AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and following statement :- WORKING SHORT COTTON OR RESIDUUM OF COMBING MACHINES
Year: 1885

page_text: I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake and Co, Patent
Agents, Southampton Buildings, in the county of Middlesex, do hereby declare
the nature of my invention for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR
and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
WORKING SHORT COTTON OR RESIDUUM OF COMBING MACHINES
"
This invention relates to combing machines and to a method of working short
cotton delivered therefrom.
It is well known that cotton combing machines are only employed in working
the grades of cotton, of which the "Sea Island" is a prominent variety, and it is
equally well known that the combed fibre extracted from each pound of cotton
bears a comparatively small proportion to the residuum, in fact sometimes as low
as twenty per cent of the gross weight of cotton fed to the comber. The short
cotton or residuum rejected by combing machines has heretofore been delivered
therefrom in matted and tangled bulk, and has been considered as a high grade of
cotton waste, and has been sold as such at rates always far below those of bale
cotton of substantially the same character, having reference to length of staple,
fineness and colour. The actual value of this waste as heretofore delivered from
the combers, although sometimes used for spinning, is less than that of similar bale
cotton, because, in order to work it for spinning, it must be subjected to nearly the
same degree of opening and carding, as the crude bale cotton, and the fibre is
thereby torn, broken and stripped, much more than said crude cotton is, because
the cotton waste is derived from cotton which before presentation to the comber,
has been already fully opened, cleaned and carded, and it is this additional
or excessive opening and carding that seriously impair the fibre for spinning
purposes.
It is also well known that cotton combing machines require more or
less frequent attendance for the removal of the short cotton, because of its great
bulk, and because, if not removed, it is liable to clog certain portions of the
machines,

page_text: The object of this invention is to utilize short cotton comber waste to the best
possible advantage and wholly unimpaired for spinning purposes, and at the same
time to obviate the cost of attendance upon the combing machines, and in doing
this I materially increase the value of the short cotton, and correspondingly lessen
the cost of combed cotton, and I also obviate the expense of opening and carding
heretofore involved in preparing said short cotton for spinning.
In practising my invention I employ any cotton combing machine in which a
toothed combing cylinder or its equivalent is, or can be, employed for removing the
short cotton from tufts held by nippers, provided said cylinders be of that character
which will admit of the clearance by any suitable mechanism, of the short cotton
from its teeth thereof in the form of a web, after the manner of delivering webs by
the doffers of cotton carding machines. As a type of this general class of combing
machines, and one which I deem of special value in the practice of my invention,
I will refer to the well known "Heilmann" combing machine, in which the
combing cylinder is cleared by a brush which deposits the short cotton evenly upon
a doffing cylinder from which the cotton is cleared by a comb which deposits the
cotton in mass into a receptacle provided for its reception. Cotton-combing
machines which embody two nipper cylinders and a doffer co-operating with both
of them, may also be used; for instance, such as are shown and described in the
specification of French Letters Patent granted to Dimock A.D 1864, and also in his
specification of U. S Letters Patent No 49,865 dated September 12, 1865.
In accordance with the main feature of my invention I employ, in combination
with the combing mechanism, a doffer cylinder, and its comb, and a condensing
device for forming the web of short cotton delivered from the doffing cylinder into
a sliver; and in connection therewith I employ mechanism for conveying and
coiling said sliver into a condition from which it can be properly delivered to such
evening and drawing machinery as is usually involved in the art of spinning.
I also employ, in connection therewith, doubling mechanism for combing two or
more slivers into one, rendering the subsequent evening operation readily accom-
plished. By the term "condensing devices" as herein employed, I do not mean
such as merely flatly compress the web which is delivered from the doffer, and
which serve merely as aids to the comb which clears the web of short cotton from
the doffer, as for instance, the web rolls shown by Dimock in his said French speci-
fication and such as are not shown but described in his said U. S. specification,
because although as aids to the doffer, I can, as heretofore, employ such web-com-
pressing rolls without materially affecting the desired results, I can, and do, dispense
with them, although I do employ rolls as mere conveyors, and also employ them as
compressing devices, after the web has been laterally condensed into a sliver, so
that a proper bite will be thereby afforded during the twisting of the sliver, for
developing it into what may be termed coarse roving.
The condensing device referred to may be variously constructed, but the simplest
form known to the said communicator is the well known trumpet, or trumpet eye,
which, as the web is delivered from the cylinder, causes it to be evenly contracted
laterally, and concentrated centrally into a sliver. The coiling mechanism referred
to may also be variously constructed and arranged, but the simplest form thereof is
the well known revolving can placed beneath rolls between which the sliver passes.
In lieu of a can, a flyer may be used which will deliver the sliver slightly twisted
upon a bobbin.
In some cases coincident friction belts moving in contact in
opposite directions, may be employed, for converting the flat web of fibre into a
cylindrical sliver, the web entering at one side or edge of the belts, and the sliver
leaving at the opposite edge, and thence passing to a bobbin, after the manner of
working roving in the well known "Taunton Speeder." For obtaining the best
results I prefer to employ a combing machine which involves a number of combing
heads, six for instance, and combine with such machine a series of condensing
devices, one for each head, and doubling, conveying and coiling mechanism, which
is common to all of said heads,

page_text: The description of the improved mechanism and its mode of operation, will be
best understood by reference to the accompanying drawing in which :-
Figure 1 illustrates in vertical section a "Heilmann" combing machine,
embodying my invention and adapted to deliver a single sliver to a flyer.
Figure 2 illustrates so much as is deemed necessary of a "Heilmann" combing
machine containing three combing heads with the improvements attached thereto,
whereby the several slivers are condensed into one sliver, and delivered to or coiled
in a can, the view being from the rear of the machine.
Referring to Figure 1 it is to be understood that a web of thoroughly opened,
cleaned, and carded cotton in the roll A is delivered to the nippers at B, where it
is combed by the toothed combining cylinder C, and that a web of combed long
staple cotton, in the form of a sliver, is delivered through a trumpet to the rolls D
as heretofore. Also that the short cotton is cleared from the toothed cylinder C,
by the brush cylinder E, and cleared from said brush by the card clothed doffing
cylinder F, from which said short cotton is in turn cleared by the vibrating
comb G, as heretofore, but instead of allowing the cotton thus cleared from the
doffing cylinder F to fall in a mass into a waste box as heretofore, I carefully
preserve it in proper condition for operations preliminary to spinning, without
incurring the cost of re-opening and re-carding as heretofore, and without injuring
the fibre by the overworking of the cotton necessarily incident to those operations.
It will be seen as in Figure 1 that I have combined with the doffing cylinder F
a concentrating trumpet eye H located centrally of the web a as it is delivered
from the doffing cylinder so that the web of short cotton is concentrated in a
sliver b in a manner well known. From the said trumpet eye in this case, the
sliver passes into the trumpet-shaped neck c of a large slowly revolved flyer I,
whereby said sliver is slightly twisted and coiled under trifling tension, upon the
bobbin at d. It is generally preferable, in all cases, that slowly revolved delivering
rolls be employed between the neck of the flyer, and the trumpet eye H as indicated
in dotted lines. For thus delivering the sliver from a single web directly upon a
bobbin or spool, a great variety of mechanism may be employed without departure
from the main feature of my invention. It is obvious that the slivers from two or
more combing heads may be readily worked by one flyer.
In Figure 2, the three combing heads are each substantially as shown in
Figure 1, but instead of separately controlling each sliver, the three slivers are
combined into one and then coiled in a can. To accomplish this I use with each
doffer cylinder F a trumpet H, as before described, but below the trumpets there
is an endless railway belt K continuously driven by end rolls, as is common with
carding inachines operated in sets, so that the combined sliver is delivered at the
end of the belt to rolls L and thence to elevated rolls L' which in turn deliver it to
the rotating can M into which it is coiled and slightly twisted. If it be desirable
to at once draw and even the consolidated sliver, a railway head, as is common
with carding machines, is employed between the belt and the can.
It is obvious from the fact that by reason of my invention the removal or
conveyance of short cotton from the combers is automatically performed instead of
by hand as heretofore, that the devices may be justly deemed improvements in
combing machines, and it is still more apparent when said improvements are
considered with reference to the important fact that the bye-product or short cotton
from the combers, is by reason of my invention so far enhanced in value as to
thereby practically lessen the cost of the prime product or combed cotton. With
my devices the comber room may be kept much neater or free from droppings and
flyings than when waste boxes are used for each comber, and a given number of my
improved machines may be successfully operated in much less space than the
ordinary combers, it being obvious that two sets of machines may be set back to
back, and that both sets can deliver their short cotton slivers to the same railway
belt, and if the latter be bored as I prefer, it can be arranged to serve as a foot
way for passing between the sets for adjustment or repairs.

page_text: It will be readily seen that the direct concentration of the web of rejected short
cotton into a sliver, and the coiling of said sliver into suitable shape for spinning
purposes, without reworking in openers or lappers and carding machines, constitutes
a valuable and novel method of working short cotton delivered from cotton
combing machines.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is
First The combination substantially as hereinbefore described, of cotton
combing mechanism, a doffer cylinder for receiving the short cotton rejected by
the combing devices, a comb for clearing a web of short cotton from said cylinder,
and a condensing device for laterally concentrating said web into a sliver, as, and
for the purposes, specified.
Second: The combination, substantially as herein before described, of cotton
combing mechanism, a doffer cylinder receiving short cotton rejected by the
combing devices, a comb for clearing a web from said cylinder, a condensing device
for laterally concentrating said web into a sliver, and mechanism substantially as
described for conveying and coiling said sliver into a condition suitable for
'subsequent workings preliminary to spinning.
Third: The combination, of two or more cotton combing heads, their doffer
cylinders and combs, a web-condensing device for each cylinder, and doubling
mechanism common to all combing heads, substantially as described, whereby
slivers of short cotton are delivered from each doffer cylinder, and the several
slivers condensed into one sliver, as set forth.
Fourth The method of working short cotton rejected by cotton-combing
machines, substantially as described, which method consists in directly concentrating
a web of said cotton into a sliver in the combing machine and coiling the same
into condition suitable for spinning purposes without carding or other reworking,
as set forth.