Improvements in or relating to the Treatment of Rhea and similar Fibres.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Nov., 1898-Accepted, 28th Jan., 1899.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Treatment of Rhea and similar
Fibres.
I, JAMES LONGMORE, of Hythe, Southampton, in the County of Hants, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the follow-
ing statement:—
Hitherto in the treatment of rhea and similar fibres great difficulty has been
experienced in feeding the fibres to the combing machine, for if the ordinary way
of feeding a comb by a number of parallel slivers were applied to inelastic vegetable
fibres such as rhea they would not sufficiently amalgamate as do slivers of elastic
fibres such as wool silk mohair and the like, to present an even thickness to the
nipping mechanism, but would always show an imperfect union between the slivers
and an irregular transverse thickness and if this uneven thickness were presented
to the nipping mechanism the thicker parts would be liable to be eut by the jaws
of the nip and the thinner parts slipped over and unevenly drawn out thus
rendering the combing impracticable. In the Specification of prior Letters
Patent granted to me No. 20806 of 1890 means were described for overcoming this
difficulty, consisting in lapping a film of fibres from a gill box round a drum until
the desired thickness was obtained when the practically endless band or lap, thus
obtained was cut or torn open and fed to the combing machine. In practice how-
ever it was found that in forming the lap on the drum it had a tendency to spread
out beyond the proper width and thus caused thin and uneven edges and to that
extent imperfect work in the subsequent process of combing. Again the length of
the lap thus produced was very short and the joins between successive laps were
apt to cause faults in the combing.
It is the object of this invention to remedy the above defects, that is, to obtain a
lap with even edges which is continuous and is produced by so superimposing
slivers delivered by separate gill drawing heads that the lap and the individual
slivers possess a width approximately equal to that of the feed opening of the
combing machine for which the lap is intended.
The invention may be carried out by arranging a series of gill drawing heads
side by side, the film of fibre from each being conducted above and superimposed
upon that issuing from the next.
In the accompanying drawings of which Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan and
Figure 2 is a similar elevation of parts seen in Figure 1, a number of drawing
heads A1 A2 A3 etc., of gill boxes of ordinary construction (six being a convenient
number) are arranged side by side on one frame. Opposite each drawing head a
sliver plate B1 132 133 etc., is diagonally attached to the frame, and a pair of pres-
sure rollers CC2 C3 etc., are fixed at right angles to the drawing head so that the
lap or sliver D1 D2 D3 etc., from each drawing head passes over the sliver
plate B etc., and between the pressure rollers C₁ etc., thus being bent at right
angles to its former direction.
The first lap or sliver D¹, after passing through its pressure roller C¹ is conveyed

page_text: above the next sliver-plate B2 to the second pair of pressure rollers C² through
which it passes together with the lap or sliver 2 from the second drawing
head A. The first two laps or slivers D1 D2 are then conveyed in a similar manner
past the third sliver plate B3 to the third pair of pressure rollers C³ through which
issue the first three laps D1 D2 D3, superimposed one above the other.
Thus at the last pair of pressure rollers C a lap or sliver D7 will issue which is
of uniform thickness, and is composed of a number of layers corresponding to the
number of gill drawing heads employed.
Instead of, as in the above arrangement, (which is the one preferred), having
each individual lap or sliver D1 D2 D3 etc., of the same width as the ultimate
product D, two sets of gills may be employed for each drawing head, and the laps
made half width, two being then fed side by side.
The continuous sheet of sliver D issuing from the last pair of pressure rollers C
may be rolled into a ball by some apparatus, preferably that described in the
Specification of Letters Patent granted to me No. 20808/90 and also illustrated
in the drawing herewith of an identical device in which the roller or core E is
free to rotate upon a shaft E and between two discs or plates G G which limit
the width of the ball mounted on two preferably flanged tubular shafts F which
are supported at or near their ends in bearings H which are free to slide vertically
in slotted standards I. The shaft to which the dise G is secured may be moved
in the direction of its axis in the bearing H by means of a screw J the inner end
of which is so connected to the adjacent end of the shaft F that it can be rotated
but not moved longitudinally independently of said shaft. The screw J works
through a nut J' and is provided at its outer end with a handle or the like J2.
The superimposed slivers forming the lap D pass over a plate K and are initially.
wrapped round the core E. By the rotation of two drums K' in the same direction
and the friction therewith of the core E and lap being rolled upon it, the latter are
caused to rotate and further coil the material upon the core. As the size of the
ball increases owing to the accumulation of the material on the core, the shaft E
is gradually raised, the bearings H sliding up the standards I. When the desired
size of the ball is reached the machine is stopped and the lap cut on the plate K
and the bearings fixed in their raised position by tightening nuts L on bolts L'.
The shaft E' is then pulled longitudinally out from the core E by a handle E and
the disc G is drawn away from the bail and core E by means of the screw J. The
standards I are then moved along their bases I¹ thus leaving the sides of the ball
exposed. A shaft or rod is then passed through the core E and the finished ball
carried away.
Another core is then placed in the standards I which are returned
to their central position and locked by any convenient means and a fresh ball
rolled.
If desired laps such as described may be superimposed upon one another so as to
produce a compound lap of greater thickness than the simple lap resulting from
the superimposition of slivers as before described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. In the treatment of rhea and similar fibres a continuous lap produced by so
superimposing slivers from separate gill heads such as A' that the lap and the
individual slivers possess a width approximately equal to that of the feed-opening
of the combing machine for which the lap is intended.
2. In the treatment of rhea and similar fibres the combination with a balling-
machine of a series of gill heads such as A' which deliver to the balling-machine
a continuous lap of superimposed slivers both lap and slivers possessing a width
approximately equal to that of the feed opening of the combing machine, for which
the lap is intended.
3. In the treatment of rhea and similar fibres the combinations of a series of 5
gill heads such as A¹ and rollers or other conveying devices having rigid surfaces

page_text: for producing and delivering to a balling-machine a continuous lap of superimposed
slivers both lap and slivers possessing a width approximately equal to that of the
feed opening of the combing machine for which the lap is intended substantially
as described.
Dated this 11th day of No 1000