AN IMPROVED MACHINE. FOR CLEANING AND CARDING WOOL, COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Louis Rudolph Bodmer, of 2, Thavies Inn, Holborn,
in the City of London, Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of
...AN IMPROVED MACHINE. FOR CLEANING AND CARDING WOOL, COTTON, AND
OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES."-A communication from abroad "by Paul
Gauchez, of Angecourt, near Sedan (Ardennes), in the Empire of
•France..
'
'PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Louis. Rudolph Bodmer
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 18th October: 1866.
I, LOUIS RUDOLPH BODMER, of 2, Thavies Inn, Holborn, in the City of
London, Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the
said. Invention for "AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR CLEANING AND CARDING WOOL,
COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," (a .communication from abroad by
Paul Gauchez, of. Angecourt, near Sedan (Ardennes), in the Empire of
France), to be as follows:-
i
The object of this Invention, is the construction of a machine for opening,
clearing, combing, and dressing wool and other textile materials and of
removing therefrom not only the larger pieces of straw, stalk, burrs, and

page_text: other foreign matter, but also the smaller particles of straw and other refuse
cut or broken by the process of heckling or combing, and which the machine
hitherto used for this purpose, and known in France under the name of
" egratrouneuse," is not able to accomplish.
the
The parts or mechanism by which the object in view is attained may be
formed into an independent and separate machine, or they may for the sake
of greater economy be applied to the carding engine, the various parts of
which are for this purpose so disposed as to admit of the application of the
new mechanism. When applied to the carding engine the new parts may be
placed and caused to operate as follows:-The wool or other material, brought
in the usual manner by an endless belt sheet to the feed' rollers, is passed to
the main cylinder, and is subjected to the action of one, two, or more pairs of
working and clearing rollers; the wool then passes a fancy roller, by which
it is raised from the main drum, in order to facilitate its being taken up by an
intermediate doffer cylinder which it next passes. Over this doffer cylinder
and in contact with it is placed a beater, and in front of and between the said
doffer and beater is fixed a knife. The action of the doffer is to carry
wool, the straw, burrs, and other impurities against the knife, by which the
impurities will be arrested and subsequently thrown by the beater into a
receptacle or trough. After passing this knife the wool is taken off the
doffer by a clearer and again passed to the main cylinder, after which it is
again subjected to the action of a working cylinder and clearer, then again
raised by a fancy roller, and finally removed from the main cylinder by the
doffer in the usual manner. Between this doffer and the feed rollers a second
beater may be placed for removing such particles of straw or rubbish as may
I have been left on the cylinder. The several working and clearing rollers, the
two fancy rollers, the doffer, and the second beater revolve in a direction
contrary to that of the main cylinder, whilst the intermediate doffer with
corresponding beater revolve in the same direction; this beater may be
.furnished with either straight or helicoidal blades of metal, wood, leather, or
ebonite or other preparation of india-rubber, or it may be composed of a
cylinder furnished with needles or cards, and if preferred this cylindrical
beater may be replaced by a comb consisting of a plain or toothed blade, to
. which a rapid reciprocating motion is imparted. The knife placed in front of
the intermediate doffer may consist of a solid plain blade, or it may be a
toothed blade or a bar furnished with needles. For making a machine
independent of the carding engine it is simply necessary to add one or more
sets of the above-described fancy rollers, doffers, knife, and beaters to the
main cylinder in the place of the working rollers or in other suitable places.
.

page_text: By means of the above-described improved machine wool, cotton, and other
fibrous material can be completely freed from all impurities, and certain textile
materials or fibrous substances which have hitherto baffled all attempts in this
respect may henceforth be utilised.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Louis Rudolph Bodmer in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 18th April 1867.
:
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, LOUIS
RUDOLPH BODMER, of 2, Thavies Inn, Holborn, in the City of London,
Engineer and Patent Agent, send greeting. .
WHEREAS Her most, Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Louis Rudolph Bodmer, Her special licence that I, the said Louis Rudolph
Bodmer, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Louis Rudolph Bodmer, my executors, administrators, and, assigns,
should in 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
"AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR CLEANING AND CARDING WOOL, COTTON, AND OTHER
FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," (a communication from abroad by Paul Gauchez, of
Angecourt, near Sedan (Ardennes), in the Empire of France), upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Louis Rudolph Bodmer, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, 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 Louis Rudolph Bodmer, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner, the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by tho
following statement:-

page_text: cleaning, combing, and dressing wool and other fibrous materials, and of extract-
ing and removing therefrom not only the larger sized pieces of straw, burrs, and
other foreign matter, but also the smaller particles of straw and other refuse,
which the machine hitherto used for this purpose, and known in France
under the name of "egratroneuse," is not able effectually to accomplish.
The organs or mechanism by which the object in view is attained may be
formed into an independent and distinct machine, or they may in a modified
form be applied to and combined with the carding engine, the various parts of
which being for this purpose especially disposed, arranged, and caused to operate,
for instance, as follows:-The wool or other fibrous material is supplied in
the usual manner by an endless belt or sheet to the feed rollers, and is' by
them passed to the main drum or cylinder, and through one, two, or 'more
pairs of working and clearing rollers; it next passes a fancy roller, by which
it is raised from 'the main drum in order to facilitate its being taken up by
an intermediate doffer which it next passes. This doffer is in contact and
face to face with a beater, and in front of and between the doffer and beater
is:fixed a knife. The action of this doffer is to carry the wool against 'the
knife edge, where straw, burrs, and other impurities will be arrested;
seized by the beater blades, and thrown into a trough or receptacle. After
passing this knife the wool is taken off the doffer by, a clearer, once more passed
to the main drum, and again 'subjected to the action of working cylinders
and clearers, and then raised by a fancy roller, and finally removed from the
main drum in the usual manner by the doffer. Between this doffer and the
feed rollers a second beater is placed for removing such particles of straw
and other rubbish as I may have been left on the main drum, the several
working and clearing rollers, the two fancy rollers, the doffer and the second
beater revolving in a direction contrary to that of the main drum, whilst the
intermediate doffer with corresponding beater revolve in the same direction
with it. The beaters may be furnished with either straight or helicoidal
blades made of metal, wood, leather, or other suitable substance, or the
beaters may be composed of cylinders furnished with teeth, needles, or cards.
The knife placed in contact with the intermediate doffer may consist of a
solid plain blade, or it may be a toothed blade or a bar furnished with
needles..
Having now described the manner in which the several organs necessary
for: the opening, clearing, combing, and dressing, wool and other substances
may be applied to the ordinary carding engine, I will be proceed to describė
the construction and action of a machine especially designed for the purpose,
and by means of which the operation is performed in the most effectual and

page_text: complete manner whatever be the material under operation, reference being
had to the annexed Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures' marked
thereon.
28
.i
This triple machine is composed of the same organs' already described;
but in order to obtain the desired results the said organs are employed in
larger numbers.
A, A, A, are the three main drums or cylinders;- B' to 'B', the doffers;
Cto Care fancy. rollers; D₁ to D are working rollers; E to E' are
clearers; .and G to G. are intermediate-or: transferring doffers. The wool.or
other fibrous material is fed to the main drum A by 'feed rollers in the usual
manner. After passing the working rollers D, D, and clearers E¹, E³, it
is raised from the drum A by fancy rollers C', and carried by the intermediate
doffer G against the knife or blade I,. by which, a portion of the burrs, stalk,
and other impurities are arrested, and by the beater R thrown into the
trough H.Arrived at the doffer B₁ the wool is taken up by the transfer
doffer G', carried against the second knife 1' and beater R', and passed to
main drum A. After the material has been exposed to the action of the
several organs placed round the main drum, A', it is,taken up from the
doffer B by.the transfer .doffer. G³, and transmitted to. the main drum A.
The picker cylinders L, L, L³, are furnished with toothed blades or with
needles set at a suitable inclination, which will permit of the material being
combed without being arrested or retained by them, and the knives 1³, 15, 17,
which may be either toothed or plain, are for the purpose of preventing the
picker blades from retaining the wool; these knives are so adjusted as not
to destroy the regularity of the fleece on the transfer doffer G³ and main
drum A². In contact with the pickers L', L, L, are placed the revolving
brushes M, M, M³, which remove any rubbish which has become fixed in
the teeth or needles of the pickers. The card on the doffer B' may be put
on so as to leave open spaces between the bands in such manner as to
preserve to the wool once it is throughly cleaned its form; this form is
reproduced by means of the cylinder N, which revolves at a slightly greater
speed than the doffer B in a trough O. The wool is stripped off the
doffer B by the comb P, and drops into the trough O, and is discharged from
the same by the cylinder N upon an endless belt or sheet S, and then
conveyed to a drying machine. The doffer B' instead of being covered by
card in the manner just described may be furnished like other doffers so
as to form the wool either into a fleece or into bands. The beaters K, KY, K!;
are applied to.all. main drums. or. cylinders, and will be found of the greatest
service in -effectually detaching and removing all impurities which have

page_text: become fixed thereon. The two end cards A & A' are driven from the
centre card A¹ which receives its motion from the shafting.
Having now described the nature of the improvements which have been
communicated to me, and the manner in which they may be carried into
effect, I wish it to be understood that. I do not claim as novel any of the
separate organs described; but what I do claim as the Invention to be secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the use of
apparatus formed by the combination of organs G; R, I, or of apparatus
formed by organs G, I, I, I, & M', whether applied to a special and
independent machine or to an assortment of ordinary cards, in the manner
and for the purposes substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Louis Rudolph Bodmer, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
'L. R. BODMER. (L.S.)