IMPROVEMENTS IN TIT
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Robert Ramsbotham, of Bradford, in
the County of York, Worsted Spinner, and William Brown, of
the same place, Mechanic, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
TIT
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Robert
Ramsbotham and William Brown at the Office of the Commis-,
sioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 29th October 1852.
'We, HENRY ROBERT RAMSBOTHAM and WILLIAM BROWN, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRE-
PARING AND COMBING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES to be as
follows:
The Invention consists of the application of a novel arrangement of
doffing and combing instruments to carding engines, by which the wool
or other fibrous material will be what is called "prepared" and also
combed.
་་་་
The wool or other fibre is supplied to the main card cylinder or drum
of the carding engine in the ordinary manner of supplying fibrous
materials to such cylinders or drums, and the wool or other fibre is--in
the revolution of the drum worked by the usual card rollers; but in

page_text: addition thereto, and which constitutes the main feature of the Invention,
there are series of narrow cylinders, the axes of which are at right
angles to or across the axis of the main drum. These narrow cylinders
have their peripheries covered with card or other fine teeth, which, as
they rotate, work against and take or "doff" off the wool or other fibre
brought round by the main cylinder, there being plates which pass partly
between the main cylinder and these small ones which tend somewhat
to hold the fibre on to the main cylinder, and thereby cause the wool
or other fibrous material in the act of separation by the teeth in these
small cylinders to be more or less drawn through the teeth on the main
cylinder, by which a straightening and combing of the fibres will be
effected. The ends so straightened will stand out from the small
cylinders, and pass behind other plates, to prevent any more unworked
fibre being filled from the main drum.
The wool or other fibrous material carried by these small cylinders is
next entered by series of comb teeth, which work sufficiently close up
to the teeth in the small cylinders to admit of the ends of the fibres
projecting beyond the comb teeth, whence it is conducted funnels
& drawing off rollers in the ordinary manner of drawing off wool from
wool combing machines. By thus drawing the wool or other fibrous
material from the card cylinders through comb teeth a further combing
is effected.
Sometimes we give the drawing off rollers a rotary motion across
their axes of motion, so as to effect a twist in the act of drawing off
guide plates, aid to direct the wool whilst it is entered by the comb
teeth, and there are clearing combs or brushes to remove the "noil."
The doffing cylinders and parts acting therewith are carried by a frame
which traverses to and fro across the surface of the main card cylinder,
and thereby causes all the wool as it is brought forward to be successively
acted upon by such doffing instruments.
Although we have described the drawing off from these small cylin-
ders to be through combs brought into operation for that purpose, we
sometimes draw off without the intervention of such combs; and some-
times, when the fibre to be worked is long, combs are used, instead of
the small cylinders already described, in taking the wool or other fibre

page_text: from the main drum. The various slivers after being drawn off' are
gathered into one by an endless sheet or other suitable means.
After the wool or other fibrous material has been thus worked by
being passed through apparatus such as described, we sometimes rewash
or what is called "backwash" it (previous to a further working) by
means of a scouring and drying machine in general use, called a hot
box, or some other suitable apparatus.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Robert Ramsbotham and William Brown
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 29th April 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we,
HENRY ROBERT RAMSBOTHAM, of Bradford, in the County of York,
Worsted Spinner, and WILLIAM BROWN, of the saine place, Mechanic,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the sixteenth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Ier heirs and successors, give and
grant unto us, the said Henry Robert Ramsbotham and William Brown,
Her special license that we, the said Henry Robert Ramsbotham and
William Brown, our executers, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as we, the said Henry Robert Ramsbotham and William Brown, our
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
PREPARING AND COMBING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that we, the said Henry Robert Ramsbotham
and William Brown, or one of us, by an instrument in writing under our
hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, should
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of our said 'Invention, and in
par-

page_text: what manner the same was to be performed, and 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 we, the said Henry Robert Ramsbotham
and William Brown, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement, that is
to say:
Our Invention relates to a mode of arranging doffing instruments,
and parts acting therewith, in connection with the card cylinder of a
carding engine, whereby portions of wool or other fibrous substance are
taken or stripped" by such doffing instruments from that brought
round by the card cylinder, and held in position to be partially cleared
and straightened by the teeth of the main cylinder in the act of sepa-
ration. Also to the application, in combination therewith, of series of
comb teeth, through which the wool or other fibrous substance is drawn
from the doffing means.
In order that the Invention may be fully understood we will proceed
to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1, shows a side view; Figure 2, an end view of parts of a
carding engine, with our improvements applied; Figures 3, and 4,
show a sectional side view and a plan of parts, partly in section, and
on a larger scale than is shown by the previous Figures. a, a, is the
framing of the carding engine, and b, the main cylinder, covered with
card teeth, which has motion given to it by means of a strap or band
from a steam engine or other power acting upon the drum or pulley b²,
affixed on the axis thereof. The wool or other fibre is fed on to
the cylinder b, in the ordinary manner, and whilst being taken round
upon the surface thereof it is worked by ordinary card rollers, all
which we have thought it unnecessary to show or to enter into any
description thereof, as a person accustomed to this class of machinery.
will readily apply the same and the motions by which they are
actuated. c, c, are the doffing instruments, which consist of strips

page_text: or fillets of card teeth upon the peripheries. of, narrow cylinders,
which have a rotary motion given to them upon their own axes,
and, in addition thereto, a traversing motion across the width of
the main cylinder b, and in such manner that the surface speed of the
loffing instruments may be slow as compared with that of the main
cylinder b, by which the wool or other fibrous inaterial separated from
the main cylinder may be acted upon by the succeeding teeth of the
main cylinder before such fibre has been drawn away therefrom in the
progress of the doffing instruments. In order to aid this operation of
the card teeth of the main cylinder upon the fibres detached and held
by the doffing instruments there are applied plates, d, which traverse
with the doffing instruments, and by lying close against the teeth of the
main cylinder; and close up to the teeth of the doffing instruments;
support the ends of the fibres detached in contact with the teeth of the
main cylinder, by which those ends are cleared and straightened. e, e,
are other, plates, which also traverse with the frame i, and lie against
the surface of the main cylinder, with one of their edges at a point near
to that at which the teeth of the doffing instruments leave the main
cylinder. The object of these plates e, is to prevent the doffing instru-
ments continuing to strip off fibre where they cease to be in immediate
contact with the main cylinder. The fibre which has been separated
by the doffers is (as before stated), by reason. of the slow movement of
the doffing,means as compared with the faster surface speed of the
main cylinder, for a time held between the plates d, and the main
cylinder; and the combination of such plates d, and e, with the doffing
means (the plates d, or any similar plain surface in like, connexion with
strips of card teeth-holding the fibre for a time after separation by the
doffing instrument in contact with the teeth of the main cylinder, by
which the ends are cleared, whilst the plates e, aid the separation of the
fibre from that on the main cylinder) constitutes an important feature
of this Invention. The fibre progressively passes off the plate d, as it is
drawn round by the doffing, means, and is received on to plates f, by
which it will be in position to be entered by comb teeth j, which are
formed in segments producing circles, and are supported on stems j',
whose lower ends rest upon plates 2, which are fixed to the traversing
+

page_text: frame i, hereafter described, and are so formed as to cause the comb
teeth j, to rise into the fibre close up to the teeth of the doffing instru
ments as the fibre leaves the main cylinder, and retain them in that
position until the fibre has been drawn off through them by the drawing
rollers. The plates f, also aid the points of the fibre in being laid
towards the endless belt, to be drawn off by the rollers 9, h.
In order that these movements may be better understood we will
proceed to describe more in detail the means by which they are
effected.
The doffing instruments and parts connected therewith are sup-
ported in the traversing frame i, which is supported so as to slide
freely in the bars a', affixed to the framing a, and has motion given to
it by means of the crank i', which is connected to the frame i, by the
connecting link. The crank i', is affixed to an axis passing through
the standard a², upon which axis is affixed the bevilled wheel ", which
receives motion from the bevelled pinion i, upon the axis ", which
turns in bearings carried by the frame a, and has aflixed upon it a
drum or pulley, which by means of the strap or band, receives
motion from the drum or pulley, affixed on the axis of the main
cylinder.
The cylinders carrying the doffing surfaces c, are affixed to axes c¹,
which turn in bearings carried by the frame i, such axes c', having
fixed thereon pinions c, which are taken into by, and receive motion
from, the screw wheels c³, upon the axis c', which is supported in bear-
ings carried by the traversing frame i; it also passes through the short
hollow axis of the drum or pulley c, which hollow axis is supported
and turns in the fixed bearing a³, and is formed with a feather on its
inside, which passes into a groove formed in the axis c', so that the axis
c, may rotate with the drum or pulley c, and yet be permitted to
traverse freely lengthwise of its hollow axis in the traverse motion of
the frame i. The drum or pulley c, receives motion from a drum or
pulley c, on the axis of the main cylinder, by means of the strap or band
c', as shewn, and in this manner a slow rotary motion is imparted to the
axes c'.
The axes c¹, also carry discs c³, to which the stems ³, of the combs 1,

page_text: rise and fall as their
Bands or belts k, pass
are affixed by pins 3, which pass through slotted openings in those
stems, by which, whilst the combs j, will be controlled to travel round
with the surfaces c, they will be permitted to
lower ends pass over the surface of the plate.
over the rollers g, 1, and m, and motion is given thereto by the rollers
h, which are affixed to axes h', upon which are affixed bevelled pinions
h², which are taken into and receive motion from the bevelled pinions
h³, affixed on the axis h, which receives motion from the drum h³,
affixed on the axis of the main cylinder, by means of the strap or
band h, which also passes partly around the drum or pulley 17,
which is formed or affixed on a short hollow axis which turns in the
fixed bearing a, and receives the axis h, that axis being capable
of sliding freely therein whilst it rotates with the drum or pulley h³,
there being a feather formed in the hollow axis of that drum or pulley
which is received into a longitudinal groove formed in the axis h*.
The wool or other fibrous material under operation, as it is drawn off'
between the drawing rollers g, h, is accumulated on the endless belts
or aprons, whence it is removed from time to time, as a' sufficient
quantity accumulates. In place, however, of the wool or other fibrous
material being thus accumulated on endless belts, it may pass off*
through funnels, and be accumulated in any suitable manner, as is well
understood by persons accustomed to this class of machinery, and the
drawing off rollers may be so fixed as to have given to them a rotary
motion across their axes of motion, and thereby put twist on in the act
of drawing off.
We would also state, that we do not confine ourselves to the length
or shortness of the teeth used on the surfaces c, nor to the number in
the square inch, nor to the length or shortness or number of the teeth
in the segmental combs j, all which will, as will also the character of
the teeth on the main cylinder b, be varied according to the character
of the fibre to be treated, whether. short or long wool or other hair, or
long or short cotton or silk, waste tow, or other fibrous substance, but a
workman who has had any experience in treating these matters will
readily make such modification as may be required for the particular
fibre to be treated; and although we have shewn and described the

page_text: surfaces c, as being continuous; the card or other pointed. surfaces: c,
may be formed in segments supported on stems, and governed in like
manner to the segments of combs j; in which case the combs j, in
place of being in segments actuated, will be continuous, rotating with
the surfaces c; and the surfaces c, being in segments, those segments
will be governed. in their movement in such manner that when they
have taken their portion of fibre from the main cylinder, and are passing
away therefrom; they may have a motion to cause them to lay their
portion of fibre on to the outer circle of combs, to be drawn there-
through as described, and then rise as they again come round to the
surface of the main cylinder ; and in place of the surfaces. of the small
doffing cylinders being composed of teeth of the character of card
teeth, comb teeth may be used, especially when the fibre to be treated
is long.
or
We would also state, that although we have described the drawing
off of the fibre from the surfaces c, to be through combs, we do not
. confine ourselves to such arrangement, as we sometimes draw off direct
through the teeth of the surface c, without the intervention of combs:
In such case we prefer to. adopt the arrangement of parts shown by
Figures 5, and 6; but as the instruments used are for the most part
very similar to those already described, we will simply apply the same
letters of, reference to parts having like movements, and explain the
variations. In this case we have shewn the surface of card other
points used as the doffing means affixed to or formed on endless belts,
which simply pass partly round cylinders c, and guide rollers c*, by
which arrangement a greater extent of the doffing surfaces is caused to
act'upon the fibre brought round by the main cylinder, and we arrange
these doffing surfaces in pairs, which are caused to travel towards each
other, and the wool is drawn from them by rollers g, h, from which it is
received on to an endless travelling apron 7, by which the separate
slivers are collected into one, and thence conducted by the funnel o, to
any suitable receiver.
:
. After treating the wool or other fibrous material as above explained,
we sometimes rewash, or what is called backwash it.
Having thus described the nature of our said Invention, and the

page_text: means of carrying the same into effect, we would have it understood
that we do not confine ourselves to the precise details herein shewn
and described. But what we claim is, the arranging and combining
apparatus for the purpose of preparing and combing wool and other
fibrous substances, as herein explained.
In witness whereof, we, the said Henry Robert Ramsbotham
and William Brown, have hereunto set our hands and seals,
this Twenty-sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord Onc
thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
Witness,
HENRY ROBT RAMSBOTHAM. (L.S.)
WILLIAM BROWN.
(L.S.)
GEORGE HARROWBY,
Bradford.