IMPROVEMENTS TA In Dona
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Somervail, of Dunlop, in the County of
Ayr, North Britain, Wool Spinner, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
TA
In Dona
"
Sealed the 3rd September 1857, and dated the 25th March 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Somervail at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
25th March 1857.
.:.
I, WILLIAM SOMERVAIL, of Dunlop, in the County of Ayr, North Britain,
Wool Spinner, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OR PREPARATION OF FIBROUS MATERIALS FOR
BEING SPUN," to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention is more particularly applicable in the treatment or prepara-
tion of the woollen fleece or lap as it leaves the wool-carding engine, the
object of the improvements being the obtainment of very superior yarns by
simple means. As the woollen fleece is doffed by a single doffer from the
cylinder of the carding engine, it is cut up or divided longitudinally by a set
of self-acting shears or vibratory cutters, which are worked by the carding
engine. These shears meet the issuing fleece and at once cut it up into as
many strips as there are rovings to be made. Immediately after quitting the
shears or cutters, the separated strips are passed between a corresponding set
of endless upright crossed belts, which are so arranged as to catch the indivi-

page_text: dual strips and twist them up into rovings. This completes the operation of
the present improvements, and the rovings so produced can be worked up by
any of the well-known manufacturing processes. Yarns produced from rovings
made in this way are of a strong texture, and in a great measure free from
the harsh worsted appearance so often distinguishable in yarns made in the
usual way
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Somervail in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
25th September 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SOMERVAIL, of Dunlop, in the County of Ayr, North Britain, Wool Spinner,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Somervail, Her special license that I, the said William Somervail,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Somervail, my executors, administrators, or 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 THE TREAT-
NENT OR PREPARATION OF FIBROUS MATERIALS FOR BEING SPUN," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said William Somervail, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Somervail, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement in writing, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say-

page_text: My said Invention is more particularly applicable to the treatment or pre-
paration of the woollen fleece or lap as it leaves the wool-carding engine, the
object of the improvements being the obtainment of very superior yarns by
simple means. As the woollen fleece is doffed by a single doffer from the
cylinder of the carding engine, it is cut up or divided longitudinally by a set of
self-acting shears or vibratory cutters, which are worked by the carding engine.
These shears meet the issuing fleece and at once cut it up into as many
strips as there are rovings to be made. Immediately after quitting the shears
or cutters, the separated strips are passed between a corresponding set of
endless upright crossed belts, which are so arranged as to catch the individual
strips and twist them up into rovings. This completes the operation of the
present improvements, and the rovings so produced can be worked up by
any of the well-known manufacturing processes. Yarus produced from rovings
made in this way are of a strong texture, and in a great measure free from
the harsh worsted appearance so often distinguishable in yarns made in the
usual
way.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood I shall
now proceed to describe the several illustrative Figures on the explanatory
Sheet of Drawings, which I have hereunto appended for the purpose of showing
certain modifications under which my improvements may be judiciously carried
out in practice.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal elevation of a carding engine, having my improve-
ments for cutting up the fleece or lap and twisting the same into a series of
rovings applied thereto; Figure 2 is a plan of the machinery, corresponding
to Figure 1; Figure 3 is an elevation of a portion of the machinery, showing
the arrangement of the shears by which the fleece or lap is cut into strips;
and Figure 4 is a plan, showing the arrangement for giving a certain amount
of twist to the strips of woollen flecce, so as to form them into what is tech-
nically known as "rovings." The carding engine has an open rectangular
framing A at the lower part, and at the sides of the main carding cylinder or
drum the framing is carried upwards, forming a pair of semicircularly shaped
standards, to which the bearing for the smaller carding cylinders or working
rollers are bolted. The framing A is extended forwards to receive the machi-
nery by means of which the lap or fleece of carded wool is cut into strips
and subsequently twisted into rovings. The whole of the movements of the
machine are derived from a belt pulley arrangement B, fast to the shaft C of
the main carding cylinder or drum D. The shaft C also carries the belt
wheel, which, by means of the belt E, gives motion to the first card roller F
or licker in," which carries the uncarded wool forward to the main carding

page_text: cylinder; the belt also gives motion to the carding rollers or "workers" G
and to the smaller carding rollers or "cleaners" H. The belt E is also
carried round a pulley I, fixed to the lower longitudinal stay of the framing,
and then round the pulley on the axle of the carding roller J. Upon the
end of the shaft C, opposite to that on which the belt pulleys are fixed, is a
pinion K, which gives motion to the wheels L and M. On the axle of the
wheel M is a spur wheel N, which drives the wheel O on the axle of the doffing
cylinder P. The flocks of unprepared wool are fed into the carding engine
by means of an endless apron or other suitable arrangement, and from the
apron the wool is caught hold of by the feeding roller or "licker in" F, which
transfers the flocks to the main carding, cylinder D. The fibres of the wool
are partially disentangled by their being drawn between the teeth of the
main carding cylinder D and those on the periphery of the first working
cylinder G. The partially disentangled wool is next brought into contact with
the first cleaning cylinder H, from which it is transferred to the next worker G.
In this manner, as the wool is carried round by the main cylinder D, it is
successively operated upon by the cleaners and workers G and H and the
carding cylinder J. The action of the carding rollers upon the wool trans-
forms the separate and entangled locks of wool into a thin and level lap or
fleece, in which the fibres are straightened out and laid of an uniform thick-
ness. The lap or fleece thus far prepared is taken off from the roller J by
the stripping cylinder or "doffer" P. It is when the lap or fleece of
carded wool emerges from the carding engine that it is submitted to the
operations of the machinery which forms the main features of this Invention.
The lap of carded wool, as it comes from the doffer P, passes over a series of
endless bands arranged parallel to each other and to the sides of the machine.
These endless bands are passed round flanged wheels, by means of which
a continuous forward movement is communicated to the bands. The spindle
of the first series of band wheels Q is carried in brasses fitted on the framing
of the machine, and the peripheries of the wheels Q are nearly close to the
doffing cylinder P. The second series of band wheels R, which serve to extend
the belts S, are arranged in front of the cutting apparatus. The two series
or rows of band wheels are made with flanges at the sides, to keep the belts S
moving in a right line. Motion is communicated to the wheels Q by means
of a spur wheel T on the spindle of the doffer P; this wheel T gives motion
to the two wheels U and V, the latter of which moves the wheel W on the
spindle of the series of band wheels Q. The belts S, as they traverse round
the wheels Q and R, nearly touch the doffing cylinder P as they pass round, so
that the lap or fleece of carded wool as it leaves the engine is at once carried

page_text: forward by the belts S to the cutting machinery. The lap or fleece is severed
or divided into strips by means of a series of stationary shears, the upper jaws
of which are actuated by a series of levers in connection with a belt pulley
arrangement. The cutting arrangement is shown more clearly in the separate
views, Figures 3 and 4, which are drawn to a larger scale than Figures 1 and 2.
The lower blades ✗ of the shears are fast to the rod Y, which is carried in a
pair of brackets bolted to the framing, these lower jaws or blades being station-
ary. The upper blades X of the shears are moveable upon the pins Z, which
connect them to the under jaws or blades. The jaws of the shears are
directed towards the lap or fleece as it is brought forward by the belts S, so as
to divide the fleece when the upper blades are put in motion. The other or
forward ends of the blades X', which individually correspond to the thumb
bowl of an ordinary pair of scissars, are jointed to vertical levers a. The
lower end of each of the levers a is bolted to a lever b, the axle c of which
extends from side to side of the framing of the machine, and actuates the
series of levers a simultaneously. The levers b, to which the levers a are
bolted, are slotted, so as to admit of the adjustment of the amount of motion
given to the blades X'. Motion is communicated to the axle c by means
of the crank d, which derives its motion from a belt which passes round
the pulley I. The belt here referred to being behind the wooden casing
of the carding engine is indicated in the Drawing, Figure 1, by dotted lines,
its position in the centre of the engine being shown by the dotted lines in
the Plan, Figure 2. The crank disc d is connected by the rod e to the
lever on the end of the axle c, so that when the crank disc is put in
motion a reciprocatory or rising and falling movement is communicated to
the levers a and the upper jaws or blades of the shears. As the lap or
fleece is cut asunder by the shears, a certain amount of twist is given to the
separate strips, in order to form them into the loosely twisted yarns technically
known as "rovings." This twisting operation is effected by lapping or winding
the strips round the point of a wire by means of cross belts, and drawing
the twisted yarns off the wires by the rotatory motion of drawing rollers.
The wires g, on which the strips of lap are twisted, are attached to a rod h,
fixed above the shears, and the wires are arranged on the rod h so as to be in
the centre of each of the belts S, and they are secured to the rod by binding
screws i, which pass through the collars on the upper ends of the wires.
The wires g project downwards from the collars, and are then bent at right
angles, so as to be in a line with the lap or fleece and with the cut of the
shears. The twist is given by means of the belts k, which are arranged to

page_text: cross each other at the part where the strips of lap and fleece pass between
them. The endless belts & move round the pulleys and m, and the lower
pulleys are fast on the axle n, which is carried in pedestal bearings fitted on
the framing A. The axle n derives its motion from a belt o, which passes
round the pulley p on the axle of the crank disc d, and round a pulley 2 on
the axle n. The endless belts & are passed over a corresponding number of
pulleys m, arranged upon an axle which is supported by the side standards 1.
When the machine is in motion, the friction of the belts / on the strips of lap
s, as they pass between the sides of the belts which are travelling in opposite
directions, twists the ends of the strips on the wires g. From the belts / the
strips of lap are carried through a corresponding number of pairs of drawing
rollers t, which draw the twisted strips through the machinery, and tend to
bind the fibres more closely together. Motion is given to the drawing rollers
t by means of a belt u, which passes round a pulley on the axle of the draw-
ing rollers, and round a pulley v, on the second series of band wheels R.
From the drawing rollers t the twisting rovings are carried over a bar w,
which has pins fixed in it at equal distances apart to keep the rovings equi-
distant from each other. From the bar w the rovings are carried over the
roller a and between the pair of rollers y, and they finally descend into the
box or receptacle z, arranged for their reception beneath. The rollers y are
put in motion by means of an endless belt 1, which passes round a pulley on
the end of the axle of the upper roller y, and round a pulley on the axle of the
drawing rollers t. The box z, in which the rovings are deposited, is divided into
compartments by a series of vertical partitions, and these compartments corre-
spond in number to the rovings which the machine is designed to prepare at
one time; thus the rovings as they are drawn from the machine each fall
separately into the compartment appropriated to it; and in order to lay the
rovings regularly into the compartments a to-and-fro or reciprocatory motion
in a longitudinal direction is given to the box. For this purpose the box
is placed upon a low-wheeled carriage 2, to the centre of which is jointed
a rod 3; the other end of this rod is secured by a bolt and nut to the
slotted lever 4; this lever is fast to an axle which is carried in bearings
on the standards 5, and on the end of this axle is a lever 6, the free end
of which is fast to the connecting rod 7; the upper end of the connecting
rod 7 is bolted to the disc 8, which is fitted on the end of the axle of the
band wheel R. Thus, when the disc 8 is in motion, the eccentric motion
of the rod 7 alternately raises and depresses the lever 6, which causes the
axle to which it is fast to partially rotate. The partial revolution of the axle

page_text: gives a reciprocatory movement to the slotted lever 4, which consequently
draws the rod 3 and carriage 2 to and fro at each revolution of the disc 8.
This reciprocatory movement of the box z obviously causes the rovings as they
fall into the compartments of the box to be deposited in regular order.
The rovings or loosely twisted yarns obtained by this system or mode of
treatment possess the strength of the worsted yarns which are made of long
staple wool, combined with the softness and velvet-like appearance of the short
staple yarns produced by the "jenny." This is explained by the position
or arrangement of the fibres of the wool in the rovings or yarns prepared
according to my improvement. Thus, whilst a certain proportion of the fibres
of the wool are laid longitudinally with the yarn, those fibres which are
disposed more or less at an angle with the longitudinal fibres are severed
by the cutting or dividing machinery. Now it is the longitudinal fibres
which give strength or tenacity to the yarn, whilst those which have been
severed impart to the yarn a peculiar softness and velvet pile-like appearance.
The wool having been carded and twisted into rovings, as herein-before
described, is then ready for the subsequent operation of spinning.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of my Invention; but what I
consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general arrangement and construction of machinery for the treat-
ment or preparation of fibrous materials for being spun, in which the "lap"
or fleece is taken off the main carding cylinder of the carding engine by a
single doffing cylinder, and is then cut into strips, and these strips twisted into
"rovings" at one operation, as herein-before described.
Second, the system or mode of carding fibrous materials, and cutting or
dividing the "lap" or fleece of carded material as it emerges from the carding
engine into strips by means of stationary shears or other cutting or dividing
instruments, as herein-before described.
Third, the system or mode of twisting the cut or divided strips of carded
fibrous materials into "rovings," as herein-before described.
Fourth, the combination of the carding engine with the machinery for
dividing and twisting the carded fibrous materials, as herein-before described.

page_text: Fifth, the mechanical arrangement by means of which a horizontal recipro-
catory movement is communicated to the box or receptacle in which the
prepared "rovings" are deposited, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Somervail, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of September, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-seven.
WM SOMERVAIL. (L.S.)