465,824. Packages of twine; unwinding and winding twine. KINNEAR & SONS PROPRIETARY, Ltd., G. Oct. 9, 1935, Nos. 27903 and 27904. Convention dates, Oct. 9, 1934 and July 6, 1935. [Classes 120 (ii) and 120 (iii)] Apparatus for forming cover windings on spools of twine comprises means for unwinding a predetermined length of twine from the spool and means for rewinding the unwound length to form an open-mesh cover passing over the periphery and round the ends of the spool ; the cover winding 3, Fig. 2, is applied so that its strands overlie the axial hole 2 of the spool at one end and leave an uncovered area 3<1> at the other end of the spool from which the twine should be used. As shown in Figs. 3 and 5, the spool A, taken from a winding machine, is placed on the spindle 21 of the apparatus for forming the cover winding and the outer end of the twine of the spool is passed over a guide 29 and connected to one end of a cord or other flexible member 17 which is temporarily engaged with a hook 47 on the arm 12 of a hollow flyer spindle 5. The cord 17 passes through the spindle 5 and to and fro over a series of pulley 34, 37 arranged on a vertical frame 36 and has its other end fixed to a member 42 on the frame. The pulleys 34 are rotatably mounted at the top of the frame 36 and the pulleys 37 are rotatably mounted in a carrier 39 slidable in the frame and having rollers 40 engaging the sides thereof. A weight 35 is suspended from the carrier which at the commencement of an operation is at the top of the frame and is then allowed to descend by gravity to unwind the predetermined length of time from the spool A sufficient to form the cover winding therefor. The twine is then slipped off the guide 29 and passed through an eye 16 and over a roller 15 in the leg 13 of the flyer on the spindle 5. A lever 70 pivoted to a bar 68 carrying a beltshifter 69 is then moved to shift the belt 11 from the loose pulley 10 to the fast pulley 9 and start the flyer which winds the unwound length of twine on to the spool A and raises the carrier 39, the belt being maintained on the fast pulley by a pawl 66 engaging a notch 67 in the rod 68 ; at the upper limit of travel of the carrier an arm 57 thereon strikes a collar 58 on a rod 59 and moves the rod so that a shaft 64 is rotated and an arm 65 carried thereby presses on the pawl 66 and releases it from the notch 67, a spring 71 then moving the rod 68 to shift the belt 11 on to the loose pulley 10 and stop the apparatus. During the downward movement of the carrier, the arm 57 strikes a collar 60 on the rod 59 and releases the pawl 66, the carrier being held in its lowest position by a pawl 49 engaging a notch 56 in the side member 41 of the frame 36 ; this pawl is pivoted in a bracket 48 on the carrier and during its upward movement is pressed against the member 41 by a spring until a pin 51 on the pawl strikes a cam 52 and causes a hook 53 to engage a pin 49<1> on the pawl and hold it out of engagement with the member 41 during the downward movement of the carrier until a pin 54 on the hook 53 strikes a cam 55 and causes the hook to disengage the pawl which is thus allowed to engage in the notch 56. The apparatus can be stopped at will by the operator pressing in the knob 73 of a rod 72 mounted on the side of the lever 70 and hinged to a short lever 74 having a hook 75 slidably engaging the pawl 66. The spindle 21 is driven by worm and bevel gearing from the shaft 27 and is inclined to the flyer spindle 5. Excessive unwinding of twine from the spool, as the carrier approaches the lowermost limit of its travel, is prevented by a pair of clamping plates 31, between which the twine passes, one plate being movable and pressed against the other by a wedge actuated by a lever 78 which is engaged by an arm 77 on the carrier ; as the carrier is used at the commencement of the winding of the cover, the wedge is returned to its original position by a spring. In another apparatus, one end of the cord 17 is attached to a drum which is rotated by a crank to unwind the length of twine to form the cover winding ; the flyer spindle and its bearings are slotted so that the cord, secured to the end of the twine of the spool, can be inserted in the bore of the flyer spindle.