IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR HACKLING FLAY AND OTHER FIRROUS SUBSTANCES PROVISIONAL
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Combe, of Belfast, in the County of Antrim,
Ireland, Machine Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR HACKLING FLAY AND OTHER FIRROUS SUBSTANCES
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Combe at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 24th
April 1854.
I, JAMES COMBE, of Belfast, in the County of Antrim, Ireland, Machine
Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR HACKLING FLAX AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES" to be
as follows:-
The first part of these improvements relates to a mode of applying the plan
of hackling both sides of the stricks of flax on the same lines of hackles by
reversing the direction of their motion to the machine known as the "Belfast
flat" or "sheet' machine:"
In the "flat" machines the stricks of flax are operated upon by the hackles
on one side at a time, and the hackles are fixed on endless sheets or bands
which pass over and have motion communicated to them by two sets of rollers
or pulleys, fixed on two shafts, placed at a short distance from and parallel to
each other, arranged so as to cause the hackles to pass through the flax in a
line straight or nearly so.
In applying the reversing motion to the hackles of such machines, as the

page_text: holders frequently require to be depressed behind the centres of the shafts and
below the level of the plane of hackles, the holders must either be moved from
one side of that plane to the other, or else the shaft, sheets, and hackles, &c.,
must all be moved backwards and forwards, so as to bring the holders and
hackles into the same relative positions; either plan may be adopted; but I
prefer moving the holders, because it is more simple.
It is found that hackles passing round a curve act more severely in cutting
or hackling flax than when passing along in a straight line, and as the ends of
the stricks of flax frequently require more severe hackling than the middle
portions, advantage is taken of the shifting position of the holders, to present
the ends of the stricks of flax to the action of the hackles which are passing
round the rollers before the middle parts are brought down to be operated
upon by the hackles when moving in a straight line.
The objects aimed at in the foregoing are, greater simplicity and efficiency
than have hitherto been attained in any modification of the Belfast "flat"
machine. These machines I also propose to make double, that is, with two
separate sets of sheets and hackles in one machine; .one to do one end of the
strick and the other the other end, for the purpose of economising space and
cost, as on this plan the two sheets can be put close together, and about half
of the mechanism for giving the different motions is saved.
The second part of this Invention is applicable to the same and other
machines which operate on one side only of the flax at once, and consists in an
arrangement by which a more gradual action on the flax is attained than has
been arrived at before.
In hand-hackling, it was usual for the same purpose to hackle first one
and then the other side of the extreme parts of the stricks of flax beforc
allowing the middle portion to touch the hackles, and this head of the Inven-
tion consists in adapting machinery to effect a similar operation. To this end,
the advance and recession of the holders containing the flax to and from the
hackles is arranged in such a way, that they may first approach about half way
towards the hackles, so as to hackle the end of the flax on one side, then recede
and have the other side presented to the hackles, and advance-again,-so-as-to-
complete the hackling of the second side; then recede a second time and have
the other side presented to the hackles, and again advance to complete the
hackling of the first side.
It is not necessary to interrupt the second approach, if only two steps in the
process of hackling are required, and if it is required to divide the descents
into more than two steps, this can be done by varying the form and the
number of revolutions of the cam which regulates them..

page_text: The third head of this Invention consists in the application of beaters with
cams and bars, like a reel, to the ends of the sheets or cylinders on which the
hackles are attached, carried round cither with them or separately, for the
purpose of softening and straightening the fibres of flax before they are
presented to the action of the hackles.
The fourth and last head of this Invention consists in giving a different or
greater lift to the holders which are going into the machine, and which are
over the first gradations of hackles, than is required for the others, for the
purpose of allowing the flax to be more gradually acted on by the hackles, so
that the yield of dressed flax may thereby be increased.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Combe in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
24th October 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
COMBE, of Belfast, in the County of Antrim, Ireland, Machine Maker, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said James Combe, Her special licence that I, the said James Combe,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
James Combe, 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 FOR HACKLING FLAX AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said James Combe, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in 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 I, the said James Combe, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-

page_text: formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to
the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
:
1.
The first part of these improvements relates to a mode of applying to the
machine known as the Belfast flat or sheet machine the plan of hackling
both sides of-the-stricks of flax on the same lines of hackles by reversing the
direction of their motion.
In the "flat machines" the stricks of flax are operated on by the hackles on
one side at a time, and the hackles are fixed on endless sheets or bands, which
pass over and have motion communicated to them by two sets of rollers or
pulleys fixed on two shafts placed at a short distance from and parallel to each
other, arranged so as to cause the hackles to pass through the flax in a line
straight, or nearly so.
In applying the reversing motion to the hackles of such machines, as the
holders frequently require to be depressed behind the vertical lines passing
through the centres of the shafts and below the level of the planes of hackles,
the holders must either be moved from one side of the sheets to the other, or else
the shafts, sheets, and hackles, &c. niust all be moved backwards and forwards,
so as to bring the holders and hackles into the same relative positions; either
plan might be adopted; but I prefer moving the slides and holders, because it
is more simple. To effect this object in the simplest manner, I make the
machine double, that is, with two separate sheets and series of hackles in one
frame, placed parallel and near to each other. Figures 1 and 2 are elevations
of opposite ends of a machine, with four graduations of 'hackles on each side
made in this way; and Fig. 3 is a plan or birds-eye view of the same. In
all the Figures the same letters and numbers refer to the same parts of the
machine: a and a are the sheets, with their hackles, stripper rods, and
stripper cocks attached as usual, passing over rollers or pulleys on the four
sheet shafts b, 61, 62, and 63, which are supported and. revolve in 'suitable
bearings in the framing c, c, of the machine. is the first motion shaft which
receives motion by the driving pulleys d from the motive power-engine,-and-
communicates it to the different parts of the machine. On the same shaft b
and at the other end of the machine is another pulley d', which is as broad as
the whole of the three pulleys de, d³, and d', which are mounted on the small
shaft. 65. The inner sheet shafts b' and 62 carry respectively the toothed
wheels e and e¹, which are keyed fast thereto and gear into an intermediate
stud wheel e, supported by and revolving freely on its stud f fixed in the
framing.
- To the sheet shaft 6 is also keyed a cog wheel e. Fixed on the pulley shaft

page_text: 65 is the wheel es, which gears into and drives the intermediate wheel e, so
that when motion is communicated to the pulley d² of that shaft by the
reversing belt 9, the shaft and the wheel e transmit it through the interme-
diate wheel e to the sheet shafts 6' and 62, and to the sheets a and a'.
The pulley d' has attached to it the wheel e', and both revolvè freely on the
shaft b; the wheel e' gears into and drives the wheel e³, and when motion is
communicated to the pulley d by the reversing strap g, in the same direction
as it was previously conimunicated to the pulley d, the shafts & and b², being
both connected by the intermediate wheel e², have motion communicated to
them, but in the opposite direction. It is therefore obvious, that when the
belt g is put on the pulley d, which is fixed on the shaft 6, which has also the
wheel eattached to it, motion will be communicated to the sheets and shafts
in one direction, and when the belt g is shifted on to the other pulley d', to
which the wheel e is attached, motion will be communicated to them in an
opposite direction; in other words, the motion of the sheets and hackles will be
reversed. The middle pulley d³ is loose on the shaft, and has no wheel attached
to it, its use being to facilitate the shifting of the belt from the one driving pulley
to the other, and the pair of wheels and e bear the same proportion to each
other as the pair and e³, so that, whichever pulley is the driving one, the
speed of the sheets of hackles remains the same. On the driving shaft b' is
fixed a toothed wheel e, which gears into and drives the intermediate stud
wheel e, supported on the stud f¹ fixed in the framing, and which gears into
and drives the "socket wheel, which also revolves on a stud f2 fixed in 'the
framing, and has, attached to it the change wheel e, which gears into and
drives the socket wheel e10, which revolves on the stud f³, also fixed in the
framing. The wheel e¹ has attached to it the smaller wheel or pinion e",
which gears into and drives the wheel e, keyed to the cam shaft b. The
positions of the studs f¹ and f2 are adjustable by means of slots in the framing,
so as to admit of changing the wheel e from one side to another in the usual
manner, for the purpose of altering the relative velocities of the sheets and
cam shaft, and thereby giving more or less hackling to the flax. The change
pinion or wheel e is attached to its socket by means of a nut, which unscrews
and allows the socket to revolve without it (in the usual manner) in case of
any obstruction occurring, which might otherwise break some part of the
machine. and 6s are two rocking shafts, which extend across the machine
within the sheets, but are connected therewith.
These shafts are supported in suitable bearings in the framing, and just
inside the framing they carry respectively a pair of lifting levers h, k, h², & h³,
to the upper end of each of which, studs f are attached. These studs support

page_text: the two cross bars i and ¹, which carry the slides k and k², along which the
flax holders, containing the flax to be hackled, pass across the machine. At
the lower end of each of these levers h, ha, ha, h³, is attached a balance weight
m, for the purpose of counterbalancing the weight of the slides and holders.
On the end of the rocking shaft is firmly attached the lever h, by which
motion is communicated to the two lovers h and h², and through them and the
cross bars i and to the other levers h¹ and h³, and in this way the two sets of
slides and ¹ and holders can be moved simultaneously. This lever
receives motion through the adjustable connecting rod r, the one end of which
is attached to it by the stud f, the other end being attached by another pin or
stud f5 to the upper end of the lever h. The lover h is supported on a stud
fixed to the framing at its lower end, which admits of its moving, as it is caused
to do, by the action of the grooved cam or tappet 2, formed by two parallel
excentric rings projecting from a plate attached to the wheel e¹. A stud
affixed to the lever h³ carries a bowle or runner o, which fits between the said
two parallel rings of the camp, the cam being so shaped, that when it is
carried round by the revolutions of the wheel and shaft, the proper motion will
be communicated at the proper times to the lever ', and through the con-
necting rod n and lever ' to the. rocking shafts 6 and 7, &c., and slides.
The levers h, h', h2, h3, and cross bars i and i, with their connecting shafts, form
a parallel motion; and the cross bars and holders, when they are caused to
move by the action of the cam p, &c., describe a curve, similar to the dotted
line, a over the sheets a and a', that is, a curve with the same radius as the
upper ends of the levers h, h, h², & h³; and the form of the cam p is such,
that it causes the holders, starting from the position in which they are drawn,
to describe about one-third of the curve upwards and towards the right, then
descend slowly to the left; then describe the upward curve to the right again
of two-thirds of its extent, and descend slowly still to the right; then rise
through one-third of the curve to the left, and, descend again slowly to the
right; then rise again towards the left, through two-thirds of the curve, and
descend again slowly through the remaining third into their. original position;
and these operations are-constantly repeated in the same order, the apparatus
for moving the holders being arranged so as to shift-them-a-step-forward at
the times when they have nearly completed the short lifts, without crossing
to the other sides of the sheets, and that for reversing the motion of the sheets
being arranged to act at the time the holders are crossing over from one side
to the other..
The apparatus for reversing the motion of the sheets consists of a cam p
fixed on the end of the cam shaft be, formed with half of its edge in one plane

page_text: and the other half in another, with an incline between the two. In front of
this is placed a lever h, with two runners or bowles o³, one embracing each
side of the cam p¹; the upper end of this lever has a fork, to receive and
guide the reversing belt g, and it is supported with freedom to oscillate on a
stud f fixed to the framing at its lower end. The cam p¹ is formed so, that as
it revolves, during half of each revolution, the belt g is on and drives the pulley
d, and during the other half revolution it is on and driving the pulley d², and
during these times of course the sheets are moving in opposite directions. On
the shaft is fixed (within the framing of the machine) another cam p², which
has a similar action to the cam p¹; the object of this third cam is to take the
holders through the machine, and it has a side action on the two bowles or
runners o attached to the lower end of the upright lever h', which is supported
with liberty to oscillate on the stud f³ attached to the framing. The end of
this lever is prolonged upwards, and to the top end of it is attached by a joint
the end of the adjustable connecting rod n', the other end of which is also
attached by, a pin and joint r to the cross lever h³, which is supported with
liberty to move on the vertical stud f' fixed to the top rail of the framing.
Each end of the lever he is provided with a sort of ring or socket ³, which
supports a ball r, which is loose and free to move round, but is still kept in its
place thereby. The top and bottom part of the rings or sockets are cut away,
but enough is left to support the balls in their places.
Supported on the holder slides k and k', but so as to allow of sufficient
movement endways to push the holders forward, are two bars s'and s¹, to which
are attached the usual catches or pawls s to push the holders forward. To
cach of these bars are also attached the barst with the long ends t', passing
through holes made for that purpose in the balls, before mentioned. The
bars t have cross ends next the bars s and s, and are attached to them by
bushes, which allow of the long bars t turning round into any position, and
the long bars t' slide freely through the holes in the balls. The cam and the
length of the levers h and he are arranged so that the balls have sufficient
motion communicated to them to move the holders into their proper places
opposite the different gradations of hackles on the two sheets, and it is clear
that whatever position the holders and slides are in, the bars t, by slipping
through the balls, and the balls turning round, as well as the lower cross ends
of the bars t, the proper motion will be communicated to the bars s, and
through them and the pawls to the holders. These pawls or catches are
arranged so. that they push the holders in contrary directions on the two sides
of the machine, so as to make them go away on one side and return on the
other; and the gradations of hackles are arranged accordingly, so that one

page_text: sheet may hackle one end of the stricks of flax, and the other the other end,
and the times at which the holders are-moved forward are made by means of
the cam p to correspond with the short lifts of the slides before mentioned.
When the bars are returning to take hold of the holders to move them
another step forward, the catches rise up and pass over them. m³, m³, are
guards, placed at each line of stripper cocks, to prevent the holders from
coming down on the stripper cocks in case they should at any time get out
of place; and m³ are the usual stripper guards for keeping down the stripper
rods.
.
Having now described the parts which perform the different motions re-
quired for the process of hackling, I will proceed to explain the operation of
the parts by following the movements of a charged flax holder through the
machine. Suppose, then, that a holder containing a strick of flax is placed in
one of the slides within reach of the first catch, when they are just about to
begin a short lift to the right; by the time this is completed, the action of the
cam p², and levers, &c., forming the sliding motion, will have pushed the holder
into the machine to a position over the first gradation of hackles; the slides
"then descend slowly, and the flax is hackled on one side on the first gradation
of hackles. When this is completed, the cam p and the parts connected
therewith cause the slides to cross over quickly through about two-thirds of
their curve of motion, and while they are about their highest elevation, the
cam p¹ changes the position of the belt g, and reverses the motion of the
sheets of hackles, and the slides go on descending slowly towards the right
whilst the hackles are moving towards the left, and hackling the second side
of the flax on the first gradation of hackles. The lifting cam p then causes the
slides, &c. to rise towards the left, and the sliding cam p², when the holder is
about its highest elevation, moves it forward a step, to a position opposite the
second gradation of hackles. The slides are now again brought down towards
the right, and the second side of the flax is hackled on the second gradation of
hackles, when the lifting camp comes again into operation, and brings the
slides over to the other side of the sheets, the motions of which are again
reversed; the holder then descends towards the left, to get the first-side-of-the-
flax hackled on the second gradation of hackles, and this goes on in the same
order till the first end of the flax is hackled on each side on all the different
gradation of hackles on that side of the machine. The holder is then passed
out at the end of its slide by the sliding apparatus, and the flax is changed in
the usual well-known way into another holder, for the purpose of getting the
other end hackled on the other sheet of hackles. Of course, as is usual, the
machine may be made with any required number of gradations of hackles,

page_text: according to the work for which it is intended, and both sides of the machine,
it will be understood, will be acting simultaneously. It is found that hackles
passing round a curve act more severely in cutting or hackling flax than when
passing along in a straight line; and as the ends of long flax often require
extra hackling, advantage can be taken of the power of bringing the holders
forward on the sheets, so as to allow the hackles which are passing down round.
the rollers at the opposite side to act on the ends of the stricks, and clear them
out before the middle portions are exposed to the action of the hackles. The
judgment of the person working the machines will enable him to adjust the
proper lift to effect this object. There is an adjusting screw s³, (Fig. 1),
attached to the stud f in the lever h, which, by giving the power of shifting
the stud outwards or inwards, permits of this adjustment being made, as well
as varying the distance through which the holders move from side to side and
behind the flat part of the sheet.
There are also regulating screws s on which the slides come down, which
act as stops, to prevent them from coming too low, and at the same time
give the means of determining the nearness to which the holders shall approach
the hackles.
The tow, as is usual in such machines, is taken from the hackles by means
of stripper rods, working as usual in stripper cocks, in consequence of the
reversing of the sheets, and to enable a finer hackle to be stripped. In this
way there is a stripper rod introduced at each side of the hackles, the stripper
cocks being made with double slots for this purpose. Under the sheets of
hackles are tow catchers v², pointing inwards, for catching any tow that may
follow the sheets; the reversing of their motion prevents the tow from
gathering in these tow catchers, and it, as well as what is thrown off by
the stripper rods, drops into boxes a, placed for its reception underneath the
machine. The tow catchers are formed, as usual, of a line of hackle pins.
The second part of this Invention is applicable to the same and other.
machines which operate on one side only of the flax at one time, and consists
in an arrangement by which the action upon the flax is made more gradual
than heretofore.
In hand-hackling, it was usual for the same purpose to hackle first one and
then the other side of the extreme parts of the stricks of flax before allowing
the middle portions to touch the hackles, and. this head of the Invention
relates to the application of the same principle to machine hackling. This end
I attain by arranging the approach and reception of the flax holder to and
from the hackles in such a way that they may first approach about half way
towards the hackles, so as to hackle the end of the flax on one side and then

page_text: recede, and have the other side presented to the action of the hackles and
advance again, so as to complete the hackling of the second side; then recede
a second time, and have the other side presented to the hackles, and again
advance to complete the hackling of the first side. It is not necessary to
intercept the second approach if only two steps in the process of hackling
aro required. To effect the different movements above enumerated, the lifting
cam or tappet is formed as represented in the detached view, Figure 4.
The shape of the cam, as also the points in its rotation at which the holders
require to be shifted, and the motion of the hackles to be reversed, is found
in this way. Suppose that we divide the circle of the cam into twenty-four
equal parts, and starting from the point p³, when the bowle o in the lever p³
would be at the greatest distance from the centre, and the slides down at the
left-hand side of the sheets as they are drawn, the cam, being made with
flanges to receive the bowle o, will, when it has revolved through, say, two of
.the twenty-four divisions (in the direction of the arrow), put the bowle o into
a position which will bring the holders through about one-third of their curve
of motion towards the right; and at the same time when this is done the sliding
cam must be set so as to move forward the holder to a position opposite the
first gradation of hackles. The cam p* moves on, and its shape is so, that
during its passage through the next three of the twenty-four spaces, it allows
the holders to descend towards the left (while the sheet of hackles is moving
towards the right) about half way, so as to hackle the end of the flax on one
side; which being done, the next two and a half spaces raises the slides quickly
through about one-half of the curve to the point proper for beginning to
hackle the second side of the flax; and the reversing cam is arranged so as
to change the direction of the motion of the hackles at the same time. The
shape of the cam is from this point such, that the passage through the next
eight divisions causes the slides to move towards the right and go down gently
towards the hackles, which are then moving towards the left, and thus the
hackling of the second side of the flax is completed. The motion through
the next two and a half divisions now raises the slides towards the left
through two-thirds of curve of motion, and brings-the-holders right-for-going
down to complete the hackling of the first side, and during the remaining six
divisions they descend gently for that purpose. This rotation of motions goes
on while the holders are passing over the different gradations of hackles, and
it will be easily seen how the forms of the cam p* can be made so as to give
any number of steps in the hackling that may be desired.
The third part of this Invention consists in the application to hackling
machinery of rotating beaters, somewhat like the bars of a reel in form, for the

page_text: purpose of softening and straightening the fibres of the flax before it is pre-
sented to the hackles.
These bars
may either be fixed on the leather sheets which carry the hackles,
or upon radial arins carried by a stud at one end of the sheets, as shewn at
Fig. 5, and driven by a small belt g, passing over two pulleys from one of
the sheet shafts.
+
The fourth and last part of this Invention consists in a mode of giving a
different or greater lift to the holders which are going into the machine, and
which are over the first gradations of hackles, than to those over the other
gradations, for the purpose of allowing the flax to be more gradually
acted upon by the hackles, that the yield of dressed line may be thereby
increased.
The mode of carrying out this part of the Invention is shewn in the detached
views, Figures 6 and 7. is the end of one of the slides where the holders
pass into the machine. A portion of the ledges of the slide, extending to
near the position of the third holder, is jointed at ' to the slide, for the purpose
of receiving an independent movement on the rising and falling of the slide,
that is, of being raised up out of a horizontal line, and gradually brought down
again to their quiescent position. These jointed ledges are connected together
by a bow ', which allows the holders to pass through, and makes both ledges
rise and fall together.
Under one side of the slide is attached by a joint and pin the lever h³, one
end of which supports the moveable ledges of the slide; the other end
projects outwards, and terminates with a forked end, which slides on a bar to,
which can be placed at any height, and is attached to the end of the machine.
This bar can be fixed, so that when the slides rise, and the lever h² with them,
to a certain, height, the forked end being kept down by the bar to, the other
end will raise the jointed ledges of the slides, and with it the holders, which
are resting upon them. By varying the height of the bar, the jointed ledges
can be lifted more or less above the line of the fixed ledges of the slide, and
with them the entering holders. The traverse of the flax holders along the
slide may be effected in any ordinary manner.
Having now set forth the nature of my improvements in machinery for
hackling flax and other fibrous substances, I wish it to be understood that
I claim,
First, the arrangement of mechanism, shewn in Sheets I., II., and III. of
the Drawings, for presenting the flax to the action of the hackles, so that the
two sides of the strick may be operated upon alternately by the several lines
of hackles.

page_text: And I also claim the combination in one-machine of two seperate sets of
sheets of hackles, operated as above described, in connection with the moving
slides, by which the opposite sides of the strick are alternately presented to the
action of the same line of hackles.
Secondly, I claim the mode of rendering the action of the hackles upon
the flax more gradual than heretofore, as explained under the second head of
the Invention.
Thirdly, I claim the application to hackling machinery of rotating beaters,
as explained.
Lastly, I claim varying the lift of the flax holders in the manner and for the
purpose above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Combe, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
JAMES COMBE. (L.S.)