IMPROVE MENTS IN GINS FOR GINNING COTTON
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Ellis Butterworth, of Calder Cottage, near Rochdale,
in the County of Lancaster, Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVE
MENTS IN GINS FOR GINNING COTTON."
Sealed the 16th August 1864, and dated the 18th February 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Ellis Butterworth at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th February 1864.
I, ELLIS BUTTERWORTH, of Calder Cottage, near Rochdale, in the County
of Lancaster, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN GINS FOR GINNING COTTON," to be as follows:-
The first part of my Invention relates to saw and wire toothed gins. It
has been customary in saw gins to carry the grids, between which the saws
run, above the saws so as to keep the seed from being taken over the saws,
but I propose to make the grids so that the tops of them will be about level
or rather below the level of the tops of the teeth of the saws, so that if two
or more saws have hold of a fibre of cotton, this fibre will be carried over the
top of the grid, by this means the fibre will not be cut or broken by the grids;
and to keep the seed from being carried over with the saws a revolving roller
with ribs on to knock them back may be used. Instead of a grid for the
saws to work between, the blanks between the saws may be made altogether
or nearly as large in diameter as the saws, and a roller with ribs on to keep
the seeds back used. In some cases it has been customary in place of saws,
to use a roller which is covered with flat or triangular wire with teeth cut in;

page_text: in this case I make the teeth without cutting edges, but with points on; this
may be done by filing off the edges of the teeth after they are cut, or instead
of the flat or triangular wire I make the teeth of round needle pointed wire
instead of the grid or revolving roller stationary or vibrating, or both
stationary and vibrating edges or bars may be used to strip the seed off the
After the cotton has left the brush roller, I propose to blow it over
a grid (through which the sand and heavier particles of dirt will fall) and on
to a dust cage, under which the cotton passes, cage I propose to make
of perforated tin or zinc, and inside it to have a damper to keep the dust from
blowing through on to the cotton again.
cotton.
this
The second part of my Invention relates to roller and MeArthy gins. I
propose in McArthy gins to apply two or more doctors to each roller, by this
means the gin will do more work. Each doctor I propose to make of several
pieces, which are screwed or fastened side by side, or instead of being in
several pieces I make it in one piece, which has slits cut or formed in it, so
that one part of the doctor will give way without affecting another. I propose
to make and drive the beater plate as follows:-On the gin roller I have a
pulley sufficiently large to give the required speed of the beater plate.
Against this pulley is pressed a smaller one, so that the larger drives the
smaller by friction, this small pulley is fastened on a short shaft with a
bearing on each side of it, on one end of this shaft there is fastened a stud
which is parallel to the shaft, but not in the centre, or instead of this stud
an eccentric may be formed or fastened on the shaft; one end of a connecting
rod takes hold of this stud or eccentric, and the other end takes hold of å stud
in a lever, which is fast on an oscillating shaft to which several light steel or
wrought-iron arms, about four or five inches long, are fastened to carry the beater
plate, which, is steel and about one inch wide and one-twelfth of an inch
thick, by this means the long crank shaft, the strap or geering to drive it with,
and one connecting rod are dispensed with, and on account of the beaters
being so light they may be run at an increased speed, the oscillating shaft may
be inside the feed box or above the feed table, on which the cotton to be
operated upon is placed so as to agitate and carry the cotton towards the
roller or rollers. Arms may be mounted on this shaft to agitate the cotton
in the box, or an oscillating shaft without the beater plate but with agitators
may be taken through the box to agitate the cotton, or the oscillating shaft
may be outside the box or under the feed table with arms or agitators. to go
inside the box or above the feed table, so as to agitate the cotton, wire may: be
attached to these arms to agitate the cotton, and to assist in carrying it to the
rollers; or instead of the oscillating shaft being inside the box, wire gauze

page_text: sheet metal, or wood may be fastened to the oscillating shaft which shall form
one side or bottom, or part of ono side or bottom of the box, into which tho
seed cotton is placed to be operated upon.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Ellis Butterworth in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 17th August 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ELLIS
BUTTERWORTH, of Calder Cottage, near Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster,
Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-sixth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Ellis Butterworth, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as 1, the said Ellis Butterworth, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agreo 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 GINS FOR GINNING COTTON," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Ellis Butterworth, 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 immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Ellis Butterworth, do hereby declare
the nature of my 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) :-
The nature of my Invention consists, first, in making the grids between
which the saws run in saw gins so that the tops of them will be about level
or rather below the level of the tops of the teeth of the saws, so that if two or
more saws have hold of a fibre of cotton this fibre will be carried over the top
of the grid, by this means the fibres will not be cut or broken by the grids,

page_text: and to keep the seeds from being carried over with the saws I use a revolving
roller with ribs in to knock them back. Instead of the grids or revolving
roller as used in saw and toothed roller gins I use stationary or vibrating, or
both stationary and vibrating edges or bars to strip the seed off the cotton.
After the cotton has left the brush roller I blow it over a grid through which
the sand and heavier particles of dirt will fall and on to a dust cage under
which the cotton passes, this cage I make of perforated tin or zinc.
Secondly, in Macarthy gins, in applying two or more doctors to each roller
also in making the doctors in several pieces, which are fastened side by side,
or instead of being in several pieces they are each made in one piece, which
has slits cut or formed in it so that one part of the doctor will give way with-
out affecting another. Also in making and driving the beater plate or knife
as follows: On the end of the roller there is a pulley or wheel sufficiently
large to give the required speed of the beater plate or knife; this wheel or
pulley drives a smaller one which is fastened on a short shaft, on one end of
this shaft there is fastened a stud which is parallel to the shaft-but-not-in-the-
centre; or instead of this stud an eccentric may be formed or fastened on the
shaft, one end of a connecting rod takes hold of this stud or eccentric, and the
other end takes hold of a stud in a lever, which is fast on an oscillating shaft,
to which several light steel or wrought-iron arms about four or five inches
long are fastened to carry the beater plate or knife, which is made of steel,
and is about one inch wide and one-twelfth of an inch thick. The oscillating
shaft may be inside the feed box, or above the feed table on which the cotton
to be operated upon is placed, so as to agitate and carry the cotton towards the
roller or rollers, arms may be mounted on this shaft to agitato the cotton in
the box, or an oscillating shaft without the beater plate, but with agitators on
may be taken through the box to agitate the cotton. The oscillating shaft
may be outside the box, or under the feed table with arms or agitators to
go inside the box or above the feed table, so as to agitate the cotton and assist
in carrying it to the rollers, or instead of the oscillating shaft being inside
the box wire gauze, sheet metal, or wood may be fastened to the oscillating
shaft, which shall form one side or bottom or part of one side or bottom of
the box into which the seed cotton is placed to be operated upon.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
reference being had to the letters and figures marked thereon.
Figure 1 is a section of a saw gin with my improved grid for the saws to
work between, the roller to knock the seeds back, and the improved grid and
cage on to which the brush cylinder throws the cotton.

page_text: a is the frame side of the gin; b is the saw shaft; c is one of the rings that
keep the saws the proper distance from one another; d is the brush roller, all
these are as usually constructed. e is one of the grids between which the
saws work, four or five of these grids are cast together, and are bolted on the
cross rail f, which is bolted to the feed box side 9, which is hung on the centre
h, the grids e instead of being carried up above the saws to keep the seeds
back are made so that the tops of them are about level or rather below
the level of the tops of the teeth (see e, Fig. 2, which shews the top of a
grid and part of a saw full size) so that if two or more saws have hold of
a fibre of cotton they will carry it over the top of the grids; by this means
the fibres will not be cut or broken by the grids, nor will the grids get
choked as in other saw gins. The roller i which has ribs on to knock the
seeds back (for the full size of which see Fig. 2) is set so that the ribs just
clear the grids and the teeth of the saws, the periphery should move three or
four inches while the saws move two. It may be driven from any convenient
place. The saws are made to work more or less into the roll of cotton in the
feed box by means of the set screw k; l is a moving grid over and on to
which the brush roller throws the cotton the heavier particles of dirt and
sand fall through this grid, and the lighter are blown through the cage m
which is covered with perforated zinc or tin; this grid is driven by the shaft
12, which is driven from the saw shaft by means of a belt. Fig. 3 shews a
stationary knife edge or bar to strip the seed off the cotton in a toothed roller
or saw gin. a is the toothed roller; 6 is the knife edge; cis the feeder
board; d is a grid; e is the brush roller. The seed cotton is presented in
small quantities to the teeth of the roller, which take hold of it and drag it
under the knife edge 6, which strip the seed off. The brush roller e brushes
the cotton out of the teeth of a roller a. Fig. 4 shews an oscillating knife or
bar to strip the seed off the cotton in a toothed roller or saw gin. a is the
toothed roller; b6 is the oscillating knife or bar which is carried by the shaft c.
The seed cotton is put into the hopper d when it falls on to the roller a, which
takes hold of it and carries it to the knife 6, which strips the seeds off. The
seed when the cotton is stripped off them fall through the grid e.
A brush
roller, same as shewn in Fig. 3, may be used to brush the cotton out of the
teeth of roller a. Fig. 5 shews a stationary knife or bar, and an oscillating
knife or bar to strip the seed off the cotton in a toothed roller or saw gin.
a is the toothed roller which has the points of the teeth set the opposite way to
what they are in Figs. 3 and 4 (but the teeth may be set same as shewn
in Figs. 3 and 4, but in that case they will require a brush, as shewn in
Fig. 8, to clean the cotton out of the teeth); 6 is the stationary knife or bar,

page_text: and c is the vibrating knife or bar which is connected to the shaft d by the
arms e. The seed cotton is presented to the roller a which takes hold of
the cotton and drags it behind the knife 6 until the seeds get to the edge of
it, when the knife c comes up and knocks the seeds off, when the roller a
carries the cotton forward until it gets to the board f, which scrapes it off, 5
when it falls behind the machine. The seeds fall through the grid g.
Figs. 6 and 7 show sections full size of part of the rollers a in Figs. 3, 4,
and 5.
•
Fig. 6 is a cross section, and Fig. 7 a longitudinal section. a is the body.
part of the roller which has a groove or grooves cut in, into which flat wire 61
with teeth cut in, as shewn in Fig. 6, is wound, the grooves may be so deep
that the points of the teeth will be level with the top of the roller, as at c in
Fig. 7, or they may be shallower so that the points of the teeth will be above
the roller, as at d in Fig. 7.
I do not confine myself to making the rollers as shewn in Figs. 6 and 7, as
there are several ways in which they may be made. A set of saws and blanks
may be mounted on a shaft so as to form a roller; or teeth may be cut or
pressed out of the roller.
Figs. 8 and 9
tops (but the
Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 11, show different forms of teeth which would be
suitable for a roller for a machine constructed same as Fig. 5.
show pointed teeth, and Figs. 10 and 11 show teeth with flat
teeth might be round on the top instead of either flat or pointed.)
the cross section of part of a roller, and Fig. 9 a longitudinal section of
the same. Fig. 10 is the cross section of part of a roller; and Fig. 11 a longi-
tudinal section of the same. These teeth may be pressed on by a milling tool, s
Fig. 8 is
the roller may be fluted and screwed so as to form the teeth. Fig. 15 shows
à Macarthy gin with two doctors applied to one roller. a is the roller which
runs in the direction shewn the arrow; b is one doctor, and c the other;
d is the knife that knocks the seeds off for the doctor b, and e is a knife for
the doctor c, the knife e is carried by the shaft e¹, which goes through the seed
cotton box f; and e³ are agitators to agitate the cotton in the box. The knife
d is carried by the shaft d', and connected to the shaft and knife is a piece of
perforated zinc or tin or wire gauze d, which will move up and down with
the knife and agitate the seed cotton placed thereon. Seed cotton is put
in the box f, when it is taken hold of by the doctor c, when the knife e
knocks the seeds off which fall through the grid f¹; seed cotton is also
placed on the grid d, when it is taken hold of by the doctor
knife d knocks the seeds off, which fall through the grid d².
when the
Fig. 12 shews part of a doctor with my improvements applied. a are slits

page_text: cut in the doctor, and a¹ are separate pieces of steel which are screwed side by
side to form the doctor.
Figs. 13 and 14 shew my improved method of making and driving the
knives or beaters; Fig. 13 is an end elevation, and Fig. 14 a front elevation.
shewn partly in section. a is a wheel (but a pulley might be used), which is
sufficiently large to give the desired speed to the knife, it is fast on the axle of
the roller b, and may be driven by hand or power; this wheel drives a small
one c, which is fast on one end of the shaft d, which revolves in the bearing d 1.
on the other end of this shaft is fastened the fly wheel e, which has holes e¹
drilled in different distances from the centre, into one of which the stud f is
fastened (or instead of this stud an eccentric might be used), which is taken
hold of by one end of the clip g, the other end of which takes hold of the
stud h, which is fast to the lever i, which is hung on the shaft j; this lever i
is bolted to the, small lever i, which is fast on the shaft j; there is a set
screw in the lever i which presses against the lever i¹, so as to regulate the
height of the knife (the levers i and might be made in one piece, but it
would not be so easy to regulate). The shaft j is carried by the bearings j¹,
there are holes made through this shaft, in which are fastened one end of
short arins m, which are about 4 or 5 inches long, the other end of these arms
carry the knife n, to which they are screwed or rivetted.
Fig. 16 shews an oscillating shaft with agitators passing through the seed
cotton box, also a knife for knocking the seeds off, the arms of which pass
through the grid so as to agitate the cotton. a is the roller; b, the doctor;
c, the oscillating shaft; c¹, the agitator; d, the knife; and d¹, one of the arms
that carry the knife. The oscillating shaft may be driven from any convenient
place.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same may be performed, I desire it to be understood that I claim
as secured to me under the above in part recited Letters Patent,—
Firstly, making the grids of saw gins so that the tops of them will be about
level or rather below the level of the tops of the teeth of the saw.
Secondly, the application of a revolving roller in combination with a grid
to keep the saws from taking the seeds over with the cotton, and to assist in
rolling over the mass of cotton in the feed box.
Thirdly, the application of a cage under which and a grid over which the
the cotton passes after it has left the brush roller.
Fourthly, the application to saw and toothed roller gins of a stationary
or vibrating, or both stationary and vibrating edges or bars to strip the seeds
off the cotton.

page_text: Fifthly, the application of two or more doctors to each roller of a Macarthy
gin.
Sixthly, making the doctors of Macarthy gins in several pieces, or in one
piece, which has slits cut in so that one part will give away without affecting
another.
Seventhly, actuating the beater plates or knives of Macarthy gins, by means
of a lever or levers which are fastened to the shaft that carries the arms or
radius rods of the knives.
Eighthly, the use of a stud or eccentric, as shewn and described in reference
to Figs. 14 and 15 to give the oscillating motion to the knives.
Ninthly, the application of oscillating agitators, as shewn and described to
agitate the cotton.
In witness whereof, I, the said Ellis Butterworth, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
ELLIS BUTTERWORTH.
(L.8.)