IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO MACHINERY FOR DOUBLING AND DRAWING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUB- STANCES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to François Delamare Deboutteville, of Fontaine le
Bourg, in the Department of the Seine Inférieure, in the Empire of
France, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO
MACHINERY FOR DOUBLING AND DRAWING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUB-
STANCES."
Sealed the 28th December 1865, and dated the 30th June 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said François Delamare
Deboutteville at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 30th June 1865.
I, FRANÇOIS DELAMARE DEBOUTTEVILLE, of Fontaine le Bourg, in the
Department of the Seine Inférieure, in the Empire of France, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE
TO MACHINERY FOR DOUBLING AND DRAWING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUB-
STANCES," to be as follows:-
My Invention has for its object the adaptation and application to doubling
and drawing machines known in France by the name of rota-frotteurs of
mechanism for regulating the coiling and pressing of slivers in their receptacles;
so that they may become more evenly distributed therein, and easily with-
drawn therefrom as required. For this purpose my Invention consists in the
use of an excentric funnel, through which the sliver of cotton or other fibrous
material is caused to pass from the drawing rollers to the receptacle for the

page_text: same, such funnel being caused to revolve in a fixed collar in which its upper
part is inserted, by its lower part having on it a toothed rim, which is set in
motion by its gearing with a similar toothed rim or rims, the two outside rims
of the series being driven by pinions. By this means the sliver as it is
delivered from the drawing rollers is caused to pass through an inclined
conduit in the excentric funnel, by the rotation of which it becomes evenly
distributed within its receptacle. This mechanism for coiling the slivers is
intended to serve as a substitute for the ordinary instrument used by hand.
In order to prevent inconvenience arising from the failure of the sliver to
fall with sufficient rapidity into its receptacle, a moveable piston is adapted
and applied to the latter. This moveable piston has sides, which are rendered
elastic by means of springs, and it is caused to descend gradually as the slivers
are fed upon it.
The form of the receptacle may be rectangular or circular, and the several
receptacles may be arranged and combined with drawing rollers and with
elevating screws, so as to admit of two sets being raised and lowered by hand
as required by means of screws on one vertical shaft. When a receptacle of
circular form is used a central spindle is inserted therein.
By another arrangement the receptacle is dispensed with and the central
spindle alone retained. This central spindle is stationary, and a balance plate
is caused to revolve around it, on which plate the slivers are coiled, and
around the spindle by the action of the excentric funnel at the upper end of
the spindle. Two pairs of balance plates are or may be combined and raised
and lowered as required by means of racks and pinions.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said François Delamare Deboutteville in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 28th December 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANÇOIS
DELAMARE DEBOUTTEVILLE, of Fontaine le Bourg, in the Department of the
Seine Inférieure, in the Empire of France, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said François Delamare Deboutteville, Her special licence that I,
the said François Delamare Deboutteville, my executors, administrators, and

page_text: assigns, or such others as I, the said François Delamare Deboutteville, 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
AND. APPLICABLE TO MACHINERY FOR DOUBLING AND DRAWING COTTON AND OTHER
FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
François Delamare Deboutteville, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said François Delamare Deboutteville, 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, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention of "Improvements in and applicable to Machinery for
Doubling and Drawing Cotton and other Fibrous Substances," has for its
object the adaptation and application to machines known in France by the
name of "rota-frotteurs," of mechanism for regulating the coiling and pressing
of slivers in their receptacles, so that they may become more evenly distributed
therein and easily withdrawn therefrom as required. For this purpose my
Invention consists in the use of an excentric funnel, through which the sliver
of cotton or other fibrous material is caused to pass from the drawing rollers to
the receptacle for the same, such funnel being caused to revolve in a fixed
collar, in which its upper part is inserted by its lower part having on it a
toothed rim, which is set in motion by its gearing with a similar toothed rim
or rims, the two outside rims of the series being driven by pinions. By this
means the sliver as it is delivered from the drawing rollers is caused to pass
through an inclined conduit in the excentric funnel, by the rotation of which
it becomes evenly distributed within its receptacle. This mechanism for
coiling the slivers is intended to serve as a substitute for the ordinary instru-
ment used by hand..
In order to prevent inconvenience arising from the failure of the sliver to
fall with sufficient rapidity into its receptacle, a moveable piston is adapted
and applied to the latter. This moveable piston has sides which are rendered

page_text: elastic by means of springs, and it is caused to descend gradually as the slivers:
are fed upon it.
:
The form of the receptacle may be either rectangular or circular, and the
several receptacles may be arranged and combined with drawing rollers and
with elevating screws, so as to admit of two sets being raised and lowered by
hand as required by means of screws on one vertical shaft. When a recep-
tacle of circular form is used a central spindle is inserted therein.
By another arrangement the receptacle is dispensed with and the central
spindle alone retained. This central spindle is stationary, and a balance plate
is caused to revolve around it, on which plate the slivers are coiled and
around the spindle by the action of the excentric funnel at the upper end of
the spindle. Two pairs of balance plates are or may be combined and raised
and lowered as required by means of racks and pinions.
Having thus stated the nature of the said Invention, I will now proceed to
describe more particularly in what manner the same is to be performed by the
áid of the accompanying Drawings, in which are represented the several parts.
of mechanism above referred to.
་
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal elevation of the machine; Fig. 2 is an end elevation
with a portion of the framework removed, in order to shew the course of the
slivers of fibrous material through the machine; Fig. 3 is a plan of one end of
the frame, shewing the division of the slivers and their union by means of
conducting rollers. The remaining Figs. 4 to 19 inclusive, represent several
parts of the machine detached, and will be herein-after referred to. In all
these several Figures the same letters of reference indicate corresponding
parts.
The machine represented in Figures 1, 2, and 3, and known in France by
the name of "rota-frotteur," consists, in common with other machines used in
the preparation of fibrous materials for spinning, of mechanism for successively
doubling and drawing the slivers until they reach the spinning machine.
These machines are divided into several classes according to the degree of
fineness of the fabric required to be prepared.
On reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, it will be seen that the slivers J, coloured
red (contained in boxes or cans), proceeding from a drawing frame or from
another "rota-frotteur" are supported and conducted by guides K, K', and
are passed through apertures in a guide plate M, they are drawn by the
rollers A, A1, A3, surmounted by their respective pressing rollers L, L', L'.
These rollers are as usual mounted in a carriage X. The slivers are then

page_text: caused to pass between a large roller or cylinder B; and an endless apron C,
by which means they are compressed, and are at the same time subjected to.
a process of rubbing alternately from right to left, and from left to right.
The apron C is stretched over two rollers D, D', only one of which is driven,
the other being caused to turn merely by surface contact. The cylinder B
and the apron C, besides their revolving motion, have a longitudinal alternating.
motion caused by excentrics, one of which impels in one direction and the
other in the contrary direction. This movement of the two parts in contrary
directions produces the rubbing above referred to. By this means the slivers
receive no twist, but are rubbed so as to cause the fibres of cotton or other
material to adhere, and the sliver has sufficient consistence to prepare it for
the operation of the spinning machine without the aid of the ordinary roving.
or slubbing frame.
The slivers in proceeding from under the cylinder B pass over a fixed guide
K, and are drawn forward by the action of two rollers E, E', one of which is
driven by: gearing, and transmits motion to the other through the pinions
B', B, shewn in Fig. 3. At length the slivers are caused on leaving the
rollers E, E, to fall as usual into boxes or receptacles F, of tin or wood, in
which they are coiled. These boxes are placed on a carriage G, divided into
compartments by partitions G², and furnished with flanged. rollers a, which
run on rails G¹, the carriage being moved backwards and forwards thereon.
The alternate motion of the carriage G is caused by a pinion H gearing with
the projections on a lantern wheel I, and passing successively from the inside,
to the outside. The axle of the wheel I carries a wheel I' gearing with a.
rack I fixed to the carriage. This to-and-fro movement has for its object the
distribution of the sliver over the whole area of the section of the box. But:
as the box has a tendency to become rapidly filled by the accumulated layers
of sliver, it is necessary for the attendant to press them down frequently by
band with a small board furnished with a handle. The piling by hand besides
requiring constant attention cannot be very regular, the result of which is a
defective arrangement of the slivers by which they become entangled, as also
other defects which are well known. In order to obviate these defects, a
mechanical instrument for coiling the slivers is applied to the machine. called
rota-frotteur," by means of which the coiling is regularly performed by the.
working of the machine, and a considerable economy in manufacture is
effected.
The coiling instrument referred to is represented detached in section at
Figure 7, and consists of an excentric funnel or hollow guide through which the.
slivers pass from the rollers E, E, such excentric guide being formed with a

page_text: toothed rim O turning in a fixed collar P, secured by a plate Q bolted to two
longitudinal pieces Q', supported by the frame X. The bottom of this plate Q
(see Figures 4, 5, 6,) forms a circular plate, having a groove in it, in which a
tongue at the bottom of the toothed rim O fits, such rim being united to the
mouth of the funnel O by means of the inclined conduit 0', thereby forming
an excentric. The slivers on entering the mouths O pass into the conduits O
and out through the toothed rims O, in order to fall into the boxes F, within
which they become regularly coiled. All the working parts of the machine
receive their required motion from the driving shaft Y, the action of which is
transmitted through suitable gearing. In order to obviate any tendency to
irregular and obstructive accumulations of sliver in the inclined conduits O',
a moveable piston F¹ constructed as shown in Figures 11 and 12, is adapted and
applied to the box F. The two sides of the principal frame F' are furnished
at each end with a groove to receive the tongue of a moveable piece b forming
the end of the frame, and covered with leather 6' to rub against the sides of
the box. To the piece bare fixed spiral springs ¹ round a fixed spindle ³,
and connected at their other end to the central transverse piece b³. By com-
pressing with the hand the pieces 6 they are brought together, and the piston
is inserted in the box; the springs are then allowed to react, and the pieces b
guided by the screws 65 are caused to rest against the sides of the box, which
is thus furnished with a kind of moveable bottom, which descends as the box
becomes filled with the material. The piston F¹ is easily removed by hand,
which is facilitated by two cavities 66 at the bottom of the same. The rotation
of the several excentric guides for coiling the slivers is caused by a pinion Os
at each end of the machine (see Fig. 1), which give motion to the series of
toothed rims Os, such pinions being driven by the bevil wheels O*. It will
be seen that as the series of toothed rims 0% are severally in gear the excentric
guides will be turned alternately in opposite directions, but although this
might be avoided by the use of intermediate wheels, yet it is no detriment to
the regular coiling of the slivers in the boxes as required.
b
In Figures 13 and 14 is represented an arrangement of the machine for fine
numbers, in which circular cans F are substituted for rectangular boxes.
These cans F are of tin, and have in their centre spindles d, guided at top by
a circular groove in the toothed rim 03 of the excentric guide, and secured at
the bottom by a plate or piston d³. The rotation of the cans is caused to take
place in a direction opposite to that of the plates 63 by means of the wheels f
gearing together, or by means of intermediate wheels. The excentric guides
are supported by the plate g, and the cans by the plate h. A screw m with a
bevil wheel n gearing with a similar wheel p, serves the purpose of raising

page_text: and lowering simultaneously by hand the two ends of the apparatus, in order
to facilitate the removal of the coils of sliver which are formed around the
central spindles d, in the manner shewn in Figure 17. The lower end of the
screw m rests on a foot q fixed to the floor. One of the two slivers pro-
ceeding from the rollers, passes to the upper and the other to the lower set
of cans.
Figures 15 and 16 represent another variety of my Invention applicable to
the said machines for fine numbers, and which from experience I prefer. In
this case the circular can F is dispensed with, and only the central spindle d
retained. The supporting plate or balance h is rendered moveable; at the
first it is raised so as to be just under the plate g, so as to produce an imme-
diate coil. The turning plate f of the balance h has the spindle d passed
through it, by which means it is kept in its central position. These spindles d
are stationary in the bar i under the balance h, and can only be moved when
required by turning the fly t, the axle of which carries the requisite number
of pinions u gearing with an equal number of racks r' connected with the
balance h. As one layer of material becomes coiled on the plate f this plate
and the balance / which supports it is lowered a slight distance by means of
the racks worked by the pinions u.
This movement allows a new layer to
be coiled, with the same pressure as the preceding layer, and thus by degrees
the whole coil is produced on the spindle. The first pinion u may be put out
of gear by pushing it forward and on to a pin x of a wheel y, which turns
loosely on the axle of the fly t, and thus admits of the balance ¹ being lowered
if required by turning the fly t¹ without giving a corresponding movement to
the balance h. The balance is restored to its original position by means of
the same fly, which remains fixed by the pin x of the wheel
Y.
I would here remark that the above described mechanism is intended to
include the following arrangements (that is to say), first, the use of two
excentric guides placed one before the other for depositing the sliver in one
and the same box; secondly, the production of a varying speed in the
distribution of the sliver by means of a toothed rim caused to work excen-
trically; this arrangement might be modified by the adaptation of a toothed
excentric to the purpose; thirdly, the rendering of the coiling plate moveable
so as to cause it to follow the box in its to-and-fro movement, instead of
causing friction by resistance; and, lastly, the varying of the form of the
piston with lateral or vertical springs, which forms the bottom of the box for
the purpose of insuring a continuous and regular coiling of the slivers from
the commencement of the filling of the box.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and in what

page_text: manner the same is to be performed, I hereby declare that I do not claim as
of my Invention the application of the mechanism above described, or any
part or parts thereof, to other machines besides those which are commonly
used in France instead of roving frames, and known in that country by the
name of "rota-frotteurs;" but what I do claim as of my Invention is,—
First, the adaptation and application to such machines ("rota-frotteurs")
of mechanism for coiling the slivers of cotton or other fibrous materials, in the
manner herein-before described.
Secondly, the combination of a plate of the kind represented at Figures 4 and
5, and described with the mechanical coiling instrument represented and
described.
Thirdly, the arrangement of several slivers together by dispensing with
the rotary, movement of the can or box, and avoiding also the twist as
required.
Fourthly, the stopping of the carriage at the two ends of its alternating
rectilinear course for the purpose of depositing an uniform thickness of cotton
or other fibrous material over the whole area of the horizontal section of the
box.
And, lastly, the application of a piston or moveable bottom with springs to
the boxes for the purpose of coiling from the commencement of the process of
filling them, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said François Delamare Deboutteville, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Nineteenth day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
F. DELAMARE DEBOUTTEVILLE. (L.S.)