Improvements in Apparatus or Machinery for Extracting or Obtain- ing Vegetable Fibres.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Dec., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 14th Sept., 1900-Accepted, 10th Nov., 1900
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus or Machinery for Extracting or Obtain-
ing Vegetable Fibres.
We, SYDNEY SHORTER, of Suffolk House, Laurence Pountney Hill, Cannon
Street, in the City of London, Merchant, and SAMUEL STANBRIDGE, of 118,
Seaford Road, South Tottenham, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to apparatus or machinery for extracting or obtaining
vegetable fibres, and more especially to apparatus in which a rotary beater wheel
is employed to beat the leaves or plants containing the fibres so as to remove the
extraneous matter and prepare the fibres for industrial use.
In apparatus of this kind as heretofore made, there has been provided one
scutching board against which the leaves or plants are beaten by the beater wheel,
whilst being held at one end by suitable gripping devices and traversed across
the face of said board. When the treatment is complete on one end of the leaves
or plants the latter are reversed and the same operation is then performed on
the other end of the leaves or plants.
The object of our present invention is to increase the capacity of such a machine
or apparatus, and this we do by providing an additional scutching board, and
mechanism for feeding the leaves or plants across the board, suitably constructed
and arranged in reference to the beater wheel and the other scutching board
that leaves and plants can be treated on both scutching boards at the same fime
and fed thereto independently. In our improved machine therefore we have two
scutching boards in combination with a single beater wheel so arranged that
two sets of leaves or plants can be simultaneously treated by one beater wheel,
whereby a great saving of time is effected.
For the purposes of our invention it is convenient to arrange the feed wheels,
which feed the leaves or plants across the scutching boards, approximately at
opposite ends of a diameter of the beater wheel. Each wheel is fed preferably
at the top, and one scutching board is constructed to pass downward as hereto-
fore from its feed wheel while the other scutching board passes upward from its
feed wheel and over the top of the beater wheel. This latter scutching board is
carried by suitable standards from the frame of the machine.
Each feed wheel is furnished with a number of gripping devices on its peri-
phery which devices are opened and closed at the proper times to release and
seize the leaves or plants as required.
When the leaves or plants have been treated at one end upon the first scutch-
ing board, they are transferred by hand or otherwise to the second feeding apparatus
and the other ends of said leaves or plants are then treated against the second
scutching board in a similar manner.
Although we prefer to feed the leaves or plants across the scutching boards by

page_text: feed wheels as above described, we may employ any other suitable feed apparatus
for this purpose.
D
145 1 Daban 1900
D. YOUNG & Co.,
11 & 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.
Improvements in Apparatus or Machinery for Extracting or Obtain-
ing Vegetable Fibres.
We, SYDNEY SHORTER, of Suffolk House, Laurence Pountney Hill, Cannon
Street, in the City of London, Merchant, and SAMUEL STANBRIDGE, of 118,
Seaford Road, South Tottenham, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention relates to scutching machines or apparatus for extracting or
obtaining vegetable fibres from leaves or plants, and more especially to apparatus
in which a rotary beater wheel is employed to beat the leaves or plants so as to
remove the extraneous matter therefrom and prepare the fibres for industrial use.
In apparatus of this kind as heretofore made, the leaves or plants are beaten
by the beater wheel against a scutching board, whilst the same are held at one
end by suitable gripping devices and traversed across the face of said board.
When the treatment of one end of the leaves or plants is complete, the latter are
reversed and the same operation is then performed on the other end of the leaves
or plants.
The object of our present invention is to increase the capacity of such a machine
or apparatus, and this we do by providing an additional scutching board, and
mechanism for feeding the leaves or plants across the board, the same being so
constructed and arranged in reference to the beater wheel and the other scutch-
ing board that leaves and plants can be treated on both scutching boards at the
same time and fed thereto independently. In our improved machine therefore
there are two scutching boards in combination with a single beater wheel so
arranged that two sets of leaves or plants can be simultaneously treated by one
beater wheel, whereby a great saving of time is effected, and the output of the
machine is largely increased.
Referring to the accompanying drawings which illustrate our invention,
Figure 1 is a front elevation of the machine,
Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof looking from the left of Figure 1, and
Figure 3 is a similar side view but with the feed wheels removed.
Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in the several figures.
a is the beater wheel; b, c are scutching boards. The beater wheel rotates in
bearings d carried by a strong frame e to which the scutching board is directly
attached; the upper scutching board is carried by standards f, f fixed on the
frame. The feed apparatus in the example shown consists of wheels g, h rotatable
on spindles j, k respectively, and driven in any suitable manner from the shaft
of the beater wheel. In the drawing we have shown the driving effected by a
worm m on the shaft 7 gearing with a worm wheel n fixed on a vertical shaft o
which through Level wheels p, q, r drives the shafts s, which are respectively

page_text: connected by chain wheels u, and chains w, with the spindles of the feed
wheels. This mechanism rotates the feed wheels in opposite directions which is
advantageous seeing that in such case the attendant without moving his position
can transfer the partially decorticated leaves or plants delivered by the first feed
wheel to the second feed wheel to be acted upon at the other end by the beater
wheel. The wheels however may be rotated in the same direction. Each feed
wheel is furnished with suitable grippers or carriers for seizing and retaining the
leaves or plants while they are acted upon by the beater wheel. In the example
shown these grippers consist of fingers y hinged at on the periphery of the feed
wheel. Each gripper or carrier is formed with a tail piece 1 which in the rotation
of the feed wheel is brought into contact with a stationary tripping arm or
bracket 2 that operates to close the said gripper just as the latter is passing through
an opening 3 in the table or support 4 upon which the leaves or plants are laid
by hand. In this way the gripper is caused to seize the leaves or plants and
carry them round with the feed wheel into the path of the rapidly revolving beater
blades which thoroughly beat the leaves against the scutching board and remove
the extraneous matter from the fibres. The tripping arm or bracket 2 may be
furnished with rollers to reduce the friction between it and the tail pieces 1.
After the tail pieces 1 leave the tripping arm 2, the grippers are kept closed by
a segmental guide or presser 5 under which the grippers pass and which presses
on rollers 6 carried by the backs of the grippers. The said guide or presser 5
is adjustable in guides 7, 7 by a screw 8 working in a fixed bracket 9 and arranged
to be turned by a hand wheel 10 for the purpose of regulating the pressure on
the leaves held by the grippers. When the grippers pass from under the guide
or presser 5 they are free to open, and the attendant can then remove the leaves
and transfer them to the second feed wheel to be operated on at the other end.
The guide or presser 5 may be furnished on its inner face with spring-controlled
hinged bars to adjust the pressure on the backs of the fingers or carriers y. The
construction of each feed wheel the same.
The arrangement of the feed wheels substantially at the opposite ends of a
diameter of the beater wheel, together with the arrangement of the scutching
boards as shown, viz.:-one extending downward from its feed wheel while the
other extends upward over the top of the beater wheel, constitutes an important
feature of our invention.
It is not necessary to provide a flat table on which to lay the leaves or plants
preparatory to being seized by the grippers, as any suitable support will answer
the purpose, for example, a V-shaped trough may be used.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. A scutching machine having a plurality of scutching boards in combination
with a single beater wheel, and a separate feed apparatus for each scutching
board, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.
2. A scutching machine comprising a single rotary beater wheel in combina-
tion with a fixed scutching board opposite a horizontal diameter of the said wheel,
and another fixed scutching board at the top, and a feed wheel for each scutching
board, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.
3. In a scutching machine, the combination of a single rotary beater wheel,
two feed wheels arranged opposite two points in the periphery of said wheel and
operating simultaneously therewith, a scutching board extending downward from
one feed apparatus, and another scutching board extending upward from the other
feed apparatus over the top of the beater wheel, substantially as described, and for
the purpose specified.
4. In a scutching machine, the combination with a single rotary beater wheel,
of two fixed scutching boards, a feed wheel for each scutching board, a continuous
series of carriers hinged to each feed wheel, automatically acting tripping mech-

page_text: anism for closing the carriers, and an adjustable presser for engaging the carriers,
substantially as described.
5. A scutching machine constructed substantially as described with reference
to the accompanying drawings, and operating as, and for the purpose, specified.
Dated this 14th day of September 1900.
D. YOUNG & Co.,
11 & 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.