CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FINISHING YARNS OR THREADS
Year: 1851

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GODFREY
ERMEN, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Cotton Spinner and
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Seventeenth day of June, in the fourteenth year of Her reign,
and in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Godfrey Ermen, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Godfrey Ermen, my exors, admors, and assigns, and such
others as I, the said Godfrey Ermen, my exors, adiñors, or assigns, should at
any time agree with and no others, from time to time and at all times during
the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND
APPARATUS FOR FINISHING YARNS OR THREADS;" in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso that I, the said Godfrey Ermen, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being
thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Godfrey Ermen, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention, and

page_text: the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereto annexed, and the following
explanation thereof, that is to say:-
My Improvements in the Method of and Apparatus for Finishing Yarns or
Threads, are intended chiefly to be employed for finishing "sewing cotton," or
cotton threads used for such purpose, but are also applicable to linen, silk,
or other yarns or threads. The principal object of my Invention is, to give to
such threads a perfect smoothness, and unity or adhesion of the fibres, and at
the same time impart to them a lustre or gloss not hitherto attainable.
My Invention consists, first, in the method of producing or imparting the
said smoothness and lustre; and, secondly, in the peculiar arrangement of
machinery or apparatus which I have adapted to effect the desired object.
The method of producing or imparting the desired smoothness, and unity or
adhesion of the fibres, is by the application of friction to the threads by means
of a brush or brushes when in the hank, and whilst in a state of tension and
motion. The peculiar adaptation or arrangement of machinery or apparatus
which I employ to effect this object will be readily understood upon referring
to the Sheet of Drawings accompanying these Presents, and the following
description thereof:-
The Drawings are made to a scale of about one inch and a half to a foot,
and have similar letters of reference placed upon corresponding parts of the
mechanism in all the Figures. Fig. 1 is an elevation of. the driving end of
the machine; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the machine; and Fig. 3 is a
a, a, represents
vertical section taken through about the line A, B, in Fig. 2.
the framing of the machine; b, b, is the main driving shaft, and c is the main
driving pulley. Upon the shaft 6 a spur pinion d is keyed, driving a spur
wheel e, upon the boss of which is keyed a pinion, engaged with a similar
wheel g. The wheels e and frevolve loosely upon a pin fixed in a lever h, whose
fulcrum is coincident with the axis of the wheel g, so that the pinion f is always
in gear with the wheel g, whilst the wheel e is capable of being readily moved
in or out of gear with the pinion.d when necessary, being held in the required
position by means of the lever i. The wheel g is keyed upon a shaft k, upon the
end of which one half of a catch box is fixed, the other half of the said catch
box being attached to a roller m, which is mounted in suitable bearings, so as to
n is a revolving fan,
be capable of being readily detached from the machine.
to assist the process of finishing the yarn or thread, by means of hot or cold
air as required, and is driven by the strap o. Upon the main driving shaft b, b,
a bevil wheel p is keyed, driving (by means of a similar wheel) the vertical
shaft I, which is mounted and revolves in suitable bearings, and has a mitre

page_text: wheel r keyed at its upper extremity. 8, s', are two mitre wheels attached to
one boss, and capable of sliding upon the shaft t, being connected thereto by
means of a feather or sliding key and groove. u is a small lever by which
either of the wheels.s, s', may be placed in gear with the wheel i, so as to drive
the shaft t either in one direction or the other, or they may be both placed
out of gear, so as to impart no motion to the shaft t. vis a bevil pinion keyed
upon one end of the shaft t, and driving a similar wheel v keyed upon the boss
of a spur wheel w. This wheel w has a nut also attached to its boss, working
w² is a similar wheel, connected to the wheel w by a spur
upon a screw x.
pinion, and, having a nut attached to its boss working upon a screw ; or the
pinion may be dispensed with by employing a right and a left hand screw. These
screws x, x, are attached to a sliding frame y, y, which supports the roller z, z,
in suitable bearings, in such a manner that the said roller may be readily
detached from the machine. 1, 1, is a circular brush, fixed upon a shaft 2, 2,
which is mounted in suitable bearings, and is caused to revolve by means of a
belt or strap passing around the pulley 3. The operation of finishing yarns
or threads by means of this apparatus is as follows:-The rollers m, m, and z, z,
are removed from the machine and placed in a frame or stand. The banks of
thread, after being bleached or dyed, and having been properly dried in a stove
in the ordinary manner (or in the unbleached state, are placed in a suitable
vessel containing starch or size, and after remaining immersed for a short time
are removed, and the superfluous size wrung or squeezed out. The hanks are
then spread out as evenly as possible over the rollers m and z,
rollers are then replaced in the machine and set in motion. The threads,
which are represented by the blue lines in the Drawing) being now slack, the
mitre wheels is to be placed in gear with the wheel r, which will cause the
screws, x, to raise the roller m, and thus tighten the threads. When
the threads are at a sufficient tension the revolution of the shaft must be
stopped by throwing the wheels s, s', both out of gear. The fan n is then
caused to revolve, and the rotary brush 1 being also set in motion, will by its
friction produce a lustre or gloss and smoothness upon the threads hitherto
unattainable, and at the same time cause the perfect adhesion or combination
of the loose fibres with the threads. As the threads become slack they are to
be occasionally tightened up by setting the mitre wheels in gear; when the
threads have attained the requisite gloss and smoothness the operation is
complete; the mitre wheel s' is to be then placed in gear with the wheel r,
until the threads are sufficiently slack to allow of the removal of the rollers m
and z from the machine. The operation then proceeds as before.
and the said

page_text: Having thus described the nature and object of my said improvements,
together with the method of carrying the same into practical effect, I would
remark, in conclusion, that I claim as my Invention,--
First, the producing or imparting a lustre and smoothness, together with
perfect adhesion of fibre, by the application of friction to yarns or threads in
the bank, and whilst in a state of tension and motion, such friction being
produced by means of a circular or endless brush or brushes.
And, secondly, I claim the peculiar arrangement of machinery or apparatus
for effecting the said object, as represented in the annexed Drawings, and
above more particularly described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Godfrey Ermen, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.