IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR OPENING, CLEANING, AND CARDING COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francis Alton Calvert, of the City of Manchester,
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR OPENING,
CLEANING, AND CARDING COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS."
Sealed the 4th November 1856, and dated the 31st May 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francis Alton Calvert at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
31st May 1856.
I, FRANCIS ALTON CALVERT, of the City of Manchester, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
OPENING, CLEANING, AND CARDING COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS," to be
as follows:-
My Invention consists, first, in an improved machine for opening and
cleaning cotton, and other fibrous materials. The fibrous material to be
operated upon is presented by two feed rollers or other feeding apparatus, to
the action of a revolving drum, the circumference of which is furnished with
straight edges or rulers, and with teeth forming combs; the fibrous material is
delivered upon a toothed cylinder in the manner described in the Specification
of Letters Patent granted to Henry Bernoulli Barlow, on the Second day of

page_text: September, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four; the dirt projecting
from this toothed cylinder is removed by a revolving roller furnished with
serrated or straight edges, the fibrous material on the toothed cylinder is
subjected to the action of one or more working rollers for the purpose of more
effectually opening the fibrous material before it is removed by a revolving
beater or brush. The heavier dirt or pieces of iron, or other objects mixed
with the fibrous material, are struck upwards from the feed rollers by the
revolving drum against the roller that strikes the dirt from the toothed cylinder,
and by it thrown into a suitable receptacle placed above the feeding apparatus;
the beater or brush, and the drum are partly surrounded by suitable grids, and
air is admitted through the casing of the machine to assist in the process of
opening and cleaning the fibrous material.
My improvements in carding engines consist in making the upper feed
roller with a plane surface instead of fluted as heretofore, also in the application
of a grid to the circumference of the main drum, this grid being placed above
and near to the doffer.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Francis Alton Calvert in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 28th November 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANCIS
ALTON CALVERT, of the City of Manchester, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the Nineteenth year of Her reign, did,
for Ierself, Iler heirs and successors, give and grant unto me the said
Francis Alton Calvert, Her special license that I, the said Francis Alton
Calvert, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, tbe
said Francis Alton Calvert, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR OPENING, CLEANING, AND CARDING COTTON, AND OTHER
FIBROUS MATERIALS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Francis
Alton Calvert, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe

page_text: 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 Francis Alton Calvert, 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):
The nature of my said Invention consists, first, in the application of one or
more revolving drums furnished with combs for opening and cleaning cotton,
and other fibrous materials. .
Secondly, the application of a drum or drums with combs, in combination
with a toothed cylinder, and other parts requisite to complete a machine for
opening and cleaning cotton and other fibrous materials.
Thirdly, the application of one or more working rollers to a toothed
cylinder when employed for opening and cleaning cotton and other fibrous
materials.
Fourthly, in an improved mode of constructing the grids for machines used
in opening, cleaning, and carling fibrous materials, when employed in com-
bination with revolving cylinders or drums, or when employed in segments of
circles..
And, fifthly, in making the feed rollers of carding engines, one with a plane.
surface, and the other with a toothed surface.
In order that my said improvements may be fully understood and readily.
carried into effect, I will now describe them by the aid of the accompanying
Drawings, reference being had to the letters and figures marked thereon.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a machine for opening and cleaning.
cotton and other fibrous materials to which my improvements are applied;
Figures 2 and 3 are detached views of parts of the same. a is the feeding
apron, and b, b, the feed rollers, to which a slow rotary motion is imparted in
the ordinary manner; c is a drum, furnished with straight edges or rulers c',
into which the teeth care rivetted, or otherwise fixed to form combs; and
is a sheet metal or other casing; to fill up the spaces between the rulers c¹
these casings may be dispensed with; the teeth c³, and the rulers c', are so
placed that the points of the teeth project rather more from the circumference
of the drum than the outer edges of the rulers c', consequently, the points of
the teeth first penetrate the fibrous material and prepare it to be acted upon
by the rulers in which the teeth are set. The grid d, placed under the drum c

page_text: is formed of angle-shaped bars; the object of this peculiar shape is to obtain a
sharp or nearly sharp edge inclined towards the combs of the drum, and to
afford increased facility for the escape of dirt or other impurities mixed with
the fibrous material carried forward by the combs c², which fibrous material is
taken off these combs by the combs e of the drum e. The fibrous material
is delivered by the combs e² to the fine toothed cylinder g, which is similar to
that referred to in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to Henry
Bernoulli Barlow, on or about the Second of September One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-four; in this instance the fibrous material is carded off the
combs by the cylinder g, the ruler or straight edge of each comb serving to
hold up the fibrous material while it is being carded off by the toothed
cylinder g. The motes, seeds, or other impurities projecting beyond the teeth
of the fine toothed cylinder g are struck off by the revolving guard k, (which
is made in the manner described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted
to me on the Eighteenth of January, One thousand eight hundred and forty-
nine,) and drop on the drum c, and then into the box j through the grid d.
The roller which is covered with fine teeth, may be applied to the cir-
cuniference of the cylinder g, acting like a worker for more effectually opening
the fibrous material. Two or more rollers, similar to q, may be applied to the
cylinder g, if requisite. The fibrous material is stripped from the roller
cylinder g, by the beaters and brushes ', or by a brush of the usual con-
struction. The grid i is placed under the beaters and brushes h and h', to
allow the fine dirt or other impurities loosened from the fibrous material to
drop on to the drum e, and through the grid f into the box j. The fibrous
material passes from the beaters and brushes h and h', over the table 1, to the
perforated cage m, which delivers it over the incline n, into a suitable receiver;
or, the fleece of fibrous material, thus produced, may, if preferred, be made
into a lap by a lapping machine, similar to those usually applied to blowers.
In some cases it is desirable to pass the fibrous material two or more times
through the machine. The working parts of this machine are surrounded by
a casing, through which air is admitted at o. The fan p is to produce a partial
vacuum in the cage m, in the ordinary manner.
2
and
In placing the combs on the circumferences of the drums c and c, care
should be taken that all the teeth c and e, do not revolve in the same vertical
plane, but that they should be equally divided, so that they may act evenly on
the fibrous material brought forward by the feeding rollers. I prefer to place
a greater number of combs on the circumference of the drum e, and to make
the teeth e finer than the teeth e, but in other respects the drums are similar;

page_text: the grid, placed under and partly round the drum e, is made of bars similar
to those in the grid d. The arrows in the Drawing indicate the direction in
which the various parts revolve. The relative velocity of the various parts
depends very much upon the material to be opened and cleaned; as a general
rule, it will be sufficient to state that the circumference of the drum c, should
move at twice the velocity of the drum c, in order that the fibrous material
brought forward by the combs & may be stripped and carried forward by the
combs e. The drum c may be put in motion by a strap passing around a
pulley on the axle of the drum, and the other parts of the machine may be
driven by the straps and pulleys indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 1, or
toothed wheels may be employed instead of straps and pulleys.
When only one drum with combs is employed, the drum c is placed in
nearly a vertical position under the cylinder g, the drum e is dispensed with,
and the other parts of the machine remain nearly as shewn; I would, however,
remark, that I prefer the arrangement shewn in the Drawing.
My improvement in carding cotton and other fibrous materials, consists in
making the upper feed roller (when no licker-in is employed) with a plane
surface, and in making the lower feed roller with teeth, made on the same
principle as those on the cylinder marked g, in Figure 1. By this arrange-
ment the fibrous material is carded by the main cylinder over the plane surfaco
of the upper feed roller. When a licker-in is employed, the position of the
feed roller is reversed, and the licker-in draws the fibrous material over the
plane surface of the lower feed roller.
Having thus particularly described the nature of my Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I make no
claim to the general arrangement of the machine shewn and described for
opening and cleaning fibrous materials, nor do I claim any of the well-known
parts of the machino which I have shown to illustrate my present Invention,
but what I do claim is,-
First, the drums with combs, as described, when used separately or combined,
for opening and cleaning fibrous materials.
Secondly, a drum or drums with combs, in combination with a toothed
cylinder g, as described.
2.
Thirdly, the application of one or more working rollers similar to in
combination with a cylinder g, as described.
Fourthly, the application of the improved grids shewn and described, when
employed in combination with revolving cylinders or drums, or employed in
segments of circles.

page_text: And, fifthly, making the feed rollers of carding engines, one with a plain
surface, and the other with a toothed surface, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francis Alton Calvert, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
H. B. BARLOW,
Manchester.
FRS A. CALVERT. (L.S.)