Improvements in Fibre Curling Apparatus.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Sept., 1895-Accepted, 9th Nov., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Fibre Curling Apparatus.
I, SAMUEL ALBERT FLOWER of No. 79 Clinton Avenue, in the City of
Newark, State of New Jersey, United States of America, Manufacturer, 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:
My invention consists of improved apparatus for roping and curling animal and
vegetable fibres for upholstery and other purposes, as hereinafter described reference
being made to the accompanying drawings in which :-
Fig. 1, is a side elevation of my improved curling apparatus with a part in
longitudinal section.
Fig. 2, is a plan view with some of the parts broken out.
Fig. 3, is an end elevation as seen looking at the right hand end of Figs. 1
and 2.
Fig. 4, is an elevation as seen in the same direction looking from the line a―r
Fig. 1.
Fig. 5, is a detail of one of the drawing and twisting heads in side view on an
enlarged scale.
and
Fig. 6, is a section of the drawing and twisting head frame on line y-y Fig. 5,
Fig. 7, is a front elevation of the said drawing and twisting head frame.
The essential feature of my invention consists of two drawing and twisting heads
placed in line with and fronting each other, both turning in the same direction and
at the same rate of speed, through which the material is passed, the first one
receiving the sliver of fibres and twisting them into a form of rope and the second
one receiving the rope with its feed rolls running slower than those of the first
head, whereby the rope is caused to kink and the kinks are developed in bard
twisted uniform coils which remain after the rope is delivered from the second
head, and when the ropes are subsequently picked produce high grade curled
fibres whether of hair or vegetable structure.
In the drawings a, represents a pair of rolls for receiving the sliver b from
whatever source it may be supplied and delivering it to the curling apparatus, said:
rolls being driven by the belt e from a suitable countershaft d, as in Fig. 1, or
they may be driven in any other approved way, as for example in Fig. 3;
e represents the tubular stock of the first or twisting head to which the sliver is
thus delivered, it is mounted in the standards and is driven by a belt g, from the
same countershaft d, but may be driven in any other approved way.
From this stock e, the similar stock e' of the kinking head is driven by the spur
wheels h h and the shaft i, by which they are geared together for uniform speed of
both in the same direction, but they may be geared in any other approved way.
The feed rolls jj of both drawing and twisting heads are also geared with the
J.
shaft i, but with the differential spur gears k k¹, whereby the rolls of the first
The
up.
head will deliver faster than the rolls of the second head will take
arrangement of gears for transmitting the drawing or feeding motion to the said
rolls is substantially the same as in ordinary heads, except that to adapt the
feed rolls for wide ranges of adjustment towards and from each other for producing
kinked or coiled ropes of materially different variations in size, I pivot them iu
bearings, fitted in slots m of the housing plates o curved to the radii of the

page_text: centres P from which they are driven with adjusting screws q and ss, for shifting
them, and instead of gearing the rolls together as they are commonly geared by
spur wheels for driving one by the other, which would not work well in such case,
I provide independent bevel wheels t, on the opposite housing plates o, mounted in
the axis p, for getting the motion from, the bevel rims carried by the spurs k k₁,
and gear them with the rolls separately by the spur wheels w, one of which being
in the axis p, and the other being adjustable in the line of the curved slots m,
enable the desired adjustments without altering the meshing of the teeth.
I utilize one adjusting screw 9 at each end of the rolls for shifting the bearings
of both rolls, and for a gage to ensure their shifting alike, by setting it radially to
the axis p midway between the bearings of the two rolls, and providing it with the
bevel collar a' and the push-rods 61 connecting it with the bearings respectively,
said push-rods being set in the angular relation of the bearings to the collar of the
screw.
It will be seen that by reason of the two driving and twisting heads being
rotated in the same direction the twist of the fibres effected by the first head is
preserved which would not otherwise be the case, and through the effect of this
twist and the delivery of the twisted rope from the first head faster than it is taken
up by the second head, the coils of kinks are produced. While it is better to have
the two heads run at the same speed to preserve the twist imparted by the first
head, it is not absolutely essential because such variation as would not materially
alter the twist would not be very detrimental.
The coiled ropes may be delivered from the second or kinking head into rotating
cams, as rovings for spinning are delivered from the roving machines.
Ilaving now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. In a fibre curling machine, the combination of two drawing and twisting
heads placed in line and fronting each other, means for rotating both in the same
direction, rolls carried by said heads, and means for driving the rolls receiving
the fibre at a greater speed than the rolls of the other head substantially as
described.
2. In a fibre curling machine, the combination of two drawing and twisting
heads provided with rolls, said heads being placed in line and fronting each other,
means for gearing them together for uniform speed in the same direction, and
means for causing the rolls of the head receiving the fibres to revolve at higher
speed than the rolls of the other head substantially as described.
3. A drawing and twisting head provided with rolls mounted and adjustable in
arcs of circles, driving wheels for said rolls located in the axis on which the rolls
are adjustable, and geared with the respective rolls at their opposite ends
respectively, said driving wheels having suitable means of actuating them sub-
stantially as described.
4. A drawing and twisting head provided with rolls mounted and adjustable in arcs
of circles, and an adjusting screw and push-rods at each end of the rolls adapted for
adjusting both rolls in one direction by said screw, with opposing adjusting screws
for each roll substantially as described.
Dated, New York City, New York, May 22nd 1895.
SAMUEL ALBERT FLOWER.