IMPROVE- MENTS IN SELF-ACTING MULES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Morrison and John Mitchell, both of
Hadfield, in the County of Derby, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SELF-ACTING MULES."
Sealed the 6th December 1872, and dated the 4th October 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Morrison and
John Mitchell at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 4th October 1872.
We, WILLIAM MORRISON and JOHN MITCHELL, both of Hadfield, in
the County of Derby, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-ACTING MULES," to be as follows:-
Our Invention applies firstly to the means of regulating the going in
and out of the spindle carriage of each pair of mules in such a manner
that the two carriages shall never both be at the end of their stretch at
the same time, but shall work alternately, and there shall always be
maintained between the two carriages such a distance as shall be most

page_text: convenient for the operation of piecing up. This we propose to effect by
connecting the clutch box of the scroll which causes the going in of the
spindle carriage in each mule with a finger or projection on the spindle
carriage of the opposite mule in such a way that the motion of the
first spindle carriage as soon as it has receded a certain distance (say
about two feet) from its rollers shall cause a rod or lever to put in gear
the clutch box of the scroll shaft of the opposite mule and vice versa, by
which means the action of cach spindle carriage is controlled by the
movement of the opposite carriage, and they are compelled to work
alternately and always to maintain a convenient distance between them
to facilitate the operation of piccing up.
•
The second part of the Invention relates to what is termed the "nosing
motion" of mules, and its object is to effect the prevention of "snarls"
in the yarn. We dispense with the usual lock spur fixed to the faller
leg and substitute in place thereof a cranked lever working loosely on a
stud on the faller leg. The lower part of this lever acts as a movable
lock spur. To the under faller we attach an excentric, which coming
against the upper leg of this lever causes the winding faller to lift up
later, and thus take up all the slack yarn, and so prevent snarling, at the
same time that it allows it to lift sooner when the yarn is tight.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Morrison and John Mitchell in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 4th April 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, WILLIAM
MORRISON and JoнM MITCHELL, both of Hadfield, in the County of 2
Derby, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give 3
and grant unto us, the said William Morrison and John Mitchell, Her.
special license that we, the said William Morrison and John Mitchell, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said.

page_text: William Morrison and John Mitchell, our exccutors, 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 make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of
Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-ACTING MULES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that we, the said William Morrison and John
Mitchell, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our, or one of our or their, or one of their hands and scals, 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 William Morrison, on behalf of
myself and the said John Mitchell, 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
and accompanying Drawings (that is to say) :-
:
Our Invention applies firstly to the means of regulating the going in
and out of the spindle carriage of each pair of mules in such a manner
that the two carriages shall never both be at the end of their stretch at
the same time, but shall work alternately, and there shall always be
maintained between the two carriages such a distance as shall be most
convenient for the operation of piccing up. This we propose to effect by
connecting the clutch box of the scroll, which causes the going in of the
spindle carriage in each mule with a finger or projection on the spindle
carriage of the opposite mule in such a way that the motion of the first
spindle carriage as soon as it has receded a certain distance (say about
two feet) from its rollers shall cause a rod or lever to put in gear the
clutch box of the scroll shaft of the opposite mule and vice versa, by
which means the action of each spindle carriage is controlled by the
movement of the opposite carriage, and they are compelled to work
alternately, and always to maintain a convenient distance between them
to facilitate the operation of piccing up.
The second part of the Invention relates to what is termed the "nosing
motion of mules, and its object is to effect the prevention of "snarls"
"

page_text: in the yarn. We dispense with the usual lock spur fixed to the faller
leg, and substitute in place thereof a cranked lever working loosely on a
stud on the faller leg. The lower part of this lever acts as a movable
lock spur. To the under faller we attach an excentric, which coming
against the upper leg of this lever causes the winding faller to lift up
later, and thus take up all the slack yarn, and so prevent snarling, at the
samo time that it allows it to lift sooner when the yarn is tight.
Such being the nature and object of our said Invention for improve-
ments in self-acting mules," we will now proceed to describe more in
detail the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or 1
carried into practical effect, and in order that the same may be clearly
understood we have annexed hereunto a Sheet of Drawings illustrative
thereof, and have marked the same with figures and letters of reference
corresponding with those in the following explanation thereof :-
In the annexed Drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of so much of a 1
pair of mules as is requisite to illustrate the first part of our Invention;
Fig. 2 is a back view of one of the headstocks, and Figs. 3 and 4
are detached views on a larger scale of the apparatus in two different
positions.
a, a', are the headstock framings, and b, 6', the two spindle carriages; ¦
c is the scroll which effects the going in of the spindle carriage b, and d
is the movable part of the clutch box, by means of which it is thrown
into or out of gear. This clutch is connected by means of a fork e and
rod to one end of a lever g, the other end of which is ordinarily held
under the shoulder h of the lever i, so as to hold the clutch d out of gear
when the scroll c is not required to act. The lever is keyed upon a
shaft k, at or near the other end of which is also keyed a lever ↓ (sec
detached view, Fig. 5, and also enlarged views Figs. 3 and 4), which
rests upon the catch lover m (see Fig. 3). In connection with this
catch lover m is a finger n fixed on one end of a rod o provided with a
coiled spring o*, and having at its other end a finger p attached to a
lover which is held in the position shown at Fig. 3, against the
pressure of the spring o* by a projection on the back of the said lever q
coming against the shoulder of the catch lever r.
In Fig. 1 it will be seen that the spindle carriage 6 is at the end of its
stretch, and its clutch d (see Fig. 2) is consequently out of gear. The

page_text: opposite spindle carriage 6¹ is going out from the rollers in the direction
of the arrow. To the back of this spindle carriage is attached an
inclined planes which is just about to come under a stud or projection
on the end of the catch lever r, the effect of which is to raise the latter
and release the lever q, when the spring o* immediately comes into
action, thrusting the rod o in the direction of the arrow, and pushing
the catch lever m from under the lever 1, which then falls (as shown at
Fig. 4), the clutch d at the same time falling into gear, and the spindle
carriage 6 commences going in. As the carriage b' returns or
"
goes in "
to the rollers a projecting finger t coming against the back of the lever q
pulls it over into the original position, shown in Fig. 3,-when the catch
lever falls and locks it; at the same time the clutch d being raised by
the ordinary excentric or cam raises the lever 1, and the counterweight u
draws the catch lever m underneath it and locks it until again released,
as before.
The second part of our Invention is illustrated by Fig. 6, a being the
spindle carriage; b, the faller; and c, the under faller. d is the faller leg
attached to the faller shaft e by the curved arm fin the usual manner.
On a stud g fixed in the faller leg d is mounted loosely a cranked lever h,
the lower end of which acts as a movable lock spur in the following
manner: On the under faller shaft i is fixed an excentric k, which
coming against the upper arm of this lever pushes its lower arm back-
ward and thus causes the winding faller to lift later and take up all
the slack yarn so as to prevent all snarls, and at the same time when
the yarn is tight the excentric being withdrawn (as shown at Fig. 6)
allows it to lift sooner and thus prevents breakage.
Having now described the nature and object of our said Invention,
together with the manner in which the same is to be or may be per-
formed or carried into practical effect, we wish it to be understood that
we claim as our Invention the apparatus shown at Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5,
in the Drawings and above particularly described (or any mere modifi-
cation or imitation thereof operating in substantially the same or a
similar manner), for causing one spindle carriage of a pair of mules to
control the movement of the opposite spindle carriage, so that they shall
5 always work alternately, and a convenient distance for piecing up shall
always be maintained between the two carriages.

page_text: "
And secondly as regards the "nosing motion we claim the combina-
tion of an excentric fixed on the under faller shaft with a cranked lever
mounted loosely on a stud on the faller leg, and operating substantially
in the manner and for the purposes above particularly set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Morrison, on behalf of
myself and the said John Mitchell, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Thirty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
Witnessed by
GEORGE DAVIES, C.E.,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
WILLIAM MORRISON. (L.S.)