US1223077A - Decorticating, carding, and combing machine. - Google Patents

Description

J. F. LAFONT.

DECORTICATING, CARDING, AND COMBING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 14. 19M.

1,223,077. Patented Apr. 17, 1917.

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JEAN- F. LAFONT, on N W ORLEANS LO ISIANA.

DECOR'IICATING, CARDING, AND"GO1V.[BING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. PatentedApr. 17, 1917.

Application filed January 14, 1914. Serial No. 312,043;

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AN F. LAFONT, a citizen of France, and aresident of New. Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana,fUnited States of America, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Decorticating, Carding, and Combing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in machines for decorticating, carding and.

combing fibrous plants, and it consists in the comb nations, COIlStIllCtlOIlS, and arrangements hereln describedandclaimed.

An object of my invention is to providea combined decorticating, combing, and

carding device in one machine, thus doing awaywith the necessity of additional apparatus. A further object of my invention is to provide a device having opposed rows of teeth adapted to be moved simultaneously toward or away from each other, said teeth being mounted soas to also have a simultaneous bodily movement. 7 I .i

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, andthe novel features of the device will be particularly pointed out inthe appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming part. ofthis application in which Figure 1 is a sectional view of the'device along the line 11 of Fig.- 2, Fig. 2 is a face view of the device with the combs and the operating mechanism comb members and-the means for attachin the latter to the carrying plate, I

Fig. '8 is a shown in Fig. 7,

Fig. 9is a central sectional view through a portion. of the comb. operating mecha nism, I

Fig. 10 is a perspective. view of'one of'the.

' comb members.

plan view of the mechanism In carrying out my invention: I provide .a series of vertically extending plates such as those shown at 1*, 1", 1 and 1 in Fig. 1. These plates are arranged in opposed pairs. Thus theplates l? and 1 areopposed to each other and the plates 19 and 1 are opposed. In order to arrange the device so that it will be of the highest efliciency I may have twoor more plates in vertical alinement. In Fig, 2 I have shown the plate 1? as being in alinement with a plate 1?. These two plates. 1*" and 1 are designed to be opposed by plates 1? and 1 It is. thus apparent that Imay have a bat,- teryof opposed plates, this battery consisting of; as many individual plates as occasion demands] The plates are mounted to slide vertically on guides2, the latter being mounted on baserblocks 3 carried by the floor or foundation 4 andconstituting-supporting posts; for beamssuch as that shown at 5.

Disposed in suitable bearings 6 are crank shafts 7 upon which are mounted gears 8,

these gearsintermeshing as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, so as to cause the crank shafts of any particular battery to revolvein opposite directions and at the same rate of speed. Each of the crank shafts 7 is provided withcranks 9 having connecting rods 10 connected to a lug or bracket 11 attached to the lower end by one of the vertically reciprocating plates. Each of, the crank shafts 7 is provided with a beveled gear 12 arranged to mesh with a similar gear 13 on a drive shaft 14.

The cranks 9 and the connecting rods 10 of the opposed plates are of the same dimensions, and consequently it will be seen that as the shafts 7 revolve the opposedplates will be given a simultaneous reciprocatory movement in a vertical direction.

Each of the plates is provided with a series ofrectangular openings 15, these openings being preferably arranged in horizontal and vertical rows, as clearly shown in 1 Fig. 2. Arranged to project through each rectangular opening is the squared portion 16 of a comb member 16 having a series of teeth 16 like thoseshown in Fig. 10. A rod or spindle 1 6 is secured to the portion l6 -and is provided with a cross pin 16?.

InFigs. 7 to 9 I have shown themeans for mounting the comb members This comprises a U-shaped bracket 17 which is secured tothe plate, suchasshown at 1", 1', 1,

etc., by means of bolts 18 or any other suitable fasteningmembers. This bracket has an opening 17 through which a bar 19 is arranged to slide. The latter bears at one end a roller or wheel 20 and is provided at the opposite end with a cylindrical bore 21 arranged to receive the spindle 16 of the comb member 16. The pin 16 is arranged to play in a slot 22 which extends through the bar 19 from side to side, as

clearly shown in Figs. 7 and 9.

Referring again to Fig. 9 it will be seen that the spindle 16 has a threaded portion 16 upon which are disposed lock nuts 23. These look nuts hold a rubber bushing 24 washers 25 being provided at the ends of the bushing. A cross pin 26 is carried by the bar 19 and is disposed inside of the U- shaped frame 17, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. A spiral spring 27 surrounds that portion of the bar 19 within the bracket 17 and bears at one end against the pin 26 and at the other end upon the plate 1*. It will be observed that whenever pressure comes on the roller 20 tending to force it toward the plate 1 there will be a bodily movement of the bar 19 which will tend to thrust the comb 16 forward against the tension of the spring 27. If the end of the comb should meet with resistance opposing this movement the rubber cushion will tend to be compressed, the pin 16 sliding rearwardly in the slot 22 during this compression, but returning to its normal position at one end of the slot when the compressing force on the rubber cushion has been removed. Disposed immediately above the comb member 16 is a shield 28 which is inclined downwardly, as shown in Fig. 7. This shield extends not only over one comb member 16, but over all of the comb members which are in the same horizontal row, and is held in place by means of bolts 18, as shown in Fig. 7.

Referring now to Fig. 1 I have shown a support 29 at the top of which is mounted a stub shaft 30 bearing on each end a cam wheel 31. A description of one of these cam wheels will suffice since they are all alike. Each wheel consists of a substantially fiat plate having a central opening 32 arranged to receive the shaft (see Fig. 4) and bearing an annular cam surface 33 on one face of the wheel. The quadrant be tween the points 00 and y is flat, as will be seen from Fig. 6, while the quadrant between the points y and z is gradually inclined outwardly away from the body portion of the wheel. From 2 around to w the cam surface consists of a series of alternately raised and depressed portions.

Arranged to cooperate with the cam wheels 31 are the grids 34 which are mounted to slide on rods 35. These grids are provided with converging arms 36 which bear at their point of convergence a roller 37 arranged to be engaged by the cam wheel 31. Springs 38 are provided between the grids 34 and guides 39 at the upper and lower ends of the vertically movable plates l and 1 etc., as clearly shown in Fig. 1. As will be seen from Fig. 3 the bars of the grids are in alinement with the vertical rows of holes 15 so that when the combs are in position these bars will engage the rollers 20 as shown in Fig. 1.

The means for suspending the plants and moving them laterally between the opposed combs, forms no part of the present invention. Any suitable means may be used. In order, however, that the operation of the combing devices may be better understood, I have indicated briefly and shown diagrammatically means by which the plants may be held and conveyed between the combs.

Carried by the stub shaft 30 is a sprocket wheel 40 over which a sprocket chain 41 is designed to move. The latter passes over a sprocket wheel-42 on ashaft 43 which bears mutilated or intermittent gears 44 (see Fig. 1) arranged to engage teeth 45 on pulleys 46. The sprockets 46 are disposed opposite similar sprockets 47. Endless flexible members 48 which may be belts are carried upon the sprockets 46 and 47. As will be seen from Fig. 2 thesprockets 46 are at the opposite ends of the battery. The belt on the sprockets 46 is in. contact with the belt on the sprockets 47 from the feed end to the discharge end.

It will be understood that as many batteries of opposed rows of combs may be used as necessary. To this end mechanism similar to that shown in Fig. l in which cam wheels are provided for operating the grids should be provided between adjacent batteries. Thus the converging arms 36 which are secured to the grids 34 that operate the teeth projecting through the plates 1 at the left of Fig. 1 and 1 at the right of Fig. 1 are designed to be operated by cam wheels 31 (not shown) but which are precisely similar to those which are shown in Fig. 1.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device the operation thereof may be readily understood.

Power may be applied to the shaft 14 and motion transmitted therefrom to the shaft 43 in any suitable manner as for instance by means of a sprocket chain .50 which runs over a sprocket 51 on the shaft 14 and a sprocket 52 on the shaft 43. The sprockets 51 and 52 are designed to be of equal size therefore causing equal revolutions of the shafts 14 and 43. As has already been pointed out the revolution of the shaft 14 causes the turning of the shafts 7 through the medium of the gears 12 and 13, see Fig. 2. The plates 1, 1 1, 1 and the like will therefore be reciprocated by the rotation of the arms 9, through the medium of the connecting rods 10. All of the plates will move upwardly at the same time and downwardly at thesame time. In other words, there will be a simultaneous reciprocation of the plates. Consider Fig. 1, the rollers 37 are at the point Y of the cam wheel shown in Fig. I and the cam wheel is revolving. The plates 1,-1 etc., are moving upwardly at the last quarter of their stroke. During this last quarter the grids 34: will be forced inwardly owing to the inclination of the cam between the points Y and Z. WVhen the cam wheel has turned to bring the point Z against the rollers 37 the combs in opposed plates will be alternately forced toward and away from each other owing to the fluted surface of the cam wheel between the points Z and X. This action will occur during the entire downward movement of the plates. When the cam wheel reaches the point X there is a sudden drop and the springs 38 push the grids away from the plates thereby withdrawing the teeth.

The plants are fed in laterally between the portions of the conveyer belts. In order to make use of the greater portion of the plant they are inverted and the thicker part of the stem is inserted between the conveyers where they are gripped tightly and pass laterally through a battery of opposedplates. The lateral movement is effected'by means of the gears 44. These may be timed so as to provide for the proper movement of the plants and are preferably mutilated gears so arranged that the conveyer belts may be moved fast or slow as occasion demands. WVhen the plants have passed the battery they are checked by the conveyer.

As has been stated in the upward movement of the plates l 1", etc.., the teeth in opposed plates begin to approach each other so that when the plates reach their highest point the combs are as far in the plants as they can go. The pulpy part of the plant is smashed between the jaws formed by the opposed combs. At the downward motion of the plates the teeth are pulled through the plant for a certain distance and then are retracted. This occurs over and over again during the downward movement of the plates. The action of the combs is therefore a two-fold one, that is to say, a smashing or crushing action, and a raking or combing action. Each time that the combs are retracted certain parts of the decorticated matter is freed and tends to fall downwardly 'be tween the plates. This action is facilitated by means of the shield plates 28, which are disposed above each row of combs or teeth.

In practice it is desirable to give a large number of short strokes upon the fibrous plants as they first enter the device and to gradually increase the stroke as they progress through the battery. This is accomfacilitate the removal of the pulp, pipes are carried between the cross members 5. These pipes are perforated on their lower parts so as to discharge a stream of water on the plants as the latter are being conveyed through the batteries. The water assists in washing the pulp away and in keeping the combs clean.

As the plants are fed along the fiber becomes more and more clean, so that when the plants are finally discharged from the conveyer the only part of the plant which has not been decorticated are the butts which are gripped by the conveyer mechanism. The plants may be dried after which the butts may be cut off in any convenient manner.

The device. described herein is effectivefor handling any of the non-lignous fibrous plants possessing at its root a more or less hard and bulky bulb, rhizom, or large peduncle; even strips of long fibrous leaves, such as those of the numerous species of the agave plant or of musa trunks could be effectively handled by tying a knot at the upper end of the strips, thus preventing any possibility of their sliding through the serrations of the belts 48.

I claim:

1. In a decorticating device, a'pair of opposed plates, means for reciprocating said opposed plates synchronously, slidable combs carried by each of said plates, the combs of one plate being opposed to the combs on the other plate, and means for causing the simultaneous approach and recession of said opposed combs with respect to one another during the reciprocation of the plates. 2. In a decorticating device, a pair of opposed plates provided with a series of horizontal rows of openings, a series of combs, each of said combs having a shank arranged to enter one of the openings in said plates, means for reciprocating the opposed plates simultaneously, and means engaging the shanks of the combs simultaneously for forcing the combs toward one another during the reciprocation of the plates.

3. In a decorticating device, a vertically disposed slidable plate, said plate being provided with a series of openings, means for reciprocating the plate, a series of combs, each of said combs having a shank arranged to enter one of said openings, a slidable member arranged to simultaneously engage the shanks of the combs for moving them with respect to the plate, and means for moving said slidable member toward and away from the shanks of the combs.

4. In a decorticating device, a vertically disposed slidable plate, said plate being provided with a series of openings, means for reciprocating the plate, a series of combs, each of said combs having a shank arranged to enter one of said openings, a slidable member arranged to simultaneously engage the shanks of the combs for moving them with respect to the plate, means for moving said slidable member toward and away from the shanks of the combs, said last named means comprising arms carried by said slidable member on one side thereof, a. cam roller carried by said arms, a cam wheel in engagement with said cam roller, means for operating said cam wheel, and springs disposed between said slidable member and said plate.

5. In a decorticating device, a vertically slidable plate provided with a plurality of openings, a plurality of combs each having a shank arranged to enter one of the open ings in said plate, a roller carried by each of said shanks, an individual spring ar ranged to engage each shank for normally holding its comb near the plate, a slidable grid disposed parallel with said plate, guide members for said grid, the bars of sad grid being arranged to register with the rollers on the shanks of the comb, a cam wheel,

5 means for operating the latter, connections between said cam wheel and said grid for bringing the grid into engagement with the rollers on the shanks, thereby forcing the :ombs away from the plates, and spring means disposed on the opposite side of the grid from the cam and adapted to force the grid toward the cam, thereby retracting the combs.

6. in a decorticating device, a vertically slidable plate provided with a plurality of openings, a plurality of combs each ha a shank arranged to enter one of the openings in said plate, a roller carried each of said shanks, an individual spring arranged to engage each shank for normal r holding its comb near the plate, a slid-a; a grid disposed parallel with-said plate, gin members for said grid, the bars of said id being arranged to register with the rollers on the shanks of the comb, a cam wheel, means for operating the latter, connections between said cam wheel and said grid for bringing the grid into engagement with the rollers on the shanks, thereby forcing the combs away from the plates, spring means disposed on the opposite side of the grid from the cam and adapted to force the grid toward the cam, thereby retracting the combs, and a plurality of angularly inclined shields carried by said plate, each of said rows being disposed above and adjacent to a row of combs.

JEAN l3. LAFONT.

l/Vitnesses V EDWARD J. THILBORGER, Louis HENRY BURNS.

Copies of this patent may he obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

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