IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING AND TWISTING HORSEHAIR AND OTHER MATERIALS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Samuel Laycock, of Portobello Place,
Sheffield, in the County of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING AND TWISTING HORSEHAIR AND OTHER
MATERIALS."
Scaled the 31st January 1873, and dated the 31st August 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Samuel Laycock
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 31st August 1872.
I, WILLIAM SAMUEL LAYCOCK, of Portobello Place, Sheffield, in the
County of York, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING AND TWISTING HORSEHAIR AND
OTHER MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
:-
My Invention consists in spinning and twisting a single yarn or
strand of horsehair or other material by hand or by the usual machinery,
and winding the same on a winch or bobbin as usual, and in order to
give the required additional twist to the single yarn or strand I place

page_text: the winch or bobbin on which it has been wound in a frame to which
rotary motion is given by cones and strap or other suitable gearing.
The single yarn or strand is drawn off this winch or bobbin and wound
on to a bobbin or cylinder. The amount of extra twist put into the
yarn or strand as it is wound on the bobbin or cylinder can be regulated
by increasing or diminishing the speed of the winch or bobbin which is
sunnorted in the revolving frame.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Samuel Laycock in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 27th February 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SAMUEL LAYCOCK, of Portobello Place, Sheffield, in the County of York,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Samuel Laycock, Her special
licence, that I, the said William Samuel Laycock, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Samuel
Laycock, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 TWISTING HORSEHAIR
AND OTHER MATERIALS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said William Samuel Laycock, 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, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and

page_text: 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 William Samuel Laycock, do hereby
5 declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement (that is to say) :—
My Invention consists in spinning and twisting a single yarn or
strand of horsehair or other material by hand or by the usual machinery,
O and winding the same on a winch or bobbin as usual, and in order to
give the required additional twist to the single yarn or strand I place
the winch or bobbin on which it has, been wound in a frame to which
rotary motion is given by cones and strap or other suitable gearing.
The single yarn or strand is drawn off this winch or bobbin and wound
5 on to a bobbin or cylinder. The amount of extra twist put into the
yarn or strand as it is wound on the bobbin or cylinder can be regulated
by increasing or diminishing the speed of the winch or bobbin which is
supported in the revolving frame.
When my Invention is used for crimping horse and other hair the
extra twisted material is drawn off the bobbin or cylinder and crimped
by a revolving hook and peg in the ordinary manner.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation, I will proceed to describe the accompanying three
Sheets of Drawings.
On Sheet 1, Fig. 1 is an elevation, and Fig. 2 a plan of the improved
machinery for spinning and twisting horsehair and other materials,
constructed according to my improvements. The machine marked A,
which will be more fully described hereafter, is the machine by which
the additional twist is given to the single strand that has been partly
twisted and wound on a winch or bobbin by hand or by machinery in
the usual manner; B, B, are two machines placed about five or six
yards from the machine A, on which the extra twisted strand is wound
on a winch or cylinder; the machines B will also be fully described
hereafter; and C is a double machine with four twisting hooks similar
to the machines with single hooks now in use, and this machine is for
doubling and twisting or crimping the single strands when drawn off the

page_text: winches or cylinders of the machines B, B. I wish to remark here
that the machines A and B may be placed close together or made into
a compound machine if preferred, and the machine C is placed about
nine yards or other convenient distance from the machines B, and when
the distance between the machines B and C is great, one or more
sustaining hooks are employed. The swivel arms r are to assist in
making the crimped or curled strands into a bundle. By this arrange.
ment the machines are worked to the greatest advantage as one machine.
A can supply alternately both the machines B, and while one of the
machines B is winding up the extra twisted strand from the machine A
the other is giving off the extra twisted strand, and the attendant crimps
or curls it with the aid of the revolving hook of the machine C-and the
usual peg.
The machine A is drawn on an enlarged scale in Figs. 3 and 4, of
Sheet 2. a is the winch or bobbin which has been filled with a single
strand of horsehair or other material partly twisted by hand or by
machinery in the ordinary manner. This bobbin is supported on a
spindle passing through the pillars b fixed in the face plate b¹, which is
keyed to the end of the shaft 63. Upon this shaft is fixed the cone b³,
which is driven by a strap from the cone c, and this cone is keyed on
the driving shaft c'. The strap is moved along the cones by hand by
means of the screw d and strap guide d², so as to vary the speed of
top shaft 63, and consequently of the winch or bobbin a, according to
the quality of the horsehair or other material on the bobbin a, or to
the amount of extra twist to be given. e is the stopping and starting
lever for moving the driving strap on to or off the driving pulley c²;
and f is a lever for applying the break f¹ to the circumference of the
face plate b¹, to check the momentum when the driving strap is moved
on to the loose pulley c³.
Figs. 5 and 6 represent one of the machines B on an enlarged scale.
g is the winch or cylinder on which the extra twisted strand from the
machine A is wound. This winch is driven direct from the countershaft
by a strap passing around the pulley g¹ fixed to one end of the axle of
the winch. To the opposite end of this axle is fixed a pulley g², which
On this shaft is fixed
by a strap drives the pulley h on the shaft h¹.
the worm ³ which gears into the wheel i. This wheel is fixed on
the same short as the heart 2, which imparts a to-and-fro motion to
the rod, and this rod has a projecting slotted bracket which gives a

page_text: vibrating motion to the lever k, in the upper end of which is a slot for
the extra twisted strand to pass through as it is drawn off the bobbin a,
and by which it is distributed evenly over the winch g. The upper end
of the lever k is guided by the rails ², fixed to brackets bolted to the
frame sides. To the shaft is fixed the pulley ³, around which passes
a weighted band to give friction to prevent the twisted strand coming
off too fast when the strand is being unwound off the winch for being
crimped or curled. When the twisted strand is drawn off the winch g
it is taken over the guide roller 2 which revolves in bearings fixed to the
table m, and to the edge of this table are jointed the spring clips n, n,
the object of which is to hold the strand after it has been crimped.
Each clip is opened by a handle n', and closed by a spring n², acting on
a lever as shewn detached in Fig. 7.
The
On Sheet 3, Figs. 8 and 9 represent a front view and side elevation
of the double machine marked C, in Figs. 1 and 2, with four twisting
hooks for doubling and twisting or crimping. This machine consists of
the two driving shafts o, o³, on each of which is a fast and loose pulley,
and a large spur wheel gearing into pinions on the axles of the twisting
hooks pas usual. This machine forms no part of my Invention, as
single machines of the same description are in common use.
driving straps are moved from the fast to the loose pulleys by strap
guides and levers as usual, and upon each shaft o and o¹ is fixed a
ratchet wheel with a retaining pall to prevent the shaft being turned
back by the crimped or curled strand when the end is cut off at the
machine B, or when the driving strap is moved from the fast to the loose
pulley.
The mode of operation is as follows:-When the bobbin a has been
secured to the pillars, 6 fixed in the face plate 6', the machine A is set
to work, the end of the partly twisted strand of horsehair or other
material from the bobbin a is then secured to one of the winches 9 of
the machines B, after which the winch g is set to work, and in
revolving it winds up the strand to which any required amount of extra
twist is given, according to the speed of the face plate 6. As soon as
one of the winches g has been filled it is stopped, and the other winch g
can then be filled in the same manner, and while the second winch is
being filled the end of the extra twisted strand can be unwound from
the winch that was first filled and secured to one of the twisting hooks p
of the machine C, which is then set to work, the attendant then by the

page_text: aid of the ordinary crimping peg (around which the strand is twisted as
usually, causes the strand to form a curl or crimp which extends from the
twisting hook to the table m, the attendant then cuts off the length of
curled or crimped strand and secures it by one of the spring clips n, the
other end being taken off the twisting hook and held on a fixed pin q.
Another length of extra twisted strand is then unwound off the winch g
and curled or crimped in the same manner, and the two lengths so
prepared after being spliced at one end and tied together at the other
are then made into a bundle by winding them on the swivel arms ",
which are placed on an upright s near the machines B, or in any
other convenient position. By this arrangement the two winches g, g,
can be alternately filled and emptied, and the twisted strand from one
of the winches g can be crimped or curled while the other winch is being
filled.
I
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the
manner of performing the same, I wish to remark that the details of
the machines described may be considerably varied or modified.
would also remark that instead of employing one machine A to two
of the machines B as shewn and described, it may sometimes be
desirable to use one machine of each sort, or in other cases one
machine A can be made to serve more than two machines B, and I
declare that I claim,-
First. The general arrangement of the machines marked A, B, and C,
on Sheet 1, and the mode of working them as shewn and described.
Secondly. The machinery described or any equivalent arrangement
of machinery, whereby any desired amount of extra twist may be given
to the partially twisted strand of horschair or other material as it passes
from the machine A to the machine B, or from the bobbin a to the
winch g.
Thirdly. The peculiar construction of the machine marked A, in
Sheet 1, and shewn in Figs. 3 and 4, in Sheet 2, whereby the speed of
the bobbin containing the partially twisted strand can be varied according
to the amount of extra twist required.
t
Fourthly. The combination of the machines marked B and C, on
Sheet 1, and shewn in Figs, 5, 6, 7, of Sheet 2, and in Figs. 8 and 9, 3
of Sheet 3, and the mode of working them to convert the extra twisted
strands into curled or crimped strands, as shewn and described.

page_text: And lastly. The swivel arms r, around which the crimped or curled
horsehair or other material is wound to form a bundle, as shewn and
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Samuel Laycock, have
hereto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of February,
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.