IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TWISTING, DRAWING, DOUBLING, AND SPINNING OF COTTON, WOOL, SILK, FLAX, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, EDWIN
PETTITT, of Kingsland, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, and JAMES
FORSYTH, of Caldbeck, Cumberland, Spinner, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Fifteenth day of April,
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the fifteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Edwin Pettitt and James Forsyth, our exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that we, the said Edwin Pettitt
and James Forsyth, our exors, adññors, and assigns, or such others as we, the
said Edwin Pettitt and James Forsyth, our exors, adñors, 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 Berwick-upon-Tweed, in
the Islands of Jersey, Guernesy, Alderney, Sark and Man, and in all Her
said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, our Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR TWISTING, DRAWING, DOUBLING, AND SPINNING OF COTTON, WOOL,
SILK, FLAX, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES;" in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso, that we, the said Edwin Pettitt and James Forsyth, or
one of us, should cause a particular description of the nature of our said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument

page_text: in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us,
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.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Edwin Pettitt and James Forsyth, do hereby declare that the nature of our said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters
marked thereon, that is to say:-
Our Invention consists in certain improvements in the construction and
arrangement of machinery for twisting, drawing, doubling, and spinning of
cotton, wool, silk, flax, and other fibrous substances whereby we are enabled to
draw or elongate yarns or twisted slivers or rovings which are previously so
tightly twisted that they cannot be elongated by the ordinary systems of draw-
ing, and which object we effect by means of drawing rollers in combination with
certain instruments which we call tubular grip flies, which, being made to revolve
in a contrary direction to the twist, provisionally untwist the yarn, twisted sliver,
or roving, so as to allow of its elongation by the drawing rollers; yarns, twisted
slivers, or rovings may thus be drawn out or elongated, and on leaving the last
set of drawing rollers still retain the twist which they possessed on entering
the machine.
Figure 1, of the Drawings hereunto annexed, is a plan, and Figure 2 is a
vertical section, of one of our improved machines. A, A, B, B, C, C, D, D, are
a series of sets of drawing rollers revolving at speeds which progressively
encrease from A to D; E is a twisted roving sliver or yarn of cotton, wool, or
other fibrous substance, which in passing through the machine is elongated
in proportion to the difference of speed between the rollers A and D; the yarn
or twisted sliver or roving is supplied to the machine from a reel or bobbin F,
and is received at the other side of the machine on a fly and bobbin G, where
it is twisted as it is wound up. Z is the framing of the machine; H, I, and J
are the instruments which we call tubular grip flies, and which are arranged
alternately with the drawing rollers.
Figure 3 is a side view, and Figure 4 is an end view of one of these
tubular grip flies, drawn of the full size, but the dimensions may be
varied according to circumstances. a, b, is a tube carrying a pulley or
warve c, and supported at a and b; d, e, are two rollers, of iron or other
suitable material, either covered or not with an elastic substance, and sup-

page_text: ported by spring arms f, f, g, 9, which are fixed upon a plate or flange h
on the end of the tube a, b. This tubular grip fly is made to revolve on its axis
by a band passing over the warve c; this warve is made hollow to allow a small
pin, which projects from the frame of the machine, to enter the hollow part of
the warve without touching it, as shewn in Figure 2. The use of this pin is to
prevent the tubular grip fly from dropping out of its place, in the event of the
band which drives it breaking or slipping off. As the twisted sliver, roving, or
yarn passes from the rollers A, A, through the tubular grip fly H, the portion
of yarn between A and the rollers of the tubular grip fly H is provisionally
untwisted, wholly or partially, by the revolutions of the tubular grip fly; and
as the rollers B revolve at a greater speed than the rollers A, the yarn or
twisted sliver or roving is elongated in its passage from A to B; but as the
portion of yarn between H and B is in a twisted state, the draw or elongation
will take place entirely or chiefly between A and H. The direction and
velocity of the motion of the tubular grip flies are adjusted according to the
direction and degree of twist in the twisted sliver, roving, or yarn, which
is operated upon, so that the twisted sliver, roving, or yarn may be pro-
visionally untwisted, either wholly or partially, so as to bring it into the soft
state, which admits of its elongation by the action of the drawing rollers. If
desired, the twisted yarn, sliver, or roving may be wholly untwisted provi-
sionally, and a provisional twist put in in the opposite direction, during its
passage from the drawing rollers to the tubular grip flies; by this means we
draw or elongate without loss of twist any slivers, rovings, or yarns which cannot
be elongated or drawn by the action of drawing rollers alone. The yarn passes
successively through the grip flies I, J, and the rollers C, D, being provisionally
untwisted and drawn at each stage until it passes through the last pair of rollers
D, D. The yarn on leaving the last drawing rollers has as many twists in its total
length as it had on entering the machine, but as it has been elongated and reduced
in substance, the number of twists will be distributed over the greater length, and
it will consequently be less tightly twisted than it was at the commencement
of the operation, we therefore give it additional twist if required by the fly G
as it is wound upon the bobbin in the usual manner; it may then again be
passed through the machine, or through another similar machine, and still
further elongated and twisted; by this means the drawing and provisional
untwisting proceed simultaneously, and the fibrous material may be removed
from one machine to another in the state of a firm twisted yarn to be
handled with impunity, instead of in the state of a raw sliver or roving, with
the risk of injury to the evenness of the yarn by the touch of the operative.
The drawing rollers D may revolve at twice the speed of the drawing

page_text: rollers A, in which case the length of the yarn will be doubled in passing
through the machine, or other relative speeds may be employed, as may be
found advantageous. The twisted slivers, rovings, or yarns supplied to the
machine may be made in any of the ordinary methods, or by means of a
bobbin and fly frame placed directly in connection with the carding engine. 5
In some cases, where soft twisted yarns are required, the yarn on leaving the
machine may be reeled up without receiving additional twist, as the twist
which it contains on entering the machine may be sufficient when distributed
over the increased length of the yarn.
7.1.
Figure 5 is a side view, partly in section, of such an arrangement of
machinery. A, A, are the first pair of rollers; and B, B, the second pair,
which revolve at a greater speed than the first pair; H is the tubular grip
fly; and K is a reel on which the elongated yarn is wound; one, two,
three, four, or more of these tubular grip flies may be arranged alternately
with drawing rollers, in a similar manner to those already described.
Figure 6 is a side view, and Figure 7 is an edge view, of a modified
form of tubular grip fly; the two bearings a and b are at each end, and are
connected by a frame i, which contains the rollers d, e; the rest of the fly is
similar to that already described, and its action is also similar..
Figure 8 is a side view, partly in section, of a portion of a machine constructed
on a similar principal to those herein-before described. A, A, B, B, C, C, are
the drawing rollers, whose speeds progressively increase from A to C; H and I
are the grip flies, each of which is supported on two bearings at a and b, like
the tubular grip fly shewn in Figures 6 and 7. These grip flies, however,
differ from that shewn in Figures 6, and 7, inasmuch as each of them has
only one roller d, of a conical form, in lieu of two cylindrical rollers; the yarn
is conducted through the first pair of rollers A, A, and into the end 6 of the
tubular grip fly, passing through a small eye 1, which guides it upon the larger
part of the conical roller d, round which it winds like the thread of a screw,
and it then passes from the smaller part of the conical roller through an
eye m, and out at the opposite end a of the tubular grip fly; it then passes
through the drawing rollers B, B, and through the second grip fly I, in a similar
manner,
and finally through the drawing rollers C, C, to a reel or bobbin and
fly, or other suitable receiver of yarn; one, two, three, four, or more of these
tubular grip flies may be arranged in a series alternately with drawing rollers,
as herein-before described. The spiral or helical turn of the yarn round the
conical roller d serves the same purpose as the compression of the yarn
between the two cylindrical grip rollers of the tubular grip fly, first herein-
before described, that is to say, the friction of the yarn when in contact

page_text: with the surface of the roller is equivalent to the grip of the spring rollers
of the grip fly.
Figure 9 is a side view, and Figure 10 is an end view, of another
arrangement of grip fly, adapted for producing a similar effect to those
herein-before described. a and b are the tubular bearings; and c is the
warve or pulley by which the grip fly is driven; d, d, e, e¹, are four small
rollers round which the yarn is passed, as shewn at Figure 9; f, g are two
side frames, fixed to or forming one piece with the bearings a, b, and carrying
the rollers d, d, e, e¹. This grip fly is used in a similar manner as those
above described; it may be varied by employing only one side frame f, in
which are fixed four pins on which the rollers turn; the rollers are then kept
in their places by nuts screwed on the ends of the pins, or by small pins passed
through holes near the ends of the pins; this arrangement facilitates the
introduction of the yarn between the rollers; the number of rollers may be
varied.
!!.
Figure 12 is a side view, partly in section, of a portion of a machine in
which the rollers of the grip flies are made to act as drawing rollers. A, A,
are a pair of rollers through which the twisted roving sliver or yarn enters;
and D, D, are another pair of rollers through which it leaves the machine.
Hand I are two grip flies, but shewn in different positions, so as more fully to
explain their construction; d, e, are the grip rollers; a and b are the bearings ;
and c, the warve or pulley by which the grip fly is caused to revolve; ff.
9, 9, are the spring supports for the rollers; thus far the grip flies are similar
in construction to those first herein-before described. The spindle r of the
roller d is prolonged at one or both ends, and is screwed to receive a disc
wheels, which is secured by two nuts in any required position on the spindle
or axle r; the wheels runs in contact with a disc L, which is mounted on a
tube, with two bearings o and p, and a warve q, which may be driven by a
band. In some cases (as, for instance, in operating upon a raw sliver or loosely
twisted yarn or roving,) it will not be necessary to drive the disc L, which may
then be fixed to the framing of the machine. Both grip flies are provided with
the disc L, and if one, two, three, or more of these grip flies are employed in
a series, they are each provided with a disc L; this disc is shewn separately
in Figures 12 and 13. The yarn, roving, or raw sliver passes from the
rollers A, A, through the disc L to the grip fly H, which provisionally twists
or untwists that portion of the yarn, sliver, or roving which is between H and A,
and thus renders it fit for being drawn or elongated. The revolution of the
grip fly carries round the disc wheels, which running in contact with the disc L
is thereby made to revolve upon its axis, and give motion to the roller d. The

page_text: yarn, sliver, or roving is thus drawn by the action of the rollers d, e, at the
same time that the revolution of the grip fly upon its own axis causes the yarn,
sliver, or roving to be provisionally untwisted or twisted. This portion of the
sliver, roving, or yarn then passes on to the next grip fly I, which works in a
similar manner, but which is so adjusted that the surface of its rollers may
move at a greater velocity than that of rollers of the first grip fly H, accord-
ing to the amount of draw or elongation required; the sliver, roving, or yarn
is thus again elongated, and it may be passed through a third grip fly if
desired, or more than three of these grip flies may be employed. The drawing
action of the grip flies being progressively increased by the greater velocities
of the disc wheels s and the discs L, by causing all the grip flies to revolve
in the same direction and at the same or nearly the same velocity, the yarn,
sliver, or roving is brought into the proper state for elongation by the untwist-
ing or twisting action of the grip flies, and it is kept in that state until it
passes the rollers of the last grip fly, leaving the rollers D, D, in the same
state as regards the amount of its twine as it possessed on entering the
roller A, A. The surface of the rollers d, e, in the first grip fly H moves at
a greater velocity than the surface of the drawing rollers A, A. The surface
of the rollers d, e, in the second grip fly I moves faster than that of the rollers
in the first grip fly, and the surface of the drawing rollers D, D, moves at the
same speed as that of the rollers in the grip fly I. The rollers D, D, may in
some cases be dispensed with, but we consider it preferable to employ them.
The relative speed of the rollers d, e, with regard to the speed of the grip fly,
must be varied according to the nature of the yarn, sliver, or roving to be
operated upon. This speed is regulated by adjusting the distance of the disc
wheels from the axis of the grip fly, and by varying the speed of the disc L,
by means of pullies or warves, or change wheels of different diameters, or by
cone pulleys, or otherwise. Thus, if the disc L revolves at the same speed
and in the same direction as the grip fly, the rollers d, e, will not revolve
upon their axis, so as to cause the yarn, sliver, or roving to be drawn through
the machine; whatever may be the difference of speed which is maintained
between the disc L and the grip fly, it will cause a proportionate amount of
drawing motion in the rollers d, e. The direction of this motion depends on
the position of the disc wheels on one end or the other of the spindle r, and
on the motion of the disc L being faster or slower than that of the grip fly.
This method of driving the rollers by friction dises admits of a high velocity
being given without the noise and vibration which would be produced by
toothed wheels.
Figure 15 is a side view of another grip fly, in which a and b are the

page_text: bearings, and c is the warve or pulley; d is a small roller, covered with leather
or other elastic material; and x is a smooth metal surface, curved to fit the
roller d; f is one of the supports for the roller d. This support is made elastic
or the surface x is pressed up by a spring, so that the cotton or other fibrous
substance may be gripped or held between the roller d and surface x.
flyer is used with the drawing rollers A, A, B, B, in a similar manner to the
others, herein-before described; it may also have the roller d driven by
friction discs, as described in reference to Figure 11.
This
In all the arrangements herein-before described care should be taken to
balance the tubular grip fly so that it may not be heavier on one side than
on the other, for if it be not well balanced it will produce vibration and
unsteadiness of motion when driven at high velocities. When springs are
employed to support and give elasticity to the grip rollers of the tubular grip
flies they may be made adjustable by screws or otherwise. The wheel,
gearing, and driving bands and pulleys or drums are not shewn in the Draw-
ings, as the construction of those parts of such machines is well understood.
The velocity of the tubular grip fly will depend upon that of the drawing
rollers, and the amount of twist in the roving, sliver, or yarn supplied to the
machine; thus, if a yarn roving or sliver has ten twists in a length of one
inch, and the first drawing roller has a circumference of three inches, and
revolves once in a second of time, then the tubular grip fly must revolve
thirty times in the same time if it be required to take out provisionally the
whole of the twist; it may, however, be sufficient for the tubular grip fly to
revolve twenty or twenty-four times in a second, so as to leave a few twists
in a length of three inches, provided that the amount of twist so left in the
yarn is not sufficient to prevent the drawing or elongation of the yarn, roving,
or sliver by the action of the drawing rollers. It will thus be evident that the
velocity of the grip fly must vary according to the nature or degree of twist,
and also according to the rate at which the yarn, sliver, or roving is supplied.
The distance apart of the rollers and tubular grip flies, or grip flies alone,
as in Figure 12, will depend on the length of the staple or fibres of the wool
or other fibrous substance which is being operated upon.
In operating upon flax or hemp, the distance apart may be from one to
several feet, according to the length of fibre, but generally we prefer to cut
such lengthy fibres into suitable lengths, as is well understood. The machinery
for operating upon such substances, although of the same kind as that before
described, would be on a much larger scale as to the dimensions of its several
parts than is required for cotton.
In operating upon silk, we also cut the silk into suitable lengths before

page_text: passing it through the machine; this, however, is not necessary when operating
upon silk waste. As the yarns leave the last set of drawing rollers of the
machines in a twisted state, two or more of them may be at once twisted
together to form a thread. This mode of doubling the yarns is shewn in the
plan, Figure 1, where three of the yarns are led into the eye of one flyer;
one of the three yarns passes direct to the flyer, while the other two are
carried round small pulleys, or through eyes u, v, which guide them to the
same flyer which winds the now three-stranded thread upon a bobbin.
Having now described the nature of our Invention and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we do
not confine ourselves to the precise forms and details herein-before described
(as the same may be varied) provided the peculiar character of our Invention
be retained; but what we claim is,―
First, the combination of one or more of the tubular grip flies, herein-
before described, with two or more pairs of drawing rollers, arranged
alternately for drawing and elongating yarns or twisted slivers or rovings,
by means of motion given to each respectively, so that the tubular grip flies,
being made to revolve in a direction contrary to the twist of the yarn, sliver, or
roving, will provisionally untwist the same, while the drawing rollers simul-
taneously draw or elongate such twisted sliver, roving, or yarn.
Second, the construction of machinery or parts of machines with grip flies,
having one of the rollers of such grip fly driven by means of friction discs,
so as to give, the rollers of such grip flies the action of drawing rollers simul-
taneously with the action of provisionally twisting or untwisting the sliver,
roving, or yarn, as hereinbefore described.
Thirdly, we claim the arrangement of machinery or parts of machines for
twisting, drawing, doubling, and spinning fibrous substances by the application
of a flyer and bobbin in combination with the drawing rollers and tubular grip
flies, as herein-before described in reference to Figure 1.
In witness whereof, we, the said Edwin Pettitt and James Forsyth, have
hereunto, set our hands and seals, this twelfth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twelfth day of October, in the
year of our Lord 1852, the aforesaid Edwin Pettitt and James Forsyth came
before the said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,
in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
F
TA
Enrolled the Fifteenth day of October, in the
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.
year
Lord