US1089261A - Device for the production of fibers from plants. - Google Patents

Description

G. M. 1-1. POS.

DEVICE FOR THE PRODUCTION or FIBERS FROM PLANTS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 5, 1912. 1,089,261 Patented Mar. 3, 1914.

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G. M. E. E'OS. DEVICE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF FIBERS FROM PLANTS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 6, 1912. 1,089,261 Patented Mar. 3, 1914.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Wmwm Ehwml'o z G. M. E. Pos.

DEVICE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF FIBERS FROM PLANTS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 5, 1912.

Patented Mar. 3, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

spinning, from fresh stalks supplying green removal of peel. Itis, however, advisable to GERRITMARIE ELIZE P08, OF

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS.

. DEVICE FOR THE'PB ODTJ'CTION 0F FIBERS FROM PLANTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 3, 1914.

. Application filcd.-Aug'ust 5, 1912.- Serial No. 713,451.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GERRIT MARIE ELIZE Pos, a subject of the Queen of the N etherlands, residing at Amsterdam, Netherlands, have invented certain new and useful. Improvements in Devices for the Production of Fibers from Plants, of which the following is a specification. I

p The present invention relates to apparatus for obtaining fibers directly suitable for fibers, such as ramie,-jute hemp and the like, as well as from leaves.

Generally speaking, the fresh green stalks to be treated according to this invention are first deprived of their peel. The sap or juice. is then expressedfrom the latter, which is at the same time washed, for the purpose of removing vegetable gum, resinous ingredients, etc. After, the drying, which can be effected for instance by meansof hot air or the like, the fibers are deprived mechanically, in a special manner, in the final operation, from further impurities'such as dust, v reedy portions, etc.

If the-fibrous-material is to be obtained from leaves. and similar parts of plants, the latter, of course, do not require any revious first cut them into narrow strips in the direction of the fibers. For the rest, the various stages of treatment can be suitably modified according to the nature of; the material to be treated. An embodiment of theinvention. is'illus g trated in the. accompanying: drawings in which V r Figure 1 is alongitudinal seetionthroug' the machine; Fig. 2 is, on the left ha'nd-half,-- a section on the line I'II, and on the right hand half, a section on the line III-IV of Fig. 1'; Fig. 3 is a section through the essenthe stalks are consecutivelyktreated; Fig.

.core, compressed and washed, is deprived of tial part of Fig; I on a larger scalejFig 4: is a plan of a stalk as it is-being gradually split; Figs; 5, Qand 7' are-sections through and TX' X, respectively, Fig. 4;"Fig; 8 is a diagrammatic view of thedevices'in which 9 is av cross-section through that part ofthe device in which the bark,=removed fromthe further impurities '-'a'nd Fig. 10 is a longi tudinal section on ithe line -=-X][-Xl[I of Fi 1.

The first treatment to which the fresh r ranged above this table. end of the table 21 are placed two rollers 23 green stalks are submitted consists in the peel being stripped off from the core, which.

is effected by means of the apparatus shown 1n Flgs. 1 to 3. The shaft 1 is carried by a frame 2, and may be driven in any suitable manner, for instance by the belt 3, the drum 5 being driven from said shaft by means of a chain and sprocket connection 4. A belt 6 of the full breadth of the drum 5 and placed in an inclined direction drives the drum 7,

so that the belt forms a conveyer or feeder. Two rubber rollers 8 and 9 are arranged in such a manner in the frame 2 that while the rollers are arranged one above the other, the upper roller 8 can be pressed upon the roller 9 by means of hand screws 10 which are connected to each other by chain gearing, and which act upon a spring 11 in the known way. The shafts of these rollers arepreferably provided on both sides with gears 12 The shaft and 13 meshing with eachother. of the roller 9 is'preferably provided on each, side with-two sprockets 14 connected to the shaft 1- by means of a chain, so as to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrows in Figs. 1- and 3. The roller 9 may, however,

e driven in any other suitable manner. A knife blade 15 is connected to sliding blocks 16 mounted in guides 17 in the frame, the

blade being disposed either perpendicularly or in a slanting'direction.

v The screws 18 threaded into the sliding blocks 16 protrude through openings in the frame and carry 5 --nuts 19-011 their uppen ends, springsv 20 being-arranged around said screws and resting on-the sliding block 16, so as to tend to keep .-the knifeinthe 'lowestposition the nuts 19 allow. The knife is resilient, and its lowest position can be determined by means of the screws-l8 and nfits19. At the opposite side of themollers 8 and 9, a table 21 is rigidly connected-to the frame and a-cover 22 is ar- Beneath the outer and 24, which correspond in length with the the stalk on the lines VVI, VIIVIII .Wvidth of the frame, a curved plate 25 being'arranged above the roller 24 :andflush 30 are laid upongthe inclinedbelt 6, their tops being directed toward the roller 9, so

that they would, therefore, proceed a if "they were entirely stiff and the roller 9 The said tops, however,- are flexible andfor this reason they bend slightl downward with the belt 6 on the drum 7 ut as soon as they touch the roller 9 they are conveyed upward again-and are brought between the rollers 8 and 9 where they are completely flattened, as the core and other parts, except the bark, are weak and juicy at the top of the stalks. Now the rollers 8 and 9 are rotated at such a speed that the stalk is drawn along at a greater speed than the belt 6, so that the flexible top of'the stalk which had bent downward on reaching the drum 7 is raised as soon as it contacts with roller 9 and pulled forward between the said rollers 9 and 8. This pulling forward of the stalk has the effect oflifting it a slight distance above the end of the belt until it touches the edge of the spring-pressed blade 15 which causes it to form a slight angle. The skin on the convex side of the stalk; angle is thereby stretched, but .slackenson the concave side. On advancing, the slackened part of the skin is drawn across the knife blade and is thereby scraped or wounded, so that the tension of the peel at the other side of the stalk straight line from the belt 6 to .causes it to burst open along the scraped 9 causes of a flat ribbon a The resilient knife 15 is passed the rollers.

while the pressure of the rollers 8 and the weak core to burst open along the same line as theskin. In this manner,

the top ofthe stalkis laid entirely open. the stalks proceed through the rollers 8 and 9, the cores become gradually harder and stiffer so that they line from the belt 6 tothe rollers 8 and 9. now adjusted to little downward. The then be suflicient line,

bend the stalks just a tension of the stalks to'cause the knife to scrape and wound the ermost side as they prostalks on their up 'fe. As the wounded ceed under this stalks, which'grow thicker towardthe end, 45

proceed between the rollers 8 and 9,*the peel .31'will Burst open along the wounded line '(Fig. 4) and will be laid open in the form 32 which is neither split nor torn.- (Figs..4 and 7 The core 33 will also split open over the same line, as shown in section in Fig. 6, and will be gradually laid. open also, as shown in Fi 4 and 7. vThe two core halves will be crus ed between the rollers 8 and 9 and the stalk will show the section illustrated in Fig. 7 ,rafter having From the rollers 8 and 9, the stalks flattened inthe described manner, procee over the table 21. The flexible tops of the flattened stalks are thereby pushed along, fall downward over the edge 34.01? the table 21, and are grasped. between the rollers 23 and 24, which rollers draw them down and bring them between the belt 29 andthe drum 26.

The crushed weak core of the top end of the As rolls 36 and 37, and

37 and 38 and 38 and 39. These rolls, whichare preferably made of copper, squeeze out tend to form a straight the fibers,

like,

stalk will also bend core grows harder and stiffer and is loosened from the bark by the pressure of the rollers, itwill no longer bend downward but will break off and roceed over the curved plate 125,'thus-eft'ect1ng the stripping of the bark I from the cores.

The bark is clenched between the belt 29 and the drum 26, and is transported by said belt to the roller- 27 and out of the machine,

while the cores proceed over the curved plate 25 and fall directly out of the machine, the cover 22 preventing the ends of the cores from being lifted when they pass beyond the rollers 8 and 9. By that process; peel is obtained in the shape of undamaged which, however, still contain sap, etc. For the purpose of removing these ingredients from the bands, the latter are pressed so that all the sap is forced out of them, this being done by means of rolls in the following manner: The green bark is passed between two metal rolls or rollers 35, 36, (Fig. 8),

downward, butias the forcibly pressed against each other, the roll v 36 being'driven by means of 37 which is firmly pressed against it,said roll 37 also contacting with'and driving the rolls 38 and 39. In order that all the rolls a third roll should rotate in the direction indicated by the arrows, itis necessary to drive only the roll 37.- The bark is then pressed out first between'the rolls 35 and 36, then between the finally between the rolls all the cells of the peel in a thorough manner,.-and the jets of water 40, 41 and '42 directed between and. against the rolls, wash away all the sap expressed, together with the resinous portions of the same. The immediate removal of these resinous portions is indispensable as if they are given timeto harden or to thicken in the air, their removal becomes difiicult. Any hard-portions of the core which still adhere to the peel and removed by the said rolls. peel has been thus passed between the rolls, whichare then practically dry, are first completely dried by hot air or the and then submitted to a further treatment consisting in the removal of the dust and scale still contained in them. This final are split treatment is effected by brushing the fibers hereinafter described.

by means of the device Ina frame 43 is arranged a drum 44 secured to a shaft45, the cylindrical casing -of which (1131111118 constituted by a large After thenumber of parallel slats 46 arranged long1- tudinally and spaced a slight distance apart fromp each other. Around this drum are mounted in the said frame 43 a number of cylindrical brushes 47 all of which rotate in" the direction indicated by the arrows, Fig. 9, and there are also mounted in the frame two rubber rolls 48 and 49 which press against each other with moderate force. The shaft of the roll 49 is preferably driven by a peripheral flange 50 on the drum 44, either directly or through the agency of a suitable gear, and as the said flange 50 is broken at twopoints 51 and 52, the rolls 48 and 49 are stopped during given periodsof time. Overthe drum 44 and the sprockets 53, 54, 55, 56 and 57 are led two chains 58 between which are mounted bars 59 arranged at distances apart equal to'half the circumference of the drum, these bars being of circular cross-section and being adapted to periodically engage with the corresponding grooves 60 in the drumsurface. The said bars are firmly pressed against that portion of the drum circumference over which the chains pass, owing to the provision of rolls 61 on the bars which engage with the inner edges of the rings 62 secured to the frame concentrically with the drum. Over the rolls 63 and 64 secured to the shafts of the sprockets'55' and 56, passes an endless slatted. belt 65, and between this belt and the drum is arranged a circular brush 66 which is adapted to brush the fibers on the belt. Adjacent the rolls 48 and 49 is arranged a small flap 67, for a purpose hereinafter described, while finally the feed belt 68 supplies the fibers to be treated. The working of this part of the machine is as follows: The fibers coming from the rolls 38 and 39, Fig. 8, and still containing broken and split portions of the core, etc., are delivered in a dry state by the belt 68, with their points directed forward. They are seized by the rubber rolls 48 and 49, drawn therebetween, and fed over the flap 67 to the slatted belt 65. The points or ends of the fibers are brushed completely clean on the same belt by the brush 66, which latter rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow, as the brush not only attacks the surface of the fibers, but also passes partly through the fibers at the spaces between the .slats. The dust and the like will, therefore, be brushed out of the fibers between the slats, and will then fall down to the bottom of the machine. When a certain portion of the fiber points is stretched out on the slatted belt, the gap '51 in ,the vertical flange 50 of the drum comes opposite the shaft of the roll 49, so that the latter will be no longer driven. The bar 59 then passes between the rolls 48 and 49 and the brush 66, raises the flap 67 and pulls back the fibers from under the brush 66, the rolls 48 and 49 holding the fibers. The flap 67 then returns to 1ts original position vhile the bar 59 lifts the fiber points completely brushed by the brush 66, and forces them into the cylinder casmg, as the rolls 61 of the bars 59 engage with the rings 62. The fibers are then carried around with the drum, and therefore pass from the feed belt 68 around the roll 49, and are then deposited on the drum slats where they are brushed by the brushes 47, in the same way as on the belt 65. The dust, woody portions, etc., are again driven in between the slats of the drum, as the brushes again penetrate between the fibers and therefore clean them completely. Purified fibers directly suitable for spinning can therefore be removed on the left hand side of Fig. 8 from the machine. The next layer of fibers supplied, is treated in exactly the same manner. Instead of using a slatted drum, a drum with a corrugated surface might be used, in which case the action would remain approximately the same.

The number of brushes can be modified if required, and one or more leather brushes may be arranged on the circumference of the drum for treating the fibers. These leather brushes are made of a number of leather plates secured to a shaft rotating at a fairly high speed and beating the fibers clean.

hat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a machine for the production of fibers from plants, thecombination of a downwardly-inclined convever for feeding the stalk of the plant, flexible end first; a pair of superposed co-acting flattening rollers located adjacent the delivery end of said conveyer; and a spring-pressed knife located between said rollers and said conveyer end, said rollers having a greater surface speed thansaid conveyer for raising the stalk above the latter, as it leaves the same, into contact with the edge of said knife, whereby the under surface of the stalk is stretched and the upper surface thereof scored longitudinally and the peel and core are caused to split along the line of scoring by the tension of the sald stretched surface,

the split peel and core being flattened during their passage between said rollers.

2. In a machine for the production of fibers from plants, the combination of a downwardly-inclined conveyer for feeding thestalk of the plant, flexible end first; a pair of superposed co-acting flattening rollers located adjacent the delivery end of said conveyer, a spring-pressed knife located between said rollers and said conveyer end, said rollers having a greater surface speed than said conveyer for raising the stalk above the latter, as it leaves the same, into contact with the edge of said knife, whereby the under surface of the stalk is stretched and the upper surface thereof scored longitudinally and the peel and core are caused to split along the line of scoring by the tension of the said stretched surface, the split peel and core being flattened during their passage between said rollers; a table for receiving the flattened peel and core from said rollers; and a pair of coacting rollers below the end of said table for seizing and pulling downward the front end of the peel when said end drops over the table end to separate the peel from the stiffer core.

3.- In a machine for the product-ion 0f fibers from plants, the combination of a downwardly-inclined conveyer for feeding the stalk of the plant, flexible end first; a pair of superposed co-acting flattening rollers located adjacent the delivery end of said conveyer, a spring-pressed knife located between said rollers and said conveyer end, said rollers havinga greater surface speed than said conveyer for raising the stalk above the latter, as it leaves the same, into contact with the edge of'said knife, whereby the under surface of the stalk is stretched and theupper surface thereof scored longitudinally and the peel and core are caused to split along the line of scoring by the tension of the said stretched surface, the split peel and core being flattened .during their passage between said rollers; a table for receiving the flattened peel and core from said r rollers; a pair of coacting rollers below the end of said table for seizing and pulling downward the front end of'the peel when said end drops over the table end to separate the peel from the stiffer core; a series of rollers for seizing the separated peel and expressing the saptherefrom; and means for washing said peel with a sap-dissolving liqv uid during the expressing operation.

4. A device for cleaning vegetable fibers comprising in combination a pair of rubber rolls in contact adapted to feed the fibers, an endless belt composed of slats arranged in spaced parallel relation adapted to re ceive the fibers, a small pivoted flap between said rolls and said belt, a rotating brush situated above the belt and adapted to brush and clean-the ends of the fibers, a drum con-' sisting of spaced parallel strips to which the cleaned ends of the fibers are secured, and rotating brushes around S5116. drum adapted to clean the fibers throughout their length. V 1

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribingwitnesses.

GERBITYV MARIE ELIZE ros.

Witnesses:

THOMAS H. VERHAUE, W. DE HAON.

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