IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR HULLING COTTON SEEDS AND SEPARATING THEIR KERNELS FROM THE HULLS AND FIBRES
Year: 1870

page_text: "
LETTERS PATENT to Henry Shaw, of Newport, State of Kentucky,
one of United States of America, for the Invention of IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR HULLING COTTON SEEDS AND SEPARATING THEIR
KERNELS FROM THE HULLS AND FIBRES."
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Henry Shaw at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 22nd April 1870, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
SHAW, of Newport, State of Kentucky, one of the United States of
America, send greeting.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for
MACHINERY FOR HULLING COTTON SEEDS AND SEPARATING THEIR KERNELS FROM
THE HULLS AND FIBRES," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant
unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters
Patent for the same, and have made solemn Declaration that I am the
true and first Inventor thereof.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Shaw, do hereby declare
that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and seal,
fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):—
The machine embodying my improvements is composed of two main
parts, viz., the huller and the separator; the former performs the
function of detaching the hull from the kernel of the cotton seed, and
the latter, that of winnowing or separating the kernel from the hull and
fibres after the hull has been detached from the kernel by the action of
the huller.
I have represented in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings six views
of my machine of which Fig. 1 is a plan complete; Fig. 2, a lateral
elevation in section through the line A, A, Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a front
elevation in section through the line B, B, Fig. 1; Fig. 4, an external
front elevation; Fig. 5 is a transverse section of the huller, and Fig. 6,
a front face of one of the plates composing the same.
For greater clearness I will first describe that part of the said machine
that I have denominated the huller.
My huller is composed of two cast-iron hulling plates A, C, of the
same size, form, and construction, as will be seen from the Figures 5 and
6. The working surfaces of these plates are provided with projections
or raised figures e, in the shape of a right angled triangle with the
addition of a stem as an extension to their respective bases. All the
contour lines of these projections act as hulling surfaces. These pro-
jections are placed in rows or lines radiating from the centre of the
plate. The stem of each base is pointed to the centre of the plate and
the rows of these projections are so arranged that each of the rows has
its bases directed to the bases of an adjacent row and its points towards
the points of an adjacent row on the other side. It will also be remarked
that the space between any two projections in any row is not imme-
diately opposite a space between the projections in an adjacent row,
but that the base and the point of each projection is opposite a space:
in the adjacent rows. These projections are of a gradually increasing a
length as they approach the periphery of the plate, so that their extre-
mities just touch or slightly pass a line drawn from the centre of the
plate towards its periphery midway between them. The base of each;

page_text: projection is of the same length with every other, each being three-
eighths of an inch, and the spaces between the projections in all the
rows is the same, viz., one-eighth of an inch. The height of these
projections is nine sixty-fourths of an inch. These dimensions may be
slightly varied without materially affecting the operation of the machine,
but the dimensions which I have given have afforded me the best
practical results. The larger equilateral triangular projections f, shewn
on the central portion of the hulling plate, Fig. 6, act as guides to direct
the cotton seed to the hulling projections above described. The height
of these guides is such as to bring their upper surfaces in the same
plane as the upper surfaces of the hulling projections e; to accomplish
this, as the central portion of the hulling plates are dished, see Fig. 5,
these guides are proportionally higher.
In Fig. 5 I have shewn the two hulling plates in position, the
stationary one A being set and secured by bolts or their equivalents in
a large stationary cast-iron disc B, and the rotary one C set and secured
in a similar manner in a circular disc D, which is keyed fast on the
shaft E, the whole being enclosed in a box L; between each disc and its
plate an air space a is reserved with a view of preventing the plates from
becoming overheated; when in use the disc D is formed with a hub b,
on the outer part of which is a worm c which feeds the cotton sced to
the hullers.
The relative positions of the internal operative parts of the huller are
more clearly shewn in Fig. 2, where d, d, are screws for adjusting the
rotary huller C to the required distance from the fixed one A; K is the
hopper in which the cotton seed is charged and from which it is con-
veyed by the worm c and forced in between the hulling plates at their
central part. The action of the plates drives the seed from the centre
to the periphery of the hulling plates, during which period the hull is
torn from the kernels by the action of the projections e above described,.
after which the kernels, hulls, and fibres all pass in one stream through
the spout into the air chamber of the separator; H is the main
pulley.
Having thus described that first portion of my machine which I
denominate the huller I will now describe the second and remaining part
of the same, which I call the separator.
In this second part of my machine I separate the stream of kernels,
hulls, and fibres, delivered from the huller, into five different assort-

page_text: ments, viz., kernels entire, kernels broken, dust and loose fibres, large
hulls and fibre, and, lastly, small hulls and fibres, and I effect this five-
fold separation by the conjoint use of a draft of air generated by a fan
and a series of vibrating riddles or sieves; the draft of air for this
purpose is generated by a fan i rotating in a box j on a shaft k driven
by a strap running on a pulley m fast on the driving shaft E, and a
second pulley n keyed on the fan shaft k, the riddles or sieves o, o, and p
are arranged in a box or shoe F, which is mounted on four vertical
wooden legs q, q, and to which a vibratory motion is imparted by a
crank pin on the shaft k, a connecting rods and a tie rod or beam t
running through the shoc to which it is attached. The intensity of
the draft generated by the fan is regulated by two sliding doors u, u,
which can be made to close more or less the central opening through
which the air is drawn in by the fan.
The operation of the separator is as follows;-At the entrance of the
stream of kernels, hulls, and fibres into the chamber has above stated,
they are met by the ascending current of air generated by the fan, as
indicated by the arrows, the specific gravity of the kernels being such
that they are not affected by the current they fall down the inclined
conduit and out of the separator through the door or flap v¹, this
latter being weighted so as to resist the pressure of a certain weight of
seed, and thus prevent the exit or the entry of air; by this exit of the
seed the remaining portion of the stream, which consists in broken seed,
hulls and fibres is driven up the spout by the draft, and against the
deflector g, whereby the heavier portions consisting in particles of seed
hulls, and close fibres are directed into the hopper x, whilst the lighter
ingredients consisting in loose fibres and dust are blown out of the
machine by the opening g². The action of the draft of air is thus
terminated, whilst that of the sieves with their vibratory motion now
commences. From the hopper the broken kernels, hulls, and close
fibres fall on to the first series of sieves o, o, in the shoc F. In order
to agitate this matter on its arrival on each sieve, or as it lays on each
sieve, I arrange over each sieve o a series of rods o¹, o', placed parallelly
over each sieve, the inner extremities. of which are loosely jointed to
stationary bars o³, o², which pass through the shoe F, and the extremities
of which are attached to the framing G of the machine; these rods o¹, o¹,
at a short distance from their connection with the bars o², o², also pass
through a slip of leather o³, o³, attached in the moveable shoe F, and by

page_text: being thus held at one of their extremities and partially moved by the
effect of the leather o³ have the desired effect of spreading or distributing
evenly the matter on the sieves below. It will thus be seen that the
front ends of the rods or wires o³, o', which are directly over the
sieves o, o, independently of the motion of the shoe itself have a
radiating motion of their own which takes place in the same direction
as that of the shoe. If desired this motion of the unattached ends of
the wires can be increased and also reversed, that is to say, they will be
caused to travel in the contrary direction to the shoe. To this end the
rods o', o¹, must pass over the stationary bars 0%, o², and their ends be
fixed to a bar placed somewhat in the rear of o² and attached to the
vibrating shoe F with which it moves. When thus arranged, to pivot
on the stationary bars of, o², the wires at all times move in a direction
opposite to that in which the shoe is moving; their sweep over the
sieves is greater, whereby they agitate and spread more thoroughly the
material to be separated. In order to prevent the sieves o, o, and p,
from being clogged by the broken kernels or other matter I prefer
directing from the blast chamber I a small current of air under the
sieves. I admit this current into the shoe through the passage i¹, and.
in order to regulate the intensity of the said current I make use of a
sliding door, which can be raised or lowered from the outside of the
separator and set at the requisite height by a screw. The broken kernels
by this action are caused to fall through the sieves o, o, and in their fall
are directed by the deviating bars y on to the inclined plane y¹ whilst
the hulls and close fibre following the series of sieves fall out of the
separator. A further separation of any hulls or fibres which may have
accompanied the broken kernels takes place on the lower sieve p,
through which the broken kernels fall on the inclined plane p¹ and from
thence leave the separator by the spout p³, whilst the hulls and fibres, if
any, passing over the sieve fall over the board p³.
The hulling surfaces which I have shewn and described will also
answer well as a dress for the grinding plates of a grinding mill, and
that portion of the machine which I have denominated the huller
may be advantageously employed in grinding grain intended for cattle
food, &c. When so employed the said hulling plates. must be brought
nearer together. This can readily be done by the adjusting screws above
described.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of my improvements, as well as the
best means with which I am acquainted for carrying the same into
practice, I claim,-
Firstly. The particular construction of the plates, as described, for
the purpose of hulling cotton seed or other similar seed or material.
Secondly. The method of agitating or spreading the material over the
sieves by means of wires vibrating over the face of the said sieves.
Thirdly. The general arrangement or operation described, whereby
is effected a five-fold separation or division of the materials leaving the
hulling plates.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Shaw, have hereunto set
my hand and scal, the Twenty-eighth day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
HENRY SHAW. (L.S.)
Witness,
B. HOMANS, Jr.