IM- PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLE PROVISIONALATION YARN, AND OF OTHER SIMILAR YARNS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Francis Hill, of New Mills, in the
County of Derby, Candle Wick Spinner, for the Invention of " IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLE
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Francis Hill
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 28th October 1875.
I, WILLIAM FRANCIS HILL, of New Mills, in the County of Derby,
Candle Wick Spinner, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
CANDLE WICK YARN, AND OF OTHER SIMILAR YARNS," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to the apparatus which is applied to carding
engines to form the issuing fleeces into slivers which are to be spun into
the kind of yarn ordinarily termed candle wick yarn, or into similar
yarns.
In the machinery as employed for the said purpose previously to my

page_text: said Invention the flecce on the doffer has been separated into narrow
sheets, which have been separately rolled into the form of a loosely-
cohering sliver, and have been pieced end to end so as to form
continuous slivers.
The object of my said Invention is to obtain the slivers in continuous
lengths without requiring the piecing operation, and also to obtain a
better disposition of the staple and to simplify the construction of the
machinery. To this end I divide the fleece into a number of continuous
ribands, and I lead these by means of revolving rollers to rubbing
aprons, which act similarly, as in the case of the travelling and recipro- 1
cating aprons which have previously been employed to complete the
piecing of the lengths of slivers.
In an arrangement which I now consider to be suitable the fleece is
divided by means of toothed or plain revolving discs, which are in con-
tact or nearly in contact with the cards on the doffer. The separated
portions of fleece are led over a revolving roller, which is furnished with
discs, which help to isolate the said portions. Each portion is led
forwards and condensed to some extent by means of a pair of vertical
revolving rollers, between which the said portion passes. The said
rollers are provided with fixed rollers, which keep their surfaces clean.
The portions then pass over a revolving roller to the rubbing or con-
densing apparatus, consisting of two leathern aprons acting similarly, as
in the case of the apparatus employed in the piecing of slivers as
aforesaid.
I may employ a doffer, which is covered with fillets of card extending
around the doffer and separated by spaces, the said doffer having a
reciprocating motion in the direction of its axis, in which case I may
disnense with the revolving discs first herein mentioned.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
fortieth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and succes-
sors, give and grant unto me, the said William Francis Hill, Her
special licence that I, the said William Francis Hill, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Francis Hill, my 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 TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE Manu-
FACTURE OF CANDLE WICK YARN, AND OF OTHER SIMILAR YARNS," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said William Francis Hill my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Francis Hill, 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 and accompanying Drawings, that is to
say :-
My Invention relates to the apparatus which is applied to carding
engines to form the issuing fleeces into slivers which are to be spun into
the kind of yarn ordinarily termed candle wick yarn, or into similar.
yarns.
In machinery as employed for the said purpose previously to my said
Invention the fleece on the doffer has been separated into narrow sheets,
which have been separately rolled into the form of a loosely-cohering
sliver, and have been pieced end to end so as to form continuous
slivers.
The object of my said Invention is to obtain the slivers in continuous
lengths without requiring the piecing operation, and also to obtain a

page_text: better disposition of the staple and to simplify the construction of the
machinery. To this end I divide the fleece into a number of continuous
ribands, and I lead these by means of revolving rollers to rubbing aprons,
which act similarly as in the case of the travelling and reciprocating
aprons, which have previously been employed to complete the piecing of
the lengths of sliver.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood I have
appended hereunto a Sheet of Drawings made about one-sixth of the
full size, and marked with letters of reference, corresponding marks
indicating the same parts in the Figures.
Referring in this place to the said Drawings, Fig. 1 represents a
vertical longitudinal section of so much of a carding engine with my
said improvements applied thereto as it has been considered necessary to
shew in order to illustrate the manner in which such application may be
effected, Fig. 2 representing a plan of the parts which appear in Fig. 11
with the exception of the doffing knife.
In the said Figures a represents a portion of the doffer or doffing
cylinder of a carding engine of any suitable construction. A cylinder b
provided with discs c, c, is arranged to revolve with the peripheries of
the said discs set in contact, or nearly in contact, with the card clothing
on the said doffer; that is to say, the said cylinder is so set as that the
said discs shall divide or partially separate the fleece on the doffer into a
number of narrow ribands. In the example the said fleece is divided
into twelve ribands or parts, but this number may be less or more. The
said roller is by preference driven at such a speed as that the peripheries
of the discs c shall revolve at about the same surface speed as the doffer.
The flecce is doffed by the action of the doffing knife or blade D, which
acts in the ordinary manner. On spindles e, which are fitted to revolve
in bearings formed in cross rails f,f, are fixed or formed rollers, cylinders,
or bobbins g, g, formed of tinned iron or of other suitable material. In
the example there are twenty-four such spindles and rollers arranged in
twelve pairs, one of the ribands or parts into which the fleece is divided
being led between each pair of rollers. The said rollers receive a
revolving motion from the tin roller or driving drum h by means of cords
or bands, which are so arranged as that the two rollers in each pair shall a
revolve in opposite directions, as indicated in Fig. 2. The speed of
revolution of the said rollers is by preference such as that their surface

page_text: speed shall be about equal to the rate of motion of the travelling
ribands. The effect of the said rollers is to assist in the division of
the fleece, to gently condense the said ribands, and to pass them
onwards.
I consider it to be important that the surfaces of the rollers should
be kept free from accumulations of dust or grease, and I therefore prefer
to apply a fixed rubber or cleaner composed of woollen cloth, or of other
suitable material, to the surface of each roller, but for sake of clearness
these rubbers do not appear in the Drawings. One rubber may serve for
two rollers, excepting in the case of the two outermost rollers in the
row. From the rollers 9 the ribands now contracted in width and con-
densed to some extent pass over a roller ; having a surface speed about
equal to the rate of motion of the said ribands. The use of this roller
is simply to sustain the ribands and to lead them forwards, but if not
considered to be necessary it may be dispensed with. The ribands now
pass between two rubbing aprons k, k, which are caused to travel in the
direction indicated; and at the same time have a reciprocating to-and-fro
motion in directions at right angles to the direction of travel of the
ribands, as in the case of the aprons employed to complete the piccing
in apparatus which has been constructed previously to my Invention.
As the construction and arrangement of the said aprons, and the
manner in which they are actuated are not novel, it is not necessary to
describe them more freely herein. The said aprons condense the ribands
still further and form them into rovings, which pass between cylindrical
guides / fixed to a traversing rail m to a roller n, upon which the said
rovings are wound.
The arrangements for laying or winding the rovings upon the roller n
may be of an ordinary or suitable description.
Fig. 3 illustrates a slight modification in the arrangement. In this
example the discs c which divide the fleece are situated at a greater
distance from the doffing knife, and the doffed ribands pass over a
roller 6 fitted or formed with discs, as in the previous example, the discs
on the said roller being employed to isolate the ribands and to assist in
the division of the fleece. In this example the roller j is dispensed with
and the rubbing aprons are brought closer to the rollers g. The
peripheries of the discs may be smooth or be serrated as preferred. It
must, however, be understood that other modifications in the arrange-
ments may be effected, as for example, two or more rows of rollers g

page_text: may be used, each riband passing first between one pair of rollers and
then between a second pair set closer together, and I may employ a
doffer which is covered with fillets of card extending around the doffer
and separated by spaces, the said doffer having a reciprocating motion
in the direction of its axis, in which case the dividing discs may be t
dispensed with.
What I consider to be the important feature in my Invention is the
method of leading forwards and partly condensing the ribands by means
of revolving rollers, that is to say, of surfaces moving in the same
direction as the ribands.
Having now fully set forth and indicated the nature of my said
Invention and means whereby the same may be carried into effect, I
would have it to be understood that I claim,―
First. The employment of the revolving rollers, bobbins, or cylinders g,
substantially as and for the purpose herein-before set forth and 1
indicated.
And, Secondly. The combination of horizontal rollers with vertical or
nearly vertical or inclined rollers, all caused to revolve in the direction
which will lead the ribands of fleeco forwards towards the rubbing
aprons, substantially as and for the purpose herein-before set forth and
indicated.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Francis Hill, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of April,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
six
Signed and sealed by the said
William Francis Hill in the
presence of
EDWARD K: DUTTON,
Agent to the Patentee,
3, Princess Street,
Manchester.
W. F. HILL.
(L.S.)