IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CLEANING AND CARDING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1856

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
CLEANING AND CARDING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES."-A com-
munication from Georges Alphonse Risler, of Cernay, in the Empire of
France. Engineer.
Sealed the 19th December 1856, and dated the 4th July 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th July 1856.
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 CLEANING AND CARDING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," a com-
munication from Georges Alphonse Risler, of Cernay, in the Empire of France,
Engineer, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain. improvements upon and adaptations to the
ordinary cleaning and carding machines at present employed in the treatment
of fibrous substances.
The improvements consists, firstly, in the application of a curved grate
below the main carding drum, for facilitating the removal or separation of:

page_text: dust, dirt, or short fibres from the material under treatment, such grate being
composed of a number of bars of a triangular section, placed parallel with
the axis of the drum, whilst their intervening spaces gradually diminish from
the front to the back part of the grate. Below this curved grate is a cor-
respondingly shaped plate to receive the dirt and waste fibres.
Secondly, of a peculiar arrangement of jacquard mechanism, for removing
the top cards and holding them in a suitable position for being stripped or
cleaned. Each of the top cards slides along a pair of fixed horizontal guide
rods, and is pushed close up to the main drum by spiral springs; a cord con-
nects each top card with a corresponding needle of a jacquard (worked by the
machine itself), the "lifter bar" of which depresses those needles which are
called into action, and thereby draws back the corresponding top card or cards
ready for stripping.
Thirdly, in the employment of a curved plate, concentric with the carding
drum, and fitted with stripping cards for the purpose of stripping the top
cards drawn back by the jacquard. This curved stripper works concentrically
with the drum in suitable curved end grooves or slots, and is actuated or
caused to slide up and down in its curved guiding slots by means of curved
racks acted upon by a pair of toothed pinions. When required for stripping,
the curved stripper is moved up in front of the top cards to be stripped, and
as it descends it strips those cards, and is itself stripped by a suitable roller or
revolving brush.
In place of having stripping cards fixed upon a curved plate, a comb may
be used, which, by means of a lever and counterweight or spring, will come
into action at its down stroke, and will thus strip the card or cards, whilst it is
then stripped itself by passing in front of a fixed stripping comb. Suitable
spring buffers are used to deaden the shock or concussion of the descending
stripper.
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
3rd January 1857.
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.
E
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters &
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of July, in the year of our Lord One

page_text: thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CLEANING AND CARDING COTTON AND OTHER
FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," a communication from Georges Alphonse Risler, of
Cernay, in the Empire of France, Engineer, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, should particularly 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 performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being bad to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
The said Invention relates to certain improvements upon & adaptations to
the ordinary cleaning and carding machines at present employed in the
treatment of fibrous substances.
The improvements consist, firstly, in the application of a curved grate
below the main carding drum, for facilitating the removal or separation of
dust, dirt, or short fibres from the material under treatment, such grate being
composed of a number of bars of a triangular section, placed parallel with the
axis of the drum, whilst their intervening spaces gradually diminish from the
front to the back part of the grate. Below this curved grate is a correspond-
ingly shaped plate to receive the dirt and waste fibres.
Secondly, of a peculiar arrangement of jacquard mechanism, for removing
the top cards and holding them in a suitable position for being stripped or
cleaned. Each of the top cards slides along a pair of fixed horizontal guide
rods, and is pushed close up to the main drum by spiral springs. A cord
connects each top card with a corresponding needle of a jacquard (worked by
the machine itself); the lifter bar of this jacquard depresses those needles

page_text: which are called into action, and thereby draws back the corresponding top
card or cards ready for stripping.
Thirdly, in the employment of a curved plate, concentric with the carding
drum, and fitted with stripping cards for the purpose of stripping the top cards
drawn back by the jacquard. This curved stripper works concentrically with
the drum in suitable curved end grooves or slots, and is actuated or caused
to slide up and down in its curved guiding slots by means of curved racks
acted upon by a pair of toothed pinions. When required for stripping, the
curved stripper is moved up in front of the top cards to be stripped, and as
it descends it strips those cards, and is itself stripped by a suitable roller or
revolving brush. In place of having stripping cards fixed upon a curved plate,
a comb may be used, which, by means of a lever and counterweight or spring,
will come into action at its down stroke, and will thus strip the top card or
cards, whilst it is itself stripped by passing in front of a fixed stripping
comb. Suitable spring buffers are used to deaden the shock or concussion
of the descending stripper.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularily to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a vertical section of the improved
carding & cleaning engine, taken transversely through the main carding
drum; and Figure 2 is a similar view of a portion of a machine wherein the
stripping mechanism is slightly modified.
The cotton or other fibrous substance to be treated is fed into the machine
by means of one, two, or more feeders. (I have shewn three on the Drawing).
The large drum V conveys the cotton or other fibrous material direct to an
or carding roller B, which is stripped by a second roller A, and this latter
returns the cotton to the large drum. Near the roller A is the curved grate
C, composed of two sections of cast iron, in which are fixed the bars c, c, at a
distance of from to ths of an inch from the periphery of the large drum V.
It will be seen that these bars are closer together at the back end c¹ than at
the front part c of the grating, such diminution of the intervening spaces
between the bars being gradually continued in a direction corresponding to
that in which the large drum rotates, as indicated by the arrow.
drum by its rapid rotation produces a blowing action, which drives the
dust and waste retained by the grate into the circular receiver of sheet
iron d, placed immediately below it. This receiver is furnished with a door a,
This

page_text: which is opened several times during the day by means of the lever f, in order
to remove the waste and dirt which accumulate therein. D, D, are the top
cards, placed concentrically with the circumference of the large drum. These
top cards are supported at both extremities on the wrought-iron rods E, E,
which serve also as guides, and enable them to move horizontally, so that
each of the top cards may be separately drawn backwards (by suitable
mechanism herein-after described) in order to be stripped, and returned again
to its original position by the spiral springs ', which push it forward, or by
any other spring or mechanical means.
The jacquard apparatus G, which produces at the required time the dis-
placement of the top cards, is placed at the lower part of the machine
between the two cheecks of the framework, and is supported by means of the
additional cross rail g. For each top card there is a hook H in the jacquard;
to this hook is attached the extremity of a chain or cord h, the other extremity
of which is fixed to its corresponding top card, after having passed over one of
the guide pullies f, in order that the top cards may be pulled back in a direct
line, thus facilitating their motion on the guide rods E. The lifter g' of the
jacquard receives an ascending and descending motion from the connecting
rod I. The upper extremity i of this rod is furnished with a stud, working
in a groove on the face of the cam or eccentric J, which, in turning im-
parts motion to the connecting rod I, and through it to the carriage lifter and
knife edge K. This latter acts upon the books H, and which are presented to
it by means of the cards 6 in the jacquard, which act upon the needles m in
proper order, so as to present the hooks H to the knife edge of the lifter in the
order required. Thus each of the top cards D, D, works automatically, and is
always drawn back to a certain distance from the main drum V, since the lifter
always makes the same stroke. Whilst one or more (as may be desired) of
the top cards are drawn back, the curved plate P, which acts as a stripper,
rises as far as the highest of the top cards, passing between those which are
drawn back and those which remain in their places, and in descending strips-
any one or more of the cards which the jacquard may have drawn back, as
shewn by the red lines in the Drawing.
The mechanism is so arranged that the top cards remain drawn back for
some seconds, in order to enable the curved stripping plate P to rise and fall,
and so accomplish its work. In order that this stripping plate may perform
its reciprocatory movement in a direction concentric with the periphery of the
drum V, it slides in two curved guides p, which always maintain it in a posi-
tion parallel to the axis of the main drum. At both extremities of this plate

page_text: are fixed two curved racks O, in gear with two pinions R, fixed on the same
shaft r at its two extremities. This shaft receives its motion from the shaft
T, which at the same time works the doffer comb X by the aid of the con-
necting rod x, shewn in dotted lines. This shaft r receives an intermittent
rotatory motion, first in one direction and then in the other, so that while
moving to the left, for example, it causes the plate P to rise, causing it again
to descend when the motion is reversed. The roller S, furnished with very
coarse card teeth, serves to strip the curved plate before it rises to perform its
work. This roller is itself stripped by a comb s, or by any other mechanism.
If found desirable, instead of the cylinder S furnished with cards, a circular
brush may be used. In order to stop the stripping plate when it has accom-
plished its course, and to deaden the shock of its descent, I have placed at the
bottom of the guides two supports U, in which are fitted two buffers, con-
structed either with springs or india-rubber of a similar kind to those in
ordinary use on railways.
I propose also to make use of a comb A¹ (shewn in detail, Figure 2,) instead
of the arrangement herein-before described, for stripping the top cards when
they are drawn back by the jacquard. This stripper comb is fixed to the
extremity of the curved plate by a hinge, so that it can approach the plate
when it rises, and in falling stand out from it. In the first case, the comb
gives way in order to pass the top cards without injuring them; and in the
second, it reassumes the original position, in consequence of the action of the
counterweight a¹, or a spring, of that arrangement be preferred. It is while
in this position that it strips the top cards and receives the cotton from them.
The comb then descends with the plate P¹, and again yields in passing the
fixed comb B', by which it is itself stripped, and again assumes its extended
position through the action of the counterweight a¹.
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,-
First, the general construction, arrangement, and combination of machinery
or apparatus for carding and cleaning cotton and other fibrous substances, as
herein-before described.

page_text: Second, the application and use of a curved grating in close proximity to
the circumference of the main carding drum, in the manner and for the
purpose herein-before described.
Third, the peculiar constructions, arrangements, and combinations of self-
acting mechanism for stripping the top cards of carding engines, and for
cleaning the strippers of such cards, as herein-before described.
Fourth, the application and use of a curved plate or frame rising and falling
in curved slots or guides concentric with the main carding drum, and carrying
stripper cards or a moveable stripper comb for the purpose of stripping and
cleaning the top cards.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Third day of January, One thousand eight:
hundred and fifty-seven.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.B.)