IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TWISTING: COTTON AND. .OTHER' FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EATON, of Camberwell, in the County of Surrey, Engineer; send greeting.
•
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen. Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under. the Great. Seal of Great Britain,. bearing date at
Westminster, the Ninth day of: February, in the..tenth.yoar. of Her, reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs. and: successors,: give, and grant unto me, the said
William Eaton, Her especial license, full power, sole: privilege-and authority,
that I, the said William Eaton, my executors; administrators,, and assigns, and
such others as I, the, said William Eaton, my 'executors, "administrators, 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 mentioned, should and lawfully
might make,.,use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, the Town' of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies, and Plantations
abroad, and in-the Islands: of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, niy
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TWISTING: COTTON AND. .OTHER'
FIBROUS SUBSTANCES;" in which said. Lotters Patent is contained a proviso
obliging me, the said William Eaton, by an instrument: in writing. under. my
hand and scal, particularly to' describe and ascertain the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner; the same is to be performed; and to cause
the same to be- inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court ofiChancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after tlie date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference boing. thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear...
.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Eaton, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention of "Improvements in Machinery for Twisting Cotton and
other Fibrous Substances" relates to the preparation of "rovings" of cotton or
other fibrous substances, and has for its object to give a slight degree of
twist to the rovings just previous to their being wound on to the bobbins
preparatory to spinning.
In the accompanying Drawings I have shewn various plans of effecting
this object. In the apparatus shewn in Figures 1 and 2, the ribbon of cotton
or other fibrous material is conducted down a tube or hollow shaft, and passed
once or twice round a vertical fixed pin or spindle, from which it is conducted
through an eye or trumpet between a pair of delivering rollers, or on to a
bobbin which is driven round at a proper speed. The twist is given to the
roving by lapping it round the fixed vertical spindle; but other means may
be employed in which the roving is not passed round a fixed vertical spindle.
Fig. 3 represents an apparatus in which the twist is given to the roving by
carrying the bobbin, on which it is wound, round a centre spindle, which is
also made to revolve in the same direction, but at different speed to that at
which the bobbin moves round the said centre spindle.
Fig. 4 is a representation of another method of putting twist into rovings.
In the Plan shewn in this Figure the bobbin moves round horizontally on a
centre at the same time that it revolves on its axis, and thereby a slight
twist is given to the roving while it is being wound on to the bobbin.
Having thus briefly pointed out the methods in which I propose to effect
the object of my Invention, I will now proceed to describe more in detail the
peculiar construction and arrangement of the apparatus or machines which
constitute my improvements.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation, and Fig. 2 a side view, of the first-mentioned
plan, in which the cotton or other fibrous substance is conducted from a pair
of drawing rollers above, down the inside of the tubular spindle a, which is
mounted vertically in a hollow bearing a*, and is actuated by means of a band
coming from any prime mover, and passed round the pulley b. A toothed
wheel c is fixed to the under side of the hollow bearings a*, and therefore
always remains stationary, and a similar toothed wheel d, on the upper end
of the short shaft e, gears into the stationary toothed wheel c. The shaft e is

page_text: mounted in bearings at the end of an arm extending from the tubular spindle
a, and is consequently carried round with the said spindle when the latter is
put in motion by the band and pulley b. Another toothed wheel f, at the lower
end of the shaft e, gears into a similar whcel g, which is stationary, and is
mounted on a spindle that passes through the lower bearing e*, of the shaft e.
A short conical wooden pin h is attached to the lower side of the wheel g, and
a part of the lower end of this pin is cut away at 1, for the purpose hereafter
explained. The lower end of the conical pin h is inserted in the metal cup i,
at the upper end of a short tube j, which is supported by an elastic arm
(Fig. 2), and is furnished at its lower end with a trumpet mouth, as seen best
in Fig. 2. It will now be understood that, as the toothed wheel c is fixed to
the hollow bearing a*, and therefore always remains stationary, the wheels d
and will, with their shaft e, be carried round this stationary wheel c, and
consequently the lower toothed wheel g, and its conical pin h, will be always
kept in the same position, that is, prevented from rotating. To the lower
extremity of the tubular spindle a, a curved conductor or flyer m is attached
for the purpose of conducting the roving from the interior of the spindle a to
the conical pin h below. The operation of the machine is as follows:-The
roving is conducted from the drawing rollers down the interior of the tubular
spindle a, along the curved conductor m, as shewn by the strong dotted line,
on to the stationary conical pin h, round which it is lapped once or twice.
This is effected by keeping the conical pin and wheel g stationary, as above
explained; and causing the hollow spindle a, and its curved conductor or flyer
m, to rotate round it, and as fast as the roving is lapped round the conical
pin h by the rotation of the flyer, it is drawn off through the hole 1, at the
lower end of the pin h, down the short tube j, and out of the trumpet mouth
between the metal or other pressing roller n and the large delivering roller o,
which must of course have a suitable motion communicated to it for this pur-
pose. The roller n is mounted in slotted guides made in or attached to the
side frames of the apparatus, and is kept in contact with the large under roller
by means of helical or spiral springs which press upon and force down the
axles of the roller'n, as is clearly shewn in the Drawing. The twisted roving,
having been delivered by the rollers n and o, must of course be wound on to
a bobbin by any of the known means. I would here observe that, in putting
tlie above apparatus into operation, a large number of them might be ranged
side by side in a frame, and the several parts would perhaps be actuated in a
somewhat different manner to that shewn in Figures 1 and 2; for instance,
the hollow spindles might be driven by a series of bevil wheels mounted on a
shaft, extending the whole length of the frame. The roving also might be

page_text: delivered direct from the trumpet of the tube j, on to a bobbin..driven by
surface speed, precisely in the manner now usually adopted.
Fig. 3 represents a sectional elevation of another plan for putting twist
into rovings. In this case the bobbin on which the roving is to be wound.is
shewn at p, and is mounted on a horizontal arm attached to a collar q, through
which the centre spindle a of the apparatus passes freely, so that the collar q
may, as required, be-moved upon and down the spindle, which is: furnished
with a feather r, in order that it'may carry round with it the collar q, and its
bobbin A helical spring surrounds the upper part of the spindle, and is made
to press upon the collar I, for the purpose of keeping the bobbin p in contact
with the circular surface plate s, through which the spindle a also passes freely,
and is driven by a toothed wheel t at its lower end. The hollow spindle a is
supported from below by a cup bearing u, and also at or near the centre of the
fast collar or bearing u*, which also supports the boss of a toothed wheel v
that is secured to the under side of the surface plates, as seen in the Drawing.
It will be seen that the wheels it and v are of different diameters, the former
(by means of which the spindle a is driven) being larger than the other which
belongs (and is connected) to the surface place s." These wheels t and vare
actuated by 'spur wheels w and w*, which are mounted on the same vertical
spindle, but are of different diameter, so that the wheel t and spindle a will be
driven at the rate of eight revolutions to nine of the wheel v and surface plate s.
The roving to be operated upon is supplied to the apparatus from the feeding
rollers above, and passes from thence through a small trumpet & at the endl
of the liorizontal arm y, which extends from and is fixed to the upper part of
the hollow spindle'a. The trumpet x is placed in a groove made in the arm y,
so that it may be moved along the arm nearer to or further from the centre
hollow spindle, for the purpose of laying the roving on the bobbin p in a
regular and uniformi nianner. The trumpet æ is made to traverse to and fro
along the army, by means of- à cord or catgut fastened at one end to the
trumpet! and at the other end to a roller below. The cord or catgut passes
'along the army, and down the inside of, the hollow spindle, and through a
hole in the step or cup bearing u, to the roller z, to which it is affixed. As
the upper end of "the cord or catgut; by being fastened to the trumpet x, will
be carried round the centre spindle, while the opposite end is held firmly, the
cord 'or catgut will be twisted, and would soon. become destroyed by the
rotation of the hollow centre spindle; but in order to obviate this inconvenience
1 divide the cord into two parts, and connect them together by means of a
small swivel, which is placed inside the hollow spindle, as will be readily
understood. The circumference of the roller z, to which the lower end of the

page_text: cord or catgut is attached, is just equal to the length of the bobbin p, therefore
by causing the roller to "mako exactly' one revolution," it will coil on its
periphery a length of cord equal to the length of traverse of the trumpet æ.
This roller may be actuated in any convenient manner, either by means of
toothed wheels, such as shewn in the Drawing, or by means of a ratchet
actuated by a pall or click; as will be easily understood by mechanics. It
will be obvious that a very slow rotation of the roller z will be sufficient to
cause the trumpet a to traverse in proper proportion to the speed of the
bobbin pand this rotary motion may be produced by connecting the roller or
its appendages to any convenient. part of the, driving apparatus belonging to
the frame to which the above mechanism may be applied: When, by means
of the toothed wheels or palls, the roller z. has been made to perform one
rotation, the pall of the ratchet wheel shewn in the Drawing-must be disengaged
by shogging the wheel laterally by means of a 'rod or lever, and the roller =
will be caused gradually to rotate in the opposite direction by the force of the
coiled spring in the groove of the horizontal arm y-acting against the trumpet,
and driving it back, care being taken that this retrograde motion be as
uniform and gradual as the opposite motion. I would here remark, that the
ends of the bobbins may be made-conical by any of the ordinary means now in
use for gradually decreasing the length of the traverse, as the diameter of the
bobbin increases. It will now be seen that by the continual rotation of the
hollow spindle with its army, and the surface plates, the roving will be slightly
twisted and gradually wound on to the bobbin, which will, of course, increase in
diameter, but will always be kept in contact with the surface plate by the force
of the spring on the loose collar q. Of course, when the bobbin is full, it must be
drawn off its pin or spindle, and an empty one placed on the pin in its stead.
Figure 4 represents a third mode of effecting the object of my Invention.
In this case the bobbin p on which the roving is to be wound is mounted in
guides within a flyer. The roving to be operated upon passes from the
delivering rollers above, through the hollow spindle a, over a wire semicircle,
to the trumpet guide a, which is mounted in a groove made in the horizontal
bar y, and is made to traverse to and fro along this bar, in a similar manner
to that explained in reference to.Figure 3. A. cord or catgut is attached at
one end to the trumpet, and after passing along the guide bar y down one
side of the flyer, and through the centre of the hollow spindle, and step or
support u, it is finally attached to and wound round a 'drum or roller similar
to and actuated in the same manner as the one shewn at z, in Figure 3. The
cord is, as in the former instance, divided into two parts, which are ¡jointed
together by means of a swivel, which is placed in the hollow support, as shewn.

page_text: in the Drawing. Rotary motion is communicated to the hollow spindle and
flyer in which the bobbin p is mounted, by means of the toothed wheel t,
which may be actuated by any convenient arrangement of gearing, or such as
is usually adopted in tube frames. Any required amount of twist may be
given to the roving by this means, and it now only remains to explain the
manner in which the roving is wound on to the bobbin. This is effected in
the following manner :-On the lower part of the stationary support u, a bevil
wheel w is fixed; and on the lower end of a diagonal shaft q, which passes
through holes in the flyer, is mounted a bevil pinion, which gears into tho
stationary wheel w. On the upper end of the shaft 2 is mounted an endless
screw, which gears into and drives a wheel v on the end of the spindle of the
fluted surface roller s, which actuates the bobbin p. It will now be seen that
as the shaft with its bevil pinion in gear with the wheel w, is carried round
by the flyer, the shaft 9 will be made to rotate in its bearings, and will conse-
quently actuate the bobbin p, through the medium of the endless screw and
wheel on the spindle of the surface roller s. The surface speed of the roller
s; must be the same as that of the delivering roller above, in order that the
roving may be lapped on to the bobbin in a proper and regular manner, as
will be well understood by any cotton spinner.
q
Having now described my Invention, and the best means with which I an
acquainted for carrying the same into effect, I would observe in conclusion
that several sets of the apparatus or mechanism herein shewn may be mounted
in a frame somewhat similar to or in the manner of the two frames now used
for twisting rovings; it will, therefore, be evident that the arrangement of the
several parts must, when applied in this manner, be somewhat modified to
suit the views and opinions of different manufacturers. I have therefore
merely shewn my improvements distinct from any of the well-known machines,
leaving it to the manufacturer or machine maker to apply the improve-
ments in any manner he may think most desirable and convenient.
I do not, therefore, mean or intend to confine myself rigidly to the arrange-
ment of the several parts herein-before shewn and described, as they may,
loubtless, be varied without departing from the nature and object of my
improvements. But that which I consider to be new, and therefore wish to
claim as the Invention secured to me under the heroin-before in part recitedl
Letters Patent, is,―
.
Firstly, the means of putting a twist with rovings or soft yarns of cotton,
or other fibrous substances, by causing the said yarn or roving to lap round a
stationary pin or spindle, from which it is drawn off with the twist in it (and
as a twisted roving may be then wound on to a bobbin.

page_text: Secondly, I claim the means of putting a twist into rovings or soft yarns,
by the arrangement or construction of apparatus shewn in Figures 3 and 4, or
any modification thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Eaton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Ninth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.