New or Improved Apparatus for Opening or Preparing Wool and other Fibrous Substances.
Year: 1887

page_text: S
Date of Application, 7th Dec., 1887
Complete Specification Left, 7th Sept., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 12th Oct., 1888
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Apparatus for Opening or Preparing Wool and
other Fibrous Substances.
I, JOSEPH WILSON THORNTON, of the firm of Thornton Whitaker & Co., of
Cottingley Mill, near Bingley, Yorkshire, Spinners and Manufacturers, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of my invention is the construction, arrangement, and combination of
mechanism for opening or preparing wool and other fibre previous to the subsequent
operation of combing, thereby dispensing with the necessity of carding or repeated
gilling the said fibre, as is now done.
In carrying out my invention I employ two or more opposing gillheads provided
with a suitable number of fallers which are caused to travel as hereinafter explained.
These gillheads are fixed to the top of suitable standards or framework attached to
one or more oscillating levers, which lever receives its movement from a suitably
shaped cam or tappet and connecting rod, the arrangement being such that as the beam
or lever rocks upon its centre the gillheads alternately rise and fall, in addition to
which the gillheads are caused to advance towards each other and recede again by rods
connected to eccentrics, cranks, or other well known devices for giving backward and
forward motion thereto.
The fibre to be operated upon is placed onto an endless apron, and this fibre is
received by rollers which feed it into the teeth of the fallers, such fibre being
afterwards forced into the said teeth by any suitable form of dabbing brush, and as
the fallers travel from the feed rollers the fibre is carried forward. At a suitable time
the opposing gillheads commence to advance towards each other, and at a given time
one of such gillheads rises, whilst the opposing gillhead lowers in such manner as to
transfer the overhanging fibre from the first gillhead onto the teeth of the fallers of
the rising or second gillhead; another dabbing brush at this moment being caused
to descend for the purpose of pressing the fringe or tuft of fibre into the fallers of
the second gillhead, such fallers travelling and carrying the fibre with it onto a third
or fourth gillhead, and so on to as many as may be thought desirable for the proper
•

page_text: opening or preparing of the fibre, which ultimately is received by a pair of drawing
rollers, for the purpose of drawing the said fibre from the teeth of the fallers.
Between each gillhead an oscillating bar is employed for dividing or separating the
fibre when the gillheads have receded from each other.
Instead of causing the faller to travel by means of screws as is usually done in
gillheads, I employ another form of apparatus comprising a rotary disc or plate
arranged at each end of the fallers, such discs being provided with opposing
notches for the reception of the ends of a faller, so that when the series of
fallers have advanced to the end of their forward movement, the end of the
forward faller enters the notch in the disc, which is now caused to revolve,
carrying the faller to the front or at the starting point again, and this goes on
continuously, each faller being carried from front to back by the oscillating disc,
and for the purpose of causing the series of fallers to advance bodily the ends
thercof work in a groove on the face of an eccentric, so that as the disc revolves
around the eccentric, the fallers are caused to advance a distance equal to the
thickness of the faller. The notched disc is made to revolve intermittently by
means of a pegged or star wheel operated by means of a catch, on the oscillation
of the gillheads, coming in contact with the pegs on the said star wheel.
By the construction and arrangement of apparatus such as herein described, the
slivers of fibre are lashed or opened out by the withdrawal of one gillhead from
the other and also by means of the fallers as they travel in their course; and
fibre thus treated is in a fit condition for the subsequent operations required in
combing.
Dated this 6th day of December 1887.
TASKER & CROSSLEY,
Halifax, Agents.

page_text: New or Improved Apparatus for Opening or Preparing Wool and
other Fibrous Substances.
1, JOSEPH WILSON THORNTON, of the Firm of Thornion, Whitaker & Co. of
Cottingley Mill, near Bingley, Yorkshire, Spinners and Manufacturers 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 -
The object of my invention is the construction, arrangement, and combination of
mechanisin for opening or preparing wool and other fibre previous to the subsequent
operation of combing, thereby dispensing with the necessity of carding or repeated
gilling of the said fibre, as is now done.
In order that my invention may be more fully understood, I will now make reference
to the accompanying sheets of Drawings illustrative thereof, wherein Fig. 1 is side
elevation of a machine constructed according to my invention. Fig. 3 section of the
crossheads. Fig. 4 sectional elevation of one of the said crossheads.
No. 1 represents the framing of the machine, 2 represent the standards or
framework to which the crossheads are attached, such standards being connected to a
short lever or beam 3 capable of working upon the fulcrum operated through the
medium of lever arm 5, connecting rod 6 and cam 7 fixed upon the main driving
shaft S. One end of the connecting rod 6 is slotted, and has fastened therein two
antifriction bowles 9 and 10 arranged to work against both sides of the cam 7 so that
the said cam operates the connecting rod positively in both directions giving the
connecting rod a reciprocatory motion which imparts oscillatory motion to the beams
or levers 3 consequently the standards and crossheads will receive an upward and
downward motion thereby alternately. The first pair of standards 2 and 2 are
connected to the second pair of standards 2ª and 2 by means of lever arm 5 and
connecting rod 11 as illustrated in the Drawings. In addition to the standards and
crossheads having an upward and downward motion, they also have imparted to them
a backward and forward motion and this is effected by means of eccentrics 18
fastened upon the main driving shaft S, such eccentrics operating connecting rods 14
and 15 attached to the standards 2 and 2 so that as the said eccentrics revolve, the
standards are caused by means of the eccentrics to advance towards each other and
recede again for purposes hereinafter explained, the first pair of standards being again
connected to the second pair through the medium of other connecting rods 16 and 17.
The crossheads, which are attached to the top part of the standards are composed of a
series of fallers 18 provided with pins or gills as shewn in sections Fig. 3 and 4.
The fallers are caused to travel through the fibre by a new and peculiar form of
mechanism as shewn in Fig. 3 also on enlarged section Fig. 5, and end view Fig. 6
and section Fig. 7. For causing the fallers to travel through the fibre I employ a
rotary disc or plate 19, one of such discs being arranged at each end of the fallers,
detail of which is shewn in Fig. 8. This disc is made with a lug or projection 20 formed
at the upper and lower part of the said disc, and the lugs are made to fit on another
disc or plate 21 which is made with two flatiened parts, for the purpose of permitting
the first inentioned disc 19 to slide backwards and forwards on the flattened parts of

page_text: the inner disc 21 whilst at the same time the two discs can revolve intermittently as
hereinafter explained. On the face of the inner disc 21 are attached projecting angle
pieces 22 upon which the ends of the fallers rest and travel, and in order to cause the
said fallers to travel forward through the fibre and also to carry and remove the
fallers as they successively arrive at the end of the traverse, one by one, and carry
them back to the starting point again, I employ for that purpose the larger or first
named disc 19, which it will be observed, is made with two opposing notches 23 50
that when notch 23 arrives opposite the fallers, such disc 19 is pushed forward by
the flat steel spring 55 such movement causing the notch 23" to receive a faller, after
which the disc 19 is made to revolve one half revolution, thereby carrying such faller
around to the starting point again, in doing which a space will be left equal to the
width of a faller, but the whole series of fallers will be made to travel forward in the
direction of the arrow so as to fill up the space left by the faller being removed as
hereinafter explained. The means I employ for causing the fallers to travel forward
is effected by means of the inner disc 21 through the medium of the lugs 20 so that
on the inner disc revolving one half revolution the outer disc is taken around with it
during which motion the peg 33 is riding over the segment 21" in doing which the
disc 1 is made to revolve eccentrically causing the fallers to move laterally in the
direction of the arrow.
As the fallers are being carried around from front to back of their travelling bed,
the ends of the fallers are not only within the notches 23 and 23" of the disc 19, but
they drop into the fork of the bent lever 24 (see Fig. 5) which assists to steady the
fallers as they are being transferred, such forked lever being caused to return to its
former position by the weight 25. The intermittent motion of the discs 19 and 21 is
obtained through the medium of the spur wheels 26 and 27 connected to the upright
standards 2. The lower or larger spur wheel 27 which is twice the size of the pinion 26
it is intended to drive, is fixed on the shaft 28, on which shaft is a plate wheel 29
provided with pegs 30 capable of being taken hold of by the hooked end of the catch 31
forced upwards by a flat spring 32 so that as the standards 2 oscillate backward and
forward the pegs 30 are caught hold of by the catch 3.1. causing such plate wheel to be
revolved a quarter of a revolution at each movement of the standards 2 towards the
feeding end of machine consequently one half revolution is given to the pinion 26
intermittently, causing the inner dise 21 to be also revolved intermittently, which
intermittent motion is imparted to the outer disc 19 as previously explained.
For the purpose of filling up the space between the two gillheads I employ the
comb 35 which is made to have a rising and falling motion for the purpose of
pene-
trating through the fringe of fibre hanging from the Gillhead. This rising comb 35,
passes through a grate 36, so that as the said comb descends it cannot take any fibre
down with it, as the grate would prevent the comb from so doing.
The rising and falling motion is imparted to said comb through the medium of a
vertical rod 37 the lower end of which rests upon a cam 38 such cam being caused to
Oscillate or partially revolve through the medium of connecting rods and levers 39
and 40 actuated by another lever 41 on the fulcrum of which lever is also a short
arm 42 connected by link to the upright arm 5 which it will be seen that as the
standards 2 rise and fall, the series of rods and levers just mentioned will be actuated
in such manner as to oscillate the cam 38 whereby the comb 35 will be raised, and it
may be lowered by a spiral spring, or by its own weight; or the said cam 38 may be
a plate cam, in which case the vertical rod 37 would have a positive up and down
motion.
For cleaning the fallers and lifting up the fibre thereon, I employ a steel bar or
plate 43 shewn in end view Fig. 3 and in elevation Fig. 10. This bar is connected to
vertical lever arms 44 one at each end of the machine, such arms being made secure
to the horizontal slotted bar 45 connected to the short shaft 46 carrying a finger 47 so
that as the standards 2 lower and reciprocate, the finger 47 comes into contact with a
projection 48 on the framework of the machine, whereby the steel blade 48 is made to
rise and fall in close proximity to the fallers, thereby assisting in loosening the fibre
and keeping the gills clean.

page_text: Each time the fallers receive a fresh tuft of fibre such said fibre is forced into the
teeth of the fallers by the dabbing brushes 49 connected to the vertical rods 50 and
caused to rise and fall through the medium of rods and levers 41 actuated from the
oscillating lever arm 5 somewhat in the same manner and by the same mechanism
which operates comb 35.
In order to divide the tufts of fibre when the opposing gillheads are receding from
each other, I employ any ordinary form of oscillating knife or blade.
The modus operandi is as follows:-
The fibre to be operated upon is first placed onto the endless travelling apron 55
which is the feeding end of the machine, such said fibre being received by a pair of
nipping rollers 56 which may be either fluted or plain, as thought most desirable.
After the said feeding rollers have received the fibre, and the fringe thereof is pro-
jecting from the rollers, the said fringe is received by the first gill head 2, such fibre
being forced into the teeth of the gills by the dabbing brush 49, and as the fallers
travel from the feed rollers, the fibre is lashed out and carried forward, and at a
suitable time the opposing gillheads commence to advance towards each other when
gillhead 2ª commences to rise, whilst the opposing gillhead 2 commences to lower in
such manner as to transfer the overhanging fringe of fibre from the first gillhead onto
the teeth of the fallers of the rising or second gillhead which when received, the said
fibre is forced into the teeth of the fallers by the dabbing brush provided for the
purpose. The fallers then travel, carrying with them the fibre, during which time,
that is whilst the fallers are travelling through the fibre, the gillheads 2ª and 2 are
advancing towards each other, and the fibre is transferred from the gillhead 2" to 2"
and dabbed into the teeth of the gills as already explained, and finally the fourth gill-
head 2 receives the fibre, from whence it is caught hold of and removed by drawing
rollers 57, and after the fibre has been received by the drawing rollers 57 it is carried
forward by another travelling endless apron 58 from whence it passes into the sliver
cans or other suitable receptacle placed to receive it.
By the construction and arrangement of apparatus such as is herein described the
tufts of fibre are lashed or opened out and laid parallel to each other by the withdrawal
of one gillbead from the other, and also by means of the fallers as they travel in the
course; and fibre thus treated is in a fit condition for the subsequent operations
required in combing, and whilst I have shewn 4 gillheads, a lesser or larger number
may be employed, according to fibre operated upon and the purposes for which it is
employed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
Firstly In apparatus for opening or preparing wool the employment of one or
more pairs of opposing gillheads having imparted to them rising and falling, advancing
and receding motions, substantially as shown and described.
Secondly-The intermittent revolving disc 19 for carrying the fallers from front to
back of their bed substantially as described.
:-
Thirdly The intermittent revolving disc 19 for causing the series of fallers to move
from back to front substantially as described.
Fourthly :—The general arrangement and combination of mechanism substantially
as herein described and shewn for opening or preparing wool or other fibres previous
to combing.
Dated this 6th day of February 1888.
TASKER & CROSSLEY,
Halifax, Agents.