US447301A

US447301A - Tension-regulating device for spindle-driving bands

Info

Publication number: US447301A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1891-03-03
Anticipated expiration: 1908-03-03

Description

(No Model.) 7

' W. DOOTSON.

TENSION RVEGULATING DEVICE FOR SPINDLE DRIVING BANDS.

No. 447,301. v Patented Mar. 3,1891.

illlllllllll a'nvamtoz 351*}, Momen a y UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

ILLIAM DOOTSON, OF ATHENS, GEORGIA.

TENSION-REGULATING DEVICE FOR SPINDLE-DRIVING BANDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 447.301, dated March 3, 1891.

Application filed January 25, 1890. Serial No. 338,049. (No model.)

To LtZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM DOOTSON, a citizen of the United States, and residing at Athens, Clarke county, State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tension Regulating Devices for Spindle-Driving Bands, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to tightening devices for taking up the slack of spindle-driving bands and it consists of a simple device that can be easily applied to the ordinary throstle or other spinning machines and will constantly keep the band at a uniform tension upon the spindles, thus insuring their uniform rotation and consequently uniform threads, as will be hereinafter more particularly set forth.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the drum and spindles of an ordinary spinning-machine, showing my tension-regulating device applied to the band. Fig. 2 is a side view of the device, partly in section. Figs. 3 and 4 are plan views of different parts of the same. Figs, 5 V

and 6 show an attachment for adj ustably securing it to the throstle, and Figs. 7, 8, and 9 represent slight modifications.

In throstles or spinning-machines to which my invention is to be applied, A represents the drum or driving-cylinder; B B, the wheels or pulleys for rotating the spindles, and G the band which passes alternately around the drum and the pulleys. As these parts of the spinning-machine are of the ordinary construction and are driven in any well-known manner from any suitable motor, further description or illustration of them is not necessary.

It has been found that owing to the length of the band required to pass successively around the large drum and a great number of pulleys it is apt to give or stretch to a certain extent by constant use, and also that it is affected by the condition of the atmosphere in the room, and thus at different times bears with a different tension upon the pulleys and consequently gives a greater or less twist to the threads unless some means be adopted for regulating the tension of the band and keeping it uniform. My invention therefore consists of a tension-regulator whereby to automatically take up slack or relieve the band in case of shrinkage, and is in the form of a grooved pulley, around which passesa loop of the band, having a spring-bearing whereby it will yield to the draft of the loop, but tend to hold the latter taut. The said pulley L is preferably arranged within a short loop formed by drawing the hand back between two adjacent pulleys b and 1), which will thus require a shorter band, as the .loop is passed over the pulley instead of over the large drum A, as with the other loops, and as so much of the band will be wrapped around the pulley there will be less danger of its slipping off than with the old-style regulator. One means of operating the pulley L is by mounting it upon the free end of a lever K, which may be spring-actuated, and will thus draw the pulley into the loop with a constant and uniform tension. The lever K may be castin one piece having a hole bored at one end for attaching it to its support; or it may be made in two pieces which can be bolted or otherwise secured together. The support for the lever consists of a pin F, which projects through the hole in the pivoted end of the lever. The pin F may be on a stand I, as shown in Fig. 1, on the floor beneath the machine, or it may be secured to a stud or bolt R, attached directly to the machine in any convenient position. The spring M for operating the lever is attached at one end to the pin F by means of a catch or projection O and at the other end to the lever K by means of a pin N, which projects down through the lever into a small loop or eye in the end of the spring. Now by turning or rotating the pin F the spring can be coiled or wound up to such an extent that it will cause the pulley L at the free end of the le ver to be drawn into the loop of the band C to any desired degree, thus enabling a greater or less degree of strain or tension to be eX- erted upon the band. After the spring has been thus Wound up the base 1) and with it the pin F is held stationary or kept from turning back by means of a set-screw X, which engages with the stud or bolt R, upon which the base is supported and which projects into the socket E. The sweep of the free end of the lever in either direction is limited by a pin S, which is put down through the end of the lever K and engages with the stops '1 'l, which are located within a flange or wall G around the base D at the bottom of the pin F. The base D is round and large enough to form a receptacle. or housing for the spring M, and the pivoted end of the lever K is made circular and broad enough, as shown at .I, to extend out over the flange G, and thus form a cover over the cup-like base and its contents. A nut H keeps the lever from coming off the end of the pin F and at the same time permits of the ready removal of the lever for taking out or replacing the spring or for any other purpose.

Instead of securing the spring M to the lever and pin, as above described, it can be secured by making the parts as shown in Figs. 7, S, and 9, in which one end of the spring is secured to a pin 6 in the enlarged portion of the base D, and the otherend is made straight and fits within a slot 5 in thehnb of the lever K. In either way of attaching it the action of the spring will be the same-thatis, when wound up it will constantly draw the pulley I, away from the pulleys B and into the loop in the band C.

It sometimes happens that when the band is new or damp it will stretch beyond the limit of the sweep of the free end of the lever K, and thus make it necessary to stop the machine and cut and splice the band unless otherwise provided for. To obviate this difficulty, I prefer to secure the base D to the machine adj ustabl y by means of a slotted bracket U, (shown in Figs. 5 and (3 and dotted in Fig. 1,) which is clamped to the machine by means of the set-screw V and slot Z at one end.

The stud or pin R, on which the base D is secured, passes through the slot in the bracket U, and is secured at any desired point by means of a Wing-nut IV, which screws up on the stud against the side of the bracket and holds the device wherever desired. In this manner where the band is too long for the slack to be taken up by the lever when secured in one place the stud can be slipped along the slot until the lever has been moved far enough to enable the pulley at its end to take up whatever slack may be in the band.

\Vithout limiting myself to the exact construction shown, I claim In a band-tension for spinning-machines, the combination, with a fixed bracket orsupport and a base adjustable thereon, having an enlarged or cup-shaped portion and a centrally-arranged pin, of a lever pivoted on said pin, having a covering portion J and a tension-pulley at its free end, and a spring within the cup-shaped portion, one end 01: which is connected to the base and the other end to the lever, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

'WILLIAM D O O'lS O N.

Vitnesses:

L. SoI-IEvENELL, G. A. HELL.