IMPROVEMENTS IN WIRE CARDS
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Ashworthi and Elijah Ashworth, of the Firm of
Ashworth Brothers, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineers, for
an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WIRE CARDS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Ashworth & Elijah
Ashworth at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 14th May.
1880.
GEORGE ASHWORTH and ELIJAH ASHWORTH, of the Firm of Ashworth Brothers,
of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineers. "IMPROVEMENTS IN WIRE
CARDS."
•
Our Invention relates to the comparatively. fine wire, cards of the class used to
constitute the carding surfaces in machinery employed in the preparation of textile
materials. In the ordinary operation of carding the card teeth retain dirt and
fibres separated from the material passing through the machine, and these matters
accumulate in the cards, and have to be removed at intervals by the operation of
stripping. Although the said accumulation takes place in a comparatively short
time and greatly interferes with the efficiency of the machine it is not convenient
to remove such accumulations, excepting at comparatively long intervals, and as a
consequence the machine works under disadvantageous conditions during a large
portion of the interval between the stripping operations. The principal object of
our said Invention is to produce card clothing which will work for a greatly
extended period without requiring to be stripped, or which will render the stripping
operation unnecessary. The ordinary card teeth are much longer than is actually
necessary to the carding operation, which is effected by the extreme points of the
teeth, the carded fibres lying as it were on the carding surface, and penetrating a
very short distance into the interstices between the teeth. This excess in the
length of tooth has been rendered necessary by the rapid wearing of the teeth and
the further reduction in length caused by the frequent grindings required, but it
has furnished a harbour for the aforesaid accumulations. To obviate the indicated
defect we reduce the length of the tooth, that is to say, the length of each limb of
the wire staple projecting above the foundation material to such an extent as that
there shall not be space sufficient for the aforesaid accumulation of dirt and fibres.
CD

page_text: By way of example we will give the length of a staple of our improved card as
compared with the proportions of an ordinary staple adapted for corresponding
uses. The staple projects from the face of the foundation a little less than one
eight of an inch as compared with about a quarter, five-sixteenths, or three-
eighths of an inch. The length of the wire before being bent is about half an inch
as compared with about seven eights, fifteen-sixteenths, or one inch, hence
accrues an important saving in material. In such a card the allowance for wear
and grinding is very slight, or it may be said that no such allowance is made, and
we are aware that the teeth of an ordinary iron wire card of such proportions,
even if they would act efficiently when new, would be.quickly worn too short to
be of service, and in fact before ordinary card clothing has become so much
reduced by wear and grinding as to be as short in the staple as our improved card
it is removed as being worn out. We therefore employ a steel wire hardened and
tempered as, for example, a steel wire prepared in accordance with a former
Invention for which Letters Patent, bearing date September Fifth 1878, and
numbered 3513, have been granted to us, and we prefer to use a wire flattened in
accordance with a Patent granted to us in the year 1870, and numbered 2001.
As the short tooth offers greater resistance to a bending strain than the long tooth
we can use a finer wire, which will carry a keener point, will do better work, and
will strip more readily and completely than the coarser wire. In some cases, or in
any case, we form the teeth with needle points in accordance with the Patent
granted to us in the year 1878, and numbered 5128. We prefer to thrust the
staples through the foundation material at an an angle of ninety degrees with the
face of such material, or at a more acute angle without bending the staples, but we
do not propose to confine ourselves to the straight formation of the tooth. By the
combination of the said former Inventions with our present Invention we obtain
a card possessing new properties, which whilst requiring for its production, say,
about half or little more than half the weight of wire as compared with an ordinary
card will do better work, will be stripped clean by the doffer in the ordinary
working of the carding engine, and will not require to be stripped or will only
require stripping and grinding after much extended working periods. We expect
by means of our combined Inventions to develope a new system of carding, whereby
a superior effect will be obtained, at the same time the engines can be worked
for successive months without requiring the cards to be stripped and ground,
and as these operations, besides entailing a loss of time, are very injurious to
the health of the operatives, we consider the importance of our Invention to be
very great.

page_text: SPECIFICATION. in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said George Ashworth & Elijah Ashworth in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 13th November 1880.
GEORGE ASHWORTH and ELIJAH ASHWORTH, of the Firm of Ashworth Brothers,
of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineers. "IMPROVEMENTS IN WIRE
CARDS."
Our Invention relates to comparatively fine wire cards of the class used to
constitute the carding surfaces in machinery employed in the preparation of textile
materials. In the ordinary operation of carding, the card teeth retain dirt and
fibres separated from the cotton passing through the machine, and these matters
accumulate in the cards and have to be removed at intervals by the operation of
stripping. Although the said accumulation takes place in a comparatively short
time and greatly interferes with the efficieney of the machine it is not convenient
to remove such accumulations excepting at comparatively long intervals, and as a
consequence the machine works under disadvantageous conditions during a large
portion of the interval between the stripping operations. The principal object of
our said Invention is to produce card clothing which will work for a greatly
extended period without requiring to be stripped, or which will render the stripping
operation unnecessary. The ordinary card teeth are much longer than is actually
necessary to the carding operation, which is effected by the extreme points of the
teeth, the carded fibres lying as it were on the carding surface and penetrating a
very short distance into the interstices between the teeth. This excess in the
length of tooth has been rendered necessary by the rapid wearing of the teeth and
the further reductions in length caused by the frequent grindings required, but it
has furnished a harbour for the aforesaid accumulations. To obviate the indicated
defect we reduce the length of the tooth, that is to say, the length of each limb of
the wire staple projecting above the foundation material to such an extent as that
there shall not be space sufficient for the aforesaid accumulation of dirt and fibres.
In order that the distinction between our improved card and the ordinary card may
be clearly defined, we have attached hereunto a sheet of drawings made about four
times the actual size. In the said Drawings Fig. 1 represents a section of our
improved card, and Fig. 2 a section of an ordinary card adapted for corresponding
uses. Comparing the improved card with the ordinary card the staple in Fig. 1
projects from the face of the foundation less than one eighth of an inch as compared
with about a quarter of an inch in Fig. 2, and in some cases with five sixteenths or
three eights of an inch. The length of the wire before being bent in the one case
is about half an inch as compared with about seven eighths, fifteen sixteenths, or
one inch in the other cases, hence occures an important saving of material. In such
a card the allowance for wear and grinding is very slight, or it may be said that no
such allowance is made, and we are aware that the teeth of an ordinary iron wire
card of such proportions, even if they would act efficiently when new, would be
quickly worn too short to be of service, and in fact before ordinary card clothing
has become so much reduced by wear and grinding as to be as short in the staple as
our improved card it is removed as being worn out. We therefore employ a steel
wire hardened and tempered by any suitable process, as for example, a steel wire
prepared in accordance with a former Invention for which Letters Patent, bearing
date September Fifth 1878, and numbered 3513, have been granted to us, and we
prefer to use a flattened wire in accordance with a Patent granted to us in the year
1870, and numbered 2001. As the short tooth offers greater resistance to a bending
strain than the long tooth we can use a finer wire, which will carry a keener point,
will do better work, and will strip more readily and completely than the coarser
wire. In some cases, or in any case, we form the teeth with needle points in

page_text: accordance with the Patent granted to us in the year. 1878, and numbered 3128.
We prefer to thrust the staples through the foundation material at an angle of
eighty to ninety degrees with the face of such material, or at a more acute angle
without bending the staples, as indicated in Fig. 1, but we do not. propose to confine
ourselves to the straight formation of the tooth. By the combination of the
said former Inventions with our present Invention we obtain a card possessing new
properties, which whilst requiring for its production, say, about half or a little more
than half the weight of wire as compared with an ordinary card will do better
work, will be stripped clean by the doffer in the ordinary working of a carding
engine, and will not require to be stripped, or will only require stripping and
grinding after much extended working periods. We expect, by means of our
Invention to develope a new system of carding whereby a 'superior effect will be
obtained and at the same time the engines can be worked for successive months
without requiring the cards to be stripped and ground, and as these operations,
besides entailing a loss of time, are very injurious to the health of the operatives, we
consider the importance of our Invention to be very great.
Having now fully set forth and indicated the nature of our Invention and the
manner in which we carry the same into effect we would have it to be understood
that we claim :-
First. The wire cards substantially as set forth and indicated hereinbefore and
in and by the accompanying Drawings.
And, secondly, the wire cards having short straight teeth of hardened steel
proportioned substantially as set forth and indicated.
In witness thereof, we, the said George Ashworth and Elijah Ashworth have
hereunto set our hands and seals this twelfth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty.
Signed, sealed, and delivered.
in presence of
ARTHUR LEDGER,
(Clerk to Edward K. Dutton,)
41, John Dalton St.,
Manchester.
GMUMUM ADHWUKIH.
ELIJAH ASHWORTH.
(L.S.)
(L.S.).