IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING FIBROUS
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Higgins, of Salford, in the County of
Lancaster, Machine. Maker, and Thomas Schofield Whitworth, of
1: the same place: Mechanic for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LETTERS PATENT to James Higgins, of Salford, in the County of
Lancaster, Machine Maker, and Thomas Schofield Whitworth, of
the same place: Mechanic, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING FIBROUS
Sealed the 7th April 1854, and dated the 12th October 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Higgins and
Thomas Schofield Whitworth at 'the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 12th October 1853.
"
We, JAMES. HIGGINS, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster,
Machine Maker, and THOMAS SCHOFIELD WHITWORTH, of the same
place, Mechanic, do.hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
IMPROVEMENTS. IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS. FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING
FIBROUS MATERIALS" to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates to that machine known as the self-acting mule.
We do not propose to alter the motions thereof, but to obtain greater
simplicity of construction by a novel arrangement of certain parts.
One portion of our improvements has reference to that machine known
as Sharp & Roberts' arrangement, and consists in placing the "scroll

page_text: shaft" and "self-acting driving pulley" so as to connect the two by a
pinion and wheel, and for the said scroll shaft we avail ourselves of
the back shaft" in ordinary use. We also effect the "backing off"
by causing at suitable times the before-mentioned wheel upon the
scroll shaft to pass into connection with a pulley which acts as a
carrier when the twisting, operation is taking place. In the aforesaid
description of mule we have also a novel arrangement of "long lever,"
which liberates the "change or escapement wheel." According to this
part of our improvements we mount the centre of the "long lever"
upon the framework of the machine, and cause it to act direct upon
the change or escapemen. wheel, that is, without the intervention of
the upright lever in common use.
Another improvement consists in a method of communicating motion
to the spindles by an arrangement of wheel work. Upon the back
shaft we mount loosely a bevil wheel, which is caused to rotate at the
proper time by the friction clutch-being brought into connection with
it for the purpose of backing off. This wheel is in gear with a pinion
affixed to a shaft which extends in the direction of the stretch, and
which is flattened on opposite sides of its centre so as by its revolution
to carry round a pinion which bears upon the said flattened sides by
means of two rollers. This pinion is in gear with another mounted
upon a line shaft, from which by intervening machinery the bands pro-
ceeding to the spindles receive their motion, and the two are connected
together by a bracket, by which arrangement the line shaft will carry
the pinion which is mounted upon the first-mentioned shaft backward
and forward. The pap of the bevil wheel before mentioned upon the
"back shaft" is provided with a pinion gearing with a wheel upon the
driving shaft, and they are so adapted as to be capable of easy removal,
in order to gain a change of speed for the operation of twisting. The
line shaft which communicates motion to the spindles we form in
several portions, connected together by universal joints. Another
improvement consists in an arrangement for shifting the driving strap
on to the loose pulley. To accomplish this we mount the worm of the
twist wheel so as to turn around the centre of the shaft upon which
the self-actor pulley is mounted, thereby enabling it to gear with

page_text: wheels of different diameters mounted upon a fixed shaft. This fixed
shaft is provided with a eam, which by acting upon suitable connections
shifts the strap on to the loose pulley, and when this has been accom-
plished another cam on the same shaft operates upon the escapement."
wheel, so as to put on the backing off friction brake.
Another part of our improvements relates to the shaper, and consists
in forming it in one piece with the slip upon which the carriage runs,
whereby the proper relative positions of the parts are preserved.
-Our last improvement consists in the employment of flat metallic.
bands, in place of the ropes or chains commonly used for scroll, taking
out, and squaring bands.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Higgins and Thomas Schofield. Whit-
worth in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 12th April 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we,
JAMES HIGGINS, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Machine
Maker, and THOMAS SCHOFIELD WHITWORTH, of the same place,
Mechanic, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the seventeenthi
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto us, the said James Higgins and Thomas Schofield Whit-
worth, Her especial license that we, the said James Higgins and
Thomas Schofield Whitworth, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said James Higgins and Thomas
Schofield Whitworth, our executors, 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 MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SPINNING
AND DOUBLING FIBROUS MATERIALS," upon the condition (amongst others)

page_text: that we, the said James Higgins and Thomas Schofield Whitworth, by
an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, 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 we, the said James Higgins and Thomas
Schofield Whitworth, do hereby declare the nature of our said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particu-
larly described and ascertained in and by the following statement and.
accompanying Drawings (that is to say):
Our Invention relates to the self-acting, mule of that construction
known as Sharp and Roberts'. We do not propose to alter the motions,
but to obtain greater simplicity of construction by novel arrangements
of certain parts. The first point of novelty consist in placing the
"scroll shaft and self-actor pulley so as to connect the two by a pinion
and wheel; and for the said scroll shaft "we avail ourselves of the
"back shaft" in ordinary use.. We also effect the " backing off" by
causing at suitable times the before-mentioned wheel upon the scroll
shaft to pass into connection with a pulley which acts as a carrier when
the twisting operation is taking place. !"
Our second improvement relates to a novel arrangement of the "long
lever" employed for liberating the change or escapement wheel. Ac-
cording to this part of our improvements we mount the centre of the
said long lever upon the framework of the machine, and cause it to
act direct upon the change or escapement wheel, that is, without the
intervention of an upright lever.
3
The next part of our Invention, according to our Provisional Speci-
fication, related. to, a method of giving motion to the spindles, but we
have, since the filing: of the same found upon trial, that the method
described is not entirely, new, and we. therefore lay no claim thereto.
The third part of our Invention consists in an arrangement for shifting
the driving strap on to the loosei pulley. To accomplish this we mount
the worm of the twist wheel so as to be capable of being turned around
the centre of the shaft upon which. the self-acter. pulley is mounted,

page_text: :
thereby enabling it to gear with wheels of different diameters mounted
upon a fixed shaft. This fixed shaft is provided with a cam, which, by
acting upon suitable apparatus, shifts the strap on to the loose pulley,
and when this has been accomplished another cam opérates upon the
escapement wheel so as to put on the backing-off friction brake!
Our fourth improvement relates to the shaper frame, and consists in
forming it in one piece with the slip upon which the carriage wheel runs.
Another part of our Invention, according to our Provisional Speci
fication, consisted in the employment of flat metallic bands in the place
of the ropes or chains commonly used for the scroll, taking out, and
squaring bands, but we have since the filing thereof found that the same
is not of practical utility, and lay'no claim thereto.
"
Having thus set forth the particulars of the several points of our Inven!
tion as described in our Provisional Specification, we will; by aid of certain
illustrative Drawings, proceed to point out how the same, may be carried
into practical effect. Fig. 1, is a sectional elevation of the headstock
of a mule, some of the parts, however, being omitted as not necessary
for the description of our Invention; Fig. 2, is a plan view thereof;
Fig. 3, a partial side elevation; and Fig. 4, an end view of the same!
Upon a shaft a, are mounted the driving pulley b; and self-actor pulley c;
the latter of which is mounted loosely, as in ordinary miules, and carries
tipon its boss a pinion d, taking into a wheel e, niounted: loosely upon
the ordinary back shaft ; this wheel is provided with a clutch g,
corresponding to another formed upon the scroll pulley, which is
mounted loose. upon the back sliaft f, upon which it is capable of
being caused-to slide by means of a lever turning upon a
centre at, and caused to vibrate by a cain, situate upon
the "change shaft", against which cam- 'the lever is kept by
means of a spring. Around the scroll pulley is passed' a band, which
is attached to the carriage so as, to cause it to be drawn in after the
ordinary manner. Upon the back shaft f, is mounted fast a pulleyim,
provided with a clutch corresponding to another n, which is: formed:
upon a toothed wheel' o, mounted-so as to turn loose upon the back
shaft f and continually forced towards. the pulley m, by means of a
spring. This wlieel derives rotatary motion from the fast pulley b,
:

page_text: by means of the train q, r, s, and when in the position shewn in the
Drawings communicates rotary motion to the pulley m, around which
the cord is passed in order to draw out the carriage in the ordinary
manner. Upon the carriage having arrived at its greatest distance from
the rollers a cam 1 upon the change shaft will operate upon a lever
and through it upon a lever u, so as to cause it to turn upon its centre v
and shift the clutch n, from connexion with the pulley m; this motion
will of course cause the wheel o, to slide upon its shaft, but not suffi-
ciently far to remove it from gear with the pinion s; with which it will
therefore always be in connexion. The pinion q, upon the shaft a,
drives (by means of the gearing, shewn) a shaft w, from which the
necessary motion of the rollers is derived. The shaft w, has this
motion communicated to it by means of a clutch fastened upon it
corresponding to another a, formed upon the wheel y, which is
mounted loosely, and the said shaft may therefore be disconnected from
the driving power by shifting the wheel y, upon its shaft; this is accom-
plished by means of a lever, acted upon by a cam 1, mounted upon
the change shaft; the wheel y, is represented in the Drawing mounted
loose upon its shaft for this purpose, but does not move so far thereon
as to become disconnected from the wheel which drives it; the com-
munication of motion to the rollers is therefore by these means cut off
when required. Upon the shaft of the fast pulley b, is a pulley 2,
which by means of a band actuates a carrier 3, over which and
another pulley 4, mounted loose upon the shaft f, the band 5 passes
for the purpose of actuating the spindles, by which arrangement they are
driven during the operation of spinning. Upon the change shaft is a
cam 6, acting against a lever 7, mounted upon a rocking shaft 8,
which also carries another lever 9, the upper end of which is provided
with a fork embracing the boss of the pulley 4; the revolution of the
cam 6, will therefore cause the pulley to be slidden upon the shaft f
and this motion will have brought its interior periphery into contact with
a conical clutch 10, mounted fast upon the boss of the wheel e, which, as
before stated, is actuated by the pinion d, in connection with the self-
acter pulley c. The motion for winding on the yarn we have not
shewn in the Drawings, as our Invention does not refer to that
part of

page_text: .
the machine. Our arrangement of "long lever," and the method by
which it effects the escapement action, are as follows:-The lever is
shewn at 11, mounted 'so as to be capable of turning upon a centre
at 12; one end thereof is provided with a projecting part so situate so
as to intercept the pins of the escapement wheel 13; the other end is
provided with a jointed arm 14, extending downwards, and moving
vertically in a socket or guide 15; in this (according to the position
shewn) it is supported at a certain elevation by means of a projecting
part which rests upon the edge of the said socket, by which means the
lever 11, is kept in a definite position, and the projecting part on the
front end thereof is acting as an abutment for a pin of the escape-
ment wheel. Upon the arm 14, is a projecting screw 16, against
which a projection attached to the carriage is caused to arrive, by which
means the arm 14, will be caused to turn upon its centre at top, so as
to cease to rest upon the socket 15, into which it will then fall, thereby
causing the lever 11, to turn upon its centre 12, and allow an escape-
ment piu to pass its projecting part, in which position it will form an
abutment for another position of the escapement wheel. The slip upon
which the carriage runs is shewn at 40, cast upon a bed 41, which is
bolted to the side framework of the headstock; this bed also constitutes
the framing for the shaper plates 42, to rest and slide upon; each of
these plates is formed by two projecting parts 42, 42*; upon the former
the shaper rests by means of the pins 46, and upon the latter by one
central pin at 47; the two are connected by a rod 48, and the necessary
sliding motion is imparted by means of the screw 49, which is turned
by the ratchet 50..
Having thus described the arrangement and construction of the
leading parts of the machine, we will describe in general terms the
combined operation of those parts to which the several points of our.
Invention refer. According to the position shewn in the Drawing
the driving strap is on the fast pulley, and the carriage is being run
out by the band of the pulley m, which is in connection with,
the wheel o. The rollers are deriving their rotatory motion from the
pinion, and the spindles are caused to revolve by the pulleys 2; 3, 4...
Upon the arrival of the carriage at the termination of the stretch the..

page_text: projection will have arrived in contact with the screw 16, so as to push
the arm 14 forward, and by freeing its projection from the socket 15
allow it to fall therein. Simultaneously with this the excentric 18, will
have arrived beneath a stop piece 19, attached to the lever 11, and
will at once, when not twisting at the head, have become a stop for de-
termining the extent of motion of the lever 11, upon its centre, so as
to liberate the escapement wheel, and allow it to make a half, révolu
tion. The revolution of the change shaft will then cause the cam I, to
shift the clutches n, a, and wheels o, y, so as to arrest the revolution of
the pulley m, and shaft w, by which latter the rollers are driven. The
shifting of the driving strap on to the self-actor pulley by the cam 37,
will have arrested the revolution of the pulley 2, and the spindles will
cease to revolve as for spinning; at the same time the cam 6, will, by
acting upon the levers 7, 9, shift the pulley 4, upon the shaft f, so as
to thrust its interior periphery into contact with the friction cone 10,
which being now caused to revolve through the agency of the pinion
and wheel d, e, will impart rotatory motion to the, spindles in the direc
tion for backing off. The usual action of the faller chain during the
backing off will now draw up the rod and lever 43, so as to liberate tlie
excentric 18, and allow it to fall, thereby permitting the stop 19, and
consequently lever 11, to descend through another space, by which the
escapement will again be liberated, and the consequent revolution of
the change shaft will cause the cam to shift the scroll 7, into gear with
the clutch g, so as to cause it to revolve and draw the carriage inward.
The carriage is held at the end of the stretch by the catch 20, and is
liberated when about to move in by a pin 21, upon the lever arriving
in contact with the catch, so as to raise its other end. Upon the
arrival of the carriage towards the roller beam an arm 22, will have
arrived in contact with a piece 23, projecting downward from the
lever 11, by which nieans it will be caused to turn upon its centre into
the position shewn in the Drawing, and the escapement will be
allowed to bring 'the several parts into the arrangement requisite for
another stretch. That part of our Invention relating to the twist
wheel is shewn in the Figures above referred to, and also in the detached
view upon a large scale, Fig. 5. Upon the axis of the pulley. 6, is

page_text: mounted a bevil 24, taking into a bevil 25, affixed to a shaft 26, the.
other end of which carries a worm 27, taking into a worm wheel 28,
carried by a shaft 29: The bearings of the shaft 26, are formed upon
an independent frame 30, mounted so as to be capable of being turned
upon the axis of the bevil 24, and of being confined to any position
required by a tightening, screw 31, extending through a circular slot
formed in the part 30. By this arrangement the worm 27, may be.
caused to advance towards or recede from the shaft. 29, so as to gear:
with twist wheels of various diameters without disturbing the proper-
relative positions of the bevils 24, 25, by which motion is communi-
cated. Upon the shaft 29, is mounted a cam 32,.situate above an
extension of the "long lever." 11, which cam will, in its revolutions
imparted by the twist wheel, form a stop for that lever, -and-permit a
motion of the escapement only when the required amount of twist has
been imparted to the yarn. The shaft 29, also carries a cam 33, which
is mounted loosely thereon, and caused to turn upon its axis by means
of a pin 34, projecting from the side of the cam 32, by which means
a prominence 33 is brought into contact with a 'lever 35, extending
from the shaft which carries -the-fork 36, and-the-driving strap will
then be thrown on to the loose pulley; this motion is calculated to
take place a little in advance. of that which would be effected by, the
ordinary means, so as to avoid the danger of the spindles being actuated
by the fast and loose pulleys at the same time, and consequently in
contrary directions. When the pin 34, has effected the required revo-
lution of the cam 33, its further revolution will allow the said cam to
fall round upon its centre into position for the next similar operation,
in order to assist which a counterbalance is adapted.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of our said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, we desire
it to be understood that we claim as secured to us under the above in
part recited Letters Patent,
Firstly, so placing the scroll for pulling in the carriage and self-actor
pulley as to connect them by a pinion and wheel, and also for that
purpose availing ourselves of the ordinary "back shaft."
Secondly, effecting the backing off by causing a pulley which acts as
=

page_text: a carrier during spinning to become connected with a wheel upon the
scroll shaft, such scroll being mounted upon "the usual" back shaft.
Thirdly, so mounting the long lever as to cause it to act direct upon
the escapement wheel, that is, without the intervention of another
lever.
Fourthly, the employment of a cam actuated by the twist wheel for
effecting the throwing off the driving strap from the fast on to the
loose or self-acting pulley by an action independent of the escapement
wheel.
- Fifthly, constructing the shaper frame in one piece with the slip
upon which the carriage runs.
In witness whereof, we, the said James Higgins and Thomas
Schofield Whitworth, have hereunto set our hands and seals, the
Eleventh day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-four.
JAMES HIGGINS.
(L.S.)
THOMAS SCHOFIELD WHITWORTH. (L.S.)