IMPROVE MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Falconer Macken, of Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING.”—A communication from abroad
• Time in the Kingdom of Belgium.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Falconer Macken at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
16th August 1871.
I, FALCONER MACKEN, of Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING," to be as follows :—
In spinning fibrous substances the twist must vary in proportion to
the speed of the draught to which the fibres are subjected. Imparting
the proper amount of twist in proportion to the travel of the yarn is a
difficult matter and requires considerable skill, and such labour is of
course highly paid.

page_text: In the improved machine which forms the subject of the present
Invention, the draught is effected in a constant and uniform manner by
the increase in length of the wound-up portion of the yarns over that
delivered by the drawing-off or feeding rollers. The rovings or slivers
are wound upon rollers which are placed in suitable bearings in the
machine and rest upon fluted rollers, to which an uniform rotary motion
is imparted by means of toothed gearing driven from the main shaft.
The rovings pass from these rollers through guides to pairs of drawing
and pressing rollers, to which an uniform speed is also imparted, so as to
ensure a constant and regular draft. From thence the rovings pass to
the flyers, which may be driven at either a constant or a varying speed,
but such speed must be proportioned to the speed imparted to the
spindles which carry the bobbins on which the twisted yarn or thread is
to be wound. A peculiar copping or rising and falling motion is imparted
to the bobbins on which the spun yarns are wound in regular and
successive layers, all the layers from the bottom to the top of the bobbin
being precisely similar in character, so that the variation in the
winding-on motion and the copping motion are always uniform. To
this end the lower ends of the bobbins are made with a cone equal in
height to the successive layers of the yarn. The regular copping motion
is therefore only equal to the depth of this conical part of the bobbin.
When one layer of thread is completed round the cone by the
winding-up motion, the copping rail with the bobbins sinks permanently
a distance equal to the thickness of the layer of yarn; the spinning and.
winding operations then continue, and the regular copping motion being :
always uniform the spun yarn is laid in a second layer of conical form
on the first conical layer, and so on until the bobbin is filled up to the
top. The differential speed required for winding on the conical layers of
yarn as it is spun or twisted is obtained by means of a pair of conical
drums, one of which is mounted on the main driving shaft and therefore
travels at an uniform speed, while the other is driven by a band from the
first cone, and which is made to travel regularly along the cones, and
thus to impart a differential motion to the second cone, which by means
of ordinary gearing drives the spindle on which the bobbins are
mounted

page_text: "
without interfering with any of the others. The copping frame is
mounted below on centre pins, so that the spindles and bobbins may be
drawn out of the vertical line and away from the flyers, for the greater
convenience of removing the full bobbins and replacing them by empty
ones.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Falconer Macken in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 16th February 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESÉ PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FALCONER
MACKEN, of Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Falconer Macken, Her special licence that
I, the said Falconer Macken, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Falconer Macken, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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
FOR SPINNING," being a communication to me from abroad by Ferdinand
Spineux, of Liège, in the Kingdom of Belgium, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Falconer Macken, 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 Falconer Macken, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and

page_text: by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say) :—
In spinning carded materials, it being necessary to vary the twist not
only according to the length, resistance, and thickness of the fibre to be
spun, but also in proportion to the draft to which it is subjected, great
difficulty has been found, which has hitherto been overcome solely by
the skill and experience of good spinners employed at high wages;
whereas with the present machine a child in charge thereof can regulate
each operation with the mathematical precision so indispensable for the
manufacture of perfect thread. The draft is here caused to operate in
a constant and uniform manner by the excess of length taken up by the
cop or spool over that given out by the drawing-off roller. The formed
thread being rolled around a cone in successive and equal layers takes
the form of a cop or spool, and allows of the spindles working indepen- 1
dently of each other, that is to say, that in the case of stoppage of one
or any of them while the others are in action, such spindles can be
again set in motion without modifying in the least either the draft or
the twist.
The machine may be constructed either with a uniform speed of 2
spindles, or so as to be able to vary the speed of the spindles at will..
In the first case the quantity of yarn produced will vary with the
quantity of twist required. In the second case, when the speed of the
spindles is variable, the speed is determined in proportion to the quantity
of yarn desired to be spun.
2
The fibrous material converted into slivers and collected on a roller A
is placed upon the rollers A', which unroll it on either side of the
machine, to be thence led by the guide a to the drawing-off rollers B,
which are furnished with pressing rollers adjustable at will upon tho
toothed supports B', Fig. 4, and it passes thence to the flyer C, a
(Figures 1, 5, and 10,) which imparts to it the twist, and it is then
distributed on to the cop or spool D (see Figures 1, 6, 7, 10) of the
spindle D', on which it is to be wound, which draws it. When the
speed of the flyers C is variable, motion is imparted by the shaft E
(Figures 1, 2, and 4), which carries a cone E' connected by a band a¹ to 3
a second cone E³, the axle of which is furnished with a pulley F, which
actuates by means of a band a³ the pulley F' on the shaft b, which by

page_text: means of wheels &³ imparts motion to the flyers O. At the extremity of
the said shaft b is fixed wheel gearing 6' in connection with the wheel G,
Figures 1, 2, 8, and 3. Alongside of the pulley F' is a bevil wheel G',
which gears into a second wheel O' fixed on the horizontal'shaft O³,
which by means of two similar wheels imparts motion to the flyers O
placed at the other side of the machine. A pulley d fixed on the
shaft E, Fig. 8, actuates by means of a band the pulley d³ of the small
cone H, the band dª of which, after having passed around one portion of
the roller Hand another portion of the cylinder H³, is kept at tension
by the weight of the moveable roller H. Further on will be seen other
arrangements, which I give to these parts of the machine according to
circumstances. The roller H³ carries at the extremity of its axle a
pinion I, which gears into the wheel m fixed inside to a bevil wheel m³,
Figures 8 and 9, connected to a similar wheel n by means of two wheels
free to move on their axles, and placed at opposite radii on the interior
of the periphery of the wheel G. This wheel is actuated by the
gearing 6. The wheel n fixed upon the axle of the two moveable
wheels m'and G transmits the difference of motion of the latter to the
spindles on both sides of the machine. by means of shafts K, K³,
Figures 1, 2, 3, and wheels ffff. The wheel K², fixed upon the
sleeve shaft K, gears into the wheel of the shaft D', thereby actuating
the spindles. The sleeve shaft K* carries a key entering a groove in
the shaft K, so as to admit of its sliding and following with facility
the up and down motion of the frame D' of the spindles. Thus the
spindles D' participate in the varying motion of the cone E (Figures 1,
2,4), the speed of which varies with the position of the band a', which
band is regulated according to the twist desired to be given to the
thread, and on the other hand to the speed imparted to the roller II'
(Figures 1, 2, 3, 8), which also varies according to the position of the
band don the .cone H, which corresponds with the different diameters
of the cone of the cop D, around which the thread is laid by the rotation
of the flyer O, by which the draft is given, so that the draft always.
remains the same whatever may be the diameter of the spool. And as
the speed of the cone H remains uniform with that of the shaft E, which
is invariable, it follows that the draft remains the same whatever may be
the speed of the flyer which gives the twist. It is this besides which
gives the calculation of the combination of wheels, where n = 2 G―m,
the negative quantity m determined first by the different value of Œ¹
according to the different diameters of the spool being invariable as
•

page_text: -
regards E, which remains the same, and cannot alter whilst n will follow
the variations of G.
To prevent the band slipping on the cone II, and also to avoid a
too great tension of the same, I place alongside of the cone I a second
and a similar cono l, which is actuated by the axle of the first by means
of two bevil wheels. A suitable pressure given by the second to the first
presses the band & between the two cones, and tends to prevent the
slipping of the band, or else I place directly upon the cone H the roller
or cone H³, Fig. 8, which is kept horizontal by a parallel movement, so
that it cannot touch the first or the underneath cone, no matter how
much the strap placed between them may be compressed by the weight
of the second cone H'. This band, slightly stretched or not by means of
a pulley or guide, is also readily brought to bear upon the whole length
of the cone H, and thereby causes the cone H' to rotate with a speed
equal to the diameter of the two pieces which are in contact with the
band d. The cone H' thus carries the gearing 1, which actuates the
wheelm of the differential motion, and imparts, without effort or useless
friction, alterations of velocity the more precise, as the band does not
require to be of great breadth. Adhesion might also be augmented by
making the band by means of two pressing rollers lap around a portion
of the circumference of the two cones.
The same advantage would be obtained if the cylinder H¹ were placed
between two circular, flat, or conical discs, superposed and turning in
contrary directions with the same velocity. The band d³, although
pressed between these last at two points, would be led with the same
facility over the whole length of this cylinder, and would therefore
impart to this last variable speed in proportion to the diameter of the
parts of the machine in contact with the band. These arrangements
admit of guiding with facility and regularity the band ďª by means of
the guide g, Figures 1, 2, 3, in connection with the lever g¹, one of the
arms of which carries the weight g³, which causes the band to move
towards one extremity of the cone H, when the lever g¹ is not drawn in
a contrary direction cither by a small chain g³, made fast to the lever
M (Fig. 4), actuated by the heart wheel ¹ by means of the lever h, or
by a bevil wheel M', Fig. 5, fixed upon the prolonged shaft of the lever
M³, which gears into a bevil wheel or a sector placed upon the axle of
the lever g¹, Figures 4, 5. The heart wheel h¹ is mounted against the
heart wheel o, and upon the same axle, and they are so constructed that

page_text: the time and space traversed are in proportion to the different diameters
of the cone a, ß, y, 6, of the spool Fig. 7, and that the speed of the fall
of the spool may differ from the rise thereof. These heart wheels are
actuated by the bevil wheels " taking motion by means of the endless
screw wheels from the wheel i, actuated by another intermediary by
means of the wheel placed upon the axle of the pulley, Figuros
1, 2, 4, connected by the band a³ to the pulley on the shaft E.
The heart wheel o actuates the lever o', Figures 1, 4, 5, made fast by
the connecting rod o³ to the lever o³, which carries at its extremity a
small chain P, which passes under the pulley P¹, so that it may lay
around the disc P³ of the shaft P³. It is drawn down by the action of
the weight q', which acts upon the shaft D³ in connection with the
shaft P³. This shaft, by means of several similar discs V furnished
with small chains, support and actuate the frame D³ of the spindles D³.
These frames slide upon vertical guides, which, instead of being attached
to the upper and lower standards of the machine, as shewn in the plan,
can be fixed in a frame capable of being opened out at top, and of
pivotting on its lower supports, so as to allow of the spools or cops of the
spindles D' being taken off without being impeded by the arms of the
flyers O, thus obviating the necessity of lowering the frame support D³.
It suffices therefore to attach the upper side of this frame with con-
necting rods made fast to the crank handles fixed to a transverse shaft
furnished with an external lever free to turn in either direction in order
to draw out the upper part of the frame, and to allow of the taking
out and putting in all the cops on the spindles D' at one and the same
time.
A cam L (actuated by the wheel L' by means of an endless screw
shaft I³, (receiving motion in exactly the same manner as the heart
wheels h¹ and o by the pulley *,) acts upon the extremity of the bar L³
> guided vertically, and supporting by its lower end the extremity of the
lover o³, where this lever pivots when the heart wheels o cause it to
oscillate while the cam L forces it to rock upon the pivot of the rod o³.
This combined movement allows the spindle D' to fall as the spool is
being formed by the successive deposit of the layers of thread, pre-
5 serving at the same time the saine up-and-down motion proportioned to
the height of the primitive cone a, ß, y, d, Fig. 7.
The wheel I' being capable of being thrown out of gear at will, by
elevating the endless screw shaft I, allows of the cam L being brought

page_text: back to its primitive position after each operation by the handle p,
Fig. 2, to commence new spools. This shaft L' can also, by being lifted
up, disengage the ratchet p' of the cramp on the fly wheel p³, if it is
adapted to the shaft P³, which supports the frame D', which is worked
by means of the handle p³. The lever o³, by oscillating on the pivot of
the bar L³, transmits the same motion by means of the rod R¹ to the
oscillating lever R connected by the small chain R³ with the disc S' of
the shaſt S, which supports and actuates by means of similar chains the
guide t, Fig. 5, which thus constantly indicates the exact point at which
the first layer of thread upon the spool should be commenced. It is 1
therefore easy, by means of this indicator (, to lift the spool or cop to a
suitable point for continuing the work without altering the given pro-
portion of draft or twist. When in cases of stoppage this spool will have
continued its fall with the other spools without forming, the guide t
partakes only of the up-and-down motions of the heart wheel o, whereas 1
the lever o³, which actuates the frame which supports the spindles D¹,
receiving the combined movement of the heart wheel o and of the
cam L, not only participates in the same up-and-down motion, but falls
each time an additional distance equal to the thickness of the thread.
At Fig. 10 is shewn on a larger scale a spindlo with its cop. In case 2
of stoppage as before explained it suffices to lift up the support of the
cop D on the spindle D³, so that the under part of the cone formed by
the thread upon the spool may be at the height indicated by the guide t.
The spool or cop D can also enter within the body of the flyer C when
a disc is placed in the interior of the tube, and when at the circum- 2
ference of this disc two pipes are formed, widening towards the top;
through which the thread passes in front of each lower arm of the
flyer C without touching the sides of the spool D, the diameter of which
is smaller than the distance left between the two widening pipes of the
discs . The wheels b' which actuato those placed on the flyers C, as also 3
the wheel gearing which gives motion to the spindles D', are held by
springs against which escape levers act when they are pushed by tho
vertical rod and excentric. 'When this rod is caused to turn by means
of the handle the flyer c and the spindle D' will be stopped at one and
the same time at whatever point of travel of the latter may be desired. 38
A pulley u, Figures 1, 2, 3, fixed on the shaft E and in connection'
with another pulley u³, the axle of which carries the gearing u³, actuates
by this gearing the wheel ³ fixed on the axle of the drawing-off.
-
-

page_text: rollers B, which by means of a wheel V in connection with other
wheels V, V, V, imparts motion to the rollers A', which drive. by
friction of contact the ball of sliver upon the roller A. As will now be
seen the delivering rollers A', the drawing-off rollers B, as also the
cone H (the velocity of which must here be uniform), are actuated in a
direct manner by the main shaft E, the speed of which is uniform,
whereas the flyers C, whose velocity is variable according to circum-
stances, receive motion from the cone of varying speed E³, which is
actuated by the cone E¹ on the main shaft E. On the other hand when
it is desired to impart to the flyers O the greatest possible but uniform
velocity they should then receive motion direct from the main shaft E,
and the speed of the other parts is regulated by the position of the
band a' on the cones E³, E³, in order to augment or diminish the pro-
duction of thread according to the twist desired to be obtained. This
method is therefore the inverse of that before described. With regard
to the draft of the sliver, which ought to vary at will according to the
number, it is regulated by the wheel U' which actuates the drawing-off
roller and the delivering roller A', the relative speed between H, L, h³, o,
remaining the same, it is needless to add that h³, o, (being obliged to be
regulated according to the fineness of the thread) are driven by a change
wheels, which changes with the spinning number.
When the final twist desired to be given to the thread is greater
than that which is suitable for the draft of the sliver, although it is
more advantageous as regards production to give this excess later,
3 particularly as this can be done without outlay, this result can be
attained on this machine in different ways.
First. By placing above the flyers O a support over which the thread
will pass, and which is capable of being elevated at will so as to increase
the arc of the circle and thus the obstacle to the twist.
Secondly. By placing two rods W, W, Fig. 3, capable of varying in
distance on the arms which support them on either side of a shaft W³,
which in pivotting upon its fulcrum raises one whilst it lowers the other,
so that the rod W being lowered down the twist given by the flyer O
reaches the rod W. When this rod is lowered the other is raised
against the thread, then the twist existing between W and W extends
to the sliver from W to the drawing-off roller B. Whether the distance
between W and W' be modified or whether the number of oscillations of
the shaft Ws be varied the twist of the thread will be changed.

page_text: Or, thirdly. By means of a grooved roller x, Fig. 3, which turns with
varying speed in a contrary direction to that of the travel of the thread,
allows the thread to pass alongside the drawing-off roller B, part of the
twist which the thread has received during the passage of the grooves at
the sido of the flyer C.
And, lastly. By means of two rotary axles carrying each a rod of the
same diameter at their extremities. Theso axles being placed the one
behind the other and rotating together, so that when the two radii
carrying the rods of the first are in the vertical plane, the two radii of
the second are horizontal, so that when one rod rises the other falls, and :
the twist is then regulated by the speed of one of these two shafts,
which rotate like the cylinder z mentioned above in the reverso
direction of the thread.
The above arrangements although suitable when the spool D, Fig. 7, is
cylindrical, and has a primitive cone a, B, y, ô, 4, must be modified when
the body of the spool is conical. Thus if 7, w, represents the section
of the conc it will be seen by referring to Fig. 7 that the superposed
layers of thread become larger and longer as they rise towards whero
the diameter of the spool diminishes; the speed therefore of the spindle
must vary in the same proportion and the extent of each layer must
increase progressively. In this case I make a groove in the cam L,
(Figures 4, 5,) the curve of which widens out progressively from the
centre of the piece. The pivot fixed to the arm of the lever y can then
slide, and by means of the action of the link y³ on the connecting rod o
cause it to travel by its extremity in the mortice of the lever o¹ so as to
augment the to-and-fro motion of the oscillating lever o³, which
regulates as already shewn the travel of the spool. On the other hand
and at the same time the lever Z made fast by a connecting rod to the
vertical rod IP, Figures 4 and 5, forces the sleeve shaft Z' attached at the
point to the rod ³ to deviate with this latter, and so take up in the
mortice of the oscillating lever M different positions corresponding with
the variations of velocity consequent upon the different diameters of the
spool D.
Instead of making the primitive cone of the spool of the height as
shown at a, B, E, Fig. 7, it can be made smaller as at a³, 81, by altering
13
I have indicated showa Ti

page_text: the heart wheels and o. Fig. 6 shows-in-section another form of
spool which may be obtained by the modifications above mentioned.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improvements
in Machinery for Spinning," as communicated to me by my foreign
correspondent, and explained the manner of carrying the same into
effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited
Letters Patent I claim,--
First. The method of spinning as above described by laying the
material in successive layers around a conc, which cone has a different
velocity from that of the roller from which the material is drawn off;
thus effecting the draft by reason of the difference between the speed of
the drawing-off roller and the speed of the spindle or the spool.
Second. In case of breakage of the thread the means of imparting
to the spool or spindle a suitable position, so that neither the draft nor
tho twist will suffer any change.
Third. The arrangement of the two cones for regulating with facility
by means of a band the speed of the spindle in proportion to the form
of the cone of the cop or spool.
Fourth. The means of giving to the thread a greater twist than that
necessary for the draft of the sliver.
Fifth. The means of taking off with facility from the spindles, without
being impeded by the flyers, the cops and spools, and replacing them by
empty spools, by making the frame which carries the spindles moveable
and causing it to pivot upon its lower supports.
In witness whereof, I, the said Falconer Macken, havo hereunto
set my hand and scal, the Sixteenth day of February, in the