US2234429A - Mechanism for opening huller gin breasts - Google Patents

Description

March 11, 1941. F. E. DEEMS MECHANISM FOR OPENING HULLER GIN BREAST$ 2 Sheets- Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 29, 1938 INVENTOR FI-Pfl/VK DEE/r75 W I ATTORNEYS March 11, 1941.

F. E. DEEMS MECHANISM FOR OPENING HULLER GIN BREASTS Filed Dec. 29, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ms M h E M W F UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MECHANISM FOR OPENING HULLER GIN BREASTS Frank E. Deems, Birmingham, Ala., assignor to Continental Gin Company, a corporation of Delaware Application December 29, 1938, Serial No. 248,231

9 Claims.

My invention relates to huller gins having separable inner and outer breasts pivotally mounted and adapted to be moved together to clear the saws and to be moved apart to permit the dumping of the roll of cotton, hulls and the like from the roll box, whenever such is desirable.

My invention contemplates employing substantially the mechanism disclosed in my pending application Serial No. 166,262 for moving or shifting the double breast as a whole to clear the saws. In my present invention I propose to latch, or detachably connect, the inner and outer breasts in their normal or assembled relationship and to so dispose the pivotal support for the outer breast that it is unbalanced and, when unlatched, will open automatically to permit the roll to be dumped.

My invention further contemplates taking advantage of the outward tilting of the upper portion of the double breast, as it is moved outwardly to clear the saws, to so shift the pivot of the outer breast as to unbalance the latter suficiently to cause it to open quickly and hang wide enough open for the free dumping of the roll.

My invention further contemplates changing the design of the inner breast heads so as to bring the pivotal support for the outer breast in such outward-position that, as the double breast rocks to clear the saws, the outer breast is increasingly unbalanced outwardly to swing away from the gin as it is moved to full open position, and is decreasingly unbalanced as the double breast is swung back to operating position, such change in the pivotal center of the outer breast enabling me to use gravity both to open and to close the outer breast.

My invention further contemplates so shifting the double breast by means of any suitable operating mechanism which will lock it in either inner or outer position, and so arranging the pivotal mounting for the outer breast that by a rapid inward movement of the double breast on its supports, the outer breast will be caused to swing with a gravitating movement into position to relatch itself to the inner breast.

A distinctive object of my invention may therefore be said to be so designing and actuating the inner breast that an outer breast, pivotally supported therefrom, will to all practical purposes both open and close itself by gravity, and will hang freely open continuously to allow for the dumping of the roll, without imposing any arduous work, or necessitating any continuous attention, on the part of the gin operator.

My invention further contemplates providing the breast members with complemental latch elements, the movable latch elements being arranged at both ends of the gin andpreferably cross connected so that they can be operated to ether 5 from either end of the gin, as by a foot pedal, to unlatch them. I

My invention further comprises the novel details of construction and arrangements of parts, which are sufiiciently illustrated to be clearly understood by those skilled in the art in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is an end elevation of a huller gin with itse base broken away and its inner and outer breast members shown closed and in operating position, the change in position of the pivot and center of gravity of the outer breast resulting from the movement of the breasts to clear the saws being indicated by dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a fragmental plan view looking down upon the operating mechanism for the double huller breast and showing the parts in the position in Fig. 1, the counter-balancing springs being broken away for sake of clarity.

Fig. 3 is a view corresponding to Fig. 1 with the lower portion of the gin frame and inner breast broken away, the inner breast being shown moved outwardly to clear the saws, and the outer breast being shown in full lines in open position to dump the roll and in dotted lines latched in closed position to the inner breast.

Fig. 4 is a fragmental detail view showing the bottom latches and their foot pedals for latching the outer to the inner breast.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated, I show a portion of a gin frame In having bearings II in which the shaft l2 for the ginsaws I3 is mounted. On the upper portion of the frame at each side I mount a projecting track element l4, provided with a V-shaped top runway terminating in a raised stop shoulder l5. Upon these runways I mount two trunnion rollers l6 having aligned bearing shafts I! by which the heads of the inner breast [8 are supported. I fasten a counter-balancing spring l9 at each side of the inner breast, connecting their outer ends to pins 20 and securing their inner ends to suitable anchorages 2| on the gin frame. These springs assist the operating mechanism in returning the huller breast to its normal operating position shown in Fig. l, and thus lighten the duty on the operating mechanism, to be later dethe breasts in each operating position.

scribed, for lifting the double breast to closed position.

The inner breast carries suitable ginning ribs 22 and the outer breast carries the usual hulling ribs (not shown) and between the inner and outer breasts there is formed the customary roll box in which a roll of cotton forms, responsive to the action of the saws, which it is desirable, from time to time, to dump in order to maintain the grade of cotton and increase the ginning capacity.

The lower end of the inner breast head is indicated at 23 (Fig. 3) and these ends are held by gravity against their respective inclined slide bearing block 24 mounted on the gin frame base. In Fig. 3 the end 23 shown has been shifted to its lowermost position on its bearing block 24 responsive to the outward movement of the inner breast supporting trunnions IS on their tracks I4. When the trunnion wheels are run back to normal operating position; as shown in Fig. 1, these ends 23 will be drawn back up the incline close to the top of blocks 24. This will produce a tilting movement of the inner breast accompanying its bodily movements on the tracks M. This method of operation of the inner breasts, having been shown and claimed .in my accompanying application aforesaid, will not be further described herein.

On the gin frame at each side I provide a top perforated ear 25 and engaged in each ear is the bent end 26 of its respective link 21, which is secured in place by a cotter pin 28. Each link 21, at its outer end, is threaded and connected by jamb nuts 29 and 30 to a swivel 3| pivotally mounted in its respective crank arm 32. The crank arm 32 at the right hand end of the gin is integral with a crank arm 33 having a handle 34, and both crank arms 32 are keyed to a common shaft 35 journalled in the heads of the inner breast, so that both crank arms 32 move in unison and through the swivel and. link connections described will act to force the breasts to travel inwardly and outwardly on their tracks 14, the

in detail, nor separately claimed,

crank arms 32 in both instances moving into or slightly past dead center position so as to lock Fig. 3 shows the crank thrown counter-clockwise down to position, against track end l5 as a stop, to open the double breast, and in this movement such breast tilts over and swings downwardly so that gravity assists the leverage action in applying tension to the counter-balancing springs I 9.

It will be noted that the inner breast l8 has. its upper outer portion extended so asto overhang a considerable distance outwardly from the gin. There I provide aligned pivots C, by means of which the outer breast 36 is pivotally suspended overhead from the inner breast. The outer breast carries a bottom outward projecting casing 31 which may contain any suitable mechanism, but which, as the same forms no particular part of my present invention, is not shown. This breast 38 will have a center of gravity which for example is indicated at CG.

At any suitable position, preferably at or near the bottom of each outer breast head I mount a latch 38, and these latches are keyed to a common cross shaft 39 so as to move in unison and have bevelled heads 40 normally held in position by the stop pin 4| for each to engage its respective latch pin or keeper 42 properly placed on the heads of the inner breast l8, so that when the two breasts are swung together, the latches ride over and interlock with the pins 42 so as to hold the breast members assembled. The outer ends of the latches are out-turned as at 43 to form foot treadles so that the operator by pressing his foot on either of these may trip the latches and free the inner from the outer breast.

In Fig. 3 the dotted letters CG show the position of the center of gravity of the closed outer breast (shown in dotted lines) with reference to its pivotal center C in the position the latter assumes when the double breast is rolled out to clear the saws, and it will be at once apparent, by reference to the dotted line running through the centers C and CG of the outer breast shown open in full lines, to what extent the outer breast when closed is unbalanced so as to open itself by gravity the moment its latches 38 are kicked loose. When this is done the outer breast will swing out and come to rest in the full line position shown in Fig. 3, in which it is amply open for the roll to be dumped from the roll box. In connection with the dumping operation it is important to note that the outward bodily movement of the inner breast tilts it about its lower bearings 24 so as to increase the pitch of the upper portion of the ginning ribs 22 so that the latter will not constitute a shelf or support for the cotton roll in the roll box but will permit it freely to fall out. This is an important difference from the result obtained where the breasts are hinged to swing about a fixed upper pivot because there the lifting or opening of the inner breast tends to decrease the pitch of the ginning ribs and to increase their tendency to catch and hold the cotton roll so as to prevent its ready escape. It will also be noted that the outer breast will hang freely by gravity as in Fig. 3 in roll discharging position without requiring it be held there by the operator. Obviously the center of gravity will vary as to position in different outer breasts, but it must be displaced inwardly relatively to the vertical center line through its pivot (Fig. 3) sufficiently to cause the outer breast when unlatched to open by'gravity.

The closing of the outer breast from its open full line position, as shown in Fig. 3, is very easily and simply accomplished by grasping the handle 34 and running the inner breast in on its tracks I4 with the assistance of the springs Hi. If this is done reasonably rapidly the pivot C will take, as the inner breast rocks inwardly, such a lead over the center of gravity CG that, it will reach its full line or closed position Fig. 1 faster than CG will reach its full line position. This will unbalance the outer breast towards the gin and build up an inertia as a result of which this breast will swing its center of gravity on past a vertical line through the pivot C far enough for its latches 38 to engage and latch it to the inner breast. If it so happens that the movement of the breast is too slow to accomplish this outer breast closing operation entirely automatically the operator needs only to press with his left hand lightly against the front of the nearly balanced outer breast to give it the necessary additional impulse that will carry it into latching position, as shown in dotted lines Fig. 3. The burden and labor of manipulating the breast 36 by hand is thus entirely, or to all practical purposes, eliminated in my present invention and it is made quite simple and easy for an operator to set the breasts, and to leave them set, either in operative position relative to the saws, or with the breast elements assembled and moved out'to clear the saws, or with the breasts out and open to dump the roll.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications, without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a huller gin, saws, a double breast comprising a roll box, and means to move said double breast into and out of operative relation to the saws, said double breast comprising an inner breast and an outer breast, means to hang the outer breast in unbalanced relationship to the inner breast whereby its lower end when free will swing by gravity away from the inner breast into position to dump the roll box contents, and releasable means for normally holding the breasts assembled in operative relationship.

2. In a huller gin, saws, a double breast comprising a roll box, means to move said double breast into and out of operative relation to said saws, said double breast comprising an inner breast and an outer breast, means to pivotally mount the outer breast on the inner breast in position for the lower end of the former, when free, to swing away by gravity from the latter breast and hang in position to dump the roll box contents, and latch means normally holding the breasts assembled in operative relationship.

3. In a huller gin, saws, a double breast comprising a roll box, movable upper supports for said double breast, means to move said supports toward and from the gin to shift the double breast into and out of operative relation to the saws, said double breast comprising an inner breast and an outer breast, means to pivotally connect the upper portions of said breasts in position for the outer breast, when moved out of operative position and released, to swing its lower portion away by gravity from the inner breast and hang in position to dump the roll box contents, and latch means normally holding said breasts assembled.

4. In a huller gin, a double breast comprising inner and outer breasts, latch means to hold said breasts together in assembled relationship in which they are unbalanced towards the gin, means to move the assembled breasts bodily outwardly about a lower fulcrum on the gin into inoperative position, and means to suspend the outer breast so that it will be unbalanced outwardly in the inoperative position of the assembled breasts sufiiciently to swing open by gravity upon the release of said latch means and hang in roll-dumping position.

5. In a huller gin, saws, a double breast forming a roll box and comprising an inner breast, an outer breast hinged overhead to the inner breast, latch means to hold the breasts in assembled relationship, means to shift the upper portion of both breasts outwardly relatively to the gin to move them out of operative relation with the saws, a lower fulcrum about which the breasts rock as they shift, the double breast in its several operating positions remaining unbalanced toward the gin, and the hinge point of the outer breast being disposed to substantially unbalance it away from the gin when the breasts are in their outer inoperative position and to reduce the extent of the unbalanced condition as the outer breast is shifted inwardly towards operative position whereby sumcient inertia may be set up in the outer breast as to cause it automatically to relatch itself in operative relation to the inner breast.

6. In a huller gin, saws, a double breast comprising an inner and an outer breast, overhead breast supports movable on the gin to shift them into and out of operative position relative to the saws, the inner breast being substantially unbalanced toward the gin and the outer breast being substantially unbalanced and mounted to swing away from the inner breast when released, and latch means to releasably hold the inner and outer breast members engaged, a bottom fulcrum on which the lower end of the inner breast both slides and rocks as it is shifted, the pivotal center of the outer breast being such that its inward angular movement responsive to the closing of the inner breast will set up sufficient inertia and sufficiently reduce the unbalanced condition of the outer breast to enable it to relatch itself automatically to the inner breast when the latter resumes normal operative position.

7. A huller gin, comprising saws, a double breast forming a roll box and having an inner breast and an outer breast, shiftable supports on the gin for said double breast, the inner breast having the upper portion of its heads extended abnormally outwardly, pivotal supports for the outer breast in said extended portions of the inner breast whereby the outer breast is normally unbalanced to swing away from the gin, means latching the lower ends of the breast members together in operative position, and means to shift the supports for both inner and outer breast members toward and from the gin.

8. A huller gin, comprising saws, a double breast having an inner breast and an outer breast forming between them a roll box, upper shiftable supports for the double breast, and means to move said supports toward and from the gin to shift the double breast into and out of operative relation to the saws, the inner breast in all operative positions having its overhead pivotal axis disposed inwardly with respect to its center of gravity whereby it remains unbalanced toward the gin, pivotal supports for the outer breast so disposed that in all operative positions the outer breast will remain unbalanced away from the gin, means to latch the inner and outer gin sections in operative relationship, and a stop engaged by the lower end of the inner breast about which its upper portion, including the pivotal bearing for the outer breast, slides as the breasts are shifted and their respective pivotal supports shifted inwardly with respectto their respective centers of gravity.

9. In a huller gin, saws, an inner breast pivoted overhead to roller supports and having its lower end unbalanced, a bearing support about which the lower end of said breast is adapted to rock as the breast is moved to opened or closed position relative to the saws, said inner breast having extended heads, and an outer breast pivoted overhead in the extended portions of the heads in position to unbalance the outer breast so that it will swing by gravity to open position, coacting latch means mounted at both ends of the lower portion of the outer and inner breasts which will automatically engage when the double breast members are shifted inwardly with sufficient speed to set up an inertia in the open outer breast to overcome its unbalanced condition, and pedal actuated means to trip said latches from either end of the gin.

FRANK E. DEEMS.

All

Images