CERTAIN IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING, SPINNING, AND DOUBLING COTTON, FLAX, WOOL, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CRAIG, of Glasgow, Engineer, and I, WILLIAM DOUGLAS SHARP, of Stanley, in
the County of Perth, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Third day of March, in the third year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said William
Craig and William Douglas Sharp, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that we, the said William Craig and William Douglas
Sharp, our executors, administrators, and assigns, and such others as we, the
said William Craig and William Douglas Sharp, our executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no other, 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 and Wales
and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, our Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING, SPINNING, AND DOUBLING COTTON, FLAX, WOOL,
AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso that we, the said William Craig and William Douglas Sharp, shall
cause a particular description of the nature of our said Invention, and in what

page_text: manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled 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, we, the said
William Craig and William Douglas Sharp, do hereby declare that the nature
of the said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be per-
formed, is particularly described and ascertained in and by the Drawings
hereto annexed, and the following explanation thereof (that is to say) :-
<6
Our Improvements in Machinery for Preparing, Spinning, and Doubling
Cotton, Flax, Wool, and other Fibrous Substances, consist in the construction
and arrangement of certain machinery for the purpose of rendering the
spinning machine called "the mule," as well as the preparation machine
known by the name of "the stretcher," what is usually called self-acting, or
more independent of the operative spinner, who has to perform certain opera-
tions in such machines, which consists principally in what is usually termed the
backing off," the putting down the faller wire and regulating its motion
so as to distribute the yarn on the spindles in the form of a cop, the putting
up of the carriage to the roller beam, and the winding on of the yarn on the
spindle at a proper tension during the putting up of the carriage. These
movements we perform by the machinery herein-after to be described, and
which machinery is so constructed and arranged as to be applicable to and
harmonize with the movements already existing in the hand mule, and to
which they may be regarded as additions, for the purpose of rendering it
self-acting. The manner in which the same is to be performed and carried
into effect will be understood by reference to the Drawings and the following
description:-
Fig. 1 is an elevation of that part of the mule termed the headstock, with
a section of the carriage.
Fig. 2 represents an end view of the same. The Drawings are made to a
scale of three inches to the foot, and the same parts which are drawn in the
different views are marked with the same letters or figures througout.
Motion is conveyed from the driving pulley shaft A to the rollers in the same
manner as in the hand mule, and to the twist shaft by means of a diagonal
shaft B, which is the same as that adapted in some hand mules, the only
difference being that on the pulley shaft the fly or large band pulley is
dispensed with, which is only retained in hand mules driven in this manner, as
the means through which the spinner winds or regulates the winding on of
the yarn on the spindles. Motion is given to the diagonal shaft C from the

page_text: ordinary loose pulley of the hand mule by means of a pair of a mitre wheels,
seen in Fig. 2. This shaft drives on the shaft D a bevel wheel, connected on
one side with the catch E, and on the other with the catch plate F. This
wheel with the catches turns loose on the shaft D. G is a lever similar to
that common to hand mules, for putting in and out the power catch, and by
which the catches E and F are shifted on the shaft D, the lower end of the
shaft C partaking of the same motion. H is the "backing off" pinion and
catch plate, which turns also loose on the shaft D. To this plate there are
fixed several studs, one of which is taken hold of by a pin in the catch
plate F. The pinion H drives a spur wheel fixed on the shaft I, on which
shaft there is also fixed the pinion J. K is a similar pinion, which turns loose
on the twist shaft, and to which it is connected by a ratchet wheel and click,
so as to give motion in only one direction. L, L, is a toothed rack attached
to the framing by studs, to which studs are fitted antifriction rollers, on which
the rack moves up and down, and is retained in a vertical position. M is a
lever connected by a jointed rod to the break N2, which forms the segment of
O is an
a circle, covered with leather, to embrace the break pulley N.
inclined plane fixed to the rack L. G2 is a lever connected at the top of the
lever G, as shewn by the dotted lines, in such a manner that when the lever G
is drawn from the retaining catch the lower portion of the lever G2 will make
a corresponding motion towards the roller beam. On the shaft D there is
keyed fast the catch P, and into which the catch E takes. On this shaft
there is also fixed the pinion Q, which drives a wheel R. On the same shaft
with this wheel there is fixed the double excentric pulley S, S. From the
upper and under side of this pulley bands or chains, after being made fast,
proceed, and are fixed to the pulley A², shewn in dotted lines. The bands or
chains are so fixed that the stretch of the carriage may be commenced and
terminated when the band or chain is winding off or on. At that point where
it approximates nearest to the centre on the same shaft with the pulley A² is
fixed the pulley B. A band, after being made fast to it, passes over the carrier
pulley 14, and from thence to the carriage. A similar band passes from the
other side of the pulley, and after going round the carrier pulley 15, is also
made fast to the carriage. 2, 2, 2, represents the framing of the end of the
carrriage; a cast piece 3, 3, is made fast to it by means of screw bolts at the
top and bottom, as shewn in Fig. 1. To this casting are fixed two studs, on
which slide the perpendicular bar 4, having attached at its lower end an
antifriction roller, which moves over the shaping rail or building plate T, T.
Attached by a joint to the perpendicular bar 4 is a rod 5, which at its
upper extremity terminates in an inclined plane, of the form shewn in Fig. 1.

page_text: The inclined plane presses against an antifriction roller fixed to a perpen-
dicular rod, which on its other side carries an antifriction roller, which moves
in a slot in the faller crank 6. The perpendicularity of this small rod is
maintained by means of two guides with slots formed in them, one only of
which is seen at 7, the other being removed for the purpose of more clearly
shewing and describing the other parts. U is the winding-on scroll or spiral
pulley, which will be better understood from Fig. 3. V is also a scroll or
spiral pully fixed to the headstock, and from which the band is gradually
given out to the pulley U during the process of forming the bottom of the cop.
This is effected by means of a rack 8, an adjustable projection from which
being laid hold of by a forked prong in the carriage in its coming out from
the roller beam, carries the rack along with it. The rack 8 moves a small
pinion which is connected to the small shaft by a ratchet wheel and click,
having at the top a worm which works into a worm wheel fixed on the spiral
pulley. In the in-going of the carriage the rack is carried to its former
position; but from the click on the pinion overrunning the ratchet, no motion
is imparted to the spiral pulley. This pulley is so proportioned that it may
give out the requisite quantity of band to the pulley U, so that through it the
number of revolutions imparted to the spindles in winding on the yarn may be
reduced in the proper amount during the process of forming the bottom of the
cop. The scroll U is connected with the upright shaft W on the end of
the carriage by means of a bevel pinion, which drives a bevel wheel turning
loose on the shaft W, and is connected with it in the process of winding on
by means of a ratchet and clicks. These clicks are so connected with the
plate 10 and the two prongs that are fixed to it, that when the plate is lifted
up and retained, it prevents the clicks from acting on the ratchet wheel, which
is effected by means of small curved plates attached to the prongs, which on
their being raised press on pins that project from the clicks. The plate is lifted
up by the rod 11, which at the bottom terminates in a joint moveable in one
direction only, which is so constructed as to raise the rod immediately on the
commencement of the out-coming of the carriage by its pressing against the
bracket 12, while in the in-going of the carriage it is not effected by the yielding of
the movable joint. 13 is a lever, which retains the plate when raised until the
carriage is about to go in to the roller beam, when it is released by the action
of the lever G, withdrawing the lever 13. This lever, from being connected
to a spiral spring, has a tendency to go into the catch on the plate 10. D2, a
double band pulley of different diameters; from the largest diameter a band,
after being fixed and making a coil or two round, passes under a carrier pully
on the framing, and from thence to a projecting pulley fixed on the same arbor

page_text: will the scroll pulley U, where it is also fixed; from the smaller diameter of
pulley D, a band, after making a coil or two round, is fixed to a weight 37,
the use of which is to cause the scroll pully to wind up the band in the going
out of the carriage. 16 is a small catch for retaining the lever 17, when it
has been raised by the winding of a chain or the moving of a rack in con-
nection with the shaft, on which is fixed the pully B², the end of which rack
or chain is connected with the upright part of the lever 17. On the lower
part of this lever is fixed an antifriction roller, that in the falling of the lever
presses against an arm 19, from the lever shaft common to hand mules, and
by its action (caused by the spiral spring 23 attached to a projecting arm from
the centre of the lever) the various catches are changed, and the motion of
the machine reversed. The rods from the lever 20 are connected in the
same way with the catches as they are in the hand mule; with this exception :
two of them, those for shifting the strap lever and for putting out of action the
in-taking motion of the carriage, are connected with a short lever 21, attached
by a stud to the framing, which is actuated by the rod 22. The two rods are
connected with the same stud in the crank on which they move in slots, for
the purpose of allowing the out-coming of the carriage and the action of the
rollers to cease, while the twisting motions of the spindles may still continue.
A bevel wheel 24 is fixed on the shaft, commonly known in the hand mule as
the "mendoza" shaft. This wheel drives a wheel 25 on the small shaft X, on
which shaft is fixed the wheel 26, which drives a wheel 27 on the same shaft
with pully B. By these wheels the carriage is taken out from the roller
beam T, T. The building plate or rail for forming the cop is at its highest
elevation at the commencement of the formation of the cop; as this proceeds it
is gradually lowered by a projecting stud from the carriage pressing on the
lever 34, which is, at its other extremity, connected with a lever which carries
a click, and by which the ratchet wheel 35 is turned a portion of a revolution
each draw or stretch of the carriage. This wheel is fixed to a small rod or
shaft, the other end of it being formed into a screw, works through a nut that is
fixed to a small rod, to which is attached the two plates 36, 36, formed in their
upper edge into inclined planes: on these rest studs, fixed to the building plate;
and the motion which is given to the inclined planes permit the gradual falling
of the building rail or plate T, T. The drum band passes, in entering the
carriage, once round one of the grooves on the pully fixed on the shaft W,
and then round a small stud pulley fixed to a small bracket attached to the
end of the carriage. The wheels on the shaft A, that give motion to the
diagonal shaft B, and the diagonal shaft which proceeds from the opposite

page_text: sides to drive the rollers, are in one casting and turns loose on the shaft A, to
which they are connected by a clutch or catch that admits of a sliding move-
ment along a key fixed to the shaft. The handle Y is for the purpose of
actuating this clutch, and by which the machine is stopped, the pulley shaft A
continuing to revolve, but without communicating motion to the wheels.
Fig. 3 is a plan view of the scroll or spiral pully's, shewing their relative
position. Y, Y, shews the casting attached to the end of the carriage, and by
which the end of the scroll U is carried. ✗, a friction roller, over which the
band g passes to the scroll.
Fig. 4 represents another method by which we effect the winding on of the
yarn. a is a pinion which is fixed on the shaft that in the other method
carried the scroll or spiral pulley U. b, b, a toothed rack, supported on anti-
friction flanched rollers, so as it may move freely in a longitudinal direction.
c is a wheel fixed to a shaft attached to the roller beam end of the headstock.
f represents a horizontal lever, the centre of which is fixed to the headstock
at the opposite end to that of the rack e, to which rack it is attached by a stud
fixed to the rack and working in a slot in the end of the horizontal lever. g, a
projecting piece from the end of the carriage, and partaking of its movement
to and from the beam carrying an antifriction roller on which the horizontal
lever rests. This projecting piece is connected to the carriage by means of a
slide, to which is fitted a screw, carrying at its upper extremity a ratchet wheel,
through which, at each stretch of the carriage, the projecting piece g is clevated
a certain position during the process of forming the bottom of the cop. If we
were to suppose the horizontal rack b, b, unconnected with the wheel c, it
would move in along with the carriage without imparting any motion to the
pinion a, from the force necessary to move the rack being so much less than that
required to turn the spindles. If we consider it as represented in the Drawing,
it is evident that from the position of the horizontal lever, in connection with
the projecting piece on which it rests, no motion will be permitted to the
pinion d or wheel c during the going in of the carriage; and that, consequently,
the pinion a will make the full amount of revolutions proportionate to its pitch
line, diameter, and the length of the stretch. This speed attained by the
pinion a is by the wheels in connection with the shaft W, Fig. 1, adapted to the
requisite amount for winding the yarns on the bare spindle. As the cop
bottom goes on increasing, the projecting piece g, by the action of the screw
and ratchet wheel, is also at each stretch gradually rising, until, when near the
completion of the cop bottom, it will have attained the height shewn in dotted
lines (see Fig. 4), which shews its position in relation to the lever f. When

page_text: the carriage is near the extremity of the stretch, the horizontal lever will now
also be made to assume the position shewn in dotted lines. The rack e will
also have been elevated corresponding with that seen in dotted lines, and the
rack b, b, will have been carried a certain length along the carriage in its going
out from the beam, and the lever attaining the position shewn. It will now
be evident that, on the carriage commencing its progress towards the roller
beam, the end of the lever will fall in a continually decreasing ratio until the
carriage approaches the rollers. This action of the lever causes or rather
permits the rack b, b, to be carried in along with the carriage in the same
decreasing ratio in which it falls, and thereby diminishing the amount of
revolutions imparted to the spindles by the pinion a in the proper amount for
effecting the winding on of the
yarn.
Having now described the various additions which we put to the common
or hand mule to render it a self-acting machine, we shall now proceed to shew
how the various motions and operations are performed. We may suppose the
carriage to be up to the roller beam when the process of twisting and the
drawing or giving out of the roving by the rollers commenced. These motions
are performed in the same way as in the hand mule, the only difference being
in the communicating the motion for bringing out the carriage, which is done
by the bevel wheels in connection with the shaft X giving motion to the
pulley B, and thereby gradually bringing out the carriage from the rollers.
The carriage having arrived at or near its greatest distance from the rollers, a
pin from it presses on the spring lever 28, which elevates the rack L, L, so
much as to bring the teeth in contact with the pinion J, so that when the
pinion commences to revolve it will also cause the gradual elevation of the
rack. The stopping of the movements of the carriage and rollers being the
same as in the hand mule, and well known to those conversant with those
machines, needs no description here. The stopping of the revolution of the
spindles, after the desired quantity of twist has been given to the yarn, is also
regulated and effected in a similar manner to that in hand mules. It is only
after the completion of these motions that the self-acting movements which we
give to the machine may be said to commence. The driving strap of the mule
having been shifted in the usual way to what is called the loose pully in those
machines, it may be seen will cause the revolution of the shaft C, and through
it, by the intervention of the catch plates F and H, which are now in contact,
the shaft I, with the pinion J, will also be in motion, and imparting a slow
movement upwards to the rack L, L. The first effect which this motion of the
rack produces is to stop the action of the spindles (which, from the momentum

page_text: of these, the drums, &c., would continue to revolve much longer than necessary,
and occasion a loss of time in the action of the machine); this it does by a pro-
jecting part 29 from the rack pressing against the lever M, that by a jointed rod
is connected with the break N2, and which it presses firmly against the break
pully N; after the rack has passed over the lever M the incline plane O,
fixed to the rack, comes in contact with an antrifriction roller, fixed on the
inclined plane 5, which is attached to the carriage, the action of the one
causing the rod 5 gradually to assume a perpendicular position, while the
other, it may be seen, is effecting the depression of the faller. When the
faller wire has arrived at or near the points of the spindles, the lower portion
of the toothed rack has come in contact with the pinion K on the twist shaft,
which it causes to revolve, thereby giving a backward motion to the spindles
for the purpose of removing the coils of yarn that arrange along their surface.
The process of "backing off" and putting down of the faller continue going on
simultaneously until the rod 5 assumes a perpendicular position, and the
antifriction roller on the small perpendicular rod having passed over the
inclined plane rests on the flat part immediately behind the inclined portion.
When this has taken place the point of the inclined plane will have pressed
on the small lever 30, which on the one end is furnished with a perpendicular
part of such length as it may be acted on by the inclined plane at any height
of the building rail T, T, which actuates the small lever 31, and, by its action
on the curved position of the retaining catch, causes the raising of the same,
which allows the action of the spiral spring, shewn in dotted lines, to shift the
the lever G; the motion of this lever thereby causing the backing-off plate F
to slide from H, and the in-taking catch E to enter P. This action of the
lever G gives also a forward motion to the bottom portion of the lever G,
which throws out the catch 1 that held the carriage out to the extent of the
stretch, and also the catch 13 in the carriage which retained the plate that
held the winding on clicks out of contact with ratchet wheel, and thereby
permits the winding on motion to actuate the shaft W. The carriage now
commences its inward progress towards the rollers, which it performs by
means of the double excentric pully with a gradually increasing speed to the
middle of the stretch, and then a gradual diminishing speed until it reaches
the roller beam. When the carriage has arrived at or near the end of the
stretch, the rod Z comes in contact with a sett screw in the framing, by which
means the inclined plane is pressed out, and the guides allowed to rise, while
at the same time a prong from the carriage releases the lever 17 from its
retaining catch by pressing on the bottom portion of the lever 16. The lever

page_text: 17 being thus freed, and the action of the spiral spring 23 permitted to act
on the arm 19, through the antifriction roller fixed on the lever 17, by which
action the motions of the machine are changed or reversed. The lever 17
is brought in contact with the retaining catch in the coming out of the
carriage by the winding of a chain round the shaft on which is fixed the
pully B, the end of the chain being connected with the upper part of the
lever 17. During the going in of the carriage the toothed rack L which had
been raised in effecting the process of "backing off" and putting down the
faller, gradually falls to its former position clear of the pinion J, from its weight
overcoming the resistance of the wheels with which it is then connected. The
pinion K, from its connection with the twist shaft by a ratchet wheel and click,
moves in the proper direction for the falling of the rack by overrunning the
ratchet wheel. In the going in of the carriage the yarn is put on the spindles
at the proper part of the rod 4, which has at the lower extremity an anti-
friction roller pressing on the building plate or rail, and the inclination which
this rail has downwards gives to the fallen wire through the rod 4 a corre-
sponding motion upwards, which, from the falling of the rail T', is at each
stretch of the carriage taking place at a higher portion of the spindle. The
winding on of the yarn is effected by the motion which is given the scroll or
spiral pully U by its uncoiling the band 9, from the varied diameters of
which it is composed. At the commencement of the cop, in winding the yarn
on the bare spindle the band is unwound from nearly a parallel portion of the
pully, from the points 2 to 1, Fig. 3. As the cop bottom increases in diameter,
the band will commence to unwind at a greater diameter of the pully U,
and thereby diminish the number of revolutions imparted to the pully in the
going in of the carriage. This is effected by the giving out of the band from
the pully U, from which, as formerly described, a gradually diminishing
length of band is, on the out-coming of the carriage, at cach stretch let off
until the unwinding of the band will be (at the completion of the cop bottom)
commencing at the point 3 and terminating at the point 2. The requisite
winding on will continue now the same, and the band to unwind from the
point 3 to the point 2, until the finishing of the cop.
Having now shewn the nature of our improvements, and mode of applica-
tion of the various additions we employ for rendering the common or hand
mule, and other machines of the same class, self-acting, we wish it to be
understood that we do not confine ourselves to the precise arrangements
herein set forth, as it is evident these may be considerably modified and
varied while the principle is still retained. We wish it also to be understood

page_text: that we do not claim as our Invention any of those parts of the hand mule
which, to shew the nature and the construction of the various additions made,
may have been necessary to describe; but we do claim,-
it
Firstly, that arrangement of the shaft C, with the wheels and catches on
the shaft D, occupying the same position as that in the hand mule, known
as the power shaft, by which is effected the conveying and disengaging of the
motions for "backing off" and "putting up" the carriage, which can be done
either with the catches, as shewn, or the wheel on the shaft C may be made
to take alternately into similar wheels on the shaft D. This we claim,
whatever may be the method adopted for conveying the reverse motion to the
twist shaft, whether by circular motion or that of the toothed rack described.
Secondly, we claim the application of a toothed rack L (or as it can be
constructed of a rod connected with the two shafts by means of chain pullies
instead of the toothed wheels), by which is performed or brought into action
the motions for putting down the "faller" and "backing off" the coils of
yarn from the surface of the spindles.
Thirdly, we claim that arrangement of the two inclined planes in connection
with the rack L, by which the faller is put down and retained in the proper
position for commencing and guiding the distribution of yarn on the spindles..
Fourthly, we claim the construction and application of a double excentric
pulley for the putting up of the carriage to the rollers.
Fifthly, we claim the method shewn in Fig. 1, by which the motions of
the mule are changed on the carriage reaching the roller beam, and which
consists in a spring being rendered tense, or other sufficient power accumulated
and retained by the out-coming of the carriage, which, on the carriage reaching a
the roller beam and releasing it from the retaining catch, its action on the
levers brings in and out of action the various motions.
Sixthly, we claim the two modes, shewn at Figs. 3 and 4, of winding on
the yarn on the spindles, with the mode of connecting and disconnecting the
said motion from the shaft W. The scroll or spiral pully U might be s
fixed to a shaft on the headstock instead of the carriage, and that part of the
pully between the points 1 and 2 might be so constructed as to expand to
the shape represented between the points 2 and 3, in place of its being
gradually embraced by the giving out of the band 9; but we claim the
application of such a pully to the winding on of the yarn on whatever part
it might be placed or applied, or however the change from the small to the
large diameter of the pully may be effected by the gradual giving out of the
band 9, or by the expansion of the pully U. In the other method of winding

page_text: on the yarn, shewn at Fig. 4, the lever f may be acted on in various ways,
either directly or indirectly from the motion of the carriage; but we claim
the application of such a lever, with the arrangement of the racks and
wheels in whatever manner it may be acted upon from the carriage, or
from the motion of the carriage, for effecting the purpose of winding on the
yarn.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Craig and William Douglas
Sharp, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Thirty-first day
of August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
forty.
WILLIAM (L.S.) CRAIG.
WILLIAM DOUGLASS (L.S.) SHARP.
forty,
Before me,
WILLIAM MILLS,
J.P. for the County of Lanark.
John Connell, of Fludyer Street, Westminster, Solicitor in Parliament,
hereby maketh oath and saith, that he knows and is well acquainted with
William Mills, Esquire, Justice of the Peace for the County of Lanark, in the
Kingdom of Scotland, and with the manner and character of his handwriting,
having often seen him write and subscribe his name: And this Deponent
further saith, that the name and words "William Mills, J.P. for the County
of Lanark," set and subscribed to the Deed or Parchment Writing hereunto
annexed, and marked with the Letter A, (purporting to be Specification of a
Patent granted to William Craig and William Douglas Sharp, for their
Invention of "Certain Improvements in Machinery for Preparing, Spinning,
and Doubling Cotton, Flax, Wool, and other Fibrous Substances,") is in the
proper handwriting of the said William Mills: And this Deponent further saith,
that, to the best of his knowledge and belief, the said William Mills was, at the

page_text: time of his signing the said Deed or Specification, a Justice of the Peace for
the said County of Lanark.