Improvements in or relating to Machinery for Scutching and Cleaning Fibrous Stems and Leaves.
Year: 1893

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Machinery for Scutching and
Cleaning Fibrous Stems and Leaves.
We, HAMOR LOCKWOOD of 7 Chapel Walks, Manchester, Manufacturing
Chemist, and ALAN TAYLOR HALL of 5 Bilton Road, Rugby in the County of
Warwick, 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 has reference to machinery or apparatus for scutching and
cleaning fibrous stems and leaves when in the green or natural state so as to
remove the pulpy portions therefrom and separate them from the fibres of same.
•
In the class of machine at present employed for that purpose the material to
be cleaned is submitted to the action of a revolving wheel or drum armed with
beaters, being fed thereto from a stationary feed plate or by a flat table having a
to and fro movement imparted to it.
In a machine constructed according to the present invention the stationary feed
plate and flat table are dispensed with and a revolving drum is employed for
submitting the material to the action of the beaters as producing better results.
The material is fed on to the drum by a reciprocating carriage, the latter being
provided with our improved clamping device for gripping and holding the material
while being operated upon by the beaters.
Referring to the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section, Figure 2 a plan, and Figure 3 a view
showing one half in section and one half in end elevation (taken on the line X X
of Figure 2) of a scutching and cleaning machine constructed according to our
invention.
Figure 4 is a detached view of the device for clamping the materials-and
Figure 5 is a view of the mechanism for driving the revolving drum.
The general construction of the machine being readily understood from the
drawings by any person in the trade only such parts thereof as are necessary
to a clear understanding of the present invention will be described and
referred to.
A. is the drum which carries the usual beaters A' being covered in by the
casing plate B.
Instead of the usual stationary feed plate or reeiprocating table we employ a
revolving drum C upon which the material lies while being operated upon by the
beaters A¹ in the well known manner.
The drum C is carried in bearings C₁ (which may be adjustable) in the side
standards D of the machine, and is driven by an intermediate wheel C² and
pinion C from a pulley E and belt E' connecting it to a pulley E² on the driving
shaft F. Figures 3 and 5.
The revolving drum offers considerable advantages over the ordinary method in
which the material is beaten as it is constantly offering a fresh surface to the beaters
and consequently becomes more uniformly worn and the material more evenly
operated upon, while having adjustable bearings it can be altered in relation to
the beaters to take up the wear as desired.
The material is carried to and from the drum C by a reciprocating carriage
consisting of chain wheels H, on each side of the machine, actuating link chains H¹
connected to each other by pipes or tubes H' stretched across the machine and
screwed on to projections on the side of the links in the well known manner.
The carriage is moved to and fro by means of the chain G¹ passing over the

page_text: wheels G and attached to the carriage by ring bolts G2 having right and left hand
threads passing into the revoluble sleeve G³ of the carriage driven by suitable
reversible gearing.
To this reciprocating carriage is attached our improved clamping device which
consists of a plate J (Figures 1 and 4) to which are pivotted at J₁ two plates K
whose upper ends are again pivotted at K' to link bearing plates L.
One of the latter carries a worm wheel M which engages a worm M' on the
shaft N worked by one of the hand wheels N' on each end thereof.
Each of the link bearing plates L also carries a spur or toothed wheel O
adapted to engage each other and by means of the worm M' and the wheel M
raise or lower the plate J from or into the groove P (Figs. 2 and 4) formed in the
plate P extending across the carriage and into which the ends of the leaves are
laid and held in position by the lowering of the plate J as described.
The shaft N is carried in the side cheeks N2 of the carriage and the ends of the
plate work in a slide or groove J2 formed on the said cheeks between the
plates N³.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. In a machine for scutching and cleaning fibrous stems and leaves the use in
combination with the beaters of a revolving drum substantially as and for the
purpose described.
2. In a machine for scutching and cleaning fibrous stems and leaves the use of
a device or apparatus for clamping the material while being operated upon by the
beaters constructed and operating substantially in the manner described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 9th day of June 1893.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicants.