A MACHINE POR SEPARATING BURS OR OTHER SUBSTANCES FROM WOOL, HAIR, OR FUR
Year: 1826

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
ROBINSON WILLIAMS, of Norfolk Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, formerly of Newport, Rhode Island, in the United States of
America, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Eighteenth day of September, One thousand eight
hundred and twenty-six, in the seventh year of His reign, did, for Himself,
His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Robinson
Williams, His especial licence that I, the said Thomas Robinson Williams,
my exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Robinson
Williams, my exors, adiñors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"A MACHINE POR SEPARATING BURS OR OTHER SUBSTANCES FROM WOOL, HAIR, OR
FUR;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me,
the said Thomas Robinson Williams, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause
the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within
two calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part

page_text: recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large-appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Robinson Williams, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are parti-
cularly described and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and the following description thereof (that is to say):-
My Invention of a Machine for Separating Burs or other Substances from
Wool, Hair, or Fur, consists-in-a-particular arrangement of-mechanical parts,
conveniently combined and adapted to that purpose, which machine is to be
actuated by steam, water, manuel labour, or any other motive power.
Fig. 1 in the accompanying Drawing represents an external view or elevation
of the side of the machine, exhibiting the several wheels, riggers, and bands.
Fig. 2 is a section of the same machine taken longitudinally, or with the side
of the boxes and framework removed, the similar letters referring to corre-
sponding parts in both Figures. a is an endless band or feeding cloth,
distended upon rollers upon which the wool or other materials are to be placed
and evenly spread. band c are a pair of feeding rollers; the upper roller,
pressed by a lever, bears upon the lower one, and turns by friction or by
gear, as in the ordinary way of constructing feeding rollers. d, d, d, is a
cylinder, around the periphery of which a series of block's e, e, e, are placed,
each block having a row of teeth set obliquely to the axis of the cylinder, which
will be further described hereafter. The impelling power is applied by means
of a rigger to the axle of the cylinder d, and upon'this axle a pulley receives
band f, f, which drives the small wheel g upon the axle of the lower feeding
roller c. By these means the wool or other material is progressively brought
forward and submitted to the action of the teeth as the cylinder d'revolves. In
this part of the operation the burs, loose dirt, and other 'impurities, become in
some ineasure operated from the wool or other material by the breaking
process, and partly descend through the curved grating and fall to the ground,
the wool being carried forward by the rotation of the breaking teeth, and
deposited upon the second endless web i, i, i, which conducts it to the second
pair of feeding rollers k, l, above which is a grating a for the air to pass off.
These feeding rollers are made to turn like the former by a band m, m,
extending from the pulley before mentioned on the axle of the breaking
cylinder, and the endless web i is brought forward by gear connected to the
axle of the lower feeding roller 7. The wool or other material thus conducted
between the feeding rollers k, l, is now subjected to the action of the rotatory
The combs are mounted upon blocks attached to a series of
combs n, m, n, n.

page_text: arms which revolve upon an axle. The section of the block, with the comb
attached, is shewn upon an enlarged scale at Fig. 3. At the end of the axle of
the rotatory combs a small wheel-o is affixed, from whence a band extends to the
large wheel p upon the axle of the breaking cylinder, and thus by the rotation
of the breaking cylinder the combs are made to revolve with great velocity
and to carry the wool with them, and the burs or the substance, having a greater
specific gravity, are by the centrifugal force thrown against the edge of the
curved sheet of steel q, and fall off through the space r to the ground. The
wool or other material thus cleansed proceeds down the enclined plane, and is
blown forward through the trunk into an apartinent provided to receive it.
When hairs are to be separated from wool and fur, it is necessary to divide
the room into which they are blown by this machine into two or more com-
partments, one above the other, that the lighter parts of the material may
deposit themselves in the uppermost.
Fig. 3 represents one of the blocks with its comb, the teeth of which
are placed at a small angle to the radia of the arms. Fig. 4 represents one
of the detached teeth of the breakers, the rows of which are to be screwed
into the blocks of the breaking cylinder diagonally. Though I have herein
described several parts of the machine which are not new, and are therefore not
claimed separated therefrom, yet I claim the whole as a new combination
for the purpose above stated; and I also claim particularly the curved edge of
steel p, as opposed to the revolving combs, in the manner above exhibited.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Robinson Williams, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-six.