IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Whitehead, of Holbeck, in the Parish
'
of Leeds, in the County of York, a Partner in the Firm of Taylor,
Wordsworth, and Company, of the same Place,.Machine and Tool
Makers, for the Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Whitehead
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition
on the 23rd February 1871.
I, THOMAS WHITEHEAD, of Holbeck, in the Parish of Leeds, in the
County of York, a Partner in the Firm of Taylor, Wordsworth, and
Company, of the same Place, Machine and Tool Makers, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR COMBING WOOL, COTTON, FLAX, SILK, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," to be
as follows:-
My improvements are applicable to Noble's and other similar
combing machines, and consist in feeding by positive motion or by
means of a break the balls of fibre fed into the machine, thereby giving

page_text: the same tension upon the slivers of fibre from the ball when newly fed
in the machine until the ball is run off.
Another improvement consists in winding the balls to be fed into the
machine more truly than heretofore by driving the ball by means of a
cone and pulley, or by cones or by rollers in lieu of a friction plate and
pulley as heretofore employed.
"
Another improvement consists in introducing additional small circular
combs placed within and near to the large circular comb, the pins of
which have a wider "set over than in the two small circular combs at
present in use. By means of a dabbing brush or other suitable means
the fibre protruding from the feed boxes is entirely pressed into the
teeth of the large and one of the additional small circular combs, and
after running a required distance a portion of the sliver betwixt the two
combs is cleaned, and without being cottered or knotted. The sliver is
then lifted out of the two combs, that is, the large comb and additional
comb, by means of noil knives, or by any other suitable means, and
passed forward to the ordinary circular combs, the sliver at the same
time being drawn a little back so as to ensure the fibre pressed into the
fangent point of the two ordinary combs being thoroughly cleaned, and
afterwards drawing off top in the ordinary manner, but much cleaner
than heretofore.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Whitehead in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 23rd August 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Thomas 2
WHITEHEAD, of Holbeck, in the Parish of Leeds, in the County of
York, a Partner in the Firm of Taylor, Wordsworth, and Company, of
the same Place, Machine and Tool Makers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of February, in the 3
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
thirty-fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Whitehead, Her
special licence that I, the said Thomas Whitehead, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas 3

page_text: Whitehead, 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 MACHINERY FOR COMBING WOOL, COTTON,
FLAX, SILK, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Thomas Whitehead, my executors or adminis-
trators, 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 within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Whitehead, 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 Drawings
hereunto annexed and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say) :-
My Invention of "Improvements in Machinery for Combing Wool,
Cotton, Flax, Silk, and other Fibrous Substances," is applicable to
"Noble's" and other similar combing machines, and consists, firstly, in
feeding by a positive motion, with the aid of a brake, the balled fibre
into the machine. By this motion the tension upon the slivers of fibre
from the ball is uniform from the time when the ball is nearly fed into
the machine until it is run off.
Another, improvement consists in winding the balls to be fed into the
machine more truly than heretofore by driving the ball by means of a
cone and pulley or by cones, or by rollers in lieu of a friction plate and
pulley as heretofore employed.
Another improvement consists in introducing additional small circular
combs placed within and near to the large circular comb, the pins of
which have a wider "set over" than in the two small circular combs at
present in usc. By means of a dabbing brush or other suitable means
the fibre protruding from the feed boxes is pressed into the teeth of the
large and one of the additional small circular combs, and after running
a required distance a portion of the sliver betwixt the two combs is

page_text: cleaned, and without being cottered or knotted. The sliver is then lifted
out of the two combs (that is, the large comb and the additional comb)
by means of noil knives or by any other suitable means, and is passed
forward to the ordinary circular combs, the sliver at the same time
being drawn a little back so as to ensure the fibre being pressed into
the tangent point of the two ordinary combs, and thus thoroughly
cleaned. The top is afterwards drawn off in the ordinary manner, but
much cleaner than heretofore.
a
My various improvements are shown in the accompanying Drawings,
in which Fig. 1 is an elevation of one arrangement for feeding fibres
into the combing machine. This first improvement consists in feeding
the balls of sliver into the machine by positive motion by means of a
ratchet wheel actuated by a lever and pawl. A is the rack circle; B,
bracket carrying the balls of sliver B'; O and O', are rollers for giving
motion to the ball sliver B', and D is the gearing plate of the machine;
E and E' are brackets attached to the gearing plate carrying an adjustable
incline or cam piece F, whereby the gearing for feeding the ball is
actuated. When the machine is in motion and the bracket and sliver
are carried round the lever & slides over the incline or cam piece F, and
as it is rocked up and down by the inequalities of the cam piece Fit
causes the catch G³ (which is carried by the lever G) to move forward
a certain number of teeth in the ratchet wheel I, thereby giving motion
to the ball of sliver which rests upon the rollers C, C'; Fig. 2 is a
modification of the above. In this instance motion is imparted to the
ball of sliver B', by means of one roller C instead of two as shewn in
Fig. 1. A pawl G' at the upper end of the bell crank lever G cuters
the teeth of the ratchet wheel I and drives it forward as the tail of the
lever G is lifted by the presentation thereto of the inclines of the cam
picco shewn in Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 represents a method of putting a drag on the fibre as it is fed
to the machine. A' is the bracket carrying the ball of sliver B' by a
ereel pin; B is a brake consisting of a bar the ends of which enter
vertical guides in the bracket A' and thus it is retained in position.
This brake lies upon the ball of sliver and by reason of its weight it
gives the requisite tension thereto as the sliver is fed forward by the
positive motion already explained. O is a board to carry the ends of
the sliver and to prevent the sliver from falling on the floor when tho
ball is run off.

page_text: Fig. 4 represents another method of effecting the same object.
The brake B in this case is not over the centre of the ball as in Fig. 3
but is fixed on the side arm C, and swivels on the pin d to allow the
attendant of the machine (in changing for a full ball) to throw the
brake up and rest it against the bracket A¹.
Another method consists in fixing a grooved wheel on the creel pin
of the ball and placing over it a weighted band.
Another method consists in having a crccl pin with fast and loose
collar, and by means of a spiral spring pressing the bobbin which carries
the ball of sliver against one of the collars, thereby giving a slight
friction and drag.
It is important that the balls of sliver (to be fed into the machine)
should be wound more truly than heretofore. This is effected by the
mechanism shewn in side elevation at Fig. 5 and in plan view at Fig. 6.
A is the main framing of the machine; B, the driving pulley, on the
axle of which is a pinion B' for giving motion to the toothed wheel C
on the bottom feed roller C'; D and D' are fluted rollers for drawing
the sliver through the system of feed rollers C³, C³, C³. As the rotary
motion of the fluted rollers D and D' is quicker than the speed of the
feed rollers C¹, C2, C3, the sliver will be caused to be drawn out or
clongated as required. The sliver is then passed forward round the
wood roller E and being pressed on the two revolving fluted rollers F
and F by the weights G and G¹ (Figures 5 and 6) the latter are
caused to revolve and wind the sliver on to the wood roller Es. As the
sliver is wound on to the wood roller E the weights G and G' are
caused to rise until the ball of sliver is of the proper size (as shown at
Ein Fig. 5), when, by the action of the stud II and spiral spring H' the
weights G and G¹ will cease to rise in consequence of the stud H being
pressed into a hole in the side plates I and J. The ball of sliver will
then roll down the incline K and will be ready to be taken away by
the attendant to the combing machine. Another wood roller E* is
then placed on the crecl pin and introduced into the machine to be
operated upon in the same manner. Motion is given to the fluted
rollers D and D' by the toothed wheel K' on the axle of the feed
roller C¹ through the intervention of the intermediate wheel K² actuating
the toothed wheel K³ on the bottom feed roller D. Motion is also
given to the rollers F and F from the toothed wheel L on the axle of
the bottom fluted roller D, through the intervention of the wheel L'

page_text: driving the wheel L on the axle of the roller F' which roller is connected
by gearing with the roller F.
•
Another method of effecting the same object is shown at Figures 7
and 8. Fig. 7 is a side elevation and Fig. 8 a plan view of the
mechanism. A is the main framing of the machine; B, the driving
pulleys on the axle L of which is a pinion B' for giving motion through
the wheel B to the wheel B³ on the bottom feed roller C, as in tho
former instance. D and D' are fluted roller for drawing the slivers
through the system of feed rollers C, C³, and C, and as the revolving
motions of the fluted rollers D and D' are quicker than the speed of the
feed rollers C, C', and C, the slivers will be caused to be drawn out or
clongated as required precisely as in the arrangement shown at Figures 5
and 6. The sliver is then passed forward around the wood roller De
Fig. 8 carried by a spindle D³ which receives a variable motion from
the cones E and E' through spur gearing. These cones impart a varying
speed to the roller D' as required during the winding of the ball, by
reason of the driving band F which passes over them being moved along
the cones by means of the sliding bar G which receives a traverse motion
from the screwed spindle F'. A toothed wheel H mounted loosely on
this spindle is held fast thereto while the machine is in motion by the
nut O. This wheel I receives motion through the wheels I and J
from the wheel K keyed on the shaft L of the driving pulley and thus
the traverse motion is given to the sliding bar G and band F. When
the ball is full the nut M and plate N which secure the roller D' to
its spindle are removed from the spindle and the ball is taken away
by the attendant and replaced by another wood roller ready to be filled
as before. The nut O is unscrewed and the screw F" is turned by the
attendant by means of the handle P so as to bring back the belt of
the conical pullies to its proper position ready to begin operations as
before.
Another method consists in using a sliding pulley in place of one of
the cones E or E', which pulley receives motion from similar mechanism.
The next improvement consists in introducing into circular combing
machines additional small circular combs within and near to the large
circular comb. Fig. 9 is a front elevation of such parts of a Noble's 3
combing machine as will be necessary to explain this part of my
Invention. Fig. 10 is a plan view of Fig. 9. In cach of theso Figures
the same letters apply to corresponding parts. A is the steam chest;

page_text: B, the rack circle; C, the large circular comb; D, the small circular
comb; E, the additional small circular comb, and F the dabbing brush
of the large circular comb C and small circular comb D; G is an
additional dabbing brush for the large circular comb C and the additional
small circular comb E; H is the incline, and I, I, are the conductor boxes
for conveying the fibre into the machine; J, J, are the drawing off rollers
of the large circular comb C, and K the drawing off rollers of the small
circular comb D. L, L, are the noil rollers, such rollers being carried and
supported by the bracket L'. The noil rollers L, L, are actuated by the
wheel M being driven by the wheel M³ on one of the drawing off
rollers K.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-The wool as it is fed
into the machine through the conductor boxes I is laid in the usual
manner on to the large circular comb C. The wool as it approaches the
tangent point of the teeth of the large circular comb C and small
additional comb E is lifted off the comb teeth by the knives N ; it is
then dabbed into the two combs by the action of the dabbing brush G.
The wool is then cleaned by the receding motion of the combs and after
having traversed a certain distance in the two combs it is lifted out of
the comb E by the knives Nº and carried forward by the comb C to
the tangent point of the two ordinary combs C and D. The small
circular comb D may be set a short distanco from the large circular
comb C, as shown in the Drawing. The sliver as it reaches this comb
is, by the dropping of the conductor boxes I on the incline H (the
height of the incline being reduced for that purpose), drawn back, and
the cleaned part of the sliver is thus brought immediately over the
tangent point of the two ordinary combs C and D. Then by the action
of the dabbing brush F it is pressed into the combs. The end of the
sliver is thus cleaned by the combined action of the combs E and D, and
this being effected the sliver is drawn off in the usual manner, the tail
end being cleaned, as is well understood, in the act of being drawn out
of the comb C. Fig. 11, is a sectional elevation of the small additional
circular comb E which may be set horizontally or obliquely if required
as shewn at Fig. 12.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in Machinery
for Combing Wool, Cotton, Flax, Silk, and other Fibrous Substances,"
and having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect I claim
as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid :—

page_text: First. Feeding the balled fibre or sliver by a positive motion as
hercin set forth and keeping the slivers of the balls stretched or at
tension by means of the brake B or any analogous or equivalent devico
while the feed takes place.
Secondly. I claim winding the balls of sliver for combing machines
by means of a driven friction roller or rollers on which the ball rests
during the winding of the sliver, or by a cone and pulley, or cones
driving the spindle on which the ball is formed, whereby the ball
may be wound with more even tension than heretofore, as above
described.
Thirdly. I claim the adaptation or application of a small additional
circular comb or combs to a Noble's combing machine for the purpose
of preparing the fibre prior to its being operated upon by the ordinary
large and small circular comb as above described, thereby producing
much cleaner work with less pressure on the drawing off rollers and
effecting a considerable saving in the wear and tear of the dabbing
brushes and the leather sheet.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Whitehead, have hereunto
set my band and seal, the Thirty-first day of July, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
on
Signed, scaled, and delivered
by the said Thomas White-
head in the presence of
EDWARD WHITELEY,
Clerk to Mr. Tho". Turner,
Solicitor,
Leeds.
THOMAS WHITEHEAD. (L.S.)