IMPROVEMENTS. IN SCREW-GILL-BOXES FOR PREPARING WOOL, SILK AND OTHER FIBRES
Year: 1885

page_text: We GEORGE WILLIAM DOUGLAS of Manningham, in the County of York,
Gentleman and JAMES SHAW, of Lyndhurst Street Bradford in the aforesaid
County Engineer do hereby declare the nature of our invention for IMPROVEMENTS.
IN SCREW-GILL-BOXES FOR PREPARING WOOL, SILK AND OTHER FIBRES to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to screw-gill boxes for separating and straightening wool,
and other fibres; and its object is to provide a machine which more efficiently
prepares the fibres, without the damage heretofore resulting therefrom.
The invention consists in traversing the gills or fallers, carrying the fibres, of
preparing boxes by means of screws having an increasing pitch, thus the spaces
between the gills or fallers is gradually increased, and their speed is accelerated as
they traverse the box, and the fibres carried thereby are drawn smoothly out and
more thoroughly disentangled and straightened than by the ordinary method of
running the fallers at an uniform speed, and maintaining them an equal distance
apart during the whole of their traverse; also as the surface speed of the feed
rollers is preferably almost equal to the speed of the first faller and the surface
speed of the delivery rollers only slightly exceeds the speed of the last faller no
undue strain is put upon the fibres as they are feed upon and taken off the fallers
which previously has been the case, consequently breakage of the fibres is in a
great measure avoided.
To obviate any disadvantage that may arise by the fallers getting too far apart
at the end of their traverse, we preferably divide the fallers into two or more sets
driven by independant screws, having an increasing pitch, and place a pair of
rollers between each set of fallers, the first fallers in each set starting at a slightly
faster speed than the last faller in the set behind it.
The set of fallers which first operate on the fibres are made with stronger pins
than the set of fallers in front of them, and the fallers in each of the following sets
have finer and more numerous pins than the fallers in the sets behind them.
When only two sets of fallers are employed we may dispense with the herein-
before mentioned intermediate rollers by allowing the independant screws traversing
such fallers to almost meet in the centre and drive them by their outward ends.
Dated this fifth day of November 1885.
DRACUP & NOWELL,
Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Screw-gill Boxes for Preparing Wool, Silk, and
other Fibres.
We GEORGE WILLIAM DOUGLAS, of Manningham, in the County of York,
Gentleman, and JAMES SHAW, of Lyndhurst Street, Bradford, in the aforesaid
County, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of our invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SCREW-GILL BOXES FOR PREPARING WOOL, SILK AND OTHER FIBRES,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
:
This invention relates to novel and useful improvements in screw-gill boxes in
which two or more independent sets of gills, or fallers, are employed; and its
object is to provide a machine which will efficiently open out, straighten, and
generally prepare wool, silk and other fibres, and also in a large measure avoid the
damage heretofore resulting from such preparation.
For this purpose we employ independent screws of increasing pitch to impart
the foward traverse to each set of gills, thus the motion of such gills is gradually
accelerated as they traverse the box, and we run the feed and delivery rollers
approximately at the speed at which such gills begin and finish their traverse so
as to avoid the usual violent action at these points.
The pins in the gills of the second and consecutive sets are made proportionately
shorter and finer, and are fitted closer together as the fibres become drawn out, or
extenuated.
(
In order that those skilled in the art to which our invention appertains may
fully understand our improvements we will proceed to describe the same in detail,
referring to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification in which
similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.
Figure 1 represents a plan of such portions of a gill box fitted with two inde-,
pendent sets of gills, as are necessary to illusterate the best method of applying our.
invention to such a gill box. Figure 2 is a sectional elevation of the same.
Figure 3 is a plan of a gill box having three sets of gills operated in accordance
with our invention. Figure 4 is a sectional elevation, and Figure 5 is an end view
of the same.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2: The independent screws of increasing pitch A
and A¹ fitted on each side of the two sets of gills Band B¹ impart a foward motion
to such gills which motion is gradually accelerated as they are carried to the end
of their traverse, when they are passed down by means of the usual cams, or
tappets, fixed at the ends of each of thesarews, to the bottom screws C and C¹ of
uniform pitch and are thereby conveyed back and up into position to be again
traversed foward by the screws A and A¹. The usual guides or saddles are
provided on which such gills slide, and they are guided in the ordinary manner
from one screw to the other. The screws A and C and the screws A¹ and C¹ are
respectively geared together by the wheels D and F and the wheels D¹ and F¹.
The screws are arranged to almost meet in the middle of the machine, therefore the
4.5

page_text: gills of the first set finish their foward traverse close to the point where the second
Bet start
The bottom screws in the second set are fitted closer to the top screws than in
the first set, and the screws in the second set are less wide apart than those of the
first set; because the pins are shorter though closer and finer, and because the screws
are lighter and of less diameter than those in the first set, and the gills or faller
ends are shorter to suit the shorter cams or tappets required to pass such gills from
one screw to the other.
The bottom screws C of the first set of gills B are actuated by the bevel
wheels G on the cross shaft H engaging with the bevel wheels on the outer ends of
such screws, and the cross shaft H is connected by gearing to the main shaft J.
The screws C¹ of the second set of gills receive motion from two, longitudinal
shafts K which are connected by bevel gearing L to the main shaft J. The
intermediate wheels M communicate motion from the change wheels N on the said
longitudinal shafts to the wheels F¹ on the screw C¹ traversing the second set
of gills.
The feed and delivery rollers Q, and R are respectively operated by gearing
connected to the worms O and O¹ on the longitudinal shafts K. The worms O.
and O¹ engage with the worm wheels P and P on the shafts S and S¹, which
shafts are provided at their outer ends with change wheels T and Tengaging with
the change wheels U and U fitted on the arbors of the bottom feed and delivery
rollers Q and R.
The said change wheels are so arranged relative to the gearing operating the
screws traversing the two sets of gills that the fibres are fed by the feed rollers Q
to the gills B at a speed approximately equal to the speed at which such gills start
their traverse. The gills in the second set begin their traverse at a speed which
more or less exceeds the speed at which the gills in the first set finish according to
the nature of the fibres operated upon; and the delivery rollers R draw off the
fibres at a speed approximately equal to the speed at which the gills in the second
set finish their traverse.
When more than two sets of gills are employed in one machine intermediate
rollers are introduced between each set to convey the fibres from one set to the
other, as the arrangement for driving the independent screws prevents them being
placed close together.
Referring to Figures 3, 4 and 5: The screws A of increasing pitch traversing the
first set of gills B are driven in a similar manner to the screws traversing the first
set of gills in the machine herein before described. The screws A¹ and A2 traversing
the second and third sets of gills B¹ and B are geared to the screws of uniform
pitch C¹ and C by the wheels D' and F, and D2 and F', respectively fitted on the
ends of such screws. The wheels F1 and F engage with the intermediate
wheels M¹ and M' which are driven by the change wheels N¹ and N2 on the
longitudinal shafts K.
The intermediate rollers V₁ and V' are employed to draw the fibres off the sets
of gills behind them and feed such fibres onto the gills in front. The feed and
intermediate rollers are operated in a similar manner to the feed and delivery
rollers applied to the two sets of gills hereinbefore described, and the delivery
rollers R, on account of their greater speed, are operated by a slightly modified
arrangement; bevel wheels W being employed to transmit motion from the shaft K
to the shaft S³.
The speed of the said feed, intermediate, and delivery rollers, together with the
speed of the intervening sets of gills is so relatively arranged that a continuous and
uniform "draft" is exercised upon the fibres passing through the machine.
It is obvious that two, three or more sets of gills may be arranged and operated
in the manner above described.
A dabbing brush B³ operated by mechanism connected with the cam E³ on
the shaft H is placed immediately in front of the feed rollers in each machine to
press the fibers into the pins of the gills. And when intermediate rollers are not

page_text: employed between the different sets of gills a second dabbing brush B* (Figures 1
and 2), preferably actuated by cams, or eccentrics, on the shafts K, is arranged to
operate at the beginning of the second set of gills.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare what
we claim is:
1. In a screw gill box, the arrangement and combination of two sets of gills
traversed by independant screws of increasing pitch actuated at different relative
speeds, substantially as herein described and shown in Figures 1 and 2.
2. In a screw gill box, the arrangement and combination of two or more sets of
gills traversed by independent screws of increasing pitch actuated at different
relative speeds substantially as herein described and shown in Figures 3, 4, and 5.
3. In a screw gill box, the combination of two or more sets of gills, actuated by
screws of increasing pitch, with feed and delivery mechanism respectively driven
at a surface speed approximately equal to the speed at which the gills start and
finish their traverse, substantially as herein shown and described and for the
purpose specified.