Improvements in Apparatus for Use in the Securing of the Clothing to Carding Engine Flats.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 19th May, 1888
Complete Specification Left, 19th Feb., 1889-Accepted, 23rd Mar., 1889
Improvements in Apparatus for Use in the Securing of the Clothing
to Carding Engine Flats.
I, ELIJAH ASHWORTH of the firm of Ashworth Brothers of the Moss Brook Works
Collyhurst Manchester in the County of Lancaster Engineers do hereby declare the
nature of this Invention to be as follows:-
A former Invention for which I, in conjunction with George Ashworth, made
application for Letters Patent on the tenth day of February in this current year our
application bearing the official number 2011, had for its object to improve the method
of securing the card clothing to the narrow metal flat bars used in carding engines.
In the carrying into effect of such former invention we employ sheet metal clamps
which are so applied as to clip the bar and the margin of the clothing and to cover and
conceal the edge of the bar. The object of my present invention is principally to
provide suitable apparatus to facilitate the carrying into effect of the said former
invention. In the apparatus which I have devised for the purpose the flat bar is
held and supported whilst the foundation of the card fillet is stretched tight and is
held extended laterally during the application of the clip which is closed upon the
bar and material by means of a travelling pressing wheel either alone or in conjunction
with a pressing die or mould or the closing may be effected entirely by means of
pressing dies inoulds or clamps. To hold the bar the strengthening web of the bar is
pressed against a surface by means of a clamping bar actuated by an excentric shaft
or of screws or the flat bar may be otherwise suitably secured. The foundation of
the card fillet is either cut to a width sufficient only to cover the bar or a projecting
margin for stretching purposes may be left on one side. When the fillet is in
position upon the bar with one edge level with the edge of the bar or thereabouts a
prepared clip is placed in position. The apparatus is provided with sliding
clamping carriages bars or plates actuated by screws coupled by gearing so that the
clip can be forced close to the edge of the flat and be also pressed close to the back
and be sustained during the closing down of the clip upon the margin of the fillet
037

page_text: Other suitable means than screws may be employed to actuate the clamps as tor
example I might use cams excentrics, inclines, levers, racks and pinions disconnected
screws, worm or other gearing or fluid pressure. The clip may be pressed against
the edge of the bar by a movement of the bed carriage upon which the bar is fixed or
by a movement of a carriage toward the bar. The clip being thus held against the
edge of the bar and pressed against the back of the bar the third side of the clip is
closed tightly down upon the margin of the fillet. For this purpose I employ a
pressing wheel which is mounted upon a sliding or travelling carriage and is carried
by an adjustable slide so that the periphery of the wheel can be caused to exert the
required pressure upon the clip. The said carriage is actuated by a screw which is
driven by means of a belt and a reversing motion or by means of crossed and open
belts so that the carriage can be traversed first in one direction and then in the other
or other suitable means for actuating the carriage may be employed. The periphery
of the wheel is shaped to close and press down the clip upon the margin of the fillet
and by preference to especially press down the edge of the clip and if considered to be
advisable to compress the material of the fillet foundation. This closing down is
If preferred a
effected by traversing the carriage from end to end of the machine.
second pressure may be applied by returning the carriage to the end of the slide from
which it started. Instead of using this wheel I may close down the clip by means of
a sliding die or presser actuated by means of coupled screws or by means of a single
Preparatory to the
screw or by suitable means such as herein before indicated.
A strong
securing of the second edge of the fillet the fillet is stretched laterally.
cross bar or carriage is mounted to slide in a direction toward and from the flat bar
and the slides for the said cross bar are mounted upon a carriage which is fitted to
slide in a direction at right angles with the edges of the flat bar. The said cross bar
carries a comb or a plate or knife having its edge serrated or adapted to take a firın
hold upon the fabric. The said comb is pressed down on to the margin of the fillet
by lowering or forcing down the cross bar in its slides by means of a screw or of
coupled screws or by suitable means such as herein before indicated so that the comb
bites into or takes hold of the fabric of the fillet. The main carriage which slides in
a direction across the flat bar is now set in motion by means of a screw or of screws
or by suitable means so as to stretch the fabric. The said comb holds the fabric in its
stretched condition during the securing of the second clip. The machine may be
modified by providing stretching jaws or nippers similar to ordinary stretching
apparatus. In such a case the said comb or an equivalent clamp need only have a
motion toward and from the flat bar excepting for purposes of adjustment. The
fabric being stretched the clamp would be pressed tightly to the same so as to hold
the fabric secure in its stretched state. The nippers could then be withdrawn or the
fabric released from the nippers the projecting inargin cut away and the second clip
applied pressed and secured. If preferred two stretching combs or equivalent parts
operating upon the fabric by a separating movement might be used in place of the
one comb in which case both clips or fasteners might be applied with one fixing o
adjustment of the bar. I do not limit the use of my apparatus in the carrying into
effect of the said former Invention of George Ashworth and myself.
10th of May 1988

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Use in the Securing of the Clothing
to Carding Engine Flats.
I ELIJAH ASHWORTH of the firmn of Ashworth Brothers of the Moss Brook Works,
Collyhurst, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineers, do hereby declare the
nature of this Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement and
accompanying drawings:-
A former Invention for which I, in conjunction with George Ashworth, made
application for Letters Patent on the tenth day of February in this current year our
application bearing the official number 2011 had for its object to improve the method
of securing the card clothing to the narrow metal flat bars used in carding engines.
In the carrying into effect of such former invention we employ sheet metal clamps
which are so applied as to clip the bar and the margins of the clothing and to cover
and conceal the edges of the bar. The object of my present invention is principally
to provide suitable apparatus to facilitate the carrying into effect of the said former
invention.
My Invention will be best understood when described with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
In the said drawings Fig. 1 is a Front Elevation of a complete machine adapted to
secure the card clothing to the flat bar and to stretch the foundation fabric of the
clothing. Fig. 3 is a Plan View and Fig. 4 a cross Sectional Elevation of the
machine. Fig. 5 is a part of Fig. 4 drawn to a larger scale. In this Fig. all
the parts appear which operate immediately upon the card clothing and the securing
clips. In Fig. 5b is the flat bar which is supported in a grooved seating in the bed a.
Above this bed is a strong cross beam c which can be moved up and down and also
horizontally in directions to the right and left when looking at the drawing. This
cross beam carries a stretching and clamping comb or blade d. Below the flat bar b
is a clampe which can be pressed upward toward the back of the flat bar. Another
clamp is attached to a carriage g which can be moved toward and from the bar b.
Upon the carriage g is mounted a presser carriage which is fitted to slide along the
carriage g in a direction parallel with the edge of the bar b. The carriage carries a
presser wheel which is used for closing the clips down upon the margins of the
clothing. The means whereby the movements of the parts c. e. g and h are obtained
are illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4. The cross beam c is provided at each end with planed
surfaces c¹ which slide upon vertical vee slides k. k in a similar manner to the slide
rest of a lathe.. The slides k. kare formed upon two carriages k¹ k¹ which are mounted
to slide horizontally upon vee slides which are formed upon the bed main which
carries all the parts of the machine. The slides may be at right angles to the

page_text: slides upon or be slightly inclined as for example the former slides might have
the same inclination from the vertical as the comb or blade d. Upon each of
the carriages k¹ is fixed a nut seen in Figs. 3 and 4 and with each nut engages a
screw shaft upon which is fixed a bevel wheel which gears with a bevel wheel /
fixed upon a connecting shaft m. The shaft m is connected by bevel wheels n. n with
a vertical shaft which revolves in a bearing in a bracket n¹ and is connected by a
second pair of bevel wheels n with a horizontal shaft o which passes across to the
front of the machine and is provided with a hand wheel o¹. The parts n. n¹ n² and o
are provided in order that the shaft m may be turned by the operator from the front
of the machine but they might be dispensed with by putting a hand wheel or handle
directly upon the shaft m. It will be seen that when the wheel o¹ is turned the
carriages and the cross beam e will be moved in a direction to the right or left
in Figs. 4 and 5 according to the direction in which the wheel is turned the front of
the cross beam being in all positions parallel with the edge of the flat bar b. The said
cross beam is moved up and down by means of two screw shafts p. p which engage
with nuts which are secured to the slides c¹ c¹ and the said screw shafts are connected
by bevel wheels ppl with a connecting shaft p2 upon which is fixed a hand wheel p³.
It will be seen that when the wheel p is turned the comb d fixed to the cross beam
will be moved toward or from the flat bar b according to the direction of revolution of
the hand wheel and the edge of the said comb being adjusted to be parallel with the
face of the bar will continue to be parallel with such face as the comb moves up and
down. The clamping bar e is fitted to slide vertically against the vertical face of the
bed a and is formed with a series of inclines to suit corresponding inclines formed
The bar el can be moved
upon a horizontally sliding bar el as seen in Figs. 1 and 2.
When the bar el is.
horizontally in the direction of its length by turning a screw e².
moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2 the clamping bar e will be
The use of this bar e
forced upward being prevented from moving with the bar e¹.
is to force the part of the clip which projects below the back of the bar b into close
contact with the said bar as indicated in Fig. 6 in which b¹ is the clip. The carriage h
slides upon the carriage g in a similar manner to the ordinary movement of the
carriage of a side lathe. The said carriage is mounted to slide upon the bed lin
directions toward and from the bar being guided by slides seen at in Fig. 1.
The sliding of the carriage g is effected by means of two screw shafts 7. 7 which are
connected by means of bevel wheels with a shaft 2 upon which is fixed a hand
wheel the arrangement being similar to that of the parts for actuating the cross
beam ca parallel movement of the carriage toward and from the bar being effected
by turning the hand wheel 2. To the carriage y is secured a clamping plate f.
When the clip is in position the carriage g is moved toward the clip until the
latter is tightly jammed against the edge of the bar by the plate f being at the same
time pushed upward by the bar e as aforesaid. The presser wheel i is fixed upon the
end of a shaft which revolves in a bearing formed in a part g¹ which slides
vertically upon the carriage h. The part g can be adjusted vertically upon the
carriage by turning a screw g². The carriage his actuated by means of a screw
shaft 8. Upon a continuation of this screw shaft are mounted two loose pulleys t t
and a fast pulley . Two belts one open and the other crossed are mounted upon
the two loose pulleys and either belt can be brought on to the fast pulley by means
of a belt guide u so that the screw shaft can be revolved in either direction. The
screw shaft engages with a nut fixed to the carriage so that when the screw
shaft is revolved the carriage slides upon the bed carriage g. A sliding bar is
attached to the belt guide and is provided with adjustable stops which can be set
so that when the carriage h arrives at either end of its regulated traverse the belt
is shifted from the fast pulley on to one of the loose pulleys. When the carriage h
is at one end of its traverse it is at or nearly at one end of the bed carriage g and is
out of the way of the operator when he has to place in position or to withdraw
the bar b. The machine is intended to be used in the following described manner.
Preparatory to the operation the cross beam c and comb d are raised the clamp e is
lowered and the clamp f.is moved a little distance away from the bed a so that

page_text: such parts are out of the way of the operator who has to place a flat bar upon the
bed .
In practice these movements of the said parts are made prior to the
removal of a bar which has been operated upon. A flat bar having been placed in
position a strip of card clothing is placed upon the face of the bar. The strip
may be a little narrower than the bar. One edge of the foundation fabric is brought
up to the front edge of the flat bar that is the edge which is next to the clamp f.
The comb d may be lowered so as to serve as a guide for the adjustment of the
clothing. The clothing being in position the comb d is brought down on to the
clothing so as to hold it firmly as in Figs. 5 and 6. For this purpose I employ an
ordinary carding engine doffer comb but any suitable toothed blade or a smooth edge
knife or blade may be used. The clip is now placed in position and the clamp e
is forced upward and the clamp f is forced forward so as to tightly hold the clip
against the flat bar as indicated in Fig. 6. The carriage h is now set in motion
and passes along the bed carriage g the presser wheel i rolling down the upper flange
of the clip upon the foundation fabric of the clothing in the manner indicated in
Fig. 5 so that the said fabric is firmly secured to the bar. The rolling pressure upon
the clip is regulated by turning the screw g². The carriage may or may not be then
passed back so as to give a second rolling to the clip. One edge of the clothing being
thus secured the comb d and the clamps e and fare raised lowered and withdrawn and
the flat bar is released and reversed so that the other edge is to the front. The edge
of the clothing fabric will be a little inside of the edge of the bar supposing the
strip of clothing to be a little narrower than the bar. The bar c is then lowered
so as to force the teeth of the comb into the fabric on a line close to the wires.
The hand wheel o' is then turned so as to move the comb d toward the clamp f
until the edge of the clothing is level with the edge of the bar or until the clothing
is sufficiently stretched. If any of the fabric projects beyond the edge of the bar
the projecting part is now cut away. Whilst the comb still holds the fabric the
second clip is placed in position and is secured in the same way as the first clip. The
flat bar inay now be removed from the machine. To simplify the machine I some-
times dispense with the slide on the carriage g and with the sliding carriage g and
the parts for actuating the same and close down the clamp by means of a tool such for
example as illustrated by Figs. 9 and 10. This tool is intended to be used in the
manner indicated in Fig. 11. A groove vis planed in a bed plate which is recessed
to receive the flat bar. The bed plate is provided with a set of clamps whereby the
flat bar is forcibly pressed in the direction toward the right hand in the drawings.
Each clamp indicated by w in Figs. 7 and 8 slides in a groove planed in the bed plate
and is set up by means of a screw w¹. There may be three or more of such clamps
in the length of the bed. The flat bar is placed in the recess with the clip in position
and is clamped so as to force the clip tightly against the edge of the bar. The lower
flange of the clip rests upon a support a: which by preference is made of steel and is
removable. The card clothing is now placed upon the bar and one margin is
entered below the upper flange of the clip. The bed plate is provided with a sliding
bar y which can be set up by means of screws and sliding parts y¹. By means of
these appliances the margin of the card clothing is pushed well home under the flange
of the clip. The tool illustrated by Figs. 9 and 10 is now used. The heel of the
tool is placed in the groove and as the tool is moved or slid along the head of the
tool is struck with a hammer whereby the part 1 acts upon the upper flange of
the clip and closes it down upon the fabric in the manner indicated in Fig. 11. This
simpler form of apparatus is well adapted to the purposes of cotton spinners who
may desire to re-clothe the flat bars.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:
(1) The combination of parts constructed arranged and acting substantially as and
for the purpose set forth hereinbefore with a reference to Figs. 1 to 5 of the accom-

page_text: (2) The cross beam provided with a comb or blade and carried by vertically and
horizontally sliding carriages in combination with a bed for holding a carding engine
flat bar whilst the comb or blade is pressed down upon the fabric of the card clothing
upon such flat bar and is moved in a direction across the flat bar to stretch the said
fabric substantially as set forth..
(3) In combination with a bed holding a carding engine flat bar the bar c provided
with a comb or blade d mounted to slide in a direction at right angles to the face of
the flat bar or thereabouts upon carriages and operated when so sliding by screws pp
which are coupled together by means of bevel wheels p₁ and a connecting shaft p² and
the carriages fitted to slide in a direction parallel with the said face of the flat bar
and operated by screws which are coupled together by bevel wheels and a
connecting shaft m the parts operating substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.
(4) In combination with a bed for holding a flat bar a clamping or pressing plate
or part actuated by screws so as to be moved toward and from the flat bar in order to
firmly hold a metal clip whilst one edge of the same is pressed down upon the fabric
of the card clothing substantially as set forth.
(5) In combination with a bed for holding a carding engine flat bar, the clamping
plate or part upon a carriage or part g which can be moved toward and from the
said flat bar and the coupled screws for moving the carriage g to and fro and
maintaining its parallelisin with the edge of the flat bar the said parts operating
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
(6) In combination with a bed for holding a carding engine flat bar the clamping
plate e arranged to be forced upward toward the back of the flat bar for the purpose
set forth.
(7) The revolvable presser wheel mounted and carried so that it can be traversed to
and fro in the direction of the length of the flat bar and adapted to close down the
securing clip upon the card clothing fabric.
(8) The combination with a bed for holding a carding engine flat bar and with a
comb, or blade d holding the card clothing in position upon the bar and with the
clamps e and holding a sheet metal clip against the edge and back of the bar of a
revolvable presser disc i carried by a sliding carriage which is mounted to traverse in
a straight line parallel with the edge of the flat bar the edge of the said disc closing
down the upper projecting flange of the clip upon the margin of the card clothing
substantially as set forth.
(9) A bed or vice for holding a flat bar whilst the margins of the card clothing
are secured by means of sheet metal clips closed down by the aid of a tool substantially
as set forth with reference to Figs. 7 to 11 of the drawings.
Dated this 18th day of February 1889.
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James Square, Manchester,
Agents.