IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING YARNS FOR WEAVING (PARTLY APPLICABLE TO THE MANUFACTURE OF SEWING THREAD) AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1879

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Alexander Melville Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th April 1879. A com-
munication from abroad by Jules Joseph Imbs, of Paris, France.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent. "IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING YARNS FOR WEAVING
(PARTLY APPLICABLE TO THE MANUFACTURE OF SEWING THREAD) AND IN
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN." [A communication from abroad by Jules Joseph
Imbs, of Paris, France.]
This Invention relates to improvements in the preparation of yarns for weaving.
The importance of treating yarns before being woven has hitherto been almost
entirely overlooked although both the weaving operation and the fabric depend
upon the quality of the threads employed, and these should therefore have the
necessary qualities imparted to them according to the kind of fabric to be
produced, and have their imperfections remedied before and not during or after
weaving.
According to this Invention the yarns are subjected to a series of operations
having for object, 1st, to remove from the warps all adherent foreign matters such
as straw, seeds, &c., and correct any burls or other irregularities in the thickness
caused by imperfections in the twist and knots, or if irremediable the defective
portions are cut out and the yarns joined up again, similarly for any weak portions
which would be liable to break in weaving.
2nd. To beam all the warps of the same set at exactly equal tensions and with
exact uniformity both as regards their total length and the length of each convolution
upon the warp beam so as to unwind at exactly the same rate.
3rd. To size the warps at the lowest possible temperature and prevent the
threads from adhering to one another or to the apparatus, the sizing being per-
formed as much as possible for each thread separately and so that the beaming shall
be subsequent to the sizing; to prepare for dyeing by the use of certain materials
in the sizing which in this case would precede instead of following the dyeing; to
dispense whenever possible with sizing and to replace it by damping, steaming, or
still better by boiling the warps, doing this on the loom itself; also to give a high
polish to the threads.

page_text: 4th. To strengthen the weft yarns by giving them considerable twist and yet
making them soft and at the same time clean by the operation hereinafter
prescribed for the treatment of weft threads.
CLEANING WARP THREADS.-This is effected by the friction at a very high speed
applied over the entire circumference of the thread of two solid elastic rubbers
having parallel surfaces, and partaking if necessary in the to and fro movement of
the bobbins or winding apparatus, considerable pressure being employed and the
thread put in tension. Hitherto the thread has never been properly cleaned,
having merely passed over brushes or pads without being put in tension or having
any pressure applied, and as these brushes or pads do not follow the form of the
yarn they fail to arrest defects and only partially remove the burls and adhering
impunities. By means of this Invention on the other hand by carefully following
the herein described method the thread is delivered perfectly clean, free from
all foreign matters, and compressed to an equal extent throughout while the
exceedingly coarse or fine portions are removed, the thread is thus both cleaned,
strengthened, and tested at all points.
Various methods of effecting the above objects may be adopted, and the following
is deemed most suitable. In order that the yarn may unwind freely from the
bobbin the latter is modified. The yarn to be treated is wound upon one of the
three bobbins hereinafter described. The first bobbin represented at A, Figure 1,
of the annexed Drawing has flanges at the ends normal to the spindle B; C is the
yarn. The yarn can only be unwound quickly from the side of this form of bobbin
which causes a tension injurious to the yarn and varying with the diameter of the
bobbin. It is therefore proposed to give the bobbin the form shown in Figure 2, in
which A is the bobbin; B, the yarn; and C, the eye through which the yarn passes;
and the bevelled ends of the bobbin being highly polished the yarn can be wound
off at the end of the bobbin at a high speed without chafing or straining the yarn.
The second bobbin which is used in spinning frames consists of a cylinder A, as
shown in Figure 3, the yarn being usually wound off at the side. In order to wind
off from the end of a bobbin of this form, a cap of the shape indicated in dotted
lines at C in Figure 4 is added to prevent the yarn rubbing against the whole
length of the bobbin and make it unwind rapidly and regularly.
The cop (shown in Figure 5) formed in the mule always unwinds readily from
the end, and it is only necessary to bring the guide eye or twizzle as near the point
of the cap as possible in order to prevent friction of the yarn along the cop in
winding off. The yarn rapidly unwound by this means is caused to pass at the
highest possible speed between two elastic surfaces pressed together by a weight,
spring, or otherwise, as shown in Figure 6, in which A represents the bobbin or
cop; B, the spindle; and C, the yarn; D, the guide; E, the felt, indiarubber, or
other elastic rubber; F, the weight; and G, the winding on bobbin. The yarn in
passing between the elastic rubbers is uniformly compressed and polished by the
friction over its whole surface, at same time that any projecting matters not forming
an integral part of the yarn are retained by the rubbers which are afterwards
cleaned. By increasing the pressure of the rubbers and the speed of the yarn, or
by enlarging the frictional surfaces, the yarn may be more or less thoroughly acted
on as may be necessary.
With these rubbers may be combined one or more V grooved rollers, shown in
Figure 7, turning freely on an axis, and around which the yarn is carried. Warp
threads after being thus cleaned, smoothed, and tested may be thoroughly depended
upon, and should preferably be wound upon skeleton or perforated metallic bobbins
with a view to their immersion in a bath as hereinafter described.
It has been mentioned that the ordinary method of beaming yarns leaves much
to be desired as the warp threads are never of a uniform length or at the same
tension.
The ordinary system of beaming is objectionable, 1st, on account of the method
of winding off at the side of the bobbins, as the tension of the thread varies

page_text: according to the position of the bobbin and its decrease in diameter; and 2ndly, on
account of the necessity, through the want of dependence upon the quality of the
yarns and the space occupied by the bobbins, of first winding the yarns upon a
number of rollers and afterwards rewinding the whole upon the warp beam. The
result is that the threads are not laid regularly, but run from side to side, thus.
forming coils of unequal length, so that in weaving the warps are unwound from
the warp beam at unequal rates and tensions. In consequence the shock of the
batten comes first on the shortest warp threads, which are thus easily broken, which
would not be the case were the blow borne by all the warp threads simultaneously..
It is therefore proposed to beam the whole of the warp threads at once. It is not
easy to wind within a limited space two, three, or four thousand threads at a uniform
speed and tension with facilities for the selection and repair of any defective threads..
The arrangements preferred for this purpose are, 1st, the employment of bobbins
winding off from the end, as in Figure 2, and preferably made of metal as affording
a more exact and regular delivery of the thread; 2nd, arranging these bobbins
horizontally with their top ends outwards towards the attendant, so as to occupy
less space, see Figure 8; the bobbins, which are tubes having slightly coned flanges
at their ends, are mounted upon round wooden pegs in a creel; 3rd, a creel of any
form, but in which all the bobbins are ranged around the outside end outwards in
rows, as in Figures 9 and 10, so as to be readily accessible for arranging or changing
the bobbins, and mending the threads; in front of the bobbins are placed the
thread guides, which are indicated by dots, the short lines indicating the bobbins ;
4th, the threads are all directed by preference in the same line, which should be
above the creel, and are thence conducted to the warp beam, after being subjected
to tensions varied according to the kind of warp or fabric to be made; by this
arrangement, combined with a suitable classification of the bobbins which will allow
of the ready detection of any defective thread, accidents may be at once repaired,
and the operation be effected with great rapidity.
This beaming arrangement, which ensures all the threads being wound upon the
beain at an equal tension and of equal length, may if necessary be placed in front
of the dressing or sizing machines.
In addition to the above for the botter arrangement of the threads upon the
rollers, and to enable a single thread only to pass between each tooth, I use a double
comb with alternate teeth, as shown in Figure 11, the even numbers passing above
and the odd numbers below said comb, or vice versa.
SIZING OR DRESSING WARPS.-For hand weaving this is usually done with the
yarns
in banks, or by means of a brush, and for power loom weaving by machines
of various kinds, but with imperfect results hitherto.
This part of the Invention relates, 1st, to polishing the threads; 2nd, to spacing the
threads during the drying; 3rd, to the mode of heating the lower part of the apparatus.
The Invention further relates to a special method of drying the threads, in which they
are made to perform a lengthened traverse, so as to enable them to dry more slowly.
In drying the size or dressing at a low temperature it is necessary that the threads
should make a lengthened traverse within a limited space, and for this purpose
they should be carried to and fro across the drying apparatus as many times as
possible. To do this guides or carriers are provided, which will ensure the least
amount of adhesion of the threads, and allow air to circulate freely. The guides or
carriers should also themselves be capable of moving to avoid injury or stretching
the threads, and all should move in unison. To this end fluted rollers are used, as
shown in Figure 12, so that the threads shall only touch small portions of the
circumference. These rollers are rotated at the same surface speed as the thread
travels, and thus avoid all strain upon the latter. The uniform motion of the
whole of the thread carrying rollers is effected in any suitable manner, but pre-
ferably by toothed gearing, as shown in Figures 15 and 16, this motion being
imparted, as shown in Figure 14, by means of a roller A turning in frictional con-
tact with beam B, through which motion is transmitted to the series of thread
carrying rollers.

page_text: The threads are polished by passing them on their exit from the sizing bath and
after they have been subjected to pressure between rollers, between rods, which
press slightly upon the threads between two very elastic surfaces. These smoothers
or polishers may also be placed at intermediate points when it is necessary to
smooth down the fibres after the passage of the threads round the guide rollers.
The threads may be spaced for drying, both as regards height and width, in various
ways, and they may be divided among several rollers, or the apparatus may be of
greater width than the warp. The threads are only brought close together when
they are dry and no longer liable to stick together.
In Figure 13 A shows the bath of size; B, the mode of spreading the sized
threads; C, the mode at which they are dried; D, the dried threads converging
and wound upon the beam E.
In order to easily regulate the heat and avoid all risk of fire I dispose steam
coils at the bottom of the apparatus, between which the air freely circulates and
becomes heated as it rises upwards towards the chimney, thus abstracting the
moisture from the threads. Figure 14 shows one example of a sizing machine
comprising only those operations which are subsequent to the threads leaving the
sizing bath.
The threads pass to and fro over rollers geared together, as shown on
a larger scale in Figure 15. A, driving cylinder; B, beam; C, steam pipes ;
D, thread carrying rollers; E, toothed gearing; F, rollers between which the
warps G pass; H, polishers. The apparatus is preferably open on all sides, so as
to allow of a free circulation of air.
The polishing, which resembles the cleaning, except that it is performed at a
slower speed and with a reduced pressure and tension on the thread, is effected by
passing the thread between either rotary or stationary cylinders covered with a
spongy elastic fabric and capable of being readily removed. Means may also be
provided for removing the size or dressing, as well as any down or impurities
adhering to the thread.
SIZING OR DRESSING THREADS TO BE DYED.-Instead of sizing the threads after
dyeing, and thus destroying the effect of the dye, the threads are sized before being
wound with materials which are agglutinative, not liable to dissolve in the dye
bath, and serve as a vehicle and mordant for the dye. The thread is impregnated
with these substances either by immersing the bobbins B, Figure 17, in a dye
bath A or by passing the thread through the bath, as in Figure 18. It is then
polished and dried, partly in the winding machine and partly in a drying room,
after which it is dried in its size and retains all its strength and brightness of
color. Various compositions may be employed for the purpose, but the best are
those which contain albumen mixed with other matters, such as glycerine, starch,
gum, &c
I will now describe the damping, steaming, and more especially boiling the warp
threads in the loom as a substitute for sizing or dressing. For those fabrics in
which size is not indispensable a great advantage may be gained by its omission.
In such cases the threads may be made sufficiently resistant as well as polished by
damping, steaming, and more especially by boiling. It has been observed that the
strength and elasticity of a thread increases in proportion to its degree of humidity
and elevation of temperature to an enormous extent. Thus an immense advantage
may be gained wherever it is possible to dispense with sizing, which does not
strengthen the thread to anything like the same extent, and destroys its elasticity
in a great measure. The bath may be prepared with soap or other material to
soften the thread.
Figures 19 and 20 show two examples; in Figure 19 A indicates the bath and B
the warp beam, while in Figures 20 A is the bath, B the beam, and C, C, are small
guide rollers immersed in the bath.
TREATMENT OF WEFT.-Weft threads at present receive no preparation, and the
defects of spinning are thus left unremedied. Moreover the threads do not always
unwind at the same tension, and their softness is only obtained by giving them
very little twist, which is the cause of their weakness. To remedy these defects-

page_text: the weft is spun with almost as much twist as the warps, then cleaned in the same
way by using bobbins unwinding from the end, as in Figure 21, or the side, as in
Figure 22 (in the latter case the bobbin rotates between spring centres B, C,) or by
using ordinary caps, Figure 23, and passing the thread between two pieces of felt
which compress it, and which are fixed in the end of the shuttle. Thread which
has received a sufficient and permanent twist supports this strain perfectly, and the
tension of the thread in unwinding is perfectly normal and regular. The extra
twist which makes the weft hard is corrected by the circumferential friction at a
high speed, pressure, and tension, and a weft thread is obtained which is character-
ised by being hard and strongly twisted interiorly, and soft and loose exteriorly,
these being the very best qualities in a weft.
This Invention is particularly applicable for yarns of cotton, flax, and other
vegetable fibres, and is partly applicable to the manufacture of sewing threads.