IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WINDING COTTON, SILK, WOOL, OR OTHER THREADS ON SPOOLS OR REELS
Year: 1873

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PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Thomas Wibberley at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th March 1873.
I, JOHN THOMAS WIBBERLEY, of Blackburn, in the County of Lan-
caster, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WINDING COTTON, SILK,
WOOL, OR OTHER THREADS ON SPOOLS OR REELS," to be as follows:-
I employ right and left-handed screws for traversing the thread from
end to end of the spool or reel by means of improved self-acting move-
ments.
On the sliding shaft I place a tube working loose and carrying at each
end right and left-handed nuts, and about the centre a fixed arm
extending to the top of the machine. I also employ two stays fixed to
the sliding shaft, and extending through a fixed plate on the top of the
machine frame, and connected to a slide which carries another moveable
plate working in guides or recesses, and supporting at each side a slide
catch and spring.

page_text: On the fixed plate I place two cams which are alternately pressed out-
ward by projecting pins fixed to the arm as it traverses to and fro with
the sliding shaft, and moved inwards by springs.
At the sides of the moveable plate there are slides carrying catches as
aforesaid, and to each slide is fixed a pin which passes through a slot in
the moveable plate, and is connected to one end of a spring; the other
end is attached to a pin fixed to the moveable plate, so that when the
slides and catches are moved in one direction, the springs shall give them
the return movement.
The catches are employed for receiving and holding the upper part of
the arm, first at one side and then at the other, and thereby maintaining
the proper nut upon its screw, and as soon as the arm is released from
one catch it is moved by the cam and spring to the other side, and is
received and held by the other catch.
The two slides on the moveable plate are connected to one end of the 1
guide stock, and the stock itself is fitted in a cone fixed on the sliding
shaft, so that a revolving motion may be given to the guide stock
alternately in different directions each time the guide comes in contact
with the inner ends of the spool or reel.
The guide holder slides in the guide stock, having rack teeth in it at a
the under side, and a wheel is fitted on a stud in the guide stock, so that
the teeth of the wheel fits in the teeth of the rack, there being a pulley
fixed on the stud to which is attached a weight or an equivalent and foot
treadle, so that when the foot presses down the treadle the pulley and
wheel is turned round, and thereby raises the weight and brings the
guide holder back, and when the foot is removed from the treadle the
weight falls and so reverses the motion of the pulley and wheel, and thus
the guide holder is brought forward; this revolving motion of the stock
places the guide in an angular position adapted to right and left
traversing of the thread, and also gives movement to the moveable ;
plate, and thereby releases the catches alternately from the top of the
arm in order to allow one or other of the nuts to be in action. On
the spindle carrying the reel there are two circular plates jointed
together, and having their inner faces slightly taper, so that the thread
when pressed in the groove shall become wedged between the two plates,
and when the machine is put in motion for winding, the thread is
carried round by the revolving plates, and is instantly conducted by the

page_text: guide on to the reel. In order to get this end of the thread from
between the plates and put it on the reel as soon as the reel shall have
secured the thread, I place on the machine frame a stud carrying one
end of an arm, the other end of which is in the form of a hook extending
between the plates and the reel, and while the machine is stopped the
hook is out of the reach of the thread, but when the machine is set on
the stop rod arm raises the arm and the thread is caught in the hook,
and the end of the thread is drawn from between the plates, and this
being free is wafted on the reel.
In order to put any number of rows of threads upon a reel that may
be required, and stop the machine, I employ a lever suspended from the
top of the guide stock, and having a regulating screw in it, so that the
guide holder shall come in contact with the end of the screw as it slides
back during the winding on of the thread, and thus the bottom of the
lever shall come in contact with the stop rod arm at any point at which
the regulating screw may be set, and raises it out of its detent, and the
strap fork is shifted from the fast to the loose pulley by a weight at the
back of the machine.
For putting on and taking off the reels I employ a rod having fixed
brackets attached and working by a lever. In putting a reel on it is
placed between the brackets, and is forced on the spindle by the lever, and
a spring connected to the machine frame coming in contact with the
inner bracket when the bobbin is put on causes it to rebound a little
when the pressure of the lever is removed, thus preventing any friction
of the bracket against the reel while the thread is being wound.
In order to stop the machine when a thread breaks I employ a double
lever jointed to the guide stock, the thread when entire supports one arm
of the lever, but when the thread breaks this arm falls and the other arm
rises and turns the stop rod out of its detent, and causes the stoppage of
the machine.
In order to prevent any liability of the catches releasing the arm in
the middle of the traverse in consequence of the arm coming in contact
with the incline of the cam and pressing it out, I connect two weighted
levers about the middle of one side of the slide, and on the fixed plate I
place two inclined brackets, so that the levers shall be alternately raised
by the brackets above the moveable plate in the middle of the traverse,
so that one lever shall be raised when the traverse is right hand, and the

page_text: other when the traverse is left hand; consequently when the moveable
plate is moved in one direction, the lever resting on it shall fall over the
side, and thus lock the slide and moveable plate together until this lever
meets the bracket when it is raised up again, and the other lever is then
ready to fall on the other side in like manner as soon as the return i
movement is made.
Likewise in order to prevent the reels from being pushed off the
spindle during the winding in consequence of variations in the size of
the holes in the reels, I place a reel like those being wound on a stud
fixed to the frame of the machine, so that the guide holder shall come in ]
'contact with it when necessary, and thus prevent any possibility of the
reels shifting on the spindle as they are being wound.