Improvements in or applicable to Carding Engines

23,628. Ashworth, E. Nov. 5. [Cognate Application No. 24,781, A.D. 1908, dated Nov. 18.] Guards, controlling by movable parts of machinery. - A device for locking the door which gives access to a carding - engine cylinder, in machines in which no belt - fork is used, comprises a primary lock which can be released when the belt is moved off the fast pulley, and a secondary lock which can only be released when the pulley ceases to rotate. The bar b, Fig. 1, which is connected to the door a , is locked by a lever d, which has at one end a projection c engaging a slot b in the bar, and at the other end a sweep or feeler e, which is in juxtaposition to the flange of the fast pulley g. As long as the belt is on this pulley movement of the lever d is prevented, but when the belt is moved on to the loose pulley, the loose sweep e can be moved and the projection withdrawn from engagement with the bar b. The secondary lock comprises a pivoted lever h as described in Specification No. 17,185, A.D. 1908, having a projection at one end engaging with the bar b and being only capable of release when the pulley g ceases to rotate when a pencil &c. can be inserted through a slot in the pulley flange to tilt the lever. When the door is opened the bar b prevents any return movemeut of the lever d, and the belt therefore cannot be returned on to the fast pulley until the door is closed. In a modified arrangement, a feeler block E, Fig. 8, in contact with the periphery of the pulley g replaces the piece e. The block E is carried on a pivoted lever D, the other end of which carries a bar C which engages a slot b x in the bar b. The secondary lock arrangement is similar to that already described. Fig. 10 shows a further modification in which both the primary and secondary lock arrangements are combined in the feeler block E. The block is hollow and has mounted in it, on a spindle n carried by flexible arms n, a cam m. The presence of the belt on the pulley g keeps the block E depressed. The removal of the belt allows the block to rise slightly but not sufficiently to unlock the lever connected to the door. The cam m is also rotated by frictional contact with the pulley and thus keeps the lever depressed until the pulley ceases to rotate, whereupon a weight o returns the cam to its normal position and allows the block to rise sufficiently to release the lock. Specifications No. 19,348, A.D. 1901, [Abridgment Class Spinning], and No. 19,036, A.D. 1904, are referred to.