US1234386A - Cotton-picker. - Google Patents

Description

w. c. PRICKETT.

COTTON PIGKER. APPLICATION FILED 1UNE25.19K5.

Patented July 24, 1911 3 SHiETS-SHEET 1.

W. C. PRICKETTL COTTON PICKER. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 25. 19:5.

Patented July 24,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- W. C. PRICKETT.

COTTON PICKER.

APPLICATlON FILED JUNE 25.1915.

Patented July 24, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Elmo/who e- WILL C. PRICKETT, OF BIRMING: w ALABA.

COTTON-PICKER.

Specification of Letters fatent.

Patented duly fhil't.

Application filed June 25, 1915. Serial No. 38,397.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM CJPmoxnrr, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Birmingham, in the county of Jefferson and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cotton-Pickers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements 1n a cotton picking apparatus which are more particularly designed for hand manipulation but which .in certain respects are broadly applicable to the general art of the mechanical picking of cotton.

My present inventionis more particularly intended as an improvement upon the manually operable cotton picklng apparatus forming the subject matter of my pending application Serial No. 842,496, in wh1ch 1s disclosed a tubular member comprising 1nternal stripping means which cooperate with a reciprocatory and preferably a rotary picking spindle adapted to be projected from and drawn into the mouth of the tubular member.

- tecting the bearing surface of the spindle within the tubular memberfrom contact with the cotton and to simplify the manner 7 of stripping the cotton therefrom. In my earlier application the oil guard for the spindle telescoped the outer end of the spindle bearing but did not inclose it throughout the operating positions of the spindle. As a result, in pickingdirty cotton'sand would work down between'the guard and the bearing and cause trouble. Also the spindle shaft with its screw feed was exposed when the handle was drawn out-or away from the picker, thus permitting trash and sand to work into the outer bearing for the spindle. In my present invention the oil guard extends from the picking spindle over the bearing and out through the tubular member to'the handle thus enveloping the bearing for the spindle and its screw feed members so as to protect them in all operating positions. This change involves themounting of the dividing saddle (designated by the numeral 12 in my prior application) upon the reciprocatory guard d of fastening it to the tubular member, and in practice I have found that this change gives etter results and causes less injury to the cotton in stripping it from the reci rocatory elements and'dischargingit into t e sack.

A further object of my invention is to improve the machine by shortening as far as possible the tubular memlber without requiring the neck of the sack, into which the picked cotton is discharged, to be moved so as to substantially interfere with the cotton stalks in the manipulation of the machine.

A further object of my invention is to simplify as far as possible'the mechanism within the tubular member for strippingthe cotton from the reciprocatory elements and delivering the cotton to the sack. To this end I have dispensed with the stripping fingers and pins between the outer end of the tubular member and a point in the tube which is reached by the teeth on the picking spindle when in its extreme inner position. This arrangement not only simplifies the machine but allows the load of cotton that has been wound on the rotatable spindle to loosen up and partly unwind as the spindle turns in its outward movement, thus allowing the machine to be operated with less efiort and enabling the cotton to be slipped practically intact from the rotating head onto the non-rotatable but reciprocatory portion of the spindle mechanism.

A further object of my invention is to design a novel type of picker head in which the cross section of the groove, and the disposition of the teeth therein, are especially designed to more readily take hold on the cotton in stripping it from the bur, and to more easily release the cotton as it is being stripped therefrom in the tubular member. This arrangement is also designed to reduce to a minimum the tendency of the picker teeth to hang on the bur. I I

My invention also comprises various other novel details of construction and arrangements of parts which are hereinafter more ing the parts in position with the spindle projected.

Fig. 5' is a similar view showing the spindle retracted.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4, with the oil guard and saddle members shown in section.

Fig. 7 is a rear end elevation of Fig. 4. Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are sectional views of Fig. 4 taken respectively on the lines 8-8,

99 and 1010.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged detail view of the picker head shown partly in section.

Fig. 12 is a cross section on the line 1212 of Fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is a section of the picker head taken on a helical plane on the line 1313 of Fig. 11.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

In the embodiment illustrating my invention, I show a short straight tubular'memher 1 connected at its rear end to a flaring discharge-spout 2 having hooks thereon for connecting with the mouth 4 of a sack 5. The rear end of the tube' 1 is slotted on its upper face to receive a vertical flange mem-- her 6 integral with an elongated bearing 7 for the spindle 8. This bearing is longitudinally bored to. receive the spindle with a snug sliding fit, and tapered guide pins or rear end of the spindle is shouldered at 11 andthe spiral spring 12 is mounted thereon to serve as a cushion buffer to arrest the inward travel of the spindle. handle 13 having suitable ball bearing connections with the outer end of the spindle which permit the latter to turn freely in the handle.

A stop collar 14 is' provided at the forward end of the spindle and a buffer spring 15 bears against said collar and is adapted to engage the forward end of the bearing 7 when the spindle is retracted. At its extreme outer end the spindle is provided with a screw shank 16 adapted to be screwed into the picker head 17. The bearing is connected to the tube by being bolted to a pair of saddle plates 18 (see Figs. 7 and 8), which I provide a plates are riveted on top of the rear end of the tube and which are formed integral with a frame 19 which extends down along and bears upon the rear end of the flaring chute. This frame serves as a rear end wall for the tube 1 and is provided with a vertical opening or door to receive the recipro catory oil guard 20. This oil guard is closed at its rear end by a wall 21 which is connected to the handle 13 and which is perforated, as seen in Fig. 6, for the passage therethrcugh of the spindle and spring 12. The oil guard throughout its main body portion is U-shaped in cross section, its bottom portion traveling under and in close proximity to the bearing 7 while its upper-edges are provided with inturned angled flanges 22 which slidingly engage the flange 6 and which travel in close proximity to the top of-the tube 1. Near its forwardend these flanges 22 terminate in a vertical wall 23 which forms the dividing saddle and which is rounded or made convex toward the outer end of the tube 1. From the base of this saddle the oil guard forms a reduced extension 24 which fits snugly about the spindle and continues to the outer end thereof, being there tapered and mountedupon a correspondingly tapering bearing 25 disposed between the stop collar 14 and the picker head 17 and resting on the spindle. This picker head carries an' inwardly flaring guard 26 which receives the tapering forward end of the oil guard 24 so that the latter parts form a running lap joint that effectively bridges the joint for the passage of cotton from the rotating spindle to the stationary guard. This portion 24 of the guard is made practically equal in length with the toothed portion of the picker head and with the length of the reciprocatory travel ofthe spindle. It is provided on op posite sides with a strip of rearwardly directed teeth 27 and a similar set of teeth 28 is disposed under the oil guard just in the rearof the saddle 23. Inside of the tube 1, and at the rear end thereof, I provide a plurality of rearwardly directed inclined teeth 29 disposed so that the moving teeth 27 and 28 will pass them freely. At the forward end of the tube and externally thereof I weld or solder a plurality of pins 30 which at their outer end support an annular guard 31 having bur engaging teeth 32 thereon. Between the guard 31 and the spindle I provide a plurality of strippers 33 formed by'plates pivoted on the pins 30 and pressed inwardly by springs 34 on the pins so that they approach the picker head closely and, by means of serrating their inner and inwardly inclined edges, serve to strip the cotton from the picker head as it moves outwardly past them while yielding freely to permit the cottonon the picker head to move inwardlyv past them as the nasaeee spindle is drawn into the tube on the picker head. The strippers have stops 33 which engage the tube 1 and limit the inward movement of the strippers. The arrangement of parts at the extreme forward end of the tube 1 is identical with the construction' shown in my pending application and will not therefore be claimed nor described more, in detail in this case.

The spindle proper, which is illustrated in Figs. 11 to 13 is formed of any suitable material having therein a plurality of helical grooves which are arranged to encircle the headat a pitch greater than that of the 5 pitch of the grooves. of the spindle. The

grooves are given a peculiar shape so that, as cut by a*transverse plane, see "Fig. 12, they will present'a wide curved bottom 35 starting from the base of an abrupt radially disposed wall 36 and merging gradually into the outer periphery of the picker head. As cut by a longitudinal axial plane, see Fig. 11, the grooves are V-shaped with a side wall 36 rising radially and a flat bottom 35 rising gradually to the periphery of the picker head. Along what may be termed the right angled 'junction between these walls 35 and 36, I mount a series of picker teeth 37 which are set at approximately an 'angle of 45 degrees to the wall 36 and which have their points inclined rearwardly and terminating just short ofwhere they would project beyond the periphery of the picker 1 head. I thus form a picker head having its peripheral surface interrupted by a plurahty of spaced helical grooves having helical rows of teeth inclined rearwardly and laterally in the direction of their incoming helical paths of travel and shrouded by the outer 4o edge of the periphery of the picker head.

The difl'erence in the pitch of the helical grooves of the picker head and the threads on the spindle, which cause it to rotate as it is reclprocated, is illustrated in Fig, 11

by the dotted line 13'13 which indicates the pitch of the spindle threads projected on the picker head. The result of this difference in pitch is thatthe picker head, as it rotates and moves axially past a stripper to in the picking tube, will present as it moves a grooved surface corresponding substantially to that illustrated in Fig. 13. This arrangement makes possible the very easy stripping of the picker head as it is reversed,

: the cotton riding oil the gradually rising wall 35 while, in its picking movement, the cotton will follow in along the wall 35 to the abrupt radial walls 36 which will effectually guard the points from contact with to the burs or bolls. 1

In operation, the apparatus is grasped as indicated in Fig. 1, the tube 1 being held in axially of the tube to cause the picker head spindle will be rotated in one direction as it moves out of and in the reverse direction as it moves into the tube. This will cause the cotton to be wound on the'pickerhead and as the head is drawn into the tube to' its extreme inner position (Fig. 5), .the twisted strands of cotton will be caught by the strippers 33 at the outer end of the head and eld as the head starts outwardly with a reverse rotation. This reverse rotation will cause the helical coils of cotton about the head to loosen up and unwind and will leave the cotton loose in the outer end of the tube 1. Continued reciprocation of the picker head will move the loose cotton into contact with the teeth 27. and 29 which by cooperative action, will advance the cotton rear- .wardly near to the discharge chute 2, whereupon the teeth 28 will take efiect to draw it and discharge it through the chute into the bag. It will be noted that the oil ards 22 and 24 completely house allco-acting bearthe tube 1, it acts to freely part the cotton 95 on either side of the guard 24 so that it will pass freely there about and into engagement with the teeth 29 from which teeth the cotton is stripped and fed to the chute by the teeth 27 and 28 on the oil guard.

For convenience in handling, I may, if desired, provide the tube 1 with a top grip or handle 38 (Fig. 6).

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is 2- 1. In a cotton picker, a tubular member containing internal stripping mechanism, a reciprocatory picker element movable axially through said tubular member, an intermediate bearing for said picker element which projects into said tubular member, and an oil guard movable with the pickerelement and adapted .to co-act with the tubular member to exclude the cotton from contact with in the bearing surfaces within said member, substantially as described.

2. In a cotton picker, a tubular member, a bearing therein with its bore disposed axially of said member, a picker element comprising a spindle mounted in said bearing and having a picker head at its for- I and which is movable with the spindle, and

means to strip the cotton from the picker head into said tubular member, substantially as described.

3. In a cotton picker, a tubular member having adischarge chute at its rear end and a stripper mechanism at its forward end, a spindle bearing disposed within the member and connected thereto, a spindle movable in said bearing and having an exposed handle portion at its rear end and a picker handle at its forward end, an oil guard extending from the picker head to the handle end of the spindle which guard is slotted to pass, as

it reciprocates, the spindle bearing, substantially as described.

4. In a cotton picker, a tubular member having stripping means and a cotton discharge opening, a spindle bearing mounted therein and connected by an overhead support to the tubular member, a spindle reciprocable in said bearing and having at its forward end a picker head, an oil guard ex: tending from the picker head through the rear end of said tubular member, and means to reciprocate said guard with the splndle, substantially as described. a

5. In a cotton picker, a tubular member having stripping means at its forward end and a discharge chute at its rear end, a spindle bearing having a supporting web connected to the top of said member and made shorter in length than the bearing, a spindle reciprocable in said bearing and having 1ts rear end projecting therefrom to form a handle, a picker head at its forward end, an oil. guard extending from the picker head to the rear end of said tubular member, said guard being slotted to pass the bearing web and having its slotted portion adapted to picker head, said guard surrounding the,

travel in close proximity to the top wall of the tubular member, substantially as described.

6. In a cotton picker, a tubular member having stripping means at its forward end and a discharge chute at its rear end, a spindle bearing mounted within the member, a spindle reciprocable in said bearmg a picker head on the forward end of the sp1ndle, a handle on the rear end of the spindle,

and a slotted oil guard extending from handle to picker head and having its slotted portion disposed to travel in close proximity to the inner wall of said member, substantially as described.

7. In a cotton picker, a reciprocatory picker mechanism comprising rotatable and non-rotatable sections, and a bearing for the rotatable section which is housed by the non- -rotatable section, substantially as described.

8. In a cotton picker, a picking spindle having a loose handle at one end and a picker head fast on the other end, an intermediate bearing for the spindle, co-acting means on the bearing and on the spindle to rotate the spindle as it is reciprocated in the bearing, and an oil guard connected to the handle and extending therefrom to the spindle and its bearing and having an overhead slot to receive and to permit 1t to rehead and position of the toothed ciprocate relatively to the bearing supports,

picked cotton along 'head at one end, a strippin plate and conveying tube surrounding t e forward end of said spindle, a non-rota able but reciprocable oil guard which surrounds the forward end extending t'othe conveying tube, and means in said tube to sti'i the cotton from said 011 guard to' either side of said saddle as the latter reciproca-tes, substantially as described.

10. In a cotton picker, the combination of a strlpping tube with a rotatable and reclprocable of the tube and comprising a toothed picker,

and a non-rotatable ,oil guard movable with the picker element, said stripping tube having stripping means only at its outer end and at a point beyond the extreme inner picker head, substantially as described. I

11. In a cotton picker, the combination of a stripping tube with arotatable and reciprocable picker element disposed centrally" of the tube and comprising a toothed picker, anon-rotatable oil .gu'ard movable with the picker element, said stripping tube having of the spindle back of the picker which carries a dividing saddle picker element disposed centrally.-

stripping means only at its outer end and at a point beyond the extreme inner position of the toothed picker head, and toothed means on the oil guard co-acting with said lnner stripping means to discharge the cotton from said tube.

12. In a cotton picker, a tube having stripping means at its forward end and rearwa'rdly inclined teeth near a discharge opening at its rear end, a reciprocable and rotatable picker spindle movable through said tube and having a toothed picker head on its forward end, the tube being shortened to bring the forward end of its discharge opening to a point adjacent to the picker head in its retracted position, substantially as and for the purposes described.

1? In a cotton picker, a tubular member having stripping means at its forward end and a spindle bearing connected by a vertical flange near its rear end, a spindle re ciprocable and rotatable in said bearing, a picker head on said spindle, a cylindricaloil guard surrounding the spindle and extending from the picker head to an intermediate point in said tubular member, from which point to the rear end thereof said oil guard has a vertical extension which moves close to the top Wall of said tubular memberv and is substantially U-shaped in cross section, the top edges of said U-shaped portion being inturned to slidingly engage the vertical 7 flange support for the bearing.

14. In a cotton picker, a stripping tube having a rear bottom discharge chute, an elongated spindle bearing mounted in said tube by means of a narrow vertical flange 5 extending part of the length of said bearmg, a U-shaped oil guard housing said bearing and having its open top ends inturned to slidingly engage said flange and to travel in close proximity to the top of the tube,

W said guard having at its forward end in the tube a cylindrical extension which envelops the forward end of the spindle, and a picker head on the spindle having a flanged rear end which overlaps said forward tubular at extension of the oil guard subs'tantially as a described,

15. In a cotton picker, a tubular member having at its forward end stripping means and at its rear end a discharge chute, a spindle bearing connected overhead to said member, a reci rocable picker spindle mounted in said eating, and an oil guard- 0. were Wimess Norm Wmrsm

Images