CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MULES FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Elce, of the City of Manchester, Machine
Maker, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MULES FOR
SPINNING AND DOUBLING."
Sealed the 9th April 1869, and dated the 20th October 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Elce at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th October 1868.
I, JOHN ELCE, of the City of Manchester, Machine Maker, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
MULES FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to regulate the amount of twist put in
every stretch of yarn, and to check the momentum of the spindles when.
the carriage is at the end of its stretch and when the twist at the head
is completed. The latter part of my Invention is particularly adapted to
the mules for fine spinning known as "box organ mules."
My Invention consists in regulating the amount of twist in every
stretch by disconnecting the worm on the rim or twist shaft from the

page_text: twist wheel at the end of the stretch and during the time that the yarn
is being wound upon the spindles; the worm is connected to the rim or
twist shaft by a catch or clutch box which is thrown in and out of gear
by a cam or other equivalent at the commencement and completion of
each stretch.
My improved apparatus for checking the momentum consists in
applying a break strap to a break pulley fixed upon the twist pulley
shaft. The break is applied by a finger on the twist shaft, which when
the twist is complete liberates a weighted rod acting on the lever con-
nected to the break strap. The mode of constructing and applying the
break may be varied.
Another part of my Invention consists in an apparatus for regulating
the position of the driving strap on the putting-up pulley. This appa-
ratus consists of a lever with a projecting stud, and the position of this
lever can be regulated by a wire or rod which is brought within
convenient reach of the spinner. The stud above referred to comes under
a projection from the usual incline lever for working the usual strap rod,
and the position of the stud regulates the descent of the strap rod, and
consequently the position of the strap on the putting-up pulley. A
similar apparatus is used for regulating the position of the strap on the
winding-on pulley.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Elce in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th April 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
ELCE, of the City of Manchester, Machine Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, hearing date the Twentieth day of October, 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 John Elce, Her special license that.
I,. the said John Elce, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said John Elce, 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,

page_text: 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 MULES FOR SPINNING
AND DOUBLING," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
John Elce, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of 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 I, the said John Elce; 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) :-
The object of this Invention is to regulate the amount of twist put in
every stretch of yarn, and to check the momentum of the spindles when
the carriage is at the end of its stretch and when the twist at the head
is completed..
Another part of my Invention consists in an apparatus for regulating:
the position of the driving straps on the putting-up and winding-om)
pulleys. My Invention is particularly adapted to the mules for line
spinning known as box-organ mules.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation I will proceed to describe the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked
thereon.
Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of the headstock and
principal parts of a mule for spinning fine numbers by hand, and
commonly called a box-organ mule. Figure 2 is a front view, and
Figure 3 a plan of part of the same.
a is the framing of the headstock; b, the shaft of the driving pulleys;
c, the rim. band pulley shaft; d, the rim or twist shaft; e, the diagonal
shaft driven by the twist wheel; f, the front drawing roller; and y part
of the carriage. All the parts above enumerated are made as usual.
The mode of regulating the amount of twist in every stretch and of
checking the momentum of the spindles is performed in the following
manner-The worm d', instead of being keyed to the end of the shaft d,

page_text: is loose on the shaft but connected to it when required by the sliding
clutch box d, the clutches of which take into similar clutches on the
back of the worm d¹. The clutch box d is moved to and fro by the
fork keyed on the shaft h, to which is also keyed the elbow lever /²;
to this lever is suspended the rod i. The lower end of this rod is guided
by the fulcrum stud of the plate , which is cast with the lever ; an
antifriction bowl projecting from the rod i rests upon the said plate i¹.
The lower arm of the elbow lever he has a pin which is acted upon by a
spring with two inclines for holding the clutch box d² either in or out of
gear, as shewn in Figure 2. To the shaft is also fixed the lever ³, to
which the catch is jointed. This catch is acted upon by the stud
projecting from a bracket keyed to the upright rod ; to this rod is fixed
the catch, which is held up by the weighted catch lever j; to this
lever is jointed the horizontal rod j', from which projects a stud which
is acted upon by the finger e¹ fixed to the diagonal shaft e. To the back
of the carriage g is fixed the bracket g', from which projects the stud g².
To the twist pulley shaft c is fixed the break pulley c'. The break, which
consists of the metal band n, is lined with leather or other suitablo
material; one end of this band is secured to the frame side a or other
fixing, and the other end is jointed to a stud projecting from the lever n²;
this lever is fixed to a short shaft passing through a bracket fixed to the
frame side, and to the other end of this shaft is fixed a weighted lever n³.
To the upper end of the lever n² is jointed a swivel link n', in which is
an antifriction bowl resting against the incline P, keyed to the rod 7. To
the rod is also fixed the stud *, to which is jointed one end of the
chain o, which is taken around the guide pulleys o¹ and o², and then
secured to the usual clbow lever p, as shewn in Figure 2. The bent
lever m, placed below the end of the rod 1, is held in position by the
weighted elbow lever m', and to the lever m is connected one end of the
wire m³, the other end of which is provided with a set washer m³. The
wire m³ passes through a hole in the lower arm of the double lever g³,
which vibrates on a stud fixed in the backet g'; the upper arm of the
said lever forms an incline which is acted upon by the usual lever, which
is liberated by drawing forward the handle shaft; this handle shaft is
acted upon as usual by the operative spinner previous to backing off and
putting up the carriage. The mode of operation of these parts is as
follows: When the carriage is out and the proper amount of twist has
been given to the yarn the finger e¹ comes in contact with the stud pro-
jecting from the rod j', thereby moving it slightly in the direction of the

page_text: arrow in Figure 1, and unlatching the catch ; the rod then drops by
its own gravity until its lower end rests upon the bent lever m; shewn
best in Figure 3. This dropping of the rod brings the stud near to
but not in contact with the catch, and it also causes the inclinc to
force back the lever, thereby tightening the break n against the
pulley to check the momentum of the spindles. The operative in
drawing forward the usual handle in front of the carriage, as above
described, liberates the lever, which in descending moves the double
lever gs in the direction of the arrows in Figure 1, thereby bringing the
lower arm of the said lever against the washer m³; the rod m² is then
drawn forward and the lever m is moved slightly in the direction of the
arrow in Figure 3, thereby drawing the end of the said lever from under
the end of the rod 1, which then drops again and causes the incline to
fall below the swivel catch *; the lever n is then moved in the contrary
direction of the arrow by the action of the weighted lever n³, thereby
releasing the break n from the break pulley c'. This second drop of the
rod also brings the stud against the catch h, and throws the clutch
box d out of gear, thereby instantly arresting the motion of the twist
shaft. The clutch box remains out of gear until the carriage has run in,
when it is thrown in gear again by the stud g raising the lever, which
motion of the lever
causes the incline on the plate to raise the rod i
and with it the lever
of twist put into the yarn at every stretch is kept perfectly uniform.
During the going out of the carriage the longer arm of the elbow lever p
is raised in the ordinary manner, thereby drawing the chain o over the
pulleys o' and o, and lifting the rod to its original position; in rising
the stud lifts the catch ', which again drops on to a retaining pro-
jection on the lever to be ready for the next operation. When the
rod is rising the incline, which had passed below the swivel catch n*,
lifts the said catch, and when the incline has passed the swivel catch
regains its former position. By means of this improved arrangement and
combination of mechanism the amount of twist in every stretch is kept
uniform, and the momentum of the spindles is checked as soon as the
twist at the head is completed.
on the shaft h. By this arrangement the amount
My improved apparatus for regulating the position of the driving
straps on the putting-up and winding on pulleys consists of the following
parts is the usual lever with an incline for working the ordinary
strap rod for guiding the strap on the winding-on pulley. The lever 8,

page_text: which vibrates on a stud fixed to the bracket s¹, is provided with a pro-
jecting. studs resting upon the upper surface of the lever », and to the
lower end of the lever s is connected one end of the wire or rod &³; the
front end of this wire or rod is screwed, and is provided with a winged
nut which is brought within convenient reach of the operative. By
tightening up or lengthening the rod the angle of the lever s is varied
so as to increase or reduce the amount of strap brought on to the
winding-on pulleys. The lever with the incline is for working the
ordinary strap rod for guiding, the strap on to the putting-up pulley; to
the lever tis fixed the angle piece, which is acted upon by the stud, u²
projecting from the lever u jointed to the bracket ', to the lower end of
which lever is connected one end of the wire or rod ³, the other end of
which is provided with a winged nut brought within convenient reach
of the operative. The position of the strap on the putting-up pulley is
by this means regulated in the same manner as that for the winding-on
pulley.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the
manner of performing the same, I declare that I claim,-
Firstly. The mode described of regulating the amount of twist put in
every stretch of yarn, and particularly making the worm gearing into
the twist wheel loose on its shaft, but capable of being connected thereto
when required.
Secondly. The machinery described for checking the momentum of
the spindles.
And, lastly. The apparatus described for regulating the position of the
straps on the putting-up and winding-on pulleys.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Elce, have hereto set my
hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of April, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-nine.