CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CARDING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Benjamin Dobson, of Bolton, in the County of
Lancaster, Machine Maker, John Hodgkinson, of the same Place, Cotton
Spinner, Daniel Greenhalgh, of the same Place, Manager, and Francis
Hamilton, of the same Place, Foreman, for the Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CARDING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS
SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 27th May 1864, and dated the 12th December 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Benjamin Dobson, John
Hodgkinson, Daniel Greenhalgh, and Francis Hamilton at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 12th
December 1863.
We, BENJAMIN DOBSON, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, Machine.
Maker, JOHN HODGKINSON, of the same Place, Cotton Spinner, DANIEL,
GREENHALGH, of the same Place, Manager, and FRANCIS HAMILTON, of the
same Place, Foreman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CARDING COTTON AND OTHER
FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
Our Invention is chiefly applicable to the self-stripping carding engines,
known as George Wellman's Patent cards, and for which he obtained Letters.
Patent on the Eleventh day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty, No. 2190.
In the Specification of the said Patent a segmental rack is shewn, and

page_text: described for moving the radial arm supporting the apparatus for raising the
top flats and stripping them in regular succession. Now, our Invention
consists in an improved combination of self-acting machinery for stripping the
top flats in any required succession. In order to accomplish this, the toothed
segmental rack, instead of being of an uniform pitch, is made of two or more
different pitches, either cast together or in adjustable segments, and there are
corresponding pinions working alternately in the different portions of the rack.
We prefer to place the finest portion of the rack towards the licker-in, by
which means the top flats near the licker-in will be stripped oftener than the
others.
Another part of our Invention consists in making the top flats of the above-
described self-stripping cards near the licker-in broader than the others.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters. Patent, filed
by the said Benjámin Dobson, John Hodgkinson, Daniel Greenhalgh,
and Francis Hamilton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th
A. June 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, BENJAMIN
DOBSON, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker, JOHN
HODGKINSON, of the same Place, Cotton Spinner, DANIEL GREENHALGH, of
the same Place, Manager, and FRANCIS HAMILTON, of the same Place,
Foreman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date. the Twelfth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us; the said Benjamin Dobson and John Hodgkinson, and Daniel Greenhalgh
and Francis Hamilton, Her special license that we, the said Benjamin Dobson
and John Hodgkinson, and Daniel Greenhalgh and Francis Hamilton, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
Benjamin Dobson and John Hodgkinson, and Daniel Greenhalgh and Francis
Hamilton, our 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 IMPROVE-
HETS IN MACHINERY FOR CARDING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES,"

page_text: upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Benjamin Dobson
and John Hodgkinson, and Daniel Greenhalgh and Francis Hamilton, our
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their,
or one of our or 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 we, the said Benjamin Dobson and John Hodg-
kinson, and Daniel Greenhalgh and Francis Hamilton, do hereby declare the
nature of our 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):-
Our Invention is chiefly applicable to the self-stripping carding engines
known as George Wellman's Patent cards, and for which he obtained Letters
Patent on the Eleventh day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty, No. 2190.
In the Specification of the said Patent a segmental rack is shewn and
described for moving the radial arm supporting the apparatus for raising the
top flats and stripping them in regular succession. Now, our Invention
consists in an improved combination of self-acting machinery for stripping the
top flats in any required succession or at different velocities. In order to
accomplish this, the toothed segmental rack, instead of being of an uniform
pitch, is made of two or more different pitches, either cast together or in
adjustable segments, and there are corresponding pinions working alternately
in the different portions of the rack. We prefer to place the finest portion
of the rack towards the licker-in, by which means the top flats near the
licker-in will be stripped oftener than the others.
な
Another part of our Invention consists in making the top flats of the above,
described self-stripping carding engines near the licker-in broader than the
others.
:
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood, we will proceed
more particularly to describe the same with reference to the several Figures
on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the same letters of reference
indicating corresponding parts throughout all the Figures.
Fig. 1 represents an end or side elevation of one form of our self top:
stripping carding engine; Figs. 2 and 3 are parts of the same in detail.
represents the main framing of a carding engine, and 6 the bands which
support the series of top flats d, and to which are secured, one at each end or

page_text: side of the engine, the double mangle segments or segmental racks o; these
segmental racks, instead of being of an uniform pitch, are made of a finer
pitch near the licker-in, the object of which will be described hereafter. c is
the shaft of the main cylinder, and e the rocker frame, which is free to vibrate
or swing loosely upon the ends of the journal boxes of the shaft c, and carries
with it the whole of the "top" stripping apparatus. I is the grooved cam and
spur wheel which impart all the requisite motions for elevating and cleaning
the top flats, as well as that for moving or traversing the rocker frame from
one top flat to another. The grooved cam l acts upon an antifriction roller v,
carried by a stud fixed in the stripper arm r, which arm, in connection with
its duplicate on the opposite side of the machine, holds and operates the
stripping or cleaning card. The segmental gear projecting from the cam and
spur wheel imparts an intermittent motion to the pinion m, which, after it
has completed one revolution, is held stationary by its set plate p, turning its
concave rim upon the face of the set rim projecting from the cam and wheel l.
The spindle of the pinion m has a bearing in one end of the stud plate j, see
Fig. 3, the other end of such plate being supported by the same stud which
carries the cam and spur wheel l. On the same spindle as the pinion m are
fixed the pinions n and n', which pinions gear alternately with the teeth of
the double mangle segment o, and the spindle projects through the pinions
and enters a groove which entirely surrounds the series of teeth in the double-
mangle segment o. The top flats d may all be of the same width as usual, or
those near the licker-in may be wider than the others, as shewn in Fig. 1.
When the carding engine commences its operations, the pinion n is in gear
with the coarser teeth of the segmental rack o, and as the operations proceed,
the top flats are stripped alternately, as described in the Patent above referred
to. The pinion n remains in gear until the rocker frame e has advanced
sufficiently towards the licker-in to bring the pinion n' into gear with the finer
portion of the rack o. When the pinion n¹ comes into operation, the motion
of the rocker frame e is retarded, so that the stripping machinery operates
upon each successive top flat, consequently the top flats near the licker-in are
stripped oftener in a given time than the others, and when these top flats are
wider than the others, as shewn, the effect is increased. On the return of
the rocker frame the pinion n¹ remains in gear with the under side of the
segmental rack o until the pinion n again comes into gear with the coarser
part of the rack, after which each alternate top flat is stripped as before, and
the operations then continue uninterruptedly.
In some cases it may be found desirable to produce more than one change
in the speed of the stripping apparatus; when such is the case, three or more

page_text: pinions are employed to work alternately in segmental racks, having teeth of
three or more different pitches, and the segmental racks may be cast together
or made of adjustible segments.
Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a carding engine to which a modification of our
Invention is applied, and Fig. 5 is an end view of the same. In these views
the parts marked a, b, c, d, e, j, l, m, n, n', o, and p are similar to those above
described in reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 3. Near the outer extremity of the
rocker frame e is fixed a stud s, supporting the two driving pulleys s³, s², and
the loose pulleys. To the boss of the pulley s¹ is fixed the pinion s', and to
the pulley is fixed the pinion 8; these pinions gear respectively in the
wheels t and t¹ fixed on the shaft t2, to which is also fixed the pinion t³ for
driving the cam and spur wheel l. The pulleys s', 82, and 3 are turned round
by a crossed strap u passing below around a pulley fixed to the axle c of the
main cylinder. The strap guide u¹ of the strap u is fast on the shaft u³, to
which are fixed the levers u³ and u', the former of which is acted upon at
every revolution of the cam and wheel 7 by the projection ¹ to move the
strap on to the slow motion pulleys, and the latter is acted upon by the
elbow lever w when the rocker frame has arrived near the licker-in, and has
to commence its return motions towards the doffer g. When the last top
flat of the set near the licker-in has been stripped, it is frequently desirable to
allow the stripping machinery to remain inactive for a short time, in order
that the top flats near the licker-in may accumulate a certain amount of
flyings before they are again stripped. Now in order to accomplish this we
fix a worm w to the side shaft w¹, or to any other slowly rotating axle of the
carding engine; this worm gears into the wheel w, to which is fixed a
pinion w³ gearing into the wheel w', to which is attached an adjustable-stop
piece w; this stop piece can be set so as to act sooner or later on the bowl
of the elbow lever w, according to the length of dwell required. The face of
the wheel w' is graduated, and a pointer is fixed to the stud on which the wheel
rotates to measure or indicate the dwell.
In Figs. 4 and 5 the parts are represented in the positions they occupy
when the strap u is on the loose pulley s, and when the stripping apparatus
is inactive; the index wheel w' is now turning gradually round, being driven
by the worm we on the side shaft, as above described. As soon as the stop w
raises the horizontal arm of the elbow lever w, the curved piece in the vertical
arm thereof, acting on the lever ut, places the strap u on the pulley s¹; the
pinion then gearing into the wheel t gives the requisite quick motion to
the wheel and cam 1 for raising the end top flat d, stripping it, and then
lowering it again. When these operations are performed the elbow lever w

page_text: is liberated, and the spring coiled around the shaft u² brings the strap on to
the pulley 82, which being fast to the small pinion 5, imparts the requisite slow
motion to the cam and wheel and to the pinions m and n¹ for moving the
rocker frame e in the direction of the arrow until the stripping apparatus is in
line with the adjacent top flat, at which time the quick motion pinion and
wheel again come into gear for raising, stripping, and lowering the top flat, as
above described.
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, we declare that we claim,-
First, the application of segmental racks with teeth of two or more different
pitches to carding engines of the description referred to, for stripping the top
flats in any required succession and at different velocities.
Secondly, the combination of mechanism described, or any modification
thereof, for accelerating the speed while raising, stripping, and lowering the top
flats, and reducing it while moving from one top flat to the other.
Thirdly, the combination of mechanism described, or any modification
thereof; for producing a dwell, or allowing the stripping apparatus to remain
inactive after each complete to-and-fro motion of the rocker frame.
And, lastly, making some of the top flats wider than the others, as
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Benjamin Dobson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighth day of June, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-four.