A Machine for Laying and Twisting Twines, Lines, and Cords.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Nov.., 1885
Complete Left, 29th July, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 25th Oct., 1887
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Machine for Laying and Twisting Twines, Lines, and Cords.
THOMAS HELYEAR, Engineer & Machinist, West Street, Bridport, Dorset, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
I have 2, 3, or more lay bobbins, each bobbin is placed in a frame or fly, each
frame or fly is placed on the spindle, each spindle works in a frame or carriage, each
spindle is driven by friction against a circular ring bolted on the frame of the
machine; each frame or carriage is swung on a stud, and each friction spindle is kept
against the ring by a spring, each carriage stud is fixed on a circular plate fixed on a
spindle which revolves with the 2, 3, or more friction spindles. The tension, drag, or
kink preventer is put against the lay bobbins with rollers which are kept against the
bobbin by springs. The work passes from the lay bobbins, round groved rollers to
the other side of the machine, is taken off by a fly, and wound round bobbins which
work up and down on a traverse.
Should one or more threads break, there is an arrangement to stop the machine,
which is as follows. There is an arm to each thread, which is kept up by that thread,
if the thread breaks, the arm drops, strikes a lever, and stops the machine.
Dated this 2nd day of November 1886.
THOMAS HELYEAR.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Machine for Laying and Twisting Twines, Lines, and Cords.
I THOMAS HELYEAR, of West Street Bridport, in the County of Dorset, Engineer
and Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
My invention relates to machines for the manufacture of twines, lines and cords,
and has for its objects, to construct an efficient gear for driving the flies and spindles
of the laying bobbins containing the yarn to be twisted and layed; to provide
improved means for producing the necessary uniform tension in the yarn to be
twisted and layed; to provide means whereby the driving belt may be automatically
thrown out of gear and the machine stopped. in the event of the breaking of any of
the yarns to provide drawing rollers for stretching the twine after laying; and to
provide improved mechanism for giving the twine so stretched an additional twist, and
winding it upon bobbins as may be required.
In the accompanying illustrative drawings, Fig. 1 is a front elevation, Fig. 2 a
plan, Fig. 3 a back elevation, Fig. 4 a front end elevation, and Fig. 5 a back end
elevation of a machine constructed according to my invention.
A pair of main end frames 1 and 2 are rigidly braced together by longitudinal
bars 3, 4, 5, the whole main frame being surmounted by a lighter frame 6, 7.
Working in bearings 8 on the main frames is a main shaft 9 with fast and loose
pullies 10 and 11; the back end of this shaft is geared through the wheels 12, 13, 14, 15,
and 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, to two shafts 21 and 22 respectively.
The shaft 21 drives through each set of wheels 23, 24, 25, a vertical spindle 26, the
lower part of which works in a footstep 27. This spindle has secured to it a disc or
table plate 28 with three vertical studs 29 to which are jointed forked carriages 30
free to turn upon the studs 29. Through the carriages 30 work spindles 31 carrying
on their upper ends flies 32 in which are fitted laying bobbins 33 for carrying
the yarn to be twisted and layed. Firmly secured to the spindles 31 are friction
sheaves or rollers 34, which are formed to run in a suitable race or channel 35 secured
to the main frame as shown. The friction rollers are firmly pressed against the
race 35 by means of springs 36 acting upon the tail levers 37 of the carriages. A
small roller 38 rests upon the disc plate 28 to relieve the stud pin 29 of the weight
of the carriages and spindles. The top spindles 39 of the flies 32 bear in suitable
brackets 40 attached to a plate 41 which is secured to the central or main spindle 26,
the said brackets 40 being capable of adjustment to follow up any wear on the
rollers 34 and channel 35. "Secured to the main spindle 26 is also a plate 42 carrying
tumblers 43, one to each laying bobbin, pinned at their lower parts 44 and provided
with pins 45 which are pressed by centrifugal force against the yarn when the spindles

page_text: are rotating. It will thus be seen that should any one of the threads break, the
centrifugal force acting upon the corresponding tumbler being no longer balanced
by the pressure of the thread, the said tumbler will fall into a horizontal position as
shewn at 46. Another plate 47 is secured to the spindle 26 and is provided with
spreaders 48 against which the threads press on leaving the flies; they then pass
through the eye 49 and are layed, and then carried over the pullies 50. It will thus
be seen that when the spindle 26 is rotated the flies 32 and bobbins 33 are rotated
with it, and at the same time the bobbins 33 rotate also about the axes of the fly
spindles in an opposite direction at a rate depending upon the relative diameters
of the friction rollers 34 and race circle 35, thus, both laying and twisting the yarn
at the same time.
It will be obvious that the friction gearing hereinbefore described for driving the
fly spindles 31 may be replaced by ordinary toothed gearing.
At the back of the main spindles 26 are vertical standards 51 secured to the main
frame and supporting levers 52, these levers are connected by a rod 53 terminating at
either end with a handle 54. The central lever 52 forms one arm of a bell crank, the
other arm 55 being pinned to a lever 56 pivotted to a bar 57 secured to the frame of
the machine. When the machine is running the end 58 of the lever 56 bears against
a catchplate 59 on a bent rod 60, the other end being secured to the strap fork
tackle 61. A cord 62 attached at one end to the weight 63, and at the other to the
bar 60, and working over the guide pulley 64 tends to pull the bar towards it, and to
shift the driving belt off the fast pulley 10 on to the loose pulley 11. It will be seen
that when a yarn breaks the tumbler 43 falls and strikes one of the levers 52, raising
the arm 55, and releasing the end 58 of the lever 56 from the catch plate 59; the
bar 60 is then drawn along by the weight 63, and the driving belt shifted from the
fast to the loose pulley, and the machine thus brought to rest.
To the bottom bar of each fly frame are fixed two spring boxes 65 with helical
springs 66. Two plungers 67 free to slide vertically in the said boxes carry on their
upper ends one or more rollers 68 which is or are pressed against the yarn on the
laying bobbin 33 so as to act as a drag or tension upon the yarn to be twisted and
layed. As the bobbin 33 empties, the plungers 67 are forced outwards from the
boxes 65 by the springs 66 and consequently, the pressure of the rollers 68 upon the
bobbin 33 diminishes, reducing also the tension imparted to the yarn as the bobbin
empties itself.
The twine after passing through the eye 49 is layed and carried over guide pulleys 50,
and over the drawing rollers 69, 70, 71, 72, and guide pullies 73 to the fly 74, where
it receives an additional twist and is then wound upon the bobbins 75, the bobbin
spindle 76 being driven from the shaft 22 through a suitable train of gearing 77,
78, 79.
The drawing rollers 71, 72 are so arranged that their peripheral speed is slightly in
excess of that of the receiving rollers 69, 70 which is effected either, by increasing
the diameter of the rollers 71 72, or, by means of the driving gear. The drawing
rollers are formed of parallel grooved cylinders, and the required bight or grip of the
twine is obtained by giving several laps or plies as clearly shown. By the above-
mentioned means the twine in passing from the receiving to the delivery rollers is
stretched to the extent required to firmly fix the laying, and to prevent after shrinkage.
The roller shafts 80 81 82 83 are driven from the main shaft through the trains 84-90,
and 84-96, as clearly shown.
The spindles 26 and 76 may be caused to rotate in either direction at pleasure by
means of the adjustable bevel wheels 23 and 77.
The required traverse of the bobbins 75 on the spindle 76 is obtained by means of
the cam levers 97 acting through the chains 98, and so giving a reciprocating motion
to the bar 99, the said bar carrying with it the bobbins 75. The cam levers 97, 100
are actuated by a cam 101 driven from the main shaft through a suitable train of
gearing 102 to 109. The traverse may be varied to suit different lengths of bobbins
by means of the adjustable cam roller 110. The cam lever is kept pressed against the
cam 101 by means of the counterweights 111.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
In a machine for laying and twisting twines, lines, and cords.
1° Driving the laying bobbin fly spindles by means of friction gearing, the friction
rollers or pullies on the said spindles running in a suitable circular race or channel,
into, or against which they are pressed by means of springs, substantially as
described.
2° The construction of a tension drag to produce the requisite tension in the yarn
while being twisted and layed, and consisting of one or more rollers, carried by two
plungers working freely in two cylindrical boxes provided with helical springs, which
springs, act upon the ends of the said plungers, and force the beforementioned roller
or rollers against the yarn on the laying bobbin, substantially as described.
3° The arrangement and construction of mechanism for automatically stopping the
machine in the event of the breaking of one of the threads of yarn, and consisting of
a tumbler for each thread pinned to a plate secured to the main spindle and so
arranged, that the centrifugal force due to the rotation of the spindle causes the
tumblor when the thread is broken to fall into a line perpendicular to the axis of the
main spindle, and to strike a projecting lever, by means of which a bar connected to
the strap fork tackle is released, and the driving belt shifted from the fast to the loose
pulley on the main shaft, substantially as described.
4° The employment of cylindrical grooved drawing rollers arranged in pairs, the
peripheral speed of the delivery pair being in excess of that of the receiving pair, so
that, the twine in passing from the receiving to the delivery rollers is stretched to the
extent required, substantially as described.
5° Arranging the bobbin winding and after twist mechanism on the opposite side
of the machine to the laying and twisting mechanism, so that, the after twist may be
applied after the twine has been stretched by the drawing rollers; thereby enabling
the spindles to be driven at a high speed, substantially as described.
6° The arrangement and construction of machines for laying and twisting twines,
lines, and cords, substantially as described with reference to the drawings.
TYL:01 JI.... 1007
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
Agents.