IMPROVE MENTS IN CARDING ENGINES, AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH."
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Higgins and Henry Higgins, of Salford, in the
County of Lancaster, Machine Makers, for the Invention of "IMPROVE
MENTS IN CARDING ENGINES, AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH."
MENTS IN CARDING ENGINES, AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Higgins and Henry
Higgins at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Peti-
tion, on the 14th February 1863.
We, JAMES HIGGINS and HENRY HIGGINS, of Salford, in the County of Lan-
caster, Machine Makers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN CARDING ENGINES, AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH,"
to be as follows:-
Our Invention refers, firstly, to an arrangement of carding engine in which
a fleece of light fibres and motes or strippings is caused to accumulate upon
a roller or rollers or revolving flats working in conjunction with the main
cylinder. This fleece we conduct to a dish, comb, or other apparatus, which will,
by presenting an edge or by acting as a roller to a licker-in, allow the motes
to be separated and fall into a box or other receptacle, and the remaining
fibrous material is then received by a card roller or other apparatus, and
restored to the main cylinder.
Secondly, our Invention consists in the employment of a roller or rollers
from which the. inferior material is stripped by a comb or other suitable appa-
ratus in the form of a fleece as above described, but in this instance instead
of employing the above-mentioned apparatus for removing the motes, we

page_text: restore the said fleece to the main cylinder either direct or through the inter-
vention of the ordinary licker-in or rollers working therewith.
Another improvement in the carding engine relates to an arrangement in
which rollers and clearers are employed, to the latter of which we adapt combs
or blades placed in such a position that the motes are detached from the
clearers, and thrown upon the adjacent roller, from which they are carried
forward to the licker-in, and permitted to fall. Or we transfer the said motes
from roller to roller, and instead of depositing them on the licker-in, allow
them to fall from the last of such series of rollers into a box or other con-
venient receptacle, or we assist the removal therefrom by a comb.
Another part of our Invention consists in detaching the fleece from a series
of rollers, the last of which acts as a surface for forming a lap, which lap we
deal with according to any usual method of again working the material, or we
remove it to another part of the carding engine, where it is deprived of the
motes by any of the before-mentioned means, and is then restored to the main
cylinder.
Another method of cleaning the rollers, and of returning the material so
cleaned to the carding operation, consists in the employment of a cleaning sur-
face which travels on over the surfaces of the rollers, and is then stripped so as
to deposit the fibrous material upon the licker-in or other surface acting after
the same manner.
Another improvement in carding engines consists in a method of adapting
ends to rollers or cylinders of such machines. At the extremities of these
rollers or cylinders we form recesses, and make the proposed ends somewhat
larger than such recesses. The rollers are then expanded by heat, and the
ends fitted in, which ends become fixed in their correct positions by the con-
traction of the rollers or cylinders, or we in like manner shrink the ends upon
the cylinders or rollers.
Another part of our Invention refers to apparatus for grinding card clothing,
and consists in forming a second bearing upon the bracket or stand supporting
the grinding roller, so that the grinding roller in grinding the main cylinder or
doffer may be employed at the same time in grinding a working roller or clearer.
Another part of our Invention relates to a method of driving the coiler of
carding engines, and consists in transmitting motion to the said coiler from
the main cylinder through the intervention of fast and loose pulleys revolving
at a higher speed than the coiler shaft and gearing, so that we are enabled to
effect our object by a losing speed.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said James Higgins and Henry Higgins in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 13th August 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JAMES
HIGGINS and HENRY HIGGINS, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Machine
Makers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said James Higgins and Henry Higgins, Her special license, that we,
the said James Higgins and Henry Higgins, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said James Higgins and Henry Higgins,
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 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CARDING
ENGINES, AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH," upon the condition, amongst
others, that we, the said James Higgins and Henry Higgins, or one of us,
by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand
and seal of one of us, 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 Henry Higgins, 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 state-
ment and accompanying Drawings (that is to say) :-
The object of our improvement in roller carding engines is, first, to subject
the material received by the rollers when working in conjunction with the main
cylinder to a cleaning operation before again returning it to the main cylinder;
secondly, to secure a better mode of driving the coiler shaft, so that the motion
-shall be easier, and that when that part of the machine is stopped it shall be
put in operation without the sudden shocks inevitable in the mode hitherto
adopted in driving the coiler shaft; thirdly, in an improvement in the appa-
ratus used for grinding card clothing; fourthly, in securing in a better and
cheaper mode the attachment of rollers and cylinders to their ends.

page_text: In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 represents an elevation of a carding
engine, shewing three examples of the improvements first above alluded to
consisting firstly, in an arrangement by which a fleece of light fibres is caused
to accumulate upon a roller or rollers acting as revolving flats, working in con-
junction with the main cylinder, and which fleece is conducted to a feeding
roller, which delivers the material to a roller acting as a licker-in against an
edge, so as to separate the motes from the fibre. The licker-in is stripped by
another roller which restores the cleared material to the main cylinder.
The main cylinder is at a, driven in the usual manner and revolving in the
direction of the arrow; the doffer is at b, and the ordinary licker-in at c;
d, d', d², d³, are rollers acting as revolving flats, and revolving in the direction
of the arrow. At e, e¹, e, es, are combs, respectively operating on the rollers
d, d', d, d³, for detaching the fibres and motes which they receive from the
main cylinder in working. Upon each of these rollers the fibres and motes are
so united as to form, when detached from the roller by the comb, a continuous
sheet. Each of these continuous sheets we conduct in the commencement by
hand to a feeding roller f; this roller works in an ordinary shell or dish, and
is driven in any convenient manner at such a speed as corresponds with the
delivery, from the rollers d, d1, d2, ds, and delivers the sheets of fibres collected
from the rollers d, d', d², d³, to a roller g, moving in the direction indicated by
the arrow..
This roller brings the cotton into contact with a knife or sharp
edge h, mounted in the box i. By this arrangement the motes and lumps are
separated from the clean fibres which adhere to the roller g, and the motes
are deposited in the box i; the roller k, moving in the direction of the arrow at
a surface speed greater than the roller g, detaches the fibres from the latter and
brings them into contact with the main cylinder a, which moving at a still
greater surface speed than the roller k, detaches them therefrom, and deposits
them on the doffer b in the usual manner. By this arrangement the rollers
d, d', da, d³, may be driven at a quicker speed than is usual, without increasing
the amount of fibres taken from the carding engine, whilst a larger quantity
of motes and impurities are separated from the material passing through the
machine.
Fig. 1 represents also another portion of our improvements, in which combs
or blades are combined with the ordinary working rollers and clearers, such
combs or blades being placed in such a position that the motes are detached
from the clearers and thrown upon the adjacent rollers, from which they are
carried forward to the licker-in and permitted to fall. The working rollers are
at 1, 11, 12, 13, operating in conjunction with the main cylinder; the clearers are
at m, m', m³, stripping the rollers 1, 11, 12, 13; at n, n', n², are combs or blades,

page_text: placed in such a position that motes, seeds, or lumps are by the force of the
rotation of the clearers m, m², m³, separated from the fibre and thrown upon
the adjacent rollers 11, 1, 18. Thus commencing at the clearer m, the motes
are separated by the action of the blade n and thrown on to roller 11; the
clearer m¹ takes them from the said roller 7, and by the action of blade n¹ they
are thrown upon roller 13, and so on through the series, until the licker-in
receives them from roller 13 and throws them upon the floor underneath.
the machine. These rollers and clearers are driven by the usual mode.
Fig. 2 represents a modification of the foregoing. In this case 1, 11, 12, 13,
are the working rollers, and m, m', m³, the clearers; the combs or blades are
at n, n, n. The motes or other impurities thrown out by the clearer m and
passed on to the series of rollers and clearers, as before described, are received
by the last of the series of rollers, and collected on its surface by means of
the comb 4, from which they can be removed by hand; this last roller being
placed a sufficient distance from the licker-in, so as not to be acted upon
by it.
.
Fig. 4 exhibits another modification of the improvement described in the
first part of Fig. 1. At d, d', d², d³, d', d, are rollers acting as revolving
flats, working in conjunction with the main cylinder a; these rollers are
respectively stripped by the combs e, e¹, e, e³, e, es; the fleeces from d, d', and
d, are conducted to the feeding roller 11 on one side, and the fleece from the
rollers d³, d, and d', on the other side; motion in the direction of the arrow
being given to the feeding roller 11 at a speed proportionate to the delivery of
the rollers d, d¹, &c. by any convenient or well-known mode, that roller working
in a shell or dish delivers the material to the roller 13; this latter roller
revolving at a convenient speed brings the motes and impurities existing in the
material against an edge 14 in the box 15, and deposits them therein; the
cleaned material adhering to the roller 13 is then taken hold of by the main
cylinder a, which revolves at a greater surface speed than the roller 13.
Fig. 3 represents that part of our improvements which consists in clearing
the surface of the working rollers by a travelling clearer, and in which d, d',
d, d³, d', d", de, d', and d³, are rollers acting as revolving flats in conjunction
with the main cylinder a. At 5 is an arm loose on the main cylinder pedestal
or axle, supporting at its extremity a clearing brush 6; this radial arm is
caused by means of a mangle wheel 7, working into a rack 8, attached to the
bend of the card, to travel from the position shewn to that indicated by dotted
lines and back again. The clearing brush 6 is driven from a pulley on the
main cylinder, as described in the Specification of a Patent granted to Robert
Wilkinson, No. 2209, A.D. 1855. The material is detached from the brush

page_text: as described in the said Specification, but in this case is caused to fall on to a
feed apron 12, which conveys it to a roller 9, situate within a dish and working
in contact with the licker-in 10, and thus the strippings from the rollers d, d',
&c., are delivered, so that they may be once more submitted to the operation
of cleaning.
Fig. 1, before referred to, represents that portion of our Invention
relating to driving the coiler shaft. On the stud o are placed loosely two
pullies p; attached to one of these pullies p is a pinion q, working into a
wheels, running loose on a stud t. On the wheels is a pinion u, working into
a wheel v, fixed on the axle of the doffer b. Geering into the wheels is a
wheel w, running loose on a stud ; the wheel w geers into a wheel z, fixed on
the coiler shaft. The pulley p receives its motion from the main cylinder by
means of the pulley 1 fixed on the axle thereof, and through the intervention
of the strap 2, as indicated in the Drawing. This strap is open, passing round
the licker-in over a pulley running loose on a stud attached to the bend, over
the pulley p, and driving at the same time an intermediate card roller 3, and
then again passing to the pulley on main cylinder a. By this means motion
is communicated through the train of wheels q to to the coiler shaft, without
the intervention of the wheel on the doffer axle. When it is desired to arrest
the motion of the coiler shaft and doffer, the driving strap 2 is shifted from
one pully P to the other. The advantages of the arrangement are, that we
get a smoother and easier action of the wheels which drive the coiler shaft,
and the stopping and starting of this shaft and the doffer is devoid of those
sudden shocks to the geering which often cause breakages.
Fig. 4 also shews a part of our Invention relating to an improved grinding
fixing. At 16, 17, are two usual grinding fixtures for grinding the main
cylinder a and the doffer. In these fixings are the two ordinary emery rollers
18, driven and set to the cylinder in the usual manner. Upon these fixings
are mounted two other fixings 19 and 20, arranged to hold the axles of the
working rollers, clearers, or other roller employed on the card. These latter
fixings are made by screws or other adjustable means, so as to
these working rollers, clearers, &c. to be ground or operated upon by the emery
roller whilst it is grinding the main cylinder or doffer. The roller to be
ground may be made to revolve by being driven from the doffer or main
cylinder, according to the construction of the card. By this arrangement the
necessity of taking the rollers and clearers to another machine to be ground is
obviated.
permit one of
Another part of our Invention relates to an improved mode of fitting in the
ends of iron rollers and cylinders. We effect this by recessing the rollers or

page_text: cylinders for the reception of the ends in the usual manner, but rather smaller
than the diameter of the ends which have to be fitted in; the rollers are then
subjected to heat, by which means they are expanded in diameter sufficiently
to admit of the insertion of the ends, which, when thus inserted, are retained
in their position by the contraction of the roller or cylinder in cooling. This
operation can also be reversed by recessing the end and shrinking it upon the
exterior of the roller.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be under-
stood that we claim as secured to us under the above in part recited Letters
Patent,-
Firstly, separating the impurities from the strippings of working rollers of
carding engines, and conveying the cleaned material again to the main
cylinder.
Secondly, the employment of a knife or blade, or a series of knives or
blades, as described, to the clearers of working rollers of carding engines, for
the purpose of conveying the impurities detached from such clearers to the
licker-in, or to a roller where they are collected on its surface.
Thirdly, the mode described of driving the coiler shaft, and the employment
of a strap which is shifted on to a loose pulley when the coiler shaft is required
to be stopped.
Fourthly, the application of a second bearing to the brackets or stands of
grinding rollers, for the purpose above set forth.
Fifthly, attaching cylinders or rollers to their ends by contraction of the
metal consequent upon cooling.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Higgins, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twelfth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
HENRY HIGGINS. (L.S.)