CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR GRINDING, SHARPENING, OR SETTING THE TEETH OF CARDS OR OTHER SIMILAR APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR CARDING OR OPERATING UPON COTTON, WOOL, OR OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
HULME, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenticth day of September, One thousand eight hundred and
forty-one, in the fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Joseph Hulme, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Joseph
Hulme, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and such others as I, the
said Joseph Hulme, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no other, from time to time and at all times during the term of
years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, nse, exercise, and
vend, within England and Wales and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR GRINDING,
SHARPENING, OR SETTING THE TEETH OF CARDS OR OTHER SIMILAR APPARATUS
EMPLOYED FOR CARDING OR OPERATING UPON COTTON, WOOL, OR OTHER FIBROUS
SUBSTANCES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the
said Joseph Hulme, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be enrolled
in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent,

page_text: as in and by the same, reference being mercu
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Joseph Hulme, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described and
ascertained in and by the Drawings hereto annexed, and the following explana-
tion thereof, that is to say:-
My improvements in machinery or apparatus for grinding, sharpening, or
setting the teeth of cards, or other similar apparatus, consist in a novel
arrangement and construction of mechanism designed for the purpose of
operating upon the points of the teeth or wires of cards, or other similar appa-
ratus, after the sheet or fillet of cards have been put upon their respective
cylinders, rollers, or "flats," in order to set up or face the whole surface of
the points, wires, or teeth, into one regular plane or surface, and at the same
time to give them the requisite degree of sharpness or edge which is essential
to produce a perfect carding or sliver of the cotton or other filamentous
material to be operated upon; and also for the purpose of re-setting or
sharpening such carding or other teeth, cylinders, or surfaces as have become
worn or impaired from constant working or otherwise..
The construction and operation of my improved mechanism will be readily
understood by persons conversant with machinery connected with cotton and
other similar manufactures.
I have attached to these Presents a Sheet of Drawings, containing several
views of the apparatus complete, and drawn upon a large scale (about one third
of the real size), in order to illustrate my Invention, and shewn distinctly its
application to the purposes for which it may be employed.
Figure 1 represents a front elevation of the apparatus, as applicable to
cylindrical surfaces.
Figure 2, a plan or horizontal view of the same, as seen from above; and
Figure 3, a side or end view.
Figure 4 shews a side view of a modification of a similar apparatus, as
applicable to flat surfaces, such as are termed "flats or top cards."
I would here remark, that in grinding, sharpening, or setting the teeth of
cards in ordinary carding engines, (and which is, as I consider, the principal
object of my Invention,) that in operating upon the main cylinder or swift,
and also the doffing cylinder, it will be found most convenient to place my
improved apparatus upon the framing of the engine, and set it up to or in con-
tact with the cylinder, and so allow the cylinders to be ground up in their

page_text: respective places; but in operating either upon "flats" or cylindrical top
cards, or "strippers," or other smaller surfaces, it will be better to remove.
them from the carding engine and place them in a small frame in connection
with the grinding apparatus; but this may of course depend upon the option
and convenience of the operation in all instances. a, a, a, a, is a bed or framing
of cast iron, somewhat similar to a small lathe bed, to each end of which are
attached arms b, b, and connected by the cross rail or frame c, c. A shaft d, d,
is supported in bearings in the arms b, b, upon which a small bevilled pinion e
is keyed, taking into a bevil wheelf fast upon a stud 9, supported by a carrier
piece, and adjustable in the mortice of the frame c. Upon this stud is fixed a
toothed or chain pulley h, a similar pulley i being also placed upon a stud k,
fixed in another part of the frame c; around and in gear with these pulleys
is the endless chain 1, 1. To this chain a swivel connecting link m is attached,
and it is also attached to a stud at the back of the carriage or slide n, n. The
carriage n is capable of being traversed to and fro upon the stationary bed a, a,
and is furnished with jointed swiveling pieces o, p, q, which carry or support
the emery or grinding block 7, being formed as an universal joint, so as to
enable the block r to assume any suitable angle or position.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-Supposing the ground line A, B,
in the Drawing to represent the top of the frame of a carding engine, that is,
the grinding machine is to be placed across the front of a carding engine in
the direction of the main cylinder shaft, and the block r, which is faced with
emery or other cutting surface, placed in contact with a carding cylinder, as
shewn in Figure 8. Power is to be applied to the driving pulley placed upon
either end of the shaft d, which, it will be observed, will traverse the carriage n
with its grinding block regularly to and fro, from side to side of the cylinder,
and as the cylinder is caused to revolve upon its own axis simultaneously, a
perfectly even surface may be thus obtained, and any requisite degree of set or
edge may be given to the teeth.
I would here remark, that in carding engines, where the sides or ends of the
cylinder are nearly close to the side framings, the grinding block should be
slightly removed from contact during the change of the traverse.
A modification of my improved apparatus for grinding cards is represented
at Figure 4, which is another arrangement of mechanism adapted to the pur-
pose of grinding or sharpening "flats" or top cards, or other flat surfaces.
The essential features of this apparatus arc still retained, but a revolving
cylindrical grinding roller is substituted in place of the grinding block before
described. a, a, a, a, is a framework supporting the bed b, b, which traverses

page_text: to and fro, as in the former machine, and supports the swivel jointed
carriers b, c, d, in which the cylindrical emery block e is mounted; the "flat"
or top card f to be ground or set is fixed by set screws in the frame g, g,
which turns up or down upon its centre h. Upon the frame a, a, is a table i, i,
set perfectly level, and upon this table the flat card is first to be placed
preparatory to grinding, in order to set it square and flat before it is presented
to the grinding roller; the frame g, g, is then to be turned down upon it, and
the "flat" secured therein by the adjustable set screws in the frame, as shewn
in red lines; the frame with the top card is now to be turned up, and being
provided with a projection or neb k upon the back, is held in this position by
turning over the lock or catch 1, which secures the position of the card ready
for the grinding operation. Rotary motion is to be given to the grinding
roller by means of the straps and pulleys m and n, and the grinding commences;
now in order to traverse the "flat" or top card up and down, so that its entire
surface may be evenly presented to the action of the grinding roller, a frame or
parallel motion o, o, is provided and worked up and down by the crank arm p
affixed to the shaft q, which may be driven in any convenient manner; and in
order to slide the "flat" in and out in a horizontal direction when shifting its
position and presenting it to the grinding roller, another parallel motion is pro-
vided by means of the excentrics r, r, and links s, s. This modification of the
apparatus, it will be observed, is more particularly applicable to grinding
machines of the old construction.
Having now particularly described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be understood that I'
do not intend to confine myself to the peculiar mechanical arrangement of the
parts as shown in the Drawings, as I am well aware that such may be easily modi-
fied and varied, as, for instance, the traverse of the carriage may be done by rack
and pinion, or mangle wheel; but I claim this or any other modification of the
working motions of the apparatus as exhibited in the Drawings attached, and
herein set forth, for grinding, setting, or sharpening the teeth of cards, or any
similar apparatus.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Hulme, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-two.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Seventeenth day of
March, in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid Joseph Hulme came
before our Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Spe-
cification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute in that case made and provided.