IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SIZING AND DRYING YARN AND FABRICS
Year: 1876

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Barnes, William Crossland,
and William Westley at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the
5th December 1876.
JAMES BARNES, Slasher, WILLIAM CROSSLAND, Overlooker, and WILLIAM WESTLEY,
Mechanic, all of Preston, in the County of Lancaster. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SIZING AND DRYING YARN AND FABRICS."
"
This Invention, which relates principally to machines known as "slashers" and
tape machines," used for sizing and drying yarn, and is also applicable to other
machines in which one or more cylinders, heated by steam, is or are employed for
the purpose of drying yarn or fabrics, consists in arrangements whereby the one
movement of a single handle or part is caused to effect the starting of the machine
and the turning on of steam to the said cylinder or cylinders, and the other or
reverse movement of the said handle or part to effect the stopping of the machine
and the shutting off of the steam. In other words, by a single operation or move-
inent (as the case may be) either the machine is started and the steamn turned on, or
the machine is stopped and the steam shut off, thus not only preventing, when the
frame is set on, loss from running the yarn on to the beam in a wet state, but also
by the co-operation of the parts during the stopping operation obviating risk of the
cylinders being blown up through neglect or inattention of workmen, preventing
waste of steam when the frame is not in motion, and preventing the burning of the
yarn by contact with the cylinder.
The steam is supplied to the drying cylinder through a pipe fitted with a stop-
cock or tap which is ordinarily worked by hand; the operator opens it at the time of
starting, thereby letting the steam into the cylinder, and closes it on stopping,
thereby shutting off the steam. Between the stop-cock or tap and the cylinder
there is usually employed an equilibrium or regulating valve, for the purpose of
keeping the steam at a uniform pressure. The regulating valve is generally
constructed with an arm or lever, on which is a weight adjustable to the pressure
required. When an oquilibrium valve of this construction is used we connect its
arm or lever to the starting handle (which controls the driving belt of the machine)
by means of a band or chain passing over a pulley or pulleys, and so arranged that
when the handle is moved so as to stop the machine the arm or lever will be lifted,
Povice 2d I

page_text: and the valve thereby entirely or partially closed and vice versa. Other kinds of
valves provided with arms or levers may be used for the purposes of our Invention.
Our Invention may also be applied in connection with a steam valve having no
arm or lever, but constructed with a vertical valve spindle supporting weights near
its upper end. When using such a valve we pass a pin through the upper end of
the valve spindle and arrange a forked lever (operated by the starting handle)
beneath the pin to raise the valve spindle, and so close the valve when the machine
is stopped. When the machiue is started the valves above mentioned will open
automatically by reason of the weight or weights on the arm or lever or on the
vertical valve spindle, as the case may be, being allowed to drop.
Other arrangements of apparatus may be constructed to operate on the principle
of our Invention.
In lieu of a chain or band the equilibrium or other valve having an arm or lever
may, for instance, be actuated by a rod or rods in conjunction with the starting
handle arranged to operate a lever, cam, eccentric, or inclined plane.
A rod or rods and levers may also be applied to valves having vertical spindles.
Means are provided for adjusting the length of the band, chain, or rods between
the valve arm or lever and the starting handle.