IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CLEANING, PREPARING, AND SPINNING COTTON AND FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Lord, of Todmorden, in the County of
York, Machine Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR CLEANING, PREPARING, AND SPINNING COTTON AND
FIBROUS SUBSTANCES."
OTHER
Scaled the 8th October 1870, and dated the 13th April 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Lord at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 13th April 1870.
I, EDWARD LORD, of Todmorden, in the County of York, Machine
Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CLEANING, PREPARING, AND SPINNING COTTON AND OTHER
FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:—
My Invention is applicable to blowers and other machines of the like
nature in which a fleece of fibres laid or spread on a feeding apron is
supplied to the machine, and it may be applied to the feeding apparatus
described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to me on the
28th December 1861, No. 3219, or to any other analogous feeding
aunaratus.

page_text: My present Invention consists in driving the feed roller of the
machines above referred by positive gearing instead of by a strap and
conc drums, as heretofore customary.
▲ convenient mode of performing my Invention is as follows:-Two
cranks, eccentrics, or hearts, are made to revolve at suitable speeds, and
these cranks, eccentrics, or hearts, are connected by rods to two levers,
which are united by side links to two other levers, the to-and-fro motion
of the rods imparts a vibrating motion to the four levers to which
catches are jointed, these catches act on the peripheries of two wheels
which gear into each other, consequently the to-and-fro motion of the
rods is converted into a rotary motion in the wheels, one of which is
keyed on the feed roller. The variation in the speed of the feed roller
is effected by levers and straps or other equivalents connected to a lever
corresponding to that marked p, in Figs. 5 and 6 of the Drawings forming
part of the Specification above referred to, or to any other equivalent
part of the feeding apparatus, and these straps or other equivalents are
attached to the studs by which the rods actuated by the cranks, eccentrics,
or hearts, are jointed to the vibrating levers. A similar result can be
obtained with two hearts acting on two levers and catches and on onc
wheel. By this means if the feed is too thin the studs are raised in the
slots of the vibrating levers to increase the action of the catches, and
consequently to increase the speed of the feed roller, and the reverse
action takes place if the feed is too thick.
The above mode of converting a to-and-fro motion into a perfect
uniform rotary motion may be applied to slubbing and roving frames
and to all other machines in which a definite varying speed is required,
thereby considerably simplifying the construction of the machines and
rendering their action positive, whereas by the present mode of driving
by belts and cones they are uncertain.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Edward Lord, Her special licence
that I, the said Edward Lord, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Edward Lord, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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, PREPARING, AND SPINNING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edward Lord,
my exccutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, 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 Edward Lord, 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 Invention is applicable to blowers and other machines of the like
nature, in which a fleece of fibres laid or spread on a feeding apron is
supplied to the machine, and it may be applied to the feeding apparatus
described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to me on the
Twenty-eighth December One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one,
Number 3249, or to any other analogous feeding apparatus.
My present Invention consists in driving the feed roller of the
machines above referred to by positive gearing instead of by a strap and
cone drums as heretofore customary.
My Invention may also be applied to machines for preparing and
spinning, in which a definite varying speed is required.

page_text: And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation I will proceed to describe the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked
thercon.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of part of a machine for cleaning cotton and 5
other other fibrous substances, called a blower, to which my improvements
are applied; Fig. 2 is an end view, and Fig. 3 a plan of the same.
a is the creeper or feeding apron, on which the fibres are spread by
hand or deposited from fleeces wound on laps in the usual manner;
bis the first feed roller, and x the first beater; b' is the second feed 1
roller, and the second beater; these parts and all the others requisite
to complete the machine, and which are not particularly referred to
hereafter, are made as usual. c is the feeding trough under the feed
roller 6, to the ends c' of the parts forming the feeding trough are
suspended the rods 7, the lower ends of which are wedge-shaped and act 1
on the rounded projections of the rods m; the last rod m has a slot for
the stud o of the link o', which is jointed to the stud o³, passing through
the vertical arm of the elbow lever p; these parts are made in the
manner described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to me
on the Twenty-eighth day of December One thousand eight hundred and 2
sixty-one, Number 3249; or instead of the rods m, the wedges on the
rods act on rollers placed between them, these rollers are contained
in a horizontal box and are free to act longitudinally in the said box.
My present improvements, which consist in driving the feed roller b
by positive gearing instead of by a movable strap and cone drums, may 2
be performed in the following manner :-To the axle of the feed roller b
is fixed the spur wheel 6, which drives the pinion & mounted on a stud
fixed to the framing of the machine; to the pinion d are fixed the two
hearts and d³, the major axes of which are placed at about right
angles to each other; the heart d'imparts a to-and-fro motion to the 3
side rod e¹, and the heart d³ gives a similar motion to the rod e³, both
the hearts acting on antifriction bowls connected to the rods to reduce
friction. The outer ends of the rods e¹ and e³ are connected respectively
to studs projecting from sliding blocks, which are free to move up and
down in slots in the lower arms of the levers fl and f, which vibrate a
on the stud f fixed to the frame of the machine; to the upper arms of
these levers are jointed the friction catches f³, which act upon and give

page_text: motion to the friction wheels g, which are cast with or connected to the
spur wheel g', as shewn best in Fig. 3; this wheel is loose upon the
stud f, and it gears into and drives the wheel & fixed on the axle of the
first feed roller b. The upper arms of the levers f¹and ƒ are con-
nected by the side links to the levers b', which vibrate on the axle of
the feed roller b, and these levers are provided with friction catches
which act friction wheels cast or fixed to the spur wheel. By this
arrangement the lateral to-and-fro motions of the side rods e¹ and e
impart a continuous uniform rotary motion to the first feed roller b, but
as this motion must vary according to the depth of the feed I vary the
position of the blocks in the levers f' and f² in the following manner:—
The end of the horizontal arm of the lever p is connected by the strap i
to the shorter arm of the segment lever j, which is mounted on an
adjustable stud in the bracket /; the longer arm of the lever j is forked,
as shewn in Fig. 3, and the straps a, connect the forked end of the
lever to the blocks sliding in the levers f¹ and f'; the straps i¹ pass
through slots in the stud f to maintain a uniform action on the ends of
the rods e and . By this means if the feed on the apron or creeper
be too thin the end of the lever p is depressed and the sliding blocks
and studs to which the side rods e¹ and e² are jointed are raised in the
slots of the vibrating levers f' and f to increase the throw of the
catches, and consequently to increase the speed of the feed roller b, and
the contrary action takes place when the feed is too thick.
I wish to remark here that the motion may be imparted to the roller b
by mounting the levers fl and ƒ on the axle of the roller and dis-
pensing with the levers and wheel g¹.
The above mode of converting a to-and-fro motion into a perfect
uniform rotary motion, may be applied to slubbing and roving frames,
and to all other machines for preparing and spinning, in which a definite
varying speed is required, thereby considerably simplifying the con-
struction of such machines, and rendering their action positive, whereas
by the present mode of driving by belts and cones they are uncertain.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention and described a con-
venient manner of applying the same to a blower, I would have it
understood that I do not limit myself to the details given, as they may
be varied to suit the particular machine for cleaning, preparing, and
spinning to which it may be applied, and I declare that I claim the

page_text: improved machinery described or any modification thereof for converting
a to-and-fro motion into a continuous uniform rotary motion for the
purposes described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Lord, have hereto set
my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of October One thousand
cight hundred and seventy.