Patent GB-710502-A (GB)
Title: Decortication of fibrous material
IPC: D01B1/22
Filed: 1951-04-13
Abstract: 710,502. Preparing fibres for spinning. BURKARDT, A. April 13, 1951, No. 8682/51. Class 120(1) A machine for decorticating fibre - bearing material comprises a decorticating mechanism including a plurality of scutching rotors 43, 45 which are co-operatingly formed, means for feeding material to the rotors, and a pair of opposed and cooperating conveyers 53 for conveying the material away between them from the rotors, the conveyers being formed and arranged to undulate the fibres, as they draw them away. The speed of travel of conveyers 53 may be so related to the speed of rotors 45 as to impart a draft on the scutched material. As shown, Fig. 1, plant material to be decorticated is fed in two courses 33, 34 by pairs of crushing rollers 37, 38 to the two anterior scutching rotors 43. The material passes upwardly between each rotor 43 and an adjustable co-operating apron 44 having a ridged face,' and the two streams of material then unite to pass downwardly between rotors 43 and thence between the pair of posterior scutching rotors 45. The rotors are arranged so that the blades of each rotor coact with concave depressions between blades of an adjacent rotor, the clearance between co-operating rotors being adjustable. From rotors 45 fibres are transferred by rotary brushes 50, 50a to the conveyers which consist of chains having inter-engaging crossbars which effect the undulation of the fibre web 155 for further cleaning thereof. The crossbars may have projecting pins and their depth of inter-engagement is variable by means of an adjustable link 54A. In addition to the draft which may be imparted between rotors 45 and conveyers 53, a draft may also be effected between rollers 37, 38 and the scutching rotors. The web delivered by chains 53 is acted upon by a series of pin rollers 140 and co-operating weighted rollers 141, the speed of successive rollers 140 increasing in the direction of travel of the fibres. The fibres are finally delivered in sliver form to the intake 143 of a machine F.M. such as a rope-making, fabric-making or spinning machine. Rollers 37, 38 may be steam-heated; steam. hot water or other liquid may be sprayed on to the material between rollers 37, 38 and between chains 53, and may be supplied to aprons 44 and rotors 43 and 45 to emerge as jets through perforations in the faces of the aprons and in the blades of the rotors. Containers 41, beneath the crushing rollers, collect the juices expressed from the material curing crushing. A drying lamp 144 effects drying of the finished sliver. The aprons may consist of a frame 44b, Fig. 12, which receives a face block 44d having a corrugated surface 44e and which has end flanges 44c serving as break-anvils in co-operation with the rotor blades. The operative faces of the rotor blades may be corrugated, or 'the rotor may consist of a body 108, Fig. 21, having corrugated blade inserts 110. Instead of feeding two courses of material to the apparatus from opposite sides, as in Fig. 1, two courses may be fed from the same side of the machine in parallel planes.' As shown, Fig. 17, the courses 80, 82 pass between crushing rollers 85-88 and along feed platforms 91, 92 to common scutching rotors 43.