IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR BLOWING, SCUTCHING, OPENING, CLEANING, AND SORTING COTTON WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Hardacre, of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR BLOWING, SCUTCHING,
OPENING, CLEANING, AND SORTING COTTON WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS
SUBSTANCES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER
PURPOSES."
Sealed the 16th March 1853, and dated the 9th October 1852.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Hardacre
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 9th October 1852.
*
I, SAMUEL HARDACRE, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR BLOWING, SCUTCHING,
OPENING, CLEANING, AND SORTING COTTON WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS
SUBSTANCES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER
PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
My improvements consist, firstly, of a composite manifold double
threaded screw beater.

page_text: Secondly, of a method of adjusting the distance of the feed rollers
from the beaters.
Thirdly, of the employment of a flexible metallic grid creeper or dirt
extractor, which is composed of a number of metallic joints, each joint
containing one or more hooks to hold seeds, notes, dust, or other
impurities, whilst the licker-in cylinder takes off the fibres of the cotton
wool, &c., and delivers it to that taken off by the beater. This is used
instead of the dust, cage now in ordinary use, and in combining the
said creeper with a licker-in cylinder covered with stump or other card
or fillet, has a combing and separating or sorting effect upon the waste
which is expelled from the cotton wool, &c., and drawn upon the grid
creeper from the beater.
Fourthly, in the repetition of the last-mentioned process at the
contrary or delivering end of the blower, which improvement dispenses
with the cylindrical cage grid.
The principle of these improvements will be seen by reference to the
accompanying sketch; but I wish it to. be distinctly understood' that I
do not confine myself to the exact details shown in the Drawings, as I
intend this to be merely an outline sketch of iny Invention, which
Fwill more clearly and fully explain in my Complete Specification.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Samuel Hardacre in the Great Seal Patent Office,
on the 9th April 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
SAMUEL HARDACRE, of Manchester, in the County; of. Lancaster,
Machinist, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her.
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the sixteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Samuel Hardacre, Her especial licence, that I, the
said Samuel Hardacre, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such

page_text: others as I, the said Samuel Hardacre, my 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS FOR BLOWING, SCUTCHING, OPENING, CLEANING, AND SORTING
COTTON WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVE-
MENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES," upon the conditions (amongst
others) that I, the said Samuel Hardacre, by an instrument in writing
under.my hand and seal, 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 Samuel Hardacre, 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, that is to say:
My Invention relates particularly to "Improvements in machinery or
apparatus for blowing, scutching, opening, cleaning, and sorting cotton
wool and other fibrous substances, parts of which improvements are
applicable to other purposes." Instead of any of the several machines
which have been invented to supersede tlie old expensive and trouble-
some, system of beating, batting, or picking cotton wool or other fibrous.
substances by hand, all of which are, I consider, more or less defective
in principle, having a tendency in a greater or less degree to injure the
staple or fibre of the cotton wool or other fibrous substances to be
blown, scutched, opened, cleaned, or sorted, in consequence of it being
subjected to be either stringed, matted, felted, cut, broken, or otherwise
injured in the fibre; I have invented a compound manifold double
threaded screw or spiral beater, which consists of any convenient
number of arms projecting from a shaft.
screwed or otherwise fastened in a spiral
shaft, which shaft revolves on its axis.
The projecting arms are
direction into or upon the
These projecting arms have a

page_text: blunt end with a smooth surface, which I shall, for the purpose of this
my Specification, call blades or expellers; the blades or expellers
come in contact with the cotton wool or other fibrous substances during
their revolutions, and the cotton wool or other fibrous substances are
supplied to be operated upon by the beater by means of feed rollers or
other methods in common use. The blades or expellers are in a screw
or spiral form. Number 1, blade or expeller, which is the first in its
revolution to strike that portion of cotton wool or other fibrous sub-
stances subjected to its operation, has the effect of expelling therefrom
the seeds, motes, dirt, or other impurities, and so on, each blade or
expeller following successively in its rotary or revolving motion to the
end of the beater, as shewn in the Drawings. I wish it to be particu-
larly understood that I do not confine myself to 16 arms and blades or
expellers, as is shewn in the Drawings accompanying this my Specifi-
cation, or to any other number of rms and blades or expellers to be
contained in each beater, as instead of the separate arms and blades or
expellers one entire spiral beater may be used, as shewn in the
Drawings accompanying this Specification. I regulate or adjust the
position or distance of the feed rollers by means of eccentrics, levers,
and adjustable screws, as also shewn in the said Drawings hereunto
annexed; the dirt or refuse being so separated from the fibres by the
stroke of the blades or expellers in the rotary motion of the beater falls
upon a grid placed in an angular position, through the interstices of
which the dirt or refuse will fall, but if any of the fibre remains
attached to it, it will not pass through the grid, but slide down its
inclined surface into a hopper placed at the extremity of the said grid.
The bottom part of hopper may be contracted to any convenient size.
The seeds or motes to which any of the fibre remains attached falls
down the hopper until it comes in contact with the metallic jointed
grid or pulley, which has peculiarly shaped teeth, as shewn separately
at Fig. 7, in the said Drawings. The grid or pulley revolves or turns
in the bottom of the hopper, and thereby taking or extracting the
remaining fibres from any such motes or seeds, thus effecting a further
clearing or opening of the cotton wool or other fibrous substances, and
an economisation of waste which would otherwise be considerable.

page_text: Instead of a dust cage, as hitherto adopted, I use a revolving creeper,
which may be made of wire or perforated sheet iron, tin, or other
similar metal or material, which by its continuous motion carries the
cotton wool or other fibrous substances so opened and cleaned to the
delivery rollers, from which it may be conveyed to another beater to
be further operated upon, or to a lapping machine or lapping appa-
ratus, either connected to my improved machine or detached, as may
be found most convenient. I also adopt the use of a fan or blower,
which by its continuous action draws or assists in drawing the cleaned
fibre to the creeper, by which it is delivered as above described; and it
also assists in extracting the dirt or refuse, and carrying it off through
the exit pipe.
The nature of these my said improvements will also be clearly under-
stood by reference to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which the
same letters of reference are used to represent similar parts where
different views or diagrams are shewn. Figure 1, is an elevation of
my said machine, the dotted lines shewing my improved beater. Figure
2, is a section of the same, shewing the beater, the feed rollers, the grid,
the hopper, the creeper, and a fan. Figure 3, a plan of the same.
Figure 4, is a view of an entire spiral beater. Figures 5, a plan and
side elevation of the blades or expellers. Figure 6, a view of the shaft
or barrel to which the blades or expellers are screwed or fastened; and
Fig. 7, a separate view of part of the metallic jointed grid or pulley.
A, represents the feed rollers, which are adjustable levers, screws, and
excentrics A', or other similar contrivance. B, the blades or expellers,
which by their rotary or revolving motion strike the cotton wool or other
fibrous substances as it enters the machine by the said feed rollers A.
C, the creeper which collects the clean fibre, and carries it off by the
delivering rollers. D, the metallic jointed grid pulley or dirt extractor,
with peculiar shaped teeth, as heretofore referred to. E, the evacuating
grid or hopper, through which the dirt or refuse falls when it is beaten
out of the cotton wool or other fibrous substances by the beater, and
also carries any seeds or motes with cotton attached thereto on its
inclined surface, to be further operated upon by the grid or pulley
before mentioned. F, a fan which causes a strong draft or current of

page_text: air, and thereby draws or attracts the cleaned. fibre to the creeper
above it, and the dirt or refuse towards itself, and, blows it out through
an exit pipe. G, the grid upon which the cotton wool or other
fibrous substances fall after having been operated upon by the beater,
and is carried forward to the creeper. H, is the shaft, or barrel to
which the blades or, expellers are screwed or attached.
Having thus fully described the nature and particulars of my, said
Invention, I desire it to be distinctly understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise details herein mentioned, as such may be varied or
modified without departing from the principle thereof; neither do I
confine myself to the use of all the several parts-in; combination; as such
may be used either collectively or separately. But I claim as new and
of my Invention, the spiral beater, the method of adjusting the feed
rollers, the grids, the hopper, the dirt, extractor with the peculiar shaped
metallic jointed grid or pully, and the flexible metallic creeper, as
herein-before described, and fully illustrated in the Drawings hereunto
annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel. Hardacre, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of April, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
SAM HARDACRE. (L.S.)
Signed, sealed, and delivered by
the within-named Samuel
Hardacre in the presence of
W. C. H. ATHERTON,
Solicitor, Manchester."
E. J. HUGHES,
Patent Agent, Manchester.