MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR OPENING, CLEANING, SCUTCHING, AND 'BREAKING UP COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS, AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1880

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Roger Tatham and Johu Taft at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 18th September 1880.
ROGER TATHAM, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster, Mechanical Engineer,
"IMPROVE-
and JOHN TAFT, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Mechanic.
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR OPENING, CLEANING, SCUTCHING, AND 'BREAKING
UP COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS, AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED
THEREWITH."
Our Invention relates to machinery or apparatus used for opening, cleaning,
scutching, and breaking up cotton and other fibrous materials, and consists, firstly,
in a method whereby we cause the material fed to such machines aforesaid, after
being operated upon by a beater or equivalent apparatus, to be delivered at two or
more places simultaneously, and formed if desired into two or moro laps. For this
purposo we cause the material to be thrown by the beater or equivalent apparatus
of such machines upon the surfaces of two or more pairs of cages, each of such
pair of cages carrying the material thrown upon it by the beater or equivalent
apparatus aforesaid to calendar rollers and lapping arrangement of any ordinary
construction for forming it into a lap or otherwise as may be desired. -
We conduct the material from the beater or equivalent apparatus aforesaid to
the said cages by suitable pipes, and the beater or equivalent apparatus before-
named may be placed in any desired position relative to the above named cages.
To the previously named cages wo apply a fan or fans for removing the dirt or dust
therefrom as usual.
For this
Secondly. Our Invention relates to apparatus by which irregularities in the
quantity of material fed to machinery for opening, cleaning, scutching, and breaking
up cotton and other fibrous materials are indicated and registered.
purpose we provide a finger and index, such finger being connected by a bar and
connecting rod jointed thereto, with the feed rollers of the above named machines,
so that as these rollers are separated by the material passing between them the
degree of separation is indicated by the before named finger, and we also cause the
said finger to act upon a ratchet wheel by means of a click, by which its movements
are transmitted to a recording or registering apparatus whereby the amount of such
variations are indicated and registered.

page_text: "
The third part of our Invention refers to the beaters of openers and scutchers,
and consists in mounting a number of discs upon an axle, such discs being placed
at an angle thereto. To the sides of the said discs we attach blades or knives, one
end of such blades extending beyond the circumferences of the said discs. As the
before named axle upon which the said discs are mounted rotates, the said blades
revolving in different planes will remove the material fed to them by the ordinary
feed rollers in detached tufts, and the material will be thereby opened and freed
from dirt and dust.
Fourthly. Our Invention relates to that part of openers or scutchers known as
feed regulating motions," and consists in an arrangement whereby the separation
of the feed rollers, caused by the varying thickness of material passing between
them, is transmitted to the parts for traversing the strap upon the cones or their
equivalents used for regulating the feed in the aforesaid feed apparatus with
greater certainty than heretofore. For this purpose we provide a bridge pioce, its
ends being attached to the pedestals in which the feed rollers are mounted. Upon
this bridge-piece we mount the fulcrum of a lever, one end of such lever being
connected by a link to a bar extending across and resting upon the steps of the
upper feed roller, and the other end thereof being connected by a rod to the usual
levers used for traversing the strap upon the before named cones or equivalent
apparatus by which the feed is regulated.
Fifthly. Our improvements relate to that part of openers and scutchers known as
the "
dirt-box," such box being a receptacle placed beneath-the-bars,-or-grid-
extending from the beater to the cage of such machines aforesaid, and consists in an
arrangement whereby-the-dirt-falling-into-such box is removed continuously during
-the-working-of the said machine. For this purpose we use an endless belt or chain
carrying scrapers passing around rollers or shafts, and driven from any convenient-
part of the machine, such scrapers in their passage through the said "dirt-box,"
removing the dirt therefrom and preventing its accumulation therein.