IMPROVEMENTS IN SCREW-GILL BOXES' FOR PREPARING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Clough, of Grove Mills, Keighley, in the
County of York, Worsted Spinner and Manufacturer, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SCREW-GILL BOXES' FOR PREPARING WOOL AND
OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 3rd November 1868, and dated the 5th May 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Clough at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
5th May 1868.
I, JOHN CLOUGH, of Grove Mills, Keighley, in the County of York,
Worsted Spinner and Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SCREW-GILL BOXES' FOR PREPARING
WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to those gill machines wherein two sets of gills
or fallers are employed, and my improvements consist in having the

page_text: screws which work the front set of gills placed outside of and separate
from and driven independently of the screws which work the back
set, whereby the gills or fallers can be so arranged that one set will work
nearly in contact with the other set, that is, the front gills in rising will
be nearly close to the back gills when falling, by which means I am
enabled to operate upon short stapled wool or other fibre, and by
employing change gear to the driving of the screws the relative speeds
of travel or motion of the two sets of gills may be varied to any
desirable extent, and thereby be also capable of operating on long stapled
wool or other fibrous substances.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Clough in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 5th November 1868.
.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
CLOUGH, of Grove Mill, Keighley, in the County of York, Worsted
Spinner and Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Clough, Her special licence that
I, the said John Clough, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said John Clough, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 'SCREW-GILL
BOXES FOR PREPARING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Clough, 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

page_text: epresents
machine, and Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of the same.
A are the front set of gills or fallers, and B are the back set; C are
the screws which work or give motion to the front set, and D the screws
which give motion to the back set of fallers. The screws C are driven
by bevil wheels E from the shaft F, while the screws D are driven by
bevil wheels G from the shaft H, which recieves its motion from the
shaft F by the train of spur gear wheels I, J, K, L, shaft M, and

page_text: wheels N, O, and P. These gear wheels are so arranged that some of
them can be changed, so as to alter the relative speeds of the screws C
and D, and consequently the travel of the two sets of gills or fallers.
It will be observed that the screws D are supported at one end by
plates R, which form conductors or guides to the back set of gills when
falling or dropping from the top bed to the bottom one, and they
also form conductors to the front set of gills when rising from the
bottom bed to the top bed, and thus dispense with the usual con-
ductors, which occupy much space. This plate, being made either of
steel or case-hardened iron, or bell metal, may be very thin, and
therefore occupy but little space betwixt the two sets of gills, so
that the rising gill of the front set can work very near to the falling
gill of the back set of gills.
It will now be seen that by this Invention I am enabled to operate
upon short stapled wool or other fibrous substances, and that by change
gear wheels the relative speeds of the gills may be varied, so as to enable
me to operate also upon the longest stapled or any intermediate lengths
of staple of wool or fibre that may be required to be operated upon.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and shewn
by the accompanying Drawings how the same is to performed or carried
into practical effect, I would have it distinctly understood that I do not
confine myself to the precise details of construction or arrangement
of the machine or apparatus herein shewn and described, nor do I claim
the parts separately considered; but what I do claim is,―
Firstly. The application and use of separate screws for driving the
front and back sets of gills or fallers respectively, one outside the
other, so that they may be driven independantly of each other, the
gearing being also so arranged that the use of change wheels the
relative speeds of the two sets of gills or fallers may be readily altered
or varied for operating on different lengths of staple.
Secondly. The application and use of the thin plates R for supporting
the screws, and to form conductors or guides for both front and back
sets of gills or fallers, dispensing with the usual conductors, and thereby
enabling the said two sets of gills to work nearer to each other than with
the ordinary conductors.

page_text: Thirdly. The combination, construction, and arrangement of the
parts of this machine or apparatus in manner substantially as herein
shewn and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Clough, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Second day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
Signed, sealed; and delivered
by the within-named John
Clough, in the presence of
W*. TASKER,
Patent Agent,
Halifax & Bradford.
JOHN CLOUGH. (L.S.)