US2037661A - Green corn husking machine - Google Patents

Description

April 14, 1936. A. KNIGHT GREEN CORN HUSKING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 25, 1933 i a? w April 14, 1936.

F. A. KN|GHT.

GREEN CORN HUSKING MACHINE Filed March 25,1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 14, 1936 UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFIQE GREEN CORN HUSKING MACHINE Application March 25, 1933, Serial No. 662,799

12 Claims.

This invention relates to green corn husking machines and comprises new and improved means for facilitating the removal of the husks and silks and for washing and cleansing the ears during the husking operation.

The husks and most of the silk is removed from ears of green corn by means of rollers of various types by depositing the ears on the rollers in such manner that the husks and silk will be caught in the bite between the rolls and thus stripped from the ears.

Rolls of different materials and having surfaces of greatly varying shapes are used, but all depend on the bite formed by the engaging rolls to grip the husk and silk and strip it cleanly from the ears.

Increasing demands of the canners have required and increase in speed of operation in husking machines with the result that the husking and silking is sometimes not'as efficiently done as when the operative speeds were lower.

When the ears with the husks and silk are deposited on the husking rolls, which are rotating at a high speed, the movement of the rolls starts the ears to rotate and as they rotate the bite of the rolls is expected to quickly grip the husks and adhering silk and strip them from the ears.

In most instances the husk and silk is quickly so gripped by the bite of adjacent rolls and quickly stripped from the ears; but since the speeds have been increased there has been a tendency for the ears to bounce more or less during rotation due mainly to their somewhat irregular contour, with 35 the result that the husk and silk is not as effectively removed as before speeds were increased.

With the increase in speed of operation of the huskers, which means that a larger number of ears are passed through the machine in a given time, the husking stations have not been increased in number so that each station has to do its work in a shorter space of time than when the operative speeds were lower, and since the higher rotary speeds of the husking rolls seems to impart higher rotative speeds to the ears resting thereon during the husking, the ears seem to bounce more than before with the result that the husking is not as efficiently done.

In order to correct this trouble and if possible 50 increase the efficiency of the husking rolls so that the husks and silks would be removed in a more efiioient manner than before, the subject matter of this invention has been evolved.

It was believed that if some means could be devised that would stop the bouncing of the ears Ell ficiently and much better husking is accomplished 10 with the higher rotative speeds imparted to the rolls and ears than was accomplished when the machines were operated at slower speeds and just wash water was projected onto the ears, at practically no pressure, for cleansing purposes only 15'v and to keep the rolls somewhat clean from adhering silk and husks.

The high pressure sprays have been found to add other desirable advantages.

Some years much of the corn is afflicted with smut which is a black smutty substance and somewhat powdery but which adheres quite tenaciously to the husked ears and has never before been properly removed during the husking operation.

With the high pressure sprays, however, this smut is attacked immediately it is exposed by the removal of the husk and is so quickly washed off of the ears that they are left almost perfectly clean as they are discharged from the machine.

Another very difficult matter is also perfectly handled'by these high pressure sprays. Some years the corn borers are very abundant and do considerable damage to the corn, as well as other Worms and insects. More or less dirt and debris is left by these marauders that has never before been completely removed in the huskers or any place else along the corn line but has had to be removed by hand labor.

The high pressure sprays attack this debris immediately it is exposed by the removal of the husks and it is all washed away before the ear is discharged from the machine.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a green corn husker that will operate at a higher speed than heretofore and still give an equal or a higher eificient operation.

It is .a further object of the invention to provide a corn husking and silking machine that may be operated at an increased speed of operation 50 and have means for cleansing the ears from adhering dbris.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a green corn husking machine having high pressure spray devices for projecting sprays of water 55 or other liquid onto the sides of the ears of corn during the husking operation to counteract the tendency of the ears to bounce from the husking rolls while they are rotated thereby.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a green corn husking and silking machine having husking rollers rotating at high speeds and having high pressure spray devices projecting a liquid diametrically toward one roller of a pair to counteract the tendency of the ears to bounce as the husks are being removed by said rollers.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a green corn husking machine having pairs of rollers for pinching the husks from ears of corn and at the same time rotating said ears to move said ears axially with said rollers and to have high pressure sprays of a suitable liquid projected down onto the ears to hold them against the rollers.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a green corn husking machine having rotating husking rolls for removing the husks from ears resting thereon and to provide high pressure spray device for projecting liquid sprays onto the sides of the ears to tend to hold the ears against the rolls and for projecting sprays of liquid against the silk ends of the ears to loosen the husks so the husking rolls will get a quicker bite thereon, and remove the silks and husks more effectively.

With such objects in view as well as other advantages that may be inherent in the invention, consisting in the parts and combinations hereinafter set forth and claimed, it is understood that the several necessary elements and combinations constituting the same may be varied in their proportions and placement without departing from the scope and nature of the invention, and in order to make the invention more clearly understood, there are shown in the accompanying drawings, somewhat diagrammatically, means and mechanism for placing the invention in a preferred form without limiting the improvements to the specific structure shown.

In the drawings accompanying this application only parts of .a complete husking machine are shown but it is thought they are sufficient to show how the improvements are applied.

Figure 1 represents a vertical sectional elevation of a green corn husker showing the improvements applied thereto, and taken on approximately the line l-I of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a partial vertical sectional elevation taken on approximately the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevation looking from the right of Figure 2 and shows the Geneva drive for rotating the pocket wheel or turret that advances the cars from one set of husking rolls to another set.

Figure 4 is a sectional elevation taken on a line of husker rolls wherein the ears are moved axially with the rolls during the husking operation, as 44 of Figure 5.

Figure 5 is a cross sectional elevationtaken on substantially the line 55 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a view showing the high pressure sprays applied to husker rolls that are inclined so the ears feed lengthwise along the rolls during the husking operation.

Figure '7 is an end view taken on substantially the line 1-1 of Fig. 6.

Ears of green corn as they come from the field with the husks, silk, and many times butt ends of pieces of stalk, are fed into the chain feed device by hand or otherwise as at I. This feed device moves the ears transversely of their axes and pass them into engagement with a knife 2 that removes the butt and stalk if there is any. This cutting of the butt of the ear loosens the husks at this end so that they may be easily removed after they are started. In cutting the butt off the cut usually extends up close to the first row of kernels so the large end of the cob and the husks are completely removed leaving the remaining husks only attached by reason. of their being wrapped around the ear in the natural manner of growth.

After the ears have passed the butting knife at 2 they are carried around the curved end of the husker and dropped into the turret feed wheel 3 which is provided around its periphery with pockets 4. The wheel shown has six pockets but it is obvious that any other desired number may be provided.

This turret is driven intermittently by means of the Geneva drive device shown in Figure 3, the turret being mounted on the conduit 5 on which it rotates freely and is connected to the Geneva disk 6 by the sleeve extension 1.

The liquid conduit 5 is fixed against rotation and carries the high pressure spray nozzles 8 which are positioned to project high pressure sprays directly on the top sides of the ears and substantially at a point on the ear periphery to cause the ear to lie close to the upper surface of the husking rolls 9, but sufiiciently to one side to also cause the ears to hug the surfaces of the rolls It This position of the sprays impinging against the rotating upper surface of the ears practically stops all tendency of the irregularly contoured ears to bounce from contact with the high rotative speed of the husking rolls and thereby enable the rolls to get a much quicker bite on the husks and draw them from the car as shown at II.

By reference to Figure 2 it will be seen that at least one of the spray nozzles is positioned to project the liquid spray onto the silk end of the husks which has the effect of loosening the husks at this point so the husker rolls will have a better opportunity of gripping them and stripping them from the ear.

The husker rolls 9 and H) are grooved as shown at 2 in Figure 2 with the spiral extending from the center toward the ends to cause the ears to ride toward the outer ends of the rolls.

The pipe l3 may lead to any suitable source of liquid supply and pressure means which are not shown but are well known in the art.

The turret 3 has a centrally disposed drum section I 4 extending its entire length and forming a bottom for the pockets 4, with holes l5 through which the liquid is projected to reach the ears resting on the husker rolls.

The machine shown has parallel feed ways for the ears so that two lines of ears are passing through the machine simultaneously, and in this machine the ears are always moving transverse to their axes.

Figures 4 and 5 show a machine wherein, after butting, the ears are moved axially over a pair of husker rolls. In this type of machine there is only one pair of rolls and the high pressure sprays are projected onto the ears in substantially the same manner as described for the other type machine. In this machine, however, the sprays contact with the silk ends of the ears as the ears pass thereunder in an axial direction so that the silk ends of all ears, no matter what their length, will have this end sprayed quite efficienctly and the husks and silks well loosened so the rolls will have a quick bite thereon to strip them from the ears.

In the machine of Figure 4 the ears are advanced in an axial direction, continuously, by the chain l6 and flights llbearing against the butted ends of the ears.

Operation The first action of the high pressure sprays is to loosen the husks as quickly as possible so that the husker rollers will get a quick bite on the husks and silks and remove them from the ear. Just as soon as the kernels are exposed the sprays begin to dig out the smut and worm dirt carried by the ears and which is usually buried under the husks, especially the worm dirt. The action of the sprays on the silk end of the ears tends to spread and open the silk end of the husks with the result that the rolls bite the husks here almost as quickly as on the larger part of the ear and since the husks have been cut loose from the butt end when the silk end is loosened the husks are stripped 01f almost instantly and the continued husking operation tends to remove the last vestage of husk and silks and exposes the stripped ears to the washing and cleansing effect of the sprays for the maximum time allowed by the speed of the machine.

Applicant knows that water has been used for flushing purposes in husking machines and water has been run onto the husker rolls and ears during the husking operation, but in no instance known to applicant'has the greatly improved results in operation and the greatly improved quality of corn resulting from such operation been obtained as with the present operation with high pressure sprays.

In a modern canning factory the husked corn usually passes directly from the huskers to the kernels cutting machinery where the cobs are fed into and through knives that cuts the kernels from the cobs.

On the way to the cutting machines operators and inspectors are positioned to visually examine all the ears as they are moved along by a belt conveyor, and all smutty or wormy corn is removed, but notwithstanding this inspection some is sure to get by, because the ordinary manner of flushing the ears and husker rolls was not sufficient to remove the smut and worm dirt from the ears, except where it was very loose or the smut was in large portions but when that was washed off the movement of the wash water was not sufiiciently effective to remove and wash away the smut and dirt adhering closely to the kernels and down near the cob.

Under this old method of operation almost all of the corn in years when the corn was much accepted, was polluted with this smut and worm dirt, since there was no known way to remove it during the husking and before cutting, and in the cutting every bit of such debris was sure to remain with the cut kernels and some of it eventually find its way into the can for private consumption.

Since the inauguration of the high pressure sprays, however, the ears are so well washed and cleansed that there is hardly a trace of smut or' worm dirt remaining on the ear or embedded in around the kernels when the ears leave the husker so that they can be passed directly to the cutters without the usual inspection, or at least very many of the usual inspectors may be dispensed with.

These high pressure sprays also removed practically all of the small pieces of silk and husks that have heretofore adhered to the ears and kernels and. were too small to be gripped by the rolls. The sprays wash them out of the interstices of the kernels where the usual flood of wash water without pressure never could remove them. The husker rolls hertofore, have had a tendency to gum up more or less from very small pieces of husks and silk and accumulate more or less field dirt and require stopping the machine to clean them off. With the high pressure sprays, even with corn passing, enough of the spray strikes the rolls with a cutting action that strips all of this accumulation off the roll surfaces and obviates the necessity of frequent cleaning.

Many times the husker rolls are covered with a comparatively soft rubber to give a good gripping surface to bite the husks and remove them quickly. The ordinary fiush water that has usually been used was never sufficient in either volume or force to keep these rubber surfaces clean of accumulated field dirt and small pieces of hugs and silk. This accumulation remaining continually on the rubber surfaces has tended to cause pitting, indentations and quick deterioration from the constant pounding of the roll surfaces and the passing husk with the result that the rolls had to be replaced quite frequently.

The high pressure sprays projecting onto these soft rubber surfaces clear this accumulated dbris away from the rolls before it has a chance to injure them in any manner with the result celerated due to a, more even contact with the rolls and thereby the husks and silks removed more quickly and a longer time given to thoroughly wash the ears.

The bouncing of the ears on the rotating rolls has always been more or less of a problem. It is desirable to speed the rolls as fast as possible so the husks will be removed quickly and the final husking efiort be directed to getting the small silks and husks oil that are adhering to the kernels, but when the ears bounce around on the rolls the rolls cannot bite these small particles and they are never efiectively removed in the husker.

Since the high pressure sprays have been positioned to direct their force onto the top sides of the ears in just the right location practically all bouncing has been eliminated so that the ears lie much closer to the rolls than ever before with the result that the efiiciency of the husking operation has been greatly increased and the time much lengthened when the kernels are exposed to the sprays during the rest of the husking operation for the removal of the smut and other debris and the removal of the small pieces of husks and silks that the rolls can never reach removabecause it has not the force to detach the adhering particles from the interstices of the kernels.

' In Figure 6 is shown an application of high pressure sprays to the ears of corn while on inclined husking rolls.

When green corn is husked in this manner the problems encountered are somewhat different than where the ears are fed sidewise over the husking rolls.

The only feed means applied to the ears when the rolls are inclined is gravity and the bouncing imparted to the ears through the rotation of the rolls. Under these conditions all ears do not move along the rolls at the same speed with the result that quite frequently an ear gets upended and sticks in the rolls thus clogging the feed and causing the oncoming ears to pile up and necessitate stopping the machine to relieve the congestion. With the high pressure sprays, however, projecting onto the ears they have a very marked tendency to hold the ears down on the rolls and further to accelerate the feed movement of the ears along the rolls with the result the much better husking is done and clogging is greatly eliminated, and further, the action of the sprays against the ears tends to loosen the husks and in many instances will almost effect complete removal so that the rolls merely pull the husks and silks through and away from the ears. The constant cleansing of the rolls is also of importance because with the ordinary sprays usually used the cleansing action was far from effective, there being insufficient force to wash away the accumulations of husks, silks and mashed corn and dirt accumulated in the field.

During many years experience with commercial huskers employing inclined rolls it has been found that better general results are obtained when the ears are passed down the rolls point first, since in this way they move with the least resistance. The ears are so shown in Fig. 6, but with high pressure spray jets properly placed to strike against the ears at an angle that will tend to lift and loosen the husks the ears may be placed on the rolls with the butt end down and the sprays striking against the silk end of the ear will have a tendency to loosen the folded husks at the end and make husking much more efficient and rapid so that the husked ears will have a longer time under the sprays to wash off smut worm dirt etc., and thus will be produced a much cleaner and higher quality of corn, because certain dbris will be removed from the ears that heretofore has been almost impossible of removal in regular commercial operation.

The application of wash water to the ears during the husking operation is not new but the application has heretofore been of insufficient pressure to effect the changes and produce the results obtained with the high pressure sprays. In practice it has been found that a pressure approximating two to eight hundred pounds per square inch has given satisfactory results, although these pressures may be varied somewhat to suit factory conditions and the particular kinds and conditions of corn being handled.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An apparatus for removing the husks and silks from ears of green corn or the like comprising means for first cutting off the butt end of the car, a rotary device for receiving the butted ears and moving them intermittently past husking rolls to thereby loosen the husks at that end, providing a high pressure spray inside of and substantially central with said rotary device to contact with the silk end of the ear to loosen the husks and silks, rotating husking rolls for then engaging the loosened husks to strip them from the ear and means for moving the ears transversely of their axes through intermittent steps during the husking thereof.

2. An apparatus for removing the husks and silks from ears of green corn or the like comprising means for cutting the butt end of the ear off to loosen the husks at that end, a rotary device for receiving the butted ears and moving them intermittently past husking rolls, means for projecting a high pressure spray of liquid against the silk end to loosen the husk and silks at that end, said high pressure spray acting radially from the center of said rotary device, rotating rolls for then engaging the loosened husks and. silks and strip them from the ear, additional means for then projecting high pressure sprays of liquid onto the husked ears to remove adhering dbris therefrom and means for moving the ears transversely of their axes through intermittent steps during the husking thereof.

3. An apparatus for removing the husks and silks from ears of green corn or the like comprising means for moving successive ears along a predetermined path transversely of their axes, means along said path for cutting the butts of said ears off, a pair of husking rolls, rotary means for moving the butted ears onto said rolls, high pressure spray devices positioned over said rolls and inside of said rotary means to project liquid sprays onto said ears while on said rolls, means for rotating said IOlls whereby to rotate said ears, the said liquid sprays loosening the husks thus assisting said rolls to remove them from the ears, the said sprays then contacting with the kernels to remove adhering residue and dbris therefrom and means for moving the ears transversely of their axes through intermittent steps during the husking thereof.

4. A green corn husking machine comprising a butting device, a conveyor for moving ears past said butting device, rotating husking rolls arranged in parallel relation to form a valley therebetween for the support of ears of corn, rotary means for moving said ears to and past said rolls, a series of high pressure spray devices arranged over said rolls and said ears and inside of said rotary means and positioned to project sprays of liquid radially with sufficient force to cause said ears to lie in contact with said rolls and to reduce the tendency of said ears to bounce through the rotative action of said rolls and means to rotate the rolls and means for moving the ears transversely of their axes through intermittent steps during the husking thereof.

5. A machine for husking green corn comprising means for butting the corn, rotating rolls for removing the husks from the butted ears, rotary means for moving said ears to and past said rolls, high pressure liquid sprays located over said rolls and ears and inside of said rotary means for projecting jet sprays of liquid at high pressure against the outer surface of the ears while resting on the husking rolls, the point of contact of said jet sprays on said ears being substantially on the top but enough to one side to cause the ears to lie in contact with both rolls, the restraining effect of the jet sprays acting to prevent the ears from bouncing on the rolls and thereby increase the efficiency of operation.

6. A machine for removing the husks from green corn comprising means for moving ears in succession transversely of their axes, a butting device for successively removing the butts from ears, husking rolls for supporting and removing the husks from the ears, rotary means for moving said ears to and past said rolls, high pressure jet sprays located over the ears and inside said rotary means the sprays contacting with the ears at a point somewhat tangent to the periphery thereof to cause the ears to hug both of said rolls and to counteract any tendency of the ears to bounce on the rolls, said sprays acting on the husked ears to remove tightly adhering smut'and other dbris before they are discharged from contact with said rolls and means for moving the ears transversely of their axes through intermittent steps during the husking thereof.

'7. A machine for removing the husks from green corn or the like comprising means for cutting the butts from ears of corn, husking rolls for removing the husks from the ears, rotary means for moving said ears to and past said rolls, high pressure jet sprays inside said rotary means for impinging against the husks while the rollers are removing them from the ears, the said jet sprays continuing to impinge against the ears after the husks are removed to loosen and remove smut and other dbris and means for moving the ears transversely of their axes through intermittent steps during the husking thereof.

8. A machine for removing the husks and silks from ears of green corn comprising means for cutting the butts from the ears, rotary husking rolls in pairs for supporting and removing the husks from the ears while they are successively presented to said pairs of rolls, rotary means for moving said ears to said rolls, high pressure jet sprays inside of said rotary means for impinging against the husks while the rolls are removing them from the ears, means for rotating the rolls continuously and means for moving the ears intermittently from one pair of rolls to another pair of rolls, the said high pressure jet sprays continuing to play on said ears after the husks are removed to thereby loosen and remove adhering dbris, the point of contact of said sprays with said ears being somewhat tangent thereto cause the ears to hug the said rolls to maintain good contact.

9. A machine for removing the husks from ears of green corn comprising rotating husking rolls for engaging the husks and stripping them from the ears, said rolls being arranged in pairs for successive operation on each ear, rotary means for intermittently moving an car from one pair of rolls to another pair of rolls, a hollow shaft for the support of said intermittent rotary means, high pressure sprays emanating from said hollow shaft and directed to contact with said ears while resting on said rolls, means for imparting intermittent movement to said ear moving means to move the ears from one pair of rolls to the next pair, the said spray means contacting with the ears on either pair of rolls.

10. A machine for removing the husks from ears of green corn comprising a plurality of pairs of husking rolls, a single intermittently operated turret device for feeding ears of corn in succession to said plurality of husking rolls, a hollow shaft extending through the axis of said turret, high pressure spray devices adapted to project jet sprays onto the ears of corn while on said husking rolls, said sprays emanating from said hollow shaft, said sprays contacting with said ears at a point to cause the ears to hug both of the rolls of a pair and thereby aid in the removal of the husks.

11. The method of removing the husks and silk from ears of green corn by means of husking rolls consisting in cutting the butt end off the ear to loosen the husks at that end, stripping the husks, from the ear on the rolls and loosening the husks by projecting high pressure liquid sprays against the body of the ear.

12. The method of removing the husks and silk from ears of green corn by means of husking rolls consisting in cutting the butt end off the ear to loosen the husks at that end, stripping the husks from the ear on the rolls and loosening the husks and silk by projecting high pressure sprays of liquid against the silk end and body of the ear, and then removing adhering silks smut and worm dirt from the husked ears by projecting high pressure liquid sprays onto the ears.

FLOYD A. KNIGHT.

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