the friction which it brings to bear upon the thread helps it to
disengage from the tube V.
At Fig. 20 is shewn the shape of the heart wheel which allows of
spools or cops being formed upon the spindles. The imperfections and
inconveniences not only in the manner of operating the draft of the slub
while spinning, but also the difficulties arising from the nature of the
material treated have been already pointed out, as have also the defects
of the drawing roller B with the tube V, Fig. 5, and the means for
obviating them indicated. It is however well to add that the draft of
the slub with a simultaneous twist may be effected by means of the tube
itself by constructing this latter as shewn at Figures 21 and 22. A
boss a which carries a wheel 6 free to turn upon its axle which is affixed
to the face of the tube V (see Fig. 21) through the opening made in
the tube. The wheel b gears with a pinion C fixed to the inner
tube d, which carries at its outer side a pulley or wheel F, the tube
being also furnished with a pulley or wheel g at its opposite end. The
thread led in by one end of the tube V is rolled around the disc a, and
the thread guide n two or three times before going out at the other end
to receive the final twist and be copped.
In Fig. 22 the boss a instead of being placed nearly square with the
direction of the thread or of the tube is in this case fixed parallel to it,
upon a bed which forms part of the tube, and which also carries the
thread guide. Fig. 23 shews in plan this arrangement which carries
like the tube, shewn at Fig. 21, two pulleys or wheels, the one F fixed
to the lower tube d, and the other g to the tube V. When these pulleys

page_text: WET CATEG WHIC UHC
draft with a twist.
In witness whereof, I, the said Falconer Macken, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
FAL. MACKEN, C.E. (L.s.)