Improvements in Machinery for Treating Textile Fibres, such as: Wool, Cotton, and the like.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd May, 1898-Accepted, 1st Oct., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Treating Textile Fibres, such as:
Wool, Cotton, and the like.
I, JULES DESIRE MOREL, of 166, Rue Pellart, Roubaix, in the Republic of
France, Engineer, 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 : —
This invention relates to improved machinery for treating textile fibres, such
machinery being designed to replace the carding and other machines at present
employed.
65
Heretofore textile materials, such as wool, cotton and the like, are, in formi
of tufts or flocks subjected to the action of machines known as combing
machines," or "carding-machines," in which the fibres are combed or arranged in
a parallel direction. In these machines the fibres undergo a gradual combing
out or extension and the cards serving for this operation are even duplicated in
order to produce a "parallelization" of a slower and more gradual character.
Taking for example the machinery employed in, carding wool the wool, on
leaving the cards, presents the form of a veil the parts of which are bound together
or entwined so as to form a continuous ribbon. This operation strains the wool
owing to the fact that the working parts of the carding machine in order to pro-
duce a good result, must be adjusted more and more closely together without,
however, coming into actual contact with each other. The wool-fibre is con-
sequently gripped very closely or short by these operating parts,, so that some
of the fibres are broken, this being the first loss incurred on the value of the
output consisting of combed or long fibres, which material is of the highest value;
and of short fibres or noils," which represent the second quality of the material
treated:
Another loss is incurred in addition to the above that is to say a more or less
considerable quantity of fibres with which the working parts of the carding machine
become charged, and which is termed the "flock." This material is of an inferior
quality and is sold at a price much lower than that realized for the two first
qualities above mentioned.
The object of my invention is to enable a higher profit to be realized from wool
or other textile fibre by considerably reducing the proportional amount of flock
and by passing this material partly into the noil which realize a comparatively
much higher price, and partly into the combed material, which quality one en-
deavours to obtain in the highest possible proportion, and which is generally
termed the output or yield.
The short flocks are passed into the noils and the long fibres of the flocks will
go to the combed material.
For this purpose I have designed a machine which I will now proceed to describe
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The wool, without having undergone any other preparatory treatment, beyond
washing is placed on an endless belt or cloth A. This belt supplies the wool in

page_text: the form of tufts or flocks to feed-cylinders B, B, C, C, D, D, arranged in series
and operated at successively increasing speeds. The number of cylinders may
be increased or diminished.
These feed-cylinders are furnished with a special mounting; the teeth terminate
in fiat portions in order to prevent them from penetrating the teasels and like
impurities. The feed cylinders are protected by a plate or board f from any
impurities that may be driven in that direction by the picker J.
The last feed-cyanders pass the wool on to the drum F, which is likewise pro-
vided with iceth flattened at their ends, and which rotates at a very high speed
relatively to the feed cylinders.
Cy
The following is the tooth-mounting for the feed-cylinders and the working
cylinder which I prefer to employ: Into a woven fabric or leather sheet or
foundation a, teeth b, d of round iron are inserted. Near the surface of the
leather or other foundation these teeth are curved at c, so as to incline their ends d
forward in the direction in which the working cylinder F travels, and in a rear-
ward direction relatively to the feed cylinder. The ends of the teeth are flat
so as not to penetrate the teasels and like impurities (see Figure 2).
In Figures 3 and 4, I have represented a modification of this mounting.
Figure 3 indicates the arrangenient of these teeth so placed as to stop the teasels
upon their concave front-face relatively to the direction of movement; this
figure shows a spacing or distance between two adjacent teeth which does not
admit of the passage of teasels therethrough.
Figure 4 shows the distance between the lines or ranges of teeth sufficient for
the teasels to find room between two successive ranges.
The distance between the extremities of the teeth of the feed-cylinders and
the extremities of the teeth of the drum is such that the teasels, knots and the
like cannot at the same time be seized by the two working members whereby
the teasels, knots and the like are prevented from being unrolled and extended.
The distance from one tooth to the other in the mountings of the feed-cylinders
and of the working-cylinders is such that a teasel is enabled to pass without being
retained squeezed or crushed.
The wool retained in the teeth of the feed cylinders is combed or extended by
"the teeth of the drum F that carry them on whilst the greater part of the im-
purities fall under the said drum. The other foreign boklies (teasels and the
like) carried along by reason of their adherence to the fibres, follow the latter,
which the brush G draws or drags away from the teeth of F, so as to pass them on
to the drum H.
h
The part of Figures 1 and 6 are cylinders, the mounting or covering of which
is similar to that of the feed devices B CD, their object being, however, to
remove from the brush G any fibres that may still adhere thereto, after the operation
of transporting, and to carry them back to that part of the apparatus which pre-
cedes the brush, that is to say. to F, in the case of Figure 1, or to F in the case
of Figure 6.
It sometimes happens that the fibre in the case of certain kinds of wool which
are somewhat felted or tufted are not sufficiently "parallelized" after leaving
the feed cylinder the result of which is that, when these felted parts reach the
drums H, only a portion thereof can engage with its notches, the other portion
being rejected with the impurities by the picker J.
In order to obviate this disadvantage I may arrange behind the feed cylinders
a cylinder E, likewise provided with a mounting similar to that of the working
drum F, and having the ends of its teeth lying opposite the ends of the teeth of 1',
so as to stop the tufts or flocks, which settle on top of the mounting.
Owing to the great difference in the rate of speed between E and F (seeing
that E moves along at the velocity of the feed-cylinders), the flocks retained by
the mounting of E and, on the other hand, simultaneously attracted by the
mounting of F, are combed or extended, while E retains a portion thereof, which
is taken therefrom by the small cylinder e, which latter passes it to the working

page_text: drum ; E does not, however, let it go, until a sufficient combing or extension
has taken place.
A suitable number of the pairs Ee (Figure 5) may be employed, according
to the quality of the wool to be treated.
The drum. H (which is the subject of prior Patents No. 5833 A.D. 1896 and
No. 29584 A.D. 1896, is so constructed as to afford access only to the fibres for
the reason that its circular grooves and the notches serving to connect them with
each other without the formation of any projections, are but 3.10 to 4.10 milli-
metres in width by 4 to 5 millimetres in depth. The teasels, knots and the like
carried along with the fibres are thus forced to remain on the surface of this
drum H and are removed partly by the brushes G, which throw them under the
machine, and partly by the picker J, which conveys them onto the plate K.
A plate L surrounds the picker and serves to protect the wool already treated.
A brush M, the bristles of which enter the notches and the grooves of H, lifts
the fibres, which become hooked or entangled onto the mounting of a drum l',
which mounting is still more closely arranged than that of H, whilst being other-
wise exactly the same.
It would be well to add that: In the devices represented in Figures 1 to 6, the
drum works behind the drum H, its mounting or covering-although being
the same as that of His more closely arranged so as to complete the work of the
drum H; on the contrary in the arrangement represented in the modification
Figure 7, the mounting or covering of the drum P is wider than that of the
drum H, it is, therefore, in this case the drum H which completes the work of
the drum P.
The brush M may be replaced by a bellows or blowing device consisting of a
cylindrical body with fans or blades similar to the picker J, the fans of which
would, however, be higher; the fans of the picker J having been reduced in
height for the opposite purpose, namely, to avoid ventilation..
A small drum N serves to remove from the brush M those fibres which the latter
may carry along with it while withdrawing them from the drum H; this drum N
From the drum P the wool is
passes the said fibres directly to the drum P.
lifted off by the comb-beater O, which disengages the fibres which latter leave
the drum, in the form of a veil. This veil passes into a funnel or guide R
under the action of cylinders S and is wound up in the form of a ribbon upon the
mandrel V. Rollers U U are provided for supporting and conveying this ribbon.
The result of this arrangement is, that the wool, completely parallelized"
by the drum F, is more easily cleansed or freed from its adherent impurities, such
as teasels, knots and the like, which have been neither divided nor combed out
or extended; and as the machine is reduced to a small number of working parts,
it will retain, a less quantity of fibres and give a higher output or yield.
Obviously the general arrangement of the above described parts may be varied,
and I will, by way of example, indicate two arrangements, in which I multiply
the members serving for combing or extending and parallelizing" the wool,
after it has been freed from impurities.
"
According to the construction illustrated in Figure 6, the wool coming from the
first working cylinder F, is taken by the intermediate cylinder I and deposited
upon a second drum F, around which a series of stopping cylinders EE
are arranged.
Moreover, when leaving H, the completely cleansed wool is passed by the inter-
mediate cylinder M to the cylinder T", and after having been operated upon by
a series of rollers E" " a fly passes the same to the doffer P.
According to the construction shown in Figure 7, the wool, after having been
subjected to the combing or extending action of the cylinders E¹, is lifted by the
fly and taken by the cylinder P. The brush G conveys the wool in the form
of a veil to the drum H, where the action of the picker J takes place, the wool is
then retaken from H and is by means of the intermediate cylinder M, carried onto
the drum T

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
-
1. A machine for effecting the complete combing or extension of textile fibres
and capable of replacing the carding or other machines heretofore employed for
this purpose, comprising a mounting for the rollers and cylinders having teeth
presenting to the teasels, knots and other impurities a flat part not capable of
penetrating them, and presenting a round part to the fibres, which it has to carry
along.or draw out substantially as and for the purposes specified.
2. In a machine for cleansing and combing or extending textile fibres, the com-
bination of rollers and cylinders provided with a mounting having teeth with
flat ends for engaging the impurities and round portions for engaging the fibres,
and of stopping cylinders, serving to comb out or extend the Hocks or tufts of
wool, that are left by the feed. cylinders, substantially as and for the purposes.
specified.
D
1 L
09
8
1000
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,.
Agents for the Applicant.