IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CLEANING AND PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES, ALSO FOR SELECTING THE LONG FROM THE SHORT FIBRES, AND FOR OPENING TWISTED YARNS AND WOVEN FABRICS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francis Alton Calvert, of the City of Manchester,
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
CLEANING AND PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES, ALSO FOR
SELECTING THE LONG FROM THE SHORT FIBRES, AND FOR OPENING TWISTED
YARNS AND WOVEN FABRICS."
Sealed the 25th September 1868, and dated the 4th April 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francis Alton. Calvert
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,.
on the 4th April 1868.
I, FRANCIS ALTON CALVERT, of the City of Manchester, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR CLEANING AND PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES,:
ALSO FOR SELECTING THE LONG FROM THE SHORT FIBRES, AND FOR OPENING TWISTED
YARNS AND WOVEN FABRICS," to be as follows:-
My improvements consist, first, in the construction of an apparatus
for feeding the fine comb or burr cylinder and dispensing with the
usual creeper and feeding rollers; this apparatus consists of a hopper
with a grate in connection with the fine comb or burr. cylinder.

page_text: Secondly, in the construction of one or more fixed comb bars combined
with an oscillating comb placed on its surface, which alternately lifts.
the burrs, seeds, and other foreign matters from the surface of the fine
comb cylinder and disengages them from the fibres. Thirdly, in
substituting what I term revolving combs in lieu of the ordinary fluted
or channelled revolving guard and placing them below and in com-
bination with the fine comb or burr cylinder, by which arrangement
the dirt and refuse drops on to the vibrating grate below. Fourthly, in
stripping the fibres from the surface of the fine comb cylinder by a
revolving brush or other equivalent and carrying them forward to a
suitably constructed doffer, at this doffer the long fibres are separated
from the short fibres by a pair of rollers. And, fifthly, in an oscillating
inclined grate placed under the fine comb cylinder through which the
loosened dirt and other foreign matters drop, and any remaining fibres
are sifted forward to the lower end of the grate to be again deposited in
the feeder.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Francis Alton Calvert in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 3rd October 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANCIS
ALTON CALVERT, of the City of Manchester, Engineer, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most. Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Francis Alton Calvert, Her special license
that I, the said Francis Alton Calvert, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Francis Alton Calvert, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR CLEANING AND PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES,
ALSO FOR SELECTING THE LONG FROM THE SHORT FIBRES, AND FOR OPENING

page_text: TWISTED YARNS AND WOVEN FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Francis Alton Calvert, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument 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 per-
formed, 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 Francis Alton Calvert, 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) :-
The nature of my Invention consists, first, in an improved apparatus
for feeding the fine comb or burr cylinder of machines for cleaning and
preparing cotton and other fibrous substances; secondly, in an improved
mode of lifting and stripping the comb bars; thirdly, in an improved
mode of applying revolving combs to the fine comb or burr cylinder;
and, fourthly, in the application of a grate having an intermittent
oscillating motion to burring machines and other machines for preparing
and cleaning fibrous substances.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood I will
proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
Figure 1 is an elevation, and Figure 2 a vertical section of my improved
machinery. In these views a is the fine comb or burr cylinder the
circumference of which is covered with concentric comb plates. This
cylinder is supplied with the fibrous substances to be cleansed by the
improved feeding apparatus consisting of the hopper 6 in which is an
agitator c having four or other convenient number of wings or blades.
Below the agitator c is placed the roller with serrated ribs d, and between
the two is the comb or grate e, the edge of which is made with coarse
teeth. Beneath the roller d is the shell d', which vibrates on the
fulcrum d and is provided with a weighted arm d³ to hold the edge of
the shell against the fibres as they are carried forward by the roller ď,
which presents them to the combs or teeth of the cylinder by which
they are stripped off. Above the cylinder a is placed a series of bars
and combs f similar to those described in the Specification of Letters
Patent granted to me on the Twenty-fourth day of March One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-six, number 869. These bars and combs arc

page_text: divided into two sets marked 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13; and 2, 4, 6, 8, 10,
12, and 14, which are lifted alternately by pins in the face of the
wheel d on the axle of the roller d, which pins act on the inclines
projecting from the segments g and g', from which project other inclines
acting on the ends of the comb bars f. These comb bars are or may be
stripped by a fixed bar f¹ fitting in a recess in the slot for the comb
bars. The burrs or motes escaping from the last comb bar f drop on
to or are partly thrown off by the ordinary fluted or channelled revolving
guard h, but the remaining impurities are taken forward to and acted
upon by the revolving combs i, j, and k, which are provided with fine
teeth and hold the burrs or motes while the fibres are stripped off and
carried forward by the main cylinder a. A second fluted or channelled
guard is placed beyond the the last revolving comb to strike off the
projecting motes or burrs, and then the fibres are stripped from the
cylinder a by the brush, which deposits them on to the doffer 1, the
circumference of which is covered by preference with toothed wire; this
doffer carries the fibres forward to the rollers o and p, the latter of which
gives motion to the endless belt p¹ supporting the roller p which hangs
in levers p³. The long fibres are carried upwards from the doffer by
the belt and drawn forward by the rollers o and p and disposed of in
any of the well known methods, while the short fibres remaining in the
teeth of the doffer are stripped out by the brush q and deposited on to
the apron from which they are delivered into a suitable receptacle.
In short wools the doffer n and the parts acting in combination there-
with are dispensed with. Beneath the revolving combs i, j, and kis
the grates to which an intermittent oscillating motion is given by a
crank or other equivalent; the loosened dirt and other foreign matters
drop through this grate, but the fibres and the impurities to which
they may adhere are sifted forward by the grate and drop over the
lower edge, from whence they are again deposited in the hopper. Or,
in some cases, when the grate is not much below the revolving combs,
the fibres are caught by them and carried up to the main cylinder by
which they are again submitted to the process of cleaning. In burring
short wools it is desirable to reverse the position of the revolving
combs i, j, and k, placing the largest comb i in the place of A.
The mode of communicating motion to the various parts of the
machine is shewn clearly in Figure 1, the main cylinder a being driven by
a strap direct from the counter shaft or mill gearing. A spur wheel on

page_text: the axle of the main cylinder drives the fluted or channelled guard and
the brush m, while a pinion on the axle of the main cylinder drives the
wheel on the revolving comb i; on this axle is a pinion driving the
combs and and the fluted or channelled guard h. The roller with
ribs d of the feeding apparatus is driven by a strap from the revolving
combi, and the agitator is driven by a carrier pinion from the wheel d'
on the axle of the roller d.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the
manner of performing the same, I declare that I claim,-
First. The improved apparatus for feeding the fine comb or burr
cylinder of machines for cleaning and preparing cotton and other fibrous
substances, as described and shown.
Secondly. Lifting the comb bars alternately in sets and the application
of the fixed stripping bars f, as shewn and described.
Thirdly. The application of the revolving combs marked i, j, and k,
or any equivalent agents producing similar results when placed beneath
the fine comb or burr cylinder, in combination with one, two, or more
revolving channelled guards, as shewn and described.
Fourthly. The application of a grate having an intermittent oscillating
motion, as shewn and described, whether the said grate be applied to
burring machines or to any other machines for cleaning and preparing
fibrous substances.
And, lastly. The doffer n and parts acting in combination therewith
when applied to the machine for cleaning and preparing wool and other
long fibrous substances, as shewn and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francis Alton Calvert, have hereto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of September, One
thousand cight hundred and sixty-eight.