IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WARPING, SPOOLING, OR COPPING YARN
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake,
"
& Co, Patent Agents Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention of
IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WARPING, SPOOLING, OR COPPING YARN
Communicated to him from abroad by Robert Lassels Carr, of Fall River,
Massachusetts, United States of America, Mechanical Engineer.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st May 1883.
"
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WARPING,
SPOOLING OR COPPING YARN Communicated to me from abroad by Robert
Lassels Carr of Fall River, Massachusetts, United States of America, Mechanical
Engineer.
The chief object of this invention is to obviate the waste which is well known to
be incident to the warping of mule cop yarn, as heretofore practised, because of
the liability of injury to the cops during the draught of yarn therefrom in a line
practically parallel with the axis of the cop, during the preliminary operation of
spooling, and also to beam directly from the cops without intermediate spooling
operations.
By means of the said invention, a cop is saved and utilized even though it be
broken, matted, snarled or otherwise damaged, so as to render it practically
impossible for the yarn to be delivered therefrom by drawing it off in a line
practically parallel with the axis of the cop, and therefore a large portion of such
yarn as has heretofore been known as "cop waste" is rendered as available for the
purposes originally intended, as the yarn in perfect cops.
•
The application of the present improvements to the beaming or warping of cop
yarns, involves the combination with a beam, suitable mechanisin for driving the
same, and suitable tension devices, of cop supporting spindles, on or with which
the cops may freely rotate during the draught of the yarn therefrom in a line
practically at right angles to the axis of the cop.

page_text: It is not broadly new to spool or rewind yarn from cops by unwinding the yarn
by a backward rotation of the cop mounted upon a cop supporting spindle, as for
reforming cops and for doubling and twisting, instances of which are described in
the specification of Letters Patent Nos 2979 A.D. 1863 and 899 AD 1870 but such
cop supporting spindles are now for the first time arranged in combination with a
warp beam, its driving mechanism and tension devices, whereby cop yarns are
transferred directly from the cop to a beam.
The said improvements for obtaining the best results in warping, involve the
use of cop supporting spindles capable of slightly yielding under the tension of the
yarn, in combination with a beam, its driving mechanism and tension devices,
whereby in the transfer of the yarn from the cops to the beam, the said cops
revolve upon or with the spindles, and the yarn is enabled to practically free itself
from "mats" or "snarls" in a cop, should such occur.
The use of the yielding cop supporting spindles in the combination thus stated is
readily distinguishable from what is described in the specification of Letters Patent
N° 323 A.D. 1880, for although the said description refers to the use of certain
swinging spool supporting spindles, in connection with warping mechanism, the
said spool supporting spindles are not suited for receiving and supporting cops, and
although the said prior specification also describes certain cop supporting spindles
as arranged with the improvements therein referred to, the said cop supporting
spindles are not capable of yielding under the tension of the yarn while being drawn
therefrom, nor can a cop rotate upon or with such a spindle, but it must remain
stationary while the yarn is drawn therefrom in a line practically parallel with the
axis of the cop, and it is the wasteful results of such unwinding of yarn from cops
that are obviated by the improvements herein described it being well known that
if yarn thus drawn fails to be delivered freely, a broken and wasted cop is
inevitably the result.
These improvements as applied solely to the purpose of saving and utilizing the
yarn in broken or imperfect cops, involve winding or reeling mechanism of any
well known variety, and necessarily involve in combination therewith cop supporting.
spindles, capable of slightly yielding to the tension of yarn in unwinding, so that
the yarn may practically free itself from "mats" or "snarls" in a cop, and the said
novel combination of a yielding cop supporting spindle with winding or reeling
mechanism is readily distinguishable from the improvements described in the
Specification of Letters Patent No 2979 A.D. 1863 and 899 A,D. 1870, which
describe cop supporting spindles incapable of yielding under the tension of the
yarn although it is stated in the said former specification N° 2979 A.D 1863, that
the improvements described are applicable to the winding of yarn from broken
or imperfect cops, as well as in winding from hanks. The said prior cop supporting
spindles revolved with the cop, but they could not yield to facilitate the freeing of
the yarn from a mat or snarl as with the improved cop supporting spindles herein-
after described, on some of which a cop may revolve independently of the spindle,
and on others it may revolve therewith, and some of them are capable of yielding
at the top only, and others can yield both at the top and the bottom.
Having reference exclusively to warping yarns directly from the cop, and for setting
forth the novel mechanical features and the advantages in the advantages in the mode
of operation involved it must be stated that the warping of mule or "cop" warps
has heretofore involved the use of a spool stand and spools, upon each of which, yarn
has first been laid as it was drawn from a stationary cop by an endwise draught of
the yarn in a line substantially parallel with the axis of the cop. The warping of
ring frame or throttle warp has heretofore involved generally the use of a skewer
stand and skewers upon which ring frame bobbins are fixedly mounted as described
in the specification of letters Patent N° 3119 AD 1880 so that the yarn is drawn
through yarn eyes from the bobbins on its way to the beam, by an endwise
draught of the yarn substantially parallel with the axis of the bobbins; but in
some instances ring frame or throstle warps have been spooled preliminary to
warping, by backwardly rotating the bobbins on which the yarn was spun, and

page_text: also such bobbins have been mounted on skewers or spindles in a stand, and the
yarn has been drawn therefrom on its way to the beam, by backwardly rotating
the bobbins, but in no instance have the spindles or skewers thus used for
supporting the bobbins been small enough nor properly shaped to enable them to
receive a mule cop, so that the latter could backwardly rotate thereon or therewith
and although ring bobbins are hereinafter referred to and shown in the drawing, it
is donė merely for the purpose of illustrating how suitable cop supporting spindles
as used in accordance with these improvements may also be used for supporting
bobbins in a warping machine. The prior systems of beaming wherein the yarn is
drawn end wise either from a mule cop or from ring frame bobbins, involve the
introduction of an extra twist into the yarn during its transfer from the cop or
bobbin to the beam, and this extra twist is put into the yarn during its transfer,
for the reason that in both cases the yarn is drawn off endwise from. stationary
bodies of yarn, and in lines substantially parallel with the axis of the cop or the
bobbin as the case may be. It is well known that the bodies of yarn as furnished
by the spindles, whether in the form of detachable cops, or carried on the ring
bobbins, are more or less liable to become broken so as to render the further
delivery of yarn therefrom by the particular end wise draught referred to,
practically impossible, and consequently much waste occurs for when a cop or a
ring bobbin thus fails to deliver, more or less of the remaining yarn is usually
thrown aside as waste, and to obviate this waste is the prime object of the
warping portion of these improvements.
It is also known that spool stands occupy so much space that the large number
yarns ordinarily required for a beam or even a half beam cannot be drawn in at
one operation, and a further object of the warping portion of these improvements
is to enable with coarse warps an ordinary beam to be filled, thereby greatly.
economizing not only in mill space and in extra spooling machines and extra
warping machines, but also in the cost of attendance both for spooling and
warping.
The prior warpers hereinbefore referred to, which take yarn directly from ring
bobbins, enable more ends of yarn to be worked than when ordinary spool stands
are employed, but by reason of this invention it is possible to occupy still less
space in working a given number of ends and to readily, with coarse yarns for
instance, work enough ends to enable at one operation a beam to be properly filled
for weaving.
According to this invention the warp yarn is beamed directly from mule cops,
but instead of drawing the yarn therefrom while such cops remain fixed or non
rotative, the yarn is drawn therefrom in lines substantially at right angles to their
axes and the said cops are permitted to revolve backwardly during the draft of
the yarn therefrom on its way to the beam, and therefore the yarn is beamed
without further twisting it and also without intermediate spooling. The cop
supporting spindles occupy so little space in their stand that three or four of them
occupy no more space than a single large spool as usually employed, and as
compared with the prior ring bobbin or throstle bobbin stands, about twice as
many ends can be worked in a given space. The backward rotation of the cops and
their yielding spindles obviates breakage and consequent waste, and practically
enable yarn from mule cops to be placed without intermediate spooling upon a
beam in exactly the same condition as to twist that it was left in by the spindles.
It is important that the cop supporting spindles be so proportioned, constructed,
arranged, or mounted, that they can be slightly bent, moved or deflected under the
tension of the yarn so that in the event of an imperfect cop the said spindle will
permit the cop to sufficiently change its position with reference to the line of
draught to enable the yarn to practically free itself from any ordinary break, snarl
or mat in the cop.
Spindles which are small enough to properly receive and support a cop, and
permit it to rotate freely thereon or therewith must of necessity be also capable of

page_text: so receiving a ring frame or a throstle bobbin, as to permit the latter to freely
rotate backwardly in the delivery of yard therefrom.
In the accompanying drawing.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a warp beaming machine and a stand containing
cop supporting spindles with cops thereon.
Figure 2 is a front view of a portion of the spindle stand.
Figures 3 to 12 illustrate different forms of cop supporting spindles hereinafter
described.
The yarn delivering stand A is a vertical rectangular frame, and it is provided
with numerous horizontal bars a upon which are mounted a large number of cop
receiving spindles band, wherever necessary, yarn rods c are provided for securing
a proper draught upon the yarn that is to say a draught substantially at right
angles to the axis of the cops d when placed upon the spindles. These spindles
must of necessity be somewhat longer than the cops, and for the best results
sufficiently smaller than the spindles on which the cops were formed, to enable
them to revolve freely thereon. As a rule the said spindles need be but little if
any heavier than ordinary knitting needles, and the more flexible and yielding
they are, the better will they be suited for this purpose, provided they are capable
of properly supporting a cop while permitting it freely to rotate. Spindles which
are in themselves stiff and practically inflexible may be employed with fairly
satisfactory results provided they are small enough to leave the cop free thereon,
but it is deemed advisable for the best results to employ spindles which are either
flexible in themselves, or if non flexible, to provide for them, yielding foot steps or
head bearings which will permit the spindle to yield slightly to the tension of the
yarn so as to enable the latter to better free itself from any snarl or mat which
may exist in the cop.
The beam B is mounted and rotated substantially as heretofore, and the yarn
from the stand passes through the combs or reeds g and h, and between the said
combs are tension rolls i and drop wires k, these latter being portions of the usual
stop motion for stopping the machine when a yarn breaks
It will be seen that the yarn when thus placed upon the beam is in the same
condition as to twist that it was when on the spindle, and although it is not
asserted that an extra twist is always objectionable in warps, it is deemed
preferable that all the twist. be put in by the spindles, because then the yarn is
twisted evenly, whereas in warping as heretofore, the extra twist is unevenly
applied, because of the gradual reduction in the diameter of the cop, from which
the yarn is drawn. It will also be seen that the spindles are inclined rearwardly
for enabling cops to be readily placed thereon, and that they are capable of being
placed so closely together side by side that an unusually large number of ends may
be readily provided for in one yarn stand-In drawing off the yarn from cops in.
the manner described, a cop is seldom injured, whereas by drawing the yarn
as heretofore from a stationary cop, and over its end, damaged cops are of frequent
occurrence.
It is generally advisable that a small cop stand be provided on the top of the
warper as shown, in order that an end from one or more of the cops thereon may
be employed in case threads break or run out from the main cop stand thus assuring
the full number of threads on a beam.
Having reference to the best possible results it is advisable that yarn for warps
be spun on full length cop tubes.
For use with the beaming mechanism any of the various forms of spindles shown
in figures 3 to 12 of the drawing may be employed These improvements arranged
in apparatus for utilizing cotton cop waste involve the use of the yielding spindles
in combination with any suitable winding or reeling mechanism, and its use enables
the application of the yarn in broken and imperfect cops to the purpose for
which it was originally intended, without in any manner detracting from its value
by injury to the fibre-It is well known that there is a disposition on the part of

page_text: weavers to conceal the breakage of cops resulting from careless handling and that
such broken cops classed as waste have been largely utilized as "wiping waste"
for cleaning machinery, and that it is finally applied to use as paper stock, although
in some cases it has been proposed (and to some extent practised) to mechanically
restore the fibre of such waste to a separated condition so that it might be re-spun,
but as a rule the fibre thus restored is so cut and torn as to render yarn made
therefrom of practically little value.
It has heretofore been proposed to rewind imperfect cops by the use of apparatus
described in the specification of Letters Patent No 2979 A.D. 1863, embodying
winding mechanism in combination with unwinding spindles, having rigid foot
and head bearings, but it has been demonstrated that the unwinding of imperfect
cops cannot be practically accomplished unless the unwinding spindle be capable of
yielding under the tension of the yarn, in order that the spindle may by assuming
slightly varying angles with relation to the line of yarn as it is drawn from the
cop, enable the yarn to free itself from the "mats or snarls" common to broken
or imperfect cops.
Broadly stated mechanism for this purpose must involve suitable winding
mechanism in combination with a light unwinding spindle which is susceptible of
axially entering or piercing a broken cop, either capable of rotation with the
cop, or of freely permitting the latter to rotate thereon under the unwinding
tension of the yarn, and is also movable bodily at one or both ends under the
tension of the yarn, in unwinding, so that when the delivery thereof is obstructed
by a mat" or "snarl" in the cop, the spindle can slightly change its position
with relation to the line of draught on the yarn leading therefrom, thus enabling
the latter to free itself in unwinding-While it is preferable that the unwinding
spindle shall occupy a truly central position in the cop, the yarn may be never-
theless withdrawn from such badly broken caps as are not truly concentric with
the spindle.
In Figures 3 to 12 I have shown cop supporting spindles applicable to the
utilization of broken or imperfect cops in such variety as will enable a selection
for any specific purpose required-In the form shown in Figure 3 b is an inflexible
spindle which may be an ordinary mule spindle but its yielding capacity is provided
for by means of yielding bearings, both for the head or top of the spindle, and
for the foot thereof. In this case the spindles revolves with the cop as it backwardly
rotates.
In Figure 4 another spindle b is shown mounted at its foot in a close fitting
rubber socket b¹ and although said spindle b is non rotative, it has thereon a
rotating spindle 62 provided with a whorl, as if transferred from a spinning machine
for this purpose, the whorl however, performing no service in this connection. The
yielding capacity in this spindle is provided for solely in the flexible rubber
socket 6', and the cop rotates freely backwardly with the live spindle-Figures 5 6
and 8 illustrate spindles b, which are light, slender, and flexible, but are rigidly
mounted at their feet in or upon any suitable standard. The yarn rods c, Figures 3
to 6 inclusive enable the yarn to be drawn off in lines favourable to a free delivery.
The slender flexible spindles b, Figures and 6, may receive a broken cop directly
thereon, or as is sometimes deemed preferable, a conical tube d is mounted upon
the said spindle for receiving cops, thus providing for a yielding movement of the
upper end of the cop by the flexibility of the spindle and for a similar freeing
movement of its lower end by the swinging of the tube, the latter having a bearing
upon the top of the flexible spindle, so that a cop and the said tube can freely
rotate. Such slender flexible spindles may if desired be employed for supporting
throstle bobbins or ring frame bobbins d' as illustrated in these figures, the bobbin
being mounted on the conical tube d. It is sometimes desirable to employ friction
devices for preventing the tube, the cop, or the bobbin, from revolving too freely
or rapidly under the draught of the yarn therefrom. Figure 7 illustrates a slender
flexible spindle b, but instead of being rigidly mounted at its foot as previously
described, it can rotate with the cop, or the latter may be rotated independently
-

page_text: .
thereon. In this case the foot of the spindle is loosely stepped and at its top there
is a yielding head bearing e, shown in top view in Figure 12, this latter being
hinged to a top bar in the machine, so as to permit the ready insertion and
removal of the spindles. To guard against undue flexibility near the foot of the
spindle, a front abutment plate e' is employed; and the said plate being slotted at
its end adjacent to the spindle, and provided with a thumb screw, it can be adjusted
at any desired point and vary the bending capacity of the spindle.
In Figure 8 I have illustrated a slender flexible spindle 6 fixedly mounted at
its foot, and it differs from the spindle Figures 5 and 6, only in being vertical
instead of inclined rearwardly, but this rearward inclination is deemed desirable in
most cases.
Figures 9 and 10, illustrate non flexible rearwardly inclined rotative spindles b,
with yielding head bearings e and fixed step bearings; and Figure 11 illustrates
a slender spindle b on which the cop may revolve either independently, or with the
spindle the latter being free to vary its position more extensively than either of
the other forms shown. The inclined slotted standards f respectively receive
opposite ends of the spindle, and permit the spindle to rise and fall bodily, or
either end at a time under varying tension of the yarn. The light springs f¹, are
relied upon for properly controlling the lifting movement of the spindle, and end
plates serve to prevent undue end wise movement of the spindle.
In Figure 12 the head bearing e is shown in top view, and as clearly indicated
it consists of a slotted plate hinged to the frame of a winding machine of any kind,
and the bearing block is fitted to slide in a slot and backed up by a light expansive
spiral spring. It is obvious that this yielding head bearing may be widely varied
in construction without materially affecting the results.
The winding mechanism employed with these spindles can obviously be indefi-
nitely varied; two well known types of spoolers are illustrated in Figures 7 and 8,
and ordinary reels are shown in Figures 9 and 11, while in Figure 10 a cop
winding spindle is illustrated for rewinding yarn in cop form for use in shuttles.
It is obvious that as a rule the spindles for winding or receiving the yarn should
be driven at a lower speed when recovering yarn from broken cops, than when
regularly employed for ordinary spooling and reeling, and by providing for a
proper reduction in speed, many of the well known machines for spooling and
reeling may when provided with suitable cop supporting spindles as described, be
employed for the purposes herein indicated.
It is not asserted that cop waste can be wholly obviated, or that the yarn in
cop waste can be wholly recovered for the uses originally intended, but if the
mechanism herein before described be properly worked in any one mill, and if
reasonable care be exercised in promptly laying aside cops when they fail to
properly deliver yarn from shuttles, there will seldom be more than fifteen per
cent of the waste before occurring in the same mill, and the cost of recovering
yarn from broken cops need seldom exceed fifteen per cent of the actual value of
the yarn recovered.
Having thus fully described the said invention as communicated to me by my
Foreign Correspondent and the manner of performing the same I wish it understood
that I claim.
First-The combination of the beam, its driving mechanism, the tension device,
and the yarn delivering stand provided with cop supporting spindles which permit
a cop to backwardly rotate thereon or therewith as the yarn is drawn from the
cops on its way to the beam, substantially as set forth.
Second. The combination of the beam, its driving mechanism, the tension
device, and a yarn delivering stand provided with a series of cop supporting spindles
which slightly yield under the tension of the yarn and permit cops to be back-
wardly rotated thereon, or therewith, substantially as set forth.
Third. The combination with yarn winding mechanism, of an unwinding spindle
which is capable of bodily movement under the tension of yarn from a cop carried
by the said spindle, substantially as described, whereby in unwinding a broken or.

page_text: imperfect cop the said spindle may slightly change its position with relation to the
line of the yarn leading therefrom and thereby enable the yarn to free itself from a
"
mat or "snarl" in the cop, as set forth.
"
Fourth. The combination with yarn winding mechanism of an unwinding spindle
rotatively mounted, and a yielding head bearing for the spindle which permits the
latter to be deflected under the tension of yarn drawn from a cop mounted on the
said spindle, substantially as described.
In witness whereof I the said William Robert Lake have hereunto set my
hand and seal this first day of May in the year of Our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and eighty three