IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR THE PREPARATION OR TREATMENT OF FLAX TOW. HEMP. AND OTHER VEGETABLE FIBROUS MATTERS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Cunningham Connor, of Spamount Mills,.
Castlederg, in the County of Tyrone, Ireland, Spinner, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR THE PREPARATION OR
TREATMENT OF FLAX TOW. HEMP. AND OTHER VEGETABLE FIBROUS MATTERS."
Sealed the 12th March 1867, and dated the 15th September 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Cunningham
Connor at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 15th September 1866.
I, CHARLES CUNNINGHAM CONNOR, of Spamount Mills, Castlederg, in the
County of Tyrone, Ireland, Spinner, do hereby declare the nature of the said.
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR THE PREPARATION OR
TREATMENT OF FLAX, Tow, HEMP, AND OTHER VEGETABLE FIBROUS MATTERS," to
be as follows:-
The improvements relate to means for effecting the reduction, crushing, or
softening of the fibre, and they consist in acting upon such fibre by beetles or
thumpers whilst it is being conducted forward in a continuous sheet over a
supporting surface.
According to an arrangement of means which I employ the fibre to be
acted upon is laid upon an endless feed apron supported, as is usual with such
aprons, upon a pair of rollers, which have motion given to them to carry
forward the fibre to between a pair of feed rollers, one of which may be

page_text: weighted. These feed rollers have motion given to them to conduct the fibre
on to another or supporting roller, and as the fibre passes over this supporting
roller or beam it is acted upon by the beetles or thumpers. The beetles or
thumpers may be in one or more series, and are placed and actuated so to
strike or beat upon the fibre as it passes in a continuous sheet over this
supporting roller, and thereby effect the desired crushing, or softening or
preparation of it, so as to facilitate the subsequent operations on it. These
arrangements may however be varied.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Cunningham Connor in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 14th March 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
CUNNINGHAM CONNOR, of Spamount Mills, Castlederg, in the County of Tyrone,
Ireland, Spinner, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Charles Cunningham Connor, Her special licence that I, the said
Charles Cunningham Connor, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Charles Cunningham Connor, 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 MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR
THE PREPARATION OR TREATMENT OF FLAX, TOW, HEMP, AND OTHER VEGETABLE.
FIBROUS MATTERS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Charles Cunningham Connor, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment 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 Charles Cunningham Connor, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the

page_text: same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
The improvements relate to means for effecting the reduction, crushing, or
softening of the fibre, and they consist in acting upon such fibre by beetles or
thumpers whilst it is being conducted forward in a continuous sheet over a
supporting surface.
According to an arrangement of meaus which I employ the fibre to be acted
upon is laid upon an endless feed apron supported, as is usual with such
aprons, upon a pair of rollers which have motion given to them to carry
forward the fibre to between a pair of feed rollers, one of which may be
weighted. These feed rollers have motion given to them to conduct the fibre
on to another or supporting roller, and as the fibre passes over this supporting
roller or beam it is acted upon by the beetles or thumpers. The beetles or
thumpers may be in one or more series, and are placed and actuated so as to
strike or beat upon the fibre as it passes in a continuous sheet over this
supporting roller, and thereby effect the desired crushing, or softening, or
preparation of it, so as to facilitate the subsequent operations on it.
These arrangements, however, may be varied; but that the Invention may
be fully understood I will, by the aid of the accompanying Drawings, proceed
to describe means pursued by me in carrying the same into effect.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figures 1 and 2 shew two opposite side views, Figure 3 a front view, and
Figures 4 and 5 parts separately of apparatus arranged according to my
Invention. In each of these views the same letters indicate corresponding
parts wherever they occur.
a, a, is the framing of the apparatus; 6 is the main or driving axis, which
receives motion from a steam engine or other suitable power, and has applied
to it the pinion b¹, the teeth of which gear into the teeth of the wheel d, which
is affixed to one of the axes 6. The teeth of this wheel d also gear into the
teeth of the wheel d¹ applied on the other axis e, so as to cause both of those
axes e, e, to rotate at the same speed, aud iu directions one towards or from
the other, as indicated by the arrows. Upon each of these axes e are affixed
series of arms el acting as lifters in the rotation of the axes e, e, to lift the
beetles or thumpers c, c, by those arnis e, e, acting, as is well understood, ou
armis c¹ projecting from the beetles or thumpers c.
The beetles or thumpers
c, c, are guided to move up and down in the directions indicated by means of
the cross bars a¹, a¹, and a³, a³, which extend from one to the opposite side
framing; is an endless feed apron which is supported upon rollers or beams g

page_text: and h. The roller or beam g also acts with the roller i to nip the fibre
under operation and feed it on to the surface supporting such fibre during the
preparation or treatment thereof by the crushing action of the ends of the
beetles or thumpers c falling thereon. The axis of the roller g is supported
to turn freely in bearings carried by the main framing. The axis of the
roller his supported at its ends in bearings h¹ capable of moving in guides
a', a', and they are acted upon by set screws j,j, for the purpose of adjusting
and maintaining the requisite amount of tension on the apron f; k, k, are
guides towards each edge of the apron f for the purpose of aiding to keep the
fibre correctly on the apron as it is fed into the apparatus. The axis of the
roller is supported at its ends in bearings i¹, which are capable of sliding up
and down in slotted openings a³, a, provided for them in brackets aⓇ affixed
to the main framing, and these axes are borne upon for the desired pressure by
levers 1, 1, which at one end turn upon studs 1¹ carried by the brackets aº, and
at the other end have applied to them the weights, which are capable of
being varied in size and position to the pressure desired to be exerted by the
roller i, and of being set in position on their levers by set screws 13. The
fibre according to the arrangement shown is conducted by the apron f and
rollers 9 and i on to a supporting roller or beam m as a supporting surface
whilst the fibre under operation receives the action of the beetles or thumpers c,
but other supporting surface may be employed. Motion is given to the sup-
porting roller or beam m from one of the axes e by that axis having affixed
on one end of it a worm wheel n which gears with the screw wheel o affixed
on the axis p, which is supported to revolve in bearings applied to the main
framing, as shown; and this axis has also affixed upon it the worm wheel q
which gears into the teeth of the wheel r affixed on one end of the axis of the
roller or beam m, and thus motion is given to that roller or beam m. On the
axis of the beam m is also affixed the tooth wheels, the teeth of which gear
into an intermediate wheel s¹ which drives a pinion s affixed on one end of the
axis of the roller 9 (see Figure 5). The roller i receives motion from the
roller 9 by means of a pinion g¹ affixed on one end of the roller g, driving
through the pair of intermediate wheels t, t, a pinion u affixed on one end of
the axis of the roller i. The intermediate wheels t, t, are supported on studs
carried by the links v, v, so as to admit of varying distances between the
surfaces of the rollers g and i.
Having thus described my Invention, and means which I adopt in carrying
the same into effect, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself
to the precise details shown and described, as these may be varied without
departing from the peculiar character of the Invention; but what I claim is

page_text: the so arranging and combining means or apparatus for the preparation or
treatment of flax, tow, hemp, and other vegetable fibrous matters that the fibre
to be operated upon may be subjected continuously to the action of beetles or
thumpers in manner substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Cunningham Connor, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
CHARLES CUNNINGHAM CONNOR. (L.s.)