Improvements in Machinery for Breaking, Scutching, and Sorting for the Extraction of the Fibres of Textile Plants.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Jan., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 28th Oct., 1896-Accepted, 29th Jan., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Breaking, Scutching, and Sorting
for the Extraction of the Fibres of Textile Plants.
I, CHARLES LEGRAND of 47 Rue des Palais Brussels, in the Kingdom of
Belgium, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention as follows:
This invention relates to a breaking scutching and sorting machine for the
extraction of the fibres of textile plants. It comprises three grooved breaking
cylinders or a series of three grooved breaking cylinders of which one, revolving the
two others by its grooves, is operated by means of friction gear carried by an
oscillating frame allowing the molification at pleasure of the direction of rotation
of the said cylinder by means of a friction wheel carried by this frame being
brought into contact with the one or the other of two friction wheels carried
respectively on the axes of the two scutching rollers which have a continuous
movement. The scutching rollers for beating splitting and combing the stalks of
the textile plants are furnished with blades or pallets alternately plain and toothed in
order that each toothed pallet of the one gears between two plain blades or pallets of
the other and of these rollers one is placed against the inferior breaking cylinder in
order to cause a supplementary beating of the sheaf of material against the
grooves of this inferior breaker while the sheaf is kept by the breaking cylinder at a
short distance therefrom: one or more inclined sieves are placed under the scutching
rollers in combination or not with one or more shafts with pallets or needles for
the purpose of operating the sorting and the separation of the loosened fibres from the
straw and dust at the moment when they are projected by the centrifugal force
and by the air current developed by the movement of the scutching cylinders:
against the sieve. The machine is boxed in and channels are formed by interior
sheets fixed upon the projections of the frame work of the machine in combination
with plates surrounding and enclosing hermetically the machine to secure the
utilization of the air current developed by the movement of the scutching rollers for
driving off the straw and dust towards these collecting channels.
Dated this 29th day of January 1896.
HERBERT HADDAN & Co.,
18, Buckingham Street, Strand, London, Agents to Applicant.
Improvements in Machinery for Breaking, Scutching, and Sorting
for the Extraction of the Fibres of Textile Plants.
I, CHARLES LEGRAND, of 47 Rue des Palais Brussels in the Kingdom of
Belgium, 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 :-
This invention relates to a new machine for the extraction of the fibres of

page_text: textile plants in which a special disposition of breaking and scutching drums, the
latter formed besides of blades or pallets of special construction, combined with a
special coupling, allows of realizing several successive scutchings by means of
only one pair of scutching drums; and in which an air current is directed
obliquely and sufficiently for removing the dust and operating the sorting thereof
from the loosened fibre by means of a special sorter combined with means for
giving to the air current produced in the machine the desired effect.
In the annexed drawings Figs. 1 and 4 are lateral elevations of this machine.
Fig. 2 is a plan view.
Fig. 3 is a view in front elevation.
Fig. 5 is a transverse section.
Figs. 6 and 7 show in plan view and section variations of the sorting arrangement
indicated in the preceding figures.
In Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 the parts and organs are represented by the letters as
follows.
A are two frames supporting the whole mechanism and provided with projections
upon which are fixed the walls which complete the hermetical covering of the
machine and the inner passages which conduct the waste and dust towards a
collector or evacuation channel.
Openings provided in these framings have the purpose of permitting entrance
into the interior of the machine of the air drawn in by the revolution of the scutching
drums.
B are cross bars connecting the frames A. C is the first grooved breaking
cylinder, operating the movement of two other breaking cylinders C (2 by the
gearing of its grooves with those of the two other cylinders.
D. 1 are two scutching drums turning more rapidly than the breakers. Each of
them is formed by blades planted radially upon two disks carried by a rotary arbor.
Of these blades some are plain, the others are toothed upon their exterior edge so
that during the revolution each toothed blade of the one of the scutchers is engaged
between two plain blades of the other.
The disks carrying the blades are provided with openings allowing the exterior air
which passes through the openings of the frames A to penetrate into the interior of
the scutching drums.
The drum D' is placed tangentially to the two breakers and in order to form
with these a first group of scutching organs, beating and combing the fibre sheaf at
the moment when it leaves the breakers. It is besides elevated with regard to the
scutching drum D, in such a manner that the fibre sheaf rests upon the pallets and
undergoes the combing and beating action from the time it leaves the breakers to the
point when it is seized, beaten and stretched by the two scutchers at once.
The two drums D and D are arranged in such a manner that their rotary
movement can alternately be transmitted to the breaking cylinder C by means of
the beam G, G and the friction wheel E" hereafter mentioned. M is the driving
pulley and N is a loose pulley mounted upon the arbor of the scutching drum D
Lis a toothed wheel mounted upon the arbor of the scutching drum D gearing
with the toothed wheel L' mounted upon the arbor of the scutching drum D and
giving to the latter a rotary movement in a sense contrary to its own.
E. E are two friction wheels with flat fellies or with conical grooves, each
mounted upon the arbor of one of the scutching drums.
F is a toothed wheel mounted upon the art.or of the breaking cylinder (.
G. is a frame oscillating like a beam round the shaft of the breaker C on which it
is suspended by means of two eyes provided at its upper extremity. The said
frame carries towards its middle a small shaft upon which are keyed the toothed
pinion and the friction wheel E". Its lower traverse is attached by means of an
articulation to the crank I of the lever H.
II" are the two branches of an articulated lever, between which the attendant
places himself for operating by means of a pressure of his thighs the movement
for the entering and the leaving of the fibrous material in the machine.
This

page_text: articular lever by means of the crank I H allows the workman to give to the
frame G G oscillations by means of which he can at pleasure pat the friction
wheel E in contact with the friction wheels E and E' and by this means produce
the alternate rotation of the breaking cylinders in the two directions which
correspond respectively to the entering of the fibrous material into the machine and
to its leaving the latter.
K is a spring affecting automatically the contact of the friction wheel E" with
either of the friction wheels E and E' when the workman ceases to press upon the
lever II"; the arrangement of the spring K, represented in Fig. 1 corresponds to
the contact with the friction wheel E which causes the entrance of the material
into the machine. By placing the said spring K on the opposite side, contact
will be produce with the wheel E which will cause the miterial to leave the
machine.
E is a friction wheel with flat rim or with conical grooves keyed upon the
arbor of the frame G G and alternately moved in opposite direction: by means
of the friction wheels E and E. for the operation of the breakers. F is a tooth:
pinion keved upon the axle of the frame G G gearing constantly with the toothal
pinion F of the arbor of the breaking cylinder and transferring to the latter the
alternate rotary movement given to it by the wheel E" under the alternate action of
the friction wheels E' and E.
0 are the spring bearings for the breaking cylinder. O' are bearings for the
seutching drums allowing of varying their distance.
Pare springs regulating the pressure of the breaking cylinders C and C² upon the
cylinder and allowing of varying the energy of breaking.
Ris the table upon which are spread the stalks or steins which are to be crushe
and scutched.
S are walls provided with doors completing with the framings A the hermetical
closure of the four faces of the machine. This covering leaves openings open only
in the framings A, at the above said places, and under the machine. These latter
openings are intended for the outlet of the air current which carries the straws and
the dust towards the before mentioned collector.
V is an inclined sieve formed by one or more series of blades sharp edged on their
upper edges or of needles polished and more or less distanced from another. Upon
this sieve are thrown the wastes from the scutching by means of the scutching
cylinders. The straws and dust traverse it to the passage floored with the sheet
iron plate Z' forming the evacuation channel, whilst the textile fibres detached from
the bast are stopped by the blades upon which they slide towards the foot of the
inclined plane.
W is an arbor with full pallets of a length equal to the width of the inclined plane,
operated by the toothed wheel X (Fig. 4) or by a vertical arbor X with endless
screw and helicoidal gearings (Figs. 6 and 7) and noved with bat a small velocity,
to collect the fibres when they arrive at the foot of the inclined plane and to push
them into the space Y whence they are removed through a door. Z is an iron sheet
placed under the scutcher D and directing the scutching wastes in their fall upon the
sieve V and thus preventing the straws falling on the fibres in the space Y.
Z' is a sheet iron separating the space reserved for the fibres from the evacuation
channel; it fits in slots U.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-
The machine is started at the velocity of 5 or 600 turns per minute of the scutching
drums. The workman placed between the two branches of the lever 1" presents
by their ends to the breaking cylinders a bundle of textile stems previously scattered
upon the table of the machine. By pressing back with his thighs upon one of the
branches of the lever I I" be causes the bundle to enter between the breaking
cylinders and to be at the same time carried along and crushed by the latter. As
soon as the crushed extremity of the fibrous sheaf leaves the breakers, it is imme-
diately seized by the scutching drum D' which after having beaten it against the
breaker C carries it off upon its pallets rubbing and combing it between the two

page_text: scutchers where it is beaten and combed in all directions at once.
When the bundle
thus has penetrated between the breakers up to its extremity, the workman by means
of an easy pressure of his thigh upon the other branch of the lever I'l changes
quickly the direction of revolution of the breakers and causes the return of the bundle
upon the table. He repeats this operation as many times as he thinks it necessary
and finally brings back upon the table the bundle completely scutched upon a part
of its length. Grasping then the bundle with both hands he turns it end for end and
causes it to again enter by the same means between the breakers and the scutchers
and after sufficient action causes its return upon the table whence he removes it with
both hands as a finished product. Between the different positions of the lever I' I"
it is easy to find one which corresponds to the stoppage of the breakers and con-
sequently to the stoppage of the bundle in the movement between the latter.
this stoppage may he produced at pleasure at any point of the sheaf the workman can
prolong as far as he thinks necessary, the action of the scutching drums, the move-
ment of which is continuous.
As
During this operation the straws and the waste fibres are thrown obliquely upon
the sieve V by means of the air current developed by the scutchers and by
centrifugal force. The straws traverse this sieve and are directed by the air
current towards the evacuation channel. The waste fibres on the contrary are
stopped by the sieve. The vibrations of the blades or of the needles, effected by
the action of the machine and assisted by the oblique direction of the air current,
cause these fibre wastes to descend to the foot of the sieve where they are taken by
the pallets arbor which pushes them into the space Y where the workinan can easily
observe them in order to regulate the gear and determine the efficiency of the fibrous
material.
When the operation is finished the straws and fibres are perfectly sorted. The
first fall forwards of the machine into the evacuation channel.
The second fall backwards into the space Y which is reserved for them.
This machine constructed and operating as before described presents the following
peculiarities and advantages.
(A) The new disposition of the scutching druins placed obliquely the one with
regard to the other allows of producing the scutching not only, as hitherto between
these scutching drums alone but also between these drums and the breaking
cylinders and this by means of the combination of this special arrangement of the
sentching drums with the described arrangement of coupling. This combination
allows of stopping at pleasure the crushing at the same time letting the scutching
continue. In this case, the fibrous sheaf is maintained on one side between the
breaking cylinders and stretched on the other side by the scutching drums whilst
the whole intermediary part is seutched upon the circumference of the scutching
drum by the teeth with which certain blades of the scutching drums are provided.
This new arrangement combined with the arrangement of coupling and the
special form of the blades of the scutching drums give the following new results.
(1) Supplementary beating of the fibres against the teeth of the last breaking
cylinder effected by the plain blades of the upper scutching drum.
(2) Supplementary scutching upon the circumference of the upper scutching
drum by means of the toothed blades of this drum, which carry the scutching
into the thickness of the fibres, which stripping can be prolonged as long as
necessary by means of the combination of these elements with the special coupling
arrangement de-cribed.
(3) Ordinary seuteling between the two scutching drams which can equally be
prolonged at pasure.
(1) The cial arrangement of the sentehing drums, resulting in throwing the
waste and dust in an oblique direction offering a favourable occasion for oating
the sorting of the waste and the automatic evacuation of the straws and dust.
This result is obtained by the arrangement shown in Figs. 1, 3, 4, and of the
annexed drawings, combined with the hermetical covering of the machine allowing
of the utilisation of the air current.

page_text: This arrangement allows by means of the oblique direction of the air current
developed by the scutching drains the sorted fibres to be conducted into the space Y
where they are protected against the straws and dust which are conducted by the
plate Z to the evacuation channel.
This arrangement could be easily modified according to Figs. 6 and 7 in which
the arbor with pallets W is replaced by a cylindrical drum with needles W'
turning in the direction marked by the arrow. These needles planted in parallel
lines and at suitable distances in the same manner as the blades of the sieve V
pass and turn in the middle of the space which separates them and remove the
textile fibres at the bottom of the sieve.
Y is a partition surmounted by a comb with pins hetween which pass the pins of
the drum W which leave there the fibres which they have taken from the sieve V.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
A breaking, scutching and sorting machine for the extraction of the fibre from
textile plants consisting of :-
(1) The combination of 3 grooved breaking cylinders or series of three grooved
breaking cylinders C C C of which the one operating the two others C' (°
by its grooves is operated by means of an oscillating frame G G allowing of
modifying at pleasure the direction of revolution of the said cylinders CCC
according as a friction wheel E" carried by this frame G G is pressed against the
one or the other of two friction wheels E E' carried respectively by the axles of
the scutching drums D D.
(2) Scutching drums D' D with blades or pallets alternately plain or toothed
so that each toothed pallet of the one is engaged between two full blades or
pallets of the other and reciprocally, the one D of which is placed against the
breaking cylinder in order to effect a supplementary beating of the fibre
against the grooves of this breaker C when it is held by this at a short distance.
(3) One or more inclined sieves placed under the scutching drums, in combination
or not with one or more shafts with pallets or with pins intended to operate the
sorting and the separation of the loosened fibres from the waste or chaff at the
moment when they are thrown off by the scutching cylinders.
(4) The passages formed by interior plates Z Z fixed upon projections of the
framings in combination with plates S covering from all the sides the machine in
view of the utilisation of the air current developed by the movement of the
scutching drums for the evacuation of the waste and dust towards a collecting
channel to which the plate Z' serves as a floor.
Dated this 29th dose of Databer 1896
HERBERT HADDAN & Co.,
18, Buckingham Street, Strand, London, Agents to Applicant.