Improvements in Machinery for Opening, Cleaning, and Scutching Cotton or other like Fibres.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Apr., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 9th Jan., 1891-Accepted, 21st Mar., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Opening, Cleaning, and Scutching
Cotton or other like Fibres.
We, JAMES TASKER, Mechanical Draughtsman, and LAYCOCK HARGREAVES,
Foreman Mechanic, both of Globe Works, Accrington, in the County of Lancaster,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
-
This invention relates to machinery used in the opening, cleaning and scutching-
of cotton and other fibres, the said fibres being operated upon by a vertical or
horizontal beater usually composed of a number of sheet metal discs fixed at
intervals along the "beater shaft" and having spikes rivetted round their periphery
such shafts and discs revolving inside a conical cage, or grid.
The substance to be cleaned opened and scutched (say for example cotton)
passes into the cage or grid, generally at the small end, and is drawn towards the
large end by means of an exhaust fan.
In passing through the cotton is beaten and the heavier impurities or foreign
substances are driven through the grid, thereby removing extraneous matter from
the cotton.
Heretofore the grids have been constructed of straight bars and intervening
spaces or plates with apertures therein, or plates having shells or recesses cast on
the back thereof through which spaces, apertures, or recesses the dirt had to be
driven and with such appliances the material has been simply rolled over the
surface of the grid.
According to this our invention we so shape the grid that the cotton or other
fibre under operation shall be guided in its upward passage (in the case of a vertical
beater) towards the centre of each successive revolving discs; the discs throwing
the material against the grid by centrifugal action, and so freeing it more effectually
from sand, seed and other impurities whilst the lighter material such as cotton or
other fibre is drawn upwards, to be acted upon in a similar manner by each
successive revolving disc.
The centrifugal cleansing action is consequent on the use of any one of the
following constructions.
Firstly. By contracting the grid on the underside of each disc in a vertical
opener.
Secondly. By forming the grids in steps so that each step is overlapped by the
next disc or its spikes, and in this manner grinding the cotton on to the face of
the disc or spikes.
Thirdly. By making the grids in a corrugated form vertically so that each disc
revolves in one of the hollows, or corrugations of the grid.
Or the grids can be found corrugated, or stepped, and corrugated, having a
curved outline, and being contracted below each of the several discs, the said
discs revolving with their peripheries close to the inner diameters of the grids.
The vertical bars can be formed of wrought or cast metal connected at intervals
of their length by cross bars, and holes punched, or drilled through the revolving
discs near their driving shaft allow the exhaust fan to draw air freely therethrough,
and so assist in bringing the fibre to the underside of each successive disc, and
towards the centre of the beater to be again thrown out, and against the grids by
centrifugal force directly it touches the disc.
It will be obvious that our invention is equally applicable to machines having
horizontal beaters, or to beaters which are neither vertical or horizontal.
Dated the 8th day of April 1890.
WALTER BRIERLEY,
Central Chambers, Halifax, Agent for the Applicants.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Opening, Cleaning, and Scutching
Cotton or other like Fibres.
We, JAMES TASKER, Mechanical Draughtsman, and LAYCOCK HARGREAVES,
Foreman Mechanic, both of Globe Works, Accrington, in the County of Lancaster,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
This invention relates to machinery used in the opening, cleaning and scutching
of cotton and other fibres, the said fibres being operated upon by a vertical, or
horizontal beater usually composed of a number of sheet metal discs fixed at intervals
along the "beater shaft" and having spikes rivetted round their periphery, such
shaft and discs revolving inside a conical cage, or "grid."
The substance to be cleaned, opened, and scutched, (say for example cotton)
passes into the cage, or grid, generally at the small end, and is drawn towards the
large end by means of an exhaust fan.
In passing through the cotton is beaten, and the heavier impurities or foreign
substances are driven through the grid thereby removing extraneous matter from
the cotton.
Heretofore the grids have been constructed of straight bars, and intervening
spaces, or plates, with apertures therein, or plates having shells, or recesses cast on
the back thereof, through which spaces, apertures, or recesses the dirt had to be
driven and with such appliances the material has been simply rolled over the surface
of the grid
According to this our invention we so shape the grid that the cotton, or other
fibre under operation shall be guided in its upward passage (in the case of a vertical
beater) towards the centre of each successive revolving disc; the disc throwing the
material against the grid by centrifugal action, and so freeing it more effectually
from sand, seeds, and other impurities, whilst the lighter material such as cotton,
or other fibre is drawn upwards, to be acted upon in a similar manner by each
successive revolving disc. The centrifugal cleaning action is consequent on the use
of the following construction.
By contracting the grid on the underside of each disc, so as to give to the grid
a kind of stepped appearance, so that each step is overlapped by the next disc
or its spikes and in this manner guiding the cotton on to the face of the disc or
spikes.
In order that our invention may be clearly understood, we will describe the same
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 represents a section of a vertical beater opener shown with our improved
grid applied.
Fig. 1 being a plan of one of the beaters.
Fig. 2 is a vertical section of one side of the beater drawn to enlarged scale.
Fig 3 an inside view and Fig. 4 a cross section of one of the grids.
In Fig. 1 is the ordinary vertical beater shaft, to which a rapid revolving motion
is imparted by means of the pulley 2.
Along the shaft 1 are arranged at intervals the steel circular discs 3. 4. 5. 6. 7
and 8 around the peripheries of which are rivetted a
shown at 9. 10. 11. 12. 13 and 14.
Around the beater is shown our improved grid 15.
follows:-
number of steel spikes as
The action of same is as
The cotton or other fibre to be operated upon is fed into the machine through the
pipe 16 being drawn by the action of the ordinary exhaust fan in the direction
indicated by the arrow and delivered to the rapidly revolving blades 9 and 10
encased in the circular corrugated dish 17 where it is broken up and then delivered
to the face of the revolving spikes 11, which throw out the cotton and dirt upon

page_text: the grid or grate 15 the extraneous matter passing through the grid and falling on
to the floor whilst the lighter material such as cotton passes upwards until it comes
in contact or is fed upon the face of the revolving spikes 12 which again by
centrifugal action causes the mixture of dirt and cotton to be thrown out in a
horizontal direction and so causing the dirt to be more effectually separated from the
cotton than with the ordinary grid. This centrifugal cleaning action takes place,
at each successive disc. A like construction may be extended to the dish 17 that.
is to say the dish may be stepped. To assist the cotton in being drawn to the
underside of each successive disc and so increase the centrifugal action, each disc is.
perforated as shown in Fig. 1" so as to allow the air to be drawn freely through
and so assist in bringing the fibre to the underside of each successive disc and
towards the centre of the beater to be again thrown out and against the grid by
centrifugal force directly it touches the disc.
After the material has been opened and cleaned it is delivered by the opening 18
to the ordinary dust cages as found in conjunction with every opener. It is obvious.
the number of discs and the amount of overlap of each disc has to be varied to suit
the class of material; to get a greater centrifugal action it would only be necessary
to increase the number of the steps 19 discs, and spikes.
In applying the grids to a horizontal beater or a beater neither horizontal or
vertical no alteration whatever is necessary in the grids the only difference being
that in the latter case the shaft is horizontal or inclined instead of vertical as
shown in Fig. 1.
The grids can be formed of wrought or cast metal either in segments as shown in
Fig. 3 or built up in single bars placed side by side; or in circular rings one placed
upon the top of the other.
Having now particularly described the nature of our said invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is :-
1st. In machines for purpose aforesaid cages or grids of different diameters
forming a series of steps as herein described and substantially as illustrated by the
drawings annexed.
2nd. The cages or grids of different diameters as described in combination with
beaters perforated for purpose herein fully described.
JAMES TASKER.
LAYCOCK HARGREAVES.
By their Agent, Walter Brierley,
Central Chambers, Halifax.
1001.
JAMES TASKER.
LAYCOCK HARGREAVES.
By their Agent, Walter Brierley,
Central Chambers, Halifax.