CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS ON MACHINES, APPLICABLE TO VARIOUS KINDS OF SPINNING
Year: 1809

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ARCHIBALD
THOMSON, of Manchester, in the County Palatine of Lancaster, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third did, by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Seventh day of February, in the
forty-ninth year of His reign, give and grant unto me, the said Archibald
Thomson, my executors, adiñiors, and assigns, His especial licence, full power,
sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Archibald Thomson, my executors,
ndors, and assigns, during the term of years therein mentioned, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
ON MACHINES, APPLICABLE TO VARIOUS KINDS OF SPINNING;" in which said Letters
Patent there is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Archibald Thomson,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within four calendar months after the date of the said recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the same (relation being thereunto had) may more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Archibald Thomson, do hereby declare that my said Invention is described in
manner following; that is to say :-

page_text: The improvements for which this Patent has been obtained principally con-
sist in the application of principles to the adjustment of the twisting the yarn
roves or fibres, and gathering the, same upon the bobbin with less friction,
resistance or drag. Every practical spinner in flax, hemp, cotton, or wool, is
aware that various sizes of machinery, and that more or less revolutions for
twisting the fibres, are necessary to form the size wanted, and in consequence
thereof no dimensions or revolutions can be fixed upon. The flyer, in the
common mode of spinning, is well known to expand when going fast through
the air, and, in consequence, what is called a jack has been adopted. The evil
of expanding has been removed, but the resistance through the air increased,
owing to the slide attached to the one side of the jack. For further particulars
I refer to the Specification of my Patent, dated the Tenth day of November One
thousand eight hundred and one, and duly inrolled. I have therefore adopted
a ring sufficiently wide to admit the traversing up and down while laying the
yarn on the bobbin until full.. On the upper side is an eye through which the yarn
passes to the bobbin ; and as the ring and eye turn round, the yarn receives its
twist. On the back of the frame is a shaft that is carried by other apparatus
from the steam engine or some other power. Upon that shaft there are two
rollers. The upper roller is cylindrical and carries the ring for twisting the
yarn by a band, strap, or otherwise, as is now well known, to carry a spindle or
jack; the under roller is conical but inverted, and carries: another proper
conical roller upon the under part of the spindle for carrying the bobbin. This
spindle runs into a step at the under rail that goes betwixt the two ends-of-the
frame, and the rest are similar to the flax spindle principle, with this difference,
that the bobbin does not run loose upon the spindle. From the top of the
spindle is another spindle similar to that of a common spinning wheel. The
under part goes into the top of the bobbin spindle. The eye or upper end
through which the yarn passes runs into a brishe attached to what I call
the roller beam; and at the hanging of the bobbin this spindle shoves up to
admit the changing and putting on of another bobbin. Into this spindle is a
small groove cut, and round it is a ring, through which is fixed a small spindle
or wire at right angle to the eye or top spindle. The inner end of this small
spindle projects through the ring, and works into the cut grove as the yarn
rises and falls when gathering on the upper part of the bobbin. The outer end
has an eye through which the yarn passes to the eye of the ring, for twisting
the yarn, as already described. The sole use of this last spindle is to free the
yarn from the top of the bobbin, and therefore may be dispensed with, except
when spinning of rope, yarn, or other coarse article. The traverse frame is
made in length according to the number of rings or threads. in the spinning

page_text: frame, and may be made single with studs; but I prefer a double frame.
This double frame is put together so as to support the ends of axles with wheels
or pullies fixed upon them; these pullies are to keep the spinning rings in their
proper place round the bobbin, and to carry the ring or rings up and down
while filling the bobbin; and as the strap carries the ring round, these pullies
yield with the ring and cause very little friction. It would be superfluous to
describe the manner of fixing or traversing this frame, as such things are so
well known in this country to every proper flax-spinning mechanic. When the
machine is set in motion the upper strap works up and down upon the back
upper roller or cylinder as the traverse work, and raises or lowers the ring or rings
with it, as before observed. The strap upon the conical back roller is round
the front conical roller, and always keeps parallel on both rollers. This strap
is moved towards the small end as the yarn increases upon the bobbin by
means of a rack click and lever, which changes a tooth of the rack every time
the traverse frame moves the lever. By this simple apparatus the exact pull
of the yarn will keep pace with the filling of the bobbin. These revolving rings
may be applied to flyers or jacks by fitting them to slide upon the flyer or jack,
so as to traverse according to the length of the bobbin.
In witness whereof, I, the said Archibald Thomson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord One