A MACHINE TO DRAW OUT AND STRAIGHTEN THE FIBRES OF SILK, FLAX, HEMP, JUTE, OR OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Sir Andrew Fairbairn, Knight, Thomas Stuart
Kennedy, and John William Naylor, all of the Wellington Foundry,
in Leeds, in the County of York, Machine Makers, for the Inven-
tion of "A MACHINE TO DRAW OUT AND STRAIGHTEN THE FIBRES OF SILK,
FLAX, HEMP, JUTE, OR OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 1st November 1872, and dated the 26th August 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Sir Andrew Fairbairn,
Thomas Stuart Kennedy, and John William Naylor, at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 26th
August 1872.
We, Sir ANDREW FAIRBAIRN, Knight, THOMAS STUART KENNEDY,
and JOHN WILLIAM NAYLOR, all of the Wellington Foundry, in Leeds,
in the County of York, Machine Makers, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for " A MACHINE TO DRAW OUT AND STRAIGHTEN THE
FIBRES OF SILK, Flax, Hemp, JUTE, OR OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," to be as
follows:-
This Invention has for its object the construction of a machine to
draw out and straighten the fibres of silk, flax, hemp, jute, or other
fibrous substances.

page_text: .
We combine a rotary or circular gill will a screw gill, placing the
circular gill in front of the screw gill, and driving it at a more rapid
surface speed than the screw gill fallers.
The material to be operated upon is spread upon an endless travelling
sheet from which it is taken by rollers and delivered to the screw gill 5
fallers which receive motion from screws in the usual way. At the end
of the screws where the fallers drop down the material is taken by the
pins of the circular revolving gill.
The pins of the circular gill may be fixed in bars having crank arms
at their ends working in an eccentric groove for the purpose of keeping 1
the bars in such a position that the pins are nearly vertical whilst they
are amongst the fibre. The fibre is taken from the circular revolving
gill by drawing rollers.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Sir Andrew Fairbairn, Thomas Stuart Kennedy, 1
and John William Naylor in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 26th February 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, Sir
ANDREW FAIRBAIRN, Knight, THOMAS STUART KENNEDY, and JOHN
WILLIAM NAYLOR, all of the Wellington Foundry, in Leeds, in tho
County of York, Machine Makers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Пer heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Sir Andrew Fairbairn, Thomas Stuart
Kennedy, and John William Naylor, Her special license that we, the
said Sir Andrew Fairbairn, Thomas Stuart Kennedy, and John William
Naylor, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said Sir Andrew Fairbairn, Thomas Stuart Kennedy, and John
William Naylor, our 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

page_text: Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "A MACHINE TO DRAW OUT AND STRAIGHTEN THE FIBRES OF SILK, FLAX,
HEMP, JUTE, OR OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Sir Andrew Fairbairn, Thomas Stuart Kennedy,
and John William Naylor, our executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand.
and seal of one of us or them, 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 Sir Andrew Fairbairn, on behalf of
myself and the said Thomas Stuart Kennedy, and John William Naylor,
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 thereof, that is to say :—
This Invention has for its object the construction of a machine to
draw out and straighten the fibres of silk, flax, hemp, jute, or other
fibrous substances.
:
We combine a rotary or circular gill with a screw gill, placing the
circular gill in front of the screw gill, and driving it at a more rapid
surface speed than the screw gill fallers.
The material to be operated upon is spread upon a table or an endless
travelling sheet from which it is taken by rollers and delivered to the.
screw gill fallers which receive motion from screws in the usual way.
At the end of the screws where the fallers drop down the material is
taken by the pins of the circular revolving gill.
-
The pins of the circular gill may be fixed in bars, having crank arms
at their ends working in an eccentric groove for the purpose of keeping
the bars in such a position that the pins are nearly vertical whilst they
are amongst the fibre, or a series of bars may be placed between the
several rows of pins and guided in eccentric guides at each end to cause
them to move outwards and so push the fibres past the points of the pins
as the fibres pass off from the circular gill. The fibre is taken from the
circular revolving gill by drawing rollers.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention we will proceed
to describe more fully the manner of performing the same.

page_text: Figure 1 shews a longitudinal vertical section; and Figure 2 a plan
of a machine constructed as above described.
In these Figures S is the table upon which the fibrous material to bo
operated upon is laid, and from which it is taken by the rollers P, P¹,
and delivered to the series of fallers R, propelled by the screws B and B¹
in the usual manner. At the end of the screws where the fallers drop
from B to B¹, the material is taken by the pins of the revolving gill D
which may be simply a cylinder covered with pins pointing radially from
the centre, or the pins may be set at an angle as shewn. D*, D*, are
stripping bars placed between the several rows of pins. The rings to
which the ends of the gill bars are fixed have flanges D¹ formed upon
them in which are slots through which the stripping bars pass in order
that their ends may be received into the fixed eccentric guides G which
are carried by the framing of the machine. The stripping bars will thus
be carried round with the circular gill D as it revolves at the same time
that they are free to slide outwards and inwards as they are guided by
the eccentric guides; E, F, are the drawing rollers which draw the fibres
from the circular gill; C is a roller placed between the screw gills R
and circular gill to prevent the fibres from being drawn over the points
of the screw gill.
The arrangement of gearing for driving the several parts of this
machine are clearly shewn by the Drawing so that it is unnecessary to
give any further description of it.
A modification of the rotary or cylindrical part of the machine is
shewn at Figures 3 and 4, Figure 3 being a longitudinal vertical
section, and Figure 4 a plan view. In this modification the pins of
the revolving gill D are inserted into iron bars which are free to turn on.
axes formed at their ends; each bar has also a crank fixed upon it, the
pin of which is guided by an eccentric groove G for the purpose of
keeping the pins in a vertical position or nearly so whilst they are
carrying the fibre from the fallers 1 to the drawing rollers E, F. Tho
cccentric groove G which receives the crank pins may if desired be
driven at or about the same speed as the circular gill so as to reduce the
friction on the crank pins. The other parts shown in the Drawing are
marked with the same letters of reference as in Figures 1 and 2.

page_text: Other arrangements than those shewn in the Drawings may be
adopted for keeping the pins of the circular gill in a vertical position or
nearly so, or at right angles to the fibre whilst carrying forward the
fibrous material to the drawing rollers. By placing a circular revolving
gill in front of a screw gill and driving it at a greater surface speed than
the screw gill fallers, as herein-before described, the drawing out and
straightening the fibres is effected more gradually than is done in the
ordinary method where the Drawing. takes place between a pair of
drawing rollers and the screw gills.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, we would have it understood that we claim,—
1. The application of a circular revolving gill with or without
eccentric guides in combination with screw gills for facilitating the
drawing out and straightening. of fibres, the circular revolving gill
being placed in front of the screw gill and moving at a higher speed so
as to draw the fibres from the screw gills and deliver them to the
drawing rollers.
2. The combined arrangement of apparatus, substantially as herein
described and shewn at Figures 1 and 2.
3. The combined arrangement of apparatus, substantially as herein
described and shewn at Figures 3 and 4.
In witness whereof. I. the said Sir Andrew Fairbairn have heraunto