Im- PROVEMENTS IN THREAD POLISHING MACHINES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Gilbert McCulloch, of the City of Manchester,
in the County of Lancaster, Machinist, for the Invention of "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN THREAD POLISHING MACHINES."
Sealed the 22nd December 1868, and dated the 27th June 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Gilbert McCulloch at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 27th June 1868.
I, GILBERT McCULLOCH, of the City of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THREAD POLISHING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in improved self-acting spreading motions for
laying the threads side by side on the rollers instead of by hand as at
present, and in an improved self-acting arrangement for giving the
required tension to the threads on the rollers.

page_text: In one arrangement of my improved spreading motions I employ
one, two, or more spreaders or fingers jointed to a plate on a carriage
working in guides fixed to the blocks which carry the upper roller, and
move the carriage and spreaders to and fro by means of toothed chains
and chain wheels worked from the vertical shaft, and for giving the
pressure to the spreaders or fingers I employ india-rubber rings or
bands of any required strength to suit the different counts of yarn.
For giving the required tension to the threads I turn the ordinary
tension screws by means of a ratchet wheel worked by a catch on a
lever attached by a chain to another lever connected to a crank pin
on the worm wheel.
In another arrangement I fix to the shaft carrying the ordinary
circular brush a worm gearing into a worm wheel for giving motion by
bevil gearing to a vertical shaft, carrying a crank working in a slotted
arm for giving to-and-fro motion to a-slide carying a number of spreaders
or fingers which are in contact with the threads on the rollers, and
spread them side by side, the said spreaders being balanced so that they
yield to prevent damage if the threads should be placed irregularly on
the rollers.
It is evident that toothed gearing may be substituted for worm wheels,
and that any suitable traversing motion may be employed to give the
to-and-fro motion to the spreaders.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Gilbert McCulloch in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 24th December 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GILBERT
McCULLOCH, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters. Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Gilbert McCulloch, Her special license
that I, the said Gilbert McCulloch, my executors, administrators, and

page_text: assigns, or such others as I, the said Gilbert McCulloch, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter 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
THREAD POLISHING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Gilbert McCulloch, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and 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 Gilbert McCulloch, do hereby 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):
:-
This Invention consists in the application to thread polishing machines
of improved self-acting spreading motions for laying the threads side by
side on the rollers instead of by hand as at present, and in an improved
self-acting arrangement for giving the required tension to the threads on
the rollers.
In one arrangement I fix to the shaft carrying the ordinary circular
brush a worm gearing into a worm wheel for giving motion by bevil
gcaring to a vertical shaft carrying a crank working in a slotted arm
for giving to-and-fro motion to a slide carrying a number of spreaders
or fingers which are in contact with the threads on the rollers, and
spread them side by side, the said spreaders being balanced so that they
yield to prevent damage if the threads should be placed irregularly on
the rollers.
In another arrangement I employ one, two, or more spreaders or
fingers jointed to a plate on a carriage working in guides fixed to the
blocks which carry the upper roller, and move the carriage and spreaders
to and fro by means of toothed chains and chain wheels worked from
the vertical shaft, and for giving the pressure to the spreaders or fingers.
I employ india-rubber rings or bands of any required strength to suit.

page_text: the different counts of yarn. For giving the required tension to the
threads I turn the ordinary tension screws by means of a ratchet wheel
worked by a catch on a lever attached by a chain to another lever
connected to a crank pin on the worm wheel.
These improvements will be readily understood by referring to the
figures and letters on the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings, in
which Fig. 1 is a front, and Fig. 2 an end elevation of a thread-
polishing machine having one of my improved spreading motions, and
also my improved self-acting arrangement for giving the required tension
to the threads; Fig. 3 is a plan of the spreading motion; and Figs. 4
and 5 detached views of parts thereof; Figs. 6 and 7 are end and front
views of another of my improved spreading motions; and Figs. 8, 9,
and 10 parts of the same drawn about full size, all the other Figures
being drawn about quarter size.
In Figs. 1 and 2, a, a, represent the end frames of the machine; b, the
circular brush; c, the driving shaft to which the brush is fixed; d, the
hanks of threads; e, f, the rollers on which the hanks are placed; and g,
the cross frame carried by the ordinary tension screws h. The shaft c
works in bearings in the end frames and carries at one end the fast and loose
pulleys i, and at the other end the worm k gearing into the worm wheel
fixed to one end of a shaft working in a bearing formed in the bracket m,
and carrying at its other end the bevil wheel n gearing into the bevil
wheel o on the boss p working in another bearing q forming part of the
bracket m, and to the bevil wheel o is fixed or cast the bevil wheel r
gearing into the bevil wheel 8 on a stud fixed to the end frame, and to
the boss of the wheels is fixed or cast the spur wheel gearing into
the spur wheel u fixed to the shaft of the lower roller f; through the
boss P is passed the vertical shaft v, having its upper end working in a
bracket w fixed to the cross frame g, the shaft being provided with a
long groove so that it can move up and revolve at the same time, and
at the top of the shaft there is a crank pin y placed in the slot of a
lever z working on a stud fixed to the bracket w. In the cross frame
there are guides into which is fitted the slide a jointed at one end to
the slotted lever z, and in the slide there are holes in which are placed
the spreaders c¹, the rod d' fixed to the slide carrying weights e', one
for each spreader. The cross frame with its roller and slide can be raised
and lowered by the screws h, bevil wheels f¹, and hand wheel g¹ in the

page_text: usual manner, but for raising the cross frame and roller when the
machine is at work by self-acting means, to give the required tension to
the threads, I fix to the shaft h' a ratchet wheel k³, and place on the shaft
a lever having a catch m² and weight n', which lever is connected by
the chain o' to the lever p¹ working on a stud fixed to the end frame
and connected by the rod q' to a crank pin fixed to the worm wheel I,
and in the bracket to there is a rod & bent at the top, which rod can be
adjusted to any required position and afterwards fixed by the screw :
The lower roller works in the ordinary moveable bearings u', v¹, and the
upper roller in open bearings in the cross frame, and when after the
hanks are placed on the rollers the driving strap is placed on the fast or
driving pulleys the brush revolves in contact with the threads, the worm
and toothed gearing give motion to the vertical shaft and lower roller f,
and the spreaders move to and fro by the action of the crank y and
slotted lever z, and spread the threads side by side. At each revolution
of the brush the crank r¹ gives vibrating motion to the lever p', which
by means of the chain o' pulls the lever and catch P, m', so as to give
motion to the bevil wheels f¹, and turn the tension screws h to raise the
cross frame and upper roller and thereby tighten the threads. The return
movement of the lever and catch is effected by the weight n', but this
movement is gradually shortened and finally stopped by the bent rod s¹,
for as the rod rises with the cross frame it reduces the depth the lever
can fall, and at the completion of the tension the rod holds up the lever
and prevents any further action on the tension screws and cross frame.
When the threads are polished the cross frame and upper roller are
lowered by turning the hand wheel g¹ and tension screws, after which
the bearings u¹ of the lower roller is removed from the end frame by
the lever wo, and the bearing by the treddle lever a¹ for enabling
the hanks to be removed from the rollers and fresh hanks put on.
In the spreading motion represented in Figs. 6 and 7 the upper
roller e is supported in the blocks a' carried by the tension screws h, and
to these blocks are fixed or cast arms 62, each carrying a chain wheel c²,
and one an additional chain wheel d³, and to the blocks are fixed
guides e, to which is fitted a sliding carriage f having at its top cross
bars g' and at the bottom a boss to which is fixed the rod carrying
plates,, to one of which is jointed the spreaders m³, Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9,
and 10, there being recesses at the end of the plates for holding the

page_text: india-rubber bands 12. To the blocks on the left side is fixed or
cast a bearing o³, in which works the boss p³ fitted loose on the
vertical shaft and carrying the chain wheel q, the top of the boss
being formed as a clutch, which can be in and out of gear with a
clutch on the boss held on the vertical shaft, but can be moved
up and down, there being a spring in the interior of the boss for main-
taining it in its raised position as long as required. The chain wheel q³
is geared to the chain wheel d by the toothed chain 83, and the two
chain wheels c are geared together by the toothed chain, to one of the
links of which is fixed a pin u placed in the slot of the cross bars g³,
Fig. 7; the spreaders in pass between the plates ², F, and within the
india-rubber bands n², the ends of which hold the spreaders as they move
to and fro in contact with the threads on the rollers. When the machine
is set to work, and the wheel q³ and boss clutched together, the
chain turns the chain wheels c, d, and gives travelling motion to
the chain and traversing motion to the sliding carriage f and
spreaders m by means of the pin u. When the pin is at one end
of the slot of the cross bars 9 the sliding carriage is pulled in one
direction, and as the link carrying the pin passes the periphery of
one of the wheels the pin passes along the slot to the other end and
pulls the frame in the reverse direction, and as the link passes the
periphery of the other wheel the pin passes to its previous end of the
slot and pulls the frame in its original direction, and so on as long as the
machine is at work, or until the boss p² is unclutched from the wheel q³,
and there held by its internal spring until it is required to be again
lowered. When the sliding carriage and spreaders move from left to
right in contact with the threads, they are in the positions shewn by the
full lines, Fig. 10, and in the positions shewn by the dotted lines when
they move in the reverse direction, the india-rubber bands slightly
yielding if there should be any irregularity in the threads, and for
enabling the spreaders to change their positions there is a projecting rib
at each end of the upper roller e, so that when the spreaders pass the ribs
the india-rubber shall be stretched and then collapse to throw the
spreaders to the opposite side

page_text: Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be
understood that I claim, the improvements in thread, polishing machines
as herein described and illustrated in the accompanying two Sheets of
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Gilbert McCulloch, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-eight.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by
the within-named Gilbert
McCulloch, in the presence
of
G. SEPTIMUS HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
GILBERT MCCULLOCH. (L.S.)
Manchester.