IMPROVEMENTS ON THE RING AND TRAVELLER USED IN SPINNING
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Sparks Thomson, of Cheapside, in the
City of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS ON THE RING
AND TRAVELLER USED IN SPINNING."-A communication from abroad
by Henry A. Chapin, of Springfield, Massachusetts, United States
of America.
Sealed the 4th January 1876, and dated the 7th July 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Sparks
Thomson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 7th July 1875.
I, WILLIAM SPARKS THOMSON, of Cheapside, in the City of London,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
ON THE RING AND TRAVELLER USED IN SPINNING," to be as follows:-
The objects of this Invention are―
First. To provide a facile means for inserting the traveller in and
removing it from spinning rings, and also for removing any filaments
or dust that may accumulate therein.

page_text: Secondly. To reduce the friction of the traveller so far as is consonant
with its efficient action, and thereby to permit of the speed of the spindles
being increased.
To this end the ring is made in two parts, viz., a shell of cast iron
or other suitable material which is attached to the ring rail, and has
a central opening through it for the traverse up and down of the
spindle with its cop or bobbin, and an annular plate or cap piece
which fits over the shell, and may be secured thereto in any convenient
manner, for example, by spring catches, or by being inserted within
grooved projections standing up from the periphery of the shell. When
this latter plan of attachment is adopted the edge of the cap plate is
recessed to allow of its dropping over the grooved projection, and when
so placed a slight axial motion is given to the plate by a stop piece to
secure it in the grooves of the projection.
The shell is formed with openings in its outer periphery to permit :
of any loose filaments and dust being discharged from them.. Between
the outer and inner periphery of the shell an annular chamber is formed
for the ends of the traveller to run in, and to this chamber the cap
piece forms a cover, leaving a narrow annular space for the traveller
to rotate in. The traveller, which is made of thin steel wire and bowed
at its middle, is cranked at its opposite ends, and the vertical portions
of these cranks run in the annular space formed by the cap plate and
shell as between circular guides. The horizontal ends of the traveller,
while the same is in action, bear upwards against a rib formed on the
inner face of the cap piece, which should be made of hardened steel
to enable it to resist the friction of the traveller. By thus constructing
and fitting the traveller its lateral motion caused by the varying drag
of the yarn will be greatly reduced, and it will be effectually prevented
from dragging its ends over the inner face of the ring. Its removal
from the ring is effected by simply disengaging the cap picce from
the shell, and the posts may then be freed from filaments or dust
adhering thereto.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Sparks Thomson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 7th January 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SPARKS THOMSON, of Cheapside, in the City of London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said William Sparks Thomson,
Her special licence that I, the said William Sparks Thomson, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Sparks Thomson, my 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 ON THE RING AND TRAVELLER
USED IN SPINNING," being a communication to me from abroad by
Henry A. Chapin, of Springfield, Massachusetts, United States of
America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Sparks Thomson, my exccutors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Scal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Sparks Thomson, 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 Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say):-
This Invention relates to that class of spinning apparatus for which
Patents were obtained, bearing date respectively the Twenty-fifth March

page_text: Fig. D, a vertical or transverse section o1 the fatter, and Fig. 6 30
a transverse section of the entire ring on the line x, x, of Fig. 2.
A represents the under and exterior shell portion of the ring, the
inner periphery of which is formed by a vertical flange or rim a. This
shell may be made of unbardened cast iron or any cheap metal, and

page_text: may be firmly secured to the ring rail by screws or otherwise. Its
upper edge is provided with two or more inwardly overlapping lugs b, b,
Figures 2 and 3; or latches controlled by springs may be substituted
for the lugs, which lugs simply serve to hold the annular plate herein-
after described to its place within the shell. B is the upper and inner
loosely fitting movable annular plate which alone requires to be
hardened, and may be cheaply struck out of any suitable metal of
the shape required for its combination with the shell A, said annular
plate being constructed so that it may enter within an annular rebate c
in the shell A by slipping it under the one lug and dropping it by
means of a recess d (Fig. 1) in its edge past the opposite lug b, after
which the annular plate may be turned, as for instance, by a handling
projection e to lock it by the lugs within the shell, such projection also
serving as a stop when moved up to a shoulder 8, Fig. 2, and preventing
the annular plate from being carried forward by the rotating wire
traveller C, likewise serving as a stop by striking another shoulder 8'
on the shell when the annular plate is turned in a reverse direction,
that is, into an unlocking position for the purpose of removing it.
When a spring catch is employed in place of the lugs b the recess d
in the annular plate may be dispensed with. Inasmuch as the plate B
has a raised position within the shell A by reason of its support on the
rebate e, a clear space is established within the shell under the annular
plate for the free movements of the ends of the traveller, and to reduce
friction it is preferred to strike up a bead n on the under side of the
annular plate at its inner edge for the ends of the traveller to rub
against. One or more openings are made through the lower portion
of the shell A, and extend into the bottom plate thereof so as to permit
of dirt or debris dropping down within the shell, and being thrown out
therefrom by the centrifugal action of the rotating traveller.
A sufficient space is provided between the inner periphery of the
annular plate B and the flange a of the shell A to allow of the free
movement of the traveller O, which by reason of the raised rim or
flange a is prevented from getting displaced during the piccing of the
ends of the yarn.
By fitting the traveller as shewn in Fig. 1 it will be understood that
its lateral motion caused by the varying drag of the yarn will be greatly
reduced, and it will be effectually prevented from dragging its ends over
the inner face of tho ring.

page_text: Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improvements
on the Ring and Traveller Used in Spinning," as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, and explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part
recited Letters Patent I claim,—
First. The flanged shell or lower and outer section A of the ring
provided on its upper edge with locking lugs or catches and shoulders
for arresting the movement of the annular plate B in its locked and
unlocked position by means of a projection on the adjustable annular
plate, in combination with a bar traveller arranged to rotate within
the ring, substantially as specified.
Second. The loose and moveable or adjustable annular plate B in com-
bination with the support or rebate c in the shell A, locking lugs or
catches for holding said plate in position and a rotating bar traveller C,
essentially as described.
Third. The outer and lower flanged section or shell A of the ring
provided with one or more openings f in the lower and under portion
of its periphery, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Sparks Thomson, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Sixth day of January, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
six.