IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SOFTENING AND SEPARATING THE FIBRES OF FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Whitaker, of Bradford, in the County of
York, Merchant, and William Tongue, of Wakefield, in the County
of York, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS FOR SOFTENING AND SEPARATING THE FIBRES OF FIBROUS
MATERIALS."
Sealed the 24th June 1864, and dated the 29th December 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Whitaker and
William Tongue at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 29th December 1863.
We, WILLIAM WHITAKER, of Bradford, in the County of York, Merchant,
and WILLIAM TONGUE, of Wakefield, in the County of York, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OB APPARATUS FOR SOFTENING AND SEPARATING THE FIBRES OF FIBROUS MATERIALS,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object the arrangement and construction of
machinery or apparatus suitable for the purpose of rubbing and thereby
softening and separating the fibres of fibrous materials. It is well known
that the fibres of various descriptions of fibrous materials adhere very
tenaciously together, and that it is very difficult to divide or separate them
when in this condition. Now we propose to effect this object by passing
the fibrous materials between reciprocating bars or surfaces pressed together
and towards each other. Endless sheets of leather or other suitable flexible
material are caused to travel between and over the rubbing surfaces of one

page_text: of such pairs of bars so as to cause any fibrous materials introduced between
such endless sheets to be carried forward and delivered to another pair of
bars or rubbing surfaces which also have similar endless sheets passing
between them and over the bars or rubbing surfaces, so that the fibrous
material delivered from between the first pair of bars and endless sheets is
taken and carried forward by the next pair of bars and endless sheets and by
them delivered to another pair of bars similarly arranged with endless sheets
passing over them, and so on in succession to any suitable number of such
reciprocating bars or rubbing surfaces. Each endless sheet employed in
combination with the reciprocating bars or rubbing surfaces is driven separately
by suitable mechanical means, but we prefer to drive the same by means of
rollers pressed together with the endless sheet passing between them. When
a combination of only two pairs of such reciprocating bars or rubbing surfaces
are employed one or both pairs may have reciprocating movement imparted
thereto, and where a series of such pairs of reciprocating bars and endless sheets
are employed, then either every pair of bars or only alternate pairs may have
reciprocating movement imparted thereto. We find it convenient to arrange
these bars or rubbing surfaces in a combination of three pairs, the two outer
pairs not having reciprocating movement, but the central pair of such three
bars and endless sheets having reciprocating movement imparted thereto. The
central bars with the sheets between them are pressed together, and the outer
bars and sheets are also pressed together and towards the central bars. The
endless sheets which pass around the central bars may be driven separately
from those which pass around the outer bars, but when a combination of three
pairs of bars such as last described is employed we prefer that one of the
endless sheets of each of one of the outer bars, after having been passed around
the rubbing surfaces of such outer bars, shall be conducted between and around
the rubbing surfaces of one of each of the central bars, so that the endless
sheets may be driven by two pairs of rollers in place of four, which arrange-
ment would be necessary if an endless sheet were employed for each bar.
The endless sheets passing over the reciprocating bars may be dispensed with,
and the reciprocating bars may be caused to open at intervals to allow the
fibrous materials to be fed forward between them by means of the endless
sheets passing over the outer pairs of bars, motion being communicated to the
outer endless sheets only at the time when the reciprocating bars are open, and
in some cases we find it desirable to impart an endwise movement to and fro
as well as a reciprocating movement to the rubbing surfaces.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Whitaker and William Tongue in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 29th June 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
WHITAKER, of Bradford, in the County of York, Merchant, and WILLIAM
TONGUE, of Wakefield, in the County of York, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth 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 William Whitaker and William Tongue, Her special
licence that we, the said William Whitaker and William Tongue, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said William Whitaker
and William Tongue, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SOFTENING AND SEPARATING THE FIBRES OF
FIBROUS MATERIALS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the
said William Whitaker and William Tongue, our executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the
hand and seal of one of us or them, 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 Tongue, on behalf of myself
and the said William Whitaker, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof,
that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object the arrangement and construction of
machinery or apparatus suitable for the purpose of rubbing and thereby
softening and separating the fibres of fibrous materials. It is well known that
the fibres of various descriptions of fibrous materials adhere very tenaciously
together, and that it is very difficult to divide or separate them when in this
condition. Now we propose to effect this object by passing the fibrous
materials between reciprocating bars or surfaces pressed together and towards

page_text: each other. Endless sheets of leather or other suitable flexible material are
caused to travel between and over the rubbing surfaces of one of such pairs of
bars, so as to cause any fibrous materials introduced between such endless
sheets to be carried forward and delivered to another pair of bars or rubbing
surfaces, which also have similar endless sheets passing between them and
over the bars or rubbing surfaces, so that the fibrous material delivered from
between the first pair of bars and endless sheets is taken and carried forward
by the next pair of bars and endless sheets, and by them delivered to another
pair of bars similarly arranged with endless sheets passing over them, and so
on in succession to any suitable number of such reciprocating bars or rubbing
surfaces. Each endless sheet employed in combination with the reciprocating
bars or rubbing surfaces is driven separately by suitable mechanical means,
but we prefer to drive the same by means of rollers, pressed together with the
endless sheet passing between them. When a combination of only two pairs
of such reciprocating bars or rubbing surfaces are employed, one or both pairs
may have reciprocating movement imparted thereto, and where a series of
such pairs of reciprocating bars and endless sheets are employed, then either
every pair of bars or only alternate pairs may have reciprocating movement
imparted thereto.
We find it convenient to arrange these bars or rubbing surfaces in a
combination of three pairs, A, A, B, B, and C, C, as shewn in the Drawing
hereunto annexed, which represents (a longitudinal section of a machine)
constructed according to our Invention, the two outer pairs of bars A, A,
and B, B, not having reciprocating movement, but the central pair C of such
three pairs of bars and endless sheets having reciprocating movement imparted
thereto by means of crank pins at each end of the shaft c, which crank pins
give motion by means of connecting rods c¹ to slides c³, one at each end of the
machine, which carry the pair of bars C, such slides & moving between fixed
surfaces attached to the framing a, a. The central bars C, C, with the sheets
between them are pressed together by means of the springs c, and the outer pairs
of bars and sheets are also respectively pressed together by means of the weighted
levers A' and B', and towards the central bars by means of the levers A and B,
acting upon the sliding frames A and B, so as to press them towards the centre
of the machine. The frames A and B slide upon suitable bearings on the
main side framings a, a, of the machine, and support the bars A, A, and B, B,
and rollers A and B, so that such bars and rollers move with such frames.
The endless sheets which pass around the central bars C, C, may be driven
separately from those which pass around the outer bars A, A, and B, B, but
when a combination of three pairs of bars such as last described is employed

page_text: we prefer that one of the endless sheets of each one of the outer bars, after
having been passed around the rubbing surfaces of such outer bars, shall be
conducted between and around the rubbing surfaces of one of each of the
centre bars C, C, so that the endless sheets may be driven by two pairs of
rollers A3, A3, and B³, B³, in place of four, which arrangement would be
necessary if an endless sheet were employed for each bar.
On examining the Drawing it will be seen that the sheet A', after being
conducted round the upper of the two bars A, passes round or over the guide
rollers A and A, and then round the upper bar of the pair of bars C, C; the
sheet A' then passes round the guide rollers A² and A³, and thence round the
tightening roller A³, and so again forward to the bar A. It will also be seen
that the endless sheet B, after passing round the tightening roller B³ and the
guide rollers B, B', and B³, passes round the lower of the two central bars C.
The sheet B' then passes round the two guide rollers B and B, and is after-
wards conducted round the lower of the two bars B. A10 is an endless sheet
passing round the lower of the two bars A, the tension of the sheet A¹º being
regulated by means of the tightening roller; A" and B is an endless sheet
passing round the upper of the two bars B, the tension of this sheet being
regulated by the tightening roller B. The tightening rollers A' and A",
Bs and B, are respectively carried by bearings on the sliding frames A¹ and
B. The guide rollers A and A, B and B, are respectively carried by arms.
A3, A3, and B and B", which move on the centres of the rollers A', A³, B'
and B. The centres of the rollers Aº, A, B and Bº, being supported in
grooved guides attached to the slides C³, whilst the rollers A5 and A5, B' and
B", are respectively carried in bearings attached to the sliding frames A" and
B and it will be understood that the rollers A, A, B and Bº, are carried
up and down by the reciprocating movement of the slide C³, so that the
endless sheets A' and B' are always kept at one degree of tension. The rollers
As and B³, which carry forward the sheets A, A, B and B", are pressed
together by means of the weighted levers A¹, B', acting by means of the rods
A15, B6, on the links A, B, which by means of the rods A" and B18 act to
press the rollers A³ and B³ together, and also act by means of the rods A¹³ and
B to press together the pairs of bars A and B. Motion is communicated to
the rollers A³ and B³, so as to cause them to carry forward the endless sheets
A', A, B and B, in the direction of the arrows in the following manner :-
d' is a toothed pinion fixed on the main driving shaft or axis d, which pinion
takes into and drives the toothed wheel d³, on the axis of which is fixed the
toothed pinion d³, which takes into and drives the toothed wheel d*, on the
axis of which is fixed the toothed pinion d', which pinion do takes into and
;

page_text: drives the toothed wheel de fixed on the axis of the lower roller A³; d' is an
intermediate toothed wheel moving freely on the axis c, and the toothed
wheel d communicates motion from the toothed wheel d₁ to the toothed
wheel d; a toothed pinion d' on the axis of the wheel de communicating
motion to a toothed wheel do fixed on the axis of the lower of the two
rollers B³, and motion is communicated from the lower rollers A³, B³, to the
upper rollers A³, B³, by means of toothed wheels on the axes of the rollers.
Motion is communicated from the main shaft d to the crank shaft c by means
of the pulleys e, f, and driving belts 9, g. The distance of the bars A, A, and
B, B, from the central bars C, C, is regulated by screws a¹ and b¹, carried by
the main framing, and acting against stops on the sliding frames A and B¹³,
and the distance of the bars A, A, from each other, as also the distance of the
bars C, C, and B, B, from each other, is regulated by means of the friction
rollers A*, B*, and C*, which are regulated by means of the set screws, as
shown. 1, 2, 3, and 4 are guide rollers to aid in conducting the endless
sheets around the bars A and B. It will be seen that by placing fibrous
material upon the travelling sheet A it will be conducted by such sheet and
the travelling sheet A between the bars A, A, and be delivered by them to the
travelling sheets A and B, which carry the fibrous material forward between
the bars C, C; the fibrous material is then presented to the travelling sheets B*
and Bu, by which it is carried between the bars B, B, and delivered out of
the machine, and by reason of the reciprocating movement of the bars C, C,
between the bars A, A, and B, B, the fibre will be subjected to a rubbing
action in its passage through the machine.
We would remark that the endless sheets passing over the reciprocating
bars may,
if desired, be dispensed with, and the reciprocating bars may be
caused to open at intervals to allow the fibrous materials to be fed forward
between them by means of the endless sheets passing over the outer pairs of
bars, motion being communicated to the outer endless sheets only at the time
when the reciprocating bars are open. And in some cases we find it desirable
to impart an endwise movement to and fro as well as a reciprocating move-
ment to the rubbing surfaces.
We would here remark that we are aware that it has before been proposed
to employ reciprocating rubbing surfaces, in combination with endless sheets,
for conducting woven fabrics and fibrous materials through such rubbing
surfaces; but in the previous arrangements the endless sheets travelled along
with the material under operation in its whole course through the machine,
and the sheets were consequently subjected to the same rubbing action as the
materials under operation.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the best mean
we are acquainted with for carrying the same into practice, we would have it
understood that we do not confine ourselves to the exact details herein shown
and described, so long as the peculiar character of our improvements be
retained, which consist in effecting a rubbing action upon fibrous material by
means of reciprocating surfaces, when the fibrous material is conducted
between such surfaces by means of travelling sheets passing between and
around each of such bars in the manner herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Tongue, 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-four.
Witness,
J. G. TONGUE,
Patent Agent,
34, Southampton Buildings, W.C.
W. TONGUE. (L.S.)