IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Hetherington, of Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, Machinist, and Thomas Webb, and James Craig, of
Tutbury, in the County of Derby, Cotton Spinners, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING
COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS."
Sealed the 29th September 1859, and dated the 5th April 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Hetherington,
Thomas Webb, and James Craig at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 5th April 1859.
We, JOHN HETHERINGTON, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Machinist, and THOMAS WEBB, and JAMES CRAIG, of Tutbury, in the County
of Derby, Cotton Spinners, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING
COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists, firstly, in a method of driving the spindles, for
which purpose we employ friction surfaces, so that the attendant by placing a
knee against or lifting the spindle may arrest its motion.
In carrying out this principle, we mount the bevil pinion loosely upon a
stud, and upon the top thereof form a slightly conical projection upon which
a similarly formed recess attached to the spindle rests.
Secondly, our Invention relates to a method of preventing the legs of

page_text: flyers from bending outward when caused to revolve, and consists in adapting
a hoop thereto between the upper and lower parts.
Thirdly, in a method of causing the drag to vary according to the require-
ments of the bobbin as it becomes filled. For this purpose we use a cord
around the pulley or flange of the bobbin as now employed, but wo connect
the said cord to apparatus to which motion is communicated by the machine,
so as to cause it to lap around a greater portion of the circumference of the
flange or pulley. Thus we place a ratchet wheel upon a screw formed upon
the cord guide, which ratchet wheel, being turned at intervals by the lifting rail,
draws the said cord forward, or a spring may be attached to the same rail.
Fourthly, our Invention relates to a method of driving spindles by bands;
for this purpose we employ two wharves on each spindle, the one loose and the
other fast, or both may be fast, and we cause the band from the tin drum to
pass around these two wharves and a corresponding pair on an opposite
spindle, by which means a band of considerably greater length than that in
ordinary use may be employed.
Fifthly, our Invention consists in a method of facilitating the threading of
the material upon the flyer, for which purpose we form a slit through the upper
end, and in conjunction with this we employ top bearings also slitted, the
adaptation of which is facilitated by the above arrangement. We also
facilitate the threading of the yarn when top bearings are used by combining
therewith flyers which are formed with spirals on their upper ends.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Hetherington, Thomas Webb, and James Craig, in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 5th October 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, JoпN
HETHERINGTON, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Machinist,
THOMAS WEBB, and JAMES CRAIG, of Tutbury, in the County of Derby,
Cotton Spinners, send greeting.
WHEREAS Hor most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said John Hetherington, Thomas Webb, and James Craig, Her special license
that we, the said John Hetherington, Thomas Webb, and James Craig, our
exccutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said John

page_text: Hetherington, Thomas Webb, and James Craig, 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 MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SPINNING AND
DOUBLING COTTON OR OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS," upon the condition, amongst
others, that we, the said John Hetherington, Thomas Webb, and James
Craig, or one of us, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals,
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 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 John Hetherington, do hereby declare
the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to bo
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to say):-
Our Invention relates, firstly, to a method of driving the spindles of spinning
and doubling machines, and is shewn in the sectional view, Fig. 1. To the
rail a is fixed a stud b, provided with flanges c, d, between which is placed a
bevil pinion e in gear with another f, upon the line shaft g. Upon the upper
part of the pinion e is formed a conical part h, and upon this rests a counter
conical part i attached to the spindle k. The lower end of the spindle extends
into the stud b, but the cavity is prolonged so as to permit the conical surface
ito rest upon the other h. When it is desired to arrest the motion of a
spindle, the attendant places a knee against it, by which means the friction
which drives it will be overcome, or, he raises the spindle so as to separate the
two conical driving surfaces. When this is done, the spindle is kept in a
central position by the end thereof, which extends into the stud.
The next part of our Invention, according to our Provisional Specification,
consisted in placing a hoop around the legs of flyers, for the purpose of pre-
venting them from expanding; but since the filing thereof we have discovered
that the same was not new, and therefore lay no claim thereto.
Secondly, our Invention consists in a method of causing the drag to vary
according to the requirements of the bobbin as it becomes filled, and is shewn
at Figs. 2 and 3, in which a represents a portion of a spindle provided with a
bobbin, on which is a pulley b, around which a cord c passes, its other end
bearing a weight d. The cord c is situate between pegs è, projecting from the.

page_text: railf, so that by shifting its position from one peg to another, it may be caused
to lap more or less around the pulley b, and thereby effect a proportionate
drag. So far the apparatus is that in ordinary use; but according to our In-
vention, we cause the said cord at intervals, and by the working of the machine
to advance, or if desired, retire around the periphery of the pulley. The
arrangement we adopt is as follows:-The end of the cord opposite to that
which carries the weight is attached to a sliding bar 9, upon which is fixed a
nut / placed upon a screw i. This screw turns in suitable bearings carried by
the lifting rail, and is provided with a fast ratchet wheel k, within the teeth
of which is a driver jointed to one end of a bell-crank lever m, m, which is
mounted loosely upon the axis of the said ratchet wheel. The other end m*
of the bell crank lever has a prolonged part n, which is jointed so as to turn
freely upward upon the pin which carries it, but not being able so to turn
when pressed downward, it then carries with it the bell-crank lever m, m*, and
driver. The operation is as follows:-On commencing to fill the bobbins,
the cords c are set around the pulloys b, and the degree of drag required at
starting is regulated by placing them against one of the pins e; as the lifting
rail frises, the inclined end of the jointed lever n arrives in contact with a
projecting stop attached to any convenient stationary part of the machine,
whereby the bell-crank m becomes turned upon its centre, thereby causing the
driver to move through a space equal to one or more teeth as may have.
been determined by the position of the fixed stop. By this means the screw i
will also be turned, thereby causing the nut h to travel and carry with it the
sliding rail g and consequently cords c, so as to lap them over an extended surface
of the pullies b. This having been accomplished, the downward motion of the
lifting rail will bring the under side of the jointed lever (which had passed the
fixed stop) in contact therewith, but as the said lever is capable of turning
upon a centre, no motion will be communicated to the bell crank, and thus
the operation continues as the bobbin increases in size. After each movement
above referred to the driver is drawn forward ready to take another tooth or
teeth by a spring o, and the amount of such motion may be regulated by a set
screw p, the end of which arrives in contact with the lifting rail f.
In the above description, it has been stated that the lever is jointed to the
bell crank, and that it passes the fixed stop against which it acts. This
arrangement is consequent upon the supposition that bobbins of a cop form,
that is with conical ends are being formed, the lifting rail under such circum-
stances varying in its extent of motion, but if bobbins with square ends be
formed; then the lever n may be rigid with the bell crank, and merely move.
against a fixed stop which it will always reach, tho lifting rail being constant

page_text: in its motion; and we would observe, that although we have particularly men-,
tioned the cords as being lapped around extended surfaces of the pullies, they.
may after a similar manner be caused to retire gradually therefrom.
Thirdly, our Invention consists in a method of facilitating the threading of
the material into the flyer or top of the spindle when top bearings are used,
and is shewn at Fig. 4. At the upper end of the flyer, instead of the eye only
in ordinary use, we make a slit a communicating therewith, and extending
upward to the extent of the flyer or top of the spindle so as to be open at top.
In connexion with the above, we employ top bearings as shewn at b, in which
we also form a slit c, through which slits the material may readily be passed..
The top bearings may be carried by the framework in any convenient manner.
We also facilitate the threading of the material, when top bearings are used,
by combining therewith flyers which are formed with spirals on their upper
ends. This arrangement is shewn at Figs. 5 and 6, in which a represents the
spiral, and 6 the top bearnig provided with an open part c. The material
being placed in this spiral at its upper end will, by the revolution thereof, be
wound downward, the opening in the bearing allowing it to pass.
Fourthly, our Invention relates to a method of driving spindles by bands,
and is shewn at Fig. 7. At a, b, are two sets of spindles, one on either side
of the machine; these spindles are each provided with two wharves or pullies
c, d, e, f, those shown at c, d, being fast, and those at e, f, loose, the use of the
latter being merely as carriers for the band. The banding may be effected in
various ways, but the following will serve to illustrate our Invention:-From
the tin drum g the band proceeds to the loose pulley e, then to the other loose
pulley, from thence it passes to the fast pulley c, and subsequently to the
other fast pulley d, from which it returns to the tin drum g. We have shown
the wharves or pullies as situate beneath the tin drum, but they may, if
desired, be placed above it.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be under-
stood that we claim, as secured to us under the above in part recited Letters
Patent,―
Firstly, driving the spindles by conical friction surfaces.
Secondly, the employment of apparatus (brought into action by the motion
of the machine) for causing the cords to lap around or retire from the drag
pullies.
Thirdly, the use of slits formed in the flyers or tops of spindles in con-
junction with top bearings, also with slits for the purpose above set forth;

page_text: also, and in combination with top bearings, the use of spiral top ends to
flyers or spindles.
Fourthly, in reference to driving spindles by bands, wo claim the use of two
or more loose and fast wharves on one spindle.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Hetherington, have hereunto set 5
my hand and seal, this Fourth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
JOHN HETHERINGTON. (L.B.)