CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MACHINERY POR SPINNING AND TWISTING COTTON, SILK, WOOL, FLAX, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM.
ROBERTSON, Machine Maker, of Gateside, in the Parish of Neilston, Renfrew-
shire, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-fifth day of February, in the ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Robertson, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said William Robertson, my exors, adññors, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said William Robertson, my exors, admors, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and, the Town of Ber-
wick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MACHINERY
POR SPINNING AND TWISTING COTTON, SILK, WOOL, FLAX, AND OTHER FIBROUS
SUBSTANCES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I,
the said William Robertson, should cause a particular description of the
nature of my said. Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited
Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will
more fully and at large appear.

page_text: William Robertson, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon
(that is to say-
The improvements are applicable to self-acting mules.
Figure 1 represents the side elevation. .
Figure 2 represents the front elevation:
Figure 3, a bird's-eye view of the twist shaft and its connection.
Figure 4, a front view, on a small scale, of the friction apparatus for twisting
separately and winding on.
The same numbers and letters apply to all the Figures. A, A, represents
the framing of the headstock. (1) is the driving shaft; (2) is the loose pulley;
(3) the fast pulley; (4) is the twist pulley, it is loose on the driving shaft;
(5) is a plate made fast on the shaft, having six projections a, a, a, a, a, a,
three at outside of its rim and three at inside, in straight lines from the centre.
These have a square hole in them, through which the slides (6, 6, 6,) are set
to work freely out; and the t
twist pulley has a ring projecting from it, one
and a quarter inch broad; and the slides (6) have parts of circles, of the same
radius, covered with leather, which are pressed against the projecting ring of
the twist pulley, by a cone (7) moving on the shaft (1): Motion from the
twist pulley is communicated to the spindles by means of a band passing round
two carrying pullies (9, 9), which bring it in a straight line with the working
of the carriage. (10) is a friction plate or disc fast on the driving pulley (3).
(11) is a brush wheel, which, when in contact with the face of the friction
disc (10), brings out the carriage by means of the rack (12) and the wheels
b, b, b, and c, c, c, of which c is geared into the rack, and 6 connects the
shaft (13) and (14). (15) is the front roller, which is moved by means of
the friction disc (10) and brush wheel (11) through the wheels d, d, d. The
wheel d on the shaft (13) is loose upon the shaft; it is moved when the
carriage comes out by means of the ratchet wheel and catches (8, 8, 8), when
the motion
of the carriage is reversed, the catches slip and the rollers are not
The carriage motion is reversed by means of the brush wheel (16)
coming in contact with the friction disc (10) after the brush wheel (11) has
been detached; the motion, however, of the carriage in going in must not be
uniform, as the speed at which it is taken in is so rapid, that if uniform in
starting, the shock would be too great, and in stopping it would break down by
concussion; to prevent which in starting, the brush wheel is not pressed with
moved.

page_text: such firmness on the disc as to receive the full quantity of motion from the
surface of the disc, but merely so much as will take it easily away from a state
of rest, and by accelerated force communicate the whole quantity of motion
after moving eighteen inches; and to stop gently, the brush wheel is moved
towards the centre of the disc, thus reducing its speed: It is well known that
the velocity of the carriage and rollers requires to, be varied in speed; according
to the numbers of yarn to be spun, to effect which the brush wheel (11) is
moved on the shaft (13) by means of a screw and two nuts e, e, from or
towards the centre of the disc (10).. (17) is a screw. on the shaft (14) geared
into a quadrant wheel (18).on the shaft (19). (20) is a wyper on the
shaft (19). (21) is a lever with a fork on it, fitted into a groove. in the nave
of the brush wheel (16). 22 is a wyper on the lever (21)... When the
quadrant wheel shaft moves. round, the wyper (20) on it comes in contact with
the wyper (22) on the lever (21), and moves the brush wheel (16) i towards
the centre of the disc, thus producing the reduction of speed: necessary, to put
the carriage gently up. When the carriage returns, the quadrant wheel (18)
and shaft (19) are also reversed; and the brush wheel (16) is again 'brought
to the outer edge of the friction disc (10) by means of the spring f, bolted on
the outside of framing, and. connected to the. lever. (21) by the pin g. 23
and 24 are projections from the rack: 12 at each end of it, placed from each
other at a distance a little: less (about one..and a half inch) less than the
stretch. (25) is a wyper upon the shaft (26), passing across the headstock,
and placed so that the projections (23) and (24) will move (25) about one.
and a half inch at each end of the stretch. (27) is a crank on the other end
of the shaft (26). 28. is a connecting rod to (29.) a crank; on (30) a bush,
fitted so as to move round in the framing a fourth of a revolution, by having its.
flange cut out. on one side, and resting on the pin z fixed: in the framing,
having the hole for the shaft (13) bored off: the centre a. quarter of an inch."
Let the brush wheel (11) now be supposed in contact with. the disc (10), and;
the carriage arrived within one and a half inch of the outer: end of the stretch,:
the projection (24): on the rack will have! come into contact with the:
wyper (25) on the shaft! (26), and. by means of the connecting rod (28) and
crank (29) will have turned the bush (30) till the brush wheel (11) will have.
lost all power to move the carriage. The momentum which the carriage has
acquired will carry it a little further,: until the stud 9 will be brought past the.
line of centre of the shaft (26) and the bush (30), when the spring (31) will
take it to the resting pin ; Suppose again the carriage moving out and.
within three inches of the outer end: of the stretch, and that the projecting
inclined plane on the rack. (82) has come into contact with a flat stud.on.the..

page_text: end of the lever (33), the end of the lever 33 will be moved up, and the
opposite end i, which is forined into a fork, and is fitted between two ruffs k, k,
on bottom of the shaft (34), will be moved down, by means of which the
shaft (34) is pressed down until the friction surfaces (35, 36) come into
contact, and the expanded spiral spring (37) has been compressed. (38) is
a wheel, with teeth fitted to work into a screw (39) on the main shaft.
The screw wheel (38) is therefore always going when the mule is at work;
and it runs loose upon the shaft (34), having the friction surface (36)
fast upon it. It has a groove on it fitted into the stand (40), which is
bolted on the cross bar of the framing (41), and has the bush for the
top end of the shaft (34). When the two friction surfaces (35, 36,) come
together by the fork i, pressing the shaft (34) down and carrying the wyper
(42) along with it (the upper part of which has a small pulley n in the
end of it to slide easily, the wyper first presses out the lever (43), which
takes out the friction cone (7) on the main shaft, and the springs k, k, k,
draw in the slides 6 to the centre of the shaft (1), and take away the con-
nection between the main shaft (1) and the twist pulley (4). It then moves
towards the lever (44) which presses the brake (45) against the twist pulley
(4) and stops the spindles. The lever (44) has an adjusting screw on it for
altering the pressure of the brake. The under part of the wiper m takes the
spinner rod o forward which works the fallers, and by means of the small
inclined plane p presses down the wyper Q upon the socket (46) which is loose
upon the shaft (26), and by means of the crank 2 and connecting rod (47)
turns round the bush (48), having the hole for the shaft (14) bored off its
centre until the spring (49) is brought past the line of centres, when it
suddenly brings the in-taking brush wheel (16) in contact with the friction
disc (10), when the carriage begins to move in by the way described before.
The crank r and connecting rod (47) are not shewn in the Drawings, but
they are similar to the crank (27) and connecting rod (28), and they act in
respect to the crank (48) in the same way as the parts (27) (28) do in
respect to the crank (29). Whilst the shaft (34) was moving round it was
twisting the spring (37), and when the carriage has started and the lever (33)
been relieved, the spring (37) forces up the shaft (34) and turns it back to
its resting stud (50). This resting requires to vary also, according to the
numbers of yarn to be spun, and the shaft (34) has got a ruff (51) on the top
of it, which is bored at six places equally distant round its surface. These
holes in the "ruff" are screwed. A curved plate (52) with a small projection
is fixed to the ruff by means of a bolt t screwed into these holes. This plate
has a slot in it lengthwise, to admit of its being shifted a sixth part of the

page_text: circumference of the ruff (51). By this means, when a longer time is
necessary for twisting the yarn while the carriage is stopped, by shifting for-
ward the stopper (52) this is gained at once without any change of pinions;
as the farther it is shifted in one direction the wyper (42) will have to travel
the same distance in the other direction before it reaches the levers by which
the spindles are stopped and the carriage started.. (53) is a lever with a
catch on end of it which falls over a projection on the lever (43) when the
wyper (42) presses it back. (54) is a spring which draws in the lever (43)
when the latchet (53) is raised by the spinner rod o. (55) is a lever on the
shaft (56), which turns freely towards the shaft but revolves with it by means
of the small stud u. When the lever (43) is pressed by the wyper (42), (55)
drops in behind the projection and regulates its movements by its connection
with the quadrant (59) through the adjusting screw (58) on the end of the
lever (57) which is fast on the shaft (56). The quadrant (59) is so formed
as to make the amount of friction of any requisite amount of pressure in any
part of the draw while the carriage is going in. By this means the friction
for twisting is made to answer for winding up the yarn on the spindles, with
this difference, that the whole power of the spring (54) is exerted during the
twist, and thereby the whole quantity of motion in the main shaft is communi-
cated to the twist pulley (4), whereas by means of the quadrant (59) and
adjusting screws (58) and (60) it has only so much as to balance the strength
of the yarn and move the spindles slowly while winding up. To balance the
strength of the yarn, the uniform motion which the main shaft possesses is all
that it requires, but, from the irregularity of the carriage motion and the
difference of speed with which the spindles require to be started to take up the
yarn, arising from the different thickness of the "cop" while it is building, the
surface of the quadrant requires to be altered at different parts of the set. To
overcome any general difference of tension over the whole stretch the adjusting
screw (58) is sufficient; for if the fault be a general slackness, as the point of
the screw (58) moves over the whole quadrant, any alteration on its position
is an alteration on the whole. But the thickness of the "cop
at the point
is pretty nearly alike through the set, and as the spindles require to be reduced
in speed at the beam where the carriage stops they require less power to
drive them; and thus, since there is uniformity of surface and a uniform
decrease of power, the quadrant at v is formed to press out the friction and
reduce its power to this amount, and this to fit any part of the set will
generally fit any other, although a regulator may be applied in such cases
as necessity may require. But the "cop" varies greatly in thickness at the
"

page_text: shoulder, and as the carriage moves away at an invariable rate the spindles
will require an increase or reduction of power to start them at various parts of
the "cop." To accomplish this, the part (61) of the quadrant is moved out
or in on the hinge joint w, the centre of which, to keep the surface of (61)
and (59) always the same, is the straight line in which they meet. It is
regulated by the adjusting screw (60). When the carriage starts, if the "cop"
is just beginning, the small diameter of the "cop" makes it necessary to start
the spindles quicker to take up the yarn. Now, since the additional speed, in
the spindles requires additional power to produce it, by. turning the screw (60)
into the arm of the quadrant the end of the part (61) will be lowered
also, and the screw (58) when on it will be lower also, and the lever
(55) will not stop the action of the spring (54) till it has commu-
nicated the power required to wind up the yarn. When the carriage
reaches the beam.a projection on the rack strikes the point of the lever (62)
hung on a bracket (63). on the side of the framing A, which presses back the
spinner rod o, and a stud (64) on o strikes out the lever (55) from before the
projection on the lever (43), and the whole power of the friction being
exerted the spindles are driven at full speed and twisting commences.
the same time the projection of the rack (23) strikes' the wyper (25) on the
shaft (26) and carries it round with the wyper (65), which, striking the pin x
in the wyper Q, throws out the brush wheel (16) and 'throws in the brush
wheel (11), when the operations above described are repeated.....
At
Having thus described the various parts of the mechanism necessary to
carry out my said Invention, I do declare that I do not claim any of the well-
known parts common to all mules; nor do I claim any part of the mechanism
necessary to connect my improvements with the other parts of the mule. But
I do claim,-
'
First, the method, as described, whereby I attach the twist. pulley (4) to
and detach it from the rotation of the driving shaft by means of the friction
apparatus.
:
Secondly, I claim the adjustment of the friction pressure for winding on the
yarn upon the spindles by means of the said friction apparatus regulated by
the eccentric quadrant, as described.
Thirdly, I claim the use of a friction disc plate (10) with a brush wheel
in contact, to give motion to the carriage and rollers in. coming out upon
the stretch, whereby the speed of the carriage and rollers can be readily.
modified. And I farther claim my provision for the return of the carriage by
he contact of a brush wheel (16) on the face of the disc plate.

page_text: And fourthly, I claim the method herein described, whereby I regulate and
adjust the amount of twist to be given to the threads, corresponding to the
speed of the mule and the numbers of the yarn spun.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robertson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.