US1953245A - Separating conveyer - Google Patents

Description

P 3, 1934- A. s. MACKENZIE SEPARATING CONVEYER Filed July 1, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 1934- A. s. MACKENZIE 53,245

SEPARATING GONVEYER Filed July 1, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Snow vi 5X .33 32 .77. j MCkZ/ZZM Patented Apr. 3, 1934 UNETED SATES SEPARATING 'CONVEYER Alexander S. Mackenzie, Houston, Tex, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Elk City Cotton Oil Company, a corporation of Oklahoma Application July 1, 1932, Serial No. 620,493

3 Claims.

The present invention is a separating conveyer. More particularly, the invention comprises apparatus which will convey or distribute raw cotton or similar materials to a gin or a series of gins and which will remove foreign particles from the cotton or other materials during the distributing movement thereof.

Broadly considered, apparatuses of this type comprise a conveyer belt upon which the cotton is deposited during the movement of the belt through a casing. Suction is applied to one surface of the belt to draw foreign particles from the cotton and into a suction chamber. Partitioning devices are spaced along the conveyer to cooperate with the suction casing to limit the suction effect to a predetermined area of the belt.

In the apparatuses of this type now generally used, the means to limit the suction effect generally includes members spaced along the interior wall of the suction casing to cooperate with the partitioning or valve devices of the conveyer. Such an arrangement tends to retard the movement of the conveyer and increases the friction, thereby adding to the load imposed upon the source of power of the apparatus.

The principal object of my invention is to provide an apparatus of the type described in which a suction area of maximum effectiveness will be provided with a minimum degree of friction between the parts which cooperate to provide the suction area.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of this type which includes a compact suction area so that the entire apparatus may be constructed in small units as well as larger units.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel form of partition or valve and means to cooperate therewith to confine the suction effect within certain limits.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel form of conveyer belt for use in an apparatus of this type.

In the drawings, in which like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views,

Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section through my apparatus;

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the apparatus;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a detail vertical section through one of the valve devices.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral designates the casing of my machine which is supported upon upstanding members 11. Angle bars 12 suitably secured to the upstanding members 11, support bearing members 13 and 14 at the opposite ends of the machine having shafts l5 and 16 respectively journaled therein, the

bearing 14 being longitudinally adjustable upon its supporting bar 12. Large pulleys or drums 17 are fixed to the shafts and 16 within the casing 10. The shaft 15 is driven from a suitable source of power by means of any desired I l-'- form of gearing or belt connection generally indicated by the numeral 18.

An endless conveyor 19 extends about the drums 1'7 and is moved through the casing by the rotation of the drum 1'7 secured to the power shaft 15. The belt 19 comprises an upper run 20 and a lower run 21 extending substantially horizontally between the drums 17.

A suction chamber 22 is mounted within the casing 10 within the space between the upper and lower runs of the conveyer belt. The chamber 22 is provided with a lower wall 23 and side walls 24 and 25. These walls extend the width of the casing 10 and contact with the side walls 26 and 27 of the casing 10 to form an air-tight joint therewith. A suction conduit 28 is fixed to the side wall 27 of the casing 10 and is connected to a suction pump, not shown. whereby suction may be exerted within the chamber 22. The end walls 24 and of the chamber 22 are provided at their upper ends with horizontal outwardly extending guide flanges or walls 29 which serve to support the upper run 20 of the conveyer belt and to maintain it in the desired position relative to the upper wall 30 of the casing 10. An in-feed conduit 31 is secured to the upper wall 30 of the casing 10 at a point opposite the suction chamber 22 to feed raw cotton or similar materials into the apparatus.

As is best shown in Figure 4, the belt 21 is preferably formed of sections 32 of foraminous material such as woven wire with sheets or slabs 33 of rubber, leather, or the like, interposed between the sections, the adjacent edges of the sections 32 being joined to the sheets 33 by means of cleats or rivets 34. Right angled members 35 of metal have one face 36 thereof riveted to the outer surface of the sheets 33 and a sheet or slab 37 of rubber, leather, or the like, is clamped between the outwardly projecting faces 38 of the right angled members 35. It will be noted from Figure 3 that the right angled members 35 do not extend the width of the casing 10, and that the sheets or slabs 37 project past the edges of the members 35 to closely contact with the inner surfaces of the side walls of the casing 10. Also, faces 38 of the members 35 do not project outwardly from the belt 21 a suflicient distance to contact with the outer walls of the casing 10, the sheets 3'7 extending past the outer edges of the faces 38 to closely contact with the outer walls of the casing. Through this arrangement, the sheets 37 form valve elements which contact with the inner surfaces of the casing 10 and serve to confine the suction within the chamber 22 to a predetermined area. The horizontally projecting flanges 29 on the end walls 24 and 25 of the chamber 22 serve to hold the valves 37 in close contact with the inner surface of the longitudinal walls of the casing 10 while the valves are moving over these flanges, the flanges and longitudinal walls thereby forming passageways through which the run 20 of the belt moves. The casing 10 is so constructed that the valve members moving along other portions of the casing will not contact sufficiently-closely therewith to create a friction or drag which would tend to increase the load upon the power device which operates the apparatus.

In the operation of my machine, raw and uncleaned cotton or the like is fed through the inlet conduit 31 and is deposited upon the upper surface of the upper run 20 of the conveyer belt. The suction exerted within the chamber 22 will immediately draw foreign particles from the cotton and through the interstices of the belt 19. The valves 3'7 are so spaced upon the belt 19 and the flanges 29 are of such length that one of the valves will always be moving across the surface of each of the horizontal flanges 29 and will be pressed upwardlyagainst the inner surface of the upper wall 30 of the casing 10 to entirely limit the suction effect to the area between the valve members 37 which are moving across the flanges 29.

The use of valve elements of the type disclosed and the arrangement of the casing'as above described enables me to completely confine the suction area by the use of a minimum number of valve elements at each end of the suction area and the friction present in the apparatus is greatly reduced, permitting the use of a driving means of relatively low horse-power.

The cleaned cotton or other material may be discharged from the casing 10 at any desired point, in the present embodiment the discharge 39 being located at one end of the casing.

It will be understood that the machine disclosed may be of any desired length, although the area in which the valves are closely pressed against the walls of the casing will be of minimum size.

I claim:--

1. In an apparatus of the class described, a chamber, an apertured endless conveyer belt, a portion of the path of one of the runs of the belt being through said chamber, a material feeding conduit opening into said chamber to feed material to be cleaned to one surface of the run within said chamber, a suction conduit opening into the chamber on the opposite side of the run, projecting members spaced along the material receiving side of said belt, said chamber including walls extending therefrom parallel with the course of the run passing through said chamber and adapted to respectively contact with the edges of said projecting members and the opposite side of the run to define a closed suction area.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, a chamber, a'n apertured endless conveyer belt having upper and lower runs and arranged to have the upper run moved through said chamher, a material feeding conduit opening into the chamber on the upper side of the run therein to feed material to be cleaned to the upper surface of the run, a suction conduit opening to the opposite side of the run within the chamber, projecting members spaced along the material receiving side of said belt to form material receiving compartments, and walls extending from the ends of said chamber and parallel with the course of the upper run and adapted to respectively contact with the edges of said projecting members and the opposite side of the upper run to define a suction area.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, an apertured endless conveyer belt having upper and lower runs, a casing generally conforming a to the course of travel of said belt, means to drive said belt, means to feed material to be cleaned to the upper surface of the upper run of said belt, a suction chamber within the casing open at its upper side and provided with longitudinally ;z

and horizontally extending flanges over which the upper run of the belt moves, and outwardly projecting members spaced along said belt and adapted to closely contact with the inner surface of the wall of the casing during their movement 1 on said flanges to define a suction area in the casing adjacent said suction chamber.

ALEXANDER S. MACKENZIE.

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