Improvements in and connected with the "Pulling" or "Plucking" of Rabbit Skins.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 15th July, 1896
Complete Specification Left, 15th Apr., 1897-Accepted, 22nd May, 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with the "Pulling" or "Plucking"
of Rabbit Skins.
We, JOHN TAYLOR of 14 Meanwood Road in the City of Leeds, Hatters'
Furrier and FRED TAYLOR, of the same address, Furriers' Grinder 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:-
Our invention refers to the "pulling" or "plucking" of rabbit skins by
mechanical means or machinery.
In carrying out our invention we employ feed rollers (fluted or otherwise) with a
feed apron or platform which are carried in a frame moveable to and from a
stationary frame or standards which carries a "plucking" or "pulling" roller, and
an opposite roller covered with india-rubber or other suitable material so that when
the skins pass through or are presented by the action of the feed rollers to the
"plucking" or "pulling" roller, the blades or flutes upon such "pulling"
"plucking" roller, separate the hair from the fur, the skin passing backwards or
otherwise as desired, and the hair removed falling to the opposite side of the
machine.
or
JOHN E. WALSH,
Royal Exchange Chambers, Boar Lane, Leeds,
Patent Agent to the Applicants.
Improvements in and connected with the "Pulling" or "Plucking
of Rabbit Skins.
"
We, JOHN TAYLOR, of 14 Meanwood Road, in the City of Leeds, Hatters'
Furrier, and FRED TAYLOR, of the same address, Furriers' Grinder, 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 invention has for its object the arrangement of certain mechanism combined
and operated in such a manner that, the long and coarse fur or hairs found on
rabbit and like skins, may be mechanically and more effectually removed therefrom,
without materially disturbing the shorter and finer fur or hair found closer to the
skin; and thus by our novel apparatus, to be enabled to dispense with the manual
labour hitherto employed for "pulling" or "plucking" the longer fur or hair by
the fingers and thumb of the hand from the skins of rabbits and like animals.
In describing our invention in detail, reference is made to the accompanying
drawings in which
Fig. 1 represents a front elevation of a machine constructed according to our
invention for removing the long fur or hairs from the skins.
TE.

page_text: Fig. 3 a cross sectional elevation, the mechanism for driving the circular brush
being shewn in dotted lines, and,
Fig. 4 a detached enlarged sectional view of the feed rollers and rotating
grooved winged." pulling or "plucking" roller employed for removing the long
fur or hair.
On the main end frames A. of the machine are the movable end frames B. which
are mounted on and supported by the shaft C. rotated from the main or driving
shaft D. of the machine by the spur pinion and wheel E. and E'.
On the shaft C. is secured a spur pinion F. gearing with spur wheel G. secured
en the end of shaft of fluted roller H. and on the before mentioned shaft C. is also
secured a grooved pulley J. connected by a band or belt K. with the grooved
pulley L. secured on the shaft of the rotating brush M.
To one of the main end frames A. is attached a semi-circular plate N. having a
number of pin holes N¹ therein, and fixed at some distance from the face of the
semi-circular plate N. on the shaft O. is an eccentric P. also in a suitable position
on the said shaft is secured a lever P¹ having a bar P pivotted thereto, having a
pin projecting therefrom for engaging as required with the respective pin holes N¹.
A connection is made with the eccentric P. by straps and rod Q. to a stud R. free
to slide in the slot hole R' formed in one of the internal or movable end frames B.
for the purpose as hereinafter described.
Extending across the machine between the movable end frames B. is a shaft T.
to which are secured a long lever T¹ and two shorter levers T2, the latter are
connected by rods U. to blocks supporting a sliding roller U₁ covered by flexible
material such as india rubber.
In order to pull the long fur or hairs from the skin V. it is held and passed
through the machine in the position shown by detached detail Fig. 4, the flexible
covered roller U₁ having been slided forward from the position shown in Fig. 3 by
the operation of the long lever T¹ until the roller U is between the rotating fluted
rollers H. and H¹ as shown by detail Fig. 4, thus causing the skin V. to travel in
the direction of arrow, in front of the grooved winged roller W. provided with any
convenient number of wings or blades and which revolves quickly in the direction
of the curved arrow, the grooved wings beating rapidly against the long fur or hair
"plucks" or "pulls" it from the skin, depositing the long hairs on the rotating
flexible covered roller Y. from which they are removed by the rotating circular
brush M. to the chamber Z. to be extracted by an exhauster of the ordinary
construction or otherwise removed.
The distance between the flexible covered roller U¹ and the grooved winged
roller W. when the latter is "pulling" or "plucking" the long fur or hair
from the skin V. is regulated to suit the length of the fur or hair, by the
position in which the stud R. is held in the slot hole R'. The various necessary
alterations of the position of the said stud is accomplished by disengaging the
pivoted bar P2 with a pin hole N¹ and moving the lever P₁ so that the bar Pa
engages with a different pin hole N', thus changing the position of the eccentric,
bringing the stud R. into such position, that it forms a stop in the slot hole R¹ by
which the movable end frames B. the fluted rollers H. and H' mounted thereto and
the sliding flexible covered roller U₁ are prevented being brought too near the
circular path of the grooved winged roller W, the respective rollers being
adjustable are retained in such positions that, the skins as they pass through the
machine are presented to the fluted or grooved blades of the roller W, that the
long hair is plucked from the skin and separated from the short and finer fur
laying closer to the skin.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The general arrangement and combination of the parts comprising the machine
for the nurnose as hereinhofore est forth

page_text: 2. The combination of the rollers H. H¹ and U₁ with the grooved winged
roller W, arranged and operated substantially as hereinbefore set forth and
shown.
3. The combination of the rollers H. H¹ U₁ and grooved winged roller W. with
the flexible covered roller Y. and the rotating brush M. arranged substantially in
the manner and for the purpose as hereinbefore set forth.
4. The combination of the sliding roller U₁ and the levers T¹ and T' with the
intermediary connections to the eccentric P. and semicircular plate N. arranged
substantially in the manner and for the purpose as hereinbefore set forth and
shown.
5. A grooved winged roller W. rotating in conjunction with one or more rollers-
utilized for supporting and conveying the skins in a manner so that the grooved
blades of rotating roller W. are enabled to act upon and pluck the hairs from the
skin as it is passed through the machine.
D11th day of s'il 1897
JOHN WAUGH,
Agent.