Improvements in Self-acting Mules.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Nov., 1899.
Complete Specification Left, 29th Aug., 1900-Accepted, 13th Oct., 1900
Date of Application, 29th Nov., 1899.
Complete Specification Left, 29th Aug., 1900-Accepted, 13th Oct., 1900
Improvements in Self-acting Mules.
I, WILLIAM GEORGE HEYS, of 70, Market Street, Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in apparatus by means of which the
starting motion of the fluted rollers in self-acting mules may be gradually
retarded as the winding of the yarn upon the bobbins proceeds.
According to this invention, as communicated to me by my foreign correspon-
dent, the copping carriage or rail, which is vertically displaced by the movements
of the copping plate, carries a bracket which, by means of a link, is connected
with the front end of a lever parallel with the copping plate. A strap passes
through an opening in the back end of the lever below which there is attached
to the end of the strap, a weight which will be hereinafter called the "lever
weight." The strap passes over a guide pulley and thence to a clutch, the
loose part of which is provided with a groove for its reception. This clutch serves
to put the fluted rollers into and out of gear. Below the clutch, the strap passes
through a slot in a fixed bracket below which there is attached to its end, a
second weight heavier than the lever weight, and which is hereinafter called the
"clutch weight." The upward motion of this weight is limited by the fixed
bracket.
As the yarn is wound upon the bobbin, the motion of the copping plate causes
the descent of the copping rail and consequently moves the lever and weighted
strap slowly.
The loose half of the clutch has on its inner face, projections which can be
moved between the arms or projections of the inner face of the fast part. Since
the clutch weight is greater than the lever weight, the loose part of the coupling
is drawn backwards when disengaged.
At the commencement of winding on, the back end of the lever is in its lowest
position and its weight is in contact with it. At the moment when the rotation
of the fluted rollers is stopped, and the clutch is disengaged, the loose part of the
clutch cannot be rotated backwards by the clutch weight, because the strap is
prevented from moving by the lever holding down the lever weight thereon.
Consequently, the projections of the loose part of the clutch remain in contact
with the arms or projections of the fast part. When the clutch is re-engaged.
the projections of the loose part are engaged with the opposed projections and
move the fast part and therefore, the fluted rollers also so that their rotation is
not retarded at this stage. At the end of the stretch, the back end of the lever
and the lever weight are in their highest position, the lever weight having
reached it at the moment of disengaging the clutch, in consequence of the re-
sulting descent of the greater clutch weight. If the clutch is now re-engaged,

page_text: the loose part will rotate through a part of a revolution, before its projections
come into contact with the arms or projections of the opposite fast part, and the
rotation of the fluted rollers is thus retarded. At first the retardation is at zero,
but is gradually increased as the winding on proceeds.
Dated this 28th day of November A.D. 1899.
о
Improvements in Self-acting Mules.
I, WILLIAM GEORGE HEYS, of 70, Market Street, Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:—
This invention relates to improvements in apparatus by means of which the
starting motion of the fluted rollers in self-acting mules may be gradually re-
tarded as the winding of the yarn upon the bobbin or spindle proceeds or as the
size of the cop increases, and its chief object is to enable a more uniform tension
to be maintained upon the yarn at the beginning of the outward motion of the
carriage.
As is well known during the formation of a cop in a mule, the yarn is carried
along from the layers of the cop to the point of the spindle at the last moment
of the inward journey of the carriage, the number of turns upon the nose of the
spindle thus varying according to the size or stage of formation of the cop.
Thus there may be seven or eight turns at the commencement of winding a cop
and only two or three at the end. A varying amount of slack is thus introduced
into the yarn which is required to be kept in proper tension.
To assist in this, means and devices which will be hereinafter described are
The
employed to gradually retard the starting motion of the fluted rollers.
greater the amount of slack in the yarn the later will the rollers commence their
rotation. Loops and knots in the yarn are thus effectually prevented.
In the accompanying drawings, Figures 1, 2 and 3 show a cop in varying
stages of manufacture. Figure illustrates in elevation the mechanism for
progressively retarding the starting of the fluted rollers.
The copping rail e rests upon the copping plates which are slowly moved to
the right by the screw a.
Secured to the rail is a bracket which is connected
by means of the link e with one end of a lever f, fulcrummed at g to the machine
framing. The other or inner end of the lever is formed with an opening through
which passes one end of a strap i having secured to it a weight h below the end
of the lever. This weight will be hereinafter called the "lever weight." The
strap then passes over a guide pulley j mounted in brackets and thence to
and partly around the loose part n of a clutch, the other part of which drives
the fluted rollers. The loose part of the clutch is grooved for the reception of
the band or strap i. After passing over the loose part the end of the strap
passes through a bracket and then has secured to its end a second weight herein-
after called the "clutch weight." The upward motion of this weight is limited
by the fixed bracket 1.
The inner face of the loose part of the clutch is provided with projections o
which are adapted to be brought into contact with similar projections on the face
of the part p. Thus, after the rollers have been stopped, the loose part of the
clutch, which is the driving part,, may be to some extent rotated backwards by

page_text: the weight m acting on the strap i, that is when the latter is free to move. When
any backward motion has thus been given to the loose part, there is, upon start-
ing a corresponding idle movement in a forward direction before the other part
of the clutch is engaged and the rollers are driven.
As the formation of the cop progresses the movement of the copping plates
causes the descent of the copping rail and the position of the lever f is thus con-
stantly gradually altered.
At the commencement of the winding of a cop the lever and its attached parts
As the winding
are in the positions indicated by the full lines in Figure 4.
progresses the outer end of the lever is pulled gradually down and the inner end
is raised until the parts are in the positions indicated by dotted lines upon the
completion of a cop.
At the commencement of a cop and when the rollers are stopped the weight m
can not pull down the strap as the lever weight is up against the lever end which
is then in its lowest position. Consequently, when mechanism is started the
projections of the loose driving part of the clutch immediately engage with those
on the other part and the rollers are started at once. As the winding proceeds
and the inner end of the lever is raised the weight m is capable of falling a
little as the rotation of the rollers is stopped. A little independent backward
rotation is thus imparted to the loose part of the clutch, so that when it starts
again it has a short movement before it engages with the other part of the
clutch to start the rollers. This amount of idle movement increases as the inner
end of the lever f is raised. When the clutch is started in its proper driving
direction it draws with it the strap i and thus raises the clutch weight until
At each stretch, then, the
further movement is prevented by the bracket 7.
weight is returned to its lowest initial position, and each time the rollers
stop a greater backward motion is imparted to the loose part of the clutch as the
inner end of the lever rises and permits greater movement of the lever weight.
The positions of the lever weight and the clutch weight when the greatest
amount of idle motion is permitted in the clutch, are respectively indicated by
the letters h¹, m¹.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, (as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent), and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:-
1. In a self-acting mule, the combination of a lever one end of which is con-
nected to the copping rail, a strap or band passing through the other end of the
lever and having weights at its ends, and a clutch the loose part of which is adapted
to receive the band, all constructed arranged and operated substantially as and
for the purpose herein before set forth and as illustrated by the accompanying
drawings.
2. In a self-acting mule, means or devices for progressively retarding the
starting of the fluted rollers as the formation of the cops proceeds, constructed
arranged and operating substantially as herein before described and as illustrated
by the accompanying drawings.
1 110041 of August AD 1900
W. E. HEYS & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.