IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Peter McGregor, of the City of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Machine Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING."
Sealed the 21st May 1867, and dated the 1st December 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Peter McGregor at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 1st December 1866.
I, PETER MCGREGOR, of the City of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Machine Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING," to be
as follows:-
1st, my Invention consists in an arrangement of machinery for stopping the
backing off of the self-acting mule the moment the faller begins to lock. I
place a ratchet wheel in the tin roller or drum shaft of the carriage, below
which and attached to the carriage square I put a catch that can work into
this ratchet wheel; I connect this catch by a rod to the faller lock, so that
when the fallers are unlocked the catch is out of gear; but the moment the
faller lock moves forward in the act of locking the catch is allowed to drop
into the ratchet wheel which instantly stops the backing off.
2nd, also in an arrangement of machinery in mules where a tappet or
eccentric is used for working the carriage slowly in towards the beam whilst
twisting at the head, which prevents a break down in case the eccentric may
not be in the right place when the mule comes out. I place a slide or a lever
on the headstock which is acted upon by the eccentric for drawing the
carriage in while twisting; this slide or lever is placed so as to act upon the

page_text: lever for making the first change to stop the carriage, so that if the eccentric
or tappet happens to be too far round or out of its place it will act through
this slide or lever on the lever for making the first change and instantly stop
the carriage.
3rd, also in allowing the friction cones or friction plates used for the cam
sbaft of the self-acting mule to remain in contact during two or more changes
whereby a quicker action of the changes takes place; this is accomplished by
cutting off one or more of the pins or inclines for relieving the friction cones
or plates or by a fork which holds the friction cones or plates out of geer
during the coming out of the carriage, and is put in and out of contact by the
motion of the carriage when required.
4th, also in an arrrangement of machinery for lifting the rollers out of the
troughs for holding the water in doubling frames in order that the troughs
may be cleaned out with greater ease. I place a shaft along the whole length
of the frame on which I fix fingers for carrying the bottom roller, and also
the cap bars when top rollers are used; this shaft may be caused to move by
a handle to which I attach a catch for holding the rollers up out of the trough
during cleaning, or when otherwise required, or the shaft may be made to lift
the rollers by a worm wheel, worm, and handle.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Peter McGregor in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 30th
May 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PETER
MCGREGOR, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster; Machine
Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Peter McGregor, Her special license that I, the said Peter McGregor,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Peter McGregor, 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 "IMPROVE-

page_text: 'MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING AND DOUBLING," upon the condition (amongst
others) that. I, the said Peter McGregor, 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 Peter McGregor, 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 (that is to say):-
The nature of my Invention consists, first, in the application of a catch
acting on a ratchet wheel fixed to the tin roller or drum shaft of the carriage
of self-acting mules for stopping the backing-off the moment the faller begins
to lock.
Secondly, in an arrangement of machinery applicable to those self-acting
mules in which a tappet or eccentric is used for moving the carriage slowly in
towards the beam whilst twisting at the head to prevent a break down in case
the tappet or eccentric be not in the right position when the carriage comes out.
Thirdly, in allowing the friction cones or friction plates used for the cam
shaft of self-acting mules to remain in contact during two or more changes.
And, lastly, in an arrangement of machinery for lifting the rollers of
doubling frames out of the water troughs in order that the troughs may be
cleaned out with greater ease.
.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation, I will proceed to describe the accompanying. Sheet
of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is an elevation of part of the headstock and carriage of a self-
acting mule. to which my improvements are applied; Figure 2 is a plan of the
same.
a is the frame of the headstock; b, the front drawing roller; c, the catch
lever near the front of the headstock; d, the carriage end; e, the spindles ;
f, the tin roller or drum in the carriage, and g the faller lock; the parts
above enumerated and all the others. requisite to complete the inule which are
not particularly referred to hereafter. are made in the usual manner.
The first part of my Invention is performed in the following manner :-To
the axle of the tin roller or drum F is fixed the ratchet wheel f', below which
and mounted on a stud fixed to the carriage square is the weighted catch h;
this catch is cast with the lever h, to which, is jointed one end of the rod h²,

page_text: the other being connected to the usual faller lock g.. When the carriage
is going out the catch h is held out of gear with the ratchet wheel f¹ by the
usual copping motion lever i, the stud in the end of which holds the faller
lock in the position shewn in Figure 1; but when the carriage is out and
the backing-off takes place the faller lock 9 is raised, and as soon as the
-notch in it comes above the end of the lever i it closes up towards the
carriage, and the catch h instantly takes into the teeth of the ratchet wheel f!,
thereby stopping the rotation of the tin roller or drum f and of the spindles.
The second part of my Invention consists of the following parts:-To the
axle of the tin drum fis fixed the worm gearing into the wheel j fixed to
the lower end of the shaft j', as described in the Specification of former Letters
Patent granted to me on the Twenty-third day of May, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-two, Number 1554. At the top of the shaft ¹ is fixed the
eccentric, which is used for pushing the carriage slowly in while twisting at
the head; at the end of the headstock is mounted the usual catch lever c,
against the lower end of which the carriage acts when it arrives out; this
lever when acted upon by the carriage liberates the lever k, and allows the
rod m to put into operation the parts requisite to effect the first change. To
the frame a is fixed the bracket n supporting the slide o; this slide is free to
move to and fro in the bracket, but the amount of motion is limited by the
pin o¹ projecting from the slide and the slot in the bracket n. To one end of
the slide o is fixed a stud for the bowl o³, against which the eccentric acts,
and at the other end is a stud taking into a slot in the horizontal lever l.
The mode of operation is as follows:-When the carriage arrives at the end
of its stretch, and the eccentric is in its proper position, the catch lever.c is
moved by the carriage, and during the twist at the head the eccentric in
revolving gradually causes the carriage to run in to the extent required, but
if from any accident or neglect the eccentric is not in its proper position when
the carriage gets out, then the eccentric comes against the bowl o' before the
catch lever c is acted upon by the carriage end, and the action of the
eccentric on the bowl o2 pushes the slide o along the bracket n. until
the stud o¹ comes to the end of its slot; this motion of the slide o pushes the
lever and causes it to liberate the catch lever c, after which the first change
then takes place, as above described. This arrangement is particularly
beneficial in mules for spinning wool, but it may be applied to other, mules;
and instead of placing the eccentric.in the carriage, as described, it may be
placed on the twist shaft in the headstock and act on the catch lever c through
the agency of suitable rods and levers.
The third part of my Invention may be described without the aid of

page_text: Drawings; it consists in allowing the friction cones or friction plates used for
the cam shaft of self-acting mules to remain in contact during two or more
changes, whereby the changes are effected more rapidly than heretofore; this
is accomplished by cutting off one or more of the pins or inclines of the escape-
ment plate for relieving the friction cones or plates.
The last part of my Invention is illustrated by Figure 3, which represents
in section part of an ordinary doubling frame with my improvements applied;
r is the tin drum; 8, the spindles; t, the troughs; and u the bobbins con-
taining the yarn to be doubled; v are the bottom rollers, which instead of
revolving in fixed bearings or stands as now customary revolve in the bear-
ings w which are keyed on the shaft ; this shaft is supported in bearings
fixed to the trough; to the shaft x are also fixed the cap bars y which support
the top rollers. To the cap bars are cast or fixed the projections y', through
which are holes to guide the yarn from the bobbins u to the rollers v. At the
left-hand side of Figure 3 the parts are shewn in the positions they occupy
when the doubling frame is at work, and the right-hand side of the Drawing
represents the rollers lifted out of the trough for the purpose of cleaning it
out with greater ease, and more effectually than was heretofore possible. The
shaft may be turned partly round by a handle to which a catch is connected
for holding up the rollers while the trough is being cleaned, or when otherwise
required, or the shaft may be made to lift the rollers by a worm wheel, worm
and handle, or in any other convenient manner.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, I declare that I claim,-
First, the improved mode of stopping the tin roller or drum of self-acting
mules for the purpose of stopping the backing off, as described.
Secondly, the improved arrangement of parts, described and shewn in the
Drawing, for preventing injury when the carriage arrives out.
And, lastly, the arrangement of machinery for lifting the rollers out of the
water troughs of doubling frames, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Peter McGregor, have hereunto set my
band and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of May, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-seven.
PETER MCGREGOR. (L.S.)