Improvements in Machines for Picking or Opening Curled Hair and the like.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Jan., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 17th Oct., 1899-Accepted, 2nd Dec.,
1899
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Picking or Opening Curled Hair
and the like.
We, EDGAR BEERS, Curled Hair Manufacturer, of Weston, in the County of
Fairfield and State of Connecticut, and JOHN GALLAGHER, Real Estate Agent,
of 367, Fourteenth Street, Brooklyn, Kings County and State of New York,
both in the United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to certain improvements in picking machines such as
are especially adapted for picking curled hair and it has for its object to pro-
vide a machine of this character of a very simple and comparatively inexpensive
construction, which shall be strong and durable, and by means of which the hair
may be rapidly picked from the rope and finished in a sheet form and thus
adapted for use in upholstering.
The machine comprises side frames provided at one end with a table with feed
rollers geared together at one end, the upper feed roller being capable of moving
vertically in guides and being pressed yieldingly toward the lower roller by
means of springs, the tension of which may be adjusted by means of screws.
The feed rollers are longitudinally corrugated and motion is imparted thereto
by a worm meshing with a worm wheel on an extension of the shaft of the
lower feed roller. The worm shaft is mounted in an inclined position in brackets
on one of the side frames, and is provided at its lower end with a bevel gear
which meshes with a bevel gear on a countershaft and also meshing with this
bevel gear is a bevel gear on a main shaft consisting of two sections. Mounted
on the sections of the main shaft is a driving pulley provided on one side with
a clutch member engaged by a clutch member sliding on the one section of the
main shaft but so as to rotate therewith. The opposite side of the pulley has a
clutch section engaging with a clutch section sliding on the other section of the
main shaft but so as to rotate therewith. The movable clutch sections may be
with
made to
with
rotate
the shaft sections by providing each
feather to engage in a groove formed in its shaft section and they
may he moved into and out of engagement with the clutch sections
on the pulley by means of levers. Rearward of the feed rollers and movable
across the same in the arc of a circle, is a picking comb comprising a toothed
bar connected to arms on a shaft mounted in bearings on the upper sides of
the side frames. One end of the shaft is provided with a crank from which a
connecting rod extends to a crank on the countershaft, whereby a reciprocating
motion in the arc of a circle will be imparted to the picking comb, the degree of
movement being regulated by moving or adjusting the connection between the
rod and the crank. Rearward of the feed rollers and the picking comb just
described, is a second set of feed rollers which are similarly geared together
and longitudinally corrugated like the first named rollers and the upper one
has adjustable bearing blocks and a spring-yielding presser as before described
મી

page_text: in connection with the first set of feed rollers. Motion is imparted to the lower
one of the second set of feed rollers by means of a worm on a vertical shaft
to the lower end of which a bevel gear is attached meshing with a bevel gear
on the section of the main shaft. The second set of rollers, which may be
termed the finishing feed rollers, have a faster rotation than the first set of
rollers. Rearward of the second set of rollers is a picking comb comprising a
toothed bar connected to arms mounted on a shaft having bearings in blocks
on the frame and on this shaft is a crank from which a rod extends to a con-
nection with a crank on a countershaft which has a bevel gear meshing with a
bevel gear on the one shaft section. The rod may be adjusted on the crank
affixed to the shaft so that a greater or less throw of the comb may be secured.
This comb operates in a similar manner to the first-named comb but somewhat
faster, and for this purpose the bevel gear is made somewhat larger.
Supported in the frame and designed to carry the hair from the first
rollers to the second set of rollers is a bed plate which is curved downward
between its ends the object of which is to give a sufficient slack to the sheet
of hair as it extends between the two pairs of rollers to prevent its being torn
or broken as it is fed between the second set of feed rollers which, as before
stated, have anl increased speed of rotation relatively to the first set
of feed rollers. The hair when operated upon by the comb teeth
is discharged upon a downwardly inclined or curved table from which it passes
to the floor or to a suitable receptacle. It is obvious that when starting the
machine the one shaft section may be thrown out of engagement with the
pulley but when the sheet extends to and connects with the second set of feed
rollers, the said shaft section must be placed in engagement with the pulley:
then upon finishing the material, or while it is passing between the feed rollers
only, the other shaft section may be disconnected or thrown out of engagement
with the pulley, thus stopping the first pair of feed rollers.
In operation, the ropes of hair are fed along the table and between the first
pair of feed rollers and as these feed rollers are rotated, a reciprocating motion
will be imparted to the picking comb. At each downward stroke of the comb the
teeth will engage with the ends of the rope and draw the hairs forming the
same downward so as to loosen said rope and thoroughly pick the hairs com-
posing the same. As the upper roller is capable of a slight vertical movement
it adapts itself to the slight inequalities of thickness of the ropes passing
between the two rollers so as to prevent injury to the hair, and as the comb
moves upward the teeth thereof being inclined downward readily withdraw them-
selves from the hair and in this way the hair is evenly and thoroughly picked
and loosened without being torn or injured, since each tooth is permitted to clear
itself on the upstroke. In passing through the second machine comprising the
second set of feed rollers, the same operation takes place and more thoroughly picks
and evens the sheet formed during the first operation, thus putting the sheet
in the best possible form for use by upholsterers.
Dated this 17th day of January 1900
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents, 53, Chancery Lane, London.
DEMOTETOALIQN.
Improvements in Machines for Picking or Opening Curled Hair
and the like.
We, EDGAR BEERS, Curled Hair Manufacturer, of Weston, in the County of
Fairfield and State of Connecticut, and JOHN GALLAGHER, Real Estate Agent,

page_text: of 367, Fourteenth Street, Brooklyn, Kings County and State of New York,
both in the United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:—
This invention relates to certain improvements in picking machines such as
are especially adapted for picking curled hair and it has for its object to pro-
vide a machine of this character of a very simple and comparatively inexpensive
construction which shall be strong and durable and by means of which the hair
may be rapidly picked from the rope and finished in a sheet form and thus
adapted for use in upholstering.
We will describe a machine embodying the invention and then point out
the novel features in the appended claims.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this
specification in which Figure 1 is a vertical section of a machine embodying
the invention; Figure is a front end view thereof; and Figure 3 is a frag-
mentary plan view taken at the right hand end of Figure 1. Similar characters
of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.
The frame comprises side pieces 1 to one end of which at the top a table 2 is
attached. Arranged at the forward end of the frame one above the other, are
feed rollers 3 and 4. The shafts of the feed rollers at one end are provided
with intermeshing pinions 5 and 6 and the upper roller has its hearings in
blocks adapted to move vertically in guides S. Springs 9 bearing against
the upper sides of the block 7 will serve to hold the upper roller yieldingly
towards the lower roller and the tension may be adjusted by means of screws 10
passing through the top of the guides S and engaging with the springs. The
feed rollers and 4 are longitudinally corrugated, as plainly indicated in the
drawings, and motion is imparted thereto by means of a worm 11 on a shaft 12
meshing with a worm wheel 13 on an outwardly-extending portion of the shaft
of the lower roller 4. The worm shaft 12 is arranged at an inclination and has
bearings in brackets 14 extended from one of the side pieces 1. The lower end
of the shaft 12 is provided with a bevel gear 15 which meshes with a bevel
gear 16 on a countershaft 17 and also meshing with this bevel gear 16 is a bevel
gear 18 on a main shaft consisting of two sections 19 and 20. Mounted on the
sections 19 and 20 of the main shaft is a driving pulley 21 on one side of which
is a clutch member 22 designed to be engaged by a clutch member 23 mounted
to slide on the section 19 of the main shaft but so as to rotate therewith. The
opposite side of the pulley has a clutch section 24 designed to be engaged with
a clutch section 25 mounted to slide on the section 20 of the main shaft, but
so as to rotate therewith. The movable clutch sections may be made to rotate
with the shaft sections by providing each with a feather to engage in a groove
formed in its shaft section and they may be moved into and out of engagement
with the clutch sections on the pulley by means of levers 26 and 27 having
pins or lugs engaging in annular channels formed in the movable clutch sections.
Rearward of the feed rollers 3 and 4 and movable across the same in the arc
of a circle, is a picking comb comprising a bar 29 provided with teeth 28 and
connected to arms 30 mounted on a shaft 31 having bearings in blocks on the
upper sides of the side frames 1, one end of which shaft 31 is provided
with a crank 32 from which a connecting rod 38 extends to a
crank 34 on the countershaft 17. Obviously as the countershaft 17 rotates and
as the crank 32 is longer than the crank 34, a reciprocating motion in the arc
of a circle will be imparted to the picking comb, the degree of movement being
regulated by moving or adjusting the connection between the rod 33 along the
slot formed in the crank 32. Rearward of the feed rollers 3, 4, and the picking
comb just described, is a second set of feed rollers 35 and 36 which are similarly
geared together and longitudinally corrugated like the first named rollers, and
the upper one has adjustable bearing blocks and a spring-yielding presser 37
as above described in connection with the feed rollers 3 and 4. Motion is im-

page_text: arms 45
parted to the feed roller 36 by means of a worm 38 on a vertical shaft 39 to
the lower end of which a bevel gear 40 is attached the said bevel gear 40 meshing
with a bevel kear 41 on the section 20 of the main shaft. It is intended that
the rollers 35 and 36 which may be termed the finishing feed rollers, shall have
a faster rotation than the feed rollers 3 and 4; therefore the worm wheel 42
on the shaft of the roller 36 is somewhat smaller than the worm wheel 13 on
the roller 4. Rearward of the rollers 35 and 36 is a picking comb com-
prising teeth 43 mounted on a bar which is connected to
mounted on a shaft 46 having bearings in blocks on the upper sides of
the side portions of the frame and on this shaft 46 is a crank from which a
rod 47 extends to a connection with a crank 48 on a countershaft 49 which has
a bevel gear 50 meshing with a bevel gear 51 on the shaft section 20. The
rod 47 may be adjusted on the crank affixed to the shaft 46 so that a greater
or less throw of the comb may be secured. This comb, it will be understood,
operates in a similar manner to the first named comb but somewhat faster and
for this purpose the bevel gear 51 is made somewhat larger than the bevel
wheel 18. Supported in the frame and designed to carry the hair from the
rollers 3 and 4 to the rollers 35 and 36 is a bed plate 52 which is curved downward
between its ends, the object of which is to give a sufficient slack to the sheet
of hair as it extends between the two pairs of rollers to prevent its being torn
or broken as it is fed between the rollers 35 and 36, which as before stated,
have an increased speed of rotation relatively to the feed rollers 3 and 4. The
hair when operated upon by the comb teeth 43 is discharged upon a downwardly
inclined or curved table 53 from which it passes to the floor or to a suitable
receptacle.
It is obvious that when starting the machine the shaft section 20 may be
thrown out of engagement with the pulley 21 but when the sheet extends to
and connects with the rollers 35 and 36, the said shaft section 20 must be
placed in engagement with the pulley; then upon finishing the material, or
while it is passing between the rollers 35 36 only, the shaft section 19 may be
disconnected or thrown out of engagement with the pulley 21, thus stopping
the rollers 3 and 4.
In operation the ropes of hair are fed along the table 2 and between the feed
rollers and 4 and as these feed rollers are rotated, a reciprocating motion will
be imparted to the picking comb comprising the teeth 28. At each downward
stroke of the comb the teeth will engage with the ends of the rope and
draw the hairs forming the same downward $0 as to loosen said
rope and thoroughly pick the hairs composing the same.
As the upper
roller is capable of a slight vertical movement it adapts itself to the slight
inequalities of thickness of the rope passing between the two rollers so as to
prevent injury to the hair and as the comb moves upward the teeth 28 thereof
being inclined downward readily withdraw themselves from the hair and in this
way the hair is evenly and thoroughly picked and loosened without being torn
or injured, since each tooth is permitted to clear itself upon the upstroke. In
passing through the second part of the machine comprising the second set of
feed rollers 35 and 36 the same operation takes place and more thoroughly picks
and evens the sheet formed during the first operation, thus putting the sheet
in the best passible form for use by upholsterers.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. A machine for picking curled hair and the like, comprising two sets of
feed rollers, one set being rearward of the other set, a reciprocating comb rearward
of each set of rollers, and mechanism comprising a sectional shaft and clutches
whereby both sets of feed rollers may be operated together or either set operated
while the other set is at rest, substantially as specified.

page_text: 2. A machine for picking curled hair and the like, comprising a set of feed
rollers, means for rotating the same, a picking comb operating at the rear side
of said rollers, another set of rollers for receiving the material from the first
named rollers, means for operating the same at a greater speed than the first
named rollers, a picking comb operating at the rear side of the last named rollers,
and means, comprising a sectional shaft and clutch mechanism whereby both sets
of rollers may be operated together, or either set operated while the other set ja
at rest, substantially as specified.
3. A machine for picking curled hair and the like, comprising a set of feed
rollers, means for rotating the same, a picking comb operating at the rear side
of said rollers, another set of rollers for receiving the material from the first
named rollers, means for operating the same at a greater speed than the first named
rollers, a picking comb operating at the rear side of the last named rollers, means
comprising a sectional shaft and clutch mechanism, whereby both sets of rollers
may be operated together, or either set operated while the other set is at rest,
and a longitudinally curved bed plate extended between the two pairs of rollers,
substantially as specified.
4. A machine for picking curled hair and the like, comprising a frame, a pair
of feed rollers mounted on the frame, a main driving shaft comprising two
sections, a pulley mounted on said sections, clutches for engaging the
sections with the pulley, a Worm shaft driven from one section of
the main shaft. il worm on said shaft engaging with the worm
wheel on the shaft of one of the rollers, 21. set of finishing feed
rollers, a worm shaft driven from the section of the main shaft, a worm
on said shaft engaging with the worm wheel on the shaft of one of the finishing
rollers, picking combs operated from the main shaft rearward of each pair of
feed rollers, the finishing rollers and their picking comb having a faster motion
than the other feed rollers and their picking comb, and a longitudinally curved
bed plate extended from one pair of rollers to the other, substantially as specified.
Dated this 17th day of October 1899.
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents, 53, Chancery Lane, London.