IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WINDING COTTON, SILK, WOOL, OR OTHER THREADS ON SPOOLS OR REELS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Wibberley, of the City of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Mechanic, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WINDING COTTON, SILK, WOOL, OR OTHER
THREADS ON SPOOLS OR REELS."
Sealed the 23rd October 1868, and dated the 30th April 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION loft by the said John Wibberley at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
30th April 1863.
I, JOHN WIBBERLEY, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Mechanic, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WINDING COTTON, SILK, WOOL, OR OTHER
THREADS ON SPOOLS OR REELS," to be as follows:-
I employ the ordinary right and left handed screws for traversing the
thread from end to end of the spool or reel, but instead of changing the
traverse by hand I change it by means of self-acting movements. On the
ordinary sliding shaft which carries the right and left banded nuts, I place
an arm extending to the top of the machine and passing through a sliding box
working on a plate, which box carries at each side a slide, having connected to
it a catch which catches alternately, seize and hold the upper part of the arm
and maintain the nuts upon the screws. The arm being moved alternately
from one screw to the other, and also from one catch to the other, by causing

page_text: it to be acted upon by inclines or cams placed under the plate which carries
the sliding box. The two slides on the sliding box are connected by a rod to
the upper part of the guide stock, and the stock itself is jointed on a plate, so
that a slight revolving motion may be given to the stock alternately in different
directions each time the guide comes in contact with the ends of the spool or reel.
This revolving motion of the stock places the guide in an angular position adapted
to right or left traversing of the thread, and also gives movement to the slides
on the sliding box, and relieves the catches alternately from the top of the arm
on the sliding shaft in order to allow one or other of the nuts to be in action.
I also employ a weighted or spring lover, put in motion by self-acting means,
for throwing the driving pulley out of gear with the ordinary catch box, when
the desired number of layers have been wound on the spool or reel. The
lever works on a stud near the driving spindle, and when the thread is being
wound on is held out of reach of the driving pulley by a pin or projection on a
moveable frame supported on the plate which carries the sliding box. At one
end of the moveable frame there is a screw adjusted to such a length that
when the sliding box has reached the required traverso it shall come in
contact with the screw, and shift the moveable frame so as to release the pin
or projection upon it from the end of the lever, and thereby enable the lever
to be forced in contact with the driving pulley, and remove it from the catch
box and stop its motion.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Wibberley in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
30th October 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
WIBBERLEY, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Mechanic,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Iler most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, ler heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Wibberley, Her special licence that I, the said John
Wibberley, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said John Wibberley, 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

page_text: make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WINDING COTTON, SILK, WOOL, OR
OTHER THREADS ON SPOOLS OR REELS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said John Wibberley, 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 John Wibberley, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):―
I employ the ordinary right and left handed screws for traversing the
thread from end to end of the spool or recl, but instead of changing the
traverse by hand I change it by means of self-acting movements. On the.
ordinary sliding shaft which carries the right and left handed nuts I place an
arm extending to the top of the inachine, and passing through a sliding box
working on a plate, which box carries at each side a slide, having connected
to it a catch, and the two catches alternately seize and hold the upper part of
the arm and maintain the nuts upon the screws, the arm being moved
alternately from one screw to the other, and also from oue catch to the other
by causing it to be acted upon by inclines or cams placed under the plate
which carries the sliding box. The two slides on the sliding box are acted
upon by a rod connected to the upper part of the guide stock, and the rod
which carries the stock works in a bearing fixed to the ordinary sliding shaft,
so that a slight revolving motion may be given to the stock alternately in
different directions each time the guide comes in contact with the ends of the
spool or reel. This revolving motion of the stock places the guide in an
angular position adapted to right or left traverse of the thread, and also gives
inovement to the slides on the sliding box, and relieves the catches alternately
from the top of the arm on the sliding shaft, in order to allow one or other of
the nuts to be in action. I also employ a lever put in motion by self-acting
means for shifting the driving strap from a fast to a loose pulley on the driving
spindle when the desired number of layers have been wound on the spool or reel.
The lever is fixed to a stop or setting-on rod carrying a strap fork, and acted upon
by a spring, and one end of the lever is held in a detent when the strap is on
the fast pulley. On the sliding box there is a ratchet wheel and measuring

page_text: plate carrying a lifter for raising the lever out of its detent, and allowing the
spring to shift the rod and strap fork and stop the machine.
These improvements will be clearly understood by referring to the figures
and letters on the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a
front elevation; Fig. 2, a plan; and Fig. 3, an end elevation of my improved
machinery or apparatus for winding threads on spools or reels; and Fig. 4 is
a detached view of part of the same.
In Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the framework of the machine is shewn at a; it carries
the driving spindle 6, which has at or about the middle the fast and loose
pulleys c, d, and at one end the reel or spool e on which the yarn or thread is
to be wound, and at the other end a pinion f gearing into the toothed wheel g
fixed to the spindle h, on which are cut the ordinary right and left handed
screws i, j. The ordinary sliding shaft is shewn at k, having fixed to it the guide
stock 7, the ordinary right and left handel nuts m, n, an arm o, and also two
rods or arms p, the tops of which are fixed to the sliding box 9 which rests on
the plater fixed to the framework, and slides to and fro with the sliding
shaft, the arms p having holes for the screws i, j, to pass through. The
arm o extends to the top of the machine, passing through the sliding box, and
is provided with a bowl s, which is acted upon by cam bars t, u, Figs. 2 and 4,
and springs v, w, under the plater for alternately moving the arm to and fro
and also the right and left handed nuts. At the sides of the box there aro
slide bars x, y, having fixed to them catch holders a', b', for carrying the
catches c, d, and to each slide bar is fixed a pin which passes through a slot
in the corresponding side of the box, and is connected to one end of a spring,
the other end of which is attached to a pin fixed to the box, so that when the
slide bars and catches are moved in one direction the springs shall give them
the return movement. The catches are employed for seizing and holding the
upper part of the arm first at one side and then at the other, and maintaining
the proper nut upon its screw, and as soon as the arm is relieved from one
catch it is moved by the cam bar and spring to the other side, and is held by
the other catch. The slide bars move to and fro with the box, but they also
have independent sliding motions imparted to them for the purpose of working
the catches. To the slide bar x is fixed a nut, having in it a scrow e' which
passes through the hole in the plate f, at the other end of which, opposite the
slide bar y, there is another screw 9', and the plate is connected by a rod h' to
the upper part of the guide stock, the holder of which is round at the bottom
and fitted in a hole in the socket 'connected to the sliding shaft k, so that a
slight revolving motion may be given to the stock and reciprocating motion to
the rod h' alternately in different directions each time the guide comes in

page_text: contact with the ends of the spool or reel, and the to-and-fro motion of the
rod gives sliding motion to the slide bars x, y, and alternately removes one
catch from the arm o, and enables it to be seized by the other. When one
catch is removed the arm is driven upon the inclined edge of the other catch
and overcomes the spring and enables the arm to be behind the catch, and
then the spring forces up the catch and holds the arm. The cam bars t, u,
and springs v, w, for shifting the arm from one side to the other are shown by
dotted lines, Fig. 2, and full lines Fig. 4. One end of each cam bar works
upon the plain part of a screw m³ fitted to the plater, and the other is pressed
by its corresponding spring, there being slots in the cam bars and pins in the
plate r for preventing them from being moved too far by the springs. When
the arm is at the end of its traverse on the right side of the machine and
ready for traversing from right to left, the bowl s is in contact with the part n¹
of the cam bar t, and when the arm is at the left side ready to commence its
traverse, the bowl is in contact with the part o¹ of the guide bar u, but in
both cases the top of the arm is held by its corresponding catch. Thus when
the bowl is at the right, as shewn in Fig. 4, the arm is held by the catch c';
and as the bowl traverses onwards it presses against the cam part p' of the cam
bar t, overcomes the pressure of the spring v and presses back the bar, and
continues its course until the catch is removed from the arm by the mechanism
put in operation by the guide on the guide stock pressing the end of the
spool or reel. The spring v now exerts its power and presses forward the cam
bart and shifts the bowl to the other side, so that the top of the arm shall be
caught by the catch d', and one of the nuts removed from one screw and the
other nut put on the other screw. As the bowl traverses from the left it
presses against the cam part q' of the cam bar w, and forces back the bar and
spring until the catch d' is removed from the arm by the guide l' on the guide
stock pressing the other end of the spool or reel. The spring w now exerts its
force and presses the bowls over to the opposite side, and the top of the arın
is again seized by the catch c', and the positions of the nuts changed, which
operations continue with great regularity and certainty until the machine is
stopped; and as the pressure of the guide on the ends of the spool or reel is
the first mover of this self-acting, mechanism, it is evident that whatever may
be the length of the spool or reel, or the forms of the inner ends, that the
catches and nuts will be removed and put on as efficiently in one case as
another.
I'
The setting-on or stop rod for setting on and stopping the machine is shewn

page_text: it at or about the middle the strap fork s', against which and the inner side of
one of the side frames there is a spring t' coiled round the rod for giving it
motion in one direction. At one end of the rod there is a small handle u' for
moving the strap fork by hand, and at the other end is a lever v', which is
acted upon by a self-acting movement for stopping the machine. The lever v²
extends across the plate r, and has at the back end a projection which enters
the notch or detent w¹ when the strap is on the fast pulley c, and the machine
in operation; and the upper part of the lever has at or about the centre of the
plate an adjustable screw or projection. To the sliding box 7 is fixed a
stud which carries a horizontal rachet wheel y' and mensuring disc ', having
in it a circle of as many holes as there are teeth in the ratchet wheel, the
holes being numbered in twos corresponding with the to-and-fro traverse of
the guide . On the outer circumference of the disc there is a lifter a², so
placed that when it comes in contact with the screw x it shall lift the lever v¹
out of the notch, and allow it to be freely acted upon by the spring t. Below
the teeth of the ratchet wheel there is a catch & forming part of a vertical rod
guided in holes in the top and bottom plates. To the rod is fixed a cross
piece working in guides d, and around the rod thero is a coiled spring &²,
the upper end of which is against the cross piece, and the lower end against
the bed plate, which spring keeps the cross piece and catch in their highest
position unless prevented. The cross piece has a recess f³, and on one of the
arms p there is a stud or screw 9 projecting over the cross piece, so that as
the arm and stud traverse to and fro, the stud shall either be in the recess or
When the stud is in the recess
on the other upper surface of the cross piece.
it exerts no action on the cross piece, and allows the catch to be in its highest
position and be in contact with the ratchet wheel, and turn the wheel a tooth
as it traverses onwards; but when the stud is not in the recess the catch is
depressed below the teeth, and therefore has no action on the ratchet wheel.
To the right end of the sliding box is fixed a projection h³, and in a hole in
the disc corresponding with the required number of layers to be wound on the
reel is placed a pin, which at the commencement of winding is put in contact
with the projection h for the purpose of removing the lifter a² to its proper
distance from tho screw a on the stopping lever v'. As the sliding box, guide
stock, and guide move to and fro the ratchet wheel is moved a tooth for each
double movement; or when the guide has moved from one end of the reel to
the other end and back again, and when the given number of movements have
taken place the lifter comes in contact with the screw and lifts the end of the
lever out of its notch or detent, so that the spring & shall bring back the stop

page_text: rod and strap fork, and shift the strap from the fast to the loose pulley and
stop the machine. The guide stock is provided with a box spring for pressing
the guide upon the thread. The spring is placed in the box ³, which bas
a number of holes P, so that the spring can be shifted according to the force
or pressure required. The drag is given to the thread by means of a presser
m acted upon by the spring n², the force of which can be adjusted as required
by the screw and nut o². The short lever p* at the end of the rod is for the
purpose of forcing the empty reels on the spindle, and removing them when
filled, the short lever being turned up to the outer end of the reel and the
rod moved by hand by the long lever or handle. Instead of placing the
holder of the guide stock in a socket fixed to the sliding shaft k it may be
jointed to a plate fixed to the shaft, or any other known mechanical con-
trivance may be employed for allowing the guide stock to have a slight
revolving motion, and also instead of employing two sliding bars for working
the catches c, d, a single bar or slide with catches and springs may be
connected by a rod to the guide stock, and made to work on the top of the
plate r, which modifications and others for the same purpose will be readily
contrived by persons conversant with mechanical arrangements.
Having thus fully described the nature and particulars of my said Invention,.
and the manner of carrying the same into practical effect, I desire it to bo
understood, that I do not confine myself to the details herein set forth, as such
may be varied or modified without departing from my peculiar system; but
what I claim is,-
First, the arm o connected to the sliding shaft k, and extending to the top
of the machine.
Secondly, the catches c' and d' attached to one or two sliding bars for
holding the arm o in such positions as to maintain the nuts m, n, alternately
one after the other upon their corresponding screws.
Thirdly, the connecting rod h¹ for attaching the slide or slides which hold
the catches to the guide stock.
Fourthly, the system of jointing the holder of the guide stock to a socket,
plate, or other equivalent fixed to the sliding shaft k for the purpose of
enabling the guide stock to have a slight revolving motion when the guide
comes in contact with the ends of the spool or reel, and thus become the
means of working the catches at the exact time required.
Fifthly, the employment of the ratchet wheel y', disc ', and lifter a³, for
operating upon the stop rod when the required number of layers of thread or
yarn have been wound on the spool or reel.

page_text: And, sixthly, the rod and catch 6, and the system of moving it in and out
of contact with the ratchet wheel, as all such improvements are herein
described and illustrated in the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Wibberley, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Signed, sealed, and delivered,
by the within-named John
Wibberley, in the presence of
E. J. HUGHES,
JOHN WIBBERLEY. (L.s.)
Patent Agent,
Manchester.