IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMBING AND CLEANING FLAX, Tow, WOOL, AND COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Lawson, of Leeds, in the County of York,.
Machine Maker, and Somerville Dear, of the same Place, Machine
Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMBING
AND CLEANING FLAX, Tow, WOOL, AND COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 5th October 1855, and dated the 18th April 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Lawson and Somer-
"ville Dear, at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
"Petition; on. the 18th April 1855.
We, Join LAWSON, of Leeds, in the County of York, Machine Maker, and
SOMERVILLE DEAR, of the same Place, Machine Maker, do hereby declare the
nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMBING AND
CLEANING FLAX, Tow, WOOL, AND COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," to be
as follows:
rap
Our improvements consist in a novel and peculiar method of constructing
screw gill apparatus for the purpose of combing and straightening tow, flax,
wool, and other, fibrous materials. The application of the machine is as
follows: The sliver or material to be acted upon is passed through a set of
returning rollers of the ordinary construction, when the faller or comb is lifted
up from the bottom set of screws to the second set. When the comb or
hackle passes into the sliver close to the returning roller, it is then moved
forward at a little more speed than the roller, so as to partly separate the
L

page_text: fibres in the sliver, and keep it tight to resist the impinging of the following
hackle when the second hackle has entered the sliver, (this set of screws being
in separate pieces or parts, and separate motions for each part, the one working
through the other, the first part being a tube.) The first part of the screw
terminates at the first faller or comb bar, when the faller enters the second
part of the screw, which is driven at a greater speed until the faller reaches
the end of the slide or guide (which slide may be made any length to suit
different lengths of fibre), when it is lifted up by cams or tappets into the third
set of screws before another faller leaves the first part of the second set. At
the end of the second set we place an inverted hackle fixed to two arms, which
arms are keyed into a shaft which passes through the sides of the machine,
and has a motion given to it by an excentric, so as to lift the hackle up and
allow the travelling hackle to pass and let it drop close on the back of the
same, so as to comb out the fibre when it is moving rapidly forward. When
the fallers have reached the third set of screws they are carried forward in an
opposite direction to the driving roller, the combed end of the fibres passing
under the preceding. faller, so as to form a continuous sliver, as this would
forward the loose ends of the fibre & come in contact with 'the angular
flexible sheet moving with the drawing rollers, which drawing rollers draw the
fibre out of the hackle, by which process the other end is combed out. . On
reaching these rollers the fallers are again lifted into the top screw (with
the noils in the comb), which carries them into a convenient position, where
they are brought down to their lower or first position, which carries them
along in an opposite direction to be lifted again into the second set of screws.
Immediately before the faller drops from the upper set they come in contact
with a revolving brush, and this cleans out the noils from the comb, and are
thrown upon, the doffer, and taken off from this in the usual manner.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Lawson and Somerville Dear, in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 17th October 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
LAWSON, of Leeds, in the County of York, Machine Maker, and SOMERVILLE
DEAR, of the same Place, Machine Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her

page_text: reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said John Lawson and Somerville Dear, Her special licence that we,
the said John Lawson and Somerville Dear, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said John Lawson and Somerville
Dear, 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
MACHINERY FOR COMBING AND CLEANING FLAX, Tow, WOOL, AND COTTON, AND OTHER
FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
John Lawson and Somerville Dear, by an instrument in writing under our,.
hands and seals, 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 we, the said John Lawson and Somerville Dear,;
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner,
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in;
and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention consists of improvements in machinery for combing and
cleansing flax, tow, wool, and cotton, and other fibrous substances; and in.
order that the Invention may be fully understood, we will proceed to describe,
the same.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-The sliver is passed through,.
a set of retaining rollers, such as used in a common drawing frame. A faller,
is lifted up from the lower or first set of screws to the second set of screws..
The hackle passes into the sliver close to the retaining rollers; the faller is,
then propelled forward by this part of the scew at a greater speed than the
retaining rollers give out the sliver, so as to keep the sliver extended for the.
impingement of the next or following hackle, the fallers following each other,
continuously. When the first part of the second set of screws is full of fallers,.
(the second set of screws being each formed of two separate pieces or parts:
with separate motions for each part, the one working through the other, the
first part being hollow, and each part being made of a length to suit the length.
of fibre to be combed,) the first faller enters the second part of the second set.
of screws (the fibres held in this hackle comb or combs by this process being
drawn or combed through the hackles or combs following, the same being..

page_text: repeated as each faller comes forward), which is 'driven at a rapid rate of speed,
either variable or otherwise, as may be found to answer best, up to the other
end of the slide, where it is lifted to the next or third set of screws, when
another faller leaves the first part of the second set of screws, and so on. At
the end of the first part of the second set of screws we place an inverted
hackle or comb, fixed to two arms, which arms are keyed upon a shaft which
passes in through the sides of the machine, and is wrought by an excentric, so
ás to lift the comb up to allow tho gill or hackle on the faller to pass, and lets
the comb drop close to the back of the passing hackle, to comb out the fibres
as it is moved rapidly forward, repeating the same as each faller comes forward.
When the fallers reach the third set of screws they are carried forward in an
opposite direction to the drawing rollers, the combed end of the fibres passing
under the preceding faller, so as to form a continuous sliver. "As they move
forward, the loose ends of the fibres come in contact with an angular sheet
revolving on and with the drawing rollers, which drawing follers draw the
long fibres by the one end out of the backles, by which process the other end
is combed. On reaching the drawing rollers the fallers are again lifted up to
the next or fourth set of screws (with the noils or short fibres in'tlie hackles),
which carries them back to a convenient position; where they are thrown down
by cams or otherwise into the lowest or first set of screw's, and carried by them
along in an opposite direction, so as again to be lifted up to the second set in
front of the retaining rollers, and so on continuously. "Immediately before the
fallers drop from the upper to the lower screws 'there is a revolving brush
which comes in at the back of the hackle, clears out the'nöils, and gives them
off to a doffer (the same as in a hackling machine), when they can be taken
off as a sliver, or any other way. The sliver when it passes through the
drawing rollers is carried forward on the sheet, from which it passes to another
pair of rollers, then along a sliver plate to the side of the 'miaclline, where it is
delivered into a can, or any other way that niáy be found most convenient.
The fibres where they are first separated are liable to spread out. To obviate
that, we place a bar across the machine (above the fallers in the second set of
screws) on two jointed arms, so placed as the arths' are 'lifted up by the forward
motion of the fallers, and drop immediately when 'they are passed. 'On the
front of this bar there is a pin, hung on a joint on each side of the sliver.
These pins are wrought by cross wires, so that they'spread out when thé faller
is passing, and contract on the sliver whenever it is 'passed, and by these means
draw the loose ends together.
But for the better understanding of our Invention we hereto annex
Drawing, which we shall now describe.
BJJ
t. ..

page_text: In which like letters refer to the same parts in all the Figures. Figure 1
(scale one-sixth), transverse section and end view. A, A, are the retaining
rollers; B, the first part of propelling or combing screws, which is made of
such a length as to suit the length of fibres to be acted upon; C, the second
part of the combing screws; D, combing hackle and stripper; E, E, the arms
and shaft to which the combing hackle is fixed; F, the third set of screws;
H, H, the drawing rollers; I, the sheet; J, J, the sheet rollers; K, K, K, K,
the delivering rollers; L, the sliver plate; M, the fourth set of screws; N, the
brush; O, the doffer; P, the doffing knife; Q, the first set of screws; R, R,
arms with a wire grating between them (wrought by excentrics and springs),
which follow the fallers up to the third set of screws, so as to throw the loose
ends of the fibres up to the bottom side of the fallers, and are taken down to
meet the next faller as it comes forward; S, S, the ruling levers for the fallers
at the end of the combing screws. Figure 2 (scale one-sixth) is a view of the
cam for lifting the fallers at the end of the combing screws. T is the cam; U,
the faller end; V, V, V, pinions for giving motion to the cam. Figure 3 is a
section of a combing screw, full size; Figure 4 is a front view of a faller and
hackle, full size; Figure 5 is a section of the faller through one of the hackles,
full size.
Having thus described the nature of our said Invention, we would have it
understood that we do not make any claim to the mechanical parts separately;
but what we claim is, the combination herein described.
In witness whereof, we, the said John Lawson and Somerville Dear,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Eleventh day of October,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
HENRY NELSON, of Leeds,
Solicitor.
JOHN LAWSON.
SOMERVILLE DEAR.
(L.S.)
(L.S.)