IMPROVEMENTS IN MULES FOR SPINNING
Year: 1884

page_text: We WILLIAM BAMFORD of 2 Spring Street Tongo, Middleton Mill Manager, and
JAMES KELLY of 4 Norman Street Tonge Middleton Minder, both in the County of
Lancaster do hereby declare the nature of our invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
MULES FOR SPINNING to be as follows: —
This invention relates to that part of the mule known as the "driving" motion,
the object being to lessen the wear and tear of the "counter strap" occasioned by
moving the same from the fast to the loose pulley when backing off and to enable
the change of motion by the usual "backing off" wheel to be more quickly
performed.
In carrying out our invention we dispense with the usual fast pulley on the
driving or rim shaft and we key thereon a conical friction pulley.
The loose pulley is caused to move into contact with this conical friction pulley
and thus be driven thereby, until backing off when the loose pulley is moved out
of contact with this friction pulley and the usual backing off wheel then comes into
action to reverse the motion of the rim shaft.
We make the strap fork a fixture merely using it to guide the strap over the
loose pulley and it will be seen that the wear on the strap is thus greatly reduced
as it has not to be moved from side to side by the fork. The sliding movement
imparted to the loose pulley is very slight, being just sufficient to throw it into or
out of gear with the friction pulley and thus the backing off may be more quickly
performed than when the strap was caused to move from one pulley to the other.
The movement of the loose pulley is effected by a groove on the boss thereof,
into which works the forked end of a lever which latter receives a to and fro
motion from a cam on a shaft beneath similar to that which works the movable
strap fork now in use.
•
It is evident that instead of moving the loose pulley into or out of contact with
the friction pulley, the latter may be caused to slide on a feather on the rim shaft
into or out of gear with the loose pulley the position of which would then be
perfectly constant.

page_text: We WILLIAM BAMFORD of 2 Spring Street Tonge Middleton, Mill Manager and
JAMES KELLY of 4 Norman Street Tonge Middleton Minder, both in the County of
Lancaster do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MULES FOR SPINNING" and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to that part of the self acting mule known as the "driving
motion," the object of the said invention being to lessen the woar and tear of the
counter strap occasioned by moving the same from the fast to the loose pulley when
backing-off," and to enable the change of motion to be more quickly performed
by the usual "backing-off" wheel.
"
Such being the nature of our said invention we will now proceed to describe the
manner in which the same is to be performed or carried into practical effect, and in
order that our invention may be clearly understood, we have annexed hereunto a
drawing illustrativa thereof and have marked the same with letters of reference
corresponding with those in the following explanation thereof. The Fig. in the
aunexed drawing is a plan view of so much of the driving gear of the headstock of
a mule as is sufficient to shew the application of our invention thereto.
In carrying out our invention we dispense with the usual fast pulley on the
driving or rim shaft a, a and we key thereon a conical friction pulley b, b.
The loose pulley c, c is caused to move into contact with this friction pulley b, b
and thus be driven thereby until "backing-off," when the loose pulley c, c is moved
out of contact with this friction pulley b, b and the usual "backing off" wheel d, d
then comes into action to reverse the motion of the rim shaft a, a.
Wo make the strap fork è, e a fixture merely using it to guide the strap over the
loose pulley c, c and it will be seen that the wear on the strap is thus greatly!
reduced as it has not to be moved from side to side by the fork.
The sliding movement imparted to the loose pulley c, c is very slight being just
sufficient to throw it into or out of gear with the friction pulley b, 6 and thus the
backing-off may be more quickly performed than when the strap was caused to
move from one pulley to the other.
The movement of the loose pulley c, c is effected by a groove on the boss c¹, cl
thereof in which works a forked lever f, f which latter receives a to-and-fro motion
from a cam g, g on the ordinary countershaft h, h similar to that which works the
movable strap fork now in use.
It is evident that instead of moving the loose pulley into or out of contact with
the friction pulley, the latter may be caused to slide on a feather on the rim shaft
into or out of gear with the loose pulley the position of which would then be
perfectly constant.
I would hero also remark that the loose pulley instead of being driven by a strap
may be grooved and driven by a rope or band.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what

page_text: we claim is the substitution, on the rim shaft of a mule, of a friction cone in place
of the fast pulley, whereby the latter is dispensod with, and the wear and tear
occasioned by moving the driving strap from one pulley to the other is avoided,
substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the drawing annexed.
Dated this 9th day of December 1884.
GEORGE DAVIES,
Agent for the Applicants,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester.