US42267A - Improvement in self-acting mules for spinning - Google Patents

Description

lINiTnn STATES PATENT rricn.

HARVEY S.'BARTLETT, OF SMITHFIELD, RHODE ISLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN SELF-ACTING MULES FOR SPINNING.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 412,267, dated April 12, 1864.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARVEY S.'BARTLETT, of Smithfield, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and useful Improvement in SelfeOperating Mules; and I do hereby declare that the following specification, taken in connection with the drawings, making a part of the same, is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

Figure 1 is a plan of the improvement. Fig. 2 is a partial section through theline A B'.

Inthe accompanying drawings it is not designed to represent all the parts which compose the wonderful and complexmachine known as the self-operating mule, but for the sake of convenience of description to exhibit only those .portions which are immediately connected with my improvement and which will make its operation in the organized ma chine intelligible.

The great difficulty which has been heretofore experienced in the use of self-operating mules is a want of reliability and positiveness of operation in making the successive changes of motion which are required in the working of the machine. These changes are fouir in number and occur in the following order, the' different portions of the machinery to accomplish them being controlled by appropriate cams mounted upon a shaft which rotates at intermittent periods: First, the carriage, with its spiudleswhirling in the right direction, runs ont from the head of the mule upon the track prepared for it and twists the yarn, which at the same time is given oi from the spools through the feed-rollers; second, the carriage stands still, the feed-rollers cease delivering new yarn, but the spindles continue whirling for the purpose of putting in what is called the standing-twist77 into yarn used for warps; third, the spindles cease whirling, but commence to turn moderately in the opposite direction preparatory to the winding up of the yarn which has been spun upon the cop; fourth, the carriage now begins to return toward the head, the cops Winding up their threads, when, upon the completion of thismotion, the machinery which effected it is thrown out of gear, and the machinery to cause the carriage to run out is again put in action.

`Inithe best variety of self operating mules in use these changes have been dependent rollers.

upon the friction of two surfaces, as distinguished from a positive connection, by means of toothed wheels-that is to say, the cambearing shaft has been made to turn at the proper times for the purpose of enabling the cams to work the changing-levers by the fric tion of the face of a driving-wheel against the face of a wheel upon the cam-shafh, this latter wheel having upon its periphery four curved scores, equidistant, of the same radius of curvature las the drivin gfwheel, so that at thesepointfs the face of the driving-wheel does not touch the wheel upon the cam-shaft, the cam-shaft at such times being blocked and thereby prevented from turning. When the block is removed the boot X, technically so called, or a spring-lever bearing against a pin on the side of the wheel on the cam-shaft, gives the wheel and shaft a sufficient forward impulse to enable the frictional driving-wheel to act upon the wheel at a point beyond the score and rotate the shaft until thenext score is reached and the shaft blocked again. It is obvious that such an arrangement for imparting motion must be oftentimes inefficient. As the surface of the drivin g-wheel becomes worn or glazed with oil the proper changes will not be effected, and consequently a disarrangement of the whole machine as well as injury to the yarn will be the result. the mule cannot be operated as fast as would otherwise be perfectly practicable, for the reason that with increased speed the chances of accident from the failure of the spring-boot to act with sufficient promptness, as well as from the slipping of thc friction-wheel, are more likely to occur. In fact, to operate one of these machines as thus constructed requires the most unceasing watchfulness and care on the part of the attendant.

The object of my invention is to `produce the series ofV changes before mentioned by a positive motion through a clutch-box, actuated by a train of gear-wheels deriving motion from the main shaft.

In the accompanying drawings, A is the main shaft, upon which are mounted the pulleys A' and A. The former pulley drives the machinery which causes the carriage to run ou t, and also actuates the spindles and the feed- The latter pulley drives the train of gear-wheels and intermediate pinions, as shown, which impart motion to the secondary Besides, too,

shaft B, upon which is the clutch-box coupling B. This shaft B is the one upon which the Various cams for effecting the changes of Inotion are mounted, and makes one complete revolution during the performance of the full series of motions made by the mule. To the left ofthe clutch box coupling, which is so mounted on the shaft B that one portion can revolve freely while the other is connected with the shaft by means of a spline upon which it slides, is the circular disk-plate C, attached to the left hand portion of the clutchhox. Upon the face of this plate are four inclined planes, al, b, c, and d, equidistant frfm each other, Figs. l and 2, combined with stops 0f g h, rising above the several inclined planes. These inclined planes, in combination with a stop upon the lever E, presently to be mentioned, are the active instruments which cause the cam-shaft B to stand still at intermittent periods while the other parts of the mule continue in operation. A spiral spring, D, bearin g against a shoulder, l, on the shaft, constantly tends to keep the two parts ofthe clutch-box together, so that the shaft and its cams as well as the disk-plate will revolve when the clutch is closed and will remain at rest when the clutch is open. v

The mechanism by which the clutch-box is opened at stated periods is as follows: The

long bar E (shown also in Fig. 2) extends from the head of the mule to the end of the path of travel ofthe carriage and is pivoted to the frame at G. Upon its side nearest to the face of the disk-plate O is placed a projecting pin, F, the face of which will, in certain positions of the bar E, strike against the face of the inclined plane on the diskplate C as the latter revolves, whereby the plate will be forced along the spline on the shaft B toward the left, so as to compress the spring D and open the clutch B. Each of these inclined planes operates in succession to effect the disconnection between the shaft B and the driving half of the cluteh-boxB, the two faces of the clutch-box being again ybrought together so as to operate the shaft B by the action of the spring D upon the removal of the stop from bearin g against the face of the inclined planes by a change in the position of the bar E, which is effected by the movement of the carriage, the inclined planes being located at such distances from the edge of the disk-plate as will accommodate these changes of positions of the stop F. Y

For the purpose of making the order :in which these changes occurintelligible, suppose the carriage to be running out, the belt is upon the left-hand pulley, A', the clutch-box B is open, and the spindles are whirling to twist the yarn which is given off from the spools through the rollers operated by the shaft H. When the carriage has arrived at the end of its path of travel, the bar E is tripped so that the projecting stud F is allowed to fall below the stop, against which the disk-plate was blocked, and the clutch relieved from the inclined plane is closed by the spring D. The cam-shaft B in consequence commences to rotate and turns one-quarter of a revolution, when the clutch is opened again by the second inclined plane. The cam I is in consequence made to act upon the lever Il to open the roller-clutch I and stop the feed-rollers 5. also the cam J actsupo'n the lever J to throw out of gear the carriagefrietion or Jthe-connection between thecarriage and the main driving-shaft. The carriage in consequence stands still, but the spindles still continue to Whirl. The long lever E is now dropped farther, whereby the firstv stop is removed. The clutch-box B is in consequence brought together and the cam-shaft B rotated another quarter of a revolution. While Athis is being done the standing-twist is "put into the threads, or that twist additional to that which has been already put into the yarn during the running out of the carriage, and which is only required where yarn for the warp is being spun. The further rotation of the camshaft above referred to causes the cam which controls the belt-shipper to yshift the belt from the left-hand to the right-hand pulley, A, and the spindles cease to whirl. The lever E is now raised partially. The clutch-box is closed again and the shaft rotates another quarter of a circle,y when it is opened again by the second inclined plane. This further rotation of the cam-shaft causes the cam K to act upon the backing off lever K', and causes the spindles to commence what is called the backing-off motion, or a motion in an opposite direction from that in which they were whirled pre paratory to winding up the spun yarn upon the cops. The lever E is now shifted, the clutch-box again closed, and the cam-shaft rotated through the third quarter of its revolution, when the clutch is opened by the third inclined'plane. This partial rotation causes the cam K to throw out the back-off,7 and the cam I to operate the lever L, which throws into gear the scroll-clutch K4. The scrolls L Lll commence to revolve and wind up the cord, which drags back the carriage` to the head of the mule, the cops winding up the spun yarn. While the cam shaft has been making the last three-quarters of its revolution and effecting the changes upon the -sevy eral levers referred to, the levers controlling the carriage-friction, roller-clutch, and beltshipper are not iniuenced at all, for, from the shape of the cams, after the carriage has arrived at the head of the mule the lever E is shifted, the shaft B is turned through 'the fourth quadrant to its first position, the cam J throws into gear the carriage-friction, the cam I throws out of gear the scroll-clutch and throws into gear the roller-clutch,v and the belt is shifted from the right-hand to the lefthand pulley, so that the mule is ready to repeat the series of operations before described. Instead of providing the disk-plate C with four inclined planes, as shown in the drawings, I contemplate the use of eight inclinedl planes and stops, so that by changing the speed of the gearing the cam-shaft B will make only one-half a revolution while the. series of changes is performed by the mule. With a positive connection this arrangement proposed will be entirely practicable and will greatly increase the speed at which the machine can be run.

What I cla-im as my invention7 and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The mode of operation, substantially as described, by means of which a disconnection is effected at stated intervals between the cambearing shaft B in a self-operating mule and the source of motion derived from the pulley A, where themech anism to effect the same is combined and arranged in the manner substantially as specified.

2. The combination of the spring D and the clutch B with the mechanism by which the position of the leverE with its stop F is shifted for the purpose of restoring; the connection of the cam-bearing shaft B With the main source of motion, substantially as shown and de scribed.

H. S. BARTLETT.

Witnesses:

CF1-ros. H. PEABODY, BENJ. F. TnURs'roN.

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