AN IMPROVED ⚫ CONSTRUCTION OF COTTON GIN
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Mountford, of Brunswick Street, Leeds, in
the County of York, Manager, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
⚫ CONSTRUCTION OF COTTON GIN."
Sealed the 8th March 1864, and dated the 12th October 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Mountford at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th October 1863.
I, GEORGE MOUNTFORD, of Brunswick Street, Leeds, in the County of York,
Manager, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN. IMPROVED
CONSTRUCTION OF COTTON GIN," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention, which I call the paragon cotton gin, is,. by
means of improved machinery, to open and cleanse cotton and to separate the
seed from the cotton and prepare the same for subsequent treatment. The
machine is composed of a series of revolving cylinders to which the uncleaned
cotton is fed. The cotton passes from the feeder to a spiked cylinder, which
conducts it into another cylinder formed either of spikes or of Turner's will straps,
patented August 8th, 1854, No. 1735, which are made of animal. hide with
serrated edges. The cotton then delivers itself upon another cylinder or drum
which revolves in a reverse direction, and is driven by gear and friction, and
carries any convenient number of smaller cylinders or rollers, which may be
fluted or covered with either a mineral or vegetable substance. Columns or
studs are properly secured and bolted to a wire gauze frame, and are faced

page_text: with Turner's patent mill straps, which will remove the seed from the cotton
when the uncleaned cotton is brought against them by the rotating cylinders
or rollers; and when the seed is removed it will pass through the wire gauze,
which is underneath the cylindrical arrangement of cylinders. The seeds will
pass from thence into another cylinder of wire gauze, inside of which revolves
an agitator or rubber made of Turner's patent mill straps. This will entirely
clean the seed and will prevent the dust and small particles of cotton from
mixing with the long, and which mixture often proves so much loss to the
spinner as it adulterates and reduces the quality of the cotton. The seed is
by this operation left in better condition for the seed crusher than it can be
done by any other cotton gin yet produced. When the cotton has passed
into the interior of the cylindrical arrangement of rollers, and has undergone
the other manipulations as before mentioned, it is drawn into a receiver by
means of an exhauster or aspirator. The feed cylinder is driven by an
excentric which works a lever, whereby a ratchet wheel on the axle of the
feed cylinder is actuated. The exhauster is driven by a pulley and band.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Mountford in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
12th April 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
MOUNTFORD, of Brunswick Street, Leeds, in the County of York, Manager,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said George Mountford, Her special license that I, the said George
Mountford, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said George Mountford, 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 "AN
IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF COTTON GIN," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said George Mountford, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said

page_text: 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 George Mountford, do hereby declare
the nature of my 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 the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
The object of this Invention, which I call the paragon cotton gin, is, by
means of improved machinery, to open and cleanse cotton, and to separate the
seed from the cotton, and prepare the vegetable fibrous substance for subsequent
treatment.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section, and
Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the machine which is composed of a
series of revolving cylinders to which the uncleaned cotton is fed from a
hopper a. The cotton passes from the hopper a to a spiked cylinder b,
conducts it into another cylinder c, formed either of spikes or of Turner's
patent mill straps, which are formed of strips of animal hide set up edgewise
and made with serrated edges; the cotton then delivers itself upon another
cylinder or drum e, which is enclosed within an open rotating drum or frame d,
and revolves in a reverse direction thereto, the drum e is driven by toothed
gear, as shewn in Fig. 2, and is composed of any convenient number of small
cylinders or rollers e, e', which may be fluted or covered with either mineral
or vegetable substances. A detached view (drawn upon an enlarged scale) of
a part of this roller e is shewn in section and plan at Figures 3 and 4. A
certain number only of these rollers e' are fluted, as shewn in the enlarged
views, and are driven by gearing, to which end they carry on one end pinions e²,
(Figures 3 and 4) which gear into a toothed wheel f, Fig. 2. The plain
rollers are pressed by the spring levers c³ against the fluted rollers e', and
are thereby made to rotate by friction of contact. The open rotating drum or
frame is composed of side frames connected by cross bars d', d', carrying
pieces of Turner's patent mill strap; this frame d is mounted on a hollow or
sleeve shaft g, Fig. 2, and is driven by toothed gearing as shewn in Fig. 2.
The arms or cross bars d¹, d¹, faced with Turner's patent mill straps will
remove the seed from the cotton when the uncleaned cotton is brought against
them by the rotating cylinders or rollers c', e¹, and when the seed is removed
it will pass through the wire gauze cylinder h, which encloses the rotating
cylinders or frames & and e. The seeds will pass from thence into another
cylinder i of wire gauze inside of which revolves an agitator or rubber i made

page_text: of Turner's patent mill straps. This will entirely clean the seed, and will
prevent the dust and small particles of cotton from mixing with the long
fibres, and which mixture often proves so much loss to the spinner as it
adulterates and reduces the quality of the cotton. The seed is by this operation
left in better condition for the seed crusher than it can be done by any other
cotton gin yet produced. When the cotton has passed into the interior of the
cylindrical arrangement of rollers d and e, and has undergone the other
manipulations as before mentioned, it is drawn into a receiver by means of an
exhauster or aspirator k, which consists of an openwork conical chamber,
inside which works a fan which is driven by means of a band passed over the
pulley ¹, Fig. 2. The feed cylinder b is driven by an excentric,l, shewn by
dots in Fig. 1. This excentric works a lever m and rod m', whereby a ratchet
wheel n on the axle of the feed cylinder 6 is actuated.
Having now described my Invention of an improved construction of
cotton gin, and having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect,
I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid, the
combination of the cylinder e with the drum or frame d and the exhauster or
aspirator k, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Mountford, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
GEORGE MOUNTFORD. (L.S.)