IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR 13 PREPARING, STRATONTERINGS AND COMBING FIBROUS MATERIALS.
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Tongue, of Wakefield, in the County of
York, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
13
PREPARING, STRATONTERINGS
AND COMBING FIBROUS MATERIALS.
Sealed the 19th February 1867, and dated the 22nd August 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Tongue at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd August 1866.
I, WILLIAM TONGUE, of Wakefield, in the County of York, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR PREPARING, STRAIGHTENING, AND COMBING FIBROUS MATERIALS,"
to be as follows:-
In the Provisional Specification of an Invention for which a Patent has
been granted to me, bearing date February 23rd, 1866, No. 559, an arrange-
ment of machinery is described for preparing fibrous materials, in which a
number of gills or heckles (by preference one-half of the series employed) are.
removed from and replaced into the fibrous material under operation, the
drawing or combing action of such heckles being suspended while they are
withdrawn from and replaced into the fibrous material. In the Provisional
Specification above referred to certain mechanical arrangements are described
for carrying out the Invention by which, after the gills or heckles are removed
from the fibrous material, the heckles which remained in the fibrous material

page_text: were moved in one direction, while the heckles which were removed were
moved in the opposite direction or towards the feed rollers, the heckles were
then replaced in the fibrous material, and the complete series of heckles were
then separated or caused to move away from the feed rollers, so as to produce
the combing action on the fibrous material.
In carrying the above arrangement into practice it is found desirable to
give movement to the feed rollers, so as to draw the fibrous material through
the heckles while they remain stationary. Now I have found in practice that
it is preferable to so arrange the parts that after the heckles have been
removed from the fibrous material those heckles which have been left in it
remain stationary, while the lower series are moved towards the feed rollers
or instruments and are again replaced into the fibrous material, after which
the heckles are moved forward or away from the drawing or delivering rollers
or instruments so as to produce the combing action upon the fibrous material,
any movement of the feed rollers or instruments, except such as to feed the
material forward, being thereby dispensed with.
The movements of the operating parts in the manner or order above referred
to may be accomplished by different arrangements of mechanism, but I prefer
to actuate them in the following manner:-The gills or heckles, after being
withdrawn from the fibrous material, are caused to move towards the feed
rollers by means of fingers carried by a slide, the heckle bars descending
between such fingers when the heckles are withdrawn from the fibrous
material. The heckle bars are supported whilst being raised and lowered by
surfaces carried by slides, which slides also carry fingers to act as spacing
instruments between the series of heckle bars which remain in the fibrous
material when one-half of the series are withdrawn, the fingers acting to hold
the upper series accurately in position until the series which has been with-
drawn is replaced, and also acting to insure the withdrawal of the heckle
bars. The heckle bars which remain in the fibrous material when half the
series are withdrawn are supported by stationary fingers. After the series of
heckles which have been withdrawn from the fibrous material have been
re-introduced into it the whole series are caused to move a short distance
towards the delivering rollers or instruments. The ends of the heckles bars
are so formed that when placed together in a series, side by side spaces are left,
between the projecting ends of the bars, and there are sliding instruments
arranged opposite the ends of the heckle bars furnished with fingers placed at
such intervals, as to stand between the ends of every other two heckles bars.
when the whole series of heckle pins are inserted in the fibrous material under
operation, and by the movement of the instruments with the fingers towards

page_text: the delivering rollers or instruments every alternate heckle bar is moved by
the fingers towards such delivering rollers, each neighbouring heckle bar being
moved at the same time by its adjoining bar, thus causing the whole series
of heckle pins to move simultaneously a short distance through the fibrous
material. When one-half of the series of heckle bars is withdrawn the fingers
are left in a position to move back the same distance, so as to be in readiness
to again move forward the whole series of heckles as above described. Each
time the heckle pins pass into the fibrous material a dabbing brush or instru-
ment is caused to press it into and amongst the pins or teeth. I prefer to
actuate the parts above referred to by means of cams and counter cams so
arranged with springs as to insure accuracy of movement of all the parts
combined therewith. I find it desirable to graduate the pins or teeth in the
heckle bars, those nearest the feed rollers having a fewer number of pins in
each row than those in the bars nearer the delivering rollers or instruments,
the fibrous material being presented to the action of finer and finer instruments
as it progresses through the machine.
The second part of my Invention relates to improvements in a machine
shown and described in the Specification of a Patent granted to George
Tomlinson Bousfield, dated September 20th, 1861, No. 2858, and also to a
machine of the same character for which a Patent was granted to Ira Dimock,
dated February 12th, 1864, No. 365. In these machines the cleaning instru-
ments are of circular form, and the second part of my improvements consists
in the application to such machines of endless sheets of pins, cards, or heckles
as cleaning instruments in place of the circular cleaning instruments.described
in the Specifications above referred to.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Tongue in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
22nd February 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
TONGUE, of Wakefield, in the County of York, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Tongue, Her special licence that I, the said William Tongue,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said

page_text: William Tongue, 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
MACHINERY FOR PREPARING, STRAIGHTENING, AND COMBING FIBROUS MATERIALS,”
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Tongue, 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 immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Tongue, do hereby declare
the nature of the 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 Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say)
ن:
In the Specification of an Invention for which a Patent has been granted
to me, bearing date February 23rd, 1866, No. 559, an arrangement of
machinery is described for preparing fibrous materials in which a number
of gills or heckles (by preference one-half of the series employed) are
removed from and replaced into the fibrous material under operation,
the drawing or combing action of such heckles being suspended while they
are withdrawn from and replaced into the fibrous materials.
In the Specification above referred to certain mechanical arrangements are
described for carrying out the Invention, by which after the gills or heckles are
removed from the fibrous material, the heckles which remained in the fibrous
material were moved in one direction while the heckles which were removed
were moved in the opposite direction or towards the feed rollers, the heckles
were then replaced in the fibrous material, and the complete series of heckles
were then separated or caused to move away from the feed rollers so as to
produce the combing action on the fibrous material.
In carrying out the above arrangement into practice it is found desirable
to give movement to the feed rollers, so as to draw. the fibrous material
through the heckles while they remain stationary. Now I have found in
practice that it is preferable to so arrange the parts that after the heckles
have been removed from the fibrous material those heckles which have
been left in it remain stationary, while the lower series are moved towards

page_text: the feed rollers or instruments and are again replaced into the fibrous
material, after which the heckles are moved forward or away from the drawing
or delivering rollers or instruments so as to produce the combing action upon
the fibrous materials, any movement of the feed rollers or instruments, except
such as to feed the material forward, being thereby dispensed with.
The movements of the operating parts in the manner or order above referred
to may be accomplished by different arrangements of mechanism, but I prefer to
actuate them in the following manner:-The gills or heckles, after being with-
drawn from the fibrous material, are caused to move towards the feed rollers by
means of fingers carried by a slide, the heckle bars descending between such
fingers when the heckles are withdrawn from the fibrous material. The
heckle bars are supported whilst being raised and lowered by surfaces carried
by slides, which slides also carry fingers to act as spacing instruments between
the series of heckle bars which remain in the fibrous material when one-half
of the series are withdrawn, the fingers acting to hold the upper series
accurately in position until the series which has been withdrawn is replaced.
and also acting to insure the withdrawal of the heckle bars. The heckle bars
which remain in the fibrous materal when half the series are withdrawn are
supported by stationary fingers. After the series of heckles which have been
withdrawn from the fibrous material have been re-introduced into it, the
whole series are caused to move a short distance towards the delivering rollers
or instruments. The ends of the heckle bars are so formed that when placed
together in a series side by side spaces are left between the projecting ends of the
bars, and there are sliding instruments arranged opposite the ends of the heckle
bars furnished with fingers placed at such intervals as to stand between the
ends of every other two heckle bars when the whole series of heckle pins are
inserted in the fibrous material under operation, and by the movement of
the instruments with the fingers towards the delivering rollers or instruments
every alternate heckle bar is moved by the fingers towards such delivering
rollers, each neighbouring heckle bar being moved at the same time by its
adjoining bar, thus causing the whole series of heckle pins to move simul-
taneously a short distance through the fibrous material. When one-half of the
series of heckle bars is withdrawn the fingers are left in a position to move
back the same distance, so as to be in readiness to again move forward
the whole series of heckles as above described. Each time the heckle pins,
pass into the fibrous material a dabbing brush or instrument is caused to.
press it into and amongst the pins or teeth. I prefer to actuate the parts
above referred to by means of cams and counter cams so arranged with
springs as to insure accuracy of movement of all the parts combined therewith.

page_text: being presented to the action or uner and nner instruments as it progresses
through the machine.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a longitudinal section, and Figure 2 a transverse section
of a machine constructed according to my Invention, the other Figures of the
Drawings showing separate views of some of the parts.
a, a, is the main framing of the machine. The fibrous material to be
operated upon is fed into the machine through between the feed rollers b, b,
and is conducted by the heckle bars c, c, to the delivering rollers d, d, by which
it is conducted out of the machine either in the form of a sliver or a lap, as
is well understood; is a brush by which the fibrous material is pressed into
and among the teeth of the heckle bars c, c, from time to time as required.
Motion is communicated to the feed and delivering rollers from the main
driving axis f by means of toothed wheels, as indicated in the Drawings by
red lines, the nature and arrangement of which will be readily understood
by any competent mechanic acquainted with the description of machinery.
One-half of the series of heckle bars c, c, after being withdrawn from the
material (as represented in the Drawings) are moved towards the feed rollers
b, b; they are then caused to rise into the material, the brush e being caused
to press the fibrous material into and among the teeth of the series of heckle
bars, the whole series then move a short distance through the fibrous material
towards the delivering rollers d, d, into such a position that half of the series
of heckles which previously remained in the material may descend out
of it, travel back towards the feed rollers, and by repeating the series of
movements as above described in succession, each pair of heckle bars is
thus caused to travel round each other in the course of their movements.
I will now proceed to describe the mechanism by which the successive
movements of the heckle bars c, c, are accomplished. The heckle bars c, c, are
caused to move towards the feed rollers by means of the fingers g, g, carried
by the slide g (shown separately at Figures 3 and 4, Sheet 8 of the Drawings),
and the slide 9 moving to and fro in guides g* carried by the framing is
actuated by means of a cam 93 (also shown separately at Figures 5 and 6) on
the cam shaft h; the cam 93 acts upon a truck or roller carried by the lever g³,
which is loose upon the rocking axis g*, and the lever g' acts by means of springs
upon the rods 9 carried by the lever 96, which lever is fixed upon the axis g*.

page_text: also act to insure the withdrawal of
The surfaces i and fingers 23 are
is a cam on the axis h, which
fixed upon the rocking axis 7,
The motion thus given to the axis g' is communicated by means of the levers g
and connecting rods g³ to the slides g¹ and fingers g. After the heckle bars have
been raised the fingers 9, 9, are caused to return to a position to receive and
carry forward the next half set of heckle bars; is a cam on the axis h
(shown separately at Figures 5 and 6), which acts upon a truck g₁o carried
by the lever g fixed on the axis 9', which by the levers g' and connecting
rods g³ actuate the slide g'. It will thus be seen that the cam g' acts to move the
slide g' in one direction, and the cam g' to move it in the opposite direction;
the springs on the rods g³ acting to press the trucks carried by the levers 9³
and 9 against the surfaces of the cams 93 and 9° at all parts of their revolu-
tions, thus insuring perfect accuracy. The heckle bars are supported whilst
being raised and lowered by the surfaces i carried by the slides moving in
guides carried by the framing of the machine, the slide i, with the parts
attached, being shown at Figures 7 and 8. The slides also carry fingers,
which act as spacing instruments between the series of heckle bars which
remain in the material when one of the series are withdrawn, thus holding
the upper series accurately in position until the series which has been
withdrawn is replaced. The fingers
the heckle bars from the material.
actuated in the following manner:-
acts upon a truck carried by the lever
another lever is fixed upon the rocking axis 7, and the levers 2 and 3,
by means of the connecting rods and cross bar 10, communicate motion
to the slides, carrying the surfaces i and fingers . There is a counter
cam to insure the movement of the slides ; this counter cam acts upon
a truck carried by the lever ¹ fixed upon the axis 77. The heckle bars which
remain in the fibrous materials when half the series are withdrawn are sup-
ported by stationary fingers k, k, (shown separately at Figures 9, 10, and
11,) carried by the guide brackets 1,, fixed to the framing of the machine.
After the series of heckles which have been withdrawn from the fibrous material
have been re-introduced into it the whole series of heckles are caused to
move a short distance towards the delivering rollers (as previously described)
in the following manner :-The ends of the heckle bars are so formed that
when placed together in a series side by side spaces are left between the pro-
jecting ends of the bars, as will be readily understood by examining the plan
view of one of the heckle bars shown at Figure 12. m, m, are sliding
instruments furnished with fingers m¹, m³, arranged opposite the ends of the
series of beckle bars c, one of such sliding instruments m being shown sepa-
rately at Figures 13, 14, and 15, and the fingers m¹ are placed at such

page_text: intervals as to stand between the ends of every other two heckle bars c when
the whole series of heckle pins are inserted in the fibrous material under
operation, and by the movement of the instruments m, m, with the finger m
towards the delivering rollers or instruments every alternate heckle bar is
moved by the fingers m³ towards such delivering rollers, each neighbouring
.heckle bar being moved forward at the same time by its adjoining bar, thus
causing the whole series of heckle pins to move simultaneously a short distance
.through the fibrous material. When one-half of the series of heckle bars is
withdrawn the fingers m¹ are left in a position to move back the same distance,
so as to be in readiness to again move forward the whole series of heckles, as
above described; these movements of the instruments m take place at the
same time as the movement of the slide 9 previously described, and the
instruments are actuated by the same cams and apparatus as those
described for actuating the slide g¹ in the following manner: The
instruments mare carried by slides moving in guides , and motion
is communicated from the rocking axis 9 by means of levers and
connecting rods to the side levers moving on studs fixed to the framing
of the machine. The levers * communicate their movement by means
of connecting rods and studs to the slides and instruments m; the
connecting rods and I prefer to make adjustable, so that they can
be regulated with accuracy, and to place springs upon them, so that all
the connections are constantly pressed together in that direction of the
motion which pulls the heckles through the fibrous material, the object of
this arrangement being to prevent any play or "back lash" between the
several parts.
I will now describe the mode of actuating the brush e for the purpose of
pressing the fibrous material into and amongst the heckle pins carried by the
heckle bars c. The brushes e, e, are attached to the bars e', e', which are
connected to the cross rails e³, e², by pin joints and screws et, so that when
the screws are removed the brush e can be turned over on the pin joints e³,
so as to expose it and the heckle bars c when required. The bars are carried
by slides moving in guides is; is a cam on the axis h, shown at Figures 5
and 6, and the cam es acts upon a truck on the lever e' loose upon the axis i';
the lever communicates movement to the lever fixed on, the axis by
means of the connecting rod e¹0; ell are levers fixed on the axis e, which by
means of the connecting rod es communicate movement to the slides and
brushes e; es is a cam fixed on the axis h (shown separately at Figures 5
and 6), which acts upon the truck e¹ carried by the lever e³, so as to ensure
the descent of the brush e at the proper time.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of this part of my improvements, and the
best means I am acquainted with for carrying the same into practice, I would
have it understood that I do not confine myself to the precise arrangement
of mechanism herein described for actuating the instruments which operate upon
the fibrous material, as the same may be considerably varied without departing
from the true character of this part of my Invention, which consists,―
Firstly, in communicating the series of movements to the heckle bars in the
manner and order herein described.
Secondly, in the means employed for actuating the heckle bars in the
manner herein described.
And, thirdly, in graduating the teeth of the series of heckle bars arranged
and actuated as herein described.
The second part of my Invention relates to improvements in a machine
shown and described in the Specification of a Patent granted to George
Tomlinson Bousfield, dated September 20th, 1861, No. 2358, and also to a
machine of the same character for which a Patent was granted to Ira
Dimock, dated February 12th, 1864, No. 365. In these machines the
cleaning instruments are of a circular form, and the second part of my
improvements consists in the application to such machines of endless sheets
of pins, cards, or heckles moving over small rollers arranged close to the
nipper as cleaning instruments, in place of the circular cleaning instruments
described in the Specifications above referred to.
I would here remark that I have not thought it necessary to shew by
Drawings the improved arrangement of parts above referred to, as an
intelligent mechanic acquainted with this description of machinery and aided
by the previous description of the second part of my Invention will readily
carry the same into practice without a more detailed description thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Tongue, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
WILLIAM TONGUE. (L.S.)