IMPROVEMENTS IN WOOLLEN AND OTHER SPINNING, TWISTING, AND DOUBLING MACHINES
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Priestley Feather, of Greenock, in the County of Renfrew,
North Britain, Mill Overlooker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
WOOLLEN AND OTHER SPINNING, TWISTING, AND DOUBLING MACHINES."
aled the 20th October 1877, and dated the 5th July 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Priestley Feather at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 5th July 1877.
PRIESTLEY FEATHER, of Greenock, in the County of Renfrew, North Britain,
Mill Overlooker. "IMPROVEMENTS IN WOOLLEN AND OTHER SPINNING, TWISTING,
AND DOUBLING MACHINES."
This Invention consists in fitting into the holes through which the spindles pass
in the top or traversing bobbin carrying and building rail a bush, or other equi-
valent, to steady the upper end of each spindle carrying the flier in woollen and
other fiberous yarn or thread spinning, twisting, and doubling machines, which is
found to have such an important steadying effect on the spindle and fliers of such
machines that they can be driven at a much higher speed, and so produce much
more spun yarn or thread from each spindle of these machines in a given time
fitted with these improvements than heretofore.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Priestley Feather in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th
December 1877.
PRIESTLEY FEATHER, of Greenock, in the County of Renfrew, North Britain,
Mill Overlooker. "IMPROVEMENTS IN WOOLLEN AND OTHER SPINNING, TWISTING,
AND DOUBLING MACHINES."
My said Invention has reference to that class of machinery for the spinning,
twisting, and doubling of worsted, woollen, cotton, and other yarns, known by the
name of throstle spinning and throstle doubling machines or frames, and specially
to that part of those machines known as the top or traversing bobbin carrying and
building rail.
And the purpose of the Invention is the steadying of the upper part of the
spindles and flyers of these machines by the said traversing bobbin carrying and
building rail.
And the nature of the Invention consists in fitting into the holes through which
the spindles pass in the top or traversing bobbin carrying and building rail a bush,
or other equivalent, to steady the upper end of each spindle carrying the flyer in
woollen and other fibrous yarn or thread spinning, twisting, and doubling machines,
which improvement is found to have such an important steadying effect on the
spindles and flyers of such machines fitted therewith that they can be driven at a
much higher speed, and so produce much more spun yarn or thread from each
spindle in a given time than in these machines with their spindles and flyers fitted
and worked as heretofore.
And in order that the purpose, nature, novelty, and mode of performing or
putting my said Invention into effect or practice may be properly understood, I
shall now proceed to describe the two Figures on the Sheet of Drawings which I
have hereunto appended for that purpose, the same alphabetical reference letters
representing the same parts in both Figures.
Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a front elevation and a corresponding transverse
section of a sufficient portion of one side and end, of a throstle spinning machine
or frame A as will illustrate the nature and mode of performing my said Invention,
with a few of its spindles B ranged vertically along one or both front sides of the
machine, and carried and revolving in their footstep and breast or bolster journal
rails C, c, and C, c¹, at the foot and middle of the row of spindles, the rails, being
fixed to the transverse or opposite ends A. of the machine. Each spindle B is driven
by the grooved pulley c¹, fixed on it below the journal bush bearing c¹ by a cord c²
passed round it from the ordinary drum on the first motion or driving shaft of the
inachine, not shown in the Drawings.
The upper parallel part B¹ of the spindle B above the breast rail C¹ carrying the
usual flyer D on its upper end has heretofore had no special means of steadiment,
depending entirely upon the footstep cup bearing c, and collar bearing c¹, the top
travelling bobbin carrying and yarn building rail E, or plates having heretofore had
a wide hole in them so as to reciprocate freely up and down in building the yarı
on the bobbin without touching the spindle; but under the present improvements
this rail is used to steady this part of the spindle and flyer B¹, D, all as follows:-
Referring to these Figures, the yarn Z is led from the drawing and pressing
rollers through the usual guides or eyes down to the flyer D, and on to the
bobbin e, reciprocated up and down within it (for the building of the yarn thereon
as it is spun by the flyer) by the top bar E through its ordinary vertical carrying
and reciprocating slide rods E¹, working through guide holes in the bars C, C¹ by
the chain F, guide pulleys F¹, and reciprocating rod F¹, or other equivalent, from
the ordinary heart-cam motion.
The ordinary top bobbin building rail E is placed and moved immediately above
the bolster rail C¹ in its lowest position. The parallel parts B" of the spindles B
pass up through the rail by means of wide holes bored or cast in same, one end

page_text: of the bobbin resting on this rail, or plates e¹ in it, whilst the bobbin is free to turn
on the spindle. This rail E, sometimes styled the lifting or traversing plates, being
generally divided into several lengths, and each length moved or traversed up and
down by means of rods and chains E', F, F, F", attached to the traverse motion,
as before stated. This rail E has hitherto been used in the aforesaid machines
solely for the purpose of traversing the bobbin e, to enable the flyer D to wind the
yarn uniformly and evenly upon the bobbin, as the yarn is delivered from the roller
through the eye d of the flyer D.
The holes in the traversing rail being hitherto much larger than the diameter of
the spindles, the rail has been incapable of imparting any support or. steadying
effect to the spindles, and the spindles being thus without any support upwards
from the bolster rail have been subject to considerable vibration.
To remedy this evil or defect I have found that, by boring the holes in the
traversing rail E to the size of the diameter of the port B¹ of the spindle B above
the bolster rail C¹, or, preferably, by inserting bushes or collars b (in the traversing
rail E), bored out to the diameter of the part B₁ of the spindle which passes through
them, all as indicated in the sectional part of this rail E above the bolster rail C¹;
these holes, bushes, or collars b thus support and steady this upper part B¹ of the
spindles B and flyers D, and so obviate the vibration of these to a large extent;
and the vibration being thus lessened the yarn is more easily spun and doubled,
and does not break so frequently, and so a large saving is effected in the waste
hitherto made from broken ends; the spindles being also thus supported and
steadied can be made to revolve at a greater speed without injuriously affecting the
spinning and doubling of the yarn.
The bushes b, when inserted, as shown, in slightly tapered holes in the rail E,
may be secured therein by lateral pinching screws b¹, and would preferably have a
small recess above them, as at 61, fitted with a washer of wool or other soft
material to clean and slightly lubricate the part B₁ of the spindle on which it
traverses to steady it; and this plate E, or the one e¹ above it, on which the bobbins
e rest, may also be bored to the exact size of the spindle at B¹, to insure the
steadying of the same. And these reciprocating building-bobbin rails or plates E
may themselves be steadied by having holes formed in them to work over parallel
guide studs G secured to and projecting vertically up from the fixed rail C₁, the
rails E being steadied as they reciprocate on these guides G.
Having thus particularly described the nature of my said Invention and the
manner of putting the same into practice, I would observe in conclusion that what
I consider novel and original and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by
the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the insertion of bushes or collars
b into holes in the traversing rail or plate E, or the forming of holes in the said
rail, the collars or holes being bored to the diameter of the part B' of the spindle B
above the bolster rail C¹ in throstle spinning and doubling frames, for steadying
their spindles and flyers, all substantially as herein-before described and shown in
the accompanying Drawings, or any mere modification thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said Priestley Feather, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Fifth day of December, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-seven.
PRIESTLEY FEATHER. (L.S.)