IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY PROACH FOR WINDING THREAD ON BOBBINS OR SPOOLS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Hezekiah Conant, of Willimantic, in the United
States of America, at present residing at Morley's Hotel, Strand, in the
County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Hezekiah Conant at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
5th October 1864.
1, HEZEKIAH CONANT, of Willimantic, in the United States of America,at
present residing at Morley's Hotel, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, do
hereby declare the nature-of-the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR WINDING THREAD ON BOBBINS OR SPOOLS," to be as follows:-
Figure 1 represents a plan of a thread-winding machine embodying the
Invention; Figure 2 represents a view of the rear of the same; Figure 3
represents an elevation of the swing frame of the machine disconnected from
the remainder; Figure 4 represents a side view of the machine; Figures 5
and 6 represent vertical cross sections of the machine at different points;
Figure 7 represents the barrel of the traverse changer developed upon a
plane surface; Figure S represents two bobbins or spools of different sizes;
and Figure 9 represents an elevation of certain parts of the machine detached
from the remainder. These Figures are drawn upon a scale of half an inch
the inch

page_text: The object of the Invention is to wind sewing thread upon bubbins or
spools automatically.
Previous to the present Invention machines have been devised for winding
thread, some being directed by an attendant, and some being automatic; the
present Invention relates to machines in which the traverse motion of the
thread guide, which guides the thread on to the bobbin or spool, is directed
automatically by a traverse changer, and, the object of the present Invention
is to improve the construction and operation of automatic thread-winding
machines, so that while they may wind with as great perfection as hand
machines they possess the advantage of automatic action.
The special object of the first part of the Invention is to adapt the machine
to the winding of one or more of the last layers of thread upon bobbins or
spools partly filled, so that such imperfect bobbins or spools of thread, whether
previously wound on the machine or on other machines, may be finished on
the machine. This part of the Invention consists of the combination of the
traverse changer with a moveable support so that it can be readily withdrawn
from its position in the machine to permit it to be set to direct the thread
guide for winding that one of the layers of thread at which winding on the
bobbin or spool is to commence, and may be readily reinstated in its position.
In preceding automatic machines the thread guide has been caused to bearby
a weight directly upon the layer of thread on the bobbin or spool, so that its
distance from the axis of the bobbin or spool when winding any particular
layer has been controlled by the preceding layers, and consequently when a
gap has occurred in them from the breakage of thread, this imperfection
acting upon the thread guide affects the appearance of succeeding
layers of thread.
The object of the second part of the present. Invention is to obviate this
defect, and it consists of the combination of the thread guide with controlling
mechanism, which holds it independently of the thread at the proper
distance from the axis of the bobbin or spool for each layer of thread, so
that this distance is always the same for each layer, however imperfectly
the preceding layer may have been wound.
The object of the third part of the Invention is to adapt the machine when
embodying the second part of the Invention to the winding of thread of
different sizes upon bobbins or spools, and it consists of the combination of the
thread guide with the cam, or its equivalent, for controlling its position by
means of an adjustable lever, or its equivalent, which may be adjusted to
vary the amount of movement of the thread guide by the controlling
mechanism before winding a succeeding layer of thread.

page_text: t
The object of the fourth part of the Invention is to adapt the inachine
when embodying the second part of the Invention to the winding of thread
upon bobbins or spools of different diameters, and it consists of the com-
bination of the thread guide with the shaft that sustains it in such manner
that it can be set at a greater or less distance from the bobbin or spool
mandril according to the diameter of the bobbin or spool to be wound.
The object of the fifth part of the Invention is to permit the rock shaft of
the thread guide to traverse endwise without escaping the control of the
mechanism that regulates its position radially to the bobbin or spool, and it
consists of the combination of the said rock shaft with a swinging frame,
which is traversed longitudinally by an arm rigidly secured to the rock shaft,
so that the parts subjected to strain and wear are at a distance from the axis
of the rock shaft.
The object of the sixth part of the Invention is to adapt the machine
readily to the winding of bobbins or spools of different lengths, and it consists
of the combination of the lips which traverse the traverse changer with the
arms that hold them by screws.
The object of the seventh part of the Invention is to enable the machine to
stop itself when the winding is completed, and it consists of the combination
of the thread guide with the latch that holds the belt shipper of the driving
belt, in such manner that the traverse motion of the thread guide is made
available to detach the latch.
'
The object of the eighth part of the Invention is to adapt the stop mecha-
nism of the machine to bobbins or spools with heads of different thicknesses,
and it consists of the combination of the thread guide and the latch of the belt
shipper with an adjustable. instrument, whose position may be changed to
permit the thread guide to actuate-the-latch-when-at different distances
from it.
A machine embodying the improvements is represented in the accom-
panying Drawings.
One of
This machine has a strong bed plate A, A, from which standards project
upwards to hold the boxes in which the shafts of the machine turn.
these shafts B is fitted at one end with a slightly tapering polygonal mandrilC,:
upon which the bobbin or spool to be wound is mounted, the application and
removal of the bobbin or spool being effected by means of a sliding bar D,
operated by a hand lever E, ard fitted with a pair of projections b, b', one or
other of which is brought in contact with the adjacent head of the bobbin or
spool to force it upon the mandril, or off the same, as required. The space
between the projections is adjusted to the length of the bobbins or spools to

page_text: be wound, one of the projections 61 being secured to the slide bar D by a
screw for that purpose. In order to guide the thread upon the bobbin or
spool during winding, a thread guide G is secured to the end of a rock
shaft F, and is pressed downwards towards the axis of the bobbin or spool by
a weight H, which is suspended from an arm I secured to the rock shaft, so
that the thread guide is a presser guide. The end of the presser guide is
notched in the usual manner to receive the thread, and its under side a is
fitted to bear upon the surface of the layer of thread being wound, and is
slightly grooved in the usual manner. The presser guide is caused to traverse
alternately in opposite directions by means of the right and left hand screws
J, J', which are caused to revolve simultaneously with the bobbin or spool
shaft B, but at slower speed, by means of a belt K encircling conical belt
pulleys L, L, secured to the respective shafts. Each screw operates to
traverse the presser guide alternately; for this purpose a section of a nut m is
provided for the right-hand screw, and a similar section of a nut m¹ for
the left-hand screw; the right-hand section is secured to an arm M. which
has a hub n that is fitted upon the presser guide shaft F, and the left-
'haud section is secured to an arın M', which also has a hub n¹ that is fitted
to the presser guide shaft. The eyes of the hubs are sufficiently large to
permit the rock shaft to rock in them, but it is compelled to move endwise
with the sectional nuts and their arms M, M', by the hubs d, d, of the arin I
which embrace the arms M, M₁, between them, and are fixed to the rock
shaft F. As the hubs of the arms M, M', fit loosely on the presser guide
shaft F either arm may be raised to cause its sectional nut to engage with
the screw above it, or dropped to disengage the sectional nut from the screw,
and the presser guide is caused to traverse from right to left, or left to right,
according as the sectional nut m or m³ is engage: with its respective screw J
or J. The distance which the presser guide is moved to the right and to the
left is regulated by a cylindrical traverse changer N, which is secured to a
shaft O turning in a bearing P. This traverse changer is provided with half
as many longitudinal projections w, w, as there are to be layers of thread
upon the bobbin or spool to be wound, and the lengths of these projections
are progressively increased, as shown at Figure 7, in accordance with the
progressive increase in the breadth of the layers of thread required to fill up
the space between the conical heads of the bobbin or spool. In order that
.this traverse changer may act upon the sectional nuts m, m¹³, the arm of each
nut is fitted with an adjustable lip f, f, which engage in the spaces between
the longitudinal projections w, w, of the traverse changer, so that the lip,
arm, and sectional nut are prevented from dropping by the projection of the

page_text: traverse changer beneath the lip. When an arm is raised, and its sectional
nut is engaged with its screw, the operation of the screw is to move the lip
appertaining to that arm and nut along the traverse changer towards the
adjacent end of the machine, and this movement is continued until the inner
edge of the lip arrives at the end of the projection, whereupon that lip and
arin and nut are permitted to drop, thus disengaging the nut from the screw
and stopping the traverse motion in one direction, at the same time the other
lip and arm and nut are raised automatically to engage said nut with the
other screw, and cause the traverse motion to take place in the opposite
direction to the first. The distance which the arm is permitted to drop is
sufficient to place its lip in the position to pass beneath the projection of the
traverse changer which it has just escaped from. As the arms carrying the nuts
and lips are connected by the presser guide shaft F the movement of one arm
towards one end of the machine by its screw draws the other arm and its lip
along the traverse changer, so that when the lip of the arm whose nut and
screw are operating escapes the adjacent end of the projection of the traverse
changer the lip of the other arm is still engaged in the traverse changer, and
when this lip is raised by raising its arm and sectional nut it compels the
traverse changer to turn until the sectional nut coines in contact with the
screw, and prevents the further rise of the arm and lip with which the
sectional nut is connected, and also the further turning of the traverse
changer with which the lip is engaged. The rise of each sectional nut is
effected by means of the same spring Q, which is made to act alternately upon
the two nuts in the following manner:-The spring is arranged to press
upwards a rocking arm R, which is hinged upon a shaft, and is provided with
two friction wheels h,h. These friction wheels are situated beneath inclined
blocks g, g, secured to the under sides of the ends of the arms M. M', which
hold the sectional nuts m, m³, so that the inclined blocks are caused to
traverse over the friction wheels by the trrverse of the nuts and their arms,
The least projecting portions of the inclined blocks are nearest the centre of
the machine; hence when either arm, M', for example, is dropped, and is
caused to move beneath the projection of the traverse changer (which being
held stationary by its engagement with the lip fappertaining to the sectional
nut that is then acting prevents the arm M' from rising) towards the end of
the machine further from it by the action of the screw upon the other arm M,
its inclined block bearing upon the friction wheel progressively depresses it
and the spring, so that when the lip of the other arm M escapes from the
traverse changer and permits it to turn, the spring Q acting through the
friction roller ¹ upou the arin M' raises it, and engages its uut m³ with its

page_text: screw J¹ As the lip f of this arm is engaged with the traverse changer
when it thus raises, it compels the traverse changer to turn partially, so that
when the lip of the other arm (which meanwhile has dropped) is drawn
along the traverse changer in the opposite direction it enters the groove below
the projection whose end it has just escaped. The traverse changer is thus
turned half the distance between the centres of its projections at each traverse
of the lips and presser guide, each lip alternately effecting the turning.
--In-order-that-the-machine may-be-used-to wind-one or more of-the-last
layers of thread upon a partly filled bobbin or spool the bearing of the shaft
of the traverse changer is not fixed to the bed plate of the machine, but is
-connected with an arm S, S, swinging upon an arbor T, and forming a move-
able support for the traverse changer, so that the traverse changer at the
upper end of the arm may be withdrawn from the lips f,f", of the sectional
nuts m, m, may be turned by hand to bring the projection corresponding
with any one of the layers of thread it is desirable to commence winding at
in the proper position to control the lips and the sectional nuts, and may then
be re-engaged with the lips. When it is engaged with the lips it is held there
by a spring latch %, which must be disengaged by hand before the traverse
changer can be withdrawn from the lips. In order that the presser thread
guide may be caused to occupy the exact position relatively to the axis of the
bobbin or spool which it should, so that each layer may be perfectly wound,
it is controlled by a cam U secured to the shaft of the traverse changer and
turned by it. This cam operates upon a friction wheel secured to one end
of a lever V, which is pivotted to the bed plate, and is fitted with a pro-
jection in the position to act upon an arm p, which is connected with the
rock shaft F of the presser guide G. Hence the distance to which the
weight H can depress the presser guide is determined by the position of the
.cam, and not, as in previous machines, by the thread on the bobbin or spool.
The tread of the cam is spiral, the lowest part of it projecting sufficiently
from the shaft to which it is secured to held the presser guide G in the proper
position to wind the thread of the first layer with the proper pressure, and
the projection of the tread progressively increasing from the lowest in
part
correspondence with the layers to be wound, as indicated in the Drawing by
the Figures applied to the cam. Hence as the cam is turned by the traverse
changer N with which it is connected at each change of the traverse motion
the presser guide is set in the proper position from the axis of the bobbin or
spool for winding each layer of thread, and it is held in place by the yielding
pressure of the weight H. In winding the last two layers of thread it is
desirable that the pressure of the presser guide G upon the thread should be

page_text: increased in order to give a more finished appearance to the bobbin or spool.
The desired increase of pressure is given in the present machine by the
passage of the step c of the cam beneath the periphery of the friction wheell,
which is thus permitted to approach the axis of the cam, and relax the
pressure of the lever on the arm of the pressure guide rock shaft F, thereby
leaving the presser guide under the pressure of the weight H. In order that
the machine may be adjusted to the winding of thread of different diameters,
the lever V is made adjustable, its projection j being constructed to slide
towards and from the axis on which the lever swings, and being held in its
position by a screw s, by turning which it may be set nearer to or further
from the axis of the lever, so as to diminish or increase the distance the
presser guide is moved from the axis of the bobbin or spool at each change of
the traverse motion in correspondence with the less or greater size of the
thread which forms the layers. The presser guide G is also constructed to
slide readily in a groove in the arm W of its rock shaft, and is held there by
a clamp screw which passes through a slot in the presser guide, so that the
guide can be moved towards or from the shaft, and consequently from or
towards the bobbin or spool mandril, and can be secured in any desired
position to adjust it to the greater or less diameters of the bobbins or spools
to be wound. When the machine is winding coarse thread the traverse
movement of the thread guide must be more rapid than when winding fine
thread. In order that the traverse movement may be adjusted to the fineness
of the thread the. belt pulleys L, L', are made conical, and the belt K is
passed between the jaws of a guide X, which is constructed to slide upon the
frame of the machine, so that it can be set to guide the belt upon any portions
of the conical pulleys, and may be secured there by a clamp screw q.
Previous to winding the thread the belt is set to run upon those portions of
the conical pulleys which will give the requisite traverse motion to the presser
guide. In order that the rock shaft F of the presser guide G may traverse
endwise without escaping the control of the cam U, which regulates the
position of the presser guide, the arm p upon which the projection of the cam
lever V operates is not fixed to the rock shaft, but is secured to a frame Z,
which is provided with tubular journals 7, 7, through which the rock shaft
passes, so that it can swing with the rock shaft. The lower side of this frame
is grooved, as shewn at t, to receive the end of a tongue Y projecting down-
wards from the weight arm I, which, as before described, is firmly secured to
the rock shaft, and moves endwise with it. The groove t of the swinging
frane Z thus permits the endwise movement of the rock shaft and its presser
guide, but compels them to rock with the arm p upon which the cam lever V

page_text: operates, while as the groove where the sliding takes place is at a distance
from the axis of the rock shaft the strain upon the parts and the wear are
small. The distance which each lip is permitted to traverse along the traverse
changer must be varied to suit the length of the bobbin or spool to be wound
by the machine, being greater for a long bobbin or spool than for a shorter
one. In order that this variation may be readily effected the lips are fitted to
carriages u, u, which slide in grooves in the arms M, M¹, and each carriage is
traversed by a screw a, a, whose neck is arranged to turn in a lug secured to
_ the arm, -so-that-by-turning the screw the lip may be moved and set to the
proper position for the bobbin or spool to be wound. When the lips have
been set by the screws they may be securely fixed in their places by clamp
screws, which passing through slots in the shanks of the lips clamp them
securely to the arms. The bobbin or spool shaft B is fitted with a belt
pulley B¹, to which the driving belt is applied, and the belt is controlled by a
shipper connected with a bar C¹, which is arranged to slide endwise on the
frame of the machine, so that by moving said bar in one direction or the
other the belt is shifted from a fast to a loose pulley on the driving shaft, or
vice versa, as required to stop the machine or set it in motion. The slide
bar Cis connected with a weight or spring which tends to move the belt from
the fast to the loose pulley, and it is retained in the position to maintain the
belt on the fast pulley by a latch D₁ engageing in a notch upon its edge. In
order that the machine may stop whenever the thread breaks the thread is
conducted to the presser guide G from the large bobbin or spool, whence it is
wound on the small bobbins or spools over two bars y, y, secured to a standard
projecting upwards from the table on which the machine is mounted, and
under a bar z projecting from an arm E¹, which is pivotted loosely to the
frame of the machine, so that the said bar and arm are held from dropping
by the tension of the thread as long as the thread is unbroken. The arm E¹
passes over the end of the lever latch D', which is also pivotted to the frame
of the machine with its latch end vin the proper position to engage in one of
the several notches formed in the slide bar C¹, and prevent it from moving
endwise to shift the driving belt from the fast to the loose pulley on the
driving shaft. When, however, the thread breaks, the arm E' is permitted-to
drop and bear upon one end of the lever latch D', whereby that end is
depressed sufficiently to disengage the latch end from the notch of the slide
bar C, and permit the belt to be transferred by the shipper to the loose
pulley, thus stopping the machine.
An automatic winding machine should also stop itself as soon as the last
layer of thread is wound upon the bobbin or spool, and the same machine

page_text: should be able to wind bobbins or spools of different sizes which vary in the
thickness of their heads. In order that the present machine may stop itself
when the last layer of thread is wound, an elbow lever His pivotted upon a
bub secured to the pivot of the cam lever V, with its horizontal arın e resting
upon one end of the lever latch D', and with its upright arm e¹ sufficiently
long to be within the range of motion of a projection d' secured to the
stock W of the presser guide G when it is moving towards the frame of the
machine. As this elbow lever is pivotted upon and carried by a hub secured
to the pivot of the cain lever V it is moved laterally by the cam lever as it is
moved by the cam U, and the adjustment of the parts is such that when the
cam lever is moved to the position it occupies during the winding of the last
layer of thread, the upright arm of the elbow lever is placed by the action of
the cam within the range of motion of the projection of the presser guide
stock, so as to be moved by it to depress the lever catch, and disengage the
slide bar C¹ of the belt shipper, thus permitting the belt to be shifted to the
loose pulley of the driving shaft. In order to adapt the machine to bobbins
or spools of different sizes with heads of different thicknesses, the shank of the
projection d' is constructed to slide in the stock of the presser guide, and is
held in place by a clamp screw, by moving which the projection is loosed and
clamped, so that the projection constitutes an adjustable instrument, which
may be set in the desired position, and then secured. The same result may.
of course be produced by connecting an adjustable screw s¹ with the upright
arm of the elbow lever, or by making the whole elbow lever adjustable, either
of which constructions would be the equivalent of the adjustable instrument
above described. If the machine were arranged to be connected and dis-
connected with the prime mover of the factory by means of a clutch, instead
of by shifting the belt from a fast to a loose pulley, and vice versa, the slide
bar C would of course be connected with the clutch lever, and the stopping
of the machine would be effected in the same manner as has been described.
When thread is wound with the machine thus described, a tension apparatus
must be used to regulate the tension at which the thread is wound on the
bobbin or spool; such tension apparatus may be one of the well-known thread
tensions used in sewing machines, and should be situated between the bars
(y, z, y,) of the stop motion and the large bobbin or spool whence the thread
is drawn; or it may consist of a friction brake operating directly on the large
bobbin,.or upon an arbor to which the large bobbin is secured.
The Invention thus described is not restricted to the particular form and
arrangement of the parts described, as these may be varied to a great extent
to meet the views of different constructors or thread manufacturers without

page_text: excluding the principles of the Invention; what is claimed as the Invention
to be secured by Letters Patent is,-
First, the combination of the traverse changer of a thread-winding machine
with a moveable support, substantially as set forth.
Second, the combination of the thread guide of a thread-winding machine
with controlling mechanism, which holds it independently of the thread at
the proper distance from the axis of the bobbin or spool, substantially as
set forth.
Third, the combination of the thread guide of a thread-winding machine
-with-controlling mechanism and an adjustable lever, substantially as set forth.
Fourth, the combination of the thread guide with the shaft that sustains
it, in such manner that the thread guide can be set at a greater or less
distance from the bobbin or spool mandril, substantially as set forth.
Fifth, the combination of the rock shaft of the thread guide with a swing
frame, substantially as set forth.
Sixth, the combination of the lips which traverse the traverse changer
of a thread-winding machine with the arms that hold them by adjusting
screws, substantially as set forth.
Seventh, the combination of the thread guide with the latch of the belt
shipper, or its equivalent, so that the traverse motion of the former is made
available for stopping the machine, substantially as set forth.
Eighth, the combination of the thread guide and latch of the belt shipper
with an adjustable instrument, whose position may be changed when bobbins
or spools having heads of different thicknesses are used, to enable the thread
guide to stop the machine, notwithstanding this difference in the bobbins
or spools.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Hezekiah Conant in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th March 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HEZEKIAH
CONANT, of Willimantic, in the United States of America, at present residing
at Morley's Hotel, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of a
Her reigy, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto

page_text: me, the said Hezekiah Conant, Her special licence that I; the said Hezekiah
Conant, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
Said Hezekiah Conant, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 FOR WINDING THREAD ON BOBBINS OR SPOOLS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Hezekiah Conant, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and scals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was 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 Hezekiah Conant, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, in
which Figure 1 represents a plan of a thread-winding machine embodying
the Invention; Figure 2 represents a view of the rear of the same; Figure 3_
represents an elevation of the swing frame of the machine disconnected
from the remainder; Figure 4 represents a side view of the machine;
Figures 5 and 6 represent vertical cross sections of the machine at different
points; Figure 7 represents the barrel of the traverse changer developed
upon a plane surface; Figure 8 represents two bobbins or spools of different
Sizes, and Figure 9 represents an elevation of certain parts of the machine
detached from the remainder. These Figures are drawn upon a scale of
half an inch to the inch.
The object of the Invention is to wind sewing thread upon bobbins or
spools automatically.
Previous to the present Invention machines have been devised for winding
thread, some being directed by an attendant, and some being automatic; the
present Invention relates to machines in which the traverse motion of the
thread guide which guides the thread on to the bobbin or spool is directed
automatically by a traverse chauger, and the object of the present Invention
is to improve the construction and operation of automatic thread winding
machines, so that while they may wind with as great perfection as hand
machines, they possess the advantage of automatic action.

page_text: The special object of the first part of the Invention is to adapt the
machine to the winding of one or more of the last layers of thread upon
bobbins or spools partly filled, so that such imperfect bobbins or spools of
thread whether previously wound on the machine or on other machines,
may be finished on the machine. This part of the Invention consists of the
combination of the traverse changer with a moveable support, so that it can
be readily withdrawn from its position in the machine to permit it to be
set to direct the thread guide for winding that one of the layers of thread
at which winding on the bobbin or spool is to commence, and may be readily
reinstated in its position. In preceding automatic machines the thread.
guide has been caused to bear by a weight directly upon the layer of thread
on the bobbin or spool, so that its distance from the axis of the bobbin or
spool when winding any particular layer has been controlled by the preced-
ing layers, and consequently when a gap has occurred in them from the
breakage of thread this imperfection acting upon the thread guide affects
the appearance of succeeding layers of thread.
The object of the second part of the present Invention is to obviate this
defect, and it consists of the combinatian of the thread guide with con-
trolling mechanism, which holds it independently of the thread at the
proper distance from the axis of the bobbin or spool for each layer of
thread, so that this distance is always the same for each layer however
imperfectly the preceding layer may have been wound.
The object of the third part of the Invention is to adapt the machine
when embodying the second part of the Invention to the winding of thread
of different sizes upon bobbins or spools, and it consists of the combination
of the thread guide with the cam or its equivalent for controlling its posi-
tion by means of an adjustable lever or its equivalent, which may be
adjusted to vary the amount of movement of the thread guide by the
controlling mechanism before winding a succeeding layer of thread.
The object of the fourth part of the Invention is to adapt the machine
when embodying the second part of the Invention to the winding of thread
upon bobbins or spools of different diameters, and it consists of the com-
bination of the thread guide with the shaft that sustains it in such manner
that it can be set at a greater or less distance from the bobbin or spool
mandril, according to the diameter of the bobbin or spool to be wound.
The object of the fifth part of the Invention is to permit the rock shaft
of the thread guide to traverse endwise without escaping the control of the
mechanism that regulates its position radially to the bobbin or spool, and it
consists of the combination of the said rock shaft with a swinging frame,

page_text: which is traversed longitudinally by an arm rigidly secured to the rock
shaft, so that the parts subjected to strain and wear are at a distance from
the axis of the rock shaft.
The object of the sixth part of the Invention is to adapt the machine
readily to the winding of bobbins or spools of different lengths, and it
consists of the combination of the lips which traverse the traverse changer
with the arms that hold them by screws.
The object of the seventh part of the Invention is to enable the machine
stop itself when the winding is completed, and it consists of the com-
bination of the thread guide with the latch that holds the belt shipper of
the driving belt in such manner that the traverse motion of the thread
guide is made available to detach the latch.
The object of the eighth part of the Invention is to adapt the stop
mechanism of the machine to bobbin or spools, with heads of different
thicknesses, and it consists of the combination of the thread guide and the
latch of the belt shipper with an adjustable instrument, whose position
may be changed to permit the thread guide to actuate the latch when at
different distances from it.
A machine embodying the improvements is represented in the accompanying
Drawings. This machine has a strong bed plate A, A, from which standards
project upwards to hold the boxes in which the shafts of the machine turn.
One of these shafts B is fitted at one end with a slightly tapering polygonal
mandril C, upon which the bobbin or spool to be wound is mounted, the
application and removal of the bobbin or spool being effected by means of a
sliding bar D, operated by a hand lever E. and fitted with a pair of projections
b, b, one or other of which is brought in contact with the adjacent head of
the bobbin or spool to force it upon the mandril or off the same as required.
The space between the projections is adjusted to the length of the bobbins or
spools to be wound, one of the projections 61 being secured to the slide bar D
by a screw for that purpose. In order to guide the thread upon the bobbin
or spool during winding a thread guide G is secured to the end of a rock
shaft F, and is pressed downwards towards the axis of the bobbin or spool by
a-weight-H,-which-is-suspended-from an arm-I, secured to the rock-shaft, so-
that the thread guide is a presser guide. The end of the presser guide is
notched in the usual manner to receive the thread, and its under side a is
fitted to bear upon the surface of the layer of thread being wound, and is
slightly grooved in the usual manner. The presser guide is caused to traverse
alternately in opposite directions by means of the right and left hand screws
J, J', which are caused to revolve simultaneously with the bobbin or spool

page_text: shaft B, but at slower speed by means of a belt K encircling conical belt
pulleys L, L', secured to the respective shafts; each screw operates to traverse
the presser guide alternately. For this purpose a section of a nut m is
provided for the right-hand screw, and a similar section of a nut m' for the
left-hand screw; the right-hand section is secured to an an arm M, which
has a hub n that is fitted upon the presser guide shaft F, and the left-hand
section is secured to an arm M', which also has a hub n' that is fitted to the
presser guide shaft. The eyes of the hubs are sufficiently large to permit the
rock shaft to rock in them, but it is compelled to move endwise with the
sectional nuts, and their arms M, M¹, by the hubs d, d, of the arm I, which
embrace the arms M, M', between them, and are fixed to the rock shaft F.
As the hubs of the arms M, M', fit loosely on the presser guide shaft F, either
arm may be raised to cause its sectional nut to engage with the screw above
it, or dropped to disengage the sectional nut from the screw, and the presser
guide is caused to traverse from right to left, or left to right, according as the
sectional nut m or m¹ is engaged with its respective screw J.or J. The
distance which the presser guide is moved to the right and to the left is regu-
lated by a cylindrical traverse changer M.,which is secured to a shaft O, turning
in a bearing P. This traverse chamber is provided with half as many longi-
tudinal projections w, w, as there are to be layers of thread upon the bobbin
or spool to be wound, and the lengths of these projections are progressively
increased, as shewn at Figure 7, in accordance with the progressive increase
in the breadth of the layers of thread required to fill up the space between the
conical heads of the bobbin or spool. In order that this traverse changer may
act upon the sectional nuts m, m', the arm of each nut is fitted with an
adjustable lip ff, which engage in the spaces between the longitudinal
projections w, w, of the traverse changer, so that the lip, arm, and sectional
nut are prevented from dropping by the projection of the traverse changer
beneath the lip. When an arm is raised, and its sectional nut is engaged
with its screw, the operation of the screw is to move the lip appertaining to
that arm and nut along the traverse changer towards the adjacent end of the
machine, and this movement is continued until the inner edge of the lip
arrives at the end of the projection, whereupon that lip and arm and nut are
permitted to drop, thus disengaging the nut from the screw, and stopping the
traverse motion in one direction, at the same time the other lip and arm and
nut are raised automatically to engage said nut with the other screw, and
cause the traverse motion to take place in the opposite direction to the first.
The distance which the arm is permitted to drop is sufficient to place its lip
.in the position to pass beneath the projection of the traverse changer which it

page_text: has just escaped from. As the arms carrying the nuts and lips are connected
by the presser guide shaft F, the movement of one arm towards one end of
the machine by its screw draws the other arm and its lip along the traverse
changer, so that when the lip of the arm whose nut and screw are operating
escapes the adjacent end of the projection of the traverse changer, the lip of
the other arm is still engaged in the traverse changer, and when this lip is
raised by raising its arm and sectional nut, it compels the traverse changer to
turn until the sectional nut comes in contact with the screw, and prevents the
further rise of the arm and lip with which the sectional nut is connected, and
also the further turning of the traverse changer with which the lip is engaged.
The rise of each sectional nut is effected by means of the same spring Q,
which is made to act alternately upon the two nuts in the following manner:
-The spring is arranged to press upwards a rocking arın R, which is hinged
upon a shaft, and is provided with two friction wheels h, h¹; these friction
wheels are situated beneath inclined blocks', g', secured to the under sides
of the ends of the arms M; M', which hold the sectional nuts mm, so that
the inclined blocks are caused to traverse over the friction wheels by the tra-
verse of the nuts and their arms. The least projecting portions of theinclined
blocks are nearest the centre of the machine; hence, when either arm M³,
for example, is dropped; and is caused to move beneath the projection of the
traverse changer (which being held stationary by its engagement with the
lipfappertaining to the sectional nut that is then acting prevents the arm M
from rising) towards the end of the machine further from it by the action of
the screw upon the other arm M, its inclined block bearing upon the friction
wheel progressively depresses it and the spring, so that when the lip of the
other arm M escapes from the traverse changer, and permits it to turn, the
spring Qacting through the friction roller h¹ upon the arm M', raises it and
engages its nut m' with its screw J¹. As the lip of this arm is engaged
with the traverse changer when it thus rises it compels the traverse changer'
to turn partially, so that when the lip of the other arın (which meanwhile
has dropped) is drawn along the traverse changer in the opposite direction,
it enters the groove below the projection whose end it has just escaped.
The traverse changer is thus turned half the distance between the centres
of its projections at each traverse of the lips and presser guide, each lip
alternately effecting the turning.
In order that the machine may be used to wind one or more of the last
layers of thread upon a partly älled bobbin or spool the bearing of the shaft
of the traverse changer is not fixed to the bed plate of the machine but is
connected with an arm S, S, swinging upon an arbor T; and forming a move-

page_text: able support for the traverse changer, so that the traverse changer at the
upper end of the arm may be withdrawn from the lips f,f', of the sectional
nuts m, m, and may be turned by hand to bring the projection, orresponding
with any one of the layers of thread it is desirable to commence winding at,
in the proper position to control the lips and the sectional nuts, and may then
be re-engaged with the lips. When it is engaged with the lips it is held
there by a spring latch k, which must be disengaged by hand before the
traverse changer can be withdrawn from the lips.
In order that the presser thread guide may be caused to occupy the exact
position relatively to the axis of the bobbin or spool which it should, so that
each layer may be perfectly wound, it is controlled by a cam U secured to the
shaft of the traverse changer and turned by it. This cam operates upon a
friction wheel secured to one end of a lever V, which is pivotted to the bed
plate, and is fitted with a projection j in the position to act upon an arm P,
which is connected with the rock shaft F of the presser guide G. Hence the
distance to which the weight H can depress the presser guide is determined
by the position of the cam, and not as in previous machines by the thread on
the bobbin or spool. The tread of the cam is spiral, the lowest part of it
projecting sufficiently from the shaft to which it is secured to hold the presser
guide G in the proper position to wind the thread of the first layer with the
proper pressure, and the projection of the tread progressively increasing from
the lowest part in correspondence with the layers to be wound, as indicated in
the Drawing by the figures applied to the cam. Hence, as the cam is turned
by the traverse changer N, with which it is connected at each change of the
traverse motion, the presser guide is set in the proper position from the
axis of the bobbin or spool for winding each layer of thread, and it is held in
place by the yielding pressure of the weight H. In winding the last two
layers of thread, it is desirable that the pressure of the presser guide G upon
the thread should be increased; in order to give a more finished appearance to
the bobbin or spool, the desired increase of pressure is given in the present
machine by the passage of the step c of the cam beneath the periphery of the
friction wheel Z, which is thus permitted to approach the axis of the cam, and
relax the pressure of the lever on the arm of the presser guide rock shaft F,
thereby leaving the presser guide under the pressure of the weight H.
In order that the machine may be adjusted to the winding of thread of
different diameters, the lever V is made adjustable, its projection j being con-
structed to slide towards and from the axis on which the lever swings, and
being held in its position by a screws, by turning which it may be set nearer
to or further from the axis of the lever so as to diminish or increase the dis

page_text: tance the presser guide is moved from the axis of the bobbin or spool at each
change of the traverse motion in correspondence with the less or greater size
of the thread which forms the layers. The presser guide G is also con-
structed to slide radially in a groove in the arm W of its rock shaft, and is
held there by a clamp screw which passes through a slot in the pre-ser guide
so that the guide can be moved towards or from the shaft, and consequently
from or towards the bobbin or spool mandril, and can be secured in any
desired position to adjust it to the greater or less diameters of the bobbins or
spools to be wound. When the machine is winding coarse thread the traverse
movement of the thread guide must be more rapid than when winding fine
thread. In order that the traverse movement may be adjusted to the fineness
of the thread the belt pulleys L, L', are made conical, and the belt K is
passed between the jaws of a guide X, which is constructed to slide upon the
frame of the machine so that it can be set to guide the belt upon any portions
of the conical pulleys, and may be secured there by a clamp screw q.
Previous to winding the thread the belt is set to run upon those portions of the
conical pulleys, which will give the requisite traversemotion to the presserguide.
In order that the rock shaft F of the presser guide G may traverse end wise
without escaping the control of the cam Uwhich regulates the position of the
presserguidethe arm P,upon whichthe projection of the cam lever V operates,
is not fixed to the rock shaft but is secured to a frame Z, which is provided
with tubular journals 7, 7, through which the rock shaft passes so that it cau
swing with the rock shaft. The lower side of this frame is grooved, as shewn
at t, to receive the end of a tongue Y projecting downwards from the weight
arm I, which, as before described, is firmly secured to the rock shaft and
moves endwise with it; the groove of the swinging frame Z thus permits
the endwise movement of the rock shaft and its presser guide, but compels
them to rock with the arm P', upon which the cam lever V operates,
while as the groove where the sliding takes place is at a distance from the
axis of the rock shaft, the strain upon the parts and the wear are small.
The distance which each lip is permitted to traverse along the traverse
changer must be varied to suit the length of the bobbin or spool to be wound
by the machine, being greater for a long bobbin or spool than for a shorter
one. In order that this variation may be, readily effected the lips are fitted
to carriages u, u, which slide in grooves in the arms M,M', and each carriage
is traversed by a screw x, x, whose neck is arranged to turn in a lug secured
to the arm, so that by turning the screw the lip may be moved and set to the
proper position for the bobbin or spool to be wound. When the lips have
been set by the screws they may be securely fixed in their places by clamp

page_text: screws, which passing through slots in the shanks of the lips clamp them
securely to the arms. The bobbin or spool shaft B is fitted with a belt
pulley B¹, to which the driving belt is applied, and the belt is controlled by a
shipper connected with a bar C, which is arranged to slide end wise on the
frame of the machine, so that by moving said bar in one direction or the
other the belt is shifted from a fast to a loose pulley on the driving shaft, or
vice versa, as required to stop the machine or set it in motion. The slide
-bar-C¹ is connected with a weight or spring which tends to move the belt
from the fast to the loose pulley, and it is retained in the position to maintain
the belt on the fast pulley by a latch D engaging in a notch upon its tilge.
In order that the machine may stop whenever the thread breaks the thread
is conducted to the presser guide G from the large bobbin or spool, whence it
is wound on the small bobbins or spools over two bars y, y, secured to a
standard projectingupwards from the table on which the machine is mounted,
and under a bar z projecting from an arm Ei, which is pivotted loosely to the
frame of the machine, so that the said bar z and arm are held from dropping
by the tension of the thread as long as the thread is unbroken. The arm E¹
passes over the end of the lever latch D', which is also pivotted to the frame
of the machine with its latch end v in the proper position to engage in one of
the several notches formed in the slide bar C', and prevent it from moving
endwise to shift the driving belt from the fast to the loose pulley on the
driving shaft. When however the thread breaks the arm E¹ is permitted to
drop and bear upon one end of the lever latch: D', whereby that end is
depressed sufficiently to disengage the latch end from the notch of the slide
bar C, and permit the belt to be transferred by the shipper to the loose
pulley, thus stopping the machine. An automatic winding machine should
also stop itself as soon as the last layer of thread is wound upon the bobbin
or spool, and the same machine should be able to wind bobbins or spools
of different sizes which vary in the thickness of their heads.
In order that the present machine may stop itself when the last layer of
thread is wound, an elbow lever H' is pivotted upon a hub secured to the pivot
of the cam lever V, with its horizontal arm e resting upon one end of the
lever latch D, and with its upright arm el-sufficiently long to be within the
range of motion of a projection d secured to the stock W₁ of the presser
guide G when it is moving towards the frame of the machine. As this elbow
lever is pivotted upon and carried by a hub secured to the pivot of the cain
lever V it is moved laterally by the cam lever as it is moved by the cam U, and
the adjustment of the parts is such that when the cam lever is moved to
the position it occupies during the winding of the last layer of thread-the

page_text: upright arm of the elbow lever is placed by the action of the cam within
the range of motion of the projection d¹ of the presser guide stock, so as to
be moved by it to depress the lever catch and disengage the slide bar C¹
of the belt shipper, thus permitting the belt to be shifted to the loose pulley
of the driving shaft.
In order to adapt the machine to bobbins or spools of different sizes with
heads of different thicknesses, the shank of the projection d' is constructed to
slide in the stock of the presser guide, and is held in place by a clamp screw,
by moving which the projection is loosed and clamped so that the projection
constitutes an adjustable instrument which may be set in the desired position
and then secured. The same result may of course be produced by connecting
an adjustable screw s¹ with the upright arm of the elbow lever, or by making
the whole elbow lever adjustable, either of which constructions would be the
equivalent of the adjustable instrument above described. If the machine
were arranged to be connected and disconnected with the prime mover of the
factory by means of a clutch instead of by shifting the belt from a fast to a
loose pulley, and vice versa, the slide bar C¹ would of course be connected
with the clutch lever, and the stopping of the machine would be effected
in the same manner as has been described.
When thread is wound with the machine thus described, a tension appa-
ratus must be used to regulate the tension at which the thread is wound
on the bobbin or spool, such tension apparatus may be one of the well known
thread tensions used in sewing machines, and should be situated between the
bars (y, z, y,) of the stop motion and the large bobbin or spool whence the
thread is drawn, or it may consist of a friction brake operating directly on
the large bobbin or upon an arbor to which the large bobbin is secured.
The Invention thus described is not restricted to the particular form and
arrangement of the parts described, as these may be varied to a great extent
to meet the views of different constructors or thread manufacturers without
excluding the principles of the Invention. What is claimed as the Invention
to be secured by Letters Patent is,--
First, the combination of the traverse changer of a thread-winding machine
with a moveable support, substantially as set forth.
Second, the combination of the thread guide of a thread-winding machine
with controlling mechanism which holds it independently of the thread at
the proper distance from the axis of the bobbin or spool, substantially as
set. forth.
Third, the combination of the thread guide of a thread-winding machine

page_text: with controlling mechanism and an adjustable lever, substantially as set
forth.
Fourth, the combination of the thread guide with the shaft that sustains
it in such manner that the thread guide can be set at a greater or less
distance from the bobbin or spool mandril, substantially as set forth.
Fifth, the combination of the rock shaft of the thread guide with a swing
frame. substantially as set forth.
Sixth, the combination of the-lips-which-traverse-the traverse-changer-
of a thread-winding machine with the arms that hold them by adjusting
screws, substantially as set forth.
Seventh, the combination of the thread guide with the latch of the belt
shipper or its equivalent, so that the traverse motion of the former is made
available for stopping the machine, substantially as set forth.
Eighth, the combination of the thread guide and latch of the belt shipper
with an adjustable instrument whose position may be changed when bobbins
or spools having heads of different thicknesses are used to enable the thread
guide to stop the machine notwithstanding this difference in the bobbins
or spools.
In witness whereof, I, the said Hezekiah Couant, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
HEZEKIAH CONANT. (L.s.)