A Machine for Trimming and Cutting up Beans.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 10th June, 1891-Accepted, 25th July, 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Machine for Trimming and Cutting up Beans.
I JOSEF KOHLER, Machinist, of Manheim in the Empire of Germany 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 :-
This machine for trimming and cutting up beans (constructed according to this
invention) has for its object to pull off the strings or filaments from the two sides of
a bean and then to convey the pods by means of a travelling band to a bean cutting
device upon which the beans freed from their strings are cut up in several parts
and thus prepared for preserving cooking or other purposes. This machine
operates in such a manner that the beans are laid flat upon a feeding table and
subsequently seized by a pair of fluted conveying rollers which brings them to the
heads of the trimming or pulling off knives. These knives are placed at an angle
to the advancing bean cut in the grain between the two parts of the pod and
thereby extract the strings which are found on both sides of beans as the latter
move forward. These strings are led away on both sides by the knives while the
beans freed therefrom are moved further by a travelling band and thrown against
an oscillating roller having resilient bearings and which feeds the latter in suitable
lengths to the circular knives. The machine is actuated by a crank handle or by
any suitable means or power.
'
The invention is fully illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which
Figure 1 is a front view and
Figure 2 a plan of the machine.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of the machine on line A. B of Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a horizontal section of the machine on line C D of Figure 3.
Figure 5 is a rear view of the machine.
Figure 6 is a vertical view on line E F of Figure 4.
Figures 74, 78, 7C, 7D, and 7%, are detail views of the two knives used to extract
the strings. Figure 7 showing a knife from above, Figure 7" a horizontal section
of a knife on line G H of Figure 7º, Figure 7° a view of a knife from the entrance
side of the beans and Figure 7 a side view of the knife as it appears when seen in
the direction of line A. B of Figure 2.
The bean trimming and cutting machine is constructed as follows:
The shaft W set in motion by the crank handle a or other mechanism (such as a
pulley A) and upon which the knives S (Figures 3 and 4) are fixed drives the
shaft L by means of bells or cords a' and of the discs a' and as and the shaft M by
means of bells or cords a' and of the discs a' and a. Upon the shaft L is mounted
the conveyor disc T which turns in the direction of the arrow and is ribbed on its
periphery so as to better seize hold of the beans. Over this conveyor disc is
arranged another disc T likewise ribbed and keyed on the shaft N. This shaft N
is rotated in the direction of the arrow by the aid of the cord or belt a¹ and of the
discs a³ and a so that both conveyor discs have a tendency to seize hold of the
beans laid on the table . The shaft M transmits further a rotary motion to
the axis O at the rear of the machine by means of the cord or belt m' and of
the discs m² m² the axis O carrying the drawing rollers P which are used to
bring the beans against the circular knife S.
The shaft M imparts also a motion to the shaft Q by means of the cord
or belt m and of the discs m³ me. The shaft Q carries a roller g and an axis Q!
arranged behind the conveyor discs and carrying a roller q' (Figure 3). Above
the two rollers. 9 q is arranged the travelling band U which is driven in the

page_text: direction of the arrow and has for its object to convey the beans from the trimming
to the cutting knives.
The heads of the trimming knives which are arranged behind the conveyor
discs TT (the latter of which serves to feed the beans) are symmetric and slide
upon guiding pins y (Figure 74) being pressed against the small sides of the beans
by the spiral spring y.
The heads of the trimming knives are furnished with blocks to which are
fixed by means of screws the hollow knives furnished with a sharp point 2.
The hollowing of the knife forms a channel which removes the strings drawn
thereby from the beans and expels them at the side of the machine.
A protecting plates arranged in front of the knives prevents the strings
separated from being pressed into the knives. The trimming knives carry a
semi-circular guide at their front ends which is turned towards the beans as they
are being introduced this guide being placed against the beans and regulating the
distance between the knives in accordance with the width of the bean. To ensure
that the conveyor discs may always seize hold of the beans notwithstanding their
different thicknesses the bearing n of the shaft N of the upper conveyor disc is
guided within forks n¹ and are pressed downwards by springs n against the beans.
The beans which have been operated upon by the trimming knives are fed forward
on the travelling band and the former are prevented from falling by the walls 1
arranged above the said band.
v
Before the beans reach the cutting knives they abut against a roller w which
imparts thereto the proper downward direction to cause them to drop into the
cutting knife mechanism.
The roller w can turn upon the lever / which oscillates on the pin d and
is suspended to the side walls v v².
To oppose a suitable resistance to the beans abutting against the roller w a spiral
spring is arranged upon the arm of the lever hand is held by the frame at ² so
as to cause the lever to abut against the stop ³. Sis a scraper fixed to
the part S2 of the frame and designed to clean the circular knife S.
2°
The beans placed on the table and passing through the two rollers ¹ and x³ are
seized by the conveyor discs T T' and immediately freed from their strings by the
knives zz these strings issuing laterally from these knives through the channel z'.
The beans are now further conveyed by the travelling band and guided by
the roller w towards the knives S. The drawing roller P which gears between the
knife discs F causes the beans to be acted upon by the knife and cut up into
pieces.
Should it only be required to extract the strings from the beans and not to cut
them the spiral spring would be disconnected and the lever pulled back with
the roller so that the beans delivered by the travelling band U would be directly
removed from the machine without reaching the knives.
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. A bean trimming machine in which the beans are seized by conveyor
discs T T conducted to the trimming knives mounted on the spring heads & so
that the beans which are laid flat may be freed on both sides from their strings
after which they are fed by the travelling band U either directly out of the
machine or to the circular knives S with the aid in the last case of the spring
roller wand of the drawing roller » substantially in the manner and for the
purposes hereinbefore described and illustrated in the drawings hereunto annexed.
2. In the bean trimming machine above claimed the use of heads k mounted
upon guiding rods so as to be horizontal and vertical to the direction of motion of
the beans and furnished with trimming knives which are pressed by springs y
against the small sides of the beans and hollowed so as to form a channel for the.

page_text: removal of the severed bean strings these knives being furnished with circular
guides somewhat drawn back near the cutting edges of the knives for the purpose
of determining the cutting depth of the knives substantially in the manner and for
the purposes hereinbefore described and illustrated in the drawings hereunto
annexed.
Dated this 10th day of June 1891
TONGUE & BIRKBECK,
34, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Patentee.