Improvements in Mechanical Feeders for Openers or Scutchers for Cotton and other Fibrous Materials.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Oct., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 18th July, 1894-Accepted, 18th Aug., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Mechanical Feeders for Openers or Scutchers for
Cotton and other Fibrous Materials.
I JOHN CORRIGAN of 11 Grafton Street, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
This invention relates to that class of feeder for cotton opening machines which
is provided with a feed box for accumulating and consolidating the cotton before
delivering it on to the opener lattice.
According to my invention I mount a small delivery roller (or a pair of rollers)
at the lower part of the feed box to deliver the cotton at a constant speed to the
opener lattice; or instead of a roller a short creeper may be used, by preference
inclining gradually towards the opener lattice in the direction of its motion, so as
to still further consolidate the cotton as it is delivered to the said lattice. Thus
by adjusting the outlet formed by the above means, or by altering the speed of the
delivery rollers, and the opener lattice, either automatically or otherwise, the feed.
of the cotton by the latter to the opener or scutcher may be regulated without
adjustment of the sides of the feed box.
I also provide at the upper part of the feed box a roller, the position of which
may be adjustable, in order to maintain a constant level of the cotton in the said
feed box, and this roller revolves in such a direction that it will take off any
surplus cotton accumulating above this level and will either push it over the edge
of the feed box upon a lattice or creeper, to be returned to the feeder hopper, or
this roller may throw up the surplus cotton in such a way that it can be caught
by the draught of a blower or a suction fan and returned to the said hopper
thereby.
Or this roller may throw up the surplus cotton to a creeper which will return
it to the feeder hopper, or the cotton may be taken from the said roller to the
returning creeper by another roller, or rollers, or by the stripping roller itself.
In some cases the stripping roller itself may be so arranged that it will not only
strip the cotton from the spiked lattice of the feeder, and beat it over a grid, but
will also remove the surplus cotton from the feed box, and thereby maintain the
required level of cotton therein; I prefer however to employ the special roller
above described for this purpose.
Dated this 17th day of October 1893.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
5 Improvements in Mechanical Feeders for Openers or Scutchers for.
Cotton and other Fibrous Materials.
1 JOHN CORRIGAN of 11 Grafton Street, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
O ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to that class of feeder for cotton opening machines which

page_text: is provided with a feed box for accumulating and consolidating the cotton before
delivering it on to the opener lattice, and for which Letters Patent No. 11996
have been granted to me, dated 19th day of June 1893.
In order that my present invention may be clearly understood I have annexed
hereto a sheet of drawings illustrative thereof and have marked the same with
figures and letters of reference corresponding with those in the following
description.
Figs. 1, 2, 24, 3 and 4 are sectional elevations of so much of a mechanical feeder
for cotton openers and scutchers as is necessary to illustrate various modifications
of my invention.
According to my invention I mount a small delivery roller a (or a pair of
rollers) at the lower part of the feed box b to deliver the cotton at a constant
speed to the opener lattice c; or instead of a roller a short creeper a+ may be
used, by preference inclining gradually towards the opener lattice in the direction
of its motion, so as to still further consolidate the cotton as it is delivered to the
said lattice, see detached view Fig. 4. Thus by adjusting the outlet formed by
the above means, or by altering the speed of the delivery roller or rollers, and the
opener lattice, either automatically (by actuating it or them from the differentially
driven scutcher lattice roller c+ or otherwise, the feed of the cotton by the latter
to the opener or scutcher may be regulated without adjustment of the sides of
the feed box b.
I also provide at the upper part of the feed-box 6 a roller d, the position of
which may be adjustable, in order to maintain a constant level of the cotton in the
said feed box, and this roller revolves in such a direction as seen by the arrows
that it will take off any surplus cotton accumulating above this level and will push
it over the edge of the feed box either outwards as seen at Fig. 1 or inwards as
seen at Fig. 2 upon a lattice or creeper e, to be returned to the feeder hopper, or
this roller d may throw up the surplus cotton in such a way that it can be caught
by the draught of a blower or a suction fan and returned to the said hopper
thereby.
Or the roller & may throw up the surplus cotton to a creeper e+ (see Fig. 3)
which will return it to the feeder hopper, or the cotton may be taken from the
said roller d to the returning creeper et by another roller d+ (see Fig. 4) or
rollers, or by the stripping roller fitself (see Fig. 3).
In the modification shewn at Fig. 2 I sometimes prefer to use a roller e++ to
assist the passage of the cotton from the lattice e to the lattice g at the bottom of
the hopper h.
is a protecting plate to keep the weight of cotton in the hopper h from
preventing the return of the surplus cotton from the lattice e into the said hopper.
Or the lattice e may be dispensed with and the lattice g slightly lowered and
continued beyond the spiked lattice k so that the surplus cotton can fall thereon.
In this case the bottom of the apparatus would be provided with a plate + or its
equivalent upon which the cotton would be moved to the feed hopper as shewn
detached at Fig. 2ª.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The combination with the feed box b of a roller a or its equivalent at the
lower part of the same for delivering the cotton on to the scutcher lattice
substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the drawings annexed.
2. The roller d for maintaining the level of the cotton in the feed box and
urging the surplus cotton over one of the sides or plates forming the said box
substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the annexed drawings.
3. The combination with the feed box of a roller so situated as to throw up
the surplus cotton from the said feed box to be returned by a current of air or by a

page_text: lattice or creeper to the feed hopper substantially as hereinbefore described and
illustrated by the annexed drawings.
Dated this 17th day of July 1894.
GEO. DAVIES & SON,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agents for the Applicant.