IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR BREAKING, SCUTCHING, AND CLEANING FLAX, HEMP, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1871

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Eliot Hodgkin and Edward
Brasier at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 13th January 1871.
We, JOHN ELIOT HODGKIN, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
and EDWARD BRASIER, of New Cross, in the County of Surrey, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR BREAKING, SCUTCHING, AND CLEANING FLAX, HEMP, AND OTHER FIBROUS
MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
1
This Invention relates to improved combinations of machinery for
breaking, scutching, and cleaning flax, hemp, and other fibrous materials,
and consists in the combination with the ordinary fluted rollers used for
the purpose of crushing or breaking flax, hemp, or other similar fibrous
materials of pairs of intersecting beaters or scutching instruments,
which are used both naked and shrouded. When the beaters are
shrouded they are caused by well known mechanical contrivances to
project beyond and through the cylinder or shrouding, when they are
.

page_text: at that portion of their rotation where they are in operation, being
withdrawn within the cylinder or shrouding at or about that portion
of their revolution where the flax or hemp has to be delivered, thus
preventing the "lapping
lapping" which is often so troublesome when inter-
secting rotary beaters of the naked or exposed form of construction
only are employed. Any number of breaking rollers are used in com-
bination therewith, arranged in any convenient manner and having
reciprocating motion or not imparted thereto. Through these breaking
rollers the hemp, flax, straw, or other fibrous material is first fed, it
then passes to the pair or pairs of naked rotary beaters, which are
formed with any desired number of arms or beaters arranged to intersect
or not as may be required, the edges of such beaters being set at any
relative distance one from the other. There may be one or more pairs
of these rotary beaters, or they may be omitted altogether and only
clothed or shrouded beaters used. These latter consist of a hollow
cylinder of metal or other suitable material, through the periphery of
which are longitudinal slits preferably in the direction of the axis and
of any desired number. Through these apertures or slits arms, plates,
or blades project, which are caused to move in each revolution to a
certain distance beyond the circumference of the cylinder, and are then
withdrawn so as to be hidden within it. This operation may be effected
in several ways, such as allowing the blades to slide freely in radial
grooves and connecting them with blocks or rollers revolving in a groove
or by means of a chase fixed to the framework of the machine excen-
trically to the axis of the cylinder, or they may be attached to an inner
cylinder working excentrically to the outer one.
When it is desired to scutch only the naked beaters are omitted and
the breaking rollers (kept together by springs or weights) are used as
feed rollers, being placed either above and in the centre line of the two
beaters or horizontally in a line with them, or in any other convenient
position. The fibre can be fed into the beaters for a part of its length
by hand or by the action of the machine by turning the feed rollers
forward for a certain distance, and they can then be reversed, and the
fibre brought out and the other end inserted and scutched. In the case
of scutching green fibres it is preferable to have the rollers above the
beaters, so that a stream of water may be allowed to fall on them while
the fibre is being acted upon. The fibres may be brought up to the feed
rollers on a horizontal travelling feed apron, and their direction changed

page_text: to the vertical by a smooth roller, a plate, or other means.
A doffing
or cleaning roller, a brush, or a doffing knife, fixed or in motion, may be
applied to that portion of the shrouding where the blades are nearly or
quite withdrawn, so as to clean them from any portion of waste material
which may cling to them.