CERTAIN IMPROVE- MENTS IN CARDING ENGINES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Hawksworth, of Oldham, in the County
of Lancaster, Machine Maker, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN CARDING ENGINES."
Sealed the 11th June 1862, and dated the 27th December 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Hawksworth at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th December 1861.
I, WILLIAM HAWKSWORTH, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Machine
Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IM-
PROVEMENTS IN CARDING ENGINES," to be as follows:-
The nature of my Invention consists in an improved apparatus for stripping:
the fleece off the doffer of a carding engine. The stripping comb is made of.
several pieces screwed or otherwise fixed to a back or stock, made of hollow:
sheet metal, either triangular, semicircular, or of other suitable shape, in
order to combine strength with lightness. The comb and stock are guided'
up and down by rods working in fixed bearings, and they are put in motion
by a crank, eccentric, or cam,- the side links from which are connected to the
trunnions on which the comb swivels, so that the teeth of the comb in the
down stroke are sufficiently near the doffer to strip off the fleece, but in

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Hawksworth in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
26th June 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HAWKSWORTH, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Hawksworth, Her special license that I, the said William
Hawksworth, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Hawksworth, 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CARDING ENGINES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Hawksworth, 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 William Hawksworth, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, that is to say :-
The nature of my Invention consists in an improved apparatus for stripping
the fleece off the doffer of a carding engine. The stripping comb is made
of several pieces screwed or otherwise fixed to a back or stock made of
hollow sheet metal of a semicircular shape, in order to combine strength with
lightness. The comb and stock are guided up and down by rods working in
fixed bearings, and they are put in motion by a crank, eccentric, or cam, the

page_text: side links from which are connected to the trunnions on which the comb
swivels, so that the teeth of the comb in the down stroke, are sufficiently near
the doffer to strip off the fleece, but in the up stroke they are moved slightly
from the doffer, and thus clear the wires.
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 figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of part of a carding engine of the ordinary
construction to which my improvements are applied; Figure 2 is a front
view of the same; Figure 3 is a detached view of the stripping comb drawn
full size.
a is the framing; 6 the main cylinder; and c the doffer; these parts and
all the others not particularly referred to hereafter, but which are requisite to
complete the machine, are made in the usual manner. The stripping comb
consists of four or other convenient number of toothed blades of steel, marked d,
secured to the hollow semicircular sheet metal stock e, which is drawn through
dies as in manufacturing gas pipes, or otherwise constructed, and which
may be made with or without a mid-feather, as shewn in Figure 3. I wish
to remark here that the object of making the stock semicircular and hollow
is to combine strength with lightness. Each end of the stock e, is provided
with a trunnion, passing through an eye in the rods f, which are guided in the
bearings g, which are fixed to the frame sides a, but are capable of being
adjusted by set screws, so as to be able to regulate the comb d to the surface of
the doffer c;
the ends of the trunnions of the comb stock are screwed, and
pass through the side links h, and the comb is secured to the side links
by a nut on each side. The side links fit on the eccentrics i, fixed
on the cross shaft j, which is turned round rapidly in the direction of
the arrow, to give the requisite up and down motion to the comb d by
the strap k passing over the pulley b' on the shaft of the main cylinder,
and over the pulley m, mounted on a stud in the frame side; to this
pulley is fixed the groove pulley n, which by means of a band drives the
pulley fixed on the shaft j. The pulley j¹ has three grooves of different
diameters to vary the speed of the comb. By this arrangement when the
comb is down, it strips the fleece off the doffer, but in the up stroke, the
comb is moved slightly from the doffer so as to clear the wires.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, I declare that I claim,-
First, constructing the comb stock of hollow sheet metal, of a semicircular
form, as described.

page_text: And, secondly, the improved combination of machinery for guiding and giving
motion to the stripping combs of carding engines, as shewn and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Hawksworth, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
WILLIAM HAWKSWORTH. (L.S.)