Improvements in Spools, Bobbins and the like.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Mar., 1898-Accepted, 23rd Apr., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Spools, Bobbins and the like.
I, CHARLES LOUIS BURDETT, of No. 188, Sigourney Street, Hartford, in the
County of Hartford and State of Connecticut, United States of America, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
The object of my invention is to provide a spool, bobbin or like article which is
adapted for use in connection with the manufacture of thread and yarn for the
purpose of holding thread or yarn in any desired length, this spool being made of
a material which is light, strong and durable and capable of withstanding the
changes of heat and temperature to which such an article is ordinarily subjected.
To this end my invention consists in a spool or bobbin made up with a tubular
barrel and heads of successive superimposed layers of paper or like material rolled
up under pressure and united by adhesive material; it also consists of a spool
or bobbin having a barrel of paper or liko material rolled up and united by
adhesive inaterial with the heads of like construction, and the whole subjected to
treatment in a bath of heated sulphur, subsequently cooled and formed to shape.
And it further cousists in a spool having a slightly expansive barrel, a head formed
of successive layers of paper wound up to shape and united by adhesive material
with an expanding plug firmly secured in the open end of the barrel, all as herein-
after described and more particularly pointed out in the claims.
Referring to the drawings:
Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a spool embodying my invention.
Figure 2 is an end view of the same.
Figure 3 is a view in central section of the barrel of the spool.
Figure 4 is a diagram view illustrating the manner of forming the barrel by
winding a sheet of paper under pressure.
Figure 5 is a detail view in central section through the spool before forming to
final shape, as by turning.
Figure 6 is a diagram view illustrating one manner of forming a head on the end
of the barrel.
Figure 7 is a view in side elevation of a bobbin or spool with part cut away in
central section to show the plug in the end of the barrel..
Figure 8 is an end view of the bobbin shown in Fig. 7.
Figure 9 is a view in central section through a bobbin illustrating the location of
the plugs in the open ends of the barrel.
Figure 10 is a view in side elevation of a roll from which disks to form heads
may be cut.
Figure 11 is a side view of a disk cut from the tube to form a head.
In the accompanying drawings the letter a denotes a spool or bobbin of a form
commonly used in a mill or factory in the manufacture of thread or yarn, and such
spool may be of any desired size or proportion. This bobbin is composed of a
barrel with heads c and d which by the method of manufacture are practically
integral with the barrel.

page_text: i
In the practise of my invention strips of paper as a preferred material and of a
suitable length and width to form the wall of the barrel to the desired thickness
are used. These strips are first preferably covered with a layer of adhesive material,
as paste or glue, and then rolled into tubular form, layer after layer, and
continuously. The strip may be of a width to make one barrel, or where the tube
is to serve for several barrels it is cut to the desired length after having been wound
to the proper size.
In winding up strips to form the barrel a weight as f is arranged to exert the
desired degree of pressure so as to ensure a firm winding and a compact structure.
After a barrel is formed it is put into a machine which will hold it firmly, either by
means of a mandrel thrust through the tube, or by any other convenient chucking
device, and narrow strips of paper wound in superimposed layers to form a flange,
as illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawings. This head or flange c¹ is held up under
the pressure of a weight f¹ in a manner similar to that employed in the formation of
the barrel. This strip for forming the head is provided with adhesive material,
glue or paste, as in the case of the strip of paper used in forming up the tube for
the barrel b.
Such a spool or bobbin blank in one branch of my invention is plunged into a hot
bath of sulphur where it is kept for an hour or more depending upon the size of the
spool and the mass and also somewhat on the quality of the stock in the paper, as
this in a measure controls the time that will be taken for the heated sulphur to
permeate the mass of paper.
After such treatment the spool is taken out of the bath and cooled, preferably by
plunging it into a cold bath, and after such tempering the spool blank is put into an
ordinary lathe and turned to the desired shape. The material of which the spool is
composed is, after this treatment, so hard as to require a diamond point or like tool
for cutting, and the layers of paper are found to be so completely changed as to
form practically a homogeneous mass, the surface of which is hard and capable of
taking a high degree of polish.
It has been common in the prior art to make use of wooden spools in winding
frames, and particularly in silk mills, spools of that material have a comparatively
limited life as they are liable to crack under the changes of temperature and
humidity, the heads becoming loose and the wood splintering. These defects in
the wear cause a considerable percentage of loss in the manufacture of the thread.
The average life of such a spool before one or more of the above stated defects is
disclosed, is about three months. Spools made in accordance with my within
described improvement have been in continuous practical use in a mill for over a
year without developing a single defect. The heads remain firm; they do not split
nor shatter, nor change in form or shape; and the surface hardens with the lapse of
time and acquires a high degree of polish which prevents any chance of the threads
to catch and so cause waste.
Another feature of my invention consists in the use of a plug g which is
preferably of wood and of a size to slightly expand the barrel of the spool when
driven into the end, such action being usually attained by a slight taper on the
plug. As the head is built up of layers wound upon each other the outward thrust
in radial lines tends to firmly bind the head in place on the barrel without any
tendency to distort the head laterally. This combination of a barrel of slightly
expansive material, the heads of layers of material wound to the proper size and
united by cement combined with the expanding plug as described, is of material
advantage, and enables a durable spool to be produced without subjecting it to
any treatment in a sulphur bath. The surface of the spool is finished by coating it
with any suitable material, as a composition of shellac or of asphaltum varnish, and
before such coating the heads may be cut and formed to any desired shape and
outline.
The improved spool is preferably made up with a barrel formed of a paper tube
made by winding the paper to size under pressure and uniting the layers by
adhesive material, as described, with the heads formed in like manner and secured

page_text: in place in part by the expansive force of the plug, although the latter is not
essential in all forms of the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
=;
1. As an improved article of manufacture, a spool or bobbin comprising a barrel
and heads built up of successive layers of paper wound to the desired thickness and
size and united by adhesive material, all substantially as described.
2. As an improved article of manufacture, a spool or bobbin comprised of a
barrel and heads formed of strips of paper or like material rolled up in a continuous
layer, subjected to a bath of heated sulphur, cooled and formed to shape, all
substantially as described.
3. As an improved article of manufacture, a spool or bobbin comprising a barrel,
heads formed of a continuous strip of paper wound to size and united by adhesive
material in successive layers, and a plug inserted in the open end of the barre! and
thrusting outward upon the wall thereof within the plane of the head of the barrel,
all substantially as described.
4. As an improved article of manufacture, a spool or bobbin having a tubular
barrel, a head or enlarged end formed of a strip of paper or like flexible material
wound to shape in successive layers which are united by adhesive material, and a
plug tightly fitting within the barrel at the end where the head is located, all
substantially as described.
1
IT C
17.1 1000
CHARLES LOUIS BURDETT.
D. Young & Co.,
11 and 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.