Improvements in Apparatus for the Extraction, Cleaning, and Preparation of Vegetable Fibres.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Jan., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 30th Oct., 1897-Accepted, 8th Jan., 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for the Extraction, Cleaning, and
Preparation of Vegetable Fibres.
We, SYDNEY SHORTER, of Suffolk House, Laurence Pountney Hill, Cannon
Street, in the City of London, Merchant, and SAMUEL STANBRIDGE, of 118 Seaford
Road, Tottenham, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to apparatus for extracting and cleaning vegetable fibres
or preparing them for industrial uses, and is chiefly designed to provide means
whereby, in the treatment or scutching of fibre-bearing leaves or like substances,
the whole of the said leaves or the like can be operated upon by means of a single
beating or scutching wheel in one operation and without the necessity for handling
them after they have been fed into the machine.
For this purpose we make the scutching-board in two or more sections, and we
provide suitable means whereby, when any leaves or the like are introduced
between the feed-rolls, one of the said sections will be automatically withdrawn or
moved out of its normal position, so as to leave an opening or gap in the scutching-
board at a suitable distance from the feed-rolls, through which the end of the
beaten fibres will descend before the leaves or the like are released from the said
feed-rolls. And we also provide suitable means whereby the movable section of
the scutching-board will then be automatically returned to its normal position,
and the end of the beaten fibres will be seized by another pair of rolls whereby the
said fibres will be drawn through the said opening or gap. In this latter
operation, the part of the leaves or the like not previously acted upon by the
beaters, will be subjected to their action before being drawn through the opening
or gap in the scutching-board.
We find it advantageous to employ two pairs of rolls for feeding the leaves or
the like into the machine, one pair having a smooth surface and the other pair
a surface which is toothed, corrugated or otherwise more or less roughened so that
they will serve for crushing the leaves or the like.
According to one form of construction, we connect the second section of the
scutching-board to a third section thereof by means of pivots or hinge-joints, and
we connect the said second section by means of a rod or link to a crank-pin
attached to a disc or wheel, which is so arranged in combination with the feed-
rolls that, when the leaves are fed between the latter, the lower roll will be put
into gear with the said wheel, and, by turning the same through a suitable angle,
will close the gap in the scutching-board. We also provide the feed-table with
a spring board or the like which should be pressed down in order to introduce a
fresh charge of the leaves between the feed-rolls, and we so arrange this spring
board or the like in combination with the said wheel that, when it is pressed
down, it will release the said wheel and permit the movement of the second or
pivoted section of the scutching-board in the reverse direction, under the action
of a spring or otherwise, so as to open the gap in the scutching-board. On

page_text: the underside of the adjacent edges of the first and second sections of the scutch-
ing-board, we mount discharge-rolls which co-operate, when the aforesaid gap is
closed, to draw through the opening or slit remaining between the said sections,
the fibres whose lower end has previously fallen through the gap.
The parts
are so constructed and arranged that, when the feed-rolls have made the required
number of revolutions to allow the end of the beaten fibres to fall through the
gap in the scutching-board, the pivoted or swinging section of the latter will be
moved so as to close the said gap and the beaten fibres will be seized and pulled
through by the discharge-rolls. The part of the leaves not yet beaten will be
thrown by the beaters over the second and third sections of the scutching-board
and beaten before being drawn through by the discharge-rolls.
According to another modification of our said invention, we arrange the move-
able section of the scutching-board so that it will slide between suitable guides
to open and close the gap in the said scutching-board. We can also, if desired,
somewhat further modify the construction of our apparatus without departing
from the nature of our said invention.
Data the 20th love of Lanum 1907
D. YOUNG & Co.,
11 & 12 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.
Improvements in Apparatus for the Extraction, Cleaning, and
Preparation of Vegetable Fibres.
We, SYDNEY SHORTER, of Suffolk House, Laurence Pountney Hill, Cannon
Street, in the City of London, Merchant, and SAMUEL STANBRIDGE, of 118 Seaford
Road, Tottenham, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, 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:-
Our invention relates to apparatus for extracting and cleaning vegetable fibres
or preparing them for industrial uses, and is chiefly designed to provide means
whereby, in the treatment or scutching of fibre bearing leaves or like substances,
the whole of each of the said leaves or the like can be operated upon by means of
a single beating or scutching wheel in one operation and without the necessity for
handling the leaves or the like after they have been fed into the machine.
For this purpose we make the scutching-board in sections with an opening or
gap between the same at a suitable distance from the feed-rolls, and we provide
suitable means whereby, when any leaves or the like are introduced between the
feed-rolls, one of the said sections will be automatically withdrawn or moved out
of its normal position, so as to enlarge or widen the said opening or gap in the
scutching-board, so that the end of the beaten fibres will descend through the
same before the leaves or the like are released from the said feed-rolls.
And we
also provide suitable means whereby the movable section of the scutching-board
will at the proper time be automatically returned to its normal position, and the
end of the beaten fibres will then be seized by another pair of rolls whereby the said
fibres will be drawn through the said opening or gap. In this latter operation,
the part of the leaves or the like not previously acted upon by the beaters, will be
subjected to their action before being drawn through the opening or gap in the
scutching-board.
We find it advantageous, in some cases, to employ two pairs of rolls for feeding
the leaves or the like into the machine, those of one pair having smooth surfaces

page_text: and those of the other pair surfaces which are toothed, corrugated or otherwise
more or less roughened so that they will serve for crushing the leaves or the like.
In the accompanying drawings we have shown how our said invention may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice.
Figure 1 is a side elevation showing one form of our improved fibre-cleaning
machine.
Figure 2 is a horizontal section on the lime -, Figure 1, looking from beneath.
Figure 3 is a vertical section on the line ¹¹, Figure 2, and
Figure 4 is a vertical section on the line, Figure 1, illustrating details
of construction.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
A is the frame of the machine; B is a shaft mounted in bearings thereon and
carrying a beater-wheel C provided with a suitable number of beaters C. The
shaft B is provided with a driving pulley B' through which motion is imparted
to the machine.
In the frame A, beneath the beater-wheel C, is mounted a fixed section D) of the
scutching-board, and adjacent thereto a movable section D' of the said scutching-
board. This section D' is adapted to slide in guide-ways D formed on or attached
to the frame A and concentric with the beater-wheel C, in such a manner that the
said movable section or board D can be withdrawn to a suitable distance from the
fixed section or board D to permit the introduction of the beaten ends of the leaves.
or the like between the discharge-rollers as hereinafter described.
This movement of the section or board D is effected by mechanism controlled
by one of the feed-rolls E, F, which take the fibrous material to be cleaned from
the feeding table G. For this purpose, the shaft F¹ of the lower roll F, which is
preferably of larger diameter than the upper roll E, is mounted in bearings the
lower halves F whereof are arranged to slide vertically on guide-bars or studs F
and are supported in seats or recesses H in the arms H of bell-crank-levers H¹, H2.
These bell-crank-levers are pivoted at H and are connected by means of links J
to the arms K of another lever K, K', the roll F being normally maintained in con-
tact with the roll E by means of springs L attached at one end to the arms H2
of the levers H1, H2 and at their other ends to the frame A. The arm K¹ of the
lever K, K is provided at its upper end with a roller K2 bearing against
plate M
on the lower end of a bar M' which slides in suitable guides A¹ on the frame A.
A shaft N is mounted in suitable bearings on the frame A and carries a spur-
wheel N¹, to which motion is imparted by means of spur-wheels N2, N3 from the
main-shaft B, and which is connected by suitable gear-wheels F4, E¹, to the
feed-rolls E, F. The shaft N is provided with a screw-threaded extension N an
which a crank-disc 1 is free to slide to and fro. To the pin P of this crank is
connected a rack Q, which is supported at its underside by a guide-roller Q and
at its sides by means of a forked guide Q2, and which engages with a pinion R
mounted on a shaft R¹. This shaft also bears a pinion R2 which is geared with an
are-shaped rack D³ on the movable portion 1 of the scutching-board. In order
to provide a detachable clutch or driving connection between the crank-disc P
an the gear-wheel N¹, a block or piece P2 having a segmental screw-threaded
end, is arranged to slide in a slot or guide-way in the disc P, and is adapted
to be pressed upward by an arm M2 pivoted to the rod M¹, into engagement with
the screw-threaded extension N of the shaft N, so that, as the latter turns
relatively to the disc P and segment 12, the disc P will be drawn, against. the
pressure of its spring 13, toward the toothed wheel N¹. The disc Pis, moreover,
provided with holes 1 on its inner face, into one or other of which a driving-
pin N projecting from the inner side of the gear-wheel N¹, is adapted to enter and
thus positively connect the two parts together. In order to retain the segment P
in engagement with the screw N during a complete revolution of the wheel N¹,
we secure to the frame A, concentrically with the shaft N, a flange or annular
casing A provided with a slot A³. When the segmental nut P2 is moved into

page_text: engagement with the screw N, the lower end of the said segmental nut Pª³ will be
raised so that it can enter within the flange A2, when the disc P moves towards the
spur-wheel N and the segmental nut P2 will then be maintained by the said
flange in engagement with the screw N₁, while the disc P is rotating, until it
again reaches the slot A³, when it will be forced out by the combined action
of the spring P3 and the screw-thread N4, the disc P being simultaneously moved
away from the pin N5 so that it will no longer be driven by the wheel N¹. When
the block or nut P2 is thus forced out, it pushes the pivoted arm M² outward
against the action of a spring M³, this spring returning the said arm to its
original position when, by the rising of the feed-roll F, the bar M is allowed to
descend. To permit of the disc P being moved inward when the driving-pin No
does not register with any of the holes P, we arrange the said pin so that it is
capable of sliding in a hole or seat in the wheel N and we provide it with a
spring No adapted to press it outward, its movement in this direction being
limited by means of a bolt N the head of which presses against the outside of the
wheel N¹. If desired, a spiral spring may be provided for assisting the movement
of the segmental nut P2 away from the screw-thread N+.
On the adjacent edges of the fixed and movable parts D. D¹ of the scutching-
board are mounted discharge-rollers S, T, one of which S, is stationary and is
mounted on a shaft S¹ having rotary motion imparted to it by means of a spur-
wheel S² from the spur-wheel N', whilst the other, T, moves with the part D of
the scutching-board, for which purpose it turns in bearings D at the inner end
thereof, and has rotary motion imparted to it from the shaft S by means of gear-
wheels T¹, S³.
In order to receive and convey the cleaned fibres from the discharge-rollers S, T,
we preferably employ a conveyor-band U passing over a pulley U, to which
rotary motion is imparted from the gear-wheel S2 by means of a pinion U³ and
toothed wheel U³.
The operation of our apparatus is as follows, viz:-When a batch of the fibrous
material is introduced between the feed-rolls E, F, the roll F is thereby depressed,
the crank-disc P is thrown into gear with the toothed wheel N through the
medium of the lever K, K' and the arm M2, and the movable part D₁ of
the scutching-board is moved away from the stationary part D thereof through the
medium of the rack Q. The fibrous material fed in over the scutching-board D
by the action of the feed-rolls E, F is meanwhile acted upon by the beaters C¹.
When the forward end of the batch of fibres reaches the end of the fixed section of
the scutching-board, it falls through the space or gap between the said fixed part
and the movable part of the scutching-board. When this has taken place, the
movable part 1 of the scutching-board returns to its original position, the disc l'
making one complete revolution, and the leading end of the batch of fibres is then
gripped between the discharge-rollers S, T, which draw out the cleaned fibres and
deliver them onto the conveyor-band U. As soon as the rear or trailing ends of
the fibres pass out from between the feed-rolls E, F, they are thrown by the
beaters Cover the movable section D' of the scutching-board, and are beaten and
cleaned before being finally drawn out by the rollers S, T and delivered onto the
conveyor-band U. A fresh batch of fibres is then inserted between the rollers E, F
and the above described operations are repeated, as often as may be desired.
In cases where several of the above-described machines are to be employed, they
may be advantageously coupled by means of the shafts B and driven by means
of a single pulley, gear-wheel or the like.
It is obvious that, if desired, any other suitable mechanism can be employed for
separating and bringing together the two portions D, D' of the scutching-board so
as to enable the leading ends of the fibres to be introduced between the discharge-
rollers S, T. And other devices may, if desired, be used for withdrawing the
beaten fibres from the machine.
According to another form of construction, we connect the second section of the
scutching-board by means of pivots or hinge-joints to a third section thereof, and

page_text: by means of a rod or link to a crank-pin attached to a disc or wheel, which is so
arranged in combination with the feed-rolls that, when the leaves are fed between
the latter, the lower roll will be put into gear with the said disc or wheel, and,
by turning the same through a suitable angle, will close the gap in the scutching-
board. We also provide the feed-table with a spring board or the like which
should be pressel down in order to introduce a fresh charge of the leaves between
the feed-rolls, and we so arrange this spring board or the like in combination with
the said disc or wheel that, when it is pressed down, it will release the same and
permit the movement of the second or pivoted section of the scutching-board in
the reverse direction under the action of a spring or otherwise, so as to enlarge
or widen the gap in the scutching board. On the underside of the adjacent
edges of the first and second sections of the scutching-board, we mount
discharge-rolls which co-operate, when the aforesaid gap is closed or reduced in
width, to draw through the opening or slit remaining between the said sections
the fibres whose lower end has previously fallen through the said gap. The parts
are so constructed and arranged that, when the feed-rolls have made the required
number of revolutions to allow the end of the beaten fibres to fall through the
gap in the scutching-board, the pivoted or swinging section of the latter will be
moved so as to close the said gap and the beaten fibres will be seized and pulled
through by the discharge-rolls. The part of the leaves not yet beaten will then be
thrown by the beaters over the second and third sections of the scutching-board
and be beaten before being drawn through by the discharge-rolls.
We can also, if desired, somewhat further modify the construction of our appa-
ratus without departing from the nature of our said invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:-
1
First. The herein-described method of providing for the scutching of the whole
of each of the fibre-bearing leaves or the like by means of a single beating or
scutching-wheel in one operation and without the necessity for handling the
leaves or the like after they have been fed into the machine.
Second. A machine for the extraction and cleaning of vegetable fibres, wherein
the scutching-board is made in two or more parts or sections one of which is
adapted to be automatically moved out of its normal position to permit the passage
of the beaten fibres through an opening or gap between the said movable section
and a fixed section of the said board, suitable means being provided for drawing
the beaten fibres out of the machine through the said opening or gap, substantially
as, and for the purposes, hereinbefore described.
Third. The combination, with the feed-rolls, of the divided scutching-board,
and means whereby the withdrawal of the movable section of the said scutching
board to permit the passage of the beaten ends of the fibres between the same and
the fixed section thereof, will be automatically effected by the separation of the
said feed-rolls when the fibres are introduced between them, substantially as, and
for the purposes, hereinbefore described.
Fourth. The improved apparatus constructed substantially as described with
reference to the accompanying drawings and operating as, and for the purposes,
above specified.
1000
D. YOUNG & Co.,
11 & 12 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.