Improvements in Feeding Mechanism for Machinery for Opening and Preparing Cotton or other Fibrous Material.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 12th July, 1892
Complete Specification Left, 30th Mar., 1893-Accepted, 13th May, 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Feeding Mechanism for Machinery for Opening
and Preparing Cotton or other Fibrous Material.
I, JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (which has
been communicated to me from abroad by James Charles Potter, of Pawtucket, in
the State of Rhode Island, in the United States of America) to be as follows:-
This invention is more particularly intended for feeding or delivering cotton to
cotton openers and cleaners.
The object in view is, in delivering cotton to the ordinary opener apron, to free
it from a great portion of its dirt and trash, to render it less lumpy and uneven
and to deliver it to the opener in sheet form. For this purpose there is according
to this invention employed in connection with the usual lifting apron or spiked
apron, a stripper, or as it may more properly be called, a beater clearer, a revolving
cage and a pair of stripper-rolls. The beater clearer takes the cotton from the
lifting apron and at the same time beats and lightens it up, shaking from it sand
and dirt which fall, while the cotton itself, lightened up by the operation is carried
forward to the revolving cage on which it gathers and is thence taken off by the
stripper-rolls which deliver it to the opener. With the cage, a fan is used
connected to its interior by air-trunks this fan serving to take off the light dust
produced by the action of the beater clearer and to carry forward the cotton taken
by that device from the lifting apron and to assemble it on the cage.
€6
An arrangement according to this invention may be constructed as follows :—
There is used any suitable opener or beater with the usual apron and a spiked
apron or lifting-apron of any suitable construction situated as usual at the end of a
hopper on the bottom of which is the horizontal carrying apron. At the upper
end of the hopper adjoining the lifting-apron is a device which is intended to
regulate the quantity of cotton delivered by the apron, which device I term an
equalizing-doffer," and on the other side of the lifting-apron is the revolving
beater-clearer which has a drum which carries upon it longitudinal webs preferably
of leather (or metal spikes or teeth may be used) which wipe against the teeth of
the lifting apron, or very nearly wipe against them, and strip from the apron, the
cotton held thereon, striking the cotton at the same time with some force,
particularly if it be lumpy, opening it up and shaking out from it the foreign
matter. The beater-clearer revolves in a sort of case closed at the top and having
a curved bottom in which are transverse grid-bars and it terminates at its front
end in a passage which leads into another case, containing the cage. Beneath the
grid-bars is a dirt receptacle into which falls the heavy refuse separated from the
cotton. The beater clearer revolves rapidly, and by its action as well as by that
of the cage-fan hereinafter referred to, the cotton is carried along the passage at
the front of the beater-clearer into the case in which the cage is situated where it
gathers upon the cage, is stripped from the latter by the stripper-rolls and from
them passes to the opener-apron.
The cage may be made in any suitable or customary way either of wire or of
perforated metal. It is mounted in suitable bearings in its case so as to revolve
and is power-driven. With each of its ends communicates as usual an air and
dust-trunk leading to an exhaust fan, the case of which opens into the exhaust
trunk through which the dust etc., are discharged as is customary where wire cages
are employed in cotton machinery. The stripper rolls are power-driven. The
upper one is to be arranged so that it can rise or fall in its bearings so as to pass
cotton of varying thickness, and a flap is put at the front end of the case of cage

page_text: over the stripper roll to exclude air from entering above the roll as the latter rises
and falls.
By reason of the organization and arrangement of parts herein described, the
beater clearer can be driven at a very high speed so that it acts not merely as a
stripper and conveyer but also, to some extent, as an opener which puts the cotton
in condition to be most effectively acted upon by the opening mechanism subse-
quently.
Dated this 19th day of July 1000
J. H. JOHNSON &: Co.,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Feeding Mechanism for Machinery for Opening
and Preparing Cotton or other Fibrous Material.
I JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincolns Inn Fields in the County of
Middlesex Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention (which has
been communicated to me from abroad by James Charles Potter of Pawtucket in
the State of Rhode Island in the United States of America Manufacturer of Cotton
Mill Machinery) and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention is more particularly intended for feeding or delivering cotton to
cotton openers and cleaners.
The object of the invention is, in delivering cotton to the ordinary opener apron
to free it from a great portion of its dirt and trash, to render it less lumpy and
uneven and to deliver it to the opener in sheet form. For this purpose there is,
according to this invention provided in connection with the usual lifting apron or
spiked apron, a stripper or as it may more properly be called, a beater clearer, a
revolving cage and a pair of stripper-rolls.
The beater clearer takes the cotton from the lifting apron and at the same time
beats and lightens up, shaking from it, sand and dirt, which fall, while the cotton
itself, lightened up by the operation is carried forward to the revolving cage on
which it gathers and is thence taken off by the stripper rolls which deliver it to the
opener. With the cage, a fan is used connected to the interior by air-trunks, this
fan serving to take off the light dust produced by the action of the beater clearer
and to carry forward the cotton taken by that device from the lifting-apron and to
assemble it on the cage.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings represents in side elevation, a portion of an
ordinary cotton opener combined with feeding mechanism according to this inven-
tion, shewn in vertical section and Fig. 2 shews also in vertical section the feeding
mechanism drawn to a larger scale.
O represents a portion of an ordinary cotton opener or beater and N the usual
apron. D is a spiked lifting-apron of any suitable construction situated as usual' at
the end of a hopper A on the bottom of which hopper is the horizontal' carrying
apron B.
At the upper end of the hopper A and in proximity to the lifting-apron D
is a device C which is intended to regulate the quantity of cotton delivered by the
lifting apron which device may be termed an "equalizing-doffer" but forms no part
of the present invention it being made the subject of another application for Letters
Patent of even date herewith No. 12790 and is shewn in the drawing instead of the
usual comb or equivalent device for removing the surplus stock from the lifting-
apron. E is the beater-clearer which revolves in the direction shewn by the arrow
thereon and which consists of a drum carrying upon it longitudinal webs & prefer-
ably of leather (or metal spikes or teeth may be used which wipe against or very
nearly wipe against the teeth of the lifting-apron D and strip from the apron the
cotton held thereon, striking the cotton at the same time with some force,

page_text: particularly if it be lumpy, opening it up and shaking out from it the foreign
matter.
The beater-clearer E revolves in a sort of case closed at the top and having a
curved bottom in which are transverse grid-bars y and it terminates at its front end
in a passage which leads into another case, containing the cage M. Beneath the
grid-bars y is a dirt receptacle T into which falls the heavy refuse separated from
the cotton. The beater-clearer E revolves rapidly and by its action as well as by
that of the fan L hereinafter referred to, the cotton is carried along the passage at
the front of the beater-clearer into the case in which the cage M is situated where
it gathers upon the cage and is stripped from the latter by the stripper-rolls H and
passes thence to the opener-apron N.
The cage M may be made in any suitable or customary way either of wire or of
perforated metal. It is mounted in suitable bearings in its case so as to revolve
and is power-driven. With each of its ends communicates as usual an air and
dust-trunk P (only one of them being shewn) leading to an exhaust fan L the case
of which opens into an exhaust trunk F through which the foreign matters are
discharged as is customary where wire cages are employed in cotton machinery.
The stripper rolls H are power-driven. The upper one is to be arranged so that it
can rise or fall in its bearings so as to pass cotton of varying thickness and a flap w
is arranged at the front end of the case of the cage M over the upper stripper roll H
to exclude air from entering above the roll as the latter rises and falls.
The parts E, M, H, L, and also D, B and C are all power driven, the movement
being taken from the shaft of the beater O as customary in similar cases, it has not
been considered necessary however to illustrate any such driving mechanism but
indicated by the arrows placed
the direction of movement of the several parts
upon them respectively and the manner of arranging the driving-gearing for the
purpose will be understood without further explanation.
By reason of the organization and arrangement of the parts herein illustrated
and described the beater-clearer E can be driven at a very high speed so that it
acts not merely as a stripper and conveyer but also, to some extent, as an opener
which places the cotton in condition to be most effectively acted upon subsequently
by the opening mechanism.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1. The combination with a machine for opening and preparing cotton and other
fibrous materials of the lifting-apron, the beater-clearer, the revolving cage, and
the stripper-rolls substantially as hereinbefore described.
2. The combination with a cotton-opener and lifting-apron from which cotton is
delivered to the opener, of an intermediate revolving-cage and means whereby the
cotton is delivered from the lifting-apron to the cage and from the cage to the
opener substantially as herein before described.
Dated this 30th day of March 1893
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.