US1241702A - Beet-cutter. - Google Patents

Description

8.1. BINKLEY & R. A. STEPS.

BEEIT CUTTER- APPLICATION man APR. 6. 1911.

1,241,?02. Patented Oct. 2,1917.

5 SHEETS -SHEET I.

R. J. BINKLEY & R. A. STEPS.

BEET CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED APR.6. I917.

In l/enlo st R. J. BINKLEY & R. A. STEPS. BEET cuTfER.

APPLICATION FILED APR-6.19M. 1,241,702. Patented Oct. 2,1917.

' HEET Eggg; fl

mw A 5 Mn 4 R. J. BINKLEY & R. A. STEPS.

BEET CUTTER.

APPLICATION HLED APR. s. 1911.

Patented Oct. 2, 1917.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

has 25 fnvemors: 5;). l2 53: 20. mu

R. J. BINKLEY & R. A. STEPS.

BEET CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED Arms, 1911.

Patented Oct. 2,1917.

5 $HEETS-SHEET 5 FIG-III,

U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE...

ROBAH JRBINZKLEY, or l omomnnun ROBERT A. sTEPs, 013 LOS ANGELES, oALIronnpi.

BEET-CUTTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 2 1917.

Application filegLAprilfi, 1917. Serial No. 160,126

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that we, Roman JLBINKLEY.

andRonnn'r A. Srnrgcitizens of theUnited States, respectively residing at BOII10HL, lIl,

the county of Los Angeles illldl State of California, and at. Los Angeles, in; the county of, Iuos Angelesand Stateof (Bali,- fornia,have inventeda new. andmsefuLBeet Cutter, of which, the following, is. a specification.

The drum typeloeet slicer,,to.which this,

invention. relates,- is.- a. very old and well knowmclass of machinery, and :ischaractcu: izedby; the fact. that theknives arecarried on. the internal, periphery of a cylindrical drum revolving on a horizontal; axis, thev beets being fed into. the, drum, through; a.

suitablehopper, and.the shreds or cuttings passing out through, suitable openings ad,

jacent thcknives; also a. stationary apron is usually fastenedinthe drurnon-the trail,- ing sid a, anditslower-[face isso formed that the beets are wedged and pressed onto the knives. i

Thesecutters are used IIIb EGt sugar, 1111118.

Second :-by means of the corrugatech:

guidebars long V shredsare uniformly produced without effecting any lateral, adjust;- ment, of the knife blocks, and the result is much more satisfactory than where such adjustment is used for the purpose.

Third :rocks can be automatically discharged from the cutter while running withoutthe trouble incident to removing: a c vlindrical rock catcher from the machine.

Fourth :the knife blocks used in these cutters, are improved.

Other features of invention will appear from a consideration of the claims andspecifications.

The accompanyingdrawings illustrate one for nof the invention. Figure 1, is a plan section of the cutter; Fig. 2, is a transverse section of same; Fig. 3, is a transverse view of the cutter in full; Figs. l, and 5, show thcimprovcd spider: Fig. (i, is an enlarged view showing adetail; Fig. 7 is an enlarged view showingthc spiderarni; Fig. 8, is a transverse section ,of, the gklllffi, block, the section beingonbroken. line X-X F ig. 9; Fig, 9, is a, plan view of the knife block; Fig.10, isa, view of. the corrugatedguide barin relation to a, corrugated knife; Fig. 11, illustrates the shreds that arewuniformly cut in thiscutter; Fig. 12, illustrates shreds of oddshapcs cut, prior. to the advent of the. corrugatedhar; Fig. 13, is,a.scction-. il view of. a knife hlock the section beingon line X -X .Figs 8, and 9:, this view shows in. detail themechanis n for adjusting the guide bars; Figs. 14,15, and,1 ,6, are respectively side, endnndtop views of the wedge.

used. in. adjusting thebars Fig, 17,.shows.

thespider arm with a good, form of, wear platethereon; Fig. 18, shows a longitudinal section through the wear, plate.

Broadly speakingfhe cutter consists a revoluble dr mmperating in a stationary casing. The principal parts. which make up, the cylindrical, drum are the shaft 1,, theheavy circular disk 2, the spider 3, and the knife blocks 41; while theparts that make up the stationarycasing are the site 1ne1n-. hers 6, and 7, the .base 8, aproperly formed apron and chute 9, the .coverplate 10, and the bearings 11, and 12. l]hc gener al rcla;

tion of. these partsappears in Figs. 1, 2,

and3.

In Fig, 2, some of. the knifehlocks, are

shown in section, and in these the cutter knives 13 can be secnalong the internal pe;

riphery of the drum. These knivcsarc acting onthe beets.

Itwillbe understood that ononeside the revolving drum is closedhy the disk2, and that the dr un is closed all around its periphery by the knife blocksaudspiden. However,

sofar as the revoluhle partsare concerned,

the drum is open on the side oppositefdisk 2, but the stationary. side.1nen1cbr'6, see,

Figs. 1, and 3, closes the drum here, except at the opening 14 adjacent. the hopper '15, through which the beetsare fed into the revolving drum. i i

Fig. 2, shows the beets in the drum, and,

as the latter rotates in the direction of the arrow, the knives 13 cut off shreds which.

pass out through the knife hhicks then down through base 8 into a suitable conveyor or spout not illustrated in the figures. As theoperation proceeds the boots are urged under (i f cutter he pulls gate through the stationthe apron9, and on account of the tapered relation between this member and the face of the drum, the beets are pressed hard onto the knives, and the cutting proceeds with good effect. I

In some mills where the beets are gathered from rocky country, or where inadequate provision is made, rocks sometimes enter the cutter with the beets, and it is desirable to have provision for coping with this situa- 7 'tion, as the rocks might seriously damage the knives. 'Heretofore it was attempted to trap the rocks in a cylinder carried in apron 9, but this was usually unsatisfactory. The

idea was that on trapping the rock in the cylinderthe'cutter should be stopped, the

cylinder withdrawn, and after removing the rocks and debris therefrom, the cylinder was to be replaced in the cutter, and Operations resumed, For various reasons these cylinderswere troublesome. or instance, if they were left open durlng normal operation, the beets rushed in and filled them the instant the cutter started, or if they were left closed during normal operation, and opened when a rock was heard, the beets again rushed in and filled them before the rockgot to it. In either event'the cylinder was usually packed before the rock could enter, and there was little or no room for the rock when 'it got there, in consequence of which the "rock was usually held on the knives the same as though no cylinder were present. Obviously the knives suffered accordingl'y. Again after the cutter was stopped and theoperator desired to get the rock, it was often very difficult to remove thecylinder'from the cutter, because of the manner in which the beets locked the cylinder in place. Some beets would be half in and half-out of the cylinder, so that the latter was locked and could not be withdrawn except with great efllort and delay. It will be noted that the cutter was idle during the delay, and the eiiiciency of the facv tory was reduced accordingly.

In our. cutter however, the whole situation is handled differently- The cylinder is entirely omitted and the upper portion ofthe apron comprise's'afiat removable gate 15, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and in addition, the upper portion of the apron behind the gate, is.

formed like a chute, the rear portion 16 being at a slightly higher elevation than the forward portion 17, so that a continuous decline'is formed leading from gate 15,

down'the chute and out through the stationary side 6 through the hole 18 which opens the entire chuteat that side.

When the operator notices a rock in our ary side 6,the handle 19, Fig. 1, on the gate,

being specially formed for this purpose. When the gate is completely 'out the beets come tumbling down the chute and automatically fall out of the cutter through 7 opening 18. The stream is continuous while the cutter continues to run, and on account of the flow of beets thus created, the rock is usually swept along the cutter and discharged with the beets before the motion of the cutter is arrested. In fact, after the rook is seen falling out of the chute there is no further necessity for slowing the cutter, and the gate 15 can be shoved back in place and operations resumed immediately. In this way the rocks can often be removed without even stopping the cutter, and the,

annoyance, and particularly the delay, occasioned in endeavor-ing to remove the rock with the cylindrical rock catcher is entirely eliminated. This reflects favorably upon" the efficiency of the cutter as well as of the entire mill, and in order to facilitate the closing of the gate, its forward eclgeQO, Fig.

1, is beveled into a sharp edge, so that it can be cut right through the beets, if necessary.

The element 21, Fig. 2, represents a revoluble brush used for brushing the knife edges and preventing clogging while the cutter works on woody beets.

brushed off by the brush'falls through opening 22, onto the chute and out through open- The debris ing18, thus keeping the space about the 'to these requirements-illustrates another advantage of our cutter over the type using a cylindrical rock catcher.

Attention will now be diverted to the details of the knife blocks 4. In the first place it will be understood-that each knife block holds 3 rows of knives separated by a like number of'guide bars, and that the knife blocks can be removed from the machine by an opening inside member 6 not shown in the drawing. Usually the equipment. of a cutter includes several sets of kmfe blocks, the knives in one set being 'set up and adjusted outside of the cutter, while another set, with its knives, is operating in the cutter, and when the knives in the cutter become dull the knife blocks are pulled out and another set of blocks, with newly sharpened knives, are shoved in. In this way the knives can be changedwith only a short delay in the operation of the cutter, and the cutting capacity of the factory is thus maintained at a high standard. 1

Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 18 to 16 inclusive, show our improved form of knife block.

Generally speaking knife blocks consist of two side members 23, connected by heavy cross arms 24,-see 'ar-tic-nlarly Fig. 8. The knives 13 are bolted to the cross arms, and in front of each knife is mounted an adjustable guide bar 25; The knives 13, it will be understood, are of an old standard type, the edge and time being corrugated as shown at 26, Figs. 6, 7, and 10, and the channels 27 project down from the bottom of each corrugation. The guide bars 25 are "adjustable as to" height, and obviously the thickness of the shreds depends on the height to which these bars are adjusted in relation to the knives. Also it might be stated that prior to the advent of corrugated guide bars for these cutters, the upper guiding face of the bars Was usually flat, in consideration of which fact the cuttings were often irregular in length and section. This Wasdue principally to the fact that the beets would shift and move around a little while passing from the edge of one knife to the edge of the next one. Consequently, with flat bars, odfd euttings cf the character shown in Fig. 12 are quite common, and this is true regardless of the precautions taken to ali'n'e all points of the knives with each other around the periphery of the cutter. This ali'nenient is very difficult to effect, and even when accoinplish'ed is 0t little service because the beets shift between the knives as stated. In our cutter however, the uide bars '25 are corrugated to conform with the knives, as shown in Fig. 9, and pz'trticularly Fig. 10. The corrugations in the bars line up accu'- ratel with the corrugations in the knives, and the result is that after the beet is cut by'one knife the corrugations in the next bar catch in the corrugations cut by the preceding knife and guide the beet into accurate alinen'rent with the next knife, so that each knife Will cut the beets right over the corrugations'cut by the preceding knife. In this way V shaped shreds of the kind shown in F 11, are uniformly cut in our cutter without the inconvenience of attempting to laterally adjust either the knives or the knife blocks.

It will be understood that these V- shreds shown in Fig. 11, are far more preferable than those shown in Fig. 12, as the sugar can be dissolved from the former much more thoroughly and with considerably less water than from the latter, and the savings thus effected by the corrugated guide bar are considerable and are fully appreciated by the trade.

In addition to corru-gating our hat, its upper face 28 is conv'exed to sweep nicely into the knife, and in this way the beet is so guided that long V shaped shreds can be out without breaking or bruisiug th'em as they pass from the knife. In addition to this our bars are adjusted straight up and dowinand are not adjusted by rocking-them in a socket, as was common heretofore.

On this account the ideal inclination between the knife and the convened face can be main tained constant at all adjustments of the bars, whereas with the rocker bar this inclination necessarily changes with each adjust} ment, and the cutting of long shreds is not accomplished so well in the latter case.

We will now direct attention to the means which we adopt for adjusting the bars straight up and down, and it will be noted that this means is simpler than that shown in a co-pending application by R. J Binkley, Serial No. 107,507, filed July 5, I916, the last mentioned application covering the general idea of raising and lowering of the bar straight up and down.

The simplified means used in this in\'e11- tion for accomplishing the same result, can be described as follows:Fig. '8 shows the cross arms Zl which carry the l'niivos- 13 on their forward portion, and the bars 'on their rearward portion. At the rear these arms have a portion 29 which may run at an inclination across the box as shown in Fig. 13. On the u perll-10930 of this pin tion runs the long wedge '31, see Figs. 8', 9; and 13 to 16, inclusive. The upper face 32 of this wedge ma be inn-imam and =calric's the guide bar 25, while the lower face the wedge is inclined in conformity with the inclination of face 30, in the cross arni Ql, so that as the wedge moved back and forth on face 30 the 'g'ilide bar will. of necessity be raised and l'o'\\"er'ed withou't'c'han-ging the inclination between "the guiding face '28 and the knives. -Of course substantially the same result would be accomplished if the bottom of the guide bar was inclined, instead of the "top of the cross arm, but all changes of this character are obvious rn'odifications'of our conception, and 'will be left to the judgment of the designer, except that the form described above is-(l'oern'e'd the best for several reasons.

For the purpose of holding the wedgeel on the 'ci'ossarm portion 29, lugs3-3, Figs. 8, 9, and 13, project up'as shown, and for the purpose of shifting the wedge back and forth a large teat 34, see Figs. '14, 1'5, and 16, is cast thereon. This tent is shown dotted in Fig. 13, in order to more clearly illustrate the parts below.

Also in order to fas'ten'thc guide bar in place, after correct a'djust'n'ient has been made, a heavy stud 35 'isprovidedand pr'oje'ct's down from the bar. This stud runs inanelongatedslotg36, formed in the wedge, and a neck nut 37, Figs. 8, and 13, co iipen ates with this stud and loc'k's the guide bar 25 and wedge 31 securely in place.

It might be noted-'also'th'at'during operation the pressureofth'ebeets on the guide bar tends to shift the bar toward the knife. Thistend'ency mightbe'checked by th'e'forcc of the neck nut on the stud, all :fa'ce's 011 -1950 wedge, bar, etc, being substantially square with each other, but inaddition to this, the

- extra precaution has been taken of adding the heavy pins 38, FigsrS, 9,, andl3, which are pressed into. the sides 23 of the knife block, and project slightly inward therefrom as shown inFigs. 9, and 13. This is for the purpose of holding the corrugated guide bars back when the beetspush on them during operation, and illustrates one good. mode of accomplishing this result. Other means will readily occur to the reader.

The foregoing practically completes the description of the knife blocks, and attention will now be directed to our improved of the knife blocks, and the arms were built symmetricalbehind this portion. It cannot bedoubtedthat this secures the strength,

but .we have. found that such construction.

is unnecessarily wasteful of space, as the strength is gained at theexpense of the cutting capacity ofthe cutter. This is because the metal which produces strength was located at the inner periphery of the arm and in direct line with the knife blocks, and being so located took up room that should have been used for holding additional knife blocks with their complement of knives.

In our spider however, we have refashioned it lngeniously and have removed some metal from the pathof. the knlfe blocks and have added it behind this point where there is room for. it. This new construction is fully as'strong' as the'old one and sufficient room is gained at each arm so that in the aggregate an additional knife block of standard size can be inserted in the same diameter spider. It is in this way that the nine knife blocks, with their knives, may be car-.

ried instead of only eight as heretofore, and

an increase of 12%% in the cutting capacity of the machineis secured without sacrificing any strength whatever. v

' Obviously the same principle applies further, and in spiders'of other diameters, so

that still more knife blocks could be carried if desired, but the conception remains the same-throughout.

Attention is now directed to Fig. 7, which shows one of the approved forms of our arms.

-By way of introducing it We wish to state that our arms have the same cross sectional,

The reason for this is that hereto-v area as those commonly used in the eight block spiders; also our arms have the same maximum dimensions both radially and. transversely; in consideratlon of which factsit will be apparent that our arms are fully as strong both-in shear and torsion, as those heretofore used, and in other respects they are still stronger, as will be pointed out later. Passing by this point for the present, we. wish to note thatin our arm the inner rectangular portion 39 drives the knife blocks, and is of more than ample strength because it is backed up by thev wide rear portion 40., With reference to a medial line 4 X -Fig. 7, passing midway through the driving portion 39 of the .arm, it will now be noted that the-rear strength giving,

portion 40 is unsymmetrical therewith. In

this form of the arm a considerable portion.

of the metal isloaded on thetrailing side and the forward portion 41 is cut back to.

correspond with the bevel of the cross arm 24k, which holds the knives 13,,ysee particularly. Fig. 7 The principle of this construction is as follows :as the knives 13.,cut shreds from the beets,.the shreds pass back along the under face of the knives, between channels 27, until they reach the rear curved portion 42 of the knives, where the shreds are gently deflected downwardly, and the forward face .48 of the cross aim, being beveled in continuation of curve 42, receives the shreds and passes them on gently without danger of breaking or bruising them. It

is quite importantthat the shreds be notbroken into short pieces as long. shreds give much nicer results in the diffusion processes in. sugar factories than short ones do, and consequently. any clrcumstances, such as sharp turns or corners, which would tend to break the shreds, would be deemed undesirable. For this reason the advancingrface 41 of our spider arm 5, is cut back asshown, and the result is beneficial with regard to the production of long shreds.- On the other hand the metal that is thus taken from the. forward side of our arm is loaded on the trailing side as shown. A moments consid eration W111 also show that there 1s an abundance of room for the metal there because the shreds from the next succeeding knife pass off considerably behind the arm.

Thiscan be seenin Fig. 2...

Of course if the designer is willing to sacrifice length of shreds, the spider arm can be made symmetrical about line X X and by building theintegral rear portion 40, of

the arm, so that it projects somewhat beyond the inner driving portion 39, both on the advancing and trailing sides of. the arm as shown, it is possible to secure at leastthe additional capacity which we have pointed out, but we deem it advisable to go further.

and adopt all of our recommendations by building the rear portion 40 unsymmetrical .around line QU-X, instead of symmetrical,

as this affords ,better exit for the shredsas well .as greater capacity.

The next general feature in our improved spider concerns itself with the manner in which we .protect it against wear. In this connection it will be realized that the :pres- .sure and-drag of the beets rapidly wear the inner face of the spider arms, .and unless ,provision is made for taking ,this up, the situation .is soon rendered objectionable because the beetsihecome exposed tosharp corners on the advancing knifeblocks, and the beets are mashed into pulp .by .these 1 corners, instead of being out .into shreds by the knives. Alsothe :continuous act of sliding the knife blocks in and out between t-he spider .arms, cause the latter to wear, and

consequently the knife blocks soon fit ilooscly between the arms and tend \to fall inward toward the center of the cutter. This again is undesirable be auseQthe tendency to pulp is increased.

For these reasons we provide the removable wearplates i l .and 45, respectively on ,the inner faceand .the sides OfthBflI'IllSyitllCl inaddition the .lugs a6 are bolted to the inner face of .the arms at points corresponding to the running sides vof the knife blocks, this being ,seen best in Fig. i. In this way the lugs .46 act .as continuations of the sides 25 of the knife blocks. These different plates are fastened to thearms-by meansof screws, or other suitable fastenings, which need not be illustrated. Of course when the plates become worn, even to a slight degree, they can ,bereplaced at small cost and the spider is then kept like new. Also the pulping tendency referred to is eliminated and clean cutting is insured at all times.

Figs. 17 and 18 show an improved form .of wear plate 47 which we recommend. The feature of this plate lies in the fact that it is integral, the single box member shown ,taking the place of five separate pieces,

namely plates 44 and 45, and lugs 46, Fig. 7. This integral wear plate is ofbox construction and can be easily machined. It is fastened to the spider arm by heavy screws 48, and if desired the channel running through the box can be made larger than the i-nclosed portion of the spider arm. If this is done only the inner face 49 of the arm need be machined, and after bolting the finished wear plate 47 onto the arm, lead or babbitt or like material 50 can ,be poured .between the plate and the arm and the space filled .up. A special dye can be used for casting this metal in, and the process is not only quicker, but also slightly cheaper, than machining the arms on the sides. Also, if proper jigs and templates are used the results are considerably more accurate. For the purpose of causing the lead or babbitt to adhere to the arm, dovetailed apertures 5,1, :or oppositely inclined holes, may .be

[formed in il'he sides of,the arms, andafter gthe metal cools the ,portion which 'has iru n into ,these ,holes will .draw the remainder tight zinto .place.

The foregoing construction has several obvious advantages chief of which are the greater strength and simplicity ,obtained in the wear plates, and also the greater uniformity which can be procured.

In concluding thediscourse on our spider .arm, zwc .now wish to mention that line AA,I Eig.'7, indicatcsthe; direction in which blows are struck upon the arms by rocks or other hard substancesjin the Clll'i61',\\ll01l the cutter running,- and in our spiderthis line represents the line of greatest strength through the arms. Consequently -it follows that theshape vwhich we have contrived has the-additional advantage of havingits great- ;est strength in the direction in which the severest blows are struck, and the *valueof this feature is so obvious as to require (no further discussion. By pointing it out we merely desire to show that in addition to increasing the :cutter capacity this shape for the arm also increases the strength of the spider.

Referring now to Fig. 6,this showsa detail which should. be mentioned. :It will be understood :that the various spider arms 5 are tied together-by the annular ring portion 3 of the spider. Fig. 6 shows a section through this ring midway between the arms, and the section also shows one of the knife blocks l in place. In some cutters it has been customary to merely push the knife blocks in, and then to run the cutter without fastening the blocks. Under ordinary circumstances this is usually su'flicient, as there is no force urging the knife blocks transversely from between the spider arms.

We deem it desirable however, to make some I positive provision against any possible creeping of the knife blocks out from the spider arms, because should such creeping accidentally occur, the knife blocks would rub against the stationary side 6 of the cutter, and by striking some obstruction might be done. Accordingly we use a blunt shoulder screw 52 Fig. 6, carried midway between the spider arms, this screw butting on the back of the knife .block as shown. In this locality the knife block is machined with the flat face 53 from which projects the raised portion 54. The side 55 and the top 56 of this raised portion are perfectly square with each other and with the face 53 as shown. Also the relation between the shoulder 57, of the screw, and the faces 55 and 58 of the knife blocks, and the face .59 of the s ider hub 2 is such that when the knife box is shoved clear in.-'-i. 0. when face 58 bunks against face 59,-*--then the shoulder portion 57 of the screw will nicely clear the iso "6 of the cutter, as noted above.

"blocks are shoved clear in till they bunk on the spider hub, the recoil is usually not so great but that the flat shoulder 57 of the screw canstill clear face 55 of the raised portion, and seat itself on face 53 as shown.

With respect to this screw 52, it should be noticed that same is not used for shifting the boxes transversely. In fact no transverse motion of the box could be effected by means of this screw because of the manner in which we have formed and arranged it. In our construction it will be understood that instead of attempting'to ad ust transversely the knife boxes for the purpose of alining the points of the knives around the entire periphery of the cutter, we use our corrugated guide bars as mentioned, and these insure the cutting of perfect V shreds more satisfactorily than when the transverse adjustment of the-knife boxes is relied on for this purpose.

This now concludes the description of our invention, but it will of course be realized that many modifications contrived.

j Claims.

1. In a'beet cutter, the combination of a revoluble drum adapted to hold beets the axis of rotation of said drum being substantially horizontal, a stationary side member mounted beside said revoluble drum, a movable gate in said drum, and a chute leading from said gate out through said stationary side member.

2. In a beet cutter the combination of a revoluble drum adapted to hold beets the axis of rotation of said drum'being substantially'horizontal, stationary side member mounted beside said revoluble drum, a removable gate in said drum, and a curved chute leading down from said gate and out through said stationary side member.

3. In a beet cutter'the combination of a revoluble drum adapted to hold'beets' the axis of rotation of said drum being substantially horizontal, a stationary side member mounted beside said revoluble drum,'said stationary side member having an aperture therein, a removable gateadapted to slide through said aperture, said stationary side member having another aperture therein, and a chute leading from said gate through the last said aperture in the side member.

of detail can be 4. In a beet cutter the combination of a revoluble drum adapted to'hold beets the axis of rotation of said drum being substantially horizontal, a stationary side member mounted beside said drum, a curved apron fastened in said drum, said side member having an aperture, a flat gate adapted to slide through said aperture into said drum, said side member havinjganother aperture therein, the upper face of said apron being inclined downward from said gate and at the side farthest from said side member said upper face of the apron being ata higher elevation than at the side adjacent said side member, so thatbeets can roll down the apron'from the gate and out through the last mentioned aperture in said side member.

6. In a beet cutter the combinationofa revoluble drum adapted to hold beets, the axis of rotation of said drum being substan tially horizontal, beet knives mounted on the internal periphery of said drum, a stationary side member mounted beside said drum, said side member having an" aperture-therein, a stationary apron member mounted in said drum the lower face of thelower por tion of said apron member being curved'to press the beets onto said knives, and the upper face of said lower portion of the apron -member being a chute curved downward and outward with its lower portion adjacent the aperture in said side member, a web formed across the upper portion of said apron member dividing same into two compartments, a brush in the upper of; said two compartments, and the lower compartment being bounded below'by said chute, said web also having an aperture therein located so that the debris brushed from the knives can pass fromthe uppermost of said compartments through the lowermost compartment and out of the cutter past the chute and aperture in said side-member. I

7. A spider for beet cutting machines comprising a circular portion and arms projecting transversely therefrom, the said arms having an inner driving portion and an outer strength giving portion, the inner driving portion being narrower circumferentialiy than the outer strength giving portion.

8. A spider for beet cutting machines comprising a circular portion and arms projecting transversely therefrom, the arms comprising an inner driving portion and an outer strength giving portion, the outer strength giving portion being unsymmetrical with respect to a radial line passing midway through the inner driving portion.

9. A spider for beet cutting machines comprising circular portion and arms projecting *transversely therefrom, the arms (:OU'IPI'lSlDg an inner driving portion and an outer strength giving portion, the inner driving outer strength giving portion, the inner drivmg portion being narrower circumferentially'than the outer strength giving portion, and the outer strength giving portion being unsymmetrical with regard to a radial line passing midway through the inner driving portion, the said strength giving portion being heavier on the trailing side of the said radial line than on the forward side thereof.

11. In a beet cutting machine the combination of a spider having transverse arms, knife blocks carried between said arms, the knife blocks having cross bars, knives bolted to said cross bars, the said cross bars being beveled backward from the knives to afford easy egress for the cuttings, and the said spider arms comprising an inner driving portion. and an outer strength giving portion, the outer strength giving portion being unsymmetrical with respect to a radial line passing midway through the inner strength giving portion, and the advancing side of said strength giving portion being cut backward.

12. A spider for beet cutting machines comprising a circular portion, arms projecting transversely therefrom, and removable wear plates of channel shaped section fastened to said arms.

13. A curved knife box for beet cutting machines, comprising side members and cross bars connecting said side members, a plurality of guide bars carried on the forward sides of said cross bars and a plurality of knives carried on the rear sides of said cross bars, a long wedge between the guide bar and cross bar for adjusting the height of the guide bar evenly without tilting the guide bar in any direction, a stud fastened to the guide bar and reaching down past the wedge, and a nut cooperating with the stud for fastening the guide bar to the box.

14. A curved knife box for beet cutting machines, comprising side members and cross bars connecting said side members, a plurality of guide bars carried on the fprward sides of said cross bars and a plurality of knives carried on the rear sides of said cross bars, a long wedge between the guide bar and cross bar for adjusting the height of the guide bar evenly without tilting the guide bar in any direction, a stud fastened to said guide bar and reaching down past the wedge, the cross bar having an aperture below the guide bar for the purpose of receiving the stud, the aperture being counterborcd from the lower side of said cross bar, and a nut located in said 'counterbored-portion of the cross bar for cooperating with said stud in fastening the guide bar to the box.

1.). A. curved knife box for beet cutting machines, comprising side members and cross bars connecting said side members, guide bars carried on the forward sides of said cross bars and knives carried on the rear sides of said cross bars, a long wedge between the guide bar and cross bar for adjustillg the height of the guide bar evenly without tilting the guide bar in any direction, the wedge having a long slot running lengthwise thereof, a stud fastened to the guide bar and reaching down past the wedge through said slot, and a nut cooperating with the stud for fastening the guide bar to the box.

16. A curved knife box for beet cutting machines, comprising side members and cross bars connecting said side members, guide bars carried on the forward sides of said cross bars and knives carried on the rear sides of said cross bars, a long wedge between the guide barand cross bar for adjusting the height of the guide bar evenly without tilting the guide bar in any direction, the wedge having a long slot running lengthwise thereof, a stud fastened to the guide bar and reaching down past the wedge through said slot, the cross bar having an aperture below the guide bar for the purpose of receiving the stud, the aperture being counterbored from the lower side of the said cross bar, and a nut located in said counterbored portion of the bar for cooperating with said stud in fastening the guide bar to the box.

17. A curved knife box for beet cutting machines, comprising side members and cross bars connecting said side members, guide bars carried on the forward sides of said cross bars and knives carried on the rear sides of said cross bars, a long wedge between the guide bar and cross bar for adjusting the height of the bar evenly without tilting the guide bar in any direction, and a tit formed on said wedge for facilitating the movement of same.

18. A curved knife box for beet cutting v. in?

machines, comprising side members and cross, bars connecting said side members, guide bars carried onthe forward sides of said cross bars and knives carried on the rear sides of said cross bars, the face of the cross bar below the guide bar being inclined with respect to the length of the cross bar, and a long Wedge between said guide bar and cross bar for adjusting the height of the guide bar evenly without tilting the guide bar in any direction. I

'19. A curved knife box for beet cutting machines, comprising side members and cross bars connecting said side members, guide bars carried on the forward sides of said cross bars and knives carried on the rear sides of said cross bars, the face of the cross bar below the guide bar being inclined with respect to the length of the cross bar, a long wedge between said guide bar and cross bar for adjusting the height of the guide bar evenly without tilting the guide bar in any direction, a stud fastened to the guide barand reaching down beyond said wedge, the cross bar having an aperture below the guide bar for receiving the stud, the

aperture in the cross bar being eounterbored below and a nut located in said-counterbored portion of the cross bar for cooperating with said stud and fastening the guide bar to the knife box.

20. A curved knife box for beet cutting machines, comprising side members and cross bars connecting said side members, guide bars carried on the forward sides of said cross bars and knives carried on the rear sides of said cross bars, a long wedge between the guide bar and cross bar for adjusting the height of the guide bar evenly without tilting the guide bar in any direction, and projections extending from said side members inward and butting against the guide bars for preventing the guide bars from slipping toward their corresponding knives.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands at Los Angeles, county of Los Angeles, State of California, this26th day of March,- 1917.

R'OBAH J. BINKLEY; ROBERT A. sTEPs.

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

Washington, D. 0.

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