IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING FIBROUS MATERIALS FOR SPINNING
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Mercer Girdwood, of Belfast, in the County of
Antrim, in Ireland, Flax Spinner, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR PREPARING FIBROUS MATERIALS FOR SPINNING."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Mercer Girdwood
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 15th November 1880.
HENRY MERCER GIRDWOOD, of Belfast, in the County of Antrim, in Ireland, Flax
Spinner. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING FIBROUS MATERIALS
FOR SPINNING."
My Invention relates to the process in the manufacture of yarns technically
known as roughing, and may also be adapted by some variations and modifications
to the process technically known as hackling, and is intended to diminish manual
labour, which is costly, precarious, irregular, and productive of waste.
For this purpose I employ a pair (or pairs) of flexible and endless travelling
bands or "holders," which between them receive and firmly hold the flax or other
fibrous material to be operated upon, but leave its ends free and carry it forward
and over a flexible or articulated sheet of hackles revolving at right angles on each
side of the travelling bands, and straightening, cleaning, and splitting the free ends
of the material respectively.
The travelling bands, one superimposed on the other, move round drums or
rollers in channels or guides fitted transversely upon a frame, one being actuated
by means of a worm or endless screw, and a series of toothed wheels or belts or
other ordinary mechanical contrivances, and by friction or otherwise communicating
its motion to the other.
These travelling bands may be made of chains or jointed plates or links, and
clothed or covered with india rubber or other suitable material to secure a firm
grip of the material to be operated upon. One of the bands is furnished with teeth,
bars, or pins suitable to the action of the worm or screw, and the toothed wheels

page_text: by which it is intended to be actuated as above mentioned. The hackling sheets,
consisting of a number of hackle stocks jointed together, are driven outwards in
opposite directions from the travelling bands, also by means of toothed or other
wheels, belts, and pulleys, or other gearing, and passing round drums or rollers
return inwards towards the travelling bands. Each hackling stock is supplied with
a tumbling bar or rod or "stripper," which by its own weight drops down during
the revolution of the hackle sheet and strips off any tow or waste caught by the
pins in the hackle stock. The material to be operated upon may be placed on a
feed apron in order to carry it forward to the bite of the travelling bands, and a
similar apron at the delivery end of the bands may be used to remove it after the
operation.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Henry Mercer Girdwood in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
14th May 1881.
HENRY MERCER GIRDWOOD, formerly of Belfast, in the County of Antrim, in
Ireland, but now of Broughton Flax Mills, in the County of Lancaster, in
England, Flax Spinner. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING FIBROUS
MATERIALS FOR SPINNING."
My said Invention relates to the process commonly employed in the manufacture
of yarns and technically known as roughing, and may also be adapted by some
obvious variations and modifications to the process in the same manufacture
technically known as hackling, and is intended to diminish manual labour which is
costly, precarious, irregular, and productive of waste.
For the accomplishment of this purpose I employ a pair (or pairs of flexible and
endless travelling boards, which between them receive and firmly hold the flax or
other fibrous material to be operated upon, but leave both ends of such material
free and carry it forward and over two flexible or articulated sheets of hackles
revolving at right angles to the travelling bands, one being on each sido of such
travelling bands, and straightening, cleansing, and splitting the free ends of the
material which spread out longitudinally over the upper surfaces of the hackling
sheets respectively.
The travelling bands, one superimposed on the other, move round drums or
rollers in channels or guides fitted transversely upon a frame, one being actuated
by means of a worm or endless screw, and a series of toothed wheels or belts or
other ordinary mechanical contrivances, and by friction or otherwise communicating
its motion to the other.
I prefer to construct the travelling bands by means of chains or jointed plates or
links clothed or covered with india rubber or other suitable material, in order to
secure a firm grip of the material to be operated upon, but I do not confine myself
to that manner of constructing such travelling bands.
One of the bands is furnished with teeth, bars, or pins, suitable to the action of
the worm or scrow, and the toothed wheels by which it is intended to bo actuated,
as above mentioned.
The hackling sheets consisting of a number of hacklestocks jointed together
are driven outwards in opposite directions from the travelling bands, also by
means of toothed or other wheels, belts, and pulleys or other gearing, and passing
round drums or rollers return inwardly towards the travelling bands. Each
backelstock is supplied with a tumbling bar or rod, which by its own weight drops
down during the revolution of the hackling sheet, and strips off any tow or waste
caught by the pins in the hackle stock.
The material to be operated upon may be placed on a feed apron or table in
order to carry it forward or present it to the bite of the travelling bands, and
a similar apron or table at the delivery end of the bands may be used to remove
or receive it after the operation.
And in order that the said Invention may be more fully understood, I shall now
proceed to refer to the Drawings upon the several Sheets hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference being used throughout all the Figures on both Sheets to
indicate the same or corresponding parts of my said machine.
Fig. I. is an end elevation shewing the flexible and endless bands which travel
in the longitudinal direction of the hackle stocks and the hackling sheets
transversely at right angles thereto, with a train of gearing to impart motion to
the machine.
Fig. II. is a plan of the same shewing the direction in which the flexible and
endless bands and the hackling sheets respectively travel.

page_text: Fig. III. is a section in detail of the flexible and endless bands, and the channels
or guides in which they travel with the screw and worm wheels giving motion to
the travelling bands.
Fig. IV. and V. are details of the travelling band, and the worm and worm
wheel for giving same motion.
Fig. VI. is a detail shewing the end view of the hackle stocks and the stripper
bars for removing waste or tow.
n is the fibrous material to be operated upon; a, a, are endless chains or jointed
plates or links clothed or covered with india rubber or other suitable material b, b¹;
c, c, are the channels or guides fitted transversely on the frame ends; d, d, aro the
worm wheels, and is an endless screw for giving notion to the worm wheels and
nctuating the endless chain a' by means of the teeth, bars, or pins, as shewn in
Figs. IV. and V.; g, g, are the hackle stocks which form the backling sheets, and
h, h, are the tumbling bars or rods attached to the hackle stocks to strip off any
tow or waste caught by the pins in the hackle stocks.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I would have it to be understood that I do not claim the
exclusive use of a pair or pairs of travelling bands, sheets of hackles and strippers
except when the same are constructed specially and employed as hereinbefore
described, nor do I claim the use of delivering or receiving aprons or tables, nor of
hackling sheets or hackle stocks, drums, rollers, channels, guides, worms, screws,
wheels, or belts, nor of any of the separate mechanical parts which form the
compound automatic machine employed by me, but I claim,
1st. The use in the manufacture of yarns of a pair or pairs of travelling bands
constructed, actuated, and employed, substantially in the manner and for tho
purposes herein before described and shewn upon the Drawings horeunto annexed.
2ndly. The use in the manufacture of yarns of the combination of india rubber
or other suitable clothing or covering, with chains or jointed plates or links for
holding the fibrous material, and supported and guided, substantially in the
manner bereinbefore described and shewn on the Drawings hereunto annexed.
3rdly. The use in the manufacture of yarns of two endless sheets of hackle stocks,
in combination with and revolving at right angles to the travelling bands,
substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein before described and shewn
on the Drawings hereunto annexed.
4thly. The use in the manufacture of yarns of strippers or tumbling bars or rods,
in combination with the hackling sheets, substantially in the manner and for the
purposes herein before described and shown on the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and
5thly. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the compound
automatic machine hereinbefore mentioned, constructed, and applied, substantially
in the manner and for the purposes hereinbefore described and illustrated by the
Drawings on the several Shects hereunto annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Mercer Girdwood, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this 12th day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.