IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS POR PREPARING AND SPINNING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Higgins, of Salford, in the County of Lan-
caster, Machine Maker, and Thomas Schofield Whitworth, of the same
Place, Manager, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS POR PREPARING AND SPINNING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS
MATERIALS."
Sealed the 17th April 1860, and dated the 18th October 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Higgins and
Thomas Schofield Whitworth at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 18th October 1859.
We, JAMES HIGGINS, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Machine
Maker, and THOMAS SCHOFIELD WHITWORTH, of the same Place, Manager, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING AND SPINNING COTTON AND OTHER
FIBROUS MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
. Our Invention relates, firstly, to the carding engine of that construction in
which revolving flats are stripped by self-acting apparatus, and consists in the
employment of two or more sets of travelling flats, from one or more of which
the material is stripped and returned to the cylinder, the final stripping being
effected by a comb in the usual manner.
Secondly, our Invention relates to the slubbing or roving frame, and consists
in causing one portion of the bobbin rail to act as a counterbalance for another
portion thereof during the copping motion. To accomplish this we divide the
rail into two-or more parts, and cause one of such portions to ascend while
another connected thereto is descending, by which means each one in its turn
becomes à balance weight for the other.

page_text: Another improvement in the slubbing or 'roving frame consists in au
arrangement whereby the shafts and pinions which drive the spindles and the
bobbins are caused to maintain constantly the same relative positions. To this
end we mount the said shafts in permanent positions, and upon the bobbin
pinion fix a tube, upon which the bobbin is caused to rise and fall by a copping
rail. Upon this tube is a slot, which, by means of a pin connection, gives
rotatory motion to a disc and the bobbin which rests thereon.
Thirdly, our Invention relates to the self-acting mule, and consists in a
method of giving motion to the lever which contains the screw of the winding.
on motion. For this purpose we employ two rods after the manner of a
"toggle joint," one extremity thereof being connected to the carriage, and the
other to a stationary stud, as the carriage therefore runs in and out, the levers
constituting this joint become expanded and contracted. Upon another fixed
stud is mounted the lever containing the regulating screw, and this lever is
caused to turn upon its centre by means of a stud carried by the toggle joint
rod, and acting within a slot formed within it.
Another improvement in the mule relates to that machine when a second
"draw" is used, and consists in arresting the motion of the carriage when the
stretch is completed by the action of the "cam shaft" or other apparatus
brought into action by a motion of the machine, in place of a spring or weight.
Thus, in that mule known as Sharp Roberts, we divide the self-acting cam
shaft into five parts instead of four, as now practised. Also in mules in which
a second draw is used we employ a novel arrangement of gearing in connection
with the back shaft," which arrangement consists in commencing the
diminished speed by a pinion upon the back shaft in gear with a wheel upon
a supplementary shaft, from whence motion is transmitted to the said "back
ft"
"
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Higgins and Thomas Schofield Whitworth in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th April 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JAMES
HIGGINS, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker, and THOMAS
SCHOFIELD WHITWORTH, of the same Place, Manager, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent. Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord a
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her

page_text: reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said James Higgins aud Thomas Schofield Whitworth, Her special
license that we, the said James Higgins and Thomas Schofield Whitworth,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
James Higgins and Thomas Schofield Whitworth, our 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 OR APPARATUS FOR
PREPARING AND SPINNING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS,"
upon the
condition, amongst others, that we, the said James Higgins and Thomas
Schofield Whitworth, by an instrument in writing under our hands and
seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, 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 James Higgins, do hereby declare the
nature of our 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 and accompanying Drawings, that is to say:-
and
return it to the main
From the flats b² the
The first part of our Invention is shewn at Fig. 1, which represents a
carding engine in side elevation constructed according to our improvements.
The main cylinder is shown at a, in connexion with the periphery of which
are three sets of revolving or travelling flats b, b, 6. These flats are mounted
The flats b, b', are operated
upon endless chains which pass over rollers c.
upon by clearers d, which remove the material
cylinder to be again worked by the succeeding flats.
material is removed by the doffer comb actuated by the rods and levers e, or
by any other usual contrivance. Rotatory motion may be communicated to
the rollers c by any suitable mechanical arrangement. A method we adopt is to
place a toothed wheel running loose upon a collar, in which the axis of the
main cylinder revolves (and which is driven by any convenient method) in
gear with intermediates, which drive pinions upon the axes of the rollers c, by
which means the several sets of flats may, if desired, be caused to travel at
different speeds. The object of this is to enable us to drive the flats b which
are at the feed end of the machine, and contain therefore the largest amount
of material, at a comparatively quick rate, the others decreasing in speed as

page_text: the quantity of material becomes more opened. We are aware that travelling
flats mounted upon endless chains have already been employed, but in such
cases when a heavy feed of material has been used, it has been necessary to
drive them at a considerable and inconvenient speed, in order to gain the
entrance of sufficient clean wire, and their effectiveness has, therefore, been
restricted; but according to our Invention, it is evident that each set of flats
being a shorter time in operation will become less loaded with material, and
may, therefore, for a given amount of effectiveness, be driven at a lower speed,
in addition to which, we have the opportunity of placing, if required, different
degrees of fineness of wire in the different sets of flats.
The next part of our Invention is shewn at Figs. 2, 3, and 4, which repre-
sent partial views of a slubbing or roving frame. The rail which supports the
bobbins, and which has to rise and fall, is shewn at a, a; instead, however, of
being formed in one length, as in ordinary frames, it is in two parts, the one a
. being at the top of the lift when the other a* is at the bottom thereof. The
shaft for effecting this motion is at b, carrying two pinions c, d, the former
taking into a rack fupon one side of the shaft, and the other into a rack e
situate on the other side of the shaft, by which means the desired opposite
motions of the two portions of the rail are obtained. The shaft for giving
motion to the bobbin pinions is, according to this arrangement, necessarily
divided, and the two parts thereof must move in opposite directions bodily, and
the following contrivance is adopted for maintaining their rotatory motion.
The two parts of the shaft are shewnat g, g*, mounted on the rails a, a*; upon
their inward ends are mounted pinions h, he, taking into wheels i, k, which are
mounted upon a short shaft n, carried by arms l, m, placed upon the bobbin
shaft g, ge, and capable of turning thereon. The short shaft n passes through
a slot formed in stationary framework o, in which slot it is capable of moving
outward. As the rail a, for instance, moves downward, the arm / will force
forward the shaft n within its slot, thereby allowing the pinion h to pass, but
keeping in gear therewith, during which time the rail a*, ascending, will in
like manner act upon the shaft 12 by means of the arm m, so as to secure its
parallel motion, and the pinion he will be allowed to ascend, and will continue
to be driven. From the foregoing description it is obvious that while the one
part of the rail a is carried by the pinion d, the other part a* thereof is carried
by the pinion con the opposite side of the shaft, and that the two, therefore, act
as mutual balance weights during the separate upward and downward
movements.
The next part of our Invention is shewn at Figs. 5 and 6, which represent
two views of a roving frame constructed according to our Invention, with the

page_text: improvement previously described combined. The line shaft pinions which
drive the bobbin braids are shewn at a, and those for the spindles at b, the
shafts of both being mounted in permanent positions. The bobbin braids are
at c attached to tubes d, which run at their lower ends upon the bolsters or
supports of the spindles e, and at their upper ends upon the spindles f; the
tubes & are furnished with slots g, within which are pins &, projecting from
discs h, which run upon the lifting rail i. The pins k also receive the notches
of the bobbins, as in the usual arrangement. As the lifting rail rises and falls
it traverses the bobbins within the flyers, and the former are at the same time
caused to revolve by the tube d, carrying round the disc h through the medium
of the pins k before mentioned, the said pins travelling in the slots g during
the copping motion.
This part of our Invention is shewn, as before stated, in combination with
a previously described portion thereof, but they are not necessarily connected,
and the improvement now described may be applied to slubbing or roving
frames of the ordinary construction. Fig. 7 is a detached view representing a
modification of the above. In this instance the tube d, which carries the
bobbin braid, is of the same diameter throughout its length, and the bobbin is
bored sufficiently large to slide thereon, by which means it may be allowed to
descend so far as will be permitted by the braid, the length of the tube and
spindle are therefore materially reduced. The disc h and bobbin are caused
to revolve, as before, by means of the pin 7, which projects into the groove g
of the tube d.
The next part of our Invention relates to the self-acting mule, and is shewn
at Fig. S. The carriage is shewn at a, to which is jointed a lever b, its other
end being connected to another lever c, which has its fulcrum at d. To the
lever e is adapted a stud e in such manner as to be capable of turning upon a
centre, which stud is situate within a slot formed within an arm g, answering
to that of the usual quadrant of the winding-on motion, and carries in like
manner the regulating screw h. The centre of motion i of this arm is not, it
will be observed, coincident with that of the lever c, but is placed at a certain
distance from it. As the carriage performs its travelling motion the levers b,c,
will become straightened and expanded, and will, by means of the stud e,
cause the arm g to turn upward and downward upon its centre, giving off
during the latter motion a certain amount of chain for effecting the winding
on, and we have found that the correct quantity and in the proper variable
proportion may he obtained by mounting the arm g as described, with its
centre of motion excentric to that of the lever c.
Our next improvement in the self-acting mule is shewn in the detached

page_text: view, Fig. 9, in which a represents the usual friction disc of the cam shaft, but
formed for five motions instead of four, as is commonly the case.
Upon the
shaft of this disc are two cams c, the one behind the other, one of which has
a recess d for receiving one end of a lever e, turning upon a centre at f; the
other end embraces one portion of a clutch box g, which is caused to revolve
with the usual "back shaft", by means of a feather. In connexion with the
other cam c is also another leveri, the end of which is capable of passing into
the recess d¹. This lever turns upon a centre at k, and is connected at its
other end to a boss, which carries a toothed wheel m and clutch n loosely
upon the "back shaft," which clutch has a corresponding part o fast upon the said
shaft. Between the two clutch boxes are a bevilled wheel p and spur pinion
mounted loosely together upon the back shaft k, and receiving rotatory motion
from the motive power. In the position shewn the back shaft is supposed to
be revolving at its quicker rate, but when the "second draw" is required the
friction disc a will allow the cam c to revolve a portion of a revolution in the
direction of the arrow, whereby the levere will be turned upon its centre f, so
as to liberate the clutch g from its other portion, which is upon the wheel p,
and thus the power will be taken from the back shaft, during which movement
the rotation of the cam c will have brought the notch d' coincident with the
end of the lever i, which end being drawn therein by the spring r will allow
the said lever to turn upon its centre, and bring the two portions of the clutch
box n, o, into gear, and then the back shaft will be driven at a slower
rate, motion being now communicated thereto through the pinion 9, another
gearing s, t, m, after the same manner a further revolution of the cam c will
restore the parts to the position shewn.
The next part of our Invention is also shewn in Figure 9, just referred to,
in which it will be seen that the train of wheels which reduces the motion of
the back shaft commences with the pinion q, which is mounted upon the said
shaft. The description of the preceding part of our improvements will have
explained how this portion thereof may be carried into effect.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention, we
desire it to be understood that we claim as secured to us under the above in
part recited Letters Patent,-
Firstly, in reference to carding engines in which revolving sheets of flats
are stripped by self-acting apparatus, the employment of two or more sets of
travelling flats on the same cylinder.
Secondly, in reference to slubbing or roving frames, causing one portion of
the bobbin rail to act as a counterbalance for another portion thereof.
Thirdly, the combination of bobbin and spindle shafts and wheels, which

page_text: maintain the same relative position with a copping rail, which carries the
bobbins.
Fourthly, in reference to self-acting mules we claim imparting motion to
the arm which carries the regulating screw, by means of a lever connected to
the carriage, and turning upon a centre excentric to that upon which the
screw vibrates.
Fifthly, as applied to self-acting mules the employment of the "cam shaft"
for changing the motion of the carriage when a second draw is required.
Sixthly, for the purpose of obtaining a second draw, commencing the
diminished speed by a pinion upon the "back shaft."
In witness whereof, I, the said James Higgins, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
JAMES HIGGINS. (L.S.)