IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMBING FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Tongue, of Leeds, in the County of
York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMBING
FIBROUS MATERIALS.”
Sealed the 2nd April 1874, and dated the 11th October 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Tongue at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th October 1873.
I, WILLIAM TONGUE, of Leeds, in the County of York, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR COMBING FIBROUS MATERIALS," to be as follows :—
Letters Patent have been granted to me bearing date the 27th of
August, 1870, No. 2356, for improvements in machinery for combing
fibrous materials, and my present Invention consists in certain improve-
ments in the said machinery, such improvements being applicable to
other machines for combing fibrous materials. In the said combing
machines a pair of drawing rollers and a drawing leather are caused to
draw a layer of fibrous material from a travelling comb, such layer being

page_text: afterwards wound around a rod and so formed into a "sliver." The
operation of winding the sliver around a rod causes it to turn upon its
axis, and when it is delivered from the machine by ordinary delivering
rollers the sliver is twisted, the twist having to be afterwards removed
from the sliver by a revolving can, or otherwise.
Now according to my Invention I mount the delivering rollers on a
revolving plate which turns with the sliver, thus preventing the sliver
from becoming twisted. The sliver passes to the rollers through a
revolving funnel or "tweedler," and the rollers deliver the sliver into a
"sliver can
" which turns with the revolving plate. I actuate the
apparatus carrying the revolving can and rollers by a friction plate, so
that the can may be turned to a convenient position for removing or
replacing it. The can is held in its place by hinged straps and catch

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said William Tongue in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 2nd April 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
TONGUE, of Leeds, in the County of York, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria by Her
Letters Patent bearing date the Eleventh day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Tongue, Her special license that
I, the said William Tongue, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said William Tongue, my executors, admini-
strators, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
COMBING FIBROUS MATERIALS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said William Tongue, my exccutors 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 Inven-
tion, 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 William Tongue, 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, that is to say :-
Letters Patent have been granted to me bearing date the 27th of
August, 1870, No. 2356, for improvements in machinery for combing
fibrous materials, and my present Invention consists in certain improve-
ments in the said machinery, such improvements being applicable to
In the said combing
other machines for combing fibrous materials.
machines a pair of drawing rollers and a drawing leather are caused to
draw a layer of fibrous material from a travelling comb, such layer being.

page_text: .
afterwards wound around a rod and so formed into a "sliver." The
operation of winding the sliver around a rod causes it to turn upon its
axis, and when it is delivered from the machine by ordinary delivering
rollers the sliver is twisted, the twist having to be afterwards removed
from the sliver by a revolving can or otherwise.
* Now according to my. Invention I mount the delivering rollers on a
revolving plate which turns with the sliver, thus preventing the sliver
from becoming twisted. The sliver passes to the rollers through a
revolving funnel or "tweedler," and the rollers deliver the sliver into a
"sliver can " which turns with the revolving plate. I actuate the
apparatus carrying the revolving can and rollers by a friction plate so
that the can may be turned to a convenient position for removing or
replacing it. The can is held in its place by hinged straps and catch
springs.
I also form the rod around which the slivor is wound flat with rounded 1
edges. With this form of rod the drawing leather is not displaced.
laterally, and angular guide rollers can be dispensed with.
I also employ a polished plate, under which the layer of fibrous
material is carried to the rod. This plate prevents the derangement of
the layer of fibrous material.
In the combing machinery, for which Letters Patent have been
granted to me as aforesaid, the fibre is cleaned by a heckle sheet, the
refuse being removed from such sheet by a circular brush. In practise
it is found that this circular brush is at times turned in the wrong
direction by the workpeople, and in this way is rapidly destroyed; in a
order to prevent this I provide the pulley or wheel which gives motion
to the circular brush and heckle sheet with a catch taking into a ratchet
wheel on the axis of the circular brush so that the apparatus can be
turned in the right direction, but upon reversing the motion the
apparatus will at once be brought to a stand..
Having now described the nature of my present improvements I will
proceed to describe the means I employ for carrying the same into.
practice, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Figure 1 shows a plan, Figure 2 a vertical section, and Figure 3
also a plan of the lower part of apparatus constructed according to my
present improvements.

page_text: Figures 1, 2, and 3, shew the apparatus applied to the machine for
which Letters Patent were granted to me as aforesaid, but only so.
much of the apparatus and the said machine are shown in the said
Figures as will enable me to explain the same. The fibrous material
after being drawn by fluted rollers from a circular comb is carried by
the drawing leather ³ to the rod n, around which it is wound by the
aid of the endless apron no, and the sliver of fibres is delivered with a
movement of rotation from the end of the rod n. A is a plate capable
of turning on the pivot A¹. The plate A rests on the friction plate A
which is caused to turn in the direction of the arrow by the train of
toothed wheels indicated by dotted circles at Figure 3. It will be
understood that the plate A is caused to revolve by contact with the
plate A³, and when the apparatus is at rest, the plate A with the can
and apparatus connected with it can be turned to a convenient position
for removing and replacing the can. The sliver can (not shown in the
Drawing) is placed upon the table A. and secured in its place by the
straps A³, A'; A³, A³, are rods which connect the plate A with the.
plate B, the sliver can being placed between the plates A and B ; B' is
a socket attached to the plate B, and this socket is supported by a
bearing B² (see Figures 4 and 6) secured to the rail B³.
Figures 4 and 5 show vertical sections, and Figures 6 and 7 shew
plan views of the plate B and apparatus connected therewith on an
enlarged scale. Within the bearing B and surrounding the socket B'
is the socket B', and within the socket B' is the tube or "tweedler" B³,
such "tweedler" being caused to revolve in the same direction as the
apparatus but at a higher speed, so as to condense the sliver in its
passage from the rod n to the rollers Bº. The plates A and B with the
can and the delivering rollers Bª rotate together, and are regulated to
make about the same number of turns in a given time as the turns
made by the sliver in travelling away from the end of the rod n. The
rollers B turn upon their axles in bearings mounted upon the plate B
as shewn, and the rollers Bº are caused to turn at a suitable speed to
take up the sliver as it passes from the end of the rod n and deliver it
through the mouth piece F into the can below.
In some cases where the material is heavy or inelastic, I support it in
its passage from the rod n to the mouth piece F by means of a
revolving tube. The speed of the rollers B is governed by the series of
wheels marked consecutively with the letters and figures O to 0.

page_text: The can is held in its place by hinged straps A'; and Figure 8 shows
a plan, and Figures 9 and 10 elevations of the fixed and hinged
straps A³, A*, on an enlarged scale. A' is a semicircular strap connect-
ing the rods A³, A³, and the strap A* hinges upon one of such rods A³,
and is held in its place by the catch spring A*. It will be seen that by
pressing upon such spring A* the catch will be released, when the
sliver can may be removed. G, G', (see Figure-4) arc covers to prevent
the sliver from becoming entangled with the gearing.
According to another part of Invention I form the rod n flat with
rounded edges, as shewn at the diagram, Figure 11 (Sheet 1), in place
of employing a round rod. With this form of rod the drawing leather /³
is not displaced laterally, and the angular guide rollers described in the
Specification of my said former Letters Patent can be dispensed with.
Figure 11 shews a section of the drawing leather ³, the guide plate z,
the endless apron n³, the rod n, and the supporting tablo D, taken at tho
line, Figure 1.
:
It will be seen that the drawing leather ³ travels along and carries
with it the layer. of fibrous material (which has been drawn from the
comb) under the stationary polished plate z, such plate acting to guide
and conduct the layer of fibrous material to the rod n without derange-
ment by contact with the apron n³ or otherwise. The further movement
of the leather k³ carries the layer of fibrous material under the rod n,
when it is taken by the apron n³ and carried back over the upper surface
of the rod n to the edge thereof. The drawing leather ³ then carrics
the layer of fibrous material again under the rod n, and so on, the
combined actions of the leather k³ and the apron n³ acting to coil the
layer of fibrous material around the rod n, and eventually deliver it from.
the end thereof. The leather ³ travels over and is supported by the
table D, and D¹ is a projection thereon by which the surface of the
leather ³ is brought in contact with the apron nº to ensure the action
thereof..
I would here remark that though I have shewn and described the
apparatus herein-before described in reference to Figures 1 to 11 as
applied to the machine for which the said former Letters Patent were
granted to me as aforesaid, such apparatus is applicable according to my
Invention to other machines for combing fibrous materials.

page_text: Another part of my Invention relates to the machine for which the
said former Letters Patent were granted to me. According to this part
of my Invention I provide the pulley or wheel which gives motion to
the circular brush and heckle sheet with a catch, such catch taking into
a ratchet wheel on the axis of the circular brush, so that the apparatus
can be turned in one direction only.
Figure 12 shews an elevation and Figure 13 a section of one end of
the axis of the circular brush mounted with apparatus according to
this part of my Invention. The driving pulley or wheel E is loose upon
the axis ; E¹ is a catch carried by the pulley E, and the catch E¹ takes
into and drives the ratchet wheel E³, such wheel E being secured upon
the axle h¹¹; E is a spring to hold the catch E¹ engaged with the ratchet
wheel E³. It will be understood that. if by any inadvertence the pulley E
is turned in the wrong direction the axle " with the heckle sheet will
be brought to a stand and no mischief will arise from the circular brush
acting against the points of the heckles as has occurred heretofore from
time to time.

page_text: herein-before described and 'as described in reference to Figures 12 and
13 of the Drawings.
. In witness whereof, I, the said William Tongue, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this First day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
W. TONGUE. (L.S.)