IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CONVERTING HEMP AND FLAX FIBRES INTO YARN, TWINE, ROPES, AND CORDAGE
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Greenwood, John Batley, and Jacob Dockray,
of Leeds, in the County of York, Machinists, for the Invention of
"IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CONVERTING HEMP AND FLAX FIBRES INTO YARN,
TWINE, ROPES, AND CORDAGE."
Sealed the 28th June 1859, and dated the 20th January 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Greenwood, John
Batley, and Jacob Dockray at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 20th January 1859.
We, THOMAS GREENWOOD, JOHN BATLEY, and JACOB DOCKRAY, of Leeds,
in the County of York, Machinists, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CONVERTING HEMP AND FLAX FIBRES
INTO YARN, TWINE, ROPES, AND CORDAGE," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates, firstly, to an improved arrangement of machinery
for drawing hemp and flax fibre, the object being to simplify the construction.
of such machinery, and to make it far more durable than that constructed on
the screw gill principle. To this end we propose to use an endless band of
gills or comb teeth of a peculiar construction for conveying the fibres from the
feeding rollers to the drawing-off rollers, in lieu of actuating the combs by.
means of screws. These endless bands we form by attaching to belts or
chains a series of studs, which are set at equal distances apart, and are intended
Price 8d1l

page_text: to carry bell crank levers. To the long arms of these bell crank levers are
attached the combs, and their shorter arms are connected by a spring to the
stud or fulcrum of the adjacent bell crank, so that the combs shall move
close up to the bite of the drawing rollers, and be withdrawn in a line at
right angles or nearly so to the sliver.
Secondly, our Invention relates to an improvement in the wet spinning
frame used-for-spinning flax and hemp, the object being to adjust the."reach "
or distance between the retaining and drawing rollers more expeditiouslythan
heretofore. To this end we nount the retaining rollers and drawing-off
rollers on separate beams, and render the beam which carries the retaining
rollers adjustable by means of a rack and pinion, and worm and worm
wheel, or their equivalent. To give the requisite nip to the retaining and
drawing rollers, the ordinary weighted saddles are employed.
Thirdly, our Invention relates to improved machinery for dressing yarn and
twisted fibres, either prior to or subsequent to the conversion of such fibres
into twine, cordage, or ropes, the object being to pass the same over several
rotating friction surfaces in succession without subjecting the fibres to an
injurious amount of tension. This we effect by combining with a series of
suitable friction or polishing cylinders (whether covered with horsehair, card
clothing, cocoa-nut fibre, or other similar material,) geared carrying rollers
for passing the fibres forward from one polishing surface to the next.
Fourthly, our Invention relates to a mode of delivering to the apparatus
employed for laying twine, cordage, and ropes, a regulated quantity of yarn
or strands, and at the same time putting into such strands or yarn a uniform
twist. To this end we employ for each strand a geared friction roller, and a
bobbin for the yarn, the same being mounted together in a revolving frame.
Motion is given to the geared friction roller by means of a spindle mounted
in the axis of the revolving frame, the upper end of which spindle is geared
to a horizontal driving shaft, and its speed can be regulated by means of
suitable change pinions. The revolution of the spindle will impart a definite
motion to the geared friction roller, and ensure the delivery of a given
quantity of yarn for a given number of revolutions of the frame. The yarn
or strand is led off the loose bobbin and through an eye in the head of the
frame, and two or more of the strands delivered by such revolving frames
being conducted by guides to a suitable apparatus having a regulating
winding-on motion, may be "laid" together and formed into twine, cordage,
or ropes of a superior quality.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Greenwood, John Batley, and Jacob Dockray
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 20th July 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, THOMAS
GREENWOOD, JOHN BATLEY, and JACOB DOCKRAY, of Leeds, in the County of
York, Machinists, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said Thomas Greenwood, John Batley, and Jacob Dockray, Her
special license that we, the said Thomas Greenwood, John Batley, and
Jacob Dockray, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as we, the said Thomas Greenwood, John Batley, and Jacob Dockray,
our executors, administrators, and 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 "IMPROVED MACHINERY
FOR CONVERTING HEMP AND FLAX FIBRES INTO YARN, TWINE, ROPES, AND CORDAGE,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Thomas Greenwood,
John Batley, and Jacob Dockray, by an instrument in writing under our
hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, should
particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, and cause the same
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 Thomas Greenwood, on behalf of
myself and of the said John Batley and Jacob Dockray, do hereby declare
the nature of our said Invention, aud in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
Our Invention relates, firstly, to an improved arrangement of machinery for
drawing hemp and flax fibres, the object being to simplify the construction of
such machinery, and to make it far more durable than that constructed on
the screw gill principle. To this end we propose to use for conveying the
fibres from the retaining rollers to the drawing-off rollers an endless band of

page_text: gills or comb teeth, constructed according to the plan specified under a
Patent granted to the above-named Thomas Greenwood and John Batley,
and bearing date the Ninth of April, One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-eight, in lieu of actuating the combs by means of screws.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 shews in sectional elevation so
much of a drawing machine as will serve to illustrate this, the first part of our
Invention. a, a, represent a pair of retaining rollers, and b, b, a pair of
drawing rollers, which are to be driven by suitable gearing; between these
rollers are mounted an endless band of gills or comb teeth, which are carried
by a series of bell crank levers c, c, working on studs, fastened to an endless
chain or belt c*. This belt passes over two rollers d and e, to which rotary
motion is communicated in any convenient manner, the speed of rotation
being regulated relatively to the surface speed of the retaining and deliverng
rollers. The bell crank levers are held in position by means of the elastic
springs ff, which will yield when the fixed guides g, situate near the drawing
rollers, actupon the guide pins (with which the bell crank levers are provided)
for the purpose of drawing the gills or comb teeth out of the flax or hemp
fibres as they enter the bite of the drawing rollers. By means of this novel
adaptation of well-known mechanical means a much more economical and
durable machine, suitable for drawing hemp and long flax, may be produced
than has hitherto been employed by the flax trade for the like purpose.
Our luvention relates, secondly, to an improvement in the wet spinning
frame used for spinning flax and hemp, the object being to adjust the
"reach"
or distance between the retaining and drawing rollers more
expeditiously than heretofore. To this end we mount the retaining rollers
and the back drawing-off rollers on separate beams, and render the beam
which carries the retaining rollers adjustable by means of a rack and pinion
and worm and worm wheel or their equivalent.
Fig. 2 represents in sectional elevation this part of our improvements. a is
the lower beam, upon which are mounted the journals 6 for receiving the
drawing rollers e; d is the upper or moveable beam carrying the journals e, in
which the retaining rollers fare mounted. At convenient distances apart on
this beam dare fixed the transverse slides g by means of screw bolts, or
otherwise. In the back of the beam a vertical guides are formed for receiving
these slides, which are severally provided with a rack on one side, the teeth of
which gear into pinions / keyed upon a shaft *, and are thereby supported in
position. The shaft h* extends the whole length of the spinning frame, and
is mounted in suitable bearings in the framework of the machine. On one
'end of this shaft is keyed the worm wheel i, which gears into a worm j keyed

page_text: reach"
to a small vertical shaft ; by turning this shaft by means of a key applied to
its squared end, the racked slides, together with their bar d, may be raised
or lowered at pleasure to adjust the top rollers to the length of
required. The front drawing roller is carried in the usual manner by the
lower journal of an ordinary weighted "saddle" 2. The front retaining
roller is carried by means of the journal n mounted in the stand o, which
stand is carried by the upper or moveable beam d; the outer end of the
journal n is pressed by the upper end of the saddle p, and when the "reach"
is changed (which can be done while the frame is at work) the end of this
journal slides upon the plane surface of the saddle.
Our Invention relates, thirdly, to improved machinery for dressing yarnand
twisted fibres either prior to or subsequent to the conversion of such fibres
into twine, cordage, or ropes, the object being to pass the same over several
rotating friction surfaces in succession without subjecting the fibres to an
injurious amount of tension. This we effect by combining with a series of
suitable friction or polishing cylinders (whether covered with horsehair,card
clothing,cocoa-nut fibre, or other similar material,) geared carrying rollers for
passing the fibres forward from one polishing surface to the next.
Fig. 3 is a side elevation of our improved machine. a,a,is the framework
of the machine, carrying a series of polishing cylinders b,b,b, covered with
horsehair or other suitable material. Between these cylinders are mounted
plain carrying rollers c, which are driven by bevil wheels d,d, keyed on the
ends of their respective axles, taking into similar wheels upon a horizontal
shaft e. e having its bearings in brackets at the side of the framework; this
shaft receives motion from the axle of the delivering roller through the
bevil gearing g. A strap from a driving pulley h mounted on the shaft h* in
the lower part of the frame gives motion through a pulley to a train of spur
wheels i, the last of which is keyed to and drives the axle of the roller f.
The shaft carries also suitable pullies k for driving by means of straps
the polishing cylinders bl, 1, are guides for the thread to pass through, and
m, m, is the cage for carrying the yarn bobbins. By this arrangement it will
be seen that an equable motion will be given to the strands or fibres as
they are passed under the action of the polishing cylinders, and thus all
tendency of the fibres to be strained and broken will be prevented.
Our Invention relates, fourthly, to a mode of delivering to the apparatus
employed for laying twine, cordage, and ropes, a regulated quantity of yarn
or strands, into which while being delivered from their bobbins a uniform
twist is thrown. Fig. 4 shews in front elevation our improved machine for
aying the yarn or twine into strands or cordage. Fig. 5 is a side elevation

page_text: of the same, and Fig. 6 is a plan view, shewing thea rrangement of the
gearing below the revolving table. The yarn or prepared strands are wound
upon bobbin which are carried upon geared friction rollers, which are
mounted in frames that rotate upon a revolving table; this table is provided
with internal gearing to give an axial motion to the bobbins, and at the same 5
time deliver or give off a given length of the yarn corresponding with the
twist put into the cord by the action of the machine. a,a, is the framework
spur gearing com.
of the machine; b,b, the driving pulleys; c, c, a train of
municating motion from the driving pulley to the shafts d,d,d, which carry
at their inner ends the bevil wheels e, f, g; the wheel e takes into a corre-
sponding wheel e keyed upon the vertical shaft h. The wheel f takes into a
corresponding wheel, which runs loosely upon the vertical shaft hand drives
the bobbin frame; and the wheel g takes into a corresponding wheel.g, which
also runs loosely upon the vertical shaft h, and drives by means of the train of
bevil and spur wheels within the bobbin frame i, the friction roller j; this
roller carries the bobbin k, upon which the yarn or strand is wound. There
are three, or there may be more, of these bobbin frames i mounted upon the
Another
revolving table l, which is keyed upon the central vertical shaft h.
vertical shaft m is driven from the middle shaft d, that shaft being fitted with
a wheel n which drives a bevil wheel n* in gear with a bevil wheel o on the
shaft m. This shaft m carries a bevil wheel on its upper end which takes
into a bevil wheel p, the shaft of which carries a spur pinion in gear with a
train of spur wheels t, t, t. A friction roller q, around which the laid.cord or
rope is passed on its way to the bobbin " is driven by this train of gearing,
On the
and so also is the large friction-rollers which carries the bobbin r.
upper end of the vertical shaft h is the "top" ", perforated with three or
more holes (according to the number of strands under operation), through
which the yarn or strands pass; and above the top u is a spring nipper v for
holding the cord or ropeso as to prevent the twist running upwards,and alsofor
smoothing the cord or rope on its passage to the bobbin r. From the above
description it will be understood that as the bobbin frames rotate on their
axes, and are carried round by the revolving tableɩ,a regulated rotary motion
will be imparted to the friction roller of each bobbin fraine, which will cause
the bobbins & to unwind and deliver a proper quantity of yarn or strand pro-
portionate to the speed at which the twisting operation proceeds, the proper
or relative quantity being determined by the use of change pinions. Fig. 7 is
a front elevation, and Fig. 8 is a side elevation of a modification of our bobbin
frame. The spindle a receives motion from a horizontal shaft carried or
the upper part of an ordinary twisting frame. The friction roller b, which
:
k

page_text: carries the bobbin c, is driven by means of this shaft and the intermediate
gearing, and the bobbin frame d is driven by means of a horizontal shaft g
placed parallel with the shaft f. In this arrangement the thread or twine
passes downwards through the axle of the bobbin framed and over the friction
bowle e. It then passes through an ordinary laying "top," and is wound upon
a bobbin carried by an ordinary spindle and flyer, supplied with the usual
regulating taking-up motion.
Having now set forth the nature of our Invention of "Improved Machinery
for Converting Hemp and Flax Fibres into Yarn, Twine, Ropes, and Cordage,"
and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, we wish it to be
understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent, we claim,―
First, the adaptation to the purpose of drawing hemp and flax fibre of gills
or comb teeth, mounted and operating as above described.
Secondly, mounting the back retaining and drawing rollers of wet spinning
frames on separate beams, to which the means for effecting their relative
adjustment is applied, as above described.
Thirdly, the introduction into polishing machines of geared carrying rollers
for the purpose of preventing an undue strain being put upon the thread under
operation.
Fourthly, the means herein described for delivering from the bobbins of
machinery used for manufacturing twine,rope, or cordage,a regulated quantity
of yarn or strands.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Greenwood, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Nineteenth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
THOMAS GREENWOOD. (L.S.)