IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-ACTING MULES FOR SPINNING
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Fielden, of Todmorden, in the County of
Lancaster, Spinner and Manufacturer, and Abraham Fielden, of the same
Place, Overlooker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-ACTING
MULES FOR SPINNING."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Fielden and
Abraham Fielden at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 19th May 1860.
We, SAMUEL FIELDEN, of Todmorden, in the County of Lancaster, Spinner
and Manufacturer, and ABRAHAM FIELDEN, of the same Place, Overlooker, do
hereby declaro the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-
ACTING MULES FOR SPINNING," to be as follows:―
Our Invention relates, first, to that description of self-acting mules wherein
the mangle wheel and pinion is usually employed, and is designed for the
purpose of diminishing and equalizing the strain upon the teeth on the
interior or smaller diameter of the mangle wheel, which frequently become
broken in consequence of such extreme strain exerted in driving the said
The
wheel when the mangle pinion is at the smaller diameter thereof.
improvement consists in the application of another or auxiliary pinion
gearing with the toothed wheel on the back of the "mangle wheel," such
pinion being secured upon and driven by a shaft provided with a fast-and-loose

page_text: pulley, whereby the driving power of the "mangle pinion" is assisted at those
intervals when the strain becomes excessive, by the auxiliary pinion assisting
to turn the "mangle wheel," and so transferring or dividing the strain between
the smaller and larger diameter of the mangle wheel. The strap for inter-
mittently driving the said auxiliary pinion is conveyed from one pulley to the
other by a fork actuated by the "spindle carriage."
Secondly, our Invention' relates to an arrangement of mechanism or
"positive motion" for releasing or uncoupling the catch box, and stopping the
revolution of the rollers at a precise time near the limit of the "stretch,"
and consists in causing a bowl on the connecting rod (which is attached to
the "mangle wheel swing," and governs the fallers) to come into contact with
an incline upon a bell-cranked lever, which is thereby depressed, and causes
a rod attached to the other end of the said lever to withdraw the catch from
the box and stop the revolution of the rollers.
The third part of our Invention is applicable to self-acting mules in general,
and is designed for the purpose of gradually increasing and decreasing the
speed of the spindle carriage as required when "running in and out," and
consists in an arrangement of levers in connection with the "strap fork" and
an inclined plane resting upon the "faller rod," so that by the action of one
of the levers against the inclined plane during the "run out" of the carriage,
the strap is transferred from the fast to the slow driving pulley, and the speed
of the carriage is decreased when arriving at the extent of its "
"stretch," and such being completed, the "faller rod" allows the incline to
fall, and by means of a spring in connection with the fork, the driving strap is
conducted back again on to the fast pulley, and the carriage "runs in "
quickly by which arrangement the sudden concussion at the end of each
"stretch" is avoided.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Fielden and Abraham Fielden in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 19th November 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, SAMUEL
FIELDEN, of Todmorden, in the County of Lancaster, Spinner and Manu-
facturer, and ABRAHAM FIELDEN, of the same Place, Overlooker, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said Samuel Fielden and Abraham Fielden, Her special licence that we,
the said Samuel Fielden and Abraham Fielden, our executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Samuel Fielden and
Abraham Fielden, our executors, 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
SELF-ACTING MULES FOR SPINNING," upon the condition, amongst others, that
we, the said Samuel Fielden and Abraham Fielden, or one of us, by an
instrument in writing under our hand and seal, or under the hand and seal of
one of us, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and causo
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 we, the said Samuel Fielden and Abraham
Fielden, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
Danner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement and accompanying Drawings, that is
to say:-
Our Invention relates, first, to that description of self-acting mules wherein.
the mangle wheel and pinion is usually employed, and is designed for the
purpose of diminishing and equalizing the strain upon the teeth on the interior
or smaller diameter of the mangle wheel, which frequently break in conse-
quence of such extreme strain exerted in driving the said wheel when the
mangle pinion is at the smaller diameter thereof. The improvement consists
in the application of another or auxiliary pinion geering with the toothed
wheel on the back of the mangle wheel, such pinion being secured upon and.
driven by a shaft provided with a fast-and-loose pully, whereby the driving.
power of the mangle pinion is assisted at those intervals when the strain-
becomes excessive by the auxiliary pinion assisting to turn the mangle wheel,.
and so transferring or dividing the strain between the smaller and larger
diameter of the mangle wheel. The strap for intermittently driving the said
auxiliary pinion is conveyed from one pully to the other by a "fork" actuated
by the spindle carriage.
Secondly, our Invention relates to an arrangement of mechanism or positivo
motion for releasing or uncoupling the "catch box," and stopping the revo-

page_text: lution of the "rollers" at a precise time, near the limit of the "stretch," and
consists in causing a bowl on the connecting rod (which is attached to the
mangle wheel, and governs the "fallers") to come into contact with an
incline upon a bell-cranked lever, which is thereby depressed, and causes a rod
attached to the other end of the said lever to withdraw the catch from the
box and stop the revolution of the rollers.
The third part of our Invention is applicable to self-acting mules in general,
and is designed for the purpose of gradually increasing and decreasing the speed
of the spindle carriage as required when running in and out, and consists in an
arrangement of levers in connection with the "strap fork" and an inclined
plane resting upon the "faller rod," so that by the action of one of the levers
against the inclined plane during the "run out" of the carriage, the strap is
gradually transferred from the fast to the slow driving pulley, and the speed of
tho carriage is decreased when arriving at the end of its run or stretch, and
such being completed the faller rod allows the incline to fall, and by means of
a spring in connection with the "strap fork," the driving strap is conducted
back again on to the fast pulley, and the carriage runs in quickly; by which
arrangement the sudden concussion at the end of each stretch is avoided.
In order that. the Invention may be better understood and explained in
detail, wo have hereunto attached a Sheet of Drawings illustrative of the same,
made upon a scale of about two inches to a foot.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of that portion of a mule to which our Invention
is applied, and Fig. 2 is a detached end view, shewing that part to which the
improvement in mangle gearing is attached. In Fig. 1, a, a, is the framing
of the mule; b, 61, the mangle and pinion as usually employed; is the
auxiliary pinion gearing into the teeth upon the back of the mangle wheel,
and driven by the strap and pulley d, d, loose pulleys being also situated on
the same shaft. When the mangle pinion is in gear with the smaller
liameter of the mangle wheel and extra strain is exerted, a stud thereupon
strikes the retaining lever e, and releases the strap fork to the action of the S
spring, which transfers the strap on to the fast pulley, and causes the pinion c
to assist the pinion 6' to turn the mangle wheel and run the carriage in; the
advancing carriage then coming into contact with the strap fork or leger g,
causes the said strap fork to transfer the strap on to the loose pulley again;
the pinion 6 then being at the greater diameter of the mangle wheel.
The second part of the Invention for stopping the revolution of the drawing
rollers at a precise and positive time near the limit of the stretch is thus
accomplished-When the carriage has arrived near the limit of the "stretch,"
the bowl upon the connecting rod of the mangle swing 1 comes into contact
g

page_text: with an inclined plane upon the bell-crank lever 2 and depresses it, causing
the rod 3 to lift the vertical bar, or better known as the "drop leg "4, by means
of the incline 5; in the upper extremity of this bar a curved slot is formed
acting upon the clutch-box lever 6, so that when the bar rises the clutch box
driving the rollers is separated, and consequently their rotation ceases.
The third part of our Invention for gradually transferring the strap from the
fast to the slow pulloy, and thereby decreasing the speed of the carriage near
the end of the stretch, is effected as follows:-When the spindle carriage
arrives near the limit of its run, the inclined plane a, which is supported by a
projection on the "faller shaft "y, raises the bowl and bell-crank lever 10 and
drawn the rod v, which is in connection with the strap fork n, and thereby
moves the strap t gradually into the fast pulley until the "fallers" drop, when
the incline x also falls, and the strap is drawn back to the slow pulley by
means of the spring s.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, together with the
method of carrying the same into practical effect, I wish it to be distinctly
understood that we claim as our improvements in self-acting mules,—-
First, diminishing the strain upon the mangle wheel and pinion during the
run in of the spindle carriage when the said pinion gears with the smaller
diameter of the mangle wheel, and effecting such improvement by means of
an auxiliary driving pinion.
Secondly, we claim stopping the revolution of the drawing rollers by means
of a bowl acting upon an inclined plane,and actuating a combination of lovers
and rods, as shewn.
And lastly, we claim transferring the driving strap gradually from the slow
to the fast pulley by means of a bowl and inclined plane governed by the
"faller rod," the bowl being connected with the strap fork, as herein-before
described, set forth, and fully exhibited in the Drawings annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Fielden have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
SAM. FIELDEN. (L.B.)