CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CARDING ENGINES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Bellhouse, junior, of the Firm of James
and Wainwright Bellhouse, of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Cotton Spinners, and Richard Ashworth, of the same
Place, Mechanic, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
CARDING ENGINES."
Sealed the 21st August 1868, and dated the 14th March 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Bellhouse
and Richard Ashworth at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 14th March 1868.
We, WILLIAM BELLHOUSE, junior, of the Firm of James and Wain-
wright Bellhouse, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Cotton
Spinners, and RICHARD ASHWORTH, of the same Place, Mechanic, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN CARDING ENGINES," to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates to certain descriptions of carding engines
wherein the "top flats" are lifted and the card surface turned upwards
by self-acting means, so that it may be stripped or cleaned by a "card

page_text: stripper" mounted or supported on constantly and regularly oscillating
or reciprocating arms or bars, and which traverses over the "flats" at
a regular and uniform speed.
"
The Invention is designed to cause the
the "stripper to traverse
more rapidly when advancing and in performing the operation of
stripping, and to return at a slower speed, or to stop after stripping
and to return rapidly if desired, the object being to strip rapidly, so
that the "flats" are out of contact with the main cylinder as short a
time as possible, and to delay the traverse in returning so as to com-
pensate for the rapid movement in order that the flats are not stripped
too frequently, which would cause much waste.
The improvements consist in imparting to the stripper and its
supporting arms an intermittent motion so as to cause the traverse to
vary in speed or otherwise to compensate for the accelerated motion
of the stripper during one part of its traverse, and the improvements
may be effected by several mechanical equivalents, such as clutch box
and large and small pulleys, cone pulleys, or other well-known
mechanism for producing differential speeds. For example we describe
an arrangement of clutch box and pulleys for the purpose. One pulley
of large and one of small diameter are secured on the main cylinder
or driving shaft, and a second pair of large and small diameter pulleys
are applied to the pinion gearing in the ordinary mangle rack, and to
these a clutch box is so applied that a stud or pin coming in contact
therewith throws the clutch in or out of gear, and by thus changing
the application of the speed of the different. diameters of the pulleys
the pinion is caused to travel at a greater or less speed along the rack,
and thus the speed of the stripper is regulated..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Bellhouse and Richard Ashworth in the
· Great Seal Patent Office on the 14th September 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, WILLIAM
BELLHOUSE, junior, of the Firm of James and Wainwright Bellhouse,
of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Cotton Spinners, and
RICHARD ASHWORTH, of the same Place, Mechanic, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors;
give and grant unto us, the said William Bellhouse, junior, and Richard
Ashworth, Her special license that we, the said William Bellhouse,
junior, and Richard Ashworth, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said William Bellhouse, junior, and
Richard Ashworth, 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 Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CARDING ENGINES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that we, the said William Bellhouse, junior,
and Richard Ashworth, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our, or one of our, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, 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 Bellhouse, junior, 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 and accompanying Drawings (that is to
say):
:-
Our Invention relates to certain descriptions of carding engines
wherein the "top flats" are lifted and the card surface turned upwards
by self-acting means, so that it may be stripped or cleaned by a "card
stripper" mounted or supported on constantly and regularly oscillating
or reciprocating arms or bars, and which traverses over the "flat" at a
regular and uniform speed. The Invention is designed to cause the
stripper" to traverse more rapidly when advancing and in performing
5 the operation of stripping and its return at a slower speed, or to strip
rapidly so that the "flats" are out of contact with the main cylinder
as short a time as possible, and to delay the traverse in returning, so as

page_text: 7
to compensate for the rapid movement in order that the flats are not
stripped too frequently, which would cause much waste.
The improvements consist in imparting to the stripper and its
supporting arms an intermittent motion so as to cause the traverse
to vary in speed or otherwise to compensate for the accelerated motion
of the stripper during one part of its traverse, and the improvements
may be effected by several mechanical equivalents, such as clutch box
and large and small pulleys, cone pulleys, or other well-known
mechanism for producing differential speed. For example we describe
an arrangement of clutch box and pulleys for the purpose. One pulley
of large and one of small diameter are secured on the main cylinder
or driving shaft, and a second pair of large and small diameter pulleys
re applied to the pinion gearing in the ordinary mangle rack, and
to these a clutch box is so applied that a stud or pin coming in contact
therewith throws, the clutch in or out of gear, and by thus changing
the application of the speed of the differential diameters of the pulleys
the pinion is caused to travel at a greater or less speed along the rack,
and thus the speed of the stripper is regulated.
In order that the Invention may be better understood and explained
in detail we have hereunto attached a Sheet of Drawings made upon
a scale of about three inches to the foot.
Fig. 1 represents a front elevation of that class of carding engines
wherein stationary "top flats" are employed to which is applied
mechanism for driving the oscillating or reciprocating arms carrying
the "stripping card;" Fig. 2 represents a side elevation of the same;
Fig. 3 represents a detached side view of the pinion secured to the
end of each "flat" by which it is turned over for "stripping," and
to which is applied the arrangement of stud and spring lever that
retains the "flat" so as to keep it steady when turned up for stripping
or when in its place on the cylinder; and Fig. 4 represents an arrange-
ment of moveable pinion employed for actuating the variable traverse
of the stripper arm through the medium of an internal and external
wheel.
وو
In Figs. 1 and 2, a, a, is the ordinary reciprocating arm supporting
the stripper card; b, the mangle rack; and c, the pinion connected by
means of the "cannon d with the arm a, and by which through
the medium of the improved driving apparatus herein-after described
a variable traverse motion to the stripper card is transmitted. The

page_text: driving pulley e and cord f impart a regular motion to the speed
pulleys g, secured to the bottom end of the arm a; these "speed
pulleys" give motion by means of the cord h to the large pulley i,
which and the small pulley k become alternately the drivers to actuate
the pinion e by means of the wheels ; the pinion c gears in the
rack b, through and by which motion is imparted to the arm a and
the traverse of the card "stripper." During the advance or forward
motion of the "card stripper" the small pulley k drives the mechanism
until the pinion c completes its course to the end of the mangle rack b,
then the said pinion passes round the end of the rack and imparts
motion to the lever and cannon d to the clutch n, which transmits
through the levers m a sliding motion and throws it into gear with
the clutch of the large pulley i, which then commences to drive the
mechanism, and the speed thereby effected reduces the traverse of the
card stripper when returning, compensating thereby for the rapid
movement of the "stripper" when in action during its forward move-
ment, the change for accelerating or diminishing the speed being
effected alternately each time the pinion moves round the terminals
of the mangle rack, such motion actuating the sliding clutch n as
before described. It will be evident that by actuating the "stripping
cam as herein-before described the rapid traverse whilst stripping
reduces the length of time that the flats are out of contact with the
main cylinder and the return traverse being delayed compensates
for the forward rapid movement, thereby preventing the flats being
stripped too frequently, and by the employment of differential speed
pulleys the intervals between stripping may be regulated as described.
In Fig. 3 an arrangement is shewn for steadying the "flat" when
turned over for stripping or on returning to its position upon the
cylinder after stripping. a¹ is the ordinary wheel employed for turning
the "flat" up for "stripping," and from this wheel the stud b¹ projects,
which when any flat after having been stripped returns to its position
upon the cylinder, the stud b' acted upon by the curved surface of the
spring lever c¹, which during the passage of the arm a' prevents any
rebound or unsteadiness both at the time the flat is returning to
its position on the cylinder or when "turned up" for stripping.
In Fig. 4 an equivalent arrangement of gearing is shewn for actuating
the differential motion of the "stripping arm" which may be substituted
or employed in place of the clutch motion before described; the

page_text: pinion c in this view when moving round the terminals of the mangle
rack alternately gears on the centre, then in the internal wheel, the
former being the driver during the quick or forward traverse of the arm
when "stripping," and the latter during the slow or return traverse
of the arm when passing over the "flats."
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, together
with the method of carrying the same into practical effect, we wish it to
be distinctly understood that we claim, actuating or giving a differential
speed or traverse to the stripper arm in that class of carding engines
in which top flats are stripped by self-acting mechanism for the purpose
herein-before described, set forth, and fully illustrated in the Drawings
attached.
Secondly. The general construction; arrangement, and combination of
mechanism as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Bellhouse, junior, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of September;
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-cight.
WILLIAM BELLHOUSE, JUNIOR. (L.S.)
Witnessed by,
JOHN L. DAVIES,
Office for Patents,
Manchester.