IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR DRYING, DRESSING, AND FINISHING THREAD, TWINE, CORDS. AND ROPES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jacob Dockray, of Quebec Foundry, Leeds, in
the County of York, Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR DRYING, DRESSING, AND FINISHING THREAD, TWINE,
CORDS. AND ROPES."
Sealed the 11th January 1870, and dated the 19th November 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jacob Dockray at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th November 1869.
I, JACOB DOCKRAY, of Quebec Foundry, Leeds, in the County of York,
Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR DRYING, DRESSING, AND FINISHING THREAD,
TWINE, CORDS, AND ROPES," to be as follows, that is to say :-
Upon a longitudinal frame I place a series of dressing swifts or
drums, so that as the material to be dressed passes from the sizing
trough at one end of the frame above mentioned it is passed over a
series of these swifts on one side of the frame under slight pressure to a
conducting roller near the other end of the frame. From this roller the
material is conveyed to a series of conducting rollers on the same end of
the frame, so placed and arranged that the material in passing over

page_text: them shall present an angular opening. It is conveyed over this series
of rollers by repeatedly winding the same around them from one side of
the framing to the other in the angular course or direction above
inentioned, cach thread, cord, or rope being kept distinct by passing
into grooves in the rollers, made of such size as to receive and conduct
it. Within the angular space thus made I place a dressing swift or
cylinder, so that on its being pressed into the angle it will cause the
material to be rubbed upon both sides thereof during its upward and down-
ward course in its progress from one side to the other. Having crossed
this space, and been acted on as described by the dressing roller, the
material is conveyed back to the starting end of the machine by a
similar series of rollers as I have described above placed on the other
side of the frame, where it is wound upon bobbins placed in tiers one
over the other, so that they may by the narrow space so occupied be
more under the eye and control of the attendant than when more
widely spread in single lines.
I intensify the above operation first by placing one or more swifts
above the longitudinal series above named; secondly, by passing the
material right round the series of rollers two or more times in succession,
so that according to the character of the work to be done the amount
of dressing imparted may be made to correspond thereto, whilst a very
limited amount of frictional action may be imparted by each swift in
succession. I am enabled thus to combine in a machine occupying
comparatively small space a large amount of dressing action imparted,
whilst this is done in very minute portions at cach frictional operation.
To effect the drying I place a series of steam pipes so enclosed that
the air passing through them to the swifts is more or less heated, and
aids in drying the material.
To harden the dressing, and finally to dry the material, I use a drum
or swift revolving upon bearings which enclose a coil or chest heated
by steam. This combination of a stationary hot chest enclosed in a
revolving drum has the double effect of drying the material and dressing
it rapidly whilst it dries.
It is well known that the materials which are the subjects of my
improvements in drying alter their length considerably, and that so
great a length of them as is placed upon the frame, as above described,
must if unprovided for cause considerable difficulty. It is also obvious

page_text: that the strain of dragging so much material operated upon at so many
points must be considerable. I remove both difficulties by the same
means. I divide the conducting rollers into as many short lengths as
there are sets of material passed through the machine. These I connect
to the shafts, which impart motion to them not positively but by friction,
having sufficient power to drag the material onward and yet permit the
shortening or lengthening of the material to take place at any point
without risk of breakage or undue strain. To aid in causing the
material to rotate in passing over the swifts I place, as occasion arises,
the upper swifts on the longitudinal frame above described at a small
angle to those underneath.
My Invention also provides for the more effectual removal of irregu-
larities upon the material; for which purpose I cover one or more of
the dressing swifts with a coating of emery, glass, or other granulated
mineral or metallic substance; and to prevent an accumulation of
starch or size upon the surfaces of the swifts or drums I direct a jet of
steam against them whilst they are revolving for the purpose of softening
the size or starch adhering to them, a brush or scraper being suitably
fixed for removing the same and maintaining an even surface.
The last part of my Invention which is for balling or finishing I
construct as follows:-To the end of a suitable spindle I fix an arm
slightly bent, rotating with it, having a slot therein, in which I place a
stud directed towards the axis of the spindle produced, and adjustable
so that it can be fixed at an angle suitable for balling. Upon this stud
I place an octagonal socket to receive the ball having a slow rotating
motion on its own axis besides its rotation on the axis of the spindle,
as above described. By this double movement I dispense with the usual
flyer for balling, and avoid the bending and rubbing strain usually put
upon the material thereby, as the thread, twine, cord, or rope is drawn
by the socket above described in an unbent line.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Jacob Dockray in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 24th February 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JACOB
5 DOCKRAT, of Quebec Foundry, Leeds, in the County of York, Machinist,
send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Jacob Dockray, Her special licence that I, the
said Jacob Dockray, my exccutors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Jacob Dockray, my executors, administrators, 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 FOB DRYING,
DRESSING, AND FINISHING THREAD, TWINE, CORDS, AND ROPES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Jacob Dockray, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of 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 I, the said Jacob Dockray, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
Upon a longitudinal frame I place a series of dressing swifts or drums,
so that as the material to be dressed passes from the sizing trough at
one end of the frame above mentioned it is passed over a series of
these swifts on one side of the frame under slight pressure to a con-
ducting roller near the other end of the frame. From this roller the
material is conveyed to a series of conducting rollers on the end of the
frame, so placed and arranged that the material in passing over them
shall present an angular opening. It is conveyed over this series of
rollers by repeatedly winding the same around them in the angular
course or direction above mentioned, from one side of the framing to
the other, each thread, cord, or rope being kept distinct by passing into
grooves in the rollers made of such size as to receive and conduct it.
Within the angular space thus made I place a dressing swift or cylinder,
so that on its being pressed into the angle it will cause the material to

page_text: be rubbed upon both sides thereof during its upward and downward
course in its progress from one side to the other. Having crossed this
space and been acted upon as described by the dressing roller, the
material is conveyed back to the starting end of the machine by a
similar series of rollers, as I have described above, placed on the other
side of the frame, when it is wound upon bobbins placed in tiers one
over the other, so that they may by the narrow space so occupied be
more under the eye and control of the attendant than when more widely
spread in single lines.
I intensify the above operation, first, by placing one or more swifts
above the longitudinal series above named; secondly, by passing the
material right round the series of rollers two or more times in succession,
so that according to the character of the work to be done, the amount
of dressing imparted may be made to correspond thereto, whilst a very
limited amount of frictional action may be imparted by each swift in
succession. I am enabled thus to combine in a machine occupying
comparatively small space a large amount of dressing action imparted
whilst this is done in very minute portions at each frictional operation.
To effect the drying I place a series of steam pipes so enclosed that
the air passing through them to the swifts is more or less heated and
aids in drying the material.
To harden the dressing, and finally to dry the material, I use a drum
or swift revolving upon bearings which inclose a coil or chest heated
by steam. This combination of a stationery hot chest inclosed in a
revolving drum has the double effect of drying the material and dressing
it rapidly whilst it dries.
It is well known that the materials which are the subjects of my
improvements in drying alter their length considerably, and that so
great a length of them as is placed upon the frame, as above described,
must if unprovided for cause considerable difficulty. It is also obvious
that the strain of dragging so much material operated upon at so many
points must be considerable. I remove both difficulties by the same
means. I divide the conducting rollers into as many short lengths as
there are sets of material passed through the machine. These I connect
to the shafts, which impart motion to them not positively but by friction,
having sufficient power to drag the material onward and yet permit the
shortening or lengthening of the material to take place at any point
without risk of breakage or undue strain. To aid in causing the material

page_text: to rotate in passing over the swifts, I place, as occasion arises, the upper
swifts on the longitudinal frame above described at a small angle to
those underneath.
My Invention also provides for the more effectual removal of
irregularities upon the material, for which purpose I cover one or more
of the dressing swifts with a coating of emery, glass, or other granulated
mineral or metallic substance; and to prevent an accumulation of starch
or size upon the surfaces of the swifts or drums I direct a jet of steam
against them whilst they are revolving, for the purpose of softening the
size or starch adhering to them, a brush or scraper being suitably fixed
for removing the same and maintaining an even surface.
The last part of my Invention, which is for balling or finishing, I con-
struct as follows:-To the end of a suitable spindle I fix an arm slightly
bent rotating with it, having a slot or groove therein, in which I place
a stud directed towards the axis of the spindle produced, and adjustable
so that it can be fixed at an angle suitable for balling. Upon this stud
I place an octagonal socket to receive the ball having a slow rotating
motion on its own axis besides its rotation on the axis of the spindle, as
above described. By this double movement I dispense with the usual
flyer for balling, and avoid the bending and rubbing strain usually put
upon the material thereby, as the thread, twine, cord, or rope is drawn by
the socket above described, in an unbent line.
And in order that my Invention may be more fully understood, and
more readily carried into effect, I will now proceed to describe the
same, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings on two Sheets,
in which Figure 1 represents an elevation of the machine for dressing
and drying thread, twine, cords, and ropes; Figure 2 is an end elevation
of the same; Figure 3 is a plan of the same; Figures 4 exhibit two
sections of the drying and polishing drum and of a portion of the
grooved rollers for conducting and drawing the material through the
machine; Figure 5 shows the balling or finishing machine single;
Figure 6 shows a number of balling machines in line.
Figures 1 and 3 are on Sheet 1. Figures 2, 4, 5, and 6 are on Sheet 2.
The material is put into the machine for dressing and drying on
bobbins or spools a, a', &c., carried in four sets of five each (though this
number may be varied), as shown at the left hand of the Drawing in
Figures 1 and 3. From these bobbins or spools the material is conveyed
to the rod with guide wires c, which contracts the space occupied by the

page_text: threads very considerably. From these guide wires they are passed to
and over the rollers d covered with card filleting or emery, in front of
which I damp the material with a roller or rollers partially immersed in
water and moving with such velocity as to impart sufficient moisture to
lay the fibre before being carded or starched. The rollers d, d', covered
with card filleting or emery have the effect of removing the shive and
gross excrescences. It then passes through the starch or size trough e,
near the bottom of which are two small rollers e¹, e³, which keep the
material under liquid until it has taken up sufficient size to take a polish
afterwards. From the size trough e the material passes between two
stripping rollers e, e, by which any superfluous size is squeezed out and
dropped back into the size trough. From the stripping rollers just
described the material passes to the guide rod c of wires, and in front of
them a glass rod, as shown with reference to c¹, and thence to the swifts
or drums ff, &c. The pressing rod c³ is raised and lowered according
as more or less strain is to be placed upon the first swift f. The first
upper swift g I cover with emery or glass so as still farther to remove
excrescences, and so to render the material more level as it proceeds in
being polished. Between any pair of these swifts, as necessity arises, I
place a pair of small pressure rollers h, h, which I place upon adjustable
standards, h, ha, ha, by which the pressure may be regulated or
removed. The material on reaching the end of the frame passes under
the small roller i and guide rod c³, and is then led up to the grooved
roller, see Fig. 4, which is put together in pieces of five inches long,
having twenty grooves in them, and are turned by the frictional washers
,, &c., pressed by the hand screw . From this roller the material is
led at an angle round the shoulder roller * to the lower grooved roller ³,
and still at an angle to and around the shoulder roller k*, and on again
to the top grooved roller k¹, and so on continuously until the other side
of the machine is reached. This part of my Invention is best seen in
Figure 2, Sheet 2. Within the angular space formed by the material in
passing from the shoulder roller ², round the lower grooved roller ³, to
the shoulder roller k, in a continuous manner, as above described, I
place a drum or swift f* revolving at a high speed which I adjust as to
pressure by the screws ; this roller or swift acts against the material
repeatedly as it is being carried over it, so that this portion of my
Invention would alone suffice for polishing yarns or threads where the
other parts of the Invention would not be necessary. The material on
leaving the lower grooved roller for the last time is carried to the front

page_text: of the machine above described over the rollers 7, k, &c., onc or
more of which I place at an angle so as to aid in turning the material
slightly round as it passes from roller to roller, a feature which
I increase in intensity and effect by making more of these con-
ducting rollers lic at angles to their leaders or followers as I find
occasion arise by the material being dressed angularly rather than
round. On this side of the frame I also pass the material successively
round the same rollers as shown in the plan, Figure 3. The latter of
the upper swifts or drums I place upon or over a steam chest or coil
shown in section in Figure 4. By this drum so made I secure that the
material is quite dry, so that no reaction from the core to the surface can
take place, and cause the polished surface to be tarnished or defaced by
counteraction. Should the material be very thick and of course difficult to
dry I make more of these drums in the same manner, so that the drying
is effected in a thorough manner. Underneath the first dressing or
polishing swiftf I place a small steam pipe n by which I cause a jet to
play upon the drum or swift. I also place alongside the jet a scraper or
doctor n¹, so that as the size or starch is softened by the steam jet it is
at once removed by the scraper or doctor. I also cover the space
occupied by the swifts underneath and through which space they draw
their air and introduce therein steam pipes by which the temperature is
increased and the drying of the material is aided. The very large
number of times with which the polishing swifts act upon the material
makes the effect of each contact exceedingly small, and the whole
.operation very effective. From the conducting roller 10 the material
passes to the guide rod c, by which it is spread, and is drawn and lapped
upon the bobbins or spools 8, 81, &c., which are placed upon spindles for
that purpose; these spindles have a differential motion communicated
by a cone or frictional gearing, or by any of the well-known methods,
being distributed vertically by the traverse guide rods c³ and co, which
are moved by a heart wheel or mangle wheel, or by any of the methods
so well known, by which such object is effected; these motions I have
not shewn as they constitute no part of my Invention.
The position and arrangement of the receiving spindles I consider of
great importance as economizing space and affording greater facility for
managing the machine.
The balling machine I arrange as follows:-Upon the spindle a
which is made hollow I place the warve or pulley r' by which it

page_text: receives motion. On to one end of this spindle I fasten the arm a
having a slot or groove in which I fasten the stud adjustable so as
to be capable of being set at an angle varying in degree according to
the requirements of the ball to be made, or as it progresses in bulk.
The axis of the stud meets the central axis of the spindle x produced.
Upon the stud³ I place the octagonal socket at upon which the ball is
to be built. I prefer the octagonal form of the socket x upon which
the ball is built, but any other form suitable may be employed for the
purpose without departing from this part of my Invention. The socket
as a matter of course revolves with the spindle x, and it is apparent
from the Drawing Figure 5 that the line of rotation upon that portion
which meets the axis of the spindle produced, passes the material to be
lapped not circumferentially upon the socket but in an oval form of
greater or lesser eccentricity according as the angle is varied at which
the stud lies. To form the ball however it is necessary to give the
socket a certain varied amount of motion on its axis so as the
material may not be heaped confusedly upon it but may be laid in a
uniform manner on the surface thereof. To effect this I place upon
the shaft, by which motion is imparted to the balling spindle x, two
pullies, one by which uniform motion is imparted to the hollow spindle,
another somewhat conical I place so as to communicate differential
motion to and through the cone as fastened upon the solid spindle a³,
which passes through the hollow spindle x. Upon the other end of the
solid spindle I place a small band pulley, which has a band upon
it with sufficient elasticity to allow it to stretch a little, passing over thic.
carriers to the pulley upon the octagonal socket.
the straps as and upon the pullies r¹ and
communicate to the hollow spindle x and the solid spindle ³ a
differential rate of motion which I vary in amount by traversing the
strap upon its conical pullies. The difference is transferred to the
octagonal socket by the elastic band above described. The plan enables
me to make the material up into the form of a ball without bending
it from the straight line, and without the deterioration of finish so well
known to take place when it is passed through the legs of a flyer in the
ordinary manner.
By now placing
respectively, I

page_text: to the opposite end of which I attach a joint screwed or otherwise. This
again has an arm jointed to it and to the top of a short spindle in
continuation of x in a socket in line therewith, see Figure 6, spindle
number 1. By passing this continuation spindle out or in by means of
its socket I am enabled to increase or decrease the angle of the balling
socket and so to adapt it to the building of the ball without stopping
the machine.
In Figure 6 I have shown in what manner a series of spindles may be
connected and driven so as all may be moved at once in the manner
herein-before described with reference to one spindle, and also how the
whole may be varied in the angle of the octagonal socket, so that cach
may produce the same form of ball. To effect this I connect the shaft y
by which the hollow spindles are driven by suitable bevil wheels
y, y, y, &c., to the shaft by which the solid spindles are driven by
suitable bevils 1, 2, 3, &c., cither by cones as herein-before described
and shown or by the differential motion and concs so well known for
that purpose. The jointed levers by which the angle of the balling
socket is varied to the form of the ball, I move through the series of
sockets by which the lower portions of the spindles x, or the continuation
thereof as herein-before described are held at cach lower joint, and so
lengthen or shorten the angle made by the whole combination of joints.
The shaft q which effects this continuous or permanent change, as the
case may be, is made to change gradually and progressively to form
cach ball, or by steps or permanent changes for the same purpose.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, I declare that I do not
claim those parts herein-before described and shewn whose purpose and
action are well understood, for example, the action of the swifts as
polishers, the chambers heated by steam pipes, the method of damping
the threads or cords or of sizcing them; but I claim,―
Firstly. The arrangement and combination of the whole apparatus by
which the material is put in at one side and taken out finished at the
other side of the same end of the machine, divided into three distinct
portions for that purpose although within one frame, the dressing of the
material being continued during the return motion.
Secondly. I claim that part of the machine described and shewn
severable from it on which the threads or cords arc lapped
continously from one side to the other, and which has the polishing

page_text: swift or drum within the angle thereof regulated as to pressure by
adjusting screws, whether used in the manner shewn, or as an in-
dependant polishing apparatus for yarns or thread in the web
distinguished from such yarns or thread polished in the hank.
Thirdly. I claim the heating and drying drum or swift which is
shewn in Figure 4, and the portion of the dragging and conducting
grooved rollers driven by friction, as shewn in the same Figure.
Fourthly. I claim the adjusting stands by which the rollers they
carry put pressure upon the thread or twine in passing over the swifts,
by which it may be increased or removed.
Fifthly. I claim the arrangement of the spindles in tiers on which
the polished thread is lapped as arranged, as shewn and described.
Sixthly. I claim the method of balling or finishing shewn with
reference to Figures 5 and 6.
0
In witness whereof, I, the said Jacob Dockray, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Twenty-second day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
Witness,
WILLIAM ROBERTSON,
Engineer,
17, Queen's Chambers,
Market Street,
Manchester.
JACOB DOCKRAY. (L.S.)