Improvements in and relating to Supports for the Spindles of Spinning Machines.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Dec., 1889-Accepted, 4th Jan., 1890
COMPLÈTE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Supports for the Spindles of
Spinning Machines.
We, STOCKTON BATES of No. 1900 Tioga Street, EDWIN FORREST SHAW of
CULIN of
No. 16 Harrison Street, Frankford, and GEORGE MAXWELL VON
No. 4773 Garden Street Bridesburg, all of Philadelphia, Pennsylvannia, United
States of America do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :—
Our invention consists in an improved spindle support for spinning and twisting
machines, whereby increased facilities for aligning the spindles and removing them
from the rail without disturbing the upper sections of their supports, are secured;
the invention also comprises improved and more durable bearings, a more perfect
lubrication, and means for conveniently stopping the spindles.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section through a a spindle supporting rail, and
through the spindle support.
Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of a portion of the said rail and the
upper section of the said support.
Figure 3 is a horizontal section on the line of Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a horizontal section on the line y y of Figure 1.
Figure 5 is a top view of the spindle support, fastening nut and washer the lid
having been removed.
Figure 6 is a horizontal section in the line of Figure 1.
Figure 7 is a perspective view of the main or upper bearing.
Figure 8 is a broken section of the rail, and an elevation of the upper tubular
portion of the spindle support, spindle and adjuncts.
Figure 9 is an enlarged, broken detail section through the tubular portion of the
upper section of the spindle support, bearing therein, and the spindle.
Figure 10 is a vertical broken section through the parts shown in Figure 9.
Figure 11 is a vertical section of the rail and spindle support, and an elevation of
the spindle, showing a different construction of the bearings for the spindle; also
showing as in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the rail with enlarged boles for aligning the
spindles, and the addition of dowel pins for holding the supports to the rail while
the alignment is being offected.
Figure 12 is a detail perspective view of the upper section of the spindle support.
The letter A in (Figures 1, 2 to Figure 10) represents a bolster rail, B a spindle
support, and a spindle. The spindle support is fastened to the rail A by inserting
the tubular portion thereof into one of the holes a of the rail A, and applying a
nut to the threaded end portion 62 of the said upper tubular portion of the
spindle support and drawing it on until a shoulder 63, formed on the end of said
tubular portion of the spindle support, is drawn tight to the said rail. The rail A is
of a plain, prismatic shape, and its upper and lower surfaces are exactly parallel and
perfectly plain, so as to ensure parallelism to the axis of the spindle and facilitate.
the equidistant and lateral adjustment of the spindle supports. The spindle C may.
be of ordinary construction with tapering top and foot portions, and intermediate
cylindrical bearing portions above and below the whirl F. Between the nut b¹ and
rail A, a thin washer a² of tin or other material is interposed so as to fit the support
tightly and close the hole a perfectly. Below the shoulder 63 a yoke 6 is provided,
the same having tapered lower end portion. Into the tubular portion of the spindle
support the upper bearing D is inserted. The bearing D is of tubular form with
outer longitudinal ribs forming channel-depressions and fitting the bore of the

page_text: groove
d2
spindle support; its upper termination d' being of tubular form and of the same diameter
as said bore. The top surface of the portion d' is formed with an annular
and a central extension d³, the groove being connected with oil passages d', do; those
d being vertical in the portion d' and opening into coinciding channels between the
ribs d; and those d³ being oblique and opening into the interior space or bore of the
bearing D. Through each passage d' a lubricant controlling means, as a wick, or
series of wicks w is passed, said wick or wicks extending from one passage to the
other by way of the annular groove d² as shown, and also down between the
ribs d and through oblique passages 66 in the spindle support into an annular
reservoir 6 formed within the shoulder 3 of said support. By this construction
the oil which is deposited in the reservoir 6' is drawn up by the capillary
attraction of the wick or wicks w through one or more passages as d₁, into
the annular groove 2, whence it is drawn through the passage d to the
spindle C. by means of the revolution of said spindle. A portion of this oil
descends to the lower end of the bearing D and supplies the lower bearing G and step
bearing H of the spindle, as will be hereinafter seen from the description of the said
parts. Below one of the oil passages d³ and between corresponding ribs d the metal
is, from top to bottom of the ribs, partly removed from the tubular bearing D, so as
to form a vertical, oblong seat-recess with bottom and top shoulders de d¹, see
Figures 1, 7 and 10, and thin portions which, on their outer surfaces, are straight
and tangential to the bore of said hearing; and between these thin portions of metal,
centrally, an oblong slot d is cut, the same being of a less width than the recess.
plate of glass or hardened metal E is placed upon said thin portions of the metal of
the bearing, with its face marginal portions bearing thereon, and its major interme-
diate portion standing opposite the slot and with its median bearing line on the inner
side of the plate, concentric with the bore of the bearing D. Behind, and in contact
with the plate É, a cushioning stripe of wood or other suitable equivalent resilient
substance is placed in such manner that the space between the plate and the bore of
the tubular portion is occupied by said strip, said strip bearing firmly against the
inner surface of said tubular portion, and against the back of said plate, and exerting
a slightly yielding pressure against the plate E when the bearing D is driven home
into said support with à force sufficient to crowd the fibres of the strip e compactly
together, and thereby ensuring the retention of the bearing in position by the
frictional bind of the resilient or yielding cushioning strip against the said support
and the said plate E, during the rapid revolutions of the spindle. The bearing D
with the wood cushioning strip e in its recess is introduced through the top of the
spindle support, so that it may be readily and conveniently withdrawn therefrom in an
upward direction without disturbing the said support from its position on the rail.
By reason of the strip bearing outwardly against the inner surface of the upper
tubular portion 6 of the spindle support and inwardly against the plate E, said
plate is caused to bear very closely against the spindle C, and the spindle in turn to
bear so tightly in the bore of the bearing that it will require a slight force to
turn it by hand when the driving cord K is not on the whirl of the spindle; but
when the driving cord is applied to the whirl the tension of said cord which is on
a line at right angles to the face of the plate, and in a direction toward the plate, will
cause the spindle to become eased in its bearing contact, sufficiently all round, except
at the median line of the tangential plate, to enable it to run freely without undue
frictional wear, and at said median line the spindle will be caused to bear positively
and centrally upon the plate E; and while this is so the spindle runs perfectly true,
as the plate E does not readily wear away, nor change its strictly tangential position
with respect to the inner cylindrical bearing surface of bearing D, as it is rendered
enduring by its glass or steel nature, and is held by the wood cushion e with its median
bearing line concentric with the bore of the bearing D ; thus reducing to the minimum
the friction due to the contact between the spindle and said bearing D at all points
outside the infinitesimally narrow line of contact of the spindle with the hardened
plate E. The wearing friction of the revolving spindle being thus rendered practically
uniform, all round, and reduced to the minimum, the bore of the bearing will remain

page_text: truly cylindrical, and not be liable to be worn ovally out of a truly cylindrical shape,
as is common with ordinary spindle bearings; and as the plate E is of a nature to
prevent rapid wearing, the bearing will be very enduring and perfect in its functions.
It should be stated that while the strip e is constructed of wood or equivalent material
solid enough to prevent forcing of the plate E, by the tension of the cord and lateral
pressure of the spindle, out of the proper tangential position which keep its median
bearing line concentric with the bore of the bearing D, said plate is, in a sense, on
account of its texture, slightly elastic to such a degree as will enable it to hold the
bearing in position and deaden and absorb the hammer like blows of the spindle caused
by the knot of the band passing around the whirl. Between the line of bearing on
the plate E on the vertical sides of the slot de, two vertical, triangular spaces d'exist
when the spindle is in place, and these become filled with oil and thereby furnish a
constant and ample supply of lubricant to the bearing at the median line of the plate,
and thus prevent undue abrasion of the surface of the spindle by said hard plate E.
About midway of the height of the bearing D and diametrically opposite the plate E,
a lubricating opening d³, is provided in the bearing D, which affords communication
between the spindle and a channel do formed in said bearing, and conducts and dis-
charges the gummy and dirty portions of the lubricant into said channel, from whence
they can be removed by withdrawing the bearing 1 from the upper tubular portion
of the spindle support. The bore of said portion of the support terminates with a
lower inner shoulder upon which rest the ribbed portions of the bearing D, and
through which protrudes a tubular end portion d of said bearing into a yoke 6+ below.
This end portion extends into a cylindrical chamber f' formed in the upper part of
the whirl into which the oil descending from the bearing D is discharged. In order
to prevent the oil from being thrown out of the chamber f¹ by centrifugal force, and
in order to keep dirt and fuzz from entering the same, the chamber is provided with
a closed top having a small annular space around the end portion d, and by this
means the oil is prevented from being drawn from the said end portion and spreading
over the whirl. The whirl is provided with two vertical openings f³ which conduct
the oil into the chamber f* formed in the bottom of the yoke ; and in order to
prevent the oil from being thrown about below the whirl by centrifugal force, the
tubular rim is formed on the bottom of the whirl, and thereby a chamber fis
provided, into which the passages f³ discharge the descending oil. The chamber f* is
closed at the top just enough to leave a small annular space & around the rim fo,
whereby oil is prevented from being thrown out upon the lower section of the spindle
support, and dirt and fuzz are kept away from the oil. The conical end portion 612 of
the spindle support contains a lateral, spindle-bearing G, and a horizontal foot or step
bearing H. The bearing. G has a cylindrical bore from the top down to about the
point g which fits the spindle perfectly, but from the point g downward the bore may
be conical and stand away from the conical portion of the spindle so as to form an
annular oil space 6¹³ around it. The upper end portion 9 of the bearing G extends
into the chambers f* and f6, and nearly touching the inner surface of the wall of
chamber, receives upon its upper bevelled edge the the greater portion of the oil
descending thereon, and conducts it inwardly to the spindle. A portion of said
descending oil works its way between the portion g' and rim f³, and is finally collected
in the chamber and from thenc conducted to the spindle by means hereinafter
mentioned. The foot portion c of the spindle is fitted in the lower portion gl of the
spindle bearing G, and the foot c¹ of the spindle, which is flat or spheroidal, rests
loosly upon the flat surface of the step bearing H, which is made of glass or other
hard material, and fluted or ribbed vertically on its periphery; and thus while the
spindle is kept vertically true by its two upper bearings while revolving, its extreme
foot end is left free to play horizontally on top of the foot bearing H. The lower
portion of our spindle as constructed and made to rest loosely upon the step block
always runs freely in a comparatively large mass of oil, there being ample room
around the step block by reason of its fluted or ribbed surface for the gummy oil and
detritus to pass into the refuse oil chamber 6 from whence it can be removed through
the passage closed by the drain plug 6: The upper portion of the spindle bearing G

page_text: i
is very snugly fitted into the spindle support, while the lower portion has its outer
diameter reduced, preferably, on a downward taper as shown, so as to allow play of
that part of the spindle bearing. Oblique oil passages g² are provided in the spindle
heading G commencing on a line with the bottom of the chamber ft and below at
suitable distances from one another, other openings are formed, and felt or other :5
pads.a¹ may be inserted therein for the purpose of retarding the downward flow of oil.
By our construction the lower tapered or conical portion of the spindle is kept
laterally steady under ordinary circumstances, but if by accident, the spindle should
become slightly crooked, or run untrue vertically, the lower portion of the bearing G
gyrates with the lower portion of the spindle without affecting the upper portion c²
of the spindle in its true movement, which movement is preserved by the cylindrical
bearings above and below the whirl. A small annular lid 1 having a cylindrical body
and sloping rim i, covers the bearing D, the same resting upon the top of the tubular
portion b, and its body extending into and loosely fitting its bore as shown. The eye
of this lid is of greater diameter than the spindle, and when the lid is on the spindle
it is free to assume inclined positions, and its outer rim i, underneath, being sloping,
it can be easily lifted with the tube of an oil can, as the dotted lines in figure 8
show.
The top of the whirl is provided with a leather washer j over which a spring J is
placed and fastened to the spindle support by means of a screw j¹, or otherwise suitably,
and terminates with an inclined handle portion 12. By depressing the spring upon
the washer the motion of the spindle will be arrested, and a broken thread can be
easily reunited while the spindle is held by pressure upon the spindle in the line of its
axis.
The spindle support represented in Figures 1 to 10 inclusive, might be made
without a division of its upper and lower sections for use in connection with the
improvements thus far described; but it is very desirable in all uses of the spindle
support to make it in two sections as shown in Figure 1, and more plainly in
Figures 11. It will be seen by referring to Figures 11 and 12 that the upper section
of the spindle support consists of a tubular portion b provided at its upper end with a
screw thread 62 and nut b¹ and terminating in a plane horizontal shoulder 6³, which
shoulder is the upward termination of a disc formation c³ below; and on two opposite
sides c³, two yoke arms unite with said disc, their lower ends extending down and
uniting with an annular base formation e¹ having a circular opening e³ with an inner
screw thread therein, and a plain external horizontal shoulder c' thereon. Into the
threaded opening an upper screw threaded portion d of the lower section B is
secured its screw thread d³ screwing into screw threaded hole c and by a plane
horizontal shoulder d¹ forming a perfect joint with shoulder c. The lower body
portion of the section Figure 11, is, preferably, tapered, and it is hollow to such an
extent as to form a closed oil chamber d' around nearly the entire lower portion of
the spindle. The bearings used in connection with this spindle support, Figures 11
and 12 may be of ordinary construction. We have shown in Figure 11, a bushing D
applied in the tubular portion to serve as an upper bearing for the spindle; and a
similar bushing d inserted in the top portion of the lower section B to serve as a
lower bearing for the spindle; while a foot or step bearing H for the vertical support
of the spindle is inserted in the bottom portion of said section B. The spindle is
provided, as usual, with a whirl F, but said whirl is placed between the upper and
lower bearings, within the yoke 64 64 so as to be enclosed on two sides.
openings a (for the reception of the tubular portion b) in the rail A are cast instead
of being bored, of such diameter as to permit the spindle support to be moved about
therein for the purpose of centralizing and spacing or adjusting the spindle supports
properly on the rail. This adjustment of the spindle supports is facilitated by means
of dowel pins ce inserted into the shoulder ³ in line with the yoke arms at a giver
distance from the axis of the spindle supports. These dowel pins may be used in the
construction shown in Figure 1 as well as that in Figures 11 and 12; and it i
easily seen that with the dowel pins set in holes equidistant in the rail A, and thes
pins arranged in the centre line of said rail, the spindle supports and spindles wil
The

page_text: be held equidistant on the rail, so that they can be aligned by a transverse adjust-
ment in the arc of a circle about the dowel pins; and after being thus adjusted, and
secured by means of the nuts b¹ the sections B will not be detached from the rail
unless found unsuited for longer service; and when an exchange of sections B is
found necessary, the same can be easily and speedily effected, as they all are
constructed precisely alike, and the dowel pins serve as indices for their replacement.
The lower portion of the spindle in Figure 11 is completely housed by the lower
section B and only held by the bearing d below the whirl, and by the step bearing H,
and thus nearly its whole tapered lower portion is free from contact with the inner
wall of the said section B. This construction is adopted in order to facilitate the
righting or adjusting of the spindle, which, from any cause during its operation,
ceases to run truly vertical above the upper bearing. In such case the lower tapered
portion of the spindle may be so bent as to throw the upper portion of the spindle
in a vertical line, and said bent portion, although not truly vertical with the upper
portion, will have freedom to revolve in the space do between bearings d* H; and
the long leverage of the spindle below the cylindrical bearing D will ensure a steadly
motion of the same. By having the spindle support in two parts the lower section D
can be unscrewed and removed, and the spindle pulled down out of its bearings and
out of the yoke without removing the whirl, as said whirl is small enough to pass
through the opening 8. Again the spindle can be reinserted in the upper bearing
from below and the two sections united by the threads d³ and c, and shoulders c²
and d¹, and in this operation the sections B B are again perfectly aligned.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
First. A spindle support provided with a hard tangential bearing plate E as
described.
Second. A spindle support having a bearing provided with an oblong slot d
oil spaces d', a resilient or yielding cushion e and a tangential bearing plate E, as
described.
Third. A wood backing or cushion e for the tangential plate E as above described.
Fourth. A spindle bearing D provided with channel depressions, annular groove d²,
lubricating passages d d means as a wick or wicks w for controlling the flow of the
lubricant, tubular projection d', in connection with the upper tubular portion 6 of the
spindle support having lubricating passages 66 and a lubricating reservoir 6', as
described.
Fifth. An upper bearing D for a spindle, having a tubular projection_d' and a
whirl F having chambers ff and passages f³, and a lower bearing G for the spindle
having inner bevelled upper end 9 as described.
Sixth. The upper bearing D, for the spindle, having detritus and waste oil
passage d, and a vertical channel do, in combination with the shoulder 68 of the
tubular portion of the support whereby the dirty oil etc. is caught and prevented from
descending upon the spindle, substantially as described.
Seventh. The whirl F having chambers f¹f and passages f³ in connection with
the spindle support B having a chamber 4, and the lower bearing G having inner
bevelled upper end g*, and the foot bearing H as described.
Eighth. A spindle C having a horizontal foot bearing surface; and cylindrical
bearing surfaces above and below the whirl F, in connection with a flat faced bearing
block Hand bearings above and below the said whirl, as described.
Ninth. The combination with the above described spindle support B having upper
rigid bearings of a flat foot bearing, as described.
Tenth. A spindle support B having an upper bearing D and a whirl F having
passages f, said support having chambers 69613 and a drain passage, as described.
Eleventh. The spindle Cand spindle support B having a yoke 6, in connection
with a spring J and a whirl F, the spring being depressible upon the said whirl, as
described.

page_text: Twelfth. The spindle support as herein described consisting of an upper and lower
section, united and made divisible by a screw connection, as described.
Thirteenth. The respective sections of the divisible spindle support, constructed as
above described.
Fourteenth. In combination with a spindle support, the means described whereby
the spindles are truly centred and held, and are made removable from below the rail,
as described.
Dated this 2nd day of Docomban 1980
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicants.