Improvements in or relating to the Decortication of Rhea, Jute, and other Fibrous Vegetable Stems.
Year: 1890

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Decortication of Rhea, Jute, and
other Fibrous Vegetable Stems.
We, JAMES LONGMORE, Mill Manager, and WILLIAM LIVINGSTONE WATSON,
Merchant, both of 34 Leadenhall Street, London, E.C., 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:-
Hitherto the machines used for the decortication of rhea, jute and other fibrous
vegetable stems have usually been of complicated and costly construction and have
not generally been arranged for operating continuously; besides this many of the
machines have proved faulty in use because, among other reasons the gummy nature
of the fibres has caused them to adhere to the rollers, travelling aprons or other parts
of the machine and thus interfere with their proper delivery. Now this invention
has for its object to construct a machine in such a manner as to combine simplicity
and cheapness of construction with continuity and reliability of operation and also so
as to considerably increase the output of such machines.
A machine constructed according to the present invention consists essentially of
three rollers and a fixed bar over which one of the rollers viz. ;-a fluted or ribbed
beating roller breaks the woody interior of the stems into small pieces and loosens it
in the surrounding fibrous epidermis so that it may subsequently be easily shaken out
therefrom. Of the other two rollers the upper one is serrated or otherwise roughened
and the lower one is smooth and works very close to and preferably in frictional
contact with the fixed bar so that the said bar will scrape off any particles of the stems
which adhere to the lower roller. Two travelling aprons are preferably provided, one
to deliver the unbroken stems regularly to the two superposed or feed rollers and the
other to take away from the beater the stems of fibres after they have been operated
upon by said beater, the latter apron being also arranged to remove from the lower
feed roller any particles of the stem which the fixed bar may have failed to detach
from said roller.
In the accompanying drawings
:
Figs. 1 and 2 are respectively a vertical section and a plan of a machine constructed
according to this invention the section (Fig. 1) being taken on the line wx of
Fig. 2 ;
Fig. 3 is a section drawn to a larger scale taken on the line y z of Fig. 2.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
"
A are the two side frames which support the various parts of the machine and B
is the main shaft to which rotary motion is imparted in any suitable manner. B' is
a pitch wheel at one side (the near "side as in Figs. 1 and 2) of the machine,
secured on shaft B and of comparatively large diameter so as to drive the beater Cat
the required high rate of speed. On this shaft B at the other or "far" side of the
machine as in Figs. 1 and 2 is another pitch wheel B2 of smaller diameter than the
beforementioned wheel B¹ for driving the feed rollers D and E and the feeding and
delivering aprons F and G at the required rate of speed which is preferably con-
siderably slower than that of the beater C. The shaft C of the beater at the " near
side of the machine has secured on it the pitch wheel Cover which passes the chain C³
which is driven in the direction of the arrows a Fig. 1 by the wheel B' and the said
shaft is supported in two bearing blocks A' each of which is adjustable by a screw A²
in one of the side frames A; this adjustment enables the beater (to be moved nearer
to or farther from the feed rollers D and E and fixed bar H and when so adjusted the
beater can be secured in position by lock nuts A³. The shafts D' and E' of the
rollers D and E like that of the beater C are each supported in adjustable bearing
blocks A¹ these being movable up and down, each by its screw A² which may be secured

page_text: in any desired position by means of the lock nut A³ threaded upon it. J is a chain
which, driven by the pitch wheel B³ transmits motion to the wheel J¹. This wheel is
mounted on a shaft J2 carried by one of the frames A the said shaft also having
mounted on it the toothed wheel or pinion K which rotates in unison and may be
integral with the wheel J. The wheel K gears with the wheel D2 Fig. 1 secured on
the far" end of the feed roller shaft D₁ and the wheel D² gears with the wheel E²
Fig. 2 secured on the adjacent end of the feed roller shaft E' above it.
The bar H may have its ends turned down and secured to the lower feed roller
bearing blocks A¹ so as to be adjustable with said blocks or it may be supported in
any other convenient manner. It passes across the machine in the space between the
three rollers CD and E and it is practically of triangular section its upper surface may
be horizontal, its nearly vertical surface is hollowed out to enable the beater C to work
close against it while its third or under surface is hollowed out to enable it to fit
closely against the roller D so as to "doff" it or scrape off or prevent any particles
of the stems adhering thereto. This hollowing out of the underside of bar H enables
it to be bedded on the roller D so that said roller D will support it against the
blows of the beater and thus avoid the necessity of employing a thicker bar which
would necessitate the distance between the beater C and rollers D and E being
increased. This is an important feature of the invention as it is necessary to have.
the beater C as close as possible to the rollers D and E so as to minimize the length
of the end portions of the stems upon which the beater will not operate with its full
effect as hereinafter explained.
On the " near "end of the roller shaft D' is secured a pitch wheel D³ around which
passes a chain L which gears with and transmits motion to the wheels F¹ and G
secured respectively on the shafts F2 and G2 of the rollers F³ G³ which give motion
to the endless aprons F and G respectively; besides the wheels D³ F¹ G' the chain L
passes around the wheel L' which is mounted on a short shaft or stud L2 Fig. 1
secured to the "near" frame A and which may be adjustable so as to enable the
tension of the chain L to be regulated. The shafts F2 and G2 may be supported in
stationary bearings formed in the two frames A or they may be arranged in slots or
guides so as to be capable of adjustment nearer to or farther from the lower feed roller D
so as to admit of layer or smaller apron rollers being applied for the purpose of operating
the aprons F and G quicker or slower.
The roller F causes the apron F to travel in close proximity to but not necessarily
in contact with the feed roller D. The outer part of the apron F which part is not
shown in the drawings, passes around another roller which may be supported at the
junction of the bolt A with A which may be adjusted so as to slacken or tighten
said apron.
The roller G causes the apron G to travel in contact with the feed roller D so as
to rub off from its surface any particles of the stems or fibres which the bar H may
have failed to scrape off. The parts of the roller. D and apron G-in contact with each
other travel in opposite directions as will be seen by the arrows in Figs. 1 and 3.
The outer part of the apron G like that of the apron F passes over a roller not
shown in the drawings but which may be supported at the junction of the tie
bolt A with A' which bolts provide for any required adjustment in the tension of
such apron.
If desired the roller E and beater C instead of being each constructed in one
cylindrical piece as shown in the drawings may be made up of segments arranged
longitudinally along the shaft E¹ or C', and the beater may be formed with removable
ribs or blades so that when said ribs or blades become worn or otherwise damaged
they may be removed, thus dispensing with the necessity of renewing the whole
beater; moreover this provision will admit of some of the ribs or blades being
removed for altering the distance between them.
The operation of the before described apparatus is as follows;-The stems to be
treated are laid longitudinally on the apron F so that they will be carried endwise to
the rollers D and between which they are nipped and by which they are fed to the
beater C. The rollers D and E merely nip the stems sufficiently to feed them

page_text: regularly to the heater and to prevent their being dragged between said rollers by the
action of the beater and it is preferable to adjust the rollers D and E by means of the
screws A so that the stems may not be crushed between them any more than is
necessary for fulfilling these functions. The stems are passed by the rollers D and E
over the bar H at the distant edge of which they are broken by a continuous and
rapid succession of blows from the ribs or blades of the beater C. This breaks up
the woody interior of the stems into fine particles and loosens it within the epidermis
which is left practically whole and out of which the said interior may afterwards be
easily removed by shaking the stems.
Any particles of the pellicle or other gummy fragments which escape the scraping
action of the bar H will be removed from the roller D by the apron G which as
already explained travels in the reverse direction to the contiguous portion of the
periphery of D and which will convey said particles out of the machine along with
the treated stems.
One very great advantage secured by the before described machine is that
practically the whole length of the stem is uniformly operated on by the
beater Cno portion of the stems being in practice found to have escaped
treatment.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is;-
1. In a decorticating machine arranging the bar over which the stems are broken
so that throughout its effective length it is supported against the blows of the beater
by a feed roller substantially as and for the purpose described.
2. In a decorticating machine the combination with the beater C and feed roller D
of a bar such as H bedded on the roller D so that it will be supported against the blows
of the beater and at the same time serve to "doff" the roller D substantially as
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
3. In a decorticating machine the combination with the beater C feed rollers D and E
and a bar such as H in contact with the roller D and over which the stems are broken
by the beater, of an endless apron such as G travelling in contact with the roller D so
as to remove any particles of the stems adhering thereto substantially as described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
4. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete decorticating
machine consisting essentially of a beater a plain or smooth feed roller D a serrated
or roughened feed roller E feed and delivery aprons F and G and a bar such as H
supported on the roller D the whole operating substantially as and for the purpose
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
D
011 1
1000
JAMES LONGMORE.
W. L. WATSON.
W. P. Thompson & Boult,
Agents for the Applicants.