CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING, DOUBLING, AND TWISTING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughts-
man, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
SPINNING, DOUBLING, AND TWISTING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS."
-A communication from abroad by Charles B. Hoard, of Watertown,
in the State of New York, United States of America.
Sealed the 22nd January 1867, and dated the 30th October 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
30th October 1866.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
SPINNING. DOUBLING. AND TWISTING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS." to be
as follows:-
The chief object of this Invention is to spin smooth yarns with rapidity,
but the machinery to be presently described may also be applied for doubling
The improvements. may be
and twisting two or more threads into one:

page_text: readily adapted to any suitable spinning frame using spindles and flyers, but
in the present example they will be described in connection with the ring
and traveller arrangement of spinning which is deemed preferable. The
roving is taken from the spools and passed between the feed rollers, consisting
of two driven rollers which support a loose pressing roller. The roving is
next passed through a hollow conically pointed spindle, thence between
drawing rollers arranged in like manner to the feed rollers, and it receives
its twist from the ring and traveller spindle where it is spun and wound on
separate removable bobbins or spools. The conical spindle is susceptible of
many modifications, it may consist of a tubular piece fitting a whirl, from
which it may be readily drawn, but fitting tight enough to receive rotary
motion from the whirl, or it may be a solid piece grooved deep enough on one
side to receive the roving and fitting the whirl like the tube. Two modes of
construction preferred are the following:-The whirl consists of a grooved
pulley and a tube which constitutes the body of the spindle, and has secured
in its front end by a screw the hollow conical point or tip; this cone is so
cut away at one side as to leave a bar on one side of the axis; above the
bar an opening is left longitudinally through the cone large enough to receive
a wire hook to catch and draw the roving out of the tube when starting
the machine or when piecing up a broken roving. From the front side of
the bar the conical point is grooved to receive the roving, either spirally or
straight and let it pass from the apex of the cone in a line with the axis of
the tube, in which position the roving is retained by a small, lip left on one
side of the point of the cone. In the modification the whirl stand is bored
to receive the tubular portion of the whirl, and it carries a flange which
passes into an annular recess formed between the whirl and tube, they thus
being connected at the front of the flange, or rather the whirl and tube
being cast with the recess. Thus constructed the whirl has a double bearing
on its stand, and runs with perfect steadiness and smoothness and without
noise, while at the same time none of the oil used in lubricating the whirl
can pass to the yarn or the fingers of the attendant. The spindle thus
constructed is located close to the rear draw roller, so as to deliver the roving
whilst receiving its drawing twist as close as practicable to the bite of the
draw rollers, which will then grasp and hold nearly all the fibres of the
roving in a twisted condition, and thus pass the roving smoothly and evenly
drawn to the spinning mechanism that gives the final twist that the yarn
is to receive. This position of the twisting spindle greatly diminishes the
liability of the roving to break down between its point and the drawing
rollers and weight as well as facilitates piecing up. To prevent the rovin

page_text: from being drawn alike for the entire distance between the feed and draw
rollers, and thus making the portion next the feed rollers too hard to be
evenly drawn, a friction roller is employed; this roller is situate at such
a distance in advance of the feed rollers as to leave from one-fourth to one-
third of the length of the roving between the feed and draw rollers only
partially twisted, while the roving in front of the friction roller is receiving
more draft and twist, by which the evening of the roving as it receives its
twist is greatly promoted. As an equivalent of the friction roller it is pro-
posed to place a small card with teeth so as not to detach but comb the fibres
of the roving, and this would possibly operate as well or even better than
the friction roller in retarding the twist from passing back to the feed rollers
too rapidly.
i
By the above-described arrangement the roving passes from its spool to the
feed rollers under no strain, and begins to receive a very gradual draw as
soon as it passes from between the feed rollers and weight, and the drawing
is regularly increased, and the roving regularly condensed and reduced, as it
receives its twist more rapidly between the friction roller and the draw rollers
and weight until it is delivered to the twisting mechanism in a condition of
smoothness and evenness superior to that attained by other methods, and with
an increased rapidity over the known modes of spinning wool.
In spinning yarns of different sizes on the same machine a variation takes
place in the action of the ring traveller, which also requires some control to
build the yarn on the spool with a uniform tension in all the parts of the
spool and whilst it is constantly varying in diameter, and to render -this
control of the ring traveller nearly perfect a friction pad is arranged in the
following manner for each traveller:-On the ring rail a longitudinally
sliding bar is mounted, which is made to move back and forth in proper
guides, and to this bar are attached pads, one for each ring traveller, the
pads being made of leather, and cut in a curve that will in the vibrations of
the sliding bar bring one portion of their curved sides nearer the ring than
the other. These pads are severally adjustable on the bar, but when
adjusted are rigidly secured in place, so that each will intermittently approach
and recede from the ring to which its curved side is nearest, and will move so
near the ring as to be touched by the traveller in its rotations when winding
the yarn on the large portion of the spool, and thus cause the traveller to be
slightly detained-at-one point of its revolution, this detention being sufficient
to pack the yarn properly on the largest part of the spool. The bar with its
pads then recedes, and as the yarn is laid on the smaller part of the spool the
friction on the traveller is gradually decreased until it ceases, and the traveller

page_text: is free to wind the yarn on the smallest part of the bobbin with the same
tension on all parts of the spool.
In spinning yarns of various sizes on the same machine, or in spinning
both warp and woof from the same stock, it is necessary to vary the twist
both of the roving and for spinning the yarn, and to do this without stopping
the machine cone pulleys or drums are used to drive the roving and the
twisting spindles, so that by shifting the connecting belt from the driver cone
drum to the driven cone drum back and forth longitudinally the speeds of the
roving and yarn spindles can be varied at any moment without interrupting
the onward movement of the machine. These cone drums may be located
beneath the frame, and one of the pair can receive a motion of rotation from
a belt or gearing actuated from the prime motor of the factory, while the
other one or fellow of the first is also driven by a belt from the driven drum
of the pair, and the latter must carry a proper driving pulley to be suitably
belted with the spindle driving drum, and it will be found best to have an
independent pair of cone drums for driving each set of spindles. In both of
course the movement of the coupling belt upon the driver cone drum from its
larger to its smaller end will diminish the twist, and vice versa, as in all
conditions where cone drums are used to control or vary speeds. The
machine thus organized in a single frame may, it is obvious, be used as well
for doubling and twisting two or more threads into one yarn, as for spinning
a single yarn from roving, and to do this it is only necessary to change the
speed of the draw rollers to harmonize with the feed rollers, and substitute
single yarn spools for the roving bobbins.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 30th April 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special licence that I, the said Alfred Vincent
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said

page_text: Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 " CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING. DOUBLING, AND TWISTING WOOL AND
OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS," being a communication to me from abroad, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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 Alfred Vincent Newton, 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 Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
The object of this improvement is to spin smooth yarns rapidly, and to
this end the Invention consists,-
First, in a tubular conical pointed spindle that shall be revolved by a whirl
from which it can be readily removed shall have an opening to receive a
hook by which the roving can be inserted, and shall impart twist to the
roving by passing it over a bar that is situated beyond the centre of the
spindle, and shall deliver the roving from its centre to the draw rollers.
Second, in locating the twisting spindle for the roving between the feed
and drawing rollers, and so near the bite of the draw roller and weight that
they shall grasp and hold nearly all the fibres of the roving in a properly
twisted condition back of the point where they receive from the twisting
mechanism the proper twist to finish the yarn.
Third, in the employment of two rollers near together, and rotating in the
same direction, in combination with a roller weight laid between them,
whether used as a feeding or drawing mechanism for the roving.
Fourth, in the combination of draw rollers and weights with feed rollers
and weights, and with a twisting mechanism for the roving situated between
the draw and feed mechanism.
Fifth, in the employment of a friction roller or revolving card between the
feed mechanism and the twisting mechanism to prevent the drawing twist

page_text: imparted to the roving from running quite back to the bite of the feed
rollers.
Sixth, in the combination of the twisting mechanism placed between the
feed and draw rollers with the friction roller or revolving card to regulate the
drawing of the roving and keep it uniform.
Seventh, the employment of a friction pad in the ring rail to regulate the
movement of the ring traveller by an intermittent detention to pack the yarn
on its spool with equal tension in all parts.
Eighth, in so constructing the whirl and whirl stand that the oil which
lubricates the whirl cannot pass to the thread or embarass the fingers of the
attendant.
Ninth, in the combination of a mechanism for altering the twist of either
the roving or the yarn with the twisting mechanism for each, so that the twist
can be changed without stopping the machine.
Tenth, in combining a feeding, drawing, and twisting mechanism in a single
machine to produce a single thread, so that the same machine can be used for
doubling and twisting thread already spun.
Eleventh, in so combining the conical twister for the roving and the feed
rollers and weight with the ring and traveller that the twist between the
thread and roving will only be separated by the bite of the weight and draw
rollers.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 represents a front elevation of a
machine broken apart, to which the improvements forming the subject of this
Invention are attached and shewn in part; Fig. 2 represents an end elevation
showing the mode of gearing and belting; Fig. 3 is a view in elevation of the
opposite end of the machine; Fig. 4 represents the feed and draw rollers
with their roller weights, the friction roller, and a twisting spindle in position
with the roving in place; Figures 5 represent a central longitudinal section
of one form of the spindle with its whirl and side and end elevations of a
removable head; Fig. 6 represents a central longitudinal section through a
spindle, whirl, and whirl stand, modified to prevent the escape of oil; and
Figures represent different views of the ring rail, friction pads, and ring,
and traveller. The improvements may be readily adapted to any suitable
spinning frame using spindles and flyers, but in the present example they will
be described in connection with the ring and traveller arrangement of spinning,
which is deemed preferable.
The roving is taken from the spools and passed between the feed rollers,
consisting of two driven rollers which support a loose pressing roller or
weight. The roving is next passed through a hollow conically pointed

page_text: spindle, thence between drawing rollers arranged in like manner to the feed
rollers, and it' receives its twist from the ring and traveller spindle, where
each roving is spun, and the rovings are then wound on to separate removable
bobbins or spools.
The conical spindle is susceptible of many modifications; it may consist of
a tubular piece fitting a whirl from which it may be readily drawn, but fitting
tight enough to receive rotary motion from the whirl, or it may be a solid
piece grooved, deep enough on one side to receive the roving and fitting the
whirl like the tube."
Two modes of construction are shewn in the Drawings. The whirl in
Fig. 5 consists of a grooved. pulley and' à tube C. which constitutes the body
of the spindle, and has secured in its front end by a screw the conical point. A,
which is reamed or cast hollow, and so cut away at one side as to leave a
bar a on one side of the axis of the cone or head A; above the bar a an
opening is left longitudinally through the head large enough to receive a wire
hook to catch and draw the roving out of the tube when starting the machine
or when piecing up a broken roving. From the front side of the bar a the
conical point is grooved to receive the roving either spirally or straight and
let it-pass from the apex of the cone in a line with the axis of the tube, in
which position the roving is retained by a small lip left on one side of the
point of the cone, as shewn at a' in Figures 5 and 6.
The modification shown in Fig. 6 is however the best that has yet been
essayed, for here the whirl stand C' is bored to receive the tubular portion of
the whirl C, and it carries a flange C", which passes into an annular recess
formed between the whirl and 'tube, they thus being connected at the front of
the flange C", or rather the whirl and tube being cast with the recess. The
whirl thus constructed has a double bearing on its stand, and runs with
perfect steadiness and smoothness and without noise, while at the same timė
none of the oil used in lubricating the whirl can pass to the yarn or the
fingers of the attendant. The hollow spindle is located close to the rear draw
rollers B, B', so as to deliver the roving whilst receiving its drawing twist as
close as practicable to the bite of the draw rollers, which will then grasp and
hold nearly all the fibres of the roving in a twisted condition, and thus pass
the roving smoothly and evenly drawn to the spinning mechanism which gives
the final twist that the yarn is to receive. This position of the twisting
spindle greatly diminishes the liability of the roving to break down between
its point and the drawing rollers, as well-as-facilitates piecing up. To feed
and draw the roving as in the throstle frame by weighted rollers resting upon
the fluted draw and feeding rollers was found impracticable for spinning wool

page_text: with success, because of the time consumed in piecing up and other difficul
ties; and to remove these objects to a compact frame for spinning wool is
the object of the third part of the Invention. Two draw rollers D, D
and two feed rollers B, B, are placed in proper relation to the twisting
spindle C for the roving, the two rollers D, D, and the two rollers B, B,
being so near together respectively (in pairs) as not to touch each other.
Each pair is made to rotate in the same direction, and between each pair
is placed a sufficiently heavy independent roller or cylindrical weight to give
the required movement to the roving; the weight retains its position by
its gravity, and derives rotation in an opposite direction to the lower rollers
from the friction of those rollers which are driven by positive motion. In
the Drawings the cylindrical weight for the feed rollers is marked D¹, and
that for the draw rollers B¹, and one weight is used for each strand of roving,
though the lower rollers may be continuous from one end of the machine,
to the other across the whole bench of spindles, and they may be driven by a
single set of gearing, as shewn in the Drawings. By this device the roving
is readily pieced up when broken or placed when about to start, or when a
new roving bobbin is introduced, simply by lifting the cylindrical weights B
and D laying the roving on the lower rollers and replacing the weights, and
moreover every inequality in the roving will easily pass between the feed
rollers and weight without breaking down or straining as in the line of
weighted rollers used in the throstle frames. In order to give the required
twist to the roving whilst it is drawn and reduced to the size required for any
determined number of yarn, the feed rollers D. D, are arranged upon the
frame near the roving bobbins, and the weight D' prevents any drawing of
the roving beyond the bite of the front feed roller and the weight, while the
draw rollers B, B, and their weights B' are situated at the front of the frame;
and the whirl stand C₁as before described is so situated in such close
relation to the feed rollers that the twisting conical spindle C delivers the
reduced roving to the bite of the back draw roller B and its weight B', or as
nearly thereto as the free movements of the parts will permit, all as shown in
Fig. 4, and thus the roving is regularly and evenly reduced, and its several
fibres presented in a twisted condition to the ring and traveller spindle which
twists the yarn. To prevent the roving from being drawn alike for the entire
distance between the feed and draw rollers, and thus making the portion
next the feed rollers too hard to be evenly drawn, a friction roller d is
employed. This roller is situate at such a distance in advance of the feed
rollers as to leave from one-fourth to one-third of the length of the roving
between the feed and draw rollers only partially twisted, .while the-roving i

page_text: front of the friction roller d is receiving more draft and twist by which the
evening of the roving as it receives its twist is greatly promoted.
As an
equivalent for the friction roller à a small card with teeth may be used, its
action being to comb without detaching the fibres of the roving; this would
possibly operate as well or even better than the friction roller in retarding the
twist from passing back to the feed rollers too rapidly. Thus by combining
the feed and draw rollers and their rotating weights with the friction roller
and twisting spindle, located as described, the roving passes from its spool to
the feed rollers under no strain, and begins to receive a very gradual draw
as soon as it passes from between the feed rollers and weight, and the drawing
is regularly increased and the roving regularly condensed and reduced as it
receives its twist more rapidly between the friction roller and the draw rollers
and weight until it is delivered to the twisting mechanism in a condition of
smoothness and uniform evenness superior to that attained by other methods.
and with an increased rapidity over the known modes of spinning wool, and
all this with largely diminished liability to break down, for this combination
has the effect not hitherto accomplished of delivering the roving to the bite of
the draw rollers so that a great majority of its fibres are seized, held, and
delivered for final twisting in a partially twisted condition, and drawn with
almost absolute uniformity.
In spinning yarns of different sizes on the same machine a variation takes
place in the action of the ring traveller, which also requires some control to
build the yarn on the spool with a uniform tension in all the parts of the
spool, and whilst it is, constantly varying in diameter; and to render this
control of the ring traveller nearly perfect a friction pad for each traveller is
arranged in the following manner:-On the ring rail m (see Figures 7) is
mounted a sliding har E which is made to move back and forth longitudinally
in proper guides, and to this bar are attached pads E¹, one for each ring
traveller, the pads being made of leather and cut in a curve that will in the
vibrations of the sliding bar bring one portion of their curved sides nearer
the ring than the other; these pads are severally adjustable on the bar, but
when adjusted are rigidly secured in place so that each will intermittently
approach and recede from the ring to which its curved side is nearest, and will
move so near the ring as to be touched by the traveller in its rotations when
vinding the yarn on the large portion of the spool, and thus cause the
maveller to be slightly detained at one point of its revolution, this detention
being sufficient to pack the yarn properly on the largest part of the spool.
The bar with its pads then-recedes, and as the yarn is laid on the smaller part
f the spool the friction on the traveller is gradually decreased until it ceases,

page_text: and the traveller is free to wind the yarn on the smallest part of the bobbin
with the same tension on all parts of the spool. The traverse movement of
the bar carrying the pads on the ring rail may be produced by a lever which
can be vibrated by the mechanism which governs the vertical vibration of the
ring rail. By this arrangement I am enabled to pack more yarn on one spool
than could be done without it, and the spools will reel off with little or no
waste, besides which, in spinning coarse yarn some such provision is almost
indispensable to produce perfect work. In spinning yarns of various sizes on
the same machine, or in spinning both warp and woof from the same stock it
is necessary to vary the twist both of the roving and for spinning the yarn,
and to do this without stopping the machine cone pulleys or drums are used
to drive the roving and the twisting spindles so that by shifting the con-
necting belt from the driver conc drum to the driven cone drum back and
forth longitudinally the speeds of the roving and yarn spindles can be varied
at any moment without interrupting the onward movement of the machine.
These cone driims may be located beneath the frame, and one of the pair can
receive a motion of rotation from a belt or gearing actuated from the prime
motor of thic factory, while the other one or fellow of the first is driven by a
belt from the driven drum of the pair, and the latter must carry a proper
driving pulley to be suitably belted with the spindle driving drum, and it will
be found best to have an independent pair of cone drums for driving each set
of spindles; in both, of course, the movement of the coupling belt upon the
driver cone drum from its larger to its smaller end will diminish the twist,
and vice versa, as in all conditions where cone drums are used to control or
vary speeds. The machine thus organized in a single frame inay it is obvious
be used as well for doubling and twisting two or more threads into one yarn,
as for spinning a single yarn from roving, and to do this it is only necessary
to change the speed of the draw rollers to harmonize with the feed rollers
and substitute single yarn spools for the roving bobbins, then when the
number of threads desired to be twisted into one is brought from the spools
placed between the feed rollers, B, B', and passed through the twisting cone-
ended spindle under the cylindrical weight on the rollers B and to the yarn
spindle, the twisting will (on starting the machine) progress with the same
uniformity as when spinning from roving. To render the spinning of wool
rapid, and the yarn even and smooth, the conical twister for the roving, the
draw rollers and weight, and the twisting spindle are so combined that the
twist from the yarn spindle will pass to the outside of the bite of the draw
roller and weight, while the twist on the roving will be continued to the
inside of the bite of the draw roller and weight, thus the twist imparted to

page_text: the roving is only divided from the twist of the yarn by the bite of the draw
roller and weight, by which all or nearly all the fibres of the roving back
of the twisting point of the yarn are held with the roving twist in them. or
more of this roving in other words is taken into the yarn twist after the
roving has its drawing completed than has hitherto been accomplished, and
the breaking down of the roving is thus almost entirely prevented, and when
the roving does break down it is pieced with great facility by merely stopping
the single twisting spindle of the broken roving, removing the single pressure
weight and inserting a book into the roving conical twisting spindle.
To
recover the end of the roving draw it through the spindle, piece it to the yarn.
replace the drawing weight, and release the twisting spindle, when the regular
spinning will progress with little delay, and besides this mode of piecing is
attended with no liability to grease the yarn or the fingers of the attendant.
I have described a rigid whirl stand, but it is.obvious that the stand may be
hinged near its support on the frame to throw it back from the rollers if
necessary.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improvements in
Machinery for Spinning, Doubling, and Twisting Wool and other Fibrous
Material," as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent and explained
the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that
under the above in part recited Letters Patent, I claim,-
:
First, the use of tubular conical spindles constructed and located as above
described for imparting twist to roving and delivering the same to the bite of
the draw rollers, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Secondly, the use of the tubular conical spindles in combination with
double feed or draw rollers having independent cylindrical weights resting
between them, and the employment of a friction roller or card in front of the
feed rollers, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Third, a friction bar and pads combined with the ring rail, substantially as
and for the purpose set forth.
Fourth, the whirl and whirl stand, substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.
Fifth, combining a feeding, drawing, and twisting mechanism in one
machine for spinning a single thread, so that the same machine may be used
for doubling and twisting two or more threads into one thread, substantially as
and for the purpose described.
Sixth, the combination of a conical twister for the roving, the draw rollers,
and weight, with the-twisting spindle for the yarn in such a manner that the

page_text: twist between the yarn and roving shall be separated alone by the bite of the
weight and rollers, substantially as and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Thirtieth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (I.S.)