CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING AND SPINNING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ANDERSON, of Clitheroe, in the County of Lancaster, Cotton Spinner, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-second day of October, in the tenth year of Her reign,
and in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-six, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said William
Anderson, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I,
the said William Anderson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and
such others as I, the said William Anderson, my executors, administrators,
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 law-
fully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England and Wales and the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING AND SPINNING COTTON AND OTHER
FIBROUS SUBSTANCES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso
that I, the said William Anderson, shall cause a particular description of the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited
Letters l'atent, 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, I, the said
William Anderson, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereto annexed, and the following
explanation thereof, that is to say:-
My Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Preparing and Spinning
Cotton and other Fibrous Substances, consist, firstly, in a certain novel and
peculiar mode of weighting the drawing rollers, and apply to all the ordinary
machinery used for preparing and spinning wherein such or similar rollers are
employed. And secondly, my improvements apply to that class of spinning
machinery called "self-acting mules," and more especially to such mules as
are now generally known as "Smith's self-actors." and described in the
Specification of Letters Patent granted to James Smith, of Deanstone, and
sealed at Westminster, the Twentieth of February, One thousand eight hundred
and thirty-four.
My improvements consist in a certain novel arrangement of machinery or
apparatus whereby I effect the "backing off" or unwinding the spiral coils
which remain upon the points of the spindles after each stretch or "going
out" of the carriage, and also in a novel method of applying the break to stop
the revolution of the "twist pulley shaft." And in order more clearly to
explain the nature of my said improvements and the manner of carrying the
same into practical effect, I have attached to these Presents a Sheet of
Drawings shewing the method of applying the same to one of "Smith's self-
actors," and have marked the same with letters and figures of reference
corresponding with those in the following description thereof.
Figure 1 represents a side elevation of part of the headstock of a "self-
acting mule," with my improvements applied thereto, and drawn to a scale
of about an inch and a half to a foot; and Figure 2 is a plan or horizontal
view of the same, the ordinary parts of the mule being drawn in outline only,
and my improved apparatus being shaded with colour for the sake of distinction.
A, A, is the main driving pulley keyed fast upon the main driving shaft B,
and communicating motion to the cross shaft C by means of the pair of mitre
wheels D, D. Upon this cross shaft C is a pulley E driving the shaft F by
means of a strap, and also another pulley G which imparts motion during
the operation of spinning to the twist pulley shaft" H by means of the strap I.
The "twist pulley shaft" with its gearing is best seen in the longitudinal
section Figure 3 and cross sections Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7; Figure 4 being a
section at the line A, B, at Figure 3; Figure 5, a section at the line C, D;
Figure 6, at the line E, F; and Figure 7, at the line G, H. a is the fast or

page_text: on.
l
This pinion f is
also loose upon
(but on the other
driving pulley, and b, b, are the twist pulleys which impart motion to the
drums which drive the spindles; and in the interior of the fast pulley a is
placed a ratchet wheel C which is loose upon the shaft H, but connected to the
pulley a by the ratchets or clicks d, d, d, d, and revolves with the fast pulley
during the operation of spinning. This ratchet wheel is furnished with an
internal rim of teeth e, e, in which a small pinion f gears.
mounted upon a stud passing through the plate g, which is
the shaft H. Upon the same pin that carries the pinion
side of the plate g) is fixed a small ratchet pinion h, and a click i is fixed to
the spur wheel k, but held out of inmediate contact with the ratchet pinion h
by means of a spiral spring (see Figure 5). The spur wheel k is loose upon
the shaft H, and revolves in the interior of the ordinary friction pulley m,
around which the bands pass for imparting the friction requisite for winding
This pulley m revolves loosely upon the tube n, which also placed loose
upon the shaft H. The tube n has attached to it the plate or disc o, which
carries the pinion p.
At the other end of the tube na ratchet wheel q is
fixed, which is connected by clicks r, r, r, r, to the spur pinion s, which spur
pinion is driven by a spur wheel attached to the side of the ordinary mangle
wheel; t is the "backing off" pulley which is placed loose upon the shaft H,
but connected to it whilst. "backing off" by the friction belt u, u, being
tightened upon the pulley v which is fast upon the boss of the "twist pulley" v.
Thus it will be evident, that while the carriage is going out and the spinning
operation proceeding, the "twist pulley shaft" HI, being caused to revolve by a
strap passing around its fast pulley a, carries with it the twist pullies b, b, and the
friction pulley v. The driving strap is then thrown upon the loose pulley, and
the shaft II reversed by means hercafter described, the pulleys 6 and v alone
revolving with it; but, as soon as the "winding on" of the yarn commences,
the spur wheel k, in the interior of the friction pulley m, will commence
revolving; and, throwing the click i into gear with the ratchet wheel kc, will
prevent the pinion f from revolving, thus causing the plate 9 and wheel c to
revolve, and by means of the clicks d, d, d, d, upon the fast pulley, throwing
the whole of the apparatus into gear with the twist pulley shaft" H. The
apparatus for applying the break to the fast pulley a upon the "twist pulley
shaft," and for reversing the said shaft, is shewn in Figures 1 and 2. To one
end of the weighted lever w the break is fixed, and at or near the other end
of the same is a pin y which rests upon a catch z. When the carriage
has nearly completed its "stretch," a projecting part of the carriage throws
the catch back, thus allowing the lever w to fall and throw the break into
contact with the pulley a (from which the driving strap has been removed),

page_text: and thus stop the rotation of the shaft H, when another part of the carriage
comes against and depresses the lever 1, thus raising the weighted lever 20
into its original position, and withdrawing the "break" another part of the
carriage then strikes against the Figure 2, and lifts the catch 3 off the pin 4,
thus allowing the weighted lever 5 to fall, and, by means of the rod 6, throw
the catch box 7 and 8 into gear. The half 7 of the catch box is fast upon
the boss of the spur wheel g, which is driven by the pinion 10 upon the cross
shaft F. The other half 8 of the catch box is fixed to the pulley 11, to
which one end of the chain 12 is attached, the other end of which is fastened
to the lever 13. This lever is attached to the friction belt u; thus, as soon as
the catch box 7 and 8 is thrown into gear, it will tighten the friction belt u
upon the pulley v and pull the "twist pulley shaft" back one revolution, thus
unwinding the spiral coils of yarn from the points of the spindles. Another
part of the carriage then comes against the lever 14 and lifts the weighted
lever 5 into its original position, thus throwing the catch box 7 and 8 out of
gear, when the "going in" of the carriage and "winding on
of the yarn
proceeds. I would also observe that this "twist pulley shaft" H may be
reversed by toothed gear or other suitable contrivance.
My improved method of weighting the drawing rollers is shewn at Figure 8..
a, a, a, are the top rollers, and b, b. b, are the bottom rollers. The first
pair of drawing rollers are weighted in the usual manner, and the second
and third pairs are weighted by means of the roller c bearing upon both of them.
By this method of weighting a greater facility of piecing is effected, and
time and labour economized.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Anderson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.
WILLIAM (L.S.) ANDERSON.