IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WINDING YARN OR THREAD "
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Bryce Muir Knox of Kilbirnie in the County of Ayr
North Britain for an invention of " IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
WINDING YARN OR THREAD
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Bryce Muir Knox at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th May 1882.
tr
BRYCE MUIR KNOX, of Kilbirnie, in the County of Ayr, North Britain,
IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WINDING YARN OR THREAD,"
This Invention which relates to machinery for winding yarn or thread, has
especial reference to improved means or appliances for regulating the winding or
building" of the thread on to the bobbins, and for automatically stopping the
motion of any of the bobbins or their spindles to prevent the breaking of the thread
when from any cause there is undue tension on it.
In carrying out the Invention according to one modification adapted for winding
machines in which the rotating bobbin spindles are fitted horizontally, a fast and
loose pulley are fitted on each spindle driven by a belt or band from the usual
driving drum, cylinder, or pulleys, and the driving belt or band is shifted from the
fast to the loose pully to stop its spindle by means of a lever provided for each,
which is brought into action by the tension on the thread. The thread being
wound passes from the "swift" carrying the hank over a whorl or pulley on the
outer end of one arm of this lever which is centred on the machine frame over
each bobbin, and is held up by a spring against the tension of the thread. When
there is undue tension on the thread caused for example by stoppage of the
"swift," or entangling of the hanks, this lever is drawn down by the continued
winding of the thread on the bobbin, until an arm on its other end fitted with a
pulley, presses against and shifts the belt from the fast to the loose pulley. This
shifting of the driving band stops the motion of the bobbin spindle, and the
winding of the thread on to that bobbin, without allowing the thread to be
broken. A holding catch which may be formed by a hanging bar or lever is
provided to retain the long oscillating lever when drawn down by the tension on
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page_text: the yarn or thread. When the winding of the thread is to proceed again, the
holding catch or hanging bar or lever is withdrawn by the attendant from the long
oscillating or spring lever, which latter rises up and allows the belt to work on to
the driving or fast pulley. The degree of tension to which the thread may be
subjected before causing the bobbin to stop may be regulated according to the
strength of different kinds of thread or yarn by adjusting the spring which holds
up the spring lever to give it a greater or less leverage against the pull or tension
on the thread passing over the pulley to the bobbin.
The bobbins used may be cylindrical or slightly tapered, and the "building” or
winding on them of the thread is effected by means of the ordinary construction
of traversing guide rail, operated however in such a manner as to cause a rapid
movement at that part of its traverse where the thread is led on to the top of the
bobbins, and a slower traverse where laying on the thread at the bottom end of
the bobbins. In this way the thread is built on the bobbin with a long tapering
point, or in the form of the frustrum of a cone. The necessary motion of the
traversing guide rail to cause the thread to be built on the bobbin in this manner
is effected through a rocking shaft connected by cords or chains to the sliding
carrier of the guide rail, and to a long lever acted on by means of a heart cam;
counter-balancing weights or springs being provided as usual to hold the guide rail
against the action of the cam lever.
In another modification the shifting of the band from the fast to the loose
pulley, is effected by a fork on a sliding bar provided for each band, and which is
fitted with a cord and weight to pull the bar and fork into such a position as to
place the driving band on the loose pulley. When the winding of the thread
is to proceed, this fork bar is pulled forward by the attendant until a notch in it
catches on a pawl or lever which retains it in its forward position in which the
band is kept on the fast pulley.
When the tension on the thread is unduly great, the long lever arm over which
the thread passes, is depressed or drawn down against the action of a spring or
weight, and a striker on this lever strikes or presses against the pawl or catch
lever, and releases the fork bar which shifts the belt from the fast to the loose
pulley.
In applying the present improvements to winding frames or machines in which
the thread bobbins are fitted on vertical spindles, and driven by friction, the thread
is led from the "swift" round a guide pulley, and over a whorl on a long oscillating
radius lever centred on the machine framing, and thence round the usual guide rail
to each bobbin. A rod or bar jointed or fixed to this spring lever hangs vertically
over the driving band and when the oscillating lever is drawn down by the tension
on the thread, against the power of a retaining spring or weight, the hanging rod
or arm or a pulley fitted on it, presses down the driving band and shifts it from a
fast to a loose pulley on the spindle, and is held there by the holding catch or
banging bar or lever until withdrawn by the attendant.
In another modification of the winding stop motion, a single loose pulley is
fitted on each bobbin spindle on which the band always remains, and the spindle
is put in motion or stopped by means of a friction or toothed clutch, sliding on a
groove or feather on the spindle, and operated by means of the lower arm of the
Oscillating spring lever over which the thread passes, or by a lever on the shifting
fork bar described.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Bryce Muir Knox in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th November 1882.
BRYCE MUIR KNOX, of Kilbirnie, in the County of Ayr, North-Britain.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WINDING YARN OR THREAD
"
My said Invention which relates to machinery for winding yarn or thread, has
special reference to improved means or appliances for automatically stopping the
motion of any of the bobbins or their spindles to prevent the breaking of the
thread, when from any cause there is undue tension on it.
My Invention is illustrated by the accompanying Drawings, in which Figure 1
is a transverse vertical section of a winding frame or machine with horizontal
spindles fitted with a modification of my improved stop motion or arrangement of
appliances for preventing the breaking of the yarn or thread in winding. Figure 2
is a front elevation of the same. Figures 3 and 4 are a side and front elevation
respectively of a winding frame or machine with vertical spindles to which a
modified arrangement of my improved stop motion is applied, and figures 5 and 6
are views of details hereinafter described.
The winding machines to which my improvements are shown applied in the
Drawings are of the ordinary construction and arrangement having vertical frames
or standards A, A², carrying the various moving parts. The frames are for
convenience shown broken, and minor details of the machines are omitted.
In carrying out the Invention as applied to winding frames or machines in
which the rotating bobbin spindles B are fitted horizontally, as in figures 1 and 2,
a fast and loose pulley C and C¹ are fitted on each spindle B, and are driven by a
belt or band D from the usual driving drum, cylinder, or pulleys E. When there
is undue tension on the thread, the driving belt or band D is shifted from the
fast pulley C to the loose pulley C', to stop its spindle B, by means of a long
lever F, F, provided for each, which is brought into action by the tension on the
thread i. The thread being wound passes from the "swift" G carrying the hank,
to and over a whorl or pulley f on the outer end of one arm of this lever F, which
is centred on a bracket h carried by a transverse bar H on the machine frame A,
over each bobbin I, and is held up against the tension of the thread, either by a
weight, or by means of a spring J, attached to it and to a fixed bracket J'. When
there is undue tension on the thread i, caused for example by stoppage of any of
the swifts G or entangling of the hanks G¹ on the swift, this lever F is drawn
down by the continued winding of the thread on the corresponding bobbin I, until
an arm F on its other end fitted with a pulley f presses against and shifts the
belt D from the fast pulley C to the loose pulley C¹, on the spindle B of that
bobbin. This shifting of the driving band D stops the motion of the bobbin
spindle B, and the winding of the thread on to that bobbin I without allowing the
thread to be broken. A holding catch which may be formed by a hanging bar
or lever K is provided to retain the long oscillating lever F, in the lower position
indicated in figure 1, when drawn down by the tension on the yarn or thread i.
The holding catch lever K when applied to machines with horizontal spindles,
is by preference made in the form shown in figures 5 and 6, in which a hanging
bar or lever K is jointed at its upper end to a cross bar of the framing A of the
machine, and retained in a vertical position by means of a spring k at its upper
end, or by a weight. A projecting catch k¹ is formed near the lower end of the
bar K to retain the lever F when it is drawn down, and a fixed bar K¹ is fitted
alongside the bar K to guide the lever F. The upper edge of the catch ' is

page_text: inclined so that the lever F may glide over it and readily displace the lever K in
descending.
When the winding of the thread is to proceed again, the holding catch or
hanging bar or lever K is withdrawn or moved aside by the attendant to free the
long oscillating or spring lever F, which latter rises up and allows the belt D to
work on to the driving or fast pulley C. The degree of tension to which the
thread i, may be subjected before causing the bobbin I to stop, may be regulated
according to the strength of different kinds of thread or yarn, by tempering or
adjusting the spring J, or the weight which holds up the lever F, to give it a
greater or less leverage against the pull or tension on the thread i passing over the
pulley to the bobbin I. The loose pulley C¹ is by preference fitted on a stud o
fitted immediately behind the revolving spindle B carrying the fast pulley C, and
this spindle is formed with a conical end fitting in a conical bearing in the stud c
as is shown in figures 5 and 6.
The bobbins used may be cylindrical or slightly tapered, and the "building" or
winding on them of the thread is effected by means of the ordinary construction of
traversing guide rail L and eye 7 operated however in such a manner as to cause
a rapid movement of the guide rail at that part of its traverse where the thread is
led on to the top or point of the bobbins, and a slower traverse where laying on the
thread at the bottom end of the bobbins. In this way the thread is built on the
bobbin with a long tapering point, or in the form of the frustrum of a cone, as is
shown in the Drawings. The necessary motion of the traversing guide rail L to
cause the thread to be built on the bobbin in this manner, is effected through a
rocking shaft M connected by cords or chains m to the sliding carrier N of the
guide rail L, and to a long lever P, acted on by means of a heart cam Q; springs
or counterbalancing weights ☐ connected by cords o to the carrier N being
provided as usual to hold the guide rail L against the action of the cam lever P.
Although I find it an advantage to build the thread on to the bobbin in this
manner, the machine may be arranged to build on the thread in any of the
ordinary ways; and I do not claim as part of my Invention this method of building
the thread.
In another modification, the shifting of the band from the fast to the loose
pulley is effected by a fork on a sliding bar provided for each band, and which
is fitted with a cord and weight to pull the bar and fork into such a position as to
place the driving band on the loose pulley. When the winding of the thread is
to proceed, this fork bar is pulled forward by the attendant, until a notch in it
catches on a pawl or lever, which retains it in its forward position, in which the
band is kept on the fast pulley. When the tension on the thread is unduly great,
the long lever arm over which the thread passes, is depressed or drawn down
against the action of a spring or weight, and a striker on this lever strikes or
presses against the pawl or catch lever, and releases the fork bar which shifts the
belt from the fast to the loose pulley. This arrangement is not shown in the
drawings.
In applying the present improvements to winding frames or machines, in which
the thread bobbins I are fitted on vertical spindles B, and driven by friction, as in
the machine represented in figures 5 and 6, the thread is led from the "swift" G
overhead, round a guide rail or rails R and over a whorl or pulley f, on the long
oscillating radius lever F, which is centred on the machine framing, and in this
case fitted in a nearly upright position; and thence the thread passes round the
usual guide rail L to each bobbin. A weight J is hung on the lever F, to keep
it out against the tension of the thread i, but the requisite tension may be obtained
by the use of a spring. A rod or bar fixed to or forming the lower arm F¹ of this
weighted lever F, is fitted over the driving band D, and when the tension on the
thread draws the oscillating lever F towards the bobbin against the power of the
retaining spring or weight J2, the arm F¹, or the pulley f¹ fitted on it, presses
down the driving band D, and shifts it from the fast pulley C, to the loose
pulley C, on the spindle B, and is held there by a holding catch lever K, until the

page_text: catch is lifted or withdrawn by the attendant. The catch device is in this case
formed by a notch k in the lever K. fitting over a stud on the lever F.
In another modification of the winding stop motion, a single loose pulley is
fitted on each bobbin spindle, on which the band always remains, and the spindle
is put in motion or stopped by means of a friction or toothed clutch, sliding on a
groove or feather on the spindle (B) and operated by means of the lower arin (F')
of the oscillating spring lever (F). This arrangement is not shown in the Drawings,
but will be easily understood. The stopping of any one spindle B, by the action
of the lever F, provided for that spindle in any of the arrangements described does
not affect the other spindles, which continue to rotate.
Having thus described my said Invention, and the manner of performing the
same, I have to state that I do not restrict myself to the precise details herein
described or delineated, but what I believe to be novel and original and therefore
claim as the Invention secured to me by the hereinbefore in part recited Letters
Patent is
First. As means for preventing the breaking of the thread in winding, the
construction and combination with winding frames or machines, of the improved
arrangements of stop motions herein described and illustrated by the accompanying
Drawings.
Second. The construction and arrangement in machines for winding yarn or
thread, of an oscillating weighted or spring lever F, F', caused to shift the driving
band from a fast to a loose pulley, or to throw a clutch out of gear to stop the
rotation of the bobbin spindle and prevent breaking of the thread in winding,
substantially as herein described.
Third. As means for stopping any of the bobbin spindles to prevent breakage of
the thread in winding, the combination with the spindles of winding frames or
machines, of the oscillating lever F, F¹, and retaining catch or lever K substantially
as herein described.
In Witness Whereof I the said Bryce Muir Knox, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of November, in the year of our Lord, One
thousand eight hundred and eighty-two.
Witness
WALLACE FAIRWEATHER C.E.
Patent Agent
Glasgow.
BRYCE M. KNOX. (L.S.)