IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR. APPARATUS FOR COMBING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Illingworth and Henry Illingworth, of
Bradford, in the County of York, Spinners, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR. APPARATUS FOR COMBING WOOL AND
OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 17th April 1855, and dated the 17th October 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Illingworth and
Henry Illingworth at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 17th October 1854.
We, ALFRED ILLINGWORTH and HENRY ILLINGWORTH, of Bradford, in the
County of York, Spinners, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR COMBING WOOL AND OTHER
FIBROUS SUBSTANCES" to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates to combing machinery, in which the material to be
operated upon is drawn off in detached tufts by nippers or other such apparatus,
and the principle we proceed upon is to comb out the end of a tuft which
projects beyond the holding apparatus, and while it is retained thereby; the
operative parts for effecting this may consist of rotatory points, or may be
arranged so as to act upon the material by a reciprocating action.
A peculiar
method of working the nippers, constituting an important part of our Invention.
and which facilitates the above operation, consists in causing them to draw out

page_text: a tuft of material by two operations, that is to say, the intended length of tuft
is drawn forward without being detached, and the nippers then move inward,
embrace the material, and in moving out again complete the severance, by
which arrangement the uncombed end is left projecting for the action of the
comb above mentioned.
Another part of our Invention consists in turning over the detached portions
of combed material, so as to deposit them reversed, as regards their ends,
upon a "gill," or other apparatus suitable for forming a continuous sliver. A
method we adopt for effecting this consists in using a transferring comb, carried
by a bar which oscillates upon a centre, and by turning thereon effects the
required operation. This oscillating bar we can also use for carrying the extra
comb, above described, for operating upon the uncombed projecting end.
Another part of our Invention consists in the adaptation of a spring or
springs to the bottom part of the nippers used for detaching tufts of wool
or other material, in connection with or instead of to the upper part, as now
practised; and in reference to such nippers, our Invention also consists in
imparting motion thereto through the agency of excentric wheels, whereby
we are enabled to gain a varied speed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Illingworth and Henry Illingworth in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 17th April 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ALFRED
ILLINGWORTH and HENRY ILLINGWORTH, of Bradford, in the County of York,
Spinners, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said Alfred Illingworth and Henry Illingworth, Her especial license
that we, the said Alfred Illingworth and Henry Illingworth, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Alfred Illingworth
and Henry Illingworth, 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,
usc, exercise, and vend, within within the United Kingdom of Great Britain

page_text: and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IN-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR COMBING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS
SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Alfred
Illingworth and Henry Illingworth, by an instrument in writing under our
hands and seals, or under the band and seal of one of us, 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 Alfred Illingworth, 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 and accompanying Drawings (that is to say) :—
Our Invention relates to combing machinery, in which the material to be
operated upon is drawn off in detached tufts by nippers or other such apparatus,
and the principle we proceed upon is to comb out the end of a tuft which
projects beyond the holding apparatus, and while it is retained thereby. A
peculiar method of working the nippers, constituting an important part of our
Invention, and which facilitates the above operation, consists in causing them
to draw out a tuft of material by two operations.
Another part of our Invention consists in turning over the detached portions
of combed material, so as to deposit them reversed, as regards their ends, upon
an apparatus suitable for forming a continuous sliver.
Another part of our Invention consists in the adaptation of a spring or
springs to the bottom part of nippers used for detaching tufts of wool or
other material, in connection with or instead of to the upper part, as now
practised.
And in order that the several parts of our Invention may be fully understood,
we have appended to this our Specification a Sheet of Drawings, shewing
arrangements of mechanism by which the same may be carried into practical
operation, and which we will now proceed to describe.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine; and Fig. 2 is a longitudinal
section. Upon a shaft a are mounted two levers (one of which is seen at 6)
so as to be capable of vibrating thereon, the upper ends of which levers carry
a plate c, constituting the upper jaw of the nippers, by which the tufts of
material are to be held and detached; the lower jaw is shewn at d, extending
from a framework e, which clips the levers b, but in such manner as to slide
freely thereon; this framework is provided with projecting parts which carry
set screws, as at f, bearing at their lower ends against plates 9, which are also

page_text: capable of sliding with a parallel motion upon the levers b. Beneath the plates,
and bearing against them, are springs, as at h, coiled around a rod, which
connects the said plates to a boss i, constituting a fixed abutment for the elastic
force of the spring. The boss i is provided with a roller j, bearing against the
periphery of a cam k, which as it revolves will therefore raise the plates g,
through the medium of the springs h, and communicate the like motion to the
jaw d, so as to cause it to advance upon the upper fixed jaw c with a.pressure
proportionate to the elastic force of the spring; and this may be regulated at
pleasure by turning the set screws f, so as to cause the jaw to rise or fall upon
the levers b, thereby rendering an increased or decreased compression of the
springs necessary to admit of the revolution of the cam. Upon the levers b is
mounted a bar 1, constituting a guide for a sliding piece m, the upper end
of which has a projecting arm, furnished with a comb n; the lower end is
connected by a rod o'to a crank p, formed upon the shaft a; as this, shaft,
therefore, revolves, the comb is caused to move upward and downward, during
which movements a roller q, constituting a guide for the piece m, is caused to
run in contact with a double incline r, formed upon the levers b, by which
means the said sliding piece m is caused to turn upon a centre at o*, and carry
the comb n inward and outward. To the upper part of each of the levers b is
adapted, by means of a spring connection 5, an arm t, the other end of which
is jointed to a crank u, projecting from the shaft of a pinion; this pinion is
in gear with a toothed quadrant w, mounted upon a centre, and caused to
vibrate thereon by means of a connecting rod and crank a, attached to the axis
a, and by which means, therefore, the levers and nippers which they carry may
be caused to move to and fro upon their centre of motion, as hereafter to be
described. Upon the main driving shaft y is a pinion z, which gives motion to
a wheel 2, upon the axis of which is mounted an eccentric 1, the rod 3 thereof
being connected so as to form a crank upon a toothed wheel 4; this wheel is
in gear with a pinion 5, the axis of which carries an arm 6, provided at its
outward end with a comb 7; upon the arm 6 is a bracket 8, provided with a
centre pin, which carries a plate 9, turned over at its outward end, so as to
occupy a position just behind the comb. As the eccentric 1 revolves, the
axis 5 will be caused to turn partly round upon its centre, carrying with it
the comb 7, so as to bring it at stated intervals beneath the tuft held by the
nippers; during which operation the end of the plate g will arrive in contact
alternately with fixed pieces 10, 11, by the former of which it will be caused
to assume the position shewn in the Drawing, and by the latter to turn upon
its centre inward towards the arm 6. The material is fed into the machine
and operated upon by gills 12, in the usual manner, on to which gills it is

page_text: pressed by the action of a descending brush, caused to rise and fall by a
cam 13. Immediately in front of the gills is a rod 14, attached to a lever 15,
mounted upon an axis 16. Upon the axis 16 is an arm 17, to which is jointed
a rod 18, supported by a lever 19, and upon this rod is a roller 20, acted upon
as the wheel v revolves by a tappet 21, mounted upon the shaft thereof; by.
these means the axis 16 is caused to move at stated intervals around its centre,
and carry downward the rod 14 upon the material projecting from the gills.
The toothed wheel 2 communicates notion to a roller 22, around which, and
another roller 23, there is an endless apron, and upon this the tufts of material
are successively deposited by the comb 7, as hereafter to be described; from
thence they are carried onward in the form of a sliver by means of the rollers.
shewn in the Drawing, and which derive rotatory motion by means of the
train; indicated by red lines.
Having thus pointed out the arrangement and construction of the
machine, we will proceed to describe the combined operations of the
parts, according, to the position shewn in the Drawings. The revolution
of the shaft a has, by means of the crank and rod x, caused the toothed
segment to to turn upon its centre in the direction of the arrow, by which
means the wheel will have communicated an outward motion to the
lever b, so as to draw forward the material now enclosed between the nippers
c, d, through the gills 12. This operation will continue through a small
portion of the revolution, during which time the crank p will lift the comb n
sufficiently high to occupy a position above the portion of tuft extending from
the nippers, causing it to be moved outward as it passes it by means of the
fixed incline r, by the other side of which it is forced inward when in the
desired situation. The crank p, having now arrived at the opposite side of the
centre, will draw the comb n downward through the projecting material,
carrying with it the dirt and noil, and passing again along the inclined planes r
into the position shewn in the Drawing. During these movements it has
been necessary to keep the jaws of the nipper closed upon the material, and
this will have been effected by the dead run k¹ of the cam k, upon which
the roller is shewn in the Drawing. The extent of this dead run does not
occupy that portion of the periphery of the cam through which the crank p
passes to effect the combing, inasmuch as during a part of the time occu
pied by the motion of the comb n, the levers 6 are turning upon their
centre of motion, and are therefore adding to the means for keeping the
roller in contact with the said part of the cam. Immediately, however,
upon the comb n having operated upon the material, a decreasing radius of
the cam will allow the jaw d to drop down, by which time the crank a will

page_text: have arrived into such a position that its further motion will cause the toothed
segment w, to vibrate in the contrary direction, thereby bringing the levers b
and nipper c, d, in its opened position immediately in front of the gills 12. At
this period the prominence of the cam will come into operation, and by
raising the roller j, will close the jaws c, d, upon the partly drawn out tuft of
material; by which time the crank a will again reverse the motion of the
segment w, so as to cause the levers b to move forward and detach the tuft
from the body of material upon the gills. During this time the crank p has
brought the comb n downward, so as to thrust it between the elastic toothed
plates 24, 24, which, upon its being again raised, will strip off the noil, and
allow it to fall along an inclined plate 25. The nipper having thus detached
the tuft, the eccentric 1 will have caused the wheel 4 to revolve, so as to have
brought the comb 7 in an inverted position beneath it, after which, the nipper
being by this time opened, the return motion of the said eccentric will carry
the combed tuft over, and deposit it with the ends reversed upon the travelling
apron 22, 23. As this operation is effected, the plate g will arrive in contact
with the projection 10, by which means it will be caused to turn upon its
centre, and strip the material from the comb 7. When the transferring
apparatus is turned over, so as to occupy a position beneath the tuft, the
stripping piece g will be turned downward upon its centre, and leave the
comb at full liberty to enter the material, by arriving in contact with a second
projecting piece 11. The successive layers of material as they are deposited
upon the travelling apron 22, 23, are laid in one direction by the action of
revolving curved blades 25, driven from any convenient part of the machine.
This constitutes the operation as regards one tuft of material; and the next
operation of the cam will be again to effect the partial drawing forward of
the material to be combed out, as above described. It has been observed that
the rod t is connected to the levers 6 by means of an elastic joint; this is not
indispensible, but is adopted for the purpose of causing the nipper to advance
as close as possible to the gills, at the risk of slightly striking the faller, under
which circumstances the spring S would yield. We have not, in describing the
general operation of the machine, alluded to the action of the rod 14, but we
will here observe, that it is so connected with the tappet 21 as to press upon
the end of the material at the time that the jaw c passes over it for the
second drawing and detaching motion. The elastic toothed plates 24, which
remove the noil from and cleanse the comb n, are adjustable, as regards their
proximity to each other, by means of a screw 26. By the above description
it will be observed that, as we stated in the introduction to our Specification;
the tuft of material is drawn out by two operations; after the first of which

page_text: drawings, the outward end is cleansed by a combing operation. It follows,
therefore, that the entire tuft is combed out, the end detached from the gills
being cleansed thereby, as in ordinary machines; and these tufts so treated are
transferred on to a travelling surface, whereby a continuous sliver is formed.
The mechanism whereby the drawing forward and detaching of the tuft are to
be effected may be varied in arrangement and operation without departing from
the spirit of our Invention. According to that above described, and shewn in
the Drawings, the relative positions of the cranks a, w, are so fixed that the
first effect of the nipper shall be to draw forward a smaller portion, say, an
inch of the material, and the end of this having been combed out, the second
operation of the nipper completes the severance, the then relative positions of
the cranks causing a more extended vibration of the levers b. The length of
staple operated upon will of course determine the whole extent of draft, as in
ordinary machines; and in order to cause the transferring comb when turned
over to assume a correct position in all cases, the standards upon which it is
mounted are made adjustable upon the main framework. The relative posi-
tions of the cranks u, a, will, as before mentioned, determine the length of
stroke at each operation of the nipper; but instead of such mechanism the
same result may be obtained by eccentric toothed wheels, or other combinations
of parts. And although we have mentioned a smaller portion of the tuft
as being first drawn forward, we do not confine ourselves thereto, as the
operations may be performed in equal or other proportions. We would also
observe that the arrangement of machinery may be modified, by causing
the nippers to remain in one position, and imparting a reciprocating motion
to the gills.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, we desire it to be
understood that we claim, as secured to us under the above in part recited
Letters Patent,-
Firstly, the application of instruments for combing out the projecting ends
of tufts when they have passed through, and are held by, nippers, which detach
them from the body of material under operation.
Secondly, the detaching of tufts or portions of the material by two drawing
operations for each tuft or portion.
Thirdly, the application of a transferring apparatus for turning over detached
portions or tufts which have been combed at both ends, and depositing them
reversed, as regards their ends, upon a surface travelling in the direction of
the feed.

page_text: Fourthly, the application of a spring or springs to the bottom part of
nippers used for detaching tufts of the material, either in connection with or
instead of the springs now used at the upper part thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Illingworth, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
ALFRED ILLINGWORTH. (L.B.)