IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR HACKLING OR COMBING FLAX, HEMP, AND OTHER FILAMENTOUS MATERIALS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Clayton Mewburn, of 169, Fleet Street, in the
City of London, Patont Agent and Consulting Engineer, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR HACKLING OR COMBING FLAX, HEMP,
AND OTHER FILAMENTOUS MATERIALS." A communication from abroad by
Jules Deavor of Lille France
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Clayton Mewburn
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 20th June 1881.
JOHN CLAYTON MEWBURN, of 169, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent
Agent and Consulting Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR HACKLING
OR COMBING FLAX, HEMP, AND OTHER FILAMENTOUS MATERIALS." [A communi-
cation from abroad by Jules Dequoy, of Lille, France.]
By means of this Invention the costly operations of hackling or combing now
in uso are done away with. The raw flax or other material is supplied directly
to a machine, which delivers it in the state of a continuous sliver, the long fibres
being collected, laid parallel, separated from the tow and shive or noils, and ready
for passing directly to the preparing and spinning machines.
The result of this new mode of operating is a great economy in hand labor and
a largely increased production of long fibres. The above results are obtained by
the apparatus and process hereinafter described.
The Invention consists, first, in the general construction and arrangement of the
machine as hereinafter described; secondly, in the adaptation and use in this
machine of known mechanical means producing new results by a new application;
and thirdly, in the arrangement or combination of machines in such a way that the
raw material is delivered to a first breaking or spreading machine from which it
issues in continuous slivers, passed into the new hackling or combing machine
which delivers them in the same form of slivers, but cleared of tow and shive or
noils and in a state fit for the successive operations of spinning.

page_text: The new mode of operating possesses considerable advantages over the ordinary
hackling or combing machines; for instance, the expense of packing and storing
the hackled flax is avoided, and also the very delicate operation of spreading the
flax after hackling; the chief gain however is in the largely incroased production of
long fibres.
The new hackling or combing machine is composed of the following principal
parts:-
A main shaft which receives the motion from the prime mover; it carries the
excentrics which produce the movements of the drawing off or detaching apparatus
(arrachago).
A shaft carrying the hackling or comb seginents, and also two cams which
produce the principal movements of the machine.
A bowl bearing on one of these cams and which effects the lifting of the nipper;
this device is mounted on curved pivoted arms, and when it is not lifted by the
cam it is caused to press on the fibres of flax by steel springs, the power of which
can be regulated by a screw. The other cam effects the forcing in and the
disengagement of the feed comb.
A drawing off or detaching apron or creeper to carry the hackled fibres to the
delivery rollers.
Fingers mounted on the supports of the drawing off or detaching apparatus,
and which at certain times press upon the supplementary hackle bar (peigne
nacteur) and cause it to advance when it ought to hackle the end of the fibres
removed by the drawing off or detaching rollers.
A brush for removing tho shive or noils and tow from the hackle segments and
depositing them on a drum.
An oscillating comb or hackle for disengaging the tow from the drum; this
comb receives its movement from an excentric.
An excentric on the main shaft for producing the movement of the drawing off
or detaching rollers. This intermittent movement is obtained by means of a
clutch apparatus, which acts in the one direction and is inactivo in the other
direction. When this apparatus is operated from the excentric through the
intermediation of a connecting rod and lever it gives rotation to a toothed wheel,
and this wheel through a train of wheels produces tho intermittent rotation of a
wheel mounted on the lower drawing off or detaching roller. According to the
length of the fibres a more or less prolonged rotation of these rollers can be obtained
by moving the bearing of the above named connecting rod more or less from the
centre on which the lever turns; or the speed of the rollers can be otherwise
changed.
The rising and falling movement of the drawing off apron or creeper is effected
by another excentric on the main shaft and by a connecting rod from this excentric,
which gives an oscillating or swinging motion to the support which carries all the
drawing off or detaching devices. This support is balanced by a counterweight.
An important feature of the Invention is the clutch apparatus before referred
to, which acts in the one direction and is inactive in the other; it is composed of
a series of teeth which engage through the action of springs into teeth on the end
of the lever above described; this apparatus, as already explained by means of a
train of wheels, gives intermittent rotation to the drawing off or detaching rollers,
and a more or less prolonged rotation is obtained for fibres of different lengths by
adjusting the point of attachment of the connecting rod. The use of a clutch
apparatus acting in only ono direction is novel for this purpose, the same result
can be obtained by a ratchet wheel and paul or by friction gearing acting
intermittently.
The arrangement of the nipper made to press by means of a spring upon the
fibres at the moment of backling or combing is also novel.
Another particular feature of the machine is the arrangement of the two cams
before described, which operate the frame for regulating the feed. The first cam

page_text: acts on a bowl which is mounted on the end of a lever. This lever in the oscil-
lating movement which it receives from the cam gives a longitudinal to and fro
motion to the feed frame. The entrance and exit of the feed comb into and from
the web or fleece of fibre is effected by the second cam, which acts on a second
bowl and through the intermediation of levers and rods on the feed apparatus.
The advance of the supplementary hackle bar effected by means of the fingers,
as before described, is another feature. These fingers which aro fixed on the
support of the drawing off or detaching apparatus press at each oscillation on the
holder of the supplementary hackle bar; the advantage of this is that the move-
ments of these parts are dependent upon each other, so that the advance of the said
hackle bar at the proper time is ensured.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said John Clayton Mewburn in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
17th December 1881.
JOHN CLAYTON MEWBURN, of 169, Fleet Street, in the Oity of London, Patent
Agent and Consulting Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR HACKLING
OR COMBING FLAX, HEMP, AND OTHER FILAMENTOUS MATERIALS." (A communi-
cation from abroad by Jules Dequoy, of Lille, France.)
By means of this Invention the costly operations of hackling or combing now in
uso are done away with. The raw flax or other material is supplied directly to a
machine which delivers it in the state of a continuous sliver, the long fibres being
collected, laid parallel, separated from the tow and shive or noils, and ready for
passing directly to the preparing and spinning machines.
The result of this new mode of operating is a great economy in hand labor
and a largely increased production of long fibres, the difference may be estimated
at.30 to 40 per cent. at least. The above results are obtained by the apparatus and
process hereinafter described.
The Invention consists, first, in the general construction and arrangement of the
machine, as hereinafter described; secondly, in the adaptation and use in this
machine of known mechanical means, producing new results by a new application;
and thirdly, in the arrangement or combination of machines in such a way that
the raw material is delivered to a first breaking or spreading machine from which
it issues in continuous slivers which are passed into the new hackling or combing
machine, which delivers them in the same form of slivers but cleared of tow and
shive or noils, and in a state fit for the successive operations of spinning.
The new mode of operating possesses considerable advantages over the ordinary
hackling or combing machines; for instanco, the expense of packing and storing
the hackled flax is avoided, and also the very delicate operation of spreading the
flax after hackling; the chief gain however is in the largely increased production
of long fibres.
The new hackling or combing machine is represented in the accompanying
Drawings. Figure 1 is a general view, and Figures 2 to 5 are detached views.
It is composed of the following principal parts:-
A is the main shaft which receives the motion from the primo mover; it carries
the eccentrics which produce the movements of the drawing off or detaching
apparatus (arrachage). B is a shaft carrying the hackling or comb segments S, S,
and also two cams C and f, which produce the principal movements of the
machine.
a is a bowl bearing on the cam C and which effects the lifting of the nipper;
this device is mounted on curved arms D and pivoted at e, and when it is not
lifted by the cam C it is caused to press on the fibres of flax by steel springs R,
the power of which can be regulated by screws v. The cam ƒ cffects the forcing
in and the disengagement of the feed comb L.
J is a drawing off or detaching apron or creeper to carry the hackled fibres to
the delivery rollers E, F.
Fingers I are mounted on the supports of the drawing off or detaching apparatus
which at certain times press upon the supplementary hackle bar (peigne nacteur)
K, and cause it to advance so as to hackle the end of the fibres removed by the
drawing off or detaching rollers.
M is a brush for removing the shive or noils and tow from the hackle segments
and depositing them on a drum N.
O is an oscillating comb or hackle for disengaging the tow from the drum N;
this comb receives its movement from an excentric P and connecting piece Q.

page_text: T is an eccentric on the main shaft for producing the movement of the drawing
off or detaching rollers. This intermittent movement is obtained by means of a
clutch apparatus u, which acts in the one direction and is inactive in the other
direction. When this apparatus is operated from the excentric through the
intermediation of a connecting rod d and lever git gives rotation to a toothed
wheel in the direction of the arrow 1, and this wheel through a train of wheels
produces the intermittent rotation of the wheel mounted on the lower drawing
off or detaching roller. According to the length of the fibres a more or less
prolonged rotation of those rollers can be obtained by moving the bearing n of the
connecting rod d more or less from the centre m, on which the lever g turns, or
the speed of the rollers can be changed by the device y.
The rising and falling movement of the drawing off apron or creeper is effected
by the excentric T' and by the connecting rod d', which gives an oscillating or
swinging motion to the support W, which carries all the drawing off or detaching
devices. This support is balanced by a counterweight X.
An important feature of the Invention is the clutch apparatus before referred
to, which acts in the one direction and is inactive in the other; it is composed of
a series of teeth v which engago through the action of springs a, a, into teeth u.
This apparatus, as already explained, by means of a train of wheels gives inter-
mittent rotation to tho drawing off or detaching rollers, and a more or less
prolonged rotation is obtained for fibres of different lengths by moving the point
of attachment n of the connecting rod d nearer to or further from the centre m.
The use of a clutch apparatus acting in only one direction is novel for this purpose,
the same result can be obtained by a ratchet wheel and paul or by friction gearing
acting intermittently.
The arrangement of the nipper made to press by means of a spring upon the
fibres at the moment of hackling or combing is also novel.
Another particular feature of the machine is the arrangement of the cams C
and f, which operate the frame for regulating the feed (see Figure 5). The cam
C acts on a bowl a which is mounted on the end of a lover G. This lever in the
oscillating movement which it receives from the cam gives a longitudinal to and
fro motion to the feed frame L. The entrance and exit of the feed comb L into
and from the wob or flecco of fibre is effected by the cain f which acts on a
bowl a', and through the intermediation of levers and rods G³, i¹, u¹, v³, x², on the
feed apparatus.
The advance of the supplementary hackle bar K effected by means of the fingers I
is another feature. These fingers which are fixed on the support W of the
drawing off or detaching apparatus press at each oscillation on the holder of
the supplementary hackle bar K; the advantage of this is that the movements
of these parts are dependent upon each other so that the advance of the said
hackle bar at the proper time is ensured.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention as communicated to me,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that I claim,―
The improvements herein before described in machinery for hackling or combing
flax, hemp, and other. filamentous materials.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Clayton Mewburo, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of December, One thousand eight hundred
L
J. C. MEWBURN. (L.S.)