IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMBING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Henry Johnson at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 23rd March
1855. A communication.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMBING
WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS," a communication from Francis Joseph
Boussus, of Fournes, in the Empire of France," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in the drawing mechanism
of Heilman's wool-combing machine. In the arrangement at present adopted
the drawing is effected by means of a travelling carriage, having a curvelinear
movement imparted to it by weights, levers, and cams. This involves the
necessity of the carriage descending and rising at each stroke of the circular
comb, and this vertical movement is obtained from weights which impede the
working of the machine. By these improvements, however, the carriage moves
in a rectilinear direction alternately each way, with variable intervals between
each movement. A horizontal plate is fixed to the framing of a Heilman
machine, and in this plate rotates a vertical shaft, driven by mitre wheels from
a second shaft. This second shaft carries a spur wheel, which gears into
another spur wheel of the same size, fitted on to one of the axes of the

page_text: comber. By this system of gearing, a disc, which is fitted on to the upper end
of the vertical shaft, is caused to rotate twice for one revolution of the drum.
A pin in this disc causes the sliding carriage to move in an alternate rectilinear
direction. As the carriage moves outwards, one of the drawing rollers carried
thereby is brought in contact with a projecting segment, covered with leather,
on the surface of the drum, herein-before referred to. This gives the requisite
pressure for drawing the long staples or projecting tufts of wool, and by the
frictional contact therewith communicates motion to the drawing roller. This
roller is kept in contact with another drawing roller by the aid of springs,
whereby a more uniform pressure is obtained than from weights. Another
improvement in this portion of a combing machine relates to an arrangement
for regulating and equalizing the driving of the drawing rollers, for the purpose
of avoiding any sliding or slipping action between them and the main drum.
In Heilman's present machine the drum is furnished on on two portions of its
circumference with a segmental projection, as herein-before referred to, covered
with leather, which comes in contact with one of the drawing cylinders, and
turns it by simple contact. The ends of the wool or other fibrous material
which pass between the drawing rollers pass also between the surface of the
segment and the surface of the roller which is driven thereby. To obviate the
slipping of the roller thus driven, a toothed segment is fitted into one end of
the drum, which segment corresponds exactly to the segment before referred to
and gears into a pinion on the end of the drawing roller, so that the latter
must rotate when the segment comes round.