A CERTAIN IMPROVEMENT OR CERTAIN IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MECHANISM EMPLOYED TO RENDER SELF-ACTING THE MACHINES KNOWN BY THE NAME OF MULE, BILLY, JENNY, JACK FRAME, OR STRETCHING FRAME, AND ALL OTHER MACHINES OF THAT CLASS, WHETHER THE SAID MACHINES BE USED TO ROVE, SLUB, OR SPIN COTTON OR OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1830

page_text: TO ALL PERSONS TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,-
RICHARD ROBERTS, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Civil Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth, did by
His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the First day of July, in the first year of His reign, give and.
grant unto me, the said Richard Roberts, my exors, adññors, and assigns, His
especial licence that I, the said Richard Roberts, my exors, adiñors, and
assigns, during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "A CERTAIN IMPROVEMENT OR CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MECHANISM EMPLOYED TO RENDER SELF-ACTING THE MACHINES KNOWN
BY THE NAME OF MULE, BILLY, JENNY, JACK FRAME, OR STRETCHING FRAME, AND
ALL OTHER MACHINES OF THAT CLASS, WHETHER THE SAID MACHINES BE USED TO
ROVE, SLUB, OR SPIN COTTON OR OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES;" in which said
Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, that if I, the said Richard Roberts,
should not particularly describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, and cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months then next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent, then the said Letters Patent, and all
liberties and advantages whatsoever thereby granted, should utterly cease,
determine, and become void, as in and by the same, reference being there-
unto had, may more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Richard Roberts, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention con-
sists of an Improvement or Improvements in the Mechanism employed to render
Self-acting the Machines commonly known by the Names of Mule, Billy, Jenny,
Jack Frame, Stretching Frames, and all other Machines of that Class, whether
used to Royo, Slub, or Spin Cotton or other Fibrous Substances, the particular
object of which improvement or improvements is to effect, in a more complete
manner than has hitherto been done by self-acting machines of the kinds above
mentioned, the regular winding on of the yarn or roving upon the spindles, in
adaptation to the gradually varying form and increasing diameter of the cop.
And, in further compliance with the said proviso, I; the said Richard Roberts,
do hereby declare that the manner in which my said Invention is to be per-
formed and carried into effect is set forth and ascertained by the Drawings
hereto annexed, and the description thereof herein-after contained. In the
annexed Drawings, the same letters and figures in the different sections and
views represent. the same parts.throughout,. and the scale to which the several
sections and views are drawn is inarked on the Sheet.. In the annexed Drawings.
several parts of a mule are represented which I have not described, such as the.
carriage wheels, the carriage rail, the going-in-scroll. and cord, the-fallers, and
part of the framing. These parts, as well as some of those which I have.
described, are well known to persons conversant with mules and other machines
of the same class, and I have merely introduced them in order better to explain
the nature of my said improvement or improvements. A, A, a mule carriage
in two halves, one on each side of the headstock, the two parts being firmly.
united by B,. B, a connecting bar of iron, and C, C, an iron frame, to which is
bolted in front D, a frame of iron, which at its upper part is supported by E,
á spur piece, bolted to the bar B and to the frame D.; on studs in the spur
piece are F, F, two ratchet tension barrels, to one of which is fastened G, a
cord, which, after passing over a notch in the spur piece E, is wound
round and fasteried to H, a drum or barrel, which has also attached to and
coiled round it J, another cord, which, after passing over J; a guide pulley, and
a notch in the spur piece, is attached to the other ratchet barrel-K,, a shaft, on
which is keyed the drum H, and L, a pinion, working into M, a toothed
quadrant, which receives an alternating motion on its centre through an arc of
about 90°, whilst the carriage runs out and in (that is to say) at every-stretch.
In a tee-groove in the inner arm of the quadrant is N, a sliding nut, moved by
O, a double-threaded leading screw, on the lower end of, which is keyed P, a
mitre wheel, gearing with Q, another mitre wheel, the central stud of which is
opposite to the centre of the quadrant; attached to the back of mitre wheel Q

page_text: is R, a pulley, which is turned at intervals by S, an endless strap, passing round
it and T, a sliding pulley; U, a weighted lever, called the governor lever, move-
able on a stud in the back part of the carriage frame, and forming, the upper. jaw
of a pair of pincers; the lower jaw-being V, a stud in 'the carriage end. The
lever U, when not intended to press' upon the stud V, is carried by an adjustable
nut on the lower end of W, a rod connected with an arm of the counter faller, and
having free play through a hole in a side projection from the arm of the lever.
When in winding on, the tension of the yarn brings the faller wires 'to nearly
the same level, the dropping of the arm of the counter faller allows the
lever U to descend till it pinches the endless strap. S. against the 'stud, and
drags it along as the carriage runs in until the rise of the counter faller arm
again raises the. lever and liberates the strap. The spindles are banded in
the ordinary way, and the drums are driven by a band, which, after taking
both the grooves 'in.X, the driving 'pulley, 'is spliced, instead of passing from
the carriage to the twist pulley as in common mules. The pulley X is keyed
on Y, an inclined. shaft, the upper end of which turns in a swivel collar, and the
lower end or foot in an arm of 'Z, a bell crank. During the processes of twisting
and backing-off, the shaft Y receives motion through 1, a mitre wheel,. which is
keyed near its lower extremity, and is driven by 2, another mitre wheel, fixed on
3, a shaft, on which is also 'keyed 4, a double grooved driving pulley, "receiving
motion by an endless band from -5, the twist pulley. The twist pulley band
passes ünder 6, a carrier pulley, over 7, a double-grooved carrier pulley, 'under
the driving pulley 4, again over pulley 7 and under pulley 4, 'round 8, a sliding
carrier pully, under 9, a carrier pulley, and thence.to. the twist pulley. The
mitre wheel 1 comes occasionally into gear with 10, another mitre wheel keyed on
11, a shaft, upon which is also keyed 12, a spur wheel, which gears into 13,
another spur wheel, 'firmly connected with 14, a drum or barrel, which I call
the winding-on barrel. The diameters of wheels 12 and 13 should be made to
give as nearly as possible the proper amount of rotation to the spindles, accord-
ing to their diameters and those of the warves, the final adjustment being
made in the diameter of the barrel 14, the whole being adapted to give so
much motion to the spindles as will cause them to wind on the whole stretch
at the first run in. 15, a cord, one end of which is tied to the sliding nut N in the
arm of the quadrant M and the other to the barrel '14, after it has made
several coils round-it, 16.; an opposing cord, also coiled round and fastened to
barrel 14, and after passing under 17, a carrier pulley, and over 18, another
carrier pulley, it sustains 19, a counterpoise, which causes the barrel 14 to
take up the cord :15 as the carriage recedes from the rollers.; 20, a lever,
inclined downwards at both ends, and fixcil at its middle upon 21, a tumbler

page_text: shaft, carrying 22, a fixed vertical arm, which is connected by 23, a link, with the
side arm of the bell crank Z; 24, a stopping bar, moveable on a stud in the
vertical arm of the tumbler shaft, its lower end passing through and abutting
by a shoulder against the upper side of a mortice hold in 25, a stopping piece,
which is bolted to the frame C. The stopping bar is held against the upper side
of the slot by 26, a spiral spring. 27, a latch on a stud in a projection from
the frame C, which is pressed by 28, a spring, in the direction of a catch on one
side of the lever 20; 29 a radial weight, moveable on a stud in the framing,
and carrying on a stud near its centre 30, a friction roller, under which the
inner inclined arm of the lever 20 passes, and raises the weight a little, just
.before the carriage completes its run inwards; 31 a stud in the framing, which
.by stopping the latch 27 in its motion inwards disengages the lever 20 at the
instant the carriage has completed its run, which allows the weight 29 to
depress the inner arm, and so to throw into gear the mitre wheels 1 and 2 pre-
paratory to the recommencement of twisting; 32, another radial weight, similar
to the weight 29, having a friction roller, under which the outer arm of lever
20 comes to raise it as the carriage reaches its outward limit. When the
process of backing-off is completed, the mechanism for putting up or running
the carriage in is put into gear, and simultaneously with it, and by the same or
any other convenient means, the stopping bar 24 is depressed, and the weight 32
depressing the lever 20, shifts the mitre wheel 1 from the wheel 2 into gear
with the wheel 10. The uncoloured outline Diagram is intended to shew the
arrangement of the connecting wheels, the winding-on barrel, and the crooked
lever when the spindles are driven by bands from a roller instead of drums,
which, as far as my present improvement or improvements in the mule, billy,
jenny, jack frame, or stretching frame are concerned, is almost the only
difference in the several machines enumerated, they all being machines of the
same class, that is, in which is performed at intervals the winding on of the
stretches of yarn or rovings, though used for different purposes and distin-
guished by different names. a, a spur wheel keyed on the coupling shaft,
which connects the spindle band rollers on each side of the headstock; b, a
radial arm, centred on the same coupling shaft, and connected by c, a link,
with d, the crooked lever, which is acted upon by the radial weights and
catches, as described before; e, a double grooved pulley, keyed on the same
shaft with f, a spur wheel; g, a double grooved carrier pulley, round which
and the pulley e the twist pulley band is passed twice, as before explained;
h, the winding-on drum, keyed on the same shaft as i, a spur wheel; j, a spur
wheel, carried by the radial arm b, and gearing into wheel f whilst the twist
is being given, and into wheel i during the winding on.

page_text: In the adaptation of my present improvements to the mule, billy, jenny, jack
frame, or stretching frame, according to the diameter of the cop to be formed, or
the length of stretch made in the several machines, it may be requisite to vary the
length of the grooved arm of the quadrant. Whilst the carriage is running in it
turns by the band G the drum H, its shaft K, and the pinion L, which works
into the quadrant M. When the quadrant begins to move, its grooved arm stands
about 12° beyond the vertical position from the rollers, and during its action
it turns on its centre inwards through an arc of about 90°. At the commence-
ment of a set of cops, the stud in the nut N, to which the cord 15 is attached,
is set opposite, or nearly so, to the centre of the quadrant, in which position it
suffers no change of place by the motion of the quadrant. As the carriage
recedes from the point of attachment of cord 15, it causes the rotation of the
winding-on drum 14, round which the cord is coiled, and the drum, through
the train of wheels 13, 12, 10, and 1, that of the pulley X, which by the
spindle drums gives motion to the spindles; the rotation of the spindles
during the first run in of the carriage just suffices to wind on the stretch of
yarn upon the bare spindles. As the diameter of the cop increases by each
'succeeding layer, lower revolutions will be requisite to effect the winding on
of the constant length, and, therefore the whole quantity of motion imparted
to the spindles during a run in must undergo progressive diminution so long
as the diameter of the cop is increasing, which goes on until the bottom is
formed. This decrease of motion in the spindles is obtained by lessening the
quantity of cord to be uncoiled from the winding-on barrel, an effect whichi
results from the advance of the nut N along the arm of the quadrant, the
amount of the effect being exactly commensurate with this advance, as is
apparent when the grooved arm of the quadrant at the end of the run in
nearly coincides with the line of traction of the cord 15. The motion
which slides the nut along the quadrant arm is produced in this way:.during
the process of backing off, the spiral coils of yarn are unwound from the
spindles and the faller is depressed, when the counter faller by its weight rises
and takes up the uncoiled or slack. yarn, and thus the faller wires keep up
the tension as the yarn is uncoiled. Whilst the carriage is running up, the
spindles in winding on the stretch of yarn take up by degrees the coil-yarn
also, and as this is effected the faller wires are brought to nearly the same
level at the first run in; this approach of the faller wires takes place only
as the carriage comes up to the rollers. The power of winding on increasing
as the diameter of the cop enlarges, in the subsequent stretches the coil-yarn
gets taken up before the carriage has run home; and when this occurs the
descent of the counter faller allows the governor lever U to fall, and to pinch

page_text: the endless strap S. against the stud V. With the motion of the carriage the
strap is dragged-along, and turns the leading screw O, which slides the nut N
towards the circumference of the quadrant; the strap 'continues to be dragged,
until the retardation of the taking up, from the diminished velocity of the
spindles thus produced, permits the counter faller again to rise and 'relievo the
strap from the pinch of the lever. In this way the nut N is made to advance
upon the quadrant.arm in-proportion as the expanding diameter of the cop
accelerates the action of winding on, and correspondent abatement in the
whole number of revolutions of the spindles is the result. As soon as the cop
has obtained its full diameter, that is, when the bottom is formed, the winding-
on power.then remaining uniform, the governor lever is no longer made to act
upon the strap, and consequently the 'nut N travels no farther from the centre
of the quadrant-during the completion of the cop. Besides the adjustment of
the whole amount of winding-on motion; each stretch to the-growing-diameter
of the cop, which is effected by causing the point of attachment of the drag
cord 15 to advance progressively upon the run of the barrel 14, the grooved
arm of the quadrant, by carrying the point of attachment of the cord 15 after the
first stretch through an arc of about 90° at each run.in, causes-the-cord-to-be
uncoiled from the barrel 14, by a ratio increasing as the carriage-recedes-from
the quadrant; and this variable rotation of the barrel is increased by the
successsive-shifts of the nut N from the centre of the quadrant, thus adapting
the rotation of the spindles to the winding-on powers of the cop through its
various diameters from the base to the summit of the cone.
Having now-described my improved mechanism for adapting the rotation of
the spindles to the regular taking up of the yarn or roving as the form and
diameter of the cop change throughout the operation of winding on, I do
hereby declare that my Invention consists in the method or means to be employed
for that purpose, herein-before described. The mechanism thus employed
by me affects the rotation of the spindles in two ways; first, rotatory motion
is given to a drum or barrel which turns the spindles whilst the carriage is
running in, by uncoiling from it a portion of a cord, strap, or chain attached
to the drum, and having its other extremity fastened at some point in a
radial arm which describes an arc, whilst the winding-on drum is receding
from the point of attachment of the cord in a right line; this compound
motion adjusts the rotation of the spindles to the varying power of taking up
by the conical cop as the yarn or roving is being coiled on its different
diameters during the winding on of each stretch; secondly, during the
progress of the formation of a cop, the situation of the point of attachment [of
the uncoiled end of the cord, strap, or chain on the radial arm is changed

page_text: progressively, as the increasing bulk of the cop demands fewer revolutions of
the spindles to take up the stretch, and consequently there is a shorter length
of the cord to be uncoiled from the barrel. And I declare that I claim as my
Invention the mechanism or combination of mechanical movements requisite
for producing the above-stated effects which I have herein fully set forth,
however the arrangement may vary from that now described. And I further
declare, that I do not claim as of my Invention such parts of the mule and
other machines of that class herein described as acting in aid of or in concert
with my present improvements, which have heretofore been in common use in
similar machines; nor do I include in my present claim for Invention the
action of the fallers, which has been described and claimed by me in a Specifica-
tion of a former Patent, granted me by His late Majesty King George the
Fourth.