IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF SUPPLYING THREAD TO THE SHUTTLES OF SEWING MACHINES, AND IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR WINDING THREAD FOR SUCH SUPPLY
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Philipson, of Bolton-le-Moors, in the County of
Lancaster, Mechanic, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD
OF SUPPLYING THREAD TO THE SHUTTLES OF SEWING MACHINES, AND IN THE
METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR WINDING THREAD FOR SUCH SUPPLY."
Sealed the 1st June 1877, and dated the 4th December 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Philipson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th December 1876.
WILLIAM PHILIPSON, of Bolton-le-Moors, in the County of Lancaster, Mechanic.
'IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF SUPPLYING THREAD TO THE SHUTTLES OF
SEWING MACHINES, AND IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR WINDING THREAD
FOR SUCH SUPPLY."
My Invention has for its object to dispense with the bobbins which are supplied
with the shuttles of sewing machines, and upon which bobbins the shuttle thread is
wound, and as a consequence to obviate the necessity for the frequent refilling of
such bobbins. To this end I substitute for the said bobbins cops of thread, that is
to say, thread made up in a cop-like form and adapted to be placed in the shuttles
and to be used in the same manner as the filled bobbins; this I accomplish by
winding the thread upon spindles or wires which are coned at the points, or are
otherwise made suitable to be mounted in the shuttles, the thread being wound in
such a manner as that the cops will bear handling, packing, and transport without
alteration of form to any great extent. To this end I wind the thread upon the
said spindles in layers decreasing in length, or in the number of coils as the distance
from the spindle increases, whereby the ends of the cop are conically shaped, and I
cause some of the layers to have a fewer number of coils than the other layers, that
is to say, the coils are not so close together in some layers as in others. This
difference in the layers is effected by causing the thread layer or guide to move
more quickly in one direction than in the other, the result being that a firm
cohering cop is produced. I obtain a good result when the thread guide moves so
quickly in one direction as to lay only three or four coils in the length of traverse,
but I only mention this by way of example without confining myself to any
number of coils. I may employ tubes of paper or other material in lieu of the said.
spindles.

page_text: When using the term thread herein-before I do not refer to any particular
description of material.
To wind the thread in the manner indicated I employ a modified form of spooling
machine.
In lieu of the ordinary arrangements for reversing the thread guide at one end of a
its traverse I employ a knocking-off arrangement, which throws the nut out of gear
with the screw. The traversing bar which carries the said thread guide is then
drawn back by means of a weight or spring, and the nut is again put in gear with
the screw.
The arrangements for knocking off may be varied; I obtain good results by using
a spring which tends to withdraw the nut from the screw, the said nut being held
in by a catch which comes in contact with a stop, so as to release the nut and
allow the spring to act at the end of the traverse.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Philipson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 4th June
1877.
WILLIAM PHILIPSON, of Bolton-le-Moors, in the County of Lancaster, Manager.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF SUPPLYING THREAD TO THE SHUTTLES OF
SEWING MACHINES, AND IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR WINDING THREAD
FOR SUCH SUPPLY."
My Invention has for its object to dispense with the bobbins which are supplied
with the shuttles of sewing machines, and upon which bobbins the shuttle thread is
wound, and as a consequence to obviate the necessity for the frequent refilling of
such bobbins. To this end I substitute for the said bobbins cops of thread, that is
to say, thread made up in a cop-like form and adapted to be placed in the shuttles
and to be used in the same manner as the filled bobbins; this I accomplish by
winding the thread upon spindles or wires which are coned at the points or are.
otherwise made suitable to be mounted in the shuttles, the thread being wound in
such a manner as that the cops will bear handling, packing, and transport without
alteration of form to any great extent. To this end I wind the thread upon the
said spindles in layers decreasing in length, or in the number of coils as the distance
from the spindle increases, whereby the ends of the cop are conically shaped, and I
cause some of the layers to have a fewer number of coils than the other layers, that
is to say, the coils are not so close together in some layers as in others. This
difference in the layers is effected by causing the thread layer or guide to move
more quickly in one direction than in the other, the result being that a firm cohering
cop is produced.
To wind the thread in the manner indicated I employ a modified form of spooling
machine.
In lieu of the ordinary arrangements for reversing the thread guide at one end of
its traverse I employ a knocking-off arrangement, which throws the nut out of gear
with the screw, and the thread guide then makes a quick return movement. I may
employ tubes of paper or other material in lieu of the said spindles.
And in order that my said Invention may be readily described and fully under-
stood, I have appended hereunto a Sheet of Drawings made about the full size and
marked with letters of reference, to which Drawings I will now refer.
Fig. 1 represents one of the said cops as when wound upon a spindle, herein-after
termed a wire; and Fig. 2 represents the said wire detached.
Figs. 3 and 4 represent so much of the winding apparatus which I prefer to employ
as is necessary to be shown in order to illustrate the modification, which I make
in the said apparatus to render it suitable to my purpose, Fig. 3 being an elevation,
and Fig. 4 a plan. The said wires are or may be coned or pointed at each end to

page_text: suit the shuttles, and are made of various sizes, as may be required, Figs. 1 and 2
not being intended to indicate the sizes of the parts.
It will be seen that the thread is wound upon the wire in layers decreasing in
length as the cop increases in diameter. The coils of thread are wound in one
direction, say, from left to right, in Fig. 1, and when the formation of each layer is
completed the thread guide is caused to move quickly back, say, from right to left,
thereby forming a few coils of thread at a distance apart, as indicated in Fig. 5.
The coils so formed by crossing the layers of thread add to the stability of the cop
and enable it to bear handling and transport without loss of form to any great
extent. When forming the said cops I mount one of the said wires in the winding
apparatus at A. in Fig. 3.
In some cases or in any case I may place a tube of paper or other suitable
material upon the said wire. One end of the said wire enters a recess in the end of
the winding spindle a, which is fitted to revolve in bearings in the headstock B as
in the case of the ordinary "Wield's" spooling machine. The other end of the wire
enters a recess in a part b which is fitted to revolve in the upper end of the arm c.
When the spindle a is actuated in the ordinary manner the said wire is caused to
revolve as in the case of an ordinary spool. The thread guide & is mounted upon a
shafte which is fitted to slide in the headstock B, and is actuated by means of a
screw shaft f which is also fitted to revolve in bearings, and is connected by
gearing g with the winding spindle a.
In "Wield's" spooling machine the said screw shaft is formed with two sets of
right and left hand threads, but for my purpose I only require one set of threads.
The nut is fixed to one arm of a bell-crank lever i which is mounted upon a
stud j, which is carried by a block k fixed on the shaft e. Upon a stud / which
carries the said nut is mounted a trigger m, which is formed with a shoulder which
rests upon a stud n; the said stud is secured to an arm o which is formed on the
block, and the said stud is adjustable towards and from the screw shaft f. When
the shoulder on the said trigger is resting upon the stud n, as in the Drawing, the
nut h is kept in gear with the screw shaft, and the shaft e is caused by the action
of the screw to slide in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3. A spring z
presses upon a projecting part of the trigger m, and tends to move the said trigger
sideways towards the stud n. As the shaft e slides in the said direction the thread
guide & lays the thread upon the wire in close coils, the speed of traverse of the said
shaft being made suitable to the size of the thread.
When the layer of thread is nearly completed the lower end of the said trigger
strikes a stud p, which is secured to a sliding bar q; the bar q is removed in Fig. 3
to shew the parts behind the said bar, but is seen in Fig. 4, the studs carried by the
said bar being represented in section in Fig. 3. The stud p by arresting the
movement of the said trigger disengages it from the stud n, and the stud / losing its
support drops to some extent, thereby disengaging the nut from the screw shaft.
A cord passing over a pulley is attached by one end to the block k, and to the
end of the said cord is attached a weight which as soon as the nut is disengaged
draws back the shaft e by a quick return movement, the thread guide & during this
return movement laying the coils indicated in Fig. 5. The said return movement
brings the lower arm of the lever i into contact with a second stud 8, also fixed to
the bar q, and the other arm of the lever is thereby raised whereby the nut is again
lifted into gear with the screw shaft, and the trigger is raised by the same move-
ment, and is thereby permitted to engage with the stud n and the nut is again kept
in gear with the screw shaft.
The shortening of the lengths of the consecutive layers of thread may be effected
by any suitable arrangement. In the example a ratchet wheel t is fitted to revolve
upon a bush around the axis of the shaft e, which shaft slides in the said bush.
Flanches are formed on each side of the said wheel, and the said flanches are tapered
so that the breadth of the wheel increases from one point in its circumference
around the wheel to the same point, or thereabouts. A pawl u engages with the
said ratchet wheel and is mounted on a lever v, which is hinged at w to the

page_text: headstock. An incline is formed on the said lever, and as the shaft e slides in the
direction indicated in Fig. 1, a pin x projecting from the block k acts on the said
incline and thereby raises the lever, and the pawl rotates the ratchet wheel to some
extent. To the bar q are fixed two pins y, y; the said bar is free to slide in either
of the directions of movement of the shaft e until one of the pins y comes in contact
with one of the flanches on the wheel t. When the trigger m strikes the stud p or
when the arm i strikes the stud 8 the bar q slides until its movement is arrested in
the manner indicated. The wheel t is rotated to some extent during the formation
of each layer of thread, and as each movement brings a wider part of the said wheel
between the pins y, the extent of the sliding movement of the bar q is lessened
after each layer, and as a consequence the reversal of the thread guide is effected
earlier, the conical formation of the ends of the cop being thereby effected. The
studs P and & are adjustable in slots formed in the bar q.
When
If preferred a spring may be substituted for the weight and cord .
employing tubes I prefer to form the said tubes of paper and of sizes suitable to slip
upon wires, which can be mounted in the filling apparatus. When the cop is formed
the wire may be withdrawn and the cop be supplied to the user without the wire,
the user inserting a suitable wire before placing the cop in the shuttle, or the shuttle
may be specially formed to hold such a cop.
When using the term thread herein I do not refer to any particular description of
yarn or sewing material.
Having now fully set forth and indicated the nature of my said Invention and
the manner in which I carry the same into practical effect, I would have it to be
understood that I claim,-
First. The formation of cops, substantially as and for the purposes set forth and
indicated herein-before and in and by the accompanying Drawings.
Secondly. The quick return movement of the thread guide, for- the purpose set
forth and indicated.
And, lastly. The arrangements for engaging and 'disengaging the nut and for
imparting the said quick return movement, substantially as set forth and indicated.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Philipson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
זרח-תז זזחת
Signed and sealed by the
said William Philipson,
in the presence of
EDWARD K. DUTTON,
Agent to the Patentee,
3, Princess Street,
Manchester.
ILLIATI
PHILIPSON. (1.5.)