IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING, SPINNING, AND ROPE MAKING MACHINERY
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PREPARING, SPINNING, AND ROPE MAKING MACHINERY." A communication
from abroad by La Société Anonyme des Corderies Parisiennes, of 31, Rue
du 4 Septembre, Paris, France, represented by Pierre Motiron, Directeur
et Administrateur Délégué.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville Clark at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th December 1880.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING, SPINNING, AND ROPE MAKING
MACHINERY." [A communication from abroad by La Société Anonyme des
Corderies Parisiennes, of 31, Rue du 4 Septembre, Paris, France, represented by
Pierre Motiron, Directeur et Administrateur Délégué.]
This Invention relates to improvements in machinery for performing the sucessive
operations required for the preparation and spinning of fibrous materials and the
manufacture thereof into ropes and cordage.
The series of machines hereinafter described comprise spreading and drawing
machines, spinning machines for spinning the fibres into yarns, machines for
twisting the yarns into strands, and laying machines for laying the strands into
rope.
According to this Invention these four successive operations are all based on the
employment of the cylindro-conical device or apparatus next described. If upon
one or more cylinders of constant diameter yarns of different sizes be wound an
equal number of times, it will be found that their lengths are unequal and directly
proportionate to the size of said yarns, the coarsest being the longest and the
finest the shortest. In order therefore that the lengths of all the yarns or strands
may be mathematically equal, it is necessary that the diameter of the cylinder or
cylinders should diminish gradually and inversely to the increase in the diameter
of the yarns or strands. This is the principle of the improved draught or delivery
device or apparatus, Figure 2, which is called hereafter the cylindro-conical device,
and which is employed in all the machines of this Invention.

page_text: It consists of a spindle A to be placed in the twisting nyer neremarter referred
to, carrying a boss B upon which is fixed a bevel wheel by which both B and A
are driven. From the face b¹ of disc B project conical pins C upon which fits a
movable disc D, which is pressed upon it at point a by means of a spring or friction
roller, and is caused to incline itself more or less to spindle A. The disc D, as shown
in face view, Figure 1, has as many cylindrical holes as there are conical pins, and
a collar on spindle A maintains disc D at the proper distance from the boss B
according to the size of the yarn. The disc is however free to oscillate in every
direction. The face b¹ of disc B (see Figure 3) is grooved or roughened to prevent
slip. If now the shaft be rotated, the whole of this draught or delivery apparatus
will turn with it, and the yarn or strand from the bobbin will enter between the
movable disc D and the fixed boss B at the open side directly opposite the friction
roller or spring; the said yarn or strand is wound upon the cone formed by the
pins and around the lowest part of the cone at first, but after having made a half
revolution the yarn or strand is nipped by the movable disc pressing against the
fixed part B and forced to rise to the highest part of the cone. The portion of
the yarn or strand wound upon the cone will be of constant length whatever may
be the variation in diameter of the same yarn or strand, the finer portion being
wound upon the larger diameter of the cone, and the coarser portion upon the
smaller diameter, or, in other words, the different diameters of the yarn and the
diameters on which they are wound are inversely proportional. From the fore-
going it will be readily understood that the lengths of the yarns or strands
delivered or unwound in a given number of turns will be mathematically equal,
and that the torsion for each being invariably equal, the tension also will be
mathematically exact, and as the tension of all the yarns or strands is equal, the
strand or rope produced will possess its full strength and be perfectly uniform in
make and in appearance.
This part of the Invention is the more important as it applies to all spinning
operations, whether for animal or vegetable textiles.
:-
There are three kinds of cylindro-conical apparatus based on the principle above
explained (1) The single arrangement already described; (2) the double
apparatus represented in Figures 4, 5, 6, in which the disc and pins are duplicated,
said apparatus being employed to prevent any slip of the yarns; (3) multiple
apparatus in which a number of single or double apparatus are placed in conjunction,
as will be hereafter explained.
SPREADERS.
It is well known that in the machines ordinarily employed for spreading coarse
fibres, such as hemp, the material is fed on to an endless apron at the rear by an
attendant, who supplies it in stricks which have been more or less hackled. Two
rollers retain the material as it leaves the apron while it is being operated on by
gill combs and conducted to the spreading and drawing rollers. The latter are
made of wood, and owing to their great pressure considerable power is required to
bring the material into the form of a sliver, and supply it to the delivery rollers at
the front immediately above the cans in which the slivers are received. It often
happens that owing to the attendant having supplied too much material on to the
feed apron the rollers are caused to slip without drawing, and it becomes necessary
to stop the machine to free the material from between the rollers. To obviate this
objection, the cylindro-conical device before described is embodied in an apparatus
applied to a spreader, as shown in Figures 7, 8, and 9; A, B, Figures 7 and 8, are
the spreading and drawing rollers, and C, D, the delivery rollers placed above the
can P; 9, 9, 9, are the gill bars. Between the spreading and delivery rollers is
applied the machine embodying the cylindro-conical apparatus before referred to.
This machine is composed of three frames E, F, G, of which F and G are alike and
of the form shown in Figure 8, while the third frame E is of less width, not having
to support the driving shaft H of the machine, which through- gear wheels 2, 3, 4,

page_text: imparts motion to shaft J, which is supported in bearings in framing F, G, and
imparts motion through the gear wheels g, h, i, to the twister I, by which the
desired torsion is imparted to the sliver between the point a where it is nipped by
the cylindro-conical device and point b where it is delivered from the rollers A, B.
The same shaft at the opposite end of the machine transmits motion by means of
gear wheels k, l, m, to a shaft K supported in bearings on frames E, G. The
shaft K in turn imparts motion by means of gear wheels n, o, p, to a shaft L which
traverses the boss M of twister I, and is made hollow for the sliver to pass through
to the delivery rollers. Upon the shaft is keyed a mitre wheel e, which by means
of another mitre wheel drives the cylindro-conical device R.
In order to vary the length of the sliver, the twist remaining the same, or to
vary the twist, the length delivered remaining the same, the two gear wheels k, m,
may be changed at will, and the wheel be so mounted as to gear with wheels k, m,
of any diameter.
Between the point a where the sliver quits the device and the point e where the
delivery rollers seize it, it is deprived of the twist which it received between the
points a and b, so that on leaving the delivery rollers the sliver has returned to
the condition in which it left the rollers A, B, except that it possesses almost
perfect regularity and that the tension of all the fibres is equal, a result which has
never hitherto been attained. The results of such an arrangement are that the
motive power required is considerably reduced, while the production is increased
owing to the greater speed at which the machine may be driven, and the larger
quantity of material which may be fed without inconvenience into the machine.
In order to completely equalize the slivers before they pass to the spinning
machine, the same machine is employed, except that the slivers are fed from cans
instead of by hand as before. The slivers are doubled or tripled according to the
numbers and quality of yarn desired.
In addition to the disadvantages previously pointed out with regard to the
machines for spreading, drawing, and doubling, the following objections apply to
the machinery. for spinning:-
In the first place the drawing is performed as in the machine before described by
means of rollers, beneath which are placed the spindles which draw out yarn by
means of a drag upon said spindles. It will be readily understood that the draft
produced by this drag must be very irregular, and the tension instead of being always
the same is continually varying, and the attendant is therefore obliged repeatedly to
regulate the drag during the spinning operation. The rollers, it is true, feed the
material at a uniform rate, but as the drag fails to give an equal tension, the twist
is imparted at one moment to parts which are at the proper tension, and at the
next to parts which are not, according to the adjustment of the drag, and this can
only be regulated by guess work. The gradually increasing diameter of the bobbin
also increases the draft.
'
A spinning spindle having the cylindro-conical device of this Invention applied
is illustrated in Figure 10. The can P containing the slivers from the spreader is
placed behind the bobbin and fly'frame; the sliver passes over the guide a through
the gills g, g, g, and thence between the two rollers C, c, which ordinarily serve as
delivery rollers, but in this case simply serve for equalising the thickness of the
sliver; from these rollers the sliver passes to the cylindro-conical device A mounted
in the twister B, the yarn being thus twisted between the two points B, C, whose
distance apart is constant. The device delivers invariably the same length of
material for a greater or less number of turns of twister B, or a greater or less
length for the same number of turns of said twister, which receives motion from
gear wheel e.
The device is driven by bevel gearing d at the foot of the spindle.
Upon the spindle F is fixed the flyer D, which turns at the same speed as the
device A; E is a bobbin loose on spindle F and rotated by a collar ƒ provided with

page_text: Clark's Improvements in Preparing, Spinning, and Rope-making Machinery.
studs, and which receives motion from a shaft h extending the whole length of the
machine through spur and bevel gearing. This shaft rises and falls with the disc f
whereby the yarn is wound regularly upon the bobbin. A similar arrangement of
change gear to that described for the spreader is placed at the head of the flyer
frame, so as to permit of changing the rate of delivery as well as the twist.
It will be readily seen how by the application of this device the action of the
machine may be regulated, the speed increased, and motive power economised.
The work of the minder is also lessened, and a superior yarn is produced having a
uniform degree of twist throughout.
TWISTING OR FORMING THE YARNS INTO STRANDS.
This operation is usually performed in large rope manufactories by means of a
carriage running on a railway, to which the proper number of yarns to form a
strand are led through a yarn guide or tube fixed in a post from a bobbin frame
behind. In front of the post is what is termed a register plate, being a perforated
plate through which pass the yarns coming from the bobbin frame. In this
operation the several yarns uniting at the tube without any regular tension their
strength is not combined so as to be able to support the maximum tractive strain,
and besides this, as the twist is imparted by the carriage to the whole length of the
strand, that portion which is nearest to the carriage is always more highly twisted
than that at the other end, as the former only transmits to the latter the excess of
twist which it cannot itself receive.
In the arrangement of machinery shown in Figures 11 to 20, the bobbin frame B,
Figures 11 and 13, is retained, but the tube is replaced by another similar frame A,
Figures 12 and 14, placed opposite to B containing as many cylindro-conical
devices, such as that above described, as there are bobbins in the bobbin frame.
The middle row of devices (there being thus necessarily an uneven number of rows)
receives motion by means of bevel gearing from shaft a of the twisting or
registering machine, Figure 18; it is from this row that are taken the first four or
five yarns which are to be twisted together, and all the devices in this row turn at
the same speed, whereby equal lengths are delivered of each of the said yarns.
These combined yarns are enveloped by others taken either from the next row
above or below, or from both, the devices in which are driven at a faster speed by
means of gearing mounted on the side of the frame, and which may be changed to
suit the speed desired. By this means the yarns which surround those first united
(and which require to be of greater length in order that the length may be equal
when twisted together) are all equal, similarly for all the other yarns until the
strand is of the desired size. After leaving the frame A the yarns pass to the
register apparatus, shown in Figures 15, 16, 17, which is constructed of two
frames b, c, united at bottom by a flat bar d, and at top by two round tie rods e, e,
on which are mounted movably the conical yarn guides or register plates
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. The first guide has as many holes as there are bobbins ;
the second receives the yarns forming the first layer which unite after passing
through this guide. The third guide receives the yarns forming the second layer,
which after passing through the holes of this guide envelop the first layer,
and so on.
The first layer passes through the centre of the third guide, the second
combined with the first passes through the centre of the fourth guide, and so on.
It is between this register apparatus and the twisting or registering machine
proper that the strands are formed.
The twisting or registering machine is constructed of four frames A, B, C, D,
Figures 19 and 20; between the frames A, B, is mounted the reel on which the
strand is wound, and the revolving frame or flyer F; between frames B and C is
mounted the revolving frame or twisting flyer G, and between the frames C, D, is
placed the driving gear. The driving shaft H imparts motion by means of four
gear wheels d, e, f, g, Figure 18, to a counter shaft which drives the twisting flyer G
through the gear wheels h, i, j; all four wheels d, e, f, g, are employed to drive in

page_text: impart the necessary additional twist or forehard to the strands in the act of laying
them into rope by the rotation of the cage.
The gearing at the head of the machine for driving the cage, spool frames, and
cylindro-conical devices, is similar to that described for the spreader, spinning
machine, and twisting or registering machine.
Figures 21, 22, 23, 24, and 28 show the two end frames and the three rings of
the cage separately. At the end of the rope laying machine opposite to the driving
gear there is a frame containing three double cylindro-conical devices, receiving
motion from the shaft driving the cage, which extends the whole length of the
machine. The first of these three apparatus is placed about three feet from the
laying top, the second about three feet from the first, and the third about six feet
from the second. The laying of the rope is effected between the first of these
devices and the laying top. The rope makes half a turn around the side of the
first double device, then round guide roller g', and back entirely around upon the
other side of said device, which turns at the necessary speed for taking up the
rope as fast as it is delivered by the machine. On leaving the first device the rope
passes half round side i of the second, then around guide roller g², and back entirely
around sidej of same device. This second device turns at a speed higher than that
of the first, equal to a difference of one tooth of the driving gear, that is to say, the
gear which drives the first one has, say, 20 teeth, and that which drives the second
19 teeth, so that when the first device has made 19 turns the second will have
made 20, and as both apparatus are of equal diameter it follows that the draft of
the second is greater than the delivery by the first, whereby the additional twist
is rendered permanent, and the strands are equally stretched. The third double
device round which the rope passes, as in the two former cases, also turns at a speed
greater than that of the second, equal to a difference of one tooth of the driving
gear, and as it is placed at about six-feet from said apparatus it stretches the rope
by applying a draft, which thoroughly tests it. The rope is now finished.
The flyer o above mentioned is employed when shroud laid rope is to be made,
in which case the bobbin mounted in said flyer contains the core or heart.
It has been before mentioned that the above machine is only applicable for
making large and ordinary sized ropes, but for small sizes another machine is
employed, in which both the laying and twisting are perforated. This machine,
which is represented in Figure 29, is vertical, the twisting being performed at the
upper part by the flyers or spool frames A, and the laying at the lower part by a
spindle and flyer similar to those used in the spinning machine. In this machine
the cage is a fixture, and the twisting flyers or spool frames alone turn, thus
allowing of a greater speed. The gearing for driving the twisting flyers is placed
at the upper part of the machine, and the laying spindles are driven in a similar
manner to those of the spinning machine before described.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
28th June 1881.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,.
Patent Agent. << IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING, SPINNING, AND ROPE-MAKING
MACHINERY." A communication from abroad by La Société Anonyme des
Corderies Parisiennes, of 31, Rue du 4 Septembre, Paris, France, represented by
Pierre Motiron, Directeur et Administrateur Délégué.
This Invention relates to improvements in machinery for performing the
successive operations required for the preparation and spinning of fibrous materials,
and the manufacture thereof into ropes and cordage.
The series of machines hereinafter described comprise spreading and drawing
machines, spinning machines for spinning the fibres into yarns, machines for
twisting the yarns into strands, and laying machines for laying the strands into
rope.
According to this Invention these four successive operations are all based on the
employment of the cylindro-conical device or apparatus next described. If upon
one or more cylinders of constant diameter yarns of different sizes be wound an
equal number of times it will be found that their lengths are unequal, and directly
proportionate to the size of said yarns, the coarsest being the longest, and the finest
the shortest. In order therefore that the lengths of all the yarns or strands may
be mathematically equal it is necessary that the diameter of the cylinder or
cylinders should diminish gradually and inversely to the increase in the diameter
of the yarns or strands. This is the principle of the improved draught or delivery
device or apparatus shown in Figure 2, which is called hereafter the cylindro-
conical device, and which is employed in all the machines of this Invention.
It consists of a spindle A (to be placed in the twisting flyer hereinafter referred
to) carrying a boss B upon which is fixed a bevel wheel by which both B and A
are driven, the two being connected by a screw or pin. From the face b¹ of disc B
project conical pins C which pass through holes in a movable disc jaw D, pressed at
point a towards B by means of a spring or friction roller, and thereby caused to
incline itself more or less to spindle A. The disc jaw D, as shown in face view
in Figure 1, has as many cylindrical holes as there are conical pins, and a collar on
spindle A maintains disc D at the proper distance from the boss B according to the
size of the yarn, the disc being free to oscillate in every direction. The face b¹ of
boss B is grooved or roughened, as shown in Figure 3, to prevent slip. If now the
spindle be rotated, this draught or delivery apparatus will turn with it, and the
yarn or strand from the bobbin entering between the movable disc jaw D and
the fixed boss B at the open side diametrically opposite the friction roller or spring;
the said yarn or strand is wound upon the cone formed by the pins, and around
the lowest part of the cone at first, but after having made a half revolution the
yarn or strand is nipped by the movable disc pressing against the fixed part B and
forced to rise to the highest part of the cone. The portion of the yarn or strand
wound upon the cone will be of constant length whatever may be the variation in
diameter of the same yarn or strand, the finer portion being wound upon the larger
diameter of the cone, and the coarser portion upon the smaller diameter, or, in other
words, the different diameters of the yarn and the diameters on which they are
wound are inversely proportional.
From the foregoing it will be readily understood that the lengths of the yarns or
strands delivered or unwound in a given number of turns will be mathematically
equal, and that the torsion for each being invariably equal, the tension also will be
mathematically exact, and as the tension of all the yarns or strands is equal, the

page_text: •
strand, cord, or rope produced will possess its full strength and will be perfectly
uniform in make and in appearance. This part of the Invention is the more important
as it applies to all spinning operations, whether for animal or vegetable textiles.
There are three kinds of cylindro-conical apparatus based on the principle above
explained (1) the single arrangement already described; (2) the double
apparatus represented in Figures 4, 5, 6, in which the disc and pins are duplicated,
said apparatus being employed to prevent any slip of the yarns; (3) multiple
apparatus in which a number of single or double apparatus are placed in conjunction,
as will be hereafter explained.
The
Spreaders. It is well known that in the machines ordinarily employed for
spreading coarse fibres, such as hemp, the material is fed onto an endless apron at
the rear by an attendant who supplies it in stricks which have been more or less
hackled. The material as it leaves the apron passes between a pair of rollers and
is drawn through gills and conducted to the spreading and drawing rollers.
latter are made of wood, and are pressed so tightly together that considerable
power is required to bring the material into the form of a sliver and supply it to
the delivery rollers at the front immediately above the sliver cans. It often happens
that owing to overfeeding on the apron the rollers slip without drawing, and it is
necessary to stop the machine to free the material from between the rollers. To
obviate this objection the cylindro-conical device before described is embodied in
an apparatus applied to a spreader, as shown in Figures 7, 8, and 9.
A, B, Figures 7 and 8 are the spreading and drawing rollers, and C, D, the
delivery rollers placed above the can P. g, g, g, are the gill bars. Between the
spreading and delivery rollers is applied the machine embodying the cylindro-
conical apparatus before referred to. This machine is composed of three frames E, F, G,
of which F and G are alike and of the form shown in Figure 8, while the third
frame E is of less width, not having to support the driving shaft H of the machine
From this shaft motion is imparted through gear wheels e, f, to shaft J, which is
supported in bearings in frames F, G, and imparts motion through the gear wheels
g, h, i, to the twister I by which the desired torsion is imparted to the sliver
between the point a where it is nipped by the cylindo-conical device and point b
where it is deliverd from the rollers A, B. The same shaft at the opposite end of
the machine transmits motion by means of gear wheels k, l, m, to a shaft K
supported in bearings on frames E, G. The shaft K in turn imparts motion by
means of gear wheels n, o, p, to a shaft L which traverses the boss M of twister I
and is made hollow for the sliver to pass through to the delivery rollers. Upon
the shaft is keyed a mitre wheel c, which by means of another mitre wheel drives
the cylindro-conical device R. In order to vary the length of the sliver delivered,
the twist remaining the same, or to vary the twist, the length delivered remaining
the same, the two gear wheels k, m, may be changed at will and the wheel / be so
mounted as to gear with wheels k, m, of any diameter. Between the point a
where the sliver quits the device and the point e where the delivery rollers seize it,
it is deprived of the twist which it received between the points a and b, so that on
leaving the delivery rollers the sliver has returned to the condition in which it left
the rollers A, B, except that it possesses almost perfect regularity, and that the
tension of all the fibres is equal, a result which has never hitherto been attained.
The motive power required is considerably reduced, while the production is
increased owing to the greater speed at which the machine may be driven and the
larger quantity of material which may be fed without inconvenience into the
machine. In order to completely equalize the slivers before they pass to the
spinning machine, the same machine is employed, except that the slivers are fed from
cans instead of by hand as before. The slivers are doubled or tripled according to
the numbers and quality of yarn desired.
Spinning In addition to the disadvantages previously pointed out with regard
to the machines for spreading, drawing, and doubling, the following objections apply
to the machinery for spinning :-
The drawing is performed by means of drawing rollers and by means of a drag

page_text: upon the spindles. It will be readily understood that the draft produced by this
drag must necessarily be very irregular, and the tension instead of being constant
is continually varying, so that the attendant is obliged repeatedly to regulate the
drag during the spinning operation. The rollers, it is true, feed the material at a
uniform rate, but as the drag fails to give an equal tension, the twist is imparted at
one moment to parts which are at the proper tension, and at the next to parts
which are not according to the adjustment of the drag, and this can only be regu-
lated by guess work. Hence the yarn is defective and weak in parts. The
gradually increasing diameter of the bobbin also increases the draft.
Figure 10 represents a spindle having the cylindro-conical device of this Invention
applied. From the can P containing the slivers from the spreader the sliver passes
over the guide a through the gills g, g, g, and thence between the two rollers C, c,
which ordinarily serve as delivery rollers, but in this case simply serve for
equalising the thickness of the sliver; from these rollers it passes to the cylindro-
conical device A mounted in the twister B, the yarn being thus twisted between
the two points B, C, whose distance apart is constant. The device delivers
invariably the same length for a greater or less number of turns of twister B, or a
greater or less length for the same number of turns of said twister which receives
motion from gear wheel e. The device is driven by bevel gearing d at the foot of
the spindle. Upon the spindle F is fixed the flyer D, which turns at the same
speed as the device. A. E is a bobbin loose on spindle F and rotated by a disc f
provided with studs, and which receives motion through spur and bevel gearing
from a shaft h extending the whole length of the machine. This shaft rises and
falls with the disc f, whereby the yarn is wound regularly upon the bobbin.
similar arrangement of change gear to that described for the spreader is placed at
the head of the frame so as to permit of varying the rate of delivery of the twist
and of the winding on.
A
It will be readily seen how, by means of this device, the working of the machine
may be regulated, the speed increased, and motive power economised. The work of
the minder is also lessened, and a superior yarn is produced having a uniform degree
of twist throughout.
Twisting or Forming the Yarns into Strands.-This operation is usually per-
formed in large rope manufactories by means of a carriage running on a railway, to
which the proper number of yarns to form a strand are led through a yarn guide or
tube fixed in a post from a bobbin frame behind. In front of the post is what is
termed a register plate, being a perforated plate through which pass the yarns
coming from the bobbin frame. In this operation the several yarns uniting at the
tube without any regular tension, their strength is not combined so as to obtain
the maximum united strength of the whole. Moreover as the twist is imparted
by the carriage to the whole length of the strand, that portion which is nearest to
the carriage is always more highly twisted than that at the other end, as the former
only transmits to the latter the excess of twist which it cannot itself receive.
In the arrangement of machinery shown in Figures 11 to 20 the bobbin
frame B, Figures 11 and 13, is retained, but the tube is replaced by another
similar frame A, Figures 12 and 14, placed opposite to B, containing as
many cylindro-conical devices, like that above described in Figures 1, 2, 3,
as there are bobbins in the bobbin frame. These devices are mounted on
horizontal shafts, and the middle shaft (of which there is necessarily an uneven.
number) receives motion by means of bevel gearing from shaft a of the twisting
or registering machine, Figure 18; it is from this row of devices that are taken
the first four or five yarns which are to be twisted together, and all the devices in
this row are on the same shaft and turn at the same speed, whereby equal lengths
are delivered of each of the said yarns. These combined yarns are enveloped by
others taken either from the next row upon the shaft above or below, or from both,
driven at a faster speed than the middle shaft by means of gearing mounted on
the side of the frame, and which may be changed to suit the speed desired. By
this means the yarns which surround those first united (and of which a greater

page_text: length is required in order that the length may be equal when twisted together)
are all equal; similarly for all the other yarns until the strand is of the desired
size. After leaving the frame A the yarns pass to the register apparatus shown in
Figures 15, 16, 17, which is constructed of two frames b, c, united at bottom by a
flat bar d, and at top by two round tie rods e, e, on which are mounted movably
the conical yarn guides or register plates 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. The first bas as
many holes as there are bobbins in frame B; the second receives the yarns forming
the first layer which unite after passing through this guide. The third guide
receives the yarns forming the second layer, which after passing through the holes
of this guide envelop the first layer, and so on for the others. The first layer
passes through the centre of the third guide, the second combined with the first
passes through the centre of the fourth guide, and so on. It is between this
register apparatus and the twisting or registering machine proper that the strands
are formed.
The twisting or registering machine for forming the yarns into
strands is represented in Figures 19 and 20, and is constructed of four frames A,
B, C, D. Between the frames A, B, is mounted the reel on which the strand is
wound and the revolving frame or flyer F, and between frames B and C is mounted
the revolving frame or twisting flyer G, the driving gear being placed between the
frames C, D. The driving shaft H imparts motion by means of four gear
wheels d, e, f, g, Figure 18, to a countershaft which drives the twisting flyer G
through the gear wheels h, i, j, all four wheels d, e, f, g, being employed when driving
in one direction, and one of the two wheels e, f, being thrown out of gear when
driving in the other direction. The twisting flyer is supported in bearings upon
framing B, C, and has tubular journals, and through the one mounted in frame C
passes the strand, while through the other mounted in frame B passes a hollow
shaft terminating within the flyer in a bevel wheel for operating the two cylindro-
conical devices M, N. The strand, as it arrives at the flyer passes first round the
device M, then around the other N, and afterwards through the hollow shaft.
Thus the yarns composing the strand are twisted between the point where it is
nipped by the device M. and the apparatus shown in Figures 15, 16, and 17. In
this twister two of the single cylindro-conical devices are used in conjunction, so
that should the strand happen to slip in the first one M owing to the great twist
imparted to it, it is prevented from doing so by the second one N, whereby the
delivery of the strand to the reel is rendered constantly uniform. The strand on
leaving the device N passes through hollow shaft I and passes out at point m,
thence it passes over guide rollers on flyer F opposite the divisions of reel E upon
which it is wound. The flyer F is keyed on the end of shaft I, and is supported
at the opposite end in a bearing on frame A, the journal at this end being hollow
to receive a shaft J which drives the reel by means of a friction disc K which only
permits it to be driven at the same rate as the strand is .delivered. The other end
of shaft J is supported in the hollow shaft I and the reel may be removed when
filled and replaced by an empty one by raising a latch n mounted outside the
framing. In front of frame D at the head of the machine is an arrangement of
change gear similar to that employed for the spreader to permit of changing the
speed, 1st, of the flyer, 2nd, of the delivery, and 3rd, of the shaft on which the
reel turns. The operation is performed as for spinning, that is to say, between
the cylindro-conical nipping points, and all the yarns support together the strain
according to their respective strength, hence the maximum united strength is
ensured.
Laying. Various methods of laying the strands into ropes are employed, but
they are all subject to the objection that each separate strand is not twisted in
proportion to its size, and consequently the rope is irregular. It would be too long to
enumerate all the causes which lead to this result, but one may be mentioned
common to all, which is that owing to the strands being wound upon bobbins by a
device which is very irregular in its action they are but imperfectly finished, and
generally necessitate the employment of special apparatus for twisting and winding,
the result being defective and irregular. The principle of the cylindro-conical

page_text: device before described is also applicable to this fourth stage of the operation of
rope making, and by its means all the strands may be stretched and twisted in
proportion to their size, and the rope possesses the full strength of the strands
combined, which all break at once when the strength is exceeded.
For laying large cables a horizontal arrangement of machine is employed, which
is represented in Figures 21 to 28, in which K, L, M, are three rings (shown
separately in Figures 22, 23, and 24), connected together by six tie rods e, e.
Between the two rings L, M, are disposed six spool frames or flyers N, having two
single cylindro-conical devices mounted in them like those of the twisting or
registering machine, except that the strand does not enter through a hollow journal,
but is wound upon a spool b also mounted in the spool frame, and passes thence to
the cylindro-conical devices, and is unwound from the spool as fast as the said
devices deliver it. The three rings K, L, M, and the spool frames together form
what is hereafter termed the cage. The first ring K rests, as shown in Figure 22,
on two rollers g, g, and in front of it is placed a flyer o, which revolves at the
same speed as the cage to which it is attached. This flyer o is fitted on the end of
a hollow spindle, terminating in a cone forming the laying top, at which the
strands proceeding from the spool-frames N are laid into rope. The spool frames N
during their rotation impart the necessary additional twist or forehard to the
strands in the act of laying them into rope by the rotation of the cage. The
gearing at the head of the machine for driving the cage, spool frames, and cylindro-
conical devices is similar to that described for the spreader, spinning machine, and
twisting or registering machine. At the other end of the rope laying machine
there is a frame containing three double cylindro-conical devices, receiving motion
from the shaft driving the cage, which extends the whole length of the machine.
The first of these three apparatus is placed about 3 feet from the laying top, the
second about 3 feet from the first, and the third about 6 feet from the second.
The laying of the rope is effected between the first of these devices and the laying
top. The rope makes half a turn around the side f of the first double device, then
passes round guide roller g', and then returns to and passes once entirely around
the other side h of said device, which turns at the necessary speed for taking up
the rope as fast as it is delivered by the machine. On leaving this first device the
rope passes half round side i of the second, then around guide roller g², and back
entirely around side j of same device. This second device is driven a little faster than
the first one, that is to say, it makes 20 revolutions to 19 of the other, and as they
are of equal diameter the draft of the second is greater than the delivery by the
first, whereby the additional twist is rendered permanent, and the strands are
equally stretched. The third double device round which the rope passes, as in the
two former cases, turns as much faster than the second as the second than the first,
and being placed at about 6 feet from the second one it stretches the rope by
applying a draft which thoroughly tests it. The rope is now finished.
The flyer o above mentioned is employed when shroud laid rope is to be made,
in which case the bobbin mounted in said flyer contains the core or heart.
It has been before mentioned that the above machine is only applicable for
making large and medium ropes, but for small sizes another machine is employed,
in which both the laying and twisting are performed. This machine, which is
represented in Figure 29, is vertical, the twisting being performed at the upper
part by the flyers or spool frames A, and the laying at the lower part by a spindle
and flyer similar to those used in the spinning machine. In this machine the cage
is a fixture, and the twisting flyers or spool frames alone turn, thus allowing of a
greater speed. The gearing for driving the twisting flyers is placed at the upper
part of the machine and the laying spindles are driven in a similar manner to those
of the spinning machine before described.
It will be observed from the preceding description that the characteristic features
of the various machines herein described are,-
1st. The use of the cylindro-conical device herein described for drawing and
delivering equal lengths, as specified.

page_text: 2nd. The spinning, twisting, and laying effected between two points of nip
situated at an invariable distance apart.
3rd. The simultaneous action of the different operations effected by the same
machine.
4th. The means of changing at the driving end of each machine either the rate
of delivery for the same amount of twist, or of changing the amount of twist for
the same rate of delivery, as set forth.
Having described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by the
hereinbefore in part recited Letters Patent is,-
1st. The application and employment in the manner described of the cylindro-
conical device, constructed and operating substantially as herein described and
shown in the Drawings for the purpose specified.
2nd. The respective combinations of mechanism forming the respective machines
for preparing, spinning, and rope making, constructed and operating substantially
as herein described and shown in different views on the annexed Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty eighth day of June, A.D. 1881.
A M CLARK
Gal