A New or Improved Machine for Dressing Silk, Silk Waste, and other Fibre.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Nov., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 27th Aug., 1890-Accepted, 27th Sept., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Machine for Dressing Silk, Silk Waste, and
other Fibre.
I, GEORGE FREDerick Priestley, of Hope Street, Halifax, in the County of York,
Carl Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows
Hitherto the dressing of silk has been performed by manual labour, but it is my
intention to perform the operation of dressing and opening silk by mechanical or self-
acting means.
For the purpose of carrying out my invention, 1 employ suitable framework, in
which are mounted cross shafts carrying toothed wheels, carrying an endless chain
composed of lags made of wood or other suitable material. The lags are connected
together by hinges composed of leather, metal, or other suitable material. The endless
chain is made sufficiently long so that between the two toothed wheels the upper
surface of the said endless chain is dished or forms a concave surface. The lags
forming the endless chain are laid parallel to each other, and their sides are of such a
shape that when the chain is passing over the toothed wheels an open space is left
between the parallel sides of each lag, into which spaces the tufts of silk are inserted,
but when the lags arrive at the part where the chain becomes concave,
the space
between the lags closes, whereby the ends of the tufts of fibre are nipped or held fast,
allowing the projecting tuft or fringe of fibre to be dressed or lashed out by teeth or
combs attached to a revolving cylinder, and when the lags have carried the tufts of
fibre to the second toothed wheel, the intervening spaces between the wood lags open
out again when the tufts of fibre are removed, after which the dressed fringe of fibre
may be inserted between the lags to have the undressed fringe operated upon in like
manner to that already described. The concave part of the endless travelling chain
forms a segment of a circle in which the dressing cylinder with combs attached is
made to revolve, but the said cylinder is arranged not to be concentric with the circle
of the endless chain, but eccentric therewith, so that the teeth on the cylinder only
slightly enter the fabric at the commencement, but as the eccentrically placed cylinder
revolves the teeth gradually penetrate further into the fibre until they arrive at the
root or as near as it is thought desirable. The axle of the revolving cylinder is made
adjustable so that its eccentric position can be regulated as required. In order to
ensure that the lags will close to nip the fibre, and also to ensure that the concave part
of the endless chain shall form a true and correct segment of a circle, I employ a
segment or a plate forming part of a circle, and on the end of each wood lag I place
a bowl or small rolier arranged to pass underneath the segment, which closes the lags
and forms them into a true and correct part of a circle. Worms and wheels are
employed, or other form of mechanism, to give the necessary rotary motions to the
endless chain, and the dressing cylinder may be driven by bevel or other form of
wheels. A second or a third revolving cylinder may be also employed in conjunction
with that already described.
The cards or teeth on the periphery of the dressing cylinder are attached thereto
in strips running lengthwise, leaving an intervening space between each strip, and as
the teeth or cards must occasionally be cleaned, I arrange that each lath to which the
cards are attached shall be hinged, and at a given part of a revolution of the said
cylinder such hinged laths shall be made to open inwardly and come into contact with
a fixed or moveable comb or brush for the purpose of cleaning the said card teeth,
and this goes on whilst the machine is at work.
Dated this 26th day of November 1889.
TASKER & CROSSLEY,
Halifax, Agents,

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Machine for Dressing Silk, Silk Waste, and
other Fibre.
I, GEORGE FREDERICK PRIESTLEY, of Hope Street, Halifax, in the County of York,
Card Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
Hitherto the dressing of silk has been performed by manual labour, but it is my
intention to, perform the operation of dressing and opening silk by mechanical or self-
acting means.
For the purpose of carrying out my invention, I employ suitable framework in
which are mounted cross shafts carrying toothed wheels, and an endless chain composed
of wood lags. The lags are connected together by hinges composed of leather, metal,
or other suitable material. The endless chain is made sufficiently long so that between
the two toothed wheels the upper surface of the said endless chain is dished or forms
a concave surface. The lags forming the endless chain are laid parallel to each other,
and their sides are of such a shape that when the chain is passing over the toothed
wheels an open space is left between the parallel sides of each lag, into which spaces
the tufts of silk are inserted, but where the lags arrive at the part where the chain
becomes concave, the space between the lags closes, whereby the ends of the tufts of
fibre are nipped or held fast, allowing the projecting tuft or fringe of fibre to be
dressed or lashed out by teeth or combs attached to a revolving cylinder, and when the
lags have carried the tufts of fibre to the second toothed wheel, the intervening spaces
between the wood lags open out again when the tufts of fibre are removed, after
which the dressed fringe of fibre may be inserted between the lags to have the
undressed fringe operated upon in like manner to that already described. The
concave part of the endless travelling chain forms a segment of a circle in which
the dressing cylinder with combs attached is made to revolve, but the said cylinder
is arranged not to be concentric with the circle of the endless chain, but eccentric
therewith, so that the teeth on the cylinder only slightly enter the fibre at the
commencement, but as the eccentrically placed cylinder revolves the teeth gradually
penetrate further into the fibre until they arrive at the root or as near as it is
thought desirable. The axle of the revolving cylinder is made adjustable so that
its eccentric position can be regulated as required. In order to ensure that the
lags will close to nip the fibre, and also to ensure that the concave part of the
endless chain shall form a true and correct segment of a circle, I employ a
segment or a plate forming part of a circle, and on the end of each wood lag I
place a bowl or small roller arranged to pass underneath the segment, which closes
the lags and forms them into a true and correct part of a circle. Worms and
wheels are employed, or other form of mechanism, to give the necessary rotary
motions to the endless chain, and the dressing cylinder may be driven by bevel
or other form of wheels. A second or a third revolving cylinder may be also
employed in conjunction with that already described.
The cards or teeth on the periphery of the dressing cylinder are attached thereto
in strips running lengthwise, leaving an intervening space between each strip, and
as the teeth or cards must occasionally be cleaned, I arrange that each lath to
which the cards are attached shall be hinged, and at a given part of a revolution
of the said cylinder such hinged laths shall be made to open inwardly and come
into contact with a fixed or moveable comb or brush for the purpose of cleaning
the said card teeth, and this goes on whilst the machine is at work.
In order that my invention may be better understood, I will now make reference to
the accompanying sheets of drawings illustrative thereof, wherein Fig. 1 is front
elevation, partly in section, of my improved machine for dressing or combing silk and
other fibre; Fig. 2 is plan view thereof; Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are enlarged sectional
details of some of the parts.

page_text: No. 5 represents the framework of the machine, bolted together by cross rails in any
well-known manner. 6 represents three toothed wheels made to revolve by worm and
wheel driven from horizontal shaft 8 deriving its motion from spur gearing 9 and
driving pulleys 10. These toothed wheels 6 carry and drive an endless wooden chain 11
comprising a series of crossbars or lags connected together by short pieces of
leather 12, or other suitable hinges (see enlarged plan Fig. 7). The end of each lag
comprising the endless chain carries a bowl or runner 13 employed for the purpose of
rolling underneath a concentric flange 14 so as to ensure the endless chain forming a
true semicircular or concave surface (as shewn in Fig. 1,) which may be tightened or
slackened by vertical screws and hand wheel 15. The dressing cylinders are shewn
at 16, and are supported in suitable bearings on a shaft 18 placed crosswise of the
machine, such shaft being supported in pedestals which are adjustable so as to cause
the said cylinder to be eccentric with the concave surface of the endless chain, to
allow the teeth on the said cylinder to gradually enter and penetrate the projecting
tufts of fibre presented to them. The endless chain is made to travel slowly from
left to right of the machine, and when an attendant, standing at the feeding end of
the machine A, inserts a book a, having a projecting tuft therein, between the spaces
of the lags, such book is held secure as soon as the lags commence to form a concave
surface, whereby the tuft is in a fit condition to be lashed or combed by the revolving
cylinder, which moves at a quicker surface speed than the endless chain, which on
arriving at point B, the tufts of fibre will necessarily be projecting or pointing upwards
or in the direction of the motion of the chain, that is to say, lying close to the surface
of the lags, but by a blast of air the tufts are blown over, so that the combs on the
second dressing cylinder can dress the back or other side of the tuft, and when the
tufts of fibre arrive at point C, the combing or dressing thereof may be continued by
corresponding endless chains and dressing cylinders, but finally they are allowed to
fall by gravitation onto inclined planes, described fully in a prior application for
Patent made by me, No. 17664, bearing date the 6th day of November 1889.
The cylinders 16 are composed of two armed rims or discs, joined together by wood
lags 17, forming thereby a cylinder or drum. The laths are hinged alternately or
otherwise so as to form "shutters," and they carry porcupine or other form of combs,
such said shutters being made to open inwardly to allow the combs thereon to be
dressed, and also for the purpose of having the fibre stripped therefrom which accumu-
lates or gathers in the act of dressing or combing the tufts in the books a, as already
explained. Within the cylinders, and resting on the shaft 18, but not revolving with
it, is a metal framework 19 having on the underside thereof projecting arms 20
attached to a segment 21 carrying a weight 22 employed for the purpose of preventing
the frame turning round with the shaft. The upper portion of the framework 19
carries a fixed jaw 23 (see enlarged end view Fig. 3 and front view Fig. 4), and
opposite the said fixed jaw is a moveable jaw 24 supported by a horizontal shaft 25 on
which it is capable of sliding when released by a compressed spiral spring 26. The
function or object of these jaws is to strip the combs of the fibre with which they are
filled, and which occasionally requires to be cleaned off. When the jaws are not in
use they are kept open as shewn at Fig. 3 by a hinged catch 27 working on a
fulcrum 28 operated as hereinafter explained.
For opening and closing the shutters 17 for the purpose of allowing the fibre to be
removed from the teeth carried by the said shutters, I employ a partially self acting
mechanism for that purpose, which is operated in the following manner :-On one
side of the dressing cylinders are a number of sliding plates 29, one representing each
shutter, and on each sliding plate is a stud 30 connected by cord 31 to the underside
of each shutter, shewn clearly in Figs. 3 and 4. The shutters are opened by the
sliding plate 29, being drawn down towards the axle of the dressing cylinder, and this
is effected by means of a vertical casting 32, (see Fig. 1) which is made to catch hold
of the stud 30 on the sliding plate, and on the attendant operating a hand wheel bor
other device on the horizontal shaft 33 the gear wheels 34 thereon operate the pinion 35,
in gear with a rack 36, on the face of the casting 2, the rotary motion of which
pinion 35 draws the casting 32 downwards, whereby through the intervention of the

page_text: cord 1 the shutter is opened. Other mechanical devices, however, may be employed
for effecting the same purpose. On the shutter being opened it passes over the jaws 23
and 24 as shewn in Fig. 3, which are standing in an open position with the fibre in
the teeth of the shutter hanging between the said jaws, which are, however, instantly
closed by the stud or finger 37 at the back of the shutter striking the bell crank form
of lever 38 in such a manner as to remove the catch 27 from the moveable jaw 24
which is immediately forced against the fixed jaw by the compressed spiral spring 26
whereby the fibre is nipped or seized hold of so that as the shutter returns to its
position again the fibre is left in the jaws, but on the continued rotary motion of the
dressing cylinder a fixed stud 39 (shewn clearly in Figs. 3 and 4) comes into contact
with the hinged lever 40 (shewn clearly in dotted lines Fig. 3) so as to strike the
upper end of such lever, causing the lower end thereof to force the moveable jaw 24
back as shewn in full line, permitting the catch 27 to drop so as to hold the jaw open;
simultaneously with such movement the fibre would drop from the jaws onto an end-
less travelling belt 41 (see Fig. 3) from whence it passes to a can or other receptacle
placed to receive it, which is afterwards removed from the inside of the dressing
cylinder; one of the arms of the cylinder being left out in the casting for that
purpose. The open shutter 17 is closed as the dressing cylinder revolves, by the said
shutter coming into contact with the bowl or pulley 42 which is supported in yielding
bearings, each edge of the said shutter being provided with a spring latch 43
which is made by pressure to enter into the latch 44 after the manner of a door
latch.
Instead of employing the two jaws 23 and 24 the moveable jaw may be dispensed
with and a row of teeth attached to the upper edge of the fixed jaw 23 so that as the
shutter passes over the top of the teeth, the fibre will be seized hold of by the said
teeth and retained until the lever 40 pushes it off, afterwards dropping on to the end-
less apron as already described.
Having now particularly described my invention and shewn by drawings how the
same may be performed or carried into practical effect, I would have it understood
that I do not limit myself to the exact details herein shewn and described, as many of
the parts may be modified without departing from the main features of my invention,
in which I claim :-
Firstly. In machinery for carding or dressing silk and other fibre, the use of an
endless wooden or metal chain for nipping and carrying books containing tufts of fibre
as described and illustrated.
Secondly. In machinery for carding or dressing silk and other fibre, the use of an
endless wooden or metal chain for nipping and carrying books containing tufts of fibre,
in combination with revolving dressing cylinders, as described and illustrated.
Thirdly. In machinery for dressing silk and other fibre, the use of revolving
dressing cylinders provided with shutters made to open inwardly to permit the combs
to bo stripped substantially as described and shewn in the drawings.
Fourthly. In machinery for dressing silk and other fibre, the use of revolving
dressing cylinders provided with shutters made to open inwards to strip the cards of
their fibre, in combination with mechanism for opening the shutters.
Fifthly. In machinery for carding or dressing silk and other fibre, the use of an
endless travelling wooden or metal chain for nipping and carrying books containing
tufts of fibre in combination with revolving dressing cylinders placed eccentric to the
concave surface of the endless chain.
Sixthly. The general combination and arrangement of machinery for dressing
and carding silk and other fibre in manner substantially as herein described and
shewn.
Dated this 26th day of August 1890
TASKER & CROSSLEY,
Halifax, Agents.