Year: 1887

page_text: I, EDWARD WILLIAM SERRELL junior, civil engineer of New York; United States,
temporarily residing in Chabeuil, department of the Drôme, France 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:-
My invention has for its object a process and machinery for effecting automatically
the operation, hitherto effected by hand, of filling with cocoons the cocoon-holders or
magazines invented by me for reeling silk from the cocoons.
An
In carrying the process into practice I employ a cocoon-holder substantially similar
to that shown in my United States Patent No. 320709 dated June 23 1885 with the
exception that the cells in which the cocoons are placed by hand are replaced by
conical pockets; this magazine is placed, in an inclined position, between two basins,
called the charging basin and the reeling basin, in such a manner that the lowermost
part of the magazine dips into the water contained in the charging basin.
agitation of the water is created in the latter basin and the cocoons floating thereon
are driven automatically into such of the pockets of the magazine as are partially
under water. An intermittent rotation is imparted to the cocoon-holder for the
purpose of bringing successively the filled pockets uppermost and above the reeling
basin, into which a cocoon is thrown, as required, by a mechanism which ejects the
cocoons one after another out of the uppermost pocket.
The cocoon thus ejected from the pocket onto the water contained in the reeling
basin is held in readiness to be added to the running silk thread in process of reeling,
whenever a cocoon filament is required.
My invention likewise consists substantially in mechanical contrivances for rotating
the cocoon-holder and ejecting one cocoon at a time, as required.
In the drawings,
Fig. 1 and 2 are general diagrams showing a charging basin, a reeling basin and a
pocket-magazine or cocoon-holder, with accessory parts.
Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation, fig. 4 a plan, fig. 5 and 6 side elevations of the
pocket-magazine seen from the outside and inside of fig. 3 respectively.
Fig. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 are details.

page_text: The magazine 1 fig. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6, has a number of pockets arranged circum-
ferentially. Each pocket is formed by a conical wall and a rod 2. The magazine 1.
is mounted on an inclined shaft 3 fig. 1 & 2 secured to a frame 4 and its lowermost
end dips into hot water contained in the charging basin 5. The basin 5 is charged
with cocoons which have previously undergone the requisite operations for preparing
them for reeling. The charging basin 5 is provided with a casing 6 containing a
screw 7 or any other equivalent device capable of producing an agitation or current
of water the agitation produced thereby causes the water to circulate from the
casing 6 through openings 8 fig. 1 towards the magazine 1, through such of the
pockets thereof as are partially under water, and then under a false bottom 9, back
to the casing 6. In order to prevent the cocoons from collecting in one corner of
the basin 5 a supplementary current of water, led at 10 from the casing 6 through a
pipe 11 may be caused to issue through the perforated end of the said pipe 11 as
shown by the arrows in fig. 2. The supplementary pipe 11 may be placed in any
desired position in the water of the basin and provided with more than one discharge
orifice if necessary: 12 is the driving shaft of the screw 7.
The ends of the filaments of cocoons floating on the water of the charging basin
are attached to a peg 13 placed at any suitable point above the basin. The rim 14 of
the magazine 1 may be serrated, so as to catch the filaments of the respective pockets
between the teeth of the said rim 14.
I shall now proceed to describe the mechanical contrivances which I prefer to
employ in connection with the magazine. The operations are four in number First
the magazine is unlocked, Second the magazine is rotated a fraction of a revolution,
Third the magazine is relocked and Fourth the cocoon contained in the uppermost
pocket fig. 7 is ejected from the said pocket and falls onto the water contained in the
reeling basin 15. These four operations take place successively and are derived from
the first motion shaft 16 of the machine.
Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation of the machine.
Fig. 8 is an elevation, partly in section, of the magazine with the mechanical
contrivances for fulfilling the above mentioned operations.
Fig. 9 is a left hand side elevation of fig. 8, the magazine being shown in dotted
lines, and the guide 33 removed.
Fig. 10 is a detail of the ejector.
Fig. 11 is a detail of the mechanism for unlocking, rotating and relocking the
magazine.
Fig. 12 is a detail of a mechanism for conducting the cocoon raised by the ejector.
Unlocking and Relocking the Magazine. 17 is a tooth wheel formed with the
hub 18 of the magazine, fig. 7, 8, 11. The magazine is held locked by a catch-
lever 19 pivoted at 20 fig. 8, 9 and 11 and acted upon by a spring 21 tending to
constantly keep the magazine locked. A temporary disengagement of the catch-
lever 19 is effected by a pin 22 forming part of a collar 23 fixed to the driving
shaft 16. The pin 22 when rotated with the shaft 16, comes in contact with the
lever 19 and raises it for a sufficient length of time, to allow of the magazine being
rotated as hereinafter explained. As soon as the magazine has been rotated the pin 22
leaves the catch-lever 19 and the latter again locks the magazine.
Rotating the Magazine. The rotation of the magazine 1 is effected by a tooth 24
forming part of a collar 25 fixed to the driving shaft 16. The tooth 24 rotates the
magazine one tooth at a time, see fig. 8, 9 & 11.
Ejecting the Cocoon out of the Uppermost Pocket. The cocoon contained in the
uppermost pocket of the magazine 1 is thrown out by two distinct operations, viz:
raising the cocoon until it is out of the pocket, then moving it horizontally towards
the reeling basin 15 fig. 8, 9, 10 & 12.
The raising of the cocoon out of its pocket is effected by means of a bent arm 26
pivoted at 27; the arm 26 is depressed by a cam 28 see fig. 10, acting against the
end of a projection 29 fixed on the same axis 27 as the arm 26, and is raised by a
spiral spring a slipped onto the axis 27.
When the cocoon has been raised out of, and is above the pocket, it is conducted

page_text: by a dome-shaped piece 30 secured to an arm 31 pivoted at 32; when the dome
shaped-piece 30 has moved from the position shown in full lines to that shown in
dotted lines fig. 8, the cocoon is allowed to fall through a funnel-shaped guide 33 onto
the water of the reeling basin 15.
The motion of the dome-shaped piece 30) is derived from a cam 34 fixed on the
driving shaft 16 fig. 12: the cam 34 acts against an arm 35 pivoted at 36, the free
end of which is forked, to engage the shank of the arm 31 and move it, together with
the dome-shaped piece 30 as shown in fig. 8.
A spiral spring 37 slipped over the axis 36 tends to constantly keep the dome shaped
piece 30 in the position shown in fig. 8, in full lines.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :
First. The hereinbefore described process for automatically filling a pocket-
magazine with cocoons, consisting substantially in the employment of a current of
water, by which the cocoons floating thereon are driven into the pockets of the
magazine.
Second. The employment of one or more supplementary currents of water, for
preventing the cocoons from agglomerating in any corner of the charging basin 5.
Third. The magazine 1 having circumferential pockets, as described with reference
to fig. 3, 4, 5 & 6.
Fourth. The construction of the charging basin 5 comprising the following main
instrumentalities :
a) a screw 7 or other equivalent device capable of producing an agitation, a
current or a circulation of water.
b) a casing 6.
c) a false bottom 9 so configurated as to meet and join the bottom of the inclined
magizine I.
d) one or more pipes 11 leading, from 10, one or more supplementary currents
of water to any desired corner of the charging basin, to prevent the cocoons
from accumulating in the said corners, as described with reference to
fig. 1 and 2.
Fifth. The combination of a charging basin 5 and a reeling basin 15 with a
pocket-magazine 1 as described with reference to fig. 1 and 2 for the purpose set
forth.
Sixth. The herein described machinery operated by the first motion shaft 16
composed :
a) of a catch-lever 19 pivoted at 20 and acted upon by a pin 22 for the purpose
of unlocking & locking the magazine 1 as described with reference to
fig. 8, 9 and 11.
b) of a tooth 24 and tooth wheel 17 for the purpose of rotating the magazine 1
to the extent of one pocket, as described with reference to fig. 8, 9 and 11.
c) of an arm 26 pivoted at 27 a cam 28 and a projection 29 for raising the
cocoon above the uppermost pocket, as described with reference to fig. 8, 9
and 10.
d) of a dome-shaped piece 30 an arm 31 pivoted at 32, a cam 34 and a forked
arm 35 pivoted at 36, for conducting the raised cocoon to the reeling basin 15,
with or without a guide 33, as described with reference to fig. 8, 9 and 12.
Dated this 29th day of June 1887
BRANDON & SON,
Agents for Applicant.