IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE DELIVERY OP YARN FROM YARN BEAMS
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents, 66,
Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman,
for the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE DELIVERY
OP YARN FROM YARN BEAMS."-A communication from abroad by Luther
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at. the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd January 1860.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE
DELIVERY OF YARN FROM YARN BEAMS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain means of regulating the delivery of yarn
from the yarn or warp beams of looms, through the tension produced on the
cloth and warp by the take-up motion. The yarn is delivered from the beam
through the agency of a worm and worm wheel as usual, but instead of the
delivery action of the worm being continuous, it is intermittent, a determinate
extreme tension of the warp being the means of throwing the worm into a
state of action. The worm is mounted on a shaft which is capable of receiving
an endway motion for the purpose of bringing a clutch which it carries into
contact with a worm or driving wheel that receives a continuous rotary motion
from the driving or other convenient shaft of the loom; the clutch is borne up
clear of the worm wheel by a spring which is coiled round the upper part of
the clutch shaft between the worm which it carries and a collar that bears
upon the forked end of a rock lever mounted on a fixed fulcrum attached.to

page_text: 2
the frame of the loom. The other extremity of the rock lever is fitted with
a roller that bears on the warp of the warp beam, and rises as the diameter
of the beam decreases; the coiled spring is therefore at its greatest compres
sion, and consequently most powerful in action when the beam is full; as
however the diameter of the beam decreases, and the leverage for the drag of
the warp diminishes, it is requisite that the energy of the spring should pro-
portionately diminish, and this it does by reason of the forked end of the rock
lever offering less and less resistance to the spring in proportion to the
decrease in the diameter of the warp beam. The operation of the drag of
the warp effected by the take up motion being to pull round the warp beam,
the worm wheel of that beam being in gear with the worm on the clutch
shaft will, when an excess of strain occurs greater than the spring can resist,
force down the shaft until its clutch is in contact with the worm or driving
wheel before mentioned; rotary motion will then be imparted to the clutch shaft
and through the gearing in connection therewith to the warp beam, and yarn
will be delivered therefrom until the strain on the warp is sufficiently reduced to
allow the clutch to slip and stop the rotation of the beam. Thus it will
be understood that all tendency to slackness of yarn will be removed, and
undue tension will also be effectually provided against. As a modification of this
arrangement the roller of the rock lever which bears upon the yarn beam is
mounted in a gimble frame. What has been termed the clutch shaft is fitted
with a ratchet wheel, and upon the shaft slides an arm or lever carrying a click
which takes into the ratchet wheel; on the boss of this arm an inclined tooth
or projection is formed, which is intended to strike against a pin fixed to the
side of the loom frame. The lever is connected by a rod with the lay, from
which it transmits an oscillating motion to the lever, the click of which takes
into the teeth of the ratchet wheel, and thereby causes the rotation of its
shaft and (through the worm and worm wheel arrangement) of the yarn
beam. When the motion of the lever is such as to cause the click to pass
over the teeth of the ratchet wheel, that movement will be arrested in due
course by the inclined tooth or projection on the boss of the lever coming in
contact with the stop.pin. When the shaft with the ratchet wheel and lever
rises (as in the first described arrangement) the movement of the click will
be limited by reason of the more prominent portion of the side of the inclined
tooth coming into contact with the stop pin, and consequently in the return or
acting movement of the click its amount of action will be less, and a smaller
delivery of yarn will result.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office.
on the 23rd July 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of January, in the year of our
Lord 1860, in the twenty-third year, of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her
heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Alfred Vincent
Newton, Her special license that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred
Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 of
"IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE DELIVERY OF YARN FROM YARN
BEAMS," being a communication from. Luther Robinson, of Boston, in the
United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Alfred Vincent Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, 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 Alfred Vincent. Newton,, 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 the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
Fig. 1 is a front view of certain portions of the loom, those parts not imme-
diately connected with my improvements not being represented. Fig. 2, a
vertical section upon the line X, X, of Fig. 1. Fig. 3, a back view of a loom
having applied to it a modification of this Invention. Fig. 4, an end view of
the same; Fig. 5, a plan of a portion of the let-off mechanism. Fig 6, a top
view of a portion of the mechanism that is partially concealed in Fig. 5.
The first part of this Invention consists in a novel mode of applying
the lot-off mechanism in combination with the yarn beam of a power loom

page_text: and also in certain details in the mechanism whereby the delivery of the yarn
from the beam is regulated by the tension produced upon the cloth and warp
by the action of the take up. Referring to Figures 1 and 2 of the said
Drawings, A, is the yarn beam, B, the breast beam; C, the take up roll, and
D, the cam shaft, all applied to the loom and arranged in the ordinary manner.
The take up roll may.be operated by any positive take up mechanism. In
the loom epresented in Figs. 1 and 2, it is operated by means of a pawl a
and ratchet wheel b, the pawl being operated by an eccentric c, on the camb
shaft, and the ratchet wheel fast on the take up roll; retrograde motion of the
shaft is prevented by the retaining pawl k, Fig. 2. The yarn beam has secured
to it at one end a worm gear d which engages with an endless screw e fast
upon an upright shaft E which works in bearings f, f, attached to the side
frame of the loom and carries at its upper extremity a hand wheel n-; this
shaft is permitted to move to a limited extent in the direction of its length, and
has applied to it a spring 9, which tends to force it bodily upwards, and thus
to cause the threads of the endless screw e to push against the teeth of the
worm gear d, in a direction to turn it backward, or in the opposite direction
to that in which it requires to turn to let off the yarn z. The shaft E
has attached to it; and rotating with it, two pendant dogs h, h, which swing
freely upon the pivot s, and constitute part of a clutch, by which to couple
with the shaft E a worm gear F; this gear is fitted to the said shaft in such
a manner as to be capaple of turning independently of it, but is confined so as
to be prevented from moving along with the shaft in the direction of its length.
The lower portion of the clutch consists simply of a saucer or cavity in the
upper surface of the worm gear F, against the rim or edge i of which the
dogs h bind when the shaft E descends sufficiently low. The worm gear F
derives a continuous rotary motion from an endless screw G, on the camb shaft
D, the direction of their motion being such that when the shaft E rotates
with the said gear, the endless screw e and worm gear d turn the yarn beam
in a direction to let off the yarn; but the shaft E only rotates with the worm
gear F when there is more than the required tension upon the cloth and warp,
for when the tension is at or below this point the shaft E is held up by the
spring.g high enough. to hold the dogs h, h, of the clutch cut of contact with
the rim of the gear F, (as seen in Fig. 2,) and the yarn beam remains
locked by the endless screw e, and worm gear d; until the desired degree of
tension is exceeded in the slightest degree, when the tendency of the
yarn to
draw off from and turn the yarn beam will cause the gear d, to press down-
ward upon the endless screw with sufficient force to overcome the upward
pressure of the spring 9, and cause the shaft E to descend far enough to cu-

page_text: gage the two parts of the
clutch h, h, and i, i, whereby the shaft E is made
to revolve with the gear F. This revolution of the shaft which produces the
letting off of the yarn continues as long as the tension exceeds in the slightest
degree the desired point, and (provided of course that the gearing G, F and e,
d are properly proportioned to the take up motion) prevents the tension from
getting too great, but as soon as the tension gets below this point, the spring
9, overcomes and raises the shaft E, high enough to disengage the clutch h, h,
i, i. The force of the spring g may be graduated and thereby made to
produce a greater or less tension of the warp, by means of the collar r, and
set screw o, or in any other suitable manner. To make the operation of this
let off motion perfect, it is necessary that the force exerted by the spring g
shall vary in proportion as the quantity of yarn on the yarn beam is greater
or less, as it is well understood that the greater the quantity of the yarn on the
beam the greater will be the tendency of the beam to turn with a given
tension of the warp. To effect the necessary variation in the strength of
the spring I provide for its bearing a collar j, which is fitted to slide loosely
on the shaft E, and support this collar upon the forked end of a lever H,
which is supported on a fixed fulcrum attached to the loom framing and
whose other end bears against the surface of the yarn upon the beam. By
this method of supporting the spring 9 its compression is rendered greatest,
when the quantity of yarn on the beam is greatest, and caused to diminish
as the quantity of yarn on the beam diminishes; and if the two arms of the
lever are properly proportioned, the force of the spring will always be in the
same proportion to the distance of the surface of the yarn from the centre of
the beam, and consequently to the degree of tendency to turn produced upon
the beam by any given degree of tension. One peculiarity of this method of
governing the let off motion consists in the oscillating motion that may be
permitted to the yarn beam by the spring g during overy beat of the lay
without effecting any let off, such oscillation being produced by the action
in combination with the spring g of the slight variation that is unavoidably
produced in the tension of the warp in every beat or pick of the lay by the
opening and closing of the shed and beating up of the weft, the said oscillation
preventing the breakage of the warp. The let off of course takes place at
that point in the beat or pick of the lay when the maximum tension occurs,
but only when such maximum tension exceeds the desired degree. It is
obvious that various modifications in the arrangement of the parts and cha-
racter of the gearing may be made without changing the principle of the
Invention, among which may be mentioned the following. Ist, the shaft E
may be arranged otherwise than in a vertical position, and may be driven by

page_text: a different system or arrangement of gearing from that.which I have repre-
sented. 2nd, a different kind of clutch from that herein described may be
used. 3rd, the part h, h, or its equivalent of the clutch, and the endless screw
e; or its equivalent which operates and holds back the yarn beam, may be secured
to a sleeve fitted to slide on the shaft E; and the spring g applied to the said
sleeve instead of to the shaft, and in that case the shaft itself would require no
longitudinal motion. For the purpose of preventing any jar or unnecessary wear
which might result from the up and down motion of shaft E a spring may be
inserted between the endless screw e and the bearing f (Fig. 2.).
.
The second part of this Invention consists in an improved means of govern-
ing the let-off mechanism, and the consequent delivery of the yarn from the
beam by the tension produced on the cloth by the take-up, whereby a more
uniform tension of the warp is preserved, and all the advantages resulting from
such uniform tension are obtained. This portion of the Invention is illus
trated in Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the accompanying Drawings, in which A³ is the
framing of the loom; B, the yarn beam'; .C, the take-up roll; D', the lay;
G2, the crank shaft; and F the rods connecting the lay with the crank shaft ;
all applied to the loom and arranged in the usual manner. The take-up roll may
be operated in any well-known or suitable manner.
In the said Drawings it
is represented by a pawl a² and ratchet wheel 6, the ratchet wheel being
secured to a short shaft h, which works in a bearing in one of the side frames
of the loom and carries a gear is, which gives motion to a gear * on the shaft
of the take-up roll. The pawl a² is carried by a lever 1, which vibrates upon
the shaft has a fulcrum, and derives the necessary motion to work the pawl
from an arm m³ attached to one side of the lay, and working in a slot m¹ in
the lower part of the lever 1. The yarn beam has secured to it at one end
a worm gear
d2, which engages with an endless screw that is fastened upon
an upright shaft E, which works in bearings f, f, attached to the side
framing of the loom. This shaft is permitted to move to a limited extent in
the direction of its length, and has applied to it a spring, which tends to
force it upward and to cause the threads of the endless screw e³ to push against
the teeth of the worm gear d in a direction to turn it backward, or in the
opposite direction to that in which it is required to move to let off the yarn,
the said spring resting upon a collar js that is fitted loosely to the shaft E
and supported by the forked shorter arm of a lever II, which is arranged on
a fixed fulcrum o supported by the loom framing, and whose longer arm'
carries a roller p², which rests against the bottom of the yarn on the yarn
beam; the upper end of the screw 92 rests against a collar v, which is fixed
in position by a screw w for purposes of adjustment. Thus far the mechanism
.

page_text: described is substantially similar to that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and described as
the subject of the first part of this Invention. Instead, however, of operating
the let-off directly from the cam shaft by means of a clutch, the following
contrivance is employed for the purpose; 12 is a wheel firmly secured to the
shaft E below the lever H', and having ratchet teeth all around the margin
upon its upper side; J' is a horizontal lever fitted to work loosely upon the shaft
E above the wheel 12, and carrying a pawl w² to work in the teeth of the said
wheel. This lever represented detached in Fig. 6 is connected by a rod q² and
spring with one of the swords of the lay, one end of the said rod being
attached to the lever, and the other end fitted to slide in an eye t² attached to
the lay, and provided with a fast but adjustable collar u² behind the said eye
The rod is attached to the lay by means of the spring and strap, the rear end
of the spring being secured to the rod and its front end to the strap; the other'
end of the strap is secured to the lay. The lever J, as already stated, carries
a pawl w² for operating the wheel I. The opposite extremity or short arm' of
this lever has an inclined plane or bevelled face, making a considerable angle
with a vertical line. The face of the inclined plane is so arranged that
when the lever J2 is retracted to draw the pawl back over the teeth of the
wheel I some point of this face shall strike against a fixed stop or pin
attached to the framework. The lever J2 is caused by its connection with the
lay to vibrate back and forth around the shaft E. In its movement in one
direction the pawl engages with the teeth of the wheel I, and so turns the
said wheel and its shaft E and causes the endless screw e to turn the worm'
wheel d, and with it the yarn beam to let off the yarn; but in moving in the
other direction the pawl passes over the teeth of the wheel I till the face
comes in contact with the stop a² and the movement is arrested. The tension
of the warp tends to 'turn the yarn beam and to cause it to let off the yarn,'
and this action of the warp on the beam causes the teeth of the gear'd' to
press downwards against the threads of the screw e³, and thus to depress the
shaft E and its wheel I and lever J in opposition to the action of the spring
g, which tends to raise them; and hence the wheel 12 and lever J° occupy a
higher or lower position at any moment, according as the tension is less- or
greater. When the wheel and lever are caused to rise with the shaft by a
decrease of tension they present a more prominent portion of the face ³ tô
the stop a, and thus allow the pawl w² to pass over a smaller number of teeth"
of the wheel I before it is stopped, and consequently when the pawl returns
to move the wheel it lets off less yarn, or if the tension is very slight the pawl
may be prevented from moving over any of the teeth; but when the wheel
and lever are depressed by an increased tension, the lever presents a less pro-

page_text: minent part of the face to the stop a and the pawl is caused to pass over
more teeth, and thus it will be seen that the let-off is always in proportion to
the tension. It will be observed that though the movement of the lever J
varies, the movement of the lay is always the same, and it is to permit the
variable movement of the lever that the rod q is connected with the lay by
the spring which yields to the pull of the lay after the face comes in
contact with the stop a³. Whenever it becomes necessary to adjust the posi-
tion of the warps the pawl w may be raised by the rod a³, and the shaft E
turned by the hand wheel 63. The warp threads are seen at g³ in Fig. 4.
The backward movement of the rod q3 by which the pawl is made to act on
the wheel I is effected by the eye t2 on the lay pushing against the collar u
on the rod. By moving this collar along the rod the let off may be varied.
The spring may be loose on the rod q in front of the eye t², and thus be
compressed against a pin or stop by the forward motion of the lay. This
arrangement is obviously but the equivalent of the one described, and may be
used in place of it. The lever He operates in the same manner and for the
same purpose as the corresponding lever in the loom, represented in Figs. 1
and 2. The roller p² is, however, applied to the yarn beam in such a manner
as to have a longer and firmer bearing upon the yarn, and still to adapt itself
to any unevenness in the surface of the yarn. The journals are fitted in
bearings in a frame p', which is furnished with journals at right angles to y³,
the journals fitting in bearings in the end of the lever. The roller is thus
enabled to adapt itself to the surface of the yarn by the oscillation of the
frame p' on the lever. It is obvious, that in lieu of having the inclined face
upon
the lever, and the stop a stationary, the latter may be upon the lever,
and the inclined face stationary. Under certain circumstances the friction
clutch employed in Figs. 1 and 2 is liable to become oiled, and its action is
then uncertain. This is entirely remedied by the use of the lever J* and
stop a, as above described, the action of which is at all times positive and
unfailing. For the most perfect operation of the let-off motion, it is found
necessary when the loom is run rapidly to put a sufficient amount of friction
upon the vertical shaft (E or E³,) to prevent it from being carried forward by
its momentum beyond the exact point to which it is moved by the machinery,
and also to prevent it from retracting at a moment when it should remain
motionless. This may be effected in a variety of ways. In a loom arranged
as in Figs. 3 and 4, a cord having a weight at one end may be made to
encircle the wheel I³, and thus produce the required drag upon this wheel, and
upon the shaft to which it is attached. In a loom arranged as in Figs. 1
and 2, where the wheel F is loose upon the shaft E, the friction may be

page_text: applied in a similar manner to a collar or other suitable wheel upon
the shaft.
Having now set forth the nature of this Invention, and explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under
the above recited Letters Patent I claim,-
1st, combining the clutch h, i, (or its equivalent,) by which motion is
imparted to the let-off mechanism with the yarn beam, by means of a worm
gear d on the yarn beam, and an endless screw e and spring g applied, sub-
stantially as described to the shaft E which controls the rotation of the beam,
and operating as set forth.'
2nd, in combination with the worm gear d, endless screw e, and spring 9,
applied as described, I claim the lever H applied between the said spring and
the surface of the yarn on the beam, and operating substantially as herein
specified.
3rd, I do not claim the use of a toothed wheel I on a vertical shaft, and a
pawl and lever fitted to said shaft to operate the wheel, for the purpose of
effecting the let off when such lever is used without the stop and inclined face,
or their equivalents, for varying the let off according to the tension of the
yarn; but I claim the employment in combination with an upright shaft E³,
geared (directly or indirectly) with the yarn beam, and a spring applied to
said shaft to act upon it longitudinally in opposition to the tension of the warp,
substantially as herein described, of a wheel I, a lever J' carrying a pawl w³,
and having an inclined face v², and a fixed stop a, or their equivalents, the whole
applied and operating substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.
4th, I claim attaching the roller på to the lever II by means of an
oscillating frame p', substantially as and for the purpose herein described.
5th, I claim the rod q² furnished with a collar u², and spring, applied in
combination with each other, and with the lay and the peculiarly constructed
lever J, substantially as and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.s.)