IMPROVEMENTS IN SPINNING FLAX, HEMP, JUTE, Dan Dana
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Lawson, of Leeds, in the County of York,
Engineer, and Edward Gerrard Fitton, of Leeds, aforesaid, Engineer,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SPINNING FLAX, HEMP, JUTE,
Dan Dana"
Sealed the 9th October 1869, and dated the 16th August 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Lawson and
Edward Gerrard Fitton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 16th August 1869.
We, JOHN LAWSON, of Leeds, in the County of York, Engineer, and
EDWARD GERRARD FITTON, of Leeds, aforesaid, Engineer, do hereby
leclare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SPINNING
FLAX, HEMP, JUTE, AND TOW, AND IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED FOR THESE PURPOSES,'
to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in the method of spinning
flax, hemp, jute, and tow, and in machinery employed for this purpose.
Heretofore it has been the practise to spin flax, hemp, jute, and tow
on throstle or gill spinning frames, in which the fibre as it is spun is

page_text: received on to bobbins, and has subsequently to be reeled and formed
into cops (or is formed into cops from the bobbin) to prepare it for the
loom.
Now according to our Invention we employ in combination with
drawing machinery such as has heretofore been used in spinning flax,
hemp, jute, and tow a self-acting mule carriage and headstock, the
carriage carrying spindles and having intermittent to-and-fro motion
(regulated so as to draw out, spin, and wind on the threads in the form
of cops), and constructed and operated after the manner of a self-acting
mule headstock and carriage used in spinning cotton. By this improve-
ment cops of spun flax, hemp, jute, and tow are at once formed ready
for the loom or otherwise, and consequently the labor and expense of
reeling and cop forming are saved.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Lawson and Edward Gerrard Fitton in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 16th February 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
LAWSON, of Leeds, in the County of York, Engineer, and EDWARD
GERRARD FITTON, of Leeds, aforesaid, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said John Lawson and Edward Gerrard Fitton,
Her special licence that we, the said John Lawson and Edward Gerrard
Fitton, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we,
the said John Lawson and Edward Gerrard Fitton, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN SPINNING
FLAX, HEMP, JUTE, AND TOW, AND IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED FOR THESE PURPOSES,'
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said John Lawson
and Edward Gerrard Fitton, our executors or administrators, by an

page_text: instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the
hand and seal of one of us or them, 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 I, the said Edward Gerrard Fitton, on behalf
of myself and the said John Lawson, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to improvements in the method of spinning
flax, hemp, jute, and tow, and in machinery employed for this purpose.
Heretofore it has been the practice to spin flax, hemp, jute, and tow on
throstle or gill spinning frames, in which the fibre as it is spun is
received on to bobbins, and has subsequently to be reeled and formed into
cops (or is formed into cops from the bobbin) to prepare it for the.
loom.
Now according to our Invention we employ in combination with
drawing machinery such as has heretofore been used in spinning flax,
hemp, jute, and tow a self-acting mule carriage and headstock, the
carriage carrying spindles and having intermittent to-and-fro motion
(regulated so as to draw out, spin, and wind on the threads in the form
of cops) and constructed and operated after the manner of a self-acting
mule headstock and carriage used in spinning cotton. By this improve-
ment cops of flax, hemp, jute, and tow yarns are at once formed ready
for the loom or otherwise, and consequently the labour and expense of
recling and cop forming are saved.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, we will proceed to
describe more fully the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
The Drawings hereunto annexed are made to a scale of 3 inches to
the foot. Figure 1, Sheet 1, shows an end elevation partly in section of
a spinning frame constructed according to our Invention, and more
especially suitable for spinning dry tows from a rove. We have not
thought it necessary to show all the details of the carriage and headstock,
but have shewn in section all the drawing parts.

page_text: We will first describe the headstock and carriage. A is the framing
of headstock; B, the carriage; C, the spindle box; D, the backing off
wheel; E, the quadrant; a is the rim shaft which receives its motion
from the line or countershaft; b is the twist pinion; 61, 6%, and 6s are
intermediate wheels to communicate motion from the rim shaft to the
axis c of the front roller; d is the quadrant chain; e is a wheel having
a barrel or pulley e¹ on it "commonly called the barrel and spur," and
around which the quadrant chain laps; f is a wheel or pinion gearing
into and driven by the spur wheel e. The wheel fis mounted on the tin
roller shaft g; the tin roller g¹ drives by means of the spindle band h the
spindle i upon which the copj is formed or built. In the Drawings the
lines indicating the cop shew the cop to be formed to unwind from the
inside as is usual in heavy cops of flax, hemp, jute, and tow, but they
can be built or formed to unwind from the outside or from a pirn. k is
a shaft, upon which a scroll or worm k¹ is fitted for the purpose of re-
gulating, as is well understood, the tightness of the yarn when the
mule is winding on. The motions of the headstock and carriage arc
such as are common in cotton mules.
We will now describe the drawing parts. They are similar to those
hitherto used in a dry tow spinning frame, but they are so arranged to
work with spindles which are mounted in a mule carriage that the twist
can get freely to the nip of the rollers. No. 0 is the bearer or spring
picce; No. 1 is the roller beam; No. 2 is the stand; No. 3 is the front
drawing roller; No. 4 is the pressing; No. 5 is the U bar for guiding
and keeping in position the pressing roller, and connected by a swivel 7
to a pressing lever 8; No. 9 is a weight to give pressure through the
lever 8 to the drawing rollers; No. 10 is the retaining roller; and No. 11
is a pressing roller for retaining the rove; No. 12 is a swivel bearing
connected to the pressing lever 13; No. 14 is a weight for giving pressure
through the lever 13 and swivel 12 to the retaining rollers. The wheels
shewn in red lines Nos. 15, 16, and 17 communicate motion from the
lower draft roller No. 3 to the lower retaining roller No. 10, and the
amount of draft between the drawing and retaining rollers is regulated
by the relative diameters of the wheels 15 and 17. Between the drawing
and retaining rollers we place a rove plate 18, which is mounted on a
shaft 19 the whole length of rollers; this shaft is supported on bearings 20
fitted in each stand. The lower end of these bearings are screwed to fit
into the worm wheels 21 also fitted in each stand, and which are tapped
to screw on to the bearings 20. No. 22 are worms that work in the

page_text: worm wheels; No. 23 is a shaft upon which the worms 22 are fixed.
When motion is given to the shaft 23 through the handle 24 the rove
plate 18 can be raised or lowered simultaneously the whole length of
the frame. No. 25 is an adjustable rod, on which are placed conductors
to guide the rove between the drawing and pressing rollers. When the
machine is set in motion and the carriage is making its outward stretchi
the drawing rollers commence to draw and deliver the rove at the
proper speed and thickness, and the speed of the spindles being suited
to the length of yarn delivered from the rollers the necessary twist is
put in. The outward run given to the carriage should be somewhat less
than the length of rove delivered by the drawing rollers in place of being
slightly greater than the length of rove delivered by the drawing rollers,
as is usual when spinning cotton. The extent of variation will depend
upon the thickness of the yarn and the number of twists put into it. The
more twist or the thicker the yarn the greater will be the extent of this
variation. When the carriage has completed its outward run it is held
out by a holding out latch until the friction wheel D has caused the
spindles to turn backwards sufficient to take off the coils of yarn from
the spindles and to allow sufficient slack yarn for the fallers to get into
position for winding on the yarn, which is done by the quadrant and its
connections in combination with the motions obtained from the inward
run of the carriage after the backing off is accomplished. A friction
pulley is put in motion for driving through bevel wheels a scroll shaft,
upon which are placed scrolls for drawing in by means of ropes the
carriage. While the carriage is making its inward run the faller guided
by the builder is forming the yarn which is being wound on the spindles
into cops. When this is done the drawing rollers, spindles, and carriage
are again set in motion to draw, deliver, and spin another stretch or
length of yarn, and thus by alternately spinning and winding on the'
operation of spinning and forming cops is performed.
At Figure 2, Sheet 2 of the Drawings, is shewn an end elevation partly
in section of another arrangement of spinning frame constructed
according to our Invention and suitable for spinning tows from a sliver.
In this arrangement the drawing is effected 'through hackles or gills
worked by screws and commonly called screw or spiral gills. The head-
stock and carriage are similar to those above described and shewn on
Figure 1, Sheet 1. The front roller also receives motion in the same
manner, so that it is unnecessary to repeat the description of these
parts, and we will merely describe the screw gill drawing machinery.

page_text: I
No. 0 is the bearer; No. 1 is the roller beam which supports the
carriage plate No. 2. The front roller a receives motion from the rim
shaft of the headstock. The pressing roller a¹, which is pressed in the
usual way by weight and lever is guided by the bar a. A train of
wheels called the draft wheels communicate motion from the front
roller a to the back shaft c; on this back shaft are wheels driving the
retaining rollers e, also on the back shaft c are bevel wheels f which
take into and drive the bevel pinions which fit on the ends of the
bottom screws of the screw gill apparatus. Spur pinions i are cast on
the bevel pinions g, which connect and drive pinions j on the top screws.
k, l, are the faller bars, on which are mounted the hackles or gills m and
which rise and fall into and out of action in the ordinary manner of
screw gill apparatus. When the frame is in motion the sliver is drawn
by the retaining rollers out of the can p and passes between the pins
of the screw gill apparatus towards the drawing rollers; the sliver is
thus drawn through hackles or gills and is delivered by the drawing
rollers ready for spinning. In place of screw gills other arrangements
of gill apparatus may be employed.
The machines as shewn in the Drawings, Figures 1 and 2, are arranged
for spinning tows, but by altering the reach between the drawing and
retaining rollers they can be adapted to draw line of flax, hemp, and
jute.
At Figure 3, Sheet 2 of the Drawings, is shewn an end elevation
partly in section of the drawing and macerating parts of a wet spinning
frame or throstle and part of a mule headstock and carriage arranged
to spin flax, hemp, and tows on a mule in the form of a cop. It will
not be necessary to describe the motions and parts of the headstock and
carriage, as they are the same as those herein-before described and shewn
on Sheet 1, Figure 1. No. 0 is the bearer; No. 1 is the roller beam; No. 2
is the stand or carriage plate; a is the front roller which receives motion
from the rim shaft and twist wheels, shewn on Sheet 1, Figure 1; cis
the retaining roller, which is driven by the front roller through a train
of wheels called the draft wheels; d is the pressing roller for drawing
roller a; e is the pressing roller for retaining the rove; fis a saddle
which supports, presses, and guides in combination with the stands
No. 2 spring rods, levers, and weights the two pressing rollers d and e;
is a rove guide for traversing the rove on the drawing rollers; h is a
trough for holding water; i arc rods in the trough under which the rove j
g

page_text: passes as it goes through the water; k is the rove bobbin in the creel.
When the machine is in operation the drawing rollers draw and delive
the rove, and the spinning operations are the same as before described
for spinning dry tow from a rove in the former part of this Specifi-
cation.
Having now described our improvements, we wish it to be understood
that we claim, spinning flax, hemp, jute, and tow by means of a mule
spinning frame suitably arranged for such purpose, substantially as
herein-before described.
We also claim the combination of drawing machinery suitable for
drawing flax, hemp, jute, and tows with a mule headstock and carriage,
substantially as herein-before described.
We also claim the general arrangements or combinations of machinery
for spinning flax, hemp, jute, and tow, substantially as herein-before
described and shewn by Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the Drawings annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Gerrard Fitton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of February, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
EDWARD GERRARD TUITION
EDWARD GERRARD BUTTON
(5.6.)