US1353209A - Nut-bleaching apparatus - Google Patents

Description

H. B. BA-RKIS, SR.

NUT BLEACHING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 22, 1919.

1 ,35 3 ,209, Patented Sept. 21, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' INVENTOR.

S's HeWB.Bw'k1ls'Sr.

By Q m A TTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY B. 'BARKIS, $3., OF LODI, CALIFORNIA.

NUT-BLEAG'HING APPARATUS.

Application filed September 22, 1919. Serial No. 325,434. a

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY B. BARKIs, Sn,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Lodi, in the county of San Joaquin, State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Nut-Bleaching Apparatus; and I do declare the following-to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this application.

This invention relates .to a device for bleaching and processing nuts, especially almonds, while it is equally well adapted for treating dried fruits, such as figs, etc.,

after the same have been saturated by steam, etc.

This treatment of nuts, etc., is given them both to kill any insect or germ life which they may have, and also in the 'case of almonds to bleach them in order to give them a light color which will render them more merchantable.

Such processing and bleaching is usually accomplished with the aid of sulfur fumes, and with the methods at present in vogue, this is a laborious process requiring frequent handling of the nuts by hand during the same, and the apparatus used is very crude.

The principal object of my invention therefore is to produce an apparatus by means of which a continuous bleaching process may be carried out and which will do away with any handling of the products by the human hands, during the process.

In other words, when the products are placed in the receiving end of the apparatus, they will be automatically treated and discharged from the same, in a predetermined length of time, without any attention being given them during the processing, and the 1 length of time they will remain subjected to the sulfur fumes may be regulated either before the insertion of the products into the device, or during the processing.

Another object of the invention is to construct the apparatus so that practically no fumes can escape into the atmosphere adja-' cent the device, so that all of the fumes generated are utilized, besides the fact that the device may be located in a building where workers are busy at other tasks, such as sortmg or packing the nuts, etc., without their being subjected to the necessity of sometimes inhaling the stifling and injurious fumes.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of my improved apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a cross section taken on a line 22of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of an adjustable shaft-supporting bearing. 7

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the numeral 1 denotes a rectangular housing of any suitable dimensions provided at the bottom of one end with a sulfur fume inlet 2, and at the top of the other end with an outlet pipe 3, in which is interposed a centrifugal suction fan 4, adapted to turn at such a slow speed that a very gentle draft will be created in the housing 1 from the inlet 2 to the outlet 3.

. Positioned in the housing lengthwise thereof and normally at a slant from front to rear of about inch to the foot is a cylindrical drum 5. The terms front and rear of the housing indicate the ends thereof in which are the inlet 2 and outlet 3, respectively.

.The drum 5 is mountedon a shaft 6 in alinement with enlarged orifices 7 in the walls of the housing.

The housing, drum, shaft, and all other parts except where mentioned are to be constructed of wood, so that no oxidation can take place from the action of the sulfur fumes on any bare metal.

The ends of the shaft are covered with metal caps 8 from which project spindles or short shafts 9, which extend beyond the e in the pedestal.

walls of the housing, through the orifices 7. Those portions of the metal caps which are within the housing are sheathed with wooden sleeves 10, while a piece of canvas 11 is attached to each sleeve and to the housing 1 beyond the orifices 7 to inclose the latter, such canvas coverings bein so as to permit vertical movement of the s afts 9 in the orifices for a purpose as will appear.

Each shaft 9 is mounted in a swivel bearing or hanger 12 secured to pedestals 13 out side the housing, the rear b'earin being mounted on a cross piece 14 slidab e vertically in its pedestal, the vertical position of this cross piece and bearing being governed by means of an adjusting screw 15 mounted By means of this arrangement, the slant of the drum 5 may be set at any desired angle, the canvas coverings preventing the fumes in the housing from issuing through the holes 7.

The drum itself consists of a ring 16 at the forward end held to the shaft 6 by means of arms 17 a disk 18 at the rear end, braced to the shaft by arms 19, intermediate rings and arms 20 and 21 respectively, and longitudinal slats 22 placed edgewise around the peripheries of the rings and disks and secured thereto. These slats are spaced apart a distance sufficient to permit free circulation of the bleaching fumes therethrough, yet are close enough together to prevent the possibility of any nuts, etc. dropping therebetween.' The rings '19 are quite flat, and are beveled on the forward edges in order not to obstruct the passage of the nuts.

At the rear end'of the drum adjacent the disk 18, some of the slats are cut away for short distances at spaced intervals to form suitable sized openings 23, through which the processed products may drop into a hopper 24 leading to a discharge chute 25 terminating on the outside of the housing 1. The outer opening of this chute is covered by a canvas flap '26 secured to the chute along its upper edge, this flap being light enough to allow the nuts, etc. to pass thereby and yet normally sealing the opening.

The bleaching fumes will never escape through this chute, first on account of the flap, and also because the draft created by this1 fan 4.- draws the fumes upwardly at that en A fixed'head 27 is secured to the front end of the housing 1 and projects with a clearance fit into the ring 16. A hopper 28 is positioned at any suitable point outside the housing and delivers to a chute 29 which projects through the head 27 The drum 5 is adapted to be slowly rotated by any suitable source of power, from a shaft 30 in alinement with the forward one of the shafts 9, and may be disconnected therefrom by means of a clutch 31 suitably actuated.

The average time the products are to be subjected to the sulfur fumes is from thirteen to twenty minutes, the desired length of time being had by properly adjusting the slope of the drum 5 as previously described.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfils the object of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device for bleaching nuts comprising a housing adapted to be filled with bleaching fumes, a drum turnable in the housing lengthwise thereof and open to the fumes, means in the drum whereby nuts inserted at one end will be positively discharged therefrom at the other end, and means cooperating with said drum whereby the nuts may be held therein a predetermined period of time prior to discharging.

2. A device for bleaching nuts comprising a housing adapted to be filled with bleaching fumes, a drum turnable in the housing lengthwise thereof and open to the fumes, and adapted to receive the nuts at one end and discharge the same at the other, the drum having a downward slant from its receiving to its discharge end, and means for altering the slant of the drum at will.

3. A device for bleaching nuts comprising a housing adapted to be filled with bleaching fumes, a drum turnable in the housing lengthwise thereof and open to the fumes, and adapted to receive the nuts at one end and discharge the same at the other, the drum having a downward slant from its receiving to its discharge end, a shaft extending lengthwise of the drum, bearings for said shaft outside the housing, means for vertically moving one of said bearings to alter the slant of the shaft and drum, and means between the shaft and the housing for retaining the fumes in the housing irrespective of the position of the shaft relative thereto.

4. A device for bleaching almonds and the like comprising a housing adapted to be filled with bleaching fumes, and a revolving drum in the housing open to the fumes and arranged to continuously receive the products to be bleached at one end and to continuously and automatically discharge the same at the other end.

5. A device for bleaching almonds and the like comprising a housing adapted to be filled with bleaching fumes, a drum open to the fumes turnable in the housing and In testimony whereof I afiix my signature arranged to receive the producits to be in presence of two witnesses. bleached at one end and to disc arge the 1 same at the other end, the drum slanting HENRY BARKIS 5 down to such discharge end, and means in Witnesses:

the drum for retarding the travel of the BERNARD PRIVAT, prgducts from the receiving to the discharge FRANK H.- CARTER. en

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