IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OB APPARATUS FOR COMBING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES."
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Smith and William Smith, both of Keighley,.
in the County of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OB APPARATUS FOR COMBING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Smith and
William Smith at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 6th March 1865.
We, SAMUEL SMITH and WILLIAM SMITH, both of Keighley, in the County
of York, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR COMBING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES,"
to be as follows:-
Our Invention has reference in the first place to the combing machine
known as Heilmann's, and for which Letters Patents were obtained bearing
date the 25th February 1846, No. 11,103.
Instead of using bars of iron with gill pins soldered on to them for the
purpose of combing, we use cards set in leather or composition, and of
graduated pitch, that is to say, commencing with a coarse card we finish with
a fine one, our object being to clear the wool or other fibre of the larger knots
by means of the coarse cards, the smaller knots being taken by the finer cards
whilst held in the "nip."
In our improved arrangement we also make the cleaning cylinder larger in
diameter in order to obtain increased cleaning surface. Also at the same
time a tuft of wool or other fibre is being drawn by the rollers, one end of the

page_text: same being cleaned by the card roller, we provide three falling bars instead of
one as is now the case, the first one being coarse and the remaining two of
graduated fineness, the third one being the finest of the the three.
Our second improvement has reference to the combing machine known as
"Lister's nip comb," for which Letters Patent were obtained, bearing date
the 24th February 1851, No. 13,532.
In this machine the fallers are fitted with very fine teeth very close to each
other in order to cleanse the wool properly, the consequence of which is that
when the "nip" gets hold of a tuft of wool it either breaks the wool or the
latter slips from the jaw.
Our improvement consists in making all the fallers coarse in pitch and
teeth, and in placing some moveable fallers between the usual set and the
"nip," causing one or more of them to rise at each action of the "nip."
These fallers are made with very fine pins to compensate for the coarseness of
the others and may be actuated in various ways. We prefer to raise them
by springs and to lower them in the ordinary manner. In drawing a sliver
from the circular comb we employ a second or intersecting comb having fine
teeth, those of the circular one being coarse, or vice versa.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Smith and William Smith in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 6th September 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, SAMUEL
SMITH and WILLIAM SMITH, both of Keighley, in the County of York, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto us, the said Samuel Smith and William Smith, Her special license
that we, the said Samuel Smith and William Smith, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Samuel Smith
and William Smith, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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-

page_text: MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR COMBING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS
SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Samuel
Smith and William Smith, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under our, or one of our, 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 Samuel Smith, 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 and accompanying Drawings (that is to say) :-
Our Invention relates, first, to the combing machine known as Heilmann's
in which bars of iron with gill pins soldered on to them for the purpose of
combing are employed.
Our improvements consist in the use of cards set either in leather or com-
position and of graduated pitch, that is to say, commencing with a coarse card
and finishing with a fine one, the object being to clear the wool or other fibre
of the larger knots by means of the coarse cards, the smaller knots being
taken by the fine cards whilst held in the "nip."
Our improvement also consists in making this cleaning cylinder larger in
diameter in order to obtain increased cleaning surface, and at the same time
a tuft of wool or other fibre is being drawn by the rollers, one end of the same
being cleaned by the said card roller, we provide and employ three falling bars
instead of one as now employed, the first one being coarse and the remaining
two graduating in fineness, the third one being the finest of the three.
fine
The second part of our Invention relates to the combing machine known as
"Lister's nip comb," in which machine the "fallers" are fitted with very
teeth very close to each other in order to clean the wool properly, and in con-
sequence thereof, when the "nip" gets hold of a tuft of wool it either breaks
the wool or the latter slips from the jaw.
And our improvements consist in making all the "fallers" coarse in pitch
and teeth, and in placing some moveable "fallers" between the usual set and
the "nip," causing one or more of them to rise at each action of the nip.
These fallers are made with very fine pins to compensate for the coarseness of
the others, and may be actuated in various ways, but we prefer to raise them
by springs and to lower them in the ordinary manner. Also when drawing a
sliver from the circular comb we employ a second or intersecting comb having
fine teeth if those of the circular one are coarse, or vice versa.

page_text: In order that the Invention may be better understood and explained in
detail, we have hereunto attached two Sheets of Drawings made upon a scale
of about two inches to the foot, similar letters of reference being marked upon
corresponding parts on all the Figures.
:
Sheet 1, Fig. 1, represents a front elevation of that portion of Heilmann's
combing machine to which our improved moveable "faller" bars are shewn
attached; Fig. 2 represents a sectional view of the improved cleaning cylinder
supplied with card teeth or pins in place of bars, having "gill pins" soldered
on to them as hitherto.
In Fig. 1, a, a, is the framing of the machine; b, the "nip"; c, c, the
drawing-off rollers; and d the cleaning cylinder, all being well-known parts of
Heilmann's machine. On the shaft e three or more revolving cams or tappets
fff, are secured, which act upon the levers g, g, g, having their fulcra at h.
To these levers and actuated by the cams f,f, three moveable faller bars i, 1, 3,
are attached, which are supplied with pins or teeth of a varying pitch. These
bars as the levers to which they are attached become relieved by the cams f,f,
drop or fall one after the other, and enter the tuft of wool as it is drawn from
the "nip" and cylinder d in the following order :-The bar i is supplied with
coarse pins and is the first to enter the tuft of wool close to the drawing-off
rollers immediately such rollers have commenced receding from the "nip"
and cylinder; as these rollers still recede the second bar ", supplied with
finer or closer set pins, descends and enters the wool in like manner as also
does the third bar is, which has finer pins than the other two bars i and i¹,
the combined action of which has the effect of thoroughly cleaning that portion
of the wool drawn through the pins of such faller bars, and, if desired, the
number of bars may be increased, and employed as described to enter the tuft
of wool one after the other as it is being drawn by the drawing rollers from
the nip and cleaning cylinder. When all the fallers have entered the wool
they are simultaneously raised by the action of the cams f, f, whereby the
rollers c, c, can be brought up again to the "nip" ready for a fresh draw.
The cleaning cylinder of this machine has been hitherto arranged with bars
having "gill pins "soldered on them, the improved cylinder shewn at Fig. 2 is
supplied with two sets of lags or bars k, k, which are covered with graduated
card teeth or pins, beginning with coarse at the point and finishing with fine
at the point m, the coarse card being employed to remove the larger knots in
the wool, and as the wool becomes acted upon by the finer cards it becomes
gradually and thoroughly combed and finished whilst held in the "nip." The
employment of these cards instead of bars with "gill pins" is preferrable, the
cards not being so liable to become filled or choked in the head.

page_text: In Sheet 2, Fig. 1 represents a sectional elevation of that portion of Lister's
wool combing machine shewing our improvements attached, and shewing more
particularly the arrangement of cams and levers in connection with moveable
faller bars"; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same; Figs. 3, 4, and 5, are
diagrams illustrating the different positions of the moveable "faller bars"
during the time the wool is being drawn when held by the "nip;" Figs. 6
and 7 represent sectional views of the second or intersecting comb used to.
clean the wool finer than the larger combs employed for drawing the fibres
through, which process is called." star combing."
In Figs. 1 and 2, a, a, is the framing of the machine; b, b, the drawing
rollers; c, the fallers; and d the "nip"; all being old and well-known parts
of Lister's combing machine. Between the ordinary fallers o at the end of the
"gill.screws" and the nipping instrument d, three moveable fallers e¹, e³, e³,
are interposed, which are supplied with very fine teeth or pins in order to
compensate for the pins in the ordinary fallers, which are made coarse and
open. The levers f,f, f, are connected to the moveable fallers e¹, e, e³, and
are acted upon by the revolving tappets or cams g in such a manner that the
fallers are kept down and out of action until required to penetrate the wool,
at which time the springs h, h, h, force the moveable fallers upwards as required
and in the following order :-When the "nip" has taken hold of the wool
and commenced drawing it from the course "gill pins," the first faller bar e¹
is released by the cam g, and is immediately forced up by the spring hand
caused to enter and penetrate the wool close up to the "face of the nip," as
seen in Fig. 1, Sheet 2, and as the nip still recedes the second and then the
third fallers e and e³ are released by their cams and enter the wool in a similar
manner to the first faller e¹; Diagrams of their position during the time the
nip" is receding or making its stroke being shewn at Figs. 3, 4, and 5.
When the "nip" has completed its stroke the tappets 9 force down the levers
and causes the simultaneous lowering of the faller bars e¹, e², e, to their
original position, thereby allowing the "nip" to advance and take hold of a
fresh tuft of wool. The moveable faller bars e, e, e³, may be so arranged that
one or more of thein may rise together, alternately, or in any manner desirable
with each action or stroke of the nip.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, together with the
method of carrying the same into practical, we wish it to be distinctly under-
stood that we claim,
First, the use and adaptation of Heilmann's combing machine of a cleaning
cylinder having cards of graduating fineness and of a greater diameter than
hitherto employed, whereby a better cleaning surface is obtained.

page_text: And, secondly, we claim the application and use of two or more extra "faller
bars" with pins of graduating fineness to be used in addition to the one now
employed.
Thirdly, we claim the adaptation and application to "Lister's combing
machine of moveable "fallers" furnished with fine pins between the usual
gills" and the "nip," and causing one or more of them to act upon the wool
at each action of the "nip."
And, also, we claim the employment and use of a second or intersecting
circular or endless band comb acting upon the sliver as it is drawn from the
ordinary circular comb as herein-before described, set forth, and fully illus-
trated in the Drawings attached.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Smith, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
SAMUEL SMITH. (L.s.)
Witness,
JAMES MASKER.