IMPROVEMENTS IN CARDS FOR CARDING WOOL, COTTON, SILK, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES, AND FOR RAISING THE PILE OF WOOLLEN AND OTHER CLOTHS
Year: 1834

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
WALTON, of Sowerby Bridge, in the County of York, Cloth Dresser, send
greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the
Fourth, by His Letters tent under the Great Seal of Great Britain,
bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-seventh day of March, in the
fourth year of His reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said James Walton, His especial licence that I,
the said James Walton, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such others as
the said James Walton, my exors, adiñiors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term
of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CARDS FOR CARDING WOOL, COTTON, SILK,
AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES, AND FOR RAISING THE PILE OF WOOLLEN AND
OTHER CLOTHS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I,
the said James Walton, shall cause a particular description of the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
inrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
James Walton, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention to consist

page_text: in the application and adaptation of the material known by the name of
caoutchouc or indin rubber, as a substitute for the fillets or sheets of leather
which are commonly used in the construction of ordinary cards, and thus
giving a superior elasticity and durability to such cards. And in further
compliance with the said proviso, I, the said James Walton, do hereby
describe the manner in which my said Invention is to be performed, by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawing annexed, and
to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 2 represents an elevation of a card constructed with an india rubber
or caoutchouc foundation or fillet, as shewn at a, a, in which the wire dents or
teeth are inserted, and the regularity of distance and uniformity of the dents or
teeth of the cards, are found to be better preserved by a piece of linen commonly
called brown Holland, or other the like cloth, well glazed and cemented on to
the back of the caoutchouc or india rubber, as shewn by a red line at b, b.
The cloth b, b, when fastened to the caoutchouc, continues to keep the dents
cr teeth more firmly in their places when in use, and the foundation or fillet
being thereby made much stiffer, the action of the dents or teeth is less un-
certain in their elastic movement. The cloth so cemented to the india rubber
or caoutchouc is to be affixed to the cylinder or board, or the ordinary carding
engine, by nails, but if it is to be affixed by cementing, then it is desirable to
remove the cloth, which, in this case, should only slightly attached to the
india rubber, and this will be found the best mode of applying the cards
thereon. When the cards are constructed by hand, it is essential that the
cloth b, b, should be first pricked by an engine (as is the practice when leather
is used) to regulate the distance and required uniformnity of the dents or teeth,
and in cases where cloth is introduced between two layers of caoutchouc or
india rubber, as represented by the red line at Figure 3. The india rubber
or caoutchouc is pricked or pierced in a similar manner, to enable the card
maker to force the dents or teeth through without bending or injuring their
form or shape, but the pricking of the holes may be effected by the patent
machinery of Mr. Dyer, of Manchester, now in use for that purpose. It may
be as well here to observe that when I mention cement in this Specification,
I always allude to what is now generally called india-rubber cement, and
which, as it has now become an article of general sale, and may be bought
by that name, I do not think it necessary further to describe the same; but
as the machines, for cutting india rubber are not generally known, and as I
prefer caoutchouc or india rubber in the stato it is imported for my purpose,

page_text: I will now describe the means which I use for cutting the caoutchouc or
india rubber into layers from the solid blocks as imported, and which I recom-
mend in preference to what is termed manufactured rubber, or india rubber
first dissolved by some known solvent and then cast in moulds to form blocks,
the former being most suitable for the purpose. I first cut the block length-
wise into suitable sizes, according to the nature of the cards to be manufactured,
and then place the flat or regular surface of the block on a metallic surface,
which moves freely between two guides, the exact thickness of the sheet of
caoutchouc or india rubber which it is designed to cut off. And it will be evident
that by varying the thickness of the metallic surface, the proper thickness of
caoutchouc will be cut off. A sharp knife, kept occasionally wet with water
and supported on guides, is then pressed with a sawing action against the
india rubber or caoutchouc by the operator at the same time that he forces
the india rubber or caoutchouc forwards between the guides by turning the
roller n, and thus severs or cuts off a piece of the exact thickness required. The
pieces thus cut off may be joined together to form fillets or sheets, according to
the nature of the card intended to be made; and when the teeth or dents are
set therein, may be nailed to the board in the usual manner, or cemented on
it. This apparatus is shewn at Figure 4, which represents a side view, and
Figure 5, an end view of the same. In these Figures, L represents the
knife, and h, h, the rests on which it is supported; N, N, is the block of
caoutchouc or india rubber, and n, one of the layers which is cut off, seen in
Figure 5; M, represents the roller pressed upon the caoutchouc or india
rubber N, N, by weights attached to the small rods m, m, on each side. In
cutting the layers of caoutchouc or india rubber, I have found the operation
greatly facilitated by using water, and keeping the knife constantly wet.
But I would here observe, that I lay no claim to the cutting apparatus
herein-before described, as I have only shewn it as the best method I am at
present aware of to effect the purpose.
The apparatus for grinding or pointing the wires forming the cards herein-
before described as represented in Figure 1, which is an elevation of a portion
of a shaft, having a series of cutters or files placed thereon, as will be described
hereafter; this shaft must be fixed in suitable bearings, and rotary motion
be communicated thereto from any first mover. C, C, is the shaft of any
required length. d, d, d, d, d, d, d, d, d, d, d, are a number of circular steel
rings or discs, having bevelled edges on each face, with grooves or notches cut
in them similar to files, for the purpose of grinding or pointing the teeth or
dents of the cards when placed in contact therewith during the revolution of

page_text: the shaft. A few only of these cutters or files aro shewn in the Drawing, as
their number will depend upon the length of card intended to be pointed or
sharpened; but when in use the whole shaft is supposed to be strung with
them. D, D, are two flanges capable of being moved freely on the shaft, and
provided with set screws, for the purpose of fixing the circular files or cutters
firmly together. P. p, p, p, are screws tapped into the flanges D, D, for the
purpose of setting the circular cutters or files to any degrees of obliquity
that may be required, as will be hereafter explained. This apparatus is used
in every respect similarly to the circular emery strickles or grinding cylinders
which are in ordinary use; but instead of grinding the wire to a flat face or
chisel edge, as is the case with the ordinary emery grinder, it grinds the wire
to an angular form, which is found to make a much better point to the dents
or teeth.
I also find it useful to put these cutters a little out of truth
or with a slight obliquity, which I effect by means of the set screws p, p,
in the flanges D, D, before mentioned, and by turning the hole or centre of
cach cutter somewhat larger than the diameter of the shaft, so that the screw
on one side of the shaft may be pressed against the face of the cutter or
file, or cause it to assume the oblique position, shewn near the right-hand
flange at Figure 1; by setting the circular cutters in this position, the points
of the wire which enter into the angular spaces between the respective cutters
may be ground more or less obtuse, as the nature of the work to which they may
be applied may require; thus, supposing the cutters to be set true, the points
of the wire would correspond with the angular space between each cutters;
but if the cutters be placed in an oblique position, and the point of the wire
not entering to the bottom of the grooves, the wire will be impinged on
alternately by the alternate cutters, and thereby rendered more or less obtuse
according to the obliquity and depth at which the cutters are set in grinding
or pointing cards placed on a cylinder. This arrangement of steel cutters or
files might extend the whole width of the card intended to be ground or
pointed, but I have sometimes effected the grinding of raising cylinders by
removing the cutters to different parts of the surface of the wires, as they
required grinding. In cards or implements used as a substitute for teasels,
and for some descriptions of carding, I would further remark, that I find it of
importance to cut the points of the dents or teeth of the card in an oblique or
diagonal direction, as shewn at Figure 6, previous to inserting them in the
caoutchouc or india rubber, which not only renders the dents or teeth more
easily forced through the caoutchouc or india rubber, but materially facilitates
the subsequent grinding up by the grinding apparatus herein-before described,

page_text: and a very little oil used on the dents or teeth when they are inserted into
the caoutchouc or india rubber renders this operation easy and more readily
performed.
Figure 7 represents an end view of the shaft carrying the cutters in section,
shewing the hole in the cutter larger than the shaft on which it turns, as so to
admit of the required angle being given to it.
Figure 8 shows an edge view of part of a cylinder for raising the pile on
cloths, having bearers or guards introduced between the cards to prevent them
being pressed on too severely. The advantages presented by cards of this con-
struction consists in the superior elasticity of the caoutchouc or india rubber
allowing the dents or teeth to be pressed down, without material injury to the
card, at the same time the teeth or dents are sufficiently firm to perform the
carding or raising operation; and even though the dents or teeth should be
pressed down to the surface of the caoutchouc or india rubber of the card, they
would not be bent, but immediately recover their former position by the elas-
ticity of that substance. Again, in substituting cards of this construction in the
place of teasels or ordinary wire cards, for the purpose of raising the pile of
woollen and other cloths, I am enabled to work them wet without any material
variation of the elasticity of the caoutchouc or india rubber, which remains
more uniform in its action, and effects the operation of raising the pile of
woollen and other cloths more regularly, and without that variation experienced
in the teasel in its transition from a dry state to a state of moisture; and by
varying the thickness of the caoutchouc or india rubber, I am enabled to gain
a delicacy of action in the card, equal to raise a nap or plush on fine silk
fabrics, as well as in the ordinary woollen cloths finished by this process; and
in all cases when the cards are worn out, the caoutchouc or india rubber is
worth nearer its original value than other material beretofore used for a
similar purpose. The thickness of caoutchouc I usually employ is about one
eighth of an inch in thickness for raising purposes, but this must vary
according to the length of wire of which the teeth are formed, and the quantity
of elasticity required. The thicker the india rubber, and the shorter the wire,
the greater will be the stiffness.
Having described the nature of my Invention of Improvements in Cards
for Carding Wool, Cotton, Silk, and other Fibrous Substances, and for Raising
the Pile of Woollen and other Cloths, together with the manner in which the
to be performed and carried into effect, I hereby declare that I do
not claim any particular method or means of setting or placing the dents or
teeth of the cards; nor do I claim the means herein described for pointing
same

page_text: tho cards, but have described the various parts as the means I have pursued
and find to answer in effecting my improvements in cards.
And I do hereby confine my claim of Invention to the application and
adaptation of caoutchouc or india rubber, as the fillet or sheet or medium in
which the dents or teeth are to be set together in the manufacture of cards, and
thereby obtaining a superior elasticity and durability to cards as abovo described.
And such my Invention being, to the best of my knowledge and belief, entirely
new and never before used within that part of His said Majesty's United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, His said Dominion of
Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, I do hereby declare this to be my
Specification of the same, and that I do verily believe this my said Specification
doth comply in all respects, fully and without reserve or disguise, with the
proviso in the same herein-before in part recited Letters Pateut contained.
Wherefore I do hereby claim to maintain exclusive right and privilege to
my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Walton, have hereunto set my band
and seal this 'Twenty-fifth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-four.