Improvements in the Machines known as Cotton Gins, and used for Cleaning or Separating the Seeds from Cotton.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Dec., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 12th Sept., 1893-Accepted, 14th Oct., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Machines known as Cotton Gins, and used for
Cleaning or Separating the Seeds from Cotton.
We, JOHN MORRIS, of 38 Richmond Grove, East, Longsight Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster, and EMILY ELIZABETH FIDLER, of 76 Windsor Road,
Southport, in the County of Lancaster, formerly of 69 Greengate Street, Oldham,
in the County of Lancaster, Executors of James Fidler, deceased, late of
76 Windsor Road, Southport, in the County of Lancaster, and formerly of
69 Greengate Street Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Machinist, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention more especially relates to the machines known as Macarthy
cotton gins and used for cleaning and separating cotton from seeds and consists in
improvements by which such machines are rendered more efficient than they have
hitherto been.
In applying this invention to a double-acting Macarthy gin we fix to or form
upon one of the reciprocating blades employed in such machine, a grid or equivalent
appliance which may conveniently be connected to the said blade by means of brackets
provided for the purpose. The said grid or equivalent appliance is so placed upon
the blade to which it is secured that when the said blade is in a certain position the
upper surface of the said grid or equivalent appliance will be substantially in the
same plane as the upper surface of a fixed grid which we employ in conjunction
with the grid or equivalent appliance secured to the reciprocating blade above
mentioned. The grid or equivalent appliance which we mount upon or secure to
the reciprocating blade aforesaid may conveniently be formed of prongs or fingers
so made as to be capable of passing through the interstices or spaces of the fixed
grid which may also be conveniently formed of prongs or fingers. The prongs or
fingers or other devices of which the grid or equivalent appliance secured upon
the reciprocating blade aforesaid and the fixed grid are formed may be made of any
shape and size and be made of greater or less pitch as may be necessary or
desirable in order to enable the machines to efficiently operate upon cotton and
cotton seeds of the various kinds which may require to be ginned by means of
machines constructed according to this invention.
When a machine to which this invention is applied is at work the fingers or prongs
of the grid or equivalent appliance secured to the reciprocating blade aforesaid will
be caused by the action of the said reciprocating blade to pass through corresponding
interstices or spaces in the fixed grid above mentioned and will agitate the cotton
and seeds passing to the knives or blades and roller of the gin and so enable the
seeds from which cotton has been removed to more readily escape and fall away
between the grids on to the floor instead of clogging or choking up in front
of the blades or knives as they are liable to do in Macarthy gins as hitherto
constructed.
The application of this invention to a Macarthy gin by facilitating the escape
from the machine of the seeds from which cotton has been removed enables a greater
quantity of cotton to be cleaned or separated from seeds than is possible in Macarthy
gins as hitherto constructed.
Dated this Fourteenth day of December 1892.
ember 1
HOWARD CHEETHAM,
Manchester, Agent to the Applicants.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Machines known as Cotton Gins, and used for
Cleaning or Separating the Seeds from Cotton.
We, JOHN MORRIS, of 38 Richmond Grove, East, Longsight, Manchester,
in the County of Lancaster, and EMILY ELIZABETH FIDLER, of 76 Windsor
Road, Southport, in the County of Lancaster, formerly of 69 Greengate Street,
Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Executors of James Fidler, deceased,
late of 76 Windsor Road, Southport, in the County of Lancaster, and formerly
of 69 Greengate Street, Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Machinist, 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 :-
This invention consists of improvements in double-acting Macarthy cotton gins
which by facilitating the escape from the machine of the seeds from which the
cotton fibre has been removed or stripped, enable a greater quantity of cotton to be
cleaned or separated from seeds than is possible in double-acting Macarthy gins as
hitherto constructed.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a transverse section of so much of a double-acting Macarthy gin as is
necessary for the illustration of the nature of this invention and the manner in which
it may be performed,
Figs. 2 and 4 are transverse sections of parts shown in Fig. 1,
Figs. 3 and 5 are plans of parts shown in Fig. 1,
Figs. 6 and 7 are respectively a front and a side elevation of a detached part,
and
Figs. 8 and 9 are enlarged views in section of parts shown in Fig. 1.
(a) (b) are the two reciprocating blades or knives which give the name "double
acting" to this class of gin and which work in conjunction with the fixed blade or
kuife (c).
(d) is the roller covered with leather or elastic material employed in conjunction
with the reciprocating blades or knives (a) (b) and fixed blade or knife (c). The
fixed blade or knife (c) is secured by cramps (e) to a rail (f) and is pressed
against the face of the roller (d) by the adjustable springs (g). In order that the
fixed blade (c) may be adjusted vertically in relation to the roller (d) the rail (f)
is provided with means by which it may be raised or lowered in relation to the side
frames (4) of the machine of which one only is shown in the accompanying drawings,
and means which are not shown in the accompanying drawings, are provided to enable
the said rail (f) to be moved horizontally so that the fixed blade (c) may be moved
nearer to or farther from the roller (d). The reciprocating blade or knife (a) is
connected to a suitable number of radius rods (i) which pass through a shaft (i)
extending lengthwise of the machine and capable of being oscillated in bearings
formed in the side frames (h) of the machine. The radius rods (1) are provided
with screw threads and nuts (2) (3) so that the distance of the reciprocating blade
or knife (a) from the axis of the shaft (¹) may be adjusted as may be necessary.
The reciprocating blade or knife (b) is connected to a suitable number of radius
rods () which pass through a shaft (¹) extending lengthwise of the machine and
capable of being oscillated in bearings formed in the side frames (h) of the machine.
The radius rods (j) are provided with screw threads and nuts (³) (3) so that the
distance of the reciprocating blade or knife (6) from the axis of the shaft (1) may
be adjusted as may be necessary. The reciprocating blade or knife (a) receives
motion by means of connecting rods (k) (k) of which one only is shown (see
Fig. 1). The connecting rods (k) (k) receive motion from a crank-shaft which is
not shown in the accompanying drawings. The reciprocating blade or knife (b)
also receives motion by means of connecting rods (m) of which one only is shown

page_text: (see Fig. 1). The connecting rods (m) (m) receive motion from the aforesaid
crank-shaft.
(g) is a movable grid or equivalent appliance which is connected to the
reciprocating blade or knife (a) employed in the machine and (r) is the usual fixed
grid which is situated above the parts which support and operate the movable grid
or equivalent appliance (7). The movable grid or equivalent appliance (7) is
employed in conjunction with such fixed grid (). The movable grid or equivalent
appliance (9) which is shown detached in Figs. 2 and 3 and on a larger scale in
Figs. 8 and 9, consists of a bar (g) provided with a number of prongs (7) projecting
therefrom and so formed that their free ends shall form a grid. The bar (q') of
the movable grid (g) from which the prongs (3) project is secured by screws (13)
to brackets (s) which are secured by set screws (s) to the blade or knife (a). One
of the brackets (s) is shown detached in Figs. 6 and 7. The fixed grid (r) is formed
of a plate (r) provided with a projecting flange () in which prongs (*) are
inserted, thus constituting a grid. The prongs (**) are secured in the flange (2)
by means of a plate (¹) secured upon the lower surface of such flange () by
means of set screws (r). The prongs (*) are of such size and placed at such
distance apart as may be appropriate to the size of the seeds in the cotton upon
which the gin is intended to operate and the prongs (9) are made of such size and
formed at such a distance apart that they may be able to pass through the spaces
between the prongs (³).
In double-acting Macarthy gins as hitherto constructed the cotton to he operated
upon is placed upon the table or feed board (n) which is carried by the end
frames (h) of the machine and formed in part with a sloping or inclined portion (n')
which with the end frames (7) of the macbine and the rail (f) and fixed blade or
knife (c) forms a hopper into which the said cotton gradually fed by the attendant
in charge of the machine. At the bottom of the said hopper is a feeder bar (o)
which extends throughout the length of the blades or knives (a) (b) and (c), and is
secured to connecting rods (p) to which a reciprocating motion is imparted by the
revolving crank-shaft (pl) mounted in suitable bearings (2) secured to the end
frames (h) of the machine. The fixed grid or grating (r) is placed beneath the
space which is traversed by the edge of the feeder bar (o) so that seeds from which
the fibres of cotton have been removed may fall through such fixed grid or grating.
The feeder bar (o) is caused to move alternately towards and away from the
roller (d) and thus the cotton fed into the said hopper is pushed against the
roller (d). The roller (d) revolves in the direction indicated by the arrow (A)
and the fibres of cotton becoming engaged with the leather or other covering of
the roller (d) are drawn between the fixed blade or knife (c) and the roller (d),
simultaneously the reciprocating blades or knives (a) and (b) which ascend and
descend alternately, (there being always one or the other ascending) striking the
seeds cause them to be separated from the fibres of cotton which are being drawn
along by the roller (d). The liberated fibres of cotton are carried beneath the
fixed blade or knife (c) by the roller (d) and deposited on the floor outside the
machine, whilst the seeds not properly stripped of their cotton are retained until
properly stripped. It frequently happens however that instead of falling through
such fixed grid or grating some of the seeds from which cotton has been stripped
remain on the upper surface of such grid or grating (r) for a considerable time
and by occupying space, which in their absence would be filled by cotton and
seeds not properly stripped, materially interfere with the efficiency of the machine.
The mode of operation when the improvements in which this invention consists
are applied is as follows
As the blade or knife (a) is moved upwards and downwards the prongs (9)
secured to the said blade or knife (a) are continually passing and repassing through
the spaces between the prongs (³) of the fixed grid (r). This action causes the
seeds and cotton resting upon the fixed grid (r) to be agitated and so facilitates the
escape of the stripped seeds through the fixed grid (r). Fig. 8 shows the movable
grid (g) in its highest position and Fig. 9 shows it in its lowest position. By thus

page_text: facilitating the escape of the cleaned geeds the improvements in which this invention
consists prevents the accumulation of such seeds upon the fixed grid (r) and thus
afford better access for the cotton and for the seeds from which the cotton fibres have
not been sufficiently removed, to the roller (d) and blades (a) and (b) which greatly
increases the efficiency of the machine.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
In a double-acting Macarthy cotton gin the combination with the fixed grid
employed in such machine of a movable grid or equivalent appliance such as (9)
fixed to or formed upon one of the reciprocating blades of such machine and
arranged, employed and operating for the purpose and substantially in the manner
hereinbefore described in reference to and illustrated in and by the accompanying
drawings.
Dated this Eleventh day of September 1893.
HOWARD
CHEETHAM,
Manchester, Agent to the Applicants.