IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY USED IN MANUFACTURING OR SEPARATING COIR FIBRE FROM THE HUSK OF THE COCOA NUT
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Tomlinson Bousfield, of Loughborough Park,
Brixton, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY USED IN MANUFACTURING OR SEPARATING COIR FIBRE FROM THE
HUSK OF THE COCOA NUT."-A communication from abroad by David
Wilson, of Colombo, in the Island of Ceylon.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Tomlinson Bous-
field at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 3rd October 1864.
J, GEORGE TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of Loughborough Park, Brixton, in the
County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVE-
_ MENTS IN MACHINERY USED IN MANUFACTURING OR SEPARATING COIR FIBRE FROM
THE HUSK OF THE COCOA-NUT," to be as follows:-
The husks or pieces of husks are softened by the action of water or steam ;
if water be used, from 24 to 48 hours under its action will be generally found
O sufficient to make the husk fully ready for the subsequent processes; should
steam be used, a shorter time will suffice. The husks are crushed by grooved
: rollers, through which they should now be passed a sufficient number of times
to flatten them as much as possible. The upper one of the crushing rollers
is arranged to rise and fall, and is weighted sufficiently to crush the husk or

page_text: piece of husk while it is passing between the rollers. The husks or pieces of
husks are now taken to the combing machine, which consists of a cylinder or
drum, on the surface of which steel or metal pins or points are fixed, which
project out from the surface of the drums or cylinders, by preference, about
13 inch. The drum or cylinder is made to revolve at a high speed. In front
of the drum or cylinder are feeding-rollers-by-which-the.husks or parts of husks
are fed up to and beld in front of the drum or cylinder. The upper feed
roller being lifted the husk or piece of husk is then placed between the
rollers, the upper roller is then pressed upon the husk, when it is gradually
moved up into contact with the teeth, which comb all the outer shelly part
and a portion of the pulpy part of the husk away from the one half of the
husk or piece of husk, which is then reversed, and the other half is acted on
in a similar manner. An equally simple arrangement can be made for the
feeding rollers to work in front of the pins should they be fixed on the faces
or ends of the cylinder or drum. The pulp, which contains a small quantity
of poor qualities of fibre, falls upon. the ground, underneath the combing
drums. The fibre which is retained in the hand of the worker of the machine
still retains a considerable quantity of pulpy matter which has still to be
removed from it by the following process: One or more doors are applied in
the covering at the upper part of the drum or cylinder; these doors should
open conveniently by having hinges connecting them to the covering. The
doors and coverings may be made of wood, though other material may be
used. When the door is shut there should be no more than about of an
inch clearance between the wood of the door, and the pins or points of the
.roller. The portion of the husk which has remained in the hand of the person
when working the roughing side of the machine is handed over to the person
working at the finishing or door side of the machine who retains hold of the
one end of the portion of husk and opens the door with the other hand, when
he places the greater portion of the material which he has in his hand on the
teeth or points with the other hand; he then presses the door upon the
material, which is thus pressed into the teeth. The inner part of the husk
has been placed next to the teeth this time. In a very short time almost
the whole of the pulpy part of the portion of husk will be combed out. The
other end of the material in the hand of the worker of the machine is then
subjected to similar treatment. The material combed from the portion of
husk by this process would mix with the other portion cómbed out by the
roughing process, which falls to the ground, were it not for an opening in the
upper part of the covering, where the material consisting of the better quality
of fibre flies out, and is caught by a curved shelf or receiver. The material

page_text: caught in this shelf or receiver is now removed into a basket which is placed
by the side of the machine; when this is done the material which the person
working the machine still retains in his hand is subjected to its final process,
which removes from it every appearance of pulp;. in doing this (by the
process similar to the last, but more prolonged and more carefully done,) a'
very good clean quality of fibre is combed out from the stiffer portion, which
is still retained in the hand of the person working the machine. This finer
quality is caught in the shelf or receiver at the top of the covering. When.
this last process is completed, the person working the machine has a stiff
brush or bristle fibre left in his hand which is perfectly clean. The portion
caught last on the shelf will be found to be almost equally clean, but not so
strong or stiff.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Tomlinson Bousfield in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 21st March 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of Loughborough Park, Brixton, in the County of
Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George Tomlinson Bousfield, Her special licence that I, the said George
Tomlinson Bousfield, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY USED IN MANUFACTURING OR SEPARATING COIR
FIBRE FROM THE HUSK OF THE COCOA-NUT," a communication to me from abroad
by David Wilson, of Colombo, in the Island of Ceylon, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and

page_text: cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar]
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, do bereby
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 thereof, that is to say:-
The husks or pieces of husks are softened by the action of water or steam;
if water be used, from 24 to 48 hours under its action will be generally found
sufficient to make the husk fully ready for the subsequent processes; should
steam be used a shorter time will suffice. The husks are crushed by grooved
rollers, through-which-they-should now be passed a sufficient number of times
to flatten them as much as possible. The upper one of the crushing rollers is
arranged to rise and fall, and is weighted sufficiently to crush the husk or
piece of husk while it is passing between the rollers. The husks or pieces of
husks are now taken to the combing machine, which consists of a cylinder or
drum, on the surface of which steel or metal pins or points are fixed which
project out from the surface of the drums or cylinder, by preference about
13 inch. The drum or cylinder is made to revolve at a high speed. In front
of the drum or cylinder are feeding rollers, by which the husks or parts of
husks are fed up to and held in front of the drum or cylinder. The upper
feed roller being lifted, the husks or piece of husk is then placed between the
rollers; the upper roller is then pressed upon the husk, when it is gradually
moved up into contact with the teeth, which comb all the outer shelly part
and a portion of the pulpy part of the husk away from the one half of the
husk or piece of husk, which is then reversed, and the other half is acted on
in a similar manner. An equally simple arrangement can be made for the
feeding rollers to work in front of the pins should they be fixed on the faces
or ends of the cylinder or drum. The pulp, which contains a small quantity
of poor qualities of fibre, falls upon the ground underneath the combing
drums. The fibre which is retained in the hand of the worker of the machine
still retains a considerable quantity of pulpy matter which has still to be
removed from it by the following process:-One or more doors are applied in
the covering at the upper part of the drum or cylinder; these doors should
open conveniently by having binges connecting them to the covering. The
door and coverings may be made of wood, though other material may be
used. When the door is shut there should be no more than about of an
inch clearance between the wood of the door and the pins or points of the
roller. The portion of the husk which has remained in the land of the person
when working the roughing side of the machine is handed over to the person
.

page_text: working at the finishing or door side of the machine, who retains hold of the
one end of the portion of husk and opens the door with the other hand, when
places the greater portion of the material which he has in his hand on the
teeth or points with the other hand; he then presses, the door upon the
material, which is thus pressed into the teeth. The inner part of the husk
has been placed next to the teeth this time. . In a very short time almost the
whole of the pulpy part of the portion of husk will be combed out." The other
end of the material in the hand of the worker of the machine is then subjected
to similar treatment.
The material combed from the portion of. husk by this
process would mix with the other portion combed out by the roughing process;
which falls to the ground; were it not for an opening in the upper parts of the
covering where the material consisting of the better quality of fibre: flies out;
and is caught by a curved shelf or receiver. The material caught in, this
shelf
or receiver is now removed into a basket which is placed by the side of
the machine; when this is done the material which the person working the
machine still retains in his hand is subjected to its final process, which removes
from it every appearance of pulp'; in doing this (by the process similar to the
last, but more prolonged and more carefully done) a very good clean quality
of fibre is combed out from the stiffer portion, which is still retained in the
hand of the person working the machine. This finer quality is caught in the
shelf or receiver at the top of the covering. When this last process is com
pleted the person working the machine has a stiff brush or bristle fibre left in
his hand which is perfectly clean. The portion caught last. on the shelf.will
be found to be almost equally clean, but not so strong or stiff..
Having thus stated the nature of the said Invention, I will proceed more
fully to describe the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Drawing A shows a transverse section of the grooved crushing rollers which
I prefer to use, at the same time I make no claim thereto as they are similar
to what have before been employed for the same purpose; Drawing B shows
in outline longitudinal side elevation, in section, of machinery having. the
Invention applied thereto; Drawing C shows a plan view of the arrangement
of teeth; and Drawing D shows the form of teeth preferred to be employed,
but other arrangements and forms of teeth may be used.
The general construction of the machinery is similar to that heretofore
employed, and the peculiarity of the Invention consists in the arrangements
for and mode of separating the fibres by the openings through the casing of
the cylinder and the apparatus applied thereto. d is the shaft or axis of the

page_text: cylinder e, which is set with teeth as shown by Drawings C and D. The shaft
or axis turns in bearings carried by the framing a, a, of the machine. a is a
pulley on the shaft or axis d, by which motion is transmitted to the pulley y,
which by a pinion ? gives motion to the cog wheel t on the axis of the lower
_of_the_ feed rollers f, whilst those rollers are geared together at their other
ends, yet so as to allow the upper to be lifted by the handle u;-when-the-
upper roller is lifted, a piece of the prepared husk is placed between the rollers,
by which one end of the piece is gradually advanced up towards the cylinder
e, e, till that end of the piece has been acted on, when the other end of the
piece is similarly introduced and advanced towards the cylinder, by which the
outer shelly parts and some of the pulpy parts are removed by the teeth c, c,.
and such. removed parts fall to the ground under the combing cylinder e.
At 9, in the cover of the combing-drum-or-cylinder, is formed_an_opening
having a door M hinged at k. The portion of the husk which has been acted
on by the teeth of the cylinder when held by the hand and moved by the feed
rollers' is next acted on by the cylinder at the opening g, where another work-
man holds one end of the husk or part of .a husk in one hand, and having
opened the door with the other hand, he places the greater portion of the
material on the teeth on the cylinder (which revolves in the direction indicated
bý. the arrows) with the other hand; he then presses the door upon the
material, which is thus pressed into, the teeth, the inner part of the husk being
towards the cylinder... In a short time the pulpy part will be combed out.
The other end of the material previously held by the workman is then simi-
larly treated, whilst the combed end is held in the hand. The parts thus
combed off pass out at the opening o and are received into the shelf or
receiver p, q. The cover of the cylinder or drum e, e, is of metal, and is
shown by blue lines, and such is the case in respect to the shelf or receiver
P, q. The door, and also the part to which it is hinged, it is preferred should
be of wood. The fibrous material thus separated is to be removed from the
shelf or receiver p, q, and then the fibrous material is again at both ends
subjected to the action of the teeth on the cylinder for a greater length of
time in order to remove all the finer fibres, leaving only the stronger fibres in
the hand of the workman. R, S, and X, Y, show. partitions for dividing the
floor under the machine in order to receive different qualities of fibre thrown
off by the velocity of the rotation of the cylinder or drum. .
Having thus described the nature of the Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that in place of the carding
surface being a cylinder it may be of other form, and separately forms no part
of this Invention; but what I claim is, the mode herein described of arranging

page_text: the cover of the carding surface and applying apparatus thereto for separating
and for receiving the separated fibres.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Second day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
GEO. T. BOUSFIELD. (L.s.)