IMPROVEMENTS IN COTTON GINS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Richardson, of Oldham, in the County of
Lancaster, Mechanical Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN COTTON GINS."
Sealed the 19th September 1865, and dated the 25th March 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Richardson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
25th March 1865.
I, WILLIAM RICHARDSON, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Mechanical
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE.
MENTS IN COTTON GINS," to be as follows:-
My Invention refers to those cotton gins which are constructed upon the
Macarthy system. In my improved arrangement I employ two of those
rollers which are usually termed the leather rollers, and in conjunction there-
with one revolving knife roller. The "leather rollers" I place on each side
of the said knife roller, below which I place a grid. One of the fixed knives
I adapt to the upper side of its leather roller, and the other to the under side
of the second leather roller, guard plates being correspondingly adapted. To
each of the leather rollers I also adapt a delivery roller for clearing the
cotton therefrom.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Richardson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
25th September 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
RICHARDSON, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Mechanical Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, and in the twenty-eighth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Richardson, Her special license that I, the said William
Richardson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Richardson, my 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
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN COTTON. GINS," upon the condition, amongst others,
that I, the said William Richardson, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, 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 William Richardson, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to say) :-
My Invention refers to those gins which are constructed on the Macarthy
principle. In my improved arrangement I employ two of those roll'ers which
are usually termed the "leather rollers," and in conjunction therewith one
revolving knife roller. The "leather rollers" I place on each side of the knife
roller, below which I place a grid. One of the fixed knives I adapt to the
upper side of its leather roller, and the other to the under side of the second
leather roller.
In the accompanying Drawing Figure 1 represents my improved gin in
vertical section; Figure 2 is a plan view thereof, with the feed board and
cover partially removed; and Figure 3 is an end view of the machine,

page_text: Although the knife roller I shall describe is not new, and is not therefore of
itself claimed by me, I will for the purpose of making the operation clear
point out in the first place its constructions. It consists of a series of elliptical
discs a, one of which is shewn detached in two views at Figure 4. These discs
are placed at an angle to the axes of the bosses 6 on which they are formed.
These bosses are strung upon an axis c, and are confined together by nuts at
each end, as at f. The parts a being simply discs, the series does not con-
stitute a spiral tending to drive in one direction when rotatory motion is
imparted, but has a reciprocating action upon any material that may be
submitted to it. On each side of the knife roller thus constructed is placed
a Macarthy "leather roller" g, g', constructed in any usual manner. At h, h',
are the ordinary fixed blades, secured to rails i, i, by clamps k, k, and pressed
towards the "leather rollers" by springs 1, 11, the said blades, ¹, being
adapted the one to the upper side and the other to the lower side of their
respective rollers. At m, ml, are guard plates, usually adapted in conjunction
with the fixed blades. At n is a roller with a portion removed on one side, so
as to present a flattened surface towards the knife roller. This roller 2 is
mounted so as to be capable of being turned in bearings o, and is provided
with an arm p, the end of which carries a stud situate within a slot q; by
turning this roller n and tightening a set screw on the arm p a greater orless
space may be provided between the flattened part of the roller n and the
blades of the knife roller. At r,, are square shafts, upon which are mounted
blades s, s, running almost in contact with the leather rollers g, g', and
removing cleaned cotton therefrom. The bars i, , which carry the fixed
knives, are capable of adjustment upward or downward by set screws, as at t,
and they are carried by brackets, as at u, which may be moved inward or
outward, and fixed by set screws v, by which arrangement the said fixed
knives may be adjusted in both directions in references to the surfaces of the
"leather rollers." The feed board upon which the cotton to be cleaned is
placed is shewn at w. being pushed forward upon this it falls upon the
discs of the knife roller, which by revolving in the direction indicated by the
arrow feed it towards the leather roller g, and then strip off the seeds, which
are detained by the usual operations of the fixed knife and leather roller g.
At the same time, however, a portion of the cotton is passed onward by the
knife roller, and fed to the second leather roller g', which by turning upwards
towards the fixed blade ' enables the knife roller to act on that side, also
upon the seeds which are detained. The cleaned cotton therefore passes off
on both sides, and is thrown downward by the blades s, the separated seeds
falling through the grid r. Aty is a shield, which is adapted to prevent too

page_text: large aquantity of cotton from being presented to the knife roller. The arrange-
ment for driving the various parts, as shewn in the Drawing, is as follows:-
The knife roller is driven direct by the pulley 1, and upon the axis thereof is a
pinion 2 taking into an endless chain 3, which passes over pinions 4; upon the
axes of the "leather rollers" g, g', at 5, is a tightening pinion for keeping the
chain 3 distended. The rollers », r', are driven by straps passing from
pullies 6 on the axes of the leather rollers to other pullies 7.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be under-
stood that I claim as secured to me under the above in part recited Letters
Patent, the employment of two of those rollers commonly called "leather
rollers" acted upon by one revolving knife roller.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Richardson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
WILLIAM RICHARDSON. (L.S.)