A Machine for Separating the Fibrous Material from Ramie and other Fibrous Plants.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Mar., 1899-Accepted, 30th Sept., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Machine for Separating the Fibrous Material from Ramie and
other Fibrous Plants.
I, WILLARD NOYES PACKER, of No. 34, Barbara Street, Cleveland, Cuyahoga
County, Ohio, United States of America, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to a new and useful machine for separating the fibrous
material from ramie (China grass), jute and similar fibrous plants, both green
and dry.
By my invention I so treat the reeds during the entire process of separating
the fibrous material that the fibre is subjected to no violence whatever, that it
is separated in a continuous, flat, ribbon-like piece from the wood and pith,
which are likewise delivered in practically a single continuous and unbroken
piece. The fibre is retained in as straight and perfect a condition, when sepa-
rated from the pith, wood and gum-containing pelicle, as it was when in the
original reed. There is no entangling or snarling of the fibre, and the exterior
bark or pelicle, which contains the objectionable gum, is largely if not entirely
removed without injury to the fibre; and, lastly, it is delivered from the
machine in condition to be readily gathered and handled in the subsequent
operations. The essential features of my invention are as follows:-
The reeds, as cut in the fields and in green condition, after having been
topped as usual, are fed in at one end of the machine, each reed passing by
itself through suitable guides which conduct it to a point where a pin enters
the hollow pithy chamber of the reed, in which chamber the pin rests as a guide
or centering device for the reed from end to end of its transit. Just at the
rear end of the pin, and on one side thereof, a blade or slitting device is
arranged which slits the reed, upon one side, from end to end as it passes
through the machine. Immediately in rear of the blade there are lateral
spreading or deflecting surfaces which fold the reed (now split) outwardly by
an easy, smooth motion, so that as it passes through the machine its formation
has been changed, in that instead of being a tubular structure with the wood
and pith in the interior, the fibre and gum-containing pelicle surrounding it,
after the manner of a tube, it has become a flattened structure with the wood
and pith all on one side and in one plane, and the fibre and gum-containing
pelicle all on the other side and in another plane.
As the reed, now in its flattened condition, passes still further through the
machine, it encounters rollers between which it passes. The lower roller, or
the one which comes in contact with the exterior, gum-carrying pelicle, is
roughened on its surface and runs at a somewhat higher speed than the other
or feeding roller which acts as a resistance to it. Its surface is also roughened
in such manner that, since it bears upon the relatively tough woody portion, it
controls the speed of the reed in transit. The action of this higher-speed roller

page_text: upon the exterior gum-containing pelicle is to rough it up, lifting it from the
fibre, its action resembling to some extent that of a napping roller on textile
fabrics; and this lifting of the gum-containing pelicle so loosens it from the
fibre to which it was formerly somewhat firmly attached, that it will be entirely
separate from the fibre upon being subjected to a slight rubbing operation.
As the reed, now in its flattened condition, proceeds further through the
machine, it comes upon a tilting table, at about the center of which there is an
upwardly presented device resembling, to a certain extent, the upwardly pre-
sented edge of a chisel, the inclined edge whereof is presented downwardly.
This device is pivotally connected to the table so that it is adapted to pivot
relative thereto and thus close an opening therein. As the end of the reed
comes in contact with the inclined edge of the chisel-like device, which I will
now call the separator, it is deflected downwardly by its inclined surface and is
thereby conducted between two rollers over which continually pass endless
belts. The end of the reed which is presented between the belts on the said
rollers is immediately grasped by them, and since the peripheral speed of these
rollers (and consequently of the belts carried by them) is somewhat greater
than that of the roughened feed roller before referred to, the reed is pulled
forward by them so quickly as to be bent over a transverse edge in the table
which forms one side of the opening through which the reed passes; and the
strain exerted upon the reed by reason of its being drawn downwardly over the
said edge causes the table to rock upon its support, thus automatically operating
the separator, and at the same time, by reason of the sharp deflection of the
reed, causes the woody material and pith carried by it to crack across and
separate from the fibre, in such manner that the woody material projects hori-
zontally, or substantially so, from that point, the fibre only, together with a
small section of the wood on the free end of the reed, passing downwardly
through the endless belts referred to.
The separator, owing to the action above referred to, passes beneath the woody
portion of the reed änd acts as a table or guide over which the woody materiál
passes and is conducted upon a delivery belt therefor which is at the rear end
of the machine; and this separator also ensures the proper separation of all
woody material from the fibre, particularly at the extreme ends of the reeds
after they have passed from the control of the feed roller above referred to.
And it will be noticed that the exterior pelicle which has been roughened up
and loosened from the fibre, comes in close rubbing contact with the edge of
the opening through the table, drawing over that edge in its passage down-
ward, so that at this point the loosened, flaky or scale-like gummy material is
separated from the fibre and at the same time the nap (so to speak) which was
lifted by the high-speed roller above referred to, is laid back smoothly upon
the fibre. A considerable quantity of the gum accumulates just at this edge,
which the next succeeding reed shoves forwardly so that it drops through the
opening in the table, which opening is by that time again formed owing to the
return movement of the table consequent upon the termination of the passage
of the preceding reed.
As above intimated, the woody material and pith are delivered from the
machine in one place by a suitable delivery belt, and the fibre with the small
terminal portion of the wood still left upon it, is delivered by suitable belts at
another place at the end of the machine. The small terminal woody pieces left
adhering to the fibres serve two useful purposes; first, they determine at a glance
the butt ends of the reeds, which is a desirable fact to know in the subsequent
degumming processes; and likewise they afford nieans whereby the fibre which
is now in the form of flattened ribbons, may he hung upon wires or otherwise
to dry, by simply lapping the small woody end over the wire, or suitable sup-
port, whereby the ribbons will be properly sustained. And since the adhesion
of this small woody piece to the fibre is but slight, they practically all separate
from the ribbons of fibre during the act of taking them down from the drying

page_text: wires; if not, a slight switching of the ends of the ribbons against a suitable
obstruction will cause them all to fly off.
I will now give a detailed description of the construction of one form of the
machine embodying my invention, having reference to the drawings thereof,
in which
Figure is a side elevation of the machine.
Figure 2 is a plan view thereof.
Figure 3 is an elevation in longitudinal section taken through the line 1-1
of Fig. 2.
Figure 4 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional view (enlarged) of portions of
the machine, taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2.
Figure 5 is a plan view in detail of the slitting device.
Figure 6 is a front elevation in detail of that which is shown in Fig. 5.
Figure illustrates a detail in perspective (partly broken away) of one sec-
tion of the napping roller.
Figure 8 illustrates a digrammatical drawing showing the split and flattened
reed considerably enlarged.
A is the standard upon which the machine is supported. It is preferably a
casting and has an enlarged base, B, for firm support on the floor. C is the
feeding table, supported by a brace, D. EE are guides or deflectors, prefer-
ably but not necessarily made in the form of springs set vertically upon the
feeding table C. They are preferably attached to and supported by a trans-
verse plate or bar, F. G G are the primary feed rollers set unon cross-
shafts H H. The operative faces of these feed rollers are preferably made of
yielding material, such as rubber, having a circumferential groove cast or other-
wise formed therein, as seen at I, Fig. 2, having brass collars or washers, J J,
by the sides of the rubber portion to properly sustain the same.
K (see particularly Figs. 4, 5 and 6) is the guiding or centering pin which
enters the pith chamber in the center of the reed, as shown best in Fig. 4.
L represents one of the reeds. M is the slitter or blade, which is sharpened
on its front edge and is attached by a screw, N, to a clamp, 0, which is attached,
as shown, to a cross-shaft, P. The pin K is brazed to this clamp, 0.
From the lateral edges of the clamp there are depending lugs, QQ, to which
is attached a flat spring, R, by being entered in grooves cut in the depending
lugs, QQ, as shown best in Fig. 6. The rear end or edge of this spring, shown
at R, is free and has vertical play toward or away from a rearward extension, S,
on the clamp, O.
:
The under side of the clamp 0 is formed somewhat in the shape (as shown
in Figures 5 and 6) of a much flattened double mold board plow upside down
and with the cutting or sharp vertical edge just at the rear edge of the slitter
or blade. These two surfaces, or mold boards, are shown at M¹ M¹, and in
action they spread apart and turn outwardly into flattened condition the edges
of the reed adjacent to the slit, so that it as a whole assumes a flat condition
and so remains during the subsequent operations.
Ii will, of course, be understood that there are as many of the grooved rubber
feed rollers, and as many clamps with pin, slitting knife, &c. arranged trans-
versely of the machine, as may be desired; and this is true of the devices
hereinafter to be described.
It will be noted that the forward end of the pin K is centrally located relative
to the grooved feed rollers, both horizontally and vertically.
T is a roughened feed roller, the roughness being given to it by fluting, or
otherwise, as desired, and it has circumferential bands or spaces (seen best in
Fig. 2 at U U, &c.) which are plain-in other words, smooth-the roughened
sections lying between them. These plain or smooth surfaces project slightly
above the roughened surfaces, so that, should the machine at any time run
without any reeds between these, rollers, their roughened surfaces will not be
injured, because they will then be held apart by the slightly raised, smooth

page_text: surfaces. The under or napping roller is provided with similar raised, smooth
surfaces, as will be explained hereafter. The feed roller T may be made as a
solid structure, having journals at the ends, or, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the
exterior portion may be tubular in form and keyed to a shaft, V.
The napping roller above referred to is preferably peculiar in construction.
Reference being had to Fig. 7; W is a shaft which extends crosswise of the
machine, upon which are a series of sections (one of which is shown in Fig. 7)
each independent in action and made up as follows: Y is a hub or annular
structure made of suitable resilient material, such as rubber, which supports
an exterior tubular shell, Z, of steel or other metal. At the ends of this shell
there are bands a a, which are slightly raised above the medial section, b; and
these end sections, au are plain or smooth upon their surfaces and are so
arranged as to register with the plain or smooth sections, U, upon the upper
or feed roller; and they are of slightly greater diameter than the medial por-
tion, b, the latter being fluted or otherwise roughened, the same as the like
sections in the upper or feed roller.
It will be observed, as above stated, that if the machine should be run with
no reeds passing through it, that then the surfaces a al of the lower or napping
roller will come in contact with the surfaces U U of the upper or feed roller,
and that the rollers will rotate upon these surfaces, and their roughened sur-
faces, being of slightly less diameter than the plain portions referred to, will not
come in contact with each other, therefore they will not injure each other.
It will also be observed that the lower or napping roller is so constructed
that each section is adapted to independent movement. They may rock upon
their resilient parts Y to a certain extent, as required by the varying thickness
of the flattened reeds passing through them. Also, that a flattened reed having
considerable thickness (for instance the butt end of it) may pass through one
section of the napping roller, and the relatively thin or tip end of another
reed pass simultaneously through an adjacent section, and yet, owing to the
resilient character of the support Y, each of the reeds will be properly acted
upon. The yielding support or hub Y may be attached to the shaft W in any
suitable manner.
c (see Figs. 1 and 2) is a pipe, brought from any suitable source of water
supply, which connects with a transverse pipe, d, provided with water jets, e,
which project in such directions as desired, whereby water jets under requisite
pressure are thrown upon the operative parts of the machine to free them from
the gum and other foreign matter, whereby the clogging of the machine
thereby is effectually prevented.
is the tilting table heretofore referred to. It is best shown in Figs. 3
and 4 in Fig. 4 in its normal position in Fig. 3 in its depressed position con-
requent upon the passage of a reed over and through it. These tables are
arranged transversely of the machine, the same as practically all the other
parts thereof, side by side, and in such number as desired. Only one will be
here described. It comprises a bottom part, g, and side pieces h h at the
front end thereof and on the under side of the bottom there is a fulcrum point, 7
(see Fig. 4) which is supported upon a cross-bar, j, of the frame. Immediately
to the rear of this fulcrum point there is a downwardly and forwardly extending
arm, k, (best shown in Fig. 3) which extends toward the front of the machine
and is there adapted to engage with a suitable stop, l. Attached to this arm k
there is a spring, m, which passes beneath and is adapted to engage with the
under side of the same stop 7. Toward the rear end of the tilting table the
chisel-like separator, n, is seen, which is pivoted at o to lugs which project
downwardly from the sides, h, of the table. This separator n is in effect a
portion of the bottom of the table referred to; at its front end appears the
chisel-like projection, and at the rear end there is a long projection, p, which
normally rests upon a support, g, fastened by side brackets, r, and screw, s, to
the sides of the machine. The weight of the rearwardly projecting portion, 1',

page_text: is such that as the rear end of the table is elevated, gravity causes the sepa-
rator automatically to tilt upon its pivotal points, o, thereby assuming the
position shown in Fig. 4: in other words, it is elevated in its normal position
so as to leave open the opening in the table. The function of the spring, m,
the curved arm, k, and the stop, l, is to ensure the upward tilting of the
table, fy, as a whole when there are no reeds passing over or through it. This
is effected by reason of the pressure of the spring, m, against the stop, 1, which
tilts the table upwardly until the curved armi, k, engages with the same stop, l.
The position of the parts when depressed, in other words, during the time that a
reed is passing over and through the table, is shown in Fig. 3; and the normal
condition of the parts when not in operation is shown in Fig. 4; and in Fig. 4
the flattened reed, L, is seen, it having engaged with the separator, n, been
deflected downwardly by it, and just about to pass between the appropriate delivery
belts already referred to.
Referring now to the delivery belts, seen best in Figs. 1 and 3.
t is the upper one, and, as before stated, it is in the form of a continuous
apron which passes over a roller, u, at the rear end of the machine, and over a
roller, v, at the forward end. Above this roller, v, there is another one, w, which
receives the woody and pithy material as it passes over the separator and ensures
its proper feed or delivery to the belt f.
In Fig.
suitable adjusting devices to
determine the tension of this delivery belt or apron are shown at y.
The belts for delivering the fibre are two in number and are shown below
the upper or wood and pith delivery belt. They are indicated by a and b
These belts respectively pass over guide rollers, and du, at the rear end of
the machine and over deflecting or idler rollers, elt and f, and likewise over
guide rollers g" and ". It is obvious, since the fibre is delivered between
these belts and is carried in flat condition by them from the machine rearwardly,
that they must run in reverse directions; that is to say, the upper web of one
of them runs from right to left, and the upper web of the other runs from left
to right, because the upper and under webs of the two belts must travel coin-
cidently. The adjusting devices to regulate the tension of these belts are seen
at the rear end of the machine in Fig. 1, and are or may be substantially the
same as those described relative to the upper delivery belt.
The guiding and deflecting rollers may be made of wood or metal or any
other suitable material, or they may be composite or solid as preferred. All
this is immaterial; I, however, sometimes cover the rollers proper with an
exterior shell of some material to prevent slipping and wear on the belts, such
as indiarubber. This construction is shown in Fig. 3.
fg
Certain ones only of the endless belt rollers are positively driven, the others
operate as supporting and guiding rollers, and two of them, ell and f", as belt-
deflecting idlers.
The gearing is best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, as follows:-
is the main driving wheel; it may be driven by belt, 11, or in any other
way and is mounted upon the main shaft, k, upon which is a pinion, ", which
gears into what may be called the main gear m". It in turn meshes with a
smaller gear, l, set upon the shaft, h", and also with a gear, o, set upon the
shaft, V, which carries the upper feed roller, T; and the gear o in turn meshes
into a gear, p, upon the shaft H' which carries the lower primary feed
rollers, GG. The gear 1, at the right of the machines, meshes into another
small gear, q, which drives the upper feed belt.
Referring now to Fig. 2: other gears, which need not be described in detail,
are shown upon the opposite ends of the shafts above referred to, whereby the
co-acting feed rollers, belt, rollers, &c. are actuated.
In Fig. 8 I show, by a partially diagrammatical view, the operation of the
feeding roller, T, and the napping roller, b, upon the slit and flattened reed. In
this figure the roughened periphery only of the two rollers is shown, and T is
represented as taking a firm hold upon the upwardly presented woody and

page_text: pithy surface of the flattened reed, whereby it is positively moved forward at a
uniform speed, and its movement controlled; and the roughened surface of the
napping roller, b, which as stated runs at a higher speed than the feed roller, T,
is shown as in contact with the gum-carrying exterior pelicle, or outer bark
of the fibre, and as lifting and loosening the outer pelicle. The surface so
lifted is shown at the right, at l
The feed roll T and the napping roller are preferably built with elastic or
yielding cushions or journals, and are provided with means whereby they may
be adjusted; as, for instance, the set screws shown, or other equivalent devices,
so that lost motion, wear, &c. may be compensated for and proper tension applied
to secure the desired results, as the size or, in some cases, the condition of the
reeds may require. Also, suitable means are provided for oiling the various
parts, and provision is made for quickly and inexpensively removing certain
parts; as, for instance, the clamp carrying the slitting blade, and the guiding
needle, &c., so that should they break or require sharpening, such repair can
be quickly effected.
The operation of the machine, in view of that which has heretofore been
said, is obvious, and no extended description need be given, excepting to say
that the reeds are fed over the table C, butt end first; they pass through the
guides E E and by them are directed between the primary feed rollers, G G¹.
By them they are centered so that the pin K enters the pithy chamber in the
center of the reed. The knife or slitter, M, as the reed advances, slits it open
on one side, and the deflecting surfaces MM, spread the reed laterally to
right and left into a flat condition. Thence it passes between the extension S
of the clamp and the spring R, which exerts the necessary pressure upon
the reed to maintain it in flat condition and to present it to the feeding
and napping rollers in such flat state. It passes between the last named rollers,
whereby it is acted upon by the napping roller to lift the gum-bearing pelicle
as described. From that it passes rearwardly over the table f until its front
end makes contact with the chisel-like end of the separator, n, by which it is
deflected downwardly between the belt rollers, gl and h", whereby it is grasped,
and since they run at a somewhat faster speed than the feeding roller T, they
catch up with that roller, pull upon the reed, draw the table downwardly, bend
the reed over the edge of the table at g', thereby causing the wood to split and
separate from the fibre, and also the descent of the table automatically actuates
the separator, which drops to a level with the bottom of the table, g, so that
the woody material can pass over it, the fibre passing downwardly as described;
and as the machine further operates, the woody material is delivered over the
separator, p, out upon the delivery belt which carries it from the machine,
and the fibre continues downwardly between the delivery belts provided for it,
and is in turn delivered from them at the extreme right of the machine.
I call particular attention to the fact that in the operation of my machine
the fibre is at no time subjected to any violence; that the operation consists
in simply slitting the reed lengthwise, turning it into a flat form so that the
wood and pith are all upon one side, or in one plane, and the fibre all upon
the opposite side, or in another plane; that the wood and pith are not broken
up into fine particles to be beaten from the fibre-on the contrary they are
separated and stripped therefrom all in one piece, and without any action upon
the fibre calculated to split it into separate shreds, or in any manner to injure
it on the contrary, that the fibre comes away in the form of a continuous, flat
ribbon, having the length of the reed from which it was taken, and a width
substantially equal to its circumference; and that the fibre is not in the least
entangled or twisted, in fact it lies in the ribbon, as delivered by the machine,
in the same parallel condition as that in which it was upon the living stalk:
and that in the use of my machine there is no scraping or breaking of the
fibre, nor is there any possibility that the same will become entangled.
It will be obvious to those who are familiar with mechanical matters that

page_text: many alterations may be made in the details of construction of the machine
without departing from the essentials thereof; that is to say, a bell-mouthed
or trumpet-like guide may be substituted for the primary guides at the front
of the machine; also the pin and the slitting blade may be differently con-
structed and arranged and differently connected to the parts which support
them. Also, an exterior guiding device, elastic in its construction, may be sub-
stituted for the pin which enters the pith chamber of the reed; such a device
would not be as satisfactory, in my judgment, as the pin, but it could be used,
nevertheless. Also, the details of construction of the tilting table and the auto-
matically acting separator may be modified; and in various other respects the
details as shown may be departed from and still the essentials of my invention
be employed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
1. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, the com-
bination of guiding devices, feeding rollers, a centering device, a slitter adjacent
to the centering device, means in rear of the slitter to flatten the reed, a feed
roller which engages with the woody material, a napping roller which engages
with the exterior of the fibre, means to flatten the reed over a rigid support,
means to pull the fibre over said rigid support, and delivery devices for the
woody material and for the fibre, for the purposes set forth.
2. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, the com-
bination of feeding rollers, a centering device, a slitter adjacent thereto, devices
in rear of the slitter to flatten the reed, a feed roller which engages with the
woody material, a napping roller which engages with the exterior of the fibre,
means to bend the flattened reed over a rigid support, and means to pull the
fibre over said rigid support, for the purposes set forth.
3. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, the com-
bination of guiding and feeding rollers, a centering device, a slitter adjacent
thereto, devices in rear of the slitter to flatten the reed, means to bend the
flattened reed over a rigid support and means to pull the fibre over said rigid
support, for the purposes set forth.
4. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, the com-
bination of guiling and feeding rollers, a centering device, a slitter adjacent,
thereto, devices in rear of the slitter to flatten the reed, means to bend the
flattened reed over a rigid support, means to pull the fibre over said rigid sup-
port, and delivery devices for the woody material and for the fibre, for the
purposes set forth.
5. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, the coin-
bination of guiding devices, feeding rollers, a centering device, a slitter adjacent
thereto, means to discharge water upon the operative parts of the machine,
devices to flatten the reed, a feeding roller which engages with the woody
material and controls its movements, a napping roller which engages with the
exterior of the fibre, means to bend the flattened reed over a rigid support,
means to pull the fibre over said rigid support, and delivery devices for the
woody material, for the purposes set forth.
6. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, the com-
bination of feeding rollers, a slitter adjacent thereto, devices in rear of the
slitter to flatten the reed, means to bend the flattened reed over a rigid support,
and means to pull the fibre over said rigid support and to strip the woody
material from the fibre, for the purposes set forth.
7: In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, the com-
bination of feeding rollers, a slitter adjacent thereto, devices in rear of the
slitter to flatten the real, a feed roller which engages with the woody material,
a napping roller which engages with the exterior of the fibre; means to bend

page_text: the flattened reed over a rigid support, means to pull the fibre over said rigid
support, and means to strip the woody material from the fibre, for the purposes
set forth.
8. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, the com-
bination of guiding devices, feeding rollers in rear thereof, a slitter adjacent
thereto, devices in rear of the slitter to flatten the reed, a feeding roller which
engages with the woody material, a napping roller which engages with the
exterior of the fibre, means to bend the flattened reed over a rigid support,
means to pull the fibre over said rigid support and to strip the wood from the
fibre, for the purposes set forth.
9. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, the com-
bination of a centering device, a slitter adjacent thereto, devices in rear of the
slitter to flatten the reed, feeding devices in rear of the flattening devices, means
to bend the flattened reed over a rigid support, and means to pull the fibre
over said rigid support, for the purposes set forth.
10. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, the com-
bination of a centering device, a slitter adjacent thereto, devices in rear of the
slitter to flatten the reed, feeding devices in rear of the flattening devices, means
to bend the flattened reed over a rigid support, means to pull the fibre over said
rigid support, and means to insure the separation of the wood from the fibre,
for the purposes set forth.
11. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, the com-
bination of a centering device, a slitter adjacent thereto, devices in rear of the
slitter to flatten the reed, feeding devices in rear of the flattening devices, means
to bend the flattened reed over a rigid support, means to pull the fibre over said
rigid support, means to insure the separation of the wood from the fibre, and
delivery devices for the woody material and the fibre, for the purposes set forth.
12. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, a centering
device for the reed, a slitter adjacent thereto, and devices in rear of the slitter
to flatten the reed by bending the same laterally to right and left, for the
purposes set forth.
13. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, a device
for slitting and flattening the reed, embodying a pin adapted to enter the pith
chamber of the reed, a slitter adjacent to the pin, and means to open the slitted
reed laterally to right and left, for the purposes set forth.
14. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, means to
loosen the exterior, gum-containing pelicle, embodying a feed roller which con-
trols the movement of the reed, and a napping roller, the surface of which is
roughened, which revolves at a different speed from that of the feed roller, for the
purposes set forth.
15. In a machine for separating the fibrous material from plants, means to
loosen the exterior, gum-containing pelicle, embodying a feed roller which con-
trols the movement of the reed, and a shaft supporting and actuating a series
of independently acting and resiliently supported napping rollers, the exterior
surfaces whereof are roughened in whole or in part, for the purposes set forth.
16. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, means to
feed the reed and to loosen the gum-containing pelicle, embodying a feed roller,
the surface of which is roughened, whereby the movement of the reed may be
controlled, and a napping roller adapted to run at a different speed from the
feed roller, the surface of which is likewise roughened, and circumferential
bands on both of said rollers having slightly greater diameter than their rough-
ened portions respectively, for the purposes set forth.
17. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, devices to
separate the woody material from the fibre, embodying a table or like device,
means to deflect the reed over the edge of the table, whereby the wood is sepa-
rated from the fibre, and means to pull the fibre over said edge, for the purposes
set forth.

page_text: 18. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, means to
separate the wood from the fibre, embodying a table or like device, a deflector
placed at an angle relative to and above the plane of the table, whereby the
reed will be bent and fed to pulling rollers beneath the table, whereby the
fibre will be pulled over the edge thereof, for the purposes set forth.
19. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, a device
for separating the wood from the fibre, embodying a tilting table, a chisel-like
separator pivoted to the table in such manner as that its end normally rests at
an angle to the table, projecting upwardly therefrom, pulling rollers beneath
the table, between which the separator deflects the reed and by which the reed
is pulled upon to rock the table and cause the automatic descent of the sepa-
rator, for the purposes set forth.
20. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, a slitter
constructed and arranged to slit the reed on one side only, and devices in rear
of the slitter to open the slit reed to right and left into a flat, ribbon-like form,
the woody material all being in one plane and the fibre in another plane, for the
purposes set forth.
21. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, means to
separate the woody material from the fibre of a slit and flattened reed by bending
the said reed over an edge so that the woody material will break crosswise and
the fibre be stripped therefrom by continued strains upon it at an angle
different to the plane of the woody material, for the purposes set forth.
22. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, a device
for slitting reeds, embodying a pin adapted to enter the pith chamber of the
reed, and a blade or slitter in rear and at one side of said pin, for the
purposes set forth.
23. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, means
for separating the woody material from the fibre of a slit and flattened reed.
embodying a tilting table over which the reed passes, a deflecting and stripping
device, having a chisel-like forward edge pivoted to said table, means to sup-
port one end of the said chisel-like device whereby it will automatically rise or
fall upon the tilting of the table, and means to return the table to its normal
elevated position when pressure thereon is removed, for the purposes set forth."
24. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, delivery
devices for the woody material and for the fibre, embodying three separately
running continuous belts, one for conveying the woody material and pith and
the other two adapted to receive the fibre between them, whereby it is delivered
in flat condition and tangling prevented, for the purposes set forth.
25. In a machine for separating the fibrous materials from plants, the com-
bination of devices for stilting the reeds on one side, devices in rear of the slitter
for opening the reeds to right and left into flattened condition, a feed roller
adapted to engage with the woody material, a napping roller running at a
different speed from the feed roller and adapted to engage with the fibrous
material, and a pipe or tubes adapted to discharge water jets upon and about
said devices for the purposes set forth.
Dated this Oth love of Wauch 1000
FELL & JAMES,
Agents for the Applicant.