New or Improved Machinery for Dressing Feathers.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Apr., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Feb., 1898-Accepted, 26th Mar., 1898
New or Improved Machinery for Dressing Feathers.
I, HENRY MITONETTE ROGERS, of 75, Sterndale Road, Brook Green, in the
County of London, Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The object of my invention is to produce a machine for efficiently and expe-
ditiously removing the soft growth or down from feathers.
In carrying my invention into practical effect I make a foraminated woven wire
cylinder or drum having its ends closed and being mounted in suitable bearings
so as to be capable of rotation in a horizontal plane. Within this cylinder and
mounted concentrically therewith, but so as to be capable of revolving in the
opposite direction, I place a dasher composed of a suitable number of arms and
cross pieces. This cylinder and dasher are arranged so as to revolve in opposite
directions upon a shaft, the ends of which are suitably journalled in swinging
hangers supported by an overhead shaft carried by a suitable framework.
The said overhead shaft is caused to revolve through suitable band and pulley
gear from a main driving shaft by any suitable engine, and its motion is in turn
communicated to the drum or cylinder and dasher by means of band and pulley
gearing.
The feathers are fed into one end of the cylinder or drum by means of a
hopper the lower end of which terminates in a spout passing through the centre of
the cylinder or drum end and having a worm or screw revolving therein, to force
the feathers forward and prevent them clogging. The said screw or worm is mounted
on the drum axle which passes through the spout of the hopper. The upper
of this hopper is pivoted to the framework, in order to enable it to swing with
the cylinder or drum as hereinafter described. <
end
When the feathers are fed into this cylinder or drum, the centrifugal force
produced by the said cylinder and dasher revolving in opposite directions, causes
the quill ends or butts of the feathers to protrude through the openings in the
woven wire cylinder where they are seized by a pair of inwardly revolving circular
brushes suitably mounted on standards and revolved by means of band and pulley
gear from the overhead shaft. After passing between these brushes the feathers
are taken by a pair of inwardly revolving rubber or the like rolls and then passed
on to a second pair of inwardly revolving rubber or the like rolls; the latter
revolving about twice as fast as the former, with the result that the fast rolls
rapidly tear the down or soft growth from the feathers while the latter are being
held by the slower pair of rolls. Each of these pairs of rubber or like rolls is
mounted in standards fixed to the bed plate of the machine: the rolls of each pair
gear with one another frictionally and are caused to revolve by means of band
and pulley gear actuated by the main driving shaft. The friction of the rolls
is regulated by means of wires, one of which encircles each end of the axle or
shaft of the upper roll of each pair and, passing down through a suitable opening
in the bed plate, has its end secured to a lever, one end of which is hinged to

page_text: áre taken by a pair of inwardly revolving rubber or the like rolls and then passed
on to a second pair of inwardly revolving rubber or the like rolls; the latter
revolving about twice as fast as the former, with the result that the fast rolls
rapidly tear the down or soft growth from the feathers while the latter are being
held by the slower pair of rolls. Each of these pairs of rubber or like rolls is
mounted in standards fixed to the bed plate of the machine; the rolls of each pair
gear with one another frictionally and are caused to revolve by means of band
and pulley gear actuated by the main driving shaft. The friction of the rolls
is regulated by means of wires, one of which encircles each end of the axle or
shaft of the upper roll of each pair and passing down through a suitable opening
in the bed plate, has its end secured to a lever, one end of which is hinged to
the bed plate and the other end of which carries an adjustable weight; or the
friction of these pairs of rolls may be regulated in any other convenient manner.
For the efficient working of the machine it is necessary that the revolving
brushes should not be continuously in contact with the periphery of the cylinder
or drum, but that the feed of feathers to the revolving brushes should be inter-
mittent ; to effect this latter purpose the cylinder or drum and dasher are
mounted as before described on swinging hangers and moved intermittently
towards and away from the revolving brushes by means of an eccentric keyed
on the main driving shaft, and a suitable arrangement of connecting rods.
I may enclose a portion or portions of the machine and furnish a suitable blower
or blowers to carry away the down into a suitable receptacle or receptacles as
required.
I will now proceed to further describe my invention in connection with the
accompanying drawings in which the same letters of reference indicate like
parts in the various figures.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my apparatus showing part of the wire drum
cut away.
Fig. 2 is an end elevation of my apparatus partly in section and showing part
of the wire drum cut away.
Fig. 3 is a side elevation of part of the apparatus on the line - Fig. 2
omitting the screw w.
Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal section of the apparatus.
closed.
is a woven wire drum having its ends or heads d¹ and
The head is mounted so as to revolve centrally upon a shafts and the centre
of the head has an opening therein (Fig. 3) and is mounted centrally by
means of a spider s2, on one end of the shaft so as to be capable of revolving
freely round the spout of the hopper has hereinafter described. The shaft si
after passing through the spout of the hopper passes through a slot in the
standard u, and has its other end supported and journalled in the lower end of
the hanger 2, a loop on the upper end of which loosely embraces the counter-
shafts. This counter-shaft has its ends respectively journalled in suitable
bearings in the standards and which latter are fixed to the bed-plate a of
the machine.
The shafts has its end at one extremity supported and journalled in the
spiders and its end at the other extremity supported and journalled in the lower
end of the hanger h, a loop in the upper end of which loosely embraces the
counter-shaft 3 this end of the shaft s is then extended a short distance and
passes into a slot in the standard u. Mounted upon the shaft s within the
drum and concentrically with the latter, is a dasher consisting of the arms b
and cross pieces 61. Feathers are fed into the top of the hopper h whence they
pass through the opening o into the drum d; the feathers being forced into the
drum and prevented from clogging in the spout of the hopper by means of the
screw w attached to the shaft s¹. The hopper is pivotally attached to
the standard at h³, so as to be capable of swinging with the drum and dasher as
hereinafter explained. The shaft carrying the drum d has a pulley ? mounted
thereon, a straight band c connecting this pulley with a pulley p¹ mounted on the

page_text: main shaft ; passing round a groove in this eccentric is a band ¹ which is
connected by the rod t to the fork . The extremities of the arms of this fork
are attached to the horizontal cross bar ³. One end of this bar has attached
to it one end of a rod k on the other end of which is a loop loosely embracing
the shaft s'. The other end of the bar has attached to it one end of a rod
on the other end of which is a loop loosely embracing the shaft s. As the main
shaft now revolves, the revolving drum and dasher being suspended by the
hangers h¹, h are caused to swing on the counter shaft 3 and to approach into
contact with and to recede out of the reach of the revolving brushes once during
every revolution of the said shaft. The shafts s¹ and s swing into and out of slots
in the standards u and u¹ respectively and the fact that the shafts s and s¹ are
out of alignment with the counter shaft 3 causes the drum by means of the force
of gravity to tend to fall away from the revolving brushes and thus assist the
action of the eccentric.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim
is:—
(1) Apparatus for removing down from feathers consisting of a revolving
woven wire drum having its ends closed and containing within it a dasher
capable of revolving in the opposite direction; a hopper, the spout of which is
provided with a revolving screw for feeding feathers into an opening in one end
of the drum; a pair of inwardly revolving cylindrical brushes for taking the
feathers from the surface of the drum; and two pairs of inwardly revolving
rubber or like rolls, one pair of which revolves faster than the other pair, for
holding the feathers and stripping the down therefrom; operated and sub-
stantially as described.
(2) In a machine for removing the down from feathers the use of two pairs
of inwardly revolving rubber or like rolls, one pair of which revolves faster than
the other pair and the frictional contact of each pair of which can be regulated,
substantially as and for the purpose described.
(3) In a machine for removing the down from feathers the use of a pair of
inwardly revolving cylindrical brushes in combination with two pairs of inwardly
revolving rubber or like rolls, one pair of which revolves faster than the other
pair, operated and substantially as described.
(4) In a machine for removing the down from feathers the method of and means
for intermittently feeding the quill ends of feathers from the periphery of a
revolving drum to a pair of inwardly revolving cylindrical brushes substantially
as described.
(5) The method of stripping the soft growth or down from the quill ends of
feathers substantially as described.
D
1
00 1 1
1000
CASTLE SMITH.
Invention" Office, Mitre Court, Fleet Street, London, E.C.,
Agent for the Applicant.