IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMBING WOOL AND OTHER FIBRES
Year: 1859

page_text: Sealed the 28th June 1859, and dated the 20th April 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Rawson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 20th
April 1859.
I, HENRY RAWSON, of Leicester, do hereby declare the nature of the Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMBING WOOL AND OTHER FIBRES,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for combing
wool and other fibres. In machines arranged according to my Invention, the
wool or other fibre to be combed is fed into the machine between feed rollers
or other suitable instruments, and in front of the feeding head there are three
combs; that nearest to the feeding head is a comb about equal in length to the
width of the feeding head, and having a to-and-fro motion communicated to
it; the next is a circular or endless comb; and the third, a comb, which in
passing the feeding head, moves at the same speed and in the same direction
as the circular or endless comb. When the three combs are all in contact,
the wool or fibre is laid on to the combs and pressed into their teeth by a

page_text: brush; the first comb, or that nearest the feeding head, then moves away
from the other combs, and the slivers are broken; cleaned fringes of fibre
then project from the exterior of the circular or endless comb and from the
first comb; the slivers are then lifted out of the first comb, which then again
moves up to the other combs, and the slivers are again laid on the combs and
pressed down, the cleaned ends of the slivers being placed in the teeth of the
back comb, or the comb furthest from the feeding head. These motions are
constantly continued, and the circular or endless comb and the back comb
move on at the same time to carry the fibre in their teeth to drawing rollers to
be drawn off. A pair of drawing rollers first draws a sliver from the exterior
of the circular or endless comb, and the third or back comb during this
drawing, prevents the cleaned fringe projecting on the other or interior side
of the circular or endless comb from being disarranged or drawn up to the
teeth of the circular or endless comb; this is the principal object of the back
comb.
When this drawing is complete, the back comb falls out of the fibre, which
is then drawn from the interior of the circular or endless comb by another
pair of drawing rollers; a third pair of drawing rollers remove the noil from
the circular or endless comb.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Rawson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 20th
October 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
RAWSON, of Leicester, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Henry Rawson, Her special licence that I, the said Henry Rawson,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Henry Rawson, 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

page_text: MACHINERY FOR COMBING WOOL AND OTHER FIBRES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Henry Rawson, 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 Henry Rawson, 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.thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for comb-
ing wool and other fibres. In machines arranged according to my Inven-
tion, the wool or other fibre to be combed is fed into the machine between
feed rollers or other suitable instruments, and in front of the feeding head
there are two combs; that nearest to the feeding head is a comb about
equal in length to the width of the feeding head, and the other is a circular or
endless comb; the first comb, or that nearest the feeding head, has a motion
communicated to it to and from the circular or endless comb. When the two
combs are in contact, the wool or fibre is laid on to them, and pressed into
their teeth by brushes; the first comb, or that nearest the feeding head then
moves away from the circular or endless comb, and the slivers are broken;
cleaned fringes of fibre then project from both combs, the slivers are next
lifted out of the first comb, which then again moves up to the circular or end-
less comb, and the slivers are again laid on the combs and pressed down, the
cleaned ends of the slivers which before projected from the comb nearest the
feeding head being placed beyond the teeth of the circular or endless comb.
These motions are constantly continued, and the circular or endless comb moves
on to carry the fibre in its teeth to drawing rollers to be drawn off. A pair of
O drawing rollers first draws a sliver from the exterior of the circular or endless
comb, and then another pair of drawing rollers draws a sliver from the interior
thereof; a third pair of drawing rollers remove the noil from the circular or
endless comb.
In addition to the two combs herein-before mentioned, a third comb may
5 be employed within or beyond the circular or endless comb, in order to receive
the cleaned fibre projecting over the circular or endless comb, and to retain
this fibre amongst its teeth whilst the sliver is drawn from the exterior of the
circular or endless comb; the said comb afterwards falling out of the fibre to

page_text: annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side view, Figure 2 is a longitudinal section, and Figure 3
is a plan. a, a, is the frame of the machine, on which a carriage b is capable
of sliding to and fro in a horizontal direction; it is actuated from the main
axis c in the following manner :-On the axis c is a driving drum c', round
which a band c³ passes; this band drives a drum di on the axis d; and by the
pinion d² and spur wheel e', the motion is communicated to the axis e, at each
end of which is a crank e², and these, by the connecting rods f, f, are coupled
with the trunnions 6 of the carriage 6. A front view of this carriage is shown
separately at Figure 4; it has mounted on it the feed rollers g, g, between
which the slivers of fibre enter the machine; the comb teeth , amongst which
the fibre is at intervals pressed by the brush i, and the lifting apparatus j, for
raising the fibre out of the teeth of the comb when required; the action of all
these parts is herein-after fully described. In front of the carriage b is a
circular comb k, which is carried by the frame, as in other machines in which
circular combs are employed; the comb k is driven from the main axis c by
the train of wheels 1, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16, and it is furnished with three sets
of drawing rollers; the first set of rollers m are placed exterior of the circular
comb, and are driven by the wheels m² and m²; the second set n are placed on
the interior of the comb, and are also driven by a train of wheels, which how-
ever are not shown in the Drawing; and the third set o are for drawing off
the noil, and they are arranged and driven in the usual manner. These drawing
rollers are all of the description heretofore employed, and therefore no detailed
description of them is necessary. The comb k is also furnished with a brush p,
which descends, at intervals, to press the fibre into its teeth. The action of
the apparatus is as follows:-The slivers of fibre to be combed enter the
machine between openings in the plate a', attached to the frame, and then
pass between the feed rollers g, g, the upper one of which is pressed down
upon the lower by springs in the ordinary manner, and as the Drawings show;
the lower one has a ratchet wheel g¹ fixed on its axis, and there is also a

page_text: lever g², which can turn freely thereon; it carries a pawl g³, which is pressed
towards the teeth of the ratchet wheel by a spring; g' is a rod jointed to the
end of the lever g³, and which as the carriage 6 travels, as already explained,
slides to and fro in a hole formed for it in the frame at a², and it is furnished
with stops g, g, attached to it by screws, which come in contact with
the frame, and so stop the rod 9 after it has moved through a certain
distance, and the continued motion of the carriage b, after the rod g*
is stopped, gives the forward motion of the feed rollers g, which it will
thus be seen takes place only during the latter portion of the motion of the
carriage towards the circular comb. The forward motion of the slivers is
assisted by the roller 9 on which they lay; it is driven from the lower feed
roller g by an elastic band; it will be seen that the surface speed of this roller
will be greater than the surface speed of the feed rollers and of the slivers, so
that it tends to brush the slivers forward. In some cases in place of mounting
the roller q behind the rows of teeth h, I mount it between them immediately
behind the front rows and in front of the back rows; it is still driven in the
manner shown, but in place of being mounted in bearings fixed on the
carriage, its bearings are fixed to the lifting apparatus j; above it is placed
another roller, the bearings of which are fixed on the carriage, so that when
the lifting blades j' are raised the roller q is brought up to the stationary
roller, and the fibre is nipped between them, and as the roller q is driven
faster than the feed rollers g, the slivers are kept tight and a draft takes place
between them; this arrangement is more particularly applicable when an
endless or chain comb is employed in place of the circular comb k, as the rows
of teeth h are then straight in place of curved. While the slivers are moving
forward they are held out of the comb teeth h by the lifting apparatus ;; this
apparatus consists of a series of thin metal blades, which enter between the
rows of the comb teeth h. I prefer to use a blade between each row of teeth,
that is to say, a greater number of blades than are shewn in the Drawing;
these blades are fixed in a frame, which is attached at each end to bars or
supports, mounted in guides on the carriage; the bars or supports have
plates or soles formed on them at their lower ends, which ride on the
cams 7, r, and by these cams the blades j¹ are raised and lowered as required.
The axis on which the cams r, r, are mounted is driven by a spur wheel r¹,
gearing with the intermediate wheels, which works into the pinion d³ on the
axis d, just before the comb teeth h come up to the circular comb k, the
blades fall, leaving the slivers on the top of the teeth, and when the two
combs are close together the two brushes i and p descend simultaneously and
press the fibre into the combs; the brush i moves about the centre ³, and the

page_text: axis which carries it has an arm on it, and this arm, by the motion of the
carriage b, is brought against a stop on the frame a; as the carriage moves
back this brush is again raised by a spring ; the arm which carries the
brush p is jointed to the upper end of the vertical standard p', and its further
end has a truck p² mounted on it, which rests on the cam t, being kept in
contact with it by a spring; the axis on which the cam t is mounted carries a
spur wheel t¹, which by the intermediate wheels t, t³, and t, is driven from
the axis of the cams 7, 7. The standard p is capable of rotating, so that the
brush P, which remains for a short space of time in contact with the comb k,
may be capable to travel round with it; the brush is brought back to its
original position when it rises by a spring p³ attached to an arm p' on the
standard p'. When the comb teeth h begin to recede from the circular
comb k, the brush i commences to rise so as to allow the fibres which are held
in the circular comb k to be drawn through the comb teeth h, the fibres being
held firmly in the circular comb by the brush p remaining down, and the
holding power of this brush is increased by a bar p³, which it carries, entering
a space left for it between the rows of teeth of the comb k. The comb k is
made wider than it is ordinarily made, the teeth behind the bar in the brush
being in excess of what would ordinarily be employed. The rows of teeth at
the front of the comb h are finer than those behind, as the Drawing shows,
those in front being sufficiently fine thoroughly to clean the wool. When the
combs h and k have separated a short distance, the dividing bar u descends
between them and breaks the slivers; this bar is mounted on the rods ', the
upper ends of which slide through the guides u², capable of rocking on centres
carried by a standard fixed to the frame. The lower end of these bars are
connected with a crank arm 3, the axis of which is driven from the axis of
the cams r, by the train of wheels u, u, u, and w.
again advance towards the circular comb k, the dividing bar u again ascends,
and passing up under the cleaned fringe of fibre which the comb h carries,
brushes it upwards, so as when it is thrown forwards by the feeding rollers g, g,
to ensure its passing over the teeth of the circular comb k. The operations
described are continuously repeated, and at the same time the circular comb
moves on with a fringe of cleaned fibre projecting from each side of it. The
exterior fringe is drawn off by the drawing rollers m, and the interior fringe
by the rollers n; the noil is then raised out of the comb by inclines in the
usual manner, and is taken off in a continuous sliver by the rollers o; the
comb is then left clean and comes up to the feeding head to receive a fresh
feed; the combs are heated by gas, steam, or in other convenient manner,
as is usual.
As the comb teeth h

page_text: Having thus described the nature of my Invention and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I make no claim to any
of the mechanical parts separately; but what I claim is, the combining
combs h and k in such manner that by a reciprocating motion the one may
be caused to move to and from the other, and have the partly cleaned fibre in
the comb h lifted or moved out of that comb, and placed in and the cleansed
fringe beyond the teeth of the comb k, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Rawson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
H. RAWSON. (L.S.)