CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CLEANING OR COMBING WOOL, OR SUCH OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1833

page_text: my
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSHUA
BATES, of Bishopsgate Street, in the City of London, Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by, His Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Thirteenth day of August, One thousand eight hundred
and thirty-three, and in the fourth year of His reign, did, for Himself, His heirs
and successors, give and. grant unto me, the said Joshua Bates, His especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Joshua Bates,
iny executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Joshua Bates, my executors, administrators, 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, an Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
FOR CLEANING OR COMBING WOOL, OR SUCH OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES;" in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said
Joshua Bates, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particu-
larly to describe and ascertain the nature of the 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 six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear,

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compiance with the said proviso, 1, the sand
Joshua Bates, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained in and by the, following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
These Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Cleaning or Combing
Wool, or such other Fibrous Substances, consist in an improved arrangement
and construction of machinery or apparatus by means of which the burrs or seeds
of wild plants; small pieces of vegetable matter, dirt, or other foreign material,
mixed or mingled with certain descriptions of wool, can be removed therefrom;
and at the same time the fibres of the wool are partially combed or. laid straight,
and the sliver or layer of wool elongated, and which machinery or apparatus is
more particularly applicable to cleaning and combing of South American wool,
or wool from other countries, where the flocks of sheep are allowed to range
in a wild state during certain periods of the year in the forests or uncleared
lands, whereby the burrs or seeds of plants or other foreign material, which
adhere to the fleece of the sheep, become so entangled and intermingled with
the wool as it grows that it requires considerable trouble to clean the wool
therefrom after the shearing. In this improved machinery or apparatus the
wool or other fibrous substances to be operated upon is placed upon a feeding
cloth and drawn from thence between two or more plain or fluted rollers; and
is presented from them to the action of a toothed cylinder in a gradual and
nearly uniform and regular manner. The wool, in its progress through the
machine, is drawn or made to pass from these rollers upon, against, or in contact
with a revolving ribbed or toothed cylinder or cylinders, rollers, and bands,
one or more of such cylinders being supplied or armed with projecting teeth,
by means of which the wool, while being passed from one set of rollers to the
next, is elongated or drawn into a thinner sheet or layer, and the fibres at the
same time in some degree combed or straightened and laid parellel to each
other, while the burrs and other foreign material intermixed with the wool are
loosened and presented on the surface of the sheet or sliver, and at the same
time the wool is in some degree cleansed from such burrs and other foreign
material, as well as from knobs and snarls. From the toothed cylinder or cylin-
ders the wool is drawn on to and between or against two or more other drawing
rollers connected with a band or apron, so that the wool, while in its further
progress through the machine, by the comparative velocity in the revolution of
the latter drawing rollers and the first set, receives a further elongation, and
becomes a still-thinner sheet or layer, and the fibres of the wool are further
straightened or laid parellel with each other, and at the same time the sliver

page_text: of material operated upon is drawn, and tightly held round one or more of
the drawing rollers, the ends of the fibres being held or confined between them..
By this process the burrs and other foreign material commingled with the wool
are loosened and presented. on the surface of the sheet or 'sliver in such a
manner as to be easily detached and taken off by scraping, brushing, or
striking, blowing, &c.; the wool being tightly held in its progress. of passing.
through the rollers with the belt or apron connected therewith, while the
wool or such like substance is being tightly held by the rollers, and is in the
process of passing, as above described. The burrs, seeds, or other foreign
material, are cleared and removed from off the surface of the sliver by means
of a scraper or brush, or other agent, which revolves against or otherwise
acts upon the surface of the sliver of material, and removes the burrs from.
the wool; and, after the burrs and other foreign material are removed from
the sliver, it is carried or conducted to à receiving cylinder, or may be other-
wise taken away, and will be in a better condition for any subsequent process:
or operation of manufacturing.
Having described the general features of this improved machinery or
apparatus for cleaning or combing wool, and such other fibrous substances, I
shall proceed to describe more particularly the arrangement and construction
of the same, as shewn in the several Figures of the Drawings hereunto annexed,.
which are different representations of one of those improved machines. Figure 1
is a side elevation, Figure 2 is a plan or horizontal view, and Figure 3 is a front
or end representation, of the same. Figure 4 is a vertical section taken longi-
tudinally through the machine for the purpose of shewing more particularly:
the progress and passage of the sliver of wool, or such other material under
operation. a, a, is the framework or standards of the machine, which is made of
sufficient width and length to receive at one time a whole fleece of wool. b is
the endless webb or feeding cloth upon which the wool to be operated upon is:
placed and spread evenly. This endless cloth is made of canvas, or any
other suitable material, and passes around the end roller c, and the-lower of
the first set of feeding rollers d, d, which may be varied in size according to the
state of the wool, and more than two of them may be used if thought
necessary. The upper roller is ribbed or grooved, in order that the burrs or
other foreign materials may not be broken or flattened down into the wool by
passing between them, and also that the wool may be retarded and conveyed-
more gradually to the toothed cylinder e, which is about six inches in diameter,
and has its periphery supplied or armed with teeth projecting from the surface
about half an inch. . These teeth are from one sixteenth to one eighth of an
inch in diameter, pointed and bent something in the shape of the letter S, and

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are set in the cylinder about a quarter of an inch apart; but these particulars
will in some instances require to be varied according to the state of the wool
intended to be operated upon. The cylinder e is situated on the opposite side
of the feeding rollers d to that where the wool enters between them, and is
placed so near them that the teeth of the cylinder may take or strike into the
wool as near the pinch of the drawing rollers d as possible. g, g, g, and h 1,
h2, are the second set of drawing rollers, connected with a band or apron i,
and by which they are made to revolve, the elasticity of the belt or apron
allowing them to recede more or less on the passage of any extraordinary
quantity of burrs or other foreign material through them.
The drawing
rollers are about one inch and a half in diameter, but may be varied in size
as well as in their arrangement and numbers, they receiving their rotary
motion through the shaft k, which is connected to them by suitable toothed
pinions. The endless belt or apron i is made of canvas, or any other suitable
material, and passes nearly around the rollers h 1 and h 2, and amongst the
set of drawing rollers g. A thin plate or piece of metal l, called a preventor
(is placed so that one edge of it is parellel to the surface of the drawing
roller 2; it may be made from one to two inches in width, extending the
length of the rollers. The edge or under side of this preventor, which is in
contact with the apron i, is filed down to a blunt edge, while the other edge
or back is fixed to a piece of iron, for the purpose of giving it firmness and
stability. This preventor may be placed stationary in the position in which it
is intended to operate, or it may be fixed upon an arm turning upon centres,
as shewn in the Drawings, by which means it can be readily thrown back
into the position shewn by the dotted lines in Figure 1. m is a beater,
brusher, or scraper, which may be made of wood, iron, or any other suitable
material, and consists of a cylinder with projecting wings or ribs, the outward
edges of which are filed rough, or toothed transversely with its axis, and form
alternate angles with the same. This beater is placed as near to the blunt
edge of the preventor as possible, and so that the projections or wings as it
revolves rapidly may come in contact with the burrs, pieces of vegetable
material, dirt, or other foreign matters, and remove them from the surface of
the sliver of wool without injuring the fibre of the same. n is an adjustable
rod, which carries the axis of the belt or apron roller o.
this rod there is a screw and nut for adjusting the tension of the apron. p is
a guide for keeping it in its proper place upon the roller. q is the cylinder
intended to receive the sliver of the wool as delivered from the apron, and
which will descend from the rollers g in a thin sheet or layer. The machine
in motion by a band leading from any first mover to a rigger upon the
is put
At the upper end of

page_text: axis 7, and upon this axis is mounted the pulley s, around which a band passes
and communicates motion to another pulley t, upon the end of the shaft of
the beater or brusher. u is another drawing pulley upon the axis r, around
which a band passes, and communicates motion to the pulley v on the
shaft k, which is furnished with suitable gearing for driving the other parts of
the machinery.
Having set forth the construction and arrangement of one of these improved
machines, I shall proceed to describe its operation. The wool is placed
evenly in its uncleaned state upon the endless feeding cloth b, from whence
it passes between the feeding rollers d in a gradual manner, and is then acted
upon by the teeth of the cylinder e, which is of larger diameter than the
rollers, and revolves at a greater speed, so as to carry the points. of the
teeth with a velocity four or five times as quick as that of the feeding
rollers; consequently the wool, being held back by the rollers, is combed
by the teeth and drawn into a layer or sliver thinner than that delivered
from the feeding rollers, and at the same time the fibres of the wool are
straightened and made more parellel to each other; at the same time
the burrs, &c. are loosened without being crushed or broken, and presented on
to the surface of the sliver, and the wool itself is by this operation, in a
degree, combed and cleared from snarls and knobs. The next operation upon
the wool takes place while it is passing over the small roller h 2. The belt
The drawing
or apron receives the wool from the toothed cylinder e.
rollers g and h are made to revolve with greater rapidity than the cylinder e,
whereby the wool is further elongated into a thinner sheet or layer, and the
fibres retained parellel to each other, or rendered more so; also by the arrange-
ment of the second set of drawing rollers together, with the thinness of the
sheet or layer, and the bending and pinching of the wool, the burrs, seeds, dirt,
or other matter, are brought principally on to the surface of the sliver, and in
a loosened state, so as to be easily taken or brushed off, while by the elasticity
of the belt or apron i they are allowed to pass through the drawing rollers.
without being materially broken. The wool being drawn into a thin sheet or
layer with its fibres straightened or laid parellel to each other, and held tightly
round the outward drawing roller h 2, having the burrs presented principally
on the surface in a loosened state, it is ready for the next operation, namely,
to remove them from the same. This is done by means of the preventor / and
the beater or brusher m, the blunt edge of the preventor presses on the wool
while it is tightly held on the small drawing roller h 2, and receives the burrs
and other extraneous matter as the wool is passing under it, while the beater m,
revolving with great rapidity, acts upon the burrs as they are raised by the

page_text: preventor, and takes them off over the blunt edge of the same. The wool
being now clear from burrs, passes on to the cylinder q, or it, may be taken
off by hand or otherwise..
Having described the nature and operation of this improved machine
or apparatus for cleaning wool and such other substances, I have only to
remark, that it will be evident the size, diameter, and number of the various
rollers and cylinders, as well as the velocity with which they are made to
revolve, may be varied to suit different kinds of wool which the machine may
be required to operate upon; and that in the place of the beater or brusher
described above, for the removing the burrs or other foreign matter from the
surface of the wool, a brush formed of wire, bristles, or other materials, may
be used, and also that a current of air might be made to blow upon the surface
of the wool at this part of the operation with good effect, as it would assist the
operation of clearing the, wool from dust as well as burrs, and which current
of air might be supplied from any convenient blowing apparatus, and
conducted to the part of the machine desired.
Having now described the arrangement, construction, and operation of this
improved machine or apparatus for cleaning and combing wool, or such other
fibrous substances, I wish it to be understood that I do not mean or intend
to claim as part of this Invention any of the parts herein described separate,
or which may have been heretofore used for the like purpose; neither do I
intend to confine myself to any precise dimensions herein specified, or to the
number of the rollers, cylinders, or other parts, which may be varied to suit
the different state and kinds of wool to be operated upon. But I do claim, as
the improvement under the above in part recited Letters Patent, the ma-
chinery or apparatus above described, for detaching and separating from wool
or other such substances burrs; seeds of plants, pieces of vegetable matter, dirt,
or other foreign material, and which is effected by extending and straightening
the fibres of the wool, &c. in such a manner as to bring the burrs or other
extraneous matter wholly or principally on to the surface of the wool or other
material, and then removing the same by beating, brushing, or striking or
blowing them off, as herein described; and I verily believe, that this my Speci-
fication does in all respects comply with the proviso in the above in part recited
Letters Patent.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joshua Bates, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Thirteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-four.
JOSHUA (L.S.) BATES.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirteenth day of February,
in the fourth year of the reign of His Majesty King William the Fourth,
the said Joshua Bates came before our said Lord the King in His Chancery,
and acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein
contained and specified, in form above written. And also the Instrument
aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the
fifty-fifth year of the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.
Inrolled the Thirteenth day of Fahmaw One thorcond night hundled
Inrolled the Thirteenth day of February, One thousand eight hundred
and thirty-four.