IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMBING COTTON AND OTHER FIBRES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Davies, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's
Inn, in the County of Middlesex, and No. 87, St. Vincent Street, in
the City of Glasgow, Civil Engineer and Patent Agent, for the In-
vention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMBING COTTON AND OTHER
FIBRES." A communication from abroad by Milton D. Whipple,
of Cambridge, Massachusetts,, in the United States of America.
Sealed the 5th September 1868, and dated the 19th March 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Davies at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th March 1868.
I, GEORGE DAVIES, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County
of Middlesex, and No. 87, St. Vincent Street, in the City of Glasgow,
Civil Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMBING COTTON AND
OTHER FIBRES," (a communication to me from abroad by Milton D.
Whipple, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States of America,)
to be as follows:-
The frame of the machine supports in suitable bearings a driving
shaft, to which rotary motion is communicated by means of a pulley

page_text: fixed on one end thereof; at the other end of the same is a disc provided
with a cam which operates through a pawl arm and lever upon a ratchet
wheel, and thus gives motion to a pair of feed rollers, the upper one of
which is elastic. On the opposite side of the disc is a crank pin, which
by means of a connecting rod and crank imparts a vibrating or rocking
motion to a shaft; to this rocking shaft are firmly attached two or more
frames supporting a wooden block, the outer surface of which is formed
into a series of inclined steps carrying a series of "combs; these combs
are formed of metal plates, to which is soldered a row of fine needles
lying in close contact with each other, with their points projecting only
a short distance below the edge of the plate. Upon the upper front of
the block is a metallic plate or strip, which with a similar plate or strip
forms a pair of nippers, the second or upper plate being secured to one
end of a lever, the the other end of which is acted on so as to close the
nippers at intervals by a cam or projection on a second rocking shaft,
which in its turn receives motion from a cam on the main driving shaft,
the nippers being opened by a spring whenever the lever is released
from the cam. Above the upper or elastic feed roller is a vibrating
comb acted on by a lever and cam, and having its teeth inclined in an
opposite direction to those of the combs on the block above named.
There is also a knife so arranged that its upper edge rests against the rear
surface of the elastic feed roller about on a level with (or rather below)
its axis, the latter being carried in bearings which are capable of being
moved towards and from the edge of the knife by a cam movement
and spring. In front of the series of combs and below the knife is a
series of brushes, to which a vibrating motion is imparted. Above the
nippers and vibrating comb is a revolving card cylinder actuated by
gearing from the main driving shaft, and at the rear of this cylinder
is a vibrating doffing comb driven from the first-named rocking shaft,
and beneath the said comb is an endless travelling apron for conveying
the combed cotton or other fibre through a pair of condensing rollers
into a receiving cam at the rear of the machine.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Davies in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 19th September 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
DAVIES,, of No.. 1,. Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County of
Middlesex, and No. 87; St. Vincent Street, in the City of Glasgow, Civil
Engineer and Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and. grant unto me,. the said George Davies, Her special licence.
that I, the said George Davies, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said George Davies, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 COMBING COTTON AND OTHER FIBRES," (a communication to me from
abroad by Milton D. Whipple, of Cambridge,, Massachusetts, United
States of America,) upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said George Davies, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, 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 George Davies, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement in writing, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, that is to say:―
The frame of the machine supports in suitable bearings a driving
shaft, to which rotary motion is communicated by means of a pulley

page_text: fixed on one end thereof; at the other end of the same is a disc provided
with a cam which operates through a pawl arm and lever upon a ratchet
wheel, and thus gives motion to a pair of feed rollers, the upper one
of which is elastic. On the opposite side of the disc is a crank pin,
which by means of a connecting rod and crank imparts a vibrating or
rocking motion to a shaft; to this rocking shaft are firmly attached two
or more frames supporting a wooden block, the outer surface of which
is formed into a series of inclined steps carrying a series of combs; these
combs are formed of metal plates, to which is soldered a row of fine needles
lying in close contact with each other, with their points projecting only
a short distance below the edge of the plate. Upon the upper front
of the block is a metallic plate or strip, which with a similar plate or
strip forms a pair of nippers, the second or upper plate being secured
to one end of a lever, the other end of which is acted on so as to close
the nippers at intervals by a cam or projection on a second rocking
shaft, which in its turn receives motion from a cam on the main driving
shaft, the nippers being opened by a spring whenever the lever is
released from the cam. Above the upper or clastic feed roller is a
vibrating comb acted on by a lever and cam, and having its teeth
inclined in an opposite direction to those of the combs on the block
above named. There is also a knife so arranged that its upper edge
rests against the rear surface of the elastic feed roller about on a level
with (or rather below) its axis, the latter being carried in bearings
which are capable of being moved towards and from the edge of the
knife by a cam movement and spring. In front of the series of combs
and below the knife is a series of brushes, to which a vibrating motion
is imparted. Above the nippers and vibrating comb is a revolving card
cylinder actuated by gearing from the main driving shaft, and at the
rear of this cylinder is a vibrating doffing comb driven from the first-
named rocking shaft, and beneath the said comb is an endless travelling
apron for conveying the combed cotton or other fibre through a pair
of condensing rollers into a receiving can at the rear of the machine.
Such being the nature and object of the said Invention for "Improve-
ments on Machinery for Combing Cotton and other Fibres," I will now
proceed to describe more in detail the manner in which the same is to
be or may be performed or carried into practical effect, and in order that
the same may be distinctly understood I have annexed hereunto a Sheet
of Drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked the same with figures

page_text: and letters or reference corresponding with those in the following
explanation thereof, that is to say :-
In the annexed Drawing, which is a sectional view of the machine,
A, A, represents the frame of the machine having suitable bearings,
in which is supported the driving shaft B, to which motion is commu-
nicated through the pulley C attached at one end of the shaft; on the
other end of the shaft B is a disc which is provided on its inner side
with a cam that operates through the pawl arm and lever u the
ratchet wheel V, and thus imparts motion to the feed rollers and k.
On the opposite side of the disc is a crank pin a which imparts an
oscillating motion through the connecting rod E and crank F to the
rocker shaft H; to the said rocker shaft H are firmly attached two or
more frames J connected at their outer ends to a block r. The block r
is made of wood, and on its outer side is a series of inclined steps, as
shewn in the Drawing, upon which is secured a series of combs b, b¹, 6¹¹;
these combs are formed of metal plates, upon which is soldered a row
of fine needles lying in close contact with each other with their points
projecting a short distance only below the edge of the plate. Upon
the upper front of the block is attached a metallic plate or strip c,
which with a similar plate d forms a pair of nippers, the part d being
secured to the lever M vibrating on a pivot e of the frame J. One arm
of the lever M extends to the rear and is acted upon by a projection or
cam N on a rocker shaft P in the following manner:-The frame J
with the block r having been elevated to its highest position and before
it commences to descend the cam N ceases to press against the rear
arm of the lever M, and a spring K withdraws the jaw d of the nippers
off from the jaw c, thus opening the jaws, in which position they remain
until they have reached a point opposite a knife edge i when the cam N
again strikes the lever M which closes the nipper jaw d upon the jaw c,
thus seizing the ends of a lap of cotton or other fibre as it comes from
the feed rollers. Above the elastic feed roller k is attached to the frame
a lever P, to which is secured a comb h with its teeth pointing in an
opposite inclination from that of the teeth b, b1, b. A vibrating
motion is imparted to the lever and comb h by means of a cam fon
the frame J, for a purpose herein-after explained. i represents a knife
so arranged that its upper edge will rest against the upper feed roller k.
The feed roller k is formed preferably of wood surrounded with two or
more layers of cloth and a layer of leather on the outside for the purpose

page_text: of making a yielding or elastic surface; it is secured in bearings which
are capable of being moved towards and from the edge of the knife i by
means of a vibrating frame m operated by a spring n or cam p and
eccentric q. In front of the combs b, 61, 61, is a series of brushes
attached to a plate or back 8, to which a vibrating motion is imparted
in such a manner as to cause the brushes to remove from the said
combs any remaining short fibre. S is the spool which carries the lap,
and from which it is fed to the rollers k and 1. A' represents the doffer
consisting of a roller provided with two or more layers of cloth or its
equivalent and covered with a card, and to which motion is imparted
by suitable connections from the main driving shaft. At the rear of
the doffer A¹ is arranged a comb h¹ of a similar construction with
b, 61, 6, and attached to a vibrating arm or lever 1, to which latter
motion is imparted by means of a connecting rod k¹ and arm m¹ attached
to the rocker shaft H. At the rear also of the doffer is arranged an
endless apron H¹ extending to the rear of the machine for the purpose
of conducting the combed cotton or other fibre to the condensing
cylinders T, T, whence it passes to the tube U, rollers Y, Y¹, and
receiving can N¹.
Having now described the nature and object of the said Invention
for "Improvements in Machinery for Combing Cotton and other Fibres,"
together with the manner in which the same is to be or may be per-
formed or carried into practical effect, I would remark in conclusion
that I claim as the Invention (communicated to me by the above-named
Milton D. Whipple) the general construction and arrangement of the
machine and its various parts, substantially as hercin-before described
and represented on the Drawing annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Davies, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Nineteenth day of September, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
eight.