IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR COMBING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1881

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Smith, Henry Smith, and
Stephen Stell at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st March
1881.
WILLIAM SMITH, HENRY SMITH, and STEPHEN STELL, of Keighley, in the
County of York, Commission Wool Combers. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS FOR COMBING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES."
Our Invention relates to improvements in combing machinery, whereby the wool
or any other fibres are doubly operated upon by nippers before being drawn into
a sliver, by which means we thoroughly clean the fibres from noils and other
impurities.
For this purpose we employ an ordinary Lister's nip comb, to which is fitted at
a certain required distance a second nipping apparatus, which deposits through a
carrying comb the fibres from the first nipping apparatus on to the teeth of a
circular comb, and which fibres are nipped by the second nip and drawn out of the
teeth of the circular comb, and carried from there by means of aprons on to a gill
box, to be from there delivered into a sliver.
We construct our apparatus as follows:-Between the Lister's nip comb and the
second nip is fitted a frame on which and on each side of the frame are secured
standards made with guides in which work slides; on the tops of the guides are
secured sliding bars, over which work blocks, through which passes a cross bar
having a centre boss in which is secured a bar made with a curved head piece, and
to which is secured a brass curved plate, in which are fitted the teeth of the
carrying comb; the bar is guided and slides through an opening or slot hole of a
boss which is made with projecting studs on each side; these studs work in bearers
which are secured to a bracket which is bolted to the Lister's comb. The back
ends of the sliding blocks are secured to a cross bar to which are fitted connecting
rods, the ends and heads of which are fitted on studs secured in the bottom part of
hanging down levers; these levers are secured on short shafts or studs which are
secured in brackets bolted to the side frames of the Lister's comb, and, the hanging
down levers are actuated by upright levers which receive action from the connecting
rods working the nippers, giving a forward and backward motion to the carrying
comb. Directly the tufts of wool or other fibre have been lifted over the teeth of
the circular comb the carrying comb receives a dropping action to deliver the tufts

page_text: on to the teeth of the comb, to be dabbed therein by the dabbing brush; this
action is obtained by the slides which work in the standard guides, which drop
and are actuated by friction rollers fitted in the bottom part of the guides; the
rollers are actuated by cams fitted on a shaft working in bearers secured on each
side of the framework; the shaft at one end is fitted with a spur wheel, which is
worked by an intermediate wheel actuated by a spur wheel fitted on the end of the
nipping shaft of the second nip; the gear is so arranged that directly the carrying
comb lifts the tufts of fibre over the teeth of the circular comb the carrying comb
drops, bringing the tufts on the teeth, which tufts are pressed therein by the dabbing
brush; the second nip then acts and draws out the fibres from the teeth, leaving
the noils behind the teeth of the circular comb to pass on to the knives, and to be
delivered into a receiver in the usual way.
When the drawing out of the fibres takes place, the circular comb stops until the
next feed comes into operation, that is to say, the comb stops until the tufts of
fibre are again nipped, and the fibres drawn from the teeth, and the nippers are so
constructed that they fit close to the circle of the circular comb to catch hold of
the fibres to clean the fibres from the noils or other impurities, and the lower jaw
of the second nip is fixed; on the return stroke of the carrying comb the cam gear
gives a lifting action to the carrying comb to take the tufts from the nipper of the
Lister's comb, and when the comb is on its return stroke, the jaw of the second nip
opens, which causes the cleansed fibres to fall on a short endless apron, and from
there to be carried onto a long apron which is made to pass under the circular
comb on the side of the nip and over the comb on the other side, and over a roller.
fitted on the gill box; the long apron carries the cleansed fibres to the gill box to
be there gilled and formed into sleives. On the standards of the carrying comb are
secured brackets having bearers in which work the shafts of three sets of rollers;
the small apron passes over a guide fitted near the second nip and under the second
roller and over the first roller; the long endless apron passes over the rollers, also
over the third or guide roller, and the endless aprons are actuated by the roller
fitted in the gill box, which receives motion by wheel gear from the bottom fluted
roller of the gill box; the three rollers have pinions fitted on their shafts.
We may dispense with the circular comb and employ a straight noil comb and
straight second nips and fallars, and we may employ instead of the aprons a
lifting and turn over gear, to deliver the fibres from the second nip onto the gill
box;
and we may fit a row of teeth in the dabbing brush to assist the cleaning of
the fibres.