CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Knowles, of Bolton-le-Moors, in the County of
Lancaster, Cotton Spinner, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS."
Sealed the 22nd February 1859, and dated the 10th September 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Knowles at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th September 1858.
I, JOHN KNOWLES, of Bolton-le-Moors, in the County of Lancaster, Cotton
Spinner, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS
MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
The nature of my Invention consists of an improved stopping motion, by,
means whereof the machine to which it is applied is instantly stopped when
one of the slivers or rovings with which it is supplied breaks.. In performing.
my Invention, I make use of the ordinary spoon or tumbler which guides the
sliver or roving, and the rotary shaft with the feelers or other suitable agents,,
and to the rotary shaft I apply a set of differential wheels, one of which is in
connection by a chain or lever with the usual strap lever. By this arrange-
ment, as soon as a sliver or roving breaks, the shaft with the feelers is stopped,
and the differential wlieels then cause the strap lever to move the driving strap
from the fast to the loose pulley.
The above arrangement may be modified in various ways to suit different,
machines.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Knowles in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
10th March 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
KNOWLES, of Bolton-le-Moors, in the County of, Lancaster, Cotton Spinner,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Knowles, Her special licence that I, the said John Knowles,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Knowles, 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS,"
upon the condition (amongst others), that I, the said John Knowles, 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 John Knowles, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):-
The nature of my Invention consists of an improved stopping motion
applicable to all the machines used in preparing cotton and other fibrous
materials, and that are fed or supplied with slivers or rovings, by means
whereof such machines may be instantly stopped when one of the slivers or
rovings breaks or otherwise ceases to be supplied.
The manner in which my said Invention is to be performed or carried into
practice will be readily understood by reference to the accompanying two
Sheets of Drawings, in which similar letters refer to the same parts of the
apparatus shewn in different Figures or views.

page_text: Fig. 1 of Sheet 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of a machine for
forming card slivers into a lap, and commonly called a "Derby doubler," to
which my improved stop motion is applied; Fig. 2 is a plan, and Fig. 3 à side
clevation of the same; Figs. 4 and 5 are detached views on an enlarged scale
of parts of the same. The slivers from the cans a, a, are taken over 'the
plates b, b, through the balance spoons or tumblers c, c, (which are held down
by the slivers in the usual manner,) then over the plates d, d, and between the
rollers e, e, which deliver them on to a table, from whence they are conveyed
to the calendering and lapping rollers, as is now customary. Under each
plate is a shaft f, to which the feelers 9 are fixed; these shafts revolve
slowly, one of them being driven by the pinion e', as will be explained
hereafter.
The various parts of the machine are set in motion by the strap h, see
Fig. 3, passing round the fixed pulley i, near to which is the loose pulley ¹;
the strap guide j is connected to the horizontal shaft k, which is moved
laterally by the self-acting stop motion herein-after described, or by the
attendant acting on either of the rods 1, 1, each of which is supported by levers
m, m, fixed to upright shafts n, n, to the lower ends of which are fixed
pinions o, o, gearing into racks p; p, fixed to the horizontal shaft k.
The parts composing my improved stop motion are the set of differential
wheels marked r, s, and t, in Figs. 4 and 5, and the parts in combination
therewith. To the shaft fis fixed the bevel wheel r, which gears into the
wheels, revolving on a stud fixed to the casing s¹, which, with the wheel t, are
loose on the shaft f. To the wheel t is cast or fixed the pinion t; to which
motion is communicated by the pinion e¹ on one of the rollers e, and the
carriers and e³ shewn by dotted circles in Fig. 1. To the casing s¹ is fixed
a bracket supporting the antifriction roller s³, which acts when required on the
lever or upright fixed to the shaft k. The casing s¹ has a flange with a
recess in it for the bowl u in the lever u¹, the lower arm of which is. acted
upon by a spring u². The mode of operation is as follows:-As long as all
the slivers are supplied to the machine each spoon c is held down by a sliver,
and the shafts f, f, continue to revolve, being turned round by the pinion e²,
driving the pinion t¹, which, as before stated, is fast to the bevel wheel t, but
loose on the shaft f. The bevel wheels acts as a carrier to transmit the
motion from the wheel t to the wheel r keyed to the shaft f; thereby turning
this shaft round; and. as the. two shafts f, f, are connected by the bevel
pinions f, they both receive motion from the pinion e', and the feelers ģ on
the shafts revolve without touching the weighted ends of the spoons c. The
-moment a sliver breaks or ceases to be supplied, the spoon over which 'it' had

page_text: passed rises up in the usual manner, and the feeler g coming against the
weighted end of the spoon, stops the shaft f; the bevel wheel being thus
stopped while the motion continues to be imparted to the wheel t, causes this
wheel to move the carrier wheels and the casing s¹ partly round on the shaft f
thereby bringing the bowl s against the upright, and moving the shaft k
laterally in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1 sufficiently to remove the
driving strap from the fast pulley i to the loose pulley , and thus stopping the
machine. When the wheels and casing s¹ begin to move round the shaft f
the recess in the flange of the casing acting on the bowl u in the lever u¹
overcomes the resistance of the spring u², and after the bowl s has pushed the
shaft horizontally to move the strap h from the fast to the loose pulley the
casing continues to revolve until the bowl u again drops into the recess of
the flange in the casing; during the completion of the revolution the attendant
has time to piece up or replace the sliver that had broken or ceased to be
supplied, and the machine is again started by the attendant acting on the
starting rod in the usual manner. By means of these improvements the
machine is stopped more suddenly than heretofore, thereby preventing irregular
work; and very little power is required to be exerted by the attendant in
starting the machine by hand, as no spring or weight has to be overcome as in
the stopping motions of the usual construction.
On Sheet 2, Fig. 6 is an elevation of part of a drawing frame to which my
improvements are applied; Fig. 7 is a plan of the same; and Fig. 8, a section
of a modification of my improved stop motion. a is one of the cans containing
the slivers; b, a guide plate; c, the tumblers or spoons; d, another guide
plate; c, the back drawing roller, corresponding to the roller e in Fig. 1; fis
the shaft with the feelers 9; this shaft is turned slowly round in the direction
of the arrow in Fig. 6, by the pinion e¹ gearing into the carrier e, which gears
into the wheel t¹ loose on the shaft f. In the face of the wheel t¹ is a stud for
the spur pinions, which gears into the internal wheel t, which is also loose on
the shaft f, and into the spur pinion r, which is keyed on the shaft f. To the
internal wheel t is cast or fixed a flange with a recess in it for the bowl u,
which is supported in the spring u². To the internal wheel t is also fixed the
incline x, which acts on the finger k fixed to the stop rod k, to which the strap
guide is fixed. The stop rod k and strap guide j are jointed to the ordinary
starting lever y. These parts act in the following manner: The Drawing
represents the driving strap h on the fast pulley i, where it remains as long as
the slivers continue to be supplied regularly to the machine (or until the
attendant wishes to stop the machine by hand). As soon as a sliver ceases
to be supplied, the spoon over which it had been guided is raised by the

page_text: preponderating weight of the lower end, which then comes into the proper
position for being struck by the feeler g, thereby stopping the shaft f; the
wheel t¹ and pinion 8, being however driven by the pinion e¹, continue to
revolve, while the pinion is stopped, thereby imparting motion to the
internal wheel t; the incline x then acts on the finger k, which thus moves
the driving strap from the fast pulley i to the loose pulley ¹, and stops the
machine; the internal wheel t continues in motion until it has completed a
revolution, when the bowl u again takes into the recess in its flange.
In the foregoing Drawings and description I have explained how my Inven-
tion may be applied to two machines used in preparing cotton; I wish,
however, to remark that my Invention is equally applicable to all such
machines that are fed or supplied with slivers or rovings.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described two modes
of performing the same, I would have it understood that I do not limit
myself to the details given, as the same may be considerably varied or
modified without departing from the peculiar character thereof; but what I
do claim is, the application of differential wheels to the stop motions of
machines used.in preparing cotton and other fibrous materials, as shewn and
described, or any modification thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Knowles, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
H. B. BARLOW,
Manchester.
JOHN KNOWLES. (L.S.)