Improvements in Combing Machines.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Aug., 1896-Accepted, 27th Oct., 1897
[Communicated from abroad by N. SCHLUMBERGER & Co., of Gebweiler, Alsace,
Germany, Manufacturers.]
Improvements in Combing Machines.
I, CILARLES DENTON ABEL, of No. 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in
the County of London, Consulting Engineer and Chartered Patent Agent, 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 combing machines operating on the "Heilmann"
system.
These improvements offer considerable advantages in the combing of fibrous
material, as will be fully set forth in the following description and accompanying
drawings.
Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 are part side views, drawn to an enlarged scale showing the
auxiliary piercing comb and the parts in different positions.
Figure 5 is a side view of a inodified arrangement for actuating the nipping
jaws.
Figures 6 and 7 are part transverse sections of the tearing off and sliver forming
rollers in their extreme positions.
Figure 8 is a section illustrating the general arrangement of the parts.
The well known arrangement. in which the levers which carry the feed combs
and the front piercing comb are made to oscillate on a centre carried by the supply
slide, is retained in this construction.
As shewn in the side view of the mechanism at Figure 1, however, the front ends
of these levers are, according to the present invention, either carried by slides or
upon links M M oscillating on fixed pivots.
These levers, together with the parts carried thereby, are thus only made to
receive such motions as are imparted to them by the feeding slides.
The lower part Z of the nipping jaws on the other hand, on which the feeding
slide O slides, has an oscillating motion of sufficient extent to introduce the material
to be combed into the feed combs P and the front piercing comb T.
By this arrangement both the processes, namely the introduction of the material
into the feed combs and the piercing comb by the oscillations of the lower part,
and the participation of the piercing comb in the motion of the slide can be effected
in one and the same machine.
The upper part Z' of the nipper is raised so much above the lower one that the
front end of the feeding grid and the feed combs can enter between the jaws
of the nipper in the direction of the feed. After the termination of the feed period,
or of that part thereof which occurs in the first period of the tearing off, and while
the upper part of the nipper is still raised, the supply slide performs its first
backward motion. This is effected in the manner, usual with machines of this kind.
This backward motion heretofore prevented fibres projecting from the tuft in
the nippers from being drawn forward too late by the tearing-off cylinders.

page_text: After this backward motion there followed, before the nipper jaws were closed,
a repeated forward motion which could be more or less considerably regulated
by changing the cams that produce the motion.
This forward motion was sometimes equal in extent to the preceding backward
motion, or it exceeded the same more or less, according as it was desired to have the
tuft beard to be combed longer or shorter.
According to the present improvement the said backward motion has the
farther object, of avoiding the upper part of the closing nipper and at the same time
to enable a device to be introduced such as a brush N for clearing the front piercing
comb T by its up and down movements effected by the levers U M.
After the material has, by the downward motion of the nipper, been drawn
out of the front piercing comb and the feed comb, the slide moves backward a
second time, this being effected, as with the former combing machines to the full
extent of the length of sliver fed forward for each tearing-off. When the nipper
ha opened again for the next tearing-off, and when the material has been again
pressed into the feed comb and piercing comb, the slide with all the parts carried
thereby inakes a first rapid forward motion towards the tearing-off cylinder whereby
the foremost parts of the material are presented to the latter for tearing-off. A
second motion then at once follows in order to supply the material progressively
to the tearing-off devices, as was also effected in the former machines. During this
second forward motion the front part of the feeding slide, enters into the opened
nipper.
The advantage gained by this arrangement consists in a reduction of the dis-
tance between the piercing comb and the first row of the feed combs while the
length of the supply of material remains the same.
If the feed of the material is effected by means of a pair of rollers mounted
on the slide itself, the rotation of these rollers must be effected during the backward
motion of the slide. For this purpose two arrangements may be employed, namely,
either by causing such rotation of the rollers during both the backward motions
of the slide, or only during the second backward motion thereof.
In both cases the extent of the said rotation must correspond to the length of
material to be supplied.
In the first case the layer of the material to bo supplied is forced back during
the first backward motion to the full extent of this motion; at the second backward
motion on the other hand it is drawn along slowly and is thereby stretched.
In the second case the layer of material is subjected to a uniform pull.
For carrying out the first mode of operating, as was done heretofore, the pawl L
Figure 5 which actuates the feed cylinders, is left continuously in gear with the
ratchet wheel L. In the second case it is necessary to raise the pawl out of the
ratchet wheel during the first backward motion of the slide, and until the nippor
is closed again.
This raising of the pawl is effected by the upper part of the nipper, and con-
sequently at the time when this is opened. The feed of material can however also
be effected by a pair of rollers that are mounted in fixed bearings behind the slide,
in which case the rotation of the rollers must of course take place during the
forward motion of the slide. In this case the layer of material is not pulled during
the penetration of the feed combs; it is only pulled towards the end of the slides
motion.
The adoption of the one or the other mode of operating will depend upon the
nature of the material to be treated.
For the correct function of the drawing of the combed tuft through the front
piercing comb there is required a pressing-in bar, which serves to prevent the
fibres from leaving the piercing comb T during the whole of the tearing-off
period. This pressing-in har is arranged as follows:-
The bearers of the pressing-in bar, which oscillates under the front of the
nipper jaws, are usually hung from a lever D whose pivot F is mounted on the
lower part Z of the nipper.

page_text: This lever D is connected to an arm A ou the upper part 2 of the nipper by
means of au actuating rod and spring in such manner that the pressing-in bar,
after arriving behind the front piercing comb T, only participates in the motion of
the feeding slide. It has been attempted to introduce a front piorcing comb from
below into the material; it has also been attempted to provide the front edge
of the pressing-in bar with pins. This attempt has however given no satisfactory
result, because the pins stood at an acute angle to the layer of material at the
time of penetrating. It is however necessary that the teeth of a piercing comb shall
penetrate about perpendicularly into the material. Furthermore it is necessary
that this pressing in comb d (Figures 2 and 3) (auxiliary piercing comb) shall
be cleared of impuritios after each action thereof. For these purposes according
to the present invention the arrangement is as follows:-
The actual pressing-in bar is replaced by an auxiliary piercing comb d, recipro-
cating under the lower nipper jaw and which is connected to the levers hanging
from the feeding slide O by a short link in such manner, that on opening the
nipper the comb will penetrate vertically from below into the material, immediately
in frout of or behind the upper piercing comb T, (as at Fig. 3) the forward and
backward motion of which is then effected until the nipper closes again, while
during the closing of the nipper the comb d moves back under the same (as at
Fig. 2), and is by this latter motion brought in contact with a clearing brush R
fixed on the comb shaft, as will be understood on reference to Figures 2 to 4.
The lever A is always drawn by a spring in the direction of the arrow in swinging-
on the axis B carried by the feeding slide.
In Figure 2 the auxiliary piercing comb d is shewn in the position which it
occupies when the nipper is closed. During the opening of the nipper the rods c
ure pushed forward, whereby the entire jointed lever A D is made to swing forward
in the direction of the arrow until the lever A is brought to bear against the screw
stop E as at Figure 3. By the farther forward motion of the rods c, the lower
limb D of the lever, which carries the comb d is then turned on the pivot F until
the front finger H bears against the stop J as shewn and the comb d has penetrated
into the material.
As the rods are now also drawn forward by the spring power acting on A,
the entire apparatus follows the movements of the feeding slide O. The backward
movement of the comb d is effected by the pull of the rods e until it has arrived at
the position Figure 2. During this motion the comb is cleared by a brush Ras
shewn at Figure 4. The device for tearing off and forming the sliver which is
shewn at Figs. 6 and 7 is independent of the comb shaft. It consists of a pair
of rollers ef for tearing off and a pair bb for forming the sliver; the lower
tearing off roller e has an endless band 7 passing round it, as also may have the
iower sliver forming roller b, as shewn at ; a is a guide roller for the belt. 7.
The first pair of rollers ef may have an uninterrupted motion; they run in fixed
bearings and effect the drawing out of the entire length of the fibres by their
motion.
The second pair of rollers bb approaches the belt of the first pair, in order
to seize the front part of the tuft of material torn off. It then moves away with a
comparatively small extent of motion.
This motion has for its object to allow the rear end of the tuft torn off to continue
its motion along the first endless belt, so that by the adhesion the fibres assume
a straightened position. To allow of this motion of the rollers bb, the roller b
is carried by rocking arms from pivots Y, as shewn at Fig. 8. In the view of the
combined mechanisms at Fig. 8, the driving shaft 7 has firstly a cam 2 which
actuates the roller 1 of the adjustable elbow lever M that imparts the to and fro
movement to the slide O with feed rollers pas also of the combs T and P by means
of the link O'. Secondly the shaft 7 has a cam 4 acting upon the roller 3 of the
lever bum which carrios the pivot of the arm of the upper nipping jaw Z¹ and
thus imparts the requisite opening and closing motion to such jaw.
Thirdly the shaft 7 carries a cam 6 that acts upon the roller 5 of the lever

page_text: arm Z of the lower nipping jaw Z and thus imparts the opening and closing
motion thereto.
The arm Z also carries the axis W carrying the lever arm C' connected to rod
of comb d; W also carries another lever arm connected by a link X to an arm Zu
fixed on the axis of the upper nipping jaw, so that the rocking motion imparted
to Z by the said axis is transmitted through link X so as to impart a partial
rotation to W, whoreby, the requisite to and fro motion is imparted to lever C
aud rod c for actuating comb das above described.
The arm carrying the upper nipping jaw Z' has an inclined lug Q Figs. 5 and 8
which in moving upward as the arm rises, bears against a più or roller on the
pawl L and lifts this out of engagement with the ratchet wheel L' of the feed
rollers and thus stops the rotation of the latter as described.
The other parts of the mechanism shewn in Fig. 8 have already been fully
described and need therefore not bo farther referred to.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
.
1. In the Heilmann combing machine, the arrangement of the slide motion
of the feed and of the swinging motion of the lower part of the
nipper in such manner that in the same machine the material is fed
into the feed combs and front piercing comb by means of the swing-
ing motion of the under part of the nipper, while at the same time the said
combs partake of the motion of the slide, substantially as described.
2. In the combing machine operating as referred to in the first claim effecting
the forward motion of the feed grid while the nipper is open, such motion taking
place through the space controlled by the motion of the nipper jaws, substantially
as described.
3. In the combing machine reforred to in the first claim effecting by means of
the upper part of the nipper a stoppage of the feed roller motion during the period
of the first backward motion of the feed slide, so that the feed shall only take
place during the time of the second backward motion when the nipper is closed,
substantially as described.
4. In the combing machine referred to in the first claim, the arrangement of the
pressing-in bar or auxiliary piercing comb acting from below in such manner
that the swinging levers which carry these devices are mounted on the lower part
of the nipper, and consequently take part in the motion thereof the teeth of the
said auxiliary comb being made to penetrate perpendicularly into the material and
being cleared after each action, substantially as described."
5. In the combing machine referred to in the first claim arranging the tearing-off
and sliver-forming apparatus in such manner, that the actual tearing-off pair fe
of rollers are mounted in fixed bearings, and effect the drawing out of the entire
length of the fibres by their rotary motion, which can be continuous, and that after
the front ends of the fibres have been seized by the sliver-forming pair of
rollers, the rear ends thereof first form a loop between the two pairs of rollers
which is then laid straight by adhesion to the belt of the first pair substantially 4
as described.
Dated this 27th dox of Amoment 1002
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.