Improvements in Machinery for Treating Fibrous Plants for the Purpose of Obtaining Fibre therefrom.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Nov., 1892-Accepted, 8th July, 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Treating Fibrous Plants for the
Purpose of Obtaining Fibre therefrom.
I, JOHN LOUIS ACOSTA, a citizen of Mexico, and residing at No. 208 East
12th Street, in the City, County and State of New York, United States of
America, Doctor of Medicines, 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 :-
My invention relates to machines of the general character of those employed for
treating fibrous plants of various kinds for the purpose of separating the cellular
tissue and other matter from the fibres and leaving the latter in a well cleaned
condition. My object is to improve the general arrangement and construction of
such machines and particularly to increase their productiveness while simplifying
their construction.
In the drawings:
Figure 1 is an elevation of the feeding end of the machine:
and
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section thereof on the irregular line y-y of Figure. 3;
Figure 3 is a horizontal section on the line x-x of Figure 2.
In a machine previously constructed by me and for which a United States
Patent was issued to me on the 3rd day of May No. 474052 the fibre was carried by
one member of an endless chain in front of a cleaning-wheel and then, being shifted
in the jaws of the carrying-chain by an attendant, was carried by the lower
member of the same chain in front of another feeding-wheel placed opposite the
first. In this manner provision was made for the cleaning of the ends of the fibres
projecting on one side of the chain by the first wheel and then for the cleaning of
the other ends of the fibres and of the part previously grasped by the jaws of the
chain by the other wheel. The shifting of the fibres between the upper and lower
members of the carrying-chain by an attendant necessarily rendered the process
somewhat slow and it is therefore the object of my present improvement to enable
the fibre to be cleaned thoroughly in its passage from one end of the machine to
the other without any handling by an attendant.
The two cleaning-wheels 10 and 11, peripherally armed with suitable blades 12
and brushes 13, are journalled in suitable standards 14 with their axes in parallel
planes but offset so that the peripheries of the two wheels shall overlap slightly as
shown clearly in Figures 1 and 3. The supporting shaft of the wheel 11 may have
fixed thereon. a driving pulley 15 through which power may be transmitted to the
entire mechanism.
The fibre to be cleaned may be fed to the machine by suitable feeding-chains 16,
(see Figures 2 and 3) from which it passes to carrying-chains 17, which may be of
any suitable construction adapted to carry the fibre along and to hold it firmly
against the action of the cleaning-wheel 10. I have shown a pair of carrying-
chains 17 mounted one over the other and adapted to grasp the fibres between
their proximate members, suitable blocks 18 being interposed between the upper
and lower members of each chain to give the necessary rigidity to the chains
between the chain-wheels 19 and 20. As the fibres are carried in front of the
wheel 10 they are supported for the action of the wheel by a plate 21, (Figure 1).
In order that the fibres may be completely cleaned it is necessary that that portion
thereof which was grasped by the first pair of chains should be released and
subjected to the action of the second cleaning-wheel 11. To this end, therefore, I
provide a second pair of chains 22 which are caused to travel in a plane parallel
with but offset from the plane of the first pair of chains, the said chains 22 being

page_text: carried by the wheels 23 and 24 and being provided with supporting blocks 25 as
before. A plate 26, (Figure 1,) is likewise provided to support the fibres under
the action of the wheel 11. The wheels 20 and 23 of each upper and lower set
may be mounted respectively upon an upper and lower common shaft 27 as shown
in Figure 3, and may be driven by any convenient means.
As the fibres are carried through the machine they are first held by the
chains 17 and by them are delivered in such position that the part formerly held
by the chains 17, as well as the uncleaned ends, will be exposed to the action of the
wheel 11. It is necessary that the ends of the fibres should be presented properly
to the chains 22 in order that they may not become tangled or engaged with the
chain-wheels, and I have therefore provided a pair of chains 30, obliquely disposed,
as shown, and supported by suitable chain-wheels 31.
The proximate members of the two chains are caused to travel in the same
direction through suitable gearing, one wheel 31 of each set carrying with it a skew
bevel gear 32 (Figure 3) which meshes with a bevel gear 33 on the shaft 27, the
gears 32 being somewhat smaller than the gears 33 in order to give the chains 30
the proper relative rate of travel. The function of the chains 30 is to pick up the
fibres, as they are carried by the chains 17 beyond the wheel 10, and to straighten
them in position to be grasped properly by the chains 22.
A convenient arrangement of driving mechanism I have found to be that shown
in the drawings. Upon the shaft of the cleaning wheel 11 is mounted a chain-
wheel 35 from which motion is transmitted through a chain 36 to a chain-wheel 37
on a shaft 38 supported in bearings on the top of the frame-work 39. Chain-
wheels 40 and 41 and a chain 42 serve to drive a worm 43 which actuates a
worm-wheel 44 to the lower shaft 27, the upper shaft 27 being driven from the
lower by gears 45. Through gears 46 a second shaft 47 is driven from the shaft 38
and transmits motion to the cleaning-wheel 10 through a chain 48 and chain-
wheel 49 and 50.
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. In a fibre-preparing machine, the combination of two sets of fibre-carrying
chains arranged one after the other but offset in different planes, fibre-cleaning
devices disposed on opposite sides of said chains, and obliquely disposed chains
between the two sets of carrying-chains to guide the fibres from the first set of
chains to the second set, substantially as shown and described.
2. In a fibre-preparing machine, the combination of two fibre-cleaning wheels
having their axes parallel but offset in different planes and having their peripheries
overlapping, two sets of fibre-carrying-chains offset in different planes, and
obliquely disposed chains between the two sets of carrying-chains to guide the
fibres from the first set of chains to the second set, substantially as shown and
described.
Dated this 10th day of November 1892.
HORN & SON,
Applicant's Agents.