US311948A - Feeding mechanism for carding-engines - Google Patents

Description

4 She ets-Sheet 1.

W. O. BRAMWELL. FEEDING MECHANISM FOR GARDING ENGINES. N0. 311,94 8 Patented Feb. 10,1885.

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INVENTUR Patented Feb. 10, 1885.

W. O. BRAMWBLL. I FEEDING MECHANISM FOR GARDING ENGINES. No. 811,948.

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WITNEEEEE:

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

W. O. BRAMWELL.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR GARDING ENGINES.

Patented Feb. 10, 1885.

WITNEEEEE INVENTDR 0% $45M Z/Y 'S 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

W" 0.. BRAMWELL,

h FEEDING MECHANISM FOR GARDING ENGINES. No. 311,948.

(No Model.)

Patented Feb. 10, 1885.

INVENTUR WITNESS-1E5 N PETERS. Phmo-Lithugmpher. Washingmm D. c,

rrnn r/lrns Earervr @rrrca FEEDING MECHANISM FOR CARDlNG-ENGINES,

SPECIFrCATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 311,948, dated February 10, 1885.

Application filed May 7, 1883. (N0 model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, VVILLIAM G. BRAMWELL. of Hyde Park, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Feeding Mechanism for Caroling-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

In that class of cardingmachines in which the card is fed by means of a continuous roving or sliver laid diagonally upon belts placed and held so as to move in a path at right angles to the feed'rollers and axis of the cardcylinder the accumulated sliver or roving on the shorter of the narrow belts constituting the feeding-table is taken therefrom by the feed-rollers more readily than at that part'of the table where the belts are the longest, which results in an unequal supply of wool to the card. In such class of feeding mechanism the sliver or roving is laid across the narrow belts diagonally, and the mass of sliver or roving on the series of belts has a teudency to crawl, as I denominate it, toward the belts of least length. It is a great (lesideratum to present as many ends as possible to the feed rollers, and to be able to present the mass of sliver or roving in a uniformly-compact condition; but when the rollers of the traveler are driven frictionally instead of positively the sliver or roving cannot be compacted or laid snugly each layer side by side to the necessary degree. In my experiments I have found that the sliver or roving can be laid on the belts much more closely if flattened by the rolls of the traveler, and if one edge of the sliver so flattened is delivered upon the belts of the table; and one object of my invention is the production of a mechanism, substantially as will be described,for flattening the sliver and presenting its edge to, the belts. I have also found that the delivery of the wool to the feed-rolls and card may be more uniform, and that all crawling of the sliver across the belts may be effectually avoided by placing the hei s in diagonal position with relation to the feedrolls, so that the sliver may be laid on the belts at right angles thereto,instead of diagonally, as heretofore done. Laying the slivers on the belts at right angles to the length of the latter enables said slivers to be carried uniformly forward at each end, and the belts do not have any tendency to draw the slivers across the table.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art to which my invention appertains that by flattening the sliver and laying it up edge- Wise in athroat, and then compressing the same before it is laid on the belts, a much larger quantity of material or length of sliver can be got upon the table than is possible when the sliveris fed in its round form,or without compression, and therefore a proportionately larger number of ends of said slivers will be presented to the carding-cylindersat onetime, and, consequently, that the inequalities of the individual slivers will be compensated for and equalized in proportion to the increased num ber of slivers which may be presented simultaneousl y to the feed-rollers.

In this my invention I have placed in front of the roller which drives the feeding-belts, and between it and the rear side of the traveler, two plates, which constitute a throat, through which the sliver, laid in parallel rows by the traveler. is forced into position to pass upon the belts, and above the roller which drives the said belts, and at the rear side of the said throat, and parallel with the said roller, I have arranged a retarding-roller, and have placed its periphery at such a distance from the belts as to leave a narrowerspace between the retarding-roller and the belts than between the upper and lower plates constituting the throat, so that thesliver laid into the throat may be uniformly compacted therein to the desired extent between the front side of the throat and the retarding-roll and belts, thus permitting the sliver to be laid together row after row in the throat, and to be condensed to the desired extent preparatory to being delivered upon the belts, condensed sliver passed over the throat being delivered upon the feedplates with their thin edges uppermost, each sliver standing on edge close to and between slivers at each side. From six to eight movements of the traveler fills the throat with sliver, ready to be delivered upon the belts, and compresses the said sliver sufficiently to be taken without further compression by the feed-rollers of the card as the belts bring the sliver to the said feed-rollers. This throat and retarding-roller arranged in front of the belts are of very considerable sliver heretofore wasted,-

' especially when starting to feed the card with a new lot of wool.

In the old plans prior to my invention the sliver was condensed to alimited extent between the traveler and feed-rollers for the card, whereas in my plan it is condensed before it is fed upon the table, and in the old plan, if

the condensing of the sliver was attempted to any considerable extent, the mass of sliveron the table was liable to bunch or curl up to such degree as to render the operation of the machine impracticable. The retarding-roller being parallel with the path of the sliver, it is clear that the density of the wool passing it is equal and uniform, and that, too, irrespective of the amount of wool on the table at the rear of the said roller. By adopting positive motion for the various parts, and combining them together by gearing, instead of depend ing upon belts, there is insured a simultaneous movement of the sliver onto the feed-belts in its progress toward the card.

In carding-machines heretofore used, and

fed by a continuoussliver, as herein referred -to, the taker-in has been run at a comparatively slow speed to avoid waste resulting from throwing the fiber on the floor. To enable the taker-in to be run at a high speed, and to avoid such waste, I have providedaperforated shell, which I have placed under the taker-in, and havesupported the said shell from the hearing of the shaftof the taker-in, so that the said shell follows the taker-in in all the adj ustments of the latter, which would not be the caseif the'shell were connected with the framework of the cardinginachine, as heretofore. I have enlarged or extended the frame of the feeding apparatus to properly sustain not only the feed-rolls, but the taker-in and the shell.

Figure lis a plan View of my feeding apparatus, theretarding-roll and the upper feed-roll being brok en out, and also partof the hoodwhich covers the gear 16. Fig. 2 is an elevation of that end of the apparatus where the belts are the shortest. Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan of that end of the apparatus where the belts are the shortest; Fig. 4, a cross-section through linew m, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail in elevation of the taker-in, the shell, and other parts to be described. Fig. 6is a cross-section through line 3/ y, Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the feeding apparatus, the hood covering the gear 16 being omitted, part of the frame-work being broken out to show the shaft 34 and its gear.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

A is the frame of the carding-machine, on

of the carding-cylinder.

i B is the frame-work of the feeding apparatus, which is shown as cast in one piece, in elusive of the projecting bases B,which receive the bearings for the feed-rolls and taker-in cylinder, and aid in supporting the perforated shell. The outwardly-projecting end of the framework B is supported by an adjustable leg, as, (see Fig. 7,) fitting in a socketed plate orbase, b, fixed to the fioor and held therein by the set-screw b. The driving-shaft 0 receivesits motion from any convenient source as, for instance, by a belt, b extended from the pulley 2 to the pulley b on the shaft of the taker-in, the latter at its other end having a pulley, b which will be driven-by a belt, b extended about a pulley on the main shaft The shaft 0, is supported by the bracket 8, fixed to a lug projecting from the supporting end plate, 4, which is suitably bolted to the frame-work. There is one of these supporting end plates at eachend of the apparatus, and they support the longitudinally-slotted shaft 6, which receives its motion from the shaft 0 through a pair of bevel-gears, 6 7. Shaft 6 is rotated in the boxes 8, each provided with a shank which is passed through a right-angled bracket, '10, the boxes being held therein by a nut, 9. Each bracket has a downwardly-projectingfoot,which is fitted into the base 11, cast upon the plate 4, the foot being held therein by the set-screw 12, the bracket 10 being raised and lowered by the screw 13. This arrangement allows the boxes 8 to be adjusted to place the shaft 6 in proper position.

Beneath the slotted shaft 6, and parallel with it, is a track or guide, 14, fixed to the frame-work of the feeding apparatus, which track serves not only to support the traveler or carrier T ,-(shown in Figs. 1, 4, and 7,) but also acts as a guide to hold the lower part of the traveler up to the throat, to be described. Thelower part of this traveler has studs 15,

which support a pair of grooved wheels, 15,

(see Figs. 4 and 7,) the said wheels running upon the track 14. The shaft 6, slotted at 6", Figs. 3 and 4, and passed through the hubs 17 of the traveler, carries a double-bevel gear, 16, having a key or feather within its boss, which enters and slides in the slot in the said shaft. The double-bevel gear 16 is kept equidistant between the hubs 17 of the traveler by a pair of sleeves, '18, which fit the shaft 6, and are fixed within the hubs of the traveler by set screws 19. These sleeves have their inner ends countersunk. The traveler has'fixed to it a hood, 7, which covers the gears 16, and also serves as a support forthe vertical slotted plate 21, that receives a pin, 22, fixed to the endless chain 23, driven'by the bevel- gears 24 and 24 and sprocket-gear 25, the whole receiving motion by gears 26 27 28 from the shaft 6, as shown in Fig. 2. The other end r f which my improved feeding mechanism or apthe chain is supported and carried by the according to the wool to be fed.

sprocket-gear 29, running loose upon the stud thereby leave the traveler stationary. The

arms 31 and 32, (see Figs. 1, 3, and 4,) supporting the operative parts of the chain, are suitably attached to the end pieces, 4. The arm 32 is shown in Fig. 1 as connected by a bolt, 32*, extended through a slot, (shown in dotted lines,) so that the arm 32. may be ad justed toward or from the arm 31, according to the length of the chain. The traveler also carries a pair of vertical rolls, 31, having upright spindles 35, which pass through holes cast inthe horizontal web or partition uniting the two hubs of the traveler, and to the upper ends of said spindles bevel gears 32 are fixed. each of which is engaged by the doublebevel gear 16, which is placed between them, and from which they receive their motion. The front of the traveler is provided with an oblong slot, 33, through which and between the rolls 31 the sliver to be fed is passed. The rolls 31 are in practice quite close together say from one-eighth to tliree-eighths of an inch apart-so that as the sliver passes between them it is flattened or compressed from a round into a flat shape. ted shaft 6 is turned upon its axis, motion will be simultaneously imparted to the vertical rolls 31 and the chain 23, and thus a certain length of sliver will be uniformly drawn and flattened and have its edge laid on the plate \V, located at the rear of the traveler, the said plate, together with the plate V above it, constituting a throat in advance of the retarding-roll 39, to be described. The sliver so compressed is laid upon its edge on the said plate \V without stretching the same, and without injury to its continuity. The roller 34 (see Fig. 4) carries the endless feed-belts 36, whose other ends are carried by separate small pulleys 37, each having its journals supported by lugs 37*, (see Figs. 1 and 3,) extended upward from a plate or cross piece, A the said lugs being so shaped as to leave between them spaces within which the said pulleys revolve. The belts 36 are driven by the roll 34, and part or all of them .may have teeth projecting from their outer sides, These belts constitute a feedtable, and are arranged at right angles with relation to the path of the traveler and the axis of the shafts, and diagonally with relation to the feed-rolls F G, and the sliver is laid on the said belts at right angles to the length of the latter, so that the said belts carry the sliver uniformly forward hen the slotand without tendency to move it laterally thereon, as in machines where the feed-belts are at right angles to the feed-rolls.

Above the apron-roll 34 is fixed a retarding-roll, 3.9,which may be provided with teeth, or left smooth, as the case may require. It is jonrnaled at each end in the boxes 40, which have short spindles 41 cast upon them, and which extend loosely into the forked projections of a plate, 43, (shown in Fig. 4,) which permits the boxes to adjust themselves to the journals of the said roll. The plate 43 is fixed by a bolt, 44, passing through a slot, 45, (see Fig. 2,) in the end supporting-plate, 4, so as to allow of its adjustment with relation to the lower or belt roll, 34, and belts 36. The reta-rdingroll 39 receives its motion from the shaft of the roll 34 by gears 34 and 42. (See Fig. 7.) The belt-roll 34 receives its motion from the lower feedroll, F, by the face-gear B, Fig. 3, driving the bevel-gear S, fixed to the outer end of a short shaft, T, whose inner end has a bevelgear, U, gearing with a larger bevel-gear, V, attached to the shaft of the feed-belt roll 34, as shown in Fig. 3. Thus the belts or hands have positive movements imparted to them from the feed-rolls. The rolls 31 pass beneath the smooth plate V, and the flattened sliver is condensed in the throat or space between this plate and the plate 1V, Figs. 4 and 7, the latter plate being fixed so as to be level with the top of the feedingbelts. The rolls 34 and 39 take the condensedwool away from the said throat, the speed of the said rolls thus determini ug the extent to which the sliver is condensed in the said throat in advance of the retarding-rolL- Leaving the rolls 34 and 39, the feed-belts continue the progress of the wool toward the feed-rolls G and F, by which the wool is transferred to the taker-in D, while the latter presents the wool to the cylinder of the cardingmachine.

The frame-work of the feeding apparatusat each side-or end is extended in the form of.

an arm to rest on the card-frame and form a base, 13, Fig. 2, upon which a sliding bearingplate. 6, having an upright standard, F, is fixed by the bolt f, which passes through a slot in the plate or foot of the standard and screws into the base 13. The base B is turned upward at its outer end, d, and slotted to receive a shouldered bolt, L, which screws into the bearing-plate e, and as the two feed-rolls G F and takerin D aresupported by the slide e, the screw-bolt L, on being turned, serves to move them alltogether toward or away from the cylinder of the cardingmachine. The taker-in D is supported in a boxbc-aring, 9, having a pivot, h, cast upon it and entering a recess in thestandardF. Aconical pivoted screw, h, also enters a recess in the box, and is there held by the check-nut h. The lower feedroll, F, is supported in an open top swivelbearing, H, held by the bolt z in the slotted plate J, which is fixed to the standard F by a bolt, J", as shown. The plate J has a slotted IIO lug,which receives a shouldered bolt, j,which screws into the standard F, and when said bolt is turned the lower feed-roll is moved toward or away from the taker-in D. The arm K is secured to the upper part of the stand ard F by a bolt, K, (see Fig. 6,) extended through a slot in the arm, and the latter is raised or lowered by the bolt Z, the lower end of which rests loosely upon a square block, l,

arm K, turning the bolt down raising the said arm, while the opposite movement of the bolt shortens its end below the ear and permits the arm K to descend by reason of its own weight. The bolt K passes through the block Z and standard F. On the arm K a sliding block, at, is fixed by a bolt, m, at the back, which latter passes through a slot in said arm and screws into the sliding piece m, which is provided near its top part with a projecting lug, m", bored to receive the spindle a, havingan enlarged end, 11., a nut, 01', holding it thereto. The box 0 ol the upper feed-roll has two upwardly-projecting lugs, (see Fig. 2,) which receive between them the pendent lug t, forming part of the enlarged end a of the spindle a, above referred to, the said lugs receiving a pin, 0, thus forming a joint, so that the box 0 is free to turn to adjust itself to the requirements of the journal of the feed-roll. The shouldered boltp (see Figs. 2, 3, and 6) rests in the slot of a lugprojectingfrom sliding piece m, and screws into an ear, n, of the arm K, so that when turned it will move the sliding piece m along the arm K. and with it the upper feed-roll, toward or from thetaker-in D.

. It will be seen that the taker-in and rolls FG may be moved in any direction independently of each other by the bolts l jp. or the whole may be moved simultaneously toward or from the carding-machine by the bolt L. The slid shell keeps the wool from falling away from the taker-in, but permits the dirt in the wool to escape through the perforations of the shell.

Iclaim- 1. The feed-rolls F G- and the series of endless belts placed diagonally with relation to the axes of rotation of the said feed-rolls, combined with means to rotate the said belts, to operate substantially as described.

2; The feed-rolls F G, a series of endless belts placed diagonally with relation to the axes of rotation of the said rolls, and a traveler to lay a sliver on the said belts at right angles to their length, combined with means to operate the said belts, rolls, and traveler, as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The series of endless belts, means to move them, the track 14 at right angles to the said belts, and the traveler and its rolls, combined with means, substantially as described, to positively reciprocate the said traveler and rotate the rolls therein, substantially asset forth.

4. The series of endless belts, means to move them, the traveler, means to reciprocate the same, the rollers mounted in the said traveler, and means to rotate them positively to flatten the sliver and deliver it edgewise into the throat, combined with the plates W and V, constituting a throat, and with the retardingroll located at the rear side of the said throat, to operate substantially as set forth.

5. The feed-rolls F G, the series of endless belts placed diagonally with relation to the axes of rotation of the said feed-rolls, and

means to move the said rolls and belts, the retardingroll. and the plates W and V, constituting the throat, combined with the traveler, its track or guide, and with means to operate the said traveler and retarding-roll, for the purposes specified.

6. The traveler, its track or guide, means to move vthe traveler on the said track or guide. the throat composed of the plates W and V, the retarding-roller at the rear of the said throat, the shaft 6, the rolls 31, carried by the traveler, the shafts upon which thesaid rolls are mounted, and theirgear 32, combined with gears to movethe gear 32, and with means to rotate the shaft 6, the rolls 31 being located near each other to flatten the sliver delivered from between them, substantially as described.

7. The framework of the t'eedingapparatus, the taker-in, the feed-rolls F G, and the endless beltsand traveler mounted on the said framework, and means to operate the said taker-in, rolls, belts, and traveler, combined with a perforated shell connected with and made adjustable, in unison with the said feed gears R S U V, feed-rolls F G, shaft or roll 34, and feed-bands 36, substantially as and forthe purpose set forth.

WILLIAM CALVERT BRAM'WELL.

lVitnesses:

HENRY W. WILLI Ms, J OSEPH ISHBAUGH.

IIC

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