IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PRE- PARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS FOR SPINNING
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT. to Joseph Cedric Rivett, of Prestolee New Mills,
Farnworth, in the County of Lancaster, Cotton Spinner, and John Muir
Hetherington, of Manchester, in the said County, Machine Maker, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PRE-
PARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS FOR SPINNING."
Sealed the 10th October 1862, and dated the 17th April 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Cedric Rivett and
John Muir Hetherington at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 17th April 1862.
We, JOSEPH CEDRIC RIVETT, of Prestolee New Mills, Farnworth, in the
County of Lancaster, Cotton Spinner, and JOHN MUIR HETHERINGTON, of
Manchester, in the said County, Machine Maker, do hereby declare the nature'
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR.
PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS FOR SPINNING," to be as
follows:-
Our Invention refers firstly to the carding engine of that construction for
which Letters Patent were granted to Joseph Cedric Rivett, dated 13th

page_text: April 1861, No. 906, and consists, firstly, in an arrangement for causing the
backward and forward motion of the rollers described in the Specification of
the said Patent. For this purpose we employ a worm and worm wheel, the
former of which being caused to vibrate bodily, acts as a click, and causes the
latter to turn upon its centre so as to communicate motion to the rollers in
both directions, and then the vibrating motion brings a click to act against a
ratchet wheel upon the axis of the said worm, whereby it is caused to revolve
for effecting the necessary gain in the revolution of the rollers.
Another improvement relates to the changes to be effected in the said
description of carding engine, viz.:-1st, traversing the strap to stop the feed;
2d, bringing the brush into action and reversing the cylinder; 3rd, the
starting again. All these changes we propose to derive from the "loose
pulley," and we adapt a line shaft with cams thereon for the said purposes.
Another improvement consists in forming the clearing brsuh with rings, and
in traversing it between each change, so that it acts upon a portion only of the
cylinder at a time.
Another improvement relates to the combs used in conjunction with the
rollers. As described in the Specification of the aforesaid Patent, these combs
are stationary, but we propose to traverse them in the direction of the axes of
the said rollers, or to bring them into contact occasionally only.
18
10
Another improvement also relates to the said combs, and consists in using a
portion only thereof when desired, and we therefore adapt them so that they
may be readily removed.
Our Invention also refers to the drawing frame, and consists in causing the
sliver to be traversed along the rollers as it passes through the machine.
Q
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Cedric Rivett and John Muir Hetherington in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 17th October 1862.
TO. ALL TO WHOM THESE, PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOSEPH
CEDRIC RIVETT, of Prestolee, New Mills, Farnworth, in the County, of Lan- 3
caster, Cotton Spinner, and JOHN MUIR HETHERINGTON, of Manchester, in
the said County, Machine. Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year of. Her 3

page_text: reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successórs, give and grant unto us, the
said Joseph Cedric, Rivett and John Muir Hetherington, Her special license,
that we, the said Joseph Cedric Rivett and John Muir Hetherington, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Joseph
Cedric Rivett and John Muir Hetherington, 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 OR APPARATUS POR PREPARING COTTON AND OTHER
FIBROUS MATERIALS FOR SPINNING," upon the condition, amongst others, that
we, the said Joseph Cedric Rivett and John Muir Hetherington, by an instru-
ment in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one
of us, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 Joseph Cedric Rivett, do hereby
declare the nature of oufisa
"said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to say) :-
Our Invention refers to the carding engine of that construction for which
Letters Patent were granted to the above-mentioned Joseph Cedric Rivett,
dated Thirteenth April One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, No. 906,
and consists, firstly, in an arrangement for causing the backward and forward
motion of the rollers described in the Specification of the said Patent. For
this purpose we employ a worm and worm wheel, the former of which being
caused to vibrate bodily acts as a click, and causes the latter to turn upon its
centre so as to communicate motion to the rollers in both directions, and then
the vibrating motion brings a click to act against a ratchet wheel upon the
axis of the said worm, whereby it is caused to revolve for effecting a neces-
sary gain in the revolution of the rollers.
:
Another improvement relates to the changes to be effected in the said"
description of carding engine, videlicit, firstly, traversing the strap to stop
the feed; secondly, bringing the brush into action and reversing the cylinder;
thirdly, the starting again. All these changes we now derive from the "loose"
pulley," and we adapt a line shaft with cams thereon for the said purposes.
Another improvement consists in forming the cleaning brush with rings,

page_text: and in traversing it between each change, so that it acts upon a portion only o
"the cylinder at a time.
Another improvement relates to the combs used in conjunction with the
rollers.. As described in the Specification of the aforesaid- Patent, these combs
.are stationary, but we propose to traverse them in the direction of the axis of
the said rollers, or to bring them into contact occasionally only.
"
Another improvement also relates to these combs, and consists in using a
portion only thereof when desired, and we therefore adapt them so that they
may be readily removed.
Another part of an Invention related, according to our Provisional Speci
fication, to the drawing frame, and consisted in causing the sliver to be
traversed along the rollers as it passes through the machine, but since the
filing thereof we have had reason to believe that the arrangement is not new,
and therefore lay no claim thereto.
In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 represents a portion of a carding
engine in side elevation with our improvements adapted; Figs. 2 and 3 are
partial sections; and Fig. 4 a detached view of one motion. A part of the
roller is shewn at 1, and the chain by which the rocking and forward motions
are imparted at 2. This chain is carried by a driving toothed pulley 3 mounted
upon an axis, which also carries a lever 4, such pulley and lever turning loosely
upon the said axis. The lever 4 is weighted at 5, and beneath it is situate an
eccentric 6, mounted upon the shaft 7 of the ordinary doffer. To the lever 4
is affixed a bracket 8, provided with a boss 9, constituting a bearing for a
short shaft, upon which a worm 10 is fixed, taking into a worm wheel 11
cast with the pulley 3. On the other end of this short shaft is a ratchet
wheel 12, within the teeth of which is a driver 13 carried by a bell-crank
lever 14, which turns loose upon the shaft (see detached view Fig. 4). As
the doffer revolves, the eccentric 6 will turn upward the lever 4 from the
position shewn in the Drawing, and the pulley 3 being connected therewith by
the worm 10 and wheel 11 will be caused to perform a portion of a revolu-
tion, thereby causing the chain 2 to travel and impart motion in one direc-
tion to the rollers 1. After this a further revolution of the eccentric will
allow the lever 4 to fall, by which means the chain 2 will be drawn back,
and motion in the other or forward direction will be given to the rollers 1,
but in addition to this the falling of the lever 4 will bring the bell-crank
lever 14 into contact with a fixed stop 15, so as to cause the ratchet wheel
12 to be turned, whereby the worm 10 will be caused to revolve and impart
rotatory motion to the worm wheel 11, and pulley 3, and thus an additional

page_text: forward motion will be given to the rollers 1. In the arrangement we adopt
there are two chains 2, one on each side of the machine, actuated by separato
levers 4, and excentrics 6, each of which chains drives alternative rollers 1.
We will now proceed to describe how we effect the changes above men-
tioned, and which changes are fully described so far as their operation on the
material is concerned in the Specification of the aforesaid Joseph Cedric
Rivett. At 16 is the shaft of the main carding cylinder, and upon which
are mounted the fast pulley 17 and the loose pulley 18. The latter of these-
is furnished with a groove 19, which carries a band 20 proceeding from a
pulley 21.
This pulley and another 22 hereafter to be mentioned, aro
mounted loose upon the axis of one of the feed rollers, but are carried round
by means of a ratchet wheel 23 fixed to the said feed roller, and acting
against clicks 24 carried by the pulley 22. The said loose pulley therefore
during the working of the machine is constantly revolving, but at a slow
speed. Attached to the loose pulley is an excentric 25 acting upon a rod.26,
which at its other end is jointed to a lever 27 fixed upon a shaft 28:
This shaft carries a lever 29, to which is jointed a driver 30 taking into the
teeth of a ratchet wheel 31. Upon the axis of this ratchet wheel 31 is a
pinion 32 taking into a wheel 33, the axis of which carries a disc 34 provided
with a few bevil teeth 35, which when they arrive in a certain position
give motion to a bevil pinion 36 mounted upon a line shaft 37. As there-
fore the feed rollers revolve, they gradually through the loose pulley 18 cause
the disc 34 to rotate, but at a speed which will occupy any desired time,
accordingly as the gearing is arranged before the teeth 35 will arrive in
connexion with the bevil piniou 36, such time being the designed interval
between the changes, and by the revolution of the shaft 37 thus caused the
said changes are effected. The first, videlicit, the traversing of the driving.
strap, and the arresting of the feed is thus performed:-Upon the shaft 37 is
a cam 38, which when the said shaft revolves by the above described means
acts against a roller 39 mounted upon a lever 40, turning upon a centre at 41,
and carrying at its upper end the strap fork 42, and thus the driving strap is
shifted on to the loose pulley; at the same time the feed rollers are thrown;
out of gear by the following means, the revolution of the shaft 37 will cause;
a cam 43 to act against a lever 44, which turns upon a fixed centre at 45, and,
carries one bearing of a shaft 46; by which motion is communicated from the:
doffer shaft 7 to the feed rollers. The lever 44 being thus turned upon its.
centre, will take the bevil pinion 47 out of gear with the wheel mounted' upon
the axis of one of the said rollers, and thus the feed will be stopped: The

page_text: next changes, videlicit, the bringing the brush into action, and reversing the
motion of the cylinder are performed as follows:-The outline of the brush is
shewn at 48, the said brush being mounted upon an excentric boss 49, carried
by a shaft 50. On this shaft is a pinion 51, taking into another 52 mounted
on an axis 53, which also carries a second pinion in geer with a toothed
quadrant 54. This quadrant is capable of vibrating upon a fixed centre at 55,
and is furnished with a projecting pin situate within the groove of a cam 56,
mounted upon the line shaft 37. As this shaft by the means before-men-
tioned revolves, and at this time rapidly being driven by the main strap, the
the cam 56 acting against the quadrant 54 causes it to swing upon its
centre 55, and thus communicate rotatory motion to the pinion 52; and thus
the brush 48 is caused to turn upon its excentric boss, so as to present
its surface in contact with the cards of the main cylinder. Upon the shaft 50
is a pulley 57, which is driven from the pulley 22 by means of a band 58;
and as the latter of these pullies is now driven by the main strap, a rapid
revolution of the brush is effected. It will be seen that as the pulley 22
revolves in the same direction as it did when driven by the feed rollers, but
more rapidly, that the clicks 24 will pass over the teeth of the ratchet wheel
23. The motion of the cylinder is reversed as follows:-The inside of
a pulley 90, fixed on the shaft 16, is provided with a V groove, 59 (see Fig. 3),
within which is situate a piece 60, shewn by dots in Fig. 1, but distinguished
by the blue color. This piece is hinged to the lever 61, which is jointed at
62 to the lever 29 before-mentioned, and the said piece is therefore caused to
move to and fro in the groove 52, through the medium of the excentric 25
above alluded to; but it is caused to keep clear of the surface of the said
groove, during the ordinary working of the machine, by the following means:
Upon the piece 60 is a projecting pin 63, resting upon a bracket 64, which
is mounted, so as to be capable of moving upward and downward in a guide
65; the other end of this bracket has a pin 66, which rests upon the cam 38
before-mentioned, and upon the higher part thereof, when the piece 60 is to
be kept out of action, by which means it is lifted so as to be turned upward
upon its centre of motion 67; but when the shaft is caused to revolve rapidly,
as above described, then the resolution of the cam 38 will allow the pin 66 to
drop, so as to withdraw the bracket 64 from the piece 60, which will then
turn downward upon its centre into contact with the surface of the groove 59.
Under these circumstances, the vibrations of the lever 61 will cause the piece
60 to lock in the groove 59 in its forward motion, so as to propel the cylinder
in the desired direction; but during the backward motion of the said piece 60,

page_text: it will turn upward on its centre 67, and merely glide over the surface of the
groove. The above-mentioned operation of brushing having been performed,
the cam 38 will have arrived into the position shewn in Fig. 2, whereby the
pin 39 will have been allowed to be drawn inward by the spring 60 acting
upon the lever. 40, and thus the driving strap will be passed on to the fast
pulley, previously to which, however, the cams 43, 38, 56, will have restored
the feed, removed the piece 60 from the groove 59, and drawn the brush
downward into the position shewn. In order to stop the machine by hand,
when necessary, we adapt the following contrivance:-At 80 is a lever fixed
upon a shaft 81, which, upon being turned, causes a cam 82 to act against a
pin upon the lever 40, so as to shift the strap on to the loose pulley, at the
same time the turning of the shaft 81 causes the lever 83 to lift the catch
30 from the ratchet wheel 31. In connexion with the revolving brush, we
have shewn a clearing comb, the operation of which is as follows:-The comb
is shewn at 69 mounted upon the shaft 53; when, therefore, the pinion 52 is
caused to revolve by the quadrant 54, the said comb is turned upward into
the brush, which, as it revolves, is thus cleaned. When the comb turns down
again into the position shewn in the Drawing a loose bar 70 slides along its
teeth, and clears them of any adhering fibre.
Another part of our Invention consists in forming the clearing brush with
rings of bristles, or other such materials, as shewn in the diagram, Fig. 5.
This brush, therefore, acts upon a portion only of the cylinder at a time; but
in order to cause it to clean the whole of its surface, we traverse the said
brush between each change. In like manner we form the combs used in
conjunction with the rollers, and shewn at 91, Fig. 1, so that there are
alternately acting surfaces and spaces, and impart to them a traversing
motion between each change.
Another part of our Invention also relates to the said combs, and consists
in using a portion thereof only when desired, and for this purpose we adapt
them so that they may readily be removed.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be
understood, that we claim as secured to us, under the above in part recited
Letters Patent, and in reference to the carding engine patented by the said
Joseph Cedric Rivett,―
Firstly, the arrangement for causing the backward and forward motion of
the rollers.
Secondly, deriving the changes above-mentioned from the loose pulley, and
the employment of the line or cam shaft.

page_text: Thirdly, forming the clearing brush by rings, and traversing it.
Fourthly, forming the combs used in conjunction with the rollers, with
alternate acting surfaces and spaces, and traversing them; also so adapting
the said combs that a portion only may be used at a time.,
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Cedric Rivett have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth-day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
JOSEPH CEDRIC RIVETT. (L.S.) .