IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR COMBING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of
Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR COMBING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS
SUBSTANCES." A communication from abroad by Cullen Whipple, of the
City and County of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, United
States of America.
Sealed the 7th October 1859, and dated the 26th April 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
26th April 1859.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North
Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR COMBING WOOL AND OTHER
FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," a communication from abroad by Cullen Whipple, of the
City and County of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, United Statee
of America, to be as follows:-
1
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction, arrangement, and com-
bination of machinery or apparatus for combing wool and other fibrous
substances, whereby greater productive capacity in machines of this class is
obtained, whilst from the simplicity of its construction the machine may be
worked at a considerably higher speed than usual.
The main objects of this Invention are the keeping the fibrous substance

page_text: itself, whilst undergoing the process of combing in direct contact with a heated
surface, and also the avoiding the circuitous path in which the fibrous material in
all other combing machines is made to travel. In carrying out this Invention
a bot chest is employed, heated by steam or other means, the top of the chest
being formed into a series of upright plates, arranged at such distance apart
as will admit of a row of gill combs being placed and moving up and down in
each of the spaces between the upright plates; these plates are sufficiently
high to entirely shield or inclose the teeth of the gills when down. In front
of the hot chest are a series of two or three fine screen combs, capable of
rising above or descending below the level of the tops of the plates before
referred to, the object of these latter combs being to comb the back ends of
the slivers. The lap of fibrous material is first drawn over the hot chest, and
rests upon the heated plates, the combs being down below; a moveable jaw
then descends by a cam.action, and holds one end of the lap down upon the
end of the chest, whilst the protruding fibres are combed by a revolving comber,
also brought into action and removed again by a cam motion. This comb
then descends again, and a nipper advances and seizes the combed end of the
lap, and in the meantime the gill combs and the screen combs have been
elevated by a eam or crank motion, so as to protrude their teeth up through
the lap lying upon the hot plates of the hot chest. The moveable jaw, before
referred to, is now elevated, and the lap is free to be drawn forward by the
nippers through the gill and screen combs until a portion is drawn entirely
out, or is detached from the lap, which portion is deposited by means of a
brush upon an endless card band in the same line as the gill combs. These
movements being repeated, a continuous sliver is deposited upon the card
band, which is passed between a pair of delivering rollers, and deposited where
required. The revolving comber is cleaned by a revolving brush, which is
itself cleaned by a card cylinder, the noils being finally removed from such
cylinder by a vibrating single comb, and dropped therefrom into the noil box.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed 30
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 24th October 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN HENRY
JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex, and of 166,
Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentlemen, send 35
greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as J,
the said John Henry Johnson, my exccutors, administrators, or 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 COMBING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES,"
a communication from abroad by Cullen Whipple, of the City and County
of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, United States of America,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson,
by an instrument in writing under my band and seal, 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 John Henry Johnson, 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, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:
The said Invention relates to a peculiar construction, arrangement, and
combination of machinery or apparatus for combing wool and other fibrous
substances, whereby greater productive powers in machines of this class
is obtained,, whilst from the simplicity of its construction the machine may be
worked at a considerably bigher speed than usual. The main objects of this
Invention are the keeping the fibrous substance itself, whilst undergoing the
process of combing, in direct contact with a heated surface, and also the
avoiding the circuitous path in which the fibrous material in all other combing
machines is made to travel. In carrying out this Invention, a hot chest is
employed, heated by steam or other means, the top of the chest being formed
into a series of upright plates; arranged at such distance apart as will admit of
a row of gill combs being placed, and moving up and down in each of
the spaces between the upright plates. These plates are sufficiently high to
entirely shield or enclose the teeth of the gills. when down. In front of tha

page_text: hot chest is a series of two or three fine screen combs, capable of rising above
or descending below the level of the tops of the plates before referred to; the
object of these latter combs being to comb the back ends of the slivers. The
lap of fibrous material is first drawn over the hot chest, and rests upon the
heated plates, the combs being down below; a moveable jaw then descends
by a cam action, and holds one end of the lap down upon the end of the chest,
whilst the protruding fibres are combed by a revolving comber, also brought
into action and removed again by a cam motion. This comb then descends
again, and a nipper advances and seizes the combed end of the lap, and in the
meantime the gill combs and the screen combs have been elevated by a cam or
crank motion, so as to protrude their teeth up through the lap, lying upon the
hot plates of the hot chest. The moveable jaw before referred to is now
elevated, and the lap is free to be drawn forward by the nippers through the
gill and screen combs, until a portion is drawn entirely out, or is detached
from the lap, which portion is deposited by means of a brush upon an endless
card band, in the same line as the gill combs. These movements being
repeated, a continuous sliver is deposited upon the card band, which is passed
between a pair of delivering rollers, and deposited in a convenient place.
The revolving comber is cleaned by a revolving brush, which is itself cleaned
by a card cylinder, the noils being finally removed from such cylinder by a
vibrating single comb, and dropped therefrom into the noil box.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheets of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all
the Figures.
Figure 1, on Sheet 1 of the Drawings, represents a side elevation of my
improved wool combing machine. Figure 2 is an end view of the same.
Figure 3 on Sheet 2 is a plan of the machine, and Figure 4 is an elevation of
the driving side of the machine. The rest of the Figures are various details,
which I shall herein-after more particularly describe and refer to. A, A,
represents the main framing of the machine, and the red tinting shews the lap
of wool passing between the two delivering rollers B and C, which conduct it
on to the top of the hot chest D, the peculiar construction of which will be
better understood on referring to the sectional details thereof at Figures 5
and 6. This chest may be heated by the aid of steam or other convenient
means; it is provided on its upper surface or lid with a series of upright
plates a, a, arranged regularly at such distance apart as will admit of a row of
gill combs b, b, being placed and moving freely in a vertical direction in each

page_text: of the intervening spaces between the plates. In front of the hot chest D,
but in close proximity thereto, are arranged two or more rows of fine screen
combs c, c, which are capable of rising above and falling below the top surface
of the hot chest, nearly simultaneously with the gill combs before referred to.
Supposing the lap of wool to be drawn over the surface of the hot chest, the
gill combs b, b, and screen combs c, c, being in their lowest position, as
in Figure 5, the jaw E descends, and holds the end of the lap firmly against
the top plate of the hot chest D. This descent of the jaw is effected by
means of the cam F, on the main shaft G of the machine, which depresses the
lever H; and as this lever is connected by the rods I with the moveable jaw E,
it follows that the descent of that jaw will be effected. The rotatory comb J,
carried by the vibrating arms K, is now made to rise, when the protruding
end of the lap projecting beyond the jaw E is combed as shewn in Figure 5.
The rotatory motion of the revolving comb is obtained from a spur wheel L
(Figure 4), carried by the shaft M, which also forms the working centre of
the arms K, and this wheel L gears with a pinion N, fast on the axis of the
comb; this arrangement enables the pinion to be kept in gear with the wheel,
in whatever position the arms may be placed. The rising and falling motion
of the rotatory comb J is obtained from the crank O, on the main shaft of the
machine, which transmits motion by means of the connecting rod P to the
vertical arm Q of a bell-crank lever, working on a centre at R, and having
its horizontal arm S connected, by means of the rods T, with the vibrating
arms K, before referred to. A pair of nippers U, mounted on a crosshead,
which slides between the guides V, in the same plane as the top of the
hot chest, or in a plane parallel thereto, now approach, and at the same time
the arms K descend, and bring the rotatory comber to its lowest position, as
shewn in Figure 6. In the meantime a suitable cam on the main shaft, by
acting upon the levers W and X, respectively connected by the rods Y and Z
to the gill combs and screen combs, elevates these combs, and raising them up
above the plates on the hot chest, forces their teeth through the lap, where-
upon the pressure of the jaw E is relaxed, and the jaw raised. The nippers U
have by this time arrived within reach of the protruding end of the lap
(see Figure 6), which has already been combed by the circular comb as
herein-before described, and seizing it they commence to recede from the hot
chest, drawing the lap through the heated gill combs and fine-screen combs,
until in their course they draw out or separate a portion of the lap from the
rest, which detached portion they carry along and deliver upon an endless
apron of card clothing d (Figure 7), arranged underneath the nippers. The
opening and closing of these nippers U at the proper periods of time

page_text: is effected by means of the cam d¹ on the main shaft. This cam acts upon
the vertical curved arm e, fast on the rocking shaft f, which shaft also carries
a horizontal arm g, connected by the rod to the lever arm i. This arm i is
fast on a spindle k, also provided with an arm 1, which, by acting upon
the tail m of the moveable jaw of the nippers, closes them, a spring keeping
them open when not acted upon by the arm l. The travelling motion
of these nippers is obtained from the crank O, vertical arm Q, of the bell
crank herein-before referred to, in describing the motion of the rotatory comb,
the free end of the vertical arm Q working in a recess in the under side of the
slide which carries the nippers. It is thus obvious that the motions of the
nippers and rotatory comb will be simultaneous; but as the nippers are
connected with the long vertical arm Q, their course is horizontal, and of
a greater range than the travel of the comb J, which being connected with
the short and horizontal arm S, has a vertical travel of less extent than
the nippers. n is a brush for brushing down and insuring the deposit of the
fibrous material on to the endless card apron, so soon as the jaws of the
nippers are relaxed. Whilst the nippers are engaged in depositing the
fibrous material that has been combed upon the apron as just described, the
revolving comber J is at work upon the protruding end of the lap, close to the
fine screen combs. As the nippers again approach, the revolving comber falls
below their path, and the operation previously described is repeated. A sliver
is thus formed upon the endless apron, and is carried along by it until it
reaches the delivery rolls 0, 0, where it is passed between them in one
continuous sliver, and deposited where desired. As the revolving comber J
descends to its lowest position, it comes in contact with the revolving
cylindrical brush p, by which the dirt and noil are removed from it; the
cylinder q, which is covered with card clothing, takes up the refuse so collected
upon its surface, whence, by means of the single comb r, attached to
the vibrating arms s, it is taken off, and dropped into the receptacle for
the noils.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that what I consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent, is,—
First, the general construction, arrangement, and combination of machinery
or apparatus for combing wool and other fibrous materials, as herein-before
.described.
Second, the system or mode of arranging the gill combs, in conjunction

page_text: with a hot chest, that such combs can be alternately sheathed and protruded
between heated plates, as herein-before described.
Third, the combination of the hot chest with the moveable jaw, whereby
the fibrous substance is held whilst its front end is being combed, as berein-
before described.
Fourth, the combination of fine screen combs with the hot chest, as herein-
before described.
Fifth, the peculiar combination and arrangement of the revolving comb,
screen combs, and nippers, in the manner and for the purposes berein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of October, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)