IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR CLEARING, SMOOTHING, STRETCHING, AND FINISHING YARN AND THREAD
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Travis and William Henry Prince, both
of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster, Silk Spinners, and James
Tomlinson, of the same Place, Machine Maker, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR CLEARING, SMOOTHING,
STRETCHING, AND FINISHING YARN AND THREAD."
Sealed the 22nd December 1868, and dated the 11th July 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Travis, William
Henry Prince, and James Tomlinson at the Office of the Com-
missioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 11th July 1868.
We, THOMAS TRAVIS and WILLIAM HENRY PRINCE, both of Rochdale,
in the County of Lancaster, Silk Spinners, and JAMES TOMLINSON, of the
same Place, Machine Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR CLEARING,
SMOOTHING, STRETCHING, AND FINISHING YARN AND THREAD," to be as
follows:-
The chicot of thin T

page_text: In performing our Invention we make use of a machine similar to the
one described in the Provisional Specification of Letters Patent applied
for by us on the 16th day of January 1868, No. 141, but instead of only
using friction for removing the impurities from the yarn and thread
we apply a gas burner or other equivalent to act on the yarn or thread
as it
passes from one of the caps, spools, or bobbins around which it is
wound to the other.
Our Invention may be modified by the application of revolving or
stationary brushes or other frictional agents which act on the yarn or
thread either before, or after, or before and after it has passed through
the fire.
Another part of our Invention consists in the mode of giving pressure
to the bobbin on which the yarn or thread is wound. The bobbin is
supported in a radial arm placed above the friction roller by which the
bobbin is turned round, and this radial arm is connected by an india-
rubber or other spring to the lever, which is supported on the same stud
as the radial arm; by this means the pressure of the bobbins on the
friction pulley is regulated according to the diameter of yarn or thread
wound upon the bobbin, and the additional friction or pressure on the
yarn thus obtained produces the effect of stretching and finishing it.
This improved mode of giving pressure to the bobbin is applicable to the
ordinary gassing frame and other winding machines.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Travis, William Henry Prince, and James
Tomlinson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th January
1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, THOMAS
TRAVIS and WILLIAM HENRY PRINCE, both of Rochdale, in the County
of Lancaster, Silk Spinners, and JAMES TOMLINSON, of the same Place,
Machine Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,

page_text: give and grant unto us, the said Thomas Travis, William Henry Prince,
and James Tomlinson, Her special license that we, the said Thomas
Travis, William Henry Prince, and James Tomlinson, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Thomas Travis,
William Henry Prince, and James Tomlinson, our executors, adminis-
trators, 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
AND APPARATUS FOR CLEARING, SMOOTHING, STRETCHING, AND FINISHING YARN
AND THREAD," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
Thomas Travis, William Henry Prince, and James Tomlinson, our exe-
cutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their,
or one of our or their 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 Thomas Travis, William Henry
Prince, and James Tomlinson, 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
(that is to say) :-
-
The object of this Invention is to clear and smooth yarn and thread
by the combined action of friction and fire.
In performing our Invention we make use of a machine similar to the
one described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to us on the
Sixteenth day of January One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
Number 141, but instead of only using friction for removing the impurities
from the yarn and thread we apply a gas burner or other equivalent to
act on the yarn or thread as it passes from one of the caps, spools, or
hobbins around which it is wound to the other, or before or after it has
passed around the caps, spools, or bobbins, or other friction apparatus.
Our Invention may be modified by the application of revolving or
stationary brushes or other frictional agents which act on the yarn or

page_text: Another part of our Invention consists in the mode of giving pressure
to the bobbin on which the yarn or thread is wound, which mode of
giving pressure to the bobbin is applicable to the ordinary gassing frames
and to other winding machines.
And in order that our Invention may be more fully understood we will
proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
Figure 1 is an elevation in section of our improved machinery for
clearing, smoothing, stretching, and finishing yarn and thread, and
Figure 2 is a plan of part of the same.
The machine consists of a driving shaft a with speed pulleys upon
it to drive the shafts b, b, which are provided with the winding-on
drums c, c; these drums wind the yarn on to the bobbins d supported
on studs projecting from the usual levers or radial arms e, which are
raised when required by the levers e¹ as in the usual gassing frames.
"The yarn to be operated upon is supplied to the machine on the bobbinsf,
which are mounted on dead or revolving spindles g supported in the
-bolster and footstep rails h and i. The space between the supply
bobbins and the bobbins d on which the yarn is wound is occupied
by the diagonal rails j, which are screwed to the stands k fixed to the
beams 7; in these rails ; are rivetted a set of skewers supporting the
caps, spools, or bobbins, which are free to turn round on the skewers,
as described in the Patent above referred to. The Drawing shews twelve
of these caps to each rail divided into sets of eight and four, but the
number may be varied. Between the eighth and ninth caps or in any
other convenient position are placed the ordinary gas burners n, which
are hinged as usual to the main gas pipes n', n', passing from one end
of the machine to the other, as in the ordinary gassing frames. When
the yarn leaves the bobbin fit is drawn through the hook near the
upper end of the rail j, and then it is coiled or twisted around the
caps or around any number of them, according to the degree of friction
required, and in passing from the eighth to the ninth caps the yarn or
thread is exposed to the action of the flame of gas, as in the usual
gassing frames; but if it should be desirable to pass the yarn or thread
more than once through the flame it can be taken back from the ninth
to the eighth cap and then around the remaining caps, from the last of

page_text: which it passes to the distributing guide m, and it is then wound on the
bobbin d by the friction of the drum c as usual. When the yarn or
thread is being wound on the bobbins d the friction combined with the
fire remove the loose fibres, thereby clearing and smoothing the yarn
or thread more effectually than by the action of either friction or fire
alone, as heretofore practised.
In some cases it may be found requisite to apply a stationary or
revolving brush or other frictional agent o between the last cap, and
the guide m to remove the loose impurities from the yarn before it is
wound on the bobbin d. When revolving brushes are used they can be
driven by a band from the axle of the drums c; these brushes or other
agents for giving friction may be applied so as to act on the yarn before
it passes through the fire, or after, or both before and after.
Our improved machinery for increasing the pressure of the bobbin d
on the drum c in proportion to the drag on the bobbin f, and to the
friction produced by winding the yarn around any number of caps, or to
the number of times the yarn is wound round the caps, consists of the
following parts:-To the usual radial arm e is fixed a stud e which is
connected to the front end of the lever e¹ by means of the india-rubber
or other spring e, the strength of which can be varied according to the
quality and strength of yarn or thread; by means of this increased
pressure and friction or drag the yarn or thread is stretched and finished
while being wound on the bobbin, thereby increasing the lustre of dyed
or undyed yarn or thread. This improved mode of giving pressure to
the bobbin may be applied to ordinary gassing frames and to other
winding machines. We wish to observe that although our present
improvements are shewn as applied to the mode of giving friction to
the yarn or thread by winding it around the caps, they are equally
applicable to other machines in which the friction is obtained by other
means.
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention and described the
manner of performing the same, we declare that we claim,-
First. Clearing and smoothing yarn and thread by the combined
action of fire and friction.
Secondly. The application of brushes or other frictional agents to
gassing frames or to frames for clearing and smoothing yarn or thread
by friction, as described.

page_text: And, lastly. Increasing the pressure on the winding-on bobbin in
'proportion to the friction or drag given to the yarn or thread wound
upon it, as described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Thomas Travis, William Henry
Prince, and James Tomlinson, have hereto set our hands and
seals, this Eighth day of January One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-nine.