IMPROVEMENTS IN CARDING-MACHINES
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Harris Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN CARDING-MACHINES." A communication from abroad by
the Whitehead and Atherton Machine Company, of Lowell, Massachusetts,
United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Harris Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 6th December 1880.
"
HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN CARDING-MACHINES.'
[A communication from abroad by the Whitehead and Atherton Machine
Company, of Lowell, Massachusetts, United States of America.]
This Invention relates to improvements in carding machines or engines, and
comprises various novel combinations and arrangements of parts, as hereinafter
described.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I support upon a suitable frame the
carding cylinder and lap, and employ a roll by which the lap is unrolled and
passed to the feed-rolls, whereby it is fed to the said cylinder in essentially the
ordinary manner. According to this Invention however the position of the lap
with relation to the cards is materially changed, it being placed near the floor so
that it can be fed to the cylinder well under it or near its vertical axis instead of
(as is usual) on or about the line of its horizontal axis.
By placing the lap-roll and feed-rolls near the floor, the feed-rolls well under the
cylinder, and the lap-roll as near to them as is possible to allow of the proper
handling of the lap in its progress to the feed-rolls, I very materially shorten the
card from what it is when the lap is fed at or about the line of the horizontal axis
of the cylinder, thereby saving much room on the floor of the mill, and enabling
more carding machines to be arranged in a given space, a feature of great
importance.

page_text: Beyond the feed-rolls, in the direction of revolution of the main cylinder, and
below the centre of the cylinder, I arrange upon a cover a series of troughs or
receptacles set from one-quarter to an eighth of an inch from the face of the
cylinder, the lower trough being placed as near as practicable to the feed rolls and
the upper trough at or near the line of the horizontal axis of the cylinder.
Troughs or dirt-receptacles have been placed on a carding-engine between the
feed-rolls and the top-flats, but heretofore said troughs have been placed at some
point above the centre or horizontal axis of the cylinder. According to this
Invention however the troughs are arranged on the back of the machine, that is to.
say, on the side on which the cotton enters the machine at a point below the
horizontal axis of the cylinder. The advantage derived from thus locating the
troughs or receptacles is material. The dirt and leaf loosened from the cotton are
thrown from the carding-cylinder into the collectors or receptacles, whereas if the
said receptacles were located above the centre of the rapidly-revolving cylinder the
tendency would be to throw the particles of leaf dust and other impurities away
from the receptacles, so that under the latter arrangement a large percentage of
such impurities would fail to be separated from the cotton. Under the arrange-
ment which I have adopted however I remove a large quantity of the sand, leaf,
and the like from the cotton while it is upon the cylinder and before it arrives at
the flats, having actually in practice extracted more than one-half per cent. in
weight of impurities from a lap of cotton. It necessarily follows that the cotton
thus effectively treated before it is given to the flats must produce an exceptionally
clean sliver, thread, and web.
As the cylinder revolves the tendency of the fibre is to fly off from it. To
neutralize this I form the troughs with edges curved toward the cylinder. The
fibre being met by these edges is thrown back into place, while the loose dirt, leaf,
and the like being heavier fall naturally into the troughs, whose position below
the horizontal axis of the cylinder facilitates such deposit. The direction of fall
of loosened impurities is into the troughs placed below the horizontal axis of the
cylinder just as naturally as it would be away from the troughs were the latter
placed above the horizontal axis of the cylinder.
The said improvements can be attached with a slight expense to carding-engines
now in general use by simply changing the position of the lap and feed-rolls from
the position they now occupy to that above described.
By the employment of this Invention no mechanism is necessary for shaking
the edges of the troughs, and thereby shaking the cotton, nor any draft of air to
influence the deposit of impurities, my object being to place the troughs so near
the cotton that the centrifugal force of the cylinder will throw the cotton against
their edges, and that the weight of the impurities detached by such impact will
cause them to fall into the troughs, and to remain there, the troughs and cylinder
being so close to each other that any draft of air between them is practically
impossible.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Henry Harris Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th June 1881.
HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN CARDING MACHINES."
A communication from abroad by the Whitehead and Atherton Machine
Company, of Lowell, Massachussets, United States of America.
This Invention relates to improvements in carding machines or engines, and
comprises various novel combinations and arrangements of parts as hereinafter
described.
and
In the accompanying Drawing,
Figure 1 is a side view of a carding engine with my improvements attached,
Figure 2 is also a side view of the same, partly in section.
A is the frame; B, the cylinder, and C, the lap; D is the roll by which the lap
is unrolled and passed to the feed-rolls E, whereby it is fed to the said cylinder B.
This is essentially the ordinary manner of conveying the cotton from the lap to
the cards, but it will be noticed that the position of the lap with relation to the
cards is materially changed, it being placed near the floor, so that it can be fed to
the cylinder well under it or near its vertical axis instead of (as is usual) on or
about the line of its horizontal axis. By placing the lap-roll and feed-rolls near
the floor, the feed-rolls well under the cylinder, and the lap-roll as near to them as
is possible to allow of the proper handling of the lap in its progress to the feed-
rolls, I very materially shorten the card from what it is when the lap is fed at or
about the line of the horizontal axis of the cylinder, thereby saving much room on
the floor of the mill and enabling more carding machines to be arranged in a given
space, a feature of great importance.
Beyond the feed-rolls in the direction of revolution of the main cylinder and
below the axis or centre of the cylinder, I arrange upon a cover H a series of
troughs or receptacles G set from one quarter to an eighth of an inch from the
face of the cylinder, the lower trough being placed as near as practicable to the
feed rolls, and the upper trough at or near the line or plane of the horizontal axis
of the cylinder.
Troughs or dirt receptacles have been placed on a carding-engine between the
feed-rolls and the top flats, but heretofore the said troughs have been placed at
some point above the centre or horizontal axis of the cylinder. According to this
Invention, however, the troughs are arranged on the back of the machine, that is
to say, on the side on which the cotton enters the said machine at a point below
the horizontal axis of the cylinder. The advantage derived from thus locating the
troughs or receptacles is material. The dirt and leaf loosened from the cotton are
thrown from the carding-cylinder which revolves in the direction indicated by the
arrow into the collectors or receptacle, whereas if the said receptacles were located
above the centre of the rapidly revolving cylinder the tendency would be to throw
the particles of leaf, dirt, or other impurities away from the receptacles, so that
under the latter arrangement a large percentage of such impurities would fail to be
separated from the cotton. Under the arrangement which I have adopted,
however, I remove a large quantity of the sand, leaf, and the like, from the cotton
while it is upon the cylinder and before it arrives at the flats, having actually in
practice extracted more than one half per cent. in weight of impurities from a lap
of cotton. It necessarily follows that the cotton thus effectively treated before it
is given to the flats must produce an exceptionally clean sliver, thread, and web.

page_text: As the cylinder revolves the tendency of the fibre is to fly off from it. To
neutralize this the troughs are formed with edges curved toward the cylinder, as
shown. The fibre being met by these edges is thrown back.into place, while the
loose dirt, leaf, and the like, being heavier, fall naturally into the troughs, whose
position below the horizontal axis of the cylinder facilitates such deposit. The
direction of fall of loosened impurities is into the troughs placed below the horizontal
axis of the cylinder, just as naturally as it would be away from the troughs were
the latter placed above the horizontal axis of the cylinder.
The said improvements can be attached with a slight expense to carding engines
now in general use by simply changing the position of the lap and feed rolls from
the position they now occupy to that shewn in the Drawing, and adding the troughs
and cover, as above described.
By the employment of this Invention no mechanism is necessary for shaking the
edges of the troughs, and thereby shaking the cotton, nor any draught of air to
influence the deposit of impurities, my object being to place the troughs so near
the cotton that the centrifugal force of the cylinder will throw the cotton against
their edges, and that the weight of the impurities detached by such impact will
cause them to fall into the troughs and to remain there, the troughs and cylinder
being so close to each other that any draught of air between them is practically
impossible.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondents, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I am aware that troughs for cleaning the cotton have previously been placed
on a carding engine, and also that the lap and feed rolls have been placed below
the plane of the horizontal axis of the cylinder, and therefore I make no claim to
the same, but what I claim is,-
.
First. In a carding-machine the combination with the main cylinder of dirt
troughs or receptacles intermediate between the feed-rolls and the top-flats, and
below the horizontal axis of the said cylinder, substantially as above set forth.
Second. In a carding machine the combination with the main cylinder and the
feed-rolls and lap-roll, arranged below the horizontal axis of the said cylinder, of
dirt troughs or receptacles located between the said feed-rolls and the plane of the
horizontal axis of the cylinder, substantially as above set forth and for the purposes
specified.
Third. In a carding-machine the combination with the removable cover H,
provided with the series of dirt receptacles G having inwardly-curved lips, of the
feed-rolls E and the lap-roll C, the said feed and lap rolls being located below the
horizontal axis of the main cylinder, substantially as above set forth and for the
purposes specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Harris Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
HENRY H. LAKE. (L.S.)