IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MACHINE USED FOR CLEANING COTTON, AND COMMONLY CALLED CHURKA OR ROLLER GIN
Year: 1861

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Frederick Warren at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th June
1861.
I, FREDERICK WARREN, of Birmingham, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MACHINE
USED FOR CLEANING COTTON, AND COMMONLY CALLED CHURKA OR ROLLER GIN," to be
as follows:
The churka or roller gin is a machine used especially in India for separating
cotton fibre from its seed, and usually consists of two rollers fitted in a wood
frame, and made to revolve upon each other in such a way as to draw the
fibre through leaving the seed behind. Originally two persons were required.
to work such a machine, and sometimes a third to feed it; various means
have been employed to enable one person to do this..
My Invention consists, first, in making both the rollers of metal when
desired; secondly, in cutting spiral grooves in one roller, and rounding, or in.
any way blunting the edges of such grooves to prevent them cutting the fibre of
the cotton; thirdly, in pressing the one roller upon the other when practicable,
so as to produce raised lines upon the one roller that shall correspond to and
work in the grooves of the other; fourthly, in using rollers with grooves cut
lengthwise, and placing a piece of metal or other suitable material in a position
relative to the rollers, so as to prevent the seed from being drawn through
with the fibre, as would otherwise be the case when such rollers are used;
fifthly, in grooving both rollers in any way desirable; sixthly, in inserting

page_text: material other than that of which the rollers or either of them is made into or
on such roller for the purpose of roughing the surface thereof; seventhly, in
placing the heads containing one pair or one set of rollers in each head on a
suitable framework, and passing a shaft along in a proper position, having
thereon gear or friction wheels arranged to work in gear or friction wheels on
the rollers contained in the heads aforesaid, so that by applying steam or
other power to said shaft, the rollers are set in motion; eighthly, in putting a
fast and loose pulley on one of the rollers, and placing a shaft with suitable
pulleys thereon in any desired position, to be driven by steam or other power,
and by means of a band or strap from such shaft to convey the power to the
rollers, by this method any one of the heads or sets of rollers can be stopped
at pleasure without interfering with the working of any other of the heads on
the frame; ninthly, in making these machines self-feeding by means of a
travelling cloth or apron, upon which the seed cotton can be thrown or laid,
or in any way placed and carried forward to the cleaning rollers; tenthly, in
giving an intermittant motion to such traveller, so that when a certain amount
of seed cotton is carried forward to the rollers the action of the traveller
ceases to allow time for the cleaning of the cotton so delivered, and then goes
on again, during the standing still of the traveller a weight is caused to fall
thereon when desireable, to prevent more than the required amount of cotton
being taken up by the rollers; eleventhly, in arranging a fork or scraper so
that the cotton laying on a traveller or otherwise, is scraped or pulled towards
the rollers, and delivered to them to be acted upon; twelfthly, in making the
power machines portable by building them on carriages with or without
wheels, so that they can be moved from place to place without being taken to
pieces, and worked by steam or other power, thereby greatly facilitating the
cleaning of cotton as it is picked; lastly, in placing a roller under the bottom
cleaning roller, on which a travellin apron may be worked so as to carry the
cotton away as it is cleaned, and thereby prevent the lapping of the cotton
round such roller.