IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING, SPINNING, AND, DOUBLING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS.
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Higgins, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster,.
Machine Maker, Alfred Higgins, of the same Place, Machine Maker, and Thomas
Schofield Whitworth, of the same Place,, Manager of Machine Works, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING, SPINNING, AND,
DOUBLING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS.".
Sealed the 9th November 1877, and dated the, 12th May, 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Higgins, Alfred Higgins,.,
and Thomas Schofield Whitworth at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents i
on the 12th May 1877..
JAMES HIGGINS, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker, 'ALFRED
HIGGINS, of the same Place, Machine Maker, and THOMAS SCHOFIELD WHIT-
WORTH, of the same Place, Manager of Machine Works. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR PREPARING, SPINNING, AND DOUBLING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS
MATERIALS."
Our Invention relates, firstly, to improvements upon that arrangement of carding
engine for which. Letters Patent were granted to James Higgins and Thomas
Schofield Whitworth, dated 11th April 1867, No. 1079, and to Henry Higgins and
Thomas Schofield Whitworth, dated 20th July 1869, No. 2197, and consists,-
Firstly. In an arrangement whereby we are enabled to vary the stripping of the
flats so as to operate on those over the doffer less frequently than those over the..
licker in, in order to accomplish which, we make the lifting part which acts upon
the flat so as to raise it, moveable, and cause it to remain in or depart from the
lifting position by apparatus to which motion is given by the machine.
The arrangement we employ is as follows:-Upon the ordinary wheel to which
the lifter rod is jointed is a mutilated wheel which gives motion to a shaft which,
by means of a worm, drives a cam with two elevations, such elevations determining.
whether the part which immediately acts as the lifter shall be in an operating
position, and thus the raising of any number of flats may be missed for any required
time.
Another improvement in the said carding engine consists in a method of grinding
the flats without requiring them to be removed from the machine. This we accom-

page_text: plish by removing the stripping apparatus and adapting in its place a grinding
roller, to which rotatory motion is imparted in any suitable manner. When this has
been done, a quick traversing motion is imparted to the radial arm and the clutch
box is kept permanently in gear. By this arrangement, the flats may be ground
while that operation is performed upon the cylinder or at other times when the
machine is not carding.
Also in carding engines in which flats are automatically lifted at times for the
purpose of being stripped, we employ a method of enabling them to be ground
without removing them from the machine; for this purpose we so construct the
flats and the parts which support them, that they (the said flats), when in their
registered position for carding, may be turned over by hand with the wire upward,
and registered in another position for being ground by any of the ordinary arrange-
ments used for that purpose. Thus we form the ends of the flat with hollowed and
projecting parts, one of which rests upon a surface which supports them when
carding, and the other when the said flats are turned over for grinding. Or the
same effect may be produced by causing extended ends of the flats to rest upon a
circular "bend."
Another part of our Invention refers to the throstle and consists in a method of
adapting the bobbin to the spindle. In the case of the fixed bolster rail, the rail is
provided with a fixed bush which extends upward, and upon this is placed a loose
tube projecting into the bobbin, such tube being narrowed at its upper end so as to
bear against the spindle. Or the said tube on which the bush works may be con-
tinued upward to the flyer. In the case of the sliding bolster rail, we cast the
supports for carrying the "poker" bars to the upper and lower rails, but the parts
of the upper rail, which in the case of the fixed bolster rail carry the spindles, arc
dispensed with.
For the purpose of lubrication, we place a flannel washer or washers for carrying
oil within the loose tube, so that, when the spindle is running, the said washers
rest upon the top of the fixed bush, and oil is admitted thereto by forming the top
of the loose tube cup shaped, and we apply these flannel washers to fixed as well as
to sliding bolsters.
Another improvement in the throstle with fixed or moveable bolsters consists in a
method of mounting the bobbin. For this purpose we place a loose flanged tube on
the spindle, its lower end or flange resting upon the flannel of the ordinary rail, and
its upper end and an intermediate part embracing the spindle, and upon this appa-
ratus we place the bobbin, the bottom thereof resting upon the flange or upon the
rail. The flanged tube therefor is capable of becoming a drag for the bobbin and
may be made of any required weight."
According to another arrangement, we mount the bobbin upon a loose tube, to
which we apply an adjustable brake.
In practice, we propose to adapt a wharve to the said tube which is crossed over
its surface by a band which then in like manner crosses over the wharve of the
tube of the next spindle, and so on for any desired number, and the said tubes
become therefore carried in a manner similar to that of suspension, and the drag
may be regulated by tightening or loosening the said band.
In adapting the flyers to the spindles of throstles, we place a nut upon the screwed
end, against which the boss of the flyer bears when screwed down.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said James Higgins, Alfred Higgins, and Thomas Schofield Whitworth
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 12th November 1877.
JAMES HIGGINS, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker, ALFRED
HIGGINS, of the same Place, Machine Maker, and THOMAS SCHOFIELD WHIT-
WORTH, of the same Place, Manager of Machine Works. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR PREPARING, SPINNING, AND DOUBLING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS
MATERIALS."
Our Invention relates, firstly, to improvements upon that arrangement of carding
engine for which Letters Patent were granted to James Higgins and Thomas
Schofield Whitworth, dated Eleventh April, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
seven, No. 1079, and to Henry Higgins and Thomas Schofield Whitworth, dated
Twentieth July, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, No. 2197, and con-
sists,
Firstly. In an arrangement whereby we are enabled to vary the stripping of the
flats so as to operate on those over the doffer less frequently than those over the
licker in, in order to accomplish which we make the lifting part, which acts on the
flats for raising them, moveable, and cause it to remain in or depart from the lifting
position by apparatus to which motion is given by the machine.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 represents this part of our Invention in the
partial side view of a carding engine, constructed according to the arrangement of
the former Patents aforesaid, and with our present improvement adapted.
At 1 is the cylinder shaft, upon which is a pulley 2 imparting rotary motion by
means of a strap to a pulley 3, the axis of which is provided with a pinion which
drives a wheel 4, which wheel has a crank pin 5 for actuating the lifting arm 6 for
the purpose of raising the flats, as described in the Specifications of the former
Patents aforesaid, but, in this case, through the medium of intermediate apparatus
as will hereafter appear. At 7 is the plate sliding in the radial arm 8, and which
constitutes the guide for the. lifting arm 6. This plate carries a boss 9, from which
there projects a pin 10 passing through a slot 11 formed in the arm 6, and in
which slot the said pin 10 may slide upwards or downwards. At 12 is a catch
mounted so as to be able to turn upon a centre 13 which is carried by the arm 6,
the upper end of the said catch being provided with a notch 14, the back of which
is pressed forward against the pin 10 by means of a spring 15. Upon the arm 8 is
mounted a rotary cam 16 having two elevations a, b, its axis being provided with a
worin wheel 17 taking into a worm 18 on an axis 20, the lower end of which is
connected with a bevil pinion 21 driven, at every revolution of the wheel 4, by a
segment or mutilated wheel 22 forined on the face of the said wheel 4, the shaft 20
and pinion 21 being connected by a knuckle joint to enable them to work at an
angle. Upon the arm 8 is a centre 24, upon which is mounted a bell-crank lever 25,
25*, the latter part of which is in contact with the cam 16, its heavier end- keeping
it in that position, and the former part of which is provided with a pin 26 pro-
jecting into the plane of the catch 12. The segment 22 and pinion 21 are those
employed in the former Patents aforesaid for giving motion to the mangle rack
apparatus 19, being the shaft which carries the pinion thereof, but in this case the
said mutilated wheel or segment 22 performs another office, that of turning the
cam 16, as before mentioned. At 28 is the known clutch box, as in the formerly
patented machines used for the purpose of determining the bodily motions of the
lifting apparatus, and these parts then being supposed to act in the known manner,
the working of our improvement will be as follows:-
According to the positions of the parts, as shewn, the rod 6 is about being lifted
by the crank pin 5, carrying with it the pin 10 through the medium of the catch 12,
the notch in which embraces the said pin, and the sliding plate 7 and projecting
part 29 moving therewith, the latter is caused to lift the flat, as well known, and
subsequently the said part 29 is brought down by the upper part of the notch in

page_text: the catch 12, and in like manner other flats are raised and brought down. But
during this operation, the segment 22 and pinion 21 have caused the cam 16 to turn
slowly in the direction of the arrow, whereby the elevation b is brought beneath the
lever 25* which, by being thus caused to turn upon its centre 24, brings the pin 26
projecting from its upper end to bear against the part 30 of the catch.12, which, by
being turned upon its centre 13, moves to a notch free of the pin 10. When there-
fore the arm 6 is again raised, its slot 11 moves along the pin 10 which remains
stationary, the catch 12 having been moved away from it. Under these circum-
stances therefore the part 29 is not raised and the lifting of a flat is omitted, and
such omission is continued so long as the elevation b of the cam is in contact with
the lever 25*, but when the part a of the cam arrives opposite the end of the
lever 25*, the spring 15 or the weight of the said lever is at liberty to turn the
catch 12 upon its centre 13, thereby causing its notch again to embrace the pin 10,
as shewn in the Drawing, and it will be evident that by altering the configuration
of the cam or modifying its rotation, the liftings may be modified so as to raise or
miss any desired flats. In describing the construction of the machine, we have referred
to one side only, but some of the parts are of course repeated on the other side.
Secondly. Our Invention consists in a method of grinding the flats of such carding
engines as aforesaid without requiring them to be removed from the machine. This
is shewn at Figs. 1, 2, and 3. At 40 is a stripper of the aforesaid patented machines,
but in this instance it is mounted so as to be capable of being turned over upon a
centre 41, as shewn by dots in Fig. 1. At 42 are brackets formed upon the radial
arm 8, and when it is desired to grind the flats the strippers are turned over, and
bearings adapted to the brackets 42 for the purpose of carrying the axis of a
grinding roller 43, to which rotatory motion may be imparted from any convenient
part of the machine. The clutch box 28 being now kept permanently in gear the
flats will successively be raised and turned over, as well known, so that their wires
are brought into contact with the roller 43, as at Fig. 3, and the required grinding
is thus effected, and by this arrangement therefore the flats may be ground, while
that operation takes place on the cylinder or at other times when the machine is
not carding.
Thirdly. In carding engines generally in which flats are automatically lifted for
the purpose of being stripped we employ a method of enabling them to be ground
without removing them from the machine. This part of our Invention is shewn
applied at Figs. 1, 4, and more clearly at the enlarged detached views, Figs. 5, 6, 7,
8, 9, 10. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 represent a filbow in three views; Fig. 8, one end of a
flat; Fig. 9, the under side of Fig. 8; Fig. 10, a top view of Fig. 8. At 50 is the
base of the filbow, upon which are formed two projecting parts 51, 52, and another
part 53, but on a lower level than the parts 51, 52. Referring now to the flats, at
54 is the part which is adapted to the bend, beyond which is a flat part 55 when
looking on the top, as at Fig. 10, but by reference to Fig. 8 it will be seen that a
portion of the under part is removed, whereby a space 56 is obtained. When the
flats are adapted for carding, the part 54 rests upon those of the filbow, shewn at 53
and 52; thus the necessary heeling is effected, as shewn at Fig. 1, the space 56
making room for the projection 51. When the grinding is to take place, the flats
being turned upside down, the part 55 rests upon the two high level parts 51, 52,
of the filbow, and the flats are then arranged concentrically with the cylinder, and
may be ground by any of the usual arrangements employed for that purpose.
Fig. 3 shews another method by which the same object may be accomplished. In
this instance the flats 56 are formed with extended metal ends, which rest upon the
apparatus known as a flexible bend 57 situate in any convenient position on the
outside of the filbows, or instead of the flexible bend it might be any ordinary
circular part. By turning the flats upon this circle they may be adapted in positions
for carding or grinding, in the latter case by any known apparatus.
Another part of our Invention refers to the throstle, and our first improvement
therein consists in a method of adapting the bobbin to the spindle, as shewn at
Fig. 11: At 56 is a fixed bolster rail, to which is adapted a fixed tube or bush 57,

page_text: within which the spindle 58 runs, and upon this is placed a loose tube 59, narrowed
at its upper end so as to bear against the spindle. Upon this tube is placed the
bobbin 60, its lower end resting upon the flannel or other such substance carried by
the copping plate 61. Oil may be applied by means of the cup-formed top of the
loose tube 59, and when the machine is at work the said tube is free to revolve
when sufficient friction is put thereon. Fig. 12 shews the arrangement applied to
a moveable bolster rail 62, and also shews a modification, the upper part of the
tube 59 being caused to bear against a reduced diameter of the spindle. Between
the bush 57 and the loose tube 59 in Fig. 11 there is a washer of flannel or other
such substance 63, which washer may therefore be supplied with oil through the
cup.
Another improvement consists in a method of constructing the parts for carrying
the "poker bars" in the case of sliding bolster rails. This is shewn at Figs. 12 and
13, the two rails being at 63, 64, and with them are cast parts 65, so as to connect
the two rails together.
Figs. 14 and 15 represent another arrangement. In this instance a loose tubo 67
is placed upon the spindle, and on this is mounted the bobbin, resting upon the
flannel or other such substance, carried by the copping rail 61, or upon the rail
itself. The tube 67 projects downwards through the rail 61, and at its lower end is
formed as a pulley 68, over which bands 69 pass, and in like manner over adjacent
tube pullies throughout the series, as seen at Fig. 15; by tightening or loosening
therefore these bands at their ends, the drag may be increased or decreased at pleasure,
and the tube 67 become suspended upon the bands 69.
Our last improvement consists in a method of preparing the spindle for the adap-
tation of the flyer, and is shewn at Figs. 11 and 12. Upon the spindle we adapt or
fix a collar or nut 70, and the flyer being screwed down upon this obtains a more
extended bearing than it does by the usual method of adapting it.
1924
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, we desire it to be understood that we
claim as secured to us under the above in part recited Letters Patent, and for the
purposes above set forth,―
Firstly. (In reference to the arrangement of carding engine above mentioned)
effecting the raising of the flats by a part which may be rendered inoperative at any
desired intervals by the working of the machine; also grinding the flats by removing
the stripper and adapting in its place a roller driven from any suitable part of the
machine.
Secondly. In reference to carding engines generally, in which flats are automa-
tically lifted for the purpose of being stripped, we claim the construction substantially
of the flats and filbows shewn particularly at Figs. 5 to 10, whereby surfaces are
obtained for registering them in their working positions, and for being ground;
also for the same purpose the employment of a circular bend, as described in reference
to Fig. 3.
Thirdly. In reference to throstles we claim the use of the loose tube illustrated at
59, one end thereof being in contact with the spindle, and the other with a fixed
bush or tube, as shewn at Fig. 11 or at Fig. 12, in which the tube 59 bears at its
upper end against a reduced part of the spindle; also, as regards moveable bolster
rails, we claim casting the supports 65 for the poker bars with the two rails 63, 64;
also the use of the bands 69 or equivalent apparatus, by means of which the tube in
which the spindle runs becomes, as it were, suspended.
And, lastly. The use of the nut or collar 70.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Schofield Whitworth, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven
THOMAS SCHOFIELD WHITWORTH. (LS.)