Improvements in Gig Mills.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Dec., 1890
Complete. Specification Left, 15th June, 1891-Accepted, 1st Aug., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Improvements in Gig Mills.
I HENRY GROSSELIN of Sedan, Ardennes, France, Machine Builder do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
:―
This invention has reference to gig mills in which a series of working or teasling
rollers of variable energy are arranged around a single drum some in the reverse
direction to the others so as to produce a simultaneous teasling or dressing of the
cloth in both directions that is to say in the direction of the nap and against the
nap, the said rollers all turning in the same direction but at different speeds, these
speeds being capable of being varied at will according to the degree of working
energy which it is desired to obtain.
The novel construction of this description of gig mill which forms the subject of
the present invention enables me to effect a simultaneous teasling or dressing in the
direction of the nap and against the nap with one drum turning in one direction
and of varying the degree of working energy of the cards as required by mechanism
which differs from and is better than those which have hitherto been employed. In
the new construction I utilize the power of adhesion which the cards of the rollers
which work against the cloth possess in order to regulate the movement or rather
the speed of rotation of the rollers which work in the opposite direction by
connecting the two sets of rollers by an arrangement of toothed wheels of different
In this manner the first set
diameters or by other equivalent mechanical means.
of rollers, that with the card teeth turned forwards, that is to say in the direction
of the drum's rotation, will communicate the movement to the second set of rollers,
that with the card teeth turned backwards, that is to say in the direction opposite
to the rotation of the drum. All these rollers turn in the same direction that is to
say in the direction opposite to the rotation of the drum. In order to produce a
useful effect the speed of rotation of the rollers which act with the nap should be
less than that of the rollers which act against the map. The energy or useful effect
will increase in proportion to the difference between the speeds of the two sets of
rollers. The rollers acting with the nap will therefore communicate a more or less
accelerated movement to the rollers which act against the nap. The two sets of
rollers being connected together by wheels and pinions it will be understood that it
suffices to modify the relation between the diameters of the wheels which drive one
set of rollers and the diameters of the wheels which drive the other set of rollers
in order to produce differences of speed between the two sets, differences which are
translated by a greater resistance to the turning of the rollers and consequently by
an increase of their working energy.
Various mechanical means may be adopted
for attaining the desired result, these means differing only in the arrangement of
their parts.
Supposing that all the rollers acting with the nap carry at one of their ends a
pinion of a diameter equal to the diameter of the roller reckoned at the exterior
of the cards all the pinions of the seven rollers acting with the nap (supposing the
drum to have 14 rollers) will gear with an internally toothed wheel. The seven
other rollers,, those acting against the map, carry, at their ends at the same side of
the drum toothed wheels of a diameter differing from the preceding, that is to say
smaller and gearing with the same internally toothed wheel. The result is that
as all the rollers will develop within the toothed wheel an equal circumferential
speed, those which have smaller pinions will revolve more quickly backwards than
the others. As the two sets are connected together there will be a slipping or
friction on the cloth to be teasled or dressed which will be equally exerted in the

page_text: two sets of rollers and which will be the more considerable as the difference between
the pinions is the greater. Supposing all the rollers acting with the
nap have
pinions of 25 teeth and all the rollers acting against the nap have pinions of
20 teeth there will be a difference of one-fifth between the speeds of the two sets
of rollers. As the effect or slip of the card on the cloth is equally distributed
between the two sets each of them will have a useful effect of one-tenth, that is to
say ten per cent. of the distance travelled by the circumference of the drum.
This first arrangement is very simple; it allows of constructing at a small cost
a practical gig mill of great useful effect and very suitable for manufacturers who
have always cloth of the same nature to teasle or dress, as is often the case in
woollen factories.
As it is often necessary to change the energy of the rollers so as to be able to
utilize the same machine for dressing cloths of different strength and resistance it is
useful to be able to modify at will the relation between the speeds of the two sets
of rollers. While preserving the first arrangement above described it is sufficient
to substitute for the pinions of 25 teeth of the rollers acting with the nap. other
pinions of 26 or 27 teeth in order to obtain a corresponding accelerated speed in the
set of rollers acting against the nap. If in this same set the pinions of 20 teeth
are changed for others of 19 or 18 teeth the difference will increase progressively
and the working energy will be more and more considerable. Experience shows
that without changing the internally toothed wheel the pinions of 25 teeth of the
rollers acting with the nap can without inconvenience be replaced by others of
26, 27 or even 28 teeth. Similarly the pinions of the rollers acting against the
nap can be replaced by others of 19, 18 or 17 teeth. There can thus be obtained
six different degrees of energy, and in practice this amount of variation is, broadly
speaking, sufficient to allow of dressing the large majority of cloths.
In some gig mills working both with and against the nap on the same drum
as hitherto constructed the axes of the two sets of rollers are at an unequal distance
from the centre so as to allow of cleaning or stripping the cards. The application
of the mechanism above described is therefore the more easy as the rollers acting
against the nap which are the further from the axis of the drum have to receive the
pinions of smaller diameter.
The mechanism which I have above described and which relates to the use of an
internally toothed wheel is equally applicable if externally toothed wheels are
employed.
In this latter case some modifications have to be made in the construction if it is
wished to use a
single externally toothed wheel with which gear all the pinions of
the two sets of rollers. It will be necessary to invert the position of the two sets,
that is to say to place in the bearings which are further from the centre the rollers
acting with the nap, that is to say those which have the card points forward, and
place the rollers acting against the nap in the bearings which are nearer the centre
of the drum. At the same time the direction of rotation of the internal stripper
should be changed and it should be actuated either by an intermediate wheel or by
an internally toothed wheel instead of being acted upon externally.
The second method which does not necessitate any change in the construction of
the rest of the machine, consists in juxtaposing two toothed wheels of different
diameter to serve as an intermediary between two sets of rollers. The first toothed
wheel, the smaller in diameter, will be put in contact with the pinions of the rollers
acting with the nap and the second toothed wheel, the larger one connected to the
first, will be put in contact with the pinions of the rollers acting against the nap.
As there is no difficulty in modifying the respective diameters of the two toothed
wheels it will be seen that it is very easy to obtain the same result as with the
internally toothed wheel. I can in the same manner vary from 22 to 25 the
number of teeth of the pinions of the rollers acting with the nap and from 17 to 20
the number of teeth of the pinions of the rollers acting against the nap. These two
arrangements allow of constructing as I have already said a gig mill of great
precision and at a small cost which will provide for at least six different degrees of

page_text: energy. This machine has the advantage of being very easily regulated and of
dressing or teasling the cloth with an absolutely mathematical precision.
In certain cases it is necessary to provide for a greater variety in the degrees of
the working energy of the machine or in other words to vary the relation between
the speeds of the two sets of rollers, seeing that it is upon this relation that the
difference of working energy depends.
I will proceed to describe two kinds of mechanism by which this result can be
arrived at. Supposing all the rollers acting with the nap have pinions of 27 or if
need be even 30 teeth and that they are connected together by a cast iron plate
toothed externally. This plate is fitted with slight friction on the drum shaft; it
has a socket on which is mounted likewise with slight friction a second cast iron
plate also toothed externally but of larger diameter than the first, that is to say of
à diameter such that the circumference of the set of teeth corresponds with the
circumference of the pinions of 18 or even 16 teeth with which all the rollers
acting against the nap are fitted. A screw-threaded hand wheel on the socket of
the first plate allows of more or less tightening the two plates against each other.
If these two plates are strongly forced together they will form practically one plate
and will produce an arrangement like that first herein described. As the pinions
of the rollers acting with the nap which are those which drive the series have
30 teeth while the pinions of the rollers acting against the nap which are those.
driven have only 16 teeth (I am taking the outside limits) the result will be a
difference of speed between the two sets of sixteen thirtieths or in round figures
nearly 50 per cent, which will correspond to 25 per rent. of useful effect on each of
the two sets of rollers.
It is shown by experience that this degree of energy sensibly exceeds that which
is necessary for the teasling of the hardest cloths; it may therefore be considered
as a maximum energy which it will be almost never necessary to attain. This
maximum can moreover be modified and reduced by fitting smaller pinions on the
rollers acting with the nap and larger pinions on those acting against the nap.
The degree of energy of the machine can therefore be diminished at will so as to
adapt it to all the different kinds of cloth to be dealt with. With this object it
suffices to slacken the hand wheel which locks the two plates together so as to
allow these plates to slip one upon the other; a spring interposed between the hand
wheel and the plate permits of regulating the pressure which is reduced in
proportion to the unscrewing of the hand wheel. If the hand wheel be completely
unscrewed the two plates will become entirely independent of each other and
completely loose. Under these conditions the pinions of the rollers acting with
the nap will cease to act on the pinions of the other rollers, the two sets of rollers
will be free, and this will produce a minimum useful effect.
The mechanism of this arrangement will be readily understood. If the plates
are loose and independent the drum will give its minimum energy. If on the other
hand the plates are forced tightly together the drum will produce its maximum
energy. Between these two extreme points all the desired degrees of variation of
energy can be obtained by producing more or less pressure between the two plates
so as to increase or diminish the degree of their adherence and to regulate the
freedom of slip upon each other.
There is another method of regulating at will the relation between the speeds of
the two sets of rollers without having friction or slip. In certain cases the
regulation by friction will not offer a sufficiently exact degree of precision such as
is more particularly required in dressing light articles. All desired precision can
be obtained by the arrangement which I will now describe.
I place the pinions of the rollers acting with the nap on one side of the drum and
those of the rollers acting against the nap on the other side. These pinions gear
respectively with the internally toothed wheels mounted with slight friction on the
drum shaft. These internally toothed wheels have an external set of teeth that
gear with a toothed wheel fixed on a horizontal shaft which passes across the
machine and carries another toothed wheel driving the internally and externally

page_text: toothed wheel which gives motion to and connects all the pinions fixed on the rollers
which act against the nap. The seven pinions of the rollers acting with the nap
are on the right of the drum and the seven pinions of the rollers acting against the
nap are at the left. The diameters of the two internal wheels are the same;
consequently the pinions which gear with these wheels are smaller on one side than
the other as has been above explained. The rollers acting with the nap which
control the movement have pinions of larger diameter; they therefore commitinicate
a greater speed to the pinions of the rollers acting against the nap, and the relation
between the two speeds will constitute as I have said the degree of working energy
of the machine.
In order to modify this degree of energy at will and render it more or less strong
it suffices to modify the relation between the speeds of the two toothed wheels
which each connect one of the two sets of rollers. It is very easy to modify this
relation by changing one of the two toothed wheels fixed on the shaft which
connects the two plates. It will readily be understood that by increasing the
number of the teeth of the toothed wheel which drives the set of rollers acting against
the nap the speed of the toothed wheel and consequently the speed of all the pinions
of the rollers which act against the nap will be increased. By reducing the
number of teeth of the said toothed wheel the speed of the rollers acting against
the nap will be reduced. It is sufficient therefore in order to increase or diminish
the working energy of the drum to increase or diminish the diameter of the toothed
wheel which connects the two sets of rollers. This arrangement while being a little
more complicated than the preceding ones is more rapidly regulated more practical
and more precise. It suffices to change a single toothed wheel in order to at
once modify the degree of energy of the fourteen rollers. This modification
presents no difficulty.
A variation of this arrangement consists in connecting the two right and left
plates by shafts and bevel gearing and friction wheels of paper or leather. In this
construction the externally toothed wheel which connects together all the pinions
of the rollers working with the nap constitutes a plate which produces friction
against a friction wheel that can be brought more or less near the centre of the
drum by means of a screw or rack. On the other side of the drum the same
arrangement of parts is repeated that is to say there is a second cast iron plate the
circumference of which is a toothed wheel gearing with the seven pinions of the
rollers working against the nap. The plate which is loose on the drum shaft is
driven by a friction wheel the position of which can be varied at will. The
speed of the left hand plate can thus be changed at will in relation to the speed of
the right hand plate. These two plates turn in the same direction but at different
speeds and the greater this difference is the more will the working energy of the
machine be increased.
If desired one of the two friction movements will be sufficient to produce the
necessary variation in the degrees of energy; therefore in order to simplify
the construction of the machine the plate on the right hand side can be dispensed
with and an internally and externally toothed wheel be substituted, this wheel being
connected by a toothed wheel with the transverse shaft.
I may remark that in this arrangement for regulating by means of friction
pulleys it is of advantage to obtain the greatest possible speed in the friction plate
so as to reduce the liability to slip. There should therefore be mounted on the
rollers acting with the nap pinions of larger diameter say thirty to thirty-five teeth
or more if desired. The rollers working against the nap will similarly have larger
pinions but the number of teeth of the pinions is not important seeing that the
speed of the two plates can be varied at will.
In all the arrangements which I have hereinbefore described I have employed
toothed wheels for the movements which regulate the working energy of the
machine. It need hardly be said that any other mechanical arrangement will be
equally suitable. It will for instance be easily understood that all the rollers can
be fitted with friction pulleys of leather, paper, caoutchouc, cloth or other suitable

page_text: material put in contact with cast iron pulleys against which they exert pressure.
The result will be the same with this difference that it will give less precision on
account of the slips which may take place and which do not exist when toothed
wheels are employed. Belts and pulleys are also equally applicable. In one
arrangement in which pulleys and belts are employed instead of toothed gearing,
the pulleys of the rollers acting with the nap have a diameter of say 90 millimetres
or more if thought necessary and the pulleys of the rollers acting against the nap
have a diameter of say 70 millimetres or less, the diameter of the rollers being
always supposed equal at 80 millimetres. A belt kept taut by an internal
automatic device passes round all the pulleys; the same arrangement exists both
at the right and left of the machine. When the belt is tightly stretched the drum
will work under the same conditions as in the arrangement first herein described
with the difference that it can produce slips which do not exist with toothed
gearing. By reducing the tension of the belts the slipping will be facilitated and
the action or energy of the drum will be reduced.
The internal tightening device in the last described arrangement can be
replaced by a counter shaft which is outside the drum and carries pulleys of
different diameters.
In a modification of the preceding arrangement the counter shaft is dispensed
with and in lieu thereof a tightening device is placed outside the drum.
Another and a very simple arrangement for carrying out my principle of
simultaneous teasling with and against the nap on a single drum differs from the
arrangements above described in this respect, that the adherence of the cards put
in contact with the cloth is not utilized to transmit the working energy from one
set of rollers to the other set. All the rollers have cast iron pulleys right and left
as in some gig mills hitherto constructed. The rollers working with the nap have
their pulleys outside the bearings of the drum plates. The rollers acting against
the nap have their pulleys within these bearings. The pulleys which are mounted
on the rollers acting with the nap will have a diameter exceeding by 15 to 20 per cent.
the diameter of the roller itself reckoned at the outer edge of the cards. The
pulleys mounted on the rollers acting against the nap will have a diameter less by
15 or 20 per cent. the diameter of the said rollers. Supposing the diameter of the
rollers be 80 millimetres the diameter of the pulleys of the rollers acting with the
nap will be 100 millimetres. It will be readily understood that if these pulleys are
surrounded with belts (as in gig mills which have brake straps and driving
belts) which are fixed but which can be more or less tightened the following effect
will be produced
If the belts be strongly tightened, when the drum is put in operation all the
rollers acting with the nap will turn in the direction the reverse of the drum's
travel with a speed less by 20 per cent. than the circumferential speed of the drum.
All the rollers travelling against the nap will turn in the direction the reverse of
the drum's travel with a speed greater by 20 per cent, than the circumferential
speed of the drum. We have therefore a working energy of 20 per cent. in the two
sets of rollers which will represent the maximum energy of the machine. This
maximum can be increased if desired by modifying the diameters of the pulleys of
the rollers but I consider that the maximum of 20 per cent. is quite sufficient.
order to diminish the energy of the drum it suffices to slacken the belts in order to
allow them to slip on the pulleys. The more they are slackened the less action the
machine will have. If the belts are made quite loose the rollers will be quite free
and will produce their minimum effect.
In
This arrangement has the effect of being very simple and can therefore be
cheaply applied, besides it offers sufficient precision for the greater part of cloths
which require to be dressed or teasled.
Dated this 6th day of December 1890
J. C. MEWBURN,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agent.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Gig Mills.
I, HENRY GROSSELIN, of Sedan, Ardennes, France, Machine Builder,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
This invention has reference to gig mills in which a series of working or teasling
rollers of variable energy are arranged around a single drum, some in the reverse
direction to the others, so as to produce a simultaneous teasling or dressing of the
cloth in both directions, that is to say in the direction of the nap and against
the nap, the said rollers all turning in the same direction but at different speeds,
these speeds being capable of being varied at will according to the degree of
working energy which it is desired to obtain.
The novel construction of this description of gig-mill which forms the subject of
the present invention enables me to effect a simultaneous teasling or dressing in the
direction of the nap and against the nap with one drum turning in one direction,
and of varying the degree of working energy of the cards as required by mechanism
which differs from and is better than those which have hitherto been employed.
In the new construction I utilize the power of adhesion which the cards of the
rollers which work against the cloth possess, in order to regulate the movement or
rather the speed of rotation of the rollers which work in the opposite direction, by
connecting the two sets of rollers by an arrangement of toothed wheels of different
diameters or by other equivalent mechanical means. In this manner the first set
of rollers, that with the card teeth turned forwards, that is to say in the direction
of the drum's rotation, will communicate the movement to the second set of rollers,
that with the card teeth turned backwards, that is to say in the direction opposite
to the rotation of the drum. All these rollers turn in the same direction, that is to
say, in the direction opposite to the rotation of the drum. In order to produce a
useful effect the speed of rotation of the rollers which act with the nap should be
less than that of the rollers which act against the nap. The energy or useful effect
will increase in proportion to the difference between the speeds of the two sets
of rollers. The rollers acting with the nap will therefore communicate a more or
less accelerated movement to the rollers which act against the nap. The two sets
of rollers being connected together by wheels and pinions it will be understood that
it suffices to modify the relation between the diameters of the wheels which drive
one set of rollers and the diameters of the wheels which drive the other set of
rollers in order to produce differences of speed between the two sets, differences
which are translated by a greater resistance to the turning of the rollers and
consequently by an increase of their working energy. Various mechanical means
may be adopted for attaining the desired result, these means differing only in the
arrangement of their parts.
Supposing, (see Figure 1), that all the rollers acting with the nap carry at one
of their ends a pinion of a diameter equal to the diameter of the roller reckoned at
the exterior of the cards, all the pinions of the seven rollers acting with the nap
(supposing the drum to have fourteen rollers) will gear with an internally toothed
wheel. The seven other rollers, those acting against the nap, carry at their ends
at the same side of the drum toothed wheels of a diameter differing from the
preceding, that is to say smaller, and gearing with the same internally toothed
wheel. The result is that as all the rollers will develop within the toothed wheel
an equal circumferential speed, those which have smaller pinions will revolve more
quickly backwards than the others. As the two sets are connected together.
there will be a slipping or friction on the cloth to be teasled or dressed, which will
be equally exerted in the two sets of rollers and which will be the more considerable
as the difference between the pinions is the greater. Supposing all the rollers

page_text: acting with the nap have pinions of twenty-five teeth and all the rollers acting
against the nap have pinions of twenty teeth, there will be a difference of one-fifth
between the speeds of the two sets of rollers. As the effect or slip of the card on
the cloth is equally distributed between the two sets each of them will have
a useful effect of one-tenth, that is to say, ten per cent. of the distance travelled by
the circumference of the drum
This first arrangement is very simple; it allows of constructing at a small cost a
practical gig mill of great useful effect and very suitable for manufacturers who
have always cloth of the same nature to teasle or dress, as is often the case
in wollen factories.
As it is often necessary to change the energy of the rollers so as to be able to
utilize the same machine for dressing cloths of different strength and resistance,
it is useful to be able to modify at will the relation between the speeds of the two
sets of rollers. While preserving the first arrangement above described, it is
sufficient to substitute for the pinions of twenty-five teeth of the rollers acting with
the nap other pinions of twenty-six or twenty-seven teeth, in order to obtain a
corresponding accelerated speed in the set of rollers acting against the nap. If in
this same set the pinions of twenty teeth are changed for others of nineteen or
eighteen teeth, the difference will increase progressively and the working energy
will be more and more considerable. Experience shows that without changing the
internally toothed wheel, the pinions of twenty-five teeth of the rollers acting with
the nap can without inconvenience be replaced by others of twenty-six, twenty-
seven or even twenty-eight teeth. Similarly, the pinions of the rollers acting
against the nap, can be replaced by others of nineteen, eighteen, or seventeen
teeth. There can thus be obtained six different degrees of energy, and in practice
this amount of variation is broadly speaking sufficient to allow of dressing the large
majority of cloths.
In some gig mills working both with and against the nap on the same drum as
hitherto constructed, the axes of the two sets of rollers are at an unequal distance
from the centre so as to allow of cleaning or stripping the cards. The application
of the mechanism above, described is therefore the more casy as the rollers acting
against the nap which are the further from the axis of the drum have to receive the
pinions of smaller diameter.
The mechanism which I have above described, and which relates to the use
of an internally toothed wheel is equally applicable if .externally toothed wheels
are employed.
In this latter case, see Figure 1%, some modifications have to be made in the
construction if it is wished to use a single externally toothed wheel with which gear
all the pinions of the two sets of rollers. It will be necessary to invert the
position of the two sets, that is to say, to place in the bearings which are
further from the centre the rollers acting with the nap, that is to say, those
which have the card points forward, and place the rollers, acting against the
nap, in the bearings which are nearer the centre of the drum. At the same
time the direction of rotation of the internal stripper should be changed and
it should be actuated either by an intermediate wheel or by an internally toothed
wheel instead of being acted upon externally.
The second method, see Figure 1, which does not necessitate any. change
in the construction of the rest of the machine, consists in juxtaposing two toothed
wheels of different diameter to serve as an intermediary between two sets of
rollers. The first toothed wheel, the smaller in diameter, will be put in contact
with the pinions of the rollers acting with the nap, and the second toothed wheel.
the larger one connected to the first, will be put in contact with the pinions of the
rollers acting against the nap. As there is no difficulty in modifying the respective
diameters of the two toothed wheels, it will be seen that it is very easy to obtain
the same result as with the internally toothed wheel. I can in the same manner
vary from twenty-two to twenty-five the number of teeth of the pinions of the
rollers acting with the nap, and from seventeen to, twenty the number of teeth of

page_text: the pinions of the rollers acting against the nap. These two arrangements allow
of constructing, as I have already said, a gig mill of great precision and at a small
cost which will provide for at least six different degrees of energy. This machine
has the advantage of being very easily regulated and of dressing or teasling the
cloth with an absolutely mathematical precision.
In certain cases it is necessary to provide for a greater variety in the degrees of
the working energy of the machine, or in other words, to vary the relation between
the speeds of the two sets of rollers, seeing that it is upon this relation that the
difference of working energy depends.
I will proceed to describe two kinds of mechanism by which this result can be
arrived at. Supposing all the rollers acting with the nap have pinions of twenty-
seven, or if need be even thirty teeth, and that they are connected together by a
cast iron plate toothed externally. This plate is fitted with slight friction on the
drum shaft (see Figure 2), it has a socket, on which is mounted likewise with
slight friction, a second cast iron plate also toothed externally but of larger
diameter than the first, that is to say of a diameter such that the circumference of
the set of teeth corresponds with the circumference of the pinions of eighteen
or even sixteen teeth with which all the rollers acting against the nap are fitted.
A screw-threaded hand wheel on the socket of the first plate allows of more or less
tightening the two plates against each other. If these two plates are strongly
forced together they will form practically one plate and will produce an arrangement
like that shown in Figure 1 and already described. As the pinions of the rollers
acting with the nap, which are those which drive the series, have thirty teeth, while
the pinions of the rollers acting against the nap, which are those driven, have only
sixteen teeth (I am taking the outside limits), the result will be a difference of
speed between the two sets, of sixteen thirtieths, or in round figures nearly fifty per
cent. which will correspond to twenty-five per cent. of useful effect on each of the
two sets of rollers.
It is shown by experience that this degree of energy sensibly exceeds that which
is necessary for the teasling of the hardest cloths; it may therefore be considered
as a maximum energy which it will be almost never necessary to attain. This
maximum can morcover be modified and reduced by fitting smaller pinions on the
rollers acting with the nap and larger pinions on those acting against the nap. The
degree of energy of the machine can therefore be diminished at will so as to adapt
it to all the different kinds of cloth to be dealt with. With this object it suffices to
slacken the hand wheel which locks the two plates together so as to allow these
plates to slip one upon the other; a spring interposed between the hand wheel and
the plate permits of regulating the pressure which is reduced in proportion to the
unscrewing of the hand wheel. If the hand wheel be completely unscrewed the
two plates will become entirely independent of each other and completely loose.
Under these conditions the pinions of the rollers acting with the nap will cease to
act on the pinions of the other rollers, the two sets of rollers will be free and this
will produce a minimum useful effect.
The mechanism of this arrangement will be readily understood. If the plates
are loose and independent the drum will give its minimum energy. If on the other
hand the plates are forced tightly together the drum will produce its maximum
energy. Between these two extreme points all the desired degrees of variation of
energy can be obtained by producing more or less pressure between the two plates
so as to increase or diminish the degree of their adherence, and to regulate the
freedom of slip upon each other.
There is another method of regulating at will the relation between the speeds of
the two sets of rollers without having friction or slip. In certain cases the
regulation by friction will not offer a sufficiently exact degree of precision such
as is more particularly required in dressing light articles. All desired precision
can be obtained. by the arrangement which I will now describe (see Figure 2b).
I place the pinions of the rollers acting with the nap on one side of the drum,
and those of the rollers acting against the nap on the other side. These pinions

page_text: gear respectively with the internally toothed wheels mounted with slight friction
on the drum shaft. These internally toothed wheels have an external set of teeth
that gear with a toothed wheel fixed on a horizontal shaft which passes across the
machine and carries another toothed wheel driving the internally and externally
toothed wheel which gives motion to and connects all the pinions fixed on the rollers
which act against the nap. The seven pinions of the rollers acting with the nap
are on the right of the drum, and the seven pinions of the rollers acting against the
nap are at the left. The diameters of the two internal wheels are the same; con-
sequently the pinions which gear with these wheels are smaller on one side than
the other as has been above explained. The rollers acting with the nap which
control the movement have pinions of larger diameter, they therefore communicate
a greater speed to the pinions of the rollers acting against the nap, and the relation
between the two speeds will constitute, as I have said, the degree of working energy
of the machine.
In order to modify this degree of energy at will and render it more or less strong,
it suffices to modify the relation between the speeds of the two toothed wheels
which each connect one of the two sets of rollers. It is very easy to modify this
relation by changing one of the two toothed wheels fixed on the shaft which
connects the two plates. It will readily be understood that by increasing the
number of the teeth of the toothed wheel which drives the set of rollers acting
against the nap, the speed of the toothed wheel, and consequently the speed of all
the pinions of the rollers which act against the nap, will be increased. By reducing
the number of teeth of the said toothed wheel the speed of the rollers acting
against the nap will be reduced. It is sufficient therefore, in order to increase or
diminish the working energy of the drum, to increase or diminish the diameter
of the toothed wheel which connects the two sets of rollers. This arrangement
while being a little more complicated than the preceding ones is more rapidly
regulated, more practical, and more precise. It suffices to change a single toothed
wheel in order to at once modify the degree of energy of the fourteen rollers.
This modification presents no difficulty.
A variation of this arrangement (see Figure 2ter), consists in connecting the two
right and left plates by shafts and bevel gearing and friction wheels of paper, or
leather. In this construction the externally toothed wheel which connects together
all the pinions of the rollers working with the nap, constitutes a plate which pro-
duces friction against a friction wheel that can be brought more or less near the
centre of the drum by means of a screw or rack. On the other side of the drum
the same arrangement of parts is repeated, that is to say, there is a second cast-
iron plate, the circumference of which is a toothed wheel gearing with the seven
pinions of the rollers working against the nap. The plate which is loose on the
drum shaft is driven by a friction wheel the position of which can be varied at will.
The speed of the left hand plate can thus be changed at will in relation to the
speed of the right hand plate. These two plates turn in the same direction but at
different speeds and the greater this difference is the more will the working energy
of the machine be increased.
If desired one of the two friction movements will be sufficient to produce the
necessary variation in the degrees of energy; therefore in order to simplify the
construction of the machine the plate on the right hand side can be dispensed with
and an internally and externally toothed wheel be substituted as in the arrange-
ment shown in Figure 2, this wheel being connected by a toothed wheel with the
transverse shaft.
I may remark that in this arrangement for regulating by means of friction pulleys
it is of advantage to obtain the greatest possible speed in the friction plate so as to
reduce the liability to slip. There should therefore be mounted on the rollers
acting with the nap, pinions of larger diameter, say, thirty to thirty-five teeth or
more if desired. The rollers working against the nap will similarly have larger
pinions; but the number of teeth of the pinions is not important seeing that the
speed of the two plates can be varied at will.

page_text: In all the arrangements which I have hereinbefore described I have employed
toothed wheels for the movements which regulate the working energy of the
machine. It need hardly be said that any other mechanical arrangement will be
equally suitable. It will for instance be easily understood that all the rollers can
be fitted with friction pulleys of leather, paper, caoutchouc, cloth or other suitable
material, put in contact with cast iron pulleys against which they exert pressure.
The result will be the same, with this difference, that it will give less precision on
account of the slips which may take place and which do not exist when toothed
wheels are employed. Belts and pulleys are also equally applicable. Figures 2, 25,
and 2°, represent three arrangements which comprise the employment of pulleys
and belts instead of toothed gearing. In Figure 24 the pulleys of the rollers
acting with the nap have a diameter of say ninety millimetres or more if thought
necessary, and the pulleys of the rollers acting against the nap have a diameter of
say seventy millimetres or less, the diameter of the rollers being always supposed
equal at 80 millimetres. A belt kept taut by an internal automatic device
passes round all the pulleys; the same arrangement exists both at the right and
left of the machine. When the belt is tightly stretched the drum will work under
the same conditions as in the arrangement shown in Figure 1, with the difference
that it can produce slips which do not exist with toothed gearing. By reducing
the tension of the belts the slipping will be facilitated and the action or energy of
the drum will be reduced.
Figure 25 represents the same arrangement as the last preceding with this
difference that the internal tightening device replaced by a counter shaft which
is outside the drum and carries pulleys of different diameters. This arrangement
is really the same as that shown in Figure 2b, the toothed gearing being replaced
by pulleys and belts. There are two pulleys and two belts to drive and regulate
each roller.
Figure 26 illustrates a modification of the preceding arrangement; the counter
shaft is dispensed with and in lieu thereof a tightening device is placed outside the
drum. The action is the same as in the arrangement shewn in Figure 2.
Figure 3 represents another and very simple arrangement which carries out my
principle of simultaneous teasling with and against the nap on a single drum in a
manner which differs from the arrangements above described in this respect, that the
adherence of the cards put in contact with the cloth is not utilized to transmit the
working energy from one set of rollers to the other set. In the construction shown
in Figure 3 all the rollers have cast iron pulleys right and left as in some gig mills
hitherto constructed. The rollers working with the nap have their pulleys outside
the bearings of the drum plates. The rollers acting against the nap have their pulleys
within these bearings. The pulleys which are mounted on the rollers acting with
the nap will have a diameter exceeding by fifteen to twenty per cent. the diameter
of the roller itself reckoned at the outer edge of the cards. The pulleys mounted
on the rollers acting against the nap will have a diameter less by fifteen or twenty
per cent. the diameter of the said rollers. Supposing the diameter of the rollers
be eighty millimetres the diameter of the pulleys of the rollers acting with the nap
will be one hundred millimetres. It will be readily understood that if these
pulleys are surrounded with belts (as in gig mills which have brake straps and
driving belts) which are fixed but which can be more or less tightened, the following
effect will be produced :-
If the belts be strongly tightened, when the drum is put in operation all the
rollers acting with the nap will turn in the direction the reverse of the drum's
travel with a speed less by twenty per cent. than the circumferential speed of
the drum. All the rollers travelling against the nap will turn in the direction
the reverse of the drum's travel with a speed greater by twenty per cent. than the
circumferential speed of the drum. We have therefore a working energy of
twenty per cent. in the two sets of rollers which will represent the maximum energy
of the machine. This maximum can be increased if desired by modifying the
diameters of the pulleys of the rollers but I consider that the maximum of

page_text: twenty per cent. is quite sufficient. In order to diminish the energy of the drum it
suffices to slacken the belts in order to allow them to slip on the pulleys. The more
they are slackened the less action the machine will have. If the belts are made
quite loose the rollers will be quite free and will produce their minimum effect.
This arrangement has the effect of being very simple and can therefore be cheaply
applied; besides it offers sufficient precision for the greater part of cloths which
require to be dressed or teasled.
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. In a gig mill, a drum with working rollers arranged or grouped so as to
simultaneously act some with and the others against the nap while turning in the
same direction, and in which the rotary speed of one set of rollers, those acting
against the nap, is controlled and regulated directly by the other set of rollers,
those acting with the nap, by means of intermediate parts connecting the two sets
together (such for example as internally or externally toothed wheels, friction
gearing, belts or other connecting devices) these intermediate parts being arranged
so that the rollers acting with the nap, that is to say, those with card teeth having
points turned forwards, receive by the effect of the contact of the cards with the
cloth, a rotary movement backwards, which is transmitted to the rollers acting
against the nap, with a greater or less acceleration of speed, the difference between
the respective speeds of the two sets constituting the useful effect or degree of
working energy which is equally divided between the two sets, an effect or degree
which can be increased or diminished at will by one or other of the methods herein-
before described, all substantially as set forth.
2. The particular arrangement hereinbefore set forth, which consists in the
employment of two or four fixed belts or straps carried round pulleys fixed on the
working or teasling rollers, and the tension of which can be varied at will,
the diameter of the pulleys differing from the diameter of the rollers as herein-
before explained, whereby one set of rollers has its rotary movement retarded,
while the other has its movement accelerated, the variation of energy being
obtained by greater or less tension of the belts.
Dated this 15th day of June 1891
J. C. MEWBURN,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agent.