IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOB TREATING PELTS TO REMOVE THE MASTER HAIRS
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edwin Powley Alexander, of 14, Southampton Buildings,
in the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and British and Foreign
Patent Agent, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOB TREATING PELTS TO REMOVE THE MASTER
HAIRS." A communication from abroad by Alfred Fraser, of the City, County,
and State of New York, in the United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edwin Powley Alexander at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th November 1880..
EDWIN POWLEY ALEXANDER, of 14, Southampton Buildings, in the County of
Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and British and Foreign Patent Agent..
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR
TREATING PELTS TO REMOVE THE MASTER HAIRS." A communication from
abroad by Alfred Fraser, of the City, County, and State of New York, in the
United States of America.
The object of this Invention is to extract in a simple and economical manner
the master hairs from pelts, which object is effected by the apparatus or means
hereinafter set forth, consisting of a frame of any suitable form for supporting the
Imechanism, which may be variously constructed without departing from the
essential features of this Invention. The said frame may consist of two side pieces
and cross bars, the side pieces having upwardly projecting standards in which turns
the driving shaft.
On a lower shaft turns a cylindrical carrier or table, which is rotated by means
of a worm gear driven from the driving shaft, and in the periphery of the carrier
is a slot containing a clamping bar by means of which the edges of a pelt may be
secured with the fur downward to the carrier.
At the rear of the carrier to one of the cross bars is hung a frame, to which by
a central screw bolt is pivotted so as to swing freely a yoke frame carrying a
hollow bar or tube, through which a current of steam or hot air may be passed by
means of flexible pipes.
t

page_text: A. handle connected to the bolt serves as a means of tightening and loosening the
latter to facilitate the adjustment of the frame as may be necessary, according to
the shape of the pelt operated upon.
Above the hollow bar or tube is arranged a mechanical picker of any suitable
construction, and connected with such adjusting and operating devices as will ensure
the gripping of the long master hairs that project beyond the finer body of fur, and
the extracting of such hairs by pulling the same out by their roots.
According to one arrangement the picker may consist of two jaws hung to a
carriage, sliding freely upon rocking shafts carried by a frame swinging upon the
driving shaft.
One of these jaws consists of a bent blade secured to a bracket sliding on but
rocking with one of the said rocking shafts. The other jaw consists of arms
pivotted to the said bracket, and carrying a cross bar having a rubber or elastic
covering, and is connected by rods to arms of the last mentioned rocking shaft,
the said arms sliding on the shaft with the carrier but rocking with the shaft.
The said shafts terminate in cranks connected to rods slotted and sliding upon
the driving shaft by the action of a wheel, having cam grooves on its opposite faces
receiving studs on the said rods.
The aforesaid swinging frame may be adjusted to bring the picker to and from
the pelt by means of a screw shaft turning in a stud of the side frame, and in an
oscillating nut carried by an arm extending from the said frame..
The pelt after being clamped to the carrier is passed round the said hollow bar
or tube, so as to present the hair face upwards to the picker, the jaws of which are
so vibrated that the cross bar will first bend the master hairs towards one of the
jaws, which will then be brought with its edge firmly against the cross bar and
then caused to rock, thereby pulling the hairs gripped between the jaws from
the skin by their roots.
.
As these operations are rapidly repeated the carrier is revolved so as to bring
different portions of the pelt successively under the action of the picker, which thus
withdraws the master hairs from the length of the pelt for a distance proportioned
to the width of the picker.
The beforementioned sliding carriage may then be adjusted by means of a
handle upon the said rocking shafts so as to bring the picker above another portion
of the pelt, the carrier being turned back so as to start the operation from the same
edge of the pelt as before.
By successive adjustment of the carrier and carriage every portion of the pelt is
speedily acted upon, and by elevating or depressing the swinging frame the picker
is adjusted to seize the master hairs close to the fur without gripping the latter,
or by tilting the yoke frame the picker is maintained at the same relative distance
from the fur as it approaches the thinner edges of the pelt.
It has been ascertained that by heating the pelt by passing it over a heated bar
or otherwise the roots of the master hairs are so affected that they will pass easily
from the skin without any tearing action likely to result in the extraction of
the fur.
Various pickers and modes of operating the same may be employed, and the
picker may be reciprocated vertically so as to seize and withdraw the master hairs;
the pelt carrier may also consist of a flat reciprocating table, heated, if necessary,
and travelling laterally as well as backward and forward.
The manipulation of the pelt may be facilitated by providing the machine with
one or more treadles, arranged so that the operations of the machine may be
arrested or started and the yoke frame rocked by the action of the foot.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Edwin Powley Alexander in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 17th March 1881.
EDWIN POWLEY ALEXANDER, of 14, Southampton Buildings, in the County of
Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and British and Foreign Patent Agent.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR
TREATING PELTS TO REMOVE THE MASTER HAIRS." A communication from
abroad by Alfred Fraser, of the City, County, and State of New York, in the
United States of America.
The said Invention has for its object the extracting, in a simple and economical
manner, the inaster hairs from pelts, without the tedious and expensive manipula-
tion heretofore required for this purpose, which object is effected by the apparatus
or means hereinafter set forth.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall refer to
the several Figures on the explanatory Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings is a transverse sectional elevation of a machine
constructed according to this Invention.
Figure 2 is front elevation of the same.
Figure 3 is a plan view.
Figure 4 is a detached perspective view of the carrier and picker, and Figures 5,
6, and 7 are views illustrating the operation upon the pelts.
A represents the frame of any suitable form supporting the mechanism, which
may be variously constructed without departing from the essential features of
this Invention. The said frame may consist of two side pieces a, a', cross bars
or ties b, the side pieces having upwardly projecting standards c, in which turns
the driving shaft B.
On the lower shaft C turns a cylindrical carrier or table D, which is rotated by
means of a worm gear driven from the driving shaft B, and in the periphery of the
carrier there is a slot d containing a clamping bar e, by means of which the edges
of a pelt a may be secured with the fur downward to the carrier, as shown in
Figure 1.
At the rear of the carrier to one of the cross bars 6 is hung a frame E, to which,
by a central screw bolt f, is pivotted, so as to swing freely, a yoke frame F carrying
a hollow bar or tube g, through which a current of steam or hot air may be passed
by means of flexible pipes g², g².
A handle f¹ connected to the bolt f serves as a means of tightening and
loosening the latter, to facilitate the adjustment of the frame F as may be necessary,
according to the shape of the felt operated upon.
Above the hollow bar or tube g is arranged a mechanical picker of any suitable
construction, and connected with such adjusting and operating devices as will
ensure the gripping by the same of the long master hairs that project beyond the
finer body of fury (see Figure 5), and the extracting of such hairs by pulling
the same out by their roots.
In the Drawing I have illustrated the picker H as consisting of two jaws h, h',
hung to a carriage I sliding freely upon rocking shafts J, J¹, carried by the frame K
swinging upon the driving shaft B.
The jaw h consists of a bent blade secured to a bracket m sliding on but rocking
with the shaft J. The other jaw consists of arms pivotted at 3 to the said
bracket m, and carrying a cross bar i having a rubber or elastic covering.
The jaw his connected by rods n to arms p of the rocking shaft J¹, the
arms p sliding on the shaft with the carrier I, but rocking with such shaft.
.

page_text: The said shafts J, J¹, terminate in cranks connected to slotted rods sliding upon
the driving shaft B by the action of a wheel L having cam grooves on its opposite
faces receiving studs on the said rods.
The frame may be adjusted so as to bring the picker to and from the pelt by
means of a screw shaft M turning in a stud q of the side frame, and in a travelling
nútr carried by an arm 83 extending from the said frame K.
The pelt, after being clamped to the carrier D, is passed round the hollow bar or
tube G so as to present the air face upwards to the picker H, the jaws of which are
so vibrated that the cross bar i will first bend the master hairs, as shown in Figure 6,
towards the jaw h¹, the latter will then be brought with its edge firmly against the
cross bar i, Figure 7, and both will then be rocked in the direction of the arrow,
Figure 7, thereby pulling the hairs thus gripped between the jaws by their roots
from the skin.
As these operations are rapidly repeated, the carrier D is revolved so as to bring
different portions of the pelt successively under the action of the picker, which thus
withdraws the master hairs from the length of the pelt for a distance proportioned
to the width of the picker.
The carriage I may then be adjusted by means of the handle I¹ upon the
shafts J, J', so as to bring the picker above another portion of the pelt, the carrier D
being turned back so as to start the operation from the same edge of the pelt as
before.
By successive adjustment of the carrier D and carriage I, every portion of the
pelt is speedily acted upon, and, by elevating or depressing the frame K, the picker
is adjusted so as to seize the master hairs close to the fur without gripping the
latter, or by tilting the yoke frame F the picker is maintained at the same relative
distance from the fur as it approaches the thinner edges of the pelt.
It has been ascertained that by heating the felt by passing it over a heated bar
or otherwise, the roots of the master hairs are so affected that they become detached
easily from the skin without any tearing action likely to result in the extraction
of the fur.
I do not confine myself to the precise form of picker or mode of operating the
same, herein before described and illustrated by the Drawings, as any suitable
character of picker or jaws may be employed, and the picker may be reciprocated
vertically so as to seize and withdraw the master-hairs. The pelt carrier may also
consist of a flat reciprocating table heated, if necessary, and travelling laterally as
well as backward and forward.
I propose to facilitate the manipulation of the pelt by providing the machine
with one or more treadles arranged so that the operations of the machine may be
arrested or started, and the yoke frame F rocked by the action of the foot.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original,
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the hereinbefore in part
recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The method and means, substantially as herein described, of extracting the
master hairs of pelts.
Secondly. The combination of a carrier adapted to hold and carry the pelt and
picker provided with jaws and combined with operating mechanism, whereby.
the jaws are caused to grip & withdraw the master hairs, substantially as set
forth.
Thirdly. The combination of a picker constructed to operate as set forth, and a
heated tube or case for supporting the pelt, substantially as set forth.
Fourthly. The combination of a pelt carrier picker and bar or table adjustable
below the picker, substantially as set forth.
Fifthly. The combination of the carrier picker swinging frame E, yoke frame F,
hollow bar or tube g, and device for adjusting the frame F, substantially as set
forth

page_text: Sixthly. The combination of the rock bars J, J', brackets m, blade h', bar i,
connected to arms pivotted to the brackets m and rods n, connected to arms p of
the shaft J¹, substantially as specified.
Seventhly. The combination of the picker with a carriage I supporting the same
moveably upon the jaw operating shafts, substantially as set forth.
Eighthly. The combination with the carrier and picker of appliances for setting
the same at different degrees apart, substantially as set forth.
Ninthly. The mode described of removing master hairs from pelts, the same
consisting in first heating the pelt adjacent to the roots of the master' hairs, and
then applying force to withdraw the latter, as specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edwin Powley Alexander, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
EDWIN P. ALEXANDER. (L.S.)