IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CARDING SILK, SILK WASTE, AND OTHER FILAMENTOUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CARDING SILK, SILK WASTE, AND
OTHER FILAMENTOUS SUBSTANCES."-A communication from abroad by
Antoine Louis Warnery, of Paris, in the Empire of France.
Sealed the 22nd June 1860, and dated the 28th January 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 28th January 1860.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CARDING SILK, SILK WASTE,
AND OTHER FILAMENTOUS SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in combing waste silk, and
has for its object the use of a preliminary rough carding operation, instead of
the finished carding now employed. This preliminary carding operation will
open and straighten the fibres, and arrange them in the form of a fleece, one
of the ends of which is held in a card while the other end hangs outside this
card like a beard. This pendent piece is laid hold of by pincers or clasps, or
by means of a rod, on which it is rolled; it is then drawn out of the card in
order to be submitted to the combing or other necessary operations.
The machine which forms the subject of the present Invention differs from

page_text: those now used by the large diameter of the feeding drum or cylinder, and also
by having combs with only one card, the form of which is calculated to prevent
the filaments or fibres from being broken, and to facilitate the carding opera-
tion. These combs are arranged and mounted round a common axle, and
work alternately, so that while one comb is working and making its fleece the
workman is enabled to take off the fleece from the other comb, which is at
rest. In operating with this machine the workman spreads the substance to
be carded upon the feeding cloth, which conducts it to the large drum, on
which it is beld by an endless cloth of caoutchouc. The fibrous material is
presented by the large drum to one of the combing cards, which is then set in
motion by means of suitable gearing, while the other combing card is quiescent.
When this card is fully charged with the combed and straightened fibres the
large feeding drum is stopped, and the common axle of the combing cards is
turned round, so as to bring the other combing card into work, and take the
charged one out of work, when the working parts may be set in motion as
.before.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 28th July 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said
William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man,
an Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOB CARDING SILK, SILK WASTE, AND
OTHER FILAMENTOUS SUBSTANCES," being a communication from abroad by
Antoine Louis Warnery, of Paris, in the Empire of France, upon the

page_text: condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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. William Edward Newton, 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, reference being had to tho Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention of improved machinery for carding silk, silk waste, and otlier
filamentous substances relates principally to the carding or combing of waste
silk, and has for its object the use of a preliminary rough carding operation,
instead of the finished carding, now employed.. This preliminary carding
operation will open and straighten the fibres, and arrange them in the form of
a fleece, one of the ends of which is held in a card, while the other end
hangs outside this card like a beard. This pendant piece is laid hold of by
pincers or clasps, or by means of a rod, on which it is rolled; it is then drawn
out of the card, in order to be submitted to the combing or other necessary
operations.
The machine which forms the subject of the present Invention differs from
those now used for similar purposes by the large diameter of the feeding drum
or cylinder, and also by having combs with only one card, the form of which is
calculated to prevent the filaments or fibres from being broken, and to
facilitate the carding operation. .These combs are arranged and mounted
round a common axle, and work alternately, so that while one comb is working
and making its flecce, the workman is enabled to take off the fleece from the
other comb, which is at rest. In operating with this machine the workman
spreads the substance to be carded upon the feeding cloth, which conducts it
to the large drum, on which it is held by an endless cloth of caoutchouc. Tho
fibrous material is presented by the large drum to one of the combing cards,
which is then set in motion by means of suitable gearing, while the other
combing card is quiescent. When this card is fully charged with the combed
and straightened fibres, the large feeding drum is stopped, and the common
axle of the combing cards is turned round, so as to bring the other combing
cards into work, and take the charged one out of work, when the, working
parts may be set in motion as before.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 is a detached sectional view of the

page_text: alternating combs with their feeding drum; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the
Similar letters
machine complete; and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same.
denote corresponding parts in all these Figures.
The machine is mounted upon cast-iron standards O, N, which are held
together by eross pieces; upon these standards are bolted the cast-iron arched
pieces P, P, which serve to support a large feeding drum A, the diameter of
which cannot be conveniently or advantageously diminished, but may be
increased to any reasonable extent. This drum A is furnished with wire cards,
the teeth of which are formed of wire No. 14 to 15; or instead of cards copper
plates might be employed furnished with steel teeth; this might also apply to
the combs B, B¹. The drum is fixed upon a shaft L, which is mounted in
bearings Q, Q. The accessary parts of this feeding drum A are, the guide
roller F mounted in a bracket R, and upon which the waste silk is placed, and
conducted to the drum A by an endless feeding apron, which passes round the
roller F, and is kept extended by the tension roller E. An endless india-rubber
cloth M is adapted to and covers the upper part of the feeding drum A, and
conducts the fibres over the drum, and spreads them between the card teeth
with which the drum A is furnished. This endless cloth passes over a guide
roller D, and thence over a tension roller G. The two guide rollers F and D
are driven by gearing actuated by a wheel of 120 teeth, mounted upon the
drum shaft L, as shewn in the Drawing. The drum A receives motion by
means of another set of gearing driven by the pulley b, mounted upon the
shaft ; at the other extremity of this shaft is a pinion c of 24 teeth, which
drives the wheel e of 80 teeth, through the intermediate wheel d; the bevil
wheelf, mounted upon the shaft of the wheel e, drives another bevil wheel g,
keyed on to the shaft t of the endless screw h, which communicates motion to
the drum A through the wheel K of 93 teeth, keyed also upon the shaft L.
The excentric combs B and B¹ (Fig. 1), which form the principal feature
of this Invention are both provided with wire cards, having iron wire teeth of
a fineness of No. 15 to 16, for which might be substituted copper plates
furnished with steel teeth, as above mentioned. These two combs B, B¹,
are mounted upon shafts I, I', which have their bearings in the cross pieces
u, u, (Fig. 3,) placed each at one extremity of the two combs, which they thus
unite into a single system carried by the shaft H; at the hinder end of this
shaft is keyed a pulley o, carrying a handle and two slots made at the
extremities of the same diameter; these slots are intended to receive the
click P, which serves to fix the shaft H in such a position that one of the combs
shall work while the other is at rest, as will be hereafter explained in the
working of the machine.

page_text: The combs are worked by means of the fast driving pullies a and a", and
are stopped by transferring the driving band to the loose pullies a¹ and a;
these pullies are all mounted upon the shaft EI. A pinion m of 26 teeth is
affixed to the pulley a, and drives the wheel n, and with it the comb B', a
pinion m', and the other end is in like manner attached to the pulley a", and
drives the comb B by means of the wheel n¹.
The four pullies above mentioned are driven by bands coming from pullies
on the main shaft r mounted at the upper part of the machine. This shaft
carries the fast pullies v, q, and s¹, for giving motion to the several parts of the
machine; the fast pulley 9 receives motion from the motive power engine, and
the loose pulley q₁ is for receiving the band when it is required to stop the
machine or throw it out of work.
Having now described this Invention of improved machinery for carding
silk, silk waste, and other filamentous substances, and having explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, as communicated to me by my foreign
correspondent, I would observe that although I have stated the Invention is
applicable principally for operating upon waste silk, it may also be employed
for carding analogous filamentous substances; and I would further observe,
that although I have shewn and described a convenient arrangement of
mechanical parts for effecting the objects of the present Invention, I do not
mean to confine myself rigidly thereto, as the mechanical arrangements and
the mode of operating some of the parts admit of considerable modification
without departing from the nature and object of the Invention, the distin-
guishing feature of which is the employment of a drum of large diameter, and
its appendages, in combination with combs provided with only one set of cards
or comb teeth, whereby the fibres will be less broken than heretofore. Another
feature is mounting two of these cards on arms having a common axis, so that
they may be brought into action alternately, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)