An Improved Process for the Removal of Fibre or Lint from and Cleaning Cotton Seed, and Means or Apparatus Employed therein.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Apr., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Jan., 1891-Accepted, 28th Feb., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Process for the Removal of Fibre or Lint from and
Cleaning Cotton Seed, and Means or Apparatus Employed
therein.
1, GEORGE HENRY CROKER, of 18, Bellevue Road, Seacombe, in the County
of Chester, Carver, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to the treatment of cotton seed containing or coated with
the usual residual quantity of fibre or lint, for the removal therefrom of such
adhering fibre or lint for the purpose of, and use in, the textile manufacture and
industries for which it is valuable and the chief object of the present invention is
to obtain such fibre or lint in a form or condition which shall be more valuable per
unit of quantity than that hitherto produced from the seed; and at the same time
our object is to remove such fibre and lint, and to clean the cotton seed, so as to
obtain it in a suitable commercial form, and rendered useful as a cattle feeding stuff
and harmless to animals: That is to say, besides the object of cleaning the cotton
seed thoroughly, so that cattle feeding stuff produced from it shall be rendered free
from the objections which have hitherto, in many cases, been held with respect to
its use, my object is to, and I do, remove and obtain the fibre and lint in such a
manner, as hereinafter described, in the most useful and valuable form.
According to the present invention I take the seed in the condition it is usually
imported into the United Kingdom, that is, with a certain quantity (which varies
somewhat in degree) of adhering fibre or lint, which forms a residue thereon after
the bulk of fibre has been removed from the pods by machinery (or by hand) in the
usual way abroad, prior to its shipment here, and subject it to a process of operations
consisting, firstly, of treating it in a cotton gin preferably of the type or class, such
as that known as the "Macarthy Gin"; and subsequently by operating upon the
seed as treated, and completely cleaning it in and by any known suitable cleaning
machine, but preferably in a machine of the kind described under the Specification
of Letters Patent No. 7641 of 1888 granted to me and others.
Or, as a modification of the above process, I may first remove a great portion of
the dust and foreign solid matters, by opening, shaking, and riddling the seeds, or
these in conjunction with magnetic separating means; then gin the seeds so ridded
of dust and other foreign substances; and then remove the remaining fibre and clean
the seed..
The apparatus for this consists of an elevator by which the seeds are raised to
the riddling apparatus, such apparatus consisting of suitable meshwork sieves or
screens, and means for shaping such riddle, such as tappets, or cams, or their
equivalent an openwork conveyer by which the seeds are fed to the gin; a
magnet disposed near the path of the material by which metal is arrested and
removed; a fan or other exhausting mechanism, and casing, by which dust and fluff'
are carried away; and a chamber for depositing such dust and fluff.
In the process
of riddling or travelling, the solid matters may be picked from the seeds by hand.
I have found and seen that by treating cotton seed by a process consisting
practically of one kind of treatment, or operating upon it by one class of implements
or tools, such as that above referred to under Patent No. 7641 of 1888, or others at
present in use, which will clean it thoroughly and sufficiently for the object intended,
that the removed fibre or lint is short and relatively of a low value, whilst I, on the
ther hand, to avoid depreciating its staple and value, and to produce a fibre or lint
of a high value, have experimented and found, and have produced in such experi-
nents, and can produce, from the seed, by my process, and by the use of machinery,

page_text: such as above referred to, in the first stage, a large proportion of cotton fibre of
excellent staple and quality, and consequently of great value, whilst the fibre or
lint produced in the subsequent stage of my process, and by the apparatus referred
to, is of about the same value as that hitherto produced in the one stage or single
type machine spoken of that is, of a substantially lower value; and then, beyond
this, I turn out the seed thoroughly cleaned and highly applicable for use for
conversion to cattle feeding stuffs. Thus there is produced by the herein described
process and apparatus. (1), a portion of removed cotton of good quality and value,
(2), a second portion of inferior quality aud less value, and, (3). a thoroughly
cleaned seed highly suitable for use as cattle feeding stuff.
In the above Specification I have made reference to certain special kinds or
classes of machines which I propose to use in the practice of my invention, I have
specially specified these, as at present, they are the only kind of machines with
which I have experimented, or of which I am aware will effect the desired end.in a
thoroughly satisfactory manner, but I wish it to be understood that in the. practice
of my invention, any machinery of an analogous, or equivalent kind, or character,
may be employed in their stead.
Dated this 22nd day of April 1890.
CHEESBROUGH & ROYSTON,
15, Water Street, Liverpool, Applicant's Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
.
An Improved Process for the Removal of, Fibre or Lint, from and
Cleaning Cotton Seed, and Means or. Apparatus Employed
therein.
'ח
I, GEORGE HENRY CROKER, of 18, Bellevue Road, Seacombe, in the County
of Chester, Carver, 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 and has for its objects the treatment of, cotton seed
containing or coated with the usual residual quantity of fibre or lint, for the removal
therefrom of such adhering fibre or lint for the production of clean cotton, seed, in
a suitable condition for use as, or the, manufacture into, cattle feeding, stuff, and
harmless to animals; and also to obtain the fibre, in. a. condition, which shall be
capable of being used in the textile manufactures and industries, for, which, it is
valuable. That is to say, besides the object of the production of a thoroughly
clean cotton seed, so that cattle feeding, stuff made from it, shall be rendered free
from the objections, which have, hitherto, in many cases, been held with respect to
its use, my object is to, and I do, remove and obtain the fibre and lint in such a
manner, as hereinafter described, in the most useful and valuable form.
According to the present invention I take the seed in, the condition it is usually
imported into the United Kingdom (that is, with a certain quantity of adhering
fibre or lint, which varies somewhat in quantity, forming a residue, thereon after the
bulk of fibre has been removed by machinery, or by hand, in the usual way.
abroad, prior to its shipment here) and subject it, preferably, to,the, following
operations:
:-
I first remove a great portion of, the dust and foreign, solid matters, by, opening,
shaking, and riddling the seeds, or I so treat them, in, conjunction with magnetic
separating means; I then treat it in a cotton. gin, preferably of that type or class.
known as the "Macarthy Gin"; and I then subsequently, operate. upon the seed so.
treated,, and completely clean it, in and by any known suitable, cleaning machine,
but preferably in a machine of the kind described under the. Specification of
Letters Patent No. 7641 of 1888. granted to myself and others; or that described.
in the Specification of Application for Letters. Patent, No. 6154 of 1890,1 filed.
simultaneously herewith.

page_text: The apparatus for effecting this treatment consists of a conveyor by which the
seeds are delivered to the opening and riddling apparatus or they may be fed
thereto by hand, such riddling apparatus consisting of suitable meshwork sieves or
screens, and means for shaking such riddle, such as tappets, or cams, or their
equivalent; a conveyor by which the seeds are fed to the gin; a magnet disposed
near the path of the material by which metal is arrested and removed; a fan or
other exhausting mechanism by which dust and fluff are carried away; and a
chamber for depositing such dust and fluff. In the process of riddling or travelling,
the solid matters may be picked from the seeds by hand.
I have found and seen that by treating cotton seed by a process consisting
practically of one kind of treatment, or operating upon it by one class of implements.
such as above referred to under Patent No. 7641 of 1888, or under Application
No. 6154 of 1890, or others at present in use, it is extremely difficult-especially
with thickly and tightly coated seed, and even impossible, to clean it thoroughly
and efficiently; and also that the removed fibre or lint is short and relatively of a
low value; but by operating upon the seed and removing the cotton fibre or lint in
two or more treatments and stages, I not only produce easily a thoroughly clean
seed, but I obtain in the ginning stage a large proportion of cotton fibre of excellent
staple and quality, and consequently of great value, whilst the fibre or lint produced
in the subsequent stage by the apparatus referred to, is of about the same value as
that hitherto produced in the one stage or single machine spoken of, that is of a
substantially lower value. And then again, beyond this, the remaining fibra being
relatively small, the machine not only has less work to do, but it can deal with it
much more easily and efficiently, and turns out the seed thoroughly cleaned, and in
greater quantities, and highly applicable for use for conversion to cattle feeding
stuffs. Thus there is produced by this invention (1), a thoroughly cleaned seed
highly suitable for use as cattle feeding stuff; (2), a portion of removed cotton of
good quality and value; and (3), a second portion of inferior quality and less
value.
'
In the above Specification I have made reference to certain special kinds or
classes of ginning and cleaning machines which I propose to use in the practice of
my invention, I have particularly specified these, as they are the best kind of
machines of which I am aware which will effect the desired end in a thoroughly
satisfactory manner, but I wish it to be understood that in the 'practice of my
invention, any machinery of a like kind, or character, may be employed in their
stead.
.
The following is a description of the accompanying drawings, wherein is
illustrated, apparatus arranged in direct combination and adapted to carry out my
invention. The invention is not confined, however, to the arrangement of the
apparatus, as the different operations may be effected at different times, and by such
machines, not in direct combination as shewn.
The drawing shews an arrangement in which an opening machine," a sieving, and
purifying machine, a Macarthy Grin," and a cleaning machine, are employed in
direct connection and combination for the production of clean cotton seed suitable
for the uses hereinbefore mentioned.
Referring to the drawings, the first machine designated generally by A, is a cotton
opener of known type, consisting mainly of a feeding travelling lattice 1, intake
spiked revolving 'rollers 2, and an opening spiked revolving roller 3. Below this
roller is a concave 4, and above is a grid 4*, through which the lighter dust may be
drawn, such dust being caused to rise therethrough by an exhausting fan 5 which
delivers the dust into the depositing chamber 67 B is a riddling and purifying
apparatus, the opened cotton seed from the opener A being fed on to the riddle 7
thereof by a travelling elevator 8. The riddle 7 is mounted on bearings at 7* at
the further end, whilst at its front it is supported by suspension bars 9, at each side,
said bars being connected at their upper ends to a lever 10 at each side of the
machine, and fulcrumed at 11, their free ends being adapted to be operated upon by
rotating star tappets 12, which, as they revolve; depress the free end of said levers

page_text: and then release them, imparting thereby to the riddle a sudden and rapid lift and
drop or vibratory movement. The riddle is of ordinary construction having its
bottom made of perforated metal or wood, gauze, wire-net, or other suitable open-
work, adapted to let through dirt and small solids, but not the cotton seeds. The
riddle is closed in, mainly, at all parts by a covering 13 glazed at the sides, one
side, however, of such covering having an opening 14, at which point an attendant
may examine the cotton seeds as they pass down the riddle and pick out any large
foreign substance that may be passing down with them. On the roof an exhausting
fan 14 is employed for the purpose of drawing off the fine dust given off from the
cotton seed under agitation in the riddle and ginning. This dust is delivered into
the depositing chamber 15 through the pipe 16. The solid particles which fall
through the meshes or apertures of the riddle fall on to the space below it.
C is a cotton gin by which some of the cotton of the seed, ridded of dust and
other foreign matters, is removed, the seed being delivered to the feeding hopper
thereof by the travelling endless conveyor lattice 7B. This gin is of the well
known "Macarthy" type, as already mentioned, and needs therefore no particular
description, more than to say that its knives and take-off rollers are set closely
for the purposes of the invention, so that the adhering fibre of the seed, although
close to the kernel, will, as far as possible, be removed by them. This close
setting may be done without fear of injury to the taking-off rollers, owing to the
seed having been ridded of foreign matters by the apparatus preceding the gin.
From the space beneath the gin the seeds are delivered in to a shoot 17 which
conveys the seeds to the cleaning machine or machines (as the case may be)
below. If more than one cleaning machine is employed a plurality of shoots 17
may be used, the seed being distributed to them by any known suitable kind of
conveyor or other distributing device.
D is the cleaning and finishing machine. This machine is by preference of the
type hereinbefore referred to, but any other suitable kind of cleaning machine,
capable of cleaning efficiently the seeds, may be used in its stead.
It will of course be understood that the various apparatus are driven by a suitable
motor 19 at the requisite rates of speed.
The operations and effects of the apparatus above specified, and the general
process of producing clean cotton seed is as follows :--The raw seed in the condition
it is introduced into the United Kingdom with its impurities or foreign matters is
spread upon the table 18, and is delivered therefrom by hand onto the travelling
endless lattice or other conveyor 1, by which it is conveyed to the opener A, and
opened in a similar manner to ordinary cotton. From this machine, in its opened
condition, the seed is delivered onto the leading end of the riddle 7. On this riddle
it receives a thorough shaking and turning over by the rapid and severe vibratory
motion of such riddle, with the result that practically all dust and small foreign
solid matters are removed from it. Owing to the inclination on which the riddle is
set, and its vibratory motion, the seed gradually moves forward and is discharged
onto the conveyor 7B. In this cleaned and open condition the seed is next
delivered into the gin C, wherein, as above stated, as large a portion of the fibre
as possible, is removed. The seed thus ridded of a portion of the fibre is next
passed into the machine D, whereby the remaining fibre is completely removed
and the seeds produced in a thoroughly clean condition and fit for the purposes it
is intended to be used.
By first removing a portion of the fibre from the seeds by ginning, and then
passing the seed through the cleaning machine D, not only is a quantity of cotton
of good and marketable quality obtained (i.e. by the gin), but the cleaning
machine is enabled to operate upon the seed so much more effectively than it
otherwise could do, in that the longer fibre is removed before it enters such
machine; and this fibre is one of the great obstacles to the successful treatment
of cotton seed, as when or if removed in a cleaning machine solely, it clogs it
and renders the removing operation of the closer adhering fibre so much more
difficult, and indeed with most machines practically impossible when operating

page_text: on thickly covered seeds. And besides this, the total power to drive the gin and
cleaner is materially less than that required to drive the cleaner alone, when the
seed is not primarily treated in the gin. It will therefore be plain, that whether
the opening and riddling mechanism be used or not (and these are not necessary
if the seed be clean), the gin is at all times most useful. On the other hand for
some dirty kinds of seeds, such as sandy Egyptian seeds, the fibre upon which is
comparatively short and not difficult of removal, the gin is not necessary, and in
such cases, the riddling and opening machines are employed in conjunction with the
cleaning machine. The process in that case therefore consists in first removing the
dirt and foreign matters from the seed, and then removing the fibre by the cleaning
machine D.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
The production of clean cotton seed from fibre covered seed substantially as and
for the purposes hereinbefore described.
Dated this 2nd den of In 1901
CHEESBROUGH & ROYSTON,
15, Water Street, Liverpool, Applicant's Patent Agents.