Year: 1899

page_text: I, SAMUEL ECROYD, of 100, Oswald Road, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Lancashire,
Draughtsman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My said invention relates to the unbaling and blending of cotton and is particu-
larly applicable to the treatment of bales in which the cotton is pressed in coiled
layers such as the type of bale commonly known as "the Lowry bale". in which
the cotton forms one or more more or less cohérent coils from one end of the bale
to the other.
The underlying feature of my said invention consists, in uncoiling the cotton
in a direction opposite to that in which it has been wound. In some cases I
rotate the bale and remove the cotton from the end of the bale either by letting
it fall by gravity or by removing it by means of rakes drawing-off rollers combs
or the like. In other cases I may keep the bale stationary while the appliances
for removing the cotton may revolve in a direction opposite to that in which the
cotton has been coiled.
To carry this uncoiling into effect I may use various devices or arrangements of
mechanism for instance.
In one construction I provide a pair of drawing-off rollers to take the cotton
from the bale. These rollers may be plain fluted spiked or otherwise constructed
so as to hold the cotton. One end of the bale is presented to these rollers and held
up against them or against a fence stop grid or the like by springs weighted levers
weighted chains or other suitable means. I provide means such as revolving
rollers for rotating the bale while the cotton is being taken from it for the purpose
of neutralising or taking out the twist which the cotton receives when being coiled
to form such a bale. In some cases I combine with the rotating mechanism means
for holding up the bale to the drawing-off rollers. For example in one form of
my said invention the rotating mechanism is constructed with conical or conoidal
rollers which not only cause the bale to rotate but tend to push it forward towards
the drawing-off rollers. This form of my said invention presents the advantage
that the bales may be made to follow each other in a practically continuous succes-
sion. Or in case the bale is dealt with in a vertical position gravity alone may
suffice to keep the bale up to the drawing-off rollers.
In some cases the bale is mounted on a shaft or axle which is caused to rotate
Ey tooth gearing or other suitable means.
My invention is particularly useful in the blending of the contents of two
or more bales so as to ensure greater uniformity of product. This I accomplish
by passing the cotton from two or more bales to a conduit or conveyor which fakes"
the cotton to the mixing room or to a bale breaker hopper feeder opener scutcher

page_text: beater mixing machine or the like machines used for preparing cotton for spinning
or to a conveyor or travelling feed table used for supplying the cotton to such
machines. The drawing-off rollers and the bale rotating mechanism may be
driven by suitable gearing or belting from the machine or apparatus to which the
cotton is immediately supplied or they may form an independent machine having
its own driving mechanism.
The apparatus carrying the drawing-off rollers or other appliances may be
stationary or I may mount it on a carriage or slide to enable the drawing off appa-
ratus to be transferred from one place to another.
Dated 16th day of Tune 1800
E. T. WHITELOW, A.M.Inst.C.E.,
70, Deansgate, Manchester, Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Unbaling and Blending Raw Cotton.
I, SAMUEL ECROYD, of 100, Oswald Road, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Lancashire,
Draughtsman, 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 following statement:-
My said invention relates to the unbaling and blending of cotton and is particu-
larly applicable to the treatment of bales in which the cotton is pressed in coiled
layers such as the type of bale commonly known as the "Lowry" bale in which
the cotton is packed in the form of one or more more or less coherent coils laid
from one end of the bale to the other.
The essential feature of my said invention consists in unwinding the coil of
cotton in a direction contrary to that of the original winding and at the same
time taking off the cotton endwise so as to remove the successive coiled layers
either by letting the cotton fall by gravity or by removing or lifting it by
mechanical devices.
My invention is particularly useful in the blending of the contents of two or
more bales so as to ensure greater uniformity in the quality of the yarn eventually
spun therefrom. For this purpose I in one form of my said invention pass the
cotton from two or more bales to a conduit or conveyor which takes the cotton to
the mixing room or direct to any machine in which the cotton is further dealt
with.
In the accompanying drawings to which reference is hereinafter, made I illus-
trate various methods of carrying my said invention into practice.
In the arrangement shown on Sheet I in Fig. 1 (a side elevation partly in
section) and Fig. 2 (an end elevation) the bale is placed on rollers b which are
caused to rotate by means of worm or other gearing operated by the driving shaft c.
The motion of the rollers b being imparted by rolling contact to the bale a the
latter is caused to rotate in a direction contrary to that in which the bale was
rotated when the cotton was originally coiled up to form the bale. On the frame
of the machine is a fence plate e carrying a pair of drawing off rollers which are
driven by a belt or chain and tooth or other gearing from the driving shaft in
such a direction that when one end of the coil of cotton is presented to them they
will continually pull the cotton away from the end of the bale and deliver it
either on to the floor into a suitable receptacle or a conveyor as may be desired.

page_text: The rollers b may be inclined so that the weight of the bale may cause it to slide
towards the draw off rollers or springs weighted levers or the like may be used
to push the bale forward. If the machine is made sufficiently long another bale a¹
may be placed on the rollers while one is being uncoiled so as to immediately
follow up the bale a.
The draw off rollers may be plain fluted spiked or otherwise fashioned so as to
hold the cotton.
On Sheet II an arrangement is shown in which the cotton is allowed to fall by
gravity from the rotating bales. In this sheet Fig. 3 is a plan, Fig. 4 is a side
elevation, Fig. 5 is an end elevation, Figs. 6 and 7 are respectively plan and end
elevation to a larger scale. In this form of my said invention a central driving
shafte is provided with one or more tooth wheels 2. Running in bearings from
which they can readily be lifted are spindles beach of which carries a tooth
wheel which when the spindle is in its place gears with the central tooth
wheel e A spindle having been put through the centre of the bale the spindle
is laid in its place in the machine and when the latter is started the bale is caused
to rotate. One end of the coil of cotton is then loosened and allowed to hang
down. Its weight (provided the coils have not been too closely packed together
for this mode of operation) will suffice to draw down the successive coils of cotton.
In the arrangement shown in this sheet a number of bales are uncoiled simul-
taneously and their contents are delivered on to a creeper or travelling conveyor f
which conveys the combined contents of a number of bales to any desired place
as for example to the hopper of a cotton opener scutcher or other machine adapted
for the further treatment or preparation of the cotton for the subsequent spinning
process. On the central shaft I in some cases mount rollers 2 which are of
sufficient diameter to touch the bales lying on either side and by their rolling
contact they aid the rotation of the bales. A spiked roller such as g or a
reciprocating comb or rake or the like means may be fixed at any convenient
place for picking." or loosening the fibres of the cotton as it comes from the bales.
In the arrangements shown in Sheet III the bales are dealt with in a vertical
position.
In Fig. 8 (elevation) and Fig. 9 (plan) a is the bale which is supported on a
plate rotated by suitable gearing. The end of the coil of cotton is passed over
a rotating roller d or between a pair of such rollers (as in Fig. 10) by which it
is drawn off from the end of the bale when the latter is rotated. Where a single
roller is used as in Figs. 8 and 9 it may be provided with teeth or spikes to secure
a better hold.
7
With some short stapled kinds of cotton I find that when the bales are partly
drawn off the reaclt from the upper end of the bale to the draw off rollers d is so
great that the cohesion of the fibres is not sufficient to prevent the uncoiled cotton
breaking as it rises. To overcome this difficulty I according to the arrangement
shown in Fig. 11 employ an inclined creeper or apron travelling upwards which
forms a support for the cotton as it rises and relieves it of tensional stress as indi-
cated in dotted lines in this figure. In lieu of a creeper or apron support I may
in some cases use a draw off roller (Fig. 12) of such considerable diameter that
the adjacent upwardly travelling peripheral surface forms a support for the cotton
as the bale decreases in height.
The stress on the fibres as the bale decreases in size may also be obviated, by
supporting it on springs as shown in Fig. 13 (Sheet I) which will gradually
extend as the bale decreases in weight and thus keep the top end of the bale
approximately level with the drawing off roller.
As in the case where the bales are uncoiled in a horizontal position I may also
simultaneously uncoil a number of bales vertically and combine their contents by
the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 14 (side elevation) Fig. 15 (plan) and Fig. 16
(end elevation). In this case a number of bales are arranged on one or both
sides of a travelling conveyor or creeper f on to which the cotton is delivered by

page_text: the draw off rollers for blending purposes as already described with reference to
Figures 3, 4 and 5. In this case also a spiked "picking" roller g may also he
employed.
:
In the case of those bales where the cotton is coiled in comparatively wide
ribbons I may use a conical draw off roller as shown in Fig. 17 in order that the
velocity at which the cotton is drawn off may decrease from the circumference
of the bale inwards to correspond to the decreasing velocity at which the cotton
of the bale revolves as the centre is approached.
Beyond the advantage accruing by the substitution of mechanical means for
unbaling cotton as compared with hand labour I obtain the great advantage that
by rotating the bale in a direction opposite to that in which the bale turned when
being formed while drawing off the cotton endwise I take out the "twist" which
the baling operation puts into the cotton as it is laid and thus render the cotton
more suited for the subsequent treatment preparatory to spinning.
Although I have herein more particularly referred to the rotation of the bale
as a whole such motion is to be understood as being relative to the position of the
appliances which take away the cotton. The same relative motion might be
obtained by keeping the bale stationary and causing the drawing off rollers to
revolve round the end of the bale. For instance in the arrangement shown in
Figs. 1 and 2 the fence plate e carrying the draw off rollers might be constructed
as a circular face plate and be caused to rotate by gearing so as to cause the draw
off rollers to revolve about the axis of the bale in a direction opposite to that
in which the bale was originally coiled and thus to unwind and draw off the cotton
from the bale which could then remain stationary. Other like modifications could
be made in the details of the apparatus shown without departing from the essential
feature of my said invention which consists in a rotation or revolution of the
cotton in a direction opposite to that of the original winding while being removed
so as to take out the twist and to this end it is immaterial whether the bale as
a whole rotates or whether the cotion while being drawn off endwise makes a
revolution about the axis of the bale. In the practical carrying out of my said
invention I however find it most convenient to rotate the bale as a whole.
I am aware that it has been proposed to use machinery for unrolling that kind
of cotton bale in which the cotton is formed into a sheet or lap and then rolled
up on itself so that the width of the lap extends from one end of the bale to the
other and I wish it to be understood that my said invention does not relate to
the treatment of bales formed in such a manner but is limited to that type of
bale in which the cotton formed into a kind of sliver is arranged in successive
transverse layers or coils.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is::
1. Apparatus for unwinding in a direction opposite to that in which it was
originally coiled the cotton of a coiled bale and drawing it off from the end of
the bale substantially as set forth.
2.The apparatus for supporting a coiled bale of cotton and rotating it in a
direction opposite to that of the original winding while removing the cotton end-
wise therefrom substantially as set forth and shown.
3. The combination with a rotating support for a coiled cotton bale of means
for removing the cotton endwise simultaneously with the rotation of the bale
substantially as and for the purpose set forth and shown.
4. The combination of supports for rotating two or more coiled bales of cotton
in a direction opposite to that of the original winding while the cotton is being
removed endwise therefrom with a conveyor for receiving and combining the
cotton from the bales substantially as and for the purpose set forth and shown.
5. The combination of two or more rotatable supports for coiled bales of

page_text: cotton draw rollers or their equivalents for withdrawing the cotton endwise there-
from and a conveyor for receiving and combining the cotton from the bales sub-
stantially as and for the purpose set forth and shown.
Dated this 22nd day of February 1900.
E. T. WHITELOW, A.M.Inst.C.E.,
70, Deansgate, Manchester, Agent for the Applicant.