IMPROVEMENTS IN MULES POR SPINNING AND DOUBLING
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Dodd, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster,
Mechanical Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MULES
POR SPINNING AND DOUBLING."
Sealed the 29th August 1865, and dated the 1st March 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Dodd at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 1st -March
1865.
I, JOHN DODD, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Mechanical Engi-
neer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MULES FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to that motion of the mule which is designed for
For this purpose I
obtaining an intermittent motion of the cam shaft.
employ friction surfaces, clutch boxes, or equivalent apparatus as is now
practised; and I cause the parts thereof to be separated by the joint action
of a pin and incline. At the summit of this incline is a level part, which may
be called the starting position. When the aforesaid pin is on this part the
driving surfaces are disconnected and the cam shaft is therefore stationary,
but when the shaft is to revolve for effecting a change, it is caused to turn

page_text: slightly. The impetus thus given separates the pin above mentioned from its
support on the end of the incline, and then by dropping it will allow the
moveable part of the friction surfaces or clutch box to pass into gear with the
fixed portion, and thus impart rotary motion to the cam shaft. The impetus
thus given to the cam shaft I propose to obtain by means of a spring acting
upon a stud, after the manner of that motion of mules known as Roberts's
escapement. I have above spoken of one incline and pin only, but the
arrangement may be repeated if desired for more than one change.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Dodd in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 1st
September 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
DODD, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Mechanical Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said John Dodd, Her special license that I, the said John
Dodd, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Dodd, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MULES FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING," upon the condition that I, the
said John Dodd, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
.and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to
be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Dodd, do hereby declare the nature
of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
.be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
and accompanying Drawings, that is to say:-
My Invention relates to that motion of the mule which is designed for

page_text: obtaining an intermittent motion of the cam shaft. In the accompanying
Drawing Fig. 1 represents a view of the cam shaft and certain parts con-
nected therewith; Fig. 2 a detached view of the inclines which disengage the
cones or allows them to go into contact; and Fig. 3 a detached view of the
escape plate and lever, together with the usual spring. The cam shaft is
shewn at a, upon which is mounted the usual hollow cone, or it may be clutch
box b, and which, as in ordinary mules, is caused to revolve constantly. At c
is the other conical friction surface mounted so as to slide upon the cam
shaft a longitudinally, but so as to be capable of driving it by means of the
ordinary feather and disc. Upon the boss of the cone c is a plate d, upon
which are formed a series of inclines e, corresponding in number to the
changes which the cam shaft has to effect. These inclines e spring from the
plate d, and at their summits are provided with level parts f, descending on
the opposite side to the inclines e, down to the plate d as at 9. Within the
plane of rotation of the inclines e is a roller or pin h, carried by a piece i, which
extends from the framework of the mule. This roller or pin is placed in a
slot and is capable of adjustment to or from the inclines e by set screws i*.
Upon the cam shaft a is placed a coiled spring k, one end thereof abutting
against the plate d, and the other end against an enlargement of the said
shaft a, by which means therefore the plate d, together with the cone c, is
constantly thrust towards the hollow cone 6, the two friction surfaces being
however kept apart at certain times by reason of the tops f of the inclines e
being in contact with the roller or pin h, as will hereafter appear. At l is the
usual escape plate provided with its stops m, and the twist finger is at n; at o
is the escape lever with its stop p, and which periodically arrests the motion of
the escape plate, as is well understood. At q is the spring ordinarily employed
for acting against the pins so as to give an impulse to the plate l. The
operation is as follows:-According to the positions of the parts shewn in the
Drawing, the cam shaft is at rest, the friction cones b and c being out of gear,
they being prevented from passing into gear (through the force of the
spring k), by reason of the summit f of one of the inclines e being in contact
with the roller or pin h. When according to the ordinary working of the
mule the time arrives for a change to be effected, then the escape lever o will
be raised or lowered so as to remove its stop p from contact with the stop m
of the escape plate. The spring 9 which is now charged will, by exerting its
force against the stud r, give an impulse to the plate 1, and consequently to
the cam shaft a, so that the plate d will be slightly turned in the direction of
the arrow, Fig. 2. This will present the part g to the roller or pin h, and the
plate d will therefore be at liberty to be forced forward by the spring k, and

page_text: thus cause the friction cones b, c, to pass into gear. The cam shaft will
then be driven by the motive power and the change will be effected as usual.
This revolution of the cam shaft, carrying with it the plate d, will next bring
the incline e* against the roller or pin h, the said incline running in contact
therewith will force backward the spring k, and withdraw the cone c from the
hollow cone b, whereby the motion of the cam shaft will be arrested, the twist
finger n arriving at the same time as usual in contact with the twist apparatus ;
when another change is desired, another ordinary movement of the escape
lever and plate will permit another impulse to be given to the cam shaft,
which will, after the manner above described, move the top of the incline e*
from the roller or pin h so as to permit another gearing of the cones b, c, and
so on for as many changes as it may desired to effect, there being a like
number of inclines e with their level parts f.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be understood that I claim
as secured to me under the above in part recited Letters Patent the use of
the inclines e and roller or pin h, in combination with apparatus for giving the
starting impulse above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Dodd, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
JOHN DODD.
(L.S.)