Improvements in Machines for Breaking, Rubbing, or otherwise Treating Vegetable Fibre.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Jan., 1890-Accepted, 15th Feb., 1890
OMDI DAD
SDROINICIATION
Improvements in Machines for Breaking, Rubbing, or otherwise
Treating Vegetable Fibre.
We, ALBERT LYMAN WASHBURN, Manufacturer, THEODORE GAILLARD CROFT,
Physician, and GODFREY WHEELER, Gentleman, of Aiken, in the County of Aiken,
and State of South Carolina, United States of America, 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 improvements in Machines for working Vegetable Fibre,
as for instance Pine Needles, and the chief object of our improvement is to produce
a machine for efficiently and quickly working the fibre by subjecting it to a simul-
taneous pressing and rubbing motion.
In the accompanying drawings;—
Figure 1 is a plan view of our machine.
Figure 2 is a vertical section, partly in elevation, on line x-x of figure 1,
and-
Figure 3 is a side elevation of detached parts.
A designates a frame of any desired form, upon which is mounted the driving
shaft 4, provided with driving pulley 5 and beveled pinion 6, which pinion meshes
into and drives the beveled gear 7 of the upright shaft 8. Said shaft is vertically
mounted in suitable bearings in the frame, and provided with a table or disk B which
revolves with said shaft. The upper end of said shaft 8 is also provided with a
crank or eccentric 9. This crank 9 receives a flanged hub 10, to which hub we affix
a series of projecting arms 11, each bearing a series of crushing rollers 12. The
bore or central hole, (see 13, fig. 2,) of these rollers is larger than the shaft or
arm 11 upon which they are mounted so that said rollers are not only free to rotate
on said arm, but are also free to rise and fall vertically thereon. A suitable collar
or other fastening 14 is secured to the outer end of the arms 11 to prevent said
rollers from working off from the ends of the arms. These projecting arms are
secured to the flanged hub so as to adjust them to different angles thereon, as for
instance, by means of the slot and bolt connection, as shown respectively at 15
and 16 in figure 1. In order to avoid crowding the figures of reference we have
placed them only upon the slots and bolts of the lowermost arm in fig. 1. These
arms 11 are set practically tangential to the hub 10, that is-they are set to one side
of the radius of said hub in order to give more of a rubbing or drawing action as the
table revolves under them. Projecting upwardly from the frame A there are rigid
supports 17 having slots at their upper ends into which the outer ends of the arms 11
are received to hold them stationary with reference to the rotary motion of the
table B, but leaving them free to move endwise in said uprights. To the flanged
disk 10 we secure a tangential scraper C which extends downwardly to the upper
surface of the revolving table B.
Power is applied so as to revolve the table B in the direction indicated by the
dart in fig. 1. The material to be worked is then delivered to said table at a
point between the scraper C and the series of rollers immediately back of said
scraper, and may be supplied as fast as the machine can work it. The several series
of rollers then act to crush or bruise the material with a rubbing or dragging
motion owing to the position of the arms and to the longitudinal movement given
to them by the crank. If the material lies unevenly on the table the rollers may
rise independently of each other to accomodate themselves thereto. The successive
series of rollers will spread it more evenly and repeatedly act upon it by the
same crushing and rubbing action until it has passed all of the rollers when
ordinarily it will be properly reduced, and the tangential scraper C will sweep it
from the table where it can fall into any suitable receptacle.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim, and desire to secure by 'Patent, is ;—
1. The combination of a revolving table B and its shaft, crushing rollers on
suitable mountings held' against. the revolving motion of said' table, and the crank 9
and connections intermediate said crank and rollers for reciprocating the latter,
substantially as described and for the purpose specified.
2. In a machine for working fibre, the combination of the table B, the arm: 11'
held against rotation with said table and a series of crushing rollers independently
and loosely mounted upon said' arm, substantially as described and' for the purpose
specified.
3. The combination of the table B, a series of arms 11 over said table, crushing
rollers mounted upon said arms, the fixed' bearings or uprights 17 for the outer
ends of said arms and means for imparting an end wise movement. to said arms,
substantially as described and for the purpose specified..
Dated this 7th day of January 1890.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOUET,
Agents for the Applicant: