CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY CALLED ROVING FRAMES' FOR ROVING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1833

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
STOTT HOWARD, of Chow Bent, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker,
send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth did, by
His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-first day of
September, in the fourth year of His reign, give and grant unto me, the
said John Stott Howard, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, His Majesty's
especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said John
Stott Howard, my exors, adññors, and assigns, and every of them, by ourselves,
or by our deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such others as I, the
said John Stott Howard, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within that part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland called England, the Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY CALLED
ROVING FRAMES' FOR ROVING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES;" in
which Letters Patent there is contained a proviso obliging me, the said
John Stott Howard, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and scal, and to cause the same to be
inrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within two calendar

page_text: T
Figure 1 represents an end view of one description of roving machine, to
which my Invention is applied. Figure 2 is a front view, and Figure 3 a
plan of the same; and it will be found that similar letters are used to denote
similar parts in all the Figures. In these views the ordinary parts of the
machine are delineated for the purpose of shewing the position in which my
improvements are applied, and I shall briefly describe the action of these
parts to render the description of my Invention more clear.
In Figure 1 A represents the driving pulley, which, turning the shaft B,
motion is imparted by means of the bevils a and b to the shaft C, best seen in
plan at Figure 3. At the extremity of the shaft C is placed the spur
wheel D, which geers into a pinion c on the front roller shaft, by which
motion is conveyed to the drawing rollers in the ordinary manner. About the
middle of the shaft C is placed the bevil d, which driving the bevil e gives
motion to the perpendicular shaft E. On referring to Figure 1 it will be seen
that the bevil f, which receives motion from the shaft E by means of the
bevil 9, carries the long pinion F, as also seen at Figure 3. This long pinion
drives the spur wheel G, which is fixed on the extremity of the shaft h, h, on
which is also fixed the cylindrical drum H. Over this cylindrical drum H is
passed an endless strap or belt of leather i, i, i, i, passing from its upper
surface in an horizontal direction to the drum I, and returning below, as seen
at Figure 2, so that the revolution of the drum H imparts to the belt i, i, i, i,
a continuous motions, which is used as a surface motion for the purpose of
driving the bobbins or spools upon which the rovings are to be placed.
The position in which the bobbins or spools are placed on the surface
of the belt i, i, i, i, is best seen at Figures 2 and 3, where one bobbin

page_text: placed, having an iron spindle or skewer passed through its centre for the
urpose of holding it steady in the guides k, the whole of which are filled
ith spools or bobbins when the machine is in action.
It will be observed that the whole of the parts last described from the
evil wheelf on the shaft E belong to the rotation of the bobbin or taking-
p motion, and that in this train of movements, resulting in the surface
notion of the belt i, i, i, i, there is no differential movement to compensate
or the filling of the bobbin which would necessarily be required if driven
rom the axis of the bobbin instead of the surface. The alternate traverse of
the bobbins, or what is sometimes called the copping motion, for the purpose
of distributing the roving regularly over the surface of the bobbin or spool, is
effected by the horizontal traverse of the carriage L, L, which is supported
by four small pullies resting on and guided by the two straight edges
or rails M, M. The distance or amount of this traverse, which is uniformly
the same, is produced by a heart motion acting on the lever m, m, sec
Figure 1, which vibrates on its fulcrum at n, and to which the carriage is
attached at o, the long pinion F allowing the traverse of the wheel G at the
same time. But although the amount of traverse is always the same, and the
delivery of. roving from the front roller is always the same, the speed of the
traverse, or amount of time in which one traverse is effected, must vary or
decrease as the roving accumulates on the bobbin, or, in other words, as the
circumference of the bobbin increases it will take up more roving, and the
delivery from the front roller being uniform, a greater time must be allowed in
the traverse for the bobbin to fill. This reduction of speed in the traverse is
effected as follows:-On the shaft E, Figure 1, is placed the small bevil p,
which geers into and drives the bevil r, placed at the extremity of the shaft R,
On this shaft R are placed a progressive
best seen in the plan at Figure 3.
series of spur wheels marked s, which are connected together, but slide or move
endwise on the shaft R, at the same time partaking of the rotatory motion of the
shaft by means of a small rib or projection from the shaft, as seen at Figure 3.
Parallel to the shaft R is placed the shaft S, in which is fixed the spur
wheel S', geering into the wheel t, which last wheel is supported on a carriage
vibrating on the shaft S, and kept in geer with any one of the wheels s, by the
weight of the lever T. At that part of the shaft S which intersects the
shaft U, see Figure 1, is placed a worm, which acting on a worm wheel on the
shaft U, gives motion to a heart wheel, which is also placed on the shaft U,
and thereby vibrates the lever m, m, which traverses the carriage L, L. On
referring to Figure 1, at the near extremity of the shaft U will be seen a cam
or wiper u, which, at every revolution of the shaft U, vibrates the bent lever V,

page_text: which, by means of the click or catch v, gathers a tooth or notch in the
rack W. This rack W, which moves horizontally in guides at each extremity
also carries the progressive series of wheels marked s, by means of a forked
piece, which takes into the groove w near the smallest of the series of wheels
marked s. Thus, suppose in the present position of the series of wheels
markeds that the bobbins or spools in the machine are empty, the wheel t
geering into the largest of the wheels marked s, the traverse will be imparted
from it; but as soon as the shaft U shall have revolved twice, the action of the
cam or wiper u will have gathered two teeth in the rack W, and thereby have
shifted the series of wheels marked s, until the wheel t is in geer with the next
smaller wheels, and the speed conveyed to the wheel t will be decreased, as
also the time of the traverse, and so on through the whole of the decreasing
series of wheels on the shaft R. As soon as the bobbin or spools are filled
with roving, and the wheel t has arrived at the smallest of the series of wheels
marked s, the operator elevates the wheel t by means of the lever T, and at.
the same time raising the catch v, forces back the rack W, by means of the
handle T', into the position as shewn in the Drawing, when the.machine is
ready to commence again with empty bobbins.
Having described the various ordinary movements of the machine, for the
purpose of rendering the description of my improvements more clear, I shall
proceed to describe the movement in which my Invention consists. But
before doing so I shall remark, that in the process of manufacture of fibrous
materials for which this and similar machines are designed, it is requisite by
some means or other to hold together or condence the fibrous material during
its passage or transit from the front or delivering roller to the bobbin or
spool; and this has generally been effected by the introduction of a small
amount of twist, which either remained permanently in the roving, or was
reversed or neuetralized before it arrived at the bobbin or spool. It is to effect
this object that my Invention is designed. On referring to Figure 3, it will
be seen that the spur wheel D, which drives the front roller, also drives-3
another
spur wheel marked 20, which is placed on the axis of a long cylia-
drical drum 21. This cylinder 21 is speeded to revolve at the same surface
motion as the front or delivering roller. In front of the machine is placed a
similar cylinder or drum 22, which revolves free of any geering. Over these
two cylinders 21 and 22 is placed an endless belt or apron of leather, reaching 3
from one extremity of the cylinders to the other, so that the upper surface of
the belt or apron, seen at 21, Figure 3, moves regularly forward in the
direction of the arrows placed on it, at the speed of the front or delivering
roller. On the upper surface of the leather belt or apron is placed another

page_text: ylinder 23, having its surface covered with leather. This cylinder moves
reely on its axis, supported by the parts 24 and 24, as seen in Figures 2
and 3, and, receiving motion from the belt or apron below, revolves at the
same surface speed as the apron. The relative position of the three cylin-
lers 21, 22, and 23, together with the course of the leather apron or belt, will
be best seen in section at Figure 4, where the course of the cotton or fibrous
material is shewn tinted red, passing along the upper surface of the leather
apron, and below the pressing roller 23. In addition to the rotation which
the cylinder 23 receives from the belt or apron beneath, it has also an alter-
nating or traverse motion endwise on its axis, effected by means of the eccen-
tric point on the face of the revolving plate X, see Figure 2, which traverses
the coupling 25 back and forth, at the same time that it allows the rotation of
This last-described traverse or
the cylinder 23 to proceed undisturbed.
rubbing motion of the cylinder 23, together with the pressure upon the apron
beneath, rolls, compresses, and condenses the roving, and delivers it in front of
the machine in a sufficiently dense state to be wound on the bobbin or spools
placed in the carriage beneath. It will be observed in the section, Figure 4,
that the upper surface of the apron or belt is slightly depressed by the position
of the cylinder 23; and it is by tightening the apron by means of the
Screws 26, as seen in Figure 2, that the amount of pressure exerted by the
cylinder 23 is regulated. Now, though the situation in which I have applied
my Invention is the best I have found, according to my present experience, I
am aware that it may be varied, and that the construction or arrangement of
parts which constitute my Invention may be modified by transferring the end
traverse of the cylinder 23 to the apron beneath, by substituting a similar
apron or belt in the place of the cylinder 23, or otherwise; all which variations
and modifications must depend on the material to be manufactured, and the
nature of the machine to which my Invention is to be applied.
But whereas I claim as my Invention certain improvements in machinery
called roving frames, which consist in the arrangement of parts already
described, by which I am enabled to combine the continuous motion of a
roller or apron with a back and forth or traverse motion, for the purpose of
rolling and compressing the roving in its transit or passage between the front
roller and the bobbin or spool, and such my Invention being as applied to
roving machines, to the best of my knowledge and belief, entirely new and
never before used within that part of His said Majesty's United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland called England, His said Dominion of Wales, and
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, I do hereby declare this to be my Specification
of the same, and that I do verily believe this my said Specification doth comply

page_text: in all respects, fully and without reserve, with the proviso in the said herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent contained; therefore I do hereby claim
to maintain exclusive right and privilege of my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Stott Howard,, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three.
JOHN STOTT (L.S.) HOWARD.
Signed and sealed and delivered by the
within-named John Stott Howard
(being first duly stamped) in the