IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPARATUS FOR DRESSING OR PREPARING FOR SPINNING HEMP, FLAX, MANILLA HEMP, AND OTHER LIKE FIBROUS MATERIAL
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Ronald, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND
APPARATUS FOR DRESSING OR PREPARING FOR SPINNING HEMP, FLAX, MANILLA
HEMP, AND OTHER LIKE FIBROUS MATERIAL."
Sealed the 12th January 1864, and dated the 22nd July 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Ronald at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 22nd
July 1863.
I, JAMES RONALD, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Merchant,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
AND APPARATUS FOR DRESSING OR PREPARING FOR SPINNING HEMP, FLAX, MANILLA
HEMP, AND OTHER LIKE FIBROUS MATERIAL," to be as follows, (that is to say) :-
This Invention has for its object an improved mode of and apparatus for pre-
paring or dressing hemp, flax, Manilla hemp, and other like fibres preparatory
to converting the same into yarn for the manufacture of twine, ropes, or other
cordage, and textile fabrics; and consists in passing the hemp or other like
fibre over an endless band or feed apron travelling over a revolving drum or
cylinder, and a roller on front and parallel to the axis of the drum. The fibre
to be dressed is kept down on the travelling apron by means of a number
of weighted rollers, which may be free to revolve on their own axis, and

page_text: receive motion from the revolving drum, or may be driven independently.
The fibre is delivered from the front of the roller in advance of the drum on to
a cylinder or revolving endless apron, through which work gill teeth, mounted
on the circular surface of a cylinder, drum, or its mechanical equivalent,
revolving upon a fixed excentric or cam having its axis at one side of the
enclosing cylinder or apron, so that at one part of the revolution of the gills
and the covering cylinder or apron the gill teeth will project through holes
in the outer casing, and at the other recede back again, so as to relieve the
fibre from the gill pins, when it can be received upon a second cylinder or
apron fitted with gills, advancing and receding in the same way as the first,
and so on over any required number of cylinders or aprons, which are also
provided in like manner with advancing and receding gill teeth. It is pro-
posed to drive the first gill cylinder or apron at a higher speed than the
delivery roller, and the second cylinder or apron at a higher speed than the
first, and so on throughout the whole series. And the gill teeth of the first
dressing drum or apron are stronger and coarser than those of the second,
and the third are finer than those of the second, and so on. In some
cases it may be found advisable to use one or more "doffers" to ensure
the fibre passing off from one cylinder or apron to the other; and if found
requisite the "sliver can" or other receptacle into which the dressed fibro
falls may have imparted to it a slow rotating motion on its vertical axis for
the purpose of slightly binding the fibres together.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Ronald in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
22nd January 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JANES
RONALD, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of July, 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 James Ronald, Her special licence that I, the said James Ronald,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Ronald, 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

page_text: 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 AND APPARATUS
FOR DRESSING OR PREPARING FOR SPINNING HEMP, FLAX, MANILLA HEMP, AND
OTHER LIKE FIBROUS MATERIAL," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said James Ronald, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Ronald, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):
-
This my said Invention has for its object an improved mode of and apparatus
for preparing or dressing hemp, flax, Manilla hemp, and other like fibres pre-
paratory to converting the same into yarn for the manufacture of twine,
ropes, or other cordage and textile fabrics; and consists in passing the
hemp or other like fibre over an endless band or feed apron travelling over a
revolving drum or cylinder, and a roller on front and parallel to the axis of
the drum. The fibre to be dressed is kept down on the travelling apron by
means of a number of weighted rollers, which may be free to revolve on their
own axes, and receive motion from the revolving drum, or may be driven
independently. The fibre is delivered from the front of the roller in advance
of the drum, on to a cylinder or revolving endless apron, through which work
gill teeth, mounted on the circular surface of a cylinder, drum, or its mechanical
equivalent, revolving upon a fixed eccentric or cam having its axis at one
side of the enclosing cylinder or apron, so that at one part of the revolution of
the gills and the covering cylinder or apron the gill teeth will project through
holes in the outer casing, and at the other recede back again, so as to relieve
the fibre from the gill pins, when it can be received upon a second cylinder or
apron fitted with gills, advancing and receding in the same way as the first,
and so on over any required number of cylinders or aprons, which are also
provided in like manner with advancing and receding gill teeth. I prefer to
drive the second gill cylinder or apron at a higher speed than the first, and
so on throughout the whole series; and I prefer to have the gill teeth of the
first dressing drum or apron stronger and coarser than those of the second,

page_text: and the third finer than those of the second, and so on. In some cases, when
the apparatus is worked at a slow speed, it may be found advisable to use one
or more "doffers" to insure the fibre passing off from one cylinder or apron
to the other; and if found requisite the sliver can or other receptacle into
which the dressed fibre falls may have imparted to it a slow rotary motion on
its vertical axis, for the purpose of slightly binding the fibres together, but
when I work the apparatus at a high speed, which I prefer to do, the fibre is
thrown off the dressing cylinders by centrifugal force immediately upon being
relieved from the gill teeth, when it falls upon an endless travelling apron, and
is carried forward through a pair of feed rollers to the next dressing cylinder
or endless dressing apron, and so on over any required number of dressing
cylinders or aprons. The fibres on leaving the last dressing cylinder will be
found in a light, clean, and well dressed condition, ready for roving or laying
into stricks for spinning from the waste.
That these my said improvements may be the more readily seen and
understood, I bave hereunto annexed Drawings in partial illustration of
one modification of my Invention, like letters and figures marked thereon
being used to denote similar parts.
Figure I. shows a side elevation of one of my improved fibre-dressing
machines constructed with two gill cylinders, and Figure II. is a vertical
longitudinal section of the same, and Figure III. is a half plan or top view of
the apparatus.
A, stationary framework of the apparatus; B, table upon which the fibre
to be dressed is laid by the attendant; C, a revolving feed cylinder, around
which works D, an endless feed apron, which works over the last roller so as
to deliver the fibre close to the gill teeth; E, pressing rollers which revolve
loosely on their own axes, and are held in position by F, stationary guides
formed on the stationary framework; G and G', revolving cylinders carrying
the gill teeth, and which are mounted on 9 and 9', transverse axles, which
revolve in h and h', bearings on the stationary framework; i, gill teeth, which
work through holes in K and K', outer cylinders or drums, which revolve on
k and k', fixed eccentrics; driving teeth or cogs on gill-toothed cylinders,
which work through holes in the outer cylinders and carry them round;
L, first driving pulley keyed on to the shaft of the feed cylinder (C);
M, second driving pulley on feed cylinder shaft, which gives motion to
the dressing cylinders through N, a driving strap, which works over O,
a driving pulley keyed on to the axle of the first dressing cylinder; P,
a second driving pulley keyed on to the first dressing cylinder, and which

page_text: gives motion to the second dressing cylinder through Q, a driving strap, which
works over R, a driving pulley keyed on to the axle of the gill cylinder of the
second dressing cylinder S, a small driving pulley keyed on to the axle of the
second dressing cylinder, and which gives motion to T, an endless apron,
which carries the fibre from the first dressing cylinder to U and U', feed
rollers in front of second dressing cylinder, over the lower one of which the
feed apron travels, and upon the axle of which is keyed V, a driving pulley,
which receives motion from the driving pulley (S) on the shaft of the second
dressing cylinder through W, a driving strap.
The action of the machine is as follows:-The fibre to be dressed is laid
upon the stationary table (B) by the attendant, and fed therefrom to the first
pressing roller, which revolves on the endless feed apron (D), when it is carried
under the pressing rollers (E) by the travelling feed apron (D), and is
delivered on to tho gill pins (i) of the first dressing cylinder, and after being
acted upon by the gill pins during a portion of the rotation of the gill pin
cylinder, the gill teeth receding below the outer surface of the covering cylinder
which works eccentrically with the gill cylinder, and thus relieves the fibre,
when then falling on the endless apron (T) is carried between (U and U'), tho
feed rollers in front of the second dressing cylinder, where it is again acted
upon by the gill pins of the second cylinder, after which it may be allowed to
fall down on to the floor, or into a receptacle placed to receive it, if found
sufficiently dressed for use, or when desirable the fibre can be received on to
a second feed apron like T, and thus be carried to a third dressing cylinder
or apron, resembling those herein-before described to be farther heckled, and so
on over any number of dressing cylinders or aprons as may be found requisite
to give the desired finished dressing to the fibre.
Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of this my said
Invention, and the best mode I am acquainted with to carry the same into
practical effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the
precise details, relative proportions or dimensions herein-before described and
set forth, as it will be readily seen that the same may be considerably varied
without departing from the Invention, but what I claim is,―
Firstly, the use of and the peculiar mode of constructing and mounting the
gill or beckle toothed cylinders, or their mechanical equivalents, in combination
with the outer covering cylinders or endless aprons through which the gill pins
or heckle teeth project at one portion of their rotation round their axes and
recede at the other, as herein-before described and set forth, or any mere modi-
fication of the same.

page_text: And, lastly, the general arrangements and combination of the various parts
of the apparatus substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein-
before described and set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Ronald, have bereunto set my
band and affixed my seal, this Twenty-first day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
WILLIAM WALKER,
of 44, Castle Street,
Liverpool.
JAMES (L.s.) RONALD.