AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MACHINERY FOR PREPARING FIBROUS SUBSTANCES FOR SPINNING, AND IN THE MODE OF SPINNING CERTAIN FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1839

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPII
GIBBS, of Kennington, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-first day of December, in the third year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Joseph Gibbs, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Joseph Gibbs, my exors, admors, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Joseph Gibbs, my exors, adûiors, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MACHINERY FOR PREPARING FIBROUS SUBSTANCES FOR SPINNING, AND IN THE MODE
OF SPINNING CERTAIN FIBROUS SUBSTANCES;" in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso that I, the said Joseph Gibbs, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being
thereunto bad, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Joseph Gibbs, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and the

page_text: manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
(that is to say):
The first part of the improvement or improvements in the machinery for
preparing certain fibrous substances are represented in the accompanying
Drawing, Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, and the fibrous substances to which they
are more particularly applicable are, flax, New Zealand flax, and hemp, but
are also applicable to the preparing other fibrous materials requiring a like
preparation.
Figure 1, Sheet 1., is a side elevation; Figure 2, a plan; Figure 3, a trans-
verse section; and Figure 4, an elevation of the eccentrics herein-after
mentioned. Throughout these Figures similar letters denote the same parts.
a, a, a, a, is the frame of the machine, supported upon standards. b, b, is
the table or bed, which moves upon friction rollers c, c, c, and carries the
lower rollers d, d, d. e, e are transverse frames carrying the upper rollers f, f,
and bolted to a, a. g, g, are spiral springs, placed above the axis of the upper
rollers, which allows them to rise so as to suit the thickness of the material
supplied between the rollers d, d, and f, f, but weights may be used for the same
purpose. h, h, are band wheels or riggers, upon the axle of which is fixed a
spiral thread wheel, which actuates a toothed wheel Z, affixed upon the axis
of the rollers f, f, and causes them to revolve. Upon the same axis are
affixed two pinions 1, 1, which take into other pinions m, m, upon the axis of
the lower rollers d, d, and cause them to revolve at the same time. Upon
the axis of the wheel j are affixed two eccentric cranks n, n, with arms o, o,
attached to the beds b, b, which eccentrics cause the beds to vibrate backwards
and forwards. Motion having been communicated to the band wheels h, the
pinion i, revolving with them, actuates the wheel j, upon the axis of which is
fixed the spiral thread wheel, and the eccentrics n, n, and causes the wheel k,
and the pinions 1, 1, and m, m, and the rollers f. f, and d, d, to revolve at the
same time that the eccentrics n, n, give vibratory motion to the beds b, b,
and the rollers d, d, whilst the shafts p, p, move backwards and forwards in
the pinions, during their revolutions, the pinions being prevented from moving
with the shafts p, p, by the collars 9, 7, which are screwed to the bearings 1, 1.
The slivers of flax being placed in the troughs s, s, are taken hold of by the
rollers d, d, and f, f, (the rough surfaces of these rollers is shewn .at
Figure 5), and while passing slowly between, the fibre is acted upon side-
ways by the vibratory motion given to the rollers d, d, thereby causing the
fibres of the flax to become divided and separated.

page_text: What I claim as this part of my Invention is, the mode of combining the
parts of the machinery and in such manner as to give a vibratory motion
sideways in the direction of the length of the rollers at the time of their
having rotary motion, as shewn and described.
The second part of my Invention relates to a mode of combing out and
obtaining slivers of waste silk and wool.
Figure 1, Sheet 2, represents the side of a machine for combing or straight-
ening the fibres of silk, wool, and other fibrous substances, and forming the
same into slivers. Figure 2 is a plan and Figure 3 an end view of the same
machine. A, A, A, is a drum, covered with fine pointed teeth, inclining in
the direction of the arrow B, Figure 1, which arrow represents the direction
in which the drum revolves. C, C, C, is a roller, on the outside of which are
placed a series of the brushes, parallel to the length of the roller. The points
of the brushes are sufficiently long to penetrate to the bottom of the teeth
surrounding the drum A. The brushes on this roller revolve at the same speed
as the surface of the drum A, the friction of the teeth on the drum and the
friction of the brushes on the roller being sufficient to give motion to the
roller C. D, D, D, is a feed board on which the material to be combed is
placed, and which material is drawn in by the feed rollers E, E, E, E, Figure 1,
and E, E, Figure 2, and E, Figure 3, which material is gradually taken off
by the teeth of the surface of the drum A, and which drum is driven at
considerable velocity, the material being gradually pressed down by the brushes
on the roller C into the teeth upon the drum A. When the drum A is
completely covered with a sufficient quantity of fibrous materials, so as nearly
to fill up the space between the teeth, the supply of material through the
feed rollers is discontinued, but the revolutions of the drum are continued for
some short time longer, until the sliver of material which envelopes it is
brought to an even surface by the action of the brush roller C. The motion of
the drum being then stopped, the sliver may then be broken at F, Figure 1,
by a piece of the surface of the drum being taken out, which is arranged so
that it may be detached from the body of the drum for that purpose. The
sliver is then gradually stripped from the teeth of the drum by the hands of
the workmen, and taken to the usual preparing machines previous to being
spun, or the sliver may be drawn through the drawing rollers G, G, G, G,
Figure 1, and G, G, Figure 2, in which case a slow motion must be given to
the drum A, and which slow motion must be in action during the time the
sliver is being taken from the drum A. Although the slow motion which
it may be needful to give the drum during the time of the sliver being taken
from its surface is not shewn on the Drawings, it may be needful to state that

page_text: the surface of the rollers G, G, G, G, must revolve at a greater speed than
the surface of the drum A, and the surface of the rollers G, H, G, H, may
be made to revolve at a greater speed than the rollers G, G, by which means
the sliver may be elongated as much as is desired, and which will depend
upon the nature of the materials. As, however, the combinations of wheels
and pinions to effect these movements are well known they are not shown in
the Figures. The two top rollers E, E, are kept down by the heavy weights
I, I, and the bottom rollers E, E, are kept in contact by the stud wheel
K, K, K, and the rollers are driven by the mitre wheels L, L, from the shaft
M, Figures 1 and 2, which is driven by a worn on the shaft of the drum A.
Figure 4 represents an enlarged part of the drum A, and the brush roller C.
What I claim as the second part of my Invention is, the mode of combing
out or producing slivers of waste silk and of wool as above described.
The third part of my Invention relates to a mode of spinning certain
fibrous substances, more particularly flax, hemp, or wool, and consists in
employing yarns or threads, previously spun, to receive and to be coated or
covered by fibres of flax, hemp, wool, and other fibre, which is to form the
outer surface. In carrying out this part of my Invention, ordinary spinning
machines may be employed, by simply having apparatus applied thereto to
hold the yarns or threads which are to be coated or covered. Figure 6
represents a side view of a portion of a spinuing machine. a is one of
the series of bobbins attached to the framework, and charged with the fibre of
flax, hemp, wool, or other materials in the usual way of loose rovings. When
motion is communicated to the machine, the fibre upon the bobbin a, in
passing between the ordinary upper series of rollers, passes onwards between the
nipping or holding rollers previously to the flaxen or other loose fibre arriving
and passing between the rollers last mentioned; the thread of cotton or other
material from the bobbin d enters between the rollers (one of which is, when
desired, kept wet on the surface to give smoothness and increase the tenacity
of the fibre), from whence the fibres, with the thread or yarn, pass downwards
through the guides towards the spindle and flyer, and by the motion of the
flyer the fibres are caused to wind round the previously spun yarn or thread
of cotton or other materials. It will be evident that by this means not only
can the spun thread or yarn of one description of fibre be wound round and
coated or covered by another description of fibres, but yarn or thread of a
particular description of fibre may be coated or covered by similar fibres, by
which novel mode of spinning, when spinning flax, and hemp, and wool, on
fine yarns or threads of cotton, exceedingly fine threads of yarn, of flax, and
of hemp, and of wool, may be obtained, owing to the strength of the cotton