Improvements in Machines for Spinning and Twisting Fibres.
Year: 1896

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Spinning and Twisting Fibres.
I ARTHUR WILSON METCALFE of Grove Mill Belfast in County Down
Flaxspinner do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the shape of the warves on spindles for spinning
and the like, to guides for preventing the hand from running off the warve, to
n improved method of supporting the builder rods, to an improved thread-
plate, to divisions for separating the bobbins to prevent the yarns from lashing
one another, and to improvements in flexible flyer spinning.
The warve is principally adapted for spindles where the said warve has to
traverse up and down, causing varying tension on the driving band. The shape
is similar to that called "capstan" the sides being sloped inwards towards the
central part in such a manner as to cause the slack or leading-on part of the
band to creep un towards the largest diameter, to take up the slack, but sufficiently
sloped to cause the driving rart of the band to always pull off about the central
or smallest part of the warve, to secure as far as possible uniformity of speed.
The upper and lower part of the warve may be differently sloped according as
the band leads on from above or below. When the spindle is stopped the band
slips to the central or smallest part and runs more loosely.
Guides are provided either above or below as required to prevent the band from
running off the warve when inclined to do so, and such guides may be separato
for each spindle, and held down by or attached to the socket of the same, or to the
spindle rail, or several such guides may be formed or fixed upon a bar and
suitably held in position.
The builder rods for supporting the ring rail of ring spinning and twisting
frames are guided at their upper end in bearings supported independently of the
spindle rail, or in such manner that with the descent of the spindle rail the said
bearings do not also descend but afford a constant support for the rods at. their
upper end.
The foregoing improvements are chiefly applicable to the system of ring
spinning described in Patent No. 11280 2 wherein the spindle and bobbin are
made to descend slowly once as the bobbin is filled, whilst the ring rail traverses
up and down constantly within short limits to build the yarn in a conical shape
upon the bobbin.
The thread plates may be especially formed to prevent wet and other objection-
able matter from falling an the rings and bobbins, and are subdivided into
sections for one or more spindles each. These sections may be hinged or supported
so as to be separately or all simultaneously lifted up for removing one or all the
bobbins as in doffing, and so constructed as to be each capable of removal for
cleaning or other purposes, but not readily displaced in regular work.
Partitions to separate the spindles are provided, which may be either formed
upon or depend from the thread plates or from the brackets thereof, or may be

page_text: supported independently upon a rail or rod so as to be readily moved in or out of
position, or removed for cleaning and the like.
The improvements in flexible flyer spinning that is to say that system of
spinning described in Patent No. 204874 consist according to one arrangement
in having the bobbin to descend gradually as it fills, whilst the builder controll-
ing the flexible flyer is caused to move up and down through a small distance
within constant limits. The ring or guide confining the path of the flexible
flyer is mounted on a fixed rail at a suitable distance below the eye of the flyer.
Pillars or slides connected to the top and bottom stationary rails form guides for
the spindle rail, and the builder rail to work up and down on. The builder rail
may be provided with a bush held rigidly or flexibly in it for supporting the
blade of the spindle.
According to another arrangement of the said system of flexible flyer spinning
the bobbin or other vehicle for carrying the yarn, is mounted upon the upper end
of a tube which may be closed at its upper end to exclude dirt and the like, At
its lower end is mounted the warve and immediately above the warve is a rail
which may be either stationary or move within certain constant limits up and
down to control the position of the flexible flyer whose collar support fits loosely
around the spindle tube and rests upon the said rail. The tube is supported
beneath the warve by a rail which may be capable of moving slowly downwards
once as the bobbin fills, or up and down upon the spindle through the whole
traverse of the bobbin, or in short up and down strokes each time gradually
descending as in cap spinning till the lowest point is reached when the bobbin
is full. In the two latter cases the flexible flyer remains at a constant height.
The ring or guide confining the path of the flexible flyer is mounted in a fixed
rail at a suitable distance below the eye of the flyer. The said flexible flyer eye may
be made renewable upon the stem.
All the above mentioned improvements in spinning and the like relate o
machines for flax and like fibres chiefly, in either the wet or dry state, and especially
when it is desirable to maintain approximately a constant distance between the
thread-plate and the eye of the traveller or flyer. For this latter purpose a
traversing thread plate may also be applied.
Dated this 15th day of December 1896.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Spinning and Twisting Fibres.
I ARTHUR WILSON METCALFE of Grove Mill, Belfast in County Down,
Flaxspinner do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
This invention relates to the shape of the warves on spindles for spinning
and the like, to guides for preventing the band from running off the warve, to
an improved method of supporting the builder rods, to an improved thread-
plate, to divisions for separating the bobbins to prevent the yarns from lashing
one another. And to improvements in flexible flyer spinning.
The warve is principally adapted for spindles where the said warve has to
traverse up and down causing varying tension on the driving band. The shape
is similar to that known as capstan," the sides being sloped inwards towards
the central part in such a manner as to cause the slack or leading-on part of the
band to creep up towards the largest diameter in order to take up the slack, but

page_text: sufficiently sloped to cause the driving part of the band to always puil off about
the central or smallest part of the warve so as to secure as far as possible
uniformity of speed.
Guides are provided either above or below the centre of warve to prevent the
leading-on part of the band from mounting over and running off the side of the
warve. Such guides may be separate for each spindle, and held down by or
attached to the socket of the same or to the spindle rail; or several such guides
may be formed or fixed upon a bar and suitably held in position.
The builder rods for supporting the ring rails of ring spinning and twisting
frames are guided at their upper end in bearings supported independently of the
spindle rail, or in such manner that with the descent of the spindle rail the said
bearings do not also descend but afford a constant support for the builder rods
at their upper end.
The threadplates may be especially formed to prevent wet and other objection-
able matter from falling on the rings and bobbins, and this is performed by
causing the front part of the plate to project outwards as far as is desirable beyond
the eye thro' which the yarn passes, whilst the said eye is raised like a button
upon the surface of the plate to keep as much as possible of the dirt and moisture
from passing thro' with the yarn. The said threadplates are subdivided into
sections preferably for one spindle each. These sections are hinged and supported
so as to be capable of being lifted separately or all simultaneously as when
removing one or all the bobbins.
The said sections may also be so constructed as to be capable of removal easily,
but not readily displaced when in actual work.
Partitions to separate the spindles and prevent the yarns from lashing each
other are provided which are preferably formed upon the brackets supporting the
thread plates, they may also be separate parts mounted upon a rod capable of
swinging the partitions into position or backwards to facilitate cleaning the
frame or doffing.
The improvements in flexible flyer spinning consist in having the bobbin and
spindle to descend gradually as the bobbin fills, whilst the builder controlling
the flexible flyer is caused to move up and down through a small distance within
constant limits so as to produce a cop shaped bobbin. The ring or guide con
fining the path of the flexible flyer is mounted on a fixed rail at a suitable distance
below the eye of the flyer.
The builder rail carrying the flexible flyer may be provided with a bush held
rigidly or flexibly in it for supporting the blade of the spindle.
The flyer eye may be made renewable upon the stem since the eye in wet
spinning or doubling requires to be made of brass or some like material which
becomes cut through by the yarn, whilst the stem and lower part of the flexible
flyer is preferably made of steel. The joint may be made by soldering, brazing
or electrical welding.
Having reference to the accompanying drawings
Fig. 1. Shews in sectional elevation the front part of a ring spinning frame
and illustrates one arrangement of the thread-plates and partitions between
spindles, also method of supporting the guides for the builder rods, and position
of guide for driving band leading on to warve below centre.
Fig. 2. Shews in sectional elevation the front part of a flexible flyer spinning
frame with the relative position and movement of the parts. It also illustrates
another arrangement of the thread plates and partitions the latter being mov-
able instead of fixed, also another method of guiding & supporting the builder
rods, and position of guide for driving band when leading on to warve above
centre.
In each of the. Figures the same letters refer to the same or corresponding
parts.
In Fig. 1, the builder rod A is supported at its upper end by a socket attached
to a rail B fixed along the front of frame whilst its lower end is guided by

page_text: another socket attached to the bottom rail B₁ but the two rails B & B¹ may
also be so placed as that the rod A passes directly through either or both of them
thus dispensing with need of separate sockets.
The spindle rail C mounted upon sliding brackets 1) at intervals is guided in
its descent by the pillar slides
In Fig. 2. The pillar slides E serve the same purpose as in Fig. 1 but are made
so as to guide the builder rods which pass up through them. Either of these two
methods of supporting the builder rod B are applicable to either Fig. 1 or Fig. 2.
The same remark also applies to the two arrangements of thread plates and
partition plates shewn in Figs. 1 & 2. The raised eye of the thread plate is shewn
at f.
In Fig. 1. The threadplate F is made preferably in short sections equal to the
pitch of the spindles apart, each plate meeting about in the centre between each
spindle and resting upon brackets G attached to a fixed rail behind the
spindles.
The lower part of the bracket at G¹ is projected downwards and between the
spindles to form a dividing plate between them, and its lower extremity is sloped
down preferably to the back to cause the water to drip off behind. The plate F
swings upon an axis H resting upon one of the plates or brackets G at each side
of it. This axis may consist of either separate short pins for each thread plate
or a continuous rod for several, and may pass through a round hole in the
brackets G or rest at the bottom of an open slot so that the threadplates F may be
readily lifted off.
Behind the thread plates F a rod or bar is mounted upon brackets at intervals
so constructed as to permit the bar to be turned round in them. The bar J is
made to act upon the rere portion of the plates F so that when it is turned down-
wards at the front it causes the rere of the thread plates to be depressed and the
front part to rise all simultaneously to the position shewn in dotted lines as
required when doffing. When in its normal position the bar J prevents the
plates F from being too readily removed out of their places.
In Fig. 2 the lower part of the thread plate bracket is cut away from the upper
part G and a separate partition plate G is mounted upon a rod K, one plate being
between each pair of spindles as before. The rod is made capable of being
turned and all the partition plates G mounted upon it may be simultaneously
swung backwards when required.
The driving band passing on to the warve L in the direction indicated by the
arrow is shewn as applied above and below the centre in Figs. 2 and 1 respectively
and the position of the guide or guard to prevent the band mounting over tho
side of the warve is indicated at band a respectively.
Fig. 2 also illustrates the action of the rails in flexible flyer spinning.
The spindle rail C at commencement of spin is at the position M indicated, and
as the bobbin is being filled the spindle and rail descend slowly till the position M
is reached when the bobbin is full.
The builder rail P has a constant up and own motion between the
limits N&N by which it imparts a similar stroke to the flexible flyer Q whose
eye at the top R spins the yarn on to the bobbin in the form of a cop. The outline
of the full bobbin is shewn in dotted lines upon the empty bobbin T and also
dotted at T when the rail C is at its lowest position, that is, when the bobbin
becomes full.
At S is shewn a thickening of the flexible flyer R where the eye is jointed to
the stem.
The confining ring V is mounted in a stationary rail V secured to a projection
of the frame.
Fig. 3. Shews in front elevation some of the thread plate brackets G with the
partition plates G' hanging down between the spindles & bobbins T to separate
the threads.
Figs. 4 shew the form of the warve with the band passing round it when driving

page_text: and the direction of the band is indicated by the arrow.
by the spindle socket is also shewn.
The guard a held down
The contour of the warve is of three parts preferably, namely a small curve at
centre 11, two straight sloping sides 12 making an angle of about 25° with the
vertical and a bead 73 to assist in preventing the band from mounting.
Fig. 5 shews the warve when the band approaches from above and the guard b
is held down by the spindle socket similar to a in Fig. 4. In this view the band
is shewn running all towards the centre of warve as when the spindle is arrested.
Figs. 6 and shew another form of guard a the several guards being formed
on one bar a 1 and secured to spindle rail.
Figs. 8 and 9 shew a similar guard for above the warve, in which case the con-
necting bar b1 is carried in position by occasional feet secured to spindle rail C.
Fig. 10 illustrates another form of guard applicable for either above or below
the warve, the guards being mounted upon a rod d carried at intervals by the
brackets e.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is.
1. The method of supporting the builder rods of ring or flexible flyer spinning
and twisting frames independently of the traversing spindle rail by means of an
independent upper support substantially as shewn in Fig. 1.
2. The method of supporting the said builder rods by causing them to pass up
through the fixed pillar slides E substantially as described and shewn in Fig 2.
3. The conformation of the warve L as employed for spindles which traverse up
and down, for the purpose of preserving regularity of drive at all parts of the
traverse substantially as shewn in Figs. 4 and 5.
4. The employment of guards for preventing the driving band from leaping off
the warve in ring and flexible flyer spinning and twisting frames substantially
as described and shewn in Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.
5. The arrangement of partition plates between the spindles of ring and flexible
flyer frames for wet yarns, substantially as shewn and described in Figs. 1 and 3,
6. The arrangement of movable partition plates for ring and flexible flyer
frames for wet yarns substantially as described and shewn in Fig. 2.
7. The arrangement of separated thread plates each forming a cover over the
spindle to obviate wet and dirt from falling thereon, and mounted upon brackets
out of which they may be lifted individually, or in numbers together upon a
continuous axis, substantially as described and shewn in Figs. 1 2 and 3.
8. The arrangement of a continuous bar J for simultaneously raising several
threadplates of the description specified in Claim 7 and substantially as described
and shewn in Fig. 1.
9. The arrangement of the rails V1, P and C in flexible flyer spinning and
twisting frames in which the spindle rail C with the bobbin makes one descent
as the bobbin fills, whilst the builder rail P imparts a constant up and down
motion to the flyer R to form the cone of the cop, and the controlling ring V is held
stationary, all substantially as described and shewn in Fig. 2.
10. The eye of the flexible flyer is jointed upon the shank by means of solder,
brazing or electric welding for purpose of renewal when worn out.
103
1007
ARTHUR W. METCALFE.