IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING AND SPIN- NING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES, AND IN MACHINERY FOR SUCH PURPOSES
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edwin Pettitt, of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING AND SPIN-
NING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES, AND IN MACHINERY FOR SUCH
PURPOSES."
Sealed the 26th June 1855, and dated the 21st April 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edwin Pettitt at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st
April 1855.
I, EDWIN PETTITT, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING AND SPINNING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUB-
STANCES, AND IN MACHINERY FOR SUCH PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
I construct machinery for preparing and spinning fibrous substances in the
following manner:-The fibrous substance is fed into the machine by feed
rollers or other apparatus, as is well understood, or in manner hercin-after
described. A roller receives the cotton or other fibrous substance from the
feed rollers or apparatus, or from the "licker-in," and this roller carries a series
of separate rings of card with spaces between them, and has a traversing
motion to enable it to take all the fibrous substance as it is fed to it. The

page_text: fibrous substance is thus separated into separate lines or bands. The succeed-
ing roller or rollers are also covered with rings of card, and each one revolves
at a greater velocity than the preceding, and thus carries on the fibrous
substance until it arrives at the doffer, which removes it in separate bands or
slivers, which pass through drawing or calender rollers, and are converted into
rovings, or spun by means of bobbins and fliers, or otherwise. The machine is
provided with dirt rollers or flat top cards placed in proximity to the card
rollers. Drawing rollers may also bo placed between the before-mentioned
card rollers, and cards may also be placed between drawing rollers. Tho
lap of the cotton or other fibrous substance which is supplied to the machine
is thus converted at once into rovings or spun into yarn. The slivers or
bands may be doubled by leading two or more of them together if desired.
The ordinary carding engines may be altered so as to act as above described.
For this purpose, the roller which receives the fibrous substance from the
feeding rollers or apparatus or from the "licker-in" is made with separate rings
of card, and has a traversing motion, so as to enable it to take up all the
fibrous substance applied to it. The main card cylinder or roller, and the
working cards, strippers, and flat top cards, are also made with separate strips
or rings of card. The fibrous substance is thus carded and delivered in separate
bands or slivers, which may be spun by bobbins and fliers or otherwise, as
above described.
The machine may also be fed with slivers or bands of fibrous substance
instead of feeding it by a lap. In this case all the rollers are made with
separate fillets of card, and no traversing motion is required; each sliver or
assemblage of slivers is thus kept separate from the others during its passage
through the machine. In order to equalize the feed, I sometimes apply a
tapering or wedge-shaped funnel capable of adjustment by screws or otherwise
in connection with the feeding rollers; or I employ two or more pairs of
feeding rollers in succession, and revolving at different velocities, so as to com-
press the fibrous substance into a more dense and uniform state; or I compress
the fibrous substance in a mould or between suitable surfaces by means of
hydraulic or other pressure, so as to render it more dense and uniform before
introducing it into the carding machine. When the machine is fed with
slivers, one of the aforesaid funnels may be employed for each sliver or
assemblage of slivers. I also compress the laps in a lateral direction before
carding them. Thus a lap is wound upon a screwed rod baving a plate or flange
at one end; another lap wound upon a rod or tube is placed opposite the end of
the first roll, and the second lap is forced along on to the rod of the first lap by
means of a moveable flange, which is advanced by a screw or nut or otherwise,

page_text: or by means of a press. Another lap may then be forced on in a similar
manner, and the whole is secured by a flange and nut. The laps may be
prevented from expanding in diameter during the compression by means of a
case or cylinder which surrounds them. The fibrous substance is thus brought
into a more dense and uniform state.
The carding rollers may be constructed in the ordinary manner, with the
separate rings or fillets of cards nailed upon them, or each fillet may be
attached to a separate disc or narrow wheel, and these discs may be fixed
upon the spindle at the required distances apart. By this means the distance
between the fillets may be varied from time to time as required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edwin Pettitt in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 19th
October 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWIN
PETTITT, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Edwin Pettitt, Her special licence that I, the said Edwin Pettitt, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edwin
Pettitt, 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 PREPARING AND
SPINNING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES, AND IN MACHINERY FOR SUCH
PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edwin
Pettitt, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should parti-
cularly 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 Edwin Pettitt, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-

page_text: formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
Figure 1, Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings, is a front view, and
Figure 2 is a plan, of a throstle combined with carding machinery, and con-
structed according to my Invention, and adapted for preparing and spinning
cotton and other fibrous substances. Figure 3, Sheet II., is a view of the
end of the same machine, marked E in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a view of the
other end F of the machine. The same letters refer to similar parts in each
Figure.
A is a cylinder or roller, covered with wire cards, which forms the "licker-
in," for conveying the cotton into the machine; B, C, and D are rollers,
carrying a series of separate rings or fillets of wire cards; G is the doffer,
which is also covered with separate rings or fillets of card, and which receives
the cotton from the roller D; H is the doffing knife or comb; I, I, 1, are a
series of drawing rollers; and J, J, are the throstle, spindles, and bobbins,
constructed in the ordinary manner. The machine is driven by the main shaft
K, which carries the tin drum for driving the spindles J in the ordinary
manner. On the shaft K is a pulley K', which drives a pulley A¹ on the
spindle of the licker-in. Another pulley K on the shaft K drives a pulley
II' on a cranked shaft II, which drives the doffing knife or comb II by
means of the connecting rods II. At the other end of the shaft K is a
pinion L, which drives a toothed wheel L', carrying a pinion L, which drives
another toothed whecl L³ on the spindle M. These wheels and pinions aro
indicated by red circles in Figure 4. The spindle M carries a pulley M',
which drives the pulleys B' and C' on the spindles of the card rollers B and C.
On the other end of the spindle M is a pulley M", which drives the pulley D'
of the card roller D. The main shaft K carries an endless screw, which drives
a worm wheel on a vertical or inclined shaft, which communicates the motion
to the doffer G by means of a pair of bevil wheels, indicated by red lines in
Figure 3. The doffer spindle carries another bevil wheel, which drives a bevil
wheel on another inclined shaft, which communicates the motion by a bevil
pinion and wheel to a cam or heart N, which raises and lowers the copping
rail O. The drawing rollers I, I, I, are driven in the ordinary manner.
The lower rollers only are shewn in the Drawing. The "licker-in" A has
a reciprocating end motion upon its spindle, which motion may be given by a
cam or by other known means.
This machine is supplied with a lap of cotton by feed rollers, or any of the
ord nary feeding apparatus, or by means of compressing feeding apparatus,

page_text: constructed as herein-after described. The "licker-in "A revolves rapidly,
and takes the cotton from the lap and works it against the card roller B,
which carries it on and works it against the roller C, from which it is taken
by the roller D and carried on to the doffer G, from which it is removed as a
series of narrow ribbons or slivers by the doffing knife or comb H. These
ribbons or slivers are elongated by passing through the drawing rollers I, 1', 12,
and are spun into yarns by the spindles and bobbins J. The "licker-in" A
has a reciprocating end motion in the direction of its axis, so that it receives
the lap throughout its length, and distributes it equally upon the fillets of card
on the roller B. The cotton received by each of the fillets on B is thus kept
separate from all the other fillets as it passes through the machine, and the
continuous lap of cotton is converted at once into yarn.
Figure 5, Sheet III., is a section of a bobbin and fly frame, combined with
carding machinery, and constructed according to my Invention, and adapted
for preparing cotton and other fibrous substances and forming it into slubbings
or rovings. Figure 6, Sheet IV., is a view of one end of the machine; and
Figure 7, Sheet IV., is a view of the other end of the machine.
A is the licker-in, which is a roller covered all over with wire cards, and
having a reciprocating end motion as in the throstle, herein-before described;
B, C, and D are rollers carrying separate rings or fillets of cards; and G is the
doffer, which also carries separate rings or fillets of cards; H is the dofling
knife or comb; I, I, I, are the drawing rollers; and J, J, are the spindles;
and J, J', are the bobbins. The spindles J and bobbins J₁ are both driven
in the ordinary manner. The card rollers and the other parts of the machine
are driven from the main shaft K by straps and pulleys and toothed wheels.
The doffer is driven by an endless screw and bevil gear, as in the throstle
herein-before described. The licker-in A takes the cotton from a lap, which
is supplied to it by feed rollers, or by any of the ordinary feeding apparatus,
or by means of compressing feeding apparatus, constructed as herein-after
described. The licker-in works or cards the cotton against the roller B, and
the cotton gradually passes on from one roller to another until it arrives at the
doffer G, and is removed by the dofling knife or comb II in a series of narrow
ribbons or slivers, which are elongated by the drawing rollers I, I, I, and
slightly twisted by the spindles J, and finally wound up as slubbings or rovings
upon the bobbins J¹.
Instead of giving the end motion or traversing motion
to the licker-in, this motion may be given to the roller B, and a simultaneous
but somewhat less extent of motion to the roller C, and still less to the
roller D; or the traversing motion may be given to the roller B only, and
the spaces between the fillets of card on that roller may be about half the

page_text: width of the spaces between the fillets of cards on the succeeding rollers, and
the fillets of cards themselves may be of correspondingly greater width. By
giving tho roller B a traversing motion equal to the width of the spaces
between its fillets, it will be enabled to take all the cotton from the licker-in A,
and distribute it upon the separate fillets of the succeeding roller.
The machines herein-before described may be fed with slivers or rovings or
slubbings instead of feeding them with a lap. In this case the licker-in may
be made with fillets of cards, like the other card rollers, and it has then no
traversing motion. Each sliver or assemblage of slivers, slubbings, or rovings
thus passes separately through the machine, and is spun into yarn or converted
into a slubbing or roving. In lieu of placing the separato rings or fillets of
card upon a long roller, each ring or fillet may be fixed upon a separate disc
or narrow wheel, and these discs may be fixed upon a spindle at the required
distances apart. By this arrangement the distances between the fillets of card
may be varied, if required. In lieu of forming the band or sliver of cotton
from each fillet or ring of the doffer roller into a separate yarn or slubbing or
roving, two or more of these bands may be doubled or united in the drawing
head and conducted on to the same bobbin, so as to form a single yarn or
roving. The machines may be provided with dirt rollers, or flat top cards
placed in proximity to the card rollers. When the carding engine is to be fed
with slivers, slubbings, or rovings, and the licker-in and all the other rollers
are constructed with separate rings or fillets of card, the machine may be fed
by one or more feeding rollers extending across the machine, or by means of a
series of compressing feeding apparatus, constructed as herein-after described,
and arranged so that each ring or fillet of card on the licker-in is supplied
by a separate compressing feeding apparatus. In the ordinary processes of
preparing and spinning cotton, the lap of cotton is carded in a carding engine,
to which it is supplied by a feed roller or rollers. The lap is then drawn out
into slivers or slubbings or rovings, and these slivers, slubbings, or rovings
are doubled by placing several together and again drawing them, and this
operation of doubling is frequently repeated several times before the slubbing
or roving is sufficiently uniform for spinning into yarn.
Now, by my improvements I obtain uniformity in the yarn or slubbing, or
roving or sliver, by submitting the cotton to pressure, whereby the more dense
portions are forced into and compress the less dense portions, and the whole
mass is brought into a more uniform state. The pressure may be applied in a
great variety of ways. Thus a tapering trunk or wedge-shaped funnel, capable
of adjustment by screws or otherwise, may be employed in connection with
feed rollers which force the cotton into the funnel, as shewn in section in

page_text: Figure 8, Sheet V. The resistance afforded by the sides of the funnel or
trunk causes the cotton to accumulate within the funnel, and thus to increase
in density and uniformity, and it is seized and drawn out from the end of
the funnel by the licker-in of a carding engine.
Figure 9 is a section of another arrangement of compressing feeding appa-
ratus, in which a pair of rollers are placed at each end of the trunk, and the
first pair of rollers are mado to revolve faster than the second pair; the cotton
then accumulates in the trunk until it acquires a sufficient density. Another
method consists in ramming or forcing the cotton into the trunk by means of
a plunger or piston. Another mode of applying the pressure consists in
placing the cotton in a box or mould, and compressing it into a flat cake or
slab by a hydraulic or other press; this cake is then fed gradually into the
carding engine. Another mode of compressing the cotton consists in winding
the lap upon a rod or tube, having a fixed flange at one end and a moveable
flange at the other end, which moveable flange is forced towards the other
flange by a press or screw, or otherwise, so as to compress the lap laterally;
or another rod or tube carrying a lap may be placed opposite the end of the
rod or tube of the first lap, and the second lap may be forced on to the rod of
the first lap by means of a moveable flange, so as to squeeze the two laps into
the width of one. Another lap may be added in a similar manner, and so on,
until sufficient density be obtained, when the flange is secured by a nut or
otherwise. The laps may be prevented from expanding in diameter during
the compression by means of a case or cylinder which confines them. These
various modes of applying the pressure may be employed for compressing the
cotton in the state of slivers or in the state of laps, and some of the modes
may even be applied to cotton spread out or supplied by hand. As, however,
the cotton is generally brought into the state of a lap by the machines
employed for cleaning it, it may be found most convenient to operate upon it
in that state. The modes of applying the pressure admit of great variation,
and two or more different modes may be employed in combination; thus
lap or laps may be compressed laterally, and supplied to a funnel or trunk
in which it is further compressed by rollers or a plunger.
a
My improved mode or modes of giving uniformity to the fibrous substanco
by means of pressure is or are applicable to the machinery herein-before
described, and also to carding engines or machines generally.
Figuro 10, Sheet V., is a side view of a compressing feeding apparatus
constructed according to my Invention; Figure 11 is a section; and Figure
12 is a plan of the same. This feeding apparatus is adapted for either the
throstle or the bobbin and fly frame, herein-before described, or for the

page_text: ordinary carding engines. A is the licker-in, and B is the roller which receives
the cotton from it, as herein-before described. Q, Q', is a hopper or trunk,
into which the cotton is pressed or rammed by a piston or plunger R, which
works in guides, and is moved up and down by means of excentrics S, S, and
connecting rods S¹. A rod or spindle carrying a lap of cotton is lodged in the
forks T, T, and the lap rests upon the roller U, which by its revolution supplies
the lap to the feeding rollers V, V, which feed it into the trunk or hopper.
The roller U carries a ratchet wheel U, which is driven by a click or paul on
a lever U, which receives its motion from one of the connecting rods S'.
The roller U also carries a toothed wheel U, which drives an intermediate
wheel U, which communicates the motion to a pinion V' on the lower feeding
roller V; or the rollers U and V may be driven in the ordinary manner.
Thus, when the piston or plunger R rises, a fresh portion of cotton is fed into
the top of the hopper, and then forced into it by the descent of the plunger;
the cotton thus becomes compressed in the trunk or hopper, and the
inequalities in its density are thus equalized, and it issues from the lower end
of the trunk in a state of nearly uniform density; it is there taken by the
licker-in A, and carried through the machine and spun into yarn or rovings,
as herein-beforo described. In order to regulate the supply of the cotton,
the paul and lever U2 are adjustable, so as to vary the quantity of cotton which
is fed in at each stroke. The plate Q, which forms one side of the hopper, is
fixed, but the opposite plate Q' is attached to a sliding frame W, which
carries the forks T, T, the roller U, and feed rollers V. This frame is pressed
towards the fixed plate Q by means of bent levers X, X, which carry adjustable
balance weights; the plate Q' can thus yield a little, so as to compensate for
irregularities in the supply of the cotton. In lieu of balance weights, springs
may be employed, or the plate Q¹ may be adjusted by screws or otherwise.
In this machine the hopper or trunk or funnel is shewn with parallel sides,
but it may be made with inclined sides or ends, or both, so that the cotton
may be compressed in its thickness or in its width, or both in its thickness and
in its width. The lower aperture of the hopper, trunk, or funnel may be
contracted if it be required to increase the resistance to the passage of the
cotton. My compressing feeding apparatus may be applied for feeding the
blowing machines, or other machines used for cleaning the cotton and forming
it into laps; and my said apparatus may also be applied for compressing the
lap as it issues from such machines. I have mentioned cotton as the fibrous
substance operated upon, but other fibrous substances may be treated in a
similar manner and by similar machinery to that herein-before described.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner the

page_text: same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise details herein-before described, as the same may be
varied, provided the peculiar character of each part of my Invention be
retained; but what I claim is,-
Firstly, the compressing cotton or other fibrous substance into an uniform
or nearly uniform density, and submitting it in a compressed state to the
operation of carding, as herein-before described.
Secondly, the constructing either the ordinary carding engines or the
machines herein-before described with a compressing feeding apparatus.
Thirdly, the combination of a compressing apparatus with the ordinary
blowing machine, as herein-before described.
Fourthly, the constructing the ordinary throstle or bobbin and fly frame in
combination with carding rollers, as herein-before described in reference to
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edwin Pettitt, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twelfth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
CHARLES COWPER,
20, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lanc.
EDWIN PETTITT. (L.S.)