US1306032A - Flax-scutcher - Google Patents

Description

B. S. SUMMERS.

FLAX SCUTCHER.

APPUQATION HLED MN. 8. 1917.

Patented J um 10, 1919.

3 EETS-SHEET I.

s NORRIS FEYL'RS B. S. SUMMERS.

FLAX SCUTCHER.

APPLICATION mu) 1AN.8.1917.

Patented June 10, 1919.

' 3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

BERTRAND S. SUMMERS, 0F PORT HURON, MICHIGAN.

FLAX-SGUTGHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 10, 1919.

Application filed January 8, 1917. Serial No. 141,322.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BERTRAND S. SUM- MERS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Port Huron, in the county of Saint Clair and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flax- Scutchers, of which the following is a specification.

It is the object of my invention to provide a relatively simple machine for scutching flax in which the woody matter or shive is thoroughly broken up and the fiber then submitted to the action of rotary beaters which thoroughly remove the adherent shive from the flax.

In my improved machine the flax is fed to longitudinally grooved rollers which immediately draw in the flax which passes between said rollers and is thereby thoroughly broken as to the woody matter, the fiber emerging beyond the corrugated rolls a sufficient distance to present the greater portion of its length to beaters arranged beyond the rolls, but being retained by the latter and after treatment by the beater rolls again fed back through the corrugated feeding rolls and released. It may then either be removed by the operator or again presented to the machine either with or without reversing the flax and given further treatment.

In the drawings I have shown and in the following specification described in detail a preferred embodiment of my invention. It will be understood, however, that the specific disclosure is for the ,purpose of exemplification only, and that the scope of the invention is defined in the following claims in which I have endeavored to distinguish it from the prior art so far as known to me without, however, relinquishing or abandoning any portion or feature thereof. Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of the preferred embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 a similar view from the opposite side of the machine; Fig. 3 a front elevation; and Fig. 4C a vertical longitudinal section of a portion of the machine showing the interior construction.

Each part is identified by the same reference character wherever it occurs throughout'the several views.

The frame 5 of the machine may be of any design suitable for supporting the operating parts. It comprises in the form shown beams 6 and side brackets orstandards 7 suitably connected and the latter carrying at their upper ends housings 8, within which are mounted corrugated rolls for feeding and breaking the flax plants. The lower rolls 9, 9 are mounted in stationary bearings, but the upper rolls 10, 1O cooperating therewith are mounted in sliding bearings 11, 11 which are forced downward by springs 12, 12, as shown more particularly in Figs. 1 and 4:. In the latter figure the rolls are seen to be deeply corrugated or ribbed and arranged in pairs with the ribs of the rolls of each pair intermeshing. The upper rolls are idle and the lower rolls are provided on their corresponding ends with pinions 13, 13 by which said lower rolls are driven. A segmental rack or gear 14 is pivoted to the frame at 15, and meshes with said. pinions and being given an oscillation by means to be presently described, turns the corrugated rolls first in one direction and then in the reverse direction. The casting constituting the segmental gear is extended beyond the axis thereof to form a slotted arm 16, the slot 17 of which receives a slide or carrier 18 having a wrist pin 19 mounted thereon- The wrist pin is connected by a link 20 with a crank pin 21 on the crank arm 22 connected at 23 to the main or drive shaft 24 of the machine. Obviously with each rotation of the drive shaft the segmental rack 14 is given an oscillation about its fulcrum 15. The block 18 carrying the wrist pin 19 is adjustable in the slot 17 in order to vary the stroke or extent of movement of the segmental rack and hence the rotation of the corrugated rolls in each direction. For this purpose the wrist pin 19 extends at its opposite ends through horizontal slides 25, 25 which are carried by guides 26, 26 vertically adjustable upon guide rods 27, 27 supported at their opposite ends on the frame of the machine at 28, 29. The guides carrying said slides are vertically adjusted together by means of links 80, 30, each connected at its lower end, as at 31, to its respective guide, and both connected at their upper ends to a common pin or bolt 32. Said bolt is vertically guided in a slot 33 formed in a bracket 34 secured to the housing at 35, and is adjustable in said slot by means of a hand lever 36 pivoted at 37, and slotted at its short end (see dotted lines 39, Fig. 1) to embrace said pin. The lever 36-is extended to the front of the machine where it is formed with a handle 40 and provided with a latch 41 for engagement with a notched adjusting are 42. By adjusting the handle about its pivot the guides 26 carrying the slides 25 are vertically adjusted and thereby the position of the slide block 18 in the slot 17 is --adjusted whereby the stroke or extent of oscillation of the segmental rack, and hence the extent of revolution of the corrugated rolls is controlled.

Immediately in front of the rolls is located a feed table or chute 43 upon which the'flaX plants are laid by the operator to be fed to the corr ugated rolls. Beyond the corrugated rolls are mounted an upper and a lower beating roll 6L4, 45, which are continuously driven in the direction of the arro s andre e ae a d be t h axp ants as they are presented by the rolls to remove the shive or woody particles therefrom. These rolls are, except in the respect to be mentioned, identical, each consisting of beater elements of hard wood alternating with spacing ,disks of the same material. The heater elements each comprise heating arms 4:6 extending a substantial distance beyond the intermediate spacing dis-ks 47, there being four such arms to each beater element in the particular construction shown. The spacing disks47 are slightly thicker than the beater elements, and when the rolls are assembled in the machine the beater elements of the one roll are opposite or in registry with the spacing disks of the other roll with the locating armsintermeshed as shown in Figs. .3 and 4, The ibeater arms of each ro-llare arranged in four longitudinal rows, and upon the rear edges of each'row or, series of beater arms of the upper'roll-is secured a strip 48, and upon the front edges of each series of arms of the lower roll is secured a similar metal strip 49, said strips being so located that as the ibeaters are rotated they scrape along the upper and lower surfaces respectively of the flax fiber or plants presented to the beaters and assist in removing shivc or woody. mattertherefrom.

The ibeater rolls are provided on their corresponding ends With gears 50, 51, which intermesh and the flower gear engages and is driven by a gear .52 carried by a stub shaft 53, Thestub shaft also carries a pulley .54

by which it is driven from a pulley 55 by means -,of the belt .56. The pulley ;5 5 is mounted :on ,a second stub shaft 57 which carries a .second gpulley 58 -by' which :it is driven, and a ,gear .59 which drives thev main shaft Qfthrough the gear 60. 7

If desired a fan 61 may bemounted upon the housing 8 and driven from a pulley 62 upon the shaft of the lower beater roll by means ofa belt263 engaging-pulley 64 on the shaft ofsaid fan and guided byidlers-65, 66. From a consideration of the gearingof the slowly driven. In using the machine the operator places a bundle of flax plants upon the feed table just after the feed rolls have been reversed to feed material to the beater rolls. The bundle is presented to the first pair of feed rolls and slowly fed therethrough to the second pair of feed rolls and so presented to the beater rolls. In passing through the two sets of corrugated feed rolls the flax plants are sharply bent at frequent intervals whereby the cortical .or woody matter is broken and put in condition to be readily removed from thefiber. Whenthe fiber is presented to the heaters and partially fed therethrough the latter strike it a rapid succession of blows upon opposite sides, which remove any adhering shi-ve and are assisted in this operation by the strips of metal to which reference has heretofore been made. It is to be understood that the wrist pin by which thesegmental rack is driven is so adjusted with reference to the length ,of the .flax plants that the latter may be fed so as to be thoroughly operated upon by the heaters and yet the ends retained in the corrugatedrolls sufiiciently to prevent their, be ing drawn completely through by the action of .the beater rolls. After a definite interval the ,flax is withdrawn from the beater rolls by the corrugated rolls and returned to the feed table and completely released, and thereupon it may be reversed by theoperator and again fed to the machine, or if need be again presented without reversal, ,or if sufficiently treated may be removed from the machine and a new bundle of fiaX substituted.

The operation of the machine including the corrugated rolls is continuous and with each reversal of the rolls,j;tha;t is to say, their rotation in a direction to feed the flax followed by their rotation in the reverse di rection to withdraw it from the beaters, a complete treatment of the flax except for that portion which is in the grip ,of the corrugated rolls is effected. As in any event it is desirablethat the rolls be started in their feeding movement before the {flax is again fed to them, there is ample time for the operator to reverse the flex orlsllbstitute anew bundle before again feeding the machine without permittingitto run idly through a cycle. By adjusting the extent of movement of the segment as {desoribed,ac,coriding to the length vo-f fiaxbeing treated, the material may at ,eachJoperation be given a thorough beating without being drawn from the grip offthe corrugated rolls. The form of :the beatersis such as to divide-i the sheet ofalax afibers or plants into a series ,of separate small bundles extending between the heaters .so

that the plants are thoroughly exposed throughout to the action of the beaters.

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, gripping rolls, means for continuously rotating said rolls alternately in opposite directions, heaters adjacent the bite of said rolls and means for operating the heaters and a feed table arranged to feed material to said rolls and to receive it therefrom.

,2. In a device of the class described, a pair of intermeshing corrugated rolls, means for alternately rotating the rolls to an equal extent in opposite directions, beaters arranged adjacent the bite of the rolls and means for operating the heaters and a feed table arranged to feed material to said rolls and to receive it therefrom.

3. In a device of the class described, gripping rolls, a pinion on the end of one of the rolls, a segment gear engaging the pinion, means for oscillating the segment gear to rotate said pinion equal amounts in opposite directions, and beaters arranged adjacent the bite of the rolls to Which the material is fed by the latter.

4. In a device of the class described, gripping rolls, a pinion on the end of one of said rolls, a segment engaging the pinion having a slot substantially radial of said segment, a Wrist pin reciprocable in said slot, means for reciprocating .said pin to oscillate the segment, means for adjusting the pin in the slot to adjust the extent of oscillation of the segment, and beaters arranged adjacent the bite of said rolls.

5. In a device of the class described, gripping rolls, a pinion mounted upon the end of one of said rolls, a segment gear engaging said pinion, a Wrist pin adjustable substantially radially With respect to said segment, a slide engaging said pin and movable therewith, means for adjusting the slide toward and from the axis of the segment, means for reciprocating the pin to oscillate the segment, and beaters adjacent the bite of the rolls.

6. In a device of the class described, a pair of gripping rolls, a pinion on the shaft of one of said rolls, a segment meshing With said pinion, a Wrist pin adjustable and reciprocable toward and from the axis of said segment, a slide bar engaging said pin, guides for said slide bar, means for simultaneously adjusting said guides to carry said pin toward and from the axis of the segment, and beaters adjacent the bite of said rolls.

7. In a device of the class described, a pair of gripping rolls, a pinion on the shaft of one of said rolls, a segmental gear engaging the pinion, a Wrist pin adjustable radially With respect to said segment,

means for adjusting said pin comprising a slide, guides carrying said slide, links connected to said guides and a lever connected to said links, means for oscillating said pin, and beater rolls adjacent the bite of said gripping rolls.

8. In a device of the class described, a pair of beater rolls each comprising a series of beater elements, and a series of intermediate spacing elements of slightly greater thickness than the beater elements, the beater elements each having a number of arms, the beater elements on one roll being arranged opposite the spacing elements on the other roll with the beater arms of the respective rolls intermeshing.

9. In a device of the class described, a pair of beater rolls each comprising a series of beater elements and a series of intermediate spacing elements, the beater elements having beater arms arranged in longitudinal rows, a scraping strip arranged on the corresponding edges of the beater arms of each row, the spacing elements, being of slightly greater thickness than the beating elements, the beater elements of one roll being arranged opposite the spacing elements of the other roll with the beating arm of the respective rolls intermeshmg.

BERTRAND S. SUMMERS.

Witnesses:

D. U. BANTS, D. D. BROWN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

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