IMPROVEMENTS IN COMBING WOOL, GOATS. HAIB, ALPACCA, COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIAL
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Seebohm, of Esholt, near Leeds, in the County
of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN COMBING WOOL, GOATS. HAIB,
ALPACCA, COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIAL."
Sealed the 22nd March 1854, and dated the 23rd January 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Seebohm at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 23rd
January 1854.
I, HENRY SEEBOHм, of Esholt, near Leeds, in the County of York, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN COMBING
WOOL, GOATS HAIR, ALPACCA, COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIAL," to be as
follows:-
The improvements consists in arranging surfaces of comb teeth or other
points, so that they receive wool or other fibre in lengths or stricks from an
endless apron or other feeding means, the lengths of fibre being laid suc-
cessively across the surface of points, & being pressed thereon by brush or
other suitable surface. And when the surfaces of points have thus taken the
fibre to be treated, they are caused gradually to divide; & in separating, their
line of separation will be parallel to that in which the fibres have been laid
on to the point surfaces, when each portion of point surface will hold one end
of some of the fibres, whilst the other portion of point surface will hold one

page_text: end of other of the fibres, and the other ends of the fibres will by the
separation of the point surface be combed out. Thus a separation and a
combing of one end of the fibres will be effected. In the movement of the
point surfaces the projecting and combed ends of fibre will be taken by
drawing-off rollers, which in the act of drawing the fibre from the point
surfaces will cause the remaining portions of fibre to be combed out, leaving
the noil in the point surfaces which, in the further movement preparatory to
coming into position again to receive fresh fibre, are cleared by suitable clearing
means.
7
.
The arrangement of-point surfaces-which I propose to adopt consists of two
circular frames or rings, whose peripheries are somewhat conical or bevilled,
and are set with the points used. These frames or rings are upon axes which
rotate at an angle to each other, by which at one portion of their rotation
when receiving fibre the point, surfaces. of the two rings form one continuous
surface, and having received the fibre the surfaces immediately begin to recede
until a separation is effected,tas explained.
Fig. 1 shows a diagram of an arrangement of machinery, such as I have
described. a, a, is the feed apron or table, the fibre supplied to which is laid
with the length of the staple in the direction of from side to side thereof.
b, b', are sections of the point surfaces, each of which is carried by a frame 6,
carried by an axis c. d, d, are drawing-off rollers, the fibre from which is
thence conducted in the form of a sliver through the guide e, between the
rollers f, to. cans or otherwise.
I do not, however, confine myself to the use of rotating point surfaces, as
other arrangements may be adopted, so long as the fibre is capable of being
received across a surface or surfaces of point teeth, which are then caused to
separate, and in the act of separation' to comb out one end of each portion of
fibre, as explained.
I prefer to heat the comb teeth in their rotation by means of charcoal pots,
as is now adopted, with other arrangements of wool combing machinery.
The coarseness or fineness of the teeth in the point surfaces will depend
upon the character of the fibre and the length of the staple, as will also the
number of teeth to the inch.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Seebohm in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
22nd July 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
SEEBOHM, of Esholt, near Leeds, in the County of York, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty' Queen Victoria; by Her Letters
Patent bearing date, the Twenty-third day of January; in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her reign;
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors; give and grant unto me, the said
Henry Seebohm, Her special licence, that I, the said Henry-Seebolim, -my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others.as. I,--the said: Henry
Seebohm, 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
COMBING WOOL, GOATS HAIR, ALPACCA, COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIAL," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Seebohm, by an instru
ment in writing under iny 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 Henry Seebohm, 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):
The improvements consist in arranging surfaces of comb teeth or other
points, so that they receive wool or other fibre in lengths or stricks from an
endless apron or other feeding means, the lengths of fibre being laid ' suc-
cessively across the surface of points, and being pressed. thereon by brush' or
other suitable surface. And when the surfaces of points .have thus taken the
fibre to be treated, they are caused gradually to divide; and in separating, their
line of separation will be parallel to that in which the fibres have been laid on
to the point surfaces; by which each portion of point surface will hold one end
of some of the fibres, whilst the other portion of point surface will hold one
end of other of the. fibres, and the other ends of the fibres (or the opposite
ends to those held by one or other of the comb surfaces) will in the separation

page_text: apparatus
arranged according to my Invention, a, a, is the framing of the machine. is
the feed apron, which by preference I form of leather or other suitable flexible
material, covered with strips of wood laid transversely thereon; but this may
be varied. The feed apron is supported by means of the rollers U, V, the
latter of which has motion given to it to cause the feed apron to move in the
direction for feeding the fibre placed thereon to the point surfaces, as will be
hereafter referred to. c, c, are the surfaces carrying the comb teeth or other
points c'. These surfaces c, c, it will be seen, are each of a conical form, and
are supported on axes c², c², carried by the framing, and in such manner that
at one point in their revolution they may be in contact and there present one
continuous line or surface of teeth. And it is when the teeth c on the
surfaces c, c, come to this point that they receive the wool or other fibre from
the feeding means. And as the fibre is at all times laid into the teeth of the
surfaces c, c, in stricks or lengths with the direction of the length of the fibres
transversely across both surfaces c, c, the teeth of both surfaces c, c, will for
the time receive opposite ends of the same fibres. But so soon as in the
continued rotation of the surfaces c, c, the teeth carried by those surfaces
begin to separate, the fibres fed therein will be held at one end, some by one
and some by the other of those point surfaces, whilst the opposite ends to
those held by either point surface will be drawn through the other point
surface, and a cleansing of the parts thus drawn out will be effected. The
drawn ends of the fibres will by this operation be left projecting as a fringe
from the inner edge of each surface of comb teeth e, in position to be taken
by the drawing rollers d and d, whence they are conducted. in the form of

page_text: slivers by the funnels or mouth pieces e, e, to the funnel or mouth piece f, by
which the two slivers are brought into one, and thence conducted by rollers g
to a can or other suitable receiver.
The noil is withdrawn and the teeth are cleansed by means of pointed
plates, which project between the rows of teeth with the pointed ends resting
towards the bottom of the point surfaces so as to lift the noil and push it off'
the teeth, whence it falls into a can or other suitable receiver.
The various moyements are given to the different parts in the following
manner-h is the main or driving shaft which receives motion from a steam
engine or other power acting by a strap or band upon the drum or pulley h',
fixed on that shaft h; upon this shaft h is also affixed the toothed wheel h³,
which takes into and drives the toothed wheel g', affixed upon the axis of
one of the rollers g. Upon this axis g are also affixed bevilled pinions g, I'³,
and the pinion g'. The bevilled pinions take into and drive the bevilled
pinions d', d', upon the axes of the drawing off rollers d, d: The pinion g
takes into and drives the tooth wheel i, affixed upon the axis i, upon which is
also affixed the toothed wheel 2, which takes into and drives the toothed
wheel j upon the shaft or axis j', upon which is affixed the pinions 3, 33, which
are formed with teeth inclined to their axis in order to their taking into the
teeth of the wheels c', affixed to the revolving frames c, c. The tooth wheel j
also takes into and drives the pinion 63 upon the axis of the roller 6, by which
progressive motion is given to the apron to bring up the fibres to the teeth c¹,
of the surfaces c. k, k, are small wheels or rollers, the surfaces of which by
passing between the comb tecth and pressing upon the fibre tend to lay the
fibre well into the teeth of those combs.
Upon the funnels or mouth pieces e, e, and f, are formed pulleys or wharves,
or whirls e, e, f, around which pass guts or bands which receive motion from
the driving shaft h, in order to roll the sliver together in its passage to the
rollers g. I prefer to heat the comb teeth by means of a charcoal pot m, as
shewn in Figure 1, but this may be varied.
I would here state that the coarseness or fineness of the comb teeth or
points used will depend, as is well understood, upon the character of the fibre
and the length of the staple being treated, as will also the number of teeth to
the inch.
I would also state, that although I have shown the comb or point teeth
affixed to the revolving surfaces, I do not confine myself to that arrangement
so long as every part of the surfaces of points used are capable of at one time
coming together to form one line or surface and receive the fibres as explained,

page_text: and of then separating, and each by the act of separation holding some of the
fibres whilst combing out those retained by the other.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention and the mode of
carrying the same into effect, I would have it understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise details shewn and described so long as the peculiar
character of my Invention be retained. But what I do claim is, the mode
of arranging, combining, and working apparatus, as herein explained, for
the purpose of combing wool, goats' hair, alpacca, cotton, and other fibrous
material.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Seebohm, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
Witness,
BENJN SEEBOHM.
HENRY SEEBOHM. (L.S.)