GB951796A - Method and equipment for separating hops from foreign material - Google Patents

Abstract

951,796. Screening apparatus. F. F. DAUENHAUER. Dec. 19, 1960, No.43592/60. Heading B2H. A mixture of hops and dirt is caused to move down an inclined multi-slotted surface while being acted on by mechanical elements which protrude through and move in the slots, so that the dirt drops through the slots. An inclined frame comprises spaced rods 14 forming parallel slots 16 in a surface 13. The ends of the rods pass through cross members 17 and are held by cotter pins. Endless chains 21, 22 run along each side of the frame, driven in unison by sprockets on shafts 23, 33 which are so mounted that the upper runs of the chains are just beneath the inclined slotted surface 13, chain skids 43, 44 being fitted to prevent sagging. Combs 46 span the space between the chains, their teeth passing between the rods 14. The hops, with the dirt remaining from a previous separating stage, are fed by a conveyer 56 across a plate 57 and drop on the surface 13, on which they are confined by sloping side shields. At the discharge point the hops fall on a take-off conveyer 61, guided by a canvas drag strip 64. The dirt drops on a take-off conveyer 62, the separation being maintained by a divided strip 63. One arrangement, Fig. 7, uses a known separator in the form of a trommel 66 from which the hops and remaining dirt fall on two inclined, upwardly-moving screen conveyers 71, 76 and thence to a separator with a surface 13 according to the invention. The dirt which is conveyed round the tops of the screens 71, 76 falls on a barrier screen 73 which directs it to a take-off conveyer 74. Air is blown through the moving screens 71, 76 by a fan 77, part being diverted upwards by a deflector 79 towards the conveyer 71 to blow dirt over the top.