US1008426A - Wool-cleaning machine. - Google Patents

Description

J. R. MILSON. WOL'VULEANING MAUHIE.

APPLIUAT-ION FILED NOV. 8, 1909. Y 4

Patented N0v.14,1911.

3 SHEETB-SHEET 1V Y, Tranny vide a machine for rapidly ties,as ,on .the western ranches, 1t has be.- .-come a racticeby the owners of the differl by exposure to the elements and cannot be poxtlon to which the marking mixture has adhered, are separated from the rest of the wool into lots, known in the market as fies through my machine all of the forel l' rangement of driving gearsl ,sin

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'JOHN' R. MILSON, OF WATEBTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB, BY MESSE ASSIGN- MENTS, 0F ONE-HALF T0 ARNOLD LAWSON, OF WINCHESTEB, MASSACHUSETTS.

WOOL-CLEANING MACHINE.r

Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented Nov. 14, 1911.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, JoHN R. MILsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Watertown, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wool- Cleaning Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had there- .in to the accompanying drawing.

This invention has for its o ject to proand efectunlly cleaning or removing paint, tar, and other similar substances from wool clippings, and the like, without the aid of injurious dissolving chemicals or acids. Where sheepare raised in lar e quantient her s to Ina-rk or brand each sheep with paint, tar, asphaltum, or other suitable mixture that cannot be washed away or removed dissolved Vexcept by chemicals or acids of such strength or nature that they will also destroy the fiber of the wool. When the sheep 1s sheared these marked tufts, or that paint and tar clippings which, owing to the great diiliculty of cleaning the same, are of comparatively little value and are disposed of at a verylow price to be worked up into an inferiorclass of goods. By passingthese so called paint `and tar clippings matter is completely removed leaving t e wool entirely clean and restored to its original qualit and value.

Wit these and otherobects'in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described and particularly vpointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompan in 1 is a sectional si cleaning machine.

drawings: Figure e e evation of my wool Fig.- 2 is a plan view of the machine. Fig. 3* is an enlar d detail showin the construction of the rst set of 'rolls w ich operate upon the wool as it is carried therethrough by the apron of. wire netting. Fig. 4- 'illustratesL-the'ar- Vloyedfor eac 'set of rolls. Fi 5 is a etailV illusis a detail perspective view showing a portion of the contlnuous apron of wire netting. Fig. 7 is a detail of the liquid sprinkler p1 e. V, 4

eferring to the drawings, 1 designates a large elongatedl tank for retaining' water, or other cleansing liquids, the same to be constructed of any size or material. The tank shown may be divided by partitions 2 in to any desired number of' compartments, in the present instance 8 being used. Ilhis tank may 4"be supported from the floor by legs3,

or'other suitable means. A set oi* roll sup- 'portin frames 4 'are preferably formed Vindepen ent of the tank and bolted, or `otherwise secured to each of the tank partitions 2. In the first roll frame is mounted a lower roll 5 faced with rubber, or other suitable lexible or yieldable material. This roll is mounted in'suitable bearings in said frames and rotated through the shaft 6.

The upper roll 7 in this first frame is .mounted on shaft 8 and is preferably of brass and provided with a corrt gated or toothed en agin surface, see 3, for the purpose o brea 'ng up and separ ating the lumps or bunches of tar and paint so they may be more eife'ctivel acted upon by the succeedin 'set of rol This shaft 8 is mounted 1n suitable journals 9,'which are adapted to be ad'usted andpressed downward by a flexi le tension through the spring 10, screw 11 and hand'wheel 12.

Each pair of pressin rolls 13V and '14, mountedin' the other rames, may be like the first pair, with the exception that the upper brass roll ,13 instead of bein corrugated like roll 6 is preferably provied with, a smooth working surface.

apron of any desired form and constructed of porous, vascular, or other suitable material havin apertures or cells; of anyV form or nature mto which the paint and tar' .on the wool may be forced and ietained, may be employed, but for convenience I preferably use a continuous belt 15of wire netting having a mesh of suitable size for receivlng and conveying the wool. 'lhis belt is led over the driving` pnlleyl between, the first pair of pressing rolls 5 and El, thence 1,65 around a pulley 17 to lmmersethe `wool in (the first compartment, thence between` the` 'second pressing rolls into the liquid. in the' next compartment,` and so on between the trting the apron agitating roll.

different 4p rolls and @own nu ,the im'.

different tank compartments alternately throughout the length of the whole machine, after which it is led over the rear pulley 18 and back over the pulleys 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 and' 24 into the auxiliary or apron cleaning tanks 25 and 26 beneath the mam tank. This first tank 25 may contain powerful dissolving chemicalsfor softening and removing the paint and tar from the meshes of the apron, lwhile the second tank 26 may contain a neutraliaing acidl or other cleaning material from which the apron emerges over roll 27 as clean and fresh as when it started, thence continuing on around roll 28,V over the driving drum 16l and around again throu h the same cycle as before. In order to facllitate the cleanin of this apron while passing through the dierentcleansing solutions I have" provided a shaft 29, see Fig. 5, with outwardly extending arms 30 arranged to rotate in the auxiliary tanks 25 and 26 beneath the apron, to come in contact with the same intermittently whereby the apron is raised quickly and allowed to fall, causing the liquor to circulate rapidly back and forth through its meshes to assist in removing the paint andtar therefrom.

- Located 1n the rear of each set of pressing rolls is a draft, drawing or pulling roll or member 31 which ,is preferably constructed of a plurality of radial engaging arms 32 or outwardly extending vanes, the outer edges of which vanes are arranged to rotate in close proximit vto the oppositely moving adjacent face o the upper resser roll for the purpose of clearing or ireeing the same from any wool that may be carried over, while the lower edges of the draft roll just clear and move in the same direction with, but considerably faster than the adjacent face of the wirescreen. This draft roll is driven by any suitable mechanism, not shown herein at a somewhat higher speed than the apron whereby it is caused to enage. the wool and pull some of the tufts from the paint or tar which has been previously pressed into the meshes of the apronY bythe presser rolls, at the same time turnf ing over and sp out other pieces of wool so that upon .passing through the next set of presserrolls said tarred portions may be in a position to be pressed into the meshes of the apron to again be acted uponl by the nextsu draftrolls, andsbon, until all .of the wool has been drawn away or separated from the tar and deposited in a perfectly clean condition at the end of the machine, the majority of the tar and paint` being retained in the .meshes of the apron and. carried down into the tank where -it is removed before the apron is again called upon to perform the same operation.

In order to facilitate the separating or removal of the paint and tar from the wool vbetter prepare thesame to after 'each operation of the pressing and draft rolls upon the'same, it is carried down into the di erent compartments and immersed in a bath of soap suds, or other suitable solution, which may be either hot, warm, or cold, as desired, for the purpose of softening and loosening the paint and tar, allowing the same to be more readily pressed and retained in the meshes of the apron while being acted upon by the next succeeding set of rolls. A trough 33, open on its upper side, is located just outside of the first pair of rolls for receiving and conducting away any dirt or water which may be squeezed out of the wool in passing through said rolls, and an an lar screen 34 is located under each succeeding set of rolls for the purpose of receivin any dirt or foreign matter which may rop from the wool in passing through the rolls and prevent the same from being deposited in the tanks.

The two pressing rolls in each set are driven in tlme -wlth each other through ars 35 and 36 while the draft roll or memr is driven somewhat faster than these rolls through the gear 37 and intermediate gear 38. This latter gear is mounted on thear-m 39 which is slotted at 40 so that itmay be readily adjusted to engage gears of dilferent sizes on the draft roll so that the speed of the latter may be readily changed and regulated to suit different conditions under whlch the machine may be operated. In order that l each set of rolls shall run -in time with theothers they are connected and driven through sprocket chains 41 which lead from one set to the next throughout the length of the machine.A

Water may be admitted to the tank through the supply pipe 42 and it vvmay be pumped from thls last compartment to the first compartment b means of thepump 43 and pipes 44, saidY first compartment be- 'ing dralned through the outlet pipe 45, or any suitable or convenientmeans may be employed for supplying these different compartments with the required cleansing or softening solution, In order to further assist in softening or clea the aint or tar from the wool, and also in the apron, I haveprovided a perforated pipe 48, see Fig. 7 or other similar or suit-` able device, whereby a cleansing solutionmay be impelled by' meansof a pump 49 through the pipes 50 and forced through the apertures in this sprinkler pipe onto the wool while Vbeing conveyed b the apron to more eifeetively operated upon and cleaned by the separating devices, the liquid under pressure also serving the .paint and apron. These sprinkler pipes 48 may be located in front of each set of presser rolls,

om t e holes to remove, to some extent, tar from the holes in 'the if desired, as shown in Fig. 1, or'in anyother suitable osition.

The operation of my improved wool cleaning machine may be more fully described as follows: Theso-,called paint and tar clippings after being separated from the rest of the woolareplaced in the usual feeder 46, which feeds or deposits the same through the mouth portion 47 'onto thev traveling apron of wire netting 15, whereby the wool iscarried forward to be first acted upon by the roughened or irregular surface )f the corrugated roll 6, working against the lower roll 5, to break u and separate the lumps of tar and tufts'o wool, and to ress portions of the tar into the meshes othe wire netting.` Upon emerging fromv these rolls the draft roll or drawing member-31 engagesl and pulls the, tufts of wool from :he tarred portions which have been pressed into the meshes ofthe wire, also stirs up, ipreads and distributes the other tufts so zhat their tarred portions may come in con` fery soft and pliablewhile the upper roll s preferably smooth and hard and may be Ldjusted `by the hand wheel 12 to exert a' :trong yet yielding pressureV on the tufts f wool as they pass therethrough, whereby `he tar, paint or other sticky or pliable foreign matter, is forced down into the neshes of the wire and firmly retained herein. As the apron .passes along the [raft roll or member engages these tufts f wool and pulls and frees the same from he paint and tar now held fast in the neshes of the wire. apron and also again tirring up andl re-positioning other tufts f wool, after which said wool isagainimnei-sed in a suitable solution and the operaion of squeezing and pulling and freeing he wool from the foreign, matter is repeated ygain and again until this so treated wool s eventually deposited from 'the last rolls n a perfectly clean condition and restored o its original quality and value.

My inventionis not `restricted to the preise construction and arrangement of parts erein shown and described, as any device aving a wool receiving apron and means 1 said apron for receiving and retainin oreign matter contained in said wool an leans for pulling, freeing or separating the fool fromsaid foreign matter so retained, fill fall within the spirit and scope ofmy for receiving invention, 'one practicalembodiment of which has been herein illustrated anddescribed without attempting to show al1 of the various forms and modifications in which the invention mi ht be embodied.

Having thus describe my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by ters Patent, is:

v1. .A device of the character described comprising wool receiving means, adapted to return foreign 'matter attached to said wool,

ymeans for forcingsaid foreign matter into lsaid receiving means, andl means for pulling and freeingfthe matterso retained. Y v

2. lIna wool-cleani lmachine, a traveling `apron `for-receiving"andfcarrying the wool, adapted to receivegand retain foreign matter retainedin said wool, means for for:- ing said foreign matterinto saidapron, and

wool from said foreign means forpullingand freingthewool from said foreign matter-soxretained Y '3. In a wool cleaning machine, -a traveling apron of porous material'forreceiving the wool, means for forcing foreignn nattter contained lin saidwool into thep'ores of said material, and means` for'pulling and sepurating the wool from rsaid foreign matter 'retained in the pores of said material.

4. In a wool cleaning machine a wire netting forreceiving the wool, means for forcing foreign matter contained in said woolv into themeshes -of said netting, and means for pullingand'freeing the wool from said *foreign matter retained in the meshes of said nettin 5. In a woocleaning machine, a traveling apron of wirenetting orv receiving the wool,

means for forcing `foreign matter contained o p in said wool into the meshes of said netting, and means for pulling and Vfreeing the wool from the foreign matter retained in l the meshes of said netting. i

6. In a wool-'cleanin machine, a traveling apron of wire netting or receiving the wool, means for forcing foreign matter contained on said wool intothemeshes of said netting,

means for pulling and-freeingfthe wool from the forei 'matter retained" said netting, and mean'slgforcleaning said wire apronil* 7 In a wool cleaning machine, a continuous traveling belt or apron of wire nettingr the wool, pressing rolls for foreign matter contained in said ubsequently forcin wool into the meshes of said netting, and4 means for pulling and freeing the wool from the foreign matter retained in the meshes of said netting.

' 8. In a wool cleaning machine, a continu ous travelin receiving an carrying the wool, a pair of its layer of wool is designed-topass, said VVthe meshes. of

belt of porous material for.

.pressing rolls between which said belt and rolls being' adapted to force theforeign mat- 130 ter contained in said wool'into'the ores of,

said material, and means for pulling and lfreeing the wool from the foreign matterl retained in the pores. of said material.

9. In a wool cleaning machine, a continuo us traveling belt or apron of wire netting for receiving and carrying the wool,-'a pair of (pressing rolls between which said apron an its layer of wool is designed to pass said rolls being adaptedto force the foreign mat,- ter contalnedv in said* wool into the meshes of said netting, and means for pulling and freeing the wool from the foreign matter retained in the meshes of said netting. c

' 10. In a wool cleaning machine, a continuous traveling belt or apron of wire netting for receiving and carrying the wool,

`a palr of pressing rolls between which said forcing foreign matter contained in said wo'ol into the meshes of said netting, and a rotatable member adapted to engage, pull,

i and free the wool from the foreign matter retained in the meshes of said netting.

12. In a wool cleaning machine, a continuous traveling lbelt kor apron of wire netting for receiving the wool, pressin rolls for forcing foreign matter contained 1n said wool into the meshes of said netting, and a rotatable member adapted to engage, pull and free the wool from the foreign'matter retained in the meshes of'saidnetting.

13. In a wool cleaning machine, a continuous traveling belt or apron of wire netting yfor receiving the wool, pressing rolls for forcing foreign matter contained in' sald wool into'the meshes of said netting, a tatable member adapted to engage, pull Iand free the wool from the foreign matter retained in the meshes of said net-tin and means for subsequently cleaning the orelgnl matter from the meshes o f said wire apron.

14. In a wool cleaning machine, a continuous traveling belt or apron of wire netting on which the wool is deposited, a plurality of sets of pressing rolls for forcing the foreign matter contained in said wool into the meshes of said netting, and means adapted to operate after each set of rolls for pulling and freeing the wool from the for-` eign matter retained in the meshes of said netting, .said pulling and freeing means being also adapted to .agitateand re-position Y on the netting the remaining free portions 15. In a wool cleaning machine, a traveling apron of wire netting on which the wool and wool through a liquid bath in said tank,- between each set of pressing rolls to facilitate the effective action of the pressing rolls thereon, and means adapted to operate after each set of pressing rolls for pulling and freeing the wool from the foreign matter retained in the meshes of said netting.. 16. In awool' cleaning machine, a traveling apron of porous material on which the wool is'deposited, a plurality of 'sets of pressing rolls for forcing foreign matter contained inthe wool into the pores of said apron, a tank, a guide roll for conducting the apron and wool through a'liquid bath` in said tank between each set vof pressing rolls, means adapted to operate after eachv setof pressing rolls for separating-the wool from the foreign matter retained in the pores -of said material, and means for subsequently cleaning'the foreign matter from c said apron.

17. In 'a wool cleaning machine, a continuous traveling apron of porous material for receiving the wool, means'for forcing foreign matter contained in said wool into the pores of said apron, means for pulling' and separating the wool from saidforeignvv matter retained in the pores of said apron, v a cleansing lbath into which the apron is subsequently submerged, and means for vibrating said apron while in said bath.

18. In a wool cleaning machine, a continuous traveling belt of wire netting, a plurality'of sets of pressing rolls for forcing foreignV matter contained in the wool into the meshes of said netting, a liquid bath to vwhich the'wool is subjected, means adapted to operate after each set of rolls forl separating the wool from the' foreign matter retained'in the meshes of said netting, said 'separating means being also adapted to reposition the remaining free portions ofthe wool on said netting, a cleansing bath to whichthe 'apron is subsequently subjected for removing the' foreign matter from its meshes, and means for .vibratingsaid apron while in said b ath.

l In testimony whereof I aiix my signature Y lin presence of two witnesses. i

JOHN R. MILSON.

Correction in Letters Patent No.1,008,426.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,008,426, granted November 14, 1E 11,

upon the application of John R. Milson, of Watertown, Massachusetts, for an improvementin W oel-Cleaning Machines. an error appears in the printed specification requi ring correction as follows: Page 8, ljne 76, for the Word return read retain; and

that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the ease in the Patent Office.V

Signed and sealed this 12th day of December, A. 1911.

E. B. MOORE,

[SEAL]

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