IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HACKLING, DRESSING, AND COMBING SILK WASTE AND OTHER FIBRES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Edmond Donisthorpe, of Leeds, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HACKLING, DRESSING, AND
COMBING SILK WASTE AND OTHER FIBRES."
Sealed the 14th February 1860, and dated the 25th November 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Edmond Donisthorpe
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 25th November 1859.
I, GEORGE EDMOND DONISTHORPE, of Leeds, do hereby declare the nature
5 of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HACKLING, DRESSING,
AND COMBING SILK WASTE AND OTHER FIBRES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for hackling,
dressing, and combing silk waste and other fibres. For these purposes the
apparatus is so constructed that the stricks or tufts of silk waste or of other
fibrous material to be hackled, dressed, or combed may be held between
holders or pressing instruments having comb teeth combined with them, in
order that whilst the hackling or dressing of the stricks or tufts of fibres at
the two ends is proceeding the holders, or pressing instruments, may offer a
positive holding of the fibres, as heretofore; and when the pressure of the
holders or pressing instruments is relieved, a sliver may be drawn off either
from one or both sides of the holder by drawing-off rollers or apparatus suitably

page_text: arranged for that purpose. In some cases, in place of the comb teeth being
part of the holders or pressing instruments, these instruments are constructed
to admit of comb teeth being applied to them after the hackling or dressing of
the fibres has been performed, so that when the positive holding of the press-
ing instruments has been relieved the fibres may be drawn out into a sliver
or slivers on one or both sides of the holders or pressing instruments, or the
parts or some of them may be arranged to be moved out of the way, leaving
the hackled or dressed fibres in comb teeth, in order that a sliver or slivers
may be drawn off from one or both sides.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Edmond Donisthorpe in the Great Seal, Patent Office
on the 25th May 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
EDMOND DONISTHORPE, of Leeds, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said George Edmond Donisthorpe, Her special licence that I, the
said George Edmond Donisthorpe, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said George Edmond Donisthorpe my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein ex-
pressed, 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 APPARATUS FOR HACK-
LING, DRESSING, AND COMBING SILK WASTE AND OTHER FIBRES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Edmond Donisthorpe, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my or their
or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 George Edmond Donisthorpe, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same

page_text: acting to keep the fibres projecting from the under side of the holder straight,
while the sliver is being drawn from the upper side of the holders by the fluted
drawing rollers 9, carried by the stationary frame n. The table e in rising has
a combined horizontal and vertical movement imparted to it by the links f, so
that when the points in the table e enter into the fibres projecting from the
under side of the holders, those fibres will be carried forward and straightened
at the same time. The pointed surface e is carried and actuated by the parallel
links ff, fastened on the axes f', and on these axes f¹ are fixed the quadrants
f2, which are acted upon by worms f³, so that by turning the handle f* on the
shaft f, the links f are caused to perform a partial revolution, and thus raise or
lower the pointed surface e. The travelling carriage b is caused to move back-
ward or forward under the drawing rollers g by means of a toothed wheel h
taking into the rack 6' on the carriage b, and when motion is communicated
by a driving belt to the pulley h¹ and wheels h2, h3, h4, the carriage 6 will be
caused to travel under the fluted drawing rollers g, which will draw the fibres
projecting from the holders on to the drawing leather g¹ in the form of a sliver,
which can be removed in any convenient manner, the tightening screws 65 being
so far withdrawn as to remove the pressure from the holders c before the
drawing rollers g are brought into operation. Motion is communicated to the
drawing rollers 9 by the toothed wheels g, g³, g. The drawing rollers 9 are
carried by a lever frame 9 moving on the axis 97, and the drawing rollers g
may be set at various distances from the holders c, c, by means of the screws g',
so as first to draw out the longer fibres projecting from the holders c, c, and
afterwards by setting the rollers nearer to the holders to draw out the shorter
fibres. When the drawing rollers 9 have removed the whole of the fibres from
the upper surface of the holders c, the frame a and holders c must be turned
over, and the fibres formerly projecting from the under side of the holders
drawn out, so as to leave only the short fibres within the holders c, c; and I
would here remark, that in place of raising and lowering the drawing rollers g,
several pairs of drawing rollers may be arranged at different distances from the
holders c.
When it is desired to draw the fibrous material from only one side
of the holders, they may be used of the ordinary width, as shewn at Figure 3,
so as to immerse the whole length of the fibres in the rows of pins d, d.
g
Another method which I adopt in carrying out my Invention is to remove
the books or holders, having rows of pins in them, one, by one from the
dressing frame, and to place them on an endless chain which carries the
projecting fibres past one or more pairs of fluted drawing rollers, so as to draw
the fibres into a sliver, leaving the short fibres within the holder to be
afterwards removed; and in case it is desired to draw from both ends of the

page_text: stricks of fibrous material, I employ holders of such a width that the stricks of
fibrous material will project from both sides of the holder, and after placing
those holders on an endless chain, I immerse the fibres projecting from one
side of the holders in an endless chain of combs, and after the fibres projecting
from the other side of the holders have been drawn out into a sliver or
slivers, the endless chain of combs is caused to descend, and the fibres which
were immersed in it are then drawn from the holders into a sliver or slivers,
leaving the short fibres within the holders to be afterwards removed.
Figure 4 shews a plan, Figure 5 a section, and Figure 6 a side view, of so
much of a machine constructed in accordance with my Invention as will suffice
to explain the method of carrying out the same. The toothed holders c, c, con-
taining the stricks of fibrous material as they have been removed from the
dressing frame, are placed upon the endless chain i, which carries the holders
under the fixed guard ', and the holders c, c, are formed with a ridge on both
sides, shewn by the red lines c' in Figure 2; the ridges enter into grooves
formed in the chain i and guard i¹, so that when the holders are carried past
the fluted drawing rollers ¹, 2, 3, they will be held in position so that the
drawing rollers can draw out the fibres projecting from the holders c. The
fibres projecting on one side of the holders c are immersed in the endless chain
of combs 1, so as to keep the fibres straight while they are being drawn from the
other side of the holders. When the holders c have been carried past the
drawing rollers k', k, k³, the endless chain of combs is caused to descend, as
shewn, so as to leave the fibres which were previously immersed in them in
such a position that the fibres can, by the further movement of the chain i, be
carried past the fluted drawing rollers m³, m², m³, so that the remaining fibres
projecting from the toothed holders c can be drawn out in the form of slivers,
leaving the short fibres within the holders to be subsequently removed. When
it is not desired to draw the fibres from both sides of the holders, the one
shewn at Figure 3 may be employed, and in place of the holders having hackle
pins set in them, they may be made with a series of bars forming a grating,
and rows of pins may be introduced between such bars or grating into the
strick of fibrous material within the holder after it has been removed from the
dressing frame. When it is preferred to use the ordinary holder without
hackle pins set in it, a supplementary holder having pins set in it may be
employed, in which case the fibres projecting from the ordinary holder o are
taken hold of by the supplementary holder c, as shewn at Figure 7, and
removed from the original holder to be subsequently dealt with in the manner
described above.
And I would here remark that though I have shewn and described the best

page_text: means I am acquainted with for carrying out my Invention, I am aware that
the means above described may be greatly varied, and the mechanical parts
differently arranged, and that in place of two endless chains as shewn, three or
more may be employed, as is sometimes practised, without departing from the
nature of my Invention, which consists in dealing with stricks of fibrous
material so as to draw them into slivers from books or holders.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Edmond Donisthorpe, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
G. EDMOND DONISTHORPE. (L.S.)
Signed and sealed in my presence,
JA. W. HAMILTON RICHARDSON,
Solicitor, Leeds.