IMPROVEMENTS IN RING SPINNING FRAMES
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark of the firm of A. M and W
Clark of 53 Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex Fellow of the
Institute of Patent Agents for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN RING
SPINNING FRAMES communicated to him from abroad by Jean Jacques
Bourcart, of Zurich, Switzerland
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville Clark at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 24th March 1883.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK of the firm of A M and W.. Clark of 53 Chancery
Lane in the County of Middlesex. Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents
IMPROVEMENTS IN RING SPINNING FRAMES [communicated to me from abroad
by Jean Jacques Bourcart, of Zurich, Switzerland]
"
This Invention relates to improvements in ring spinning frames, which improve-
ments have for their chief object the conversion of mules into continuous ring
spinners, the Invention also comprising other improvements hereafter described.
Figure 1 of the annexed drawings relates to the conversion of the mule. The
spinning machine represented by this Figure is in reality a continuous spinner
having two rows of spindles mounted on rails connected by cross bars and having
movable ring rails and thread guides adjustable upon rods receiving the necessary
copping or traverse motion from a differential and cam wheel already described in
detail and in working in previous Patents dated March 4th 1879 N° 870 and
December 2d 1880 N° 5029. In short, this spinning machine comprises the creel,
the rollers, and the carriage of the mule, to which are adapted the differential gear,
footstep and bolster rails, ring rail and thread guides moving with the ring rail.
One of the essential features of the Invention represented in the converted
machine illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 has for its object to make the noses or points
of the bobbins short at the beginning and end of the lift and long at the middle of
the bobbin, the "build" of the bobbin remaining cylindrical. This necessitates a
double set of mechanism, a pulley or cams determining the length, and a pulley or
cam determining the relatively slower formation layer upon layer of the "build"
of the bobbin when the nose of the bobbin is longer, as well as when it is shorter.
$

page_text: The main shaft T drives the drum from which the spindles are driven by belts
or by gearing. It also rotates the wheel Q through the agency of the differential
gear represented in Figure 2 consisting of the fast and loose wheels S and Q, of
which one has a tooth more than the other, and the pinions R R¹. The wheel Q
carries the cam Q1 and has a very slow motion relatively to that of shaft T.
lug Pfixed on the traverse lever O rests on the cam which thereby oscillates
said lever. This traverse lever carries a screw M actuated by a ratchet N and
provided with a travelling nut L which is caused to advance along the screw by
the rotation of the latter, and to which is attached one end of the chain X passing
round the eccentric sheaves K I J and attached by its other end to the ring rail E.
It is through the agency of the traverse lever O, chain X, and eccentric K I J that
the cam Qimparts the traversing motion to the ring rail E. The motion of the
ring rail for the formation of the bobbins is imparted by the screw M which is
turned by the pawl and ratchet N and advances the nut L for the formation of each
layer of yarn.
The ring rail E carrying the rings E¹ slides up and down guide rods H which
also serve to connect the thread guide board B to the ring rail. This thread guide
board, like that described in previous Patents before referred to is double, that is
to say, there is a fixed thread-guide board and with or without a movable one
participating in the motion of the ring rail. The thread guides usually consist of
a series of twirls which I dispense with or replace by a wire or by a segment of a
cylinder of the largest possible diameter against which the yarn rubs. This
segment of a cylinder may be made of a strip of sheet metal or of wood, glass, or
other suitable material and is fixed at the upper part of a vertical line passing
through the rear side of the ring, or between this line and the axis of the spindle.
This arrangement may be adopted even if the thread guide be not movable.
The two rows of spindles are mounted in double rails for the bolsters F and for
the footsteps F' which are of the kind known as Sterrys or Stores.
The spindles are furnished with cups D for carrying round the yarn, roughened
by notches made, in their upper edge as described in the previous patents before
referred to. The rings E are of any suitable kind as also the travellers g although
I prefer travellers having eyes for the coiling of the yarn several times around
them
Figure 3 represents an arrangement for ensuring the parallelism of the spindles
and for centering them truly in the rings. This consists of a cylindrical guide
socket a fitted with loose bushes e and fat top and bottom fitting accurately on
the spindle upon which the whole device is supported, said guide having affixed
to its upper end a disc b whose upper surface is truly perpendicular to the axis of
the guide a; a cone c bored axially to fit and slide upon the cylindrical socket a
and a spirit level d placed upon the disc b. The bushes ef are first slipped on
the spindle, then the cone c is dropped into the ring in which it rests with its axis
truly coincident with that of the ring; the guide a is then slipped over the bushes
ef through the cone c until it rests upon the lower flange of the bush fand fits
upon the two bushes as shown. The axis of the spindle then passes truly central
through the ring B. The spindle is then brought to a truly vertical position by
the aid of the level d and when adjusted is secured by tightening up the bolts.
When the whole of the spindles have been similarly adjusted they are all inclined
at once to the proper oblique position so that they thus remain parallel to one
another and truly central in their respective rings
'
Figure 4 represents a double hook by means of which the yarn may be passed
two or more times through the traveller. This device is used in the following
way. With the hook b the broken end is sought for on the bobbin, then the book a
is passed between the yarn and the spindle, the end of the yarn being laid upon
the head of the joining up device; the yarn is then hooked by the hook b and the
yarn thus held is placed beneath the traveller, the yarn then quitting of itself
if desired the double hook a b; the eye c and the bend & serve for holding the
hook.

page_text: Figures 5 6 7 and 8 illustrate the application of brakes and springs to the
continuous ring-spinner represented in Figure 1. A is the driving shaft BB' B
driving pulleys; C brake for arresting the machine; D traverse lever; E F springs;
F bell crank lever; G ring rail with two rows of rings and spindles. H thread-
guide board moving with ring rail. H2 supporting and guiding rods for ring rail.
I belt shipper. K pulleys. K' chain.
To suddenly arrest the whole machine or either the spindles or the rollers, a
brake C is used which may be made to stop the driving pulleys B B¹ or B². This
brake may be connected to the belt shipper I and act simultaneously with the
shifting of the belt by means of a chain or strap i. c. In order that the friction
roller d shall follow the sinuosities of the cam d2 and to ensure the ring rail
following the movements of the traverse lever D, I use springs E and F which are
not on the rods H2 of the ring rail but on the intermediate levers F¹ and D. These
springs may be arranged in different ways and be of different kinds, and they are
necessary when the yarn is to be wound downwards in short spirals as in self
actors, and which is easily effected at high speeds, especially if the double movable
thread board H be employed which prevents the yarns running double. The
pulleys K for the chain K' intermediate of the traverse lever D and the bell crank
levers F¹ are eccentric so as to permit of making the nose of the bobbin shorter at
the commencement and end of the lift as already explained in reference to Figure 1.
In short the machine shown in Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8 has the same principal parts
as that shown in Figure 1 with the addition of a brake for suddenly stopping a
part or the whole of the ring spinning machine and springs applied to the
mechanism intermediate of the traverse lever and ring rail to oblige the latter to
closely follow the motion of the cam.
Figures 9 10 11 and 12 relate to a ring roving frame to which some of these
improvements are applied. This machine is characterized by the combination of
friction spindles driven by gearing, of drawing rollers with movable bearings, of
loose traveller rings, travellers with lever action, of a differential continuous
winding-on motion, and of a creel with live spindles, with a movable thread
guide.
'
A driving shaft. A¹ friction clutch. B drawing rollers. C traverse lever,
C cam; E E E traveller rings. G movable thread guide. H spindle driving
shafts. H' spindles with friction clutch. I crecl. Shaft A drives drawing
rollers B through a friction clutch A', and the differential traversing motion C by
the cam C. This traversing motion operates the rings E E' E2 provided with
lever-action travellers and loose travelling rings.
The spindles H' are driven from skew gears on shaft H through friction cones.
The ring E with loose travelling ring and lever traveller may be replaced by
an ordinary ring with a traveller so constructed as to permit the winding of the
yarn twice upon it.
Figures 13 and 14 illustrate improvements in travellers. The right hand spindle
in figure 16 has a traveller which forms a sheath for the roving and extends up to
the movable thread guide D for the purpose of protecting the roving
The traveller consists of a split tube G through which the roving passes down
to point where it passes out to be wound on the bobbin. The tube G has a
counter-weight g² and an axis g¹ which turns in or on a support carried by the
ring C which is split and slides in or on the ring B. The yarn E carries the ring C
round with the bobbin A and is wound and twisted.
The tube G may be replaced by a rod with eyes around which the yarn is
wound. It may also have a second limb similar to G instead of the short limb g².
In figure 17 the traveller C is a spring with two eyes c¹ and c² turning in or on
the ring B. The yarn E gyrates between the threadguide D and the eye c¹
encircles one half of ring C and passes through eye c² to the spindle

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 24th September 1883.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK of the firm of A. M. and W. Clark of 53 Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents
* IMPROVEMENTS IN RING SPINNING FRAMES A communication to me from abroad
by Jean Jacques Bourcart of Zurich, Switzerland.
"
This Invention relates to improvements in ring spinning frames, which improve-
ments have for their chief object the conversion of mules into continuous ring
spinners, the Invention also comprising other improvements hereafter described.
Figure 1 of the annexed drawings relates to the conversion of the mule. The
spinning machine represented by this Figure is in reality a continuous spinner
having two rows of spindles mounted on rails connected by cross bars and having
movable ring rails and thread guides adjustable upon rods receiving the necessary
copping or traverse motion from a differential and cam wheel already described in
detail and in working in previous patents dated March 4th 1879 N° 870 and
December 2nd 1880 No 5029. In short, this spinning machine comprises the creel,
the rollers, and the carriage of the mule, to which are adapted the differential gear,
footstep and bolster rails, ring rail and thread guides moving with the ring rail.
One of the essential features of the Invention represented in the converted
machine illustrated in figures 1 and 2 has for its object to make the noses or points
of the bobbins short at the beginning and end of the lift and long at the middle of
the bobbin, the "build" of the bobbin remaining cylindrical. This necessitates a
double set of mechanism a pulley or cams determining the length, and a pulley or
cam determining the relatively slower formation layer upon layer of the "build"
of the bobbin when the nose of the bobbin is longer, as well as when it is shorter.
The main shaft T drives the drum from which the spindles are driven by belts or
by gearing. It also rotates the wheel through the agency of the, differential
gear represented in Figure 2 consisting of the fast and loose wheels S and Q, of
which one has a tooth more than the other, and the pinions R. R¹. The wheel Q
carries the cam Q1 and has a very slow motion relatively to that of shaft T.
A lug P fixed on the traverse lever 0 rests on the cam which thereby
oscillates said lever. This traverse lever carries a screw M actuated by a ratchet N
and provided with a travelling nut L which is caused to advance along the screw
by the rotation of the latter, and to which is attached one end of the chain X
passing round the eccentric sheaves K I J and attached by its other end to the
ring rail E. It is through the agency of the traverse lever 0, chain X, and
eccentric sheaves K I J that the cam Q₁ imparts the traversing motion to the ring
rail E. The motion of the ring rail for the formation of the bobbins is imparted by
the screw M which is turned by the pawl and ratchet N and advances the nut L
for the formation of each layer of yarn.
The ring rail E carrying the rings E' slides up and down guide rods H which
also serve to connect the thread guide board B to the ring rail. This thread guide
board, like that described in the previous patents before referred to is double, that
is to say, there is a fixed thread guide board and with or without a movable one
participating in the motion of the ring rail. The thread guides usually consist of a
series of twirls which I dispense with or replace by a wire or by a segment of a
cylinder of the largest, possible diameter against which the yarn rubs. This
segment of a cylinder may be made of a strip of sheet metal or of wood, glass, or

page_text: other suitable material and is fixed at the upper part of a vertical line passing through
the rear side of the ring, or between this line and the axis of the spindle. This
arrangement may be adopted even if the thread guide be not movable.
The two rows of spindles are mounted in double rails for the bolsters F and for
the footsteps F¹ which are of the kind known as Sterrys or Stores. The spindles
are furnished with cups D for carrying round the yarn roughened by notches made
in their upper edge as described in the previous patents before referred to. The
rings E are of any suitable kind as also the travellers g although I prefer travellers
having eyes for the coiling of the yarn several times around them.
Figure 3 represents an arrangement for ensuring the parallelism of the spindles
and for centering them truly in the rings. This consists of a cylindrical guide
socket a fitted with loose bushes e and fat top and bottom fitting accurately on
the spindle upon which the whole device is supported, said guide having affixed to
its upper end a disc b whose upper surface is truly perpendicular to the axis of the
guide a; a cone c bored axially to fit and slide upon the cylindrical socket a and a
spirit level d placed upon the disc b. The bushes e fare first slipped on the
spindle, then the cone c is dropped into the ring in which it rests with its axis
truly coincident with that of the ring; the guide a is then slipped over the
bushes ef through the cone c until it rests upon the lower flange of the bush f and
fits upon the two bushes as shown. The axis of the spindle then passes truly
central through the ring B. The spindle is then brought to a truly vertical
position by the aid of the level d and when adjusted is secured by tightening up
the bolts. When the whole of the spindles have been similarly adjusted they aro
all inclined at once to the proper oblique position so that they thus remain parallel
to one another and truly central in their respective rings.
Figure 4 represents a double hook by means of which the yarn may be passed
two or more times through the traveller. This device is used in the following
way. With the hook b the broken end is sought for on the bobbin, then the hook a
is passed between the yarn and the spindle, the end of the yarn being laid upon
the head of the joining up device; the yarn is then hooked by the hook b and the
yarn thus held is placed beneath the traveller, the yarn then quitting of itself
if desired the double hook a b; the eye cand the bend d serve for holding the
hook.
Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8, illustrate the application of brakes and springs to the
continuous ring-spinner represented in figure 1. A is the driving shaft B B B³
driving pulleys, C brake for arresting the machine, D traverse lever; E F springs,
F bell crank lever; G ring rail with two rows of rings and spindles. H. thread-
guide board moving with ring rail. H2 supporting and guiding rods for ring rail.
I belt shipper. K pulleys. K¹ chain.
To suddenly arrest the whole machine or either the spindles or the rollers, a
brake C is used which may be made to stop the driving pulleys B B¹ or B². This
brake may be connected to the belt shipper I and act simultaneously with the
shifting of the belt by means of a chain or strap i. c. In order that the friction
roller shall follow the sinuosities of the cam d² and to ensure the ring rail
following the movements of the traverse lever D, I use springs E and F which are
not on the rods H² of the ring rail but on the intermediate levers F' and D. These
springs may be arranged in different ways and be of different kinds, and they are
necessary when the yarn is to be wound downwards in short spirals as in self
actors, and which is easily effected at high speeds, especially if the double movable
thread board H be employed which prevents the yarns running double. The
pulleys K for the chain-K' intermediate of the traverse lever D and the bell crank
levers F¹ are eccentric so as to permit of making the nose of the bobbin shorter at
the commencement and end of the lift as already explained in reference to Figure 1.
In short the machine shown in figures 5, 6 7 and 8 has the same principal parts as
that shown in figure 1 with the addition of a brake for suddenly stopping a part
or the whole of the ring spinning machine and springs applied to the mechanism
intermediate of the traverse lever and ring rail to oblige the latter to closely follow.

page_text: the motion of the cam. Figures 9, 10, 11 and 12 relate to a ring roving frame to
which some of these improvements are applied. This machine is characterized by
the combination of friction spindles driven by gearing, of drawing rollers with
movable bearings, of loose traveller rings, travellers with lever action, of a
differential continuous winding-on motion, and of a creel with live spindles, with a
movable thread guide. A drawing shaft. A¹ friction clutch B drawing rollers.
C traverse lever, C₁ cam; E E E² traveller rings. G movable thread guide.
H. spindle driving shafts. H spindles with friction clutch. I creel. Shaft A
drives drawing rollers B through a friction clutch A¹ and the differential traversing
motion C by the cam C'. This traversing motion operates the rings E E E²
provided with lever-action travellers and loose travelling rings. The spindles H¹
are driven from skew gears on shaft H through friction cones. The ring E with
loose travelling ring and lever traveller may be replaced by an ordinary ring with
a traveller so constructed as to permit the winding of the yarn twice upon it.
Figures 13 and 14 illustrate improvements in travellers. The right hand
spindle in figure 13 has a traveller which forms a sheath for the roving and
extends up to the movable thread guide D for the purpose of protecting the
roving.
The traveller consists of a split tube G through which the roving passes down to
point where it passes out to be wound on the bobbin. The tube G has a counter-
weight g and an axis g¹ which turns in or on a support carried by the ring C
which is split and slides in or on the ring B. The yarn E carries the ring C round
with the bobbin A and is wound and twisted. The tube G may be replaced by a
rod with eyes around which the yarn is wound. It may also have a second limb
similar to G instead of the short limb g. In figure 14 the traveller C is a spring
with two eyes c¹ and c² turning in or on the ring B. The yarn E gyrates between
the thread guide D and the eye c¹ encircles one half of ring C and passes through
eye c² to the spindle.
Having described the nature of the said Invention and the manner of performing
the same I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by the
herein before in part recited Letters Patent is:
1st The employment of thread guides (whether fixed or movable) of segmental
or analogous form (in substitution for the ordinary twirls or eyes) arranged in
vertical lines passing through the rear side of the rings or between these lines and
the axes of the spindles substantially as described.
2nd The application and employment of a double hook substantially as shown
and described for passing the yarn through the traveller.
3rd The combination of spindle footsteps and bolsters of the kind known as
Sterrys or Stores with rails of the kind known as Peugeot's.
4th The combination with the traverse lever the cam and differential gear by
which it is operated, and with the ring rail and movable thread guides of inter-
mediate cam or eccentric mechanism for transmitting the motion to the ring rail
substantially as shown and described.
5th The apparatus substantially as herein shown and described and used in
connection with a level or plumb bob, for ensuring the parallelism of the Spindles
and centreing them truly in the rings as described.
6th The application and employment of brakes for suddenly stopping the ring
spinning frame either wholly or in part substantially as shown and described
7th The employment of springs in connection with the intermediate mechanism
between the ring rail, and its operative cam, to ensure the former following exactly
the motion of the cam substantially as shown and described.
8th The combination in a ring-roving frame of friction spindles driven by gearing,
of drawing rollers with movable bearings, of loose traveller rings, of travellers with
lever action, of differential continuous winding-on-motion and of a movable thread
guide substantially as herein shown & described
9th In the ring roving frame the employment of travellers of circular form with
two eyes at opposite sides substantially as shown and described.

page_text: 10th In the ring roving frame the employment of travellers extending up to the
movable thread guides and running upon stationary rings, substantially as shown
and described whether such travellers be composed of one or more parts and whether
counterweighted or not.
In witness whereof I the said Alexander Melville
Clark, have hereunto set my hand & Seal this twenty A M CLARK (L.S.)
second day of September A.D. 1883.