IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING WooL
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING
WooL." A communication from abroad by John Gilbert Avery, of
the City and State of New York, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 19th July 1873.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING
WOOL," a communication, to be as follows:-
:—
This Invention relates to machinery for spinning wool and consists,-
First. In providing a spinning machine with wheels which inter-
mittently measure and hold a portion of the roving while revolving
continuously.

page_text: Secondly. in a contrivance for varying the speed of the sale w
Thirdly. In the combination of a twisting tube with the said wheels.
Fourthly. In the arrangement of, and method of operating the draw
rolls.
And, fifthly. In the combination of the various parts of the said
machine to operate together as herein-after described.
In machines for spinning wool continuously where the roving is
twisted and stretched or drawn as fast as it is delivered from the feed
rolls, the roving is liable to be broken or is not condensed so uniformly
as desirable, and it is necessary to twist the roving slightly before it is
drawn or extended in length. This treatment gives strength to the
weaker portions and prevents the tearing apart of the same, while the
larger or heavier portions are being drawn, thereby producing more even
yarn than it is possible to do if the roving is extended in length before
or at the time it begins to be twisted. For this purpose it is necessary
to have the new or untwisted portion of roving measured off and
'delivered in such length that it will hang loosely until sufficiently
twisted to begin the drawing or lengthwise extension; moreover it is
necessary that this extension should be rapid at first and gradually
diminish, while the roving is receiving additional twist per inch until
drawn to the required size.
The objects of the said Invention are to effect this measuring off and
delivering and to attain this varying rate of extension, and thereby to
avoid the above-mentioned difficulties and also to spin more rapidly
than by the ordinary jack which spins intermittingly.
Upon the framework of the machine I mount a drum by whose
revolution the roving is fed or delivered from a spool resting on the said
drum, I also provide the machine with a skeleton wheel whose periphery
revolves at about the same speed as that of the drum. Between the
spokes of this wheel extend lengthewise or in the direction of its axis a
series of rods. These rods give motion to another skeleton wheel which
rests by its arms on the rods of the first-named skeleton wheel. As the
second skeleton wheel rises and falls in its motion it is guided and held
by an arm or bar which is hinged to a suitable support on the frame.
Arms attached to the first skeleton wheel are hinged at one extremity to
permit easy motion, and at the other extremity they carry rods which

page_text: extend lengthewise over the said wheel and pass under the other skeleton
wheel. The projecting ends of these rods are engaged and the rods are
successively lifted by a cam as the first skeleton wheel revolves and
immediately afterward this rod is dropped.
A twisting tube with a diagonal slit in its side rests on small pulleys
so that it can easily be removed and replaced without stopping the
machine. It receives a rotary motion from contact with the surfaces of
the aforesaid pulleys. To the extremity of this twisting tube is attached
a wire hook around which the roving passes as it goes to the rolls.
The large roll rests on the small roll which is moved with such a speed
that the roving passing between them is drawn forward as required.
This large roll is short and is supported on independent bearings in such
à manner that the roving or yarn can be passed under either end
without removing the roll.
The variation in the rate of extension is obtained by a cam driven by
gearing from the draw roll, so that the speed of the griping wheels
which measure off the roving is accelerated or retarded as required. By
means of gear wheels the varying speed produced by the motion of
a cam held against the pin by a spring is communicated to the said
griping wheels. .
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 19th January 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and succes-
sors, give and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special
licence that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should, at any time agree

page_text: 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 MACHINERY FOR SPINNING WOOL," a communication
to me from abroad by John Gilbert Avery, of the City and State of New
York, United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors 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 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 William Robert Lake, 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 accompanying
Drawing forming a part of this Specification.
In the Specification of former Letters Patent bearing date the Thirtieth
day of August A.D. 1871, No. 2284, I have described certain improve-
ments in machines for spinning wool continuously, whereby I effect the
measuring off and delivery of the roving with a varying rate of extension,
and also spin more rapidly than by the ordinary jack.
My present Invention is designed to still further improve the said
machines and consists,―
First. In the novel construction of parts of the mechanism wherein
two peculiarly formed wheels intermittently measure off and hold the
roving while revolving as herein-after specified.
Secondly. In apparatus for varying the speed of the said wheels.
Thirdly. In the combination of a twisting tube with the said wheels.
Fourthly. In the arrangement and method of operating the draw
rolls.
And, fifthly. In the combination of the various parts of the said
machine to operate together as herein-after described.

page_text: Figure 1 is an end elevation partly in section of the measuring wheels
and other working parts of my improved machine; Figure 2 is an
elevation shewing the said measuring wheels in a different position;
Figure 3 is a front view of the said draw rolls and twisting tube.
Figures 4 and 5 shew the twisting tube with its pulleys, the train of
gearing and a cam which regulates the speed of the measuring wheels
drawn to an enlarged scale; Figure 6 is a top view of the said cam and
gearing.
Figures 7 and 8 illustrate a contrivance for maintaining a uniform
tension of the yarn as herein-after described.
A is the framework of my improved machine; C is a drum by the
revolution of which the roving is fed or delivered from the spool D
resting on the drum C; G is a skeleton wheel whose periphery revolves
at about the same speed as that of the drum C. Between the arms or
spokes of this wheel extend lengthwise or in the direction of its axis a
series of rods whose ends are shewn at b. These rods 6 engage with semi-
cylindrical depressions c in the arms of a skeleton wheel H, and thereby
give motion to the said wheel which is supported by its arms on the
rods 6 of the wheel G. As the wheel H rises and falls in its motion it.
is guided and held by the arm or bar E which is hinged to the bracket.
or support 2. Arms Q are hinged or jointed to the arms of the wheel G
at one extremity and move freely thereon; at the other extremity the.
said arms carry rods q which extend lengthwise over the wheel G and
pass under the wheel H. By the cam L the projecting ends of the
rods q are engaged and the said rods q as the wheel G revolves are
successively lifted into the position occupied by the upper rod q in
Figure 1, and afterward dropped into the position shewn in Figure 2.
The twisting tube N which has an oblique slit & in its side for
convenience in threading rests on small pulleys M, so that it can easily be
removed and replaced without stopping the machine. It receives a rotary
motion through contact with the surfaces of the aforesaid pulleys which
revolve in bearings attached to the frame, and are driven at the requisite
speed from a drum U¹ beneath. To the extremity of the twisting tube
is attached a wire hook I around which the roving turns as it passes to
the rolls O, P, as shown in Figure 4. The roll. P. rests on the roll O.

page_text: which is moved with such a speed that the roving passing between the
said rolls is drawn forward as required. This roll P is larger in diameter
and much shorter that the roll O, and is supported in independant
bearings J in such a manner that the roving or yarn can be passed
under either end without removing the roll as shewn in Figure 3.
The variation in the rate of extension of the roving is obtained by a
cam F driven by gearing from the draw roll O, so that the speed of the
griping wheels G and H which measure off the roving is accelerated or
retarded as required. The train of gearing Z, Y, X, W, operates
the cam F as shown in Figures 5 and 6. By means of the gear
wheels V, V, the varying speed produced by the motion of the cam F
held against the pin p by the spring 10 is communicated to the griping
wheels G and H.
The operation of this improved machine is as follows, that is to say :—
By the revolution of the drum C the roving t is delivered to the
wheels G and H, and by these latter wheels the roving is griped at
certain intervals by the action of the rods 6 and the arms c.
By this
mechanism new portions of the roving are successively delivered into
the draft space to be twisted by the tube N and drawn by the rolls O
and P. As the cam L lifts each of the rods q as above described, the
roving must pass over the said rods and under the arms c, so that each
new supply of roving delivered is longer than the direct distance from
one rod 6 to the next rod. Each rod q drops just as the forward arm c
rises, so that every new supply of roving hangs loosely till enough twist
has been imparted to this new portion before the drawing or lengthwise
extension begins, so as to give the weaker portions strength and prevent
breaking, while the entire length of the new portion of the roving is
being drawn to the required fineness. Immediately after a rod q is
released by the cam L the speed of the griping wheels G and H is
retarded by the operation of the cam F, and is then gradually accelerated
till the yarn is drawn to the requisite fineness, then the speed is again
diminished and a new portion of roving is delivered by the wheels G
and H. The variation in fineness is obtained by the substitution of
other gear wheels for the gear wheel Z on the draw roll shaft.
As the roving is delivered from the griping wheels G and H it is
passed through the twisting tube N, and around the wire hook I in
such a manner that it is grasped with sufficient tightness to ensure its

page_text: revolving with the tube N, to which motion is given by contact with the
pulleys M, as above described. The point of the wire hook I is brought
as close as possible to the point of contact of the drawing rolls O, P, so
that the twist imparted to the roving by the revolution of the tube N is
retained nearly to the point where the drawing rolls are tangential to
each other, in order that the strength of the roving may allow of its
being drawn without breaking. From the drawing rolls the roving
passes down through the eye a to the bobbin S on which it is wound.
In combination with the bobbins employed in a machine constructed
with the herein described improvements or any portion thereof 'I
employ the device illustrated in Figures 7 and 8 for causing the yarn to
pass to the spindle at a uniform angle and with an unvarying tension so
that there will be no breaking of the yarn or variations in the same in
starting the spindles. S¹ is the rotating spindle; 82 is a ring through
which the same extends; S³ is a cap fitted on the upper part of the said
ring; T¹ is a bar or rod which is enclosed within the said -ring, but
whose rotation with the spindle S¹ is not thereby prevented. The yarn
passes under the said bar to the spindle S² and holds the bar against the
portion of yarn already wound thereon, the said bar maintaining such a
position as will ensure a uniform angle and an even tension of the yarn.
This device is already well-known but its combination with the above
described improvements is a novel feature in a spinning machine.
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 wheel G constructed as herein set forth and arranged to
operate in combination with the wheel H for intermittently measuring
off and holding a portion of the roving while the said wheels are
revolving as herein specified.
Second. Obtaining the required variations in the speed of the griping
wheels by a cam geared in combination with the said wheels or by an
equivalent contrivance as herein set forth.
Third. The combination of the twisting tube with the said griping
wheels as herein set forth and for the purpose specified.
Fourth. The top roll hung on independent bearings and operating in
connection with the other roll, as herein set forth and for the purpose
specified

page_text: Fifth. The combination of any or all of the above described improve-
ments with the other parts of a spinning machine for the purposes
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of January, 5
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.
Witness,
H. J. NOONE,
8, Southampton Buildings,
London.
WM. ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)