Year: 1886

page_text: I JOHN WALTER BRADLEY of Thornton Road, Bradford in the county of. York,
Machine wool counb maker 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 :-
This invention consists in further improvements upon an invention for which
Letters Patent were granted to me dated the thirtieth day of September 1884,
No 12986 the present improvements having for object to provide an improved jaw
for holding the sliver and giving to it the necessary tension immediately before it
is delivered to the combs, an improved means of feeding the required length of
sliver at each revolution of the feed drum, an improved means of regulating the
relative speeds of the circular combs and the feed drum to prevent the oblique
dragging of the sliver and an improved dabbing brush apparatus to be used in
conjunction with this combing machinery..
In carrying out my invention the balls of sliver are supported in arms and upon
rollers mounted in the arins at the top part of the machine. Each sliver passes
down behind circular guide rails which surround the feed drum and from thence
through a hole in the top of the tension jaw. The sliver then passes under a brass
rail and then under the jaw where it is nipped between the under surface of the
jaw and the upper surface of a bearer to which the jaw is jointed.
The sliver immediately after passing between the jaw and the bearer is delivered
to the combs in a perfectly flat fan-shaped fringe. The bearer which carries the
tension jaw is jointed to a flange connected to a boss which drives the feed drum
and the bearer is caused to rise at the required part of its revolution by means of
a bridge or inclined bar or bars fixed at a suitable angle and over which bar or
bars the bearers travel in their revolution. As the bearers pass up the incline the
sliver is pulled down from the creel by means of the curved feed bar which holds
down the end of the sliver as the tension jaw and the bearer are rising.
The sliver after passing the feed bar is ploughed out of the combs by means of
pointed knives fixed between each circular row of pins, and the fringe of sliver
then passes over a dead plate to the dabbing brush at which point the larger and
smaller circular combs are almost in contact.
At this point the bearers upon which the jaws are mounted drop off the end of
the bridge or curved bar which here terminates, and as the end of the sliver is held
between the jaw and the bearer this latter in dropping pulls down a portion of
sliver from the creels and thereby assists in feeding the required length of sliver.
In order to prevent the sliver from dragging or being pulled back obliquely
between the feed drum and the combs the gearing beneath the combing table
which drives the circular combs and the feed drums is so speeded that the combs

page_text: are driven rather faster than the feed apparatus whereby the tendency to drag the
sliver is compensated for and the sliver is delivered to the combs in true radial.
lines.
The shaft of the dabbing brush is carried in guides supported by a vertical
framework and is driven by an eccentric..
This eccentric is hollow as is also the shaft upon which it is fixed and the
cavities in the eccentric and shaft are filled with oil to keep the eccentric
thoroughly and constantly lubricated, whereby heating and excessive friction
are avoided. The eccentric shaft of the dabbing brush is by preference driven
by means of a cord from a grooved pulley fixed upon the main driving shaft under
the combing table.
In order to enable my invention to be fully understood I will proceed to describe
the same by reference to the accompanying drawings in which figure 1 represents
a sectional elevation of a combing machine constructed according to my invention;
figure 2 represents a sectional plan of the same taken on a line immediately below
the feed drum; figure 3 represents a perspective view of one of the tension jaws
and bearers; figure 4 is a front view of the same and figure 5 is a plan of the
combing table shewing the bridge or curved bars upon which the bearers travel
during part of their revolution and which may be adjusted to give the bearers the
required rise or elevation; figure 6 represents a plan of the gearing beneath the
combing table which is driven by the main driving shaft and actuates the two
circular combs and the feed drum.
Similar letters refer to similar parts in all the figures.
The larger and smaller circular combs A and B respectively are caused to revolve
upon steam chests C and D; the large comb is driven by means of internal teeth E
into which is geared a pinion actuated by the gearing beneath the combing table
and the smaller or internal circular comb is driven by means of external teeth F
which are also driven from the gearing beneath the table.
The broad lower flange J, of the drum G is mounted upon a rim K having a
toothed internal periphery L and revolving. upon the circle M. Upon the bearers N
are jointed the tension jaws P and these bearers are hinged to the top flange H. of
the drum G and are carried round with the drum as it rotates. A projection at
the bottom of the bearer N rests upon the circle O upon which it travels during
part of its revolution, the said projection during the remainder of each revolution
of the drum rests or travels upon the bridge or curved bar which is by means of
set screws adjusted and fixed at the required angle to cause the bearers N to rise
to the necessary height so that a sufficient quantity of the sliver R may be pulled
through the opening between the jaws P and the bearers N at which opening the
sliver is nipped by the weight of the jaw P.
The sliver R passes down behind the guide S which is fixed to the periphery of
the feed drum U which feed drum is driven by means of an upright spindle V
fixed to the flange H. The sliver then passes through the opening in the arched
top of the jaw P and under a circular rail T which rail is supported by uprights
and brackets to the flange J. After passing under the rail T the sliver is drawn
under the outer weighted end of the jaw P from whence it passes direct to the
combs.
During the revolution of the feed drum the ends of the fringe of sliver projecting
from the nip of the jaws P is caught under the curved feed bar X figure 2 and as
the bearers are at that time travelling up the incline of the bridge a certain
regulated portion of the sliver is pulled from under the jaw P, the weight of which
jaw gives the required tension to the sliver.-The fringe thus pulled out then
passes over the dead plate Y to the dabbing brush Z where the fibres are dabbed
into the teeth of both circular combs which come together at a point beneath the
dabbing brush.
After the bearers N and the tension jaws P have passed the dabbing brush Z
the sliver then contained in the combs is separated from that held in the nip of the
jaw and bearer by means of a star wheel. not shewn in the drawing and at this

page_text: point the bearers drop off the end of the bridge or curved bar Q and thereby pull
down a regulated length of aliver R from the falls at the top of the feed drum.
The two circular combs A and B are driven at the same surface speed which is
rather faster than the speed at which the drum of the feed apparatus and the
bearers with their tension jaws are caused to revolve. This greater speed of the
combs over that of the bearers and jaws prevents the fringe of sliver from dragging
or being held back obliquely.
The circular combs A and B receive motion from the vertical shaft C¹ which
passes through the table of the machine D¹ and drives the combs by means of
gearing F, mounted upon the upper side of the table. The bearers N carrying
the tension jaws P with the feed drum and its flanges H and J are driven by a
pinion fixed upon the upper end of the shaft E¹, which pinion gears into the
internal teeth L.
The gearing A², which drives the two circular combs A and B and the feed
drum G is actuated by a vertical shaft B' which is driven by means of the bevel
wheels B¹, from the main shaft A¹.
The dabbing brush Z is fixed to the upright shaft G, which works in brass
bushes fixed to the upright frame H. The spindle L', upon which the eccentric K¹
is fixed is hollow as is also the eccentric and the hollow of both the shaft and the
eccentric are filled with oil before the machine is started which oil slowly passes
through a small hole in the eccentric tumbler and. keeps the surface between the
hoop and the tumbler constantly oiled whereby heating and friction are avoided.
The grooved wheel C², on the eccentric spindle L₁ is driven by means of a cord D³,
from the grooved wheel M¹ fixed upon the main shaft A¹. The fast and loose
pulleys upon the main shaft are represented at N¹, and O¹, respectively in
figure 6.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. The combination of parts forming the improved internally fed circular
combing machine substantially as hereinbefore described and represented in the
accompanying drawings.
2. In an internally fed circular combing machine the use of the tension jaws P
and the bearers N substantially as described and represented in the accompanying
drawings.
3. In an internally fed circular combing machine the use of the adjustable
bridge or curved bar or bars Q adapted to raise the bearers and jaws at a certain
part of their revolution so as to cause a regulated length of sliver to be drawn out
of the jaws by means of the feed bar X which holds down the ends of the sliver
while the bearers and jaws are ascending the bridge substantially as described and
represented in the accompanying drawings.
4. In an internally fed circular combing machine the herein described arrange-
ment for driving the circular combs at a faster speed than that of the feed
apparatus for the purpose of avoiding the dragging back of the ends of the sliver
and causing such ends to lie in true radial lines across the combs substantially as
herein described.