IMPROVE- MENTS IN WIRE CARDS AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE THEREOF.
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Ashworth and Elijah Ashworth, both of Man-
chester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineers, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN WIRE CARDS AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE
THEREOF.
"
Sealed the 30th May 1879, and dated the 14th December 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Ashworth and Elijah
Ashworth at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 14th December
1878.
GEORGE ASHWORTH and ELIJAH ASHWORTH, both of Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, Engineers. "IMPROVEMENTS IN WIRE CARDS AND IN APPARATUS
EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE THEREOF."
Our Invention relates to the cards omployed in the carding or treatment of cotton
and other fibrous materials, and has for its object to obtain points on the teeth or
dents of such cards more nearly resembling needle points than in the cases of
ordinary machine set cards. To this end we grind away or abrade portions of the
wire at intervals, so as to produce thin or narrow places in the wire, and we sever
the wire at or about the centres of such thin or narrow places in order that each
severed length of wire shall be pointed at each end to some extent, the severed
length being bent into a dent and inserted into the foundation material by the
operation of the card setting machine. We now consider revolving emery wheels
to be the most suitable means to be employed for our purpose. When applied to a
card setting machine, two, three, or more revolving emery wheels are spaced at
distances apart, measured centre to centre, equal to the length of wire severed for a
dent, and a length of wire proceeding from the reel to the cutting dies is brought
into contact with the peripheries of the wheels when the wire is at rest, the in-
tention being that each wheel shall reduce the thickness or cross section of the wire
to some extent. As the wire travels the part acted upon by one wheel is still
further reduced by the next wheel. In the arrangement which we now consider to
Drim all

page_text: When
be suitable the emery wheels, say, for example, three in number, are fixed upon a
spindle which is arranged with its axis parallel with the wire to be acted upon, or
thereabouts, and is driven by means of a band from the ordinary fly-wheel, which is
grooved for the purpose. The said spindle is mounted in bearings in a bracket or
part which is adjustable towards and from the wire and in the direction of the
length of the wire. The wire is led through a channel formed by securing a steel
plate or steel or metal plates to a suitably planed piece in such a manner as that a
covered channel just large enough to admit of the passage of the wire to the
cutters is formed. The edges of the emery wheels just clear the wire, which is
exposed at apertures formed in the covering of the channel or ground therein by
the action of the said wheels. The channel piece is hinged so that the said channel
can be moved towards and from the grinding wheels, being acted upon by a weight
or spring, which tends to bring the wire into contact with the said wheels.
the ordinary holder or gripper retires to permit the wire to be drawn forwards, an
incline on the said holder acts on a lever rod or part which acts upon the said
channel piece to withdraw the wire from the action of the grinding wheels. When
the said holder advances to hold the wire the said channel piece is permitted to
move towards the grinding wheels, and the grinding action is resumed. It may be
desirable to employ a fan to remove the dust, and to create a current or currents of
air to check overheating of the wire and other parts. A fan in a suitable casing
may be mounted on the grinding wheel spindle or be otherwise actuated, or a larger
fan may serve for a number of machines. We may employ grinders arranged with
their axes at right angles to the wire, in which case we should prefer to use rollers
or cylinders, and to impart thereto a to and fro motion in the direction of their
axes. We do not intend to confine ourselves to any particular forin or arrangement
of the grinding wheels, discs, rollers, cylinders, or parts; nor to the use of revolving
grinders, if reciprocating grinders can be used to obtain the required result; nor to
the nature or composition of the grinders, as parts having a filing or abrading
action might be employed; nor to the use of more than one wheel, grinder, or
equivalent part in each machine; nor to the withdrawing of the wire from the
action of the grinders during the feeding forwards of the wire.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said George Ashworth and Elijah Ashworth in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 14th June 1879.
GEORGE ASHWORTH and ELIJAH ASHWORTH, both of Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, Engineers. "IMPROVEMENTS IN WIRE CARDS AND IN APPARATUS
EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE THereof.'
"
Our Invention relates to the cards employed in the carding or treatment of cotton
and other fibrous materials, and has for its object to obtain points on the teeth or
dents of such cards more nearly resembling needle points than in the cases of
ordinary machine-set cards. To this end we grind away or abrade portions of the
wire at intervals so as to produce thin or narrow places in the wire, and we sever
the wire at or about the centre of such thin or narrow places, in order that each
severed length of wire shall be pointed at each end to some extent, the severed
length being bent into a dent and inserted into the foundation material by the
operation of the card-setting machine. We now consider revolving emery wheels
to be the most suitable means to be employed for our purpose. When applied to a
card-setting machine, two, three, or more revolving emery wheels are spaced at
distances apart, measured centre to centre, equal to the length of the wire severed for
a dent, and a length of wire proceeding from the reel to the cutting dies is brought
into contact with the peripheries of the wheels when the wire is at rest, the intention
being that each wheel shall reduce the thickness or cross-section of the wire to some
extent. We may employ grinders arranged with their axes at right-angles to the
wire, in which case we should prefer to use rollers or cylinders, and to impart thereto
a to and fro motion in the direction of their axes.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood, we have appended
hereunto a Sheet of Drawings illustrative of the apparatus which we have designed
for attachment to an ordinary card-setting machine, the said Drawings being marked
with letters of reference, corresponding marks indicating the same parts in the
various Figures. Fig. 1 represents a side elevation, Fig. 2 an end elevation, and
Fig. 3 a plan of the said apparatus. In the said Figs. A represents a portion of
the framing of an ordinary card-setting machine; b is the driving or cam shaft ;
and c is the ordinary sliding feeder, which grips the wire and feeds it forward to
the cutters, the lever which actuates the said feeder being indicated by d. The
gripper which holds the wire after it has been fed forwards is indicated at e, and
other ordinary parts having actions which are well understood, and therefore need
not be described herein, are indicated at F, such parts, as well as the parts not
represented in the Drawings and not herein referred to, being of any ordinary or
suitable forms and construction. To the framing is fixed a standard G, which is
adjustable in the direction of the traverse of the wire. To this standard is secured
a bracket H, which is adjustable vertically, and when set is secured by a bolt or by
bolts. If preferred a screw adjustment may be employed. In bearings carried by
this bracket a spindle i is fitted to revolve, and upon the said spindle two emery
wheels j, j, are fixed. The fly-wheel k is grooved, and an endless band mounted on
this wheel and on a grooved pulley 7 fixed on the spindle i imparts a rapid revolving
motion to the said spindle, and as a consequence to the two emery wheels. A wire-
holder M is mounted below the emery wheels, and is arranged to swivel upon a
fulcrum. The said wire-holder is represented about the full size by Figs. 4, 5, and 6,
the letter M indicating the said fulcrum or axis of movement. A section of the
part through which the wire passes is represented on an enlarged scale by Fig. 7,
wherein n represents the said wire. A metal block is planed in such a manner as
that a ridge o is left extending from end to end of the block. To the face of the
said block is secured a plate of steel p of a thickness about equal to the guage of
the wire which is to be used. One edge of the said plate is adjusted at such a
distance from the ridge o as that there shall be just sufficient room left for the

page_text: passage of the wire. Over this plate is secured a covering plate r, which extends
to the said ridge. Spaces to permit the emery wheels to have access to the wire
are formed in the said covering plate and in the ridge o. These spaces may be cut
by the said emery wheels, this being the plan we have adopted in practice. We
prefer to use a flattened steel wire, and the wire holder is represented as adapted for
that section of wire. It will be seen that a channel covered at three points, and
just large enough for the passage of the wire, is formed in the wire-holder, the wire
being supported by the edge of the plate p and by the ridge o, and thereby pre-
vented from turning over or from otherwise escaping from the action of the grinding
wheels. The said wire-holder is mounted in a bracket 8 which is secured to the
standard G, and the wire is led from the reel upon which it is supplied to the
machine through the channel in the said wire-holder on its way to the parts which
sever it and form the severed lengths into card dents. A weight is suspended at t,
and tends to press the channel towards the emery wheels. An adjustable screw
stop w determines the nearness of approach of the said channel, and therefore of
wire towards the emery wheels. A lever u acts upon the wire-holder to withdraw
the wire from the action of the emery wheels. In the example one end of this
lever is acted upon by an incline on the gripper e. When the said gripper slides
back to release the wire, as is usual in the card-setting machine, the said incline
depresses the inner end of the lever u, and the outer end of the said lever rises as a
consequence, and thereby raises one side of the wire-holder, whereby the other side
which carries the wire is depressed. The wire is now clear of the emery wheels,
and is fed forwards as is usual, and the feeding forwards having been effected the
said gripper advances to hold the wire, and by so doing permits the outer end of
the lever u to fall to some extent, whereby the guiding channel in the wire-holder M
is again moved towards the emery wheels. Each time that the said channel is
raised towards the emery wheels the wire is brought into contact with the peri-
pheries of the said wheels, and the section of the wire is reduced in two places by
the two wheels. The wire is kept in contact with the emery wheels during the
times when the wire is not being fed forwards, and is withdrawn from contact
during the times when the wire is being fed forwards. The two emery wheels are
fixed at a distance apart, measured centre to centre of their grinding edges, equal to
the length of the piece of wire severed to form a dent. After each forward move-
ment of the wire the part of the wire which has been acted upon by the first wheel
is further reduced by the action of the second wheel. We may use three or more
wheels, especially when acting upon strong wires, the wheels being of equal widths
or varying in width, as considered to be most suitable; as, for example, in some
cases the first wheel may be the widest, the second wheel be narrower, and the third
wheel be about half the width of the first, or even less than half the said width.
As the wire is fed forwards it becomes reduced in thickness at intervals by the
means indicated, and the parts are so adjusted as that the cutting dies sever the
wire at about the centres of the parts so reduced. Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of a
short length of wire which has been reduced at two points by the action of the
grinding wheels, and Fig. 10 illustrates the form of the dent resulting from the
employment of our Invention in the manner indicated. When the wire is bent
into staples the points of the staples are sharper in proportion to the reduction
effected by the emery wheels. The details of the apparatus and the form of the
wire-holder M may be varied, so long as the wire is brought into contact with the
grinding wheels at intervals. If preferred, the grinders may be raised or moved
away from the wire at the times when the wire is to be fed forwards, the wire-
holder or guide M being fixed in such a case. The said wire-holder may be acted
upon by a special cam or tappet on the cam shaft, especially in cases wherein the
machinery is specially constructed with reference to the application thereto of our
Invention. Fig. 7* indicates a modification in the construction of the wire-holder.
In this example two pieces x and y of hardened steel are secured to the body of the
holder, with their meeting edges close together. The edge of one piece is deeper
than the other, so that an angular recess is formed, and the wire is arranged to slide

page_text: in this recess, being kept therein by the plates p and r, as in Fig. 7. The advantago
of this modification is that when the plates become grooved through wear they can
be taken apart, and the meeting edges, and also if necessary the face of x, can be
renovated by the operation of grinding. Fig. 8 indicates another method of
grinding the wire. In this example v, v, are grinding wheels or cylinders, which
revolve upon axes arranged at right angles or thereabouts to the direction of
traverse of the wire n. When using such cylinders we should cause them to be
slowly traversed by any suitable means in the direction of their axes. Round wire,
or wire of other sections than flat, may be ground in the same way. We may
modify the wire holder M when adapting it for round wire; as, for example, we
may arrange that the wire shall be gripped by the holder during the grinding
operations. This may be effected by causing the plate p to slide towards the ridge o
after the wire has been fed forwards, or the said gripping may be effected by other
means. We do not confine ourselves to any particular form or arrangement of
grinding wheels, discs, cylinders, or parts; nor to the use of revolving grinders, as
reciprocating grinders might be used; nor do we confine ourselves to the use of
emery grinders, as other appliances having a filing or abrading action might be
employed, but at present we consider emery wheels to be the most suitable.
inferior effect would be obtained if the wire were not withdrawn from contact with
the grinders when being fed forwards, but we do not confine ourselves to such with-
drawal.
An
Having now fully described and indicated the nature of our said Invention, and
means for carrying the same into practical effect, we would have it to be understood
that we claim,―
First. Grinding or abrading at intervals the wire used in the making of wire
cards, and severing the wire at the ground or abraded parts in order to obtain
sharper points on the dents of the cards.
Secondly. The addition to card setting machines of revolving emery wheels, for
the purpose set forth and indicated.
Thirdly. Subjecting the wire to the action of revolving grinders in the intervals
between the times of feeding forwards the wire to the cutting dies of card setting
machines.
And, lastly. The apparatus, substantially as and for the purpose set forth, and
indicated hereinbefore and in and by the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, we, the said George Ashworth and Elijah Ashworth, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Thirteenth day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.
Signed and sealed by the said
George Ashworth and Elijah
Ashworth in the presence of
EDWARD K. DUTTON,
Agent to the Patentees,
St. Ann's Churchyard,
Manchester.
GEO. ADIL WUTVIII.
(L.S.)
ELIJAH ASHWORTH. (L.S.)