CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR ROVING, TWISTING, AND SPINNING FLAX, COTTON, WOOL, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Lawson, of Leeds, in the County of York,
Engineer, and Stephen Cotton, of Leeds, aforesaid, Draftsman, for the
Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR ROVING, TWISTING,
AND SPINNING FLAX, COTTON, WOOL, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 27th October 1859, and dated the 30th June 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Lawson and Stephen
Cotton, at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 30th June 1859.
We, JOHN LAWSON, of Leeds, in the County of York, Engineer, and
STEPHEN COTTON, of Leeds, aforesaid, Draftsman, do hereby declare the nature
of the Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR ROVING,
TWISTING AND SPINNING FLAX, COTTON, WOOL, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," to
be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object certain improvements in machinery for
roving, twisting, and spinning flax, cotton, wool, and other fibrous substances,
and is applicable to that description of flyers where the limbs are connected
together at their lower ends, and where connecting pieces are used at their
upper ends, which are moveable and capable of being lifted off the limbs at
pleasure in order to admit of the "doffing" or removal of full bobbins and the
replacing them by empty ones. And the improvements consist of constructing

page_text: the upper connection of the limbs of a flyer of two parts, one part being
applied to one of the limbs, and the other part to the other of the limbs of
the flyer. The mouth-piece or eye (for conducting the rove) is connected to
one of such pieces, so that when about to "doff," a bobbin, the mouth-piece
or eye will be turned or swivelled to one side, and the other connecting piece
will be turned or swivelled in an opposite direction. The upper end of the
spindle is bored a short distance, or is otherwise suitably formed to receive the
lower end of the mouth-piece or eye. The two ends of the parts which connect
the upper ends of the limbs_come to the spindle and are securely held together,
so that when at work they act as if they were one connecting bar.
In doffing a full bobbin, the workman lifts the flyer a distance sufficient to
raise the mouth-piece off the top of the spindle, and then to swivel or turn the
two parts of the upper connection out of the way; the full bobbin is then
removed and an empty one placed in the spindle, the parts of the upper
connection of the limbs are brought together and the flyer is lowered so as to
bring the flyer into a proper working position on its spindle. The inner ends
of the two parts of the upper connection and the upper end of the spindle may
be retained together when working by any convenient means.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Lawson and Stephen Cotton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 29th December 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
LAWSON, of Leeds, in the County of York, Engineer, and STEPHEN COTTON,
of Leeds, aforesaid, Draftsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said John Lawson and Stephen Cotton, Her special licence that
we, the said John Lawson and Stephen Cotton, our executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said John Lawson and
Stephen Cotton, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "CERTAIN

page_text: IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR ROVING, TWISTING, AND SPINNING FLAX, COTTON,
WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that we, the said John Lawson and Stephen Cotton, our executors or admi-
nistrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their hands and seals, or
under the hand and seal of one of us or them, 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 Stephen Cotton, on behalf of myself
and the said John Lawson, 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 thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object certain improvements in machinery for
roving, twisting, and spinning flax, cotton, wool, and other fibrous substances,
and is applicable to that description of flyers in which the limbs are connected
together at their lower ends, and in which connecting pieces are used at their
upper ends, which are moveable and capable of being lifted off the limbs at
pleasure, in order to admit of the "doffing" or removal of full bobbins and
the replacing them by empty ones. And the improvements consist of con-
structing the upper connection of the limbs of a flyer of two parts; one part being
applied to one of the limbs, and the other part to the other of the limbs of the
flyer. The mouth-piece or eye (for conducting the rove) is connected to one
of such pieces, so that when about to "doff" a bobbin, the mouth-piece or eye
will be turned or swivelled to one side and the other connecting piece will be
turned or swivelled in an opposite direction. The upper end of the spindle is
bored a short distance or is otherwise suitably formed to receive the lower end
of the mouth-piece or eye. The two ends of the parts which connect the
upper ends of the limbs come to the spindle and are securely held together, so
.that when at work they act as if they were one connecting bar.
In doffing a full bobbin, the workman lifts the flyer a distance sufficient to
raise the mouth-piece off the top of the spindle, and then swivels or turns the
two parts of the upper connection out of the way; the full bobbin is then
removed and an empty one placed on the spindle, the parts of the upper
5 connection of the limbs are brought together, and the flyer is lowered so as to
bring the flyer into a proper working position on its spindle. The inner ends
of the two parts of the upper connection and the upper end of the spindle may
be retained together when working by any convenient means.
And in order that our said Invention may be most fully understood and

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of a spindle carrying at its upper end
connecting pieces such as we employ according to our Invention for con-
necting together the upper ends of the limbs of a flyer; the lower ends of the
limbs of such flyer being also connected together, as, for example, in the
manner described in the Specification of a former Patent granted to us, and
dated 18th February, 1857. Figure 2 is a plan of the connecting pieces as
they appear when in position. a is the spindle, and b and c are the two parts
of the connecting piece. The part 6 is shown separately in plan at Figure 3;
it carries at one end a socket b¹ to receive the upper end of one of the limbs
of the flyer and at its other end it has an eye b² formed in it, the hole in
which is of sufficient size to allow the top of the spindle to enter. The other
part c of the connecting piece also has at one end a socket c¹ to receive the
upper end of the other limb of the flyer; this part c at its other end carries a
boss c³, the upper part of which is hollowed to form a mouth-piece or eye for
conducting the rove in the usual manner. The lower part of the boss c is
recessed, the recess being of a width equal to the depth or thickness of the
eye b² on the piece b, and also of a corresponding form, so that the eye may
fit closely into the recess as is shown at Figure 1, and the end of the spindle
there being introduced into the hole left for it, the two parts b and c become
locked together, so that they work as if formed of one piece. Figure 4 is an
elevation of a spindle a with a connecting piece made in two parts b and c, as
above described, but the parts are of a slightly different form, each of the
parts b and c as before, carry at one end a socket to receive the upper end of
one of the limbs of the flyer; these sockets are as before marked b¹ and c¹.
The ends of the limbs of the flyer are marked d, d. Figure 5 is a plan of the
same parts in their working positions, and in Figure 6 the two parts of the
connecting piece are shewn separately in plan. At the upper end of the
spindle a, as is shewn by the dotted lines in Figure 4, a cylindrical recess
is formed, and the two parts of the connecting piece b, c, have semi-cylindrical
projections b, c, from their under sides, which being placed together just fit
the recess at the top of the spindle. The ends of the parts b and c to which
the projections are attached are also semi-cylindrical and fit together as the
Drawing indicates. The mouth-piece or eye for conducting the rove is formed
on the top of the semi-cylindrical end of the piece c.
In either of the arrangements above described, when it is desired to doff or

page_text: remove a bobbin from the spindle, the parts of the connecting piece are raised
sufficiently to clear them of the end of the spindle, and are then turned to
either side as is shown at Figure 6, the limbs of the flyer serving as axes to
carry them. The mouth-piece or eye for conducting the rove goes with one
of the parts of the connecting piece, and carries the rove with it. A space is
thus left entirely clear to allow of the removal of the full bobbin and the
replacing the same with an empty bobbin.
In witness whereof, I, the said Stephen Cotton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
STEPHEN COTTON. (L.S.)