IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TREATING COTTON SEEDS IN ORDER TO REMOVE THE COTTON THEREFROM AND TO PREPARE THE SEEDS FOR CRUSHING.
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to François Antoine Edmond Guironnet de Massas, of
Hoxton, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TREATING COTTON SEEDS IN ORDER TO
REMOVE THE COTTON THEREFROM AND TO PREPARE THE SEEDS FOR CRUSHING.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said François Antoine Edmond
Guironnet de Massas at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with his Petition, on the 26th August 1865..
I, FRANÇOIS ANTOINE EDMOND GUIRONNET DE MASSAS, of Hoxton, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, 'do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TREATING COTTON SEEDS IN
ORDER TO REMOVE THE COTTON THEREFROM AND TO PREPARE THE SEEDS FOR
CRUSHING," to be as follows:-
In consequence of the state in which cotton seeds are imported, the combi-
nation of various apparatus is required to cleanse them. Seeds from Egypt
are almost free from cotton, but they carry many foreign substances and a
great deal of dirt. Other seeds are enveloped in cotton, and on being crushed
this cotton absorbs the greater part of the oil. Further, whatever the nature
of the seed or of the machine for cleansing, the operation would be barely

page_text: practicable on account of the injury to the health of the workmen, without
some means of guarding them from the dust and small cottonny fibres passing
out of the machine when at work. I have deemed it necessary to enter into
the above explanation because the treatment of cotton seeds is unlike any
ordinary cleansing operation, and because the experience I have gained since
the date of my former Patent of 15th June 1864, No. 1480, has shewn me
that the insulation of the machine is a necessity.
My present Invention is not only an improvement on the first as to the
machine, but is for a complete system and new combination, rendering the
cleansing of cotton séeds practicable. The results are,-
First, I facilitate the introduction of the seeds into the machine by
mechanical means with regularity, which from the nature of the seeds is
otherwise almost impossible.
Second, I cleanse all kinds of seeds without losing the cotton.
Third, I effect the complete cleansing of the seeds.
Fourth, that while preserving the utilizable cotton I prevent the free
circulation of the dust and of those fine cottonny fibres which the rotation of
the cylinder drives through the perforations in the outer case; a result the
importance of which can hardly be over estimated.
To attain these results I make use,-
First, of a reservoir communicating with a shaker sieve, from whence the
seeds fall into a spout leading into the machine. The shaking motion
communicated to the sieve, or to a roller or rake put in motion upon the sieve,
regulates the quantity of seed passed into the apparatus.
"
Second, of a cylinder revolving in a cylindrical casing, and formed as
follows: Upon the exterior surface of this cylinder, formed of perforated
plates, I fix a spiral projecting rib, so as to obtain an Archimedean screw along
the whole or part of the extent of the cylinder. Upon the inside of the metal
easing, formed of perforated plates, in combination with strong cards I place a
corresponding spiral rib, against which the spiral rib on the cylinder fits and
works.
: Third, of a set of brushes composed of vegetable fibres and wires united to
produce the greatest friction while preserving a certain amount of elasticity.
These sets of brushes are fixed upon a polygonal skeleton drum by means of
screw bolts and nuts, to allow of their being more or less protruded. The
brushes revolve in a fixed casing, the interior of which is composed of or
furnished with perforated plates and strong cards. The two machines are
intended to work independently, but in some cases, for example, when the
seeds are covered with cotton, they should be passed through one and then

page_text: through the other in order to their perfeet cleansing and to the separation of
the cotton. The cases of the two machines are divided longitudinally into two
equal parts, united by bolts or otherwise, and are fixed at an- incline upon a
frame. At the lower and outlet end is a fan which blows into a raised spout
fixed or rising from the opposite side of the machine to that at which the fan
is placed.
Fourth, of a channel placed below the level of the case for receiving.the
seeds as they leave the machine, combined with a double shaker sieve placed
nearly horizontal. The upper part retains the stones and debris of cotton, and
gives passage to the seeds..
Fifth, of a cover in wood or metal enclosing the whole machine with the
exception of the fan and parts requiring lubrication.. Air from the fan is led
into the cover through two pipes at its lower part. The first pipe rises in the
cover to such height as to be above the level of the top of the machine. It
is perforated, and the air issuing through the perforations drives down the
fibres and debris passing through and upon the perforated casing. The
second pipe leads air into the lower part of the cover, and drives the dust and
debris through a grating or plate of wire cloth fixed in the cover into a spout
leading into the air outside the apartment or place in which the machine is
worked
SPECIFICATION. in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said François Antoine Edmond.. Guironnet de Massas in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th February 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANÇOIS
ANTOINE EDMOND GUIRONNET DE MASSAS, of Hoxton, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said François Antoine Edmond Guironnet de Massas, Her special licence
that I, the said François Antoine Edmond Guironnet de Massas, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said François Antoine
Edmond Guirounet de Massas, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed should and lawfully might
.

page_text: 'make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TREATING COTTON SEEDS IN ORDER TO REMOVE THE
COTTON THEREFROM AND TO PREPARE THE SEEDS FOR CRUSHING," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said François Antoine Edmond Guironnet de
Massas, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
Ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be, performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said François Antoine Edmond Guironnet
de Massas, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:
In consequence of the state in which cotton seeds are imported the
combination of various apparatuses is required to cleanse them. Seeds from
Egypt are almost free from cotton, but they carry many foreign substances and
a great deal of dirt.
Other seeds are enveloped in cotton, and in being
crushed this cotton absorbs the greater part of the oil. Further, whatever the
nature of the seed or of the machine for cleansing, the operation would be
barely practicable on account of the injury to the health of the workmen,
without some means of guarding them from the dust and small cottonny fibres
passing out of the machine when at work. I have deemed it necessary to
enter into the above explanation because the treatment of cotton seeds is
unlike any ordinary cleansing operation, and because the experience I have
gained since the date of my former Patent of 15 June 1864, No. 1480, has
shewn me that the insulation of the machine is a necessity.
My present Invention is not only an improvement on the first as to the
machine, but is for a complete system and new combination rendering the
cleansing of cotton seeds practicable. The results are,-
1st, I facilitate the introduction of the seeds into the machine by mechanical
means with regularity, which from the nature of the seeds is otherwise almost
impossible.
2nd, I cleanse all kinds of seeds without losing the cotton.
3rd, I effect the complete cleansing of the seeds.
4th, that while preserving the utilizable cotton I prevent the free circula-
tion of the dust and of those fine cottonny fibres which the rotation of the

page_text: cylinder drives. through the perforations in the outer case.; a result the
importance of which can hardly be over estimated.
To attain these results I make use,-
First, of a reservoir communicating with a shaker sieve, from whence the
seeds fall into a spout leading into the machine. The shaking motion
communicated to the sieve or to a roller or rake put in motion upon the sieve
regulates the quantity of seed passed into the apparatus.
2nd, of a cylinder revolving in a cylindrical casing, and formed: as
follows: Upon the exterior surface of this cylinder, formed of. perforated
plates, I fix a spiral projecting rib, so as to obtain an Archimedean screw along
the whole or part of the extent of the cylinder. Upon the inside of the metal
casing, which is formed of perforated plates in combination with strong cards,
I sometimes fix a similar projecting spiral rib instead of the rib on the
cylinder.
.
3rd, of a set of brushes composed of vegetable fibres and wiręs united,.to
produce the greatest friction while preserving a certain amount of elasticity.
These sets of brushes are fixed upon a polygonal skeleton drum by means of
screw bolts and nuts, to allow of their being more or less protruded. The
brushes revolve in a fixed casing, the interior of which is composed of or
furnished with perforated plates and strong cards. The two machines are:
intended to, work independently, but in some cases, for example, when the
seeds are covered with cotton, they should be passed through one and then'
through the other in order to their perfect cleansing and to the separation of
the cotton. The cases of the two machines are divided longitudinally into two
equal parts united by bolts or otherwise, and are fixed at an incline upon a
frame. At the lower and outlet end is a fan, which blows into a raised spout
fixed.or; rising from the opposite side of the machine to that at which the fan
is placed.
4th, of a channel placed below the level of the case. for recovering the seeds
as they leave the machine, combined with a double shaker sieve placed nearly
horizontal. The upper part retains the stones and debris of cotton and gives
passage to the seeds.
5th, of a cover in, wood or. metal enclosing. the whole machine, with. the
exception of the fan and parts requiring lubrication. Air from the fan is led
into the cover through two pipes at its lower part. The first pipe rises in the
cover to such height as to be above the level of the top of the machine. It
is perforated, and the air issuing through the perforations drives down the
fibres and debris passing through and upon the perforated casing. The
second pipe leads air into the lower part of the cover, and drives the dust and
J

page_text: .
debris through; a grating or plate of wire cloth fixed on the cover, into a spout
leading into the air outside. the apartment or place in which the machine is
worked.
In Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings A représents a reservoir for
containing the seeds, provided with an exit door B; C is a sieve with an
opening D; E is a rocker for imparting a shaking movement to the sieve, in
order to facilitate the entrance and falling of the seeds by the opening D
F is a rake or roller with scrapers for moving the seeds towards the opening
D. This rake may be substituted for the rocker E.
Figure 2 represents the revolving cylinder, the exterior surface of which is
formed of perforated plates, between which projecting ribs are placed to
form a continuous screw or spiral. Fig. 3 represents a cylindrical easing in
which the cylinder revolves, formed internally of perforated plates b, b, b, in
combination with other plates c, c, c, formed of strong cards; the latter are by
preference placed in the lower part of the casing. Each plate may have a
projecting rib, as shown, forming an endless screw or spiral, the projecting
spiral rib on the cylinder being in such case dispensed with.
.
G, G, G, Figure 4, are brushes composed of wire, and vegetable fibres
mixed together, and fitted spirally on decagons or duodecagons by means of
forks H, H, H, fixed on bolts I, I, I, and secured on the polygons by nuts
F, F, F, which also serve to move the brushes towards or from the casing.
These brushes revolve in a casing formed internally of the same materials as
that described in reference to Figure 3, that is to say, of perforated metal
plates and strong cards; the latter are by preference placed at the lower part
of the casing.
Figure 5, represents all the parts of the apparatus in combination. L,
Figure 6, is a channel down which the seeds fall to a sieve M placed nearly
horizontally. This sieve is formed of two compartments, and has a shaking
motion imparted thereto.
Figure 7 represents a wooden or metal cover for the machine. N is an
upper pipe parallel to the top of the machine; it is pierced with holes n, n, n.
O is a lower pipe for driving air towards the opening. P. Q is a spout or
channel communicating with the outside of the apartment for carrying off
the debris.
4
Although distinct. the two cylinders represented in Figures 2 and 5 produce
the same effect. They act by friction combined with centrifugal force. I will
therefore confine myself to the description of one apparatus, that with the
brushes, for example. After having been deposited in the reservoir A, the
seeds fall through the opening B. upon, the inclined sieve C.. The shaking.

page_text: imparted by the rocker E or the action of the rake F, Figure 1, leads the seeds
to the opening D, from which they fall into the pipe F', which leads them to
the machine. The part G¹ of this pipe is independent. When they reach the
machine the seeds are immediately taken hold of by the brushes, and pressed.
between them and the perforated plates U, H, H, and cards I, I, I, that is to:
say, they are submitted to a tearing and cutting action, which consequently
detaches the particles of cotton surrounding the seeds; the rotary motion, the
spiral direction of the brushes, and the inclination of the apparatus, lead the:
seeds and the cotton to the lower end, where there is an opening communi-
cating with the lower sieve M; but in falling the seeds and cotton pass' in.
front of the fan J, the draught produced by which drives the cotton by the:
pipe K, while the seeds fall into the channel L, and thence on to the sieve M,
the shaking of which has the effect of retaining the stones and the cotton too
heavy to be carried away by the pipe K. During the working the action of
the brushes, has driven through the perforations of the plates the dust and
small cottony fibres, which then become collected upon the plates. The
machine being enclosed by the cover, Figure 7, the pipe N, which is placed*
along the top of the casing, allows passage of air to the two sides of the casing,
and this current of air causes the cotton collected on the plates to fall below.
The current of air through the pipe O drives up all the dust and small
cottony fibres which fall from the machine to the opening P covered with wire
gauze or perforated metal, and the spout Q carries them outside the apartment
in which the machine is at work. I do not limit myself to the particular
arrangement above described for causing currents of air to pass through the
cover for driving out the dust and small fibres. I have stated that the cotton
issues by the spout or pipe K. The end of this spout may be in a separate
chamber from which the air is allowed to escape.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I do not claim as
my present Invention the employment of cards or of perforated plates, or of a
cylindrical apparatus for treating cotton seeds, as such were described and
claimed in the Specification of my Patent of 15th June 1864, No. 1480;
but I claim as my present improvements in machinery for treating cotton
seeds,-.
First, the combination of a reservoir with an inclined sieve to which a
shaking motion is imparted or furnished, with a rake or roller for feeding the
seeds regularly to the pipe or shoot which conducts them to the revolving
cylinder and casing, substantially as herein-before described.
Second, the combination of a revolving cylinder and corresponding casing

page_text: furnished with perforated plates and cards, and one or other of which is formed
with a projecting spiral rib, substantially as herein-before described.
Third, the employment of brushes composed of mixed wire and vegetable
fibres mounted upon a polygonal drum in a spiral direction, and made to
revolve in a casing, substantially as herein-before described.
Fourth, the employment of a cover to the apparatus through which currents
of air are caused to pass by means of pipes or otherwise, for driving the dust
and small cottony fibres out of the apartment in which the machine is worked,
substantially as herein-before described.
Fifth, the combination of machinery substantially as herein-before described
and represented in the accompanying Drawings.
r
In witness whereof, I, the said François Antoine Edmond Guironnet
de Massas, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of
February One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
T. A. E. G. DE MASSAS." (L.S..)