GB190312621A - A New or Improved Combined Machine for Nibbing, Grading, and Winnowing Cocoa Beans and the like. - Google Patents

Abstract

12,621. Barron, J., and Green, S. K. June 4. Sifting and separating cocoa.-Cocoa beans are treated in a combined nibbing, grading, and winnowing machine. The beans are fed to the nibbing rollers through a hopper 3 containing a feed-roller, and the cracked beans are delivered to a vibrating sieve 8. The sifted material is conveyed by the bucket elevator 11 to an inclined cylindrical grader 14, in which the cracked beans are divided into two grades, which pass to separate sieves provided with collecting-gutters, discharge shoots 22, and exhaust fans 23. The tailings from the sieve 18 of the winnower 15 for the coarser particles are broken up by auxiliary rollers 30 placed end to end with the nibbing-rollers, and similarly provided with a sieve 31, which is of such a mesh that the nibs and small shells pass to the sieve and back to the elevator 11, while the large shells are conducted away by the spout 32. The tailings from the sieve of the fine winnower are conveyed by a worm 35 and auxiliary elevator 37 to the sieve 18, where they are again treated. The manner of actuating the various parts from the main shaft 39 is shown by the light and dotted lines. The clean nibs passing through the sieves are delivered at the base of the machine by the shoot 22, while the light particles of the shells are drawn off by the fans 23, the heavy particles in the sieve gutters passing to the trough 25 and outlets 26. The winnowing- arrangements are preferably of the type described in Specification No. 11,158, A.D. 1892. The sieves are cleaned by travelling brushes, as shown.