IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR OPENING AND CLEANING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Ridley Hetherington, of the Vulcan Works,
in the City of Manchester, Machine Maker, and Samuel Thornton, of
the same Place, Draughtsman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR OPENING AND CLEANING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS
SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 18th May 1866, and dated the 14th December 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Ridley Hethering-
ton and Samuel Thornton at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 14th December 1865.
We, THOMAS RIDLEY HETHERINGTON, of the Vulcan Works, in the City of
Manchester, Machine Maker, and SAMUEL THORNTON, of the same Place,
Draughtsman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR OPENING AND CLEANING COTTON AND OTHER
FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists, first, of certain improvements upon the openers for
which Letters Patent were granted to Frederick William Crighton and William
Crighton on the Third day of April One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one,
No. 819. These improvements consist in so arranging Crighton's double
machine that when the cotton or other fibres only requires to be once operated".
upon we convey the cotton or other fibres from the first beater through a pipe-
inside the machine furnished with slides or dampers either over, the second-

page_text: beater or around it, or to the under side thereof, and thence to the delivering
apron.
The second part of our Invention is applicable to openers, blowers, scutchers,
and other similar machines, and it consists in making the teeth or blades of
an improved shape (that is to say) broadest at the point and tapering gradually
towards the shank; these teeth or blades are made of sheet iron or steel, and
when one edge is worn the other edges may successively be brought into
action. The drum or cylinder in which the teeth are fixed or the axle of the
blades is made to traverse laterally to and fro by means of a diagonal cam or
otherwise, so as to bring the narrow teeth or blades in contact with every
portion of the fleece of fibrous substances.
The last part of our Invention is applicable to scutchers and other machines
in which it has heretofore been customary to use a single fan placed midway
under the machine to exhaust the air from the wire cages, and it consists in
applying two small fans placed one at each side of the machine in lieu of the
fan placed midway under the machine, by which arrangement à considerable
saying in erecting the machine is effected, and the parts are much easier of
access for cleaning and repairing.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Ridley Hetherington and Samuel Thornton in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th June 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRÉSENTS SHALL COME, we, THOMAS
RIDLEY HETHERINGTON, of the Vulcan Works, in the City of Manchester,
Machine Maker, and SAMUEL THORNTON, of the same Place, Draughtsman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, and in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Thomas Ridley Hetherington and Samuel Thornton, Her special license
that we, the said Thomas Ridley: Hetherington and Samuel Thornton, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Thomas
Ridley Hetherington and Samuel Thornton, our executors, administrators,
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 King-

page_text: dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man,
an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR OPENING AND CLEANING
COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that we, the said Thomas Ridley Hetherington and Samuel Thornton, our
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their,
or one of our or 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 we, the said Thomas Ridley Hetherington and
Samuel Thornton, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement (that is to say) :-
Our Invention consists, first, of certain improvements upon the openers for
which Letters Patent were granted to Frederick William Crighton and William
Crighton on the Third day of April, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one,
Number 819. These improvements consist in so arranging Crighton's double
machine that when the cotton or other fibres only require to be once operated
upon they are conveyed from the first beater through a pipe inside the machine
furnished with slides or dampers either over the second beater or around it, or
to the under side thereof, and thence to the delivering apron.
The second part of our Invention is applicable to the drums of cylinders
of openers, blowers, scutchers, and other similar machines, and it consists in
making the teeth or blades of such drums or cylinders of an improved shape
(that is to say) broadest at the point and tapering gradually towards the
shank; these teeth or blades are made of sheet iron or steel, and when one
edge is worn the other edges may successively be brought into action. The
drum or cylinder in which the teeth are fixed or the axle of the blades is made
to traverse laterally to and fro by means of a diagonal cam or otherwise so as
to bring the narrow teeth or blades in contact with every portion of the fleece
of fibrous substances.
The last part of our Invention is applicable to scutchers and other machines
in which it has heretofore been customary to use a single fan placed midway
under the machine to exhaust the air from the wire cages; and it consists in
applying two small fans placed one at each side of the machine in lieu of a
single fan placed midway under the machine, by which arrangement a con-
siderable saving in erecting the machine is effected, and the parts are much
easier of access for cleaning and repairing.

page_text: And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily carried.
into operation, we will proceed to describe the two accompanying Sheets of
Drawings, reference being had to the figures, letters, and arrows marked thereon.
On Sheet 1 Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section, and Figure 2 is &
plan of a double opener constructed in the manner described in the Specifica-
tion of Letters Patent granted to Frederick William Crighton and William
Crighton on the Third day of April One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one,
Number 819, to which our improvements are applied.
a and b are two vertical cylinders or beaters surrounded by grids and casings
c as usual; d is the ordinary perforated cage revolving slowly above the deliver-
iug apron e. The fibrous substances to be opened and cleansed are supplied
to the lower end of the beater a through the pipe f, and in machines of the
present construction the fibres are conveyed from the upper end of the beater a
to the lower end of the beater 6, through the pipe g, and from the upper end
of the beater 6 to the cage d and apron e; consequently the fibres when once
supplied to the machine could not escape therefrom until they bad been
operated upon by both the beaters a and b. Now as it frequently happens
that the operation of one of the beaters is sufficient we have so modified the
machine that the fibres on arriving at the top of the beater a may be con-
veyed either over the second beater or around it or to the under side thereof,
and thence to the delivering apron e, thereby economising time, labour, and
power, and preventing injury to the fibres. A convenient mode of carrying
out this part of our Invention is as follows:-The space above the beater a,
which opens into the pipe g, is also open to the pipe h passing over the beater b,
and thence to the cage d and apron e. At the junction of the pipes 9 and h
is hinged the damper i, which is opened and closed by the weighted lever j;
when the damper is down, as shewn in Figure 1, the passage is clear for the
fibres to pass through the pipe h to the delivering apron, but when the damper
has been raised by the attendant moving the weighted lever j into the position
indicated by the dotted lines, the fibres pass as usual from the top of the
beater a to the lower end of the beater b. As it is absolutely necessary for
the efficient working of these machines that the beaters should revolve with
great velocity and that the bottom bearing should be protected from dust in
order to keep it cool, we construct the footsteps of the vertical axles in the
following manner:-The bracket k, supporting the footstep i, forms a cistern
containing water or other fluid; at the bottom of the footstep is a hardened
steel plate, and between this plate and the bottom of the axle is another stee!
plate. The lubricating oil is supplied to the footstep through the pipe m, and
can be discharged when dirty by the tap-m'. The lowest of the usual bushes

page_text: or collars which surround the axle of the beater is prolonged and revolves in
the water in the cistern k, thereby excluding dust from the footstep. By,
means of this improved footstep the axle is kept cool and the friction is reduced.
On Sheet 2 Figure 8 is an elevation, and Figure 4 is a plan, of part of an:
opener, blower, or scutcher, to which the second part of our Invention is,
applied. n is the drum or cylinder, the teeth or blades of which are made of
sheet iron or steel, broad at the point and tapering to the shank, both ends of the
tooth or blade being of the same shape, thereby obtaining four working edges..
These teeth or blades are let into grooves planed in the surface of the drum
or cylinder, the space between the teeth being filled up by blocks of suitable.
length, according to the distance required between the teeth. The teeth and,
blocks are all secured to the drum or cylinder by two end discs or rings and
set screws, and when one edge of the teeth has been worn out or injured in
striking the fibres presented by the feed rollers o, the other edges may suc-
cessively be brought into position for acting on the fibres. The drum or
cylinder n is traversed laterally to and fro in the direction of its axis so as to
bring the narrow teeth or blades in contact with every portion of the fleece of
fibres in the following manner, or by any other equivalent arrangement of parts:
-An annular groove is turned in-one end of the axle, as shewn in Figure 4,
and in this groove the diagonal disc p fits; this disc is mounted on a stud fixed
in the vertical arm of the weighted elbow lever q, by this arrangement the
requisite friction is given to the disc for causing it to revolve on its stud. As
the axle of the drum or cylinder revolves the disc pimparts the desired lateral
motion to it. Figure 5 is a side view, and Figure 6 a sectional elevation of part of
a scutcher or other machine of the like description to which our improvements
are applied. In such machines it has heretofore been customary to use a single
fan placed midway under the machine to exhaust the air from the wire
cages.
Now our improvement consists in the application of two small fans, one
laced at each side of the machine, to effect the same object, by which
arrangement a considerable saving in erecting the machine is effected, and the
parts are easier of access for cleaning and repairing; 8, s, are the two trunks
for conveying the air and dust from the cages as usual, and t, (, are two boxes
secured to the inner side of the framing; these boxes contain the fans t, u,
fixed to the axle v, which is driven by a strap and pulleys by the beater as
usual. We prefer to make each fan of a single piece of cast iron, as shewn,
but any other description of fan may be applied in the same manner.
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention and described the manner
of performing the same, we declare that we claim,―

page_text: First, the improvements in Crighton's double openers, as shewn and
described in reference to Figures 1 and 2.
Secondly, the improved shaped teeth or blades, for and the mode of securing
them to the drums or cylinders of machines for opening and cleaning fibrous
substances, as shewn and described in reference to Figures 3 and 4.
Thirdly, the application of a traversing motion to the drums or cylinders of
machines for opening and cleaning fibrous substances, as shewn and described
in reference to Figures 3 and 4.
And lastly, the application of two side fans to machines for opening and
cleaning fibrous substances in lieu of the ordinary single fan, as shewn and
described in reference to Figures 5 and 6.
In witness whereof, we, the said Thomas Ridley Hetherington and
Samuel Thornton, have hereto set our hands and seals, this Ninth
day of June, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
1. K. HETHERINGTON.
SAMUEL THORNTON.
(L.8.)
(L.S.)