IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO MA- CHINERY FOR CARDING AND PIECING WOOL IN THE PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE IN WOOLLEN MILLS
Year: 1837

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
RHODES, Gentleman, and ROBERT HEMINGWAY, Mechanic, both of Earls
Heaton, near Dewsbury, in the County of York, send greeting.
WHEREAS His late most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Twenty-second day of May, in the seventh year of His
reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said William Rhodes and Robert Hemingway, His especial licence, full power,
sole privilege and authority, that we, the said William Rhodes and Robert
Hemingway, our exors, adiñors, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
William Rhodes and Robert Hemingway, our exors, adñiors, or assigns,"
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, our Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO MA-
CHINERY FOR CARDING AND PIECING WOOL IN THE PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE IN
WOOLLEN MILLS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that
we, the said William Rhodes and Robert Hemingway, or one of us, shall
cause a particular description of the nature of our said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His said Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in. and by the
same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
William Rhodes and Robert Hemingway, do hereby declare the nature of our
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, arc
fully described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof
reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and
letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
Our Invention relates to a mode of producing continuous cardings of wool
by certain apparatus, superadded to a carding engine, whereby the lengths of
cardings taken or doffed from the carding engine are joined or pieced together,
and hence produce continuous cardings of wool, preparatory to the same being
spun in the process of manufacture in woollen mills.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 represents an elevation of the combination of parts constituting
our improvements, together with so much of a carding engine as will enable us
readily to explain the nature of our Invention. The parts are shewn as taken
on the right-hand side of the machine. Figure 2 is a view of the same parts
(so far as they can be seen) as taken from the left-hand side of the machine
Figure 3 is a section of the same parts, and. Figure 4 is a plan thereof, in each
of which Figures. the same letters of reference indicate similar parts; and such
is the case in respect to the other Figures of; the Drawing, Figure 5 being
a view of some of the parts more particularly relating to the present Invention,
and is taken looking from front to back of the machine; and Figure 6 is
another view of the same parts looking from back to front of the machine.
From these Figures, aided by the following description, a workman will readily
be enabled to carry out our Invention. The carriage engines now employed
in woollen mills for carding wool being well known and very generally under-
stood, it will not be necessary to enter into a description thereof, and the
parts of such carding engine shewn in the Drawing will be sufficient to enable
us to explain the application of our Invention thereto, whereby the wool as it
is combed off the doffing cylinder is rolled and pieced into continuous lengths
of cardings without the necessity of hand labour. a, a, is the ordinary doffing
cylinder, which has a series of sheets of cards from end to end of its surface;
each sheet of wire card being sufficiently apart one from the other to produce
a sheet of cardings of wool, without the fibres of one sheet mixing with the
fibres of the sheet of wool on the next sheet of cards, as is well understood.
These sheets are successively stripped or combed off from the sheets of cards;
and become rolled or condensed and pieced as they progress through the
machinery hereafter described. On to the axis of the doffing cylinder a, a, is

page_text: affixed the bevelled toothed wheel b, which takes into and actuates the wheel c,
which is affixed on to the shaft or axis d, the shaft or axis & turning in
suitable bearings carried by the framing of the machine, and as is clearly
shewn in the Drawing. On to the axis d is affixed the bevelled toothed wheel
e, which takes into and drives the toothed wheel f, affixed on the axis or
shaft g, on the axis of which shaft g is affixed the pulley h, from which motion
is communicated to the pulley i on the shaft or axis j, by means of an endless
gut band, as is shewn in the Drawing; hence motion is communicated to the
endless cloth k on the rollers carried the axes j and 1, which axes turn in
suitable bearings, and the endless cloth k is caused to be kept distended by
means of a dancing roller m, the endless cloth causing the sheets of cardings as
they are delivered from the doffing cylinder to be carried forward and
condensed by rolling them round on the surface n, m, .as will readily be traced
on examining the various parts and their movements, as represented in the
Drawings. The surface n, n, is partly made up of traps or falling portions
0; 0, 0, which move on pivots or hinges, in order when they have each a
carding thereon they may fall down and deliver the same on the carding or
endless cloths or webs hereafter described, in order to the lengths being pieced
to produce continuous cardings or rollers of wool. The traps o, o, or falling
portions of the surface n, n, consists of a series of boards which, when in a
horizontal position, produce an even surface n, m, for the cardings to be
carried forward and rolled on or upon till each of the traps o, o, have a length
of cardings thereon, at which time they fall down in order to deliver the
cardings on to the endless or creeping cloths hereafter explained; and in order
to the correct depositing of the lengths of cardings on to such endless creeping
cloth or web, at the back of the traps o, o, are placed inclined boards or
surfaces of other suitable material p, p, hence the length of wool cardings on
the trap o' is (in the descent of that trap) guided on to its endless creeping
cloth or web by the inclined board or surface on the back of the trap o², and
so on, the length of wood cardings on the trap of being guided down to its
endless cloth or web by means of a fixed inclined board or surface p, as is
shewn in the Drawing, by .an examination of which these parts and their
operation will be readily traced and understood; and it will be seen that the
traps o, o, are retained in their horizontal position till they have each a length
of wool carding placed thereon by the movement of the endless creeping cloth
or web k, such, retaining of the traps 0, 0, to their horizontal position being
performed by means of the bar q, which has a series of studs which rest
against the projecting arms s, affixed on the traps o, o, one end of the bar q
being attached by a pin joint to the arm s, which is affixed on the trap o

page_text: nearest to the doffing cylinder, the other end of the bar g being attached by
a pin joint to the lever t, the lever t being supported by the cam v affixed on
'the shaft or axis g, and the traps o will remain horizontal, as shewn in the
various Figures of the Drawings, till the roller on the lever t falls into the fall
cut on the cam v, the traps o will then fall by their own weight, and the
lengths or rollers of wool cardings will be deposited on the endless cloth iv or
web, to be carried onwards thereby to such a distance that, when another
series of rollers or lengths of wool cardings are deposited on such endless cloth
or web, their ends will come upon or near the ends of the cardings previously
'deposited, and in a proper position to be pieced together, that is, the ends of
the two series of lengths of wool cardings will be so placed as when rolled
together, as hereafter explained, the fibres of one length will overlay the fibres
of the previous length of wool carding, and by rolling, the fibres of the same
will be mixed and blended or pieced together. w is an endless cloth or web
which is stretched over two rollers a, a, the axes of which turn in suitable
bearings, as is shewn in the Drawings. The cloth or web w is caused to
move at suitable intervals, in the following manner :-On the axis or shaft g
is affixed a bevelled toothed wheel y, which takes into and drives the bevelled
toothed wheel on the axis z, on which axis there is affixed the toothed wheel A,
which has some of the cogs or teeth removed in order to prevent its giving
motion to the endless cloth or web w during the time of piecing the cardings
together. The wheel A takes into and drives the intermediate wheel B,
taking into and driving the wheel C, which is affixed on the axis of one of the
rollers of the cloth w, by which means that cloth receives motion at certain
periods of the working of the machine, in order to carry the lengths of carding
deposited thereon to such a distance that the next coming lengths of cardings
will shortly overlap or lay the end of the previous lengths, as above mentioned.
D is a roller capable of being set up to the under part of the cloth w, in order
to keep the same distended. E is what we call the piecing board, the under
side of which may be covered with cloth. This board E has a movement to
and fro at right angles to the line of progress of the endless cloth w, and it is
by such movement of the board or other suitable surface E that the ends of
the two sets or series of cardings are rubbed together and pieced, the to and
fro movement of the board or surface E being communicated in the following
manner is a connecting rod attached to one of the slides G, and the
other end of this connecting rod is attached to the lever H, and I is a
connecting rod attached to the other end of the lever H and to the crank
pin J, the crank being affixed to an axis K, having affixed thereon a pinion
L, which is driven by the cog wheel M, turning on the axis M, there being a

page_text: pinion affixed to the wheel M, which is driven by the cog wheel N, as is
clearly shewn in the Drawings, hence the board or surface E receives a to and
fro motion, as before mentioned. And it should be remarked, that the board
is suspended by two sliding bearings G on the rod G, and when not required
to be in operation is capable of being raised off from the cloth win the
following manner:-0 is a lever moving on a fulcrum at O', the lever O
having a friction roller 0, which occasionally coming in contact with the cam
P, on the axis g, is raised up thereby; at present it is in its lowest position.
Q is a connecting rod from the lever O to one of the arms R (by which the
board E is carried), as will readily be seen in the Figures of the Drawings.
S is a lever moving on a fulcrum at S'. One end of this lever is constantly.
drawn upwards by the spring T, the other end of the lever S embracing the
clutch box V, on the axis of the pinion L and crank pin J. On the lever S
the end of the lever O rests, and the position of the surface E, in respect of the
endless cloth w, is adjusted by a set screw W from the lever O resting on the
lever S, as is shewn in the Drawing. The various Figures of the Drawings
shew the parts in the position of a set or series of lengths of cardings of wool,
having been deposited on the endless creeping cloth w, and the surface E just
come into action for rolling the ends of such last deposited series of lengths of
cardings together with the ends of the series previously on the cloth w, and by
such rolling together to piece the ends and to blend the fibres thereof together,
and thus produce continuous cardings, which are progressively delivered from
the endless cloths or surface w into the cans X; and it will be seen that by
the continued motion of the machine the board or surface E will be raised off
the cloth w (which is stationary during the time of piecing up), and the to and
fro movement is stopped by the lever S moving the clutch box V.
Having thus explained the nature of our Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, we would remark, that we make no claim to any of the
parts, separately nor combined, other than is hereafter particularly pointed out.
And we would remark, that variations may be made in the parts for giving
motion to the endless cloths or surfaces k and w and the piecing board or
surface E, and also to the traps o. We do not therefore confine ourselves
to those shewn, though we believe them to be the best adapted to the
purposes. But what we claim as our Invention is, the mode of rolling of the
cardings, by means of the under side of the uppermost creeping cloth k on
the traps or doors o, o, o, and the mode of depositing the cardings upon the
undermost creeping cloth w, in order to their being pieced, such parts being
combined with suitable mechanism for actuating the same for the purpose of
producing continuous cardings, as above described; and, although we have