CERTAIN IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Knowles, of Bolton-le-Moors, in the County
of Lancaster, Cotton Spinner, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS.
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS.
Sealed the 23rd November 1861, and dated the 18th June 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Knowles at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 13th
June 1861.
I, JOHN KNOWLES, of Bolton-le-Moors, in the County of Lancaster, Cotton
Spinner, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN.
IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS
MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
My Invention is applicable to the lap machines of blowers, scutchers, Derby
doublers, and other machines in which a lap is formed under pressure. It has
heretofore been customary in such machines to lap the fleece of fibrous mate-
rials on a roller, the axle of which is weighted, and which is turned round by
the friction of two rollers, between which the lap is formed. Now, my
Invention consists in applying one or more additional rollers above the lap,
which roller or rollers is or are weighted. The top roller or rollers may be
driven by gearing, or not driven, according to the peculiar construction of the
machine to which my Invention is applied.
Another part of my Invention consists in an improved mode of applying the

page_text: side plates or washers to the lap rollers; these washers have trunnions revolving
in side bars; the end of each trunnion acts against a handle screwed on the
bash, and by turning this handle the distance between the washers is increased
to liberate the lap. The object of my Invention is to increase the quantity of
fibrous material in the lap, to reduce the friction, to facilitate the operation of
removing the full lap and replacing an empty one, and to ensure more regu-
larity in the work produced.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Knowles in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th
December 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
KNOWLES, of Bolton-le-Moors, in the County of Lancaster, Cotton Spinner,
send greeting.
WHEREAS ITer most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Knowles, Her special licenco that I, the said John Knowles, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Knowles, 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Knowles, my execu-
tors 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 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 John Knowles, 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 fol-
lowing statement (that is to say) :-

page_text: My Invention is applicable to the lap machines of blowers, scutchers, Derby
doublers, and other machines in which a lap of fibrous materials is formed
under pressure. It has heretofore been customary in such machines to lap the
fleece of fibrous materials on a roller, the axle of which is weighted and turned
round by the friction of two rollers, between which the lap is formed. Now, my
Invention consists in applying one or more additional rollers above the lap.
which roller or rollers is or are weighted. The top roller or rollers may be
driven by gearing, or not driven, according to the peculiar construction of the
machine to which my Invention is applied.
Another part of my Invention consists in an improved mode of applying the
side plates or washers to the lap rollers; these washers have trunnions revolving
in side bars or levers; the end of each trunnion acts against a handle or tail
pin screwed in the bush of the side lever; by turning these handles or tail
pins the distance between the side plates or washers is regulated.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me, reference being
had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings and to the figures and letters
marked thereon.
Figure 1 is an elevation in section of a lap machine suitable for the machine
known as the Derby doubler, to which my improvements are applied; Figure 2.
is an elevation, Figure 3 is a plan, and Figure 4, a front view of the same.
a, b, c, d, are the calender rollers, and e, f, the lap rollers; these parts are
made in the usual manner; 9 is the wood roller, on to which the lap is formied;
this roller may now be made solid instead of having a hole through it, as
formerly; above the lap g is the additional roller h, the surface of which is
I made to revolve at the same speed as the surface of the lap rollers e and f, by
means of the wheel f' on the axle of the lap roller f, gearing into the inter-
mediate wheel i, which gears into the wheel h¹ fixed to the axle of the top
roller h. The intermediate wheel i revolves on a stud passing through tho
links and ², which are jointed respectively to the axles of the rollers f and h;
thereby transmitting the requisite rotary motion to the top roller h as it rises
with the increasing diameter of the lap g. The side plates or washers k,
between which the lap is formed, instead of being connected to a shaft, which
in the machines hitherto employed passes through the lap roller g, are sup-
ported on trunnions passing through the side bars or levers ; these levers
vibrate n the fulcrum stay bar A, passing through the side plates n, and their
outer ends are connected by a stay bar ; the object of the slots for the stay
bar is to enable the lap to rise vertically as it increases in diameter; the ends
of the trunnions of the side plates & are acted upon by the tail pins k³, which

page_text: are screwed into the bosses of the levers 7; the object of these tail pins is to
adjust the distance between the slide plates according to the length of the
rollers e, f, and h, and to diminish as much as possible the friction caused by
the lateral pressure on the side plates as the lap increases in diameter. The
requisite pressure is given to the lap by the weight hooks m, suspended to
the axle of the top roller h, which is guided in the grooves of the side
plates n; the weight is connected to the hooks m in the usual manner,
but less weight is required for producing the desired pressure on the lap
than in machines of the present construction. In order to keep the side
plates concentric with the lap g, the chain o is connected at one end to the
stud o', fixed to the side plate n, after passing under the bowl o', which is loose
on the boss of one of the levers 7, the other end of the chain o is secured to
the vertical guide rod m¹; this rod passes through holes in the frame side and
through a projection from one of the weight hooks m. By this contrivance
the lift of the side plates k is reduced to half of the lift of the top roller h, and
consequently the side plates and the lap remain concentric during the forma-
tion of the lap. The rod m¹ is provided with a spring catch m², the object of
which will be described hereafter.
the table
The mode of operation is as follows, and the Drawing represents the parts
in the positions they occupy when the lap is partly filled:-The slivers from
Pr shewn partly in Figure 1, pass as usual around the rollers b and c,
thence to the roller e and to the wood roller g, on to which they are lapped by
the friction of the rollers e, f, and h; and as the pressure is applied to the top
roller h instead of to the axle of the lap, the friction to be overcome is greatly
reduced, particularly at the commencement of a lap. I would also remark,
that as the lap is turned round by three points of contact instead of two, as
heretofore customary, it is coiled tighter, and consequently the slivers are laid
more regularly than by the machines now in use. As soon as the lap is full,
the attendant pushes back the spring catch m², to allow the guide rod m² to
drop; and as the side levers 7 are held up by the chain o, it is evident that the
dropping of the rod m' also permits the side levers and the side plates or
washers k to drop; the attendant then raises the top roller to liberate the
lap, which can then be removed with facility; an empty roller is then
dropped into the space between the lap rollers e and f, and the top roller h is
lowered until it bears on the empty roller g; at this time the projection on the
weight hook m, passes over the spring catch m², which then resumes its former
position, as shown in Figure 1, and the operation of forming a fresh lap pro-
ceeds as before. In lap machines of the present construction a considerable
Jess of time is occasioned by removing the slide plates from the full lap and

page_text: replacing them on an empty one, which time is saved by the improvements
above described.
I wish to observe, that although I have shewn the mode of applying my
Invention to the lap machine of the Derby doubler, it is equally applicable to
the lap machines of blowers, scutchers, and other machines in which laps of
fibrous materials are formed under pressure; it is also evident that in some
cases more than one additional top roller similar to h may be employed.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention and described the manner
of performing the same, I declare that I claim,-
First, the application of one or more additional friction rollers to the
rollers hitherto employed for forming laps of fibrous materials, as shewn and as
described.
Secondly, the arrangement and combination of machinery shewn and
described for applying an additional top roller to lap machines.
And, thirdly, the dispensing with the axle through the roller on which the
fibrous material is lapped, and the mechanism by which the side plates or
washers are adjusted laterally and held concentric with the lap, as shewn and
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Knowles, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Tenth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
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