improvements in the method of and in means for Equalising the Thickness of Roller Skins.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Aug., 1887
Complete Left, 17th May, 1888
Complete Accepted, 22nd June,
.
improvements in the method of and in means for Equalising the
Thickness of Roller Skins.
I JOSEPH STANDRING DRONSFIELD of the firm of Dronsfield Brothers of the Atlas
Works, Oldham in the County of Lancaster Makers of Card Grinding Machinery
do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to the skins or leathers with which the rollers used in spinning
machinery are covered as is well understood. It is of importance that each skin shall
be uniform in thickness throughout so that there shall be an absence of thick or thin
places. This uniformity has been sought to be obtained by the exercise of care in the
slitting of the skins but I have considered it to be advisable to subject the skins to
further treatment in order to render them more perfectly suitable to their intended
use. To this end I subject the skins to a grinding operation so as to grind away the
excess of thickness and thereby to reduce each skin to an uniform thickness. I employ
a rapidly revolving grinder which by preference is formed by coating or covering a
truly cylindrical wheel with crushed glass or with a material which has been coated
with crushed glass in a similar manner to ordinary glass paper. The skin to be ground
is drawn between a fixed adjustable bar or bed and the periphery of the grinder or is
secured to or carried by a reciprocating or revolving bed wheel or drum. In practice
I prefer to employ a revolving drum or wheel which is truly turned and ground upon
its shaft so as to run quite true. Means are provided for clamping or securing the
skin to this drum either at one end or at both ends the end of the skin passing through
a slot to the clamp. The said drum is mounted upon an adjustable carriage which is
guided so as to move in a straight line toward and from the grinder in order that the
peripheries of the drum and grinder shall always be parallel one with the other. When
the skin is secured by one end only I prefer to employ a weighted or yielding presser
which is adjusted so as just to clear the drum when the skin is absent but as the skin
passes to the grinder the presser presses upon it and keeps the skin tight upon the
drum. This presser is brought as near as conveniently possible to the point of nearest
approach of the grinder and the drum. A suitably slow motion is imparted to the
said drum by any suitable means. In practice I drive the grinder in the first instance
and convey motion through worms and wheels and a connecting shaft to the drum
[Price 1

page_text: which thus revolves at a considerably reduced speed as compared with the grinder.
The motion is transmitted through a clutch so that the drum can be quickly discon-
nected and be turned into any position by hand. I prefer to apply a fan to collect the
dust arising from the operation the casing of the fan enclosing the grinder to a suitable
extent or being connected with a grinder casing. The current from the fan is conveyed
into a chamber or space having pervious walls so that the air can escape the dust being
left behind in the said chamber.
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James Square, Manchester,
Agents.
Improvements in the Method of and in Means for Equalising the
Thickness of Roller Skins.
I JOSEPH STANDRING DRONSFIELD of the firm of Dronsfield Brothers of the Atlas
Works Oldham in the County of Lancaster Makers of Card Grinding Machinery
do hereby declare the nature of this Invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying drawings:
use.
My Invention relates to the skins or leathers with which the rollers used in spinning
.machinery are covered as is well understood. It is of importance that each skin shall
be uniform in thickness throughout so that there shall be an absence of thick or thin
places. This uniformity has been sought to be obtained by the exercise of care in the
slitting of the skins but I have considered it to be advisable to subject the skins to
further treatment in order to render them more perfectly suitable to their intended
To this end I subject the skins to a grinding operation so as to grind away the
excess of thickness and thereby to reduce each skin to an uniform thickness. I employ
a rapidly revolving grinder which by preference is formed by coating or covering a
truly cylindrical wheel with crushed glass or with a material which has been coated
with crushed glass in a similar manner to ordinary glass paper. The skin to be ground
is drawn between a fixed adjustable bar or bed and the periphery of the grinder or is
secured to or carried by a reciprocating or revolving bed wheel or drum.
In order that my invention may be fully understood I will describe the same with
reference to the accompanying drawings whereof Fig. 1 represents a side elevation
and Fig. 2 a plan of the important parts of a machine constructed in accordance with
miy invention,

page_text: Upon the
In the said Figs. a is a drum which carries the skin during the grinding operation
and 6 is the grinder. The grinding wheel is prepared to run quite true and is
covered or coated with a grinding material such as hereinbefore mentioned. The
said grinding wheel is driven in a suitable manner by means of a belt and com-
municates motion to the bed drum a. Upon the shaft b' of the grinder is fixed a worm c
which gears with a worm wheel d which is fixed upon a side shaft e.
same shaft is fixed a worm f which gears with a worm wheel g upon the shaft of the
drum a. The worm wheel g is loosely mounted upon the drum shaft and com-
municates motion to the latter through a clutch / which is fitted to slide upon the
shaft and is shifted at the required times by means of a clutch lever h¹. When the
said clutch is disengaged the drum can be freely turned by hand in either direction.
As the grinder revolves rapidly in the direction indicated by the arrow a slow
revolving motion in the same direction is transmitted to the said drum. The
drum is truly turned and ground upon its own shaft so as to run quite true and
is provided with means for securing the skin to be ground to the periphery of the
drum. A slit is formed at a' and extends across the face of the drum. A clamp i
is mounted to turn upon a stud or fulcrum at j and the jaw of this clamp enters
the slit a'. The said jaw can be forcibly pressed against one side of the said slit by
turning a screw nut ka spring re-acting against the said nut to open the clamp when
the nut is screwed back. One end of the skin is inserted between the jaw and the
side of the slit and, the nut k is turned so as to clamp the end of the skin to the
drum. When the end of the skin has been secured the drum is turned by hand in
the indicated direction until the skin is about or nearly coming into contact with the
grinder when the clutch h is put into gear with the worm wheel g and by the revolving
motion of the drum the skin is subjected to the action of the grinder. When the
drum is set in motion the skin is carried forward and presented to the action of the
revolving grinder. As the skin is carried toward the grinder it
behind a
passes
presser which is carried by a rocking shaft m upon which is fixed a load lever n
which causes the presser to tend toward the drum and thereby to press upon the
skin. In order to show this presser more clearly a part of the framing which carries
the bearing for one end of the shaft m is left out in Fig. 1 and the said loaded lever
is indicated in that Fig. only by dotted lines but appears in full in Fig. 2. The use
of this presser is to keep the skin tightly and smoothly stretched upon the surface of
the drum so as to prevent the formation of wrinkles. This presser is especially of
use when the loose end of the skin is approaching the grinder as without some such
appliance the end of the skin would fall away from the drum or become loose and
the grinding would not be satisfactorily effected. If considered to be desirable the
skin might be stretched tight upon the drum and be clamped at both ends. In such
a case the presser I might be dispensed with. The bearings for the shaft of the
drum a are formed or fixed upon a carriage o which is fitted to slide truly in a straight
line upon planed guide ways which are formed upon the bed of the machine. The
said carriage is acted upon by a regulating screw p for the purpose of adjusting the
distance of the drum from the grinder so as to determine the thickness of the skins
when ground. It will be seen that it is of importance that the axes of the grinder
and of the drum shall at all times be truly parallel one with the other in order that
the skins when ground shall be of uniform thickness, therefore the carriage o must be
well fitted to slide in a straight line. If preferred two screws connected together by
means of worm wheel or bevel gearing might be employed to adjust the said carriage.
The machine is provided with a fan to withdraw the dust arising from the operation.
The case of the said fan appears at r. The fan may be of any ordinary or suitable
construction. The casing of the fan is provided with a mouth piece which extends
to the grinder and partly encloses the periphery of the same. The dust carried in
the direction indicated by the arrow is received into the open mouth of the fan case
and is conveyed by a suitable trunk or discharge pipe to any desirable point of
delivery. In practice I convey the current from the fan into a chamber or space
having pervious walls so that the air can escape the dust being left behind in the
chamber. I do not confine myself to the use of a drum to carry the skin whilst

page_text: being ground as the skin might be drawn between an adjustable bar and the grinder
as indicated by Fig. 3 or might be clamped or secured to a straight bed or table which
would be mounted to slide in a straight line in a similar manner to the tables of
planing machines but I prefer to use the drum as the skin is more readily kept in
close contact with the drum than with a plane surface. If preferred the grinder
might be made to be adjustable instead of the part carrying the skin.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what I
claim is
(1) The combination of parts forming the apparatus substantially as and for the
purpose set forth and indicated.
(2) An apparatus for grinding roller skins having a revolving grinding wheel in
combination with means for carrying or supporting the skin whilst being ground
so that the skin is reduced to an uniform thickness throughout substantially as
set forth.
(3) An apparatus for grinding roller skins having a revolving grinding wheel in
combination with a revolving drum to which the skin can be clamped or secured
either the grinder axis or the drum axis being adjustable by means which preserve
the parallelism of the two axes substantially as set forth.
(4) In an apparatus for grinding roller skins the revolving grinding wheel, the
drum provided with a clamp for securing the skin to the periphery of the drum and
mounted upon a carriage fitted to slide in a direction at right angles to the axes of the
grinder and drum and the clutch for engaging and disengaging the drum with the
actuating shaft substantially as set forth and indicated.
(5) In an apparatus for grinding roller skins the revolving grinding wheel the
drum for holding the skin and the fan for withdrawing the, dust substantially as set
forth and indicated.
Dated this 16th
1000
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James Square, Manchester,
Agents.