IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING AND PRE- PARING THE FIBRES OF PLANTAIN, PENGUIN, AND OTHER VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES, FOR MANUFACTURING PURPOSES
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Benjamin Fothergill, Engineer and Machinist, and'
William Weild, Engineer, both of the City of Manchester, and County of
Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING AND PRE-
PARING THE FIBRES OF PLANTAIN, PENGUIN, AND OTHER VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES,
FOR MANUFACTURING PURPOSES."
Sealed the 29th August 1854, and dated the 24th March 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Benjamin Fothergill
and. William Weild at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 24th March 1854.
We, BENJAMIN FOTHERGILL, Engineer & Machinist, and WILLIAM WEILD,
Engineer, both of the City of Manchester, & County of Lancaster, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAIN-
ING AND PREPARING THE FIBRES OF PLANTAIN, PENGUIN, AND OTHER VEGETABLE
SUBSTANCES, FOR MANUFACTURING PURPOSES, " to be as follows:-
Previous to describing the nature of the processes and operations in which
this Invention consists, we may observe, in the working of plantain, penguin,
and other fibrous plants, and especially plantain, that there is a two-fold object;
the preparation of the fibre for textile purposes, and the application of other
portions of the plant (together with such portions of the fibrous particles as
may be separated in the course of preparation) to the manufacture of paper of
one or more classes.
We shall, in the first place, describe the proposed mode of treatment in
obtaining and preparing the fibre of the plantain. The first operation is that
of cutting the plants into manageable lengths; the second, splitting the lengths

page_text: longitudmally; third, separating the core and other parts, according to the
quality of the fibre, which is readily done, as the exterior of the plant consists
of distinct concentric rings. These operations prepare the plant for the sub-
sequent operations, to obtain either a fibre for textile purposes or a material
for paper. The fibre in the core of the plant is comparatively in a soft state,
and not so tenacious as that comprised in the outer rings, and on this account
we propose to treat it exclusively, to obtain a material for the manufacture of
paper, to which mode of treatment every fibrous portion of the plant may be
subjected when material is required for that purpose alone. First, method
of treatment to obtain material for paper. Fourth operation, (reckoning
operations Number one, two, and three already enumerated,) squeezing, to
extract as much mucilage and moisture as possible; fifth, cutting or chop-
ping into suitable lengths; sixth, tearing, or cutting and washing, to loosen
and separate the fibre; seventh, boiling in a solution of an alkaline character
to separate mucilage, which at the same time performs the first step in
the process of bleaching; eighth (if necessary), washing; ninth, extracting
moisture; tenth, willowing to loosen fibre, and loosen and separate dust
and other matters; eleventh, pressing and baling: The machinery or appa-
ratus proposed to be employed in the operations enumerated are those
commonly in use for purposes analagous to those referred to, with suitable
modifications, to adapt them to these purposes. The first and second ope-
rations may be accomplished by a circular saw or cutter, or by a guillotine
knife, actuated from crank pins or excentrics; third operation by hand; with
dividing knife or tool; fourth operation by loaded callender rollers; fifth,
by machine, similar to those used for chopping hay, straw, &c; sixth, by
machine, on the principle of the machine used in the preparation of pulp for
paper, known as the "Dutch engine;" seventh, by a copper, iron, or wood
vessel, using steam for heating; eighth, a second operation by Dutch engine
(if necessary); ninth, by press, with sides and bottom perforated with holes
for the escape of moisture, or by machine known as the "hydro-extractor;"
tenth, willowing by machine, similar to those employed in the preparation of
cotton for spinning, or in the manufacture of paper; and the eleventh, by baling
presses of ordinary construction or otherwise. Material for paper, and short.
fibres for textile and other purposes, may be obtained from the remaining
portions of the, plant, after, separating the core by the operations already enume-
rated up to the fourth, from which the rings of the plant are taken to a machine,
where it is fed in suitable lengths intermittently by rollers-(between which it is
held firmly) to be acted upon by a series of combs placed over a segment of
the surface of a cylinder, after which the combed portion is cut off during the

page_text: revolution of the cylinder through that space on the cylinder uncovered by
combs, and a fresh length is fed forward to be combed, so that by each revo-
lution of the combing cylinder one length of material will be combed and the
fibre cut off, and another portion fed forward; the teeth of the combs being
cleaned from the matter extracted by bars moving in excentric grooves to push
the matter from between the teeth, or by a revolving circular brush acting on
the teeth, or by both the brush and bars combined; or otherwise the material
may be fed intermittently by rollers and held firmly between them, as described
in the preceding paragraph; but instead of the feed rollers being in a fixed
position, and the ends of the material protruding from theni being acted upon
by combs fixed on a revolving cylinder, they (the feed rollers) may have a
motion imparted to them to lash the ends of the material in, and draw them
through the teeth of a circular comb or an endless chain comb, having the plane
of its motion in a vertical position; and when the ends of the material have been
lashed in and drawn through the teeth of the combs a sufficient number of
times, the fibres thus freed from mucilage and other matter may be cut off, and
another portion fed forward to be similarly treated, while the matter left in the
teeth of the combs may be removed by a revolving brush. The fibre prepared
by machines, the nature of which is referred to in the two last paragraphs,
would only require drying and packing. The operations to obtain a long
fibre for textile purposes and for cordage, ropes, and other manufactures, are
those before enumerated to the fourth operation, from which the material is
taken to a machine combining a scraping, combing, and brushing action
(though it may be advisable to perform the scraping part of the operation by
a distinct machine, and afterwards subject it to the machines herein referred
to for combing); suitable jaws to pince and hold the end of a length of the
material to be operated upon are arranged on a bed or platform, upon which
they can traverse backwards and forwards, say on slides or on a railway, and
at intervals between and across the railway or path of the jaws, combs fixed
on bars fitted in vertical slides or grooves are placed, as are also scraping
edges, and in the intervals between the combs or scraping edges the table
or platform is cut away, so that as the material is drawn over the holes
in the table or platform, its under side may be acted upon by revolving
brushes or combs or scrapers fixed on a cylinder; above these openings (and
arranged also in vertical slides or grooves in the same manner as the combs
and scrapers) rollers or bars with rounded edges (which may be covered or not,
as may be found best, with a soft yielding but elastic material,) are employed
to keep the under side of the material in passing over against the revolving
brushes or scrapers; the jaws may be moved backwards and forwards on

page_text: slides or railway by a toothed rack or racks and pinions. The operating
parts arranged above the pathway of the jaws are placed in vertical slides or
grooves, that they may rise in them to allow the jaws to pass under, being
raised by an inclined path attached to the rack a little in advance of the jaws,
which raises each as it approaches it sufficiently high. to allow the jaws to
pass under; and after the jaws have had the material placed in them,
allows. each to drop, and act on the material in succession; thus. it will
be seen that the jaws receive the material at the end of their path, and
draw it over and through the parts intended to operate upon it, delivering
it finished at the other end of their path; or, instead of the machine
last referred to, a modification of that machine may be employed, the nature
of which was first referred to herein, for treating short lengths of material by
a cylinder carrying combs, and then cutting off the fibres thus freed from
mucilage; namely, the whole circumference of a cylinder or part of it may be
covered with rows of combs or heckle teeth, commencing course, and suc-
ceeding each other in the direction of revolution, in finer pitches; the material
may be held in jaws or rollers, and advanced towards the combing cylinder
intermittently (the end being acted upon first), each movement taking place
when the coarsest pitched combs or heckles begin to operate, by which means
each succeeding new portion of material will first be operated upon by coarse,
and then by succeeding finer pitches of combs. To limit the surface or number
of rows of comb teeth or heckles, which shall act upon the material at the
same time, bars (similar to those referred to for cleaning the teeth of the
cylinder) are fixed between each row of teeth; these bars (as stated in the first
modification for short fibres) may work in excentric grooves, or be acted upon
by an excentric path, which will keep the bars below the points of the teeth
when the teeth are required to act on the material, and force them above (and.
by this means force the material from between the teeth) when they are not
required to act on the fibre. The bars will also act to force. the matter ex-
tracted from between the teeth of the combs, and if in addition a circular
revolving brush is employed, this will be accomplished effectually. If either
jaws or rollers are employed to hold the material, they may be made to traverse
from and towards the combing cylinders, so that if any loose matter is left
between. the fibres, it may be forced (or brushed by the teeth) out of the ends
of the fibres, by drawing the fibres back over the teeth of the cylinder. The
cylinder of the machine last referred to may have fixed upon. it either combs,
or combs and scrapers, or all scrapers, or alternately combs, scrapers, and brushes;
and to force the material on the teeth, or to give pressure for the action of the
scrapers or brushes, a circular frame may be employed geering with the drum,

page_text: and carrying rollers free on their axes, and at equal pitches with the combs,
scrapers, or brushes, the rollers taking between the combs or scrapers, that is,
geering with them in the manner of toothed wheels; or two duplicate cylinders
may be employed (covered with combs and scrapers and rollers) to work
geering into each other, the material passing between them; or otherwise, for
long fibres, jaws to hold the material may be made to travel in slides or on a
railway, or an endless chain of jaws may be made to travel on a railway, to
hold in a vertical position and carry through and between a series of heckles
or combs the material to be prepared, the heckles, combs, brushes, or scrapers
to operate upon the material being made to act upon each side of it, and 'to
have a reciprocating motion, or a motion in one direction, by being fixed to an
endless band or chain passing over rollers or drums. If the heckles or comb
teeth are to act at the commencement of. the operation over the whole length
of the material, then those heckles or combs first operating should be of course
pitch, and as the jaws pass over the railway the pitch of the heckles or combs
should become finer, the finest being those last to operate upon the material;
but it may be found advisable to commence to operate upon the end of the
material, and gradually approach to the point where it is held by the jaws; in
this case the pathway or railway of the jaws should be inclined in relation to
the heckles or combs, so that the material (as the jaws advance through the
heckles or combs) will descend deeper and deeper, till at last the heckles or
combs will have operated on its whole length. In this case the heckles on
combs on the endless band or chain acting on the material may succeed each
other in finer pitches in the direction of their motion, and they may be also of
finer pitches (still keeping their relative pitches in succession) as they approach
the finishing side of the machine, and the jaws may advance the material
through the machine at intervals or intermittently, each movement forward
taking place when the last or finest heckles or combs on the endless band or
chain is finishing, and the coursest is about to begin. The matter extracted
may be removed from the heckles or combs by revolving circular brushes acting
on the comb teeth or heckles, as they are passing round the rollers.
The leaves of the penguin will only require to be passed through the callender
(fourth operation), and then be subjected, to obtain long fibre, to the operations
of the machines last described, or for short fibres, to the machines combing
lengths of the fibre and then cutting off. The matter removed by the combing,
scraping, and brushing operations may be subjected to the fifth and subsequent
operations in treating the core of the plantain, to obtain material for manu-
facturing into paper.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Benjamin Fothergill and William Weild in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 22nd September 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, BENJAMIN
FOTHERGILL, Engineer and Machinist, and WILLIAM WEILD, Engineer, both of
the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of March, 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
us, the said Benjamin Fothergill and William Weild, Her especial licence,
that we, the said Benjamin Fothergill and William Weild, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Benjamin
Fothergill and William Weild, our 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING AND PREPARING THE FIBRES OF PLANTAIN, PENGUIN, AND
OTHER VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES FOR MANUFACTURING PURPOSES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said Benjamin Fothergill and William Weild,
by an instrument in writing under our 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 we, the said Benjamin Fothergill and William
Weild, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement and accompanying Drawings (that is
to say):-
Previously to describing the nature of the processes and operations in which
our Invention consists, we would observe that the vegetable substances to which
we consider the same applicable, are the plantain or musa paradisaica, and
various other species of the botanical genus or family musa, the penguin or
wild pine, various species of the botanical genus or family bromelia, the yucca,
wild cocoa, various species of palm, and other plants of similar nature or
character; (that is to say,) possessing fibres of such length and tenacity, and in

page_text: such quantity, as to be available with advantage to the manufacturing purposes
herein-after mentioned, and also containing a large quantity of mucilage or
moisture, which requires to be removed in order to prepare the fibres for the
purposes referred to; and the principal objects of our processes or operations
are to remove such mucilage or moisture, and to separate the fibres and other-
wise treat them, so as to prepare them for the said purposes. The plants we
have enumerated are principally natives. of or produced in the West Indies
and other tropical or hot climates; but of course we do not confine the appli-
cation. of our processes and operations to plants of any particular locality....We
would also observe, that in operating upon the plantain, penguin, and other
plants of the before-mentioned character, and especially the plantain, we have
a two-fold object; the preparation of the fibre of one portion of the plant for
ropes, textile and other purposes, and the application of other portions of it
(together with such portions of the fibrous particles. as may be separated in
the preparation of fibre for the purposes referred to above, or the whole of the
fibrous matter contained in the plants,) to the manufacture of paper of one or
more classes. We shall, in the first place, describe the method of. treatment
in obtaining and preparing the fibre of the plantain, remarking, that this
plant has an apparent stem or trunk, consisting of the core or interior
stem, and the leaves, which are for a considerable; extent clasped round it,
forming apparently the exterior of the stem, a horizontal section of it..dis-
playing the circular core or interior stem, surrounded by concentric seg-
mental pieces overlapping each other. The first operation is that of cutting
the plants into manageable lengths; the second, splitting the lengths longi-
tudinally; the third, separating the core and other parts, according to the
quality of the fibre, which is readily done, as the exterior of the plant consists,
as already described, of distinct concentric segments, being the lower portion
of the clasping leaves of the plants. These operations prepare the plant for
the subsequent operations to obtain either a fibre for ropes, textile, or other
purposes, or a material for paper. The fibre in the core of the plant is com-
paratively in a soft state, and not so tenacious as that comprised in the outer
segments, and on this account we propose to treat it exclusively to obtain a
material for the manufacture of paper, to which mode of treatment every
fibrous portion of the plant may be subjected when material is required for
that purpose alone, in the first method of treatment to obtain material for
paper. The fourth operation (reckoning operations number one, two, and
three, already enumerated), is squeezing, to extract as much mucilage and
moisture as possible; the fifth, cutting or chopping into suitable lengths;
sixth, tearing, or cutting and washing, to loosen and separate, the fibre;

page_text: seventh, boiling and mashing in a solution of an alkaline or other suitable
chemical character to separate mucilage, which at the same time performs the
first step in the process of bleaching; eighth (if necessary), washing; ninth,
.extracting moisture; tenth, willowing, to loosen fibre, and loosen and separate
.dust and other matters; and the eleventh and last, to pack for transport to
market, &c., is pressing and baling. The machinery or apparatus proposed
to be employed in the operations enumerated are those commonly in use
for
purposes analogous to those referred to, with suitable modifications to adapt
them to these purposes. The first and second operations are to be accom-
plished by a circular saw or cutter, or by a guillotine knife, actuated from crank
pins or excentrics; third operation by hand, with dividing knife or tool;
fourth operation, by weighted calendar rollers; those which we believe best
suited for this purpose are shewn in the Drawings by Figs. 1 and 2, Sheet 1;
the first representing a side sectional elevation, and the latter.a front elevation.
The general character of these machines is well known; we therefore need
only state, that a are side frames; a', cross stays; b, table of any required
length, upon which portions of the plants are placed to enter them between
the rollers; c, the bottom roller, upon the axis of which the fast and
loose driving pullies are placed; d, the upper roller, revolved by contact with
the lower one; it is weighted by levers e¹ and adjustable weights & through
spindles e, resting on the bearings of the roller. The principal addition to
calendar rollers for this purpose consists in the application of "doctors".g to
the rollers, similar to those used in calico printing, by rollers which are fixed
on bars (f) passing into slots in the side frames and adjusted to the rollers by
set screws f¹; these precautions prevent the material from passing round the
rollers or adhering to them. The fifth operation is to be accomplished by a
machine similar to those used for chopping hay, straw, &c.; sixth, by machine
on the principle of the machine used in the preparation of pulp for paper,
known as the "Dutch engine;" seventh, by a copper, iron, or wood vessel
using steam for heating, or by machinery and apparatus similar to that used by
distillers and brewers for mashing grain, the vessel being provided at, say, one
foot from the bottom, with a grid supporting a net or sieve of wire work, for the
solid material or fibre to rest upon while subjected to the boiling, mashing, or
agitating operation, and through which mucilage and other small particles can
pass and be withdrawn, leaving the solid fibrous material upon the net or
sieve of wire work; eighth, a second operation, by Dutch engine (if neces-
sary) ninth, by press, with sides and bottom perforated with holes for the
escape of moisture, or by machine known as the "hydro-extractor;" tenth,
by willowing or opening machine, similar to those employed in the preparation

page_text: of cotton for spinning, or in the manufacture of paper; and the eleventh, by
baling presses of ordinary construction or otherwise. Material for paper and
short fibres for textile and other purposes may be obtained from the remaining
portions of the plant, after separating the core by the operations already
enumerated up to the fourth, from which the segments of the plant are taken
to a machine, where it is fed in suitable lengths intermittently by rollers
(between which it is held firmly), to be acted upon by a series of combs
placed over a segment of the surface of a cylinder, after which the combed
portion is cut off during the revolution of the cylinder through that space
which is equal to that on its surface uncovered by combs, and a fresh length is
fed forward to be combed, so that by each revolution of the combing cylinder
one length of material will be combed and the fibre cut off, and another
portion fed forward, the teeth of the combs being cleaned from the matter
extracted by bars moving in excentric grooves to push the matter from between
the teeth, or by a revolving circular brush acting on the teeth, or by both the
brush and bars combined. A machine acting in the manner just. described is
shewn in the Drawings annexed hereto by Figures 3, 4, and 5, Sheet 2, which
Figures represent respectively a side sectional elevation through the operating
parts, a side elevation, and a front view; a, framing; b, drum, or cylinder shaft,
having its bearings on the side frames; c, drum, across and upon which a series
of comb teeth (1), scraping edges (2), and brushes (3), are placed. The pitch
of the combs commencing at c¹ is coarse, and they succeed each other in finer
and finer pitches. The material enters between the feed rollers, which advance
each revolution of the cylinder c, the length fixed upon, and it is pinced and held
firm between the moveable nipper bar d and the fixed one d', while the combs,
scrapers, and brushes on the cylinder operate upon it, the first combs to act
upon each new portion of material fed forward, being those at the part of the
drum c; when all the combs, scrapers, and brushes have acted upon the
portion, it is cut off by a knife edge c², placed obliquely on the cylinder, which
cuts against an edge (e), fixed to the bar d¹. The matter removed from the
portion operated upon is brushed from the comb teeth, scrapers, or brushes by
a circular brush f, revolving rapidly in the direction pointed by the arrow. The
material cut off drops in the compartment immediately under it, formed by the
partition a', and the matter extracted into the other compartment. Bars may
be used to force the matter extracted from the combs or scrapers, as will be
hereafter described in our explanation of Figures 8, 9, and 10, Sheet 4. The
feed rollers have an intermittent motion imparted to them; the pin plate g,
being keyed on the drum shaft (b) and the star plate g', has its axis on a stud
in the framing, motion being conveyed from it by a spur wheel 93 secured to it,

page_text: which takes into a pinion h¹ on the feed roller; by changing the relative
diameters of. these wheels the length of feed may be varied. The nipper
bar d is attached to levers d' on each side of the machine; these levers have
friction bowls at the end of them, upon which cam plates d³; keyed on the
drum shaft, act to lift them during the time of. moving the feed rollers, and
then permit them to drop. When this has taken place, the pressure for pincing
being effected by weights or springs attached to the levers, that no portion
of fibre may be cut off without having been previously completely acted
upon, the material is drawn back a short length, say half an inch, so that
the cut does not take place quite close to the point where the material
is pinced.
This is done by mounting the feed rollers h and fulcrums d' of
the levers d² and a portion of the table i upon a rocking frame k, having its
fulcrum on the side frames of the machine at k; the rocking frame is kept
against a stop k by a spring k³, or by weights which may fixed on arms made
to branch from the fulcrum part of the rocking frame towards the drum c, and
the rocking frame may be forced back (drawing with it the material between
the rollers) immediately before the knife arrives at the cutting edge, remaining
back till the cutting is accomplished, by a cam piece k' fixed on each side
of the combing drum shaft b, acting on friction bowls fixed on arms from the
rocking frame. The fixed cutting edge e may be adjusted by set screws e', and
when required, the knife c² on the cylinder may be sharpened by hand, or by
circular or cylindrical emery roller or stone l, placed in bearings, by which it
can be adjusted to the edge of the knife. This circular roller or stone may be
revolved when required by a band ' between pulleys on its axis and on the
brush shaft f. An endless cloth or flexible creeper may be used to advance
the material to the feed rollers of this machine, similar to those used in
machines known as scutchers, used for the preparation of cotton to be spun, one
of the rollers around which it passes being placed as near the bottom feed
roller h as possible, allowing room for the back motion of the rocking frame k;
and it may have motion conveyed to it at the same time, and to give a feed of
the same extent as the feed rollers from the spur wheel g² attached to the star
plate g' by a series of toothed wheels duly proportioned. The drum c may be
covered in by a casing a². Motion is imparted from steam or other motive
power to the drum c and brush f by separate. belts on the fast and loose
pulleys &f. If the machine is placed on the platform, the fibre obtained
and matter separated may each drop into sacks or baskets, so as to be readily
removed; the fibre prepared by the last described machine will only require
drying and packing to be ready for transport. The operations to obtain a long
fibre for textile purposes, and for cordage, ropes, and other manufactures, are

page_text: those before enumerated to the fourth operation, from which the material is
taken to a machine combining a scraping, combing, and brushing action,
though it may be advisable to perform the scraping operation by a machine
having scrapers alone, and afterwards subject it to the machines about to be
described for combing, &c. Suitable jaws to pince and hold the end of a
length of the material to be operated upon are arranged on a bed or platform,
upon which they can traverse backwards and forwards, say, on slides or on a
railway, and at intervals between and across the railway or path of the jaws,
combs fixed on bars fitted in vertical slides or grooves are placed, as are also
scraping edges, and in the intervals between the combs or scraping edges the
table or platform is cut away, so that as the material is drawn over the holes
or openings in the table or platform, its under side may be acted upon by
brushes or combs, or scrapers fixed on revolving cylinders; above these
openings, and arranged also in vertical slides or grooves (in the same manner
as the combs and scrapers), are rollers or bars with rounded edges (which may
be covered or not, as may be found best, with a soft yielding but elastic
material), which are employed to keep the under side of the material in
passing over against the revolving brushes or scrapers. The jaws may be
moved backwards and forwards on the slides or railway by toothed racks and
pinions, or by ropes, chains, and pulleys. The operating parts arranged above
the pathway of the jaws are placed in vertical slides or grooves, that they may
rise in them to allow the jaws to pass under, being raised by an inclined path
attached to the rack a little in advance of the jaws, which raises each as it
approaches it sufficiently high to allow the jaws to pass under, and after the
jaws have had the materials placed in them, allows each to drop and act on the
material in succession; thus it will be seen that the jaws receive the material
at one end of their path, and draw it over and through the parts intended to
operate upon it, delivering it finished at the other end of their path. The
machine acting in the manner described is shewn in the Drawings by Fig. 6,
Sheet 3, which is a sectional elevation; and Fig. 7, Sheet 3, a plan view. a is
the framing of the machine; b is the table through which holes or openings
are formed to admit of the points of the teeth, brushes, and scrapers placed on
the drums c, c¹, c², c³, c', fixed in bearings under the table, to present themselves
a little above the surface of the table; and d are the jaws which draw the
5 material through the operating parts attached to a frame d¹, which slides on
the table between the sides e. This frame (in this arrangement) is moved by
endless ropes or chains d² attached to the frame or carriage d¹, at each side,
which pass round grooved pulleys on studs secured to the side frame at d³ and
pulleys on a shaft f, which gives motion to the endless rope or chain d², so as

page_text: to move the jaw frame backwards and forward on the table. 9 are scraping
edges placed on levers (9¹), having their fulcrums on shafts g². These levers are
free upon their fulcrums to a sufficient extent to accommodate themselves to
the varying thicknesses of the material operated upon, but when required out
of the way they may be all lifted at once, by turning the handles g³ on each
shaft, as they are each moved by pins fixed in the shafts taking into slots
formed in the bosses of the levers g', to admit of the play, for the accommoda-
tion referred to above. h are rollers, which have their ends free in vertical
slots formed in the sides e. The scraping edges and rollers last referred to
rise up out of the way to admit the jaws to pass clear under them, being lifted
up by inclines d formed on each side of the jaw frame; k is the first motion
shaft, and ' are fast and loose pulleys, to which motion is conveyed by a belt
from the motive power employed; k, a fly wheel, to obtain momentuni. On
the other end of the shaft a series of grooved pulleys are keyed, which give
motion to pulleys corresponding to those keyed on the drum or roller shafts
c, c, c², c³, c, and thus impart motion to them. Motion is conveyed to the
shaft for traversing the jaws backwards and forwards from the first motion
shaft by grooved pulleys, and an open endless rope on one side and a
-crossed one on the other side; on both sides, the pulleys on the shaft f,
revolve loose on the shaft, giving motion to revolve the shaft one way or
the other, when the clutch box arrangement with which each is con-
nected is brought into geer, which is done in the usual manner by clutch
forks and 16 fixed on brackets to the framing, which are connected
together by a rod 12, so that when one is in, the other will be out of geer,
or so that both are out of geer when the jaws are not required to move.
The connecting rod l forms the means by which the movement of the jaws
can be stopped or started at one end of the machine, and that this may be
accomplished at the other end of the machine as well, an arm 1x is branched
from the fulcrum of one of the clutch forks l', and to the end of this a rod is
connected, which passes along the side of the machine to be connected with
another ', having its fulcrum mounted on a bracket secured to the side frames.
The jaws are also made to stop themselves at each end of the table by moving
the clutch boxes out of geer, which is done by the jaw frame coming against
the end of an arm attached to the fulcrum of the lever l' in one case, and
against the end of an arm from the fulcrum of the clutch fork in the other
case. The jaws are made to pince the material by the force of screws d', which
may be most readily turned by a box screw-key. Springs may be placed
between the jaw pieces, so that they may open to be ready to receive the
material when the screws are loosed. m is a friction roller, over which the

page_text: material passes into the machine, the top roller m' keeping it down.. Instead
of the machine last described, a modification of that machine may be employed,
the nature of which was first herein described, for treating, short lengths of
material by a cylinder carrying combs, and then cutting off the fibres thus freed
from mucilage; namely, the whole circumference of a cylinder or part. of it-
may be covered with rows of combs or heckle teeth, commencing coarse and
succeeding each other in the direction of revolution in finer. pitches.. The
material
may be held in jaws or rollers, and advanced towards the combing
cylinder intermittently (the end being acted upon first), each movement. taking
place when the coarsest pitched combs or heckles begin to operate, by which
means each succeeding new portion of material will first be operated upon by
coarse, and then by succeeding finer pitches of combs. To limit the surface or
number of rows of comb teeth or heckles, which shall act upon the material
at the same time, bars are fixed. between each row of teeth.. These bars may
work in excentric grooves, or be acted upon by an eccentric path, which will
keep the bars below the points of the teeth, when teeth are required to act on
the material, and force them above (and by this means force the, material from
between the teeth) when they are not required to act on the fibre. The bars
will also act to force the matter extracted from between the teeth of the combs,
and if, in addition, a circular revolving brush is employed, this will be accom-
plished effectually. If either jaws or rollers are employed to hold the material,
they may be made to traverse from and towards the combing cylinder, so that.
any loose matter is left between the fibres, it may be forced or brushed by the
teeth out of the ends of the fibres, by drawing the fibres back through the teeth
of the cylinder. The cylinder of the machine last referred to may have fixed
upon it either combs, or combs and scrapers, or all scrapers, or alternately
combs, scrapers, and brushes; and to force the material on the teeth, or to give
pressure for the action of the scrapers or brushes, a circular frame or cylinder
may be employed, geering with the drum, and carrying rollers free on their
axes and at equal pitches with the combs, scrapers, or brushes; the rollers
taking between the combs or scrapers, that is, geering with them in the manner
of tooth wheels; or two duplicate cylinders may be employed (covered with
combs and scrapers and rollers) to work geering into each other, the material
passing between them. The machine acting in the manner last described (with
duplicate cylinders) is represented by Figs. 8, 9, and 10, Sheet 4, which are
respectively a sectional elevation, front sectional view, and side elevation, and
by their assistance we shall be able clearly to explain the modifications referred
to immediately before it. a, framing of machine; b & c, shafts, carrying drums
6, c.. These drums, in the modification shewn in the. Drawings, are each
if

page_text: mounted alternately with combs and bars d, to force the material on the teeth
a's it passes between them. In place of these bars small rollers may be placed,
having their axes in bearings fixed on the drunis. It will be seen that a bar e
embraces the stock, in which the comb teeth (f) are fixed; sliding upon it
from and towards the points, the ends of the bar taking into an eccentric
groove e', in or attached to the side frames a. It is by this groove that they
are propelled inwards and outwards. When scraping edges are used in place
of combs f, the bars e, here referred to, will answer the same purpose of forcing
the matter removed from off the edges. It will be observed, that the two
drums b', c', are geered together by equal spur wheels 62, 63, being the fast and
loose pullies on the axis of one of the drums, on which the belt is placed to
give motion to the machine. The material x to be operated upon is placed
in jaws or rollers fixed on a frame g, made to slide up and down vertically.
The rollers g', here referred to, arc fluted and geered together by wheels at g²,
so that they may be simultaneously revolved by a handle g³. By this means
the ends of the material are drawn between them and firmly pinced, and they
are prevented from turning back by a pawl 9 and ratchet wheel 95, which is
keyed on the end of one of the rollers. The jaw. frame g is moved up and
down by ropes or chains h passing round pullies h' keyed on a shaft h². This
shaft is revolved by endless belts or ropes h³, taking round grooved pulleys h+,
on this shaft, and round grooved pulleys on the end of each drum shaft; but
these pulleys revolve loose on the shafts, and therefore do not receive motion
till brought in geer with the clutch box arrangement i, when they revolve with
the drum shafts and give motion to the shaft h². A double clutch fork ² is
employed, having its fulcrum 3 in bearings secured to the framing between the
two shafts, so that when one clutch box is out of geer, the other will be in, or
both may be out. This is done by the lever handle i, from the clutch fork
which passes over the corrugated holder ³, screwed to the frame, having three
hollows, being in the middle hollow when the jaws are not required to move,
and those on each side for the up and down motion, as it may be arranged.
One of the drums may be mounted entirely with combs or scraping edges and
the other with bars or rollers, as before referred to, in place of bars; the rollers
being arranged to the same pitch as the scrapers or combs, and taking between
them. When one of the drums is mounted entirely with combs, beginning
coarse and diminishing in pitch, and the other with rollers, the material may
be advanced intermittently, the motion taking place when the coarse combs
begin to operate by an arrangement of wheel work, similar to that described
for feeding, in Figs. 3, 4, and 5. It will be observed, that in the machine
shewn by Figs. 8, 9, and 10, the material (a) enters vertically. The machine

page_text: may be placed in an horizontal position, and the material may be fed by an
endless cloth and feed rollers fixed as near the cylinders as possible, which
rollers and endless cloth may have a forward and reverse revolving motion, to
feed the material in and draw it back when operated upon. It may be found
most advantageous to treat the material first by machines provided only with
scraping edges, and then by machines with combs only. In obtaining fibre from
the penguin, the leaves will only require to be passed through the calender (or
fourth operation), and then be subjected, to obtain long fibre, to the operations
of the machines, hereinbefore described; or for short fibres, to the machines
combing lengths of the fibre, and then cutting them off. The matter removed
by the combing, scraping, and brushing operation may be subjected to the fifth
and subsequent operations, in treating the core of the plantain, to obtain material
for manufacturing into paper. The description we have given of our processes
and operations in reference to the plantain and penguin, will enable the operator
to apply our Invention to any other of the plants to which it is applicable, as
herein-before stated..
And having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our
said improvements, and in what manner the same are to be performed, we
declare that we claim, as constituting our Invention, the processes and operations
herein-before described, and the application of such machines and apparatus as
are also herein-before described, for obtaining and preparing the fibres of such
vegetable substances as aforesaid for manufacturing purposes, so long as the
peculiar features of the processes and mode of action of the machinery and
apparatus are retained.
In witness whereof, we, the said Benjamin Fothergill and William.
Weild, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-first day
of September, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-four.
BENJAMIN FOTHERGILL. (L.S.)
WILLIAM WEILD.
(L.S.)