NEW (OR IMPROVED) MACHINERY FOR CLEANING AND FINISHING SILK, WORSTED, AND OTHER THREADS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Tobias Kohn, of Hartford, Connecticut, United
States of America, for the Invention of "NEW (OR IMPROVED)
MACHINERY FOR CLEANING AND FINISHING SILK, WORSTED, AND OTHER
THREADS."
Sealed the 9th October 1868, and dated the 21st July 1868.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Tobias Kohn at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 21st July 1868, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, TOBIAS
KOHN, of Hartford, Connecticut, United States of America, send
greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "NEW (OR IMPROVED)
MACHINERY FOR CLEANING AND FINISHING SILK, WORSTED, AND OTHER THREADS,"
and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my executors,

page_text: administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same,
and have made solemn Declaration that I am the first and true Inventor
thereof.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Tobias Kohn, do hereby declare
that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and seal,
fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings on two
Sheets forming part of this Specification:-
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machine for cleaning and finishing
thread showing my improvements; Figures 2 and 3 are vertical sections
taken through the lines A, A, and B, B; Figure 4 shows an enlarged
view of my improved cleaning rollers; Figure 5. is a horizontal section
of the same on the line x, x.
My Invention relates to improvements in machinery for cleaning and
finishing thread by the well-known rubbing process:
By the method usually employed the thread is often weakened by the
strain put upon it in order to even the twist and make the strand
uniform, and sometimes it is still farther weakened by being passed
In the case of silk
over a gas flame in order to burn off the fuzz.
thread it is dyed after going through with the process of cleaning,
burning, and stretching.
Generally the threads to be finished are delicate and easily broken,
and in machinery heretofore used for this purpose as the threads pass
through the machine they are subjected to the action of rubbers mounted
in a reciprocating carriage, the friction of which, acting as they all do
alternately in opposite directions, subjects the threads to so much strain
that they frequently break, and this reciprocating motion of the rubber
carriage if run at a velocity required by economy causes much jarring,
which also tends to break the thread.
The object of my Invention is to obviate the defects of the machinery
heretofore used for the purpose described, and also to perform suc-
cessively and in continuation by machinery the several operations of
twisting, macerating, cleaning, and winding into skeins or on to spools
silk, worsted, cotton, linen, and other threads that require to be so
treated.
In the accompanying Drawings like letters refer to the same parts.

page_text: 8
a represents a suitable frame, and 6 a horizontal driving shaft with a
series of drums for driving the twisting flyer c by means of the bands d
in the usual way. The threads e to be finished are on spools or bobbins f
on the spindles of the twisting flyers. The threads pass upwards from
the flyers over a guide rod g, then down through the guides h and i, the
series of guides being if desired in a vat j of macerating liquid, and
from the guides i they pass through guides k just below the reels Z, on
which they are wound, the said reels being driven by bands m from
pulleys on a shaft n, which receives motion by a band o from a pulley
on the driving shaft b. The threads can be wound around the wire of
the guides i to give any desired resistance for stretching the thread while
under the action of the rubber carriages r and 8. As the threads pass
from the guides i to the upper guides / each one is operated upon by
two sets of rubbers or cleaners p and q mounted in carriages r and that
slide in vertical ways t, t. The rubbers are represented in Figures 1
and 3 as cylindrical rods, three to each carriage, but the number may be
changed, and they may be made according to any of the modes here-
tofore used, but are better when made as herein-after described as my
Invention. Two series of such rubber carriages and two corresponding
series of flyers and reels are mounted on opposite sides of the frame, with
a space between the two series of ways t, t, in which two cross heads
u and u¹, one above the other, slide in vertical ways v, v. To each end
of these cross heads are attached rods w, w, w¹, wo', which extend down
and connect with the four cranks y, y, y', y', on the driving shaft b, two
being on one side and the other two on the opposite side of the axis of
the shaft. By this means the two cross heads are moved up and down,
the one descending as the other ascends, and vice versa. The cross
heads u, u¹, on each side are provided each with as many projecting
spurs as there are rubber carriages in each series, which spurs engage
in notches in spring dogs a¹ hinged to the inner face of the carriages,
and when so engaged each of the cross heads imparts a vertical re-
ciprocating motion to one series of rubber carriages on each side of the
frame, and in this way the two series on each side are moved in opposite
directions. When any one thread breaks, instead of stopping the whole
frame, the rubber carriages that act on that thread can be disconnected
from the cross heads while the others continue to run, and when the
broken thread has been mended they can be reconnected; this is effected
by means of a small lever 6' hinged to one of each pair of ways t.
This
hand lever is formed with a stop plate c', which when moved inwards is

page_text: brought in the track of the two rubber carriages as they approach each
other. The spring dogs a¹ on the carriages are bevelled each from its
notch to its outer end, so that as the carriages approach each other the
bevelled ends of the spring dogs are brought in contact with the edges
of the plate c¹, by which they are forced back and liberated from the
spurs on the cross heads. The two rubber carriages being thus dis-
connected and stopped the broken thread can be mended whilst the
other parts of the machine continue to run, and when mended and the
stop plate c¹ moved away from the dogs by the hand lever b¹ so soon as
the cross heads approach each other the spurs enter into the notches of
the spring dogs and reconnect the two carriages. The carriages r and s
are both disconnected at the same moment when they are nearest
together in the middle of the vertical ways t, t, and the cranks y, ¹,
are at the end of their throw, and the rods wo and w¹ "on the centre,"
so that in starting again the motion gradually increases as the cranks
continue to turn, and starts without any jerk, as would be the case if
the cranks were in any other position. In place of there being two re-
ciprocating rubber carriages r and 8 for each thread, as above described,
the same principle can be carried out and the same result obtained by
carrying the thread through the series of rubbers upon one carriage, and
then over a pulley, turning it back in a parallel direction to that which
it had before, and then carrying it through another set of rubbers
attached to the same carriage. By this means the effect of two separate
carriages is produced upon the thread. This arrangement is a modi-
fication of my Invention above described.
C, C, C, in Figures 4 and 5, show my improved form of roller, which
can be used by itself in cleaning thread, or upon the rubber carriages
and in connection with the machinery above described. These
rollers are made concave on the face, and are set alternately at right
angles to each other on the axle pins E fastened into the body of the
rubber carriage F. The concavity of the surface of the rollers tends
to keep the turn of the thread near the middle, and presses the threads
together so as to promote attrition and consequent removal of the loose
fibres of the thread. Placing the rollers at right angles to each other
also serves the purpose of keeping the thread from working towards the
ends of the rollers, as they turn first one way and then the other, and
keeps the two threads of the turn close together, even when the rollers
are cylindrical.

page_text: The advantages resulting from my Invention are,-
First. That by reason of having one pair of rubber carriages for each
thread instead of one pair for a series of threads, the machine continues
in operation on all the threads that are not broken, the operation being
suspended only on the thread or threads that happen to be broken.
Second. That by reason of having two rubber carriages acting upon
any one thread or series of threads, and moving in opposite directions
instead of one only, half the number of rubbers is required in each
carriage to give the same effect, and the strain caused by the rubbers
on the thread is but half as great as when they are all in one carriage
and act in the same direction, as the strain is divided between them,
one half balancing the other half. The strain upon the thread outside
of the space between the carriages is also rendered uniform, instead of
its being pulled alternately back and forth with a variable strain upon
the reel and flyer.
Third. That by arranging the machine with corresponding sets of
rubber carriages on opposite sides, and making those on the same side
move up and down in opposite directions at the same time, the re-
ciprocating parts are balanced, and the jar usually experienced is
avoided.
Fourth. That by using concave rollers and placing them at right
angles to each other a more perfect contact of the two parts of the
thread in the rubbing process is secured, and the operation facilitated
and more quickly performed.
Fifth. That in consequence of the even strain upon the thread caused
by the use of two reciprocating rubber carriages the operations of
twisting, macerating, stretching, cleaning, and reeling can be carried on
successively in the same machine without interfering.
What I claim as my Invention, and desire to secure by Letters
Patent is,
First. The combination of two rubber carriages acting in opposite
directions upon any one or more threads, substantially as described,
with one or more flyers and reels, as and for the purpose described.
Second. I claim the devices a', c', &, or their equivalents, for stopping
and starting the pair of rubber carriages working in opposite directions
upon one thread, so that they are stopped and started at the end of the
throw of the crank, substantially as described.

page_text: Third. I claim the machine constructed and arranged substantially
as described, having sets or series of rubber carriages on opposite sides
of the driving shaft, which move up and down together, those on the
same side having a motion in opposite directions, thereby balancing the
reciprocating motions of the several parts, and causing the least possible
jar in the machine.
Fourth. I claim the two rubber carriages acting together upon one or
more threads, and having a reciprocating motion in opposite directions
to divide and balance the strain upon the thread, substantially as
described.
Fifth. I claim the concave faced roller herein described when mounted
on a longitudinally moving rubber carriage for the purpose of finishing or
cleaning thread.
Sixth. I claim placing the alternate rollers on axes at right angles, or
nearly so, to each other, so as to counteract the tendency of the thread to
move lengthwise of the rollers.
Seventh. I claim the combination of the mechanism for twisting with
the means for stretching and the mechanism for cleaning, substantially
as described.
Eighth. I claim the combination of the mechanism for twisting with
the means for stretching, the mechanism for cleaning, and the mechanism
for reeling, substantially as described.
Ninth. I claim the combination of the mechanism for twisting with
the apparatus for macerating, the means for stretching, the mechanism
for cleaning, and the mechanism for reeling, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this
Ninth day of June, A.D. 1868.