IMPROVEMENTS IN LAP MACHINES FOR PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Barlow, of Bolton, in the County of
Lancaster, Machine Maker, John Ashworth, junior, of Turton, near
Bolton aforesaid, Cotton Spinner, James Newhouse, of Farnworth, near
Bolton aforesaid, Manager, and Francis Hamilton, Foreman, and
William Hope, Carder, both of Bolton aforesaid, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LAP MACHINES FOR PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS
Sealed the 6th November 1863, and dated the 23rd May 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Barlow, Jolin
Ashworth, James Newhouse, Francis Hamilton, and William Hope at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the
23rd May 1863.
We, EDWARD BARLOW, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, Machine
Maker, JOHN ASHWORTH, junior, of Turton, near Bolton aforesaid, Cotton
Spinner, JAMES NEWHOUSE, of Farnworth, near Bolton aforesaid, Manager,
and FRANCIS HAMILTON, Foreman, and WILLIAM HOPE, Carder, both of
Bolton aforesaid, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LAP MACHINES FOR PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS
SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
Our improvements in lap machines (which machines are employed for
winding the produce of scutchers and carding engines on to a roller) relate to
the lap machines for which Letters Patent were granted to John Ashworth,
junior, on the Ninth day of January, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six,.

page_text: No. 71, and they consist in casting the side flanges of the lap roller with
bosses to which the weight hooks are suspended. The upper ends of the
weight hooks are guided in side bearings and the bosses of the side flanges are
bored out to receive a shaft on which the lap roller revolves or which revolves
with the lap roller. In order to release the lap when full, the shaft is drawn
through the lap roller and the side flanges are liberated endways by removing
or loosening wedges which are hinged to levers, and pass between the boss
of the side flanges and the side bearings. These wedges may be applied to
one or both side flanges, or the side flanges may be moved endways to release
the lap by other equivalent means.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Barlow, John Ashworth, James Newhouse, Francis
Hamilton, and William Hope in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
18th November 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, EDWARD
BARLOW, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker, JOHN
ASHWORTH, junior, of Turton, near Bolton aforesaid, Cotton Spinner, JAMES
NEWHOUSE, of Farnworth, near Bolton aforesaid, Manager, and FRANCIS
HAMILTON, Foreman, and WILLIAM HOPE, Carder, both of Bolton aforesaid,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Edward Barlow, John Ashworth, junior, James Newhouse, Francis
Hamilton, and William Hope, Her special license that we, the said Edward.
Barlow, John Ashworth, junior, James Newhouse, Francis Hamilton, and
William Hope, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as we, the said Edward Barlow, John Ashworth, junior, James Newhouse,
Francis Hamilton, and William Hope, our 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 LAP MACHINES FOR PREPARING
COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst others)

page_text: that we, the said Edward Barlow, John Ashworth, junior, James Newhouse,
Francis Hamilton, and William Hope, our executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of our or their
hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 we, the said Edward Barlow, John Ashworth,
junior, James Newhouse, Francis Hamilton, and William Hope, do hereby
declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, that is to say:-
The nature of our Invention consists in certain improvements upon the lap
machines for which Letters Patent were granted to John Ashworth, junior, on
the Ninth day of January, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six,
No. 71.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation, we will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet
of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked
thereon.
Fig. 1 is an elevation in section of a lap machine to which our improve-
ments are applied; Fig. 2 is a front view of the same; Figs. 3 and 4 are
sections, and Figs. 5 and 6 are detached pieces on an enlarged scale of parts
of the machine.
a, a, are the ordinary calendering rollers; b, b, are the fluted rollers; and c
the lap roller on which the fleece of slivers is wound; d, d, are the side flanges,
which are furnished with bosses fitting on the ends of the bushes e, e, through
which the shaft f passes; the bushes e, e, fit in the heads of the weight
hooks g, and the left-hand one is prevented from turning round by the set
screws h, h. These set screws also enable the bush to be moved laterally to
adjust the side flange to the ends of the fluted rollers b, b. The heads of the
weight books slide in grooves in the standards i, i, and their lower ends are
provided with racks g¹ into which the ordinary pinions gear for applying the
weight to form the lap of any required hardness. To the right-hand weight
hook g, see Fig. 2, is jointed a catch j, which holds the shaft fin its place
while the lap is being made, and to the same weight hook is fixed the bracket k,
to which is hinged the lever l. To this lever is jointed the upper end of the
double wedge m, shewn best in Figs. 4 and 5, which passes through slots in

page_text: the weight hook and into notches in the right-hand bush e, as shewn in Figs. 5
and 6. This wedge prevents the right-hand bush e from turning.
.
The mode of operation is as follows:-The Drawing represents the parts in
the positions they occupy when the lap is partly filled and when the wedge m
is down to hold the right-hand side flange d almost in contact with the ends of
the fluted rollers b, b. When the lap is full or if it should be requisite to
remove the partly filled lap, the attendant places one foot upon the usual
treadle to release the break. The lever is then raised into the position
indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, for the purpose of raising the wedge m.
The lateral pressure of the cotton on the right-hand side flange d then pushes
this flange and its.bush e as far laterally as the taper of the wedge and the
incline in the bush e will allow, or sufficiently for releasing the lap when the
shaft is drawn through the lap roller c, as shewn by dotted lines in Fig. 2.
The shaft is then held by the catchj, which takes into a circular groove f¹,
as shewn in Fig. 3, while the full lap is being removed and an empty lap
roller put in its place. When the lap roller is in its place the shaft f is passed
through it, and the wedge m is again pressed down, and the weight hooks
are lowered to bring the lap roller upon the fluted rollers b, b. By this means
the operation of removing a full lap and placing an empty roller between
the side flanges can be performed more expeditiously than heretofore, in
consequence of not having to raise the full lap at all previous to removing
it from the machine, from which: it follows that in replacing an empty roller
the distance to lower is much reduced and time saved accordingly.
g
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, we wish to observe that we do not limit ourselves to
the details given as they may be varied or modified, and we declare that we
claim the improved combination and arrangement of machinery for connecting
the lap roller and side flanges to the weight hooks of lap machines, and for
releasing the full lap and introducing an empty lap roller, as shewn and
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Ashworth, junior, have hereto
set my hand and seal, this Sixth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
JNO. ASHWORTH, JR. (L.S.)