IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF YARNS, THREADS, LAID TWINE, AND OTHER CORDAGE
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Thompson Stephens, of Bridport, in the
County of Dorset, Gentleman, and Charles Hoare, Manager to William
Hounsell and Company, of Bridport aforesaid, Manufacturers, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF
YARNS, THREADS, LAID TWINE, AND OTHER CORDAGE."
Sealed the 26th January 1864, and dated the 30th July 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Thompson
Stephens and Charles Hoare at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents with their Petition, on the 30th July 1863.
We, JOSEPH THOMPSON STEPHENS, of Bridport, in the County of Dorset,
Gentleman, and CHARLES HOARE, Manager to William Hounsell and Com-
pany, of Bridport aforesaid, Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF
YARNS, THREADS, LAID TWINE, AND OTHER CORDAGE," to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates, firstly, to an arrangement of rollers for softening the
fibres of flax, hemp, or other fibrous materials while being prepared, that is to
say, while being drawn and roved. We place one, two, three, or more pairs
of rollers with large flutes in the "spreader" between the delivery bands and
the fallers, and cause the fibres to pass between the two rollers of each pair.
The top rollers are placed so that their full weight may act on the fibres as
they pass through the machine. The bottom rollers are all driven at the same
speed by suitable gearing. We also place one or more pairs of rollers betweer

page_text: the drawing roller and the delivery roller; we prefer that these rollers should
be larger than the rollers before mentioned, but have finer flutes. The top
roller or rollers should in this case also be arranged so that their whole weight
may bear upon the fibres, and the bottom roller or rollers bo driven at the same
speed by suitable gearing. We do not confine ourselves to any particular size
or shape of roller, nor to the pitch of the flutes; we sometimes make one or
more of the rollers plain, we also sometimes produce a greater pressure upon the
material by employing additional weights to keep down the top rollers.
adopt the arrangement before described all through the preparing, that is to
say, in all the drawings or rovings, and we are thus enabled to dispense with
the ordinary processes of balling, rolling, or otherwise softening the fibrous
materials before being heckled or combed.
We
The second part of our Invention has for its object the construction of
drawing rollers, so that twist may pass between them, which rollers as hitherto
constructed will not permit. We employ one, two, or more pairs of rollers,
one or both rollers of each pair being formed with alternate flat and round
surfaces, or flats and rounds, four, six, eight, or other suitable number, on the
periphery thereof. When only one pair of rollers is used we prefer to make
both with alternate flats and rounds, and we work them so that the flats and
rounds of one roller come respectively opposite the flats and rounds of the other
roller. When a continuous draft or drawing is required we employ two such
pairs of rollers, worked so that when one pair is holding, the other is letting
go, that is to say, when the threads are between the flats of one pair of rollers
they are between the rounds of the other pair. When two pairs of rollers are
employed, one or both rollers in each pair may be formed with flats and
rounds. When both rollers of a pair are formed with flats and rounds they
must be driven at the same speed, but when one of the rollers is plain it may
be allowed to revolve by friction only, while the other roller is driven at any
desired speed in the ordinary manner. We sometimes arrange the rollers so
that the threads are drawn off bobbins in an upward direction; in this case we
prefer to use tapering bobbins, and to set the eyes of ordinary flyers in a line
with the under part of the top head of the bobbin; when the bobbin rises the
tempering bands still act by having the lower or tempering part of the
bobbin of sufficient length to allow of the lift required. This second part
of our Invention is particularly adapted to the manufacture of laid twine and
other cordage.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Thompson Stephens and Charles Hoare in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 30th January 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOSEPH
THOMPSON STEPHENS, of Bridport, in the County of Dorset, Gentleman, and
CHARLES HOARE, Manager to William Hounsell and Company, of Bridport
aforesaid, Manufacturers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said Joseph Thompson Stephens and Charles Hoare, Her special licence
that we, the said Joseph Thompson Stephens and Charles Hoare, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Joseph Thompson
Stephens and Charles Hoare, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF YARNS, THREADS, LAID TWINE,
AND OTHER CORDAGE," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
Joseph Thompson Stephens and Charles Hoare, or one of us, our executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or one of our or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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 inmediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Joseph Thompson Stephen and
Charles Hoare, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
Our Invention consists in the construction of drawing rollers and of bobbin
as hereafter explained.
The object of our improved construction of drawing rollers is to allow of the
twist passing between them, which rollers as hitherto constructed will not
permit. We employ one, two, or more pairs of rollers, one or both rollers of

page_text: each pair being formed with alternate flat and round surfaces, or flats and
rounds, four, six, eight, or other number on the periphery thereof. When
only one pair of rollers is used we prefer to make both with alternate flats and
rounds, and we work them so that the flats and rounds of one roller come
respectively opposite the flats and rounds of the other roller. When a con-
tinuous draft or drawing is required we employ two such pairs of rollers,
worked so that when one pair is holding, the other is letting go, that is to say,
when the threads are between the flats of one pair of rollers they are between
the rounds of the other pair. When two pairs of rollers are employed, one or
both rollers in each pair may be formed with flats and rounds. When both
rollers of a pair are formed with flats and rounds they must be driven at the
same speed, but when one of the rollers is cylindrical it may be allowed to
revolve by friction only, while the other roller is driven at any desired speed in
the ordinary manner.
Figure 1 is a transverse section shewing the shape and arrangement of two
pairs of drawing rollers, where one of each pair a has its surface alternately
flat and round, the other being an ordinary cylindrical roller b. The top
rollers b, b, are set so as to press on the thread when any of the cylindrical
parts of the bottom roller a comes to the top, as shewn at A. By this arrange-
ment, on the rollers revolving in the direction of the arrows, they will alter-
nately come close together and have a space between them, and, as while one
pair of rollers is holding on, the other is letting go, that is to say, while a flat
part of the bottom roller of one pair is uppermost a cylindrical part of the
bottom roller of the other pair is uppermost, and vice versa, the threads c,c,
will be drawn on continuously in the direction from B to A. The advantage
of this arrangement is that twist will pass between them, which common
round rollers will not allow of; suppose, for instance, as is often found
desirable in the manufacture of laid twine, the fliers d, d, were driven in the
opposite direction to the flyer e, that is to say, the fliers d, d, imparting a plus
or forward twist, and tho flier e a minus or backward twist, if ordinary cylin-
drical rollers were used it would be found that the yarn at B would get very
hard and break, and the yarn at A would become entirely untwisted, and con-
sequently break; but with our arrangement of rollers, part of the plus twist at
B passes through the first pair of rollers whenever there is a space, and part
of the minus twist at A passes through the second pair of rollers whenever
there is a space, so the two twists meet between the two pairs of rollers and
equalise themselves. Sometimes we prefer to have both rollers of each pair
with alternate flat and cylindrical surfaces, as shewn in transverse section at
Figure 2. The action in this case is precisely similar to that just described,

page_text: only care must be taken that the flats and cylindrical surfaces in each pair
come opposite one another. When the threads are drawn off bobbins, as
shewn at Figure 1, they will not always come off all the bobbins at the same
place or in the same line, therefore a transverse motion cannot be used to
unwind the threads regularly. We overcome this difficulty by constructing
and employing tapering bobbins f, g, and we set the eyes of the flyers nearly
level with the bottom part of the heads of the bobbins when they are down, as
shewn at f, and allow the bobbins to rise independently on their own spindles h,
as shewn at g. If an ordinary bobbin were used, directly it rose, the tempering
band i would cease to act, and consequently there would not be an equal ten-
sion on every thread; to obviate this we lengthen the bottom, which allows the
tempering band i with the weight; to act continuously.
And having now described the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, we declare that we claim,-
Firstly, the construction and employment of drawing rollers, in manner and
for the purpose described.
Secondly, the construction and employment of tapering bobbins, in manner
and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Thompson Stephens, for myself
and on behalf of the said Charles Hoare, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this 23rd day of Jan'., One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-four.