IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR HACKLING FLAX, JUTE, HEMP, AND SIMILAR FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Cunningham, of Dundee, in the County
of Forfar, North Britain, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR HACKLING FLAX, JUTE, HEMP, AND SIMILAR
FIBROUS MATERIALS.”
"
Sealed the 21st August 1875, and dated the 20th May 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Cunningham
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents; with his Petition, on
the 20th May 1875.
I, WILLIAM CUNNINGHAM, of Dundee, in the County of Forfar,
North Britain, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR HACKLING FLAX, JUTE,
HEMP, AND SIMILAR FIBROUS MATERIALS," to be as follows, that is to
soy :-
This Invention relates to improvements applicable to any kind of
hackling machine which is or may be fitted with a brush and doffer
arrangement for taking off the tow from the hackles that operate on the
flax, jute, hemp, or similar fibrous materials; and tho object of the

page_text: Invention is to facilitate and improve the doffing action and to prevent
the tow from lapping on the brushes.
The brushes are rotatory, and consist of longitudinal brush bars made
with bristles or wires, and fixed at equal distances apart on a cylinder,
or in an equivalent manner.
In carrying out the Invention, plain bars or rods, which may con-
veniently consist of metal tubes, are arranged between the brush bars,
but are fixed to rings or end discs separate from the ends of the brush
be
cylinder. The rings to which the rods or brush guards, as they may
termed, are attached are carried in or on bearings which are eccentric
to those of the brush cylinder, but they are made to revolve at the same
rate as the brush cylinder by spur gearing or by any suitable connection
with the brush cylinder. The eccentric position of the ring bearings is
adjusted so that the brushes project beyond the intermediate rods or
brush guards at the part of the circuit where the brushes take the tow
off the hackles, but at the opposite part the eccentric movement causes
the rods or brush guards to project beyond the brushes and to tend to
bear the tow outwards and so prevent its lapping or being carried
completely round the brush cylinder whilst ensuring its being properly
taken off the brushes by the doffer roller.
The arrangement of eccentric bearings herein-before described is
believed to be the best and simplest for the purpose in view, but any
convenient mechanical arrangement will answer, whereby the brush
guards can be moved inwards and outwards as required.
. The improved doffing arrangements are by preference combined with
what are known as "intersecting" hackles, as it is believed that in this
way the most satisfactorily working machine will be obtained.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-eighth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Ounningham, Her special licence that
I, the said William Cunningham, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Cunningham, my exe.
cutors, 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, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR HACKLING FLAX, JUTE, HEMP, AND SIMILAR FIBROUS
MATERIALS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Ounningham, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 William Cunningham, 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 the following statement in writing, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings, that is to say :—
My said Invention relates to improvements applicable to any kind of
hackling machine which is or may be fitted with a brush and doffer
arrangement for taking off the tow from the hackles that operate on the
flax, jute, hemp, or similar fibrous materials; and the object of my
Invention is to facilitate and improve the doffing action and to prevent
the tow from lapping on the brushes whilst ensuring its proper trans-
ference to the doffing rollers.
The brushes in machinery of the kind referred to are rotatory, and
consist of longitudinal brush bars made with bristles or wires, and fixed
at equal distances apart on a cylinder, or in an equivalent manner.
In carrying out my Invention I arrange plain bars or rods, which may
conveniently consist of metal tubes in the intervals between the brush

page_text: bars; and 1 cause these plain bars or brush guards as I term them, whilst
being carried round with the brushes, to be moved outwards and inwards
at suitable parts of the circuit, and so that the brushes project further
than the guards at that part of the circuit where the brushes put the
tow upon the doffer roller, but so that after passing that part of the
circuit the guards are made to project further than the brushes. The
brushes are by preference made to project further than the guards at
that part of the circuit where they pass the hackles, but this is not
essential provided that they do not interfere with the proper transference
of the tow from the hackles to the brushes at the part where that action
takes place.
And in order that my said Invention, and the manner of performing
the same may be properly understood, I hereunto append a Sheet of
explanatory Drawings to be herein-after referred to and representing
what I believe to be the best and simplest of the various mechanical
arrangements that may be adopted for carrying and imparting the
desired movements to the brush guards. In these Drawings the same
reference numerals are used to mark the same or like parts wherever
they are repeated.
Figure 1 is a vertical section showing the main parts of a machine
with what are known as "intersecting hackles," but without the
framing, gearing, and minor details to which my present Invention does
not relate. The parts are placed in their usual relative positions, and
the directions of their motions are indicated by arrows. There is a
rotatory brush cylinder 5 to each endless band of hackles 6, and each s
brush cylinder 5 has its doffer roller 7, which is itself operated on by the
usual vibrating doffing knife 8. Each cylinder 5 has the brush bars 9
fixed on it longitudinally and at equal distances apart round the
circumference. The brush guards 10 are in this example metal tubes,
and are fixed to a pair of end discs 11 formed with central bosses 12:
bored to turn on eccentric bushes 13 fixed on the bushes 14, in which
the journals 15 or spindle ends of the brush cylinder 5 revolve. Snugs
16 fixed on the ends of the brush cylinder 5 project into the radial slots
17 formed in the end disc 11 of the guards 10, and make the discs 11
revolve with the brush cylinder whilst allowing of the change of relative &
position arising from the eccentricity of the discs.
Figure 2 is a plan, showing the brush guards 10 carried by their end

page_text: discs 11, and having within them the brush cylinder 5, which is shown
.without the brush bars 9.
Figures 3 and 4 are an elevation and a plan, showing an arrangement
of gearing for driving the guard discs 11, and which may be used
(amongst many others) instead of the slot 17 and snug 16 of Figures 1
and 2. In this arrangement, Figures 3, 4, a spur wheel 18 on the
spindle 15 of the brush cylinder 5 is .in gear with a pinion 19 on a
countershaft 20, which has also fast on it a pinion 21 in gear with a
spur wheel 22 fast on the boss 12 of one of the end discs 11.
Amongst the numerous variations in details of which my improved
apparatus is susceptible the following may be mentioned :-The guards
10 may consist of rectangular or curved bars or narrow plates instead
of tubes; two or more small rods or bars placed between each brush bar
9, and the next may be substituted for the single tube or bar 10.
Instead of the guard discs 11 being carried round by the brush cylinders
5 the latter may be carried round or driven through the former.. The
guards 10 may be carried in radial slots in end discs fixed to the brush
cylinder 5, and may receive their outward and inward movement by
their ends being made to project into stationary cam grooves shaped.
suitably for the purpose and acting on the guards as they are carried
round. Instead of the driving connection being by a radial slot in the
case of the set of guards, all fixed to the same end discs, or in the caso
of each separate guard it may be by short links, allowing of a nearly
radial movement. The set of guards may be braced together at any
part of their length by means of a light hoop if found desirable.
In the arrangement shown in Figure 1, with intersecting hackles,
there are two rotatory brushes 5, 9, each with its doffer roller 7, but my
brush guards 10, arranged and worked substantially as herein-before
described, are equally applicable to machines having each only one
rotatory brush or generally to any hackling machine having each one or
more brushes for taking the tow off the hackles.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I have to state that what I believe to
be novel and original-and-claim-as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the providing of-rotatory-
brushes employed for removing tow from the hackles in hackling

page_text: machines, with brush guards arranged and working, substantially as and
for the purposes herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Cunningham, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of November, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.