Improvements in Root Cleaners.
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
:: Improvements in Root Cleaners.
I, WILLTAM CORBETT, of Winterdyne, Wellington, in the County of Salop,
Agricultural Implement Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion to be as follows:-
This invention relates to root cleaners and has reference to machines or imple-
ments of the screen type referred to in my former Letters Patent No. 16292 of
the year 1886 in which a series of separated angle bars are arranged in the form
of a cylinder or drum, and are supported by hooped stays.
My invention consists in the arrangement and disposition of the angle bars in
such a manner that the roots to be cleaned, prior to being pulped or cut up to
form cattle and sheep food, are more efficiently dealt with than by the machines
heretofore in use.
The improved cleaner is constructed as follows: -I take two, three or more
foundation hoops, forming the frame work of the cleaner, and arrange alternately
around the outer and inner peripheries of them, a series of separated longitudinal
angle bars, which form beaters, and have the longitudinal feather edges of the
angles resting respectively upon the said inner and outer peripheries, that is,
the angles are arranged in the form of a letter V, relative to the inner and outer
faces of the loops, which have considerable longitudinal space between them, and
may be of an inch or so in breadth, so that the edges of the angle bars coming on.
the outer peripheries of the hoops are presented to the inner side of the screen
whilst the bars on the inner sides of the hoop and which preferably alternate
with the outer bars, have only their apex edges directed inwardly for cleaning.
Both the double and single edges may be toothed, serrated, gapped or jagged, or
they may be left plain.
By thus making up a cleaning cage or screen of a series of angle bars, arranged
as described, a larger number of scraper edge surfaces are obtained. The scraper
bars need not be arranged alternately on the opposite sides of the foundation hoops,
as they may come either all on the inner side or all on the outer side, and when
applied in this latter form, the scraper edge surfaces are greatly increased. The
said bars are secured in position by bolts, rivettings or otherwise.
.
These grating or cage-like cleaners are driven by any suitable gear, but I prefer
to employ spur gearing and this I propose to accomplish by providing the ends
of the cleaner with skeleton frames having central axes, which are mounted within
bearings of a supporting frame, whilst the fore end axis has a toothed or pinion
wheel made fast to it, engaging with a spur or gear wheel or pinion driven by
a winch handle, lever, or the like, although intermediate spur wheels may be
arranged to modify the speed of the cleaner, whose after end has a hinged door
or closure preferably hung from the frame and closed and controlled by a rod
and laver arrangement which is operated either by hand or foot, which door is
adapted to keep the roots, when required, within the cage, until they have been
completely cleaned.

page_text: Thus the roots are fed into the front part of the cleaner and the barrel (which
may be inclined) is rotated, and by the centrifugal action, the roots are whirled
against the scraper or feather edges of the frame and run along to the after end
of the cage, but if the dirt or the like has not been sufficiently cleaned or removed
therefrom, then the attendant, by shutting the door, keeps them within the
cleaner for a further period.
I wish it to be understood that the beaters or angle bars may have studs pro-
jecting from them, for the purpose of keeping the roots on the move during the
operation of cleaning and that instead of employing angle irons to form the
cleaners, I may employ T-sectioned or other webbed iron. When of a T section,
then the edges of two of the webs are arranged to come upon the foundation hoops.
Further, instead of arranging the said angle irons or beaters in a direction
parallel to the axis of, and in the direction of the length of the cleaner, they may
be arranged diagonally or spirally, I may also locate within the interior of the
cleaner, an Archemedian screw, or conveyor blades or vanes, which may be driven
at any given speed and is adapted to carry the roots through the cleaner and into
contact with the beaters at a proportional rate.
WILLIAM CORBETT,
By Henry Skerrett,
Agent for Applicant.
I, WILLIAM CORBETT, of Winterdyne, Wellington, in the County of Salop,
Agricultural Implement Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to root cleaners and has reference to machines or imple-
ments of the screen type referred to in my former Letters Patent No. 16292 of
the year 1886 in which a series of separated angle bars are arranged in the form
of a cylindrical grating or drum, and are supported by hooped stays.
My invention consists in the arrangement and disposition of the angle bars in
such a manner that the roots to be cleaned, prior to being pulped or cut up to
form cattle and sheep food, are more efficiently dealt with than by the machines
heretofore in use.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents a front end elevation of a
root cleaner constructed in accordance with my invention, whereby the scraper
bars are arranged so as to act to the best advantage for cleaning the roots and
carrying them along through the machine.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the machine upon the dotted
line, Figure 1.
Figure 3 represents a diagramatic view, showing the arrangement for controlling
the opening and closing of the door at the back end of the machine.
Figure 4 is an elevation and Figure 5 a plan of one of the angle-iron scraper
bars employed and Figure 6 is a cross section thereof upon the dotted line
Figures 7, 8 and 9 represent similar views of a modified form of scraper bar.
The same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the said Figure 1
to 6.
The improved cleaner is constructed as follows;-I take two, three or more

page_text: foundation hoops such as a, which form the frame work of the cleaner, and arrange
alternately around the outer and inner peripheries of them, a series of separated
longitudinal angle bars b, b', which form beaters, and each have the longitudinal
feather edges b, 63, of their webs resting alternately upon the said inner and
outer peripheries, that is, the angles are arranged in the form of a letter V,
relative to the inner and outer faces of the hoops, which have considerable longi-
tudinal space between them, so that the edges of the series of angle bars b, coming
on the outer peripheries a', of the hoops are presented to the inner side of the
screen or cylindrical frame, whilst the series of bars b', on the inner sides a³,
of the hoops and which preferably alternate with the outer bars, have only their
apex edges 6, directed inwardly to form scrapers for cleaning so that the acting
edges of the inner bars are set inwards relative to the acting or scraper edges
of the outer bars. The periphery of the frame is thus somewhat of a zig-zag
character, whereby the roots are made to rise and fall or be over the cleaner bars
when the frame is rotated and at the same time the roots are made to traverse
from the front to the rear end. The double and single edges may either be
plain as represented in Figures 1 to 6, or they may be toothed, serrated, gapped
or jagged as represented in Figures 7, 8 and 9.
By thus making up a cleaning cage or screen of a series of angle bars, arranged
as described, a larger number of scraper edge surfaces are obtained. The scraper
bars need not be arranged alternately on the opposite sides of the foundation hoops,
as they may come either all on the inner side as in Figure 10 or all on the outer
side, as in Figure 11 with the edges of the pairs of webs all presented innermost,
if necessary, and when applied in this latter form, the scraper edges are multiplied
and the acung surfaces greatly increased.
A further possible arrangement is represented in Figure 12, in which the
bars are arranged alternately on the inner and outer peripheries of the hoops, but
with the double scraper edges of the pairs of webs presented to the roots. The
said bars are secured in position by bolts, rivettings or otherwise.
These grating or cage-like cleaners are driven by any suitable gear, but I prefer
to employ spur gearing and this I propose to accomplish by providing the ends
of the cleaner with skeleton frames such as d, which are preferably connected with
the hoops a, and through which a central axis e, which is mounted within bear-
ings f, carried on cross bars y', or like parts of a supporting frame whilst
the fore end e¹, of the axis has a toothed wheel h, made fast to it, engaging with
a smaller spur wheel or pinion h', connected with and driven by a winch handle,
lever, or the like h², the arrangement of this driving gear being such that the
speed of the winch hand is reduced or modified to the cleaner, whose after end
lias a hinged door or closure i, preferably hung at it, from the supporting frame
and is closed and may be controlled by a chain and lever arrangement k, k, which
is controlled either by hand as in the arrangement shown, in which the lever k¹,
is pivoted at 2, to the side of the fixed frame, within convenient reach of the
person operating the winch handle, or it may also be worked by the foot. This
door, which may slide instead of hingeing, is so arranged as to keep the roots
within the screen, until they have been completely cleaned, after which the door
is opened to allow them to fall out. Thus the roots are fed into the fixed
hopper or receiving frame j, at the front part of the rotating cleaning screen and
is rotated through the gearing provided, and by the centrifugal action thereby
set up, the roots are brought against the scraper or feather edges of the longi-
tudinal frame bars and run along or traversed to the after end of the cage, either
by the weight of the roots behind propelling forwards the roots before them, or
the back end of the cage may have a slight drop to assist the carrying along
of the roots. If the dirt or the like has not been sufficiently cleaned or removed
from the roots in passing through the screen, then the attendant, by shutting
the door, keeps them within the cleaner, for a further period until they have
been sufficiently dealt with. Then on opening the door, and continuing the
rotation, the roots are carried along and delivered out of the open end where they

page_text: fall into a suitable receptacle placed to receive them or pass to a pulper or cutter.
The dirt and foreign matter removed from the roots falls through the spaces left
between the scraper bars whilst in order to prevent the roots being carried round
and falling out through the open ends, fixed cage frames such as m, are provided,
which are bolted or otherwise secured to the supporting frame, the latter being
provided with suitable bracing stays such as g², and mounted on wheels g³, for
convenience in moving the implement about.
I wish it to be understood that the beater or scraper bars may have studs pro-
jecting from them, for the purpose of keeping the roots on the move towards the
delivery end during the operation of cleaning, and that instead of employing angle
irons to form the cleaners, I may employ U troughed Y. T sectioned or other
webbed iron. When of a T section, then the edges of two of the webs are arranged
to come upon the foundation hoops.
Further, instead of arranging the said angle irons or beaters in a direction
parallel to the axis of, and in the direction of the length of the cleaner, they may
be arranged with a slight obliquity or spirally, I may also locate within the
interior of the cleaner, an Archemedian screw or conveyor blades or vanes, which
may be driven at any given speed and is adapted to carry the roots through the
cleaner and into contact with the beaters at any required rate.
Instead of employing angle or like section cleaner bars arranged as described
alternately upon the inner and outer peripheries of the framing rings or hoops,
I may employ angle bars with only the edges of their vertical webs presented
inwards or flat bars or other sections of iron arranged so as to come alternately
on the inside and outside of the hoops and thus bring their acting scraper edges
into dis-similar planes.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
First In root cleaners of the rotating cage or screen type, the employment of
separated cleaner bars made of V, angle or equivalent bifurcated section metal,
so arranged that the whole of the edges of their double or multiple webs are pre-
sented inwards, whereby the scraper edges are multiplied or increased and the
efficiency of the cleaner enhanced.
Secondly: In root cleaners of the rotating cage or screen type, the employment
of separated cleaner bars made of V or equivalent sectioned angle metal, so
arranged that the edges of the webs of the alternate bars and the apex edges of
the other or the intermediate bars are presented inwards, substantially as and
for the purpose described and set forth.
ThirdlyIn root cleaners of the rotating cage or screen type, the employment
of separated cleaner bars arranged alternately upon the inner and outer peri-
pheries of the hoops, rings or equivalent parts of the framing, substantially as
described and set forth.
Fourthly: In root cleaners, the combination with a barred screen, mounted
upon a horizontal shaft or axis and provided with a hopper or front feed, of spur
driving gear with one of the wheels connected with the axis of the rotating frame
and the other upon the fixed framing and being driven by a winch handle or
the like, substantially as described and set forth.
Fifthly: In root cleaners of the rotating screen type, the employment in con-
nection with the delivery end of a stop or closure in the form of a hinged or sliding
door, and preferably opened and closed from the other or driving end by a chain
and lever or equivalent means.
Sixthly: A root cleaning implement, consisting of a rotating screen or cage
made up of a series of scraper bars made of angle metal, with the alternate
bars set inwards from the intermediate ones; the said screen being carried upon
a shaft or axis supported by the fixed frame and driven by suitably arranged spur
wheel gearing, with the feeding end provided with a fixed hopper or receptacle

page_text: and the delivery end having a door or closure carried by the frame and operated
by a lever and chain or the like, the whole of the said parts being constructed,
arranged and operating, substantially as herein described and set forth.
Dated this 2nd day of February 1899
WILLIAM CORBETT,
By Henry Skerrett,
24, Temple Row, Birmingham, Agent for Applicant.