IMPROVEMENTS IN SIZINO AND DRESSING MACHINES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPBLESO APPLICABLE TO WARPING OR BEAMING MACHINES AND TO LOOMS FOR WEAVING
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Lancaster, of Accrington, in the County
66
of Lancaster, for the Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN SIZINO AND
DRESSING MACHINES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Lancaster at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 22nd January 1875.
I, WILLIAM LANCASTER, of Accrington, in the County of Lancaster,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN SIZING AND DRESSING MACHINES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO
APPLICABLE TO WARPING OR BEAMING MACHINES AND TO LOOMS FOR WEAVING," to
be as follows:-
My Invention relates, firstly, to the construction of the fans employed
for creating a current of heated air for drying the yarn in sizing and
dressing machines, and also in the construction of the cages or lath
[Price 8d.]

page_text: and Eugène Dollander, dated 4th May 1874, No. 1569.
Secondly. To an apparatus for boiling the size in the size box and
keeping it constantly in circulation so as to keep its strength and
thickness always uniform, and an arrangement for keeping the immersion
roller in the size box constantly bearing against the first finishing roller.
action of the machine
this part of my Inven-
And, Thirdly. To an apparatus for stopping the
whenever any of the ends or threads may break;
tion is also applicable to warping or beaming machines and to looms for
weaving.
The first part of my Invention which relates to the construction of
the fans employed in creating a current of air for drying the yarn
consists in a mode of distributing the wind or blast of air equally all the
way across a long fan board or blade. The ordinary tendency in fans
with long blades is to draw the air in strongly from each end, and these
two currents meeting in the centre thereof, and hence the current of air
being strongest at this point the threads in the centre of the warp are
more dried than those at or near the outside. This I propose to remedy
by attaching to the fan boards or blades transverse flanges, ribs, or current
breakers projecting from the face of the fan boards or blades so as to
break the current of air and prevent it from running along the surface
of the board towards the centre. And instead of using separate wheels
or drums at the ends of the fans I attach the three bars which carry the
fan boards or blades direct to the fan pulley, and I fit a loose or
adjustable bush in the centre of the pulley so that I can adjust the fan
exactly in its proper position inside the frame by sliding these bushes,
and then fix them in that position by set screws.
I also propose in
some cases to surround the fan by a coiled helical pipe, enclosing it from
end to end, the coils being almost close, so that when the fan is put in
motion and the coiled pipe is heated by steam or otherwise the fan
expels the heat and throws it through the coils into contact with the
material to be dried. In constructing the cylindrical cages or "lath
cylinder" I sometimes make them without drums or "spiders" at the
ends, the said ends being made open in the form of a flat ring so as to
leave convenient access to the fans inside. These rings are *supported
upon friction rollers or bowls, the studs upon which such rollers or
bowls run being made with squared ends fitting in square sockets in the

page_text: side frames, and provided with set screws, so that the position of the
friction rollers or bowls may be adjusted so as to suit cages or "lath
cylinders" of different widths.
The second part of my Invention which relates to the apparatus for
boiling the size in the size box and keeping it constantly in circulation
consists principally of a double injector placed outside the size box in
connection with a pipe which takes the size from the lower part of the
box. The injector is attached to a steam pipe provided with a tap, and
when steam is admitted draws the size from the lower part of the box,
forces it upwards, and returns it boiled or heated into the upper part of
the box at each side, and thus a constant circulation is kept up at the
same time that the size is kept boiling. I also apply to the immersion
roller in the size box a bell-crank or angled lever with a weight upon its
outer end which keeps the immersion roller always slightly pressed
against the first finishing roller.
The third part of my Invention which relates to an apparatus for
stopping the action of the machine whenever any of the ends or threads
may break (which part is also applicable to warping or beaming
machines and to looms for weaving) consists principally of a series of
small balanced levers (one to each thread) formed of flattened wire
placed on edge, the front part being bent upwards and provided with a
slit or dent through which the thread passes, and the back part being
bent downwards at an angle; the centre is formed with a curved bend
or an eye whereby the levers are supported side by side on a fulcrum
consisting of a knife edged bar or a wire strained tightly by means of
screws or otherwise. The back part of the levers is made slightly
heavier than the front part so that they have a tendency to raise the
front part, but this tendency is counteracted by the tension of the yarn
which holds the front part down whenever an end or thread breaks or
fails; the slit or dented balance lever in which the end was placed falls
downwards at the back and comes in contact with a bar which is
constantly moving to and fro under the rear ends of the levers. This
bar works in connection with a second bar, their surfaces being formed
with an inclined plane. As soon as the first bar is stopped by one
of the balance levers falling, the second bar slides over it, and the
inclined plane thrusting it to one side throws the "spring handle" or
"setting-on rod" of the machine out of its notch, and thus moves the
driving strap from the fast on to the loose pulley and stops the machine.

page_text: The dented balance levers are all kept apart from each other by being
placed between the coils of a helical or coiled spring made of wire
flattened very thin and broad and coiled on edge, and in order to keep
the coils of this spring from touching the sides of the dented levers
(which would impede their action) I keep the coils apart by interlocking
therewith two other coiled springs (one on each side), these springs
being of much smaller diameter and made of round wire rather thicker
in gauge than the dented balance levers. The first named (or larger)
coiled spring is supported in a small trough resting upon the two sharp
edges of the trough which are well polished so as to allow the spring to
expand and contract freely. The knife-edged bar or rod upon which the
dented balance levers are hung passes through the inside of this spring.
The front part of the dented balance lever which passes through the
coiled spring is made with a bend which follows the curve or circle of
the spring for about half an inch, which will serve to keep the front
ends of the levers (wherein the slits or dents are) vertical and steady.
Another way of fixing the dented balance levers, without the use of
the coiled spring, is to place them with their fulcrum close to an open
reed with the front ends of the said levers, one through each dent of the
reed, the said levers being mounted and arranged in all other respects in
the manner previously described.
In making the larger flat wire spring above mentioned I have found
it necessary to use a special tool which I have invented for that purpose,
as the wire when flattened is only about one-fiftieth of an inch thick and
about three-sixteenths of an inch broad, great difficulty was experienced
in coiling this wire on edge without buckling or twisting so as to form a
spring. For this purpose I use a chambered "chase," the width of the
chamber being the same as the thickness of the wire. The wire enters
the front of this chase (edge way up) and passes through the chamber
about three-quarters of the circle, when it passes out and is coiled round
the mandrel or arbour in the usual manner, the chase being attached to
and travelling with the slide rest of the lathe. A spring formed in this
way may also be used as a substitute for “wraiths" or open tapped
combs for guiding ends or threads of yarn as they are being wound upon
a beam, as by these means the threads can be expanded or contracted to
any width required.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Lancaster, in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 22nd July 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
LANCASTER, of Accrington, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and succes-
sors, give and grant unto me, the said William Lancaster, Her special
license that I, the said William Lancaster, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Lancaster,
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, 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 SIZING AND DRESSING MACHINES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO
APPLICABLE TO WARPING OR BEAMING MACHINES AND TO LOOMS FOR WEAVING,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Lancaster,
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 William Lancaster, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement and accompanying Drawings:-
My Invention relates, firstly, to the construction of the fans employed
for creating a current of heated air for drying the yarn in sizing and
dressing machines, and also in the construction of the cages or lath
cylinders mentioned in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to
me and Eugène Dollander, dated 4th May 1874, No. 1569.

page_text: thickness always uniform, and an arrangement for keeping the immersion
rollers in the size box constantly bearing against the first finishing
roller.
And, Thirdly. To an apparatus for stopping the action of the machine
whenever any
of the ends or threads may break; this part of my Inven-
tion is also applicable to warping or beaming machines and to looms for
weaving.
Such being the nature and object of my said Invention, I will now
proceed to describe more in detail the manner in which the same is to
be or may be performed or carried into practical effect; and in order
that the same may be more clearly understood I have annexed hereunto
two Sheets of Drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked the same
with figures and letters of reference corresponding with those in the
following explanation thereof:-
The first part of my Invention which relates to the construction of the
fans employed in creating a current of air for drying the yarn is illus-
trated at Figs. 1 and 2, Sheet 1 of the Drawings, and consists in a mode
of distributing the wind or blast of air equally all the way across a long
fan board or blade. The ordinary tendency in fans with long blades is
to draw the air in strongly from each end, and these two currents
meeting in the centre thereof and hence the current of air being strongest
at this point the threads in the centre of the warp are more dried than
those at or near the outside. This I propose to remedy by attaching to
the fan boards or blades a, a, Fig. 1, transverse flanges, ribs, or current
breakers b, b, projecting from the face of the fan boards or blades a, a
so as to break the current of air and prevent it from running along the
surface of the board towards the centre. And in some cases instead of
using separate wheels or drums at the ends of the fans I attach the
three bars which carry the fan boards or blades direct to the fan pulley,
as shown at c, c, Fig. 2, and I fit a loose or adjustable bush d, d, in the
centre of the pulley so that I can adjust the fan exactly in its proper
position inside the frame by sliding these bushes, and then fix them in
that position by set screws.
I also sometimes form the fan blades a, a,
in several sections and make the current breakers in the form of flat
rings, as shown at Fig. 2. I also propose in some cases to surround the

page_text: I
fan by a coiled helical steam pipe e, e, Fig. 1, cnclosing it from end to
end, the coils being almost close, so that when the fan is put in motion
and the coiled pipe is heated by steam or otherwise the fan expels the
heat and throws it through the coils into contact with the material to be
dried. In some cases I also propose to place a coil of pipe round the
cylinder inside the fan, and in other cases I substitute a cluster of longi-
tudinal tubes f, f, see Fig. 3, for the internal steam cylinder f, f, inside
the fan. In constructing the cylindrical cages or "lath cylinders
sometimes make them without drums or spiders at the ends, the said
ends being made open in the form of a flat ring 9, g, sec Fig. 3, so as to
leave convenient access to the fans inside. These rings g, y, are sup-
ported upon friction rollers or bowls h, h, the studs upon which such
rollers or bowls run being made with squared ends fitting in square
sockets in the side frames and provided with set screws so that the
position of the friction rollers or bowls may be adjusted so as to suit
cages or lath cylinders of different widths, but to the use of these friction
rollers I lay no claim as part of my Invention.
The second part of my Invention which relates to the apparatus for
boiling the size in the size box and keeping it constantly in circulation
is illustrated on Sheet 2 of the Drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a longi-
tudinal section; and Fig. 2, a transverse section of part of a sizing
machine illustrating this part of my Invention, and consists principally
of a double injector a, a, placed outside the size box in connection with
a pipe b, b, which takes the size from the lower part of the box. The
injector a, a, is attached to a steam pipe c, c, provided with a tap a, a,
and when steam is admitted draws the size from the lower part of the
box, forces it along the pipes c, c, upwards and returns it boiled or
heated into the upper part of the box at each side, and thus a constant
circulation is kept up at the same time that the size is kept boiling.
ff, is the air escapement; and g, g, is a tap through which the necessary
quantity of size is admitted to supply the size box, and passes by the
pipe h, h, to the injector. I also sometimes apply to the immersion
rollers i, i, in the size box a bell-crank or angled lever k, k, with a
weight 1, 1, upon its outer end which keeps the immersion roller always
slightly pressed against the first finishing roller m, m, see detached view
Fig. 3, Sheet 2.

page_text: may break (which part is also applicable to warping or beaming
machines and to looms for weaving), consists principally of a series of
small balanced levers i, i, (one to each thread) formed of flattened wire
placed on edge, see Fig. 4, Sheet 1, the front part being bent upwards
and provided with a slot or dent through which the thread passes, and
the back part being bent downwards at an angle; the centre is formed
with a curved bend or an eye whereby the levers are supported side by
side on a fulcrum consisting of a knife-edged bar or wire strained tightly
by means of screws or otherwise. The back part of the levers is made
slightly heavier than the front part so that they have a tendency to raise
the front part, but this tendency is counteracted by the tension of the
yarn which holds the front part down; whenever an end or thread
breaks or fails the slit or dented balanced lever in which the end was
placed falls downwards at the back and comes in contact with a bar k, k,
which is constantly moving to and fro under the rear ends of the levers.
Other forms of wire balanced lever which I sometimes employ for this
purpose are shown at Figs. 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, Sheet 1. These levers
are mounted vertically, and when the thread breaks they fall forward
into the position shown in dotted lines. Fig. 7 is formed of three thin
plates rivetted together; Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 11 are formed from sheet
metal and are made with three fingers or projections upwards and one
projection downwards. The thread is passed between the three upward
fingers, as shown by the red line, and the friction or pull of the thread
keeps the levers in their vertical position.
Fig. 5 shows an end view (partly in section); and Fig. 6, a front view
of part of warping or beaming frame with this part of my improvements
shown as applied thereto. The bar k, k, is carried by two levers 1, 1,
which are mounted on on a shaft m, m. At the other end of this shaft is
a lever n, n, the upper part of which is formed with an inclined plane and
bears against the upper part of a weighted lever o, o, which is also
formed with an inclined plane, as shown in the detached view, Fig. 6*.
As long as the bar k; k, is free to move the levers n and o oscillate to
and fro together, but as soon as the bar k, k, is arrested by the falling
of one of the small wire balanced levers i, i, the inclined face of the
lever o slides over the inclined face of the lever n which thrusts the
lever o, o, outwards, and coming against the spring handle p, p, of the
setting-on rod forces it out of its notch, and this movement of the spring

page_text: handle either shifting the strap from a fast to a loose pulley, or moving a
sliding clutch out of gear by means of a lever, stops the action of the
machinery, the lower end of the setting-on rod p, p, being connected by
levers », », and a treadle s, s, to a sliding clutch t, t, at the other side of
the machine stops the revolution of the drum u, u, which actuates the
beam v, v.
In some cases instead of driving the drum u, u, by means of a band
pulley I propose to drive the same by a friction disc w, w, and a small
friction wheel x, x, on a transverse shaft y, y, which is always revolving,
see Fig. 12. The disc w, w, is connected to the sliding clutch t, t, in
such a way that the movement of the latter slides the disc into or out of
contact with the friction wheel, as may be required. The shaft y, y, has
a screw thread cut upon it in order that the friction wheel x, x, may be
set nearer to or further from the centre of the disc so as to make the
speed of the machine either faster or slower, as described, or the friction
wheel might be shifted by a lever without stopping the machine.
I would here remark that in my Provisional Specification I described
the wire balanced levers i, i, as being kept asunder by being placed
between the coils of a helical or coiled spring made of flat wire, but
since filing my Provisional Specification I have discovered that a coiled
wire spring has been proposed to be used for a somewat similar purpose.
I therefore wish to disclaim and do hereby disclaim the use of the coiled
wire for this purpose as forming any part of my Invention. But in
making a flat wire spring of the kind above mentioned I have found it
necessary to use a special tool which I have invented for that purpose,
as the wire when flattened is only about one-fiftieth of an inch thick
and about three-sixteenths of an inch broad; great difficulty was
experienced in coiling this wire on edge without buckling or twisting so
as to form a spring. For this purpose I use a chambered "chase 2, 2,
(see Figs. 13 and 14, Sheet 1), the width of the chamber being the
same as the thickness of the wire. The wire enters the front of this
chase at 1, 1, (edge way up) and passes through the chamber about three
quarters of the circle, when it passes out at 2, 2, and is coiled round the
mandrill or arbour in the usual manner, the chase being attached to and
travelling with the slide rest of the lathe. A spring formed in this
way may also be used as a substitute for "wraiths" or open topped
combs for guiding ends or threads of yarn as they are being wound upon
"

page_text: any width required.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Lancaster, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
WILLIAM LANCASTER. (L.S.)
Witnessed by
JOHN HUGHES,
Clerk to George Davies, C.E.,
Patent Office,
Manchester.