IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT AND FINISHING OF THREADS OR YARKS
Year: 1854

page_text: vy the 2xcl.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Peter Kerr at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 6th October 1854.
I, PETER KERR, of Paisley, in the County of Renfrew, North Britain,
Thread Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT AND FINISHING OF THREADS OR YARKS" to be
as follows:-
This Invention relates to various arrangements of machinery or apparatus
for the treatment and finishing or polishing of thread or yarn, and also for
winding the same, whereby economy in cost and superiority of finish are
secured. The yarns or threads to be finished are taken direct from bobbins
or from a beam upon which they have been previously wound, and are first
passed through a reed fixed at one end of the framing carrying the finishing
details. On leaving the first reed, the threads pass between a pair of rollers,
the lower one of which revolves in a trough supplied with the starchy or other
matter with which the threads are treated; after this the threads pass
through a second reed, and then between a series of polishing rollers. Four of
these rollers are composed of wooden batterns, fixed to end discs, and revolve
beneath the threads, whilst three solid wooden rollers, covered with cloth or

page_text: other suitable material, revolve above the threads; in some cases a revolving
winch may be substituted for the first of the upper polishing rollers, to work
the finishing composition into the threads and to clear off superfluous particles.
The lower rollers are driven by bevil gearing from a horizontal shaft passing
along the side of the machine, whilst the spindles of the upper rollers are
supported by arms, which are capable of turning on the spindles of the lower
rollers as centres; & the upper rollers are driven by-spur gearing, connecting
them with the lower rollers. The arms of the three upper rollers are all jointed
to a rod, which is itself jointed to a lever, so that by means of this lever the
supporting arms of the upper rollers can be turned, so as to lift the rollers off
the threads, the supporting arms being in an inclined position when the rollers
are down upon the threads. The threads are guided at a level slightly above
the lower rollers, so as to lift off these when released from the downward
pressure of the upper rollers; and by these means, when it is necessary to
stop the machine for any length of time, the threads will be prevented from
adhering to the rollers by reason of the drying of the finishing composition.
The threads pass through a third reed before, reaching the third pair of
polishing rollers, and they pass through a fourth reed after leaving all the
rollers, the several reeds being employed to keep the threads separate. Hot
air is blown upon the threads from beneath at intervals along the line of
traverse, so as to gradually dry the threads as they pass along. The threads
are drawn through the apparatus by means of a large traction drum, which is
covered with cloth, or is otherwise roughened, so as to take a firm hold of the
threads, these being guided to & from it by rollers, in such a manner as to be
in contact with it throughout the greater part of its circumference. When very
heavy thread is to be treated, which cannot be thoroughly dried before reaching
this drum, a steam-heated drum may be substituted for it for the purpose of
drying the threads. This traction drum is driven by means of worm and worm-
wheel or other gearing from the horizontal shaft already referred to, & a
clockwork indicator is connected to the spindle of the traction drum, to indicate
the length of thread which passes through the machine, it being preferred to
make the drum exactly one yard in circumference to facilitate measurement.
The indicating mechanism may be connected to a bell, or to a detent stopping
movement, so as to give an alarm or to stop the machine when the requisite
quantity of thread has passed through. The threads finally pass through a
fifth reed, and diverge in all directions to a winding frame, in V shaped in
plan, the apex being towards the finishing machine, and it carries a number
of horizontal spindles furnished with friction pulleys for driving the bobbins

page_text: upon which the threads are wound, and which are also horizontal. The driving
spindles are themselves all driven by a single vertical shaft by means of bevil
gear, the vertical shaft being actuated in any convenient manner. The bobbins,
of which there is one for each thread, are mounted upon adjustable spindles,
which have friction pulleys fixed upon them, and they are fitted individually
into inclined slots in the frame, so as to rest upon the pulleys of the driving
spindles. Each of these bobbins receives 1200 yards of thread, this quantity
being determined by means of the indicator already referred to. This quantity
is selected for convenience, although it is obvious that any other reasonable
quantity may be taken, if desirable. According to another modification of
winding apparatus, the threads as they leave the apparatus are wound upon a
series of short or sectional reels or swifts, being thereafter tied up in skeins,
& taken from the reels in this condition, or wound off the reels one by one,
or otherwise, by means of the ordinary winding machine.