IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR BEAMING AND SIZING WOOLLEN, COTTON, SILK, OR OTHER YARNS OR THREADS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joshua Heap, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster,
Woollen Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR BEAMING AND SIZING WOOLLEN, COTTON, SILK, OR OTHER YARNS OR
THREADS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES."
Sealed the 11th May 1877, in pursuance of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, and
dated the 1st November 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joshua Heap at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st November 1876.
JOSHUA HEAP, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster, Woollen Manufacturer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR BEAMING AND SIZING WOOLLEN, COTTON, SILK,
OR OTHER YARNS OR THREADS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO
OTHER PURPOSES."
Considerable inconvenience and loss by waste yarn has been experienced in
beaming and sizing yarns on the slashers or tape beaming and sizing machines,
owing to the irregularity in the winding and unwinding of the yarn beams which
has caused irregular termination of the yarn on the various beams which are required
to be sized at one time to constitute a warp. For instance, suppose six beams are
required to constitute a warp and they are placed in a frame one behind another;
these are supposed to contain each exactly the same number of yards of yarn, as
registered by the indicator attached to measuring roller on the beaming frame.
The tension or drag applied to these beams to keep the yarn stretched is applied to
each beam separately, and is a leather strap fastened at one end to the frame and
then carried over and resting on the yarn beam, and at the other end a weight is
suspended, the weight of which is determined by the sizer in proportion to the
amount of tension he requires.
It is quite evident that by this application of tension to the yarn that the tension
may vary very much on different beams, for one strap may be soft and therefore
bites hard on the yarn beam, thus retarding its revolutions; on the other hand

page_text: another strap may be smooth and hard and offers but little resistance to the
revolution of the yarn beam, and thus at the termination of the unwinding of the
beam which has first completed its work other beams will have a quantity of yarn
yet unwound, and this is only waste, it cannot substitute part of the warp, for the
longest length of the warp is decided by the length of the yarn which was on the
beam first empty.
In cotton yarns which are not so elastic as woollen yarns the difference is not
quite so apparent, but by the plan described further on no difference whatever need
be seen, even if thousands of yards are on each beam at the commencement. To
secure this uniformity and that all the beams required to constitute a warp shall
complete their unwinding simultaneously and give one exact length to all, I proceed
as follows-On the accompanying Drawings representing a beam winding machine
A is a measuring roller driven by the friction of the yarn as it is drawn from the
bobbin creel by the surface cylinder B; this measuring roller registers on a dial the
number of yards of yarn which have passed over it on to the yarn beam; B is
the surface cylinder fixed on a shaft, and at one end of the cylinder is a drum or
pulley to drive the cylinder its proper course, and at the other end is a drum or
pulley to drive the cylinder backwards or the reverse course at the will of the
attendant. This surface cylinder is the source of motive power of the whole
machine. On the upper side of this cylinder rests the yarn beam C kept in its
position by levers D; the revolving of the surface cylinder in one direction causes
the yarn beam to run in the opposite direction, and by this means the yarn is
wound on to or unwound from the yarn beam at the will of the attendant.
It is here necessary to notice that the motive power of the yarn beam being
friction communicated by the surface cylinder B, no reliance can be placed that two
or more consecutive beams will have exactly the same number of revolutions of
yarn on, even supposing the measuring roller dial had registered, such to be the
case, for the tension of yarn drawn from the creėl varies very much under different
circumstances. It is therefore desirable that some certain and positive principle
should be introduced, and I propose to do so by the following plan:-A wheel is fixed
on the pivot end of the yarn beam C, and is by means of a carrier or intermediate
wheel geared into a wheel on the first dial; this wheel is fixed on a stud or pin at
the same point at which lever D is attached to the frame, and the intermediate or
carrier wheel is fixed to a stud or pin on this lever D, and at a point equidistant
from the pivot end of the yarn beam to the stud of the wheel, and thus as the yarn
beam fills and the pivot ends of the beam are raised up from the surface cylinder
the wheels remain in gear, for they retain their relative positions. This wheel
communicates with a clockwork arrangement of dials which will accurately register
the number of revolutions of the yarn beam. This arrangement of dials consists of,
say five dials, which will register up to ten thousand revolutions of the yarn beam,
the first dial registering one revolution, the second ten, the third one hundred, the
fourth one thousand, and the fifth ten thousand. On the outer edge of these dials
are loose pointers which can be moved round to any part of the dial, and by means
of a screw can be set and fixed to any part of the dial.
We will now suppose that an empty yarn beam has been placed on the surface
cylinder B and secured to its place by the lever D. A groove runs the entire
length of the beam, and the yarn is spread over the entire space between the flanges
of the beam, a rod is placed over the yarn and into the groove, and all is ready for
commencing to run the yarn on to the beam. The attendant then sets the finger of
the measuring roller indicator at zero, and also the fingers of the various dials of
yarn beam at zero, and proceeds to wind on the number of yards of yarn required.
When the requisite number of yards of yarn have been run on to the first beam,
the machine is stopped and the loose pointers before named are each set opposite the
fingers indicating the number of revolutions of the yarn beam. The number of
revolutions of the first beam governs the remaining portion required to complete the
warp, and thus when the pointers are fixed the fingers should be reset at zero before'

page_text: commencing to make another beam, and the yarn allowed to run on until the
fingers come opposite the pointers, and by this means the whole set of beams have
exactly the same number of revolutions of yarn. The beams are then placed in the
frame and connected by wheels of identical size and pitch, and the warp is passed
into the size.
If one beam has more tension on it than the others it is accelerated by the wheels
of the other beams; and if on the contrary one has less tension it is kept in check by
the others; no beam can revolve faster or slower than the other, the result is all
complete, unwinding together, and the warp is perfect in its length and a minimum
of waste is secured.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent and of
an Order of the Lord Chancellor, filed by the said Joshua Heap in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 16th May 1877.
JOSHUA HEAP, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster, Manufacturer. "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR BEAMING AND SIZING WOOLLEN, COTTON, SILK, OR
OTHER YARNS OR THREADS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER
PURPOSES."
Considerable inconvenience and loss by waste yarn have been experienced in
beaming and sizing yarns on the slasher or tape beaming and sizing machines,
owing to the irregularity in the winding and unwinding of the yarn beams which
has caused irregular termination of the yarn on the various beams which are
required to be sized at one time to constitute a warp. For instance, suppose six
beams are required to constitute a warp and are placed in a frame one behind
another, the beams being supposed to contain each exactly the same number of
yards of yarn, as registered by the indicator attached to the measuring roller on the
beaming frame. At present the tension or drag applied to these beams to keep the
yarn stretched is applied to each beam separately, and consists of a leather strap
fastened at one end to the frame and then carried over and resting on the yarn
beam, and at the other end a weight is suspended, the weight of which is determined
by the sizer in proportion to the amount of tension he requires.
It is evident that by this application of tension to the yarn that the tension may
vary very much on different beams, for one strap may be soft and bite hard on the
yarn beam, thus retarding its revolutions; on the other hand another strap may be
smooth and hard so as to offer but little resistance to the revolutions of the yarn
beam, and thus at the termination of the unwinding of the beam which has first
completed its work other beams will have a quantity of yarn yet unwound, and
this is only waste it cannot constitute part of the warp, for the longest length of
the warp is decided by the length of the yarn which was on the beam first empty.
In cotton yarns which are not so elastic as woollen yarns the difference is not
quite so apparent, but by the plan described further on no difference whatever need
be seen, even if thousands of yards are on each beam at the commencement.
The arrangements and contrivances I employ to secure this uniformity, so that all
beams required to constitute a warp shall complete their unwinding simultaneously
and give one exact length to all, will be clearly understood by the following
particular description thereof, reference being had to the figures and letters on the
accompanying two Sheets of Drawings, in which Fig. 1, Sheet 1, is an end view of
the framing and parts of a beaming or warping machine in which several parts of
my improvements are shewn, and Fig. 2 is a side view of a creel representing my
improvements used in connection with a sizing machine.
In Fig. 1a represents the framework of a beaming or warping machine; b, the
driving pulley; c, the surface cylinder; d, the warp beam driven by the surface

page_text: cylinder; e, the front comb; f, the back comb; g, the measuring roller; ¿, the dial
for indicating the revolutions of the warp beam d; and j, the ordinary dial for
indicating the number of yards of yarn passed to the machine. The surface
cylinder c is fixed on a shaft h, and at one end of the cylinder is a pulley b to drive
the cylinder its proper course, and at the other end is a pulley to drive the cylinder
backwards or the reverse course at the will of the attendant, the surface cylinder c
as is well known being the driver of the whole machine. On the upper side of the
cylinder c rests the yarn beam & kept in its position by levers k, and the revolving of
the surface cylinder in one direction causes the yarn beam to turn in the opposite
direction, and by this means the yarn is wound on to or unwound from the yarn
beam, according to the direction in which the surface cylinder is turned.
It is here necessary to notice that the motive power of the yarn beam being
friction communicated by the surface cylinder, no reliance can be placed that two
or more consecutive beams will have exactly the same number of revolutions of
yarn on, even supposing the measuring roller dial had registered such to be the case,
for the tension of the yarn marked drawn from the creel varies very much under
different circumstances, but to make the variation as little as possible, 1 employ a
top rollerz under which the yarn passes. It is therefore desirable that some certain
and positive principle should be introduced and I propose to do so by the following
plan A toothed wheel m is fixed on the pivot end of the yarn beam, and is by
means of the intermediate wheels n, o, geared into a wheel p, placed on a .stud or
pin at the same point or centre as the levers k, and the intermediate or carrier
wheels n, o, are placed on a stud or pin at the same point or centre as the levers,
and the intermediate or carrier wheels n, o, are placed on studs or pins on one of the
levers k, and as the yarn beam fills, and the pivot ends of the beam are raised up
from the surface cylinder the wheels remain in gear in their relative positions.
These wheels n, o, are geared by means of bevil gearing q, r, with an upright shaft s
communicating with indicators i, and this arrangement will accurately register any
number of revolutions of the yarn beam, and on the outer edge of the dial of the
indicator there are loose pointers which can be moved round to any part of the dial,
and be set and fixed as required.
Let us suppose that in the usual way an empty yarn beam has been placed on
the surface cylinder c, and secured to its place by the levers k, there being a groove
running the entire length of the beam, and the yarn spread over the entire space
between the flanges of the beam, and all ready for commencing to run the yarn on
to the beam. The attendant then sets the finger of the measuring roller indicator j
at zero, and also the fingers of the yarn beam indicator i at zero, and proceeds to
wind on the number of yards of yarn required.
When the requisite number of yards of yarn have been run on to the first beam,
the machine is stopped and the loose pointers before named are each set opposite
the fingers indicating the number of revolutions of the yarn beam. The number of
revolutions of the first beam governs the remaining number required to complete
the warp, and thus when the pointers are fixed the fingers should be reset at zero
before commencing to make another beam, and the yarn allowed to run on until the
fingers come opposite the pointers, and by this means the whole set of beams have
exactly the same number of revolutions of yarn. The beams in Fig. 2 are then
placed in the creel of the sizing machine and geared together by toothed wheels of
identical size and pitch, and the warp is passed through the sizing machine in the
usual manner.
If one beam has more tension on it than the others it is accelerated by the wheels
of the other beams; and if on the contrary one has less tension it is kept in check
by the others, and thus no beam can revolve faster or slower than the other, the
result being a complete unwinding together of all the beams, thereby causing the
warp to be perfect in its length and ensuring a minimum of waste.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention, I desire
it to be understood that I claim, the improved mode or method of obtaining uniform

page_text: lengths of yarn on all the beams required for the warp beam of the sizing machine,
as herein described and illustrated on the accompanying Sheets of Drawings, or any
mere modification thereof.
"In witness whereof, I, the said Joshua Heap, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Eleventh day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-seven.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named. Joshua Heap, in
the presence of
G. SEPTIMUS HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
JOSHUA HEAP. (L.S.)