IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR GINNING COTTON
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Henry Rushton, of the Firm of Messrs.
Dobson and Barlow, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, and
William Dobson, of the same Place, Machine Makers, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR GINNING COTTON."
Scaled the 8th November 1872, and dated the 9th August 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Henry Rushton
and William Dobson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 9th August 1872.
We, THOMAS HENRY RUSHTON, of the Firm of Messieurs Dobson and
Barlow, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, and WILLIAM DOBSON,
of the same Place, Machine Makers, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR GINNING COTTON," to be
as follows:-
Our Invention is applicable to the gins known as the "knife roller
cotton gins," and it consists in an improved mode of constructing the
knife rollers of the said gins whereby the speed of the roller may be
reduced, and the cotton and sccd are agitated more effectually during

page_text: the stripping of the fibres than heretoforo. The seed and cotton are also
prevented from clogging or jamming between the ends of the roller and
the framing.
Instead of making the said knife rollers with diagonal discs as now
customary we make cach disc with two or more angles, so that at every
revolution of the roller the cotton is agitated to and fro as many times
as there are angles on the discs, and part of the angles at each end of
the roller
arç
reduced in diameter to prevent the seed and cotton being
moved by them towards the framing, while the others are left of the
full diameter to move the cotton and seed from the framing. The angles
are made to overlap each other to any extent.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Henry Rushton and William Dobson in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 7th February 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wе, TпоMAS
HENRY RUSHTON, of the Firm of Messieurs Dobson and Barlow, of
Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, and WILLIAM DOBSON, of the same
Place, Machine Makers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters. Patent, bearing date the Ninth-day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Thomas Henry Rushton and William
Dobson, Her special licence that we, the said Thomas Henry Rushton
and William Dobson, our exccutors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as we, the said Thomas Henry Rushton and William
Dobson, our 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 GINNING COTTON," upon the condition
(amongst others) that wc, the said Thomas Henry Rushton and William
Dobson, our exccutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing.

page_text: under our, or their, or one of our or their hands and scals, should particu-
larly describe 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 we, the said Thomas Henry Rushton and
William Dobson, do hereby declare the nature of our 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) :-
Our Invention is applicablo to the cotton gins known as the "knife
roller cotton gins," and these gins consist principally of a knife roller
partly surrounded by a grid, a gin roller, and a doctor knife.
Our Invention consists in an improved mode of constructing the knife
rollers of the said gins whereby the speed of the roller may be reduced
and the cotton and sced aro agitated more effectually during the stripping
of the fibres than heretofore. The seed and cotton aro also prevented
from clogging or jamming between tho ends of the roller and the framing.
Instead of making the said knife rollers with diagonal discs as now.
customary we make each disc with two or more angles, so that at every
revolution of the roller the cotton is agitated to and fro as many times
as there are angles on the discs, and part of the angles at each end of
the roller are reduced in diameter to prevent the seed and cotton being
moved by them towards the framing, while the others are left of the full
diameter to move the cotton and seed from the framing. The angles
are made to overlap each other to any extent.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation, we will proceed to describe the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, reference being to the figures and letters marked
thereon.
Fig. 1 is a transverse section and Fig. 2 part of a plan of a knife roller
cotton gin constructed according to our improvements; Figs. 3 and 4
represent one end of the knife roller drawn full size.
a is the knife roller, which consists of an axle in, which is a key and
of any required number of discs according to the width of the machine,
which are connected to the axle-by-tho-key. Each-disc has two or more

page_text: angles, the projecting angle of one disc fitting into the recessed angle of
the adjacent disc, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, and the alternate angles of
the discs at each end of the roller are reduced in diameter, as shewn by
the dotted lines & in Fig. 3 and in Fig. 4, to prevent the seed and cotton
being moved by them towards the framing, while the other angles arc
left of the full diameter to move the cotton and seed from the framing.
By this means the cotton and seed are prevented from clogging or
jamming between the ends of the roller and the framing.
We wish to remark that instead of making the knife roller of separate
discs keyed on an axle the whole roller may be cast in one piece, or the
shell of the roller with the inclines may be cast in one or more pieces
and then fixed on an axle.
The doctor knife c, which is placed under the rollers a and b, is pressed
against the surface of the gin roller by the springs d, as usual. The
doctor knife rests upon a shoulder of the cross beam e, the ends of which
are secured to the frame sides of the machine by bolts passing through
slots, and to cach end is cast an car in which is a regulating screw, by
which arrangement when the doctor knife requires adjusting the
attendant can raise or lower it without stopping the machine. The knife
roller a is partly surrounded by the grid g, through which the seed, dust,
shell, and other impurities fall. The rollers a and b are turned round
by a crossed and an open strap from a drum on the driving shaft, the
relative speeds of the rollers being varied by altering the pulleys on the
axles of the rollers as usual, but as cach revolution of the knife roller
agitates the cotton and seed as many times to and fro as there are angles
on the discs it is evident that the speed of the knife roller may be greatly
reduced.
The seed cotton to be cleaned is spread on the table h, and drops into
the hopper formed by the inclined board and the top cross stay j, the
lower part of which is curved to fit the surface of the knife roller ạ. The
fibres caught by the gin roller pass between it and the doctor knife and
fall under the roller a, while the seeds which are constantly agitated by
the knife roller, when stripped, fall through the grid g into the receptacle
formed by the lower cross stay k and the partition l.
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, and described the
manner of performing the same, we declare that we claim, the improved
mode of constructing the knife rollers of cotton gins, as shewn and

page_text: described, whereby the cotton and seed are more effectually agitated
than heretofore, and the jamming or clogging of the cotton and seed
between the ends of the roller and the side frames is avoided.
In witness whereof, we, the said Thomas Henry Rushton and
William Dobson, have hereto set our hands and seals, this
Sixth day of February, One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
threa
THOMAS HENRY RUSHITON. (L.S.)
WILLIAM DOBSON.
(L.S.)