IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMBING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Muir Hetherington, of Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, Machine Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR COMBING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS." Partly
a communication from abroad by Marie Phillippe Auguste Pénel and Edouard
Jules Joseph Lecœur, of Rouen, în France.
Sealed the 18th July 1876, and dated the 21st January 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Muir Hetherington at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patent on the 21st January 1876.
JOHN MUIR HETHERINGTON, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Machine
Maker. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMBING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS
MATERIALS."
This Invention relates to an improvement upon a Patent granted to Michael
Henry, dated 20th February 1873, No. 651. In the said Specification two sets of
rotatory clamps were employed for conveying the two ends of severed tufts to
combing apparatus, a current of air being employed to draw the ends of the said
tufts between the clamps. I still propose to use rotatory clamps and the current of
air above mentioned, but to add other parts whereby one set only of such clamps is
rendered necessary, and increased efficiency is secured. These objects 1 accomplish
as follows: To the one set of clamps I adapt a series of instruments answering to
combs, and they therefore revolve with the said clamps and pass through one end
of a tuft of material while it is held by a pair of nippers. In this manner one end
of the tuft is combed, and a reciprocating comb then advances and pass through
the fibres of the tail end. When this has been done the nippers move bodily and
draw the material from the said comb, leaving within the rotatory clamp a tuft of
material combed at both ends. The current of air for drawing the material and
the piecing of the tufts upon a plate are performed after the manner described in
the aforesaid Specification.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by the
said John Muir Hetherington in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 21st July
1876.
JOHN MUIR HETHERINGTON, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Machine
Maker. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMBING COTTON AND OTHER
FIBROUS MATERIAL.". Partly a communication from abroad by Marie Philippe
August Penel and Edouard Jules Joseph Lecœur, of Rouen, in France.
This Invention relates to an improvement upon a Patent granted to Michael
Henry, dated Twentieth February One thousand eight hundered and seventy-three,
No. 651. In the Specification of the said Patent two sets of frotatory clamps were
employed for conveying the two ends of severed tufts to combing apparatus, a
current of air being employed to draw the ends of the said tufts between the
clamps. I still propose to use rotatory clamps and the current of air above
mentioned, but to add parts whereby one set only of such clamps is rendered
necessary.
In order to clearly explain the main feature of the Invention, I will in the first
place describe the construction of those parts which immediately act upon the
material, and their combined operations, and will subsequently shew their appli-
cation to the general construction of machine. For the former of these purposes I
refer to the detached views, Figures 1, 2, 3, which are drawn full size. A portion
of the segmental clamps are shewn at 1 capable of moving in the circular side
grooves 2, being driven therein by the trunnions 4, as described in the aforesaid
Specification of Michael Henry, and as will hereafter be referred to. In this
instance, however, the said segmental clamps are cach furnished with pointed
instruments which act as combs, the said instruments 3 being adapted in any
suitable manner.
At 5, 6, are two nippers mounted on levers 7, 8, which are
capable of turning upon a centre, the said nipper 6 being covered with leather.
These two nippers are capable of opening or closing upon each other, and they also
have a motion bodily upward and downward as well as backward and forward; as
will hereafter be seen. At 9 is a comb the whole breadth of the clamp combs 3,
and mounted on a lever 10 which has a vibratory inotion so as to move downward
into the lap of material, and upward therefrom. At 11 are the feed-rollers which
constantly revolve.
The Figures 1, 2, 3, represent the parts in different successive positions; and I
begin therefore with those shewn at Fig. 1. It will be necessary, however, to
assume that one end of a tuft has been combed, such end being represented by the
line 12, it being drawn by a current of air between the two clamps. 1, 1º, as
described in the Specification of the said Michael Henry, and in this position it is
held by the pair of nippers 5, 6, the comb 9 at this time being in its clevated
position. The segmental clamp 1 with its combs 3 now rises simultaneously, with
which the nippers 5, 6, also rise until the tuft 12 is brought against the clamp 1, or
nearly so, and then the other clamp 1a closes upon it, the nippers 5, 6, having
opened and moved backward the comb 9 descends and passes through the fibres.
The above operations having been performed, the parts have assumed the positions
shewn at Fig. 2, the nippers 5, 6, having moved backward sufficiently so as (when
they again close) to carry forward a sufficient length of lap for another tuft.
_constant revolution of the feed rollers 11 is of course slow, and the lap hangs in a
slight loop during each successive operation, but such loops are continuously taken
up at each advance of the nippers towards the combs. The parts then being in the
position shown at Fig. 2, it will be seen that a tuft of the fibrous material combed
at one end is held between the segmental clamps 1, 1a, while the comb 9 is situate
between the fibres. The clamp la being now propelled carries forward the enclosed
tuft in the manner described by the said Michael Henry, but in this case it draws
the fibres through the comb 9 and thus the tuft becomes broken off and its tail end
is.combed. When these operations have taken place the comb 9 moves upward and
The

page_text: the nippers 5, 6, having closed, move forward and present another portion of the
lap to the advancing clamp 1a, which is provided with a part without combing
apparatus, but immediately afterward the comb 3 arrives in contact with the newly
presented fibres and operates upon the front end of the intended tuft, which position
of the parts is shewn at Fig. 3; and this operation shows how that is accomplished
which was assumed to have been done when the positions of the parts in Fig. 1
were referred to. The subsequent operations of succeeding clamps are mere repe-
titions, and the tufts combed at both ends are pieced up and delivered as in tho
known machine.
Having thus described the operations of these parts which involve the Invention,
I proceed to describe how the said parts may be actuated in the machine, but the
arrangement shall point out does not include any part of the Invention and may
be varied, as all competent mechanics will understand.
Fig. 4 is a section across the machine; and Fig. 5, a plan view, the operating
In the machine of Michael
parts being in the position they are shown at Fig. 1.
Henry, aforesaid, it may be remarked that there is no cylinder, properly so called,
but that the segmental clamps form a cylindrical space, one portion of which is
exhausted by a fan or other such apparatus, the said space being divided into two
compartments, which are shewn at A, B, it differing in form only from that described
in the former Specification. At 12 is the fan by means of which a partial vacuam
is formed in the chamber B so as to create a draught through the space between
The segmental
two opened clamps, as for instance, between those shown at 1, 1
clamps as described by the said Michael Henry, were provided with one trunnion
only for gearing with the star wheels 13, 14, but in this instance they have each
two trunnions, as at 4, 4, Fig. 1, and in order therefore to allow for the unequal
distances between one pair of trunnions and the succeeding one of the next clamp,
the star wheel 14 is provided with teeth of unequal pitch, as seen in Fig. 4.
Having thus pointed out the chief variations from the former Specification, it
being assumed that only one circle of segmental clamps are employed, I proceed to
show how those parts which act with the segmental clamps are worked:-The
nipper 5 is mounted on a pair of levers 7 which are fast upon a shaft 15, and the
other nipper 6 upon a pair of levers 8 which are loose upon the said shaft 15; but
these two parts are drawn towards cach other by a spring 16 capable of being
adjusted in length by a nut 17 acting against a bracket 18 which is fast with the
lever .8, which bracket carries a bowle 19. The shaft 15 is carried by levers 20
attached to a shaft 21, which has a rocking motion imparted to it by means of a
cam 22 (see the plan view), and thus the nippers are moved bodily inwardly and
outwardly. The shaft 15 has a vibratory motion imparted to it by means of a
cam 23, whereby the nippers are moved bodily upward and downward. The comb 9
is mounted upon a shaft 24 which is caused to vibrate by means of a cam 25 (see
the plan view), and thus the said comb is caused to descend and ascend. Upon
the shaft 24 is a stop piece 26, situate over the bowle 19 and fast with the shaft 24.
When the nippers 5, 6, are elevated and are required to open the bowle 19 arrives
in contact with the said stop piece 26, whereby the lower nipper is prevented from
moving any further, it being loose, as above mentioned, on the shaft 15, but the
vibration of the shaft 15 still continuing, the upper nipper 7 is lifted against the
force of the spring 16, whereby the opening takes place, as seen at Fig. 2.
combed tufts having been carried forward are delivered on to the plate 27, as
described in the Specification of the said Michael Henry, and are pieced and passed
forward in a similar manner; in this instance, the pusher 28 is mounted on a
lever 29, which is drawn to and fro by an excentric 30, a projection 31 on the said
At 33 is the detainer
lever passing up an incline 32 on its backward movement.
which is worked by a cam 34. At 35 is a rotatory brush which cleans the seg-
mental combs 3, which brush is stripped by a card roller 36 cleansed by a doffer
comb 37.
The
Fig. 6 is a section of part of the framework shewing how the segmental
clamps are mounted and the star wheels adapted; Fig. 7 is an end view of one of

page_text: the clamps. At 38 is the groove in which the comb clamps slide, and at 4 two
end trunnions. At 14 are the star wheels for the action, of which portions of the
frame are cut out as seen at 39.
The various parts of the machine may be driven by any suitable arrangement
of gearing, but I have shewn the pitch lines of the chief of those which are used in
the sections, and the same wheel in full lines in the plan. At 60 is the main shaft,
and at 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, the wheels for driving the drawing rollers 45, and at 40,
46, 47, 48, those for driving the excentric 30. The brush 35 is driven by the
wheels 50, 51, 52, 53, and the star wheels 13 by the said wheels 40, 46. The feed
rollers 11 are driven from a wheel on the end of the star wheel shaft 13, which is
connected with gearing 54, shewn in the plan view. The cams 22, 23, 25, 34,
above referred to, are all direct upon the main shaft 60. The lap of material is
placed as usual upon the geared rollers 70, and is conducted to the feed rollers 11
along the shute 71.
In the foregoing description the arrangement shewn and described has been
treated as an entire machine, and it may be so, or it may be considered as one
"head" only to be combined with more, as will be well understood.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of the said Invention and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be understood, that I
claim as secured to me under the above in part recited Letters Patent and for the
purpose above set forth, the use of combs or similar instruments adapted to such
rotatory clamps as those above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Muir Hetherington, havo hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twenty-first day of July, One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-six.
JOHN MUIR HETHERINGTON. (L.S.)