One of the drawbacks of ring spinning is the uneven pull of the
traveler, which is the more difficult to counteract as it is exerted
in jerks at irregular intervals. It is argued that with spindles and
bearings as usually made the spindle is supported firmly in its bearing,
and cannot give in case of such a lateral pull when exerted through the
yarn by the traveler, and the consequence is either a breakage of the
yarn or an uneven thread. Impressed with this idea, and in order to
remedy this defect, an eminent Swiss firm has hit upon the notion of
driving the spindle by friction, and to make it more or less loose in
the bearings, so that in case of an extra pull by the traveler the
spindle can give way a little, and thus prevent the breakage of the
yarn. This idea has been carried out in four different ways, and as this
seems to be an entirely new departure in ring spinning, we give the
illustrations of their construction in detail.
[Illustration: Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. Fig. 4.]
Fig. 1 represents Bourcart's recent arrangement of attaching the thread
guide to the spindle rail and the adjustable spindle. The spindle is
held by the sleeve, g, which latter is screwed into the spindle rail, S,
this being moved by the pinion, a; the collar is elongated upwards in a
cuplike form, c, the better to hold the oil, and keep it from flying;
d is the wharf, which has attached to it the sleeve, m, and which is
situated loosely in the space between the spindle and the footstep, e.
Above the wharf the spindle is hexagonal in shape, and to this part is
attached the friction plate, a. Between the latter and the upper surface
of the wharf a cloth or felt washer is inserted, to act as a brake. The
footstep, e, is filled with oil, in which run the foot of the spindle
and the sleeve m, the latter turning upon a steel ring situated on the
bottom of the footstep. As, thus, the foot of the spindle is quite free,
the upper part of the spindle can give sideways in the direction of any
sudden pull, and the foot of the spindle can follow this motion in the
opposite direction, the collar forming the fulcrum for the spindle. By
this alteration of the vertical position of the spindle into an inclined
one (though ever so trifling), the contact of the friction plate, a, and
the wharf is interrupted, and thus the speed of the spindle reduced.
This will cause less yarn to be wound on, and the pull thus to be
neutralized; but as the wharf keeps turning at the same speed, its
centrifugal force will act again upon the friction plate, and thus bring
the spindle back to its vertical position as soon as the extra drag has
been removed.
In Fig. 2 the footstep, e, has the foot of the spindle more closely
fitting at the bottom, but the upper part of the step opens out
gradually, and forms a conical cavity of a little larger diameter than
the spindle, so that the latter has a considerable play sideways. The
wharf carries in its lower part the sleeve, g, which runs upon a steel
ring as above. The upper surface of the wharf is arched, and upon this
is fitted the correspondingly arched friction plate, a, which latter
is attached to the spindle by a screw. The position of the spindle is
maintained by the collar, m. This collar is loose in the spindle rail,
and only held by the spring, m'. If now, a lateral drag is exerted upon
the upper part of the spindle, the collar car follows the direction of
this drag, and the spindle thus be brought out of the vertical position,
the friction plate slipping at the same time. The force of the spring
conjointly with the centrifugal force will then bring back the spindle
into its normal position as soon as the drag is again even.
Fig. 3 shows a spindle with a very long conical oil vessel, B, resting
upon a disk, e", in cup, e', with a cover, e"'. The wharf, d, is here
situated high up the spindle, has the same sleeve as in the preceding
case, and runs round the bush, g, upon the ring, z. The friction plate
resting upon the wharf is joined to the collar, a, running out into a
cup shape, which is fixed to the spindle, which here has a hexagonal
form. In this case the collar gives with the spindle, which latter
has the necessary play in the long footstep; and as the collar and
friction-plate are one, it is brought back to its normal place by
centrifugal force.
A peculiar arrangement is shown in Fig. 4. Here the ring and traveler,
f, are placed as usual, but the spindle carries at the same time an
inverted flier, t. The spindle turns loosely in the footstep, e, the
oil chamber being carried up to the middle of its height. The wharf
is placed in the same position as in the previous case, having also
a sleeve running in the oil chamber, c, upon a steel ring, z. The
friction-plate a, on the top of the wharf carries the flier, and on its
upper surface is in contact with the inverted cup, a, which is attached
to the spindle by a pin or screw. In order to limit at will the lateral
motion of the spindle there is attached to the latter, between the
footstep and the collar, a split ring, i, which can be closed more
or less by a small set screw. The spindle is thus only held in the
perpendicular position by its own velocity, which will facilitate a
high degree of speed, through the entire absence of all friction in the
bearings, this vertical position being assisted by the friction motion
whenever the spindle has been drawn on one side. Although the notion of
mounting spindles so that they can yield in order to center themselves
is not new, it is evident that considerable ingenuity has been brought
to bear upon the arrangement of the spindles we have described, but we
are not in a position to say to what extent practice has in this case
coincided with theory.--_Textile Manufacturer_.
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