CERTAIN IMPROVE- MENTS IN SELF-ACTING MULES FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Whittaker, of the Lower Moor Iron Works,
Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker, and James Cocker,
of the same Place, Overlooker, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SELF-ACTING MULES FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING."
Sealed the 13th January 1865, and dated the 20th July 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Whittaker and
James Cocker at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 20th July 1864.
We, CHARLES WHITTAKER, of the Lower Moor Iron Works, Oldham, in the
County of Lancaster, Machine Maker, and JAMES COCKER, of the same Place,
Overlooker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-ACTING MULES FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING," to be as
follows:-
Our Invention consists of a positive self-acting and self-governing winding-
on motion for spinning and doubling cotton and other fibrous substances.
In performing our Invention we use a drawing-out shaft to drive the motion,
on the drawing-out shaft is placed a bevil wheel gearing in another wheel
upon a cross shaft, at the other end of which is a moveable cone formed by a
number of bevel wheels placed together; this cone gears into a moveable
bevel wheel placed on a perpendicular shaft, and at the bottom of the
perpendicular shaft is a bevel wheel to gear with a loose bevel wheel and
clutch box fitting on a screw extending the whole length of the stretch;

page_text: upon the screw is also placed a wheel which gears with a wheel upon a small
shaft mounted in a bracket; a bevel wheel is attached to the end of this shaft
gearing with a bevel wheel and clutch box placed at the bottom of the
quadrant; the clutch box is worked by a fork by means of a horizontal slide
At the end of the horizontal slide cam is a small bracket with a stud
and stop fork to work the clutch box upon the horizontal screw; also upon
the screw is placed a nut and a bracket to carry a small adjusting lever; at
the end of the lever is a stud to traverse a double incline slide lever, according
to the amount of motion imparted to the regulating screw of the winding-on
motion. On the counterfaller is a finger to indicate and carry forward a
catch to relieve the double incline slide lever when the faller is below its
usual level, the clutch box then comes in gear to put the motion in operation,
and turns the worm of the winding-on motion; when the carriage comes out
a small bracket catches the stud that runs up the double incline slide lever,
and throws it down; at the end of the lever is a chain to work the horizontal
'cam which throws 'out the clutch box and stops the rotary motion of the
regulating screw of the winding-on motion.
}
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Whittaker and James Cocker in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 20th January 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, CHARLES
WHITTAKER, of the Lower Moor Iron Works, Oldham, in the County of
Lancaster, Machine Maker, and JAMES COCKER, of the same Place, Overlooker,
'send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
'Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Charles Whittaker and James Cocker, Her special licence that we,
the said Charles Whittaker and James Cocker, our executors, adminis-
'trators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Charles Whittaker and
James Cocker, our 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVE-

page_text: MENTS IN SELF-ACTING MULES FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said Charles Whittaker and James Cocker,
our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or
their, or one of our or 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 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 we, the said Charles Whittaker and James
Cocker, do hereby declare the nature of our 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) :-
.
Our Invention of improvements in self-acting mules for spinning and
doubling consists of a positive self-acting and self-governing winding-on
motion for winding the yarn on the spindles at an uniform tension.
:
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation, we will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is an elevation of the principal parts of a self-acting mule to
which our improvements are applied; Figure 2 is a plan, and Figure 3 an
end elevation of the same.
;
a is the radial arm and quadrant; b, the screw of the radial arm; and c,
the nut to which one end of the winding-on chain d is connected the other
end of the chain d is fixed to the winding-on barrel e fixed on a shaft
supported in bearings in the carriage square; fand f' are the faller and
counterfaller shafts; g, the front drawing roller. The quadrant a is driven by
the pinion h fixed to the drawing-out or quadrant shaft h. The parts above
enumerated, and all the others not particularly referred to hereafter, but which
are required to complete the mule are made in the usual manner. To the
end of the shaft h¹ is fixed the bevel wheel h, which gears into the pinion i
ou the perpendicular shaft ; near the lower end of this shaft is fixed a mitre
pinion gearing into a similar pinion j loose on the horizontal screw.j, which
extends the full length of the stretch of the carriage; the pinion j is formed
with part of a clutch box, the other part marked * is connected to the end of
the screw j¹ by a key and groove; near the end of the screw j¹ is also
mounted loosely a mitre pinion k, which is also provided with part of a clutch
box, the sliding part of which, marked k², is also connected to the end of the
screw by; a key and groove. The pinion & gears into the pinion k¹, to the
boss of which is fixed a spur pinion gearing into the carrier wheel / which
k

page_text: drives the pinion m mounted on a stud in line with the fulcrum of the radial
arm and quadrant a; the pinion m is fixed to the boss of the mitre pinion m¹
gearing into a similar pinion 6' on the screw b of the radial arm. The
screw jis provided with a nut n, which is made with a forked projection
fitting on the grooved shaft o, which lies parallel to and is of about the same
length as the screw j¹; between the fork of the nut n is a boss with a pro-
jecting stud n¹; this boss has a key fitting in the groove of the shaft o,
consequently as the nut n traverses along the screw j¹ the boss n¹ is taken
with it; the inner ends of the screw j¹ and shaft o are supported in the
bracket P₁ which is fixed to the floor; to this bracket is also fixed a stud for
the two catches p¹ and p², both of which are acted upon by springs; these
catches are for holding up the finger o¹ keyed to the shaft o. To the shaft o
is fixed the lever o³, and the lever o³ is loose on the shaft; the ends of these
levers are inclined, and take into the grooves of the sliding clutch boxes k
and . To the faller shaft f is fixed the lever or finger. and to the counter-
faller shaft f is fixed the lever f³; in both these levers are studs, which are
connected by the chain 9 which passes under a pulley q¹ supported by a swivel
stud projecting from the lever q³, which is supported on a stud projecting from
a fixing on the carriage square. To the end of the lever q is suspended the
catch g³, which acts when the carriage is near the roller beam on the catch p¹ ;
the action of the catch q³ on the catch p¹ liberates the finger o¹, which then
drops on to the catch p³, see Figure 4, and this catch is pressed back to
liberate the finger o¹ a second time by the catch g' fixed to the carriage
square.
The Drawing represents the various parts in the positions they occupy
when the carriage is going out, and when the cop bottom is partially wound
on the spindles. The nut c is now supposed to be about half way up the
screw 6 of the radial arm. When the yarn is too tight the counterfaller wire
is depressed, and the end of the lever q2 is lowered, thus lowering the catch q³
below the level of the top of the catch p', consequently when the carriage in
going in arrives near the roller beam the catch q³ acting on the catch p¹
liberates the finger o¹, which then drops on to and is held up by the shorter
catch p³, and when the carriage gears or is close to the roller beam the
catch of acts on the catch p³, the shaft o being now at liberty is turned partly
round by the spring o* and the clutch boxes js and k³, which during the going
in of the carriage are out of gear, are thus thrown into gear with the pinions j
and k, consequently at the next outward run of the carriage the screw j¹ will
be turned round by the shaft h¹ and parts connected therewith, thus giving
motion to the screw 6 of the radial arm, and causing the nut c to increase its

page_text: distance from the stud on which the radial arm oscillates; the screw b
continues to rotate until the pendant catch jointed to the carriage comes
against and depresses the stud n¹ which presses down one side of the shaft o,
and brings the finger o¹ again on to the catch p¹; this action on the shaft o
draws the clutch boxes j and out of gear with the clutches on the pinions
j and k, thus stopping the screw j¹ until the tension on the yarn again lowers
the catch . The object of the different heights of the catches p' and p³ is to
prevent the screw 6 from being turned in the wrong direction during the
running in of the carriage. On referring to Figures 2 and 3 it will be seen
that the lever o has a stud projecting from it passing through the lever o³;
on this stud is a handle o' with a double incline upon it taking into a groove
in the lever os against which a spring coiled around the stud presses. The
object of this is to enable the attendant by depressing the lever of to throw
the clutch box k into gear when the set of cops is complete, so that by turning
the handle at the end of the screw the nut c may be brought near the
fulcrum of the radial arm, and the nut n near to the outer end of the screw j¹,
as shewn by dotted lines, the nuts being in these positions on starting a fresh
set of cops.
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, we declare that we claim, the general arrangement
and combination of parts shewn and described for effecting a positive and
self-acting winding-on motion.
In witness whereof, we, the said Charles Whittaker and James Cocker,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Seventeenth day of
January, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
CHA. WHITTAKER. (LS.)
JAMES COCKER.
(L.B.)