CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES, WHICH ARE COMMONLY KNOWN AMONG COTTON SPINNERS BY THE NAMES OF ROVING FRAMES, OR OTHERWISE CALLED CONE FRAMES, OR BOBBIN AND FLY FRAMES OR JACK. FRAMES
Year: 1830

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
LANE, of Stockport, in the County of Chester, Cotton Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS II is most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth, by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Fifth day of August, in the first year of His reign, did give and
grant, for Himself, His heirs and successors, unto me, the said William Lane,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, His especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said William Lane, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, and every of them, by myself and themselves, or by my
and their deputy or deputies, servants, or agents, or such others as I, the said
William Lane, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within that part of His Majesty's United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland called England, His Dominion of Wales, and Town
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES,
WHICH ARE COMMONLY KNOWN AMONG COTTON SPINNERS BY THE NAMES OF ROVING
FRAMES, OR OTHERWISE CALLED CONE FRAMES, OR BOBBIN AND FLY FRAMES, OR JACK.
FRAMES;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, obliging me,
the said William Lane, 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 His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within four calender months next and
iminediately after the date of the said recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Lane, do hereby particularly describe and ascertain the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed (that is
to say):-
I declare that the main advantage which is attained by means of my said
Improvements in Machines, which are commonly known among Cotton Spinners
by the names of Roving Frames, or otherwise called Cone Frames, or Bobbin
and Fly Frames, or Jack Frames, is a diminution in the weight of the bobbins
around which the rovings are wound by such machine. For instead of the
usual kind of bobbin, consisting of a cylindrical tube with a flat circular flange
at each end thereof, thus a similar cylindrical tube (but without any
such end flanges) is to be used in the frames aforesaid, when the same are
constructed according to my improvements, thus and the roving is to be
gathered around, and coiled or wound about that cylindrical tube in successive
layers of roving, overlapping and covering each other, in the same manner as
is usually done on the bobbin with a flange at each end, excepting that each
successive layer of roving which is wound on must be distributed, so as to
occupy a shorter portion of the length of the tube than the preceding layer occu-
pied, in order that the mass of roving which is accumulated on the said tube
may taper away at each end in the form of obtuse frustrums of cones, the middle
part of the mass (which is situated between the bases of those frustrums)
being cylindrical, thus
Rovings thus wound on cylindrical
tubes without end flanges are found to unwind and draw off therefrom more
readily than from the common bobbins with end flanges in the subsequent
operations, to which the said rovings are subjected, whether such operations be
a repetition of the operation of roving in a finer roving frame, or the operation
of spinning the rovings into yarns or threads; because the end flanges of the
common bobbin by their weight and size cause some resistance to the motion
of the bobbin when the roving is drawn off from it, aud that resistance becomes
greater by degrees as the bobbin is emptied, that is, as the successive layers
of rovings are unwound and drawn off from it (so as to leave the roving which
remains coiled round the bobbin of a smaller and smaller diameter). The
resistance thus occasioned by the weight and size of the end flanges of the
common bobbin has a tendency to stretch and injure the roving, but when
the roving is wound on a cylindrical tube without end flanges, the resistance

page_text: to the motion of the tube is so slight as to do no sensible injury to the roving.
I wholly disclaim as any part of my Invention the gathering of rovings on
tubes without end flanges, instead of bobbins with end flanges, otherwise than
by the means herein-after set forth.
I declare that my Invention consists in the improvements herein-after
described, whereby such tubes without end flanges can be used instead of
bobbins with end flanges in those roving frames (commonly known amongst
cotton spinners by the names of cone frames, or bobbin and fly frames, or jack
frames, wherein what is called the traversing motion (that is, the alternately
ascending and descending motion which is given to the bobbin in order to
distribute the successive coils of rovings side by side along the length of the
bobbin,) is given to the bobbin rail or bobbin lifter (that is, the rail in which
the bobbins rest,) by means of toothed wheelwork, which has a reversing motion
given to it at proper intervals to produce the alternate rising and falling
motion of the bobbin rail, (that is to say) roving frames, called cone frames,
or bobbin and fly frames, or jack frames, wherein the bobbin rail is alternately
raised upwards, and then let down again by a motion derived (either by means
of winding up straps or chains or by racks and pinions) from some revolving
axis or shaft, which by suitable wheel work is turned round in one direction so
long as the bobbin rail is to be raised, and then by suitable change in the
wheelwork (called reversing) the same axis or shaft is turned round in an
opposite direction in order to let the bobbin rail down again, and then the
wheelwork is again reversed in order to raise the bobbin rail up again, and so on.
My improvements apply to cone frames, bobbin and fly frames, or jack
frames, which raise and lower the bobbin rail by means of reversing wheel-
work, as aforesaid, whether that reversionary wheelwork consists of two
opposite bevel wheels, and a bevel pinion to knock out of geer from the teeth
of one of the said wheels and into geer with the teeth of the opposite wheel, in
order to reverse the motion that is given by the pinion to one or other of those
wheels, or else by means of a spur wheel and intermediate spur wheel, with a
corresponding pinion to knock in and out from one of those spur wheels to the
other. And whereas there are many old roving frames called cone frames, or
bobbin and fly frames, which act by what are called heart motions, to raise
and lower the bobbin rail by means of hearts, which make one revolution for
each rise and fall of the rail, and which hearts revolve always in one direction,
when such frames are to be altered to work according to my improvements,
the said heart motions must be taken out and reversing wheelwork substituted,
in order to raise and lower the bobbin rail by knocking in and out, as aforesaid;
also in other more modern frames, in which the bobbin rail is raised and

page_text: lowered by what are called mangle-wheel motions. The mangle wheels should
be removed and spur wheels of the same size substituted, and also reversing
wheelwork should be added, in order to raise and lower the bobbin rail by
knocking in and out, as aforesaid.
And my improvements as applied to cone frames, bobbin and fly frames, or
jack frames with reversing wheelwork, as aforesaid, consist in the application
thereto (in the manner herein-after more particularly described) of certain
tapering plates, wedges, or inclined planes, and also of certain nuts and screws,
and also of certain spiral wheels, for the purpose of knocking out the said
gear and reversing the said motion (at each successive time of knocking out) a
little before the bobbin rail with the tubes has ascended or descended quite as
high or quite as low as it (or they) did at the preceding time of ascending or
descending, in order that each successive layer of roving (which is lapped,
coiled, or wound around each of the tubes, so as to cover over a preceding
layer of roving) may be distributed along a shorter portion of the length of the
tube than the preceding layer occupied. And the essential properties of my
tapering plates, wedges, or inclined planes, and of my nuts and screws, and of
my spiral wheels (the application whereof respectively in the manner and as
herein-after more particularly described, to cone frames, bobbin and fly frames,
or jack frames, with reversing wheelwork, as aforesaid, for the
purpose herein-
before set forth, constitutes my Invention), are, first, that the knocking out or
reversing of the wheelwork shall be effected by the contact of suitable parts
with the tapering or inclined edges of my tapering plates, wedges, or inclined
planes, or else by the contact with my nuts or screws, if such are used, or else
by contact with the circumferences of my spiral wheels, if such are used; and,
secondly, that at each successive time of knocking out and reversing, in order
to lap another layer of roving around each of the tubes and cover over a
preceding layer, such a movement of the parts shall have been produced in the
interval since the last time of reversing as will cause the aforesaid contact to
take place at a part of the edges of my tapering plates, inclined planes, or
wedges where those edges are broader or farther apart from each other than
that part where the said contact took place the former time, or when my nuts
and screws are used, the movement thereof, which is effected in the interval
between the times of reversing, must remove or separate those parts of such
nuts or screws at which the aforesaid contact takes place to a greater distance
apart; or, when my spiral wheels are used, the said movement which is pro-
duced in the interval between the times of reversing must turn those wheels a
little round about their centres of motion, and cause the aforesaid contact to
take place at new parts of their circumferences, which parts are more distant

page_text: from their centres of motion than those parts where that contact took place at
the previous time of reversing.
For the full explanation of my Invention, I have hereunto annexed
Drawings representing two roving frames with reversing wheelwork with my
improvements added thereto..
11.
Figure 1 is an elevation of the back of a roving frame which is in very
common use amongst cotton spinners, and Figure 2 is an end elevation thereof.
The parts marked by letters of reference are not of my Invention, but the
parts marked with numeral characters are those which are altered (or added)
in order to make the frames work according to my Invention.
.
A is the first motion axis, with a pair of fast and loose pullies H at one end
of it, turned by a belt or endless strap, and a small fly wheel is fixed upon the
axis A to regulate its motion; B are bevilled wheels; D is an inclined. axis';
and E are other bevil wheels, to give motion to a long horizontal axis F, which
extends beneath the back row of spindles (only a few of which spindles are
shewn at G, and the axis F turns all those spindles (and their. flyers) by
a bevil wheel and a small pinion for each spindle; also by a pair of spur
wheels, one of which is shewn at I. The axis F turns another long axis
(not represented), which extends parallel to the axis F, beneath the front
row of spindles, ouly a few of which are shewn at K, and turns them all
(with their flyers, by a bevil wheel and small pinion for each spindle. By
the aforesaid wheelwork and axes B, D, E, F, a regular and uniform
motion is transmitted from the first motion axis A to all the spindles, which
form two complete rows along the front of the frame, but only a few of those
spindles are represented by G and K; and by means of spur wheelwork at M,
at the end of the axis A, it turns another horizontal axis N, and that by other
spur wheelwork O, at the end of it, turns the rollers which receive and draw
out the cotton. Those rollers are thereby turned round with an uniform
motion, corresponding with the motion of the spindles, in order that an uniform
twist may be given by the flyers of the spindles to the rovings which are
delivered out by the front rollers. The degree of that twist can be altered by
changing one of the spur wheels at M, so as to increase or diminish the rapidity
of the motion of the rollers in respect to that of the spindles. The bobbins
(or the tubes which are used in lieu of bobbins) are turned round about the
spindles with a slower motion than the flyers are turned round, in order to coil
or lap up the rovings around the bobbins or tubes as fast as the rollers deliver
out the rovings. For this purpose, the first motion axis A carries a drum a,
which, by an endless strap that is conducted over guide pullies b, turns a pulley
d at the lower end of an upright axis, on the upper end of which a cylindrical

page_text: barrel e is fixed, and by a long endless band, which passes round the barrel e,
it turns a set of pullies f, which are fitted loosely one on each of the spindles;
and the bobbins or tubes resting on the pullies f, and being attached thereto,
are turned round along with the said pullies in the same direction as the spindles
and flyers are turned. The bobbins or tubes being turned round with a slower
rate of motion than that with which the flyers are turned, the ends of the flyers
carry the rovings above the bobbins or tubes, so as to gather up the rovings in
coils around the same, and the bobbings or tubes are turned round so much
slower than the flyers are turned round as will cause the bobbins or tubes to
gather or coil up the rovings as fast as the rollers deliver out the same, but no
faster; and in order to cause the successive coils or rovings to warp around the
bobbins or tubes side by side, so as to distribute the rovings regularly along
the length of the bobbins or tubes, and cover the same with cylindrical layers of
rovings, the bobbins or tubes are alternately raised up and lowered down upon
the spindles, by giving a suitable up and down motion to the horizontal bobbin
rail Q, which sustains all the pullies f, f, beneath the bobbins or tubes. For
this purpose the bobbin rail Q is supported by upright toothed racks R, which
are fixed to it, and those racks are actuated by toothed pinions, fixed upon a
long horizontal axis S, on the end of which is a spur wheel T, which is some-
times called a mangle wheel), actuated by a pinion on the end of another
horizontal axis V, which receives motion by means of two opposite bevel wheels
W from a bevel pinion fixed on the lower end of an upright axis X, which has
another bevel wheel Y on the upper end of it, to be turned by a corresponding
bevel wheel on the end of a short horizontal axis g, which receives its motion
by a pair of spur wheels at h from another horizontal axis K, on which a long
tapering cone is fixed, and that cone is turned by an endless strap or belt
from a pulley n, which is carried by the horizontal axis N. By means of the
pulley n its endless strap and the cone l, together with the wheelwork and
axes k, h, Y, and X, the bevel pinion at the lower end of the upright axis X
is turned always one way round, and the said pinion can be engaged with
either one of the two opposite bevel wheels W, in order to turn their axis V
first one way round and then the other way round. For instance, when the
bevel pinion is engaged with one bevel wheel W, it will turn the axis V one
way round, and that motion being transmitted, by the pinion and spur wheel T,
the long axis S, and its pinions, to the upright racks R of the bobbin rail Q,
will raise up that rail (together with all the pullies f and the bobbins or tubes
which rest thereon) with such a slow and regular ascent, as will cause the
successive coils of rovings which are wrapped around the bobbins or tubes (by
reason that the flyers are turned more rapidly than the bobbins or tubes are

page_text: turned round) to be laid close to one another side by side; and when by
continuance of the ascent of the bobbins or tubes each one becomes covered
with a complete cylindrical layer of roving (over all its length, or such portion
thereof as is intended to be so covered,) the bevel pinion at the lower end of
the upright axis X is knocked out of gear from that bevel wheel W with which
it was engaged, and thrown into gear with the opposite bevel wheel W, whereby
the axis V will be turned round in a contrary direction to that in which it was
turned before, and then, by the wheelwork T, the axis S, and pinions and racks
R, the bobbin rail, together with the pullies f, and all the bobbins or tubes,
begin to be lowered down again with a suitably slow and regular descent, to
cause the successive coils of rovings which are wrapped around the bobbins
or tubes (and which cover over the coils of the former cylindrical layer of
roving) to be laid close together side by side; and when by continuance of such
descent of the bobbins or tubes each one becomes covered with a cylindrical
layer of roving over all its length, or such portion thereof as is intended to
be so covered, then the bevel pinion is again knocked out from that bevel
wheel W with which it was engaged, and thrown into gear with the opposito
bevel wheel W, which causes the bobbin rail to begin to ascend again, and
so on. The bevel pinion at the lower end of the upright axis X is knocked
in and out of gear between the two opposite bevel wheels W by the following
means at every time that the bobbin rail Q has completed its intended
course of ascent and descent:-The lower end of the upright axis X is
supported by the middle of a horizontal bar, which moves about a centre of
motion at the end of it in the manner of a lever, in order to carry the teeth of
the bevil pinion into gear with the teeth of either of the opposite bevil wheels
W; the other end of that bar or lever is connected by a small rod (marked
E) with an upright lever L, which moves about a centre of motion at the lower
end of it, and the upper end is detained alternately by a catch C and a latch
U, taking hold by turns of a pin which projects out from the upper end of the
lever L. When the lever L is inclined one way, in order to throw the bevel
pinion into gear with one bevil wheel W, the latch U drops by its own
weight over the pin of the lever and holds the lever fast; but when the lever L
is inclined the contrary way, in order to put the bevil pinion into gear with
the opposite bevel wheel W the catch C, which is hooked, is borne upwards
by a balance weight at the opposite end of it, and locks the pin, so as to hold
the lever fast. The upright lever L has two horizontal arms projecting out
each way from it, giving it the form of the letter T inverted (thus 1); one of
the arms is loaded with a weight P, which tends to incline the upright lever
one way, and to the other arm of the lever L a weight Z (twice as heavy as

page_text: the weight P) is applied in such a manner as to act on the arm and overpower
the smaller weight P whenever the bobbin rail is down, and then the great
weight Z gives the lever L a tendency to incline the opposite way; but when-
ever the bobbin rail is up, it suspends the heavy weight Z by a wire or chain,
so as to take it off from acting on the arm of the upright lever L, and then the
smaller weight P will preponderate. The knocking-out action is as follows:-
Every time that the bobbin rail Q has descended as low as it is intended
to descend, it intercepts the claw J of the lower catch C, and presses that
catch down to release the upright lever L, and then the greater weight Z
(which hangs on one of the arms of the upright lever L) instantly inclines
that lever, and by the rod marked draws the bevel pinion out of gear with
that bevel wheel W with which it was before engaged, and throws it into gear
with the opposite bevel wheel W, as represented in Figure 1, whereby, as before
described, the axis V is turned the other way round, and the bobbin rail Q is
raised up again. As the bobbin rail ascends it draws up the large weight Z
by its wire or chain, so as to take it off from acting on the arm of the upright
lever L, but the upper latch U holds that lever fast and keeps the bevel
pinion in its gear until the bobbin rail has ascended as high as it is intended
to rise, and then it intercepts the claw J of the latch U, and lifts that latch
to release the upright lever L, which instantly inclines the opposite way by its
weight P, and draws the bevel pinion out of gear with that bevel wheel W
with which it was before engaged, and throws it into gear with the opposite
bevel wheel W, which then (as before described) turns the axis V the contrary
way round and lets the bobbin rail down again, the catch C holds the lever
L fast, and keeps the bevil pinion in its gear, the large weight Z is let
down so as to hang upon the arm of the upright lever L, in preparation for
knocking out and reversing as before, when the bobbin rail gets down as low
as is intended, and intercepts the claw J of the catch C. Every time that an
additional cylindrical layer of roving is thus laid upon each of the bobbins or
tubes, the diameter of the coils which are to form that additional layer will be
greater than the diameter of the coils which formed the preceding cylindrical
layer, because the coils of the additional layer must wrap around and cover
over the coils of the preceding layer. The rollers are turned round with an
uniform motion so as to deliver out the rovings at a constant rate, and the
spindles and flyers are turned round with a constant rapidity during all the
progress of filling the bobbins or tubes by covering them with successive
cylindrical layers of rovings. And in order that the bobbins or tubes may
gather up the rovings as fast as the rollers deliver out the rovings, but no
faster, the bobbins or tubes are turned round with a slower motion when they

page_text: are empty, and the coils are of smaller diameter than when they become filled
by the accumulation of rovings, and the coils are of a larger diameter, for it
is in consequence of the motion wherewith the bobbins or tubes are turneil
round being slower than the motion wherewith the flyers are turned round
that the rovings are caused to coil about the bobbins or tubes; consequently,
when the length of roving that is taken up in each circumvolution or coil
around them is least, they must be turned round at the slowest rate, because
by turning round much slower than the flyers are turned round they will
gather each coil in a shorter interval of time, corresponding to the shortness
of the length of roving that is to be gathered upo at each coil; but as the
bobbins or tubes become filled with the rovings and increase in diameter they
must be turned round with a more rapid motion, in order that by following
more rapidly after the flyers a longer interval of time will be occupied to
gather each coil around, the enlarged bobbins or tubes, corresponding to the
greater length of roving that is to be gathered up at each coil. The rate of
motion wherewith the bobbins or tubes are turned round must be such as will
cause the circumference of the roving which is accumulated around them
to move round so much slower than the points of the flyers move round,
as that the bobbins or tubes will gather up or coil the rovings around them-
selves as fast as the rollers deliver out the rovings, but no faster. To give
the necessary variation of turning motion to the bobbins or tubes, a contrivance
is applied to the drum a on the first motion axis A, which drum (as before
stated, by its endless strap turns the pulley d, and by the barrel e and by the
endless band transmits the motion whereby the pullies f and the bobbins or
tubes are turned round. The drum a is not fixed upon the axis A, but it is
fitted loosely thereon, and is turned round about the axis with a variable rate
of motion by the following contrivance, for which a Patent was granted to
Mr. Henry Houldsworth, on or about the Sixteenth of January, One thousand
eight hundred and twenty-six:-A bevel wheel, shewn by the dotted lines r,
is fixed fast upon the axis A; it is concealed within the hollow of a drum
corresponding in external appearance to the drum a. The drum a has a similar
bevel wheel x fixed to it, and concealed within its hollow. The teeth of those
two bevel wheels are engaged by the teeth of a third intermediate bevel
wheels, that is contained within and carried by a large spur wheel t, which
occupies the interval between the two drums, and which is fitted on the axis A
so as to turn freely round thereon. The axis of the intermediate bevel wheel s
points to the centre of the axis A, and the plane of the intermediate wheel
intersects the plane of the spur wheel t, projecting out on each side thereof
to reach the other two bevel wheels r and x. The teeth of the spur wheel t

page_text: are engaged by those of a small pinion won the extreme end of the axis g,
which, as before mentioned, is turned by spur wheels h from the axis k and
cone l, which latter receives its motion by the endless strap from. the pulley n
on the axis N. When the spur wheel t is thus turned round, the intermediate
bevel wheels within it is carried round in a circular orbit, at the same time
that it turns round its own axis, and it transmits so much of the motion of the
first bevel wheel to the second bevel wheel as is not taken away from both
by the circulation of the intermediate bevel wheels and wheel t around the
axis A. For instance, suppose the wheel t with its intermediate wheel s is
turned round half as quick as the axis A and bevel wheel r are turned round,
then the teeth of the intermediate wheel s will roll around in the teeth of the
wheel x without turning that wheel at all, and therefore it will stand still,
together with the drum a, within which it is: fixed; or if the wheel t and
intermediate wheel sis turned. round at the same rate with the axis A and
bevel wheel r; then there will be no relative motion between the teeth
of the three bevel wheels r, s, x, and the drum a will be turned round
at the same rate with the axis A, just as if it were fixed fast thereto.
Between these two extremes all, the variations of speed with which it is
required to turn the bobbins or tubes can be found; for the wheel-t,
and the intermediate bevel wheels, which it carries, is turned round (or
rather, it is allowed to turn round, for it has a tendency to turn 'round
of itself, in consequence of the action of the bevel wheel upon the inter-
mediate circulating bevel wheel s, which transmits the motion of the third
bevel wheel) with a less speed. than_the-motion-of-the-axis-A-and-bevel
wheel r by means of the cone l, and by sliding the pulley n along the axis N
the endless strap can be brought to act at different parts of the cone 1, in
order to turn it round (or rather allow it to turn round) slower, and con-
sequently the wheel t and its intermediate bevel wheels to turn slower as
the bobbins or tubes fill and increase in size, whereby more of the motion of
the bevel wheel r will be transmitted by that intermediate wheels to the
bevel wheel a and its drum a, so as to turn the same quicker, together with
the bobbins or tubes which derive their motion from it. The pulley n is fitted
on the axis N, so as to be capable of sliding freely endways along it, but
cannot turn round thereon. The pulley n is included within a sliding frame
which is fitted on the axis N, and is connected by a rod m with the upper end
of a lever o (which is moved 'about a fixed centre pin at its lower end) by
means of a pin fixed into the middle part of the lever at i, and entering into
an upright groove formed in the arm p of a slider c, which is moved hori
zontally (when required) by the draft of a lieavy weight 7 acting-(by a cord

page_text: over a pulley) with a sufficient force to slide the pulley n along its axis N,
and thereby bring the endless strap to act successively on any part of the
length of the cone l, beginning with the smaller end and proceeding towards
the larger end. The horizontal slider p, c, is withheld from moving (except
at the proper intervals, by two clicks or palls v and y, which act in the teeth
of a double rack c, carried by the horizontal slider. The upper click, falling
by its own weight v, acts in a row of serrated teeth at the upper side of the
rack c, and the lower click y, rising by the preponderance of a heavy end,
acts in a corresponding row of serrated teeth at the under side of the rack c.
The two clicks and y detain the slider c alternately, for when the end of one
click stops any tooth of one rack the end of the other click will fall in the
space between two teeth of the other rack. Every time that the bobbin
rail is required to change the direction of its motion from ascending to
descending, and consequently commences the coils of another cylindrical
layer of roving on the bobbins or tubes overlapping a preceding cylindrical
layer, it pushes up the upper stud j of the upright rod, and by a pin
which projects out from that rod the upper click vis lifted and dis-
engaged from that tooth of the upper rack c against which it held, and then
the rack and slider c are drawn along by their cord and weight g until the
end of the lower click y intercepts the next tooth of the lower rack c,
and thus detains the slider from farther motion until the bobbin rail has
descended and completed that cylindrical layer of roving; it then presses on
the lower stud j of the upright rods, and by another pin which projects out
of that rod the lower click y is pressed down, and permits the rack and slider
to move again until the upper click catches the next tooth. The motion
thus permitted to the rack and slider draws the pulley n along its axis N and
advances the endless strap along the cone to make it act on a larger part
thereof, consequently the cone will be turned (or allowed to turn) rather
slower than before, and that diminution of motion affects all the train of wheel-
work and axes h, g, w. t, s, and by causing the intermediate bevel wheels,
which is carried by the wheel.t, to circulate slower, the drum a, together with
all the bobbins or tubes, is turned round rather quicker than before, because
(as before explained, by reducing the circulating motion of the wheel t and
intermediate bevel wheel 8, the latter will transmit a greater portion of the
motion of the bevel wheel r to the bevel wheel x and to the drum a. The
increase of turning motion thus given to the bobbins or tubes must be such as
to make up exactly for that small increase which takes place in the diameter
of the coils of rovings when those coils begin to form an additional cylindrical
layer of roving, covering over the layer that was previously completed before

page_text: (as before explained). The bobbins or tubes require to begin to be turned
round quicker at every time that they begin to increase in diameter (by the
addition of a new cylindrical layer of rovings around the layers previously
formed) in order that they may follow after the flyers at the proper rate to
gather up the rovings just as fast as the rollers deliver out the same, but no
faster. Note. The space that the pulley n and its endless strap shall be thus
advanced along the cone 1 at every succeeding time that an additional layer
of roving is began depends upon the teeth of the rack c, and upon the
distance between the pin i in the lever o, and the centre of motion of that
lever. There are several holes in the lever o to receive the pin i, and by
placing it in one or other of them nearer to or further from the centre of
motion of the lever, more or less motion will be transmitted by the rod m to
the pulley n and to its endless strap. Note.-The cone l gives motion to the
herein-before described train of wheelwork and axes h, Y, X, W, V, T, S,
and R, whereby the bobbin rail Q is raised up and let down alternately, and
therefore the rapidity of the rising or falling motion is a little diminished at
every time that an additional cylindrical layer of roving is begun to be coiled
around the bobbins or tubes. That diminution in the rapidity of rising or
falling is adapted to cause the successive coils of rovings which are to consti-
tute each cylindrical layer to be wound close together side by side without
intervals between them; for when the coils of rovings that are to be wound
around the bobbins or tubes are of small diameter, a more rapid rate of
rising or falling motion must be given to the bobbin rail, corresponding to the
quickness wherewith the successive coils of rovings are wound; but as the coils
of rovings increase in diameter, a less rapid rate of rising and falling motion
should be given to the bobbins or tubes, corresponding with the slower rate at
which the successive coils of rovings are formed when they are of larger
diameter. When a set of bobbins or tubes which have been completely
covered with rovings are removed from the spindles and replaced by a set of
naked bobbins or tubes, a small winch or handle and roller at one end of the
roller beam is used to wind up a cord that is attached to the sliding frame of
the pulley n, and thereby the pulley n, with its rod m, the lever o, the slider p,
and rack c are all drawn endways in opposition to the weight q into the
positions represented in Figure 1, in order to bring the endless strap of the
pulley n to the small end of the cone l, and prepare the machine for winding
the rovings about the naked bobbins or tubes.
The above description of the Drawings, Figures 1 and 2, does not contain
any part of my Invention, and I have introduced the said description in this my
Specification to shew the action of the roving frame, for the more easy explana-

page_text: tion of the manner in which my improvements are to be applied thereto, which
is as follows:-Tubes without end flanges are to be fitted on the spindles in
place of the usual bobbins with end flanges, these tubes being of the same size
and structure and materials as the barrel part of the bobbins usually employed;
and in order to attach the said tubes to the pullies f, and ensure that the tubes
shall turn round with those pullies, a pin should project upwards from the
central part of each pulley f, to enter into a corresponding hole or notch in
the end of the tube which is to be applied to that pulley. (Note, this has been
done for bobbins, and it is not a new practice, but it becomes necessary when
tubes are used instead of bobbins, because they have not sufficient weight and
surface to adhere to the upper faces of the pullies, and be turned round by
friction alone.) I apply my tapering plates, wedges; or double inclined planes,
niarked 1 and 2 in the aforesaid Drawing, at such part of the bobbin rail. Q
and in such positions as that the inclined edges of those plates may strike
the 'claws J, J, which are affixed as usual to the catch C and the latch U,
and also strike the pins or studs j, j, which are fixed as usual on the
upright rod z, for the purpose of knocking off, in the manner herein-before
described, in order to reverse the wheelwork, and also to increase the
speed of the turning motion of the tubes at every time that the bobbin
rail has risen as high or descended as low as it required to do; and
further, I attach my said tapering plates 1 and 2 to the bobbin rail Q by.
means of a sliding rod (3), to which both plates are fixed, and the rod 3
moves horizontally through guides 4, 4, affixed to the rail Q, in order to
carry both the plates 1 and 2 endways along the rail Q with their narrowest
ends foremost, with a progressive motion corresponding to that of the rack
and slider c. For that purpose the upright arm p of the slider has an
upright ruler affixed to it at 5, and projecting in front, and that ruler is
embraced by a forked piece, which is fastened to the sliding rod 3. This mode
of connection allows the rod 3 to rise and fall freely along with the bobbin
rail, but the upright arm p commands the endway motion of the sliding rod 3,
which carries my plates 1 and 2, and obliges them to move endways along with
the rack c, and the connection with the upright arm p also prevents the said
plates from moving endways when the rack c is detained by one or other of
its clicks vor'y.
The 'said alterations and additions marked 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, constitute my
improvement as applied to the roving frame, represented in Figures I and 2,
for the purpose of working the said frame with tubes without end flanges in lien
of bobbins with end flanges, and the mode of action of that frame with my said
improvement is as follows:-When the frame is prepared in the usual manner

page_text: for beginning to wind rovings on a set of naked tubes (the parts being in the
position represented in Figure 1) the narrow ends of my plates 1 and 2 will be
opposite to the claws J, J, of the catch C and latch U, and to the studs j, j,
of the upright rod z. The respective positions of those parts must have been
previously adjusted, in order that when the bobbin rail Q is raised up so high
as to lay the rovings as near to the upper ends of the tubes as they are
intended to go, the upper inclined edge of my plate 2 will reach the upper
stud of the upright rod z, and by lifting that rod will disengage the upper
click v of the rack c, also the upper inclined edge of my plate 1 will reach
the claw J of the latch U and disengage that latch; and in like manner,
when the bobbin rail has descended so low as to lay the rovings as near to
the lower ends of the tubes as they are intended to go, the lower inclined edge
of my plate 2 will then reach the lower stud j of the upright rod.z, and by
depressing that rod will disengage the lower click y of the rack c, also the
lower inclined edge of my plate 1 will reach the claw J of the catch C and
disengage that catch. These conditions being observed, the action of the frame
with my improvements goes on in the usual manner, except at every time of
knocking off (that is to say, at every time that the bobbin rail changes its
motion from ascending to descending, or vice versa, in order to commence the
coils of an additional cylindrical layer of roving about the tubes) my plates
1 and 2, with the sliding rod 3 which carries them, will be moved endways.as
much as the rack c and slider p are moved endways, whereby at each suc-
ceeding time of reversing, broader parts of my tapering plates 1 and 2 are
brought into action opposite to the claws J, J, and the studs j,j, and in con-
sequence at every succeeding time they will knock off at an earlier stage of
-the-ascent-or-descent of the bobbin rail, so that the space through which the
bobbin rail ascends and descends will be diminished at every time, in order
that each succeeding cylindrical layer of roving-that is wound on may occupy
a shorter and shorter portion of the length of the tube, and give to the mass
of roving that is accumulated round each of the tubes the form.of.a.cylinder,
terminating at top and at bottom with truncated cones, as is represented of the
full size in Sheet IV., Figure 3. The angles of those conical ends should not
be so obtuse as to leave any risk that the last coils of rovings which form the
ends of each of the successive cylindrical layers can slip over the end coils, of
the previous cylindrical layer. The proportion represented in Figure 3 1 hâve
found to answer the purpose, for the rovings wound in that form around tubes
will unwind or come off therefrom very well... My tapering plates, wedges,
or double inclined planes must increase in their breadth at such a rate, that
in the length which the rack c moves during the winding of any given number

page_text: of cylindrical layers of roving one upon another around each of the tubes tho
breadth of my aforesaid plates will increase just as much as the difference in
length (measuring along the tubes) between the first and last layers of such
given number. By attention to this proportion, a competent mechanician can
have no difficulty in giving the proper form to my tapering plates, wedges,
or double inclined planes in any case.
If the teeth of the rack c were to be
unequal, the inclined sides of my plates would not be straight lines, as repre-
sented at 1 and 2 (which are adapted to a rack with equal teeth), but they
would be curved lines. The plates may be made of wood, which can be easily
cut and altered, until by trial (according to the proportion aforesaid given)
the exact form is found, and then the wood will serve as patterns to form
proper metal plates. Or else my plates may be each formed of two bars,
jointed together in the manner of a carpenter's two-foot rule, and fastened by
screws to the sliding bar 3 in such manner as to admit of altering the angle
to any degree which may be required. My plates 1 and 2 must be precisely
alike. They are fastened on the sliding bar 3 with clamp screws, which allow
them to be adjusted, in order that in all cases they may both knock off very
nearly together, the plate 2 which acts on the rod (knocking off rather
sooner than the other, but by no means later.
Sheet II., Figure 3 is an elevation, taken at the back, of another roving
frame, which is also in very common use among cotton spinners, but it is of
an older and less perfect construction than that before described. My said
improvements are represented as applied thereto in order to make it work
with tubes without end flanges, instead of the usual bobbins with end flanges.
The same letters of reference being used to denote the same parts, as in the
former Figures, it is unnecessary to enter into a minute description of all the
parts. The motion to turn the bobbins or tubes with varying speed is derived
by an endless strap from a conical or tapering drum a, which is fitted upon the
first motion axis A, so as to slide endways along the axis, but not to turn round
upon it. The drum a is moved endways along the axis A, with its smallest
end foremost, by means of a connecting link, extending horizontally from an
upright arm affixed to an horizontal sliding rod m, which arm has an upright
groove in it to receive a pin i, which is fixed therein at any height, and the end
of the pin i which projects out from the arm is an open fork to grasp the
middle part of a long lever o, and the upper end of the lever o is connected
with the double-toothed rack c (which slides horizontally but independently of
the rod m) by a pin which projects out of the rack c, and enters into a groove
in the upper end of the lever o. Every time that the bobbin rail changes the
direction of its motion from ascending to descending, or vice versa, one or other

page_text: of the clicks vor y is disengaged by means of the upright rod, and the rack c
is allowed to move endways by the action of its weight q. The rack c moves
the upper end of the lever o, and the middle part of the lever o, acting on the
forked pin which is fixed in the groove of the arm p, moves that arm, and also
the sliding rod m, and by the connecting link the taper drum a is moved along
the axis A, whereby the endless strap is caused to apply to a larger part of the
taper drum, and consequently to turn the bobbins or tubes quicker round in
proportion as they enlarge in diameter by the accumulation of rovings about
them. The train of wheelwork which raises and lowers the bobbin rail is
turned round with a varying speed by motion derived from a flat circular plate
or disk M, which is fixed upon the first motion axis A; a small circular wheel
N, which is fixed on the upper end of an upright axis X, is applied with its
edge in contact with the flat surface of M, and is pressed thereto by a weights
with a sufficient force to be turned round by the adhesion of that edge to the
said flat surface. The lower end of the upright axis X is borne by the end of
a short arm n, which projects out from the lower end of the lever o, and there-
fore by the motion of that lever the axis X will be raised up, and its wheel N
will be moved nearer to the axis A, so as to be turned round slower by its
contact with the disk M, in order that the rising and falling of the bobbin rail
may be performed with a slower rate of motion as the bobbins fill and increase
in diameter by the accumulation of the rovings about them. At the lower end
of the axis X is a long pinion X to turn a spur wheel Y, the axis of which
carries a bevel pinion to act by turns with one or other of the opposite bevel
wheels W, W, in order to turn their axis V first one way round and then the
other, and thus raise and lower the bobbin rail Q alternately. Note.-Roving
frames, such as that represented in Sheet 1I., have usually only one bevel
wheel W, and a mangle wheel in place of the wheel T, the pinion of that wheel
being adapted to act alternately within the circle of the teeth of the mangle
wheel, and then outside of that circle, in order to raise and lower the bobbin
rail alternately. To prepare such a frame to receive my improvements, the
mangle wheel should be removed, and a spur wheel T of the same size sub-
stituted, and also an additional bevel wheel W must be applied for reversing
in lieu of the said mangle wheel. The two opposite bevel wheels W, W, are
fixed on a tube, which is fitted on a square at the end of the axis V, so as not
to turn round thereon, but the tube can be slided endways along the axis V by
means of the rod A, as much as is necessary to engage one or other of the
bevel wheels W with the bevel pinion. The rod E is connected with a
tumbling lever L, which with its two weights P and Z, also its latch U and
catch C, are the same as before described. The manner of applying my

page_text: tapering plates 1 and 2 to this frame, so as to knock off (by acting one against
the stops J, J, of the latch U, and the catch C, and the other against the
stops j,j, on the upright rod :) needs no further explanation than the Drawing
conveys, being the same as herein-before described in respect to Figure 1,
except that in such frame as Figure 3 the teeth of the rack c are coarser at
one end and finer at the other end; and consequently, as herein-before set
forth, the edges of my plates 1 and 2 will not be straight lines, but those edges
will be concave curves. Both plates are formed precisely alike, and are
adjusted to act simultaneously, as herein-before set forth. The sliding rod 3,
which carries my tapering plates 1 and 2, must be connected with an upright
arm 5 (which is affixed to the sliding rod m) by a clasp fixed to the rod 3, and
fitted to the upright arm, so as to slide up and down thereon, in order to oblige
the rod 3 to move endways along with the taper drum a, but to allow the rod 3.
to rise and fall with the bobbin rail. It will be most convenient in some old
frames to apply an additional upright arm to the sliding rod m, as shewn at 5,
for the purpose of moving the sliding rod 3 of my tapering plates 1 and 2 end-
ways. Note. My tapering plates 1 and 2, with the sliding rod 3, to which
they are attached, being applied to the bobbin rail of either of the kind of
roving frames herein-before described, but without being connected with
the slider of the rack c, may be moved endways, independantly of the motion
of the rack c, by means of a toothed rack fixed upon the sliding rod 3,
and a pinion to act therewith, a ratchet wheel with coarse teeth being fixed
to that pinion, and the said wheel and pinion being mounted on a stud
which projects out horizontally from the bobbin rail, also two claws or drivers
being so placed on fixed centre pins (supported by the frame) as that ono
or either of them shall intercept a tooth of the ratchet wheel every time
that the bobbin rail moves up and down again, in order to turn the ratchet
wheel round one tooth at a time, and thereby advance the sliding rod 3,
together with my plates, a suitable distance endways with their narrowest ends
foremost. A click borne by the bobbin rail should be applied to the ratchet
wheel to prevent it from running back, and when a set of tubes are filled with
roving and doffed from the spindles, the said click must be lifted up and the
ratchet wheel turned back by the hand of the attendant, in order to draw back
the sliding rod 3 and my tapering plates to the proper position for beginning
again to wind the rovings on a fresh set of naked tubes, that position being
determined by suitable stops placed on the sliding rod 3.
Figure 4 explains my double-threaded screws and nuts, which may be applied
to either of the roving frames represented in the Drawings in lieu of my
tapering plates 1 and 2, herein-before described, and they will produce the
B

page_text: same effects in knocking off and reversing at shorter and shorter stages of the
rise and fall of the bobbin rail as the tubes become filled by the accumulation
of roving about them. 11, 12, are two upright spindles or double-threaded
screws, which are supported in sockets fixed to the bobbin rail. A bevel wheel
is fixed on the middle of each screw, and they are both of them turned round
together by suitable wheels at the opposite ends of a long horizontal axis 19,
which is also supported by sockets fixed to the bobbin rail; the two screws
are thereby turned round in contrary directions. One of the upright screws is
cut with a left-handed thread on its upper end and a right-handed thread on
its lower end; the other screw is cut with a right-handed thread on its upper
end and a left-handed thread on its lower end; a corresponding nut is fixed on
each of the four threads. The two nuts 14, 15, of the screw 12 project out,
and have oyes through them to admit the upright rod (Figures 1 and 3) to
pass loosely through them, and the two nuts 16, 17, of the screw 11 project
out, and have eyes to receive a corresponding upright rod 30, which is con-
nected with the two claws J, J, of the latch U and the catch C, in Figures 1
and 8, in the same manner as the upright rod is connected with the two
clicks v and y of the rack c. The knocking off and reversing is performed by
the nuts 14, 15, 16, 17 intercepting suitable stops which are fastened on the two
upright rods and 30. The long horizontal axis 13 has a ratchet wheel 18
fixed upon it with coarse teeth; and a claw or driver, which is borne by a fixed
support, is so situated as to intercept a tooth of the ratchet wheel 18 at every
time that the bobbin rail descends, and thus the ratchet wheel 18 is turned
round one tooth. That motion-is transmitted to the two double screws 11
and 12; and as they are turned round in contrary directions, their threads
clevate the upper nuts 14 and 16, and depress the lower nuts 15 and 17 with
equal and contrary motions. In consequence, at every time that two additional
cylindrical layers of rovings are laid on each of the tubes those nutts meet the
stops j,j, which are fastened on the rod (and meet similar stops which are
fastened on the upright rod 30 of the claws J, J) at an earlier stage of the
ascent and descent of the bobbin rail, so as to knock off and reverse earlier,
in order to cause the successive cylindrical layers of roving which are laid on
to be shorter and shorter, for the purpose herein-before stated: When a set
of tubes have been filled with rovings and the spindles are doffed; the ratchet
wheel 18 must be turned back by the hand of the attendant; until the nuts of
the screws are brought near together, and stand at a proper distance apart for
knocking off and reversing when the frame begins to work with a new set of
naked tubes: That distance between the nuts is determined by stops fixed
on the screws.

page_text: Figure 5 explains my double spiral wheels, which may be applied to the
bobbins rail Q of roving frames, such as Figures 1 and Figures 3, in lieu of
my tapering plates 1 and 2, or of my double screws and nuts 11 and 12, and
will produce the same effects in knocking off and reversing shorter and shorter,
as aforesaid. 21 and 22 are my spiral wheels, each affixed to a worm wheel,
and turning round therewith on a stud pin which projects horizontally out from
the bobbin rail. My spiral wheels are both turned round together nearly in
the same manner as my double screws, Figure 4, by means of two worms or
endless screws, fixed on the opposite ends of the long horizontal axis 13, which
is supported by brackets from the bobbin rail, and carries a ratchet wheel 18,
which is turned round one tooth at a time by suitable clicks or drivers, borne
by a fixed support, and so situated that they will intercept a tooth of the ratchet
wheel 18 at every time that the bobbin rail ascends or descends in order to
lay an additional cylindrical layer of roving upon each of the tubes. The
ratchet wheel being thus turned round a tooth at a time, a very slow turning
motion is transmitted to my spiral wheels by their worm wheels and worms
or endless screws at the ends of the long axis 13. The knocking off is per-
formed by the curved circumferences or edges of my spiral wheels coming in
contact with stops, which are fastened on the two upright rods and 30, so as
to lift up those rods and knock off every time that the bobbin rail has risen as
high as it is intended to go, and also to press down those rods and knock off
every time that the bobbin rail has descended as low as it is intended to go; but
at each succeeding time of so knocking off and commencing an additional layer
of roving around each of the tubes, my spiral wheels, being turned round a
little as aforesaid, will present new portions of their curved circumferences to
come in contact with the stops on the rods and 30, which portions, being more
remote from the centre of motion of my spirals than those portions which so
came in contact the preceding time, will cause each succeeding knocking off to
take place at a shorter stage of the ascent and descent of the bobbin rail.
Note. The numbers of teeth in the ratched wheel 18 and the worm wheels
must be such as that my spiral wheels will make rather less than half a turn
in the time that a set of tubes are expected to be filling with rovings, and
when the spindles are doffed the ratchet wheel 18 must be turned forwards by
the hand of the attendant until the half turn is completed, and the shortest
radii of the spirals are brought opposite to the stops on the rods and 30
into the proper position to begin again with a new set of naked tubes, that
position being known by suitable marks on the spirals or on the worm wheels.
Note. As my two tapering plates 1 and 2 (or my two double spiral wheels
21 and 22) act simultaneously, one such plate or screw or spiral will produce

page_text: the same effect as two if the upper click v is connected with the upper latch
U, so that both must be disengaged together, the lower click y being also
connected with the lower catch C so that both must be disengaged together.
In new roving frames made with that object in view the parts may be so
arranged as to render such connection easy; for instance, the upright
tumbling lever L may be placed beneath the rack and slider c, so that the upright
rod will pass close to the side of the arm which carries the smaller weight
P, and the stopsj, j, which project out from that rod z (instead of being acted
upon by the edges of my tapering plate 2, or the nuts of my double screw 12,
or the circumference of my spiral wheel 22) may be acted upon by the said
arm P, in order to depress the rod z and disengage the lower click y every
time that the lever L tumbles over one way by its smaller weight P, and to
lift the rod and disengage the upper click v every time that the lever L
tumbles over the other way by the action of its greater weight. Z. In the
roving frames commonly in use, two tapering plates 1 and 2 (or double screws
11 and 12, or double spiral wheels 21 and 22) as herein-before described, will
commonly be most convenient, and both tapering plates being fixed to the same
sliding rod 3 (or both screws or both spirals being turned round by motion
derived from the same long axis 18) they are not liable to derangement when
once properly adjusted, but they will continue to knock off simultaneously.
Note. My tapering plates, or my double screws, or my spiral wheels, when the
same are moved by means of ratchet wheels and clicks or drivers (as herein-
before described) independently of any connection with the rack and slider c of
the frame, are equally applicable to roving frames, like that represented in
Figure 1, as to the frames represented in Figure 3, where the teeth of the
rack c are not equidistant, because my tapering plates, screws, and spiral
wheels respectively derive their progressive motion from the rising and falling
of the bobbin rail quite independently of the motion of the rack c.
In the several applications of my tapering plates, double screws, or double
spiral wheels which I have put in practice (as herein-before described), my new
parts are attached to the bobbin rail, so as to move up and down therewith,
but that circumstance is in nowise necessary to my Invention, for my Inven-
tion may be performed equally well by applying my tapering plates or my
spiral wheels to the latch U, which detains the tumbling lever Land holds the
reversing wheelwork in gear, the said application being made in such manner
as that the knocking off and reversing shall depend upon the contact of
suitable parts with the inclined edges of my tapering plates, or with the curved
circumferences of my spiral wheels, in order that the progressive motion which
is given to my said plates or wheels (as the rovings accumulate around the

page_text: tubes) may occasion the knocking off and reversing to be effected at shorter
and shorter stages of the motion of the bobbin rail, for the purpose of winding
the rovings about the tubes in the form of cylinders, terminating at their two
ends with truncated cones, as herein-before described.
Figure 6 explains the manner of applying one of my spiral wheels 31 to
the dettent U, which dettent answers the purpose of both the latch U and the
catch C, before described, viz., it detains the tumbling lever L, and holds the
pinion of the reversing wheelwork with either of the opposite wheels in gear,
the application being such that the timo of lifting up that catch shall depend
upon the contact of a knocking-off lever with the circumference of my spiral
wheel. The tumbling lever L is the same as in Figure 1, before described,
with its smaller weight P and larger weight Z, and also the connecting rod E,
which extends to the reversing wheelwork, in order to put the pinion out of
gear with one wheel and into gear with the opposite wheel. The dettent U is
supported on a centre of motion at one end of it, and there are two notches
cut in the under sido of the dettent to catch alternately, and hold the pin
which projects out from the upper end of the lever L, viz, one notch catches
that pin and holds it fast when the lever is inclined one way and has put one
of the reversing wheels in gear, and the other notch catches and holds the
same pin. When the lever is inclined the other way, and has put the opposite
reversing wheel in gear, the tumbling lever L is situated beneath the rack
and slider c and the upright rod z, which descends from the two clicks v and y
passes by the side of the arm P of the tumbling lever L, and the stops j, j,
which are fixed on the rod z, are intercepted by that arm, so as to disengage
the upper click v, when the lever L tumbles over one way, and to disengage the
lower click y, when it tumbles over the other way.
The aforesaid parts represented by letters of reference are in common use.
My spiral wheel 31 is fixed on one end of a short axis, which works in a
socket at the end of the dettent U, and on the other end of the same axis a
worm wheel 32 is fixed. That wheel is turned slowly round (together with
my spiral wheel 31, by a worm 33, at one end of an axis, which is supported
in bearings affixed to the dettent U, and on the other end of the same axis
another worm wheel 34 is fixed; that wheel is turned round by a worm on a
horizontal axis 85, which is concentric with the centre of motion whereon the
whole dettent is supported. The dettent U may be supported by fitting loosely
on the axis 35; or the dettent may have pivots 36, 36, of its own, which are
received in suitable fixed bearings, and are hollow like tubes to admit the
axis 35 through them. The axis 35 is turned round with a variable motion,
derived from the spur wheel marked h, Sheet 1, Figure 1, by a connection of

page_text: wheelwork, which is so proportioned as that my spiral wheel 31 will be turned
nearly once round in the time that a set of tubes are expected to be filling
with rovings. The circumference of my spiral wheel 31 may be a regular
spiral curve, which increases in its radius (or distance from the centre of
motion, by increments for equal angles of the radii around that centre.
It is
not a double spiral, as before described, but a single spiral curve, which is
made to produce the same effect as a double one by the intervention of a
knocking-off lever 37, 38, which is poised loosely upon the axis 36, on which
the dettent U is supported, or otherwise upon a centre nearly concentric with
that axis, and a pin 88, which projects out from the knocking-off lever near to
one end of it, forms the contact with the curved circumference of my spiral wheel
31 at the lower part thereof, the opposite end 37 of the lever being loaded
sufficiently to preserve that contact. A pin J is fixed to the bobbin rail, and
projects out therefrom, so as to come beneath the end 38 of the lever and lift
it up whenever the bobbin rail is as high as it intended to rise, and that,
lifting by the contact of the pin 38 with my spiral wheel 31, also raises up that
wheel, together with the dettent U, and thus releases the pin of the tumbling
lever L from the notch in the under side of the dettent U; then the lever falls
over instantly by the preponderance of its smaller weight P (the larger weight
Z being suspended by the bobbin rail), and in so falling over the tumbling lever
L reverses the wheelwork by the rod E, and it also releases the lower click 3,
by pressing down the lower stop j on the upright rods. The bobbin rail then
begins to descend again, and when its pin J lets down the dettent U, the other
notch therein catches over the pin at the upper end of the lever L and holds
it fast to retain the reversing wheels securely in gear; when the bobbin rail has
descended about half way, it lets down the greater weight Z, and allows the
same to hang on the arm of the tumbling lever L; and when the bobbin rail
gets down as low as it is intended to go, another pin c, which is fixed in the
bobbin rail and projects out therefrom, comes down upon the heavy end 37 of
the knocking-off lever, and by pressing that end down the contact of the pin
38 at the other end of that lever with the circumference of my spiral wheel
lifts up the said wheel altogether with the dettent U, so as to release the lever
L, which instantly tumbles over, by the preponderance of its larger weight Z,
and by its rod A reverses the wheelwork, and by lifting the upper stop j
on the upright rod z, it disengages the upper click v; then the bobbin rail
begins to ascend again, and when its pin c quits the end-27 of the knocking-
off lever, the dettent U is permitted to descend, that its notch may hold the
tumbling lever, and keep the reversing wheels securely in gear; when the
bobbin rail has risen about half way it begins to suspend the greater weight

page_text: and by relieving the arm of the tumbling lever from the weight thereof, the
weight P will have a preponderance tending to throw over the tumbling lever
as soon as the bobbin rail has ascended as high as it is intended to do, and its
pin J lifts up the end 38 of the knocking-off lever, as before described. In
the intervals between every succeeding time of thus knocking off and reversing,
my spiral wheel 31 is turned round a small space by its train of wheelwork
from the axis h, Figure 1, of the roving frame, and that motion being trans-
mitted to it by the axis 35 (which is in the centre of motion of the dettent U),
the connection of the worms and wheelwork 34, 33, 32, is not interrupted by
the lifting or falling of my spiral wheel 31 along with that dettent. My spiral
wheel 31 is thus turned round, in order that it may continually present new
portions of its circumference to the pin 38 during the progress of filling the
tubes with rovings. Each successive portion so presented being more and
more distant from the centre of motion of my spiral 31, the knocking-off lever
37, 38, is thereby continually made to alter its position in respect to tho
dettent U, and the two ends 37 and 38 of that lever, against, which the pins J
and C of the bobbin rail act, are made to approach gradually towards those
pins respectively, consequently the said pins J and C will meet the lever
37, 38, and knock off at a shorter stage of the ascent and descent of the
bobbin rail at every succeeding time that an additional layer of roving is
wound around the tubes, and thus each such additional layer will be wound
upon a shorter length of the tube than the preceding layer occupied. When a
set of tubes have been filled and the spindles are doffed, my spiral wheel 31
must be turned round by the hand of the attendant so much as is necessary to
bring the smallest radius of the curve in contact with the pin 38, and then my
new parts will be ready to begin filling another set of naked tubes. To facilitate
that setting of my spiral wheel, its worm wheel 32 may be fitted against the
flat surface of a ratchet wheel, which is fixed fast on the end of the short
axis which carries the wheel 32, and my spiral 31 with a spring click to the
wheel 32 to act in the teeth of that ratchet wheel, so as to compel my spiral
wheel 31 to go round along with the worm wheel 32 whenever the samo
moves forward; but that click will permit the ratchet wheel 32 and my spiral
wheel 31 to be put forwards by hand as much farther than the worm wheel
has moved as is required. Note.-The pins J and C should be fixed to the
bobbin rail so as to be capable of adjustment, and by bringing them nearer
together, or setting them farther apart on the rail, they will act on the
knocking-off lever 37, 38, at greater or less distances from the centre of
that lever (or of the axis 35), whereby the rate at which my spiral wheel 31
will cause the length of the successive cylindrical layers of roving to be

page_text: diminished may be adjusted. The same adjustment may also be effected by
altering the train of wheelwork, by which my spiral wheel 31 is turned round,
to make it turn round more or less slowly, or by alteration of the curvature
of my spiral, that its increments of radius may be more or less rapid. Those
three circumstances must be so regulated, as that during the time that any
given number of cylindrical layers of roving are wound about the tubes, the
motion produced by my spiral wheel 31 upon those parts of the knocking-off
lever 37, 38, where the pins J and C act upon it, will be equal to the half
the diminution in the length of those layers that must take place in such
given number, in order to give the mass of roving which is accumulated
around each tube a suitable tapering form at each end thereof. Note.-If it
is desired to give those ends the shape represented in Sheet IV., the curvature
of my spiral at that part which first comes into action must increase in its
radii by more rapid increments than at the part which afterwards comes into
action. Note. The two pins J and C must always act on the knocking-off
lever 37, 38, at equal distances from the centre of that lever, or else the
two ends of the roving that is accumulated on each of the tubes will not
taper alike. The train of wheelwork by which my spiral wheel 31 is turned
round must be attached to that part of the roving frame which gives the
variable rate of rising and falling motion to the bobbin rail, for it is necessary
that my spiral wheel shall remove the pin 38 away from the dettent U by
equal stages each time that the bobbin rail rises or falls, in order to give the
mass of roving a regular and uniform tapering form from the first layer of
roving to the last, and it may be attached either by pullies and an endless
strap or band or by toothed wheelwork, as is found most convenient for that
kind of roving frame which my said improvements are applied.
Figure 7 explains how two of my inclined planes 41, 42, may be applied
to the dettent U in lieu of my spiral wheel 31 and its knocking-off lever
37, 38, before described, and they will produce the same effect in knocking
off and reversing the wheelwork at a shorter stage of the motion of the bobbin
rail at each succeeding time. The tumbling lever L, with its two weights
P and Z, and the rod z, with the stops j, j, are the same, as above described.
The dettent U is poised on the axis 46 as its centre of motion, or else on
hollow pivots of its own, through the centres of which the axis 46 passes, as
herein-before described, so that the motion of the dettent U may be performed
about the same centre as the centre of the axis 46. The axis 46 has a pinion
43 fixed upon it to act in the teeth of a straight rack 44, which is fitted on
the top of the dettent U so as to slide freely along that dettent' when the rack
is moved slowly endways by the turning round of its pinion 43. Each end of

page_text: the rack 44 carries one of my inclined planes; one of them, marked 41,
being above the rack and dettent U, and the other, marked 42, being beneath
the dettent. Each of my inclined planes 41 and 42 is a ruler, jointed at its
foremost end to the rack 44, or to a prong 45 which projects down from the
rack below the dettent U, and the other end of the ruler is fastened by a
clamp to the rack, or to another prong descending therefrom. By those
clamps the angle that my inclined planes 41 and 42 make with the rack 44
can be varied, and both must be set alike. The pin J, which projects out
from the bobbin rail, comes in contact with the uppermost of my inclined
planes 41. every time that the bobbin rail has descended as low as it is
intended to go, and by depressing that inclined plane the pin J raises the
opposite end of the dettent U, in which notches are made to hold the pin at
the upper end of the tumbling lever L; that lever is thereby released, and then
tunibles over by larger weight Z to reverse the wheelwork by the rod Æ,
and it disengages the lower click y, as before described. The other pin C,
which projects out from the bottom rail, comes in contact with the lowermost
of my inclined planes 42 every time that the bobbin rail has risen as high as
it is intended to go, and by lifting that inclined plane it raises the dettent U,
and again releases the lever L, which then tumbles over the contrary way, and
reverses the wheelwork and disengages the upper click v, as before described.
In the interval between each such knocking off, the slow turning motion that
is given (by a train of wheelwork, as before described) to the pinion 48 will
move the rack 44 a small space endways along the dettent U, and thereby
will bring new and more elevated parts of the edges of my inclined planes 41
and 42 opposite to the pins J and C of the bobbin rail, in order that those pins
may come in contact with the said edges at a shorter stage of the motion of the
bobbin rail at each succeeding layer of roving that is wound about the tubes.
1
Having now described my improvements, and also declared in what my
Invention consists, I have only to repeat that I confine my claim to the appli-
cation of my tapering plates, wedges, or inclined planes, my double screws and
nuts, and my spiral wheels, herein-before described, to those machines com-
monly known among cotton spinners by the name of roving frames, or otherwise
called cone frames, or bobbin and fly frames, or jack frames, which act with
reversing wheelwork to knock in and out of gear, in order to alternately raise
and lower the bobbin rail, such applications being for the purpose of making
such frames wind the rovings or tubes without end flanges instead of on tubes
with end flanges.
Postcript. And whereas since the date of my said Letters Patent certain
persons whom I employed to make roving frames for me with my improve-

page_text: ments added thereto, as herein-before set forth, have applied springs within the
flyers thereof to press and rub round against the cylindrical surfaces of the
masses of roving that are accumulated around the tubes, in order to compress
and wind the rovings more tight and solid than can be done without such
springs, and although such springs are not of my Invention, and although
their application to roving frames in concert with my improvements was not
made by me, I think it right to explain the construction and application of the
said springs in this posteript to my Specification, because I believe they will
prove a useful addition to my Invention, for they will enable the same to be
used with further advantages beyond the advantages to be derived from
practising my Invention without them, as herein-before set forth.
Sheet IV., Figure 1, of the Drawings hereunto. annexed, represents a flyer A,
with a slender flat steel spring B fastened to the inside of one of the legs
thereof by the upper end of the spring, and at the lower end of the spring a
small flat button of brass or steel a is fastened, and that button is pressed by
the spring with a moderate force against the cylindrical surface of the roving
that is accumulated around the tube. The spring and the button are-per-
forated with an eye 6, Figure 2, for the roving to pass through, and a notch d
is cut out from that eye at the leading side thereof, in order to admit the roving
to be easily introduced into the eye, but the motion of the flyer will not allow
the roving to get out at the notch when in action.
The Drawing, Figure 1, shews the position which the spring B and its
button a must assume when the roving first begins to wind about the naked
tube, and it also shews by dotted lines the position they must take when the
tube becomes filled with roving in the form and size shewn in the separate
Figure. The surface of the button a must be very smooth, and all its angles
must be rounded off to avoid catching the cotton. The pressure of the button a,
rubbing round against the cylindrical surface of the roving, compresses and
renders the mass of accumulated roving more dense than it can be made by
the mere tension of the roving without the spring B, and in consequence a
much greater quantity of roving can be accumulated upon each tube, whereby
the frame will not require to be doffed so often; and also the tubes will not
require to be changed so often in the subsequent operations of finer roving or
spinning, which circumstances are advantageous to the manufacturer. In
applying such springs great care must be taken to make them all of one
strength throughout the frame, otherwise some tubes will be liable to increase
faster in size by the accumulation of roving about them than others, on which
the rovings are more compressed by stronger springs. That equality of force
in the springs being attained, a rack with finer teeth must be put to the frame,

page_text: in order that the turning motion of the tubes may be increased by a slower
rate of variation, corresponding with the slower rate by which the cylindrical
layers of rovings which accumulate around the tubes increase in their diameter;
and when a rack with teeth of the proper size is provided, the moveable joint
pin of that upright lever which transmits the motion of the rack to shift the
endless strap along the conical tapering drum, in order to produce the variablo
turning motion of the tubes, must be regulated, until the rate of variation in that
motion is made suitable for the rate at which the diameter of the cylindrical
layers of rovings will increase when the frame is worked with those particular
springs which are applied in the flyers. This adjustment can be made by any
competent mechanician conversant with cone roving frames; and though it will
require more care to work the frames with springs than without, I know by
experience that it is practicable to use them for preparing rovings for ordinary
spinning of about No. 40 twist, and it is an advantage to get as much roving
on the tubes as can be done.
Springs applied to the flyers of roving frames for compressing the rovings
on bobbins with end flanges are described by Mr. Joseph Chesborough, Dyer,
in his Specification of an Invention relative to machinery for roving, for which
a Patent was granted to him, dated on or about the 27 of February 1830,
which Specification was inrolled in the High Court of Chancery on or about
the 27th of August 1830; and I do not claim anything contained in this
postcript to my Specification as any part of my Invention, and I have only
added this postcript in order to put manufacturers in possession of every means
now known to me of practising my Invention with advantage.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Lane, have hereunto set my
hand and scal, the Fourth day of December. One thousand eight
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Fourth day of December,
in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid William Lane came before
O our Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of
the Statute in that case made and provided.
Inrolled the same Fourth day of December, in the year above written.

page_text: Note Figure 3, Represents the true size of the roving which
is accumulated round the tube when 60 cylindrical layers have
been wound thereon, with the spring in the flyer as represented
in figuresl and 2 to compress the rovings. The numbers of teeth
in the wheelwork of the roving frame being as stated in sheet I
Note the spring presses upon the roving with a force of about half
a pound when it rubs round the cylindrical surface.