IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE FEEDING OF MACHINERY EMPLOYED IN THE PREPARATION OF COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS,
Year: 1872

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by Spencer Crighton at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and Declaration,
on the 18th April 1872, pursuant to the 9th Section of the Patent
Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SPENCER
CRIGHTON, of the Castlefield Ironworks, Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE FEEDING OF MACHINERY EMPLOYED IN THE
PREPARATION OF COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS," and have petitioned
Her Majesty to grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have made solemn
Declaration that I am the true and first Inventor thereof.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Spencer Crighton, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed in and by the following
statement and accompanying Drawings :-
My Invention relates to the lap machines and scutchers, and to other
machines employed in the preparation of cotton and other fibrous.

page_text: materials wherein revolving feed rollers are employed, and wherein it is
requisite or advisable to regulate or vary the speed of revolution of such
rollers in proportion in each case as nearly as may be to the variation
in the thickness of the layer of material being fed into the machine, the
object being to equalise the rate at which the said material is "fed." 5
To effect the said regulation I employ a revolving disc, which gives
motion to a wheel, which is caused to revolve by frictional contact with
the surface of the said disc. The said wheel is mounted on a shaft,
which imparts the necessary revolving motion to the "feed roller" or
to one of the "feed rollers," and is moved nearer to or farther from the 1
centre of the said disc according as the layer of material at the time
passing between the said feed rollers, or above or below the feed roller,
increases or decreases in thickness.
In order that my said Invention may be fully understood I will in
this place refer to a Sheet of Drawings which I have caused to accom-
pany this Specification. The said Drawings illustrate a method of
adaptation of my Invention to a lap machine employed in the
preparation of cotton, and are marked with letters of reference, cor-
responding letters indicating the same parts in the various Figures.
1
In the said Drawings Fig. 1 represents a side view of so much of a 2
lap machine as is necessary to illustrate the application thereto of my
Invention, Fig. 2 being a plan of the parts represented in Fig. 1.
In the said Figures a is the aforesaid disc; b is the wheel driven
thereby; and c
is one of the axles of the lower feed roller. The disc a
is fixed on the end of the shaft d, which is fitted to revolve in 2
bearings e, e, which are fixed to the framing of the machine, and is
caused to revolve by means of the band pulley fand the band 9, the said
pulley being fixed on the "first motion shaft" h.
The method of actuating the said dise may however be varied, ns, for
example, bevil or spur gearing may be employed to give motion to the 3
said disc, and also the motion may be derived from a shaft other than
the shaft h, as preferred or found to be most suitable or convenient.
The wheel b is so mounted on a shaft i as that it may be slid to and fro
on the said shaft, and at the same time the said wheel is not free to
revolve without also causing the said shaft to revolve, as, for example, 3
the said wheel may slide on a "fast key" or projecting "feather." A
worm k, fixed or formed on the said shaft, gears with the worm wheel ?,

page_text: which is nxed on the axle c of the lower feed roller: The upper feed
roller is fitted to rise and fall as is usual as the thickness of the sheet or
layer of cotton varies. Rods m, m, shown in the Diagram, Fig. 3, are
connected with the bearings in which the axles of the upper roller
revolve, or with steps resting on the said axles; and on the said rods are
hung side levers n, n, which are coupled together by the cross bar o.
The said cross bar is connected by its centre with the lever p, which is
connected by the rod q with the bell-crank lever r, which is connected
by the rod 8 with the fork t. The said fork is fitted to slide to and fro
on a bar or "slide" which is fixed to the framing, and the said fork acts
upon collars formed on the boss of the wheel b, so as to cause the said
wheel to slide on the shaft whenever the said fork is caused to move
on the said bar or "slide." The action of the parts is as follows:-As
the upper feed roller rises and falls motion is communicated through the
rods and levers `m, n, o, p, q, r, and s to the fork t, which is thereby
caused to slide to and fro and to move the wheel b nearer to and farther
from the centre of the disc, so that when the saiḍ feed roller or one
end thereof rises the wheel 6 is caused to move towards the centre of
the said disc, and as a consequence the speed of the feed roller is
reduced; and on the contrary when the upper feed roller or one end
thereof falls the said wheel is moved towards the circumference of the
disc, and the speed of the said roller is accelerated. The shaft d is free
to slide in the bearings e, e, to some extent, and is pressed upwards by
a weighted lover u, one end of which is connected with or bears against
the footstep in or on which the end of the said shaft rests, the disc being
by these means pressed against the wheel b. The amount of the said
pressure may be regulated by shifting the weight on the lever u. I
prefer that the said disc shall revolve at a much higher speed than the
feed rollers, in order that there may be little or no "slip" or loss of
useful effect between the disc and the wheel b. The method of convey-
ing the motion from the wheel 6 to the feed roller may be varied as
may be found to be suitable, and other gearing than the aforesaid worm
and wheel may be employed, as, for example, a "differential motion" of
the kind indicated by Fig. 4 may be applied between the wheel 6 and
the feed roller, in which case the said wheel would regulate the speed of
one of the bevil wheels v, v, which in its turn would regulate the speed
of the other of the said bevil wheels, which latter wheel might be fixed
on the axle of the feed roller. The arrangement of rods and levers
represented as being employed to give motion to the fork & is such

page_text: as has been used previously in other apparatus for effecting a similar
object, and therefore forms no part of my Invention apart from the afore-
said disc and wheel. Although two feed rollers are mentioned when
describing the Drawings it must be understood that my Invention is
also applicable in cases wherein is employed a single roller usually acting
in conjunction with a "shell" or " dish."
If preferred two discs revolving in opposite directions may be
employed to impart the revolving motion to the wheel b.
Having now described and illustrated my Invention, and my method
of carrying the same into practical effect, I would in conclusion have it
to be understood that I claim,―
First. The employment for the purpose or purposes herein-before set
forth and indicated of a revolving disc or of revolving discs, and of a
wheel which is driven by frictional contact with the face of the said disc
or with the faces of the said discs, and is fitted to be moved to and fro in
contact with the said face or faces, substantially as herein-before
described and indicated.
And, lastly. The general combination and arrangement of parts, sub-
stantially as and for the purpose described, indicated, and illustrated
herein-before and by the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Spencer Crighton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
described and indicated.
And, lastly. The general combination and arrangement of parts, sub-
stantially as and for the purpose described, indicated, and illustrated
herein-before and by the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Spencer Crighton, have hereunto
sct my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
SPENCER CRIGHTON. (L.S.)
Signed and sealed by the said Spencer
Crighton in the presence of
EDWARD K. DUTTON,
Agent for the Petitioner,
3, Smithy Door,
Manchester.