IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CORDS, TWINES, AND SIMILAR ARTICLES AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert William Waithman, of Bentham, in the
County of York, and Joseph Waithman, of the City of Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster, Manufacturers, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert William Waith-
man and Joseph Waithman at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 14th November 1860.
We, ROBERT WILLIAM WAITHMAN, of Bentham, in the County of York,
and JOSEPH WAITHMAN, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lan-
caster, Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CORDS, TWINES, AND SIMILAR ARTICLES
AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
In the process of spinning the strands or yains for cords, twines, and
similar articles, we use a clock motion connected with the delivering roller
with a self-acting stop motion, by which we obtain an equal length of
strand or yarn on each bobbin.
In a spinning roving frame we may also connect the self-acting stop
motion to the cone or differential motion, so that equal length of strand or
yarn on each bobbin will be obtained. We construct our twist frames with
differential motion, driving the spindles with gearing; we also attach the
self-acting stop motion to the delivering roller or cone, or differential
motion, so as to obtain an equal length of twist.
In finishing the aforesaid articles, we combine the process of dry and wet
Price d

page_text: cleaning, of bleaching, light coloring, or dyeing or boiling, sizing, polishing,
and drying, by passing the twisted materials through a machine (driven by
hand or power), where they receive the various operations of carding,
brushing, bleaching, light coloring, dyeing or boiling, sizing and polishing
as required, by means of cards, brushes, and rubbers revolving or moving by
a to-and-fro or a parallel motion, or by friction rollers revolving at a great
speed. We then guide the polished articles into a heated chamber, stretch-
ing them over rollers either revolving or stationary. The size of the chamber
may be varied at discretion, or in some cases a long box may be used.
Weheat the said chamber or box by steam, hot air, or other suitable means.
When the articles are sufficiently dried, if necessary we then carry them
through a cooling chamber, where a spray or mist from cold water is thrown
upon them by revolving brushes, the bristles of which touch the surface of
water; after which, if found desirable, we again polish them by any suitable
means, applying tallow, soap, or wax, and then we wind the cord, twine
or other article upon bobbins or reels, from which it is removed either as
hanks for use, or balled by hand or machine into suitable sized balls.
To obtain a proper stretch upon the article in the machine during the
operations of finishing, and drying, we place rollers at proper intervals,
around which we pass the cord or twine, or, if found preferable in practice,
suitable nip rollers may be used. To any of the said rollers we apply
friction discs, in which are placed thumb screws, by screwing which more
or less tightly the requisite power to turn the rollers will be given, and an
undue stretch avoided.
To clean and polish or finish the cord or twine, we use a box containing
cards, horsehair, or other similar materials, the lid of which box is pressed
down by means of a screw, lever, wedge, or spring. To the said box we
give a to-and-fro motion if necessary by cranks, cams, or other mechanical
contrivances, and by means of a lever or levers attached to the crank arm the
lid opens and closes as required. Or drying cylinders may be used to dry
or partially dry the cord or twine after it has been cleaned, and before it is-
sized. The water and size troughs may be heated by steam.
In balling machines, we place a clock motion attached to a roller or pair
of rollers, connecting therewith a bell or self-acting stop motion, so that we
may obtain certain or defined lengths of the article on each ball; or to define
the size of the ball of twine, we place a finger, which when the ball has
reached the required dimensions, releases the catch of the bell or self-acting
stop motion,

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert William Waithman and Joseph Waithman in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th May 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ROBERT
WILLIAM WAITHMAN, of Bentham, in the County of York, and JOSEPH
WAITHMAN, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Manu-
facturers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Robert William Waithman and Joseph Waithman, Her special licence that
we, the said Robert William Waithman and Joseph Waithman, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Robert William
Waithman and Joseph Waithman, our 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 "IMPROVE
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CORDS, TWINES, AND SIMILAR ARTIOLES, AND IN
THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Robert William Waithman and Joseph Waithman,
our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, 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
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 we, the said Robert William Waithman and
Joseph Waithman, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement (that is to say):-
This Invention relates, firstly, to machinery for spinning the strandsor yarns
for cords, twines, and similar articles, and consists in the application to any
of the machines of a clock motion or meter connected with a self-acting stop
motion for the purpose of obtaining an equal length of strand or yarn on each
bobbin. The clock motion or meter and stop motion are formed by any of
the ordinary or known arrangements of wheels and pinions, worms and worm

page_text: wheels, or sun and planet gearing, and is generally connected with the shaft
of the delivering rollers of the spinning machine or frame, so that when a
certain number of revolutions shall have been measured the machine will be
stopped by the clock motion or meter releasing the ordinary stop motion in
connection with it. In a spinning roving frame we may connect the stop
motion with the cone or cones of the differential motion, so that when the
travelling belt arrives at a certain point a catch releases the stop motion, and
the frame is stopped. We also apply the aforesaid clock motion or meter
either to the shaft of the delivering rollers or to the cone or cones of the
differential motion for the purpose of obtaining an equal length of twist on
all the bobbins.
This Invention relates, secondly, to various improved arrangements for
finishing cords, twines, and similar articles, and consists in passing the twisted
materials through a machine driven by hand or power, in which are combined
as required the processes of dry and wet cleaning, of bleaching, light coloring,
dyeing or boiling, sizing, polishing, and drying. To clean and polish or finish
the cord or twine, we use friction rollers revolving at a great speed, or cards,
brushes, and rubbers, either stationary, revolving, or having a to-and-fro
motion imparted to them; or we use a box containing cards, horsehair, or
other similar materials, the lid of which box is pressed down by means of a
screw, lever, wedge, or spring. The water and size troughs may be heated by
steam, or in any suitable manner. The polished articles are guided to be
dried in the open air, or into a chamber heated or otherwise, stretching them
over rollers. The size of the chamber may be varied at discretion, and in
some cases a box may be used, and the said chamber may be heated by steam,
hot air, or other suitable means; or drying cylinders may be used to dry or
partially dry the cord or twine after it has been cleaned, and before it is sized.
When the articles are sufficiently dried, they are if necessary carried th: ough
a cooling chamber or over a box or vessel, and a spray or mist from cold
water thrown upon them by revolving brushes, having their bristles in contact
with water; after which, if found desirable, the articles are again polished by
any suitable means, applying tallow, soap, or wax, as required, and then they
are wound upon bobbins or reels, from which they are removed either as
hanks for use, or balled by hand or machine into suitable sized balls."
To obtain a proper and not undue stretch or tightness upon the cords
twines, or other articles in the machine during the operations of finishing and
drying, we pass them around or between rollers placed at proper intervals
to any of the said rollers we apply friction discs between the driving shaft of
the machine and the rollers, and in connection therewith a screw and nut, by

page_text: screwing which more or less tightly, the requisite power to turn the roller
will be given to the discs, and an undue stretch or tightness of the cord or
twine avoided.
This Invention relates, thirdly, to certain improvements connected with
balling machines, and consists in employing a clock motion or meter detached
from the motive power of the balling machine, but attached to suitable rollers
moved by the passing between them of the twine to the balling apparatus.
We connect with the rollers a bell or self-acting stop motion so that we may
obtain certain or defined lengths of the article on each ball; or to define
the size of the ball of twine, we place a finger which releases the catch of
the bell or self-acting stop motion when the ball of twine has reached the
required dimensions.
Our improvements which relate to the machinery for spinning the strands
or yarns for cords or twines, and also to balling machines, are so simple and
self-evident, that they can be applied by any ordinary mechanic, and there.
fore no further description nor Drawings are necessary; but we annex the
accompanying two Sheets of Drawings, with their figures and letters of
reference, in order that the second part of our Invention may be clearly
understood, the letters referring to each Figure separately.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of one of our, improved arrangements
of machinery for finishing cords, twines, and similar articles; Figures 2
and 3, and Figures 4 and 5, are side and end elevations of our improved
modes of connecting and disconnecting a number of bobbins ; and
Figure 6 is a sectional plan drawn to an enlarged scale of a pair of our
improved friction discs.
In Figure 1 the cords or twines to be finished are shewn at a; they pass
from the creel 6 to the guiding and tension rollers c, d, e, and to the revolving
brushes f, from whence they are guided to the troughs h, containing boiling
water or dyeing or bleaching liquids, after which they pass over the drying
cylinders i, k, and then over other guiding and tension rollers l, m, n, from
whence they pass through rubbers o of horsehair or other suitable material.
The cords or twines then pass over other guiding and tension rollers p, q, r,
and onwards to the sizing trough s, from whence they pass over and under
revolving rubbers t, consisting of rollers covered with horsehair, rope, or other
suitable material, revolving in a direction contrary to the twine to other
guiding and tension rollers u, v, w, from whence they pass upwards, and are
carried over a roller x to the drying chamber, part of which is shewn at y.
The cords or twines pass backwards and forwards over rollers in the chamber,
and are passed out near the bottom, and carried over the cooling vessel z to

page_text: the guiding and tension rollers a¹, b¹, c', from whence they pass through the
rubbers d¹, and over the guiding and tension rollers e¹, f¹, g¹, and are then
wound upon the bobbins h¹ of the taking-up motion k¹ in a finished condition.
In the aforesaid arrangement there are six sets of guiding and tension rollers,
one pair of revolving brushes, three troughs for boiling water or dyeing or
bleaching liquids, one pair of revolving rubbers, and two sets of stationary
rubbers; but the numbers of these articles, and also their relative positions
may be varied to any extent required, and in some cases the drying cylinders
and cooling vessel may be dispensed with, it being understood that all the
necessary operations (suited to the dimensions or kind of the cords, twines,
and similar articles, and also their degree of finish) are all to be performed in
one machine, and during the time the articles traverse through it.
The revolving parts of any of the aforesaid combinations work in bearings
in any suitable framework of wood or metal, to which the stationary parts may
be fixed or not as required, and for the purpose of giving the necessary
revolving motions, toothed wheels, screws, belts, or other ordinary appliances
are employed. In Figure 1 the rollers are formed with grooves, which guide
the cords, twines, or other articles, and thereby prevent the necessity of using
wraiths or combs, although when desired the latter may be employed, and the
rollers may be plain or covered with cloth. It is intended that the bobbins /
should wind on the cords, twines, or other articles at an uniform speed, and
therefore a differential motion is given to them by any well-known means.
In the Figures the bobbins are turned by the friction of contact between their
surfaces and carrier cylinders, which are turned simultaneously by means of
gearing, by which it will be perceived that as the bobbin increases in diameter
it turns slower in the same proportion, its periphery moving exactly the same
distance as the carrier cylinders l, and thereby the quantity of material wound
on will be uniform. We employ a heart motion similar to that of a throstle
or other spinning machine, but placed in a different position, or other suitable
ordinary traverse motion for the purpose of laying the cord, twine, or other
article regularly backwards and forwards on the bobbin.
In some cases we make the bobbins with bosses at their sides formed so as
to clutch one into another, as shewn in Figs. 2 and 3, so that when the
bobbins are supported in suitable bearings, a series of them can be turned
simultaneously, and when filled can be unlocked or disconnected from each
other with ease and expedition, and afterwards put together with equal ease
and dispatch. In this arrangement the bobbins are moved by a clutch con-
nected by wheels with the main shaft of the machine, but the motions of which
are regulated by a differential motion or discs, so as to wind the twine on the

page_text: bobbins with an equal tension. Or we support the bobbins on suitable
bearings and by means of a shaft with a key or feather, as shewn in Figs.
4 and 5, extending from end to end, which passes through a hole and slot
in the centre of each bobbin; the entire number of the bobbins have a
simultaneous motion given to them, the shaft being connected by wheels to
the main shaft of the machine, but the motions of which are regulated by
a differential motion or discs so as to wind tho twines or cords on the
bobbins with an equable tension.
In some cases we wind the finished twine upon reels or cylinders con-
structed without circular ends or discs to support the twine at the sides by
shortening after a certain period in the winding-on the extent of the traverse
of the twine on the reel or cylinder. We accomplish this by attaching to
the traverse motion any of the ordinary shortening motions now in use in
the cotton fly frames for producing upon the wooden tubes a roving with
conical ends. The reels or cylinders are moved simultaneously by means
of clutch boxes or shafts connected by wheels to the main shaft of the
machine, but the motion of which we regulate by a differential motion or
discs so as to wind the twines or cords on the reels or cylinders with an
equable tension.
In Figure 6, we represent a pair of our improved friction discs for giving
motion to the carrying rollers, and maintaining the cords, twines, or other
articles at a proper tension. A part of one of the carrying rollers is
shewn at a, and its shaft at b, having the bearing c. At d there is a friction
disc fastened upon the roller shaft b, and at e there is another friction disc
in contact with the disc d, but having its boss loose upon the shaft b. To
the boss of the disc e is fastened the bevil wheel f, gearing into another
bevil wheel g fixed upon the main driving shaft / of the machine. At the
portion of the roller shaft marked 7 we reduce the size of the shaft and inake
it square, placing thereon two washers marked m and n, and between these
washers we place as required a spring formed of india-rubber or of metal.
The end of the shaft marked p is formed into a screw, working upon which
is a nut q, by screwing which more or less tightly the requisite power to
turn the roller is given, and at the same time an undue tension on the twine
passing over the rollers avoided.
Having now described the nature and particulars of our said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, we desire it to be
distinctly understood that we claim, in the manufacture of cords, twines,
and other similar articles,-
First, the use of a clock motion or meter and self-acting stop motion applied

page_text: to a spinning, roving, or twisting frame for the purpose of obtaining an
equal length of yarn or twist on each bobbin.
Secondly, the employment of friction discs connected with the motions for
moving the carrying rollers, and also the motions for winding on the cords
or twines when in a finished state upon the bobbins, reels, or cylinders so
as to prevent any undue tension.
Thirdly, the process of dyeing or bleaching twines, cords, or other
similar articles in a machine where they are produced in the finished state
in one operation.
Fourthly, the system of carrying a sufficient length of cords or twines
when dyed or sized in a machine in the damp state through boxes or
chambers heated or otherwise, or into the open air, or otherwise exposed
to the atmosphere so as to dry them, and then bringing them to the portion
of the machine where they receive the final finish, and are wound upon
bobbins, reels, or other convenient apparatus.
Fifthly, the "taking-up" or winding-on motions as herein described, or
any modifications of the same.
Sixthly, the use of a clock motion meter or bell and self-acting stop
motion used with a balling machine, so as to define the amount of twine
on each ball, as herein described.
Seventhly, the arrangement of the machine for the finishing of cords, twines,
and similar articles in one operation, as herein described and illustrated in
the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings, or any modifications of the same.
In witness whereof, we, the said Robert William
and
Joseph Waithman, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this
Eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-one.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named
Robert William
Waithman and Joseph Waithman
in the presence of
E. J. HUGHES,
ROB. W. WAITHMAN. (L.S.)
JOSEPH WAITHMAN.
(L.S.)
Patent Agent,
Manchester.