GB1203284A - Improvements in or relating to hulling machines - Google Patents

Abstract

1,203,284. Hulling machines. WILLIAM McKINNON & CO. Ltd. 26 Aug., 1968 [28 June, 1967], No. 29810/67. Heading A2Q. [Also in Division B2] A hulling machine, particularly for coffee cherries, comprises a series of circumferentially spaced hulling bars 11 forming a cylindrical cage, a rotating paddle arrangement 30 mounted on a shaft 26 within and coaxial with the cage to agitate the coffee cherries for removal of their husks whereby the hulled cherries and husks are enabled to pass through the spaces between the bars 11, and a feed conveyer to feed coffee cherries to be hulled from a hopper 25 into the chamber. The conveyer is preferably a screw 31 mounted on the shaft 26. The paddle arrangement preferably consists of four paddles 32 which are secured to spiders 33 for radial adjustment. Means for simultaneously radially adjusting all the bars 11 is also provided. As shown in Fig. 1 this comprises replaceable bearing rings (19) each having a bearing flange 20A of a selected radius and which co-operates with a ring 16 having radial slots 17 to receive the ends of the bars 11. Worm drive clips (not shown) encircling the bars at each end of the cage hold the bars at the selected radius. Replacement of the rings 19 to adjust this radius is effected by removing cover plates 23, 24 from apertures in the side frame members 12 after unscrewing the bolts shown, the rings 19 being pushfitted on bosses integral with these cover plates. In a modification (Fig. 3, not shown), adjustment of the radius of the bars (11) is effected by providing conical bearing surfaces on rotatable sleeves (43) which are threadedly engaged with threaded fixed sleeves (41) secured to modified cover plates (23<SP>1</SP>, 24<SP>1</SP>). In both embodiments a larger space is left between two of the bars 11 at the bottom of the cage which space is filled by a removable plate 22 to allow blockages to be cleared. A receiving surface 21, inclined to form a shoot, passes the cherries and husks to a pneumatic separator 50, Fig. 4 (see Division B2).