IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR BRUISING AND RENDERING SUPPLE, BREAKING, AND STRIPPING HEMP, FLAX, INDIAN GRASS, AND OTHER TEXTILES."
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jacques Theodore Cardon-Wamain, son, of
Abbeville, Department of the Somme, in the Republic of France,
Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR BRUISING
AND RENDERING SUPPLE, BREAKING, AND STRIPPING HEMP, FLAX, INDIAN
GRASS, AND OTHER TEXTILES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jacques Theodore
Cardon-Wamain at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with his Petition, on the 17th January 1873.
I, JACQUES THEODORE CARDON-WAMAIN, son, of Abbeville, Depart-
part of the Somme, in the Republic of France, Manufacturer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR
BRUISING AND RENDERING SUPPLE, BREAKING, AND STRIPPING HEMP, FLAX, INDIAN
GRASS, AND OTHER TEXTILES," to be as follows:-
:-
The object of the improved machine, the subject of my Invention, is
to render soft or supple ("assouplir"), and strip and break or scutch
hemp, flax, jute, and other textile materials.
On the accompanying three Sheets of Drawing Figure 1 (Sheet I.) is
a side elevation of a machine embodying my Invention, showing fly -

page_text: wheel and eccentric; Figure 2 (Sheet II.) is a sectional elevation of
same, showing lower gearing; and Figure 3 (Sheet III.) is a general plan
of same.
A indicates the frame; B, b, driving pulleys; C, fly wheel; D, driving
shaft; E, pinion set on shaft D, and driving toothed gearing F; F, series 5
of toothed wheels, transmitting motion to toothed wheel G; G, toothed
wheel set on shaft X; H, pinion set on shaft X, and driving J by the
toothed wheel I; I, intermediate pinion set on the frame or bearer L; J,
toothed wheel set on the axle of one of the rollers or cylinders K; K,
grooved rollers; L, movable bearer or frame supporting mechanism; M, 1
grooved iron plate, fitted movably on the frame L; N, movable iron
plate, fitted on the piece U; O, adjusting screws or bearings; P, springs
acting on bearings; Q, rods from L to eccentric A, A; R, pulley fixed
on the axle of one of the rollers K; S, pulley driving R; T, cast-iron
cylinder; U, roller bearings; V, series of pinions driving the rollers K ;
✗, shaft; Y, spreading table; Z, receiving table; A, A, eccentric pulley ;
B, c, spiral springs acting on the grooved plates N.
The main system of this machine, and which constitutes its novelty,
is that indicated on the Drawings by the letters L, M, N. The two
grooved parts M, N, rubbing against each other, cause the softening
("assouplissage") of the hemp, flax, or other material, by removing the
glue or gum adhering to these matters. This system of softening or
rendering supple offers several advantages over those hitherto adopted.
The first exists in the lightness of the working of the machine; one horse-
power is sufficient. The second consists in that the matter rendered
soft or supple suffers no deterioration, no pulling, nor mixing, so that the
return in the combing is greater than that of any of the textile materials
softened by the means hitherto known.
As to the stripping and breaking it is effected in nearly the same way
as the softening. Thus, suppose the raw hemp coming from the retting,
the handful or quantity introduced to the machine passes first by the
rollers K, which break and bruise the straw; it then undergoes the
friction operated by the grooved plates N, M, and leaves by the second
rollers K almost entirely freed from straw. The very little wood still
contained in the hemp is entirely detached, and it is only necessary to
shake it to have it perfectly clean. This applies equally to flax and
other textile materials.

page_text: To give motion to the grooved plates M, N, I use the come and go
shown on the Drawings by the rod Q, which receives its movement from
the eccentric A, A, on the shaft D.
The general working of the machine being now understood I will
enter upon the details, and explain the utility of the working of each
picce.
Softening ("assouplissage") of Hemp and other Textile Materials.―
To soften hemp, for example, it is not necessary to have three pair of
rollers where the hemp is put into the machine, because the matter
is entirely clean. A single pair suffices to hold the hemp; these
rollers are indicated by the letter K. The hemp having been spread on
the table Y it is taken by the first rollers K, and in order that there may
be no break it is only requisite to separate the end of this first supply of
hemp, and introduce the next, so that the whole forms a continuous
band, as is done in spinning for the drawings. On leaving these first
rollers K the hemp is introduced into the apparatus N, M, by means of a
rod. This operation is necessary only for the first supply, because, as
above stated, the succeeding batches are banded with the first. It is
this apparatus N, M, which operates the friction, and as in its working it
describes a journey of about 3 inches, it disengages by means of the heat
obtained by this friction the glue or gum of the hemp, and a perfect
softening and complete division of the fibre is obtained. After having
undergone this operation the hemp passes by the second grooved
rollers K, which are draw rollers, as shown by the working of the
machine. The hemp then leaves these rollers to descend on to the
inclined table Z.
It is now desirable to indicate the working of the part L. This piece,
which carries the second rollers K, and the part of the apparatus M, rests
on the axle X. The come and go operated by the whole of this part L
is given to it by the rod Q, which receives its movement from the eccen-
tric A, A. The second rollers K receive their drawing movement from
the pinion H, through the wheels I and J. This pinion H obtains its
own motion from the series of pinions and toothed wheels G, F, E.
This last pinion E is the only driving or governing pinion; it is there-
fore by making it larger or smaller that the drawing motion is regulated.
Consequently the time during which the batch of hemp undergoes its
friction by the apparatus N, M, may be modified by simply changing

page_text: this pinion E accordingly as the nature of the material requires more or
less softening.
As it may happen that the work woman in charge of this machine does
not make very regular batches, this defect is obviated by the springs
with which the apparatus N is provided; these spiral springs B, c, are
fixed on the frame U. Spiral springs P are also placed upon each of
the upper rollers K, in order that these rollers may bear equally upon
the batch, however thick it may be.
As regards the breaking and stripping of hemp, flax, and other
materials, I would observe that if one pair of first rollers K is sufficient
for the softening it is necessary to have three, as shown on the Drawing,
for breaking and stripping; these three rollers having the property of
bruising the wood before it comes to the friction. For this operation the
springs B, c, are no longer required at the part N of the apparatus, which
is then fixed by means of screws, and the distance apart be fixed accord- 1
ing to the size of the batches introduced into the machine.
The remainder of the working in breaking and stripping is the same
as above described for the softening.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Jacques Theodore Cardon-Wamain in the Great 2
Seal Patent Office on the 14th July 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JACQUES
THEODORE CARDON-WAMAIN, son, of Abbeville, Department of the
Somme, in the Republic of France, Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her 2
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Jacques Theodore Cardon-Wamain, son, Her
special licence that I, the said Jacques Theodore Cardon-Wamain, son, my a
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Jacques
Theodore Cardon-Wamain, son, my executors, administrators, and as-
signs, 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

page_text: lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man,
an Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR BRUISING AND RENDERING SUPPLE,
BREAKING, AND STRIPPING HEHP, FLAX, INDIAN GRASS, AND OTHER TEXTILES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Jacques Theodoro
Cardon-Wamain, son, my executors 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
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 Jacques Theodore Cardon-Wamain,
son, 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, reference being had to
the accompanying Sheet of Drawing and to the figures and letters of
reference placed thereon, similar letters being placed upon and denoting
similar parts in cach of the figures respectively:-
The principles upon which my Invention is based are two in number.
1°. A system of two plates of any suitable kind of metal or of wood
covered with leather or of any other material, each having a toothed or
an untoothed surface, forming jaws rubbing against each other, and
between which jaws is brought the organic matter or material upon
which it is intended to operate; 2°, a system of metal plates with plane
and polished surfaces termed friction plates, which principles I apply to
the disaggregation, the breaking or scutching, the softening or rendering
supple ("assouplissage,") and the stripping of hemp, flax, jute, and all
textile materials and organic vegetable matters generally, with or with-
out retting.
I will now proceed to describe the combination of these two principles,
and set forth the advantages and results obtained thereby. The organic
vegetable matter or textile material of any kind to be treated will be laid
and spread upon a cloth T, which, having its opposite ends joined, passes
over two rollers 1, , and thus works as an endless cloth. From the
endless cloth T the raw material will be seized and taken between a first
pair of rollers H and P, superposed the one above the other, and drawn
by these rollers it will pass between another pair of rollers H' and P¹

page_text: always superposed, the object of the common action exercised by these
rollers on the matter under treatment being to break and bruise it. From
the rollers H' and P¹ the matter thus prepared will be pushed and passed
between the two metal plates M and N. One of the surfaces of each of
these plates will be grooved in lines or channels, more or less deep, crossing
the plates in their breadth, and having sharp or rounded edges. One of
these surfaces, that of the plate M, will be slightly convex, and the other
that of the plate N, slightly concave. These plates cause the handful of
material of any kind submitted to them to undergo a first friction
(termed system of friction of the first kind). The result of this friction
is to detatch from the matter the wood or straw which it may contain,
such as in hemp, flax, and similar materials. An opening n, made
in each of the two plates M and N, serving for the entrance and exit of
the textile material, will permit its being seized by two fresh couples of
rollers, which will conduct or rather draw it towards a first system of
friction plates (termed system of friction of the second kind) to which it
will therefore be delivered. This system of friction plates is composed
of three polished plates of any kind of metal; two of these plates, the
first G and the third G¹, are fixed, whereas the second D, intermediate
between the two others, receiving a to-and-fro motion, moves between
them both, and circulating from top to bottom, and from bottom to top,
it works or acts upon the textile or fibrous material, which pushed by
the two preceding couples of rollers is brought to the entrance made in
the axis of the breadth of the friction plates, and at about half their
height. This second plate therefore in its alternate ascending and
descending movement rubs against the fixed and polished surfaces of
the first and third plates the matter which is entered into the space left
free between the three.
After having undergone the frictional action of the working plate D,
to which the textile material will have been submitted in an already
very modified condition, it will pass through the opening made in the
plates, and which then serves as outlet, between two fresh couples of
superposed cylinders or rollers, from whence this textile or organic
material of any kind, according to its nature and destination, will
undergo the action of one or two or several series of friction plates, to
be finally brought, completely transformed, to the last couples of rollers,
which deliver it upon an inclined table termed the delivery table, and
the complex operation required from the machine will be fully accom-
plished.

page_text: It is from the frictional action exercised upon the organic vegetable
material delivered to my system of friction of the first and second
kind that spring the disaggregation and the breaking or scutching of the
textiles operated upon. Each of these results is obtained by means of a
particular arrangement of the friction plates, cither by bringing the
fixed plates G and G₁ nearer to each other, or, on the contrary, by
placing them further from the working plate D.
The space of time during which the organic matter being operated
upon should be submitted to the action of the various systems of friction
plates of the first and second kind will be calculated according to the
nature of this same material, and consequently of the difficulties which
may be presented by the various preparations and transformations which
it will have to undergo, and during the requisite time the driving power
will be transmitted by the bevel pinions C and C¹ (Fig. 2); or in other
words the working of these various parts will result from the impulsion
given by these same pinions.
This new method of softening or rendering supple (assouplissago")
offers the important advantage of in no wise impairing the softened
material, either by chafing, fretting, or fraying, by pulling, or by mixing,
which gives in the combing of a softened textile (textile "assoupli") of
any kind a yield very much greater than would result from its treatment
be the ordinary pro
Figuro 1 is a plan view of a machine embodying my Invention ;
Figure 2 is a left side elevation of same; Figure 3 is a right side eleva-
tion of same; Figure 4 is a plan view of system of friction plates of the
second kind; Figure 5 is a section of same; Figure 0 a front view of a
friction plate G; and Figure 7 clevation and section of an india-rubber
roller P.
A, driving pulley; B, eccentric of the system L; B', shaft carrying
the pinions C and C₁; O, bevel pinion; D, working friction plate; E,
catches; F, crank shaft; G, plate of the frictional arrangement screwed
on the roller frame U%; H, cast-iron rollers, grooved or without
grooves; I, ratchet wheel fixed on the axle of the rollers H; J, levers
working on the axle of the rollers H; K, eccentric driving the ratchets;
L, frame carrying the system; M, rod of the friction motion; N, square

page_text: piece of iron pressed upon the bearings of the rollers H by the adjusting
screw O; P, roller of soft india-rubber; Q, bearings of the shaft F;
these bearings rest on cross pieces; R, spreading table or endless cloth;
,, rollers over which the endless cloth travels; S, inclined table, which
receives the material as it leaves the machine; T, material passing
under the machine; U, roller frames, the fixed part of the system is also
screwed thereon; V, frame of the machine; Y, knob or fillet preventing
divergence of the material; C, D, speed or change pinion; F, G, toothed
piece of iron pressed upon the bearings of the rollers H by the adjusting
screw O; P, roller of soft india-rubber; Q, bearings of the shaft F;
these bearings rest on cross pieces; R, spreading table or endless cloth;
1', r¹, rollers over which the endless cloth travels; S, inclined table, which
receives the material as it leaves the machine; T, material passing
under the machine; U, roller frames, the fixed part of the system is also
screwed thereon; V, frame of the machine; Y, knob or fillet preventing
divergence of the material; C, D, speed or change pinion; F, G, toothed
gearing.
Working of the Machine.-The machine is driven from the pulleys A
and a, set on a cross shaft, which transmits the motion to the various
parts of the mechanical arrangement by the bevel pinions C and C³,
eccentrics K, K³, and vertical eccentric B. The rollers or cylinders H
and P superposed above cach other preceding or following the friction
systems of the first and the second kind, and which have a common and
combined action, divide into two parts of equal number. The rollers H
of the lower part are of cast iron, and grooved, whereas those P of the
upper part are of unhardened india-rubber. The cast-iron rollers, those
of the lower plane, and those of india-rubber of the upper plano, are
driven by the eccentrics K, K, and B, which changing the rotary
motion of the shaft B¹, and acting on the levers J and J¹ give them a
come-and-go motion. These levers pivot upon the axles of the cylinders
or rollers Hand P in such wise that at each of their movements thic
catches E and E¹ take into the teeth of the ratchet wheels set on the
axles of the rollers, some of them causing the ratchet wheels to move
forward, and the others regulating their motion. These catches are in
counterpart; a first catch at the lower part of the circumference of the
ratchet wheel, and a second at the upper part of the same ratchet wheel,
the one for the catching or locking permitting only one tooth to escape, the
latter for the uncatching or unlocking permitting the teeth of the ratchet
wheel to lower one by one, and therefore regulating the working of said
ratchet. Motion is communicated to the system L, that is to say, to the
system of friction of the first kind, by the aid of the eccentric B, fixed
on the shaft B¹, and the vertical rod Q of which gives the come-and-go
motion to the entire arrangement in question. Motion is given to tlic
systems of friction plates of the second kind, which compose a machine,
by two crank shafts F and F', placed longitudinally each on one side of
the machine. These shafts are each supported in strong bearings or

page_text: plumber blocks resting on cross pieces, which are themselves fixed
directly upon the frame of the machine.
are:
Each machine comprises several arrangements of friction plates, and
this number will vary, as I have above stated, according to the nature
of the textile material operated upon. Each arrangement of friction
plate of the second kind is composed of three plates of metal of the most
suitable kind; two of these plates, the first G and the third G',
immovable, and fixed on the framing or roller carrier U by four strong
screws. Their inner surface will be polished and grooved, or not grooved,
according to requirement. The last plate D, No. 2, which is the working
part of the system, and that which will act under the impulsion of a
come-and-go motion, is placed between the two others No. 1 and No. 3.
Both its sides are polished and grooved, or not grooved, to correspond
with the two other plates. The lower end of the working plate D,
dividing into two parts, takes a forked shape, and receives in this fork
the end of a rod M, connecting this plate with an eccentric m, the come-
and-go motion of which is thus communicated to the plate D. The two
fixed plates G and G₁, the surfaces of which are brought more or less
close to those of the plate D, keep the movement of this latter in a
perfectly vertical plane. In the centre of each friction plate, whether
fixed or movable, and of the first or second kind, is made an opening of
optional dimensions and shape, to give passage to the textile material.
A fillet placed transversely on cach side of this opening is intended to
keep the material under treatment from spreading too much, and thereby
falling outside the cylinders.
Such is the machine which I have invented, and by the aid of which
I treat, with or without retting, every kind of vegetable matter intended
for spinning, for which I render it suitable with great economy of labour
and without causing any loss of its strength.
By the aid of this new means of operating I modify, transform, and
appropriate for spinning the most varied raw textile materials, reducing,
dividing, and fining them so as to draw therefrom the thin and delicate
fibres intended for spinning for every denomination up to the finest.
Having now described and ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is or may be performed, I would
have it understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details
herein set forth, as variations may be made therefrom while retaining

page_text: the essential features of my Invention, and that I claim as secured to me
by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent,---
Firstly. The application to the disaggregation, the breaking or scutch-
ing, the softening or rendering supple ("assouplissage,") and to the
stripping of hemp, flax, jute, and all vegetable textile materials generally
of one, two, or more of the systems of friction herein-before designated
as of the first kind, substantially as herein-before set forth.
Secondly. The application to the disaggregation, the breaking or
scutching, the softening or rendering supple (" assouplissage,") and the
stripping of hemp, flax, jute, and generally of all vegetable textile
materials of a given and variable number of systems of friction plates
herein-before designated as of the second kind, substantially as herein-
before set forth.
Thirdly. The application of the combined, common, collective, or
separate action of these two systems of friction to the disaggregation, the 1
breaking or scutching, the softening or rendering supple (" assoupliss-
age,") and the stripping of all kinds of textile materials.
Fourthly. The co-operation in this machine of a variable number of
mechanical arrangements composed of two couples of superposed rollers,
the first, lower, couple comprising two grooved cast-iron cylinders, and 2
the second, upper, couple comprising two cylinders of soft india-rubber;
these couples of cylinders being driven by a system of ratchet wheels and
clicks, substantially as herein-before set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Jacques Theodore Cardon-Wamain,
son, have hereunto set my hand and scal, this Twelfth day of 2
July, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-three:
J. T. CARDON-WAMAIN, FILS. (L.S.)
GEORGES ROMBI.
JEAN BAPTISTE GIRARD.