IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TWISTING COTTON OR OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EATON, of Camberwell, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the First day of December, in the eleventh year of Her
reign, did, for, Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Eatón, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and autho-
rity, that I, the said William Eaton, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
and, such others as I, the said William Eaton, my executors, administrators,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times during the term. of years therein.mentioned, should and law-
fully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England and Wales, the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, and in the Island of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney,
Sark, and Man, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
TWISTING COTTON OR OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said William Eaton, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and
ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of..the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
"
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Eaton, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and

page_text: the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say): =
My Invention of "Improvements in Machinery for Twisting Cotton or
other Fibrous-Substances" relates to the preparation of "rovings" of cotton
or other fibrous substances, and has for its object to give a slight degree of
permanent twist to the rovings just previous to their being wound on to the
bobbins preparatory to spinning, and which present Invention relates to im-
provements upon a former Patent granted to me on the Ninth day of February
One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven. In the accompanying Drawings
I have shown my improved plan of effecting this object. In the apparatus
shewn in Figures 1 and 2 the ribbon of cotton or other fibrous material is
conducted from the delivering rollers above down a tube or hollow flyer, which
has a slot in its side the greater part of its length, and through an eye or
'trumpet at the bottom of the flyer, which is so constructed as to admit of its
running in a step whereby the flyer will be steadied in its rapid motion. The
cotton now passes over a curved brass or other wire, and through another eye
or trumpet in the interior of the apparatus. And from this it is, distributed
upon a wooden peg, bobbin, or roller, by means of this latter eye or trumpet,
having a traverse motion. In passing down the hollow flyer, which is in rapid
motion round the central parts of the machine and through the traverse
trumpet or guide upon the bobbin, the ribbon of cotton will have received two
turns or more of permanent twist for every revolution of the flyer, and yet
neither one end or other of the ribbon of cotton is turned round to accomplish
the twisting of it to form the roving or stubbing.
Having thus briefly pointed out the method in which I propose to effect the
object of my Invention, I will now proceed to describe more in detail the
peculiar construction and arrangement of the apparatus or machine which
constitutes my present improvements.
'
Figure 1 is a front elevation, and Figure 2 a side view, of my plan,, in
which the cotton or other fibrous substance is conducted from a pair of drawing
rollers above down the inside of the tube or hollow flyer a, a, a, which is
mounted vertically in a hollow bearing a*, and is actuated by means of a
band coming from any prime mover and passed round the pulley 6. A toothed
wheel or friction roller c is fixed to the under side of the hollow bearings a®,
and therefore always remains stationary. A second wheel or roller'd, having
an equal number of teeth, or being of the same diameter as c, is on the upper

page_text: end of the short shaft e, and gears into or bears against the stationary toothed
wheel or friction roller c. The shaft e is mounted in bearings at the end of an
arm extending from the tube or hollow flyer a, and is consequently carried
round with the said flyer when the latter is put into motion by the band and
pulley b. Another toothed wheel friction roller or pulley f, at the lower end of
the shaft e, gears into a similar wheel, roller, or pulley 9 (all four being equal in
number of teeth or diameter), and which latter wheel, roller, or pulley g of
necessity becomes stationary, and is mounted on the bearings g*. It will be
understood that as the toothed wheel or roller c is fixed to the hollow bearing a,
and therefore always remains stationary, the wheels or roller d and f will,
with their shaft e, be carried round this stationary wheel c, and consequently the
toothed wheel g, and every portion of the ensuing apparatus (not yet described)
attached to the wheel g, and its bearing, will be always kept in the same posi-
tion, that is, will be prevented from rotating. The commencing part of the
hollow tube or flyer is of brass through the pulley b, the bearing a, wheel c, &c.,
as far as a, No. 1. The remaining part of the hollow flyer a, a, is of steel, iron,
or other suitable material, with a slot running its whole length to a, No. 2,
below; the remaining part, with its spindle point, runs in a step fixed on a part
of the frame of the machine, and is intended to steady the flyer in its rapid
revolutions. The ribbon of cotton is conducted from the drawing rollers:
above down the interior of the hollow tube or flyer a, a, a, over the 'curved
brass or other wire h, through the eye or trumpet i fixed on the traverse guide.
j, and distributed upon the wooden peg, bobbin, or roller k, the ribbon of cotton>
having in its passage through the flyer a, in motion, and from thence to the:
bobbin, received a permanent twist as above mentioned.
"
I will now proceed to describe the remaining part of the apparatus: or▸
machine, which is principally required for the distribution or "winding of the
roving upon the cylindrical wooden peg, bobbin, or roller k, so as to form a full
bobbin of roving of a cylindrical shape in the middle, and conical at each end, as
now preferred by cotton spinners. The steel or iron framing I, I, I, I, is firmly
fixed to the wheel 9 above and hollow bearing 9*, and therefore, as above
described, remains quite stationary and suspended within the flyer wheel, which:
is in rapid motion. 'm, m, is a short shaft fixed firmly into the boss part ofi
the hollow tube or flyer. It passes loosely through the wheel g, the hollow:
bearing g*, and has a small bevel pinion n keyed on its lower extremity, and
which gears into the larger bevil wheel o, which is keyed upon the axis of the
hollow fluted roller or drum p,p, this hollow drum having a slot cut round and.
through the centre of its surface to admit the passage of the slot .shaft.m..
By means of this short shaft m being keyed firmly.into the boss of the flyer,

page_text: it will receive motion from the flyer, and thereby give a slow horizontal re-
volving motion to the fluted drum p, p; and, by means of the relative sizes of
the bevil pinion n, the bevel wheel o; and the circumference of. the fluted
drum, it is so arranged that the surface velocity of this fluted drum shall be
precisely the same surface velocity as that of the upper delivering. rollers;
which give the ribbon of cotton into the machine, and the wooden cylin
drical peg, bobbin, or roller k being pressed forcibly by means of the strong.
elastic band 9, 9, 9, 9, which passes over the fixed bearings r, r, r, r, against
the fluted drum, it necessarily follows that the bobbin peg k will receive a
revolving motion from its contact, and its surface velocity for winding up the
roving will always be correct, whether commencing on the empty peg or. bob-
bin k of one inch in diameter, or when the bobbin is filled with roving and has
become four inches more or less in diameter. Along each of the sides of the
stationary steel or iron framing 1, 1, 1, 1, a slot. or groove s*, s, is cut to admit
of a thin light steel or metal framing s, &, s, to slide up and down within the
slot or groove; and in this framing s, 8, 8, are fixed the following. apparatus:
(that it is to say): on the fine light equal-toothed wheels t, t*; the wheel t being
keyed on the axis of the bobbin peg k, and the other t*, into which it gears,
being keyed on to the axis of the double-threaded screw shaft u, u, into which
screw u, u, the pointed lever v is inserted and kept in its proper position for
traversing along the said screw shaft u, u, by the guide rod a, and its other
socket extremity v*, traversing along the cross bar y. Upon the pointed lever
v, v, is fixed a cross lever w, w, each end of which is of a wedge shape, with
a knuckle joint, and each end of this lever acts alternately in its traversing
movement between the cogs in the wheels A, A, thereby giving a small portion
of a revolution to these wheels A, A, and the nut or boss A* of the wheels,
having a screw thread within each, is thus made to advance very slowly upon
the partially threaded ends z, z, of the cross bar y. As soon as the end. of the
cross lever w, w, has advanced sufficiently between two cogs of either wheel:
A, A, at either end of the screw shaft u, u, a stop on the lever w, w, comes
in contact with the face of the wheel A, and instantly throws the pointed lever
v, v, into the other thread of the double screw u, u, and thereby. instantly
reverses the motion, and causes the lever i to traverse to the other end of the:
screw shaft u, u. B, B, are bolts, one being fixed at each end of the slide.
framing 8, 8; and by means of slots B*, cut across the fixed framing, 1, 1, 1, is.
for the purpose of doffing or taking out the bobbins & when filled with rovings;
and replacing another empty peg, roller, or bobbin k, to recommence the
operation. The action of the above described parts is as follows:-
When the machine is put into motion: by means of the band and pulley b

page_text: turning the flyer a, a,. putting into motion the shaft m, m, and thereby the
bevil pinion n and bevil wheel o, turns slowly on its axis the fluted drum p. p;
which gives motion to the bobbin peg or.roller k, and by this means motion is
communicated to the toothed wheel t, and by gearing into t* gives motion to
the double-threaded screw shaft.u, u, thereby causing the pointed. lever v, *;
and the small trumpet i (through which the roving passes) to traverse at 'a
proper speed, according as the machine has been arranged for the size of the
roving on the shaft u, u, and cross bar y, by this means distributing the twisted
roving equally and firmly by the pressure of the elastic bands q, q, upon the
bottom peg or bobbin k, upon which it is wound, and forms a cylindrical bobbin
in the middle, and conical at each end, and which latter shape is accomplished
by the cog wheels A, A, being very slowly advanced nearer each other;at each
successive traverse by means of the cross lever w, w, acting upon the cogs of
each wheel upon the screwed boss A*, and the screw z, z. The object of the
curved brass or other wire h, h, is to always, keep the roving at an equal and
proper tension without injury. at every point of the, traversing apparatus in its,
movement, to distribute the roving upon the bobbin.
Having now described my Invention,' and the best means with which I am
acquainted for, carrying the same into effect, I would observe in conclusion that
several sets of the apparatus. or mechanism herein shewn may be mounted in:
a frame, somewhat similar to or in the manner of the tube frames now used
for making rovings, without permanent twist in them, and it, will therefore
be evident that the arrangements of the several parts must, when applied in
this manner, be somewhat modified to suit the views and opinions of different
manufacturers. I have therefore shewn my improvements distinct from the
well known machines, leaving it to the spinner or machine maker to apply any
alterations to those parts of my apparatus or machine which are common, and
somewhat similar in other roving machines, such as the traverse motion for
distributing or winding the roving on to the bobbin, &c., as they may doubtless
be varied without departing from the nature and object of my improvements.
But that which I consider to be new, and therefore wish to claim as the Inven-
tion secured to me under the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
Firstly, the means of forming a roving or slubbing of cotton, or other fibrous
substances, with a permanent twist therein, by causing the said roving or slub-
bing to pass through the hollow flyer and other parts, as heretofore described,
and distributing or winding the same on to a bobbin, the roving having
received, from my method of operation, a permanent twist, without either end
of the said roving turning round. And I also claim the application or employ-
ment of the machinery above described, or any mere modification of the same

page_text: principle, or means to twist together two, three, or more single: threads of
cotton,..yarn, or other threads, and. to. wind the same upon. spools or bobbins to
make sewing cotton, lace, thread, &c.
.. Secondly,. I claim the means above shewn, or any mere modification thereof,
for putting a permanent twist into strands of twine, string, cord, or rope, and
also to twist afterwards two, three, or more of; these strands or cords: together,
so as to form. a thicker one, by means of my apparatus. or machine, which
must of course be constructed much larger and stronger in. every respect, in
proportion to the nature and object. of the intended operation..
?
'In witness whereof, I, the said William Eaton, have hereunto set my-hand
and seal, this Thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.
W (L.B.) EATON.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirty-first day of May, in the
eleventh year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said William
Eaton came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknow-
ledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and
specified, in form above written. And also the Instrument aforesaid was
stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the fifty-fifth year of the
reign of His late Majesty King George the Third..
Enrolled the First day of June, One thousand eight hundred and forty-
eight.