IMPROVEMENTS IN CARDING ENGINES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Williamson Whittaker, of Carlisle Villa,
Great Lever, near Bolton-le-Moors, in the County of Lancaster,
Architect and Cotton Spinner, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN CARDING ENGINES."
Sealed the 17th November 1868, and dated the 21st May 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Williamson
Whittaker at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 21st May 1868.
I, JOHN WILLIAMSON WHITTAKER, of Carlisle Villa, Great Lever,
near Bolton-le-Moors, in the County of Lancaster, Architect and Cotton
Spinner, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN CARDING ENGINES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in carding engines.
At the present time it is usual to construct carding engines with a large
cylinder driven at a high surface speed, and the fibre when on this large
cylinder is worked by cards on working rollers revolving at a slow
speed and opposing their teeth to those of the main cylinder. In such

page_text: carding engines the main cylinder gets filled with fibre, and the
machine has then to be stopped in order that the cylinder may be
stript by hand labor; this filling of the main cylinder arises from the
number of revolutions at which it is driven being insufficient to keep
the fibre by centrifugal force to the ends of the teeth, and the size of
the cylinder prevents its being driven advantageously at a greater
number of revolutions.
According to my Invention I employ in place of a large main
cylinder a number of small rollers revolving at a much greater number
of revolutions, but it may be at a smaller surface speed. Each of these
rapidly revolving rollers works the fibre with a roller revolving slowly,
and opposing its teeth to it. This slowly revolving roller is stript by
the next rapidly revolving roller of the series, the fibre being then not
worked but simply lifted off the teeth of the slow roller, the backs
of these teeth being presented to the points of the teeth which strip
them. In this way the work goes on throughout the series of rollers
which the machine contains, each slow roller taking fibre from a
rapid roller at a point where the points of the teeth are opposed, and
then transferring it to another rapidly revolving roller without working
by presenting the backs of its teeth to the points of the teeth which
take the fibre. The first rapidly revolving roller receives the fibre
from a licking-in roller, which itself is supplied by feed rollers, and
the last rapidly revolving roller yields the fibre to a doffing roller,
from which it is stript in the usual way. In this arrangement the
rollers do not fill in working, the rapidly revolving rollers being kept
clear by their speed of rotation and the slowly revolving rollers by
transferring the fibre without working to the rapid rollers. I prefer
that the series of rollers should have their axes all in the same
horizontal plane, as this admits of dirt falling clear away at the working
and stripping points.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Williamson Whittaker in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 21st November 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
WILLIAMSON WHITTAKER, of Carlisle Villa, Great Lever, near Bolton- 3

page_text: le-Moors, in the County of Lancaster, Architect and Cotton Spinner,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Williamson Whittaker, Her special
licence that I; the said. John. Williamson Whittaker, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Williamson
Whittaker, 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 CARDING ENGINES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said John Williamson Whittaker, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, should particularly 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 I, the said John Williamson Whittaker, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, 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 carding engines..
At the present time it is usual to construct carding engines with a
large cylinder driven at a high surface speed, and the fibre when
on this large cylinder is worked by cards on working: rollers revolving.
at a slow speed and opposing their teeth to those of the main cylinder.
In such carding engines the main cylinder gets filled with fibre, and.
the machine has then to be stopped in order that the cylinder may bo
stript by hand labor; this filling of the main cylinder arises from the
number of revolutions at which it is driven being insufficient to keep
the fibre by centrifugal force to the ends of the teeth, and the size of
the cylinder prevents its being driven advantageously at a greater
number of revolutions. A very common size for the main cylinder

page_text: is from 36 to 54 inches in diameter, and such a cylinder is usually
driven at, say, 150 to 180 revolutions per minute.
According to my Invention I employ in place of a large main
cylinder a number of small rollers revolving at a much greater number
of revolutions, but it may be at a smaller surface speed. Each of
these rapidly revolving rollers works the fibre with a roller revolving
comparatively slowly, and opposing its teeth to it. 3 This slowly revolving
roller carries the fibre on to the next rapidly revolving roller of the
series; it may, as the most simple arrangement, deliver it at once on
to this roller, the fibre being then not worked but simply lifted off the
teeth of the slow roller, the backs of these teeth being presented to the
points of the teeth which strip them. It is, however, preferable to
interpose two slow rollers between one rapid roller and the next, as
then the rapid rollers will not require to be driven opposite ways,
which is inconvenient. In either case the slow rollers take fibre from a
rapid roller at a point where the points of the teeth are opposed, and
then transfer it to another rapidly revolving roller without working
by presenting the backs of their teeth to the points of the teeth which
take the fibre. In this way the work goes on throughout the series
of rollers which the machine contains. The first rapidly revolving roller
receives the fibre from a licking-in roller, which itself is supplied by
feed rollers, and the last rapidly revolving roller yields the fibre to a
doffing roller, from which it is stript in the usual way. In this
arrangement the rollers do not fill in working, the rapidly revolving
rollers being kept clear by their speed of rotation and the slowly
revolving rollers by transferring the fibre without working to the
rapid rollers. I prefer in addition to the series of rollers above
mentioned to place other working rollers around the rapidly revolving
rollers, such additional rollers being so arranged that the fibre which
they rob from the rapid roller in the act of working they afterwards
return to it.
In order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect I will proceed to describe the Drawings
hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.

page_text: simplest form. This machine consists only of a series of fast and slow
rollers fed at one end of the series by a licker-in roller and delivering
at the other on to a doffing roller. I describe this machine in the
first instance in order that the nature of my Invention may thereby
more clearly appear, but I do not in practice prefer to apply my.
Invention in this simple form but with additions which enable it to
perform a greater quantity of work and are otherwise advantageous.
These additions I herein-after fully describe.
In Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the Drawings a, a, is the frame of the
machine; b', 62, 63, b', and bs are the rapidly revolving rollers carried in
suitable bearings upon it, they may be, say seven inches in diameter to
the points of the teeth, and may be driven conveniently at seven hundred
revolutions per minute; c', c, c³, and c, are the slow rollers which are
placed between the rollers b. The card teeth on the rollers are arranged
as the Drawing indicates, so that each slow roller opposes its teeth to
and works with the teeth of the rapid roller which is behind it in the
series, and presents the backs of its teeth to the rapid roller in front
of it so that the fibre may be lifted off it by this roller without working.
d is the licker-in roller; e, e, the plain feed rollers which deliver the
fibre to the licker-in; and f is the roll from which the rough slivers
pass to the feed roller; this roll rests on a roller g which is driven
at a speed adapted to unwind the slivers as they are required, as is
usual; his the doffing roller which works, the fibre with the last of
the rapid rollers of the series, and having robbed the fibre therefrom
is itself stript by a doffing knife i working in the ordinary way; kare
the condensing rollers which receive the sliver, and having pressed it
together pass
it on to the can where it is coiled down as heretofore.
The parts may be actuated in the following manner:-m is the main
axis driven by a strap from the shafting of the mill by pulleys m³;
1 is a pulley on the same axis which by a belt passing around pulleys
on their axis drives the rapid rollers 62 and 6; this belt is guided by
the pulleys n, n; m³ is another pulley on the axis m driving by a
belt the fast pulley . The rollers 6 and 65 are driven by cross
bands from the rollers 63 and 6 respectively. The pulley m on the
axis m drives another pulley on an axis o which by a pinion o¹ drives
a spur wheel h¹ on the axis of the doffing roller h; h' is a bevilled
wheel on the axis of the roller h, which through an intermediate axis p
drives the axis of one of the feed rollers e; these rollers are geared

page_text: together at the other side of the machine, and from them by a train
of spur wheels q the roller g is driven. The licker-in d is driven by a
belt from a pulley on the axis of one of the guide pulleys n. and a
.cross band from a pulley on the axis of the other pulley gives
motion to the axis i, which actuates the doffing knife i. 7 is a train
of wheels conveying motion to the rollers from the doffing, roller h.
The casing of the rollers is as will be seen left open at the under side
for a distance at the entrance end of the machine to allow dirt to fall
free away, but beyond the rollers are completely enclosed up to the doffer
to avoid loss of fibre.
Figures 4 and 5 are side views; Figure 6 is a longitudinal section;
and Figure 7 is a diagram plan of a machine constructed according to
my Invention, and constructed in the manner which in practice I prefer.
a, a, is the frame of the machine; b', 6, 6, and 6,. are the rapidly
revolving rollers, I make them each ten inches in diameter and drive
them respectively at speeds of 850, 700, 600, and 600 revolutions per
minute. Between them are placed the rollers ca, cb, c, cb, and a, b,
which comparatively to the speed of the rollers b revolve slowly, and
each pair corresponds with one of the rollers c of the simpler machine.
These rollers I make six inches in diameter and drive at the following
speeds :-
The first pair (c¹a and c¹b) at 300 and 583 revolutions respectively.
second,, (and c2b) at 266 and 500
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third (and at 250 and 500
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d is the licker-in; c, e, are the feed rollers; f, the sliver roll; g, the
roller on which it rests; h, the doffing roller; i, the doffing knife;
k, the condensing rollers; and 7, the receiving can as before. The
licker-in I drive at 570 revolutions, and the doffing roller at 14
revolutions per minute. 81, 81, 82, 82, a, b, and 8, 8b, are additional
working rollers placed on the rapid rollers 61, 62, 63, and 6'; I make them
6 inches in diameter, and drive them at 27 revolutions per minute;
t, t, ts, t, are clearing rollers, they receive the fibre from the workers &
and return it on to the rapid rollers b. The rollers t I make 4 inches
in diameter, and I drive them at 500, 437, 375, and 375 revolutions
per minute respectively.
The parts are actuated in the following manner:-
axis driven by a pulley from the shafting of the mill.
side of the machine it carries a pulley u² which by a
is the main
On the same
belt drives a

page_text: pulley on the axis, and the pulley
drives in a similar manner
the axis w, and this by a train of spur wheels x drives the doffing
roller . On the other side of the machine the axis u carries a pulley u
for driving the axis which actuates the doffing knife, also a pulley us
driving by a belt, as the Drawing indicates, the rollers c, b³, and 6,
and a pulley u driving the rollers t, 3, and c³b. The axis v carries a
pulley 3 driving by a belt as is shewn the rollers b, c, b, and c¹,
and another pulley driving the rollers cb, t¹, d, cb, and to. The
feed rollers e and the roller g are driven as in the machine first described,
and so also are the condensing rollers k. The workers & are driven by
a pitch chain y encircling a chain wheel on the axis of the doffer, and
gearing with chain pinions one on the axis of each working roller as
is shown.
The action of the machine then is as follows:-The fibre is taken
from the licker-in d by the first fast roller ', and is then immediately
worked between it and the worker s¹; a portion of the fibre remains
with the roller 6' and is taken by it to the roller sb where it is again
worked; another portion goes to the roller 8 but is immediately stripped
from it by the roller t, which returns it without working to the roller b'.
At the second working by the roller 8b the action is similar, part of
the fibre remains with the roller 6', and another portion is robbed from
it by the roller 8b, but this is in turn stript by the roller t' and the
fibre put again on to the roller 6. The third working of the fibre
takes place at the meeting of the rollers b and c, which latter roller
robs the fibre from the former and then transfers it without working
to the roller cb, which in turn similarly transfers it to the roller b³.
The operations are repeated by each of the rapid rollers until from the
last of the series it is taken by the doffing roller. The number of
rapid rollers in the series may be varied, and it is advantageous to
make them progressively finer from the entry to the delivery end of the
machine, thus the roller 6' and all the rollers in contact with it (except
the licker-in which may be coarser) may be clothed with No. 70
cards, whilst the roller 6 and the rollers in contact with it carry
No. 80 cards, and its roller No. 90, and 6* and its rollers No. 100.
The cards of the doffing roller in such a machine may be varied.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I would have it understood that what
I claim is,-

page_text: The constructing carding engines with a series of rollers (which
should be of small diameter and rapidly rotated as compared with the
cylinder of an ordinary carding engine) such rollers having interposed
between them other rollers revolving more slowly, and so arranged that
having worked the fibre with one of the rapid rollers and taken fibre
therefrom, they carry the fibre so taken on and lay it upon the next
rapid roller and so on throughout the machine as described, whatever be
the number of rapidly revolving rollers employed.
I also claim the constructing carding engines, substantially as herein
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Williamson Whittaker, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
eight.
JOHN WILLIAMSON WHITTAKER. (L.S.)