IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SCUTCHING FLAX OR OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS, AND ALSO FOR OPENING AND STRAIGHTENING FIBROUS MATERIALS (WHICH HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY MADE UP INTO YARNS AND THREADS) IN ORDER TO PREPARE THE SAME FOR SPINNING AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Brasier, of New Cross, in the County of
Surrey, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR SCUTCHING FLAX OR OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS, AND ALSO FOR OPENING
AND STRAIGHTENING FIBROUS MATERIALS (WHICH HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY
MADE UP INTO YARNS AND THREADS) IN ORDER TO PREPARE THE SAME FOR
SPINNING AND OTHER PURPOSES."
Scaled the 16th August 1867, and dated the 19th February 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Brasier at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th February 1867.
I, EDWARD BRASIER, of New Cross, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR SCUTCHING FLAX OR OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS, AND ALSO FOR
OPENING AND STRAIGHTENING FIBROUS MATERIALS (WHICH HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY
MADE UP INTO YARNS AND THREADS) IN ORDER TO PREPARE THE SAME FOR SPINNING
AND OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
The first part of my Invention relates to improvements in machinery for
which Letters Patent were granted to me dated May 11th 1866, No. 1359,

page_text: for "Improvements in Machinery for Scutching and Preparing Fibrous
Materials."
According to this part of my improvements I place a drum or roller
at the delivery end of the machine (described in the Specification of the
Patent above referred to); this drum or roller is furnished with blades, and
revolves in the same direction as that of the large drum and beaters, taking
the tow therefrom. Below this smaller drum a grating is fixed, on to which
the towis delivered and operated upon by the blades or beaters on the smaller
drum, the shive, boon, or other extraneous matter being thus separated from
the fibre falls through the grating under the machine, the tow being delivered
in a clean state at the back of the small drum.
Another of my improvements relates to the adaptation of rollers or other
feeding, holding, and withdrawing apparatus to scutching machinery such as
or similar to that described in the Specification above referred to. The
object of the rollers or other holding apparatus is to prevent long fibres, sucli
as Manilla hemp, jute, aloe, and other similar long fibres, from being drawn
out of the hand of the operator, and also to facilitate and regulate the action
of the beaters upon the fibrous materials.
I prefer in carrying out this part of my improvements to mount one or more
pairs of rollers plain or fluted parallel with the front of the druni, the distance of
which can be regulated to suit the various descriptions of fibres. These feed-
holding rollers can be actuated by hand or be made self-acting when required,
and are pressed together by springs, weights, or otherwise. The fibrous
material is fed forward upon an endless apron, or in any other convenient
manner, and through the rollers to a suitable distance into the machine tube
operated upon by beaters arranged upona drum, as described in the Specification
of the Patent before referred to, or to other similar arrangements of beaters as
may be preferred. The "stock" against which the fibrous materialis operated
upou may be either a simple curved surface, or may have projections upon it,
or be formed with perforations, and inay be either fixed or self-adjusting, and the
feed rollers or apparatus may either be mounted upon the "stock" or upon
brackets fixed to the framing of the machine. When a strick or suitable
quantity of fibrous material has been passed a proper distance into the machine
through the feed rollers or holding apparatus it is firmly held to be operated
upon, and by reversing the motion of the rollers or holding apparatus the long
fibre is withdrawn and reversed for the other end to be operated upon in a
similar manner. The tow is either thrown out by the centrifugal action of
the machine or is collected by a second drum and operated upon as previously
described under the first part of my improvements.

page_text: According to another of my improvements I introduce a row or rows of
moveable pins or teeth along the upper edge of the "stock" of a scutching
machine through which the fibrous material is drawn after it has been
operated upon by the beaters; these pins or teeth I prefer to mount so that
they can be introduced into the fibrous material by the action of the foot upon
a lever or otherwise, being withdrawn by the removal of the pressure upon
the lever or treadle. The tow or short fibres may thus be removed from the
strick in the act of withdrawing it from the scutching or beating operation.
If desired the whole of the fibre may be converted into tow by this machine,
in which case no reverse action of the rollers or holding apparatus would be
necessary.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Brasier in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th August 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
BRASIER, of New Cross, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Herheirs and successors, give and grantunto me, thesaid
Edward Brasier, Her special licence that 1, the said Edward Brasier, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the' said Edward
Brasier, 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 MAC.INERY
FOR SCUTCHING FLAX OR OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS, AND ALSO FOR OPENING
AND STRAIGHTENING FIBROUS MATERIALS, (WHICH HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY MADE
UP INTO YARNS AND THREADS) IN ORDER TO PREPARE THE SAME FOR SPINNING
AND OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Edward Brasier, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hauds 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
immediately after the date of the said Eetters Patent.

page_text: 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 state-
ment thereof, that is to say:-
The first part of my Invention relates to improvements in machinery for
which Letters Patent were granted to me dated May 11th, 1866, No. 1359,
for Improvements in Machinery for Scutching and Preparing Fibrous
Materials."
$5
And in order that this part of my improvements may be most fully under-
stood and readily performed or carried into practice I will proceed to describe
the Drawing hereunto annexed which shows a longitudinal section of so
much of the operating parts of a machine for scutching flax or other fibrous
materials having my improvements applied thereto.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING,
a is a drum or roller placed at the delivery end of the machine (which is
arranged to work as described in the Specification of the Patent above
referred to). This drum or roller is furnished with blades a¹, and revolves
in the same direction as that of the larger drum A and beaters A¹ taking
the tow therefrom; below this smaller drum aa grating is fixed, on to
which the tow is delivered and operated upon by the blades or beaters a¹ on
the smaller drum a, the shive, boon, or other extraneous matter being thus
separated from the fibre falls through the grating under the machine, the
tow being delivered in a cleaner state at the back or point of the small
drum a.
Another of my improvements relates to the application of rollers or other
feeding, holding, and withdrawing apparatus to scutching machinery such as or
similar to that described in the Specification above referred to. The object of
the rollers or other holding apparatus is to prevent long fibres, such as Manilla
hemp, jute, aloe, and other similar long fibres, from being drawn out of the
hand of the operator, and also to facilitate and regulate the action of the beaters
upon the fibrous materials, and in the case of shorter fibres to dispense with
hand labour in feeding and ensure the regular operation of the beaters upon it.
I prefer in carrying out this part of my improvements to mount one
or more pairs of rollers c, as shown in the Drawing, plain or fluted, parallel
with the front of the drum A, the distance of which can be regulated by any
suitable mechanical means (as is well understood) to adapt the machine to
operate advantageously upon fibrous materials of various lengths, qualities
or descriptions; these feed-holding rollers c may be actuated by hand or be

page_text: made self-acting when required, and are pressed together by springs c¹ or by
weights or otherwise. The Drawing shows a convenient means by which the
feed rollers c can be actuated by hand. c is a winch handle by which move-
ment can be communicated to the axis c³, which gives motion to the roller c
by means of the toothed wheels ct and c³. The fibrous material is fed forward
upon an endless apron d, or in any other convenient manner, and through the
feed rollers c to a suitable distance into the machine to be operated upon by
the beaters A' arranged upon the drum A, as described in the Specification of
the Patent before referred to, or to other similar arrangements of beaters as
may be preferred. The "stock" B against which the fibrous material is
operated upon may be either a single curved surface or may have projections
upon it or be formed with perforations, and the "stock" B may either be
fixed or self-adjusting and may be formed with a counter stock B'moving on
a centre at B2 adjustable to any pitch by means of the quadrant arms B³,
and the feed rollers or apparatus may either be mounted upon the "stock" or
upon brackets fixed to the framing of the machine. When a strick or
suitable quantity of fibrous material has been passed a proper distance into
the machine through the feed rollers c or holding apparatus it is firmly held
to be operated upon and then by reversing the motion of the rollers or holding
apparatus the long fibre is withdrawn and reversed end for end for the other
end to be operated upon in a similar manner. The tow is either thrown out
by the centrifugal action of the machine or is collected by a second drum
and operated upon as previously described under the first part of my improve-
ments.
According to another of my improvements I introduce a row or rows of
moveable pins or teeth e along the upper edge of the "stock" Bof a scutching
machine constructed as previously described or otherwise through which the
fibrous material is drawn after it has been operated upon by the beaters.
These heckle pins or teeth I prefer to mount so that they can be introduced
into the fibrous material by the action of the foot upon the lever e¹ or other-
wise, the heckle pins being withdrawn the removal of the pressure upon the
lever or treadle the lever e¹ moves on a centre ate and acting upon the lever e³
by means of the connecting rod e4. The lever e³ moves upon a fulcrum at €³
and acts upon the heckle bar e, when desired so as to introduce the heckle
pins into the fibrous material as above described, the pins passing through
suitably formed openings in the "stock" B by which means the tow is
removed from the heckle pins when they are withdrawn. The tow or
short fibres may thus be removed from the strick in the act of withdrawing
it from the scutching or beating operation. If desired the whole of

page_text: the fibre may be converted into tow by this machine, in which case no
reverse action of the rollers c or holding apparatus would be necessary,
suitable gearing being arranged and applied so as to cause the feed rollers c
to revolve continuously.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Brasier, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness,
J. G. TONGUE,
Patent Agent,
34, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, W.C.
E. BRASIER. (L.8)