Improvements in the Method of and Machinery for Decorticating Ramie and other Textile Plants and Leaves.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Applicatión, 28th Nov., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 29th July, 1895-Accepted, 16th Nov., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Method of and Machinery for Decorticating
Ramie and other Textile Plants and Leaves.
I, PIERRE PAULIN FAURE, of Place du Champs de Foire, Limoges, (Haute
Vienne.) France, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:
This invention relates to the method and means for effecting the decortication of
textile plants and leaves and particularly ramie. For carrying this method into
effect I provide a very simple arrangement of beater and concave bed or breast.
In order that the improved machine may be readily understood I have illustrated
it in general arrangement and in detail in the accompanying drawings, forming
part of this Specification, wherein Figure 1 represents a side elevation, and
Figure 2 a front elevation, of the machine Figure 3 is a sectional elevation of the
machine, the concave bed or breast being in section, and Figure 4 is a detail
sectional elevation of the latter, drawn to a larger scale.
The beater drum a is provided with blades or beaters a', as usual, and the concave
bed or breast is made of a special profile or section, the form varying at different
parts to suit the various phases of the work to be performed by the machine
The first portion 1 of the surface of the bed is curved so that between it and the
surface generated by the revolution of the beaters a¹, there is an angular space :
the next following portion 2 at which the principal part of the work is effected, is
preferably made straight and between the succeeding part 3 which is curved and
the circle described by the beaters there is an angular space ✓ opposite to R.
The beaters at in rotating do not touch, but pass extremely close to, the surface 2,
the operation being as follows:-The stalks of ramie are fed in at the part 1 where
the woody portion becomes immediately broken, the strips separated therefrom
being drawn into the space and then on to the part 2. As the sreed of the beater
drum is considerably greater than that at which the stalks are fed in, a tractive
effect is produced on the strips, since the distance between the blades of the drum
and the surface 2 is less than the thickness of the strips. This tractive effect fulfils
a double purpose, uz: that of facilitating the stripping of the filaments from the
woody portion and of exciting a scraping action, which attacks the pellicle and all
matters foreign to the fibres. The sticks of filaments pass down vertically and
the separated matters, viz. the woody portion, pellicles and gummy substances, are
thrown out to a distance by the centrifugal force of the beater drum. When the
stalk has been entered to within a short distance of its extreme end, the return
movement is effected, whereupon the following action takes place:-The strips
having been operated on in the one direction return through the space indicated
by and in following the curve 3 they are slightly and gradually grazed by the
beater blades which throw out the coarser parts of the debris still adhering The
operation is performed with great delicacy, as the fibres tend to assume the position
of the chord of the curve and are constantly agitated by the beater blades. But
when the fibres arrive at part 2, as the space comprised between the beaters and
this part is infinitely reduced, the entire removal of the matters still adhering is
effected and afterwards that of a portion of the gummy matters, which run down
the curved portion 3 and retain the debris detached by the flexure of the fibres
produced by the beaters a¹ and the remainder of the debris separated from the
fibres in passing over surface 2 On their return the fibies appear white, parallel,

page_text: and spread out upon the bed or concave. Such is the operation of effecting the
complete decortication.
The next succeeding stalks, clean on their entry, the hollow curve 3, and
afterwards undergo the same treatment as the preceding stalks, and so on.
In order to render the action as delicate as possible, the bed or concave may be
made of thin metal capable of slightly yielding under the action of the pressure
exerted at 2. As this flexure might ultimately render the metal mis-shapen, I
may cushion the bed or concave upon elastic material e, el, Figure 2, embedded in
the supports of the concave bed or breast.
For small machines intended to be fed by hand the mechanism is arranged in
the following manner, as illustrated in the drawing:-The beater drum a is
driven by means of pulley P The bed or concave 6 is carried on a cross-bar b₁
attached to a bracket which is provided with elastic cushions e, e¹. The ends
of shaft d, which are carried in bearings on the brackets e, are eccentric to enable
the setting forward of the bed or concave to be regulated, the vertical adjustment
being regulated by means of a lifting screw and socket e In order to render the
arrangement as sensitive as possible, double joints e³ are interposed between the
parts e¹, e². A spring r serves to return the bed or concave to its normal position
The eccentric shaft d is operated by a hand wheel v and is fixed in its bearings by
a thumb-screw el is a rubber, made of suitable material by which the gummy
matters adhering to the edges a' of the beater blades are detached The entire
mechanism is mounted on an iron framing f.
The machine is fed by two men each holding in his hand five or six stalks at a
time, in the condition in which they are cut, that is to say without the leaves being
stripped off. The entry of the stalks is performed very quickly and the return
movement at a moderate speed about twelve seconds sufficing for the two movements
for stalks of average length The stalks leave the machine in a filamentous
condition but very little of the gums remaining, the extreme end only, which is
held in the hand, being left undecorticated for a few inches. The blades of the
beater drum not being allowed to touch the concave bed or breast, the wear 18
reduced to the minimum. As the concave bed or breast is cleaned as the work on
the stalks proceeds, choking is rendered impossible and consequently all abnormal
strains are avoided. The machine may, therefore, be driven by hand power,
rotary motion being imparted to the beater dium through speed multiplying spur or
chain gearing
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents
Improvements in the Method of and Machinery for Decorticating
Ramie and other Textile Plants and Leaves.
I, PIERRE PAULIN FAURE, of Place du Champs de Foire, Limoges, (Haute
Vienne), France, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained m and by the following statement:―
This invention relates to the method and means for effecting the decortication
of textile plants and leaves and particularly ramie. For carrying this method
into effect I provide a very simple arrangement of beater and concave bed or
breast.
In order that the improved machine may be readily understood I have illustrated
it in general arrangement and in detail in the accompanying drawings, forming part
of this Specification, wherein Figure 1 represents a side elevation and Figure 2 a

page_text: front elevation of the machine. Figure 3 is a sectional elevation of the machine,
the concave bed or breast being in section, and Figure 4 is a detail sectional
elevation of the latter, drawn to a larger scale
The beater drum a is provided with blades or-beaters a¹, as usual, and the concave
bed or breast b is made of a special profile or section, the form varying at different
parts to suit the various phases of the work to be performed by the machine.
The first portion 1 of the surface of the bed is curved so that between it and
the cylinder generated by the revolution of the beaters a¹, there is an angular
space ; the next following portion 2 at which the principal part of the work is
effected, is preferably made straight and between the succeeding part 3 which is
curved and the cylinder described by the beaters there is an angular space
opposite to A.
The beaters a', in rotating do not touch, but pass extremely close to, the surface 2,
the operation being as follows:-The stalks of ramie are fed in at the part 1
where the woody portion becomes immediately broken, the strips separated
therefrom being drawn into the space and then on to the part 2. As the speed of
the beater drum is considerably greater than that at which the stalks are fed in,
and as the distance between the blades of the drum and the surface 2 is less than
the thickness of the strips, a tractive effort is produced which fulfils the double
purpose of facilitating the stripping of the filaments from the woody portion and
of producing a scraping action which attacks the pellicle and all matters foreign
to the fibres The stricks of filaments pass down vertically and the separated
matters viz the woody portion, pellicles, and gummy substances, are thrown out
to a distance by the centrifugal force of the beater drum When the stalk has
been entered to within a short distance of its extreme end the motion of the beater
drum 18 reversed whereby the return movement as effected, whereupon the
following action takes place:-The strips having been operated on in the one
direction, return through the space indicated by, and in following the curve 3
they are slightly and gradually touched or grazed by the beater blades which
throw out the coarser parts of any debris still adhering The operation is
performed with great delicacy, as the fibres tend to assume the position of the chord
of the curve and are constantly agitated by the beater blades But when the
fibres arrive at part 2, as the space comprised between the beaters and this part
is infinitely reduced. the removal of all the woody matter still adhering is
effected and afterwards that of some of the gummy matters, which run down the
curved portion 3 and retain there the debris detached from the fibres by the
flexure caused by the beaters a', and also the remainder of the debris separated
from the fibres in passing over surface On their return the fibres appear white,
parallel, and spread out upon the top of the bed, the operation of decortication
being now complete
The next succeeding stalks on their passage through the machine, clean
off the concave 3 and afterwards undergo the same treatment as the preceding
stalks, and so on.
In order to render the action as delicate as possible, the bed or concave may be
made of thin metal capable of slightly yielding under the action of the pressure
exerted at 2. As flexure might ultimately render the metal mis-shapen,
I cushion the bed or concave upon elastic material e, el. Figure 3. embedded in the
supports of the concave bed or breast.
For small machines intended to he fed by hand, the mechanism is arranged in
the following manner, as illustrated in the drawing:-The beater drum a is driven
by means of pulley The bed or concave bis carried on a cross bar b', attached
to brackets c provided with sockets containing elastic cushions e el The shaft a
which is carried in bearings on the frame has eccentric ends which turn in die
blocks in the brackets c to enable the setting forward of the bed or concave to he
regulated, the vertical adjustment being regulated by means of a lifting screw and
socket e In order to render the arrangement as sensitive as possible, the
brackets are supported by the spiral spring cushions and by legs of hard

page_text: rubber e³ A spring r assists the flexible legs e. to return the bed or concave to its
normal position The eccentric' shaft d is operated by a hand wheel and is fixed
in its bearings by a thumb-screw v¹. T is a protecting screen against which are
projected the gummy matters that are thrown off from the edges of the beater
blades This screen is pivoted about shaft d and assumes the position T, shewn in
dotted lines in Figure 3. at the moment of entry of the stalks with their leaves; it
is thrown back by means of the handle T2 on the return movement. The entire
mechanism is mounted on an iron framing f
The machine is fed by two men each holding in his hand five or six stalks at a
time, in the condition in which they are cut, that is to say without the leaves being
siripped off. The entry of the stalks is performed very quickly and the return
movement at a moderate speed about twelve seconds sufficing for the two mov. ments
for stalks of average length. The stalks leave the machine in a filamentous
condition, but very little of the gums remaining, the extreme end only which is
held in the hand being left undecorticated for a few inches. The blades of the
beater drum not being allowed to touch the concave bed or breast, the wear is
reduced to the minimum As the concave bed or breast is cleaned as the work on
the stalks proceeds, choking is rendered impossible and consequently all abnormal
strains are avoided The machine may, therefore, be driven by hand power,
rotary motion being imparted to the beater dium through speed multiplying spur or
chain gearing
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. In the treatment of textile matters for effecting the decortication thereof, the
method which consists in causing the matters to be treated to pass between a
beater dium and a concave bed or breast whereof the working surface is of special
configuration such as to enable complete decortication to be effected by the passage
of the stalks in the forward and backward directions over the same surface, the
breaking and separation of the woody pertions of the stalks and the stripping
thereof from the fibres being effected during the forward movement whilst the
pollicles and other gummy matters foreign to the fibres are attacked, the action of
the beater blades during the return movement over the same surface in the
or posite diection eliminating the said gummy and other matters foreign to the
fibres
2. The herein described machine for carving the method above specified into
effect, the said machine being characterized by the special form of the working face
of the concave bed or breast and the mode of mounting the same in such manner
that the whole work on the stalks is performed on this surface which 13 of such
form as to enable the various phases of the operation to be performed.
3. In a decorticating machine having a rotating beater drum, the combination,
with said drum, of a concave or breast where of the acting surface is so formed
relatively to the circle described by the heater blades as to present first a convexly-
rounded portion over which the stalks enter and are broken and then a straight
portion whereby a scraping of the strips is effected, the last portion of the bed or
breast diverging slightly from the path of the blades to enable on the return_
movement the completion of the decoiticating operation to be effected
4. In the herein described decorticating machine, the concave bed or breast
mounted upon an adjustable support having elastic cushions whereof the lower
one are carried by flexible supports and the others bear upon the eccentric shaft
Tatad this 20th low of Tul 1803
A M. & WM. CLARK,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.