Improvements in Apparatus for Controlling the Grinding of Carding Engine Flats.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Nov., 1887
Complete Specification Left, 24th Aug., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 5th Oct., 1888
RESERVE C
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Controlling the Grinding of
Carding Engine Flats.
I JOHN MUIR HETHERINGTON of the Vulcan Works, Pollard Street, Manchester in
the County of Lancaster Machine Maker do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to the grinding of the flats which are employed in Carding
Engines in the form of endless chains as is well understood, and also relates to a
prior invention having the same object and for which I made application for Letters
Patent on the twenty first day of March in this present year of 1887, such application
bearing the Official number 2642. In my said former invention I caused the working
faces upon the flat bar ends to slide in contact with levers or parts during the
grinding operation and I imparted controlled movements to such levers or parts the
object being to obtain the required surface upon the card face and at the same time
to maintain an exact relation between such card face and the said working faces on
the flat bar. In my present Invention the rails or parts with which the said working
faces are in sliding contact during the grinding are fixed but I impart movement to
the axis of the grinding roller. I mount the roller shaft in bearings formed in a
sliding carriage or in the ends of levers or I attach the bearings to sliding
carriages or to levers or 1 mount the said shaft to rest upon slides and impart
movement along such slides to the said shaft. In any case the movement imparted to
the roller in addition to its revolving motion is arranged to be in directions to and fro
or forward and backward and slightly inclined with respect to the line of movement
of the flat whilst being ground. The length of the linear movement may be half
the pitch of the chain of flats or thereabouts. The parts would be so adjusted and
regulated in their movements as that the roller would move at about the same speed
as the flats and would effect the grinding when moving in the direction contrary to the
movement of the flat. So soon as the roller had completed the grinding it would
reverse its linear movement and travel in the same direction as the flat, and owing to
the aforesaid relative inclination of the line of movement of the roller, the roller
would recede slightly from the flat until the completion of the return movement of

page_text: the roller when the latter would be ready to operate upon the next flat. The linear
movement of the roller might be straight or curved as preferred. The movements
may he obtained by means of a cam or of cams acting upon a lever or upon levers or
acting directly upon the hearing carriages or by means of vibrating inclines or cams
or by suitable parts acting in concert with the parts which give motion to the chain
of flats as for example I may use a modification of the arrangements illustrated in
the drawings which will be attached to the specification of my said former invention.
I am aware that the grinding roller has been moved directly toward and from the flat
prior to my invention but amongst other disadvantages of former arrangements the
close contiguity of the card edges in modern practice would necessitate a very sudden
withdrawal of the grinder when changing from one flat to another. I may combine
the linear movement of the grinding roller with the movement of the flat imparted
in accordance with my said prior invention.
Dated this 23rd day of November 1887
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James Square, Manchester,
Agents.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Controlling the Grinding of Carding
Engine Flats.
I JOHN MUIR HETHERINGTON of the Vulcan Works, Pollard Street, Manchester in
the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion 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 :-
My Invention relates to the grinding of the flats which are employed in Carding
Engines in the form of endless chains as is well understood, and also relates to a prior
invention having the same object and for which Letters Patent bearing date the
twenty first day of March in the year 1887 and numbered 2642 have been granted to
me. In my said former invention I caused the working faces upon the flat bar ends
to slide in contact with levers or parts during the grinding operation and I imparted
controlled movements to such levers or parts the object being to obtain the required
surface upon the card face and at the saine time to maintain an exact relation between
such card face and the said working faces on the flat bar. In my present Invention
the rails or parts with which the said working faces are in sliding contact during the
grinding are fixed but I impart movement to the axis of the grinding roller. The
movement imparted to the roller in addition to its revolving motion is arranged to
be in directions to and fro or forward and backward and slightly inclined with
respect to the line of movement of the flat whilst being ground.
In order that my invention may be fully understood I will describe the same with
reference to the accompanying drawings. In the said drawings Fig. 1 represents a
Front elevation of my improved apparatus and also so much of a carding engine as
is necessary to render clear the manner of application of the apparatus. Fig. 2 is a
side view of the parts appearing in Fig. 1 the vertical line in Fig. 2 being the dotted
line A B in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows the other or reverse side of the most important
parts which appear in Fig. 1 drawn to a larger scale. Fig. 4 illustrates how the
to and fro movement may be imparted to the grinding roller without the interven-
tion of a sliding carriage. Fig. 5 illustrates a modification of the arrangement
illustrated by Fig. 1. In Figs. 1 and 2 a is a portion of the fixed bend or curved
side frame on one side of a carding engine. b is a part of the flexible bend c.
c¹ is a
part of the chain of flats which slide upon the flexible bend and d is the grinding
roller all these being ordinary parts of a carding engine. To make the drawings more
intelligible I will mention that in Fig. 2 the flexible bend appears as when brought
close up to the edge of the main cylinder in accordance with an invention for which
Letters Patent No. 9579 of the year 1886 have been granted to me.
The grinding
roller bracket e is altered in form to suit my purpose. The said bracket is formed
with a projection e¹ to increase the length of the top of the bracket and this top is
planed to receive a sliding carriage fin which is formed a bearing for the shaft of
the grinding roller. A corresponding bracket is fixed at the other side of the engine
and sustains a sliding carriage which corresponds to the carriage f. A bell crank

page_text: lever g. 9 is fixed upon a rocking shaft h which extends across the engine from side
to side and is mounted to turn in bearings. To carry this shaft I have provided the
ordinary adjustable blocks which carry the grinding roller brackets with projecting
arms in which the bearings for the shaft are formed. In Fig. 1 e² is an arm which
projects from the adjustable block e³ and carries one end of the shaft h. The outer
rounded end of the arm g of the said lever occupies the space between the ends of two
adjustable screws ii with which the jaw in the end f¹ of the carriage fis provided.
The use of these screws is to establish a connection between the end of the lever and
the carriage so that when the lever is vibrated upon its fulcrum the carriage will be
moved to and fro the screws serving as means for adjustment so that there shall be no
back-lash or shake in the connection. It is obvious that any other suitable method
of connection between the lever and the carriage may be adopted. Upon the other
end of the shaft h is fixed a lever corresponding to the arm g and imparting move-
ment in the same manner to the other sliding carriage in which the other end of the
grinding roller shaft is mounted. It will be seen that when the shaft his rocked in
its bearings the roller d will be moved to and fro in a straight line both ends of the
roller being moved at once and to the same extent so that the axis of the roller is
always at right-angles with the flats which are passing below the roller. The arm gl
is connected with one end of a spring g' which tends to draw down the said arm and
thereby to impart the movement in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1 to
the carriages. This movement is limited by an adjustable screw g³ which is secured
on the end of the arm g¹ and bears upon a stop et which is cast upon the arm e
This screw 3 by coming in contact with the stop e ensures that the grinding roller
shall always move exactly to the same point when moving in the direction indicated
by the arrow. The movement in the contrary direction is derived from a cam wheel j
which is fixed upon the shaft j'. This is the ordinary shaft upon which are fixed
the two chain wheels which carry the chain of flats. In my other invention herein-
before mentioned I have a cam wheel differing in the shape of its teeth or sections
fixed upon the same shaft. The cam wheel acts upon a lever k which is loosely
mounted upon the rock shaft h. In a slot in the lever k is fitted a stud which can
be adjusted in position by means of a screw k¹ and which carries a bowl k². The
said cam wheel is provided with teeth all of the same form and corresponding in
number with the number of flats which pass the wheel at each revolution as in the
case of my other invention herein before referred to. In the example the cam wheel
has thirteen teeth. Each tooth is shaped to impart the movement in the direction
contrary to the indication by the arrow to the roller d and to control the move-
ment imparted by the spring g². The first named movement is imparted to
the roller by the action of the curve 1 upon the bowl the controlling action
which governs the speed of movement imparted by the spring being effected by the
curve 2. The lever k is provided with a short arm in which is an adjustable
screw which bears against a projection on the lever arm g. In the time required
for the chain of flats to move a distance equal to the distance from the centre of one
flat to the centre of the next in the chain the roller d will make a double or to
and fro movement during which one of the curves 1 will move the bowl k²
outward from the cam wheel thereby moving the lover k and the arm ka
acting upon the lever will turn the shaft h in its bearings and the two
carriages will be slid by the two levers g to the left in the drawing that is
to say in a direction contrary to the indication the return movement to the right being
effected by the spring g² as aforesaid. When moving toward the left hand in Fig. 1
the roller is moving in a direction contrary to that of the flats but when moving to
the right the movement is in the same direction as that of the flats. The line of
traverse of the roller is not parallel with the line of movement of the flats during the
times when they are subjected to the operation of the roller. It is well known that
the carding face of the flat is inclined with respect to the line of its movement around
the main cylinder and the linear movement of the roller whilst it is grinding a flat
has such a relation to the line of the said carding face as to compensate for the said
inclination. A reference to Fig. 3 will make this clear. In this Fig. the roller is

page_text: supposed to be just commencing to grind the centre one of the three flats. Whilst
the flat moves in the direction indicated by the arrow the roller moves in the contrary
direction into the position indicated by the dotted are at the same time moving nearer
to the flat to such an extent as to compensate for the inclination of the carding face.
When each flat is passing the roller and comes within the range of the action of the
roller the aforesaid working faces on the flat bar ends slide upon two rails which I
usually make to the same curve as the flexible bend b upon which the working faces
slide when the flats are at work as seen at c¹ in Fig. 1. One of these rails is seen at /
in Figs. 12 and 3. The other rail would of course be on the other side of the engine.
To keep the ends of the flat which is being ground in close contact with the two rails
I employ at each side of the engine a lever m which is fixed upon a rocking shaft n
and upon the same shaft is fixed a loaded lever m². The said loaded lever by tending
to turn the shaft n in its bearings causes the lever m to press the flat upward against
the rail. To assist in keeping the flats in contact with the rails I make the ordinary
supporting rails of such formation as that the tension of the chain of flats gives the
flats a tendency to bear against the rails 1. It will be seen that if the rails were
fixed in higher positions with relation to the rails the levers m might be dispensed
with. The rails the levers m the shafts n and the loaded lever m' are also contained
in my said former invention. The action of the part is as follows. In Figs. 1 and 3
the roller has just reached the limit of its traverse in the direction indicated by the
arrow the screw g³ is bearing upon the stop et in Fig. 1 and the bowl k² in the same
Fig. is at the bottom of the space between two teeth in the cam j. At the same time
one of the flats is just meeting the grinding roller as seen in Fig. 3 the said flat being
marked c.
The movement of the cam j will now push outward the end of the lever
arm whereby the carriages will be caused to slide in a direction contrary to the
indication by the arrow. The flat c will at the same time he moving in the indicated
direction that is to say in a direction contrary to the movement of the carriages f.
During these movements of the grinding roller and the flat in opposite directions the
surface of the flat will be ground by the action of the said roller which is revolved as
is usual. During this sliding movement of the carriages of the roller will be slightly
descending toward the flat which is being ground the rate of such descent compen-
sating for the angular position of the face of the flat with relation to its line of
movement as herein before mentioned. When the point of the tooth which has been
acting upon the bowl k² commences to pass the said bowl the direction of movement
of the carriages will be reversed and the grinding roller will then move in the same
direction as the flat and will at the same time be rising slightly away from the flat so
that by the time the roller has moved back into the position indicated in Fig. 3 the
roller will be exactly in position to commence upon the higher edge of the next flat c
in the chain. By repetitions of these movements the whole of the flats in the-chain
are successively ground. It is not absolutely necessary that the lateral movement of
the grinding roller shall be on a straight line as it might be on a curve which would
approximate to a straight line. Fig. 4 shows the roller carried by lever arms g' which
would be acted upon by the lever k. k³ and the cam jas in the case of the levers g. I
may curve the slides upon which the grinding roller carriages work instead of making
such slides straight as in the drawings. The means for imparting the linear movements
to the roller may be varied. Fig. 5 illustrates one of the modifications which may be
made. In this example the lever & extends above the cam wheel j instead of below it
so that the weight of the lever is sustained by the cam. When the cam wheel acts
through the said lever and the arms 9 upon the roller carriages the said carriages
are pushed up inclines so that the return movements of the roller are due to the
tendency of the carriages to slide down the inclines the spring or an equivalent weight
being dispensed with. I am aware that the grinding roller has been moved directly
toward and from the flat prior to my invention but amongst other disadvantages of
former arrangements the close contiguity of the card edges in modern practice would
necessitate a very sudden withdrawal of the grinder when changing from one flat to
another. I may combine the linear movement of the grinding roller with the move-
ment of the flat imparted in accordance with my said prior invention.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
(1) The combination of parts forming the apparatus for grinding the carding faces
of carding engine flats during the traverse of the chain of flats substantially as set
forth and indicated herein before and in and by the accompanying drawings.
(2) The roller d for grinding the travelling flats of a carding engine carried to move
to and fro during the passage of each flat the line of linear movement of such roller
being inclined with respect to the line of movement of the flats so as to compensate
for the inclination of the working and carding faces of the flats substantially as set
forth.
(3) As applied to a carding engine the carriages f carrying the grinding roller d
the shaft and arms 9 for sliding the said carriages to and fro the lever k. k³ for
operating upon the shaft h through the arm g and the cam for operating upon the
lever k. k3 substantially as and for the purpose set forth and indicated.
(4) As applied to a carding engine the cam wheel j fixed on the shaft and
operating upon the lever & the shaft h receiving a rocking movement from the said
lever and the arm g or g¹ for imparting a to and fro movement to the grinding roller d
substantially and for the purpose set forth and indicated.
(5) Moving the axis of the travelling flat grinding roller of a carding engine to
and fro during the grinding of each flat the roller moving slightly toward the flat
when moving in a direction contrary to that of the flat and moving slightly away from
the flat when moving in the same direction as the flat substantially as and for the
purpose set forth.
Dated this 22nd day of Around 1400
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James Square, Manchester,
Agents.