CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MULE, JENNY, OR OTHER MACHINE FOR SPINNING OF COTTON, AND IN THE BILLY, STRETCHING FRAME, OR OTHER MACHINE FOR ROVING OF COTTON, AND IN THE MACHINERY FOR SPINNING AND ROVING OP SILK, WOOL, FLAX, HEMP, OR OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1833

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
ROBERTSON, of Crofthead, in the Parish of Neilston and County of Renfrew,
Cotton Spinner, 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 Twenty-first day of September, in the fourth year of His
reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Robertson, my exors, admors, and assigns, His special licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said John Robertson, my
exors, admors, and assigns, and every of them, by myself and themselves, or
by my and their deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such others as I,
the said John Robertson, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
and also in all His said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, an Invention
or "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MULE, JENNY, OR OTHER MACHINE FOR
SPINNING OF COTTON, AND IN THE BILLY, STRETCHING FRAME, OR OTHER MACHINE
FOR ROVING OF COTTON, AND IN THE MACHINERY FOR SPINNING AND ROVING
OP SILK, WOOL, FLAX, HEMP, OR OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said John Robertson, shall
cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His said Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately

page_text: 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 that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Robertson, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention of
Certain Improvements in the Mule, Jenny, or other Machines for Spinning
of Cotton, and in the Billy, Stretching Frame or other Machine for Roving
of Cotton, and in the Machinery for Spinning and Roving of Silk, Wool, Flax,
Hemp and other Fibrous Substances, which consist in certain arrangements of
machinery for the purpose of performing or effecting certain movements in
the machinery used in the spinning and preparation of cotton and other fibrous
material, which movements are performed by hand in similar machines of the
ordinary construction, and the manner in which the same is to be performed
and carried into effect will be more clearly seen by reference to the annexed
Drawings, in all which various views, plans, and sections of machinery letters and
figures of reference are used, the same letters and figures of reference denoting
the same parts throughout the whole of the Drawings. But before I com-
mence the description of the annexed Drawings I shall briefly state the action
or various movements of one of the machines for spinning called the mule, to
which my Invention may be applied, for the purpose of making the following
description more clear, and in this verbal description, as well as in the annexed
Drawings, various parts of the ordinary machine are referred to and delineated
for the purpose of shewing the position and manner in which my improvements
are to be applied.
The spinning action, or putting of the twist into yarn or thread manu-
factured on the machine called the mule (as is well known to manufacturers
and persons conversant with spinning machinery) commences at the same
time as the rotation of the front or delivering rollers, continues during
the carriage travelling out, or what is called the stretch, and stops shortly
after the carriage arrives at its greatest distance from the drawing rollers.
As soon as, the spinning or twisting action of the spindles ceases, it is the duty
of the spinner or operative attending the machine to back off, or to reverse the
rotation of the spindles, so that the few spiral coils of yarn which arrange
themselves on the bare parts of the spindle while the spinning proceeds, as
shewn at a, a, a, a, a, Fig. 1, may be unwound or taken off the spindle prior
to the action of the faller wire, which the spinner or operative immediately
puts down to depress the yarn or thread to that part of the spindle on which
he is building or constructing the cop which it is the object of the machine to
The faller wire being ut down, the spinner or operative runs in
puts up the carriage, at the same time winding on to the cop the length or
form.
or

page_text: amount of yarn or thread which has been spun and perfected during the last
stretch or coming out of the carriage, at the same time that he regulates the
position in which such thread or yarn shall be placed on the crop, by varying
the elevation or position of the faller wire. These four movements, namely,
the backing off, the putting down the faller wire, the putting up the carriage,
and the winding on of the yarn or thread, in a mule of the ordinary construc-
tion, depend on the attention and skill of the operative or spinner; the
remaining movements of the machine, namely, the coming out of the carriage,
and of the spinning yarn or thread being effected by the machine itself.
Now the object of my Invention is to make the mule and similar machines
perform part of the above-named movements, at the various periods when they
required, with less intervention or aid from the operative or spinner. Two of
the four movements above described, namely, the putting down and guiding
the faller wire for the purpose of distributing the yarn or thread on the various
parts of the cop, and the putting up of the carriage, are performed by means
already well-known to spinners and persons acquainted with the subject'; but
the movement or arrangement of parts for the purpose of effecting what has
hitherto been called the backing-off notion and the winding-on motion are the
parts in which my Invention consists; and which I shall now proceed to
describe by reference to the Drawings annexed, that is to say :-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 represents a spindle of the ordinary size at the commencement of the
cop; Fig. 2 a spindle when the cop has progressed to what is called the cop
bottom; and Fig. 3 a spindle with a cop in its completed state. Fig. 4
represents a side elevation of part of a mulé head, seen from the end of the
carriage, A being a section of the drawing rollers, B the carriage, and C the
rim shaft, placed in the usual position. In this Fig. 4, the carriage is repre-
sented at the end of a stretch, or as baving gained the greatest distance from
the drawing rollers A, and the spinning or rotation of the spindles having ceased
by traversing the strap X from the fast to the loose pulley Q, on the rim wheel
shaft C, which is driven in the direction indicated by the arrow'on its periphery.
On this pulley Q there are two grooves carrying a band, each one of which
conveys motion at the proper period for taking in the carriage, and the
other conveys motion to the band m, m, m, for winding on, as will be here-
after described.. The carriage B having derived in this position, the next
operation required to be performed by the machine is to unwind or take
off the spiral coils of yarn or thread which are formed on the bare parts of the
spindle during the action of spinning, which operation is commonly called

page_text: backing off, as already described. This operation of freeing the spindle of
the spiral coils, represented at a, a, a, a, a, Fig. 1, I do not perform by
reversing the rotation of the spindle, as in the ordinary mule, but I
effect it by the action of the part b, which I call a stripper, the action
and effect of which I shall now proceed to describe. On referring to
Fig. 4, S represents the centre or axis on which the small lever which
guides the faller wire vibrates, the whole of the parts connected with this
stripping motion being placed on the carriage B. At the opposite extremity
of this small lever to which the faller wire is attached is connected the
bent rod c, c, which is constructed with a horizontal slot or opening, in
which one extremity of the lever d, d, is carried. This lever d, d, moves
on fixed centre at 'd, and is elevated or depressed by the same motion
which actuates the faller wire i, and by tracing the motion of the small
lever which depresses the faller wire i, it will be seen that the lever d, d, is
elevated at the same time. From the lever d, d, is suspended the forked piece e,
which necessarily partakes of the up-and-down motion of the lever d, d; and
the forked extremity of the part e occasionally takes hold of and elevates the
extremity of another lever marked f, which is keyed on the end of the shaft f
which imparts motion through the parts of and of to the lever f. This lever f
is connected by means of the rod g to the stripper or long straight edge b,
which is guided in a slot, and proceeds parallel to the fallen wire, but under
the thread or ends of yarn the whole length of the carriage; the weight of
this straigh edge b, which I call the stripper, with the parts appended to it, is
counter-balanced by the weighted end of the lever 'f. Thus, supposing the
forked part e to have hold of the extremity of the lever f, it will be seen by
tracing the action of the faller wire i that the rod g must be elevated, and the
stripper forced up to the position shewn on dotted lines at the extremety of
the slot above b, by which motion the spindles are freed of the spiral coils of
yarn represented at a, a, a, a, Fig. 1, 2, and 3, which accumulate on them
during the rotation or spinning action of the spindles, which stripping obviates
the necessity of backing off or reversing the rotation of the spindles, and
thereby unwinding the spiral coils of yarn in the manner already described in
ordinary mules.
It will now be necessary to describe the nature and construction of a
cop, before I proceed to describe the varying amount of motion or elevation
which may be required that this stripper 6 should perform at each progressive
traverse or stretch of the carriage B. A cop of thread or yarn, which is
generally constructed or built on the bare spindle, consists of a succession
of layers or windings-on of yarn or thread, cne of which is laid on or added

page_text: to the cop at every putting up of the carriage. In the first instance, and
at the commencement of the cop, these layers or winding-on of yarn are
guided or placed on the lower part of the spindle by means of the faller wire,
until the yarn or cop has formed itself into the shape of a double cone, as
shewn at Fig. 2, which is generally called the cop bottom. This forming of
the cop bottom is effected by gradually guiding and varying the position of
the faller wire during the going in of the carriage and winding on of the yarn
or thread. It will be seen, by reference to the Fig. 3, which represents a
finished cop, that the remainder of the cop, after the cop botton is constructed,
consists of a succession of spiral cones or layers of threads which are indicated
by the succession of oblique lines, the last layer of which terminates at the
top or point of the cop. Now by referring again to Fig. 1 it will be seen
that the amount of spiral coils a, a, a, a, Fig. 1, 2, & 3, which are to be
disposed of at each stretch of the carriage, and which are in ordinary mules
backed of or unwound (but by my Invention stripped or drawn off by the
part 6), must continually vary and decrease in amount as the cop is formed
or increases towards the point of the spindle, as will clearly be seen by reference
to the Figs. 1, 2, & 3, where the cop is shewn in three of its stages towards
completion. This progressive decrease in the amount of spiral coils may
sometimes require a progressive decrease in the elevation of the stripper b,
which I effect in the following manner:-On the end of the carriage B, Fig. 4,
the forked part e, which is suspended from and partakes of the motion of the
lever d, d, as already described, is also held in contact with the lever f by the
action of a small spiral spring h. On the opposite side the forked piece e is
attached the connecting rod o, which is jointed to the lower extremity of the
bent rod c, c.
On this rod c, c, a little below the horizontal slot which
carries one extremity of the lever d, d, and upon the inclined or bent part of
the rod c, c, will be seen a small roller c³, which is held in an arm piece and
supported from the carriage B, so that at every elevation the rod c, c, is
vibrated or forced back by the action of this roller c on the inclined part of
the rod c, c, as represented in the Drawing. This vibration of the rod c, c,
carries along with it the forked part e by means of the connecting rod o, and
thereby liberates the lever f, which liberation terminates the stripping or upward
motion of the rod g and stripper b, and this decreased motion or termination
of the action of the stripper will be varied by varying the elevation of the
roller c', which is effected by means of a worm placed on the axis of the
carriage wheel K, from which motion is conveyed to the wheel K', which
elevates or depresses the screw 1, in the upper arm of which the roller c¹ is
supported. The motion of the screw 1, which proceeds from the carriage

page_text: wheel K, only takes place during the coming out of the carriage, the worm on
the axis of the wheel K being loose, and only carried round by means of a
click or catch during the coming out motion of the carriage, as seen in the
Drawing. From this description of the stripping movement, I use in place
of the ordinary backing off, and what has been already described of the
nature and position of the spiral coils on the spindles, which it is the object
of this movement to remove, it will be clear that at the commencement of a
set of cops, and when the spindle is bare, the screw and the little roller c
must be placed at its greatest elevation, as shewn in the Drawing. In this
position the vibrating action imparted to the bar c, c, as already described, does
not take place (and consequently the disconnection between the forked piece e
and the end of the lever f does not take place) until the stripper 6 has arrived
at its greatest elevation. But as the, spinning. proceeds; and the successive
traverses of the carriage depress the screw 7 by means of the worm or the
shaft of wheel K, the latter roller c¹ comes into action sooner at every stretch
and, disconnecting the part e and lever f, terminates the action of the
stripper, b, or, in other words, lessens the amount of stripping, which was
required by the decreased amount of spiral coils a, a, a, a, to be removed, as
shewn at Fig. 2 & 3. As soon as the stripping has taken place by means of the
train of movements already described, it is required that the faller wire, which
is to, depress the ends of yarn or thread down the spindle to the surface of
the cop, come into immediate action, and take up the slackened yarn or thread,
to prevent what are called snarls taking place. This train of movements is so
proportioned and arranged that the stripping action does not cease until the
faller wire has arrived at the point of the spindle, and ready to take down
the threads. The guiding the faller wire during the going in of the
carriage may be done by hand; but I prefer using the inclined plane or
copping rail as it is sometimes called, which by guiding a small roller attached
to the lever which carries the faller wire distributes the yarn or thread
regularly over the various diameters of the cop at each going up of the car-
riage. But the copping rail and its appendages being well known to spinners,.
and forming no part of my Invention, I shall not go into any minute descrip-
tion of its action. The putting up of the carriage, which is usually per-
formed by the operative, I effect by imparting a reverse motion by means
of one of the bands already named on the loose pulley Q to the scroll or
Mendoza pulley, while it remains out of gear with the rim shaft, which is
effected by traversing the said band from a loose to a fast pulley on the shaft
of the Mendoza pulley; but this motion of reversing the rotation of the Men-
doza pulley, being already in practice, and no part of my Invention, needs

page_text: further description. The winding on of the yarn or thread during the putting
up or going in of the carriage, which constitutes the next improvement of my
Invention, is brought into action simultaneously with the putting down of the
faller wire, and consequently at the same time as the reversing of the Mendoza
pulley or putting up of the carriage. But the description of the winding-on
movement will be better understood by again referring to the nature; and
construction of a cop. When the spindles are bare, and a set of cops are
commenced on, as represented at Fig. 1, it is clear that to wind on the yarn
which has been produced during the last stretch or coming out of the carriage
will require a certain number of revolutions of the spindle to effect it, and these
revolutions must, be in the same direction as the spinning, revolutions of the
spindles, and the number of revolutions (as is well known to spinners) will be
regulated by the length of the stretch and the circumference of the spindles.
Now, supposing the carriage to move in at a uniform-speed, it is also clear that
the speed or velocity of the revolutions of the spindles must be uniform while
the spindles are bare, or the circumference of the surface on which the yarn is
wound remains the same; but as the yarn, accumulates on the spindles the
circumference does not remain the same, but increases, and thereby requires a
less number of, revolutions of the spindles to wind; on the same amount or
stretch of yarn or thread. This required decrease of revolutions of the spin-
dles is very obvious, as soon as the yarn or thread has formed a few layers on
the spindles, and assumes the form represented at Fig. 1; and then another
principle presents itself to be provided for, in the construction of the cop. As
has been already stated, a cop consists of a succession of, conical layers of
thread or yarn placed one above the other by each successive winding on, each
layer commencing at the bottom or base of the cone. Therefore, as soon as
the cop begins to assume the form represented at Fig. 1, the winding on or
rotation of the spindles must be converted into a differential or varying rotation,
going slowest at the commencement of the going in of the carriage, and
quicker as the carriage approaches towards the front- or, delivering rollers, for
every period the winding on has to place yarn on a decreasing circumference
on the connical surface of the cop. This will be more clearly seen by reference
to Fig. 3, which represents a finished cop, the last conical layer of which is
tinted red, always bearing in mind that the winding on commences at the base
of the cone, and terminates at the apex or point, which is the bare spindle... But
before the winding-on motion commences, it will be requisite to stop the
revolution of the rim, which it has acquired during the spinning, which I
have generally done by a tightening strap; but this, together with other. neces-

page_text: sary arrangements in the proper gaiting or starting of the machine, are well
known to spinners and persons conversant with machinery,
Having described the nature of the differential motion of winding on, I
shall now proceed to describe the movement or arrangement of parts of which
I effect this object.
At Fig. 4, m, m, m, represents an endless band which passes round
one of the grooves in the pulley Q on the rim shaft over the guide
pulley E, and thence over the tightening pulley F to the pulley D on the
twist shaft. From this pulley Q motion is imparted by the strap m, m, m,
to the pulley D, turning the latter in the same direction as during the
operation of spinning or coming out of the carriage. This winding-on
revolution of the pulley D is imparted to the spindles by the drum band in the
usual manner; and it will be remarked, that the time during which the driving
strap X is on the loose pulley Q is the period for putting up the carriage, and
also for effecting the winding on, which movement I am now describing. At
the back of the pulley D, and on the same shaft, is placed a loose pulley, over
which the band m, m, m, passes during the spinning; but as soon as the faller
wire is put down, and at the same time as the action of the Mendoza band is
reversed, the band m, m, m, is traversed on to the pulley D, which is fast on the
shaft. The pulley F is supported by the sliding part F, which is attached to
the band n, n, which passes over the pulley p, and p', and is fastened to the end
of the lever G, which vibrates on its centre H, and can be elevated or depressed
on the small column which supports it. Under the carriage B, and imme-
diately above the bar G, is placed the small friction pulley P, for the purpose of
occasionally depressing the bar G, as will be hereafter explained. On the
front or delivering roller A is placed a small worm which drives the worm
wheel M, conveying motion through the shaft M to the bevil wheels N and
L, and through the centre of the wheel L is placed a screw piece R, which is
elevated or depressed by the rotation of the wheel L. The lower extremity
of the part R is connected with one end of the lever I, which vibrates on its
centre at I, and the other end is connected with the sliding piece F by the
small rod W and sliding piece y, which is adjusted by a pin placed in one of
the holes shewn in the upper part of F, so that any depression of the end of
the lever I by the motion of the screw R will elevate the tightening pulley F.
Thus, supposing the band m, m, m, to be held in a state of tension by the
pulley F, a certain amount of force will be imparted to turn the twist pulley D;
but as soon as the pulley F is relieved a slipping action of the band will
commence on pully D, and a less amount of force will be imparted by the

page_text: band m, m, m. From what has been already said of the winding-on motion
it will be clear that the greatest amount of revolution of the spindles will
be required when the spindle is bare, or at the commencement of the cop.
In the position seen at Fig. 4 the screw piece R is placed at its lowest eleva-
tion, the tightening pulley F is holding the band m, m, m, in a state of tension,
which can be adjusted by the tempering screw at the end of the road E', which
carries the pulley E, and the lever G is depressed so that the roller P does
not touch it till the carriage is quite home and at the front roller, and in this
position the machine is ready to commence building a cop. As the spinning
proceeds, and the cop increases in diameter, the constant action of the worm
on the front roller, as already described, elevates the end of the lever I, to
which the part R is connected, and relieves the tightening pulley F, and the
band m, m, m, which decreases the amount of winding-on force imparted by
the band m, m, m, to the pulley D, on the twist pulley shaft, and thus allows
the winding-on force to be regulated to a certain extent by the increased
power of resistance in the yarn caused by the increased circumference
of the cop. This gradual slackening of the band m, m, m, which pro-
ceeds from the action of the worm on the end of the front roller A,
as already described, goes forward during the period of building the cop
bottom, or until the cop has assumed the form represented at Fig. 2, and is
then thrown out of gear, either by elevating the shaft M' by hand, or by any
other motion arising from the machine, which may be arranged to correspond
with the time of completing the cop bottom. Now by referring again to
Fig. 2, and bearing mind that the winding on always commences at the base
of the cone and terminates at the apex or point, which is the bare spindle, it
will be seen that very soon after the commencement of building the cop
the differential motion for winding on will be required to take place,
which is effected by the action of the roller P on the bar or lever G, as shewn
in the Drawing at Figure 4. At the commencement of the cop this bar is
placed just to touch the roller P, when the carriage is in; but as the spinning
proceeds the pulley F is gradually lowered, and the lever G is gradually
elevated towards the position shewn in dots at G'; so that, although the
band m, m, m, is gradually slackened by the retiring motion of the pulley F,
it is always, at the termination of each going in of the carriage brought back
to a state of tension by the pulley P depressing the bar G to the position
shewn in the Drawing, which, by means of the band n, n, pulls up the tension
pulley F to its former position. It will be observed, that the pulley P, over
which the band n, n, is passed, is supported by an arm piece, which is carried
by and partakes of the motion of the screw piece R, and thereby gradually

page_text: elevates the end of the lever G, and increases the action of the roller P, in
tightening the band m, m, m, towards the point of the cop. Thus, the gradual
slackening of the band m, m, m, to allow for the increasing diameter of the
cop, is provided for by the movement emanating from the front roller, which
remains in action till the cop bottom is formed. And the complete tension of
the band m, m, m, which is always required at the point of the cop, or on the
bare spindle, is provided for by the action of the roller P and bar G¹, as soon
as the cop bottom is formed, and the action of the worm on the front roller
has ceased. The differential winding on or varying tension of the band m, m, m,
depends wholly on the action of the roller P upon the bar G, which may be
varied by varying the position of the bar G, and thereby varying the position
and period of time at which the roller P comes in contact to depress the bar G.
But all these variations will be easily arranged by any person conversant with
spinning, and depend on the nature and quality of the cop to be constructed.
The winding on tight or slack depends in the first place on the relative
diameters of the loose pulley Q on the rim shaft and the pulley D on the
twist shaft. If these two are calculated to wind on on the bare spindle by the
force imparted through the band m, m, m, when in a state of tension, any
decrease of that force may be effected by diminishing the tension, which, to
wind on effectually, must be governed by the amount of resistence presented
by the aggregate strength of all the ends or threads which are to be wound
on; for it must be kept in mind that the band m, m, m, is not a positive
motion, but an amount of force dependant on its tension, and that an amount
of tension or force sufficient to wind on the yarn at a given circumference on
one hundred spindles cannot be sufficient to wind the yarn on two hundred
spindles similarly circumstanced, and this amount of tension must be so regulated
as to form or build the cop of the necessary degrees of hardness required, but
at the same time must not be so great as to endanger the patching or breaking
of the yarn by overcoming the resisting of the aggregate number of threads to
be wound on. But though the accommodating of the amount of force to the
amount of resistence may present some difficulty in very fine numbers of
yarn, in the ordinary numbers I have found my Invention to answer every
purpose.
Having described my "Certain Improvements in the Mule, Jenny, or other
"Machine for Spinning of Cotton, and in the Billy, Stretching Frame, or other
"Machine for Roving of Cotton, and in the Machinery for Spinning and Roving
"of Silk, Wool, Flax, Hemp, or other Fibrous Substances," together with
such parts of one of the ordinary machines to which my improvements may be
applied, as I have thought necessary to make the description of my improvements

page_text: better understood, I hereby. declare that I do not claim any of the ordinary
or well-known parts of such machinery; but I do claim as of my Invention
the stripper, together with the arrangement of parts already described by
which the stripping movement is effected. This arrangement of parts for
giving the stripping movement may be modified and varied; but the arrange-
ment and application of a stripping movement by means of which the spiral
coils of yarn are drawn off the spindles, in the place of the reverse rotation
for unwinding such coils called the backing-off movement, as generally used
in the mule and similar spinning and preparation machines, I do distincly
claim as of my Invention; and, notwithstanding any previous attempts which
have been made to effect the necessary varying winding-on motion, with
the requisite adjustment for its force by means of slipping straps or bands
applied thereto, yet the means herein-before described to render such straps
or bands efficient for effecting such equable winding-on motion are, to the best
of my knowledge and belief, new, and. never before applied, and I do therefore
claim the same as part of and belonging to my said Invention.
may
In witness whereof, I, the said John Robertson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal this Eighth day of March, One thousand eight hundred
and thirty-four
Taken and acknowledged by John
Robertson (party hereto), at Glas-
gow, in the County of Lannark, this
Eighth day of March 1834, before
JOHN (L.s.) ROBERTSON.

page_text: further saith, that, to the best of his knowledge, the said John Lang was a
Justice of the Peace for the County of Lanark at the time of receiving such
acknowledgment.
Inrolled the Twelfth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-four.