Improvements in Cotton Combing Machines.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd July, 1895-Accepted, 3rd Aug., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Cotton Combing Machines.
We, GEORGE TOWNSEND, SAMUEL HIGHAM, and WILLIAM A. TRASK, Jr.
of New Bedford, in the County of Bristol, and State of Massachusetts, United
States of America, Gentlemen, 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 :--
This invention relates to mechanism for stopping the motion of combing machinery
for cotton when the feed rolls thereof become encumbered by loose fibres wound
thereon which results usually from a broken lap.
The object of the invention is to provide a simple and efficient device for auto-
matically checking the motion of the machine before the needles or teeth on the
combing cylinder can be injured and before the clothing of the cushion plate can be
torn and with this object in view the invention consists in a certain novel
construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described and
particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
In the drawings :-
Figure is a perspective view of a portion of a cotton combing machine
showing the stop motion embodying the invention applied thereto in the operative
position.
Figure 2 is an end view showing the positions of the parts when the upper feed-
roll has been elevated by an accumulation of fibres upon the lower feed roll.
Figure 3 is a side view showing the positions of the parts as in Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a detail view of one of the upper feed roll supporting arms.
Figure 5 is a view of one of the spur-wheels and the co-acting upper feed roll
bearing arm, showing the positions of said parts when the former is engaged by the
latter.
Figure 6 is a detail end view of the upper and lower feed rolls, the cushion
plate, and the adjacent portion of an upper roll supporting-arm to show the normal
relative positions of such parts.
Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of
the drawings.
In the portion of the combing-machine illustrated in the drawings, 1 represents
the main or drive-shaft having the fast and loose belt-pulleys 2 and 3; 4 represents
the lower feed-roll fixed to and carried by said main shaft; 5 represents the
subjacent combing cylinder provided with the needles or teeth 6; 7 represents the
upper feed-roll held in place by the arms 8 which are provided at one end with
open-sided bearings 9 which form the sole bearings for the trunnions of said upper
feed-roll; 10 represents a stop shaft located at one side of and a distance from
the shaft 1; 11 and 12 represent lap-supporting rolls, which are connected for
simultaneous rotation by an intermediate gear 13 and receive motion from the main
or drive-shaft by means of a belt shown in Fig. through suitable gearing, the
gear 14 of said roll 11 meshing a gear 15 on the shaft 10, and 16 represents the
shifting-rod which is adapted for shifting the belt, not shown, from the fast to
the loose pulley, or vice versa.
The shaft 10 is provided with one or more spur-wheels 17 and the arms 8 are
pivoted to brackets 18 forming parts of the frame-work of the machine, and are
extended beyond the lap-supporting rolls 11 and 12 and terminate at one end in
vertical stop-rods 19 which are adapted when the upper feed-roll 7 is elevated by
.

page_text: an accumulation of fibre upon the lower feed-roll to descend into engagement with
the spur-wheels and thus check rotation of the shaft 10. The arms 8 are held in
their normal positions with the feed-roll 7 pressed toward the feed-roll 4 by means
of springs 20. The gear 15 which communicates motion from the lap-supporting
rolls to the shaft 20 is slidably mounted upon the latter, being connected thereto
by means of a feather or other similar device, and the hub of this gear 15 is
provided with a cam-face 21 which is normally in contact with a similar cam-
face 22 fixed to the shaft 10 whereby when the rotation of the shaft 10 is checked
the cam-faces 21 and 22 cause the gear 15 to be moved longitudinally upon the
shaft and out of mesh with the gear 14.
Fulcrumed at its lower end to the stationary part of the framework of the
machine is a substantially vertical lever 23 provided at its upper end with a fork 24
which engages the shifting-rod 16 adjacent to an adjustable stop-collar 25.
Connected to this lever adjacent to its upper end is a push-red 26 held in a
position parallel with the shifting-rod by means of a guide or hanger 27 and
between this guide or hanger and a collar 28 fixed to the push-rod is coiled an
actuating-spring 29. In connection with this lever 23 I employ a latch 30 pivotally
connected to an intermediate point thereof and provided with a shoulder 31 to
engage a stop-arm 32 fixed to a stationary part of the framework, and when the
parts are in the positions shown in Figure 1, the shifting-rod is located to hold the
belt in engagement with the fast pulley, the latch 30 is in engagement with
the stop-arm 32, the spring 29 is compressed and the mechanism is in operation.
It will be evident however, that upon the disengagement of the latch from the
stop-arm the spring 29 acting through the rod 26 and the lever 23 will throw the
shifting-rod into the position shown in Figure 3 and will thus carry the belt to
the loose pulley, and thereby allow the mechanism to come to rest.
gear 15.
The means whereby this disengagement of the latch 30 from the stop-arm 32 is
accomplished automatically forms a trip-mechanism consisting in the construction
illustrated in the drawings of a rock-shaft 33 having an arm 34 which is connected
to the free end of the latch and is weighted as shown at 35, and a trip-arm 36 also
connected to said rock-shaft and provided with a bifurcated extremity which bears
against the hub of the
Therefore when the accumulation of the lap upon
the feed-rolls causes an elevation of the upper feed-roll the supporting-arms 8 are
rocked upon their fulvrums, the stop-rods 19 are depressed into engagement with
the spur-wheels 17, thus checking the rotation of the shaft 10; this causes the
disengagement of the gear 15 from the gear 14 and moves the trip-arm in the
direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1 thus elevating the free end of the latch 30
and allowing the spring 29 to throw the shifting-rod so as to carry the belt to the
loose pulley. The weight 35 normally holds down the arm 34 so that the latch 30
will quickly engage the stop-arm 32 when the shifting rod is moved by hand in the
opposite direction to that above described, in order to throw the belt upon the fast
pulley, said latch promptly engaging the stop-arm and holding the parts in their
operative positions. Located between the lower feed-roll 4 and the combing
cylinder 5 is a cushion-plate 37, which is usually provided with a clothing or
covering of fabric, and when the upper feed-roll is fixed, as in the ordinary
construction, the pressure of the accumulation upon the lower feed-roll causes the
depression of this cushion-plate until the under surface thereof is brought into
contact with the teeth of the combing cylinder. This causes the clothing or
covering to he torn from the cushion-plate and usually causes the breakage of the
needles or teeth, which are very expensive, thus involving considerable expense for
repairs, and besides delaying the operation of the machine, and there:ore the
advantage of this improved construction whereby the upper feed-roll is mounted in
movable bearings supported by arins which are extended and carry stop-rods for
engagement with clutches on a cam-shaft, will he readily understood by those
skilled in the art.
At this point particular attention is directed to the important function of th
arms 8 which not only form bearings for the upper feed-roll of the combing machine

page_text: but also forms a part of the stop mechanism that is actuated by the self-adjustment
of the said upper feed-roll. It will also be apparent in this connection that the
specific arrangement and relation of the several parts of the herein before described
stop notion or mechanism adapt such motion or mechanism for use in connection
with the feed rolls of a cotton combing machine, and that the said feed rolls are
therefore essential parts of the mechanism inasmuch as the feeding of the lap,
when necessary, is automatically interrupted before being operated upon by the
combing cylinder, and consequently the breakage of the needles or teeth of the
combing cylinder is obviated, which is not possible in machines employing stop
mechanism in connection with the lap after the same has passed the combing
cylinder. The hereindescribed stop motion or mechanism is therefore solely
adapted for use in connection with combing machines for cotton only.
It will be understood furthermore, that various changes in the form, proportion
and the mir details of construction may be resorted to without departing from
the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is
1. In a cotton combing machine, the combination with the integral lap-supporting
rolls, and the feed-rolls, one of which feed rolls is vertically movable, of a stop-
shaft, a gear wheel connection directly between said stop-shaft and one of the
lap-supporting rolls, the gear wheel of said gear connection that is on the stop
shaft being adapted to be automatically disengaged from the wheel meshing
therewith by the stoppage of the stop-shaft, a pivotally supported arm connected
with the movable feed-roll and adapted to suitably engage with the stop shaft when
the movable feed roll is elevated to entirely check the rotation of the stop shaft,
belt shifting mechanism and a suitable connection between the belt-shifting
mechanism and the movable gear of said gear connection, substantially as set
forth.
2. In a cotton combing machine, the combination with the intergeared lap-
supporting rolls, and the feed rolls, one of which feed rolls is vertically movable,
of a stop shaft carrying a fixed cam, a movable gear wheel loosely mounted on the
stop shaft and meshing with the gear wheel of the adjacent lap-supporting roll,
said movable gear wheel having a cam coacting with the fixed cam on the stop
shaft, a pivotally supported arm connected with the movable feed roll and adapted
to suitably engage with the stop shaft to entirely check the rotation thereof, belt-
shifting mechanism and a suitable connection between the belt-shifting mechanism
and said movable gear wheel, substantially as set forth.
3. In a cotton comber, the combination with a main shaft carrying fast and
loose pulleys, a spring actuated belt-shifting rod, a stationary stop arm, a latch
connected with the belt-shifting rod and adapted to engage the stationary stop-arm
to hold said rod in position to maintain the driving belt in engagement with the
fast pulley of the main shaft, and the combing machine feed-rolls, one of which is
vertically movable, of a stop shaft, a spur wheel mounted in the stop shaft an
intermediately pivoted arm connected at one end to said movable feed roll and
provided at the other end with a stop-rod to engage the spur wheel upon said stop
shaft, coacting fixed and loose cams arranged upon said stop shaft, and connections
between the loose cam and said latch, substantially as specified.
4. In a cotton comber, the combination with a main shaft carrying fast and loose
belt pulleys, a spring actuated belt shifting rod, latch for holding said rod in
position to maintain the belt in engagement with the fast pulley, and the feed rulls
of the combing machine, one of which feed rolls is movable, of a stop shaft
carrying a spur wheel, an arm connected to said movable feed roll and provided
with a stop-rod to engage the spur wheel upon the stop shaft, a rock shaft having
an arm connected to the said latch, a cam slidably mounted upon the stop shaft,
a trip-arm secured to the rock-shaft and arranged in operative relation with

page_text: said movable cam, and a fixed cam carried by the stop shaft and co-operating with
the movable cam, substantially as specified.
5. In a cotton comber, the combination with a main shaft carrying fast and
loose belt pulleys, a spring actuated belt shifting rod, a lever connected at one end
to the belt shifting rod, a stationary stop arm, a latch pivotally connected to said
lever and arranged to engage the stationary stop arm to hold the belt shifting rod
in position to maintain the belt in engagement with the fast pulley, and the combing
machine feed rolls, one of which is movable transversely, of a stop shaft, pivotal
arms provided at one end with bearings for the trunnions for said movable feed-
roll and provided at the outer end with stop rods to engage with the stop shaft to
check its rotation, springs for pressing the movable feed-roll toward the other
feed roll, co-acting cams mounted upon the stop-shaft, one of said cams being
longitudinally movable thereon, and connections between the movable cam and said
latch, substantially as specified.
6. In a cotton comber, the combination with a main shaft carrying fast and
loose belt pulleys, a spring actuated belt shifting rod, a latch to hold the belt
shifting rod in position to maintain the belt in engagement with the fast pulley.
the combing machine feed rolls one of which is movable transversely, lap-
supporting rolls, gearing connected to said lap-supporting rolls, a stop shaft, and
a movable gear carried by the stop shaft and meshing with a gear on one of the
lap-supporting rolls, of a pivotal arm connected at one end to the movable feed roll
and provided at the other end with a stop-rod to suitably engage with the stop shaft
to check its rotation, a cam fixed to the stop shaft, a co-acting cam slidably mounted
upon the stop shaft and arranged in operative relation with said gear carried thereby,
and connections between the loose cam and said latch whereby when the stop-rod
engages and checks the movement of the stop-shaft the latch is released and the gear
carried by said stop-shaft is disengaged from the gear of one of the lap-supporting
rolls, substantially as specified.
7. In a cotton combing machine, the combination with the feed rolls, one of
which feed rolls is vertically movable, of a stop shaft, intermediately pivoted arms
provided at one end with bearings that form the sole bearings for the trunnions
of said movable feed roll said intermediately pivoted arms being provided at
their ends opposite the bearings with stop rods adapted to suitably engage with
the stop shaft to check its rotation, springs connected with said pivoted arms to
normally press the movable feed roll toward the other feed roll, belt shifting
mechanism, and a suitable connection between said belt shifting mechanism, and the
stop shaft, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 2nd day of July 1895.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicants.