IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Boyd, of Lees Brook, near Oldham, in the
County of Lancaster, Machine Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING."
Sealed the 26th March 1858, and dated the 8th October 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Boyd at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 8th
October 1857.
I, ALEXANDER BOYD, of Lees Brook, near Oldham, in the County of
Lancaster, Machine Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING,'
to be as follows:-
This Invention relates, first, to an improved copping motion or combination
of machinery for building the cops on the spindles. The improvements consist
of a compound chasing rail and shaping plates connected by a hinge and
bearing on a nut, which is moved along a screw. The chasing rail and
shaping plates are raised and lowered by the nut, and are so shaped that
the chase of the cop can be regulated with facility.
My Invention consists also in an improved regulator for governing the
speed of the spindles when winding on, according to the diameter of the

page_text: cops.
This improved regulator consists of a rail, which is brought against a
pulley attached to a catch box applied to one of the wheels, which turn the
screw of the radial arm. Around this pulley a band passes, and causes it to
revolve; when the cop increases in diameter it brings down the counter-
faller, thereby bringing the catch box in gear, and turning the screw to
move the nut further from the fulcrum of the radial arm.
My improvements in machines for doubling relate to the machines called
"twiners," and consist in an improved mode of holding or retaining the yarns
during the operation of winding-on the spindles. While the slide is going
out the yarns pass freely through the holding instruments as usual, but before
the winding-on commences, the holding instruments, which are fixed to a
cross shaft, and are made with grooved or other retaining surfaces, are pressed
on to flannel or other yielding surfaces, thereby holding the yarns during the
winding-on to the spindles.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alexander Boyd in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
8th April 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
BOYD, of Lees Brook, near Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Machine
Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Alexander Boyd, Her special licence that I, the said. Alexander
Boyd, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Alexander Boyd, my 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Alexander Boyd, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing, under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,

page_text: 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 Alexander Boyd, do hereby declare the
nature of my 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 (that is to say):-
The nature of my Invention consists, first, in an improved copping motion.
or combination of machinery applied to the carriage of a mule or other
machine for spinning or doubling for building the cops on the spindles.
Secondly, in an improved regulator or combination of machinery for
governing the speed of the spindles of machines for spinning and doubling
when winding-on, according to the diameter of the cops.
And, thirdly, in an improved combination of parts applicable to the machines
for doubling called "twiners," for holding or retaining the yarns during the.
operation of winding them on the spindles.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood, and readily
carried into operation, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me,
reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, and to the
figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of part of the carriage of a self-
acting mule, to which my improved copping motion is applied. Figure 2 is
a section through my improved copping motion. a, a, is part of the wood-
work of the carriage; b, b, the wheels on which it runs; c, is an upright
shaft, revolving in bearings attached to the carriage, as, in some copping
motions of the present construction. This shaft has a pulley d fixed to it,
around which passes a band fixed at both ends; consequently as the carriage
moves to and fro, the band causes the pulley d to revolve, thereby giving
motion to the pinion e, first in one direction and then in the other, and a
to-and-fro motion to the rack f, which is fixed to the box g; this box slides
in the rail h fixed to brackets attached to the carriage square. The screw i
works in bearings fixed to the box g, and this screw is turned partly round at
every stretch by a click lever acting on the ratchet wheel i¹ in the usual
manner. On the screw i is the nut i; within the box 9 is the double
shaping plate j, to which is hinged the chasing rail k, which is furnished with
a tongue . Both the double shaping platej and the tongue k¹ bear on the
nut is, and as this nut is traversed along the screw i in building a cop, the
shaping plate and chasing rail are gradually lowered; by this means

page_text: the requisite action is produced on the bowl and on the faller shafts
and 1, to which it is connected in the ordinary manner. The object of this
part of my Invention is to simplify the construction of the copping motion,
and to afford facility in regulating the chase of the cop.
Figure 3 is an elevation, partly in section, of part of a doubling machine,
called a "twiner," to which the second and third parts of my Invention are
applied; and Figure 4 is a plan of the same. m is the frame of the machine;
n, the rail on which the carriage or slide o moves to and fro; p is the radial
arm, which is jointed to the slide, and p¹ is the lever by which the radial arm
is raised and lowered; 9, 9, are the skewers on which the cops of yarn to be
doubled are mounted, and r are the spindles on which the doubled yarn is
wound; s, s¹, are the faller and counterfaller shafts. The above parts, and
the others not particularly referred to hereafter, but which are requisite to
complete the machine, are made in the usual manner. To one end of the
screw p² of the radial arm p is fixed a bevil pinion p³, which is driven by. a
similar pinion t fixed to the friction box t'; this friction box and the friction
pulley are mounted on a stud in the same centre as that of the radial
arm p. To the friction pulley t is fixed a spur pinion t³ gearing into the
rack u, which is supported at one end on the stud u', and at the other end by
a bowl running on the bracket u³; one end of a chain or band u³ is attached
to this end of the rack, and after being guided over the pulley u*, the chain or
band is secured to a lever u³ fixed to the counterfaller shaft s'. The mode
of operation of these parts is as follows:-When the bottom of the cop is
commenced, the nut of the screw p² is near the fulcrum stud of the radial
arm p, and as the bottom of the cop increases in size the nut is gradually
moved towards the end of the radial arm, as in machines for spinning and
doubling of the usual construction. As long as the yarn to be wound on the
spindles remains at a proper degree of tension, the lever us retains the
position shewn in dotted lines in Figure 3, and the friction pulley t is held
out of contact with the friction box t¹, but as soon as the yarn becomes too
tight, the lever us takes the position shewn by the full lines in Figure 3,
thereby drawing the friction pulley in contact with the friction box t¹, and
causing the rotary motion of the spur pinion t, which is imparted to this
pinion by the rack u during the running-in of the carriage or slide, to be
transmitted to the bevil pinion t, and by it to the pinion p³ on the screw p³,
thereby making the screw revolve, and moving the screw nut further from
the fulcrum of the radial arm; by this means the letting-off chain v. is
unwound, and the speed of the spindles r. is reduced until the increasing

page_text: diameter of the cops causes the yarn to become again too tight. The friction
pulley t is drawn out of contact with the friction box t¹ by the spring uⓇ as
soon as sufficient motion has been given to the screw p³, as above described.
The above improved combination of machinery forms a self-acting regulator
for governing the speed of the spindles, according to the diameter of the
cops; and I wish it to be understood that a band passing over a pulley may
be used instead of the rack and pinion.
The last part of my Invention is shewn best in Figures 5 and 6, which
represent two views of my improved holder for retaining the yarn during the
winding on to the spindles. These holders, which are marked vs, are shewn
also in Figures 3 and 4. They are made of any suitable length, and are
fixed to a shaft extending the whole length of the slide. At one end of the
shaft is fixed a ratchet wheel v¹, into which takes the catch lever v²; to the
holder shaft is also fixed one end of a chain v³, the other end of which is
fixed to a spring ; the upright lever is also fixed to the same shaft. The
holders are grooved, as shewn in Figure 5, or have other retaining surfaces,
and, when closed, they press the yarn against flannel or other yielding surface
applied to the rail o¹. The mode of operation is as follows:-The Drawing,
Figure 3, represents the parts in the positions they occupy when the slide o
is going towards the spindles r, which are now supposed to be winding the
yarn up. As soon as the slide arrives near the spindles r, the holders which
had been held closed by the spring * are opened by the lever v³ coming in
contact with the bowl or projection ; the catch lever v then takes into the
teeth of the ratchet wheel v¹, and when the slide in going out arrives at the
end of its back stretch the catch lever v³ comes against the bowl v³, and
liberates the catch ve from the ratchet wheel v¹; the yarn is then again taken
hold of by the holders, as before described. This improved holding
apparatus retains the yarns securely, and offers great facility in piecing up
broken ends.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit
myself to the details herein set forth, as the same may be varied without
departing from the peculiar character thereof; but what I claim is,-
First, the improved combination of parts forming a copping motion, as
shewn and described in reference to Figures 1 and 2, and particularly the
pieces marked k, k¹, and j.
Secondly, the improved combination of parts for governing the speed of
the spindles according to the diameter of the cops, as shewn and described

page_text: in reference to Figures 3 and 4, and particularly the parts marked u, t³, t³,
t¹, and t.
.And, lastly, the improved combination of parts applicable to the machines
for doubling, called "twiners," for holding or retaining the yarns during the
winding on, as shewn and described in reference to Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6,
and particularly the holders marked v³.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Boyd, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord
. One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
ALEXANDER BOYD. (L.S.)