IMPROVEMENTS IN SPINNING HEMP AND FLAX AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
WILSON, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, Manager of Alexander
Fletcher and Company, Flax Spinners, Glasgow, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Twenty-ninth day of July, in the ninth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Alexander Wilson, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Alexander Wilson, my
exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexander-Wilson,
my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time, and at all times during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick upon Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SPINNING HEMP AND FLAX AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said Alexander Wilson,
shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Alexander Wilson, do hereby declare that the nature of my Invention,

page_text: and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had
to the Drawing annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that
is to say:
My Invention has for its object the giving greater steadiness to spindles
and flyers fixed thereon used for spinning hemp, flax, and other fibrous
material requiring similar spindles, and consists of so arranging the spindle
and flyer fixed thereon, that it shall turn in a bearing at the upper end, the
plate in which such bearing is formed moving on hinges so as to be raised
when the full bobbins are to be removed and fresh empty ones introduced on
Figures 1 and 2 show a spindle and the means of affixing a fiyer thereon,
the bearing in the upper plate being shown in the Drawing to these Figures
dotted lines; Figure 3 shows another spindle where the flyer is fixed on
the spindle, and the continuation above the flyer forms the upper part of
the spindle; and these two arrangements are shown in order to state that the
Invention is not confined to the particular modes of fixing the flyer to the
spindle (so as to be capable of being readily removed when the bobbins are to
be taken off the spindle), so long as the other arrangements of having the
upper part suitably formed for turning in an upper bearing, as herein
described, be retained. a, a, are the spindles, which are similar to ordinary
spindles, excepting at the upper parts, where it will be seen that they are
made capable of turning in an upper bearing 6 in the plate c. The upper
part of the spindle is hollow, and has a split at d, through which the hemp,
flax, or other material being spun is passed down to the flyer, as is shown
by the red lines. The spindle turns in the ordinary bearings in addition
to the upper bearing at b. I have not thought it necessary to show the
bobbins and copping rail, they being as heretofore. The plates c I make
each of a length suitable for recieving twelve spindles, but this may be varied,
and they are hinged to uprights fixed therefor in front of the machine,
and the workman, when about to remove the full bobbins raises the plate c
on its hinges so as to be off the upper ends of the spindles; he then removes
the flyers, and takes off the full bobbins and replaces them with empty ones,
when he again fixes the flyers and folds down the plates c, by which the
bearings again receive the upper ends of the spindles. Figure 4 shows
plans and section of parts of the plates c separately for each of the construc-
tions of spindle shown.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the best means I
am acquainted with for performing the same, I would have it understood
that what I claim is, the mode of constructing spindles with flyers fixed
thereon, suitable for spinning hemp, flax, and other fibrous substances
requiring similar spindles, and causing them to turn in upper bearings b, as
above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Wilson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of January, One thousand
eight hundred and forty-six.