IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Higgins, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster,
Machine Maker, and Thomas Schofield Whitworth, of the same Place, Manager
of Machine Works, for the Invention of " IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR
SPINNING AND DOUBLING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS."
Sealed the 13th February 1877, and dated the 16th August 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Higgins and Thomas
Schofield Whitworth at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th
August 1876.
JAMES HIGGINS, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker, and
THOMAS SCHOFIELD WHITWORTH, of the same Place, Manager of Machine Works.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING COTTON AND OTHER
FIBROUS MATERIALS."
Our Invention relates, firstly, to an improvement upon that doffing apparatus for
which Letters Patent were granted to mo, James Higgins, dated May 23rd, 1868,
No. 1697, and is designed to effect the extra lowering of the copping rail by self-
acting means, for which purpose we cause the copping motion gradually to bring
certain parts towards each other, which when they have arrived in contact impart
an extra downward motion to the copping rail. Thus we cause a lever, upon which
there is a screw, to vibrate by means of the "heart wheel," and at each of such
vibrations the said screw is turned, and thus causes a part gradually to approach a
trigger, which when liberated throws suitable wheels into gear with the driving
power, and then by means of a cam the said lever is turned upon its centre, so as
to impart an extra downward motion to the copping rail. The aforesaid cam shifts
the strap on to the loose pulley after a few coils have been wound upon the spindle.
The said screw may be adjusted by hand so as to cause it to act upon the trigger at
any desired period.
Another part of our Invention relates to a method of adapting the bobbin to the
spindle on ring and traveller frames. The spindle we make conical at the top,
fitting into a similarly shaped recess in the bobbin, and the bottom of the bobbin
we form with notches fitting into suitable parts of the "braid," so as to cause it to
he driven positively.

page_text: Another part of our Invention consists in a method of cleaning the thread board
of throstles. For this purpose we cause a cleaner to travel continuously or at
intervals along the said board, and adapt a wire card or similar apparatus to the end
of the frame for stripping the said cleaner, and in ring and traveller frames wo
adopt a similar apparatus, upon which the said travellers deposit any material
which may accumulate upon them while working.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said James Higgins and Thomas Schofield Whitworth in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 16th February 1877.
JAMES HIGGINS, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker, and
THOMAS SCHOFIELD WHITWORTH, of the same Place, Manager of Machine Works.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING COTTON AND OTHER
FIBROUS MATERIALS."
Our Invention relates, firstly, to an improvement upon that doffing apparatus for
which Letters Patent were granted to me, James Higgins, dated May 23d 1868,
No. 1697, and is designed to effect the extra lowering of the rail by self-acting
means, for which purpose we cause the copping motion gradually to bring certain
parts towards each other, which when they have arrived in contact impart an extra
downward motion to the copping rail.
Another part of our Invention relates to a method of adapting the bobbin to the
spindle of ring and traveller frames.
Another part of my Invention consists in a method of cleaning the thread board
of throstles, also in the application of similar apparatus to ring and traveller frames,
and upon which the said travellers deposit any material which may accumulato
upon them.
The first part of our Invention is shewn in the partial view of a throstle at Fig. 1,
plan view at Fig. 2, and side view at Fig. 3.
At 1 is the copping rail to which the usual motion is imparted by the heart
wheel 2 and chain 3, but in this instance through the medium of apparatus to be
described. Bearing against the heart wheel is a bowl 4 carried by a lever 5. At 8
is a rod connected to a lever 9, which turns upon a centre 10, and above this is
another lever 11 capable of turning independently upon a contre 12, but the said
levers 9, 11, move bodily together during the building of the bobbin upon the
centre 10. Upon the lever 11 is a sliding nut 13 in gear with a screw 14, which is
carried by the upper lever 11, and connected to it is a rod 15, jointed to an arm 16,
turning on a centre 17, and carrying a bowl 18, bearing against a cam 19, to which
rotatory motion is imparted (at stated times) by a wheel 20 driven from any
suitable part of the machine, and the bearing of this bowl 18 against the cam, and
a stop 21 binds the two levers 9, 11, together, so as to cause them to move bodily
as above mentioned; to the nut 13 is attached the chain 3, which may be considered
that ordinarily in use for effecting the copping motion and operating in the usual
manner, but according to our Invention this chain has to be slackened when it is
desired to doff in order to allow the extra descent of the copping rail above
referred to. Upon the screw 14 is a ratchet wheel 23, which as the two levers 9, 11,
vibrate bodily together upon the centre 10 arrives in contact with a stationary click
carried by the floor or frame, by which means the said ratchet wheel and therefore
the screw 14 become turned at each revolution of the heart wheel 2, and the nut 13
is therefore caused to travel along the lever 11. Upon the lever 9 is a centre pin 25,
upon which is mounted a trigger 26, which as the said levers 9, 11, vibrate bodily
maintains a position beneath and clear of a lever 27, 27*, capable of turning upon
a centre 28, and the end 27 is situate in a fork 29, which supports a lever 30,
mounted on a centre 31, and the end of this lover has a fork which supports the

page_text: boss of the moveable part 32 of a clutch loose upon a shaft 33 caused to revolve
constantly by any convenient means, and fast upon this shaft is the other half 34
of the clutch, which carries a pinion 35 in gear with the wheel 20, mounted on the
shaft 33 of the cam 19.
The operation is as follows:-During the filling of the bobbins the two levers 9, 11,
vibrate bodily as above mentioned, such motion being caused by the heart wheel 2,
and the copping motion is effected by means of the chain 3 attached to the
nut 13. As this operation progresses the successive turnings of the screw 14
through the medium of the ratchet wheel 23 will cause the nut 13 slowly to
traverse, and when the desired time for doffing has arrived a part 40 projecting
from the nut 13 will have arrived against the end of the trigger 26, thereby
causing it to turn up its centre 25, so as to cause its end 26* to arrive in the same
plane as the lever 27", and then the vibration of the levers 9, 11, will turn the
lever 27, 27, upon its centre 28, and remove its support from the clutch 32,
whereby the two parts 32, 34, of the said clutch will be put into gear and motion
will be communicated to the wheel 20 and cam 19, and the prominent part of the
cam 19 will pass the bowl 18, whereby the rod 15 and lever 11 will be liberated,
and then the said lever 11 turning independently on its centre 12 will slacken the
chain 3, and allow the desired extra motion of the copping rail for the purpose
above mentioned. Immediately after this an incline 20* will arrive against the
lever 41, and by acting on the strap fork 42 will arrest the motion of the machine.
The time at which the above described motions shall take place is regulated by
turning the screw 14 backward, and therefore traversing the nut 13 to a given
situation, which may be determined by any suitable registering point, and such
movements may also be effected at any time during the spinning by turning the
nut 13 by hand up to the trigger 26.
A modification of the above arrangement, and which is designed to be self-acting
as regards the starting position for each doffing, is shown in the plan view, Fig. 4,
and some of the same parts or their equivalent occurs as those above described, tho
same numbers of reference will be used. The chain for acting on the copping rail
is at 3, in this instance however it is attached to the lever 11, and at 9 is the other
lever, both however turning upon the centre 12. At 14 is that which in the other
case was a screw, but in this instance a plain shaft carried by the lever 9, and
provided with a worm 50 in gear with a wheel on the axis of a cam 51, against
which a pin 52 abuts, being drawn thereto by the chain 3, and rotatory motion is
imparted to the shaft 14, and consequently cam 51, by a ratchet wheel 23, as in the
former arrangement the periphery of the said cam representing the entire operation
of filling a bobbin. Upon the lever 9 is a continuation 9*, a bowl on which bears
against the heart wheel 2, and thus the two levers 9, 11, are caused to vibrate
together, the pin 52 being as before stated drawn to the surface of the cam 51.
Upon the lever 61 mounted loosely on the centre 12 is an incline 52 capable of
acting against a lever 53, so as to turn it upon a centre 54, and by that means to
put the clutch box into gear for connecting the constantly revolving pinion 35 with
the wheel 20 which carries on its axis the cam 19, which cam in this instance acts
against the lever 55 which is connected by a rod 56 to a bell-crank lever 57, turning
on a centre and provided with a pulley 58, over which the chain 3 passes.
Connected to the lever 11 is a catch 59 situate beneath a pin 60, projecting from
the arm 61, and combined with the said catch is an arm 62 capable of being acted
on by an incline 63 formed upon the heart wheel 2.
The operation is as follows:-As the heart wheel 2 revolves it gives a vibratory
motion to the part 9* and consequently to the levers 9, 11, the latter of which, as
before stated, is drawn towards the cam 51 by the chain 3, and at each of these
vibrations the shaft 14 is turned through the medium of the ratchet wheel 23 and
its fixed click, whereby the cam 51 is caused to move through a portion of a
revolution in the direction of the arrow, and the periphery of the said cam is so
shaped as to allow the lever 11 to occupy the proper position for governing the
action of the chain 3 as the bobbin is being filled. When that has been accomplished

page_text: the lever 11 will have been turned outward upon its centre 12 sufficiently to bring
the catch 59 on to the pin 60, and thus lock the levers 11 and 61 together, by
which time a bowl 61* on the lever 61 will be against the part 63* of a cam, fast
with the heart wheel, and a further revolution will have brought the apex of the
cam 51 to the pin 52, which will then drop to the lower part of the cam 51, guided
by the cam 03, and thus the lever 11 will be allowed to turn upon its centre and
permit the pin 50 to drop on to the lower part of the cam 51, allowing the chain 3
to pass inward, and permit the rail to fall down to the bottom of the bobbin.
During this operation the incline 52* by turning on its centre acts against the
lever 53, and by acting on the lever 20 puts the pinion 35 into gear with the
wheel 20, and the cam 19 then liberating the rod 56 will allow the pulley 58 to
move inward and afford the extra slackening of the chain; the other operations are
as before.
The next part of our Invention is shewn at Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, in which 65 is
the bobbin and 66 the spindle, the said bobbin being chambered out and provided
with a bush 67, against which the lower part of the spindle bears. The upper end
of the spindle is formed conical as at 68, and fits into a similarly formed recess in
the bobbin. At 69 is the braid formed hollow and provided with projecting parts 70,
the bottom of the bobbin being provided with notches fitting on to the said pro-
jections. By these means the bobbin is suspended upon the upper end of the spindle
and is driven positively by the projections 70. The notches 71 are those described
under the former patent of James Higgins, aforesaid, but are not necessarily
connected with our present Invention.
The next part of our Invention is shewn at Fig. 3, in which 72 is the thread
board and at 73, 74, two rollers over which there passes an endless belt or cord, to
which is attached a piece of flannel 75. One of the rollers 73 is driven by any
suitable gearing, and the belt or cord therefore traverses the board, and the flannel 75
gathers up loose fibres or other matters resting thereon, and conveys them to one
end where they may be removed.
In the plan view, Fig. 10, is shewn the clearing apparatus for the travellers of
ring and traveller frames. At 76 are the rings, on each side of which is a bolt or
cord 77, passing over rollers 78, driven in any suitable manner, such belt or cord
being provided with a brush 79, which bears lightly against the said travellers and
clears them, the accumulated material being stripped from the brush by a wire
cord 80, or by similar apparatus.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be understood that we
claim as secured to us under the above in part recited Letters Patent, and for the
purposes above set forth.
Firstly. Connecting the copping motion with apparatus which effects the extra
lowering of the copping rail.
Secondly. Suspending the bobbin from a conical end of the spindle, and driving
it positively by the braid.
Thirdly. The application substantially as described to the thread boards of
throstles and to the travellers of ring and traveller frames.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Schofield Whitworth, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of February in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-sevon.