IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS FOR SPINNING
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Higgins, of Salford, in the County of Lan-
caster, Machine Maker, and Thomas Schofield Whitworth, of the same
· Place, Manager, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS FOR PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS FOR
SPINNING."
Sealed the 3rd May 1861, and dated the 6th November 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Higgins and
Thomas Schofield Whitworth at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 6th November 1860.
We, JAMES HIGGINS, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Machine
Maker, and THOMAS SCHOFIELD WHITWORTH, of the same Place, Manager, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MA-
CHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
FOR SPINNING," to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates, firstly, to "double carding engines," in which two or
more cylinders are employed, and consists in causing the material to be
delivered on to the second or other cylinder after the first at two or more
places. As an illustration of this we will suppose an ordinary double carding
engine, the "slow trimmer," being removed and a transferring roller placed
between and in contact with both cylinders. In connexion with this trans-
ferring roller and with the finishing cylinder we place a carding roller, and we
drive the first cylinder, transferring roller, and finishing cylinder so that the
[Price 8d.]

page_text: respective surfaces increase in speed. Or the "slow trimmer" and stripper
may be retained, and a carding roller adapted to work with the latter and with
the finishing cylinder. The extra rollers above alluded to may revolve at a
uniform speed, but we also propose to render them variable in speed, so that
they may act as carding rollers and as strippers.
Another part of our Invention relates to a form of grating to facilitate the
taking out of the rollers placed underneath the licker-in, and to enable the
said grating to be set more exactly to fit the rollers. To attain this object we
attach the grating to a frame made to swing upon a centre below the centre
of the stripping roller, and we make the grating for each roller of a separate
piece so as to be capable of adjustment in itself. For this adjustment we
employ brackets and tightening screws or similar apparatus, and we use two
or more of such brackets for each grating so that it may be bent to suit
different radii.
Another part of our Invention relates to the slubbing and roving frame, and
refers specially to those arrangements in which the spindle passes through a
tube, or has no top bearing, and consists in so connecting the spindle to the
pinion or wharve through which it is driven, that the said spindle shall be
capable of being withdrawn from its bearings without removing the pinion or
wharve; and a method we adopt is to square the spindle at that part which is
situate within the said pinion or wharve.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed by
the said James Higgins and Thomas Schofield Whitworth in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 6th May 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JAMES
HIGGINS, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker, and
THOMAS SCHOFIELD WHITWORTH, of the same Place, Manager, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
James Higgins and Thomas Schofield Whitworth, Her special license that we,
the said James Higgins and Thomas Schofield Whitworth, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said James Higgins and
Thomas Schofield Whitworth, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should

page_text: 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 "IMPROVE.
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS
MATERIALS FOR SPINNING," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
James Higgins and Thomas Schofield Whitworth, or one of us, by an instru-
ment in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one
of us, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 we, the said James Higgins and Thomas Schofield
Whitworth, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement and accompanying Drawings, that is
to say:-
Our Invention relates, firstly, to "double carding engines," in which two or
more cylinders are employed, and consists in causing the material to be
delivered on to the second or other cylinder after the first at two or more
places. The precise arrangement by which this principle can be carried out
may be varied, but we will shew two methods as illustrations.
Fig. 1 is a partial view of a carding engine with two cylinders, the first of
these, that is, the one to which the material in the first place passes, is at a,
from which it is taken by a roller b, and is by it partially transferred to the
second cylinder c. The portion not so transferred is stripped from the roller b
by another roller d, and is deposited upon the cylinder. It will thus be
perceived that the material is deposited on to the second cylinder at two
places; we also employ, however, a third roller e, which acts as a stripper of
the cylinder c, and transfers the material on to the roller d, from which it is
again taken by the cylinder c. The rollers b, d, e, are caused to revolve in
the direction of the arrows, and in contact with the cylinder c, and with each
other. It will be obvious that the roller b, in order to take the material from
the cylinder a, must move at a superior surface speed, and the same remark
applies to the cylinder c in reference to the roller b, and we find that a
difference of twenty per cent. answers the purpose.
Another method of carrying out this part of our Invention is shewn at
Fig. 2. In this instance we retain the "slow trimmer" f, which receives the
material from the first cylinder g; after this it is stripped by a roller h and

page_text: transferred (or in part) thereby to another roller k, which acts as a worker,
but a portion of the material will pass direct from the roller to the cylinder i,
and it is therefore deposited thereon at two places as before. The rollers h, k,
revolve in the direction of the arrows and in contact with the cylinder i, and
with each other.
The parts described in Figs. 1 and 2 may be driven by any ordinary
arrangement, and may be used in conjunction with rollers and clearer on flats
as may be desired. The rollers e, k, may be so driven as to revolve at an
uniform speed, but we also render them variable in speed, so that they may
act as workers and strippers at intervals, according to the method described in
the Specification of a Patent granted to William Edward Newton, bearing
date the Twenty-second day of August, One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-four.
The next part of our Invention, according to our Provisional Specification,
related to a form of grating to facilitate the taking out of the rollers placed
beneath the "licker in," and to enable the said grating to be set more exactly
to fit the rollers. To obtain this object we proposed to attach the grating to a
frame made to swing upon a centre below the centre of the stripping roller,
and to make the grating for each rolier of a separate piece, so as to be capable
of adjustment in itself. For this adjustment we proposed to employ brackets
and tightening screws or similar apparatus for each grating, so that it might
be bent to suit different radii; since the filing, however, of the said Provisional
Specification we have found that this part of our Invention was not new, and
therefore lay no claim thereto.
Another part of our Invention relates to the slubbing and roving frame, and
refers specially to those arrangements in which the spindle passes through a
tube or bolster, and has no top bearing, and consists in so connecting the
spindle to the pinion or wharve through which it is driven that the said
spindle shall be capable of being withdrawn from its bearings without removing
the pinion or wharve. A method by which we accomplish this is shewn at
Fig. 3, in which a is the spindle mounted in a tube b, of that construction and
arrangement for which Letters Patent were granted to us, bearing date
Thirteenth October, One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
The pinion
through which the spindle is driven is shewn at c, provided with a square
socket into which a similarly shaped part d of the spindle passes, so that the
two parts are thus caused to revolve together. When it is desired to remove
the spindle for cleaning or other purpose, it is
without detaching the pinion through which it
simply necessary to lift it
will be drawn. We have
shewn this part of our Invention as applied to a particular description of

page_text: supporting tube, but we do not confine ourselves thereto, as tubes or bolsters
of other constructions may be adopted. if desired.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, we desire it to be
understood that we claim as secured to us under the above in part recited
Letters Patent,-
First, in reference to carding engines in which iwo or more main cylinders
are employed. causing the material to be delivered on to the second or other
following cylinder at two or more places. and also in such arrangements
causing rollers which deliver the material on to the second or other following
cylinder to revolve at variable speeds as aforesaid.
As applied to slubbing and roving frames in which there are spindles
without top bearings, and mounted in tubes or bolsters, we claim so
necting the spindle to the pinion or wharve that it may be removed as above
mentioned.
In witness whereof, we, the said James Higgins and Thomas Schofield
Whitworth, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Fourth day of
May. in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-one.
THOMAS SCHOFIELD WHITWORTH. (L..s.)