Improvements in the Manufacture of Cards for Use in Carding Cotton and Wool.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Oct., 1887
Complete Specification Left, 10th Aug., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 28th Sept., 1888
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Cards for Use in Carding
Cotton and Wool.
We JOSEPH MOSELEY of Chapelfield Works Ardwick Manchester HENRY
FAIRCLOUGH of Mersey Mills Warrington DAVID MOSELEY of Chapelfield Works
aforesaid JAMES FAIRCLOUGH BUTTERWORTH of 70 Market Street Manchester and
BENJAMIN BLUNDSTONE of Chapelfield Works aforesaid the Executors under the Will
of Charles Moseley deceased late of Chapelfield Works aforesaid, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention to be as follows :-
This Invention has for one of its objects to provide a card for carding cotton and
wool which card acts in carding in a better manner than has hitherto been the case
overcoming as it does the injurious cutting abrading or breaking of the cotton or
woollen fibres which occurs when cards made as heretofore are used in the operations
of carding cotton and wool. Another object of the Invention is to manufacture Cards
for carding cotton or wool by a continuous process that is to say uninterruptedly from
the wire to the finished card or by a successive series of processes.
According to the ordinary mode of making such wire cards the wires to form the
teeth are cut and bent and inserted into the backing and are afterwards sharpened.
This sharpening process leaves cutting edges which are often rough serrated or
"burred" and which act very injuriously upon the cotton or wool carded.
According to this Invention the wires are formed with pointed or tapered ends
which may be of a circular form in cross section that is to say resembling those of
ordinary sewing needles. As the wire ends cannot practically be ground to these
taper points after the wires are inserted into the backing it becomes necessary in
making Cards according to this Invention to point the wires after they are cut and
before they are inserted by machinery into the backing to form the card. The wires
are first cut into lengths according to the length of wire in each double tooth and the
said lengths are then conveyed to and operated upon by apparatus or means by which
both the ends are sharpened into a tapered or rounded pointed form, this apparatus
also combines if desired means for hardening tempering and polishing the pointed

page_text: ends. This pointing hardening tempering and polishing may be effected by means
analogous to those used for similar operations in the manufacture of ordinary sewing
needles. The said pointed lengths are then fed or passed in parallel order by means
of a reciprocating ranging bar through a hopper or conveyer so that one or both
of their pointed ends project or some portion of their length is exposed and a
reciprocating seizer takes hold of them one at a time or in any requisite number
and withdraws them in proper order and transfers them to the bending apparatus by
which the pointed teeth are bent and conveyed to and inserted into the backing. The
apparatus employed for this latter purpose may be of any suitable kind such for
example as is described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to the late
Charles Moseley dated the 12th day of March 1886 and No. 3482. It is to be
understood that the pointing hardening tempering and polishing apparatus may be
combined with the cutting and bending and inserting mechanism that the wires are
or may be fed to and from all the machines and the card with teeth pointed as
aforesaid is completed by one series of continuous operations as aforesaid.
Dated this 13th day of October 1887.
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London,
Agents.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Cards for Use in Carding
Cotton and Wool.
We JOSEPH MOSELEY of Chapelfield Works Ardwick Manchester HENRY
FAIRCLOUGH of Mersey Mills Warrington DAVID MOSELEY of Chapelfield Works
aforesaid JAMES FAIRCLOUGH BUTTERWORTH of 70 Market Street Manchester and
BENJAMIN BLUNDSTONE of Chapelfield Works the Executors under the Will of
Charles Moseley deceased late of Chapelfield Works aforesaid do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This Invention relates to the manufacture of wire cards used in carding operations
on cotton and wool the said cards having teeth sharpened in rounded or tapered ends the
sharpening of the points being effected at a stage between the cutting of the wires
into lengths each to form a double tooth and the bending and inserting of the teeth
into the fabric foundation to form the card.
According to this Invention the wire is first cut into lengths necessary for forming
a double tooth and then the lengths are sharpened at both ends to the rounded, points
hereinbefore described and then the sharpened lengths of wire can be tempered
hardened and polished if necessary the devices by which these operations are
performed are or may be like or analogous to the devices used for similar purposes
in the manufacture of sewing needles. The sharpened lengths of wire are then
submitted to the action of a bending device and a device for inserting the teeth into
the backing. A suitable apparatus for these purposes is shown in the accompanying
Drawings.
Figure 1 is a plan and Figure 2 is a side view of the machine. Figure 3 is a
side view of the motion for operating the transverse feed of the foundation material
for bringing it into position for receiving each tooth. Figure 4 represents further
details of the foundation material feed motions. Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8 represent
details of the tooth bending and inserting devices. Figures 9, 10, 11 and 12 are details
of the apparatus employed for selecting the needles and conveying them to the
tooth bending and inserting devices. Figures 13, 14, 15 and 16 are details and
modifications of apparatus and devices for separating the needles and presenting them
to the apparatus employed to seize and convey them to the bending and inserting
mechanism.
In all the Figures similar letters and figures are employed to denote similar parts.
A is the cam for actuating the mechanism used in bending the teeth after they
are inserted in the foundation or backing and generally known as the "crooking
motion." B is the cam operating the foundation transverse feed motion. C is a
cam for the needle separator. D, E and F are cams which give motion to the tooth
bending and inserting apparatus and G is a cam which actuates the needle seizer and

page_text: transferrer. All these cains are mounted and secured upon the shaft H upon one
end of which there may be fixed a pulley for power driving, and a hand wheel for
turning by hand when required may be fixed at the other end of the shaft.
The lengths of wire cach to form a double tooth and pointed at each end are
supplied to the hopper J and are arranged therein transversely thereto and parallel
with each other.
The foundation feed motions consist of the cam B which works against and operates
the lever 4 to which the pawl 2 is attached. The pawl
engages with the teeth
of the ratchet wheel 1 mounted upon the shaft 7 upon which is also mounted the cam 8
the profile of which is shown in dotted lines in Figure 1. This cam gives the step
by step lateral motion to the foundation material I through the abutment 9 to a
projection from which (18) a spiral spring 27 is attached to secure the return motion.
The fluted rollers 10, 10 which are forced together by the spring 19 and which firmly
grip the foundation material between them are caused to partake of the lateral motion
set up by the cam 8. The step by step forward motion of the foundation material
is derived from the star wheel or cam 21 Figures 1 and 2. The teeth or projections
of the wheel at the desired intervals lift the lever 22 carrying the pawl 23 engaging
with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 24 fixed upon the shaft 25 upon which also the
upper roller 10 is keyed. The catch 26 prevents back motion of the ratchet
wheel 24.
The tooth bending motion is originated by the cam A working against the lever 12
the opposite end of which is connected to the swing frame 13 carrying the spring
arms 14, 14 upon which the bending hooks 15, 15 are secured. The various
adjustinents of the bending hooks 15, 15 are respectively secured by the screws 16,
17, 27 and 28°. The spiral spring 27 is attached to the abutment 9 by the
projection 18 Figure 4. The springs 3, 6 and 28 secure the return motions of the
levers to which they are respectively attached.
The device for separating the lengths of wire is operated from the cam C. The
hopper or receptacle J contains the lengths of wire placed therein as aforesaid. They
are removed therefrom by a reciprocating slide 29, having a groove formed in it
capable of receiving only one length of wire at a time.
The device for selecting and transferring the lengths of wire selects the lengths
from the separator and transfers them to the tooth bending and inserting apparatus.
It is illustrated in Figs. 1, 9, 10, 11 and 12. The lever 30 is centered on the adjustable
bearing 31 by means of which the amount of the angular motion of the lever may
be varied to suit different lengths of teeth. This lever by a short connecting rod 33
gives horizontal reciprocating motion to the rod 34 carried in the guide 32. Figure 9
is a cross section looking at the bearing 31 from the right. Figure 10 is a side view
with the bearing in section. Figure 11 is a partial front view and Figure 12 is a
plan. The rod 34 as represented in the drawings has a triangular section and it is
adjustable by the screws in the slotted brackets 35. The end of the rod 34 carries
the spring nippers K which seize the length of wire presented by the selecting
apparatus and present it to the tooth bending and inserting device. Different
positions of the nippers are illustrated in Figures 6, 7 and 8.
The tooth bending and inserting motion is illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8.
It is derived from the cams D. E. F. of which D operates the plunger E the former
and F the tube. This motion is analogous to that described in the Specification of
the Patent of March 12th 1886 No. 3482 the main difference being that the length
of wire being presented at the side there is no turning motion for the tube. The
operation is as follows:-The tube and plunger being in the position shewn in Figure 5
the nippers K advance seize a length of wire by the projecting point and return with
it to the position shewn in Figure 6. The former bur 36 then rises, and the plunger
advances, thus nipping the length of wire between the plunger and the former har.
Next the slotted tube advances and bends the length of wire over the former bar as
in Figure 7. The former bar is now lowered after which the tube and plunger
advance with the bent tooth until its points are in contact with the foundation material
when the plunger alone advances and pushes the tooth through the fabric as in

page_text: Figure 8. The tube and plunger then return to their first position and the cycle is
repeated.
We have described the mechanism we consider best adapted for the purposes of our
invention, but we do not limit ourselves to the details shown and described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is :-
:-
The manufacture of cards for use in carding cotton or wool by firstly cutting the
wires into lengths to form each a tooth afterwards sharpening both ends thereof as
hereinbefore described afterwards bending them into U shape and subsequently
inserting the teeth so formed into the backing or foundation substantially as herein-
before explained.