Preparing and Spinning Machinery.
Year: 1886

page_text: Preparing and Spinning Machinery.
We BENJAMIN ALFRED DOBSON, Machine Maker of the firm of Dobson & Barlow,
of Kay St. Works, Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, and ROBERT HARDMAN and
EDWARD GILLOW, Foreman, of the same place, do hereby declare the nature of
said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CLEARING TOP ROLLERS OF
PREPARING AND SPINNING MACHINERY, and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
Our invention relates to apparatus for clearing the top rollers of machinery for
preparing and spinning cotton and other fibrous materials, the drawing rollers of
such machines being set in any desired position for drawing out the fibre.
The first part of our Invention consists in providing self acting mechanism
for effecting the reverse traverse of the revolving clearers, our object being to
prevent the "dwell" or loss of time now occasioned when the change of direction
of the traverse is effected.
We accomplish this object in several ways, for instance, one end of the clearer or
clearer shaft may be hollowed out and have in it a spiral spring and piston, the
piston extending beyond the clearer and the extremity bearing against a plate or
bracket or other projection at the end of the rollers or machine. At the other end
we employ any well known motion to traverse the revolving clearers and as this
motion gradually moves the clearers along the surface of the top rollers the spiral
spring is compressed so that when the clearers have reached the end of their
traverse in one direction the compressed spiral spring immediately reverses the
direction of the traverse without any loss of time; or to act in place of the spring
we may use the well known arrangement of conical end clearers, or each clearer
may be slightly conical.
Instead of these arrangements we may employ weighted levers, or the spring
may be placed on a bracket or plate at the end of the rollers and bear against the
end of the clearers or their shaft. The traverse motion may be driven positively
from either the back or middle roller or any other moving part.
In other descriptions of machines with tilted drawing rollers or in those cases
where traverse for the clearers is not desirable. or possible and where the clearers

page_text: have pivots we cast or secure on the cap neb of the middle and back rollers a
projection to which is hinged or centred a V shaped lever or tumbler. One side of
the lever is for the clearer pivots to rest against and the other is for a thumb
screw which screw rests upon the cap neb of the front roller and is for regulating
purposes. When the front rollers are opened or moved apart the clearer pivots
recede from the lever, but by turning the thumb screw we can again adjust the
lever to the clearer pivots and this adjustment can be accomplished in much less
time than by any other arrangement.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect we will describe the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings, reference
being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.
Figures 1 to 4 illustrate the spiral spring and piston arrangement of self acting
mechanism.
Figure 5 the alternative arrangement with conical end clearers.
Figure 6 the alternative arrangement with weighted levers.
Figure 7 illustrates the second part of our Invention as applied to non-traversing
clearers.
In Figures 1 to 4.-a a¹ designate the top and b 61 the lower front drawing
rollers, c the top clearer and d d the back rollers. On the shaft of the lower
middle roller b₁ is secured a worm e which drives a worm wheel mounted on a
stud e¹ and cast with the worm wheel is a small spur wheel which is geared with
a wheel mounted adjustably on a stud g. The spindle c¹ of the top clearer c
bears against a plate h fixed on the end of a bar h¹ free to slide in a stationary
bracket j. On the bar h¹ is a stud h³ which enters a slot in one end of an elbow
lever i pivoted loosely on the stud e¹ the other end of the elbow lever i is operated
by a stud f¹ on the wheel f. The other end clearer c³ is made longer than usual
and hollowed out to receive a spiral spring k and a piston the rod or spindle k
of which projects beyond the end of the clearer and bears against a stationary
bracket m.
When the frame is running the wheel fis loosely turned and the stud f¹ raises
the end of the elbow lever i the other end of which moves the stud h³ and bar h¹
and so gradually traverses the clearers c in the direction indicated by the arrow,
Fig. 1. The effect of this movement is to gradually compress the spiral spring k
between the piston and the solid part of the clearer c³ until the elbow lever i
having reached the end of its stroke the stud f1 begins to recede from it and thus
allows the spring k to expand and immediately begin to press the clearers c back in
the reverse direction until the stud f¹ again begins to raise the end of the elbow
lever
In place of the mechanism herein shown and described any suitable means may
be employed to traverse the clearers c against the spring k.
In the arrangement illustrated by Figure 5 we dispense with the spiral spring
and piston and employ the well known arrangement of conical rollers n n¹ to
effect the traverse of the clearers c in the reverse direction. Instead of having the
two conical rollers n n¹ or one of them each clearer c might be made slightly
conical for the purpose above mentioned.
In Figure 6 we show one arrangement of weighted levers to operate the
clearers c in the reverse direction to that given by the traversing mechanism.
One arm of a pivoted elbow lever o bears against the end clearer c³ and the other
is weighted by means of the adjustable weight o¹
Figure 7 illustrates the second part of our Invention as applied to machines
with non-traversing clearers p having pivots p¹. In this view q¹ is the projection
which we cast on the cap neb q of the middle and back rollers; to this projection q¹
is hinged the V shaped lever 8 one side of which is intended for the clearer
pivots p¹ to rest against, the other end has an adjusting screw s¹ passing through
it and bearing against the cap neb t of the front roller.

page_text: When the front rollers are
opened," i.e. the middle and back rollers moved
away from the front rollers each clearer pivot p¹ recedes from its bearing surface
on the lever 8. but by turning the thumb screw s¹ the lever is readily adjusted and
again brought into contact with the pivot.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is-
1. In preparing and spinning machinery, the combination with mechanism for
traversing the revolving top clearers in one direction, of any suitable arrangement
of self acting mechanism for effecting the reverse traverse.
2. The several constructions, combinations, and arrangements of parts con-
stituting the self-acting mechanism, substantially as and for the purposes herein
described and as illustrated by Figs. 1 to 6.
3.-In preparing and spinning machinery, the combination with a clearer having
pivots, of a lever such as the lever a hinged to the cap neb of the rollers and
adjustable by means of a screw or other appliance, substantially as and for the
purposes described with reference to Fig. 7.