IMPROVEMENTS IN REELING MACHINERY USED FOR FORMING THREADS OR YARNS INTO SKEINS OR HANKS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Thomas Hughes, of the Firm of Hughes
and Son, Patent Agents, 123, Chancery Lane, London, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN REELING MACHINERY USED FOR FORMING
THREADS OR YARNS INTO SKEINS OR HANKS."-A communication from
abroad by Albert Snocck, of Ensival, Belgium, Merchant.
Scaled the 26th March 1872, and dated the 29th September 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Thomas Hughes
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 29th September 1871.
I, EDWARD THOMAS HUGHES, of the Firm of Hughes and Son, Patent
Agents, 123, Chancery Lane, London, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN REELING MACHINERY USED FOR
FORMING THREADS OR YARNS INTO SKEINS OR HANKS," a communication to me
from abroad by Albert Snoeck, of Ensival, Belgium, Merchant, to be as
follows:-
This Invention consists, first, in the construction of an improved
expanding and contracting reel on which the skeins or hanks are wound.
Instead of making the shaft of the reel solid as at present in use, I make
it tubular and connect to it tubes containing rods for forming the arms

page_text: which carry the bars to form the exterior of the reel. The rods are held
on the tubes by screws, and as the rods can be moved farther in or
out of the tubes and be afterwards held by the screws, it follows the
diameter of the reel can be lessened or enlarged as required.
The second part of the Invention relates to the speed of the reel, and
consists in improved arrangements for enabling the recl to be driven at
more or less speed as required, and this effect is procured by means of
cone pulleys placed in reversed positions and the strap moved to and fro
as required.
The next improvement consists in an improved stopping motion
for stopping the machine when a thread or yarn breaks or is absent.
The driving pulley is geared when the machine is at work by a clutch
or pins with one of the cone pulleys, but when there is a breakage or
absence of thread or yarn the pulley is out of gear and the machine
stopped. Each thread or yarn is passed through an eye in one arm of a
double lever which is so balanced that if the thread or yarn is broken
or absent the arm falls and calls into action certain movements which
move the driving pulley out of gear with the cone pulley and causes the
stoppage of the machine.
Another part of the Invention consists in an improved break for
instantly stopping the revolution of the reel after the driving pulley is
placed out of gear. In connection with the cone pulley there is a pulley
or break wheel on which there is a break strap made of steel mounted
with leather, and at the bottom of the strap there is a weight resting on
a rod when the break is not in use, the rod being supported on the boss
of the driving pulley when the machine is at work, but the instant the
driving pulley is unclutched from the cone pulley the rod is released
from the weight by its falling into a groove in the boss, and thereby
allows the weight to tighten the strap on the break pulley and prevent
any revolving movement of the recl.
The next part of the Invention consists in certain arrangements of
mechanism for moving the reel horizontally to obtain the separation of
the skeins or banks, which separation has been hitherto obtained by
moving the table which carries the spindles, or by moving the guides
which lead the threads or yarus. In brackets fixed to a cross frame of
the machine there is a rod having one end in contact with a wheel having
parts of different radii, which wheel is turned slowly by means of
gearing. When the first skein or bank is being wound on the reel the

page_text: end of the rod is against the large radius, for the second skein or bank
against the next lesser radius, and so on, and as the rod is moved a strong
spring is called into action which moves the reel horizontally as required,
and when all the skeins or hanks are wound on the machine is stopped.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edward Thomas Hughes in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 28th March 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
THOMAS HUGHES, of the Firm of Hughes and Son, Patent Agents, 123,
Chancery Lane, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, Her special
licence that I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes,
my exccutors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN REELING MACHINERY USED FOR FORMING THREADS OR YARNS INTO SKEINS OR
HANKS," a communication to me from abroad by Albert Snoeck, of
Ensival, Belgium, Merchant, upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
scals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by

page_text: the following statement, reference being had to the Figures on the
accompanying Drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,
that is to say :—
This Invention consists, first, in the construction of an improved
expanding and contracting reel on which the skeins or hanks arc
wound. Instead of making the shaft of the reel solid as at present in
use, I make it tubular, and connect to it tubes containing rods for
forming the arms which carry the bars to form the exterior of the
recl. The rods are held in the tubes by screws, and as the rods can be
moved farther in or out of the tubes and be afterwards held by the
screws, it follows that the diameter of the reel can be lessened or
enlarged as required.
The next improvement relates to the speed of the reel, and consists
in improved arrangements for enabling the reel to be driven at more or
less speed as required, and this effect is produced by means of conc
'pulleys placed in reverse positions, and the strap moved to and fro as
required.
Another improvement consists in an improved stopping motion for
stopping the machine when a thread or yarn breaks or is absent. The
driving pulley is geared when the machine is at work by a clutch
'or pins with one of the cone pulleys, but when there is a breakage or
absence of thread or yarn the pulley is out of gear and the machine
stopped. Each thread or yarn is passed through an eye in one arm of
'a double lever, which is so balanced that if the thread or yarn is broken
or absent the arm falls and calls into action certain movements, which
move the driving pulley out of gear with the cone pulley and causes the
stoppage of the machine.
Another part of the Invention consists in an improved break for
instantly stopping the revolution of the reel after the driving pulley is
placed out of gear. In connection with the cone pulley there is a
pulley or break wheel on which there is a break strap made of steel
mounted with leather, and at the bottom of the strap there is a weight
resting on a rod when the break is not in use, the rod being supported
on the boss of the driving pulley when the machine is at work, but the
instant the driving pulley is unclutched from the cone pulley the rod
is released from the weight by its falling into a groove in the boss, and
thereby allows the weight to tighten the strap on the break pulley, and
prevent any revolving movement of the reel.

page_text: The next part of the Invention consists in certain arrangements of
mechanism for moving the reel horizontally to obtain the separation
of the skeins or banks, which separation has hitherto been obtained by
moving the table which carries the spindles, or by moving the guides
which leads the threads or yarns. In brackets fixed to a cross frame of
the machine there is a rod having one end in contact with a wheel
having parts of different radii, which wheel is turned slowly by means of
gearing. When the first skein or hank is being wound on the reel the
end of the rod is against the larger radius, for the second skein or hank
against the next lesser radius, and so on; and as the rod is moved a
strong spring is called in action, which moves the reel horizontally as
required, and when all the skeins or hanks are wound on the machine
is stopped.
On the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 is a front elevation, Fig. 2, a
plan, and Fig. 3, an elevation of the right-hand end of the machine;
Fig. 4, a section on the line A, B, Fig. 1; Fig. 5 a vertical section,
and Fig. 5 a plan of the arrangement adopted when there is breakage
or absence of thread, and Fig. 6, the arrangement of the bearing at the
right hand end of the reel; Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 1 being drawn to a scale of
one-fifth, and Figs. 5, 5ª, and 6 about full size, and in all the Figures
similar letters refer to similar parts.
For supporting the various parts of the machine there are two end
frames connected by three cross bars or frames A, A', A", the two upper
cross bars A, A', supporting the table carrying the spindles. The
reel on which the threads are wound is constructed in the following
manner :—The shaft B, B, is a tube, and the arms b, b, are also
tubular, and in these tubular arms there are round iron rods b', b', b',
which support the wooden bars b", 6", ¿", the rods bª, bª, b¹, being held
in the tubes by screws, and by moving the rods farther in or out of
O the tubes as required, and afterwards holding them by the screws, the
diameter or circumference of the reel can be lessened or enlarged as
required. The recl has revolving motion imparted to it by the toothed
wheel O gearing into the toothed wheel C' fixed to the cone pulley D.
On the boss of the toothed wheel C there is a projecting recl c, which fits
5 into a circular groove in the bearing E, and in the interior of the toothed
wheel is fixed a key, which can slide in a long groove formed in the shaft
of the reel (see Fig. 6), and this arrangement enables the reel to be regu-
lated as regards its length without displacing the toothed wheel C', as

page_text: will be afterwards described, and the same arrangement is adopted for the
endless screw Y. The bearing E is half round where it is placed on the
frame and has no borders or collars, so that it can be moved on its seat
when it is required to raise the opposite end of the shaft of the reel. The
cone pulley D receives its movement by a strap from a second cone pulley
D' identical with the first one, but placed in a reverse position, that is
to say, that the larger diameter of one corresponds with the smaller
diameter of the other, and vice versa, and thus when the strap is at the
part d, d, the pulley will make fewer revolutions than the pulley D',
but when the strap is at d', d', it will make more, and these speeds will
be in proportion to different sizes of the pulleys, that is, according to
the difference between their larger and smaller diameters. The strap is
placed at the positions d, d, or d³, d, or at any intermediate position by
the strap guide G on the bar G¹ which slides in the socket G¹, the bar G¹
being worked by the lever g on the stud g', and in one end of the lever
there is a hole, in which is placed and afterwards fixed the end of the
bar II, and on each side of the lever there is a collar, and the operative
can at any part of the reel by pushing or pulling the bar accelerate
or lessen the speed of the reel; the pulley D' turns on a stationary shaft,
on which there is a grooved pulley I carrying two pins or clutches,
which can enter two openings formed in the pulley D', and on the shaft
there is a spring R which presses one part against the fixed piece I', and
the other part against the grooved pulley, and when the pulley I turns
it gives motion to the cone pulley, which gives motion to the reel, the
pulley I receiving its motion from any driving shaft by means of a strap
or cord. The spindles provided with thread are placed on a table, and cach
throad passes first through a stationary cyclet K, then through a moveable
eyelet K', from whence it passes onwards, and is wound on the reel, Figs.
3 and 4. The threads are of any required number, and as the mechanical
parts corresponding with cach thread is identical it is only necessary to
describe the parts and their operation for a single thread. The cyclet
K' forms part of a small double lever K¹, K", K™, K™, (Fig. 5) which
works on pivots K, and it is balanced in such a manner that if there
is a slight excess of weight on the side K', K", arising from being left
to itself the part K™ will be raised to the top, and this part K is a 3
small piece of steel soldered to the end of the iron wire of which the
double lever is made. When the part K" is raised it enters a slot in
the small cast-iron piece O, which is connected to the cross bar O', O',
and when the reel is turning and there is a thread in the eyelet K' the

page_text: eyelet is drawn by the tension of the thread to the top, and the double
lever is so placed that the part K finds itself below the upper part of
the piece O, but when there is no thread in the eyelet K', or by the
speed of the reel the thread is not stretched, the eyelet falls, and the
part K™ passes to the top of the piece O and is placed as at K. An
iron bar P¹, P', the entire length of the machine is placed in guides in
the pieces 0, 0, 0, fixed to the cross bar O', O', and the bar has a hole
corresponding with each of these pieces, and the end P of this bar has
a hole, through which passes one arm Q of a lever Q', the arm Q'
being curved, and having at its end a small roller, and the bar P, P',
is drawn towards the end P' by a spring in such a manner that
the roller always presses tightly against the grooved pulley I, and as
this is thicker on one side than the other it forms an eccentric, and gives
in connection with the spring r a continuous to-and-fro movement to
the bar, the spring being so regulated that it shall exert less force than
the spring R, and by these to-and-fro movements of the bar the holes
in the pieces 0, 0, 0, 0, are alternately covered by the plain parts of
the bar, and uncovered when the holes formed in the bar correspond
with the holes formed in the pieces 0, 0, 0, O. These movements take
place as long as there is a thread in each eyelet K', and that the tension
of the threads draw all the picces K" below the upper part of the
pieces O. If a single thread is absent or broken the corresponding
piece Krises to K, and the bar P, P, is then prevented by this
picce from moving towards the part P, and the roller of the lever Q can
no longer move back, and the grooved eccentric pulley I continuing to
turn is pushed back by the roller against the piece I' by compressing the
spring R, and the pins or clutch on the grooved pulley are disengaged
from the cone pulley D' when the thickest part of the grooved pulley is
in contact with the small roller which has become stationary. The
groove i is now below the rod S, which slides from downwards in
the piece I", it being drawn down by its own weight as well as by the
weight supported by it, and then it enters the groove i and retains
the pulley in this position, and the reel is thus arrested in its motion
until the operative withdraws the rod S from the groove i. In order
to prevent the reel from making several revolutions after it has been
thrown out of gear the cone pulley carries a break pulley or wheel T, on
which there is a steel break mounted with leather in the interior. Onc
end of this break t, t, t", is jointed to the pin t, and carries a weight (""
at its other end, and this weight rests on the small rods which is fixed

page_text: to the rod S, the upper part of which is lodged in the weight. The
length of the break is regulated in such a manner that when the rod S
has fallen into the groove i the weight is no longer supported by the
rod S, and therefore tightens the break upon the disc, but when the
rod S is removed from the groove i, and the spring R has again pushed
the pulley I towards the conc pulley D' the weight is held up, so that
the break is loose and the reel can resume its revolving motion. To
draw out the rod S from the groove the operative at any part of the
machine has only to turn the rod H towards the interior, and the part U
forming part of this rod acts upon the lever u, u, u", which by the
fork at the end raises the small rod 8, and thereby raises the rod S
out of the groove i. The same rod H in turning to the interior acts by
means of the piece U' on the lever W, which gives a rotating movement
to the shaft L, and presses the springs 1, 1, 1, 1, attached to it against
the small double levers so as to raise the cyclets K' and lower the
pieces K to the interior of the pieces O, and the bar P, P, can then
retake its to-and-fro movement, and the grooved pulley I remains
clutched with the conc pulley D' until another thread is absent or
broken. As soon as the reel has retaken its revolving motion the
threads stretch and keep the picces K™ in their lowest positions, and
the operative lets go the bar 1, which is then brought back to its
original position by the spring connected to the bar. In order that
the spring shall not give too strong turning motion to the bar, it only
draws back the pieces U and U' to the position required; the piece X
which is at the left end of the bar presses against the rod X', and
prevents the action of the spring 7" from going too far. The endless
screw or worm Y before alluded to gives a rotating movement to the
vertical shaft Y" by means of the worm wheel Y'; this shaft carries at
its end a small pinion Y", which gears into the wheel V turning on a
stationary shaft keyed to the picce Z, which is divided into several
sections of which some of the radii arc smaller than the others. At the
other end of the machine there is a spring R' which carries a long
arm J, terminated by a fork which embraces the shaft of the reel, and
on each side of the fork there is a collar fixed on the shaft, and the
part of the arm J presses on the end F of the rod F, F, the end F
resting on the wheel Z. The spring R' is for the purpose of moving the
reel horizontally in order to obtain a space between the threads after a
certain number of turns, and thus form the divisions of the skeins.
When the end of the rod of the rod F, F', corresponds with the section

page_text: of the wheel Z having the largest diameter, the reel is in the required
position for forming the first skein, and after the wheel Z has made a
quarter revolution a section of a smaller diameter is presented to the rod
and allows it to be acted upon by the spring R', which causes it to
advance towards the wheel Z, and suddenly push the reel towards the
right hand end, and thereby form a space between the threads already
wound on and those that follow, and a similar effect is produced after a
half and three-quarters turn of the wheel Z, and thus the hank is
divided into four skeins. To obtain another division of the lank it is
sufficient to have another wheel with more or less sections substituted
for the wheel Z, and to obtain another number of turns in cach skein to
change the toothed wheels which give motion to the wheel Z; and when
the skeins are finished, that is, when the wheel Z has made an entire
revolution, the wheel presses by its projection Z', Z', against the rod F, F',
and moves it to its original position where it is held by the spring r".
The rod is supported by two small supports ƒ³, f', having openings
sufficiently large to allow the rod to have a slight movement in an opposite
direction to the pull of the spring 7". The rod in its motion presses
against the end m of the lever M', the end m³ being below the small
cone N fixed on a tube A³, which can rise and fall on the rod B³, and a
spring R which is connected to this rod pushes up the tube, and at the
upper end of this tube there is a small piece of steel which comes in
contact with a piece O" similar to the piece O, and with this piece O" a
hole in the bar P, P', corresponds. When the lever is pushed back
by the rod F, F', it disengages the smaller cone N, and the tube is
pushed up by the spring R", its end entering the corresponding hole in
the bar P, P', thereby stopping its to-and-fro motion, and stopping the
machine. In Figures 1, 2, and 4, these different pieces are represented
in the position in which they are at the moment tho tube A³ is raised,
and causes the stoppage of the reel. The hanks being finished and tied
in order to remove them lower, one of the rods &' of the arms of the recl
push the hanks towards the left-hand end of the machine, then raise the
reel by that end of its shaft, and take off the hanks. To recommence
other hanks the reel must be placed in the position it was at first, and it
is sufficient to push it back by hand in order to push back the spring R',
which draws with it by the bridleƒ the rod F, F', which being always
pulled by the spring 7" replaces itself on the part of the wheel having
the largest radius, that is to say, the one which corresponds with the
first skein, and it is afterwards necessary to again push the tube A³

page_text: downwards. The small cone N now presses against the end m' of the
lever M and lets loose the spring R which is connected to its shaft
and presses continuously against the rod F, F', and as soon as the
conc passes below the end m of the lever the latter retakes its
position and now retains the cone and the tube until the following hank {
is finished.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be
understood that I claim,-
First. The arrangement and construction of the expanding and con- 1
tracting reel.
Secondly. The application to the reeling machine of certain mechanism
to enable the reel to turn at different speeds as required.
Thirdly. The application to the recling machine of improved con-
trivances for stopping the reel when a thread breaks or is absent, and 1
especially the moveable bar, the eccentric pulley, and the double levers.
Fourthly. Tho application to the machine of mechanism which causes
the recl to move horizontally to obtain the separation of the skeins.
Fifthly. The mechanism for stopping the machine when the skeins
and hanks are finished.
Sixthly. The arrangement and construction of the break.
Seventhly. The mechanism which raises the eyelets of the double
levers as soon as the machine is set to work.
And, Eighthly. The arrangements, combinations, and effects of the
stopping and setting on rod, as all such improvements are herein described
and illustrated on the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of
March One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
EDWARD THOMAS HUGHES. (L.S.)