Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Apr., 1887.
Specification Accepted, 20th May, 1887.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON F.C.S. M.I.M.E. of the Agency for Foreign Patent
Solicitors, 6 Lord Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, and 323 High
Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
These improvements are designed more especially for application in the manufacture
of worsted yarns as contradistinguished from carded yarns, or those which are
manufactured from slivers from which the noil has not been removed; and has for its
object to obviate the conversion of the sliver into top before commencing their reduction
into roving or yarns, and to reduce to the minimum the draught of the slivers when in
a twisted condition.
Heretofore in the manufacture of worsted yarns from the slivers of the combing.
machine, it has been the custom to first form the sliver into "top," and then to reduce
such "top" to a yarn by successive doublings and drawings, until the proper degree
of attenuation has been attained. In the manufacture of "top" several slivers from
the combing machine are combined and passed through what is ordinarily termed a
can gill, where the combined slivers are drawn to such an extent that the sliver
delivered therefrom, while being much smaller than the mass fed to said gill, is
somewhat larger than any one of the individual slivers forming such mass.
sliver, as thus formed by this machine, passes into a can from which it is taken and
combined with several others, after which it is passed through a similar machine, as in
the preceding operation; but, instead of being delivered into a can, it is wound into
a ball, and constitutes what is known in the art as "top." The sliver delivered from
this machine, as in the preceding one, while having been drawn so as to be considerably
smaller than the combined mass formed from the union of the slivers at the back of
The

page_text: the machine, is larger than any one of the individual slivers of said mass, so that, after
having been thus operated upon, the sliver delivered, instead of being reduced in size,
is considerably larger than that furnished by the combing machine.
From this point forward the reduction of the "top" to a yarn is ordinarily
accomplished by passing it successively through a can gill box, spindle gill box, a
series of four spindle drawing boxes, and through a roving and a spinning machine,
in which machines it receives the proper doublings, drawings and twistings to trans-
form it into yarn.
It has been discovered that by reducing the number of slivers which are combined
at the backs of the several machines, made use of to transform the combed sliver into
yarn, and by modifying the treatment thereof as hereinafter described, the operations
incident to the manufacture of the slivers of the combing machine into "top" before
commencing their reduction into roving may be obviated, as well as several steps in
the process of such reduction omitted in consequence thereof, and a superior quality of
roving produced thereby.
The invention therefore consists of an improvement in the art of making yarn from
slivers of combing machines, in which said slivers are transformed into yarn, without
having first been formed into "top," as has been the custom heretofore.
In practising the invention the slivers are taken from the combing machine and the
proper number, (usually one-half the number heretofore combined,) are brought
together and passed through a can gill box, where they are drawn to such a degree as
to form a sliver, which is somewhat smaller in diameter than are the individual slivers
delivered by the combing machine, and are deposited in suitable cans, care being
taken, in the operation of this machine, that the same number of feet or yards of sliver
are deposited in each of the cans. These cans are then arranged in sets, (containing
generally about one-third the number ordinarily employed,) so that each set shall
contain the same amount of sliver by weight as the others; and the slivers from one
set of such cans are then combined and passed through a cone drawing spindle gill
box where they are subjected to a further drawing operation, and a sliver produced
which is smaller in diameter than are the individual slivers delivered from the
preceding machine. The material delivered by this machine is then slightly twisted,
forming what is known in the art as slubbing, and wound upon a bobbin.
From this machine the bobbins containing the slubbing are transferred to an open
drawing box, where several of such slubbings are combined, and, after having been
subjected to a third drawing therein, are twisted slightly, and again wound upon
bobbins, as in the preceding operation.
The bobbins containing the slubbing as it leaves this machine are now taken and
arranged in sets so that each set, shall contain the same amount of slubbing, both as
regards the weight and number of yards. After having thus been arranged, the
slubbing from the bobbins comprising one set are then combined and passed through
a second open drawing box or finisher where a fourth drawing takes place, the
product of this operation being twisted and wound upon a bobbin as in the last
two mentioned operations.
From this machine the slubbing is transferred to the ordinary roving frame in
which it is transformed into roving, and from thence to the spinning machine where
it is converted into yarn in the ordinary manner.
By this method of procedure, as will be seen, the inventor is enabled to convert
the slivers of combing machines into yarn with the minimum number of operations,
and, at the same time to produce a yarn which is superior in all respects to that
heretofore produced by the old method, obviating the conversion of the sliver into
top" " and the consequent destructive effects upon the fibres of wool, due to the
increased draught of the sliver in the subsequent operations, necessitating thereby,
and also, in addition thereto, to greatly cheapen the manufacture of yarn.
«<
The respective draughts and doublings necessary to the production of yarns may be
varied to suit them to the different characters of wool employed, and the sizes and
numbers of yarn required, and in the manufacture of No. 60 yarns from sound seven

page_text: and Torby
following have been found to give the best results, viz. :
to torty yards of suver, the
Draughts 7+ 7 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 6
Doublings 5+ 4 + 3 + 2 + 2.
In the following description six steps have been described as requisite for the
transformation of the slivers from the combing machine into yarn, but the inventor
does not limit himself to the exact number, as it is obvious that one or more of
such steps may be omitted or others added as may be required to make coarser
or finer yarn, respectively, it only being essential that the product delivered by
each succeeding machine shall be of smaller diameter than that delivered by the
preceding machine.
The machinery has also been described which is usually employed in the carrying
out of the invention, which is deemed the. best suited to the purpose, but no claim
is laid thereto, and the inventor does not restrict himself to the use of such
machinery, as it is obvious that any equivalent form may be employed if so desired,
and still be within the scope of the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me by my foreign
correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1st. The improvement in the art of manufacturing yarn from the sliver of a
combing machine, which consists, first, in drawing said sliver without transforming
it into top," next, successively drawing and twisting the sliver thus formed until
reduced to a roving, and finally, drawing and spinning said roving into yarn, sub-
stantially as described.
2nd. The improvement in the art of manufacturing yarn from the sliver of a
combing machine, which consists, first, in drawing said sliver without transforming
it into "top," next, successively drawing and twisting the untwisted sliver thus
formed until reduced to a roving, and finally, drawing and spinning said roving into
yarn, substantially as described.
3rd. The improvement in the art of manufacturing yarn from the slivers of a
combing machine, which consists in conducting a number of such slivers to a can
gill box and drawing the same thereon, next, conducting a number of slivers from
such can gill box to a cone-drawing spindle gill box, and to a first and second open
drawing box, and doubling drawing and twisting them thereon, next, conducting the
slubbing thus formed to a roving frame and drawing and twisting them into rovings
upon such frame, and finally conducting such rovings to a spinning machine and
converting them into yarns, substantially as described.