IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SCUTCHING, HECKLING, AND COMBING FLAX, HEMP, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Lowry, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
FOR SCUTCHING, HECKLING, AND COMBING FLAX, HEMP, AND OTHER FIBROUS
MATERIALS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Lowry at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 3rd February 1880.
GEORGE LOWRY, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer.
"IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SCUTCHING, HECKLING, AND COMBING
FLAX, HEMP, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS.”
This Invention relates, first, to the gripper or holder for holding the flax, hemp,
or fibrous material to be operated upon. This holder bas hitherto been made of a
top and bottom plate fastened together, when the material was placed between them,
by a screw and nut in the centre, and this plan has many disadvantages.
To obviate these and get a better, handier, and more compact holder or gripper is
the object of my present Invention, and this I accomplish as follows:-
Instead of having the top and bottom plates loose and separate from each other
I hinge them together by fastening in the centre of the bottom plate a flat or other
spring reaching from end to end thereof, to one end of which I hinge the top plate,
and to the other end a handle or lever sufficiently long to reach over the top plate
when it is closed down on the fibrous material, and be there held firmly by a catch
or detent, thereby locking the plates with the material to be operated upon between
them.
Both top and bottom plates are formed with a recess which contains the compound
spring and lever respectively, so that there are no projecting parts to interfere with
its due and accurate working, or to cause annoyance or inconvenience. By this
method of construction a very even and uniform surface is ensured between the
plates which grip and hold the fibrous material, whatever its thickness may be.
The holders made in this way may be used either side up and placed in the slide
from back or front, they being alike on all sides.

page_text: Secondly. I make the trough or channel in which the holder slides in one piece
of a circular or other form, and in one or more lengths, and fix on each side springs,
so that when the holders are placed in the slide they shall be held centrally and
firmly therein by the springs pressing against them between that portion containing
the compound lever and spring and where the heckles strike the material to be
combed, heckled, or scutched.
Thirdly. I place the catch bar for traversing the holders through the trough or
channel in the inside thereof and over the centre of the holder. To this bar I give
a slip motion both backwards and forwards, so that in case of obstruction breakage
is avoided. This slip motion I obtain by means of a suspended weight on the one
side and the gravity of the trough or channel on the other.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, and
of an order of the Lord Chancellor, filed by the said George Lowry in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th August 1880.
GEORGE LOWRY, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer.
" IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SCUTCHING, HECKLING, AND COMBING
FLAX, HEMP, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS."
This Invention relates, first, to the gripper or holder for holding the flax, hemp,
or fibrous material to be operated upon. This holder has hitherto been made of a
top and bottom plate fastened together, when the material was placed between them,
by a screw and nut in the centre. This plan has many disadvantages, in order to
obviate which, and to get a better, handier, and more compact holder or gripper is
the object of this part of my present Invention.
Instead of having the top and bottom plates loose and separate from each other
I hinge them together at one end. In a longitudinal groove in the underside of
the bottom plate I place a flat or other spring reaching from end to end of the
plate, and bent or turned up at each end thereof. One end of this spring forms a
hinge to which a suitable lever is jointed. This lever is also made to lie in a
groove in the top plate, the fulcrum being the aforesaid hinge and the free end
thereof extending to nearly the length of the top plate. When the top plate is
pressed down upon the fibrous material the free end of the lever is held down by a
catch or pin, whereby the plates are locked together and the material is firmly
held. This arrangement of levers I term a "compound lever.” By placing the
spring and lever in grooves there are no projecting parts to interfere with its due
and accurate working, or to cause annoyance or inconvenience. By this arrange-
ment a very even and uniform surface is secured between the plates, and any
reasonable thickness of material is accommodated, and these holders may be used
either side upwards and placed in position either end first. The flanges of the
grooves act as supports when held in the trough or channel next hereinafter
described.
Secondly. My improvements relate to the trough or channel in which the holder
slides, which I make in the form of a slotted tube, and in one or more lengths,
and fix springs on the outside of the tube and on each side of the slot. When the
holders are placed in this slot they are held firmly in a proper central position by
the soft pressure exerted by the springs upon them.
Thirdly. In carrying out the improvements above mentioned I place the catch
bar for traversing the holders through the trough or channel in the inside thereof
and over the centre of the holder. This bar receives a backward and forward slip
motion in order that breakage may be avoided in case of obstruction. This motion
I obtain on the one hand by means of a suspended weight on one side or end, and
on the other by the gravity of the trough or slotted tube, which is raised in the
ordinary way.
And in order that my said Invention may be more clearly understood reference
is made to the accompanying Drawings.
Fig. 1 is a top view of the holder, firstly herein before described; Fig. 2 is an end
view, and Fig. 3 a bottom view thereof. a, a, is the bottom plate; d, d, the top
plate; b, b, is the spring in the bottom groove, and fis the lever in the top groove;
g is a catch or pin under which the end of the lever is placed and retained thereby.
Fig. 5 is a side view of the same holder open, and Fig. 4 is a section on the line c, e,
of Figs. 1, 2, and 3, with similar letters of reference.
Instead of a metallic spring, as, shewn, india rubber or other elastic material
may, if preferred, be introduced in the groove or grooves with the holder hinged at
one end, and metallic plates placed on such india rubber to give the elastic pressure
and friction required.

page_text: Fig. 6 is a side view of the trough, channel, or slotted tube, secondly herein before
described, with the holders m, m, in position, and the material to be scutched or
heckled ready for operating upon. k, k, are the springs, and 7 is the slot. Fig. 7 is
a cross-section on the line x, x, of Fig. 6, in which the holder m is also shewn in
position. Fig. 8 is a bottom view of the same. The shape of the ends of the springs
is shewn in this Figure terminating at an angle so as to facilitate the introduction
of the holders.
Fig. 9 is an elevation of the third part of my Invention herein before described,
in which Figure m represents a side view of the tube (secondly herein before
described) in position, with eight holders also placed in position. n is the catch bar,
one end of which is shewn attached to m. The catch bar slides in a short slot made
at each end of the tube, the other end of n being attached to a pin or stud in the
pulley t; when the pulley t rotates upon its centre a reciprocating slip motion is
imparted to the tube m by means of the catch bar n acting as a connecting rod.
An adjustable screw is fitted upon the tube at u, above which, on the frame, is
fitted a short lever 8; the outer end of the lever s is turned up to form a tooth,
which takes into a notch at t' of the pulley t, a pin is also fitted in the side of the
pulley t at r. Below this pulley the wire or rod p is fitted to the tube, as shewn,
with the hook y suspended on the pin r. From the periphery of the pulley t the
counterweight o is suspended, as shewn. By this arrangement an alternate or
reciprocating motion is obtained. When the tube m descends the rod causes the
pulley t to rotate in one direction until the lever 8 falls into the notch at t¹ of t, as
shewn, and when the tube ascends the adjustable screw u strikes the lever 8 and
disengages the end at t¹, and thus allows the weight to descend and cause the pulley
to revolve and draw the catch bar aud holders forward. By this alternate slip
motion breakage is prevented in case of any obstruction arising either in the back
or forward motion of the catch bar.
Having now described and ascertained the nature and objects of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed and carried into
operation, I declare that what I claim and desire to be secured to me by the herein
before in part recited Letters Patent, is as follows:-
First. The construction and arrangement of holders with_compound levers, as
herein before firstly described, and as partially illustrated by Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5,
or any mere modification thereof.
Secondly. The construction and arrangement of the slotted tube, trough, or
channel, as herein before secondly described, and illustrated by Figs. 6, 7, and 8, or
any mere modification thereof.
Thirdly. The construction, arrangement, and mode of mounting and imparting a
reciprocating motion to the aforesaid catch bar and forward motion to the holders,
thirdly herein before described, and as illustrated by Fig. 9, or any mere modification
thereof.
Fourthly. The general combination and arrangement of machinery or apparatus
for scutching, heckling, and combing flax, hemp, and other fibrous materials,
substantially as herein before described, and as shewn on the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Lowry, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Ninth day of August, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty.
GEORGE LOWRY. (LS.)