IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER GINS FOR GINNING OR CLEANING COTTON
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edmund Winder Otway, of Reading, in the County
of Berks, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER GINS
FOR GINNING OR CLEANING COTTON."
Sealed the 23rd June 1865, in pursuance of an Order of the Lord Chancellor,
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edmund Winder Otway
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
14th December 1864.
EDMUND WINDER OTWAY, of Reading, in the County of Berks, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ROLLER GINS FOR GINNING OR CLEANING COTTON," to be as follows:-
These improvements relate, firstly, to the construction of roller gins by
novel arrangements of the parts, whereby a self-acting, feeding gin is made so
that one man may easily attend to a number of such gins, and have them
under perfect control while at work.
Secondly, in the construction and arrangement of the seed grid so that it
may be readily adjusted to suit all sizes of seed, the peculiar arrangement
adopted entirely preventing the seed-stripping knife or scutcher from breaking,
crushing, or bruising the seed and cotton against the seed grid or breast plate
as in other gins in use, to the great damage of the staple.
Thirdly, in constructing the seed-stripping knife, or seed scutcher and seed
grid so that each receives a corresponding motion whereby the rollers are fed,
and the escape of the cleaned seed is facilitated.

page_text: Fourthly, in the use of two leather fibre-stripping rolls, thus making a
double gin in a small sized frame, and in the construction of the said leather
rolls, whereby their durability is greatly increased over those in ordinary use.
Perfect freedom from any derangement by the action of climate, great elasti-
city, and a very considerable increase in their adhesiveness to the cotton fibre,
thus facilitating the stripping of the cotton from the seed without injury to
the staple.
Fifthly, in constructing the machine entirely of metal, with the exception of
the peripheries of the fibre-stripping rolls, which are of leather or other
suitable material, and in so constructing the machine that all the working parts
may be readily adjusted or taken apart without taking the frame of the
machine to pieces, and in preventing the seed or dust therefrom from coming
in contact with the cotton when stripped, or the bearings of the machine.
DESCRIPTION OF PARTS OF MACHINE.
The frame is by preference made of cast iron, with cast-iron stay pieces or
braces bolted together securely and rigidly with wrought-iron-bolts and nuts,
provision being made on the frame for securing the loose plummer blocks
required for adjusting the fibre-stripping rollers and the reciprocating stripping
knife or scutcher, seed grid, and other parts. The fibre rolls I construct in
the following manner :-I have a cast-iron cylinder fluted or grooved longi-
tudinally on its periphery of the length required for the size of gin, and less
in diameter by three inches more or less than the size of fibre roll when com-
plete. The cylinder is closed at the ends with the exception of a hole at each
end, through which I pass a spindle for bearings; on one end is cast a small
grooved pulley to drive the wiper, and a square or hexagonal nut to facilitate
the screwing down of a similar loose pulley and nut screwed on to the spindle
or bearing axle, the two grooved pullies serve as collars or washers to retain
the leather as herein-after described. To complete the fibre roll I take a
strip of leather or other material of suitable width, and after wetting and
compressing the material, wind it around the grooved cylinder edgeways,
tightly compressing each layer close together, and varnishing the face of each
layer with a varnish composed of gums impermeable to moisture, to attach
the layers together, and to harden the surface at the joint. Having wound
sufficient material around the cylinder, I screw down the pulley and nut and
pin the end of the layer secure. I then put the roller in a lathe and turn it
true, and cut in its periphery two or more spiral grooves about an eight-inch
pitch or screw thread, the reverse hand to the sprial caused by winding
around the cylinder the leather band edgeways, the outside of the leather band

page_text: being harder than the flesh side, it thus forms a number of spiral threads
possessing great adhesiveness in relation to cotton fibre, consequently the roll
in revolving on its axis adheres to the cotton fibre and pulls the fibre through.
Between the breast plate and roll I make the leather band about an inch and
a half wide, which being wound round the grooved cylinder allows of great
elasticity, both by its width and the spring action derived from the grooved
cylinder by the hollows caused by the grooves; the grooves also serve to
prevent the leather from turning round by the friction caused by the breast
plate. At the back of each fibre roll I have a wiping stripping roll, the
periphery of the roll being covered with buckled leather. This roll revolves
in the same direction as the fibre roll at a greater speed, and thus wipes or
strips the fibre from the fibre roll, and by the slight current of air caused by
the buckled leather delivers the fibre or cotton down the shoot at each end of
the roller gin. The bearings of the fibre rolls are so constructed that as the
material or leather wears with use they can be adjusted readily, and thus
admit of a six-inch roll being used until about two inches of its diameter is
worn away. This construction of roll prevents the buckling and tearing away
of the leather covering, now so much complained of in rollers made in the
common way. It does away with the objectionable wood pegs, and cannot
get out of shape through having an iron core instead of wood. I mount two
of these fibre-stripping rolls on the frame parallel with each other, at a
distance of twelve inches more or less from each other; between these rolls,
with a spindle passing through their centres, I mount two circular plates set
sufficiently far apart to allow nearly the whole surface of the fibre roll to be
exposed between them at a distance above the central axis of these discs, and
extending more than the length of the fibre roll. I bolt on the seed-stripping
knife or seed scutcher one on each side. At a distance below the central axis
of these discs I bolt a bridge stay or brace to serve as a stay or brace.to the
discs, and as a support or bearing for the seed grid. Resting on the brace
or seed grid bearing, and attached thereto, I have an angular piece of metal
covering the axial spindle and extending above it. On the outside of each
disc I place a crank pin in a slotted oblong dovetailed hole; the crank is
attached by a connecting rod to an eccentric fixed on a shaft, the said shaft
receiving a rotatory motion from a pulley keyed on the end of the shaft, tho
said pulley being driven by the same. belt or strap that drives the fibre rolls,
thus the rotation of the eccentric. gives the seed-scutchion knives a recipro-
cating motion, causing the seed grid on one side to rise to a level with the top
of the breast plate or fibre-stripping roll, while on the other side the seed-
scutching knife descends below the breast plate of the other fibre-stripping

page_text: fix
roll and strips the seed from the fibre, the seed grid on that side descend-
ing at the same time leaves a space for the stripped seed to fall into,
and thus prevents the jamming and crushing of the scutching knife and seed
together to the injury of the staple. There is an angular piece of sheet
metal covering the spindle, which answers the purpose of dividing the feed of
the two fibre rolls, and from the quick reciprocation given to it of tossing or
lifting the seed cotton against the fibre rolls when exposed by the rising of the
seed-scutching knife, thus constantly presenting a fresh portion of seed cotton
to the action of the fibre-stripping rolls and shaking the cleaned seed through
the grid. The seed grid is composed of oval tubes or solid rods resting on the
before-mentioned stay brace or seed grid bearing. In these tubes or rods I
pegs or nipples, or other suitable contrivance, and I have two strips of
metal extending the whole length of the seed grid, with screws at each end
projecting through the sides of the discs. At one end of the strips I have
thumbscrews, and at the other end common set nuts; the strips are each
notched on one side, the notch fitting the peg or nipple on each alternate
oval tube or rod, so that by screwing one strip one way and the other strip
the reverse way, I can enlarge or contract the spaces of the seed grid at will
readily, so as to suit any size of seed, and thus prevent partially-cleaned seed
passing through the seed grid, and also prevent the choking of the gin by large
seed when cleaned not being able to pass through the spaces of the grid. The
breast plates of the fibre-stripping rolls I make of sheet steel fixed on a frame,
with setting "jacking" and elevating screws, so than an uniform bearing and
pressure may be obtained against the fibre-stripping roll. Above the recipro-
cating-seed grid and seed-scutching knives I place a common wood hopper
mounted on wood cross bars, with wood or iron standards attached to the frame
of the machine. The hopper bottom has a slight inclination downwards to
the mouth of the reciprocating seed grid overhanging the said mouth. This
hopper is fed with cotton or seed cotton, and the hopper from the way in
which it is fixed has a vibrating or tremulous motion given to it by the reci
procating action of the machine; this causes the seed cotton to constantly
glide or slide to the aperture when it falls upon the seed grid, and the fibre-
stripping rolls act upon it by a simple slide. The aperture of the hopper can
be contracted or closed, thus placing the feed under perfect control, which is
the only attention these gins require, besides filling the wood hopper with
seed cotton and occasionally oiling the bearings.

page_text: SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,.
and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said Edmund Winder.
Otway in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 23rd June 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDMUND
WINDER OTWAY, of Reading, in the County of Berks, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Edmund Winder Otway, Her special licence that I, the said Edmund
Winder Otway, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Edmund Winder Otway, 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 ROLLER GINS FOR GINNING OR CLEANING
COTTON," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edmund
Winder Otway, my executors or administrators, 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, on or before the Twenty-third day June, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edmund Winder Otway, 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:-
These improvements relate, firstly, to the construction of roller gins by novel
arrangements. of the parts whereby a self-acting feeding gin is made so, that
one man may easily attend to a number of such gins, and have them under
perfect control while at work.
Secondly, in the construction and arrangement of the seed grid, so that it
may be readily adjusted to suit all sizes of seed, the peculiar arrangement
adopted preventing the seed stripping knife or scutcher from breaking,
crushing, or bruising the seed and cotton against the seed grid or breast plate,
as in other gins, in use to the great damage of the staple.

page_text: Thirdly, in constructing the seed stripping knife or seed scutcher and seed
grid, so that each receives a corresponding motion, whereby the rollers are fed
and the escape of the cleaned seed is facilitated.
Fourthly, in the use of two leather fibre-stripping rolls, thus making a
double gin in a small sized frame, and in the construction of the said leather
rolls, whereby their durability is greatly increased over those in ordinary use.
Perfect freedom from any derangement, by the action of climate, upon the
rollers, great elasticity, and a very considerable increase in their adhesiveness
to the cotton fibre, thus facilitating the stripping of the cotton from the sced
without injury to the staple.
Fifthly, in constructing the machine entirely of metal with the exception of
the peripheries of the fibre-stripping rolls, which are of leather or other
suitable material, and in so constructing the machine that all the working
parts may be readily adjusted or taken apart without taking the frame of the
machine to pieces, and in preventing the seed or dust therefrom from coming
in contact with the cotton when stripped, or the bearings of the machine.
And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into practice, I will proceed to describe the Drawing hereunto
annexed,
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 shews a plan partly in section; Figure 2 is a vertical section, and
Figure 3, a side elevation of a roller gin or machine for ginning or cleaning
cotton, constructed according to my Invention.
The frame a is by preference made of cast iron with cast-iron stay pieces or
braces a¹, bolted together securely and rigidly with wrought-iron bolts and nuts
a², provision being made in the frame for securing the loose plummer blocks b',
required for adjusting the fibre-stripping rollers b, b, and the reciprocating
stripping knife or scutcher c, seed grid d, d, and other parts. The fibre-
stripping rolls I prefer to construct in the following manner:-I have a cast-
iron cylinder fluted or grooved longitudinally on its periphery of the length
required for the size of the gin it is required for, and less in diameter by three
inches more or less than the size of the intended fibre-stripping roll when
complete. The cylinder 6* is closed at the ends with the exception of a central
hole at each end, through which I pass the spindle or axis 6ª for bearings.
On one end is cast a small grooved pulley a to drive the wiper roller e, and a
square or hexagonal nut to facilitate the screwing down of a similar loose
pulley and nut screwed on to the spindle or bearing axle, the two grooved
pulleys serving as collars or washers to retain the leather as herein-after
described. To complete the fibre roll 6 I take a strip of leather or other

page_text: material of suitable width, and after wetting and compressing the material I
wind it around the grooved cylinder edgeways, tightly compressing each layer
close together, and varnishing the face of each layer with a varnish composed
of gums in permeable to moisture to attach or cement the layers together, and
to harden the surface at the joint. The varnish or cement I have found most
suitable for this purpose is made by simply dissolving shellac in naphtha.
Having wound sufficient material around the cylinder, I screw down the pulley
and nut, and pin the end of the layer securely, I then place the roller in a lathe
and turn it true, and cut in its periphery two or more spiral grooves or screw
threads about an eighteen inch pitch, the reverse hand to the spiral formed
by winding around the cylinder, the leather band edgeways, the outside of the
leather band being harder than the flesh side, it thus forms a number of spiral
threads possessing great adhesiveness in relation to cotton fibre, consequently
the roller in revolving on its axis adheres to the cotton fibre and pulls the
fibre through between the fixed breast plate a* and fibre roller b. I make
the leather band about an inch and a half wide, which being wound round the
grooved cylinder 6* allows of great clasticity, both by its width and the spring
action derived from the grooved cylinder by the hollows formed by the grooves;
the grooves also serve to prevent the leather from turning round by the friction
caused by the breast plate.
I would remark, that although I lave minutely described the mode of
constructing the fibre-stripping rollers b, which I prefer to employ, I do not
confine myself thereto, as other modes of forming the surface of such rollers
with leather placed edgeways may be employed without departing from the
character of this part of my Invention. At the back of each fibre roll b I have
a wiping stripping roll e, the periphery of the roll e being covered with buckled
leather; this roll e revolves in the same direction as the fibre roll b, but at a
greater speed, and thus wipes or strips the fibre from the fibre roll b, and by
the slight current of air caused by the buckled leather delivers the fibre or
cotton down the shoot f at each end of the roller gin. The bearings of the fibre
rulls b are so constructed that as the material or leather wears with use, they
can be readily adjusted and thus admit of a six-inch roll being used until about
two inches of its diameter is worn away. This construction of roll prevents the
buckling and tearing away of the leather covering now so much complained
of in rollers made in the manner commonly practised, and it does away with
the objectionable wood pegs usually employed, and cannot get out of shape in
consequence of its having an iron core in place of wood, as heretofore. I mount
two of these fibre-stripping rolls on the frame parallel with each other at a
distance of twelve inches more or less from each other; and between these rolls

page_text: (with a spindle or axis passing through their centres) I mount two circular
plates d', d¹, set sufficiently far apart to allow nearly the whole surface of the
fibre roll 6 to be exposed between them. At a distance above the central axis
of these discs, and extending more than the length of the fibre roll, I bolt on
the seed-stripping knife or seed scutcher c, one on each side. At a distance
below the central axis of these discs I bolt a bridge stay or brace d³ to serve
as a stay or brace to the discs d', d', and as a support or bearing for the seed
grid-d. Resting on the brace or seed grid bearing, and attached thereto, I
mount an angular piece of metal d³, which covers the axial spindle d*, and
extends above it. On the outside of each disc d' I mount a crank pin d* in
a slotted oblong dovetailed hole, as shewn in Figure 3, the crank pin d' is
attached by a connecting rod d³ to an excentric ds, fixed on a shaft d', the
said shaft receiving a rotating motion from a pulley de, keyed on the end of
the shaft, the said pulley being driven by the same belt or strap 9, which
drives the fibre rolls 6; thus the rotation of the eccentric gives the seed
scutching knives a reciprocating motion, causing the seed grid d on one side
to rise to a level with the top of the breast plate of the fibre-stripping roll b,
while on the other side the seed-scutching knife c descends below the breast
plate a* of the other fibre-stripping roll 6, and strips the seed from the fibre,
the seed grid d on that side descending at the same time leaves a space for
the stripped seed to fall into, and thus prevents the jamming and crushing of
the scutching knife and seed together to the injury of the staple. The angular
piece of sheet metal d³ which covers the spindle d*, serves to divide the "feed"
of the two fibre rolls b, b, and from the quick reciprocation given to it tosses
or lifts the seed cotton against the fibre rolls 6 when exposed by the rising of
the seed-scutching knife c, thus constantly presenting a fresh portion of seed
cotton to the action of the fibre-stripping rolls b, b, and at the same time
shaking the cleaned seed through the grid d, d. The seed grid d, d, is com-
posed of oval tubes or solid rods resting on the before-mentioned stay brace or
seed grid bearing d2; in these tubes or rods I fix pegs, or nipples, or other
suitable contrivance, and I have two strips of metal extending the whole length
of the seed grid with screws at each end projecting through the sides of the
dises. At one end of the strips I have thumbscrews, and at the other end
common set nuts; these strips are each notched on one side, the notch fitting
the peg or nipple on each alternate oval tube or rod, so that by screwing one
strip one way, and the other strip the reverse way, I can enlarge or contract
the spaces of the seed grid d'at will readily, so as to suit any size of seed, and
thus prevent partially cleaned seed passing through the seed grid, and also
prevent the choking of the gin by large seed when cleaned not being able to

page_text: pass through the spaces of the grid. The breast plates a*, a*, of the fibre-
stripping rolls b, b, I make of sheet steel fixed on a frame with setting
"jacking" and elevating screws, as shewn in Figure 2, so that an uniform
bearing and pressure may be obtained against the fibre stripping roll. Above
the reciprocating seed grid d and seed scutching knives c, I place a common
wood hopper h mounted on wood cross bars with wood or iron standards h³
attached to the frame a of the machine. The hopper bottom has a slight
inclination downwards to the mouth of the reciprocating seed grid overhanging
the said mouth; this hopper is fed with cotton or seed cotton, and the hopper
from the way in which it is fixed has a vibratory or tremulous motion given
to it by the reciprocating action of the machine, thus causing the seed cotton
to constantly glide or slide to the central aperture from which it falls upon
the seed grid d, d, and the fibre-stripping rolls 6 act upon it. By a simple
slide the delivering aperture of the hopper h can be contracted or closed, thus
placing the "feed" under perfect control, which is the only attention these
gins require besides filling the wood hopper with seed cotton, and occasionally
oiling the bearings.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into practice, I would have it understood that I do not
confine myself to the exact details herein described, so long as the peculiar
character of any part of my improvements be retained; but what I claim,
is the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts into a machine
constituting the roller gin herein described for ginning or cleaning cotton.
I also claim the mode of constructing the fibre-stripping rollers of cotton
gins with leather placed edgeways, as herein described:
In witness whereof, I, the said Edmund Winder Otway, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
J. G. TONGUE,
Patent Agent,
EDMUND W. OTWAY. (L.S.)
34, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane.