US2384691A - Automatic sheep pelt scrubbing or - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 11, 1945. R. A. NOTT ETAL 2,384,691

AUTOMATIC SHEEP PELT SCRUBBING 0R CLEANING MACHINE Filed Sept. 2, 1942 Ray/il/Vozt and Lewis 61.521215 INVENTOR A rrssr I BY JV. C. 4pm ATTORNEY a substantially horizontal plane.

Patented Sept. 11, 1945 i OFFICE.

AUTOMATIC SHEEP PELT SCRUBBING OR CLEANING MACHINE Ray A. Nott and Lewis S. Ellis, St. Joseph, Mo., assignors to Industrial Patents Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Application September 2, 1942, Serial No. 456,984

3 Claims. (Cl. 69-28) This invention relates to a washing machine and more particularly to a machine for washing and scrubbing a peltlike material. a

It is an object of this invention to provide a machine for automatically washing and drying a peltlike article.

It is another object of this invention to provide a machine for more thoroughly washing and scrubbing a peltlike article.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved wringer means for drying the article.

The machine herein disclosed will be particu larly described in connection with the cleaning of an animal pelt, but it will become evident as the description proceeds that it might well be adapted to a use with other materials of similar structure.

In the past, to effect a cleaning of the pelt of an animal after removing it from the carcass, it has been the practice to subject thepelt to a manual heating process or to hold it under a heating mechanism to loosen the dirt and remove burrs and other particles which may have become entangled in the hair. Water is usually supplied during such beating operation to aid in the removal of dirt after which, the pelt may be placed in any Well known type of dryer to remove the water.

To accomplish the desired result the present machine provides a conveyor means to receive the pelt and the conveyor carries the article to be Washed through suitable spray and beating means such that the dirt is loosened and flushed from the hair whereupon the pelt is thoroughly cleaned. After subjecting the pelt to a plurality of such washing, beating, and flushing operations, the pelt is made to pass through suitable wringer rolls to remove substantially all of the water so that the pelt issues from the machine in a substantially dry, clean state.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view partly broken away and showing a side elevation of the machine together with a schematic representation of the drive system.

Figure 2 is a plan View of the machine shown in Figure 1.

As shown in the drawing an endless conveyor I is suitably supported to pass over rollers i l and I2 so that its upper surface is maintained in Referring to Figure 1 and at the left hand end, it is seen that a level space is provided before the cooperating pair of rollers I3 and I4 so that an operator may stand at the forward end of the machine to lay the pelts on the conveyor 10 with the hairy side facing up.

The conveyor l0 moves in the direction of the arrow and it will carry the pelt disposed on its upper surface into the roller 13, the under surface of which is moving in the same direction as the conveyor, and as the pelt passes under the roller a plurality of hold-down belts I 5 which pass around the roller will engage the upper surface of the pelt. The hold-down belts 15 may take the form of endless sprocket chains or other relatively stiff belting material of any nature such as a V belt and the purpose of these belts is to engage each of the pelts as they pass through the machine to holdthem flat against the conveyor means as the pelts are carried under the'spray and beating means which remove the foreign matter from the hair. The endless belts'l5 are carried around rollers 13, I6 and I7, the latter being driven from any suitable means to move thebelt at the same linear speed as the conveyor.

The belts I 5 have a relatively small width as compared to that of the endless conveyor belt ii! (see Figure 2) in order not to cover up too much of the surface of the pelt.

Continuing in a forward direction through the machine, the pelt is carried along by the conveyor belt ID to pass under the nozzles I8 disposed longitudinally along the path of movement of the conveyor belt. A washing fluid is delivered through the nozzle l8 under considerable pressure and in practice, a pressure as high as pounds per square inch has been found most desirable. The pressure should be sufliciently high that the fluid will strike against the hair on the pelt to thoroughly agitate it and wash the adhering dirt particles from the hair.

As the pelt passes from under each of the nozzles l8, it is immediately engaged by a beater i9 which provides additional agitation between the washing fluid and the hair on the pelt. The beaters I9 may be formed by attaching a plurality of flaps of heavy duck or canvas to a rotating axle driven from any suitable source and they are all driven to rotate at a rather rapid rate.

A plurality of the spray and beater assemblies may be associated together and after the pelt has become flooded with the washing liquid issuing from. the nozzles, the pelt is carried 'under a wringer means :to strip substantiallyall of the flood of water from the pelt before it is passed under any of the further nozzles and beating means. Such a wringer means is formed by the roller 20 which is positioned below the conveyor belt to cooperate with the roller IE to squeeze out substantially all of the washing fluid in the pelt. The rollers I6 and 20 of course extend across the width of the conveyor, and roller 20 may be resiliently urged into engagement with roller I6.

The hold-down belts I5 leave the pelt as they pass upwardly from roller I6, but another set of hold-down belts takes up a position over the pelt to hold it on the conveyor. The roller I6 also serves as a forward support for another set of endless hold-down belts 23; This set of holddown belts 23 cooperates with the conveyor and they are carried at the outlet end of the Washer by roller 26 and driving roller 2'I. As conveyor I moves forwardly, the hold down belt 23 take up the engagement of the pelts as soon as belts I are removed, and belts 23 carry them under the additional sets of sprays 24 and heaters 25. The sprays 24 shower a washing fluid under pressure down on the pelt and the beaters 25 cooperate with the sprays 24 to provide additional agitation for Working the dirt and larger particles out of the hair. As the pelts pass under roller 26, a roller 29 resilently urged to engage under the conveyor, cooperates with roller 26 to form a wringer device to squeeze out a portion of the water on the pelt.

The conveyor belt may be driven by any suitable means to carry the pelt through the plurality of washing, beating and wringing stages. In practice, it is preferred that at least four such spraying, beating and wringing steps be per formed to thoroughly cleanse a sheep pelt. It will be noted that the pelt is stripped of its washing fluid as soon as it becomes flooded in order that as the pelt passes to the next washing stage, the water being impigned, under pressure, upon the surface of the pelt may effectively agitate the hair to aid in driving out the foreign particles. If the water were sprayed against a pelt which was thoroughly flooded, the energy of the' spray would be dissipated in the fluid and would not be utilized to best advantage in knocking out the dirt and other particles present.

After the pelt has been treated at the washing and beating stages, it is stripped from the holddown belts 23 by the rotating flail 30, the stripped pelt passing beneath Wringerroll 40 which cooperates with the roller I2 supporting the conveyor to squeeze out most of the water and-then the pelt flows over roller I2 to drop onto another conveyor 4| as shown by the arrows in Figure 1. To aid in removing the pelt from the roller I2, another flail 3I engages the surface of the roller I2 at its lower side.

The conveyor M is mounted on therollers 42 and 43 and is driven though pairs of cooperating wringer rolls 44 and 45, 46 and 41, and 48 and 43. As the conveyor passes from one of these pairs of wringer rolls to another, the conveyor belt 4| is depressed by the driven rol1ers'49 and 50 as is best seen in Figure 1. V

In order to dispose the belt M in convenient position to receive the pelt from the washer, the roller 42 is disposed below the roller I2 which supports the end of conveyor I0 and it will be seen that the pelt is carried uphill into the, first pair of wringer rolls 44 and 45.. As the peltpasses into the bight of these rollers, the washing fluid carried in the hair is squeezed out and rolls downhill so that it' is more efficientlyremoved. The

conveyor M then carries the pelt onwardly through the wringer device and the rollers 49 and 50 depress the belt 4| and the skin disposed thereon before they pass into each of the pairs of cooperating wringer rolls 46 and 41, and 48 and 43, respectively, so that at each successive wringing operation the fluid will be most effectively stripped from the pelt. When this, type of wringer means is rovided a sheep pelt, for example, will pass out of the machine in a substantially dry state. The cooperating pairs of wringer rolls may be driven in any convenient manner.

The operation of the machine will be fully understood from the description given above but briefly, when pelts are placed on the conveyor belt l0 they are carried forwardly under the shower pipes I8 and 24 and beaters I9 and 25. While the flushing and beating action is taking place, the pelts are firmly engaged on the conveyor belt II] by the hold-down belts I5 and 23 which travel forwardly with the conveyor at the same rate of speed. The different sets of belts I5 and 23 are offset with respect to each other so that at no time will the two sets of belts cover up the same area. A this scrubbing and beating process is repeated several times, it'is seen that the pelts will be washed effectively throughout its entire surface.

The pelt progresses through the machine and it then passes between the wringer rolls 40 and I2 to fall on conveyor M. The pelt i carried by this conveyor to pass between the pairs of wringer rolls and it flows toward each of the wringers in an upwardly direction.

The pelt is then discharged from the machine I in a substantially dry and clean condition.

While the operation of the machine has been described above in connection with an animal pelt, it is obvious that the machine might be used with any peltlike article as for instance a pile fabric and/or the like. Any material that may be cleaned by the combined action of a pressure nozzle for squirting a washing fluid onto the material and a beating means engaging its surface, can be advantageously cleansed in the machine herein disclosed. It is contemplated that the term peltlike as used in the claims shall include all such articles or materials.

The above described machine embodies one manner of performing the invention herein described. Modifications will undoubtedly occur to those skilled in the art, all of which are contemplated to be within the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. A machine for washing and scrubbing a peltlike article comprising a substantially horizontally disposed wide conveyor means for supporting and carrying the article, a plurality of sets of relatively narrow endless belts cooperating with said conveyor to hold the article on the conveyor, said sets of belts being offset with respect to each other, means to direct a Washing fluid against the hair surface being washed, beating means to strike the hair surface only to agitate the fluid against the peltlike article, said sets of belts being positioned above said conveyor to have a portion of each set in longitudinally overlapping relation with respect to another set.

2. A machine for washing and wringing a peltlike article comprising a substantially horizontally disposed conveyor means for supporting and carrying the article, means for holding the article on the conveyor, means to direct a washing fluid under pressure against the hair surface. being 'ing washed to effect an agitation thereof, beatwashed to eflect an agitation thereof, beating means to strike the hair surface only to further agitate the fluid against the peltlike article, and a plurality of fluid removing means positioned at spaced points along the length of said conveyor, said removing means serving to strip a substantial portion of the water directed onto said article from it at each of said points.

3. A machine for washing and wringing a peltlike article comprising a substantially horizontally disposed conveyor means for supporting and carrying the article, means to direct a washing fluid under pressure against the hair surface being means to strike the hair surface only to further agitate the fluid against the peltlike article, a plurality of fluid removing means positioned at spaced points along the length of said conveyor, said removing means serving to strip a substantial portion of the water directed onto said article from it at each of said points, and additional means disposed adjacent the outlet end of said conveyor for receiving the peltlike article to effect the further removal of water therefrom.

RAY A. NOTT.

LEWIS S. ELLIS.

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