US2233753A - Scutching machine - Google Patents

Description

March 4, 1941. A; F. BURKARDT scu'rcama' MAQHINE' FiledAAug'. l0, 1938 3 SheetS--Sheetr 2 INVENTOR ANTON FI BURKARDT N \N lmml Q BY HIS ATTORNEYS March 4', 1941.

A. F. BURKARDT scUTcHING MACHINE 3 Smets-sheets Filed Aug. 1o, 1958 .T o Y MM R OKR ,TRO NUT. EBM -v `..N.. .S M Fm NY OB .V A. mw. m

v FLC Patented Mal-.4, 1941 UNITED STATES scu'rcmNG MACHINE Anton F. urkardt, New York, N. Y.

y Application August 1o', 1938, ser-n1 No. 224,164

s claims. (ci. rea-33) proved machine for treating stems or stalks ofy .fibrous plant materials for the purpose of 4separating out the fibres and cleaning them of shives,

' 1.5. which machine will produce cleaner fibres and less tow than prior machines.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved form of scutching rotor for use in the above type of machine and to provide an improved cooperation between the scutching rotor and the breaker bar and between adjacent scutching rotors.

Other objects and advantages .of Amy invention will become apparent asv it is described in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a schematicview showing tudinal vertical section the feed rolls,` breaker bar and scutching rotors of my invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation view of the first set of scutching rotors;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation view of the invention;

Figs. 4 and 5 are diagrammatic end elevation views of the scutching rotors in diiferentrelative positions;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation view of the invention showing the side opposite to Fig. 3; and

Fig. '7 is a detail view of another form of breaker bar.

10 Referring to the drawings, the scutching machine may be mounted upon any suitable framework I0. For the purpose of illustration I have shown the framework as including parallel side plates I2 and I4 which support the moving parts of the machine. Since any suitable supporting frame may be employed detailed description thereof need not be given. v

Considering the machine generally it will be noted that atl one end there is provideda delivery platform Il which is supported upon the framework of Athe machine and over which the fibrous stalks or materials are fed to steel food rolls Il and 20. These rolls are for the purpose of insuring the delivery of a single layer' of stalks.

which layershall be of substantially even thickness throughout. The rolls may be adjusted to crush such stalks as may be necessary to insure such even thickness. The rolls I8 4and 20 deliver the stalks to a second pair of feed rollers 22 and 24, of which roller 22 may be rubber cov- 5 ered to more firmly grip the stalks. From the feed rollers 22 and 24 the stalks are fed over a breaker bar 26 and beneath a small feed and holding roller 28 to a pair of scutching rotors 40 and 50. After partial cleaningv by these scutching 10 rotors the fibrous material is delivered between a' second set offscutching rotors and 10. 'I'he treatment by rotors 60 and 10 completes the action on `the bres and they may be removed from the machine vby hand or by .any suitable mechanical device.

Referring more particularly to the constructional and functional details, the mounting of the feed rollers I8, 20, 22 "and 24 may be accom- 2o plished by providing in the side plates I2 and I4, or their equivalent, vertical slots I3, I5, I1 and I9, in whichvare received similar bearing blocks 2I for the ends of the shafts 23 and 25 and 21 and 29 upon which the feed roll-S18, 20,22 and 24 are 25 mounted, respectively. In order to vadjust the position of the upper rolls I8 and 22 with relation to the lower rolls 20 and 24, there may be provided adjustment bolts 30 which are'screwthreaded through a plate or member on the ma- 30 chine frame and extending across the ends of the slots I3, I5, Il and I9. The lower endsof the bolts are attached to the bearing blocks of the 'upper rollers by a loose rotatable connection sothat upon rotation of the adjustment bolts lll 35 the upperfbearing blocks 2| will be raised or lowered and therefore the position-.of the upper rolls with relation to the lower rolls may be varied.

For driving the feed rollers a power shaft 24 may be journaled in the support I0 of the ma- 40 chine and receive power from any suitable source. Fixed upon one end of and rotating with the power shaft 34 is a small sprocketwheel 36 (Fig. 3). Fixed upon an end of the shaft 25 of roller 20 is a large sprocket wheel 38. Connecting the 45 sprocket wheels 36 and 38 is a chain 29 by which Ithe power of the power shaft is delivered to the feed roller 2li at reduced speed.

On the opposite ends of the' shafts 23 and 25j from the chain and sprocket wheels there are 50 provided similar intermshing spur gears ll and 33, (see Fig. 6). AThese gears are keyed to the shafts 23` and 25 so as' to rotate therewith and with the rollers I8 and 2l. In this manner the rollers I8 and 2l are driven at the same speed Il in opposite directions so as to feed the fibrous material between them.

' As may be seen in Figs. 6 and 3, the second. pair oi feed rollers 22 and 24 aredriven by sprocket and chain mechanism and by spur gears like those just describedfor driving the ilrst pair 'offeedroilslland2l. In order to hold the stalks rmly as close as possible to the edge ofthe breaker bar 28 as they are fed thereover, a small diameter rollerv 28 mounted on shaft 35 is provided between the edge of the breaker bar and the feed roll 22. 'I'his small roll may have its shaft journaled in the side plates I2 and I4, or equivalent, 'of the frame. If desiredvthe periphery of the roll 28 may'be scored or iuted.. As .may be seen by reference to Fig. 6 the shaft 35 carrying the roll 2t, may be driven from the shaft 21 of the feed roll 22 by means of a sprocket and chain mecha; nism consisting of a large. sprocket wheel 31 xedly mounted upon and rotating with the shaft 21, a small sprocket wheel 39 is xed upon the shaft and rotating therewith, and a chain 3@ passing around the two sprocket wheels. In this manner the small feed roll 28 is driven at the same peripheral speed and in the same direction as the upper feed rolls I8 and 22.

As may be seen by reference` to Fig. 1 the first pair of scutching rotors 40 and |50 are situated one above the other preferably in vertical alignnient, while the second pair, 60 and 1li, are

situated one above the other but`with the axis of the lower rotor l@ slightly in advance of the axis of the upper rotor 66. )Each lof the scutching rotors is supported from the side plates i2 and id, or equivalent. For this purpose bearing plates, such for example as i2, may be bolted to the side plates'by bolts i2h and the plates lila may be provided with bearings I2 in which the rotate.

shafts upon which the rotors are mounted may For driving the irst pair of rotors d@ and 50 a large sprocket Wheel l2 (see Fig. 3)'is mounted upon the powershaft 3E and is connected by a chain d3 with a small sprocket wheel 44 mounted upon the shaft 5i of the lower rotor 50. Also mounted upon the shaft il, but between the sprocket wheel 44 and the side plates I4, is a. spur gear 66 'which meshes with a similar spur gear @t which is mounted upon and turns with the shaft 4| of the upper rotor 40. Mounted upon the end of shaftv 4I is a sprocket wheel 45 which is connected by s. chain 41 with another larger sprocket wheel 48 which is mounted on andturns with the shaft 6i of the upper rotor t@ of the second set of rotors. In order that both rotors ofthe second set shall be driven at the same speed, similar intermeshing spur gears I 62 and 63 are-mounted upon the shafts 6| and 1i of the rotors 00 and 10. 'Thus it may be seen that the sprocket and chain drive 42, 42,- 44, to-

gether with the spur gears 4B and 48, causes the rotation of the first set of scutching rotors40 and 50, and by their rotation. and through the sprocket and chain drive 4i, 41, 49 and spur gears 82 and 6l, the second set of scutching rotors il) and 10 is rotated.

Referring now to the details of the scutching rotors it willbe noted that each is provided with four blades, such as 4i, 4B-2, 40-3 and. 40-4.' Qn any given roller these scutching blades are identical. It should be understood, however, that` the invention'is not hunted to rotors having only four blades.

A greater or llesser number of blades may be employed. I have found, however, that arotor with four blades will produce very satisfactory results and that fibres subjected to the operation and treatment portions of the stalks being removed, without producing an appreciable amount of tow.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, it will be noted that each of the blades ofthe rotor has'a substantially plane face lying in` a substantially 10 radial plane, on the advance or forward side of the scutching edge. The following or back sides or faces of the blades are convexly curved and meet the advance faces in a plane substantially tangential to the cylinder` of revolutionof the l5 scutching edges of the blades. The portions of the rotor between the adjacentblades, such as dii- 4, 40-8, is hollowed out in order to 'provide room for movement of the blades of the adjacent roller 50. For example, the blade bi1-I will move .20 into the space between the blades v4Ii--3 and dild as the rotors d0. and t rotate. Thus the rotors intermesh but the blades are so formed and proportioned, and the spaces between them are so formed and proportioned, and the rotors 25 are so positioned that the blades of one rotor never touch the adjacent cooperating rotor. Preferably the rotors and their blades will be so proportioned that during the movement of the blade of one rotor into the space between the 30 blades of an adjacent rotor, the clearance at the closest approach of the blade to the lsurface of the adjacent roller, will be slightly greater than the thickness of the brous material being processed so that the action of the cooperating rotors 35 and scrapes and beats the fibre to remove the shives. By observing the different relative positions of the blades of the two sets of rotors in 40 Fig. 1 and of the set of rotors in the detail views of Figures 4 and 5 the action of the cooperation of the rotors may be understood. I

The cooperative action between the scutching rotors of both the. first and second sets is sub- 45 stantially the same, but as may be seen in Fig. 1 the yupper rotor do of the rst set performs an additional function in that its blades cooperate with the breaker bar 26 as the brous material is fed over the edge -of this bar. Thus the 50 fibrous material, or stalks, are struck and bent so as to break up the woody center portion of the stalks. y f

Referring to Fig. 1 it will be noted that there .is shown a breaker bar having a plurality of hori- 55 zontai ribs which are spaced about the arc of a circle slightly larger than the circle of rotation of the scutching rotors. However,-I have found equally satisfactory the type of breaker bar shown in Fig. 'I in which the face is arcuate and'- 60 the centerof the arc is the center or axis of rotation of the scutching rotor 40. Preferably the breaker bar 26 and also the breaker bar 20* oi' Fig. 'I will be adjustable with relation to the axis of rotation of the 'scutching rotor 40. vThus 65 screws 26h may be provided to secure the breaker bar in its different positions of adjustment. These screws may pass through slots 28` in the side plates 28'l xed to the frame of the machine in any suitable manner and may take into screwed- 70 threaded bores in the sides of the breaker bar.

In order to overcome a tendency of the fibres to follow and wind around the rotor 40 in its rapid rotation, I have .found the axis oi rotation of this rotor should be substantially equal 1h15 v height, orhigher than the horizontal plane in which the upper edge of the breaker bar lies.

, Tendency of the fibres 'to follow' or wrap around the rotor 50 may be overcome by placing the rotor as close as possible to the rotor 50 without interfering with the rotation of either. Since their rotations are not synchronized vnor do their blades cooperate the least distance between centers of these rotors 50 and'il) will be the sum of the radii of the two rotors.

I prefer to rotate this first set of scutching rotors 40 and 50 very rapidly. The exact speed of rotation will, of course, be determined bythe diameter of the rotors and the linear rate of feed of the stalks by the feed rollers. Since the character of the material treated varies according to age, size and condition, it is Vnot possible to state any denite limits of speed of rotation or'rate of feed. These factors must be deter` mined with consideration for the raw material to be treated. It is desirable, however, to so regulate the speed of the rotors and the rate of feed of the bres to the rotors so that the shives will be inthe neighborhood of Vath of an inch but larger or smaller shives maybe produced ei'- fectively in some cases. The fibrous materials may be satisfactorily cleaned for some purposes when such larger, or smaller size shives result vfrom the treatment. The size of the shives, however, is not the determining factor of the inven- -tion but 'rather the degree of cleaning shall de-y eral speed considerably higher than the linearv rate of feed of the fibrous material, so that there lwill be no tendency for the fibres to bunch up between the two sets of rotors. Since a large portion of the shives are removed by the first set of scutching rotors, the fibre is relatively clean by the time that.it reaches the second set of scutching rotors and this second set complets the scutching or cleaning of the fibre by breaki ing out and removing the remainder of the woody portion of the fibre or shives so that when the fibre is delivered by the second set of' the scutchk ing rotors it is clean.

In order to produce a lateral rubbing oi' the fibres, it is desirable to give the blades of the scutching rotors a spiral twist (see Fiss. 2, 4 and 5). lIfhis twist may be in the neighborhood voi! %ths of an inch for each 2 feet of length of the rotor. Although this amount of twist has been found particularly satisfactory it is obvious that the amount or twist may be varied to suit the particular requirements of any type ofviibrous material which it may be desired to treat. n

The spiral twist of' the blades would normally tend to push the fibres over toward one side of the machine. In order to avoid this, the spiral twist of the rotor 40 vmaybe in the opposite `direction from the spiral twist of the rotor Il. Likewise in the second set the rotor ll willhave its blades spirally twisted in the opposite direction as the rotor blades of vthe rotor 1I, but the blades of the roton 80 may be in the same direction to those of the rotor Iii-of the nrst set. In addition to avoiding the tendency to move the fibres continuously to the side. the reversing ofthe-direction of the spiral twistof the blades yby the blades .of the scutching rotors.

accomplishes another desirable result in that it produces a shaking action of the fibre to and fro lengthwise of the rotor.y This shaking action is very valuable in shaking out the loose shives from after the shives have been broken away from the fibres but yet cling thereto.

Operation As the fibres are fed between the feed rollers I8 and 20 the stems are spread out so that only a 'single layer of stems will be fed to the scutching rotors, and if the rollers are' adjusted and suilcient pressure is exerted the stalks may be crushed and split in a longitudinal direction. Then in passing to the rolls 22 and 24 and 28.the feed roller 22 firmly grips the stalks and the smallroll 28 holds the stalks close to the breaking edge as they are fed over the breaker bar 2B. Thereupon the blades of the rapidly rotating scutching rotor 40 strike the stalks with great rapidity and the woody portion is broken up into small parts. This action ls assistedby the cooperative action of the blades of the scutching rotor 40 and the apron of the breaker bar 26. The face of the apron of the breaker bar 26 backs up the stalks and prevents them from moving too far. out of the sphere of action of the blades of the scutching rotor.

shives and woody portion from the fibers. As the feed of the fibre continues the stalks are subjected to the cooperative beating and scutching action of the first set of two scutching rotors 40 and 50, being treated on-top and bottom thereby.

As the peripheral speed of the scutching rotors I0 and 50' is greater than the rate of feed of the fibers, there will be a pulling action on the fibers The The scutching Ablades of the scutching rotor scrape `oil the scutching rotors are of small diameter and the It will be noted that the portion of the fibers just referred to is being engaged by the cooperating blade 40--3 of the rotor l0,- wlth the result that a pronounced scutching and combing action on the taut fibers is produced. Because of the relatively small diameter of the scutching rotors I0 and 50, the'various blades of one rotor extend deeply into the space between the adjacent blades on the other rotor. Also, the path of movement of the blades, as the blade 0 3, of the rotor l0 with respect to the shape of the rotor 50 between the blades over which the fibers are being held taut, results in producing a physical condition analogous to that produced between the blades breaker bar 2B. The blades'of the rotors, as the blade 40--3 of the rotor 40, enter deeply into the space between adjacent blades of the'rotor l0 and with considerable speed. I

ing and combing action by the cooperating blade lli-I of the rotor l0. The greater part ofthe woody portion and shives are cleaned out ofthe fibrous material by the scutching rotors ,40 and Il. The now relatively clean nbers as they move from between the scutching rotors `Il and lll are passed between a second pairof scutching rotors 80 and 1li which, as'above described, rotate at a 5 peripheral speed greater than the'speed oi travel l5 high peripheral speed of the rotors 40. and 6l, the

vdecorticated or partially decortic'ated'nber will wind upon the rotors Il and/or l0, and neces-- sitate a frequent shutting down o! the machine to clean the rotors. The presence of the second pair V2|)l -of rotors yIt 4and III obviates this'objection as the Ailbers are fed therethrough and thus. nnd an -outlet which prevents the same from winding up onthe rotors 40 andlll. Rotating at a less pe ripheral speed than the rotors lll and ",and

'2s tiiisspeed of rotation beine relatively low, there is less tendency forv the decorticated nbers to wind up on the rotors il and 1l.

The action of the scutching rotors. and

is similar to thescutchingaction of the. rotors lll ..30 and Il, so that as the nbrous material issues from between the scutching rotors 00 and 'Ill it is' practically completely decorticated.

Much of the woody portion and shives are cleaned out of the nbrous material bythe scutching rotors 4l and 'Se and asthe nbre continues 'on-in between the more slowlyrevolving rotors` 80 and 10, they act upon vthe nbre in the same manner as the rotors 4l and Il did and com- Y pletethe cleaning. For some uses "the nbre is- 40 suing from the machine needs no iurtherprocbut for others, such as i'or use in cloth, it may be necessary to subject the nbre to asubsequent combing action orto a chemical action, or to both; which subsequent actions form; no parte!` this invention.V4

Many modications within the scope of my invention will occur `to those skilled inthe art. Therefore I do not limit the invention to the size, form vand shape of materials, or other delit) tails o! the specinc embodiment described.

lclaim: f 1. Ina scutching machine, means to feedgstalks of nbre bearing plants lengthwise into the machine, a plurality ot scutching rotors revolvingin pairs about spaced nxed axes, said rotors each having a plurality of blades and being recessed I' between'aiacent blades, means to` rotate the rotors oieach pair at the same angular speed andln such mannerthat' the blades of one rotor I will cooperate with the recessed portions oi the 6 other rotor of said pair during rotation to scutch 'nbrous material between -said rotors, the blades chine, a plurality of scutching rotors revolving-in: 15. y'pairs about. spaced fixed axes. said rotors` each v y having a plurality of blades and being recessed v between adjacent blades, means to.rotate. the rotors oiv eachpair at the sameangular speed and in such manner that the blades of one rotor 20 will cooperate with the recessed portions of the other rotor of said pair during rotation to scutch nbrous .material .between said rotors, the lblades of the rotors .of .one pair being twisted spirally with the twist of'the blades ci one rotor being 25 opposite to the twist of theblades o! the other rotor of that pair, the blades 'of a second pair being twisted spirsuy in opposite-directions with the spiral twist oi the blades -6i',the top rotor oi the second pair being in the,- same direction as 3 the twist of the bottomA rotqr of.' the nrst pair. whereby a shaking. of the nbres is accomplished.

3; In a scutching machine, i'neans'to feed stalks of nbre bearing-plants lengthwise intothe ma- .chine,a plurality oi scutching rotors revolving in pairsl about spaced nxed axes. said rotors each having a plurality oi blades and being recessed between adjacent blades, means tolrotate thel rotors of each pair atithe same angular speed-1 and in such manner that the blades of one .rotor 4o will cooperate with the! recessed portions of the other rotor of said pair during rotation to scutch.

rotors of each pair being twisted spirally, vwith the vtwist ofthe blades oi one rotor being in the 50 opposite direction lto the twist oiA the blades oi the' other rotor ofthe pair, whereby a1 shaking oi' the nbre is accomplished. Y

ANTON s'. ntmxaan'r; s s'

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