CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN SPIN- NING MACHINERY
Year: 1836

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
POTTER, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Cotton Spinner, send
greeting.
WHEREAS I did by petition represent unto His Most Excellent Majesty
King William the Fourth that I had invented "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN SPIN-
NING MACHINERY;" and His said Majesty, being willing to encourage all useful
Inventions, did issue His Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of Great
Britain, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-first day of December, in the
seventh year of His reign, whereby His said Majesty did, for Himself, His heirs
and successors, give and grant unto me, the said James Potter, His especial
licence that I, the said James Potter, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said James Potter, my exors, adñiors, and 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 and Wales and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my said Invention; in which said Letters Patent there is
contained a proviso, obliging me, the said James Potter, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the
nature of my Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
and to cause the same to be enrolled in His Majesty's High. Court of Chancery
within six months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, 1, the said
James Potter, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention to consist
in the construction and arrangement of certain machinery for the purpose
of rendering the spinning machine called the mule, as well as the preparation
machine known by the name of the stretcher, what is commonly called self-
acting or more independant of the spinner or operative who attends such
inachine; and the manner in which the same is to be performed and carried
into effect will be seen by reference to the annexed Drawings, and the following
description thereof. The scale to which the Drawings are made is marked
thereon, and the same parts which are delineated in the various views and
sections in the several Figures are marked with the same letters or figures
throughout the whole of the Drawings.
Figure 1 in the annexed Drawing represents a side view, and Figure 2 a
back view of a mule, to which my improvements are applied; and the
remaining Figures are detached parts, to which I shall hereafter refer. In
Figure 1 and 2, A represents the front drawing roller, from which the
roving is delivered in an elongated state to the spinning action of the
spindles, as in ordinary mules; and the motion of the drawing rollers and
the manner in which they are supplied with roving from the bobbins in the
creel, is the same as in mules of the ordinary construction. Supposing the
machine to be put in motion by means of the driving strap E, while the
carriage C is in or up at the front rollers, the first movement which is required
and which I shall proceed to describe is, the going out of the carriage, which
I effect by means of the band D, the motion which proceeds from the pulley-
D¹ to which it is attached, the motion of which depends on the rotation of the
front roller A, and is conveyed to the pulley D' by means of a shaft B (see
Figure 1), and the bevils placed on each extremity. This motion ceases as
soon as the carriage arrives at the end of the stretch or furthest distance
from the drawing rollers. When the carriage C has arrived at the end of
the stretch, and the various movements which are required at that point
having been performed, it is run in by means of the motion of the pulley
D¹ being reversed, which is then governed by the chain F attached at one
end of the pulley H, while the opposite end is connected with the arm F
which is placed free on its centre, and governed in its revolution by means
of a stud or projection on the face of the plate F, carried on the same shaft
as the wheel G, which stud takes into the slot or opening cut in the arm F
The wheel G receives a uniform motion from a pinion attached to the self-
acting pulley S, and the speed of revolution is calculated so that the arm F is
carried from near the lowest point to its highest elevation at the exact time

page_text: or period for bringing in the carriage; but as soon as the arm F' has been
carried to its highest elevation, and the carriage is thereby brought in or up
to the front rollers, the weight of the arm and chain overrun the rotation of
the wheel G, and thereby slacking the chain F allows the carriage, by means
of the slot in the arm F', to recommence its outward motion on the succeeding
stretch. The second movement of the machine, which I consider is the
putting down and governing the rise of the faller wire, which commences when
the carriage C is at the end of a stretch or greatest distance from the drawing
rollers A, and commences at the same period of time as the third movement
or backing off. But before I proceed to describe the way in which I effect,
the second and third movements I shall explain the nature and construction
of a cop for the purpose of making these motions better understood. A
cop consists of a certain amount of yarn or thread placed on a spindle in
a series of successive layers, and is constructed by commencing on the bare
spindle and forming a certain amount of layers, as seen in full size at Figure 4,
and gradually increasing the amount till it arrives at the size represented at
Figure 5, which is called the cop bottom, after which period the cop is
constructed of a series of conical layers placed one on the other, and similar
to each other, as indicated by parallel lines at Figure 6, which represents a
finished cop, and the position in which these layers are placed depends on the
position of the faller wire, which guides the yarn or thread during the winding
on of each stretch or amount of yarn spun in the last comeing out of the carriage.
It will also be remarked, that during the spinning action of the spindles
there is an accumulation of spiral coils, marked a, Figures 4, 5, and 6, on the
uncovered part of the spindle, which require to be unwound or backed off
at the same time as the putting down of the faller wire takes place, and also
that the amount of these coils decrease as the cop increases in size, so that
the amount of backing off or reverse rotation of the spindle to effect the
unwinding must decrease as the cop increases.
Having described the nature of a cop, together with the nature of the
backing off or unwinding the spiral coils which accumulate on the bare part
of the spindle during spinning, I shall proceed to describe the means by which
I produce the requisite motions for effecting the same. Supposing, therefore,.
that the carriage C at or near its greatest distance from the front roller A,
the first self-acting action of the machine commences by the arm of the curved
bell crank I receiving and supporting the coupling shaft of the fallers K,
having previously displaced, by means of a stud in I, the former support or
upright lever L, placed in the carriage C; and as the carriage proceeds in its
outward motion the stop. M comes in contact and depresses the inclined

page_text: surface of the lever N, the opposite end of which is connected with the lever,
N', and thus liberates the upwright lever R, which allows, by means of the
horizontal rod R' and the bell crank Rs, the tube which carries the two bevils
to slide back on two sliding keys by means of a spring. Thus the same
movements at the same time disconnect the bevil B¹ at the top of the shaft B
and the bevil P, which bevils remain at rest till the commencement of the
next stretch, to prepare for which the lever R³ is forced inward at the top by
means of a stud in the side of the cam T, and thus the movements above de-
scribed are reversed, and the bevils are held in their working position by the nitch
on the surface of the lever N¹, and remain in geer until the stop M comes again
in contact with the lever N.. The spinning action of the drum band marked p
continues driving the carrier pulley Q, on the shaft of which is placed a worm
taking into the worm wheel R,. which by means of a projection on its surface
now elevates the lever R¹ and R³, which are connected, untill the latter by its
notched surface, as seen at Figure 1, allows the perpendicular lever R' to
move forward, and the counterweight S (with which it is connected by the
horizontal rods, s,) to traverse the driving strap E* from the driving pulley, on
which is represented at Figure 2, over the intermediate loose pulley and on to
the self-acting pulley S. Shortly after this is effected, and by the time the
momentum has ceased, a cam T on the same shaft as the wheel G forces the
bent lever t, t, by means of the perpendicular rod 't, and connects the clutch
box u. (which moves on two sliding keys) on the shaft on which the drum
band pulley is placed) with the spur wheel u', which has motion imparted to
it from the sector rack u³.. This rack u³ is periodically elevated by means of
a perpendicular rod connected with the lever u³, which latter is elevated by
means of a bowl u* once for every revolution of the wheel G. The traverse
rotation thus imparted to the wheel u is carried to the spindles through the
drum band, which passes over the pulley on the same shaft, and the backing
off or third motion thus effected. The decreased amount of backing off
required at each succeeding stretch, as already explained, is provided for by
varying the position of a small can w, which acts as a stop or rest for
the sector u³, by means of a stud fixed to the connecting rod. This cam w
receives a slow motion by means of a worm and worm wheel driven by the
star wheel w', in which the revolving arm F¹, by means of a pin, gathers
a tooth at each revolution, so that the elevated position of the support prevents
the bowl w coming in contact with the lever us at so early a period, and the
amount of backing off is thereby decreased in each succeeding stretch. At
the same period as the backing off above described takes place the faller, which
had been liberated by the removal of the support L, and now supported on the

page_text: arm I, is allowed to descend by means of the action of cam T on the lever T*,
with which the arm I is connected by means of the rod O, as seen at Figure 1,
and thus allows the faller to carry the ends of yarn down to the proper
position for commencing the winding on of the cop from the position (supposing.
the carriage to be still at its greatest distance from the front rollers, which
remain at rest), the carriage has to be up or taken in at the same period as,
the yarn is wound on to the cop, and regularly guided to its proper position by
the gradual elevation of the faller wire. The taking in or putting up of the
carriage by means of the chain F, which now comes into operation, is already.
described.
And I shall next proceed to describe my mode of guiding the faller wire,-
which is part of what I consider the second motion of the machine. On
referring to Figure 3, which represents part of the carriage C, the faller shaft
x, x, will be seen provided with a pulley to which a band or chain is attached,
one end of which supports the weight x, having a constant tendency to
depress the faller, and the other end of which is fast to the lever a², the rise of
which lever and consequent depression of the faller) is arrested and governed
by means of a stud resting against the cam or scroll pin ³. This cam a³ is
moved slowly in the direction of the arrow by means of a worm and worm
wheel, and the star wheel x, which gathers a tooth at each stretch by coming
in contact with the catch ³, see Figure 1; the decreasing amount of depression
of the faller, to compensate for the progressive increase in the size of the cop,
being thus provided for, the gradual elevation of the same, for the purpose of
distributing the yarn on the conical surface of the cop, is effected by a similar
lever a, which supports and carries the former lever az along with the worm
wheel and its appendages, so that, when depressed, it carries ³ along with it,
and necessarily elevates the faller. At the opposite extremity from the
fulcrum the lever a, it is provided with a stud, which is inserted into a spiral
grove in the wheel a; to which motion is imparted by means of a pair of bevil
wheels supported in the carriage C, see Figure 1, the lesser of which is driven
by the pulley round which is passed the stationary band aº, so that the motion
of the carriage C in each coming out or putting up) revolves the pulley a³, and
consequently the scroll a, which uniformly depresses the lever and a³, and pro-
duces the regular rise of the faller wire which is required. The winding on, which
I call the fourth and most important motion of the machine, must necessarily.
proceed at the same period of time with the going in of the carriage; and from
what has been already explained of the nature and construction of a cop, it will be
obvious that the speed at which the spindles must revolve to take up an equal
quantity of yarn, must vary as the circumference of the cop varies; and further,

page_text: that the amount of this variation must decrease at each winding on from the
bare spindle untill the cop bottom is perfected, as seen at Figure 5; after
which there will be required a uniform accelleration or variation of the speed
of the spindle, from the commencement of the going in or putting up of the
carriage till it arrives at the front roller, inasmuch as the base or circumference
of the cone of yarn to be placed on the surface of the cop is greater than the
apex or bare spindle when the winding on terminates, as indicated by oblique
lines at Figure 6. To effect this motion, suppose the carriage C still at its
greatest distance from the roller A, Figure. 1, the driving strap Es traversed
on to the self-acting pulleys, and the putting down of the faller and backing off
having been performed, the rotation of the cam T vibrates the lever t, t, and
disconnects the clutch u from the pinion u¹, and connects it with the opposite
coupling us, which is part of a hollow tube loose on the shaft of the drum band
pully with which it is then indentified. This loose tube, to which the coup-
ling w is attached, is provided with a midfeather or projection, on which the
chain wheel y is placed so as to partake of its revolution at the same time
that it can slide from end to end and accommodate its position to the position
of the chain y¹. One end of the chain y' is provided with a counter weight y²,
to keep it in a state of tension on the chain wheel y, over which it passes, and
is attached at its opposite end to a hoop or sliding link with a tongue, and
which moves an hyperbolic screw z placed in the spiral drum Z. This drum
is placed on the same shaft which carries the pullies H and D', so that the
same motion of the chain F by which the carriage is brought in, as already
described, at the same time revolves the drum Z, which, taking up the chain y
at the varying speed due to its varying circumference, conveys the winding on
motion to the spindles by the drum band p. But, as the amount of revolution
of the drum Z at each winding on is always equal, the aggregate amount of
rotation imparted to the spindles at any one winding on will depend on what
part of the drum the chain y¹ is taken up at such winding on, or, in other
words, on the length of the chain y' taking up by the drum Z, which depends
on its circumference. Hence, at the commencement of building a cop, or
when the spindle is bare and the greatest amount of revolution is required,
the chain y¹ is placed on the largest part of the spiral drum Z by revolving
the hyperbolic screw in a direction to traverse it to the larger end of the
spiral drum Z, and here the cop is commenced. But as the building of the
cop proceeds, and its diameter increases, the chain y¹ is traversed by the pro-
gressive revolution of the hyperbolic screw z to a smaller part of the drum, until
the period at which the cop bottom, as seen at Figure 5, is completed; after
which, the uniform structure of the cop, as already described, only requires a

page_text: repetition of the same varying velocity of winding on.
23
The revolution of
the hyperbolic screw z for traversing the chain y¹ during the building of the
cop bottom, is effected by the spur wheels, seen in Figure 1, and the star 22,
which gathers a tooth at each revolution of the cone by coming in contact with
a stop placed on a lever so as to take a tooth of the star wheel only on the
drawing out of the carriage, as seen at Figure 2; and when the chain has
thus traversed to the end of the hyperbolic screw the link remains in a grove,
which allows the screw to revolve without varying the position of the chain.
As soon as the winding on is effected, and the carriage C has arrived at the
front roller A, the cam T will have arrived at the position shewn at Figure 2,
in which the clutch w is held free of both couplings u¹ and us, and at the
same period the bowl u* has also arrived at the position to depress the lever d,
which, raising the weight s, vibrates the strap guide d' over the loose pulley
to the driving pulley, in the position shewn at Figure 2, when the spinning
recommences, the driving bevil P being re-connected with the drawing rollers'
while the carriage is taken out by the band D, as already described. The
faller is raised clear of the spindles by the finger piece e, which is elevated by
means of the cam T on the shaft of the wheel G, as best seen at Figure 1,
at the same time that the action of the bowl u* and the cam T place the
arm I and lever R* and R' in their former position, preparatory to the coming
out of the carriage in the succeeding stretch, when the same movements are
again repeated. It will also be remarked that the lever d holds the wheel G
stationary by means of a stud during the going out of the carriage, but
as soon as the d lever is vibrated by the weight s the wheel G is liberated.
Having gone through the four movements required to be performed for
rendering the mule self-acting, and described the manner in which I perform
the same, I would remark, that the similarity of the machine known by the
name of the stretcher renders it unnecessary to repeat the operations, as
regards that machine; and, further, that the whole of these four movements,
namely, the motion of the carriage, the putting down and guiding of the faller
wire, the backing off, and the winding on, depend on the revolution of the
wheel G, and the various cams and appendages on the shaft on which it is
placed, such apparatus being put in motion as soon as the spinning ceases by
the traverse of the driving strap E ㅎ
on to the self-acting pulley S'; and,
although I lay no claim whatever to the individual or separate parts of which
the machine is constructed, or any of the well-known arrangements which are
common to ordinary mules and machines of this class, yet I do distinctly claim
as my Invention,―
First, the spiral drum Z and the hyperbolic screw 2, and which, in con-
junction with the chain wheel and chain, I effect the winding on motion, as

page_text: already described. But I do not confine myself exclusively to the byberbolic
screw, as the curve may be varied by using a different form of spiral drum;
but I claim the application of a symmetric curve to that part of the winding
on motion of the self-acting mule. And likewise I claim the application of
two spirals, as shewn at Figures 7 and 8, at each end of the drum, in what-
ever way or manner the change from the spiral, Figure 8, to the spiral,
Figure 7, may be effected; and further, as the motion imparted to the spindles
by the putting up of the carriage is by me in my present arrangement made to
assist the drum in winding on, so, on the other hand, if the spindles are made
to revolve in the opposite direction to that given by the drum, the spiral
throughout will have to be made proportionably larger.
Second, I claim the arrangement for taking in the carriage by means of a
revolving arm or crank with the appendages, already described.
Third, I claim the sector u², in conjunction with a varying stop, regulated
and put in motion as described, for effecting the backing off motion.
Fourth, I claim the general arrangement of the mule head stock in a
perpendicular position, as set forth and described; and likewise the arrange-
ment for putting the bevils which drive the drawing rollers in and out of geer,
together with the bevils which draw out the carriage by means of one move-
ment, as described; and likewise the arrangement for putting down and lifting
up the faller wire by means of the cam T, as already described; and likewise
the arrangement by which one revolution of the shaft on which the wheel G
and its appendages are placed to govern the motions of the self-acting mule,
as already described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Potter, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the Nineteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One