IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMBING OR DRESSING SILK, FLAX, CHINA GRASS, COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Sanderson Fletcher, of Bradford, in the
County of York, Machine Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMBING OR DRESSING SILK, FLAX, CHINA GRASS,
COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 2nd October 1868, and dated the 15th April 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Sanderson
Fletcher at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 15th April 1868.
I, WILLIAM SANDERSON FLETCHER, of Bradford, in the County of
York, Machine Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR COMBING OR DRESSING SILK, FLAX,
CHINA GRASS, COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in certain improvements upon the machinery
for which Letters Patent were granted to John Smith on the Seventh
September One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, Number 2533.
In performing my Invention the feeding rollers revolve in a swivel
frame moving on a fixed centre to present the fibres to the nipping.

page_text: jaws or holders which close on the fibres and hold them while the
feeding rollers are drawn back, thereby leaving a tuft of fibres in the
holders, which are then traversed along guides to present the fibres to
the action of a pair of card belts or toothed or spiked aprons or chains
with combs connected thereto; these card belts or other equivalents
act simultaneously on both sides of the tuft, the teeth intersecting each
other; when the tuft has passed through one pair of card belts or
their equivalents, the holders are traversed laterally on guides, then
opened, and the tuft of fibres drawn partly through them by a comb
or other agent; the holders are then again closed and moved forward
so that the other end of the tuft may be presented to the action of
a second pair of card belts or other equivalents which operate on the
other end of the fibres. By this means the noils and short fibres are
removed from the long fibres. The mechanism for opening, closing,
and moving the holders is similar to that described in the Specification
of the Patent above referred to.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Sanderson Fletcher in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 13th October 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SANDERSON FLETCHER, of Bradford, in the County of York, Machine
Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Sanderson Fletcher, Her special
license that I, the said William Sanderson Fletcher, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Sanderson Fletcher, 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 MACHINERY FOR COMBING OR DRESSING SILK,

page_text: FLAX, CHINA GRASS, COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said William Sanderson Fletcher,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Sanderson Fletcher, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement (that is to say) :-
:-
My Invention consists in certain improvements upon the machinery
for which Letters Patent were applied for by John Smith on the Seventh
of September One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, Number 2533.
In performing my Invention the tuft of fibres is presented to the
nipping jaws or holders by feed rollers mounted in a swivel frame or
by swivel nippers; the holders are traversed along guides to subject
the fibres to the action of a pair of card belts or toothed or spiked
aprons or chains with combs connected thereto; these card belts or
other equivalents act simultaneously on both sides of the tuft, the teeth.
intersecting each other; when the tuft has passed through one pair
of card belts or their equivalents, the holders are traversed laterally
on guides, then opened, and the tuft of fibres drawn partly through
them by a comb or supplementary jaws or other agents; the holders
are then again closed and moved forward so that the other end of the
tuft may be presented to the action of a second pair of card belts or
other equivalents which operate on the other end of the fibres. By
this means the noils or short fibres and impurities are removed from
the long fibres. The mechanism for opening and closing the holders
is similar to that described in the Specification of the Patent above
referred to.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood I will
proceed to describe the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings.
On Sheet 1 Figure 1 is a front elevation of the whole machine:

page_text: On Sheet 2 Figure 4 is a sectional elevation through the lines A, B,
of Figures 1 and 2; Figure 5 is a section through the lines C, D;
and Figure 6 is a section through the lines E, F.
The feeding apparatus, shewn best in Figures 1 and 6 consists of the
pair of fluted rollers g which draw the fleece of fibre off the lap roller g',
and the three pair of rollers h, h, h, the lower rollers being slightly
grooved to insure the hold on the fibres. The fibres drawn forward by
the feed rollers are caught by the swivel nippers i, and delivered to the
nipping jaws or holders ;j; or the feeding rollers may revolve in a swivel
frame moving on a fixed centre to present the fibres to the holders j.
When the swivel nippers i are near the feed rollers h, the cams m¹ on the
shaft m acting on the sliding jaw of the nippers cause them to closc,
and thereby to catch hold of the fibres projecting beyond the last
pair of feed rollers; the nippers are then moved upwards by the
tappet on the shaft ; the tappet ¹ acts on the lever which is
connected by side links ³ to the nippers i. In moving upwards the
tuft of fibres held by the nippers is drawn through the feed rollers
and delivered to the holders j which take hold of the upper end of
the tuft; as soon as the upper end of the tuft has passed between
the holders they are closed by the tappets on the shaft. The
tappets acts on the slides and draw one portion of the holder
towards the other, the two portions of the holder being secured
together by spring catches, as shewn in Figure 2, and as described in
the Specification of Letters Patent applied for by John Smith on the
Seventh of September One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven,
Number 2533, and granted to his administratrix Sarah Smith. When
the tuft is secured in the holders; the tappets pass beyond the
projection on the slides, which are then thrown back by the spring j',
at the same time the tappets m¹ allow the nippers i to be opened by
springs placed under the slides of the nippers which now return
empty towards the feed rollers. The holders are supported by the
beam o forming part of the main framing of the machine, and by
the centre portion o' also connected to the framing. As soon as the
tuft is secured to the holder j it is traversed laterally in the direction
of the arrow in Figure 2 by the tappet k fixed to the shaft ;
this tappet acts on the lever p whose fulcrum is the shaft p' sco
Figures 1 and 4; the upper end of this lever passes through the sliding
block p³ moving in grooves fitted to the beam o; the sliding block p³

page_text: is connected to the block p³ by the chains p', consequently when the
block p is moved in the direction of the arrow shewn upon it the
holders; in the section E, F, are brought to the centre of the machine,
where the tuft of fibres is acted upon by the pair of card belts or toothed
As soon
or spiked aprons or belts or chains with combs marked q.
as the cam k has traversed the holders along the beam o, the cam k
comes into operation on the lever p to bring it back to its original
position. The comb belts or other equivalents q act simultaneously
on both sides of the tuft, the teeth intersecting each other, as shewn
in Figure 5; the comb belts q pass over rollers to which a rotary motion
is given as in ordinary heckling machines. The holders j remain in
the centre part of the machine until a second pair of holders has been
fed in the manner above described. When this second holder is brought
forward towards the centre of the machine, the holder that was in
the centre is gradually traversed towards the end A, B, and in passing
from the centre to the said end of the machine the tuft of fibres receives
its final combing, or by leaving a portion of the belts without combs
-all the combing can be done while the holder is stationary in the
centre of the machine. When the holder that was in the centre
arrives at the end A, B, it is traversed across the machine so as to
bring it in line with the slide på by the levers r fixed to the shaft ¹ to
which is also fixed the lever
which is acted upon by the tappet k
on the shaft k, see Figure 4. As soon as the holder is in line with
the slide p the catches p' drop to hold it in its position, and the
levers are brought back by a spring connected to the lever 3.
When the holder arrives nearly in line with the slide p³ the spring
catches by which it is locked come against the inclines jo, see Figure 3
which release the spring catches and allow the jaws of the holder to
spring open, and at the same time the upper end of the tuft is caught
hold of by the supplementary holders 8, the object of which is to draw
the tuft upwards sufficiently to expose the uncombed end of the tuft,
including that portion which had previously been held in the holders
to the action of the second pair of comb belts t, see Figure 5. As the
holder springs open the edge of the jaw strikes against the weighted
fingers s' fixed on the shafts to the ends of which are fixed the
catches ; these catches have hold of pins projecting from the levers 8*
fixed to the shaft s, thereby keeping the holder s open, but as soon as
the finger has been struck by the opening of the holder; the india-

page_text: which is secured the
of the upright rods u
this stand is hinged the
rubber springs 8 instantly close the supplementary holders and secure
the end of the tuft. The end of the tuft being now secured, the
holders & are raised by the cams u on the shaft ; these cams u act
on the upright rods u³, to the upper ends of
frame u³ carrying the holders 8. Near to one
is the stand u* seen best in Figures 1 and 4; to
catch us which rests upon an arm of the lever s*. When the rods u are
raised the end of the frame u³ comes in contact with a pin projecting
from the catch us, and the catch is thus pressed on the arm of the
lever 8, thereby opening the supplementary holders s which are held
open by the catches s³. Immediately before the holders & have been
opened to liberate the tuft, after it has been raised as above described
to change the place of the nip the holders j are closed by the cams v
on the shaft v' acting on the levers v²; as soon as the holders j are
locked the cams v³ on the shaft u¹ allow the levers vs to drop, so
that the holders ; may pass over their upper ends. The tuft being
now held at the fresh nip the holders j are traversed along the beam o
until they arrive in the centre of the machine, when the upper projecting
end of the tuft is combed by the second pair of comb belts t; or the
holders can be turned over and the uncombed end of the tuft pre-
sented to a second pair of comb belts placed on the same level as
the comb belts q. After the upper end of the tuft has been combed
the holders are moved to the end E, F, of the machine and brought
directly under the discharging rollers was shewn in dotted lines in
Figure 6, which revolve in a swivel frame w¹ on the fulcrum shaft w³;
this frame is moved up and down by the cam on the shaft k; this
cam acts on the upright w³ fixed to the frame w¹, and it is so
shaped that when the holders ; are at the end of their traverse the
rollers w descend rapidly, and the projection 20* acting on the spring
catches of the holder open it to release the tuft which had previously
been caught hold by the rollers w; the swivel frame w¹ is now
raised by the cam and brought into the position shewn in Figure 6,
where the tuft is delivered on to the endless apron x passing over
the rollers. The roller is to hold the fibres on the apron x, and the
rollers are to draw the fibres forward between suitable taper
guides and deliver them in the form of a sliver into a can or other
receptacle; or the delivery rollers may be placed at the opposite side
of the machine. As soon as the rollers w have taken hold of the

page_text: tuft the holders j are traversed across the beam o, so as to bring
them in line with the sliding block 2 by means of the levers 20³, which
are actuated in the same manner as the levers at the other end of
the machine. The holders j are thus brought back into the proper
position for receiving the feed. By means of this improved machinery
tufts of fibres are continuously fed into the machine and combed
or dressed at both ends, and delivered in a continuous sliver into a can
or other receptacle; or by the application of a drawing head or gill
box the first drawing may be performed on the same machine as the
combing or dressing.
The motions are communicated to the various parts of the machine in
the following manner:-The driving pulley 48 is loose on the end of
the shaft ; to this pulley is fixed a pinion gearing into the wheel y¹
on the shaft y, to which is also fixed a pinion gearing into and driving
the wheel keyed on the shaft k. To the shaft y is fixed a chain
pulley y see Figure 5, for driving the brush q', by which the noils or
waste are stripped off one set of combs q and delivered to the other.
The chain pulley y³ drives one of the lower rollers of the combs q;
this roller gives motion to the stripping brush q³ by a counter-
shaft and chain pulleys as shewn in Figure 5, and this brush is
stripped by the combs z and falling bars &¹ in the ordinary manner.
To the shaft y is also fixed the pulley y', see Figure 6, which by
means of a toothed chain drives the top shaft A, this shaft drives the
comb belts t, as shewn in Figure 5, and these comb belts are stripped
in the same manner as the bolts q above described. To the top shaft A
is fixed a pinion gearing into the wheel A¹ mounted on a stud A
for driving the discharging rollers wo, the endless belt x, the delivering
rollers, and the locking motion of the holders j, as shewn in Figure 6.
The feeding apparatus is also driven from the shaft k by a pulley and
chain, as shewn in Figure 6, which transmit the requisite motion to
the lower feed roller g, and this roller by means of the train of
pinions, shewn in dotted lines drives the lower rollers ; the shaft u¹
is driven by spur pinions from the shaft k and the shaft v¹ is driven
by pulleys and chain from the shaft u¹.
In the machine above described four pair of holders are moved hori-
zontally in a rectangular beam, but my Invention may be modified
by using any number of holders moving in two horizontal slides

page_text: placed one above the other, the holders being raised at one end of the
horizontal slides and lowered at the other.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Sanderson Fletcher, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of October, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
W. S. FLETCHER. (L.S.)