IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR DRESSING FLAX, HEMP, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR
DRESSING FLAX, HEMP, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS."-A communication
from Jean Jacques Alexandre Lallier, of Evreux, and François Jules
Vignaud, of Paris, both in the Empire of France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
26th March 1855.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
FOR DRESSING FLAX, HEMP, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS, a communication from
Jean Jacques Alexandre Lallier, of Evreux, and François Julés Vignaud, of
Paris, both in the Empire of France, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates-more particularly to.the dressing of flax and hemp,
although the same apparatus may be applied to the preparation of other fibrous
substances. According to one arrangement, the flax or hemp, having been

page_text: previously stripped or peeled, is placed between two horizontal gratings, the
lower one of which is stationary, whilst the upper one is moveable, being
attached to a sliding frame, to which a horizontal reciprocating motion is
communicated by cranks and connecting rods, or other suitable mechanical
arrangements. The upper grating is made in two parts, each half being
hinged to the traversing frame, and capable of being opened or turned back
when a fresh supply of fibrous material is required. The junction edges of
the two halves of the upper grating are made to interlock, so as to form a
close joint, and they are brought up close when shut by means of screw
spindles.
In order to clear the upper grating at the end of each traverse, a slight
vertical movement is imparted to it, by causing it to slide alternately under
and over suitable slides or rails, which are kept elevated by means of springs.
In place of moving the upper grating, the lower one may be traversed and
the upper one fixed, or the gratings may be made concentric in place of
being plane, & the fibrous material may be supplied constantly by the aid of
grooved feeding rollers. In the first arrangement, when the material has been
properly cleansed and dressed, the upper grating is opened, and the moveable
frame elevated by a lever, to enable the dressed flax or hemp to be removed
with facility. The effect of this rubbing action on the "boon" of the flax or
hemp is to entirely break the same, since the "boon" will be doubled up and
rubbed over its own surface thus,-
The sketch representing a length of "boon" which is doubled over itself
by the frictional action of the two gratings herein before referred to, and
the arc of the bend at a will of course be of a radius not greater than the
thickness of the "boon" itself, or, practically speaking, nil. Consequently a
break will be made in the fibre at that part, and this break will be continued
throughout the whole length of "boon" when the two sides b and c are
rubbed over each other, completely disintegrating the same, and facilitating its
removal from the "harl." The principle of this Invention is then to break
the "boon," by doubling or bending it to as small a radius as possible, as
shewn by the sketch.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 26th September 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex, and
of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John
Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR DRESSING FLAX, HEMP, AND
OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS," a communication from Jean Jacques Alexandre
Lallier, of Evreux, and Francois Jules Vignaud, of Paris, both in the Empire
of France, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry
Johnson, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
The said Invention relates more particularly to the breaking of flax and
hemp, although the same apparatus used for that purpose may be applied to
the preparation of other fibrous substances. According to one arrangement,
the flax or hemp, having been previously stripped or peeled, is placed between
two horizontal gratings, the lower one of which is stationary, whilst the upper
one is moveable, being attached to a sliding frame, to which a horizontal reci-
procating motion is communicated by cranks and connecting rods, or other

page_text: suitable mechanical arrangements. The upper grating is made in two parts,
each half being hinged to the traversing frame, and capable of being opened
or turned back when a fresh supply of fibrous material is required. The
junction edges of the two halves of the upper grating are made to interlock,
so as to form a close joint, and they are brought up close when shut by means
of screw spindles. In order to clean the upper grating, at the end of each
traverse a slight vertical movement is imparted to it, by causing it to slide
alternately under and over suitable guides or rails, which are kept elevated by
means of springs. In place of actuating the upper grating, the lower one
may be traversed and the upper one fixed, or the gratings may be made
concentric in place of being plane, and the fibrous material may be supplied
constantly by the aid of grooved feeding rollers. In the first arrangement,
when the material has been properly broken or dressed, the upper grating is
opened, and the moveable frame elevated by a lever, to enable the flax or
hemp to be removed with facility. The effect. of this rubbing action on the
"boon" of the flax or hemp is to entirely break the same, since the boon
will be doubled up and rubbed over its own surface, as will be clearly under-
stood on referring to the diagrams Figures 5 and 6 on Sheet 1 of the Drawings.
Figure 5 represents a fibre magnified, shewing the effect of the rubbing action
to which it is subjected in the machines, which I shall herein-after describe;
and Figure 6 represents a fibre of the natural size when under the process of
breaking. If the lower fibre A be held fixed on a rough plate or grating,
which is drawn in the direction B, C, and if at the same time the upper fibre
D be pressed on to the lower one A, so as to bring them both in contact, the
bend or angle a will be a species of break, which will be extended along the
entire length of the fibres. It will thus be seen that the principle of this
Invention is to break the "boon," by doubling or bending the fibres to as
small a radius at the point a as possible, and extending the break by rubbing
one part of the fibre over the other by suitable mechanism.
..
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall refer to
the several Figures on the Sheets of Drawings hereunto annexed, the same
letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout the Figures on
each Sheet of Drawings.
Figure 1, on Sheet 1 of the Drawings, is a longitudinal section of one
arrangement of flax-breaking machine, taken through the centre line thereof;
Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same; and Figure 3 is a general plan of the
machine. The rest of the Figures on this Sheet of Drawings will be herein-
after fully described and referred to. A and B are two, gratings, the first of

page_text: which A is fixed to the frame C, and the hemp or flax to be operated upon is
placed thereon. This is effected by raising the upper grate B, which turns
upon hinges fixed to the moveable frame b.
In order that the two hinged sides of this grating B may be joined closely
and be made firm and solid with the moveable frame b, two projections c are
made on one junction edge, which take into corresponding indentations c¹. on
its other side, when the two sides are brought closely together by the winch
handle D and screw spindle d, whereby the grating B and the moveable
frame are made solid with each other. A reciprocating motion is imparted
to the whole frame b and grating B by means of the winch handles E on the
shaft of the pinion e, which actuates the wheel F fixed upon the crank shaft
f; this shaft, by means of cranks and suitable connecting rods G, transmits
motion to the frame and grating. By this means a rectilinear recipro-
cating motion is obtained, which changes at each end of the stroke to
a slightly vertical movement, which is effected in the following manner :-
On each side or edge of the frame b, and at each, extremity thereof, are
fixed two small hinged levers g, which tend constantly means of the coiled
springs h to raise the rails H. These rails are maintained between the
vertical plates I and the guides i, which are fixed to each extremity of the
moveable frame b, which slides continually either below or above the rails H,
according as these rails are raised or lowered. These guides i thus pass
alternately above or below the rails, and thus force the frame b, to which they
are fixed, to rise or fall slightly at the extremity of each stroke, so that the
bars or teeth of the upper grate become slightly detached or separated from
those of the lower grating.
In order to withdraw the material after each operation, the two hinged
portions of the upper grating B are separated by means of the screw spindle d,
and they are then raised or opened backwards by the handles j for that
purpose. The dressed or broken flax or hemp may then be removed, but as it
lodges always between the fixed grating A and the frame b, this latter requires
elevating slightly, which is effected by the lever J for that purpose. The
lever J is keyed upon one end of the transverse shaft K, which is fitted with
two other small levers l, l, to the extremities of which are connected the rods
L, fixed to the frame. These rods are connected to similar rods L¹ by means
of the connecting rods m, m, so that the same movement is produced at the
same time on all the four rods, and consequently upon the four corners of the
frame b, which is thus raised vertically and parallel to the grating A.
The employment of two metallic gratings, between which the hemp or flax
is dressed or broken, and the mechanism by which the peculiar motion is

page_text: imparted to one of the gratings, form the principle or main feature of this
Invention. It is obvious that if the lower grating is made moveable the
principle of the Invention is not altered.
The arrangement shewn at Figure 4 on Sheet 1 of the Drawings may also
be adopted if found desirable, the advantage of which arrangement being that
the operation is continuous. In this case the lower grating M is made move-
able, and oscillates from a centre at N.
A reciprocating motion is imparted to the connecting rods o, working in the
slot n, which motion is communicated to the grating M by means of the two
connecting rods o, o. The flax or hemp is placed upon the inclined table P,
and the two fluted rollers p, p, conduct it between the upper and lower
gratings, which are by this arrangement constantly supplied with material
to operate upon, thus obviating the necessity which exists in the former
arrangement of stopping the machine in order to supply it with fresh
material.
For the purpose of obtaining the vertical motion at the end of each stroke
of the moveable grating, which motion I consider most important for securing
the effectual dressing or breaking of the flax or hemp, I use a combination of
mechanism which by means of levers and by the motion of the lower grating
gives the required motion to the upper grating.
Figure 7, on Sheet 2 of the Drawings, represents a vertical section of a
machine on the same principle as that on Sheet 1, but slightly modified in form,
taken along the line 1, 2; Figure 8 is a transverse section of the same along
the line 3, 4; Figure 9 is a horizontal section taken along the line 5, 6;
Figure 10 is a plan of the upper frame; Figure 11 is a sectional detail on a
larger scale of some of the moving parts; and Figures 12, 13, and 14 indicate
the different positions of the plates which effect the dressing.
The material is supplied to the machine in sheets or ribbons by means of two
endless belts A and A', the upper rollers of which are mounted upon the
moveable cast-iron frame B. A counterweight B', the position of which can
be varied at will, balances the frame itself, which oscillates upon the centre b.
This arrangement is requisite in order to allow for the reciprocating motion
of the carriage C, in which work the ascending and descending plates D and
D', which act upon the grates or serrated plates E.
The movement is communicated to the carriage C by means of the grooved
eccentric or cam C', in which works a friction pulley fixed to the lever c, which
is jointed to the connecting rods a, a. The hemp or flax supplied to the
machine by means of the belts A and A¹ is received between the fluted feed
rollers F, F, which nip one end of the hank while the other is held between

page_text: the toothed nippers d. The portion or length contained between the rollers
F, F, and the nippers d, is submitted to the friction induced by the recipro-
cating motion of the carriage C and that of the two plates D and D', which
alternately rub the material over or upon the fixed grates or serrated plates E.
The ascending and descending motion of the plates D and D¹ is obtained
during the movement of the carriage C by the eccentric G, the lever g, and
the connecting rod g¹. This connecting rod communicates motion to four
levers k, which are coupled together by helical springs g³. At the end of each
stroke of the carriage C the nippers d open, in order to allow of the feeding
cylinders F, F, to draw away the hemp or flax that is between the grate
and the plates. The quantity which is drawn away can be regulated at will,
according to the fineness of the material, by means of the screw i, Figure 11,
and the spring nippers 2.
In order to rotate the roller F¹, I have fitted at its extremity a ratchet
wheelf. The pall f, which moves this wheel is 'mounted upon the lever e,
(Figures 7 and 11,) which is connected to the rod e¹. This rod receives a
reciprocating motion from the lever H, which is actuated by the eccentric H',
so that each revolution of this eccentric causes the wheelf through the pall f¹
to advance two or three teeth, according to the length of the lever e, which can
be regulated at pleasure by uniting it at different places with the connecting
rod e¹.
In order to press the material closely between the plates D and the grates
or serrated plates E, these latter are mounted upon the moveable frame K,
which is kept always elevated by means of the springs ¹ (Figure 8). To pro-
duce this effect, these springs act upon the extremity of the levers 1, 1, jointed
to the frame by the short connecting rods m, m. The action of this machine
will be clearly understood on referring to the detailed Figures 12, 13, and 14.
Figure 12 shows the material at the commencement of the stroke nipped by
the nippers d; Figure 13 shows it at the middle of the stroke; and Figure 14
shows it at the end of the stroke, each part of the flax or hemp having been
rubbed together in the manner herein-before described.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict myself to
the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to describe or
refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without deviating from the
principles or main features of the said Invention; but what I consider to be
novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-

page_text: First, the system or mode of breaking flax, hemp, or other similar fibrous
materials by rubbing one portion of the fibres over another portion of the same
fibres longitudinally, as herein-before described, and illustrated by Figures 5
and 6 on Sheet 1 of the Drawings.
Second, the general construction and arrangement of machinery or apparatus
for breaking flax, hemp, and other similar fibrous materials, as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twenty-sixth day of September, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-five.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)