Improvements in Apparatus for Cleaning Sacks and Similar Articles.
Year: 1899

page_text: D.te of Application, 26th Aug., 1899-Accepted, 7th Oct., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Cleaning Sacks and Similar Articles.
I, FRITZ MÜLLER, of 102, Ackerstrasse, Berlin, in the Empire of Germany,
Baker and Confectioner, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to a machine for beating the dust out of all kinds of
sacks, for flour, corn, plaster of Paris cement, etcetera, and is intended to replace,
in an effective and clean method, the usual plan hitherto used of beating the
dust out of the empty sacks by hand. The cleaning or beating out of the dust from
the empty sacks causes very considerable injury to the health of the worker, wastes
the material & causes much dirt. In cleaning and beating out the sacks the
room becomes filled with clouds of dust of the finely divided particles of the
former contents of the sacks, which in a very short space of time completely cover
the walls, ceiling and all the objects in the room whereby a not inconsiderable
loss of usable material results, all of which is effectively overcome by the present
invention, and all uncleanliness avoided.
These clouds of dust particles in the room cover at the same time the clothing
and in spite of his clothing the whole body of the worker, they penetrate at each
breath into the lungs, stop up all the pores of the skin, render the work more
difficult, and thus make it almost impossible to clean out the dust thoroughly
from the sacks.
In the accompanying drawing
Fig. 1, is a longitudinal section of the machine
Fig. 2, is a plan
Fig. 3, is a cross section through the line of Fig. 1, enlarged to twice
the scale.
The box a closed on all sides has two or more beater-shafts b & b¹, carried in
the sides, which are fixed to the toothed driving wheels c, d, e, on the outside of
the box, & by which they are driven. The top of the box a is closed in by the
three guide-rollers f, g, h. The rollers f & h run loose, but the middle roller g
is fitted with a chain wheel i with a handle attached to it outside the box for
setting in motion the whole of the mechanism. In front of the toothed wheel c
and firmly attached to it is a chain-wheel for the purpose of driving it from the
handle by the endless chain m running over the wheel i and the wheel 7. The
toothed wheel turning along with the chain wheel produces a uniform motion
of the beater-shafts by their gearing wheels c, d, e in the direction shown by the
arrows in the drawing.
The middle guide-roller g, which does not take up the whole of the space
between the sides carries on its axle at each end inside the box a a fixed, but
adjustable pulley n over which a tightly stretched band o is led down to the loose

page_text: shaft p. These bands are provided at certain places with suitable eccentric
clips u, or other contrivance for holding the sack fast, and carry the sack to be
cleaned between the fixed roller g and the loose roller h through into the box, first
going downwards past the beaters a then round the loose shaft 7, then upwards
past the beaters again and finally between the roller g and the other loose roller,
through to the outside; as soon as the eccentric clips appear above, with the end
of the sack, the clips are quickly loosed from the sack, whilst the continued
motion of the handle brings the dusted sack to the outside by means of the rollers.
The beater-shafts bb' are provided with beaters or clappers swinging loose and
attached by strong straps or other bands, and arranged at suitable distances so
that the beaters of the shaft b always strike the sack on one side only at those
places which the beaters of the shaft do not strike on the other side of the
sack.
Below in the box a is a collector or drawer r, covered by a sieve or wire net-
works, for the purpose of gathering the material separated from the sacks and
preventing, by the sieve or netting, the sack from again taking up the dust.
In the sides there may be suitable openings placed, closed by lids or doors,
through which the mechanism may be observed from the outside and kept in
order.
The method of operating the machine is as follows.-
The handle is turned until the clips appear above the guide rollers. When
the sack to be cleaned has been fixed with its edge or seam in the clips and held
fast by them, the seam is pushed in a little between the fast roller g and the
loose roller h and then the handle k is set in continual motion. Then while the
fast roller actuated by the handle k carries the sack into the machine by
the bands o along with the rollers n connected with the lower loose shaft P', the
handle actuates at the same time the chain wheel which turns the chain
wheel by the chain n, and the toothed wheel c of the beater-shaft gearing c, d, e
fixed to it, in the direction shown by the arrows in Fig. 3 in the drawing. On its
way downwards the sack is gradually throughout its whole length led between
the violently beating, rapidly swinging beaters, then round the shaft p then
again upwards on its way being again passed between the swinging beaters,
whereby it is violently shaken throughout its length by the vigorous blows of
the beaters and as it hangs freely downwards, and is thus thoroughly freed from
all material which may have adhered to it. The bands o bring the well dusted
sack, by help of the clips, between the fixed roller g, and the loose roller f. As
soon as the clips appear above the rollers they are at once quickly released, and
the rollers are kept in motion by the handle until the end of the sack has passed
out. A few more turns of the handle bring the clips into the right position at
the top for fixing the next sack.
It is of very special importance that the bottom of the sack should not be
fixed to the clips, but either the seam or the opening, so that the sack may be
kept closed and thus the dirty outside which has been turned to the inside
during the dusting cannot deteriorate the value of the material dusted out and
collected by any dirt being shaken into it.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
1. A sack dusting machine worked either by hand or by power characterized
by the sack to be dusted being led automatically by means of guide rollers (n)
into a box kept constantly closed, then passed twice between swinging beaters
attached to beater shafts, and when dusted, again automatically brought outside
the box, which is all effected by means of the guide rollers (f, g, h) in connec-
tion with the guiding bands (0) and their clips (1), and by the beater-shaft gear-
ing (ed, e) and the beaters (9) driven by the chainwheel (2), and the chainwheel (1)
and the chain (m), where by the dirtying of the material obtained from the sacks

page_text: is prevented by the clips (u) holding the sack closed with the dirty side turned
inwards.
2. A machine for cleaning sacks having the several parts constructed and
arranged in combination substantially as described.
Dated this 25th day of August 1899.