Improvements in or relating to Carding Engines.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application. 5th Sept., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 5th June, 1895-Accepted, 13th July, 1895
Improvements in or relating to Carding Engines.
We, ERNEST LAWRENCE COCKRELL of West View, Romiley, near Stockport,
Agent, ROBERT THEW and JACOB EDWARD STIEBEL, both of 65 Sackville
Street, Manchester, Merchants, do hereby declare the nature of our said invention
to be as follows:-
Our invention has reference to carding engines and has for its object to provide
improved means for preventing lumps or Hocks in the fibrous material under
treatment and to lessen the production of "fly," and our invention consists in the
application to each side of the carding engine and between the main carding
cylinder and the doffer of a metal plate carrying an adjustable filling piece or
projection corresponding to the curvatures of the carding cylinder and doffer and
capable of filling the gaps or angles above and below the cylinder and doffer and
thus of preventing the entrance of a current of air which has hitherto existed at
these points and has had the effect of blowing the material into "fly" or into
lumps or flocks which have passed forward with the sliver.
The said plates are affixed to the framework at each side of the carding engine
by bolts and nuts and the filling pieces are separate from the plates and are
formed hollow and with the side fitting against the plate slightly bulged or
indented inwards and in which bulged side is a slot into which the head of a bolt from
the plate aforesaid may pass and owing to the elasticity of the bulged side fix
such filling piece to its plate. This mode of attachment allows of the filling pieces
to be adjusted to the varying curvatures and positions of carding cylinders and
doffers.
The lower portion of these filling pieces which fills the gap below the carding
cylinder is made of two thin blades which may be closed together in passing
between the rollers, but which may be afterwards expanded by a wedge or other
means to fill the gap.
In this way we produce a "fly" and flock preventer which both fills the gap
or angle above the carding cylinder and the gap or angle below the cylinder
and is adjustable to the varying curvatures or positions thereof as aforesaid.
Dated this 4th day of September 1894.
Improvements in or relating to Carding Engines.
We,
ERNEST LAWRENCE COCKRELL of West View, Romiley, near Stockport,
Agent, ROBERT THEW and JACOB EDWARD STIEBEL, both of 654* Sackville
Street, Manchester, Merchants, do hereby declare the nature of our said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Our invention has reference to carding engines of the type in which a cavity or
recess is left at the ends of the carding cylinder and doffer through which, by the

page_text: rapid rotation of the said cylinder, a current of air is set up causing parts of the
selvage edge of the material under treatment to take into such opening and fall
down on to the edge of the under cover and into the space beneath the doffer, and
although good fibre such material is called "fly." Portions of the material thus
lost gather in lumps or "flocks on the doffer ends and when combed off form an
unequal or lumpy sliver. That part of the "fly" which goes under the doffer is
eventually treated as waste.
"
Now our invention consists in means as hereinafter described for filling up the
said spaces or gaps and so prevent the production of "fly," "flocks," or waste, and
to this end we employ at each side of the carding engine, and at a point where
the gap occurs a metal plate, carrying an adjustable filling piece or projection,
corresponding to the curvatures of the carding cylinder and doffer (or their card
teeth) and we attach this plate by a suitable bolt and nut to the engine side.
The said filling piece is made separate from the plate, and is formed hollow and
with the side fitting against the plate slightly bulged or indented inwards so as to
ensure of a perfect fit against the plate, and in the said bulged side is a key-hole
slót through which the head of the bolt for attaching the plate to the machine
passes and which bolt owing to the elasticity of the bulged side, readily fixes the
filling piece in position, and on loosening the nut allows of its being readily moved
about to suit the varying curvatures of card cylinder and doffer (or teeth), say when
first applied, or after the grinding or recovering of doffer or cylinder.
And in order that our said invention shall be the more readily understood and
carried into practical effect we have hereunto annexed a sheet of drawings and
will now proceed to describe the same with the assistance of the various figures and
letters of reference marked thereon.
Fig. 1 is a front view, and Fig. 2 a side view of our improved "fly" and "flock"
preventer shewn about 3rds full size.
Fig. 3 is a rear, and Fig. 4 a side view of the adjustable filling piece, separate
from the plate, and shewing the key-hole slot in the bulged face.
Fig. 5 illustrates an outline section of a carding engine, and Fig. 6 a plan (in part)
shewing the application of our improved preventer thereto.
Fig. 7 illustrates a modification.
In accordance with our invention (A) is the plate which fits against the side of
the carding engine at a point where the aforesaid gap or draught occurs at each end
of the doffer and card cylinder (see Fig. 6), and which plate is fixed to the frame
side by a bolt passing through the hole (A¹).
To this plate the filling piece (B) is applied which fills up the said gap and which
also projects into the angle between the cylinder and doffer, and is of corresponding
curvature on each side.
This filling piece is adjustably fixed to the plate (A.) being formed as aforesaid
with a "key-hole" slot (B) (see Fig. 3), through which the said bolt for attaching
the plate passes, and which enables it to be moved up and down, or laterally, and
so be adapted to the particular curvatures of the doffer and card cylinder. To
ensure of its affording no obstruction to the material being carded the front face of
the filling piece is curved down to a feather edge at (B2) and to ensure of such edge
fitting flush with the plate (A) the rear face is slightly bulged inwards (see Figs. 2
and 4), so that on screwing up the fixing bolt it draws the said edge (and particularly
its points) well against the plate.
To render the filling up of the gaps still more perfect and to ensure of no material
at all falling below the doffer, we apply to the plate (A.) a rib or blade (A2) of a
length and width sufficient to extend just inside the lower cover of the carding
cylinder as illustrated in Fig. 5, and so, in essence prolong the under cover up to
thedoffing point," and fill up all the space between the cylinder and the engine
side.
To prevent the blade (A2) interfering with the working of the card cylinder and
doffer teeth it is cut away at (A³) as illustrated more clearly in Fig. 2 so as to pass
around the impinging parts.

page_text: It was contemplated in our Provisional Specification to make the blade (A) in
two thicknesses, one separable from the other, and this we may do as shewn by the
dotted line in Fig. 1 the dotted thickness being separable from the other so as to
cover up the gap between the doffer and engine side, whilst the other thickness
covers up the gap between the cylinder and engine side; each being made to
correspond to the respective curves.
In placing the "preventer" in position the two blades are brought together to
enable them to pass down between the cards.
As applied to carding engines in which the top cover more or less fills up the
gap, but which still produces "fly" and "flock
we may employ the device shewn
in Fig. 7, which consists of a metal plate (C) and a rib or blade (C¹) only. This
blade is of a width suited to fill up the gap between the engine side and cylinder,
and extends preferably from the outer edge of the top cover to within the inner edge
of the under cover, and preferably widening out at the latter point as illustrated so
as to more completely overlap the cover.
Although described as an attachment it will be obvious that the plate may be a
permanent part of the machine, and that the filling piece only be made separate and
adjustable, but we prefer both of them to be adjustable.
For different sizes of cylinder and doffer the block (B) is made in different sizes,
or with different curves, the variation in height or depth of card teeth being.
accommodated by the adjustment of the filling piece.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is :-
"
1st. In means for preventing the formation of "fly" and "flocks in carding
engines, the use of a plate (A), carrying blade (A2) (single or double), in
combination with an adjustable filling piece (B) substantially as set forth and
illustrated.
2nd. The modification shewn in Fig. 7 as and for the purposes set forth.
Dated this vid day of U.
ERNEST LAWRENCE COCKRELL,
ROBERT THEW,
JACOB EDWARD STEIBEL,
By John G. Wilson & Co.,
Agents.