Improvements in Means or Apparatus for Facilitating "Doffing Bobbins in Spinning, Twisting, Doubling, and similar Machinery.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Dec., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 5th Sept., 1894-Accepted, 6th. Oct., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means or Apparatus for Facilitating "Doffing
Bobbins in Spinning, Twisting, Doubling, and similar Machinery.
We PERCY CLOUGH and JOHN CLOUGH, both of Grove Mills, Keighley in the
County of York, Spinners and Manufacturers do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows :-
This invention is designed to facilitate the operation of doffing the filled bobbins
and supplying their places with empty ones in spinning, twisting, doubling and
similar machinery by substituting means mainly mechanical, and capable at once of
actuating a whole side of a machine, for the present hand operation, upon single
bobbins, and to secure increase of speed, uniformity and economy in the
operation.
The wire boards or guide boards are hinged and can all be turned up out of the
way at once as may be required during the operation of doffing by means of a flat
bar running the whole length of the wire boards which is hinged to the same
bracket as the wire boards or otherwise.
In the operation of the apparatus for performance of the "doffing" the flyers are
all brought into line by suitable means such as follows:-On an axis placed in
bearings across the frame and actuated by a handle is a series of short arms or
parts which lie out of the way until doffing is to be effected when they are turned
up each against one arm of a flyer to prevent its rotation.
At the lower part of each spindle is provided a gear wheel each of which at the
proper time can be engaged by one of a series of worm wheels mounted on a
horizontal shaft carried by bearings from the framing and actuated from the end.
These worm wheels unwind the spindles from the flyers by disengaging their
respective screw threads but this effect can be otherwise attained. The flyer stops
are then turned away and the flyers being free of the spindle screw threads are now
engaged and lifted by a series of arms carried on a horizontal axis each arm having
grooves in which the shoulder of its flyer rests. The axis carrying these arms is
caused to turn and come into operation by a hand lever the position being maintained
by a catch and catch wheel or by suitable guide ways on a framing, which is carried
by a receptacle for the filled bobbins, which reaches across the front of the machine.
This receptacle is formed with casting or framework to carry also the parts for
setting the bobbins, and cutting the threads to the filled bobbins, and is raised and
lowered by suitable bands, chains or similar connections to a rotatory shaft operated
by suitable gearing connected to its driving parts. This receptacle and parts being
lowered until the flyer lifters are low enough to be turned to engage the flyers.
The sliding motion is reversed and the parts lifted, carrying up the flyers to a
height at which the full bobbin can come off and the empty bobbin go on in
its place.
The lifter plate or bar is raised by suitable connections until the full bobbins are
high enough to be tilted into the receptacle provided as stated. The full bobbins
are now tilted off into the box or receptacle by their being struck by the wire
boards which are let down for this purpose and raised again, or this may be effected
by means of a device hinged to the lifter plate and whereby a long rod running the
length of the lifter plate is made to strike the bobbins from the back but this effect
can be attained in a variety of ways. The lifter plate is then lowered. The fresh
supply of empty bobbins to replace these lilled ones, are arranged on a series of
pins, or equivalent supporting means, carried on a hinged frame from the front
receptacle and these pins, with the bobbins, are by swinging their supporting frame

page_text: on its centres at the appropriate time capsized onto the tops of the spindles, in
two operations, the first bringing them correctly over the spindles and the next
removing a series of fingers, or pegs, which are turned aside, allowing the bobbins
to drop onto their appropriate spindles.
The sliding motion carrying the receptacle and parts is now lowered until the
flyers are once more upon the spindle tops.
The flyer lifters are turned back out of contact with the flyers. The wire board
is lowered; some yarn is wound from the full bobbins onto the empty bobbins
either by turning the spindles by the worm and wheel gear or by turning the
cylinder with a hand wheel. The yarn is then cut by suitable cutting or dividing
means arranged on the slide motion and operated by handles or levers at the end of
the machine a whole series of like parts, one for each yarn, or so, being simul-
taneously operated across the machine, the full bobbin in its fall laying its thread in
or adjacent to the cutting recess, ready for severance. The worms of the spindles
are taken out of gear and the frame started the slide motion carrying the "doffer"
parts being taken up out of the way.
By these means we avoid taking up the space of the frame near the ordinary
running parts of the frame.
The lifter plate may be raised to the top of the spindles by screwing forward by
hand a separate screw lever which comes in contact with the "lifter" iron, or shoe,
on the end of the horizontal rod which by chains or such connections operates the
lifter rods.
This screw lever would be parallel to the ordinary screw lever of what is
commonly known as "Scaife" lifting motion and if necessary a lug, or projection,
may be affixed to the "lifter iron" also if desired the chain and lifter rods may be
lengthened.
Dated the 7th day of December 1893.
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: Figure 3, snews
apparavu
fingers by means of which the empty bobbins are supplied.
Figures 6 to 12 shew details to be described.
"P
Figure 13 shews by a part front view and Figure 14 shews by a side view, the
sliding support and attached parts.
Figures 15 and 16 shew by front view and side view respectively an intermediate
bracket.
Figure 17 shews by a sectional side view, the gearing at the lower end of the
spindles for winding and unwinding the flyers from the screw threads of the
spindles.
Figure 18 shews the same by a front view, the worm wheels being shewn out of
gear and
Figure 19 shews a similar view but with the worm wheels in gear.
Figure 20 shews a detail to be described.
Figure 21 shews by a front view special apparatus for raising and lowering the
lifter board when " dofting" is to take place.
The wire boards or guide boards e are hinged at e¹ and can all be turned up out
of the way at once as may be required during the operation of "doffing," by means
of a flat bar e, running the whole length of the wire boards, which is hinged to
the same bracket 2 as the wire boards, or otherwise.
In the operation of the apparatus for performance of the "doffing "the flyers
may all be brought into line by suitable stoppers 2 as described in the Complete.
Specification lodged by us the present applicants in connection with application for
Letters Patent No. 19679 dated Oct. 19th A.D. 1893. Like letters in the one
Specification indicating like parts in the other.
At the lower part of each spindle y is provided gearing which may be operated
substantially in the manner described in the aforesaid Specification No. 19679
of 1893.
The flyers having been unscrewed, the stoppers are turned away and the
flyers, being free of the spindle screw threads, are now engaged and lifted by a
series of arms h, h¹; (Figs. 5 and 6) the upper arms having holes h³ (see Fig. 12)
for receiving the necks of the flyers and the lower arms ¹ (see Fig. 11) being
shaped to pass the spindle and bobbin so as to come underneath the shoulders of
the flyers. The upper arms h are carried by flat bars ³ extending along the
front of the machine and provided at intervals with axes /ª (Fig. 7) which rest
upon bearings in brackets or sliding supports at the ends of, and at suitable
distances along, the receptacle '. Intermediate supporting brackets d, Fig. 5,
are also placed at suitable distances apart along the sliding receptacle 6. The
axes of the bar also carry bearings h for the axes of another flat bar h³
which carries the lower arms. The bar can partly rotate on its axes hº.
The bars,, are provided with handles, h, respectively at one end of the
machine to enable the arms k, l, being turned as required, the positions being
maintained by suitable catches ¹º, h".
In front of the frame, suitably supported on vertical guides a, are supports 6 for
a receptacle for the filled bobbins and this receptacle may be raised and lowered
by suitable gearing as described in the aforesaid Specification No. 19,679
dated A.D. 1893. The means provided for the severance of the threads may also
be substantially similar to those described in said Specification.
The lifter plate or bar i is caused to traverse by the ordinary means during
spinning but for doffing is carried high by means of special apparatus shewn in
Fig. 21. A rotating axis 13 is provided and is operated by a hand wheel j* at the
end of the machine as shewn in Fig. 1.
Upon the axis is a pulley operating a chain or band ¹ passing around a
guide pulley carried by a support from the framing A'. The lower end of
this chain is connected to the ordinary sliding bar by a lug 10. The sliding
motion given to the bar by these parts is transmitted to the lifter bar i in the
usual way, when the apparatus commonly known as Scaife's lifter motion is

page_text: employed. A pulley mounted on the same axis j³ carries a counter weight for
balancing the weight of the lifter bar etcetera, and a ratchet wheel and catches
or pawls (see Fig. 1) serve to hold the parts in position.
For knocking off the full bobbins a flat bar k is hinged at suitable intervals to
the bar which lifts all the wire boards at once. When the wire boards are
turned up and the full bobbins have been lifted to a suitable height up the spindles-
the bar is swung forward on its hinges and strikes all the full bobbins off the
lifter bar i into the receptacle.
The fresh supply of empty bobbins to replace these full bobbins is arranged (as
shewn by dotted lines Fig. 5) upon a series of fingers d' carried by flat bars d²
along the front of the spinning frame. These bars are provided at suitable distances
with axes d³, see also Fig. 10 which are carried by bearings in the supports b and d
of the sliding receptacle '. At the appropriate time these fingers are overturned,
by means of a handle d' Figs. 1 and 13 into the full line position Fig. 5 thereby
capsizing the empty bobbins onto the ends of the spindles.
When a series of bobbins have become full the operation of "doffing" may be
performed as follows:
The machine having been stopped, the sliding support b, with its attached parts,
is lowered by the means described until the pointer or finger a reaches a suitably
marked position which may be indicated on the vertical guides a by the words
doff." This brings the flyer lifters h, between the front rollers and the tops of
the spindles.
66
The knife
is then pulled out, and the wire boards e are raised by a handle at
one end of the frame.
The flyer stoppers or parts 2 are raised up against the flyers, and the worm
wheels pushed into gear, which being turned in the direction opposite to
spinning, cause the flyers to be unscrewed free of the screw threads of the
spindles.
The Ayer stoppers f³ may be lowered again.
The axis carrying upper arms is then turned into such position that the holes h²
are exactly above the tops of the flyers, the receptacle is then lowered until the
boss of. flyer enters the hole in the upper arm.
The axis carrying lower arms is now turued by means of its handle h' bringing
up these lower arms into position underneath the shoulders of Hyers thereby clasping
flyers between top and bottom arms as shewn in Fig. 5.
The sliding motion is reversed and the parts lifted carrying the flyers to a
height at which the full bobbin can come off and the empty bobbin go on in its
place.
At the same time as these parts are raised the lifter plate with full bobbins is
raised; until said bobbins are nearly clear of the spindles by means of the hand
wheel and apparatus described with respect to Fig. 21.
The bobbins are then knocked over in the manner already described.
The lifter plate is then lowered and the fingers carrying the empty bobbins are
overturned so that the bobbins slide down on to the spindles. The fingers are then
returned to the dotted position Fig. 5.
The receptable b, and its attachments are then lowered until the flyers are
on to the tops of the spindles when the lower arm h¹ is released by turning it
downwards.
Then the receptacle is raised until the upper arm his sufficiently clear of the
flyers to allow it to be turned down out of the way.
After lowering the wire boards, the flyers are screwed onto the spindles: by the
latter being turned in the direction of spinning by means of the worm wheels g
which at the same time wind upon the empty bobbins a few turns of yarn or
thread.
The severance of the threads then takes place the worm wheels are pulled out
of gear, the receptacle 6' and its attachments are taken up out of the way and the
machine is restarted.

page_text: By these means we avoid taking up the space of the frame near the ordinary
running parts of the frame.
The receptacle for full bobbins which rises and falls with the other parts
referred to, is only allowed to remain down whilst it is actually in use it going
up out of the way, by the gearing being operated as at other times.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
In spinning, twisting, doubling and analogous machinery :-
1. The construction and arrangement of parts of mechanism for lifting and
replacing the flyers, or equivalent devices brought into operative position in front
of the ordinary parts during "doffing" and removed out of the way of the operative
during the ordinary operations substantially as set forth.
2. The arrangement of mechanism for raising the lifter bar i in combination
with the mechanism for effecting the knocking off of the full bobbins into their
receptacles substantially as set forth.
3. The construction and arrangement of parts of doffing mechanism for holding
raising and lowering the flyers, in combination with the parts supporting and
transferring the empty bobbins or foundations for the windings, to replace the full
bobbins substantially as set forth.
Dated the 5th day of September 1894.
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicants