IMPROVEMENTS IN SPINNING MACHINERY
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Smith, of No. 18, Salisbury Street, Adelphi,
1. Civil Engineer, for the Invention of. "IMPROVEMENTS IN SPINNING
MACHINERY." A communication from Joseph Hartog, of Rouen, in the
Empire of France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Smith at the
Office of the Commissioners, of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th April 1858.
i. I, WILLIAM SMITH, of No. 18, Salisbury: Street; Adelphi, Civil Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SPINNING
MACHINERY," (a communication from Joseph Hartog, of Rouen, in the Empire
of France,) to be as follows:
This Invention consists, in substituting for the ordinary arrangement of
drums or cylinders in spinning frames, (whether driving their spindles by
bands, tapes, or other like, means,) an arrangement or disposition of parts by
which one continuous band may be made to work the whole of the spindles in
the frame, and this I effect in the following manner:Instead of passing the
bands or tapes from one or two spindles only, over each cylinder or drum, I
employ one band of sufficient length to surround the frame or machine, and
cause it to come in contact-with, and act upon all the whirls of the spindles

page_text: composing such machine; and I cause such pressure of contact to be given
under suitable regulation by means of pressing rollers placed between the
spindles, and suitably disposed so as to insure the regular rotation of the
spindles under the varying resistance caused by the variation of the strength
or degree of twist of the threads or yarns. A driving pulley of suitable
dimensions being provided at either end of the machine, either fitted upon a
horizontal or vertical spindle, the endless band is carried. over and sufficiently
far around it as to give more than sufficient frictional surface in contact than
will be required to drive the whole of the spindles, and means are provided
for taking up the slack or elongation of the endless band, and also for altering
the direction of its motion, whether longitudinally or transversely. Where
more than one tier or sets of spindles are combined within the same frame, I
may employ two or more distinct bands similar to those described; and I
prefer in certain cases to drive these separate bands by means of vertical
spindles having drums fitted thereupon, and placed at the corners or sides of
such spinning frames, and such several pulleys may be driven by a band in
manner before described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
29th October 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SMITH, of No. 18, Salisbury Street, Adelphi, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Smith, Her special licence that I, the said William Smith, my.
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Smith, 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 SPINNING
MACHINERY," "a communication from Joseph Hartog, of Rouen, in the Empire
of France," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William

page_text: Smith, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Smith, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying Drawing:-
This Invention consists in the radical suppression of drums or cylinders in
spinning frames, whether driving their spindles by means of bands or tapes.
Instead of passing the bands or tapes from one or from two spindles over each
cylinder or drum, or sometimes on the two opposite spindles also, in this case
one band or tape will drive a whole frame whatever be the number of spindles.
The band or tape passes along the one row of spindles, being pressed against
the whirls as it goes by means of small pressing rollers placed between every
two spindles, the axles of such pressing rollers being made to slide in a slot in
their stud plates, for the purpose of regulating their pressure upon the band
or tape according to the strength or twist of yarns; the tape or band is after-
wards taken from the first row of spindles to the opposite side of the machine
by a pair of conducting rollers fitted at the frame end, and from thence it
passes back along the opposite side of the machine to the driving end of the
frame. Motion is given to the band or tape by a single pulley keyed upon
the driving shaft, such shaft being the same as the cylinder shaft in ordinary
spinning machinery, but is much shorter, and need only be sufficiently long to
extend to the inside stand of the spinning frame upon which it has its bearing.
From this pulley the band or tape is carried direct to the height or level of
the whirls, and passes round a conducting roller at the corner of the spinning
frame, and from thence along one side of the spinning machine, driving in its
course the whole of the spindles on such side of the machine; it then passes
round a conducting roller at the corner of the frame to a similar roller at the
opposite corner, and passes along and drives the whole of the spindles on the
opposite side of the frame; it having now arrived at the driving end of the
frame, it is carried over a set of four conducting rollers, one of such rollers
being placed vertically at the corner of the driving end of the frame, the
other three being horizontally; the middle roller is supported in a sliding
bracket, and plays up and down therein; to this bracket is attached a weight,
for the purpose of straining or dragging down the roller, and so regulating the

page_text: tension of the band or tape. The same result may be obtained by having the
pulley upon a small vertical or upright shaft in place of an liorizontal one, and
having a pair of bevil wheels and an additional vertical shaft, so that the
pulley being in a vertical position will be in the same place as the spindles,
and will also avoid the necessity of so many rollers for bringing the band or
tape back again to the driving pulley. In this case the tension rollers before
mentioned are supported in a similar sliding bracket, but will require an
additional roller for a small strap to pass over, such strap dragging the said
roller by means of a weight suspended at the lower end, and so regulating the
tension of the driving or tape. This system of driving may be divided into
parts to suit the long frames or heavy spindles, at the same time reducing
the work of each driving pulley. In this case one pulley may be fitted at
each end of a shaft running through the whole length of the frame, or upon
upright or vertical shafts, one at each end of the machine; or even four
vertical shafts may be arranged for driving a whole frame of spindles in four
parts; but in all cases the cylinder is done away with, which is a considerable
saving of power and expense, as they are continually breaking down, and
thereby cause the frame to remain unemployed; it is also a considerable saving
of bands or tapes by the extreme smoothness of the motion, exclusive of the
shaking and tearing of the bands.
.
In the accompanying Drawing I have illustrated one mode of applying an
endless tape or flat band according to this Invention, adapted to the form of
inachine shewn in front elevation by Fig. 1, and in end elevation at Fig. 2;
a plan of the arrangement of the continuous flat band or tape, the driving and
directing pulleys, the whirls, and the pressing rollers being shewn in Fig. 3. The
longitudinal elevation, Fig. 1, and the partial plan view, Fig. 3, are shewn
broken away in the center to admit of any requisite number or combination of
spindles.
Inasmuch as the general construction of the spinning machine shewn in
Figs. 1 & 2 presents no novel features so far as the frames or spinning
apparatus are concerned, it is unnecessary to describe the several parts
thereof by aid of letters of reference, the parts of such machines being well
known to all who are engaged in such manufactures, or acquainted with such
art; but for the sake of clearness the several parts connected with the mode
of driving the spindles according to this Invention, and as applied in Figs. 1
& 2 are lettered, tha similar parts in each Fig. may correspond; but it
must be understood, that the mode of transferring and transmitting motion
from the first motion drum or pulley upon the shaft a in the accompanying

page_text: Drawing may be varied, as herein-before described, although the plan shewn
in the accompanying Drawings has by preference been selected for illustrating
the said Invention, and a flat band or tape is therein shewn, although instead
thereof a round band may be employed, and in some cases may be preferrable.
Motion being communicated to the shaft a, the endless band or tape b receives
motion, or has motion communicated to it by passing over and partially round
the larger drum or flat band pulley c, and thence over the small friction pulley d
to the sliding pressure pulley e, up to the horizontal directing pulley f, from
whence it passes horizontally to the vertical directing pulley g at one corner
of the frame, and from thence passing behind the whirls h, h, &c., and before
the pressing rollers i, i, &c., or between the whirls h and the pressing rollers i,
along the entire face of the machine, returning along the opposite end of the
machine to that at which motion is communicated, and in its course passes
round the vertical guide rollers k and k, as indicated in Fig. 3 by the arrows;
and in manner similar as just described it communicates motion to the spindles
on the opposite side or face of the machine, and returns after passing over the
directing pulley at the fourth angle or corner of the machine, again on to
the periphery of the motion drum or band wheel c. The pulley e, which is
made to slide up and down in the frame, may have the requisite amount of
strain put upon it, for the purpose of preventing the slipping of the band or
tape, either by a suitable weight acting directly thereupon, or by means of a
lever and weight, or any equivalent arrangement; and the pressing rollers i, i,
may be connected together on a bar, by which any requisite amount of
pressure may be communicated to the whole, so as to insure uniform pressure
being applied, and uniform motion communicated to the spindles. Any
suitable tape or band may be employed, whether such band be round or flat,
but it is preferred to use a material which is least effected by changes of
temperature or moisture, presenting a sufficient, uniform, and unalterable
frictional surface, the ends of which may be butt-jointed, or joined with the
least variation in thickness.
Having described the said Invention as communicated to me, and illustrated
the same by the accompanying Drawing, I claim,-
First, the adaptation of a continuous band employed in connection with
pressing rollers, as herein described, for transmitting motion to a series of
spindles in spinning machines.
Second, the combination of a single continuous or endless flat or round
band, with pressing rollers and directing rollers, as herein described, when
employed for rotating more than two spindles in a spinning machine.

page_text: Third, the several methods herein described for operating the whole of the
spindles (or in very long frames any set or section, consisting of several
spindles,) contained within a spinning frame, by a single continuous band,
applied and worked as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Smith, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
GEORGE CHURCHILL,
18, Salisbury Street, Strand.
WILLIAM SMITH. (L.S.)