CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CARDING ENGINES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Benjamin Dobson, of the Firm of Messieusr
Dobson and Barlow, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, Machine
Makers, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CARDING
ENGINES." A communication from abroad by Ernest Constantine
Pfaff, of Chemnitz, in Saxony.
-
Sealed the 27th August 1869, and dated the 27th April 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Benjamin Dobson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th April 1869.
I, BENJAMIN DOBSON, of the Firm of Messieurs Dobson and Barlow,
of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Makers, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
CARDING ENGINES," being a communication to me from abroad by Ernest
Constantine Pfaff, of Chemnitz (in Saxony), to be as follows:--
This Invention relates to those carding engines for which Letters
Patent were granted to George Wellmann on the Eleventh September
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, No. 2190, and known as
Wellmann's Patent carding engines. In those carding engines the flats
о

page_text: are stripped by self-acting apparatus, and this Invention consists in
certain improved combinations of machinery for stripping the flats
near the licker in oftener than those near the doffer, and in being able
to vary the succession in which they are stripped.
In performing this Invention the radial arms and cam wheels are
made as usual, and discs with projections and recesses on their circum-
ferences are employed to govern the succession of lifting the top flats.
The slides are made in two parts, and to the upper part of one of each
of them is jointed a weighted elbow lever, the lower end of which forms
a catch. When the slides descend the horizontal arms of the elbow
levers come in contact with one of the projections or recesses in the
discs. If the arms come on projections the catches are held out of the
way of the second slides, and the slides to which the elbow levers are
jointed then rise without lifting a top flat. If on the contrary the arms
come into recesses of the discs all the slides together with the top flat
are raised by the action of the cam wheel in the usual manner. The
discs are turned round a portion of a revolution at every revolution
of the cam wheel, and they make one complete revolution by the time
the whole of the top flats have been stripped. The projections and
recesses on the circumferences of the discs can be arranged in any
succession according to the order in which it may be desired to strip the
top flats.
Another part of this Invention consists in guiding the top flats by
means of round or other shaped studs projecting from the cross rail
connecting the radial arms, which studs pass through holes near the
end of the top flats. By this means the slots in the ends of the top flats
are dispensed with.
Another part of this Invention consists in making the top flats for
Wellmann's Patent carding engines partly of wood and partly of cast
iron, the card sheets being secured to the cast-iron surface by nails
driven into wood pegs fitting into holes drilled in the cast iron.
The upper part of the top flats is made of wood secured to the lower
cast-iron part.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Benjamin Dobson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 26th October 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, BENJAMIN:
DOBSON, of the Firm of Messieurs Dobson, and Barlow, of Bolton, in.
the County of Lancaster, Machine Makers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine; in the
thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Benjamin Dobson, Her special
licence that I, the said Benjamin Dobson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or, such others. as I, the said Benjamin Dobson, 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," CERTAIN IMPROVE,
MENTS IN CARDING ENGINES, being a communication to me from abroad
by Ernest Constantine Pfaff, of Chemnitz, in Saxony, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Benjamin Dobson,, my executors or
administrators, 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 samię
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 Benjamin Dobson, 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, (that is to say) :-
This Invention relates to those carding engines for which Letters
Patent were granted to George Wellman on the Eleventh September
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, Number 2190, and known as

page_text: Wellman's Patent carding engines. In those carding engines the flats
are stripped by self-acting apparatus, and this Invention consists in
certain improved combinations of machinery for stripping the flats near
the licker in oftener than those near the doffer, and in being able to
vary the order of succession in which they are stripped.
In performing this Invention the radial arms and cam wheels are
made as usual, and discs with projections and recesses on their circum-
ferences are employed to govern the order of succession in which the top,
flats are lifted. The slides are made in two parts, and to the upper part
of one of each of them is jointed a weighted elbow lever, the lower end
of which forms a catch.
Another part of this Invention consists in guiding the top flats by
means of round or other shaped studs projecting from the cross rail
connecting the radial arms, which studs pass through holes near the end
of the top flats. By this means the slots in the ends of the top flats are
dispensed with.
Another part of this Invention consists in making the top flats for
Wellman's Patent carding engines partly of wood and partly of cast.
iron, the card sheets being secured to the cast-iron surface by nails
driven into wood pegs fitting into holes in the cast iron. The upper
part of the top flats is made of wood secured to the lower cast-iron
part.
And in order that this Invention may be fully understood and readily.
carried into operation, I will proceed to describe the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked
thereon.
Figure 1 is a vertical section, and Figure 2 an end view of the
principal parts of a Wellman carding engine to which my improvements.
are applied. a is part of the main cylinder; b, b, are the radial arms,
one being mounted at each end of the axle of the main cylinder; & is
one of the top flats; d, the stripper; and e the cam wheels mounted
on the studs ffixed in the radial arms b. The parts above enumerated
and the mechanism consisting of the segmental rack and other parts
shewn in Figures 1, 2, and 6 for moving the radial arms are made as
in Wellman's carding engines of the usual construction. On the outer
ends of the studs are mounted the discs or division plates g, the circum-.
ferences of which are made with projections and recesses, as shewn best

page_text: h
in Figure 2. To the back of the discs fare cast or fixed the fine toothed
wheels g', into which the pinions gear; these pinions are cast with the
curved plates h', and the four toothed pinions h². There is a stud or tooth
e in each cam wheel e, which studs or teeth as the cam wheels rotate in
the ordinary manner gear into the pinions 2 and turn the pinions h
and curved plates h¹ one-fourth round, thereby moving the discs 9. the
distance required for one top. flat. While the curved plates are
performing this fourth of a revolution the corners pass through openings
in the flange e of the cam wheels e, after which the curve of the plate.
fits on the flange to hold the division plate g steady. The radial
arms b. are made with slots as usual to guide the slides by which the top
flats are lifted, but these slides are now made in two parts, as shewn best
in the detached views, Figures 3, 4, and 5. The main slide i moves up
and down in the radial arm, and the second slide fits in the slot of the
radial arm and on a ribbed projection on the main slide; the slide
projections between which the end of the top flat enters.
i is jointed a weighted elbow lever j, the lower end of which forms a
catch j', which is held under the lower end of the slide by the weight
has
To each slide
When the slides descend the lower sides of the weights* either
come in contact with projections on the discs 9, or they enter the
recesses between the said projections. If the weights come on projections
the catches are moved from under the slides i, and the slides i then
rise without lifting a top flat. If on the contrary the weights in
descending come into recesses in the discs g the catches are not
moved from under the slides i, and then all the slides together with the
top flat are raised by the cam wheels e and the top flat is stripped by the
stripper d in the usual manner. The top flats c when down are
supported as usual on the ends of the setting screws y passing through
the rims a', as shewn in Figure 11, and they are steadied by the studs
a² as usual. When the top flats are raised they are guided by the round
or other shaped studs projecting from from the cross rail connecting
the radial arms b; these studs k are taper pointed and pass through holes
in the top flats. By this means the slots in the ends of the top flats
heretofore required are dispensed with.
In the carding engine represented there are eighteen top flats, and
the discs or division plates are constructed so that these top flats shall
be stripped in the order of succession indicated in the diagram Figure

page_text: 12. The top flats are numbered consecutively from. 1 to 18, the number
1 being near the licker in. In the first traverse of the radial arms
the first, third, fifth, ninth, eleventh, and fifteenth top flats are stripped,
as indicated by the crosses in the diagram, and in the return traverse
the sixteenth, twelfth, tenth, sixth, fourth, and second top flats are
stripped, and at the second and third to-and-fro traverses of the radial
arms the top flats indicated by crosses are stripped. By this diagram
it will be seen that during three to-and-fro traverses of the radial arms
the six top flats near the licker in are stripped three times each, the
six top flats near the doffer are each stripped once, and the six inter-
mediate top flats are each stripped twice, but by varying the number
and size of the projections on the division plates g the order of succes
sion can be varied according to the number of top flats employed, and
the number of times it may be desirable to strip some of the top flats
oftener than the others.
The improved mode of constructing top. flats is. shewn in Figures.
7, 8, 9, 10, and 11. The top flat consists of a cast-iron ribbed plate c', in
which are two series of holes containing wood pegs; the card sheets
are secured to the top flat by nails driven into the said wood pegs. The
upper part of the top flat consists of a piece of wood c², which is
secured to the plate c¹ by wood screws, as shewn in Figures 7 and 9;
the ends of the top flat consist of the plates on which the conse-
cutive numbers are east, as shewn in Figure 10;, these plates are
screwed to the plate and serve as a protection to the ends of the
wood c. These improved top flats are more durable than the ordinary
wood ones, and are particularly adapted to Wellman's patent cards,
as they fall with greater accuracy.
Having thus described the Invention communicated to me by the
within-named Ernest Constantine Pfaff, I declare that I claim,―
First. The discs or division plates marked g when used in the manner
and for the purposes described.
Secondly. The compound slides marked e, e¹, for raising and lowering
the top flat and the weighted elbow levers and catches marked j,j', and
j, as shewn and described.
Thirdly. The improved mode of guiding the top flat, as shewn and
described.

page_text: And, lastly, the improved mode of constructing the top flats as shewn
and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Benjamin Dobson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of October One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
BENJN. DOBSON. (L.S.)