IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING COTTON OR OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS TO BE SPUN
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jacob Taylor, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster,
Cotton Spinner, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS FOR PREPARING COTTON OR OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS TO BE
SPUN."
Sealed the 21st November 1862, and dated the 26th May 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jacob Taylor at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
26th May 1862.
I, JACOB-TAYLOR, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Cotton Spinner,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN.
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING COTTON OR OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS TO
BE SPUN," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the carding engine, and consists, firstly, of improved
modes of giving the to-and-fro motion to revolving knives or combs. The
said knives or combs at each end work loosely in a stationary eccentric slot,
so that as they revolve they project one after the other beyond the periphery of
the roller which contains them, in order to strip the doffing cylinder, and then
recede one after the other in their slots or grooves.
Secondly, in the application of an angular or other shaped bar intervening
between the fibrous material on the doffer and the revolving combs or knives.
I apply the said bar for the purpose of consolidating the material on the
doffing cylinder, and for preventing the combs from taking it off unequally.

page_text: Thirdly, in the application of adjustable stop pieces to each end of the loose
combs for the purpose of allowing the said combs to be adjusted separately.
Fourthly, in the application of a jet or blast of air adapted so as to act on
the selvedges of the sliver and protect it from being made into waste.
And, fifthly, in the application of an elastic band, or its equivalent, for
keeping the combs or knives in contact with the inner eccentrics."
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Jacob Taylor in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th
November 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JACOB
TAYLOR, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Cotton Spinner, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Jacob Taylor, Her special licence that I, the said Jacob Taylor, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Jacob Taylor, 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
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
PREPARING COTTON OR OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS TO BE SPUN," upon
upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Jacob Taylor, 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 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 Jacob Taylor, do hereby declare the
nature of my 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 (that is to say):-
This Invention relates to the carding engine, and consists, firstly, of im-
proved modes of giving the to-and-fro motion to revolving knives or combs.

page_text: The said knives or combs at each end work loosely in a stationary eccentric
slot, so that as they revolve they project one after the other beyond the
periphery of the roller which contains and propels them, in order to strip the
doffing cylinder, and then recede one after the other in their slots or grooves.
Secondly, in the application of an angular or other shaped bar intervening
between the fibrous material on the doffer and the revolving combs or knives.
I apply the said bar for the purpose of consolidating the material on the
doffing cylinder, and for preventing the combs from taking it off unequally.
Thirdly, in the application of adjustable stop pieces to each end of the loose
combs, for the purpose of allowing the said combs to be adjusted separately.
Fourthly, in the application of a jet or blast of air adapted so as to act on
the selvedges of the sliver; and protect it from being made into waste.
And, fifthly, in the application of an elastic band or an equivalent for keeping
the combs or knives in contact with the inner eccentrics.
The manner in which my Invention is carried into effect is particularly
described in the illustrations on the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings:
Figs. 1 and 2 are end and side elevations of part of a carding engine;
shewing the mode of giving to-and-fro motion to the revolving knives or combs
by means of stationary eccentric slots, and also other parts of my improvements.
Figs. 3 and 4 are end and front elevations of one end of one of the knives
or combs, and also the block in which it is fixed. Fig. 5, a transverse eleva-
tion of a roller having slots or grooves which contain the blades of the combs;
Fig. 6, a transverse elevation of one of the stationary eccentric slots which
contains the blocks of the combs, and gives the to-and-fro motion of the comb
blades; Fig. 7, a transverse elevation of the eccentric slot with the blocks of
the combs within it; Fig. 8, a longitudinal elevation of one end of the roller
which contains the blades of the combs, and the bearing in which it works,
also the pulley, which gives it motion, and also one of the eccentric slots;
Figs. 9 and 10 are views of one end of a comb fitted to an adjustable block
for filling up any slackness arising from the wear of the block in the eccentric
slot; Figs. 11, 12, and 13 are detached parts of the same; Fig. 14 is a trans-
verse view of one end of the combs with their blocks upon a stationary external
eccentric for moving the combs to-and-fro as they revolve; Figs. 15 and 16
are sections of a modified arrangement in which the roller is turned eccentric
with the combs, by means of a stationary external eccentric at each end;
Fig. 17, a transverse view, shewing a section of the roller with an end view of
the bearing for the combs, and also one of the eccentrics on which the roller
revolves; Figs. 18 and 19 are views of one of the parts; Figs. 20 and 21 are
transverse and longitudinal sections; and Fig. 22 an end view of the mode of

page_text: turning the roller eccentric with the combs by means of two separate bearings
at each end..
. .
Figs. 1 and 2 are about one-sixth of their real dimensions, and the remaining
Figures are drawn full size.
1
In Figs. 1 and 2, a represents part of the framework of the carding engine;
b, the doffing cylinder; c, part of the card cylinder; and d, the shaft to which it
is fixed. The blades of the combs are placed loose in slots or grooves formed
in the roller e, which is caused to revolve in front of the doffing cylinder and
propel the blades with it. The said roller is shewn enlarged in Figs. 5 and 8,
and has at each end a spindle f turning in the bearings n of the stationary
eccentric, m, on one of which spindles is fixed the pulley g, Figs. 1, 2, and 8,
connected by the strap or cord h, Fig. 2, with the pulley i fixed to the card
cylinder shaft d for the purpose of giving the roller e a revolving motion.
The ends of the combs are fixed to blocks k, shewn at Figs. 3, 4, and 7, which
work loosely in stationary eccentric slots at each end of the roller as the roller
and combs revolve. One of the eccentric slots is shewn at 1, Figs. 6 and 7, it
is joined to a long boss m, Figs. 1 and 8, having a hole.n for the spindle fof
the roller e to work in. The bosses m, and holes n are concentric with the
roller e, and each boss is fitted into the support o, Figs. 1, 2, and 8, and held
fast by the screw p. The support o rests on blocks or fitting pieces o fixed to
the framework a, and is adjusted by the screws r, so as to bring the roller e
to its required distance from the doffing cylinder c. The top part of the
exterior of the eccentric slot has a moveable piece u, Fig. 7, which can be
removed when desired, in order to take out one or more of the combs, if necessary.
The moveable piece u is covered and kept in its place by a metal plate v fixed
by screws w to the exterior of the slot, the said plate having a projection a
for holding a guard or hand rail y. The blocks k at each end of the combs.
are formed of such width that there may be spaces between them when placed
in the eccentric slot, in order to allow them to shift sideways as the blades of
the combs move to-and-fro in the grooves of the roller e, and in order that
these combined movements of the blocks and blades may be performed with
steadiness, there is placed over the tops of the blocks an elastic band z, Figs. 4
and 14, which presses against the blocks and prevents more movement than
is actually necessary. The combs are connected when desired to adjustable
blocks for compensating the wear and ensuring certainty in the to-and-fro
movement of the blades.
The body of the adjustable block is shewn at a', Figs. 9, 10, and 11; it
has at the bottom a screwed hole for the purpose of holding a screw c¹, and
at the top a mortice or recess d', into which is fitted the piece of metal e

page_text: Figs. 9 and 12, having a projection f' at the bottom, which rests on the head
of the screw. The end of the blade is cut out as shewn in Fig. 13, and then
soldered or rivetted to the piece e', the projection g¹ being for the purpose of
entering the notch of the screw, and preventing its turning. The body of the
block is grooved at the top and at both ends to receive the parts h, k, l, of
the blade, so that when these parts are placed within the grooves, and the
piece e¹ into the recess or mortice d', the blade and block shall be held together,
and as the projection f¹ rests on the head of the screw, it is evident that if the
screw is raised it will lift the piece e¹, and enable it to fill up any enlargement
of the eccentric slot or wear of the block, and thereby cause the knives
to move to and fro with certainty, there being at the same time an elastic
band employed to prevent any unsteadiness.
In the eccentric slots, one of which is shewn detached in Fig. 6, it is the
part m which causes the eccentric movement of the combs, the rim n¹ being
employed for keeping the parts clean, and ensuring a steady action of the
elastic band on the blocks of the combs; therefore, if the rim n² was removed
at each end, and the external eccentrics employed in combination with elastic.
bands, the eccentric action of the combs would be the same as with the
eccentric slots.
.
In Fig. 14, I represent a transverse view of one end of the combs with their
blocks upon a stationary external eccentric, for moving the combs to and fro
as they revolve. The roller, combs, and blocks, are similar to those before
described, but the rim and side forming the eccentric slot is removed, and only
the external eccentric m¹ retained, the blocks and combs being held steady
upon it by the elastic band .
In Figs. 15, 16, and 17, I represent another arrangement of revolving
combs, in which the roller is turned eccentric with the combs, by means of a
stationary external eccentric at each end. The combs are shewn at a; they are
each fixed to two or more holders b, (shewn detached in Figs. 18 and 19,)
placed loose upon the shaft c, with the combs attached, which shaft extends
across the framework, and is driven by the pulley d from one of the revolving.
shafts of the machine. Each end of the shaft c works in a boss or collar e, f,
held fast to the bearing or support g. The part f extending beyond the
bearing has its periphery eccentric with the axis of the shaft.c, and to it is
fitted a ring h, baving. fixed to it as many lags or plates i as there are combs,:
but at such distances apart as to allow space for the combs to pass easily,
between them. The ring h at each end is held to the shaft c, so that it shall
turn with it by a pin k, which pin is fixed fast to the shaft, and fitted loose in
the ring, so as not to prevent. the eccentric movement.. The lags or plates i,

page_text: when fixed to the rings form a roller, having a number of spaces or slots for
the combs to pass through, and as the interiors of the rings work upon
circular surfaces eccentric with the shaft, the lags or exterior of the roller turn
eccentric also. Thus when the holders b are placed upon the shaft c, and the
combs a attached to then, the rings and shaft are linked together by the pin
or pins k, and when the lags i are fixed to the rings h, upon the stationary
external eccentrics, the roller with revolving combs is ready for operation, and
when motion is given to it, the combs revolve concentric with the shaft, but
the lags or periphery of the roller eccentric with it, so as to cause the several
divisions to recede que after the other, and strip the combs, and thereby enable
them effectually to doff the fibrous materials from the doffing.cylinder.
In Figs. 20, 21, and 22, I represent a mode of causing the roller to revolve
eccentric to. the combs, by means of two separate bearings at each end. It
will be seen upon inspection, that the periphery of the ring h, Figs. 15, 16, and
17, is concentric to the circle forming the periphery of the external eccentric f,.
and as the ring. revolves upon the eccentric, it must move in the same
eccentric course; but if the ring were fixed to the eccentric surface, and the
said surface made to revolve exactly in the same circle as the stationary
eccentric periphery, it is evident that the periphery of the ring would also
revolve in the same eccentric course; and, therefore, if a bearing is made for
the eccentric at such a distance from the axis of the shaft, as to enable the
periphery of the eccentric to turn in the aforesaid circle, the result would be
the same as if the eccentric were stationary. In this arrangement the
combs a are attached to holders b, placed loose upon the shaft c, as in. Figs.
15, 16, and 17, to which revolving motion is given in any desired manner.
The said combs are also passed between slots or grooves in the shell of
a roller formed by lags or plates d, fixed at each end to a boss or ring e,
forming part of the tube f, which works in the bearing or support g. The
shaft c revolves in the bearing h, fixed to the bearing g, but in a different line of
axis to it, and the shaft c and tubes fare connected together by loose keys k,
so that both revolve together, but in circles eccentric with each other, the
combs revolving concentric with the bearing h and the lags or periphery of
the roller concentric with the bearing 9, and as the two axes are at such
distance apart, as to cause the eccentric surface to revolve in the same circle
as the periphery of the eccentric f, as shewn at Figs. 15, 16, and 17, the shell
of the roller is turned eccentric with the combs as effectually as with the
stationary external eccentrics. Below the roller e there is a triangular bar s,
Figs. 1, 2, and 5, which is adjusted by the screws t, so that the top of it shall
be nearly in contact with the doffing cylinder b. This bar is for the purpose

page_text: of consolidating the cotton on the doffing cylinder, and for preventing the
combs from taking it off unequally.
:
I also apply a jet or blast of air when carling fibrous materials of inferior
staple, adapted so as to act on the selvedges of the sliver, and protect it from
being made into waste. This arrangement is not shewn in the Drawings; it'
being so simple as to require no further explanation. The rollers in the
Figures contain ten slots or grooves, but that number may be varied as desired,
it being only necessary to arrange its speed, and the parts in connection with
it accordingly. Thus the doffing knives or combs are placed in slots or
grooves formed in a roller, so that when revolving motion is given to the
roller, the knives or combs turn with it, and also project one after the other'
from the roller, and enter the card of the doffing cylinder, and then
gradually recede into their slots or grooves; or eccentric motion is given
to the roller, and the lags or divisions caused to.recede one after the other
from the knives or combs, either of which operations produce a superior fleeco
or slivér.
.
pre-
Having now particularly described the nature of my Invention, and the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I would here state that I-am fully
aware it has been proposed and attempted to construct a revolving roller,
covered with combs fixed thereto, and an outer shell or cover with slots
acting so as to remove the fibrous material off the combs, which they had
viously stripped off the doffing cylinder, as a substitute for the common,
reciprocating doffing comb. And that also a Patent was granted to on
William Robertson, No. 1138, dated the Twenty-second day of April, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in which he describes his Invention to
consist of a series of combs attached to and rotating with a roller or shaft.
Around the combs are a series of lags with slots or holes drilled in them to
correspond with the needles of the combs, and so formed and placed, that as
the combs rotate the lags also rotate with them, but eccentrically to them. -
one,
Another Patent was also applied for by the aforesaid William Robertson,
bearing date the Fourteenth day of August, One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-one, No. 2016, in which he describes a series of revolving shafts, with
combs affixed thereto, adjusted to take the sliver or fleece from the surface of
the doffer instantaneously, withdrawing them from the fleece in the same
manner as when the reciprocating comb is employed. I now wish it to
be understood, that in contradistinction to fixed revolving combs, which have
been attempted to be used before the date of this Patent, I claim as my
Invention,-
Firstly, the use and application of loose knives or combs, when such
"
.

page_text: knives or combs are carried by slots, however formed, in the roller, and
governed in their to-and-fro motions either by fixed eccentric slots, fixed
external eccentrics, or a shaft placed eccentric to the roller, or their equiva-
lents, acting in the manner and for the purpose herein-before described, under
the first division of my Specification.
Secondly, the use and application of an angular or other shaped bar,
intervening between the fibrous materials on the doffer and the revolving
combs or knives, in the manner and for the purpose herein-before described in
the second division.
Thirdly, the use and application of adjustable stop-pieces to each end
of the loose combs, for the purpose herein-before described under the third
division.
Fourthly, the use and application of a jet or blast of air, adapted to act on
the selvages of the sliver, in the manner and for the purpose herein-before
described under the fourth division.
And, fifthly, in the use and application of an elastic band to the ends of
the combs, for the purpose herein-before described under the fifth division.
In witness whereof, I, the said Jacob Taylor, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by
the within-named Jacob Taylor,
in the presence of
E. J. HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
JACOB TAYLOR. (L.S.)