AN IMPROVEMENT IN CARDING ENGINES
Year: 1884

page_text: We GEORGE ASHWORTH and ELIJAH ASHWORTH of the firm of Ashworth
Brothers of the Moss Brook Works, Collyhurst, Manchester in the County of
Lancaster, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVEMENT IN CARDING ENGINES" to be as follows:-
Our Invention relatos to the means for fixing and adjusting the dirt knives with
relation to the "licker-in" of the carding engine. In ordinary practice these
knives are fixed to brackets which are secured to the machino framing and the
said knives are adjusted with more or less of accuracy by shifting the brackets
upon the framing or the knives upon the brackets. When the "licker-in" is
adjusted nearer to the main cylinder the knives require readjustment. To remedy
the defects of the ordinary practice and to obtain a more accurato adjustment we
secure the knives to turnod collars or flanges which are cast or formed upon the
plummer blocks of the "licker-in" shaft and serve also to carry a curved steel shield
or cover. The ends of the knivos are preferably cut to a concave form to bed
upon the collars and packings of paper or of a suitably thin material or packing
pieces are interposed to obtain the required adjustinent of the knives. When the
licker-in" is adjusted the knives, move with it so that their adjustment is not
affected. When it is advisable to bring the knives nearer to the “licker-in” it is
only necessary to reduce the thickness of the packings to the required extent. Wo
prefer to drill and tap a number of holes comparatively close together in the edges
of the said collars so that the required number of knives can be readily secured in
position and also in order that the positions of the knives may be readily adjusted
in a direction around the axis of the "licker-in."

page_text: We GEORGE ASHWORTH and ELIJAH ASHWORTH of the firm of Ashworth
Brothers of the Moss Brook Works, Collyhurst, Manchester in the County of
Lancaster Engineers do hereby declare the nature of tho said. Invention for
"AN IMPROVEMENT IN CARDING ENGINES" and in what manner the same is to be
perforined to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying drawings:
-Our-Invention-relates to the means for fixing and adjusting the dirt knives with
relation-to-the-"-licker-in-of-the-carding_engine._ In ordinary practice-these-
knives are fixed to brackets which are secured to the machine framing and the
said knives are adjusted with more or less of accuracy by shifting the brackets
upon the framing or the knives upon the brackets. When the "licker-in" is
adjusted nearer to the main cylinder the knives require readjustment. To remedy
the defects of the ordinary-practice-and-to-obtain a more accurate adjustment. we
secure the knives to turned collars or flanges which are cast or formed upon the
plummer blocks of the "licker-in" shaft and serve also to carry-a-curved-steel.
-shield.or cover. When the "licker-in" is adjusted the knives move with it so that
their adjustment is not affected.
And in order that our said Invention may be properly understood we will now
proceed more particularly to describe the same reference being bad to the annexed
sheet of drawings.
A
Fig: 1 of the said drawings is a front view of the "licker-in" of a carding
engine and Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same. Figs: 3.4 and 5. are detail
views drawn to an enlarged scale and showing more clearly the shape of the
aforesaid dirt knife and our improved method of applying the same to the ends of
the "licker-in" casing. The said casing ends or Hanges a are turned on their
peripheries and carry a curved steel shield or cover in accordance with a previous
invention for which we have obtained Her Majesty's Letters Patent number 5857,
of the year 1884. The knife b. is secured to the said turned peripheries of the
flanges a. by means of screws as indicated by c. Although only one knife appears
in the drawings any suitable number may be applied in the indicated manner.
number of holes are drilled and tapped in the flanges a comparatively close
together as shown at Fig: 3. so as to provide for the application of the required
number of knives and for the adjustment of any knife in a direction around the
axis of the "licker-in." The parts of the ends of each knife which bed upon the
turned peripheries of the flanges a. are preferably cut to a curve of a little less
radius than the flanges a. as indicated at 6' in Fig: 5. so as to be concave where
they bed upon the said flanges. Packings of paper or of other suitably thin
material or packing pieces are interposed when necessary so as to obtain the
required adjustment of the knives radially from the "licker-in." When it is
advisable to bring the knife or knives nearer to the "licker-in" it is only necessary
to reduce the thickness of the packings to the required extent by the removal of
some of the packing material or replacement of the same with thinner packings.

page_text: 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. In a carding engine the knife b. alone or representing one of a series formed
to bed at each end upon the turned end casings a. of the "licker-in" and secured
thereto substantially as set forth and indicated herein and by the accompanying
drawings.
2. In a carding engine the turned "licker-in" end casings a. each having a
number of tapped holes formed in its periphery for the attachment and adjustment
of the dirt knife or knives substantially as set forth and indicated with reference
to Fig: 3. of the drawings.