Year: 1888

page_text: I, OSCAR SCHIMMEL, of Chemnitz, Kingdom of Saxony, Machine-manufacturer,
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:-
My invention relates to the driving gear of the carriages of self-acting mules
employed in spinning carded yarn, and its object is to provide improved means for
imparting two different speeds to the carriage during its course outward.
In self-acting mules for carded yarn the carriage carrying the spindles is driven
during its run-out with decreasing speed. During the first part of the said run, in
which roving is supplied, the carriage is caused to move as fast as possible in order to
shorten this period, which is unavailing to the spinning-operation proper, whereas
during the second part in which the roving that had been supplied, is drawn out and
twisted, the carriage moves slowly. These different motions are obtained by means of
pulleys (run-out pulleys) such as the one shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the annexed sheet
of drawings and marked by the letter S, the said pulleys having helical grooves, which
serve to receive the rope that moves the carriage and are composed of a thread L of
large diameter operating while the roving is supplied or delivered, a thread V of small
diameter in operation at the period of drawing out and twisting, and a spiral which
connects the said threads together. In order to avoid a breakage of the roving while
being drawn out, this operation must be carried out very gently by causing the
carriage to run very slowly at the time. A considerable difference of diameter of the
pulley-portions L and V is therefore required, which renders it necessary to make the
diameter of the portion L very large and the portion V of such small size that it
is not well possible to pass a shaft of sufficient thickness through the same, the pulleys
being for this reason mounted on the ends of shafts reduced in diameter, as shown by
Fig. 1.
Moreover, it follows from the great difference in the diameters of the pulley-
portions L and V that the connecting spiral, which, in order to avoid shocks, must
not be made too steep, will have a lengtli corresponding to a considerable portion of
the run of the carriage, and this is another source of inconvenience. For the purpose,
namely, of always keeping the roving-threads between the delivering-rollers and the
spindles stretched, the operation of drawing out the said threds should commence,
and consequently the stoppage of the delivering-rollers take place, when the carriage-
rope passes over, at the point a, Fig. 2, from the pulley-portion L to the spiral. But
as, from the great length of the spiral, the speed of the carriage decreases but slowly,
the drawing-out of the threads would in such case ensue too rapidly, so that they

page_text: would break. For this reason the delivering-rollers are not stopped until the carriage-
rope has passed by a certain length on the spiral, say to the point b, the consequence
thereof being, however, that the speed of the carriage meanwhile decreases to less than
the peripherical speed of the rollers and that the threads become slack, wherefrom an
uneven yarn results.
For the purpose of obviating these inconveniences I reduce the difference between
the diameters of the two portions of the rope-pulleys by making the larger portion
smaller and the smaller portion larger than heretofore, while at the same time,
I impart to the pulleys two different speeds, the speed at which they rotate when the
rope runs on the larger pulley-portion being by so much greater than in the present
machines as that the usual high speed of the carriage is maintained at the time roving
is supplied, whereas the speed of the pulleys is comparatively less when the rope runs
on the portion of smaller diameter, i.e. at the time the delivering-rollers are at rest
and the roving is drawn out and twisted. In consequence of the said reduction of the
difference of the diameters of the pulley-portions, the spiral that connects the said
portions together becomes shorter, so that the change from the greater speed of
carriage to the smaller ensues more rapidly, while nevertheless this change takes place
gently enough, as the slope or angular incline of the spiral is not altered.
This mode of driving the pulleys presents the additional advantage that different
proportions of speeds of the carriage may be obtained with the same pulleys by
changing the gear-wheels that produce either of the said speeds.
Fig. 3 of the annexed sheet of drawings shows a pulley-driving mechanism carried
out according to iny invention, the ordinary driving-gear of the pulley being con-
nected to the roving-delivering roller by a differential wheel-work in such manner
that, as soon as the said roller is stopped, the pulley will rotate more slowly.
I
Z and Zare two spur-wheels such as are now in use in selfacting mules and driven
from the main shaft thereof, the wheel Z having fixed to it the change-wheel, which
gears with the wheel R, being the present pulley-driving wheel (see Fig. 1), while
the wheel is connected by the toothed coupling K' with the shaft C₁ of the roving-
delivering roller C. The wheel R, heretofore directly connected to the pulley-shaft W
by the toothed coupling K, as in Fig. 1, is placed loose on the sleeve of the latter,
while the shaft W carries, loosely rotating thereon, the spur wheel R', which gears
with the pinion keyed to the shaft C. The two wheels R and R' are provided with
the respective bevel-wheel-teeth k and k with which gears the bevel-wheel U arranged
to turn freely on a pin fixed radially in the disk T, the said disk being keyed upon the
end of the sleeve g, so that its rotation will be transmitted by means of the coupling K.
to the shaft W and consequently to the rope-pulleys secured to the same.
If the two wheels R and R¹ are driven simultaneously, as is the case when the
roller (rotates, i.e. when roving is delivered, the disk I will rotate with a speed
depending upon the difference of velocity of the wheels R and R', the wheel R¹ being
larger than R and the pinion larger than ». The shait W and the pulley S will con-
sequently assume a certain speed during which the carriage-rope runs on the large
portion of the pulley S. If thereupon the roller C is stopped by disengaging the
coupling K, the wheel R remains at rest, and the disk T together with the shaft W
immediately assume a slower speed. About at the same time the carriage-rope
passes on to the spiral of the pulley S, which is keyed on the shaft W in the
position requisite therefor.
In order to maintain the wheel R' with certainty at rest after the roller Chas been
disengaged from its driving-gear, a brake or other equivalent device may be applied
to either of the said parts. In Figs. 3 and 4 an arrangement is represented in which
a brake-pulley, B, is keyed to the shaft Cof. the roller, the said pulley having a
brake-strap passing around it, which is connected with its respective ends to the fixed
pine and to the upper end of the lever e, pivoted to the said pin, so that when the
lever e is turned in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 4, the brake-strap is drawn
tight and the shaft C¹ held fast. The motion of the lever e is brought about by means
of a wedge u, which is pushed between the lower end of the lever and a fixed abut-
ment. This wedge forms the end of a rod t, movable lengthwise and connected to

page_text: the lower end of the disengaging-lever of the coupling K', the said lever being
operated upon, as in the present machines, by a spring and a rotating tappet E, and
maintained in its position subsequent to the action of the latter by a palli. If, for the
purpose of disconnecting the roller C, the pallis raised by the known means, the
spring pulls the top end of the lever to the left (relatively to the drawing) so that,
at the same time the coupling K is disengaged, the wedge f is moved to the right.
If, at the commencement of a new run-out of the carriage, the coupling K is
reengaged by the tappet E, the wedge is withdrawn and the roller C and wheel R¹
released again.
With the described disposition the change of speed of the carriage-rope pulleys
takes place simultaneously with the stoppage of the roving-delivering rollers. If it
should be desired to bring about the said change at any other time, this may be
attained by connecting the driving-pinion of the wheel R¹ by means of a special
coupling with the main shaft of the mule and separately disengaging the pinion at
the desired moment through the medium of a counter or other suitable device, the
wheel R being at the same time stopped by a brake.
In consequence of the specified arrangement of the run-out pulleys it is possible
to unite them with the counter-pulleys S¹ and to fix them on a shaft W passing in
undiminished thickness through the same, as shown in Fig. 3. This affords another
advantage relatively to the parallel motion of the carriage. In various constructions
of mules the means for producing the said parallel motion consist, instead of the
so-called cross-cords, in a shaft extending along the whole length of the mule below
the roving-delivering gear and driven from the ordinary large run-out pulleys, the said
shaft being provided at different places with cylindrical rope-pulleys having right and
left-hand helical grooves. From these pulleys ropes run to the carriage and are
fastened thereto, so that during the motion of the carriage an equal length of rope is
wound upon and off the pulleys, and the long carriage is conducted without
oscillations.
Now, with the new arrangement the double pulleys S S¹, or united run-out and
counter-pulleys, may be employed instead of the said cylindrical rope-pulleys, the
run-out-shaft W, lying in the head-stock being lengthened so that it reaches to the
ends of the machine and all the pulleys S S being placed thereon. The present
run-out-shaft and the carriage-conducting-shaft are thus united into one, and the
construction is considerably simplified.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:
1. In self-acting mules the combination, with a run-out pulley, of mechanism
whereby, during the outward run of the carriage, the rotative speed of the pulley is
reduced when the delivery of roving is topped, substantially as and for the purpose
specified.
2. In a self-acting mule, the combination, with a run-out pulley and a roving-
delivering roller, of a differential wheel-work that connects the driving-gear of the
pulley with the said roller, and whereby, when the roller is stopped, the pulley is
caused to rotate at a different speed, substantially as herein before described.
3. The combination in a self-acting mule, of a shaft passing through the whole
length of the machine, two or more pulleys composed of two portions of different
diameter and fixed to the said shaft and ropes connecting the carriage to the said
pulleys, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated the Thirty-first day of August 1888.
CARL PIEPER,
Agent for Applicant.