CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MACHINERY USED FOR PREPARING AND SPINNING COTTON, SILK, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1836

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, EDMUND
ASHWORTH, of Egerton, in the County of Lancaster, Cotton Spinner, and
JAMES GREENOUGH, of the same place, Overlooker, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Fifth day of February, in the sixth year of His reign,
did, for Himself. His heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Edmund Ashworth and James Greenough, His especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that we, the said Edmund Ashworth and
James Greenough, our exors, admors, and assigns, and such others as we,
the said Edmund Ashworth and James Greenough, our exors, adiiors, 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
awfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales; and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, our Invention of CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MACHINERY USED FOR PREPARING AND SPINNING COTTON, SILK, AND OTHER
FIBROUS MATERIALS," in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso
that we, the said Edmund Ashworth and James Greenough, shall cause
a particular description of the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be enrolled in His Majesty's High
Price Sd

page_text: 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
Edinund Ashworth and James Greenough, do hereby declare the nature of our
said Invention to consist of the addition and adaptation of certain apparatus
or machinery to the preparation machine known by the name of the stretcher,
and also to the spinning machine called the mule, for the purpose of rendering
such machines more effectually self-acting or independent of the operative or
superintendant of such machines. And that this may be better understood, we
shall, in the first place, briefly describe the movements required in the machine
called the mule :-
These movements may be divided into five (exclusive of the motion of the
drawing rollers and the rotation or spinning action of the spindles), namely,
the coming out of the carriage during the spinning; the backing off or un-
winding the spiral coils of yarn which accumulate on the spindles during the
spinning process; the putting down and guiding the faller as the carriage
proceeds in or towards the front roller; the putting up the carriage; and the
winding on or distributing the yarn on the spindles in the form of a cop while
the carriage is putting up. To this last-mentioned movement, called the
winding on, one of our improvements is applied, and we shall therefore proceed
to explain the nature of this movement before we describe our improvement
applied thereto. The stretch or distance which the carriage proceeds from
the front roller of the mule being uniformly the same, the length of yarn to
be wound on the spindle will also be uniformly the same at each going up
of the carriage. To wind on or dispose of this length or stretch of yarn, a
varying number of revolutions of the spindles will be required; for it is obvious
that the same number of revolutions required to wind on on the bare spindle
will not be required when the cop has increased in diameter by the accumu-
lation of yarn on its surface, and also that the velocity of the spindles must
vary as the position of the faller wire guides the yarn on to the various dia-
meters of the cop during the winding on; and it is to effect this accommodating
motion, or winding on to the spindles, that we apply certain apparatus herein-
after described, in which one part of our improvements consist. The remain-
ing part of our improvements consist in the addition and application of further
apparatus for the purpose of regulating the rise of the upper faller wire when
the carriage arrives up at the front roller. But before we proceed to describe
the nature of this part of our improvements we shall also explain its neces-

page_text: sity and importance. Supposing, therefore, the winding on of any stretch of
yarn to be completed and the carriage to be up at the front rollers, it is
required to raise the upper faller to allow the spinning to proceed in the
succeeding stretch, and on the exact period of time at which such rise of the
upper faller takes place greatly depends the occurance of what is called snarls
or spiral twistings of the yarn, which it is the object of every spinner to avoid.
In the building, as it is called, of a cop, the position of each spiral layer is
governed by the upper faller until it arrives at the apex of the cone, which is
the bare spindle. The upper faller wire arrives at the point or apex at the
same time that the carriage arrives at or near the front roller, and it is then
required to be raised clear of the spindle for the spinning to recommence.
But, supposing this raising of the upper faller wire to commence uniformly at
the same period of time as the carriage arrives at the front roller, it is clear
that when the cop is complete the upper faller wire will be clear of the
spindle sooner than when the cop commences, inasmuch as the arc performed
by the faller in the latter case exceeds the arc in the former case. Now
although this difference of the period of time at which the faller clears the
spindle for the spinning to recommence is not found to be of very essential
importance in low or course numbers of yarn, or in such as require but little
tivist, yet in finer numbers, or in such qualities as require a greater amount of
twist, the early period at which the upper faller is clear of the spindle towards
the completion of the cop is found to cause those snarls or spiral twistings of
the yarn which it is the object of one part of our improvement is to obviate,
and the nature of which part of our improvement is to cause the faller to rise
at different periods according as the cop is more or less formed.
Having described the nature of the movements to which our improvements
apply in the stretcher and mule, we shall, in further compliance with the said
proviso, proceed to describe, in reference to the annexed Drawing and to the
figures and letters marked thereon, the manner in which the same are to be
performed and carried into effect; and in the said description the mule only
will be spoken of, as the stretcher resembles it in every respect, the distinc-
tion being that the mule is speeded to produce a perfect yarn or thread, while
the stretcher is speeded to put in less twist, and merely elongate in order to
reduce the roving to the required fineness.

page_text: period commonly called the cop bottom; and Figure 3 represents a spindle
with a complete cop in the form in which it may be taken from the machine,
and its operation recommenced. Figure 4 represents a transverse section of
a mule, to which our improvements are applied, and Figure 5 a plan of the
same. The remaining Figures are detached parts, to be hereafter referred to.
In Figures 4 and 5, A represents the drawing roller; B, the carriage; and C
the stretch or length of thread or yarn spun during any one stretch or coming
out of the carriage. These and other parts are delineated for the purpose of
shewing the position in which our improvements are applied, but, as already
stated, being no part of our Invention, require no particular description.
We shall now proceed to described the movement by which the winding on
is effected. In Figures 4 and 5, d, d, represents a frame attached to the
floor for the purpose of supporting the axis of the pulleys Dand D'; the former
of which carries a bande attached to the carriage B, so that when the carriage
is proceeding in towards the front rollers, the pully D is revolved in the
direction indicated by the arrows on its periphery. On the same shaft which
carries the pully D is placed the pulley E, carrying the strap E', which con-
veys motion to the pulley D¹ placed free on a shaft on which the drum band
pulley is firmly attached. This pulley D', which is driven by the strap E,
the motion of which emanates from the going in of the carriage is occa-
sionally connected with the shaft on which it is placed by means of a dog
or catch, as seen at Figure 4, which represents an elevation of this
part, as seen from the side. Now, supposing the putting up of the car-
riage to have commenced, the band e will revolve the pulley D, the motion
of which being conveyed by the strap E', the drum band pulley F revolves
the spindles, and winds on in the manner described in Messieurs Dobson,
Threlfall, and Sutcliffe's Specification of their Patent for Certain Improvements
in Machinery for Roving and Spinning Cotton and other Fibrous Materials,
dated the Sixth day of February, One thousand eight hundred and thirty-four;
but the varying speed required for the varying circumference would not be pro-
duced by any positive or uniform motion; and this required variation is effected
by allowing the strap E' to slip, similar to the arrangement patented by
Maurice De Jongh, and set forth in the Specification to his Patent for an Im-
provement or Improvements in Spinning and Preparation Machines generally,
called Mules, Jennies, Slubbers, or any other Machine to which this Invention
may be applied, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of March, One thousand
eight hundred and twenty-five. The tension of strap E is adjusted not to
exceed the required force for winding on the bare spindle, and this tension

page_text: of, the strap E¹ is made available to the variable velocity imparted by means
of a slipping collar or hoop g, placed between it and the driving pulley D, as
seen in section and plan at Figure 6 and 7, where similar letters represent
similar parts, as already stated, and g represents the slipping collar. The
uniforinityandsmoothnessofthisslippingcollarover the slipping of an irregular
strap will be obvious to all persons conversant with machinery of this nature;
and in practice we find that a given tension of the strap E¹, combined with
the slipping action of the collar g, enables us to wind on with greater delicacy,
and consequentlyspin finer numbers or qualities of yarns than heretoforespun-
on self-acting machinery; but the varying speed required, as alreadyexplained
on the various parts of the cop to which the faller wire guides the thread at
each going in of the carriage, is effected by varying the tension by the
following means. In Figure 5, L represents the scroll, by which the carriage
is brought in during each successive winding on, which scroll receives motion,
when required, from the ordinary arrangement of apparatus in machines of
this nature. On the same shaft as the scroll L is placed a pinion, which
geers into the spur wheel M, which is so calculated that the wheel M. shall
make one full revolution during each coming in of the carriage B: N
represents an eccentric or cam piece, of a peculiar form, as best seen at
Figure 8, placed on the same shaft as the wheel M, and partaking of the
same rotation. The revolution of this cam or eccentric N actuates or governs
the traverse of the rod.O, which is held in contact with it at the point p, by
means of a small spiral springs, at the opposite extremity, as seen in plan at
Figure 5. The rod O is supported on the floor by guides, and is provided
with a small friction pulley q, which presses more or less against the strap'E,
according to the varying position of the eccentric N, which governs the
position of the rod O, on which it is placed. Thus, according to the form of the
cccentric N, when the carriage B is out, or at the greatest distance from the
front roller, the pressure is greatest, and the greatest force is exerted to start
the spindles and commence winding on; but as the carriage proceeds in, the
force is diminished by the varied position of the eccentric, and when the
carriage arrives at or near the front roller, the force and consequent velocity
imparted to the spindles is again caused, as at starting, until the winding on
ceases; and the form of the eccentric represented at Figure 8 and 9.is one
which we have found to produce the varying speed required. Another means
of effecting this varying speed required for the winding on is delineated and
shewn at Figure 10, in which D represents the pulley which imparts motion
to the strap El, as already described. On the shaft which carries the pully:

page_text: D) is placed a worm or screw taking into a worm wheel placed on the horizontal
shaft t, on the opposite end of which is placed a spur pinion geering into the
rack T, placed on the floor and moving freely in a guide or slot. This rack
T is also provided with a tightening pulley q, and the speed of the pinion
which governs its traverse is so calculated as to tighten the strap E at the
commencement of the going in of the carriage, and relieve it as the carriage
approaches the front rollers. This latter movement, described and set forth
at Figure 10, altho' it does not tighten the strap El when the carriage is up
at the front rollers (as in the former movement, described at Figure 5), is
nevertheless more compact and found to answer in practice.
Our next improvement, which consists in varying the rise of the upper faller,
according to the progress which the cop has made towards its completion, as
already described, is performed and carried into effect as follows:-In Figure 4
H represents the shaft on which the small levers which carry the upper faller
wire vibrates as a fulcrum, and h is the extremity at which the faller wire is
held or supported. h¹, h, represent a knee'd or jointed shaft, which allows
the upper faller wire to rise clear of the spindle when bent, and when forced
into a straight position depresses the upper faller wire to the base of the
conical layer, then winding on, as shown in red lines b, b, Figure 1 and 3.
The lower extremity of this jointed rod h¹, h¹, is provided with a small
roller, which, during the putting up of the carriages, passes along an inclined
plane or shaper, and thereby regulates the rise of the upper faller during the
winding on, in the same manner as already applied to various self-acting
mules; but as soon as the carriage arrives at or near the front rollers, the
horizontal rod i, i, strikes against the stop K, which, bending the jointed
rod ', h¹, elevates the upper faller clear of the spindle, as required for the
recommencement of the spinning process. Referring to the part or stop K,
Figure 4, it will be remarked that the point or stop K, with which the rod i
comes in contact, is supported and governed in its position by the perpendicular
screw m, m, the lower extremity of which is provided with a small bevil
wheel n, geering into the bevil wheel o¹, on the shaft of which is placed a
ratchet wheel o2. Into this latter ratchet wheel of a small dog or catch takes,
which is connected with the horizontal lever p¹, pl, which lever is depressed
at every putting up of the carriage B, by the small roller p², thereby gathering
a tooth or more in the ratchet o, and revolving the screw m, m. This revolu-
tion of the screw m, m, necessarily depresses the part K, and thereby prevents
the notched extremity of the rod arriving in contact at so early a period as
when it is at any higher elevation. By tracing the dotted lines from the

page_text: stepped or notched extremity of the rod i, the progressively increasing delay
in its arrival at the part or stop K, which causes the final rise of the upper
faller wire clear of the spindles, will be obvious, and the consequently
increasing delay of the rise of the upper faller, as the cop increases in size,
effected, and thus the occurrence of snarls or spiral twistings of the yarn will
be prevented.
Now, although we have in the foregoing Specification and Drawingsdescribed
and delineated many well-known parts of the ordinary machine called the
mule, together with some parts of other machinery already patented, for
the purpose of making the construction and application of our improvements
better understood, we do not claim as our Invention any such well-known
parts or parts of machinery already patented; but what we do claim as of
our Invention is,―
Firstly, the application and adaptation of the slipping or moving collar
herein-before referred to by the letter g, for the purpose of rendering the
force imparted by the strap E' more uniform, the amount of such force being
modified or varied by means of the eccentric, as described at Figure 5, or
the other means described at Figure 10, for tightening or slackening the
strap E'; which combination of parts being new, and never before conjointly
used for the purpose of winding on, as herein-before described, we claim as
one of our said improvements. And,
Secondly, we claim as our Invention, and as another of our said im-
provements, the varying the period at which the final rise of the upper
faller wire commences, at the termination of the winding-on movement, for.
the purpose of clearing the spindles preparatory to the commencement of
spinning, in such manner that in proportion as the cop increases in size at
each putting up of the machine, so is the rise of the upper faller wire, for
the purpose aforesaid, delayed, and the occurrence of snarls almost entirely
prevented; and although we have only described one mode of effecting this
variation in the time at which the upper faller wire is to begin to rise at the
end of the winding-on movement, or when the carriage is at or near the
front rollers, yet it is obvious that the means by which this rise is effected
may be modified and varied, as well as the relative varying periods at which
each successive rise of the upper faller wire shall take place. But we claim as.
our Invention the application of machinery by which the final rise of the
upper faller wire may be governed and controlled according to the progressive
building of the cop, as herein-before described.
And such improvements as aforesaid, being, to the best of our knowledge.

page_text: and belief, new, and never before practised as applied to self-acting mules and
stretchers, we do hereby claim exclusive right and privilege to the same.
In witness whereof, we, the said Edmund Ashworth and James Greenough,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-eighth day of July,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-six.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED that on the Twenty-eighth day of July, in
the year of our Lord 1836, the aforesaid Edmund Ashworth and James
Greencugh came before our said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknow-
ledged the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained
and specified, in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid
was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Fifth day of August, in the year of our Lord One