IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR TWISTING AND DOUBLING YARNS AND THREAD
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Mackenzie, of Paisley, in the County of
Renfrew, North Britain, Thread Manufacturer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR TWISTING AND DOUBLING
YARNS AND THREAD."
Sealed the 4th December 1860, and dated the 8th June 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Mackenzie at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th June 1860.
I, GEORGE MACKENZIE, of Paisley, in the County of Renfrew, North
Britain, Thread Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR TWISTING AND
DOUBLING YARNS AND THREAD," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to an improved system of driving the spindles and
other appurtenances of twisting and doubling machinery, especially such
machinery as is used in the manufacture of sewing thread.
In carrying out the Invention in actual practice all gearing and driving
bands between the main horizontal driving shaft and the spindles are done
away with, the actuation of the spindles being effected entirely by frictional
contact. The main horizontal driving shaft has fixed upon it, at proper in-
tervals to suit the positions of the spindles, a series of frictional driving discs

page_text: rotating in a vertical plane. These discs or wheels may be made of various
materials, such as wood or metal, and covered, or not, upon their driving
surfaces with leather or other powerfully frictional substance. Each spindle
carries a plain frictional warve or pulley, against which the face of each driving
disc is made to bear, so that on the revolution of the main horizontal driving
shaft each disc drives a separate spindle. The warves or pulleys may be made
of various materials, and covered, or not, with leather or other frictional
substance; spindles can be driven at a very high speed in this way with
great steadiness, whilst the gearing is very simple, effective, and cheap.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Mackenzie in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
8th December 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
MACKENZIE, of Paisley, in the County of Renfrew, North Britain, Thread
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
George Mackenzie, Her special license that I, the said George Mackenzie, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Mackenzie, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time, and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS FOR TWISTING AND DOUBLING YARNS AND THREAD," проп the
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Mackenzie, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same was to be performed, and cause the saine to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Mackenzie, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following

page_text: statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to an improved system of driving the spindlesand
other appurtenances of twisting and doubling machinery, especially such
machinery as is used in the manufacture of sewing thread.
In carrying out the Invention in actual practice all gearing and driving
bands between the main horizontal driving shaft and the spindles are done
away with, the actuationof the spindles being effected entirely by frictional con
tact. The main horizontal driving shaft has fixed upon it, at proper intervals
to suit the positions of the spindles, a series of frictional driving discs rotating
in a vertical plane. These discs or wheels may be made of various materials,
such as wood or metal, and covered, or not, upon their driving surfaces with
leather or other powerfully frictional substance. Each spindle carries a plain
frictional warve or pulley, against which the face of each driving disc is made
to bear, so that on the revolution of the main horizontal driving shaft each
disc drives a separate spindle. The warves or pulleys may be made of various
materials, and covered, or not, with leather or other frictional substance;
spindles can be driven at a very high speed in this way with great steadiness,
whilst the gearing is very simple, effective, and cheap.
And in order that my said Invention of improvements in machinery or
apparatus for twisting and doubling yarns and threads may be properlyunder_
stood, I shall now proceed to describe the several Figures on the explanatory
Sheet of Drawings which I have hereunto appended for the purpose of showing
certain modifications underwhich myimprovements may be judiciouslycarried
out in practice, that is to say:-
Figure 1 on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings is a transverse vertical
sectional elevation of an ordinary doubling frame having one modification of
my improvements applied thereto; Figure 2 is a front elevation of a portion
of the machine corresponding to Figure 1; Figure 3 is a transverse sectional
elevation of a portion of a doubling machine which is specially arranged and
constructed to suit my improvements; Figure 4 is a front elevation of a
portion of the machine corresponding to Figure 3; Figures 5 to 10 are enlarged
sectional views illustrative of different modes of imparting motion to the
spindles and flyers.
In Figures and 2 the ordinary doubling frame is shown with my improved
arrangement for driving the spindles; the framing A is of the ordinary kind,
aud consists of open end standards connected by means of horizontal longitu-
dinal rails. The bobbins B are arranged in triple tiers, the threads C from
which are carried downwards round the damping roller D, passing twice

page_text: round it, and thence over the small guide roller E. From these serrated
rollers the threads pass down through the porcelain eyes in the laterally
projecting ledge or rail of the trough F to the flyers G, which are carried on
the spindles H in the usual way. Extending longitudinally on each side of
the frame is a rail I, which is supported by brackets bolted to the end
standards of the framing A. On the rail I are arranged, at equal and
suitable distances apart, a series of vertical studs J, which form the footsteps
for the spindles H, which pass up through the bushes in the rail K. The
thread C, which passes from the eye of the flyer G, is wound on to the
bobbin L, the series of which is arranged on the vertically traversing rail M,
which receives its motion from a heart wheel fitted at the end of the framing
in the ordinary way.
The recessary drag or tension on the bobbins L is
obtained by the pressure of the weighted cord N on the lower rims of the
bobbins. The two rows of spindles are driven by means of two horizontal
shafts O, which are arranged one on each side of the machine beneath the
spindles, and pass along in the curved recess which is formed in each of the
vertical supporting studs J. Each of the shafts O has at one extremity a
pulley, round which is passed the endless crossed belt P, by means of which
the motion of one shaft is communicated to the opposite one. One of the
shafts O has at its extremity opposite the belt P a fast and loose pulley, which
receives its motion from the engine or other prime mover, and which con-
Bequently gives motion to the whole of the spindles in the frame. Each of the
shafts O has fixed to it, by means of pinching screws, a series of friction
discs Q, which gives motion to the pulley or wharve R on the contiguous
spindle H; an enlarged view of this portion of the mechanical details is shown
in Figure 7 on the accompanying Drawings.
The frictional driving discs Q, may be formed of metal, wood, or other
suitable material, and if found necessary, may be covered with leather or
other material suitable for producing a powerful frictional contact with the
wharves K. These also may be formed of metal, wood, or other slightly
yielding substance, such as gutta percha, or vulcanite, the peripheries of the
wharves being covered with leather or other equivalent material if necessary.
In this way the longitudinal central drum with its multiplicity of banding
for driving the several spindles is done away with, the frictional mode of
driving ensuring greater steadiness as well as considerably economisingpower
In Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, are delineated several modifications of the mode
of driving the spindles by frictional contact. In Figure 5 the shaft O has
fitted to it the friction disc Q, the face of which presses against the periphery
of the wharve R, and gives motion thereto. In Figure 6 the edge of the

page_text: disc Q is bevelled in a downward direction similar to an ordinary pair of
bevel wheels without teeth. The edge of the wharve or pulley R, on the
spindle K, is bevelled in a downward direction to correspond to the disc
Q; this arrangement forms an effective mode of driving the spindles of doubling
machines. In most cases however I prefer the modification shown in Figure
7, which is arranged to take advantage of the upward tendency and pressure
of the spindle and wharve upon the bevel contact surface of the disc and to
ensure continuous contact with the disc. In Figure 7, the face of the disc Q
is bevelled in an upward direction, and the periphery of the wharve is bevelled
in a corresponding manner, so that it rotates in the bevelled channel formed
in the disc. In this manner the contact of the surfaces is effectively main-
tained by the pressure of the bevelled surface of the disc on the periphery
of the wharve. In Figure S the face of the driving disc Q has formed in it
an annular V-shaped channel, and the periphery of the wharve R is formed
to correspond to this channel. This arrangement is modified in Figure 9,
by forming the periphery of the wharve R of a rounded or elliptical Figure,
which part traverses in a V-shaped or eliptical annular channel formed in the
disc Q. Both of the foregoing arrangements afford steady and powerful
means of driving the spiudles at a high velocity and with a comparatively
small expenditure of power. The modification delineated in Figures 3, 4,
and 10, on the accompanying Drawings represent portions of a doubling
frame constructed according to my improvements and occupying much less
space than the ordinary frame as well as being attended with other advantages.
The framing A consists of open end standards which are made narrower
than those of the ordinary kind, and are connected by the usual longitudinal
rails. The bobbins B are arranged in tiers on an A-shaped frame, and
the width of the machine may be still more contracted by making this bobbin
frame at a more acute angle than is shown in Figure 3. The threads or
yarns to be doubled or twisted are carried through the contiguous guide
eye round the roller D, and down through the eye in the ledge of the trough
E. From this part the thread or yarn passes down through the hollow spindle
of the wharve F, which part of the machine is arranged so as to dispense
with the ordinary spindles H, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The wharve F
is fitted on the upper end of a tubular spindle, which is shown drawn to an
enlarged scale in Figure 10; this spindle rotates in a deep tubular bush fitted
in the stationary rail K, extending between the end standards of the machine.
The lower end of the wharve spindle is screwed to admit of the attachment
of the flyer G thereto, which consequently rotates with the wharve. Parallel
with the rail K, and arranged a short distance above it, is a shaft I, which

page_text: is driven from the engine, and drives, by means of the pulley J and a crossed
belt the shaft on the opposite side of the machine, or vice versa, as described in
reference to Figure 1 and 2. On this shaft are fitted the bevelled friction
discs Q, which gives motion to the wharves F; these discs are arranged on
the shaft I in manner similar to the modifications herein-before described.
As delineated in Figures 3, 4, and 10, the discs are formed with on obtuse-
angled bevel, so that the upward tendency which the flyer and wharve has
in rotating, serves to increase the frictional hold of the wharveagainst the disc.
And this may be further provided for by arranging a spring on the bush or rail
below the wharve to press it upwardly as well as laterally against the disc. This
arrangement of a spring acting on thewharve mayalsobe advantageouslyapplied
to the modification shown and described in reference to Figures 1 and 2 so as
to keep the wharves uniformly in contact with their driving discs. At each end
of the machine is arranged a vertical rod L, to which the copping rail M is
attached; the rods L pass through the rails N, by which they are held in the
vertical position. The lower end of each rod is attached to levers which are
actuated by means of a heart wheel to give the required rise and fall to the
copping rail. The bobbins O are arranged on pins projecting up from the rail
-M; these pins are placed equidistantly apart so that the bobbin stands fairly
and evenly between the fork of the flyer, and the necessary drag or tension
is exerted on the bobbin by the cord and counterweight P. In this way the
winding of the thread or yarn on to the bobbin is effected without the use
of the ordinary spindles, by which there is a saving in the first cost of the
machine. Machines arranged and constructed on this principle require less
power to drive, occupy considerably less space, and from the uniform certainty
of their action an attendant is enabled to attend to a greater number of sides
than in the ordinary kind of machine.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that what I consider novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, the general arrangement and construction of machinery or apparatus
for doubling, twisting, and winding thread or yarn in the throstle or spinning
frame, as herein-before described and shown in the accompanying Drawings.
Second, the system or mode of imparting motion to or driving the spin-
dles of throstle or spinning frames for twisting and doubling yarns or thread
by means of friction discs and wharves or pulleys corresponding thereto, as
delineated in Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying Drawings.

page_text: Third, the several modes of arranging and constructing the friction discs
and wharves or pulleys for giving motion to the spindles or flyers of throstle
or spinning frames, as shown in Figures 5 to 9 on the accompanying Drawings,
or any mere modification of the said arrangements.
Fourth, the system or mode of arranging and constructing throstle or spin-
ning frames in which the frictional driving gear is arranged above the flyers,
and the use of the ordinary spindles is dispensed with, by attaching the flyers
to the spindles of the wharves or pulleys, as herein-before described and shown
in Figures 3, 4, and 10 of the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Mackenzie, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Sixth day of December, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty.
GEORGE MACKENZIE. (L.S.)