AN IMPROVED METHOD OF REELING SILK
Year: 1870

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Louis Eugene Mouline at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd July 1870.
I, LOUIS EUGENE MOULINE, of Vals Ardêche, in the Empire of
France, Silk Spinner, do hereby declare the nature of the said In-
vention for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF REELING SILK," to be as follows:-
Up to the present time it has been the practice in reeling silk to
make the reel on which the silk is wound revolve a certain number
of turns during which the threads are caused to overlie each other. The
silk is then taken off the reel and made up into several small skeins,
and in order to distinguish approximately the various thicknesses of the
silk when wound the several skeins are weighed and sorted according
to weight.
The novelty of this Invention consists in the employment of a new
method of winding the silk, so that by inspection the different qualities.
of the silk may be ascertained and an easy method of separating the
qualities may be provided; this is effected by spreading out the threads.
of silk upon the reel in course of winding, so that threads do not

page_text: overlie each other, but are all exposed to view. It is then found that
according as the threads are more or less thick they form bands of shade
more or less dark. These bands are easily distinguishable by the eye
and guide the workman in separating the silk on the reel into skeins
of which the threads are of more equal thickness than skeins wound
and sorted by the method now in use.
In the Drawing hereto annexed I have described a machine which I
employ for spreading out the threads of silk upon the reel.
A, A, A, A, is a winder or reel similar to those used in dressing silk
being about 3 feet in length and 1 foot 6 inches in diameter, dimensions
which can however be modified as required. This reel is supported at
cach extremity by a traverse B, which is itself fixed to a vertical upright;
this reel carries at the end a little drum D which itself rests on a larger
one E let into a horizontal axletree F which transmits the movements
to the whole of the reel, and carries on its length as many drums as the
dimensions of the workshop require reels. A small lever which it is
unnecessary to draw on the plan enables the reel to be thrown out of
gear by raising the side on which the drum D is placed. On the front
of the upright C a bracket H supports a screw of which the section J
only is shewn on the plan, being from 1th to 13th inches thick and of
a fine thread. This screw is of the same length as the reel, and it
receives a rotary movement from the axletree F by means of a scries
of toothed wheels which I have not drawn in order to avoid the con-
fusion which would destroy the clearness of the Drawing. A stage
forming an angle L, M, N, which by the boss P turns against the
gnider Q is suspended to the screw J by means of a box with an interior
worm. This box is open underneath so that it is possible to raise the
stage with the hand and to replace it in whatever part of the screw is
required so as either to recommence its course or to replace it at the
point at which the thread of silk is broken. This stage carries upon its
horizontal arm N the reel of silk to be unwound O and on its upper
part a little turned hook R made to guide the thread of silk along the
reel A, A, A, A, during the winding. The thread of silk has been first
made to pass through a cleanser lined with cloth S in order to put a
little stretch on it. In turning the screw then carries the stage from
one extremity of the reel to the other, but at a speed so regulated that
it only advances one-fifth of an inch whilst the reel A, A, A, A, makes
two hundred turns if working with raw and fine China silk. When the

page_text: stage has arrived at the end of its course it stops of its own accord,
because care has been taken not to have wound the screw to the end.
In this manner the thread of silk in unwinding itself on to the
reel A, A, A, A, never gets on the top of the preceding thread, but at
every turn winds itself quite close to the preceding one. Then, according
whether the thread is more or less thick, it forms bands of shade more
or less dark which are easily distinguishable to the eye and which guide
the workman in separating them into different little skeins, the ends
of which are fastened to and wound by means of a little rod for them to
undergo the other processes of the dressing after having approximately
sorted them. If the silk has been already worked the speed of the screw J
must be increased one half and the skeins must be put on a little rod
which should be made to turn on two little supports instead of the reel O.
Instead of employing the winding apparatus above described a similar
result may be obtained by employing another form of mechanical guider
having a very slow movement; I however prefer to employ the screw
for the sake of greater exactness.