Improvements in or relating to Spinning Mules.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Sept., 1892--Accepted, 26th Nov., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by CHARLES ADELBERT DAM, of No. 44, Fifth
Street, Lowell, in the County of Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States of
America, Spinning Overseer.]
Improvements in or relating to Spinning Mules.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent-
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has reference to spinning mules generally, and particularly to
cotton spinning mules, in which a clutch box is employed in lieu of the commonly-
used "click gear "for setting the winding motion in operation.
It is the object of my improvement to provide means which can be relied upon
with certainty to maintain a stationary position-out of action of the sliding
clutch part during the outward run of the carriage, the process of backing-off, and
the movement of the copping rail, and which, the moment the faller is locked, will
act to force the sliding clutch part into contact with the opposite clutch part, so
that the winding mechanism may be set in motion the instant the faller is locked,
and be kept in operation until winding is effected and the faller is unlocked.
It is also the object of my improvement to provide means for moving the sliding
clutch part circumferentially to such an extent, and holding it in such position with
relation to the fixed part of the clutch, as to allow for "back_lash to a degree
sufficient to prevent the teeth of one part from striking upon those of the other,
and thus avoid injury to, and the battering down of, the teeth.
To these ends my invention consists of the clutch-box comprising the fixed and
the sliding parts, means connecting the fixed part with band cylinder, a bell-crank
lever, one arm of which is engaged with the sliding part to operate the same, the
end of the other arm being provided with a swivel or pivoted latch adapted to be
moved to a limited extent without effecting a movement of said lever, and
connections between the said swivel and faller leg.
The invention also consists in providing a spring, which is constructed and
arranged to engage the sliding clutch part, which has also a limited circumferential
movement on its shaft, so as to hold said part in a certain position with respect to
the fixed part when the parts are separated, so that when they are brought
together or moved into clutch position, the several cooperating parts or features
will meet and operate exactly as desired, and without damage to each other or loss
of motion.
Reference is to be had to the annexed drawing, and to the letters marked
thereon, forming a part of this Specification, the same letters designating the same
parts or features, as the case may be, wherever they occur, of said drawings.
Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improvements, showing also so much of the
cooperating parts of a cotton-spinning mule as it is necessary to illustrate in order
to give a clear understanding of the invention to those skilled in the art.
Figure 2 is an end view of the same.
Figure 3 is a central sectional view of the clutch mechanism.
Figures 4 and 5 are views illustrating different positions of certain of the parts
of the clutch mechanism.
In the drawings a designates the tin cylinder shaft, or shaft for operating the
band cylinder upon which turns loosely the gear b which meshes with and drives
the gear c connected with the winding drum (not shown).

page_text: d designates what I term the "fixed clutch part," since said part is not longi-
tudinally movable on the tin cylinder shaft a, though it turns loosely thereon. This
fixed clutch part may be integrally connected with the gear b.
e designates the movable clutch part, which is adapted to be shifted on the shaft a
into and out of engagement with the clutch part d. The clutch part e is provided
with a grooved collar or hub, which is engaged by a fork or traveller pivoted
upon or otherwise connected with the outer end of the arm g of an angle or bell-
crank lever h fulcrummed at i on the square or other part of the frame j of the
carriage.
k designates a collar or disk which is fixed on the shaft between the two clutch
parts, and is provided in its periphery with notches into which project dogs / which
extend inward from the face of the movable clutch part e. The dogs are narrower
than the notches in the periphery of the collar k so as to allow the said movable
clutch part to turn on the shaft to a limited extent, by the play of the dogs in the
notches. The dogs are also of a length sufficient to allow the clutch part e to be
moved longitudinally on the shaft to a degree sufficient to disengage the said clutch
part from the fixed clutch part without disengaging its dogs from the collar or
disk k.
m designates a spring, one end of which is connected with the collar, and the
other with one of the dogs; the said spring being constructed and arranged to
operate with a tendency to move the clutch part circumferentially upon the shaft
and hold it in position when the clutch parts are separated, so that when they are
moved, if the teeth of one part should strike upon those of the other, there may be
sufficient back lash, or circumferential movement, in a direction contrary to that
exerted by the stress of the spring, to permit the teeth of one part to move into the
space between the teeth of the other part without damage to the teeth.
It is to be noted that the ends of the spring m are bent at right angles to the
main or body portion, so as that the angular portions of the spring may be inserted
in holes formed respectively in the collar or disk and dog of the sliding clutch
part; this construction being for the purpose of providing means whereby the
clutch parts can be separated to the desired extent without disengaging the sliding
part from the collar or disk.
h is an arm or bell-crank lever pivoted upon the square, and having the end of
one arm provided with a pivoted fork or traveller g arranged to move in a groove
in the hub of the sliding clutch part of the clutch box.
The end of the other arm of the lever is provided with a swivel or pivoted
latch q so constructed and arranged as to have a limited movement upon its pivot
independent of the arm with which it is connected.
r is a rod provided at each end with an eye, one end being connected to the
swivel or latch g, and the other end to a pin s, connected through intermediate
means with the faller leg (not shown).
With this construction and arrangement of parts, during the spinning of a stretch
of yarn, and with the faller leg "unlocked," the clutch mechanism and its connected
parts will be in the position in which they are represented in Figure 1.
During the backing-off and the movement of the copping-rail the swivel or
latch q will be moved as far back as it will go without moving the lever h until the
backing-off is effected and the faller is locked. The instant the latter occurs,
however, the lever h will be moved backward and the clutch will be thrown into
engagement, and the winding motion set in operation.
By this feature of my invention I enable the mule to wind closer to the beam
during the inward run of the carriage, the latch of swivel having to move quite a
distance before the lever h can be moved to throw the sliding clutch part out, thus
preventing snarls or kinks in the yarn at the beam while the carriage runs in at
slow speed.
It is to be noted that any arrangement of the swivel or latch 9 on the lever
whereby the said swivel may move to a limited extent without moving the lever
would fall within the scope of my invention. And, moreover, any construction and

page_text: arrangement of spring to maintain a proper relationship of the two clutch parts is
contemplated by my improvements and would not constitute a departure from the
nature or spirit of this invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is :
1. The combination with the fixed clutch part of the sliding clutch part, means
to move it, the collar or disk intermediate of the two clutch parts, dogs on the
sliding clutch part engaged by the collar to cause it to rotate therewith and yet
have a limited circumferential motion upon the shaft independent of the collar, and
a spring engaged with the sliding clutch part and collar, and operating to hold the
former in a given position with respect to the latter, as set forth.
2. The shaft and the clutch box thereon, comprising the fixed and sliding clutch
parts, in combination with the lever g, one arm of which is engaged with the sliding
clutch part, the end of the other arm being provided with a swivel or latch adapted
to have a limited movement independent of the lever, and means connecting the
faller leg with the swivel or latch, as set forth.
3. The lever g having the end of one arm provided with a fork or traveller, and
the end of the opposite arm provided with a swivel or pivoted latch adapted to have
a limited movement independent of the arm, as set forth.
Dated this 14th day of September 1892.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.