An Improvement in Revolving Flat Carding Engines.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Oct., 1891
Complete Specification Left 21st May, 1892-Accepted, 25th June, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Revolving Flat Carding Engines.
CHARLES BUTTERWORTH 47 St. Thomas Street North Oldham Cotton
Mill Manager do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
In the revolving flat carding engine the waste fibres and other matter collected
by the teeth of the flat cards is stripped thereform by a comb having a radial
motion up and down in front of the card.
The points of this comb describe an arc and so are bound to pass the teeth of the
cards, both in their upward and downward motion at the same relative distance or
set, the downward motion stripping the waste from the wire or teeth of the
flat cards.
Now if the stripping comb is set close there is a tendency to drag the teeth of
the card on the upward motion and so damage them.
My invention consists in causing the stripping comb to have a secondary motion
during its upward stroke, such motion causing the comb to be held at a safe
distance from the wire of the cards.
I am thus enabled to give the stripping comb a fiue or close set in the downward
stroke without any danger of damaging the card wire on the upward or return
stroke.
1001
CHARLES BUTTE WORTH.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Revolving Flat Carding Engines.
I CHARLES BUTTERWORTH of 47 St. Thomas Street North, Werneth, Oldham,
in the County of Lancaster, Mill Manager, 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 and accompanying
drawings
During the working of carding engines which are provided with travelling chains
of flats the waste fibres and fluff which accumulate upon the flats are stripped
therefrom by means of a vibrating comb. It is necessary that this comb shall
move very closely to the cards upon the flats or shall penetrate between the teeth
of the cards to some extent in order that the comb may be able to strip the cards
effectually. As the comb moves in the same fixed are both when stripping and
when returning there is a tendency to drag the teeth backward or otherwise to
damage the teeth. The object of my invention is to obviate this defect and this I
accomplish by imparting a secondary motion to the comb so that it clears the
card teeth during its upward or return motion-that is to say, in addition to the
ordinary movement which the comb makes when stripping I impart a second
movement toward and from the card which is being stripped.
In order that the nature and application of my invention may be clearly under-
stood I will describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the said drawings Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of my improved stripping
apparatus, parts of the carding engine not necessary to the sufficient illustration
of the invention not appearing in the drawing. In the said fig. a is the shaft upon
which are fixed the ordinary carrier wheels which take the flats out of action
and bb represent a few of the flats as they would appear when passing to and
from the point at which they are stripped. The stripping comb shaft c is carried

page_text: by vibrating arms on each side of the engine one of these arms appearing at d.
These arms are secured upon the ends of a rocking shaft e so that when one arm
is actuated upon, both arms move in unison. Upon the arm d is fixed a second
arm d' which is adjustable and carries an antifriction bowl which rests upon the
periphery of an excentric cam y which is mounted upon a stud and is connected
with the pulley which drives the worm shaft which imparts motion to the shaft a.
The action of the parts as so far described with reference to the drawings is of an
ordinary character and for this reason it has not been considered necessary to more
fully describe and illustrate such action.
In ordinary practice the comb would be fixed to the arms which would correspond
with the arms d.
Instead of this construction the ends of the comb shaft are mounted to rock or
swivel. In the example the comb shaft is mounted in carrier blocks d which are
adjustable upon the arms in order that the shaft may be capable of being adjusted
with relation to the cards which are to be stripped. The comb is hidden in Fig. 1
but appears in Fig. 2 in which the comb shaft and the comb are represented in
cross section. It will be seen that if the comb shaft is caused to rock in its
bearings the acting part of the comb will be moved toward and from the card
which is to be stripped. As indicated by the dotted lines and full lines in Fig. 2.
A lever is fixed upon the comb shaft and is formed with a finger which bears
against the end of a screw which is adjustable in the carrier block. The
lever i bears upon the end of the lever kk¹ which is mounted to rock upon a
fulcrum at . The other end of the lever rests upon a second cam 11 which is
formed in one piece with or is attached to the cam g so that the two cams revolve
together. The said second cam has part of its periphery of a longer radius than
the other part and the parts of the apparatus are so adjusted as that the lever k
shall be in contact with the part 1 during the up or return stroke of the comb.
It will be readily understood that when the lever is in contact with the part 7 the
end of the lever will be moved further outward toward the left hand as indicated
by the dotted lines and that this will have the effect of turning the comb shaft in
its bearings whereby the comb will be moved away from the flat card so that
during the return movement, the comb will be quite clear of the card teeth.
the lever passes to the part of the cam a spring n acting upon the lever i brings
back the comb in its working position and causes the finger to bear against the
screw dwhich determines the closeness of approach of the comb to the cards.
the modification Fig. 7 a spring n' is differently applied to answer the same
purpose as the spring n. By means of this combination of the ordinary stripping
movement of the comb with the secondary movements from and to the cards, the
comb whilst stripping a card is withdrawn from the card at the end of each
downward movement and is returned to the card at the commencement of such
movement so that any injurious effect upon the card during the return movement
is entirely obviated. Fig. 3 illustrates a modification in the form of the lever i.
In this example the said lever is made in two parts i one part being hinged to
the other and being acted upon by an adjustable screw is so that the action of the
lever kk upon the comb shaft may be capable of being regulated by moving the
hinged part toward or from the said lever."
When
In
The object of my invention may be attained by other means so long as the acting
edge of the comb is moved a little distance away from the card at the end of the
stripping stroke so that the comb shall quite clear the card as it makes its
upward or return stroke and is moved back toward the card at the end of such
return stroke. The remaining figs. illustrate modifications whereby this object may
be attained. In Fig. 4 the bar which carries the comb is attached to parts d
which are hinged to the arms d and are acted upon by a lever ³ which bears against
a finger which projects from the part d. A stud g' upon the cam
acts upon
the lever and causes it to press upon the finger do so as to lift the comb bar at the
times when the comb has reached the end of its stripping stroke, the comb being
thereby moved away from the card teeth. The said stud would continue to act

page_text: upon the lever until the comb had about completed its return stroke when the
comb would be returned into action. In Fig. 5 the arm d carrying the comb bar
at each side of the engine is hinged to a lever o and both such levers are fixed
upon a rock shaft e¹ upon one end of which is fixed a lever p which is acted upon
by the cam the intention being that the comb bar and comb shall be moved
bodily away from the card at about the end of the stripping stroke of the comb.
In Fig. 6 the comb would be attached to the carriages which would be fitted
to slide upon the arms d and would be acted upon at the proper times by means of
levers or parts receiving motion from cams or excentrics. In the example each
of the arms d is supposed to be vibrated by means of an excentric and a rod or
arm from such excentric would he provided with an adjustable part which
would come in contact with the carriage at times as the excentric rod would
vibrate to and fro the parts being so arranged and adjusted as that the carriages
would be pushed along the arms so as to move the comb away from the card
teeth at the proper times herein before set forth. A disadvantage of this method
of effecting the object would be the necessity for actuating the comb from both
sides of the engine. In fact with my present experience and information I prefer
to effect my object by imparting rocking or vibrating movements to the comb or
comb bar. Such movements might be derived from a revolving cam tappet
excentric pin bowl or part acting directly upon the lever i which might be modified
to suit the circumstances and such revolving part might be connected by gearing
with the part carrying the cam y or be otherwise suitably actuated.
It will be seen that the apparatus might be varied so that the cam or excentric
would move the comb into the stripping position a spring or load or the same cam
moving the comb clear at the required times. An advantage arising from the use
of my invention is that the comb may be set to penetrate between the teeth of the
cards to a greater extent than can be safely done when the ordinary rigid comb
is used so that the attendant may set the comb more or less deeply in without risk
of damaging the cards the result being that the cards may be more completely
stripped.
Having 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. The combination of parts substantially as and for the purpose herein set
forth with reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the attached drawings.
2. The comb attached to the rock shaft c which is carried by arms vibrating
upon a centre e in the ordinary manner the said rock shaft being acted upon by a
cam in the manner and for the purpose set forth and indicated.
3. The comb for stripping carding engine flats mounted to vibrate toward and
from the flat in addition to the ordinary stripping movement and acted upon
through a lever or levers or parts by a revolving cam so that the acting edge of
the comb is moved away from the card at about the end of the stripping stroke
and is moved back by a spring at about the end of the return stroke substantially
as set forth and indicated.
4. Mounting the flat stripping comb of a carding engine so that the comb or its
acting edge can have a motion toward and from the flat being stripped and a
return motion clear of such card in addition to the ordinary stripping motion and
acting upon the comb or the comb shaft or bar or upon intermediate parts by
means of a cam tappet, excentric or excentric part or of a combination of such
parts so as to keep the comb clear of the cards during its return movement
substantially as set forth.
E. K. DUTTON & Co.,
5, John Dalton Street, Manchester, Agents.