Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Aug., 1887
Specification Accepted, 21st Oct., 1887
A communication from GUSTAV RAULICH, Directing Manager of a Sugar Refinery,
and JOHANN NESETRIL, Engineer, both of Prague, Austria.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
M.I.M.E. 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 :-
The present invention relates to improvements in combined machines for breaking
and scutching flax, hemp and the like and its object is to design a machine which will
break and scutch the retted flax or other fibrous plant and free it from the woody
parts in such a manner as to produce a material which may be at once handed over to
the spinning mills.
The construction of the breaking machine is similar to that of the well known kinds
and consists essentially as may be seen from figures 1 and 3 of a suitable number of
fluted rollers w w¹ journalled in the frame G of the machine.
The lower rollers w' are journalled in stationary bearings, while the upper rollers w
(see fig. 4) are held down by spiral springs s adjusted by set screws o so that they
can give a little upwards when a somewhat thicker tress is introduced and not injure
the fibre.
During the passage between these rollers the woody part of the retted flax or other
plant is broken. The rollers and the other parts of the machine are driven by the
shaft W receiving its motion by means of its pulley R from a suitable motor (sec
Fig. 3).
The shaft W communicates its movement to the shaft w by means of the bevel
gear kk k² and thence to the rollers by means of the bevel gear 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and
1, 2, 3, 4, 51. A suitable clutch gears either of the gear wheels or with the
bevel wheel k so that the shaft W can be made to revolve in either direction. In
this manner it is possible to allow the flax to be broken, to be carried to and fro
between the rollers for any desirable time.

page_text: When the flax is sufficiently broken it is introduced into the scutching machine
which consists essentially of a series of arms turning and swinging in two planes
crossing each other.
In the accompanying drawings the machine is represented as a double one in which
the broken flax can be fed and scutched in two places at once but the machine may
also be constructed as a single one.
This scutching machine may be constructed as follows
On the above mentioned shaft W is keyed a wheel A to the periphery of which are
fastened a series of radial blades S the whole revolving in the direction of the arrow.
Onto the same shaft W is further keyed a pitch wheel B communicating its
movement by means of the chain K to the pitch wheel C keyed on the horizontal
shaft D which communicates the movement to the vertical shaft V by means of the
bevel gearing E. The horizontal shaft D is journalled in the frame G of the machine
and the vertical shaft V is journalled in the bed of the machine and a frame H fixed
thereto. This vertical shaft V carries at its upper end a wheel I to the periphery of
which are fixed a series of horizontal radial arms L of the same number as the above
mentioned vertical blades S.
In combination with the frame of the machine is arranged a supply table terminating
in a vertical partition M behind which revolve the blades S. At a suitable place in
the partition is formed an opening m through which the broken flax is fed to the
scutching machine.
The above named horizontal arms L revolve directly underneath the supply
table and the opening m and the whole of the machine must be mounted in
such a manner that when the blades S and arms L revolve,the blades S will in
passing behind the opening m just miss their corresponding arms L.
The broken flax is fed through the opening m and scutched by the revolving vertical
blades S and horizontal arms L.
When the machine is constructed as a double one two pitch wheels C will be
mounted on the horizontal shaft D communicating the movement by means of a second
pitch chain K and pitch wheel B to a horizontal shaft W2 on which is keyed a second
wheel A carrying the desired number of vertical blades S. The horizontal arms L
thus serve for the blades S on both sides.
The blades S consisting of two parts are not rigidly fixed to the wheels A, but as
will be seen in figures 5 and 6 are pivotted at to the sockets formed on the wheel A
and are held in their normal position by spring f. The blades S can thus spring a
little when a thicker tress of flax should be fed into the machine.
The scutching machine may also be constructed as represented in figures 7 and 8.
In this construction the vertical shaft with the horizontal arms L is replaced by a
horizontal shaft w suitably journalled in two standards T fixed to the bed of the
machine, on which shaft is mounted a pulley a provided around its circumference
with armis L parallel to the shaft in the same number as the blades S. The pulley w
is driven by a pitch chain & passing round its periphery and round a pitch wheel y
mounted on the shaft ẞ receiving its movement from the shaft W by means of
the bevel gear s.
The same shaft ẞ would communicate the movement to the shaft E
carrying a second wheel A provided with vertical blades S in case the machine is
constructed as a double one.
It will be easy to understand that in this case the arms L revolve in such a manner
that they again just miss the vertical blades S, and that the principle is maintained
that the blade S and the arms L revolve in two planes which cross each other.
The machine may further be modified by making the blades S revolve in a
horizontal plane and the armis L in a plane crossing the horizontal at a right angle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention as
communicated to me by my foreign correspondents and in what manner the same is
to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. A combined flax breaking and scutching machine in which the flax is broken
between a series of juxtaposed fluted roller pairs the upper rollers of which can give

page_text: a little under the action of springs; the flax being then scutched between a series
of blades such as S and arms such as L revolving in planes crossing each other at
right angles, substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
2. In a combined flax breaking and scutching machine the combination with a
wheel mounted on the driving shaft and provided with radial blades such as S of a
series of horizontal arms such as L mounted on a vertical shaft driven by the driving
shaft by means of pitch wheels such as B and C and a bevel gear such as E
substantially as and for the purpose specified; the machine being constructed either
as a single one or a double acting one.
3. In a combined flax breaking and scutching machine the employment of pivotted
blades such as S constructed in two parts and held in their normal position by springs
substantially as and for the purpose specified and represented in the accompanying
drawings.
4. In a combined flax breaking and scutching machine the combination with a
series of radial blades such as S fixed to the periphery of a wheel and revolving in
a vertical plane of a series of arms such as L' fixed to the circumference of a suitable.
pulley parallel to the horizontal shaft of the latter, and revolving in a vertical plane
crossing the plane of the blades S at right angles, said pulley being driven by the
driving shaft by means of a bevel gear and a pitch wheel and chain, substantially as
and for the purpose specified.