US1095103A - Method of uniting the fibers of fibrous plants. - Google Patents

Description

J. s. GILLIES. METHOD OF UNITING.THB FIBERS 0F FIBROUS PLANTS. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 28, 1912. RENEWED DEC. 29, 1913. 1,095, 1 O3.

Patented Apr. 28, 1914.

wi lmwoe/a MWJW JOHN S. GIL'LIES, OF MANILA, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

METHOD OF UNITING THE FIBERS OFFIBROUS PLANTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 28, 1914.

Application filed Decem er 28, 1912', Serial No. 739,128. Renewed December 29, 1913. Serial No. 809,399.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN S. GrLLrEs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Manila, in the Philippine Islands, have 1nvented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Uniting the Fibers of Fibrous Plants; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to makeand use the same.

The present invention relates to a method of and apparatus for uniting the fibers of fibrous plants into continuous strands for the manufacture of hats, fabrics, or other products made from this material, and consists in the combinations of steps of procedure, and combinations and arrangements of parts of apparatus hereinafter disclosed and particularly set forth in the claims.

The process now in use of uniting the separate fibers of the abaca or hemp plant is the primitive method of tying the fibers together by knots until a strand of the desired length is made, but this method is at fault, in that the original length of each individual fiber is shortened and the knot is an obstacle to the easy and rapid manufacture of the fibers. into fabric.

To overcome the aforementioned disadvantages, the present invention proposes to unite the individual fibers into a continuous strand of any desired length and to avoid the use of knots or the like; and wherein a great number of fibers are treated in theone operation, to the end that a great number of continuous and unbroken strands are made at the same time.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel details of construction and combinations of parts more fully hereinafter disclosed and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification in which like numerals designate like parts in all the views :-Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the apparatus used for initially treating the abaca leaves. Fig. 2 is a side elevational view thereof; Fig. 3 is a side elevatipnal view showing the initial manner of uniting the abaca leaf sections; Fig. 4 is a top plan view showing theunited sections; Fig. 5 is an elevational View of the comb employed; Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional View of the comb taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5; and Fig. 7 is an end elevational view of the crimping roller used.

In carrying out the operation the abaca leaves are cut into sections of suitable lengths and with the, fibers running lengthwise thereof, and I have found it satisfactory to have these abaca leaf sections about two inches wide when the same contain about four hundred separate fibers.

The leaf section A is placed upon the roller 1 of the apparatus and the knife 2 is lowered into contact therewith after that manner indicated by broken lines in Fig. 2, the end B of the leaf section having been first passed through whereby to leave that portion of the leaf sectiondn a natural condition, for a purpose to be presently explained. The leaf section is then drawn against the edge 3 of the knife 2, which in cooperation with the roller 1 will remove all the portion of the leaf excepting the fibers C. This treatment of the leaf to expose the fibers C is carried on until said fibers are exposed for about the full length of the leaf section when the pressure or tension on the knife 2 is partially relieved, and the end portion of the abaca leaf is treated for cleaning and exposing but not separating the fibers. The opposite end of the abaca leaf section is then in like manner treated.

The knife 2 is slidably and adjustably mounted on the shaft 4 journaled at P on the supporting frame 5, through the medium of a pair of rods 6 that pass loosely through theshaft 4 and which are provided with tensioning springs 7 mounted thereon intermediate the knife 2 and. said shaft 4. The extent of movement of the blade 2 and the degree of resiliency of the springs 7 acting on said blade is adapted to be regulated through the medium of a rod 8 that is secured to said blade, and has a screwtherefore the strands through the shaft 4 .of the blade supporting armsG.

The blade 2 is provided with a weight 11, that is adjustably mounted on a screwthreaded arm 12 carried by the blade, to the endthat the knife may close quickly. An arm 13 is secured to the shaft 4 and serves for swinging said shaft for lifting the blade 2 of the roller 1, as will be understood.

When the several strips, or leaf sections, of the same width are cleaned in the manner above stated, 2'. e., with the fibers not separated atthe respective ends of the strips, said strips are united continuously in substantially the following manner :The ends of two strips, including each the uncleaned portion B and a portion of the fibers C adjacent thereto, are overlapped in substantially that manner illustrated in Fig. 8 of the accompanying drawings. The advantage of this part of the process will be obvious, as it entirely eliminates the handling of the individual strands, or fibers, of each leaf section, which would otherwise be the case were the uncleaned portion B of the. leaf section removed previous to this step in the operation. The teeth of the comb are inserted between the strands of one ofthe leaf sections, and said teeth are disposed downwardly. In like manner another comb has its teeth inserted between the strands of the section to be united, and in this instance said teeth are disposed upwardly. The two strips are then placed in overlapping relation with the teeth of the two combs in inter-engagement, and between each pair of teeth are in position to be united by an adhesive, as will be understood. The top comb is then drawn back to the butt of the uncleaned end B, with the result that each individualfiber, or strand, in the top strip is exactly opposite a corresponding fiber in the bottom strip, thus making certain that when the cement is applied one top fiber is joined exactly to one of the bottom fibers; and with this arrangement repeated in the course of unitin the several strips, it results that a plurality ofcontinuously connected and independent strands are obtained.

When both of the combs have been drawn back to the uncleaned ends of their respective engaging strips, and the strandsthereby alined, both of the strips are placed fiat on the table, and a'small corrugated roller (such as shown in Fig. 7) is placed in the interval between thetwo combs, or at that part of the strips: where the separated fibers overlap.

This roller is moved back and forth by hand with slight pressure whereby to flatten said overlapping fibers and impart thereto a plurality of crimps or corrugations in each fiber, to. the end of obtaining a larger adhesive holding surface, and thus to obtain a more perfect joint between each two connected strands. When this crimping or flattening process has been completed, the top strip is raised slightly from the bottom strip and the adhesive is applied between the overlapping strands, or in that portion between the two combs. The strands are then pressed together where the cement has been applied, and after such cement is set the uncleaned ends B are cut off.

The present invention also comprehends the uniting of the strands of adjacent strips by the sim le operation of overlapping tie separated ber portions of two strips and leaving the uncleaned ends thereof ofistanding or exposed. The overlapping fibers are united by any suitable adhesive, and when the same has sufficiently set, the uncleaned ends would be removed.

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details of the processwithout departing from the spirit of my invention, and therefore I do not wish to be limited to the above disclosure, except as may be required by the claims.

What I claim is 1. The method of uniting the fibers of fibrous leaves into continuous strands, consisting in uniting by adhesion sections of said leaves into a continuous strip with the strands of the respective sections in alinement, and removing from the strip the matter extraneous to the strands thereof.

2. The method of uniting the fibers of fibrous leaves into continuous strands consisting incutting the leaves'into sections, treating said sections to separate and expose the fibers in the body portion, and not treating the respective end portions thereof; connecting said sections by uniting the fibers thereof at points adjacent the uncleaned portions; and then removing said uncleaned portions, substantially as described.

3. The method of uniting the fibers of fibrous leaves into continuous strands consisting in cutting the leaves into sections, treating said sections to separate and expose the fibers in the body portion thereof, and leaving the respective end portions intact; overlapping and alining the fibers of said sections adjacent the end portions thereof, and uniting the same with an adhesive; and removing the end portions of said sections, substantially as described.

4. The method of uniting the fibers of fibrous leaves into continuous strands consisting in cutting the leaves of the plant into sections; treating said sections to separate and expose the fibers in the body portion thereof, and leaving intact the end portions;

overlapping and alining the fibers of the sec removing said intact end portions, substan-' tially as described.- 0

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature, in presence 0 two Witnesses.

JOHN S. GILLIES.

tions adjacent their respective intact end Witnesses: portions, crnnping said overlapping fibers Gnnoomo FERNLUNDY, and uniting the same with an adheslve; and B. M. FERARCIA.

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