Year: 1888

page_text: We HUBERT LEOPOLD OFFERMANN, Director. of the Leipsic Woolcombing
Company Leipsic and GASPARD ZIEGLER, Manufacturer, of Mulhouse both in the
Empire of Germany do hereby declare the nature of this Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to improvements in that class of combing machines in which
the drawing rollers alternately advance towards and retreat from the finishing comb
and nippers in order to effect the drawing forward of the sliver.
The improvements which form the subject of the present application consist
|mainly
1. In so arranging the parts that the reciprocating movement of the drawing rollers
is dispensed with and the rollers occupy a constant fixed position but the finishing
comb the nippers and the feed mechanism alternately approach toward and recede
from the drawing rollers.
2. In certain improvements and structural alterations in the comb cylinder as
hereinafter fully set forth.
These two new features have the advantage of increasing materially the production
of the machine for the following reasons:-First, because the drawing rollers are by
our improvements driven directly from the main shaft of the machine and thus have
greater drawing power and secondly, because the comb cylinder constructed according
to our improvements as hereinafter described is capable of operating upon a much
thicker lap or band of sliver than an ordinary comb cylinder.
Besides these advantages we have the following, the movements being effected by
a combination of rods and levers instead of by eccentrics as now customary the
machine may be run at a higher speed and yet very smoothly.

page_text: to the figures and letters marked thereon.
DESCRIPTION, GENERAL ARRANGEMENT, AND ACTION OF THE MACHINE.
Figure 1 is a vertical section of a combing machine embodying our improvements.
Fig. 2 is a side view and Fig. 3 a plan of the same the plan being on a smaller
scale than Figs. 1 and 2.
Figs. 4 to 16 are detail views of parts of the machine.
Similar Jetters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.
In Figs. 1 to 3.-A represents the comb cylinder which is cleared of waste in the
usual way by means of the rotary brush 6 the card cylinder c and comb d.
B represents the drawing apparatus; de² are the drawing rollers of which the
lower roller d² is journalled in fixed bearings and is geared to the main shaft n so that
both rollers receive an intermittent rotary motion as subsequently described. The
drawing operation commenced by the rollers d²² is completed by the faller arm e
which is arranged and actuated according to the system described by Dujardin in
French Patent of November 14th 1877.
C represents the nipper, the usual feed mechanism and 9 the finishing comb.
The nipper C, has a combined movement whereby it presents the end of the sliver
alternately to the comb cylinder A and the drawing apparatus B which on their part
both remain constantly in the same positions. This movement of the nipper is so
arranged that the nipper C remains sufficiently long near the comb cylinder A and
the drawing apparatus B to accomplish the two operations of combing and drawing
in the most effective manner.
The working of the machine may be divided into four distinct periods.
First period when the parts are in the relative positions shown in Fig. 6 with the
jaws of the nipper C closed and standing above the comb cylinder A. At this
moment the combing of the front end of the sliver takes place by the comb cylinder
the faller arm e occupying its lowest position and pressing on the tail of the sliver,
previously drawn, in such a way as to cause all the fibres to rest on the lower drawing
roller d².
Second period illustrated by Fig. 7 is that during which the nipper advances towards
the drawing apparatus. At the beginning of this period the feed mechanism and the
finishing comb g recede from the comb cylinder the jaws of the nipper- then open
and the nipper approaches the drawing apparatus B leaving sufficient room between
the latter and the finishing comb g for the feed to take place during the drawing
process.
Third period illustrated by Fig. 8 is that during which the nipper stops and the
faller arm e is raised to its highest position as shown. The drawing rollers d² e² begin
to turn just before the stoppage of the nipper with the object of seizing the first
fibres of the end of sliver during its movement towards the drawing rollers. After
the end of the sliver has been seized by the rollers d² e² the finishing comb
as the feed gills are depressed and then advance towards the drawing rollers while
the nipper remains at rest in such a manner that the feed and drawing take place
simultaneously.
as well
Fourth period illustrated by Fig. 9 is that during which the nipper recedes. from
the drawing rollers and the faller arm e.is lowered to effect the drawing or separating
of the end of the sliver before the jaws of the nipper are closed. After the nipper
is shut the finishing comb 9 rises and at the same time the brush i oscillating about
the centre S (Fig. 10) passes close enough to the comb g to clean it. The brush i
continuing its downward course as far as the comb cylinder A is itself cleaned by the
latter.
The foregoing description gives a general outline of the working of the machine
we now describe in detail the various parts.

page_text: The comb cylinder.-In combing machines on Heilmann's system the comb segment
hitherto employed has been composed of several rows of teeth arranged parallel with
the axis of the cylinder on which they were fixed. The attempt which has been made
to use comb segments with teeth of progressively increasing fineness has not been
successful first because the teeth are not strong enough to thoroughly penetrate the
sliver secondly because the teeth cannot be placed sufficiently close together to comb
properly and finally because of the difficulty of removing the waste from them.
Heilmann's segment only combs properly when the last rows of teeth traversing the
sliver are very fine and when the nipper is so adjusted as to be very close to the
points of the teeth in these rows. But this manner of working has the disadvantage
of straining the fibres very much and destroying the natural texture of the more
delicate and weaker fibres because the teeth of each row owing to the abrupt stoppage
of the nipper penetrate simultaneously into the whole width of the sliver band thereby
causing a strain on the fibres exceeding their limit of elasticity.
The improved comb segment of our machine is based on the principle of arranging
the teeth not one beside the other but one behind the other.
In Heilmann's comb segment each row contains the same number of teeth the rows
are arranged parallel to the axis and the teeth become finer and finer in proportion
to their passage into the sliver while in our case the rows of teeth form segments of
circles the planes of which are at right angles to the axis and each of which contains
teeth of the varying degrees of fineness necessary to insure proper combing
and in order that every fibre in the sliver band may be combed by every size of
tooth composing each segment the comb cylinder is given an alternating transverse
motion.
Figs. 13 and 14 represent a comb cylinder constructed according to our Invention
with the improved comb segment k. This segment is composed of a series of toothed
plates one of which is shown detached in Figs. 15 and 16 which are arranged in
grooves in the segmental plate k at right angles to the axis and which are distant
from 3 to 4" from each other the toothed segmental plates 7 being secured in
position by screws m.
The toothed segmental plate is formed as best shown in Fig. 15 of seven groups
of teeth of progressive fineness the teeth may all be soldered to the plate or the coarser
teeth cast on and the finer teeth only soldered on. The alternating transverse motion
above mentioned of the comb cylinder should be in proportion to the length of
each group of teeth and to the distance between the various toothed segmental plates.
Thus if the toothed segmental plates are placed 4 m/m distant from each other as shown
in the Drawings and each group.of teeth is 20 m/m long in circumference the comb
cylinder should have 4 of transverse motion for every 20 m/m of rotary motion.
In the present case therefore a total transverse motion of 4 × 7 28 min order
that the whole of the sliver may be uniformly traversed by all the groups of
teeth.
-
As shown in Figs. 2 and 3 the comb oylinder A receives its rotary as well as its
transverse motion from the main shaft n. The rotary motion is transmitted through
the wheels 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 and the transverse motion through the cam o attached
to the boss of the wheel 5. The cam o gives an oscillating movement to the lever p
which is fulcrumed at one end on the stud q and at the other end is connected to and
moves the shaft of the revolving comb cylinder end wise in its bearings.
As the teeth on the segment no longer pass in rows but one behind the other the
application of the improved segment offers various advantages as follows:-The strain
produced in the sliver by the passage of the teeth arranged as described causes less
strain on the nipper and the sliver acted on by the teeth may be much thicker without
damaging the fibres and this has the effect of considerably augmenting the production
of the machine and of producing a cleaner and better sliver.
The cleaning of the comb teeth by the circular brush 6 has also an advantage over
Heilmann's arrangement as with the latter the brush scatters and throws to a distance
a large quantity of fibres which should be collected with the waste while with our
improved comb segment the brush penetrates into the free spaces between the rows

page_text: of teeth and it removes the waste from the teeth without scattering so as to cause only
the heavy impurities to fall in the form of dust while the fibres are deposited on the
card cylinder c and removed in the form of waste or noils by the doffer comb d.
The nipper consists (Figs. 1, 2 and 10) of the lower jaw and the upper jaw t
oscillating about the stud s the upper jaw carrying the brush i. The stud s is carried
on an arm which oscillates about fixed studs v. The nipper has a second point of
attachment in the stud w which rocks with the hell crank lever g' about the shaft a
secured to the frame of the machine. The bell crank lever g₁ is connected by a
rod to one end of a lever d¹ which is fulcrumed at 61. On the lower portion of
the lever d¹ is fitted a sliding boss h¹ (Figs. 2, 4, and 5) which is guided by a rod z
connected to a crank y on the shaft n and by a lever c¹ which turns about the
shaft a¹.
The boss is consequently the point upon which the rod z acts the boss being
moved towards or away from the centre of oscillation by the arm c¹ according to
the position of the crank y on the shaft n. It is therefore not merely the simple
motion of the crank which is transmitted to the nipper but a combined movement
which has the effect of accelerating the movement of the nipper at the middle of its
course and retarding it at the extreme points. This retardation is also influenced by
the position of the piece d', as shown in Fig. 2, which represents the moment in the
process of drawing when the nipper should he nearly stationary the piece d' is
relatively to the rod at the dead point so that at this instant the influence of the
motion of the crank y is reduced to a minimum. In the opposite position as shown
in Fig. 1 this stoppage is not necessary the nipper may have a slight amount of play
near its line of contact with the comb cylinder which is actually the case since
in that position of the nipper the lever d¹ acts on the rod f¹ when at right angles
to it.
The above arrangement in relation to the movement of the crank has the effect of
causing the nipper to remain near the comb cylinder A and the drawing apparatus
as long as is necessary and of starting and stopping the oscillation of the nipper very
gradually while accelerating it considerably in the middle of its course to avoid all
loss of time. This arrangement of the mechanism greatly facilitates an increase of the
speed of the machine and consequently augments the number of drawings in a given
time which results could not be obtained were motions of the nippers to be effected
by means of eccentrics.
The opening and closing of the jaws of the nipper is effected by means of the rod i¹
see Figs. 1 and 10 which is pivoted to the lever forming the back part of the upper
jaw and which has its point of attachment in a piece k¹ which is fulcrumed on a stud
secured to the framing. spiral spring 3 compressed between the piece k¹ and the
nuts constantly presses the upper jaw t downwards and as in the position shown in
Fig. 1 there is some play between the piece k¹ and the nuts m¹ the nipper is subjected
at this moment to the whole pressure exerted by the spring. When the nipper moves
towards the drawing rollers d² e² it takes with it the rod ¹ until the nut m' touches
the piece which causes the rod to pull on the upper jaw t and open the nipper.
The continued forward movement of the nipper raises the upper jaw farther and
farther but when the nipper recedes from the drawing rollers the upper jaw again
approaches the lower jaw r until the nipper is closed: the nut m¹ moves away from
the piece k' and the spring 3 again presses with its full force one jaw against the
other.
The arrangement of the feed apparatus and of the finishing or vibrating comb g
does not differ appreciably from known principles of construction and it only remains
to describe their mechanism.
The parts above referred to oscillate about the axis n¹ see Figs. 1, 2, 10 and 12,
which by means of the bell crank lever o' in its turn oscillates about the shaft p'. The
cain
(Fig. 1) fixed on the main shaft n causes by means of the rocking levers r
and and of the connecting rods s¹ and u¹ the oscillation of the bell crank lever o¹
and consequently the reciprocating motion of the feed apparatus and the comb g.
The rising and falling motion of the feed gills is accomplished by the chain v¹, see

page_text: Figs. 1 and 10, which at the top end is attached to those gills and at the lower end to
a bracket v² on the framing. This movement is produced in a similar way to that of
the upper jaw t of the nipper and the vibrating motion of the comb is effected by the
cam w', see Figs. 10 and 12, which is attached to the shaft of the comb cylinder A.
This cam w¹ causes a pivoted lever .l to rock, on which rests the lever g in connection
with the lever of the comb g, so that the comb g has an independent rising and falling
movement imparted to it in addition to the advancing and retiring motion with the
nipper.
The brush (Figs. 1 and 10) which cleans the comb g and the angle plate ¹ (which
assists the cleaning action and which might be replaced by a brush,) both rock about
the studs by means of the double lever h on which they are supported and are
operated through the rod a² and the rocking lever 62 from the cam c² keyed on the
main shaft n.
'
The drawing apparatus consists chiefly of the plain roller d² and the fluted roller e²
the latter being weighted by springs e³.
The intermittent rotary motion of this pair of rollers is transmitted to them from
the main shaft n through the wheels 1. 2. 7. 8 and 9 (Fig. 2) of which the last named
is fixed on the lower roller 2: on the boss of the wheel 8 is fixed the star wheel f
(Fig. 2) which is caused to make a quarter turn by the roller g² at each revolution of
the wheel 7 on the side of which the roller is mounted.
As one complete cycle of the machine comprising the four periods hereinbefore
described corresponds to one revolution of the main shaft and as the wheels 1. 7.
and 8 have the same number of teeth the period of this quarter turn of the star
wheel corresponds with the third period during which as previously explained the
nipper remains near the drawing apparatus and the drawing takes place.
As the drawing and feed take place at the same time and the rotary motion of
the rollers ceases immediately the feed stops so as to commence the next drawing at
the point where the preceding one left off all the conditions necessary for forming an
even sliver are fulfilled.
While the nipper recedes from the drawing rollers the drawing is completed by the
faller arm e which vibrates about the axis m² (Figs. 10 and 11) and which is operated
from the nipper by means of the lever and the rod k².
In order that during the upward movement of the faller arm e the free end of the
sliver may not be carried away by the former a counterfaller e¹ oscillating about the
stud 2 serves to retain the end in place.
The counter faller e¹ is actuated from the faller e by means of wheel segments m²
and n the brake o² acting on the segment n² and the rod p². The motion of the
counter faller e is limited on the one hand by the adjusting screw q² against which
presses the arm of the brake and on the other hand by the lower roller d with which
the counter faller itself comes in contact (Figs. 8 and 10).
From this arrangement it follows that the faller e during its forward and downward
course always commences by directing the counter faller towards one or other of
these points of contact in order to make room for itself. During the descending
movement the faller e passes between the driving rollers and the counter faller e¹
and completes the drawing while making the end of the sliver pass above the latter.
The faller e in rising commences by pushing the counter faller el towards the roller
and in this way places it between itself and the end of the sliver thus protecting the
latter. This arrangement allows very long fibres to be combed on this machine even
with a slight movement of the nipper. As the arcs of the circles described by the
fallers e e intersect each other each faller is supported only by a single lever or arm
the arm for the faller e being at one side of the machine and that for the counter
faller e' at the other side of the machine.
The principle on which the construction of the improved comb segment previously
described is based is equally applicable to comb cylinders furnished with teeth over
their whole surface and intended. either for combing machines on Heilmann's system
or for circular combing machines. Textile materials having fibres of medium fineness
may be advantageously combed by cylinders furnished with teeth on their whole

page_text: surface and having teeth of the same size or number. In this case greater or less
velocity may be given to the comb cylinder independently of the working of the
machine combining this rotary motion with a slight transverse movement.
The lateral motion of the comb cylinder may be dispensed with by arranging the
rows of teeth helically giving them a very slight pitch or inclination in such a way
that in the short length of sliver they do not differ much from parallel rows in not
offering much resistance to the entrance of the circular brush for cleaning the teeth.
The application of the comb cylinder to circular combing machines is illustrated by
Figs. 17 and 18 in which 2 represents the circular comb, s² the nipper, t the
finishing comb, u² the drawing rollers, v² the comb cylinder.
The circular rows of teeth are composed on the side at which the sliver enters of
wires of course numbers the fineness of the teeth increasing successively towards the
opposite side. When the material to be combed requires the employment of such
fine teeth that they cannot be cast in but must be soldered then the comb cylinder v²
on the side at which the sliver leaves ought to be made as illustrated by Fig. 19 with
circular rows of teeth similar in construction to the segmental plates of teeth Figs. 15
and 16. In Fig. 19 w² is the portion of the comb cylinder which is made with teeth
cast in while the portion a² is constructed with circles of teeth fixed on the body of
the cylinder and held in position by means of the nut y².
The alternating transverse motion described is in the case of circular combing
machines replaced by the rotary motion of the circular combs. Here also the
circular rows of teeth may be replaced by a single helical row passing round the
cylinder as many times as there would be circular rows and composed of teeth
becoming gradually finer from one end to the other.
As in certain circular combing machines there are already comb cylinders the rows
of teeth of which are not placed parallel with the axis but helically in such a
manner that each row forms part of a very elongated helix, that is to say, a helix
of which the thread has an inclination of more the 45° to a plane at right angles
to the axis, it is necessary to point out that these cylinders differ nevertheless
entirely from our improved comb cylinders as above described because with a helix
having an inclination of more than 45° as aforesaid the comb cylinder must be
classed in the category of those comb cylinders or segments in which the teeth are
placed side by side whilst if the thread of the helix has an inclination of less than 45°,
as in our case, the comb cylinders have the properties of those in which the teeth are
placed one behind the other.
The difference between these two systems is also apparent in the different ways in
which the cleaning brush behaves. The brush penetrates to the bottom of the comb
having rows of teeth parallel to the axis or teeth arranged in a long helix but this
penetration of the brush does not take place however when the teeth are placed one
after the other in a less elongated helix and the card cannot be cleaned by the
brush.
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. The construction use and application of the improved comb segment or the
improved cone cylinder furnished with teeth on the whole of its circumference the
teeth of which are arranged either circumferentially in planes at right angles to
the axis or in helices of slight pitch or inclination as specified the said teeth being
placed one behind the other substantially in the manner and for the purposes
described with reference to the Drawings annexed.
2. The combination with the comb cylinder A and the drawing apparatus B both
occupying constant fixed positions, of the nipper C which is arranged to move from
the said cylinder to the drawing apparatus and vice versa and also has an independent
reciprocating or opening and closing movement substantially as and for the purposes
herein described and as illustrated by the Drawings annexed.
3. The construction and arrangement of the parts and connections actuated by the

page_text: crank y for producing the combined and varying motion of the nipper C as and for
the purposes herein described with reference to the accompanying Drawings.
4. In a combing machine the double cleaning apparatus for the comb g said
apparatus consisting of the brush i and of the angle plate ±¹ arranged and operating
substantially as herein set forth.
5. In a combing machine the combination with the faller e, of the counter faller e¹
the movement and functions of which are combined with those of the said faller in the
manner and for the purpose described with reference to the accompanying Drawings.
6. The construction combination and arrangement of parts embodying our
improvements in combing machines said improvements consisting mainly in a
cylinder A with special comb segment a drawing apparatus B with faller e and
counter faller e¹ a nipper C arranged to move alternately from the fixed position of
the comb cylinder to the fixed position of the drawing apparatus and vice versa
from the drawing apparatus to the comb cylinder, a double cleaning apparatus for the
nipper C, and the special mode of actuating the said nipper by means of the crank y
and the rod z and its connections the whole arranged and operating substantially in
the manner and for the purposes herein described and as illustrated by the Drawings
annexed.
H. B. BARLOW,
17, St. Ann's Square, Manchester,
Agent for Applicants.