IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO MACHINERY FOR SPINNING FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO MACHINERY FOR SPINNING FIBROUS
MATERIALS." A communication from abroad by Elisha Harris, Manufacturer,
and Abraham Winsor Harris, Merchant, both of Providence, Rhode Island,
United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th June 1881.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent
Agents, Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO
MACHINERY FOR SPINNING FIBROUS MATERIALS." [A communication from abroad
by Elisha Harris, Manufacturer, and Abraham Winsor Harris, Merchant, both of
Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America.]
This Invention relates to improvements in what is termed the "ring spinning
frame," whereby a cop of yarn is produced suitable to be used in a loom shuttle in
weaving, with strength sufficient to bear the necessary handling, and unwind
freely without looseness or catching or making waste of part of the yarn whilst
being used in the loom.
As ring spinning frames have been heretofore constructed, the "traveller" is
carried around on its "ring" by the yarn, regulating the tension of the yarn by
the amount of friction of the traveller on the ring; they have had no provision for
regulating this friction and tension which is rendered necessary by the changes
from winding on the largest part of the cop to the smallest or spindle, for when
winding on the largest part of the cop the direction in which the yarn draws the
traveller is nearly coincident with the path of the traveller on its ring, so that
there is but little friction or consequent strain on the yarn, but whilst winding on
the smallest part of the cop or on the bare spindle the yarn is drawing in a direction
almost at right angles to the path of the traveller on the ring, thereby causing
great friction of the traveller on the ring and of the yarn in the traveller, and
greatly increasing the strain on the yarn so as to break or otherwise injure it.

page_text: This difficulty is obviated by giving a rotatory motion to the ring itself in the
same direction as the traveller is carried by increasing the speed of the ring, as the
yarn winds on the smallest part of the cop and draws more towards the centre,
until if necessary it is equal to that of the traveller, when all friction of the
traveller on the ring will cease, and there will be only the friction of the yarn in the
traveller to overcome, and as the yarn winds back on to the larger part of the
and draws on the traveller more in direction of its path, the speed of the ring is
lessened until it ceases.
cop,
This regulates the tension of the yarn by changing the speed of the ring
according to the direction that the yarn is drawing on the traveller.
In carrying this Invention into practice the ring is made to rotate freely on a
hollow axis or support which extends up inside of the ring, and is secured in the
ring-rail in the same manner in which rings are usually fastened. A groove is made
in the face of the bearing descending in the direction in which the ring revolves
to prevent an overflow of the oil from reaching the traveller; and a score or
groove is made on the periphery of the ring to receive a band from the cylinder
for the purpose of rotating it. A cylinder is placed in bearings on cross bars which
extend across from one ring-rail to the other, and is secured to them, so that the
cylinder shall rise and fall with the ring-rails, and keep the bands always at the
proper tension. Motion is given to the cylinder by a belt running from a pulley on
the lower cone shaft to a pulley on a stud at the top of the frame; and a bevel gear
wheel secured to the hub of this pulley drives a bevel gear wheel which has a
bearing on its hub held by an arm from the end frame. A short upright shaft
held in a bearing on a cross bar slides freely through the bevel gear wheel,
which gear wheel gives it a rotatory motion by means of a slot and spline, which
rotatory motion as transmitted to the cylinder through other bevel gear wheels.
This allows the cylinder to rise and fall freely whilst rotating. The lower cone
shaft to which the pulley is fast is driven by a belt from the upper cone which is
fast on the main shaft. There is a loose pulley on the shaft of the lower cone for
the purpose of receiving the said belt when it is necessary for the cylinder to stop
rotating the rings. A cam which controls the motions of the ring rails is fast on
a shaft which receives a uniform motion through bevel gear wheels, a shaft, a gear,
and worm wheel, and a shaft, which is driven by the rolls, main pulley, or by any
other convenient part of the machine.
Another cam is also fast on the shaft, and is so shaped as to give the required
variations of speed to the rings by shifting the belt from a loose pulley on the
lower cone shaft in and out on the cones by means of a cam lever, which has a
toothed segment on its upper end, meshing into a rack on a stripper rod.
The cam controls the motions of the ring rails through a lever cord and rods in
the usual manner.
I also provide an arrangement for driving the rings by means of gear wheels
instead of bands. In this case each ring rotating on a hollow axis or support has
a ring gear secured on its periphery, and intermediate gear wheels aro placed on
studs fast to the ring rail between the rings, so as to mesh into the teeth on the
rings and drive them. Into as many of these intermediate gear wheels as may be
deemed best short upright shafts are placed instead of studs, having bearings in
the spindle rails below; these short shafts are free to slide up and down in gear
wheels, being provided with slots and splines to ensure the rotation of the gear
wheels with the shafts. A pulley is secured to one of the upright shafts, which is
driven by a band from a shaft, which is driven by a belt from the lower cone shaft,
so that the sliding in and out of the first named belt on the cones shall regulate
the rotatory motions of the rings through the shaft in the same degree as
it would through the band cylinder when the rings are driven by bands as
herein before described. I provide a short conical base bobbin made of wood
or other suitable material. Its length is about equal to one complete traverse
of the ring rail, or a little less than one half the length of the cop. Steps or
grooves are made around it, sloping in towards the large end, for the purpose of

page_text: forming a strong union between the yarn and bobbin. Longitudinal grooves or
perforations are made through the bobbin to its centre, to allow the steam in the
process of steaming the yarn to penetrate the cop from the inside of the bobbin.
By means of this bobbin a cop can be made from which all of the yarn can be
drawn off without any looseness or disarrangement, thereby reducing the waste,
saving time in weaving, and improving the appearance of the cloth.
The cop is made up by a series of vertical traverses of the ring rail, and each one
of the main series is formed by a succession of shorter partial motions of the ring
rail. Starting at the base of the cop the yarn is wound in the usual courses up
the cop until it reaches a certain point, when it is quickly carried back to the
base or about two thirds of its first rise. Then rising slowly the yarn is wound as
before until it reaches another point, passing through the same amount of space AS
it did in its first rise, when it again falls back. The yarn is wound in this
succession of short traverses, rising through three of the spaces and falling back
through two spaces each traverse, until it reaches the top of the base bobbin, that
being the extent of the first of the main traverses of the ring rail. From this
point the yarn quickly descends through all the spaces, as in the "back off" of a
cop made on a "mule."
As the cope is made up of these short overlapping traverses and bindings it is
very strong, and will bear bending almost at a right angle without injury. The
motions just described as forming the cop are produced by the cam, the declines
between the points causing the slow rise of each short traverse, and the points
causing the quick descents. The spaces on the cam between the points are all
equal except one which is made one half the length of the others, so that the last
turns of yarn shall be made a turn higher up on the point of the cop than those
of the rise before; this binds the end, turns at the point, and prevents them from
getting loose or disarranged.
A rise on the cam produces the back off. One revolution of the cam gives one
of the main series of traverses just described, and each succeeding traverse is made
a little higher up on the spindle by moans of the usual "take up" between tho
cam and ring rail.
During these traverses of tho ring-rail the speed of the rotatory motions of the
rings is made to correspond, that is to say, the speed of the rings is increased
as the yarn in winding approaches the smallest part of the cop or spindle, and
decreased as it recedes from that part and approaches the largest part of the cop.
The increase of speed is caused by the cam shifting the belt from the loose pulley
towards the outer ends of the cones by the parts as hereinbefore stated, which
causes the lower cone to run faster as the belt approaches. the outer ends of the
cones. The decreasing of the speed is caused by the contrary motion of the belt
towards the loose pulley upon which it runs when the rings are required to
remain stationary.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
6th December 1881.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent
Agents, Southampton Buildings, London. IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO
MACHINERY FOR SPINNING FIBROUS MATERIALS." A communication from abroad
by Elisha Harris, Manufacturer, and Abraham Winsor Harris, Merchant, both of
Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America.
This Invention relates to improvements in what is termed the ring spinning
frame, and is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, in which
Figure 1 is an elevation of the spinning frame, and
Figure 2 is a vertical transverse section of the same on the line x, x, Figure 1.
Figure 3 is an enlarged representation in elevation of two spindles, and the parts
that support them.
Figuro 4 represents a cop showing the direction of the filling and binding courses
of the yarn in forming it.
Figure 5 represents a bobbin.
Figure 6 represents the traverse cam that controls the motions of the ring-rails.
Figure 7 is a side elevation of a ring and its support, a portion of each being
removed to show their structure.
'
The great difliculty to be overcome in spinning a cop of yarn for weaving on &
ring spinning frame is the great strain on the yarn in carrying the traveller around
the ring whilst winding on the smallest part of the cop or spindle, for at that time
the yarn is drawing on the traveller in a direction almost directly towards the
centre of the ring, and nearly at right angles to the path of the said traveller
around the ring, consequently the yarn has but little tendency to carry the traveller
forward, and it also cramps it, thereby increasing its friction on the ring and the
friction on the ring, and the friction of the yarn in it. The great strain thereby
thrown on the yarn tends to break it, and when it does not break it strains it to
such a degree as to form weak places that are liable to break in weaving. Whilst
winding on the large part of the cop the yarn draws on the traveller in a direction
almost coincident with its path or course around the ring, and consequently but
little strain is thrown on the yarn in carrying it forward.
To obviate this difficulty and produce a uniform tension on the yarn at all times,
a rotatory motion is given to the ring itself in the same direction as the traveller,
and this motion is increased as the winding of the yarn approaches the smallest
part of the cop, thus preventing the increase of tension on the yarn by assisting
it in carrying tho traveller forward. As the winding of the yarn returns to the
larger part of the cop the motion of the ring decreases, and the friction of the
traveller on the said ring is restored as the change in the direction of the yarn
increnses its facility of carrying the said traveller forward.
In winding a cop of yarn in the ordinary manner for weaving, it is usual to
wind fine courses in the upward traverse to fill the cop, and open courses in
descending for the purpose of binding the different parts of the cop together, as
the yarn in the open courses lies more in the direction of the axis of the cop. To
increase the strength of the cop still further I divide the upward traverses of
fine courses into a series of short upward traverses of fine courses of yarn, and
downward open courses that overlap each other as follows, that is to say:-
Starting at the base at i, Figure 4, the yarn is wound in fine courses, as shown by
the lines j, upward until it reaches the point is, when it is carried down back to
the line in open binding courses, shown by the line j; the yarn is again wound

page_text: From
in fine courses up to the point i', when it again descends in open courses to the
line, as shewn by the line. The yarn is thus wound in a series of short
traverses rising through three of the spaces in fine courses, and descending through
two spaces in open courses, gaining one space in each rise until it reaches the
point, that being the extent of the first of the usual upward traverses.
this point it descends in the usual open binding courses nearly to the point i
from which it started, the nature of these last open courses being shown by the
partly dotted line u, which is shown in the Drawing on another part of the cop to
prevent confusion with the lines j', .
These traverse motions are produced by the cam C, Figure 6, in which the usual
long traverse is divided into short ones by the points and spaces shewn thereon,
the declination between the points causing the slow upward traverse of the fine
courses of yarn, and the points causing the quick descending opon courses j¹, j²,
see Figure 4. The spaces between the points on the cam are equal, except that
from m to m', which is made shorter as it is the last of the short series, and there
is no farther gain upward. The rise between m' and m² on the said cam C caused
the usual descending binding course represented by the line u, Figure 4, and each
revolution of the cam forms one of the usual long traverses, each succooding one
being as usual made a little higher up on the cop by means of the usual take-up-
motions formed in ring spinning frames, making yarn on bobbins to be used in
shuttles for weaving between the ring-rail and the traverse cam. During these
traverse motions the rotatory motion of the rings is made to correspond therewith,
that is to say, the rotatory motion of the rings is increased as the winding of the
yarn approaches the smallest part of the cop, and decreases as the winding returns'
to the larger part.
The cam C causes the motions of the ring-rail by means of lovers N, the cord or
chain and the rods e, e, as usual in ring spinning frames. The cam S is fast on
the shaft W, and is so shaped as to give the necessary changes of rotatory motion
to the rings by shifting the belt T from the loose pulley K on the lower cone shaft
out, and in on the cones L, M, by means of the lever V and the rack-rod Y, to
which the belt guide is attached, the said changes of motion being such that they
correspond with the traverse motions given to the ring-rail by the cam C, which is
also fixed on the said shaft W. The shaft W is driven by the bevel gear wheels w,
the shaft I, the worm wheel and worm y, and the shaft z, which Intter receives
motion from the pulley c², or any other convenient part of the machine.
The rings A receive their rotatory motion by means of the bands o, o, from the
cylinder F, which is supported in bearings on the cross bars D which extend across
from one ring-rail P to the other P', by means of which arrangement the cylinder
is made to rise and fall by and with the ring rails, and keep the bands always at
a proper tension. Motion is given to the cylinder F by means of the belt running
from the pulley H on the lower cone shaft to the pulley G on a stud at the top of
the frame, and a bevel gear wheel secured to the hub of the said pulley G drives
the bevel gear wheel b, which has a bearing on its hub held by an arm projecting
from one end of the frame. A short upright shaft n' held in a bearing on the cross
bar D slides freely through the bevel gear wheel b, which gives it a rotatory motion
by means of a slot and spline, which motion is transmitted to the cylinder F by
the bevel gear wheels a, a¹. This arrangement allows the said cylinder to rise and
fall with the ring-rails whilst running or rotating.
A
The ring A, Figure 7, revolves on the hollow support c, which extends upward
inside of the ring, and is secured in the ring-rail in the ordinary manner.
groove s for the purpose of oiling is made in the purpose of the bearing, descending
in the same direction as the ring revolves, so as to prevent an overflow of the oil
from reaching the traveller, and a score or groove t is made on the periphery of the
said ring to receive the band o that rotates it.
•
The rolls and other parts of the machine, a description of which is not deemed
necessary to a complete understanding of my improvements, are constructed and
operated in the ordinary manner, in which ring and traveller spinning frames are

page_text: made and operated. The cylinder F may be placed in bearings detached from the
ring-rails, and provided with separate mechanism for giving it a vertical motion, so
long as that motion agrees with the traverse motion of the ring-rails and keeps the
bands that drive the rings always at a proper tension.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondents, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,
First. The combination of a ring adapted to support a traveller, and having a
band groove in its periphery with a hollow support or axis, through which the cop
or bobbin passes in the process of spinning, substantially as above set forth.
Second. The traverse cam C constructed with a series of short rises and
declinations in its periphery, substantially as above described and for the purposes
specified.
Third. The auxiliary band cylinder F having the same vertical motions as the
ring-rails in combination with means for giving it such motions, substantially as
above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.