Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Mar., 1887
Complete Left, 27th Oct., 1887
Complete Accepted, 16th Dec., 1887
I WILLIAM SPENCE of 8 Quality Court Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex
Patent Agent do hereby declare the nature of this invention (being a communication
to me from abroad by Parfait Dubois of Avesnes sur Helpe (Nord) France
Manufacturer) to be as follows:-
This machine is composed of a series of cylindrical rollers of which the first pair
(feeding rollers) are furnished with metallic cards or points whilst those immediately
following have their surface (smooth or fluted) covered with a layer of caoutchouc,
leather, cloth or other elastic or flexible material which will admit of the adhesion of
the textile material while allowing any hard substance embedded therein (such as
grains thistles &c.) to pass forward.
The raw sheet of wool spread on a travelling apron at one end of the machine
becomes disentangled in its passage through the pair of carded rollers as it is drawn
forward by the next pair (smooth or fluted) then in passing successively through a
series of drawing rollers becomes elongated owing to their increasing speed of
revolution, thereby straightening and laying parallel the fibres. The grains thistles
&c. are by this means disengaged from the fibres of the wool.
In this case the crushing rollers are arranged to act only upon the thistles or foreign
substances and cannot injure the wool during the crushing or pulverizing process.
The filaments of wool very fine in thickness are engaged by drawing rollers arranged
in such a manner as to support and conduct them between a pair of crushing rollers
whereby is effected the passing of the wool from a roller with an elastic or flexible
surface on to a metal roller.
The wool is taken again from the said crushing rollers (pressed upon by springs)
by another pair of rollers and from these by a succeeding pair with a bottom roller
having projections or beaters on its surface and from this last pair by another roller
with projections or beaters whence it is discharged from the machine.

page_text: By means of the above arrangement, the wool on leaving the feeding rollers is
disentangled, straightened and drawn from one end of the machine to the other,
without the least interruption, without any break of continuity, and without the aid
of gravitation.
The wool being operated upon in this machine after preparatory soaking and
washing, is kept moist so as not to dry the organic materials enclosed in it which
materials (grains thistles &c.) become crushed and pulverized at the point of contact
between the crushing rollers.
This machine has the peculiar advantage of crushing the whole of the grains and
thistles contained in the wool, instead of acting on a wool from which a part of the
grains and thistles had already been eliminated by a preliminary mechanical action.
WILLIAM
SPENCE.
W. Spence & Son,
8, Quality Couri,
Agents for the Applicant.
Filaments in order to Disengage Seeds, Thistles, and other
Substances therefrom and Crush them in the State Produced by
Soaking alone.
A communication from abroad by PARFAIT DUBOIS, of Avesnes sur Helpe (Nord),
France, Manufacturer.
I WILLIAM SPENCE of 8 Quality Court Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex
Patent Agent do hereby declare the nature of the said invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
The machine under this invention is composed of a series of cylindrical
rollers A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, H and J, of which the first pair A, B, (feeding
rollers) are furnished with metallic cards or points whilst those following
C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, have their surface (smooth or fluted) covered with a layer
of caoutchouc, leather cloth or other clastic or flexible material which will admit of
the adhesion of the textile material while allowing any hard substances embedded
therein (such as grains thistles &c.) to pass forward.
The sheet of raw wool spread on the travelling apron T becomes disentangled in its
passage through the pair of carded rollers A, B, by the drawing of the rollers C, D,

page_text: then in passing successively through each of the drawing rollers E, F, G, H, H¹, J,
it becomes elongated owing to their increasing speed of revolution, thereby
straightening and laying parallel the fibres. The grains, thistles &c. are by this
means disengaged from the fibres of the wool. In this case the crushing rollers
reach only the thistles or foreign substances and cannot injure the wool during the
crushing or pulverizing process.
The filaments of wool, very fine in thickness, are engaged by the drawing rollers H¹, J.
arranged in such a manner as to support and conduct them between the crushing
rollers K, L whereby is effected the passing of the wool from a roller with an elastic
or flexible surface on to a metal roller.
The wool is again taken from the rollers K, L, (pressed upon by springs at V) by
the rollers M, N, and from M, N, by O, P, and from O, P, by Q.
As will be seen, the wool on leaving the feeding rollers A, B, becomes disentangled
straightened and drawn from one end of the machine to the other without interruption
or any breaking of continuity and without the help of the law of gravitation."
The wool being always kept (by the means hereinafter described) on the
points y', y², y³, y', yo, y y', it can never return on itself so as to detain the grains,
thistles &c. since the greatest distance between y¹, y², y³, y², y³, yo, y', is never greater
than the ordinary length of the wool.
The wool being operated upon in this machine after previous soaking and washing,
it is kept moist so as not to dry the organic matters contained in it. The said organic
matters (grains, thistles &c.) then become crushed, pulverized at the point S, even
without the contact of the rollers K, L, in consequence of the resulting physical and
mechanical phenomenon now to be indicated.
By the soaking the thistle absorbs a large quantity of water into the cells of which
it is composed and it swells. When it becomes squeezed more or less between the
rollers K, L, (the speed of which is great) the water which it contains is forcibly
expelled from its pores and the thistle is pulverized. This effect is only produced on
the thistle which has not been well soaked and it is for this reason that a complete
soaking is employed. The rollers M, N, and O, being hollow and light can rest one
on the other and finish the pulverization without injury to the wool.
The revolving beaters P, Q, driven at unequal speeds while taking up the wool
from N, O, exert the action of beating upon it and clear it from flattened grains &c.
The caps RR, R, covered with cloth are intended to prevent any filament
of wool from sticking on J, Land L, N, and to keep the said parts of apparatus
always clean.
This machine has the peculiar advantage of crushing the whole of the grains and
thistles contained in the wool, instead of acting on a wool of which a part of the grains
and thistles had already been extracted by a preliminary mechanical action.
The wool operated upon in this machine is kept moist so as not to dry the organic
matters contained in it, which are crushed, pulverized at the point S, even without
the contact of the rollers K. In fact by the soaking the thistle absorbs a large
quantity of water into its cells and it swells. When it becomes squeezed more or
less between the rollers K (the speed of which is great) the water is forcibly
expelled and the thistle is pulverized. Moreover there are in the interior small
grains yellow, oval, of several millimètres in thickness.
By the soaking and washing the water is caused to penetrate these small grains
and when the thistle passes to the point S, at the same time that its pulverization is
produced, the little yellow grains thus swelled by water burst with sound on several
points of the surface of the thistle.
It should be added that instead of employing the cylinders or rollers
C, E, G, D, F, H, H', with the surface covered with india rubber, leather, cloth, or
other flexible material, these cylinders or rollers may be covered with india rubber,
leather, cloth, or other flexible material and then enclosed in a case of soft leather in
a single piece. This casing or tube is fixed at each end of the cylinders or rollers in
any suitable manner, and the rollers then work without raveling.
Finally there has been foreseen the case in which for combings there is no

page_text: separate apparatus for drying after washing. In order to avoid the inconvenience of
operating upon the wool with too great a quantity of water in it there are adapted
and applied to the machine one or several pairs of rollers Z, Z, grooved and hollow
which may be heated by steam in order to dry the wool as may be required. The
rollers Z, Z, are also intended by their heat to swell the thistle which by thus
increasing in bulk is better crushed between the rollers K, L, and M, N.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed (communicated to me from abroad
as aforesaid) I declare that what I claim is :-
First. A machine for crushing grains, thistles &c. contained in wools characterized
by the employment of a method of drawing of raw wool washed and moist, by the
aid of cylinders or rollers of metal or other suitable material covered with india
rubber or other elastic and flexible material, such method of drawing the raw wool
after soaking and washing being followed by the crushing of foreign substances which
thus become disengaged, all in the same machine without break of continuity in the
work in order to avoid leaving the wool to itself and also without the aid of the law
of gravitation.
Secondly. A machine for crushing thistles &c. in wools based on the application
of the physical and mechanical phenomenon mentioned in the description, and
consisting in the employment of rollers or cylinders in combination with the thistle
well soaked for the purpose of destroying the adherence of its fibres, a combination
which admits of operating on the thistle in the natural state, that is to say, the thistle
not having already undergone any mechanical treatment.
Thirdly A machine for crushing the whole of the grains, thistles &c. characterized
by the combination of the feeding rollers A, B, and the drawing rollers
C, D, E, F, G, H, H', J, with the crushing rollers K, L, the pulverizers M, N, O,
the revolving beaters 1', Q, and the caps R R R2 all for the purpose and in the
manner hereinbefore described and represented in the accompanying drawings.
Fourthly. The application of a casing or tube of soft leather for surrounding the
rollers C, D, E, F, G, H, H', previously covered with a layer of elastic or flexible
material.
And lastly. When there is no separate apparatus for drying after washing, the
adaptation and application to the front part of the drawing and crushing machine
of one or several pairs of rollers Z, Z, grooved and hollow, capable of being heated
by steam.
Dated this 27th day of October 1887.
WILLIAM SPENCE.