AN IMPROVED APPARATUS OR MACHINERY FOR DECORTICATING TEXTILE PLANTS."
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Antoine Berthet of Boulevard Saint Denis No. 1 at
Paris Engineer for an Invention of "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS OR
MACHINERY FOR DECORTICATING TEXTILE PLANTS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Antoine Berthet at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 8th February 1882.
ANTOINE BERTHET of Boulevard Saint Denis No. 1 at Paris, Engineer.
IMPROVED APPARATUS OR MACHINERY FOR DECORTICATING TEXTILE PLANTS."
$8
AN
The general principle of this improved apparatus or machinery consists; First, in
breaking or crushing the stalks or leaves by means of fluted rollers or cylinders.
This breaking process has for object to crush and disintegrate the ligneous and
pulpy parts, in fact all matters foreign to the filaments.
Second; in bringing the stalks or leaves thus prepared in contact with a drum
having on its periphery a certain number of blades or knives; this drum turns very
truly against a curved wooden board and the stalks or leaves are made to pass
between the drum and the board and are deprived of all matter foreign to the
filaments.
As in this operation it is necessary to hold the leaves or stalks by their thicker
ends, that is to say by their butts, it follows, that these parts do not undergo the
process of decortication. In order then to effect the complete cleaning of the
leaves or stalks for their entire length, they continue their course on leaving the
first curved board and are seized or taken hold of at a certain distance from that
portion of the leaf or stalk which has not been cleaned or decorticated, these
uncleaned portions thus becoming free pass in their turn between a second drum
and curved board. The fibres are thus completely cleaned for their entire length.
My improved apparatus effects mechanically and in a continuous manner the
process of extracting the fibres; that is to say, a workman feeds the leaves or
talks to a carrier placed in front of the fluted rollers or cylinders, and the filaments
ssue from the machine completely deprived for their entire length of all foreign
natters.

page_text: Having stated the nature of the Invention I will now proceed to describe an
apparatus constructed for carrying it into effect.
A main shaft carries the two drums provided with knives or blades. These
two drums can be moved nearer to or further from the two corresponding curved
boards by means of adjusting screws. A second horizontal shaft driven from the
main shaft carries at one of its extremities an endless screw communicating motion
to a toothed wheel keyed on a vertical shaft. This vertical shaft is behind the
first curved board and carries two grooved pulleys, one of them which is the
smaller being at a certain distance below the other.
Behind the second drum and curved board is another vertical shaft carrying a
grooved pulley.
This
Between the two vertical shafts is an intermediate vertical shaft supporting a
small grooved pulley loose on its shaft. There are two other grooved pulleys or
blocks which hold and keep taut an endless rope which passes round all the pulleys.
A pinion keyed on the second horizontal shaft engages with a toothed wheel on a
third horizontal shaft which also forms the axis of the lower fluted roller.
latter by incans of gearing communicates movement to the upper fluted roller
which can be moved nearer to or further from the lower roller according to the
thickness of the leaves or stalks to be crushed. A carrier table is placed in front
of the fluted rollers and there is a guide or guides to press the leaves or stalks on
the rope so as to compel them to pass between the larger grooved pulley and the
rope.
The action of the machine is as follows :-
The leaves or stalks are spread upon a feed table and are drawn partly by the
endless rope and partly by endless bands which turn in concert, towards the Huted
rollers; they are there crushed as they advance; their ends resting upon the rope
are acted upon by the guide which presses them upon the rope and conducts thein
to the larger grooved pulley; the other ends-when free-from the fluted rollers fall
of their own weight and the leaves or stalks are thus held and maintained by the
endless rope.
Continuing their forward movement the leaves or stalks pass
between the first rotating drum and the corresponding curved board and on issuing
therefrom they are deprived of all matiers foreign to the filaments.
The upper part of the stalk or leaf then becomes free or disengaged whilst at a
certain distance below, the filaments are seized between the rope and the smaller
pulley.
In this movement the disengaged part falls back upon the cord and hangs down
and the stalk or leaf then travels to the second druin and curved board from which
the leaf or stalk issues completely cleaned for its entire length. The stalks or
leaves are at this point disengaged from the rope.
For some purposes such as for giving suppleness and lustre to tow or fibres the
knives on the drums may be replaced by softer substances such as wood or leather
and the periphery of the drums may be fitted with brushes, teeth or other devices
to brush, comb, clean and disaggregate the fibres.
A jet of water may be caused to play between the drums and the curved boards
so that the gum and pulpy matter may be the better extracted.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Antoine Berthet in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th August 1882.
"AN
ANTOINE BERTHET of Boulevard Saint Denis No. 1 at Paris, Engineer.
IMPROVED APPARATUS OR MACHINERY FOR DECORTICATING TEXTILE PLANTS."
The general principle of this improved apparatus or machinery consists:—First.
In breaking or crushing the stalks or leaves by means of fluted rollers or cylinders.
This breaking process has for object to crush and disintegrate the ligneous and
pulpy parts, in fact all matters foreign to the filaments.
Second. In bringing the stalks or leaves thus prepared in contact with a drum
having on its periphery a certain number of blades or knives; this drum turns very
truly against a curved wooden board, and the stalks or leaves are made to pass
between the drum and the board and are deprived of all matter foreign to the
filaments.
As in this operation it is necessary to hold the leaves or stalks by their thicker
ends, that is to say by their butts, it follows that these parts do not undergo the
process of decortication. In order then to effect the complete cleaning of the leaves
or stalks for their entire length they continue their course on leaving the first
curved board and are seized or taken hold of at a certain distance from that portion
of the leaf or stalk which has not been cleaned or decorticated; these unclean
portions thus becoming free pass in their turn between a second drum and curved
board The fibres are thus completely cleaned for their entire length.
My improved apparatus effects mechanically and in a continuous manner the
process of extracting the fibres, that is to say a workman feeds the leaves or stalks
to a carrier placed in front of the fluted rollers or cylinders, and the filaments
issue from the machine completely deprived for their entire length of all foreign
matters.
Having stated the nature of the Invention I will now proceed to describe an
apparatus constructed for carrying it into effect―
Figure 1 is an elevation and Figure 2 a plan of the apparatus. Figure 3 is a
view of the carrier or feeder. The same letters represent the same parts in all the
figures.
"
The arrows indicate the direction in which the various parts move. A main
shaft A carries the two drums B and B¹ provided with knives or blades. These
two drums can be moved nearer to or further from the two corresponding curved
boards C C by means of adjusting screws a a¹ actuated by hand wheels bb'.
DD are loose and fast pulleys receiving their movement from a belt. E is a fixed
pulley for transmitting the movement to the pulley F mounted on the shaft G.
This shaft carries at one of its extremities an endless screw H communicating
motion to a toothed wheel I keyed on a vertical shaft K. This vertical shaft is
behind the curved board C and carries two grooved pulleys L M, the pulley M which
is the smaller being at a certain distance below the pulley L.
Behind the second drum B' and curved board Ĉ¹ is another vertical shaft K¹
carrying a grooved pulley L'. Between the two shafts K and K' is an intermediate
vertical shaft N supporting a small grooved pulley O loose on its shaft. There are
two other grooved pulleys or blocks d d' which hold and keep taut an endless
rope W which passes round all the pulleys. The arrows numbered from 1 to 6
indicate the position and movement of the rope. A pinion P keyed on the shaft G
engages with a toothed wheel Q on the shaft R which also forms the axis of the
lower fluted roller S. This latter by means of gearing f communicates movement
to the upper Buted roller S¹ which can be moved nearer to or further from the
lower roller S according to the thickness of the leaves or stalks to be crushed. A

page_text: carrier table T is placed in front of the fluted rollers. Guides U press the leaves or
stalks against the ropo W so as to compel them to pass between the grooved pulley L
and the rope.
The action of the machine is as follows:-
The leaves or stalks are placed upon a feed tablo V and being spread out by the
attendant up to the part 9 of the carrier are drawn partly by the endless rope W
and partly by endless bands hh which turn in concert, towards the fluted rollers SS'
to which they are presented at an angle or bias; they are there crushed as they
advance; their ends resting upon the rope at g are acted upon by the guide U
which presses them upon the rope and conducts them to the grooved pulley L; the
other ends when free from the fluted rollers fall of their own weight and the leaves
or stalks are thus held and maintained by the endless rope (see Figure 4). Con-
tinuing their forward movement the leaves or stalks pass between the rotating
drum B and the corresponding curved board C and on issuing therefrom they are
found deprived of all matters foreign to the filaments (see Figure 5).
On reaching the point X the upper part of the stalk or leaf becomes free or
disengaged whilst at a certain distance below, the filaments are seized at Y between
the rope W (arrow 4) and the small grooved pulley O (see Figure 6). In this
movement the disengaged part falls back upon the rope and hangs down (see
Figures 7 and 8) and the stalk or leaf then travels to the second drum B₁ and
curved board C from which the leaf or stalk issues completely cleaned for its entire
length. The stalks or leaves are at this point disengaged from the rope by the
device Z.
The characteristic or novel features in my improved apparatus or machinery are:-
(1). The endless rope W which serves both as a holder for the leaves or stalks
and as the means of carrying them through the machine. (2). The mode of reversing
the thicker or butt ends of the leaves or stalks by means of the rope. (3). The
arrangement of the fluted rollers and carrier for effecting the feed and the crushing
of the leaves or stalks. (4). The guides above and below the rope to cause the
leaves or stalks to engage between the rope and the wheel L. (5). The combination
or arrangement of the drums and curved boards.
For some purposes such as for giving suppleness and lustre to tow or fibres the
knives on the drums may be replaced by softer substances such as wood or leather
and the periphery of the drums may be fitted with brushes, teeth or other devices
to brush, comb, clean and disaggregate the fibres.
A jet of water may be caused to play between the drums and the curved boards
so that the gum and pulpy matter may be the better extracted.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed I declare that I claim:-The improved apparatus or
machinery constructed and acting substantially as herein before described for
decorticating textile plants.
In witness whereof I the said Antoine Berthet have hereunto set my hand
and seal this third day of August One thousand eight hundred and eighty
ANTOINE BERTHET. (L.s.)
Witness
ALBERT CAHEN
Civil Engineer
of Boulevard Saint Denis ] at Paris.