IMPROVE MENTS IN SOPTENING FIBROUS MATERIALS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS CONNECTED THERE WITH
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Justice and Edward Guild, both of Dundee,
in the County of Forfar, North Britain, for the Invention of "IMPROVE
MENTS IN SOPTENING FIBROUS MATERIALS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS CONNECTED THERE WITH."
Sealed the 20th July 1866, and dated the 27th January 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Justice and
Edward Guild at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 27th January 1866.
We, WILLIAM JUSTICE and EDWARD GUILD, both of Dundee, in the County
of Forfar, North Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SOFTENING FIBROUS MATERIALS, AND IN THE MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS CONNECTED, THEREWITH," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its essential objects the effecting of a more complete
and thorough softening of certain fibrous substances, such as jute, hemp, flax,
or other similar materials. The machinery by which the improved softening
is effected consists of a strong iron frame, through the central part of which
a shaft capable of being rotated passes. In the front of the machine another
revolving shaft passes, this being the prime motion shaft, on one end of which

page_text: belt pulleys for driving the same are fitted. At the end opposite to that on
which the driving pulleys are fixed a bevil pinion is secured, which gears into
a similar bevil pinion on a cross shaft running outside the frame at right
angles to the afore-mentioned shafts. The central part of this cross shaft
has a screw worm cut on it for driving a corresponding tangent wheel fixed
on the central shaft of the machine, to which a spur wheel is also fixed.
Around the upper part of the frame there are arranged in a circular line the
several sets of softening rollers, a pinion being keyed on each one of the
lower rollers of each pair. At the back of the machine a shaft extends
across, to which two cranks are fixed, one of these being attached by a con-
necting rod to a variable disc crank, the other to the cross shaft carrying the
screw worm. The first motion shaft has a spur pinion on it for putting in
motion the crank disc, and is fitted with a frictional clutch, so that the crank
disc may be disengaged and left still while the other parts of the machine are
at work. Provision is made for the introduction of change wheels, so that
the speed of the reciprocation of the crank shaft and the other motions
depending thereon may be varied to suit the requirements of the materials
under treatment. By means of this last-mentioned part of the machine a
corresponding reciprocatory movement is imparted to the tangent screw,
which as it is reciprocated causes a corresponding rotation backwards and
forwards of the spur wheel, by which a similar alternation is imparted to the
softening rollers; this last arrangement is intended to effect the more perfect
softening and separation of the fibres in the coarse parts of the material
under treatment. It is to be understood that when applied to the roots of
jute this portion of material is first put into the rollers, and as soon as the
repeated reciprocations have sufficiently softened these parts the main body is
then allowed to run through, after which the whole will be completely
softened. The upper softening rollers are made of a less diameter than the
lower ones, in order that the material may be more completely acted upon in
passing through them by the pitch being different.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by, the said William Justice and Edward Guild in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 26th July 1866.
1 TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM;
JUSTICE and EDWARD GUILD, both of Dundee, in the County of Forfar, North S
Britain, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the 29th year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto.us,.
the said William Justice and Edward Guild, Her special license that we,
the said William Justice, our executors, administrators; and assigns; or such
others as we, the said William Justice and Edward Guild, our executors,
administrators, or 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 SOFTENING FIBROUS MATERIALS,
AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said William Justice and Edward Guild, by
an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, 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 William Justice and Edward Guild,.
do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be partieularly deseribed and ascertained in
and by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
Our said has for its essential object the effecting of a more complete
and thorough softening of certain fibrous substances, such as jute, hemp, flax,.
or other similar materials. The machinery by which the improved softening.
is effected consists of a strong iron frame, through the central part of which
a shaft capable of being rotated passes. In the front of the machine another
revolving shaft passes, this being the prime motion shaft, on one end of which
belt pulleys for driving the same are fitted. At the end opposite to that on.
which the driving pulleys are fixed a bevil pinion is secured, which gears into
a similar bevil pinion on a cross shaft running outside the frame at right
angles to the afore-mentioned shafts. The central part of this cross shaft has
a screw worm cut on it for driving a corresponding tangent wheel fixed on the
central shaft of the machine, to which a spur wheel is also fixed. Around
the upper part of the frame there are arranged in a circular line the several
sets of softening rollers, a pinion being keyed on each one of the lower rollers
of each pair. At the back of the machine a shaft extends across, to which

page_text: the cranks are fixed, one of these being attached by a connecting rod to a
variable disc crank, the other to the cross shaft carrying the screw worm.
The first motion shaft has a spur pinion on it for putting in motion the crank
disc, and is fitted with a frictional clutch, so that the crank dise may be dis-
engaged and left still while the other parts of the machine are at work. Provision
is made for the introduction of chain wheels, so that the speed of the recipro-
cation of the crank shaft and the other motions depending thereon may be varied
to suit the requirements of the material under treatment. By means of this
last-mentioned part of the mechanism a corresponding reciprocating movement
is imparted to the tangent screw, which as it is reciprocated causes a corre-
sponding rotation backwards and forwards of the spur wheel, by which a similar
is
alternation is imparted to the softening rollers; this last arrangement
intended to effect the more perfect softening and separation of the fibres in
the coarser parts of the material under treatment. It is to be understood
that when applied to the roots of jute this portion of material is first put
into the rollers, and as soon as the repeated reciprocations have sufficiently
softened these parts the main body is then allowed to run through, after
which the whole will be completely softened. The upper softening rollers
are made of a less diameter than the lower ones, in order that the material
may be completely acted upon in passing through them by the pitch being
different.
And in order that our said Invention may be properly understood we shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the system, mode, or manner in or
under which the same is or may be used or practically carried into effect,
reference being had for the sake of more complete elucidation to the several
Figures upon the two explanatory Sheets of Drawings which we have here-
unto appended, that is to say :-
On Sheet 1 Figure 1, is a side elevation of our improved apparatus to be
employed for the softening of fibrous substances; Figure 2 is a side elevation
opposite to Figure 1; and the Figure on Sheet 2 is a back elevation at right
angles to the two foregoing Figures.
The framing A of the machine is of cast iron, the lower part of which
carries the several parts of mechanism by which the softening and disin-
tegrating rollers are driven. The upper part of the framework is a circular
segment, and contains numerous bearings for the several pairs of grooved
softening rollers a, a. B is the first motion shaft of the machine, and on it
are placed the system of fast and loose pulleys C actuated by the belt D, by
which the latter are driven. On one end or side of this first motion shaft B
an eccentric E is keyed, and being enclosed by the strap E¹ of the rod Fas

page_text: the eccentric revolves its revolving motion is changed by the intervention of
the rod F into the reciprocating motion of the crank G, which being keyed
on to the shaft H a corresponding rocking movement of the latter is thereby
produced. A second crank I, more particularly seen in Figure 1, Sheet 1, and
that on Sheet 2, is keyed to the opposite end of the shaft H, the mean angle of
movement being indicated by the dotted angle in Figure 1. On referring to.
Figure 1 and the Figure on Sheet 2 it will be seen that the crank is con-
nected by a short link K to the moveable saddle L; the lower edges of this
saddle are bevilled to fit and slide in a backward and forward direction in
suitable grooved surfaces on the upper part of the table bracket M. It will
now be evident to a practitioner in mechanics that the reciprocating movement
of the saddle L in the table bracket M is at once produced from the rotation:
of the eccentric E. In the part of the saddle L immediately opposite to that
point where it is connected to the link. K a bearing is formed 'for. the
reception of one end of the revolving
which, as will be seen on referring to Figure 1, is in gear with the worm.
wheel O secured on the shaft P, also carrying the spur wheel Q, by the
movement of which the several pinions R' on the lower series of softening
rollers are actuated. On more particularly referring to Figure 1 it will be
seen that the end of the screw shaft N opposite to that herein-before
described passes through a concentric hole in the boss of the bevilled pinion
R; this pinion R is carried in a bearing S bolted to the framing of the
machine, and is in gear with the corresponding bevil pinion T on the driving
shaft. The table U is that from which the material to be softened is led to
the softening rollers; an attendant when the machine is at work standing in
front of the table supplies the material thereto.
'
screw shaft N, the screwed portion of
Having now described most of the details of our said softening and
disintegrating machine, we shall proceed more particularly to set forth the
manner in which the same operates. The driving shaft B having been put in:
motion by the pulleys and belt in the manner herein-before described, and the
motion of the eccentric thereon being imparted to the screw shaft N.by means
of the bevil pinions R' and T in addition to the reciprocating horizontal' motion'
imparted to it from the crank I by means of the intervening link K. Thus:
a compound motion is transmitted to the softening rollers a, a; first of all, a
revolving movement takes place from the simple revolution of the spur
wheel Q, actuated by the worm wheel, drivent by its teeth gearing into thes
tangent wheel; and whilst the revolution of the spur wheel. Q and softening
rollers is continuous, so. that the material under treatment is progressively

page_text: advanced therethrough, the reciprocating motion of the screw shaft during
each revolution of the driving shaft produces a partial backward movement
in the softening rollers a, a, so that the material being softened is acted upon
a second time by the rollers through which it had previously passed, being
drawn back into them by means of the backward part of the herein-before
described. The bearing of the upper set of softening, rollers a are provided
with india-rubber springs c between them and the guard d, an adjusting
screw being fixed in the latter with a check nut for adjusting the tension of
the spring and consequent pressure on the rollers. ; Instead of using india-
rubber springs, spiral or parabolic springs of steel or other suitable material
may be adopted. The table U when the machine is at work is raised
sufficiently near to the horizontal to enable the softened material to glide
freely therefrom, the angle at which it is placed being slightly in excess of
the angle of repose of the material.
It is to be specially understood that many of the parts of our said
softening and disintegrating machine are susceptible of several other modes
of construction and arrangement besides those herein-before described and
referred to, by which the same or similar results may be obtained, viz., in
place of producing the compound motion of the rollers in the manner
herein-before described it may be produced by means of the bevil wheels
on the first driving shaft and a clutch for actuating the central wheel of
this system, the lever for moving this clutch being actuated by any well-
known arrangement generally used for that purpose, or it may be actuated
by the hand of the attendant; it being understood that the pinion for
producing the forward motion is kept in gear for a longer period than that
by which the backward motion is effected, for if this was not the case the
backward movement might be less than or equal to the forward movement,
in either of which cases the material to be treated could not pass through the
rollers.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is or may be used or practically carried into effect, we
would observe, in conclusion, that what we consider to be novel and original,
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to us by the herein-before in
part recited Letters Patent is,-
First, the general arrangement, construction, and combination of parts
resulting in the apparatus herein-before described to be used for the purposes
herein-before set forth, or any mere modification thereof.
Second, the production of the compound motion for the purpose of more.

page_text: effectively treating the material being acted upon, and the mode of producing
the said compound movements, as herein-before described and shown in the
Drawings hereunto annexed, or any mere modification thereof.
Third, the arranging of the several pairs of softening rollers in a circular
segment, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Justice and Edward Guild,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-third day of July,
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
WILLIAM JUSTICE.. (Ls.)
EDWARD GUILD.
(L.B.)