IMPROVE-. MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CARDING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Henry Turner, of Blackburn, in the
County of Lancaster, Cotton Spinner, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-.
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CARDING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS
MATERIALS."
Sealed the 6th February 1863, and dated the 27th August 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Henry Turner
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 27th August 1862.
I, WILLIAM HENRY TURNER, of Blackburn, in the County of Lancaster,
Cotton Spinner, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CARDING COTTON AND OTHER
FIBROUS MATERIALS," to be as follows :-
First, I place under the licker-in cylinder of the carding engine a number
of grate bars of varied angular shapes. The tops of the bars are formed so
that when in their places they appear like the teeth of a circular saw inverted,
but having spaces between them which gradually widen towards the bottom.
At varied intervals the bars are formed of different angles. The front surface
of the first bar is placed at an angle much more acute than if it radiated to the
centre of the licker-in cylinder in order to give effectual resistance to the dirt
and refuse contained in the cotton or material, and the front sides of the other

page_text: bars are placed at such varied angles as to afford a similar resistance by which
means the dirt is precipitated below while the material passes forward in a
clean state to the main cylinder.
Secondly, I attach to the frame of the carding engine under the main cylinder
a number of plates each having a portion of its surface in sufficiently close
contact with the cards so that the cylinder may carry forward to the doffer
those fibres of cotton or other material which would otherwise be thrown off as
fly or waste.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Henry Turner in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 27th February 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HENRY TURNER, of Blackburn, in the County of Lancaster, Cotton Spinner,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Henry Turner, Her special licence that I, the said
William Henry Turner, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or :
such others as I, the said William Henry Turner, my executors, ad-
ministrators, and 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 CARDING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS," upon the condtion
(amongst others) that I, the said William Henry Turner, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, 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 William Henry Turner, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is

page_text: to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement (that is to say):-
:-
First, I place under the licker-in cylinder of the carding engine a number
of grate bars of varied angular shapes. The tops of the bars are formed so
that when in their places they appear like the teeth of a circular saw inverted,
but having spaces between them which gradually widen towards the bottom.
At varied intervals the bars are formed of different angles. The front surface
of the first bar is placed at an angle much more acute than if it radiated to the
centre of the licker-in cylinder in order to give effectual resistance to the dirt
and refuse contained in the cotton or other fibrous material, and the front sides
of the other bars are placed at such varied angles as to afford a similar or
gradually decreasing resistance, by which means the dirt is precipitated below
while the material passes forward in a clean state to the main cylinder.
Secondly, I attach to the frame of the carding engine under the main
cylinder two supports or bends for carrying a number of boards or plates
capable of being adjusted to any angle and position, and each having a
portion of its surface in sufficiently close contact with the cards, so that the
cylinder may carry forward those fibres of cotton or other material which
would otherwise be thrown off as fly or waste.
These improvements will be clearly understood by referring to the figures
and letters on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a
longitudinal section of part of a carding engine having my improved grate
bars under the licker-in cylinder, and adjustable plates or boards under the
main card cylinder. Fig. 2, is a cross section of the grate bars and one of
the brackets in which they are held, drawn about full size. Figs. 3, 4, and 5,
are diagrams representing the mode of obtaining a suitable shape of the bars,
and Fig. 6 a transverse section of one of the brackets for holding the
grate bars.
In Figs. 1 and 2, a represents the licker-in cylinder; b the feed rollers,
and c my improved grate bars. The said bars are formed of different angles
and placed in peculiar positions in order to prevent the dirt or refuse contained
in the cotton or material from passing to the main cylinder, and at the same
time afford ample space for its passage between the bars. The first three or
four bars are shaped as shewn in Fig. 3, the next three or four as at Fig. 4,
and the remainder as at Fig. 5. It will be seen by inspecting the parallelo-
grams d, e, f, Figs. 8, 4, and 5, that the bar Fig. 3 is tapered from the
front to the back, that the bar Fig. 4 is tapered equally on both sides, and
that the bar Fig. 5, is tapered from the back to the front. Thus the bar
Fig. 3 is the most acute and offers the greatest-resistance to the passage of

page_text: the dirt and refuse through the engine; that the bar Fig. 4 is less acute and
offers less resistance, and that the bar: Fig. 5 is the least acute and offers the
least resistance. The peculiar positions in which the bars are placed is of great
importance for the dirt and refuse has not only to be prevented from passing
through the engine but also to have ample facility of exit. The front surface of
the first four bars radiate to the circumference of the circle g, Fig. 2; the front
surface of the next four bars to the circle h, the next two to the circle i, and
the last bars to the circles j, k, and centre l. I may here remark that these
circles are not arbitrary, for if the inconvenience of having a separate pattern
for each grate bar were not objected to, a circle or position might be used to
determine the angle of each bar. The diameters of the circles or points to
which the bars radiate may be varied according to the diameter of the licker-
in cylinder and positions of the feed rollers so long as the object of this Inven-
tion is carried out, which is, as before stated, to give the greatest resistance to
the passage of the dirt or refuse through the engine and at the same time
allow free egress for its escape. The spaces between the first four bars are
the widest as it is there the heavy bulk of refuse has to be discharged, the
spaces between the next four bars are narrower, and those between the last
bars narrower still, in order to prevent the cotton or material from passing
through although allowing sufficient space for the sand and dirt to escape.
It is evident that instead of making four spaces alike the spaces may decrease
in width one after the other in a constant ratio. The grate bars are made
triangular for the purpose of strength and are found to answer the purpose
required. The grate bars are held at each end in frames or brackets fixed to
the main framing of the engine, one of the brackets is shewn at m, Figs. 1, 2,
and 6, it has in it a slot n for projections on the ends of the bars to fit into,
and the bars are kept in their places by holding fast the first and last bars
by the screws o, p. At the back of the grate bars there is an ordinary guide
9 of sheet metal to lead the cleaned material to the card cylinder, the guide q
having at each end a shoulder which is held in the slot of the bracket m by
the screws r. In the Figure the grate bars do not extend much beyond the
centre, but that may be varied as desired.
The second part of my Invention is represented in Fig. 1. It consists
in placing under the main card cylinders a number of boards or plates t
attached to moveable brackets u, held to supporting bars or bends v fixed to
the framework of the engine. The brackets are provided with slots, and
the bolts for holding them pass through slots in the bends so that the boards
or plates can be adjusted and held in any desired position. The upper surface
of each board or plate is formed with an angle to enable that portion to be in

page_text: contact with the card on the main cylinder and yet to allow the other
portion of the surface to form a passage for any fly which is required to be
removed. The boards or plates may be placed in any angle to the cylinder
and set closer or further apart so as to enable the carder to increase or
diminish the fly as circumstances require.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention I
desire it to be understood that I claim in carding engines,―
First, the peculiar system of placing under the licker-in cylinder a number
of grate bars of such shapes and in such positions as to give the greatest
resistance to the passage of the dirt or refuse through the engine, and at
the same time give the greatest facility for its escape between the bars..
Secondly, the employment of a number of boards or plates capable of
being adjusted to any required position under the main card cylinder, each
board or plate having a portion of its surface in contact with the cards for
carrying forward those fibres of cotton or other material which would otherwise
be thrown off as fly or waste as such improvements are herein described and
illustrated in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Henry Turner, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named William Henry Turner
in the presence of
E. J. HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
W. H. TURNER.
(L.S.)