IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Rawson, of Leicester, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS
SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 1st April 1859, and dated the 27th January 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Rawson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th
January 1859.
I, HENRY RAWSON, of Leicester, do hereby declare the nature of the
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING WOOL AND OTHER
FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for preparing
wool and other fibrous substances. For these purposes the wool or other
fibrous substance is fed into the machine by an apron and a pair of feeding
rollers, the wool or fibre is then acted on by a porcupine roller, there being a
fluted roller below to support the wool or other fibre, as the porcupine teeth
pass amongst the fibres. The quantity of wool or other fibre then passes over
a plate or frame, which I prefer should be arranged in a suitable manner to
admit of its being heated by gas, or by other means. This plate or frame has

page_text: a motion given to it in a direction from and to the porcupine roller, and such
plate or frame has openings through it for the passage of the teeth of a comb,
which has a similar motion communicated to it to that of the plate or frame,
and also a motion up and down, in such manuer that when the plate or frame
and the comb have arrived at the end of their outward motion, the teeth of the
comb may descend till the points thereof are below the upper surface of the plate
or frame, and the comb is caused to ascend again, when the plate or frame and
comb have moved back to commence another action on the fibres. In order
to ensure the wool or other fibre entering amongst the comb teeth, there is a
brush which descends and presses the fibres amongst the teeth of the comb,
and in order that the wool or fibres may be well acted on by the porcupine
teeth, and be properly upheld, a lifter is placed below the wool or other fibre
between the porcupine roller and the moving plate. Beyond the space
required for the movement of the plate or frame, there is a pair of carrying
rollers which move forward the wool or other fibre after it has been prepared
in the manner described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Rawson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
27th July 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
RAWSON, of Leicester, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Henry Rawson, Her special licence that I, the said Henry Rawson,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry
Rawson, 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 PREPARING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Rawson, 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

page_text: 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 Henry Rawson, do hereby declare
the nature of the 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 thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements. in machinery for preparing
wool and other fibrous substances, and consists in so arranging the same that
the wool or other fibrous substance as it passes through the machine may be
operated on in the following manner:-The fibre is first conducted between a
pair of feeding rollers, which hold it firmly and carry it forward at a uniform
speed; after passing the feeding rollers the fibre enters amongst teeth, which
travel with it; and by preference at a speed exceeding that at which the fibre,
passes the feeding rollers; these teeth may be mounted on the periphery of a
roller, so as to form what is called a porcupine roller, or the teeth may have the
desired motions communicated to them in other convenient manner; these
motions cause them first to enter the fibre, then to travel away from the feeding
rollers, and afterwards to pass out of the fibre. I have found it most advan-
tageous in practice to actuate the teeth by means of screws, that is to say, to
employ what is known as a screw gill. Immediately in front of the travelling
teeth is a plate or frame, which has a vibratory motion communicated to it in
a.direction to and from the travelling teeth, and such plate or frame bas
openings through it for the passage of the teeth of a comb; this comb travels
with the plate or frame, and each time that the latter moves from the travelling
teeth the teeth of the comb are projected up through it into the fibre. The
plate or frame and its comb move at a greater speed than the teeth of the gil!
or other arrangement, and thus the teeth of the comb are at each stroke drawn
through the fibre. When the plate or frame is moving up to the gill or
travelling teeth, the comb descends out of the fibre. In order to ensure the
teeth of the comb entering the fibre when they are moved up through the
plate or frame, a brush is employed, which at the same time descends on to
the fibre, and forces it into the teeth. The fibre after it has been acted ou,
as above described, passes between a pair of carrying rollers and is discharged
from the machine..
And in order that my said Invention may be most. fully understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings herounta

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS..
Figure 1 is a side elevation, and Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of a
machine arranged according to my Invention. a is the main axis of the
machine, which is driven by a belt as is shewn; on this axis is a pinion a',
gearing with a toothed wheel on the axis b; from this axis the axis c is driven
by means of the wheels 1, 2, and c¹. The axis c has also mounted on it a
pinion c², which is the first of a train of wheels on the further side of the
machine, and shewn in the Drawing by dotted lines, for giving motion to the
axis d, on which the lower one of the two feeding rollers d', d', is mounted.
The upper feeding roller is pressed down on the lower by the spring d².
The axis c has also two bevilled wheels c³, c³, fixed on it, and they drive
other bevilled wheels keyed on the axis e, e; these axes, and also the axes e'; e¹,
driven by them, have screws cut on' them to work the travelling teeth ff, in the
órdinary manner of actuating screw gill teeth; g, g, is a plate or frame fixed at
its ends to the rods g', g', which at their lower ends are keyed into sockets g², g²,
mounted on the axis h, so that the rods g', g', may turn on this axis as a
centre; i, i, are tubes through which the rods g', g', pass; they carry at their
upper ends the comb i¹, and at their lower ends friction wheels 2, 2, which bear
on the cams h¹, h, on the axis h, and are kept up to them by spiral springs,
as is shewn; these cams move the tubes i, i, upwards at the proper times,
and cause the teeth of the comb to protrude through the plate or frame g,
this plate or frame being made with a number of longitudinal slots for the
purpose. The axis h is driven from the main axis a by the spur wheels h²
and h³, as is shewn, and the gearing is such that it makes the same number of
revolutions as the axis b; this latter axis has at its ends cranks 63, to which the
connecting rods are attached, and they are also connected with the upper
ends of the rods g', g', so as to give to the frame or plate g, and the combi, a
to-and-fro movement in unison with the rising and falling of the comb, produced
by the cams h', h'. The connecting rods j are so constructed that their length
may be exactly adjusted; k, k, are gas pipes for conveying gas for heating the
plate g and its comb 2, and also the travelling teeth f.f; these pipes are
perforated with holes, and the gas is burnt as it escapes from them, as is usual
when gas is employed for heating combs of combing machines. The two pairs
of carrying rollers 1, l, m, m, placed beyond the frame or plate g, are driven
from the axis h; the first pair 1, 1, by wheels on the further side of the machine,
as shewn by dotted lines, and the latter pair m, m, are driven from the first
through the intermediate wheel n at the front, and they are geared together;
is a belt of leather passing between the rollers 1, 1, such as is frequently em-

page_text: ployed when drawing fibre. The rollers of each of the pairs 1, 1, and m, m,
are pressed together by springs, as is shewn. The wool or other fibre to be
operated on is either laid on to the feeding board o by hand, or if the fibre
has already been made up into slivers, it passes up as slivers over the roller o¹
at the end of the feeding board, and it passes between the feeding rollers d', d',
and amongst the travelling teeth f,f. When these teeth fall out of the fibre,
it passes over the frame or plate g, and each time that the frame or plate comes
up to its most forward position, or its position nearest to the travelling teeth,
the comb is projected up through it, and the brush p, which is carried by an
arm on the axis p¹, descends, a suitable motion being given to the axis by an
arm p² connected with the excentric on the axis h; the fibre afterwards
passes between the rollers 1, 1, and m, m, and is delivered into a can or other
suitable receiver. The handles r, r, are for the purpose of separating the
rollers d', d', and 1, 1, when necessary. The amount of draw given to the fibre
in passing through the machine may be varied by changing the spur wheels by
which the different parts are driven. When a porcupine roller is employed in
place of the screw gill, it is placed immediately in advance of the feeding
rollers d', d, as is shewn by the diagram Figure 3, and it is worked in con-
junction with a lifter actuated by a cam on the axis b; this lifter rises and
supports the fibre as the frame or plate g moves away from the porcupine
roller, and it descends as the frame or plate moves in the contrary direction.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Rawson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
HENRY RAWSON. (L.S.)