The end of the filament having been attached to a peg above the elevator, it happens that when a cocoon has been brought into the corner of the reeling basin, the filament is strung from it to the edge of the hole in the plate in such a position as to be readily seized by a mechanical finger, K (Fig. 3), attached to a truck arranged to run backward and forward along one side of the basin. This finger is mounted on an axis, and has a tang projecting at right angles to the side of the basin, so that the whole is in the form of a bell crank mounted on the truck.
FIG. 3.
There are usually four threads to each basin. When neither one of them needs an additional cocoon, the finger of the distributing apparatus remains, holding the filament of the cocoon at the corner of the basin where it has been dropped. When a circuit is closed by the weakening of any one of the threads, an electromagnetic catch is released, and the truck with its finger is drawn across the basin by a weight. At the same time the stop shown dotted in Fig. 3 is thrown out opposite to the thread that needs strengthening. This stop strikes the tang of the finger, and causes the latter to be thrown out near to the point at which the filaments going to make up the weakened thread are being drawn from the cocoons. Here the new filament is attached to the new running thread by a kind of revolving finger, J, called in France a "lance-bout." This contrivance takes the place of the agate of the ordinary filature, and is made up, essentially, of the following parts:
(1) A hollow axis, through the inside of which the thread passes instead of going through the hole of an agate. This hollow axis is furnished, near its lower end, with a ridge which serves to support a movable portion turning constantly round the axis. (2) A movable portion turning constantly round the axis. (3) A finger or hook fastened on the side of the movable portion and revolving with it. This hook, in revolving, catches the filament brought up by the finger and serves it on to the thread.
Such are the principal parts of the automatic reeling machine. Although the fact that this machine is entirely a new invention has necessitated a somewhat long explanation, its principal organs can nevertheless be summed up in a few words: (1) A controlling drum which serves to give the thread a constant elongation; (2) a pulley mounted on a pivot which closes an electric current every time that the thread becomes too fine, and attains, in consequence, its minimum strength, in other words, every time that a fresh cocoon is needed; (3) electromagnets with the necessary conducting wires; (4) the feeding basin; (5) distributing finger and stops; and (6) the lance-bout.
Our illustration, Fig. 1, shows diagrammatically a section through the cocoon frame and reel. The thread is composed of three, four, or more filaments, and after passing through the lance-bout, it travels as shown by the arrows. At first it is wound round itself about two hundred times, then passed over a fixed guide pulley, and over a second guide pulley lower down fixed to the frames which carry the lance-bouts, then up through the twist and over the smaller of the pulleys, D. Taking one complete turn, it is led round the guide pulley, L, from there round the larger of the pulleys, D, round the second guide pulley, L¹, then back to the large wheel, and over a fixed guide pulley across to the reeling frame. Power is supplied to the latter by means of a friction clutch, and to insure even winding the usual reciprocating motion of a guide is employed. The measuring apparatus is pivoted at F, and by raising or lowering the nuts at the end of the bar the required inclination is given.
We had recently an opportunity of examining the whole of this machinery in detail, and seeing the process of silk reeling in actual operation, Mr. Serrell having put up a complete set of his machines in Queen Victoria Street, London. Regarded simply as a piece of ingenious mechanism, the performance of these machines cannot fail to be of the highest interest to engineers, the reeling machine proper seeming almost endowed with human intelligence, so perfectly does it work. But, apart from the technical perfection, Mr. Serrell's improvements are of great importance as calculated to introduce the silk-reeling industry in this country on a large scale, while at the same time its effect upon India as a silk-growing country will be of equal importance.—Industries.