CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE PREPARATION AND SPINNING OF COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
PLATT, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Twenty-fifth day of February, in the ninth year of Her
reign, and in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-six,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said'
John Platt, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that'
I, the said John Platt, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and such
others as I, the said John Platt, 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 expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England and Wales and the Town of Berwick-:
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE PREPARATION AND SPINNING OF COTTON AND
OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a-.
proviso that I, the said John Platt, shall cause a particular description
of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be enrolled 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, I, the 'said
John Platt, do hereby declare that the nature of my Invention, and the

page_text: manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereto annexed, and the following
explanation thereof (that is to say) :-
"
My Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus to be employed in the
Preparation and Spinning of Cotton and other Fibrous Substances apply,―
Firstly, to those machines used for preparing cotton, &c., called "scutchers'
or "lap machines," and consist principally in a certain novel arrangement and
construction of such machinery or apparatus, wherein the wire cylinder or
'cage," and the grid usually placed between-the-" cage"-and the "beater,"
are entirely dispensed with, and substituting endless wire-gauze flexible cloths
in place thereof, whereby the cotton, &c. is perfectly cleansed, and also a great
saving in the cost of such machines is effected.
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Secondly, my improvements apply to the drawing frame, and consist in
certain improved mechanism designed for the purpose of shifting the driving
strap from the fast on to the loose pulley, and thus stopping the motion of the
machine, whenever any of the sliver breaks or is absent from the drawing
rollers, and thus preventing the occurrence of what is termed "single" in the
slivers.
+
Thirdly, my improvements apply to the roving and.slubbing frames, and
consist in a simplification of the change motion employed for reversing the
motion of the copping rail in such machines, whereby a part of the mechanism
usually employed, is dispensed with, and also for shifting the cone strap for
regulating the diameter of the bobbin.
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on each
Fourthly, my Invention applies to those machines used for spinning cotton,
&c., called "throstles," and consists in so arranging the lifting mechanism
employed for working the copping rails that both rails, that is, the rail
side of the machine, shall be lifted at-
once and upon the same level, instead of
being lifted alternately as in the ordinary spinning frame; which improvement
enables the spinning or winding-on of the yarn to the bobbin to be commenced
either at the top or any particular portion of the bobbin, such improvement
either being applicable to the moveable copping rails or the fixed rails and a
moveable lifter.
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:
In order that my Invention may be better explained and more readily
understood, I have attached, to these Presents three Sheets of Drawings, repre-
senting the several applications of my improvements, and have marked the
same with figures and letters of reference corresponding with those in the
following description thereof.
--
In Sheet 1 of the Drawings, Figs. 1 and 2, and in Sheet 2, Figs. 1, 2, and 3,
are drawn to a scale of about one inch and a half to the foot.
1

page_text: of
my
Fig. 1, Sheet 1, represents a side elevation, and Fig. 2 a longitudinal section,
of a "scutcher" or "lap machine," shewing the application of the first part
Invention: a,.a, is the framework of the machine, and b, b, the endless
travelling feed cloth, composed as usual of ribs, or laths, of wood, fastened trans-
versely upon leather: straps or belts. The cotton or other fibrous substance
under operation is evenly spread by hand upon the feed cloth b, b, from
whence it proceeds between the two pairs of fluted rollers c, c, and d, d, to-the
beater or scutcher e, e, which loosens the fibres of the cotton or other fibrous
material, causing the dirt and other extraneous matter to fall through the bars
of the grid f, f. The action of the beater:e, e; throws the cotton, &c. over the
plate g on to the endless travelling, cloth h, composed of wire gauze, or of..wire
or linen or other fibrous material interwoven therewith, by which it is carried
outwards, passing between it and a similar endless travelling cloth i, . also com-
posed of wire gauze. Two flues, k and,,,open into the interior of each of these
endless wire cloths respectively, joining ultimately in a flue which communi-
cates with the fan or other exhausting power employed. Thus, a current of
air being caused to pass through each of these travelling, wire, cloths.h and i,
will cause the lighter dust, &c.,, to pass off, through the flues, the heavier dust
falling into the trough p below; and the cotton; &c., being, carried, onwards
will form into a lap or sheet, and after passing between the calendering
rollers m,. m, is, lapped upon the roller n by friction of contact with the two
fluted rollers o, o.
I
In Sheet 2, Fig. 1 represents an end view of a "drawing frame," with the
second part of my improvements shewn as applied thereto... Fig. 2 is a front
view of the driving end, and Fig. 3 a transverse section of the same.. a, a, is
the framing of the machine; b, b, are the guides; c, c; c; c, are the drawing
rollers, and d, d, the calendering rollers; e, e, is, a shaft extending across the
machine, to which a constant oscillating motion is imparted in the following
manner-One half of a clutch box f is made fast upon the shaft e, while the
other half f¹ is loose upon the shaft, but is fixed to the boss of the lever g, which
rests upon a small excentric.h. This excentric h is caused to revolve by gearing
or otherwise, thus imparting an oscillating motion to the lever g, and by means of
the clutch box to the shaft e. (or a continuous rotary motion may be imparted
to the said shaft e). The slivers of cotton, &c., iafter proceeding between the
guides b, b,. pass over the fingers or triggers i, i, i, i, and by their weight and
tension hold them in the position.shewn in the Drawing; but should one of the
slivers break. between the guides and the drawing rollers c, c, the trigger i over
which it passes will fall down and come into contact with one of the oscillating
levers k, fixed upon the shaft e; e, thereby stopping the motion of that shaft,

page_text: and consequently of that half f of the clutch box which is attached to it, but
as the motion of the other half f¹ of the clutch box still continues, the inclined
surfaces of the teeth by acting against each other will cause the clutch box to
expand, and by acting against the tail piece of the slotted lever raise that
lever; thus releasing the pin m upon the strap lever n, and allowing the spring o
to exert its force, and throwing the driving strap from the fast pulley on to the
loose pulley, and thus stop the machine. Again, should one of the slivers
break between the drawing rollers and the trumpet guide p, and lap around the
top roller, the increased diameter of the roller (in consequence of the lapping
of the broken sliver) will raise the lever q, and bring the end of the lever into
contact with the oscillating finger s upon the shaft e, and stop the machine.
And further, the trumpet guide p is itself so balanced that, should the preceding
motion by any means fail to act, the deficiency of the web or sliver passing
through it will allow the levert to overbalance it and come into contact with
the finger w upon the shaft e, and immediately stop the evolutions of the
machine.
Figs. 4, 5 and 6, Sheet 2, shew the third part of my improvements, adapted
to the well-known reversing motion as commonly employed in roving and
slubbing frames; Fig. 4 being an elevation, Fig. 5 a section, and Fig. 6 a side
view of the same, being drawn detached, and upon a scale of about three inches
to the foot... The improvement consists in using one double acting weight only,
instead of two, as usually employed for the purpose of reversing. The weight a
is supported by the chain b, which passes between the friction rollers c, c, upon
the reversing lever d, and thus acting alternately upon cach of them.
Fig. 7 is an end view detached, and Fig. 8 is a general side elevation (on a
smaller scale) of part of a roving or slubbing frame, exhibiting another modifi-
cation of this part of my improvements, wherein one weight only is employed
for the two purposes of working the reversing motion, and also for regulating
the cone strap. a is the weight, which, by means of the cord or chain b passing
between the friction rollers c, c, upon the reversing lever d, acts alternately
upon each of them, and thus reverses the motion of the copping rail. The
same weight a also, by means of the cord e, e, turning the shaft f, causes the
pinion at the top, working into the rack h, connected with the strap
carriage i, i, to traverse the strap k along the cone 7, as required.
As the same motion may also, under some circumstances, be performed by a
spring instead of the weight a, I have exhibited in the detached Fig. 9 an
arrangement, wherein the spring m may be employed for reversing, instead of
a weight.
In Sheet 3, Figure 1 represents an end view of a throstle frame, shewing my

page_text: improved arrangement of the same, wherein both the copping rails may be lifted
and lowered at the same time and upon the same level, also drawn on a scale of
about three inches to the foot. a, a, is the framing of the throstle, and b, b, the
spindles driven by the horizontal drum c; the bobbins d, d, are supported upon
the copping rails e, e, which are both to be lifted and lowered at once (instead
of alternately as usual) by means of any suitable arrangement of gearing, and
worked by the worm wheel f and g, and being counterpoised by the balance
weights h and i suspended over the pullies / and l, instead of each balancing
the other, as in the ordinary arrangement.
When it is required, after doffing,
to raise the copping rails by winding them up by hand, the worm f must be
disengaged from the wheel g, which may be readily accomplished by means
of pulling the worm out of gear by the lever m, or other convenient motion.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Platt, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of August, One thousand eight
hundred and forty-six