IM- PROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO COTTON GINS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Lowry, of the Stanley Street Works, Salford,
in the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker; for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO COTTON GINS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Lowry at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 29th
August 1863.
I, GEORGE LOWRY, of the Stanley Street Works, Salford, in the County
of Lancaster, Machine Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO COTTON GINS," to be as
follows:-
My improvements consist, first, in driving cotton gins by treadles, so as to
leave both hands of the operator at liberty to feed the machine.
Secondly, in making the rollers of roller gins of discs or rings of leather
secured on a central shaft.
Thirdly, in cutting the requisite diagonal grooves in the surface of the rollers of
roller gins by means of a cutting tool attached to a slide rest supported on the
framing of the machine, and traversed along the surface of the roller by a screw
driven from the roller.
Fourthly, my improvements are applicable to saw gins, and they consist in
making such gins with two or more sets of saws, both or all of which are fed
by one hopper.

page_text: Fifthly, in substituting rollers set or covered with circular rows of steel pins
for the circular saws usually employed in saw gins.
And, lastly, in making saw gins with a circular revolving grid or cylinder,
which answers the purpose of a hopper. One or more toothed rollers or sets of
circular saws are applied to the circumference of the revolving grid, and the
whole are set diagonally, so that by feeding the cotton and seed in at the higher
end the seeds gradually work towards the lower end from which they drop
when free from fibre.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Lowry in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
27th February 1864..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
LOWRY, of the Stanley Street. Works; Salford, in the County of Lancaster,
Machine Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said George Lowry, Her special license that I, the said George
Lowry, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said George Lowry, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO COTTON GINS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said George Lowry, 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 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 George Lowry, 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 (that is to say):-
My improvements consist, first, in driving cotton gins by duplex or com-

page_text: pound treadles, so as to give additional driving power, and to leave both hands
of the operator at liberty to feed the machines.
Secondly, in cutting the requisite diagonal grooves in the surface of the
rollers of cotton gins by means of a cutting tool attached to a slide rest sup-
ported on the framing of the machine and traversed along the surface of the
roller by a screw driven from the roller.
Thirdly, my improvements in saw gins consist in making such gins with
two or more sets of saws in one frame, both or all of which are fed by one
hopper.
Fourthly, in substituting rollers set or covered with circular rows of
steel pins for the circular saws usually employed in saw gins.
And, lastly, in making saw gins with a circular revolving grid or cylinder
which answers the purpose of a hopper, one or more pin rollers or sets of cir-
cular saws are applied to the circumference of the revolving grid, aud the whole
are set diagonally, so that by feeding the cotton and seed in at the higher end
the seeds gradually work towards the lower end from which they drop when free
from fibre.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood, I will proceed to
describe the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings.
In Sheet 1, Figure 1 is an elevation of a cotton gin taken from the back.
of the machine, to which parts of my improvements are applied; Figure 2
is an end elevation of the same. a, a, are the standards; b, the roller; c, the
feeding table; d, the stationary blade; and e the vibrating knife; these parts
are all made as in the Macarthy gins now in use.
The first part of my Invention, which consists in driving cotton gins by
duplex or compound treadles may be performed in the following manner. :-
ff, are two treadles, one placed near each side of the machine, these
treadles are fixed to side shafts g, to each of which is also fixed a lever h.
connected by side links i, to crank pins projecting from the pulleys b¹ fixed
to the axle of the roller b. The vibrating knife e is driven as usual by
cranks on the bottom shaft j, which is driven by a strap from the pulley 63.
By thus driving the machine by treadles, it is evident that the hands of the
attendant are at liberty to feed the cotton to the roller; and the requisite
driving power is obtained.
The requisite diagonal grooves are cut as usual in the leather covering of
the roller 6 by the cutting tool k, fixed in the slide. rest 1, which is made to
traverse to and fro on the bed m by means of the screw m²; the bed m i's sup-.
ported by projections a¹ on the standards a. In cutting these diagonal grooves

page_text: the roller 6 and the screw m¹ are connected by the wheels and pinions shewn in
the Drawing, and the angle of the grooves can be varied by altering the relative
speeds of the roller and the screw.
On Sheet 2 Figure 3 is a side elevation, and Figure 4 an end elevation,
of a double saw gin constructed according to my improvements. n, n,
are two sets of saws made in the ordinary manner, or according to my
improvements as herein-after described; o, o, are the usual spiked feeding
rollers, both of which revolve in the hopper p, in which are grids for the teeth
of the saws to pass through as usual. The fibres of cotton are stripped
from the sets of saws by the revolving brushes q, q, as in saw gins of the
present construction. The requisite motion is given to the saws and brushes
by the band passing around the pulley r¹, on the driving shaft and
around pulleys on the axles of the saws and brushes, and a slow rotary
motion is given to the feeding rollers o by the pulleys and o¹, and the
crossed strap o, passing over pulleys fixed to the axles of the feeding rollers,
which are provided with moveable grids s as usual. The eccentric 2** on the
driving shaft is for giving motion to the grid w, which is moved up and down
for assisting the discharge of the seeds when free from cotton. I wish to
observe that in some cases more than two sets of saws may be applied to the
same hopper.
Figure 5 is a transverse section of a roller covered with steel pins to be used
as a substitute for the circular saws of saw gins, and Figure 6 is a longitudinal
section of part of the same. The body of the roller is made by preference of
cast iron which is covered with lags of wood or other suitable material, in
which are set steel pins forming annular rows over the circumference of the
roller; these pins pass through the grid of the hopper p, and act on the fibres
of cotton like the teeth of the circular saws now in use. These rollers will
discharge the fibre by centrifugal action, and without the aid of the circular
brushes. The last part of my Invention may be described without the aid of
Drawings, and it consists in making saw gins with a circular revolving grid or
oylinder which answers the purpose of a hopper. One or more pin rollers or
sets of circular saws are applied to the circumference of this revolving grid, and
the whole are set diagonally, so that by feeding the cotton and seed in at the
higher end, the seeds gradually work towards the lower end, from which they
drop when free from fibre.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, I declare that I claim,-
First, driving cotton gins by duplex or compound treadles as described.

page_text: Secondly, cutting the diagonal grooves in the rollers of cotton gins by
a cutting tool fixed in a slide rest connected to the framing of the machine
as described.
Thirdly, in applying two or more sets of saws to the same hopper or machine
as described.
Fourthly, substituting rollers set or covered with circular rows of steel pins
for the circular saws of saw gins, and dispensing with the use of the brushes
for removing the fibres as described.
And, lastly, the application of one or more sets of saws or pin rollers to a
revolving grid, the whole set diagonally and forming a self-acting cotton gin as
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Lowry, have hereto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of February, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-four.