Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Jan., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 13th Mar., 1894-Accepted, 28th Apr., 1894
Fig. 6 is a plan of the upper half of the shell looking from below.
Fig. 7 is a plan of the lower half of the shell.
Fig. 8 is a side view of another form of the cone or body.
Fig. 9 is a part cross section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 8.
1 are the two end standards connected by rode 2. The lower half 3 of the shell
has at opposite ends bearings 4 which rest upon the upper end of the standards 1
and have flanges 5 with bolts and nuts for fixing. The portion of the shell between
the bearings is semi-circular, the middle tapering and terminating with cylindrical
portions 6 and 7. The semicircle is preferably made of perforated metal 8 fixed to
a recess in the cast metal sides 9 by countersunk screws and strengthened by
external ribs 10. The perforated portion preferably extends from the inner end
of 6 to the outer end of 7. The portion 6 is preferably formed with an air outlet 11
and there is an opening 12 at the other end for the passage of the hulls and cleaned
coffee to a discharge spout. The upper half of the shell which corresponds in form
to the lower half, is fixed thereto by bolts passing through ears 14. The upper
balf has an opening 15 under the feed hopper 16 which has a slide valve 17, and at
the large end there is an opening 18 for a valve 19 which is adjustably held by a
bolt 20 and thumb nut. 21. The inner face of the upper half of the shell along its
tapering portion, and, if desired, along its large cylindrical portion is made polygonal
with helical grooves 22 for advancing the material from the receiving to the discharge
end of the shell, the angles of the polygon aiding to turn the berries over and over
as they travel along the shell. There are also longitudinal grooves 23 in the face
of the shell; the upper grooved portion constitutes an extended rubbing surface for
taking off the hulls and other particles to be removed from the berries while the

page_text: perforated lower portion allows some of the debris to work through and also permits
air to be drawn through the perforations to assist in keeping the coffee from becoming
heated while it is cleaned.
24. is the shaft carrying the revolving body within the shell, and revolving in the
bearings 4 having caps 25. This shaft has at one end the driving pulley 26, and at
the other end a pulley 27 driving by a belt a pulley 28 on the shaft of a fan 29
which communicates through a pipe 30 with a suction chamber 31. By loosening set
screws 32 of the collars 33 of the two pulleys 26 and 27 the shaft 24 can be moved
longitudinally so as to adjust the revolving body inside the tapering portion of the
shell, so as to vary the space between it and the shell and thus to regulate the
scouring action on the coffee.
34 is the revolving body which preferably tapers for about two thirds of its
length, and is cylindrical for the remaining portion. It is preferably hollow and
made up in whole or in part of staves 40 and has at its opposite ends heads 35
and 36 which project beyond the ends, the one head 35 bearing against the inside
of the portion 6 and the other head 36 against the inside of the portion 7, so as to
prevent the escape of coffee over the end of the revolving body except as permitted
by adjustinent of the regulating valve 19. The staves 40 may terminate at the
beginning of the cylindrical portion which may be made in one piece, with arms 37*
extending from its sleeve 37%, bolts 37 passing through the arms to bind the parts
together.
The head 36 may be fixed to the shaft 24 by a set screw or it may be loose on
the shaft and prevented from longitudinal movement by its boss lying between the
sleeve 37 and a collar 36".
The revolving body 34 has a roughened exterior surface formed by longitudinally
extending flutes 38 and with finer flutes 39 at the cylindrical portion, the inter-
mediate portion being formed either of flutes as illustrated in Fig. 8, or of wire
net as illustrated in Fig. 5 supported on the longitudinal staves 40.
The fluted portion 38 next the receiving end is coarser than the other portion as
it has the hardest work to do in breaking the hull of the berry, and the flutes 39
at the discharge end are made finer so as the better to clean the coffee after the
hulls are broken and the thin skin is removed. The intermediate portion scours
the coffee after the hulls are broken by the first flutes 38.
The surface of the revolving body is preferably perforated for the passage of
air, and the heads 35 and 36 are perforated or made open.
The coffee berries after being subjected to the action of the revolving body pass
over its end and into the space between the head 36 and the end of the shell and
thence through the opening 12 into the discharge shoot 41 which communicates
with the suction chamber 31 extending under the shell and along its sides within a
casing 42.
This suction chamber communicates with the fan 29 through the pipe 30, the
suction drawing the hulls and foreign matters along the chamber and discharging
them from the fan. The cleaned coffee drops into the shoot 41, which has an
inclined bottom 43 formed of wire net so that air drawn through it carries into the
suction chamber any foreign matters that may have passed into the shoot with the
coffee.
In order to regulate the suction, I provide a valve 44 by moving which
the opening into the suction chamber from the shoot can be varied.
The operation is as follows.
The revolving body inside the shell is caused to revolve, the discharge valve 19
is closed, and the valve of the feed hopper is gradually opened so as to let coffee
berries pass slowly into the huller until the space between the revolving body and
the shell is filled. The discharge valve is then gradually opened until the hulling
and cleaning is found to be best by examining a sample of the coffee as it issues
from the machine. When the machine is working satisfactorily, the two valves
are kept as adjusted and the action of the machine is continued. The valve of the
feed hopper should be adjusted so as to admit coffee not in such excess as would

page_text: check the speed of the machine, and the discharge valve should be adjusted so as
to let the coffee pass from the machine as fast as it is properly hulled.
If the machine is fed too fast it will run hard, and if the discharge is too free,
the coffee will not be well cleaned. The suction is so regulated that it is strong
enough to remove the chaff, dirt and other foreign matters without drawing coffee
through the suction chamber.
The space between the revolving body and the enclosing shell is regulated so
that none of the coffee is broken, which is the result of the space between being
too small, and that none is passed through imperfectly hulled which is probably the
result of the space being too wide.
If the machine should become clogged from any cause the feed is cut off and the
discharge valve is opened so as to clear the machine.
Such of the coffee as may in starting issue without being satisfactorily cleaned,
should be returned to be acted on again.
Dated 16th 200
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Hulling and Cleansing Coffee and
the like.
I, CONSTANTINE ALEXANDER HEGE, of Salem, in the County of Forsyth,
State of North Carolina, United States of America, 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 :-
My invention relates to machines for hulling coffee and separating the hulls and
other foreign matter therefrom. While the machine is particularly adapted for
treatment of coffee, it can be used for decorticating rice and other cereals or
grain.
In the description however I shall treat only of its application to coffee as an
illustration of the construction and operation of the machine.
The invention has for its chief object to simplify the machine and increase its
efficiency in hulling the coffee separating the hulls and other particles of the
covering of the berry, and removing foreign matters; also to provide for reducing
to a minimum the heat generated by the machine while in operation, undue heat
having a tendency to draw the oil of the coffee berry to the surface and to
discolor the coffee. I shall describe the construction of the machine referring to
the drawings accompanying my Provisional Specification.
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section.
Figs. 2, 3 and
are cross sections on the lines 2-2, 3-3 and 4-4 respectively.
Fig. 5 is a side view of one form of the cone or body, a part of the wire body
being removed.
Fig. 6 is a plan of the upper half of the shell looking from below.
Fig. 7 is a plan of the lower half of the shell.
Fig. 8 is a side view of another form of the cone or body.
Fig. 9 is a part cross section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 8.
1 are the two end standards connected by rods 2. The lower half 3 of the shell
has at opposite ends bearings to which rest upon the upper end of the standards 1
and have flanges 5 with bolts and nuts for fixing. The portion of the shell between
the bearings is semicircular the middle tapering and terminating with cylindrical
portions 6 and 7. The semi-circle is preferably made of perforated metal 8 fixed
to a recess in the cast metal sides 9 by countersunk screws and strengthened by
external ribs 10. The perforated portion preferably extends from the inner
end of 6 to the outer end of 7. The portion 6 is preferably formed with an air

page_text: half
outlet 11 and there is an opening 12 at the other end for the passage of the hulls
and cleaned coffee to a discharge spout. The upper half of the shell which
corresponds in form to the lower half, is fixed thereto by bolts passing through
ears 14. The upper half has an opening 15 under the feed hopper 16 which has a
slide valve 17, and at the large end there is an opening 18 for a valve 19 which is 5
upper
adjustably held by a bolt 20 aud thumb nut 21. The inner face of the
of the shell along its tapering portion, and, if desired, along its large cylindrical
portion is made polygonal with helical grooves 22 for advancing the material from
the receiving to the discharge end of the shell, the angles of the polygon aiding to
turn the berries over and over as they travel along the shell. There are also 1
longitudinal grooves 23 in the face of the shell; the upper grooved portion
constitutes an extended rubbing surface for taking off the hulls and other particles
to be removed from the berries while the perforated lower portion allows some of
the debris to work through and also permits air to be drawn through the
perforations to assist in keeping the coffee from becoming heated while it is I
cleaned.
24 is the shaft carrying the revolving body within the shell, and revolving in the
bearings 4 having caps 25. This shaft has at one end the driving pulley 26, and
at the other end a pulley 27 driving by a belt a pulley 28 on the shaft of a fan 29
which communicates through a pipe 30 with a suction chamber 31. By loosening
set screws 32 of the collars 33 of the two pulleys 26 and 27 the shaft 24 can be
moved longitudinally so as to adjust the revolving body inside the tapering portion
of the shell, so as to vary the space between it and the shell and thus to regulate
the scouring action on the coffee.
34 is the revolving body which preferably tapers for about two thirds of its
length and is cylindrical for the remaining portion. It is preferably hollow and
made up in whole or in part of staves 40 and has at its opposite ends heads 35
and 36 which project beyond the ends, the one head 35 bearing against the inside
of the portion 6 and the other head 36 against the inside of the portion 7, so as to
prevent the escape of coffee over the end of the revolving body except as permitted
by adjustment of the regulating valve 19. The staves 40 may terminate at the
beginning of the cylindrical portion which may be made in one piece, with arms 37*
extending from its sleeve 37b, bolts 37 passing through the arms to bind the parts
together.
The head 36 may be fixed to the shaft 24 by a set screw or it may be loose on
the shaft and prevented from longitudinal movement by its boss lying between the
sleeve 37 and a collar 36".
The revolving body 34 has a roughened exterior surface formed by longitudinally
extending flutes 38 and with finer flutes 39 at the cylindrical portion, the inter-
mediate portion being formed either of flutes as illustrated in Fig. 8, or of wire net
as illustrated in Fig. 5 supported on the longitudinal staves 40.
The fluted portion 38 next the receiving end is coarser than the other portion as
it has the hardest work to do in breaking the hull of the berry, and the flutes 39
at the discharge end are made finer so as the better to clean the coffee after the
hulls are broken and the thin skin is removed. The intermediate portion scours
the coffee after the hulls are broken by the first flutes 38.
.
The surface of the revolving body is preferably perforated for the passage of
air, and the heads 35 and 36 are perforated or made open.
The coffee berries after being subjected to the action of the revolving body pass
over its end and into the space between the head 36 and the end of the shell and
thence through the opening 12 into the discharge shoot 41 which communicates
with the suction chamber 31 extending under the shell and along its sides within a
casing 42.
This suction chamber communicates with the fan 29 through the pipe 30, the
suction drawing the hulls and foreign matters along the chamber and discharging
them from the fan. The cleaned coffee drops into the shoot 40 which has an
inclined bottom 43 formed of wire net so that air drawn through it carries into the

page_text: suction chamber any foreign matters that may have passed into the shoot with the
coffee.
In order to regulate the suction, I provide a valve 44 by moving which the
opening into the suction chamber from the shoot can be varied.
The operation is as follows:-
The revolving body inside the shell is caused to revolve, the discharge valve 19
is closed, and the valve of the feed hopper is gradually opened so as to let coffee
berries pass slowly into the huller until the space between the revolving body and
the shell is filled. The discharge valve is then gradually opened until the hulling
and cleaning is found to be best by examining a sample of the coffee as it issues
from the machine. When the machine is working satisfactorily, the two valves
are kept as adjusted and the action of the machine is continued. The valve of the
feed hopper should be adjusted so as to admit coffee not in such excess as would
check the speed of the machine, and the discharge valve should be adjusted so as
to let the coffee pass from the machine as fast as it is properly hulled.
If the machine is fed too fast it will run hard, and if the discharge is too free,
the coffee will not be well cleaned. The suction is so regulated that it is strong
enough to remove the chaff, dirt and other foreign matters without drawing coffee
through the suction chamber.
The space between the revolving body and the enclosing shell is regulated so
that none of the coffee is broken, which is the result of the space between being
too small, and that none is passed through imperfectly hulled which is probably
the result of the space being too wide.
If the machine should become clogged from any cause the feed is cut off and
the discharge valve is opened so as to clear the machine.
Such of the coffee as may in starting issue without being satisfactorily cleaned,
should be returned to be acted on again.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A machine for hulling and cleansing coffee and the like, wherein a body
mostly tapering having on its periphery flutes and perforations or partly wire net,
revolves within a casing of corresponding form, having its upper part helically and
longitudinally grooved and its lower part perforated, a valved feed hopper at its
smaller end and a valved discharge at its larger end, substantially as described.
2. In combination with the revolving body and shell above referred to, a discharge
shoot with a sloping side of wire net, a regulating valve for air, a suction chamber
and fan, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 13th day of March 1894.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for Applicant.