A NEW COMBING MACHINE SUITABLE FOR ANY TEXTILE OR FIBROUS MATER
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Adolphe Drevelle, of Halifax, in the County of York,
Merchant, Agent for Monsieur Augustin Morel, of Roubaix, France, for
the Invention of "A NEW COMBING MACHINE SUITABLE FOR ANY TEXTILE OR
FIBROUS MATER _ A communication from Augustin Morel of Roubaix
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Adolphe Drevelle at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 10th
January 1854.
I, ADOLPHE DREVELLE, of Halifax, in the County of York, Merchant, Agent
for Monsieur AUGUSTIN MOREL, of Roubaix (France), do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "A NEW COMBING MACHINE SUITABLE FOR ANY
TEXTILE OR FIBROUS MATTEE," (communicated to me by Augustin Morel, of
Roubaix, France,) to be as follows:-
The combing machine consists of a circular grate enclosing a sort of drum
provided with needle points and an eccentric so combined together as to allow
the fibrous matter to be properly held to be afterwards combed by means of a
small cylinder, which is also covered with needle points of various sizes. The
fibrous matter is supplied by means of bobbins superposed on a creel or frame,
fixed over the circular grate and revolving with it. The matter, after being
combed and separated from the noil, is detached from the circular comb by

page_text: means of two straps which deliver it to a vertical wheel covered with needle
points, from whence the matter goes to a set of regular gill boxes, and thence
falls into a can.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Adolphe Drevelle in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
10th July 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ADOLPHE
DREVELLE, of Halifax, in the County of York, Merchant, Agent for Monsieur
Augustin Morel, of Roubaix, France, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Adolphe Drevelle Her special licence that I, the said Adolphe Drevelle,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Adolphe Drevelle, my 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, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "A NEW COMBING MACHINE SUITABLE
FOR ANY TEXTILE OR FIBROUS MATTER," (a communication from the said
Augustin Morel, of Roubaix, France,) upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Adolphe Drevelle, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, 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 Adolphe Drevelle, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly 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 :-
The combing machine which constitutes the said Invention, consists of a
circular grating or grate, a cylinder provided with comb teeth or points and
worked excentrically within the grate, and an excentic nipping hoop or ring, so
combined together as to allow the fibrous matter to be opened and properly held
to be combed by means of a small cylinder covered with comb teeth of various

page_text: sizes, and by other combing instruments. The fibrous matter is supplied from
bobbins placed on a creel or frame fixed over the circular grate and revolving
with it. The fibrous matter, after being combed and separated from the noil,
is detached from the circular comb by means of two straps, which deliver it to
a vertical wheel covered with comb teeth, from which it is either taken in the
form of a sheet, or passes to a set of regular gill boxes, and thence falls into
a can.
Figure 1 of the Drawings annexed is a vertical section; and Figure 2, a
front view of this machine. Figure 3 is a side view of the apparatus for
taking off the combed matters. Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, are separate views
of some of the parts detached. The same letters indicate similar parts in all
the Figures in which such parts are seen. B, B', is the general framework
which supports the whole of the machine; I is a vertical spindle turning in
bearings a, a, and giving motion to the main working parts of the machine.
M is a plate (shewn separately in Figure 8,) which supports the grate L, and
J' is another plate set under the grate L. These two plates M and J¹ are
fixed on the spindle I, and receive motion with it. The spindle I is provided
with a universal joint b, between the grate L, and the plate J', to allow of the
inclination of the plate J, which is surrounded by the hoop or ring J, as
shewn in Figure 6. The hoop J is pressed into contact with the plate J', by
means of springs fitted so as to bear against the small wheels K¹, K¹, by
which it is supported, and the pressure is regulated by screws which act against
the springs. The contact surface of the hoop J, with the plate J', is regulated
by the difference of diameter of the plate J', and the interior of the ring J. The
ring J is driven by the plate J', and is covered inside with cloth or leather, in
order that the material to be combed may not be pinched between two hard
surfaces. L' is a cylinder with comb teeth or points on its entire circum-
ference, and mounted inside the grate L. This cylinder is capable of rotation
around the excentric L", which is fitted on the square brass 1, the brass being
mounted on another brass 2¹, on the spindle I, which passes through it and
revolves freely within it. A spring 2, is fixed in the slot of the excentric so
as to bear at one end against the square brass 1, and at the other end against
the extremity of the slot, and thus force the cylinder L' to press against the
grate L, so that the needles on the cylinder L' project through the grate over
the bars of which it is composed. The cylinder being thus pressed against the
grate is driven by the rotation of the same. The vertical spindle R, which is
supported by the arm R', projecting from the spindle I, and by the bearing N,
fixed to the plate M, carries the two toothed wheels T', which gear into
corresponding toothed wheels T. One of the toothed wheels T is fixed to

page_text: the head stock, in which the upper end of the spindle I turns, and the
other is fixed on the brass 1 of the excentric, while the toothed wheels
T, T, are fixed on the spindle R, which is at liberty to revolve in its
bearings in the arm R', and step N, and by the revolution of the spindle
I, the spindle R is carried round the stationary or fixed toothed wheel T, so
that the toothed wheel fixed on the brass 1, and consequently both the brass
and the excentric, are kept motionless on the same point or radial line,
while the comb cylinder L", on the excentric L', revolves around it by the
action of the grate I. The cylinder comb G is provided on its entire
circumference with rows of comb teeth graduated in size from side to side
of the cylinder, so that their points are all at the same distance from the under
surface of the plate J', and it is set under the pinching hoop J, J', which
constantly brings to it, as it revolves, the material to be combed. The
action of this comb is to remove the dirt and noil from the fibrous matter held
by the pinching hoop, which dirt is drawn off from the comb by means of
the brush D, which revolves more rapidly than the comb. The brush Dis
afterwards cleaned by a cylinder F, covered with card teeth, which itself is
cleaned by the comb E. The comb E receives motion from a pulley fitted on
the axis of the brush D), through the intervention of a connecting rod (not seen
in the Figures), one end of the connecting rod working on an excentric pin on
the face of the pulley, while the other end works on a pin sliding in a slot
formed in a lever which is fixed on the axis E" of the comb E. By this
means the extent of motion of the comb E may be regulated at pleasure.
The cylinder Freceives its revolving motion from the fluted roller H, by
means of a pair of bevil wheels, one of which is mounted on the axis of the
cylinder F, while the other is fixed on an inclined spindle which carries also a
worm wheel which gears into an endless screw formed on the prolonged axis
of the fluted roller H. The roller H, and the endless band U, serve to draw
the fibres of the material under operation from the comb G; the other end of
the fibres thus drawn being acted on by the comb teeth of the cylinder L', and
also by those of the circular comb Y. The comb Y is mounted between the
fluted cylinder II, and the pinching hoop J, J', in the position shewn in
Fig. 6, and a blade 43, is placed between the two rows of comb teeth on
the comb Y, in order to prevent the fibrous material from escaping the teeth.
The fibrous matter after being combed and drawn off' as described, is deposited
by means of the brush 1', on one of the comb cylinders A", A", mounted in
the frame B. Motion is given to the machine by means of a strap and pulley
(not seen in the Drawings) on the shaft 11. This shaft carries also two
pulleys A (one only of which is seen in the Drawings), which give motion to

page_text: the cylinders A", A", by means of straps. The comb G, the fluted cylinder H,
and the circular comb Y, receive motion from the shaft 11, by means of wheel
gearing not shewn in the Drawings. The shaft 11 also gives motion to the
spindle I, by means of intermediate gearing driving a shaft, which carries a
bevil wheel gearing into a similar bevil wheel C on the spindle I. The
spindle I is thus caused to revolve, and with it the holders O, O, which are
fixed to it and employed for receiving the bobbins 51, on which the fibrous
materials to be combed are wound.
The two cylinders A", A, are covered with comb teeth and mounted on
their spindle A, so as to be independent of each other, that is, one of them
(A") is fixed on the spindle, while the other (A") turns freely on it. The
spindle A is made long enough to admit of its receiving a to and fro end-
ways motion through a space equal to the length of one of the cylinders A", A.
It is also furnished with two pulleys C', C", one of which is fixed and the other
loose, while the cylinder A carries also two similar pullies C, C¹¹¹¹, mounted
on a tube or socket attached to the cylinder. When the cylinder A" comes
opposite the fluted roller II, and the brush I', the combed fibrous matter
delivered by the roller II, and endless band U, is taken up by the cylinder A",
which revolves at a greater speed than the fluted roller, and the fibrous matter
is pressed upon the comb teeth of the cylinder by means of the brush E'.
When the cylinder A" is filled, it is shifted endways by the to and fro motion
and the other cylinder A is brought in front of the fluted roller EI, to be filled
in like manner. The driving strap of the cylinder A" is by this action shifted
from the fast to the loose pulley, and the sheet of fibrous matter on it is stripped
off by the rollers D', D', the sheet having been first broken, and one end intro-
duced between the rollers for that purpose. When the cylinder A is filled, it
is shifted sideways and stripped in like manner, while the cylinder A" is being
again filled. The to and fro motion of the cylinders A", A", is produced in
the following manner:-The spindle R" supported in the bracket N' carries
the crank R, and the worm wheel F', which receives motion from the endless
screw G' on the axis of the toothed wheel II', which is driven by the pinion
H" on the axis of the fluted roller H. The crank pin of the crank R is fitted
with a friction roller which works in the slot in the arm K', which is thus
caused to vibrato on its point of suspension by the revolution of the crank R¹¹¹
On the arm K' are fixed two pulleys K, round one of which passes a cord
K, which passes upwards over the pulley q', and has suspended to it the
weight M¹; the opposite end of the cord being fastened to the stud Ju pro-
jecting from the lever J. The lever J is furnished with a pin which works
in a groove formed round the boss S' on the shaft A. When the arm K¹

page_text: has been brought by the crank R to the end of its outward motion, it strikes
against the tongue T, and disengages the lever L from its notch in the rail
P¹, and thus allows the weight M¹ to act on the lever J, and through it to
shift the shaft A endways until the lever J¹ comes to a second notch in the
rail P¹, which it leaves again when the arm K' has made its reverse stroke.
The treadle q serves to stop the cylinder A", which would otherwise continue
some time in motion, owing to the velocity at which it is driven.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what 1 claim is,—
The employment in machinery for combing wool and other fibrous materials,
of the circular grate L, the excentric comb cylinder L", and the pinching
hoop and plate J, J', combined, arranged, and operating as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Adolphe Drevelle, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifth day of July, One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-four.
A. DREVELLE. (L.S.)