IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CARDING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Tatham, of Rochdale, in the County of
Lancaster, Machine Maker, and Roger Tatham, of the same Place,
Mechanical Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
Scaled the 30th November 1869, and dated the 3rd June 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Tatham and
Roger Tatham at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 3rd June 1869.
WC, JOHN TATHAM, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster,
Machine Maker, and ROGER TATHAM, of the same Place, Mechanical
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CARDING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS
MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates, firstly, to feeding carding engines. with slivers,
and to that known system which is usually called diagonal feeding.
According to that method the fibrous material is conducted.in a ropo
form to the feeding apparatus and is deposited diagonally side by side.
Our Invention consists in conducting the said material to the feeding.

page_text: apparatus in successive pleats laid diagonally as above described, and in
the condition of flat slivers commonly known as the Scotch feed, but in
such manner that the ends of the said pleats shall form right lines with
the edges of the feed apron or nearly so. To accomplish this we propose
to employ a conducting roller or rollers mounted in a suitable frame and
moving diagonally across the feed apron, but the axes of the said rollers
are placed at an angle to the line in which they move bodily, and
parallel or nearly so to the edges of the feed apron. When therefore the
sliver is carried forward and backward the pleats are deposited at each
edge in one line. Or for the same purpose we place the axes of the
rollers in any desired position, and cause them to swivel when approaching
the edges of the feed apron. In connection with the above-described
diagonal, and which is also applicable to other cross feeds, as in the afore-
said Scotch arrangement for instance, we propose to employ a travelling
belt or similar apparatus resting upon the slivers, which apparatus is
raised as the sliver rollers advance and is then allow to fall again. The
aforesaid belt we propose to drive from the feed rollers.
Secondly. Our Invention relates to condenser carding engines, and
consists in adapting apparatus to the slivers whereby a drag is put
thereon, so as to consolidate them upon the surface on which they are
wound. To accomplish this we propose to employ a presser similar to
that used in roving frames, or an equivalent apparatus, and to use it in
connection with a surface over which the sliver passes or upon the
bobbin itself.
Thirdly. Our Invention relates to the separation of the slivers in con-
densing carding engines, and which separation is usually effected by
what is called a splitting roller. We propose still to use this roller, but
to cause it to revolve in contact with a surface which by bearing upon
the clevated parts severs the adhering fibres.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, 3
filed by the said John Tatham and Roger Tatham in the Great
Scal Patent Office on the 3rd December 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, JOHN
TATHAM, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker,
and ROGER TATHAM, of the same Place, Mechanical Engineer, scud 3
greeting,

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellen Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of June, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-third year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said John Tatham and Roger Tatham, Her special license that
we, the said John Tatham and Roger Tatham, our exccutors, adminis
trators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said John Tatham and
Roger Tatham, 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, au Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CARDING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS
MATERIALS," upon the condition, amongst others, that we, the said John
Tatham and Roger Tatham, by an instrument in writing under our
hands and scals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, 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 John Tatham, 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 following
statement and accompanying Drawings, that is to say :-
Our Invention refers, firstly, to feeding carding engines with slivers,
and to that known system which is usually called diagonal feeding.
According to that method the fibrous material is usually conducted in a
rope form to the feeding apparatus, and is deposited in diagonal layers
disposed side by side.
Our Invention consists in conducting the said material to the feeding
apparatus in successive pleats laid diagonally as above described, but in
the condition of flat slivers commonly known as the "Scotch feed," and
in such manner that the ends of the said pleats shall form right lines
with the edges of the feed apron or nearly so. To accomplish this we
employ a conducting roller or rollers mounted in a suitable frame and
moving across the feed apron as in the "Scotch feed," but by preference
the axes of the said rollers are placed at an angle to the line in which

page_text: they move bodily, and parallel or nearly so to the edges of the feed apron,
and in this form we shall now describe the apparatus.
This part of our Invention is shown in the accompanying Drawings at
Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, which represent the said "Scotch feed" apparatus
diagonally arranged; Fig. 1 being a plan view of the feed apparatus
broken off in its length, Fig. 2 a side elevation thereof, and the other
Figs. detached views.
The framework is shown at 1, within which are mounted diagonal
belts & carried by rollers c, d, as is usual in diagonal cross feed apparatus,
there being a series of the belts & placed in each division of the frame «,
but only two are shown in the Drawing, and one object of this part of
our Invention as at present to be described is to place the returning
edges of the slivers of material parallel or nearly so to the edges of the
said outside hands, say, for instance, on the line A, B. At 2 is a
carriage provided on one side with a bracket 3, to which is attached an
upright part 4, and extending therefrom is a cross piece 5 furnished with
two rollers 6 capable of travelling upon a rail 7 carried by the frame-
work. The other side of the carriage 2 is provided with a bracket S,
which is furnished with a roller 9 resting upon a rail 10 carried by the
framework, and the said carriage 2 may therefore be caused to travel to
and fro, and the means we have shewn for effecting that motion is as
follows: At 11 is a shaft, to which rotatory motion is communicated
from the feed rollers of the carding engine or from other convenient
source and carrying a bevil wheel 12 taking into another 13, the axis of
which is provided with a pulley 14, over which and over another
pulley 15 an endless strap 16 passes. To this strap is aflixed a pin 17
projecting horizontally into a slot. 18 formed in a part 19 which projects
downward from the bracket, and which as before stated is fast with the
carriage 2. At 20, 21, are the fluted rollers which deliver the slivers to
the feed apron. Their axes at the ends, 22, 23, are carried by a lever 24*,
and at their other ends they are mounted in a lever 24, which levers
are capable of turning upon centres 25, having their bearings in the
said carriage 2. One end of the lever 24 is furnished with a rod 26 (sec
the detached view Fig. 3, and also Fig. 2), which rod is connected at its
lower end to a bell-crank lever 27, 27*, turning upon a centre at 28.
At certain times (hereafter to be described) the lever 27* arrives
alternately in contact with stops 29, 29*, by which means it becomes
turned over on its centre 28, thereby through the medium of the rod 26

page_text: causing the lever 24 to turn upon its centre 25 and elevate one roller 20
or 21, and depress the other. To illustrate this Fig. 3 represents a
detached end view of the carriage 2 and parts connected therewith, and
the roller 21 is placing the material (shown by the blue colour) upon
the feed apron b, the said carriage being caused to travel in the direction
of the arrow, while the other roller 20 is held in a more clevated position
by the lever 24, but when the bell-crank lever 27, 27*, is turned over
as above described then the rod 26 will pull down the lever 24 and
reverse the position of the rollers 20, 21, that shewn at 20 being
depressed and the other 21 being clovated into the position seen at
20*, 21*, as will be hereafter described with the general operation of the
machine. Upon the axes of the rollers 20, 21, are pinions 30, 31,
capable of alternately taking into a pinion 32 according as the one or
the other is raised by the aforesaid turning of thic lever 21. The
pinion 32 is mounted upon the axis of a pulley 33, which is carried by
the upright 4, and around it passes a band 34, one end of which is fixed
to a stationary part and the other with a weight 35. When therefore
the carriage 2 is caused to travel in the one direction or the other the
pinion 32 is caused to revolve, and to impart rotatory motion to one or
the other of the pinions 30, 31, and consequently to the fluted rollers 20,
21, both of which will be caused to revolve by the pinions 30, 31, being
in gcar with each other.
The general operation is as follows:-Rotatory motion having been
imparted to the shaft 11 the.carriage 2 will be caused to travel in the
direction of the arrow, and the pinion 32 will cause the rollers 20, 21, to
revolve and deliver the material fed to them in' any suitable manner to
the feed apron b and carry it on to the edge A, B, thereof. Now sup-
pose these rollers were placed at right angles to the frame on which they
travel, the consequence would be that the end of each lap would form
an angle to the edge of the feed apron and form a zig-zag line, but as
they are placed at an angle thereto it follows that when they arrive at
the end of their traverse the material will be deposited in a line with
their delivering surfaces corresponding or nearly so to the line A, B.
The carriage 2 having thus travelled to one side of the apron, the pin 17
carried by the strap 16 will ascend the slot 18 and pass around the
pulley 14, so that the motion of the carriage 2 will be reversed. At the
same time the lever 27* having arrived in contact with the stop 29 will
be caused to turn over, and by drawing down the lever 21 carry the
pinion 30 out of gear with the driving pinion 32 and place the other 31

page_text: in gear therewith, so that the rollers 20, 21, in their backward movement
will continue to turn downward and deliver the material to the apron,
and the same motions as those already described will take place when
the pin 17 passes over the pulley 15 and the lever 27 arrives in contact.
with the stop 29*. It will be observed by inspecting the Drawing that
the axes of the rollers 20, 21, are not placed exactly parallel to the edges
of the feed apron, for we have found in practice that a more uniform
result is gained by departing slightly from that line and adopting an
angle similar to that shewn, the result being that some margin is left
for a slight withdrawal of one side of the pleat upon a reversal of the
motion. At Figs. 4 and 5 we shew detached views of a cover which
we adapt to the carriage 2. The material is conducted by any ordinary
means through the slit 34, and the angle of this slit may be altered
according to the direction from which the material proceeds. The
raised part 35 is simply to make room for the pinion 32. This part of
our Invention as before stated refers to the adaptation of the "Scotch
feed" to diagonal pleating, and it is well known that according to this
system the slivers overlap cach other; such overlapping will of course
be regulated by altering the speed of the feed apron in proportion to
that of the delivering rollers as is now practised for rectangular feeding.
As a variation of arrangement for causing the pleats to be laid parallel
to the edges of the apron the rollers 20, 21, might be caused to travel
at any desired angle and to swivel at the end of each traverse so as to
present the material at the necessary angle for accomplishing the object
we have described. We have above particularly described our Invention
as applied to laying overlapping pleats with their ends parallel or nearly
so to the feed apron, but if this be not required for some classes of
material the axes of the rollers 20, 21, will be placed at right angles to
the frame on which they travel, and then flat overlapping slivers will
be deposited, as in the "Scotch feed," with the difference according to
our Invention that they are fed diagonally.
Our Invention relates, secondly, to condenser carding engines as
shown at Figs. 6, 7, 8, and 9, in which the improvement is represented
in different arrangements. In Figs. 6 and 7 the ordinary rubbing
surfaces are at b, c, the surface down at d, and the bobbin at c. The
traversing bar which distributes the material is shown at, and to it
is attached a series of pressers similar to those employed in roving frames
there being in this case one of such pressers for cach strand of material,
and their outward ends rest upon the surface drum d. After these

page_text: strands pass from the rubbing surfaces b, c, they are coiled around the
pressers and proceed beneath the same to the bobbin, as shown by
the red color, rotatory motion being imparted as usual to the surfaco
drum. The material is wound upon the bobbin and distributed on
its surface by the traversing bar. The usual wires or staples / for.
guiding the strands may be adopted and are shewn in the Drawing, but
the pressers themselves act in that manner.
The effect of this arrange-
ment is that the material has a certain amount of drag put upon
it by the pressers, and a greater amount may therefore be wound upon,
a bobbin. The Drawing shews the upper winding on drum and bobbin
only, but the arrangement will be the same for the lower, the strands
passing over a guide, roller as is now practised; Figs. 8 and 9 represent
a modification of this part of our Invention. In this instance the
pressers are formed by a continuous plate i which is carried at each
end by an arm & attached to a shaft capable of turning in bearings
carried by the traversing bar f. The plate i, is pierced with holes
through which the strands pass direct, as shewn by the red line. The
plate i rests on the surface roller and is capable of moving upward
by the turning of the shaft 2. In the lower part of Fig. 9, we have
shewn another modification of our Invention in which the chicf
difference is that the presser acts upon the surface of the material
on the bobbin as it is being formed, instead of resting upon the surface
drum. In this instance a rod is supported by brackets / attached
to the traversing barf, and carries jointed arms, one of which is shown
at y. These arms carry the perforated bar i, constituting the presser
and resting upon the bobbin e. The course of the threads or strands is
shewn by the red line, and they are consequently consolidated upon
the bobbin as it is wound, the presser bar i turning upward upon its
centre as the said bobbin increases in size. We have spoken in this
instance of the use of a presser bar, but separate pressers, as shown at
Fig. 6, 7, may be adapted, and in either casc springs to press them to
the surface of the bobbin or drum may be applied. Instead of the
arrangements above described a roller or rollers may be caused to press
upon the material as it passes over the surface drum or upon the bobbin
as it is wound.
Another part of our Invention also relates to the condenser carding
engines, and is shown at Figs. 10, 11, in which a represents the doffer
and b, c, the rubbing surfaces; at d is the usual splitting roller, which
for the purpose of our Invention is constructed with the projecting

page_text: parts formed as knife edges. Over this I place a roller or series o
collars e, and resting thereon, by which means the material which is nof
perfectly separated into distinct slivers is severed so as to accomplish
that object, or the splitting roller may be formed with thicker edges
and the cutting edges adapted to the top roller or collars.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of our said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it
to be understood that in reference to the first part of our Invention wo
claim,―
Firstly. The use of what is known as the "Scotch feed" for placing
the slivers diagonally on the apron instead of at right angles thereto.
Secondly. Delivering the flat diagonal slivers so that their ends are
deposited parallel or nearly so to the edges of the feed apron. As applied
to condenser carding engines and for the purpose aforesaid, firstly, the
use of pressers or drags resting upon the surface of the drum or bobbin ;
secondly, for the purpose aforesaid the use of a roller or serios of
collars resting upon the splitting roller.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Tatham, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Second day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
TATH
JOHN TATHAM. (L.S.)