Improvements in Mechings for Removing • Cotton-seed and for like Purposes.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Feb., 1887.
Specification Accepted, 6th May, 1887.
[Communicated from abroad by MIDDLETON CRAWFORD, of the Cotton Exchange
Building, New York City, in the United States of America, Millwright.]
Improvements in Mechings for Removing
•
Cotton-seed and for like Purposes.
1, JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincoln's Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman 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 object of this Invention is the construction of a machine adapted to remove the
lint or short fibre from Cotton-Seed after the ginning process, whereby the Seed may
be put in condition either for planting or for grinding and pressing in the manufacture
of Oil and Oil-cake. Heretofore, so far as I am aware, the ginned Cotton-Seed has
been prepared for the manufacture of Oil, either by submitting it to an acid bath
which destroys the lint or by cracking and removing the hard shell that envelopes the
kernel. The chemical process is objectionable, for the reason that a portion of the acid
is retained by the Seed, injuring the Oil and rendering the Oil-cake unfit for food, and
for the further reason that the destruction of the germi in a considerable portion of the
Seed renders it unfit for planting, and the mechanical process is exceedingly wasteful,
since it renders the shell and lint worthless, except for fuel.
The machine constructed according to the present Invention removes and preserves
all the lint, which forms a valuable paper-stock, and at the same time delivers the Seed
thoroughly cleaned, wholly uninjured and in perfect condition, either for planting or
for conversion into Oil and Oil-cake.
The manner of constructing this machine will be well understood by the description
which follows, and by reference to the accompanying Drawings, wherein :-
Figure 1 is a vertical axial section of the machine with a small portion of the
exterior brush-surface of the cone, represented in elevation.
Figure 2 is a plan view of a little more than one half of the top of the machine.
Figure 3 is a plan view of one half of the top of the cone.
Figure 4 is an underside view of a part of the bottom of the cone.
Figure 5 is a plan view of the lever for effecting the vertical adjustment of the cone,
the guide for the socket-piece in which the cone-shaft is stepped being in section.
Figure 6 is a view shewing two of the sections forming the emery or abrasive
surface or lining of the casing.
In these views, A represents an exterior frame of any kind, serving as a support for
be operative parts. In this frame, is mounted a fixed conical outer casing B, which
may be conveniently constructed of a metal top-plate b, and bottom-plate &, and

page_text: wooden staves a secured to the said plates b, in any convenient manner, but prefer-
bly by means of bolts permitting the independent removal of the staves. The top-
plate supports a suitable hopper F, and is made with an opening forming the mouth
of the hopper. The inner concave face of this casing is covered with an abrasive
material, preferably coarse emery: and in order to provide an abrading surface c, that 5
will be durable-and-conveniently-applied, the preferable procedure is as follows:
Sections of the form scen in Figure 6, are procured, made from emery or
çorundum, mixed with binding substances, to form a body, and baked or burned
somewhat in the manner of bricks.
This compound is well known in the trade as "Norton's Emery."
These sections c¹ of the lining for the casing are given the proper width length and
taper, so that when fitted together, they will cover completely the inner face of the
casing. They can he secured to the wooden shell of the casing by screws or bolts,
small holes being formed in the sections during their manufacture to receive the said
screws or bolts but any other suitable fastening devices may be employed.
It is found desirable to make these sections of such size and form, with relation to
the wooden staves of the casing, that the inner surfaces of each stave shall be com-
pletely and exactly covered by a vertical band of the sections, the casing being in fact
made up of a series of independent staves each lined with the emery sections.
The staves being separately moveable and each of the emery sections being indepen-
dently fastened to the stave, it is evident that the wear of any part of the emery
lining may be repaired at any time at slight expense and with but little trouble. The
burned or baked emery sections which it is found best to use for this lining are
however so hard and durable that they very seldom require renewal. They are much
harder than ordinary grinding materials, and are therefore preferable to any other
material for this purpose, but the intense heat to which they are subjected in their
manufacture renders it difficult to make them in large plates or to form them originally
It is therefore deemed best to form them in small
with a backing of wood or metal.
plates or bricks provided with means for attaching them to a shell in substantially the
manner herein before described and illustrated.
Within the casing and contentric with it is a cone C which is fixed on a shaft D.
This shaft, has a bearing d rendered laterally adjustable by means of set screws d'in a
metal cross bar e at the top of the frame and another bearing in the bottom plate of
the casing B. It may slide longitudinally in these bearings and is stepped at its
lower end. In the lower end of the shaft is a steel pin which fits in a socket in a
socket piece g and this socket piece rests in a socket guide h. In the opposite faces o
sides of the piece g are formed recesses which are engaged by studs ii on a lever E
the end of which rests on the base piece A¹ of the frame at while a screw through
the other end of the lever serves to raise or lower that end and thus, adjusts the con
and its shaft vertically. This construction is seen in plan in Figure 5 the small figur
below showing the socket piece in elevation.
g
The body of the cone C consists of top and bottom plates preferably of meta
and staves mm preferably of wood secured to the plates in any desired manne
but preferably by means of holts or screws, the top plate being provided with a seri
of rigid radial ribs or arms 12 which serve to separate the cotton seeds as they fa
from the hopper F and prevent them from passing to the cleaning surfaces in wa
or balls.
To the outer face of this cone-body C is attached the card-clothing or other materi
forming what is called the brush surface n of the cone (. As the upper part of the co
will have to deal with the seed it is still fully covered with the lint or fibre just as t
seed comes from the gin or "linter" it is preferably to make this portion of the bru
The stiff
surface, of stiffer or coarser wire than that on the lower part of the cone.
portion of the brush surface usually extends down about nine or ten inches on a f
size machine where the cone is four feet in height; and the remaining space below th
is usually divided, into three equal parts and covered with card clothing varying
stiffness and fineness of the wire forming the teeth the lower section being the fin
and more supple the next above a little coarser and stiffer and the next above that

page_text: little coarser still. In Figure 1 the wires or teeth of the brush surface are shewn
arranged further apart than they should be in practice. This is in order to illustrate
the surface, and indicate its character the more clearly.
C
The wire teeth are preferably placed so close together as to prevent the admission
of seed between them, though this is not absolutely essential. The space between the
brush surface of the cone and the grinding face of the casing, may of course be
varied by the vertical adjustment of the shaft D and cone C; but it should never (at
its upper portion) be less than the greatest length of the seed on which it is to
operate. The ends of a seed can only be acted on either by the cone or casing when
the axis of the seed is approximately radial, and sufficient space should therefore be
allowed for an end over end rotation of the seed as it passes in a spiral path down-
wards from the top of the machine.
The seed and the detached lint after issuing from the annular cleaning or seed space,
fall onto the bottom plate of the casing and are swept around by radial blades o, o, on
the bottom plate of the cone, to the outlet p, where the seed falls into the inclined
shute or spout F, and is led away. The lint or fibre, as it issues from the outlet p is
separated from the seed by a fan or blower G on the shaft D which sends a current of
air through a louvre aperture 7, across the chute F as indicated by the arrows in
Figure 1. This current or blast of air sends the lint into a shute E, and it may pass
thence into a room or lint chamber of any suitable construction or form. The opening
is provided with inclined slats designed to prevent the seed from falling into the
fan casing.
The operation of the machine is as follows: The hopper being filled with cotton seed'
the seed is fed gradually into the machine through the opening in the top plate of the
casing and falls on the top plate 1 of the revolving cone. The radial bars or arms 12
of the top plate which may properly be called beaters strike the falling seed, break up
the balls or wads which may be formed or tending to form through the adhesive
nature of the lint on the seeds and throw the separated seeds evenly and regularly
outward to the space between the cone C and casing A. As the seed drops downward
into this space, it is subjected to the combined action of the rapidly rotating brush
surface of the cone and the stationary grinding surface of the casing. The distance
between, the surfaces of the cone and casing being sufficient for the axis of each seed
to assume a radial position, the seed passes in a spiral path downward and around the
cone and in its course presents its entire surface to the action of one or the other
abrading surfaces between which it passes. The ends of the seeds while they are
undoubtedly to some extent acted upon by the grinding surface of the casing are.
principally cleaned by the brush surface of the cone and the sides of the seed on the
other hand are operated upon almost wholly by the grinding surface of the casing. In
the course of the experiments leading to the construction of this machine various
facings have been tested for both the cone and casing and it has been found that the
combination of a cone covered with an even brush surface and a casing lined with an
even surface of emery or other grinding material, gives the best results. On running
the cotton seed through a machine having an abrasive cone and a non-abrasive shell
it is found that the ends of the seed were freed from lint while the sides were practi-
carly unaffected by the action of the machine, and on testing various abrasive facings
for the cone and casing respectively it was found that while an unyielding surface such
as emery was best for the casing, a slightly yielding surface such as that of a wire
brush or card was preferable for the conc. The wire forming the brush may have any
form of cross section and may be placed at any desired angle with reference to the
surface of the cone. The form thus far found most satisfactory is that of the ordinary
card clothing but this is not essential. The grinding surface of the casing may be
formed of any compound of emery corundum sand ground glass or its equivalent but
the burned or baked sections of "Nortons Emery" form, it is considered, the most
durable and satisfactory lining.
The form of cone and casing shown herein is one which has been found to give the
most satisfactory results in the course of many experiments. The axis of the cone
being vertical and the cone having but slight taper gravity alone tends to carry the

page_text: seed downward at a speed nearly sufficient for the operation of the machine. The
slight increase in diameter of the cone from top to bottom causes the centrifugal force
to aid the downward course of gravity and to increase the speed of motion of the seed
from the top toward the bottom of the cleaning space. While it is not desired or
intended to limit the shape of the machine to the exact form of cone shewn in the
drawing it is considered essential that the taper of the cone should be so slight that
the wall of the casing will offer a considerable resistance to the centrifugal
force with which the seed is thrown outward from the cone. The cone and casing
might be made so flat (that is they might approximate so closely to the form of two
coacting discs) that the centrifugal force would tend to throw the seed directly from
the apex to the base of the cone or in other words from the top to the bottom of the
seed cleaning space.
The increase of diameter in the cone from top to bottom has the effect of producing
a downward current of air between the cone and casing when the cone is rotated and
this current assists materially in carrying the lint through the machine. The specific
gravity of the lint is so slight that this effect in a machine of this particular class is
quite important-It is of course important that the seed be not fed too fast or the
machine will become choked-The regulation of the feed depends of course upon the
size of the machine and the speed of rotation given to the cone.
In practico no difficulty has been found in this respect as it is only necessary to
begin with a sparing feed and increase it gradually until the maximum for good work
is reached.
The cone may be driven by means of a belt passing about a pulley (as at J) rigidly
fastened to the cone shaft. D or by any other suitable means-As the machine is to be
operated at a high speed the belt and pulley forms the smoothest and most satisfactory
means of rotating the cone but any other mechanical equivalent of this means may of
course be substituted.
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-
First In a machine of the class described the combination of a conical casing lined
with emery or its equivalent and a rotating cone concentric with the casing and
covered with a brush surface the emery surface of the casing and the brush surface of
the cone having between them a space for the passage of the seed substantially as and
for the purpose hereinbefore setforth.
Secondly In a machine of the class described the combination of a conical casing
lined with emery or its equivalent and a rotating cone concentric with the casing and
provided with a brush surface stiffer at the top than at the bottom of the cone, the
emery surface of the casing and the brush surface of the cone having between them a
space for the passing of the seed substantially as and for the purpose herein before setforth.
Thirdly In or for machines of the class described a conical casing made of staves
covered on their inner faces each with sections or pieces of an emery compound or
equivalent material of the character hereinbefore described.
Fourthly The arrangement and combination of parts constituting the machine for
removing the lint or fibre from cotton seed or for like purposes substantially as herein-
before described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
1
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