US2681474A - Cotton processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

June 22, 1954 M. STEELE COTTON PROCESSING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 15. 1952 urn I MAco/v L. STEELE IN VE N 70/? HUEBNER, BEEHLER,

WORREL 8 HERZIG' ATTORNEY:

June 22, 1954 M. STEELE COTTON PROCESSING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 15, '1952 MACON L. STEELE lNVfNTO/P HUEBNER, BEE/(LEE,

WORREL 8 HERZ/G ATTORNEYS BY way/M Patented June 22, 1954 COTTON PROCESSING APPARATUS Macon L. Steele, Fresno, Calif., assignor to Producers Cotton Oil Company, Fresno, Calif.

Application July 15, 1952, Serial No. 298,924

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to cotton processing apparatus and more particularly to a cotton boll breaker.

Although it has long been known to clean seed cotton preliminary to ginning operations by means of cleaners or extractors, the problems incident to the ginning of the cotton contained in unopened or partially opened bolls have generally been regarded as insurmountable. The inability properly to gin cotton in such bolls and the frequency with which weather conditions inhibit proper boll opening have heretofore resulted in considerable waste of potentially available cotton fiber.

.Extensive efforts by almost all commercial gins to solve the problem of extraction of cotton lint from unopened bolls belies the apparent simplicity of the problem which would appear to be solvable by any simple crushing or tearing operation. Previous unsuccessful efforts to solve the problem have generally been concerned with operations which have either inadequately exposed the lint for ginning purposes or have so lowered the quality of the lint in making it available as to preclude commercial feasibility.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatus for the preconditioning of unopened or inadequately opened bolls for subsequent ginning.

Another object is to salvage cotton lint from unopened and inadequately opened bolls.

Another object is to provide a boll breaking apparatus that is conveniently incorporated into existing and new gins utilizing air line conveyors.

Another object is to provide a cotton boll breaker which successfully shatters inadequately opened bolls and exercises impelling forces thereon obviating clogging.

Another object is to provide a bull breaker which is economical to construct, durable in form, convenient and easy to repair, and fully efiective in accomplishing its intended functions.

Further objects and. advantages will become apparent in the subsequent description in the specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a cotton ginning apparatus incorporating the boll breaker of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a somewhat enlarged perspective view of the boll breaker shown in Fig. 1 and bypass conduit therefor.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the boll breaker shown in Fig. 1 as viewed from line 3-3.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on. line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal section taken on line 55 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is anenlarged perspective view of a fragment of a drive shaft utilized in the boll breaker showing a pair of blades mounted thereon.

Referring in greater detail to the drawings:

Although it will be understood that the boll breaker of the present invention can be successfully utilized in numerous operational environments, portions of a conventional cotton gin are illustrated in Fig. 1 to demonstrate one such environment in which the breaker has been popularly employed. The numeral It) represents an intake conduit through which cotton is delivered to the boll breaker of the present invention for treatment preliminary to ginning operations. It is the usual practice to provide the conduit with a flexible extended end, not shown, which may be lowered into a cotton trailer or the like to draw cotton upwardly therefrom. Conventionally the supply conduit is connected to a separator H having a vacuum manifold 12 through which dirt and debris is drawn from cotton passed through the separator. A blower I3 has an intake connected to the vacuum manifold and serves not only to draw dirt and debris from the separator I2 but so reduces the air pressure in the separator to such an extent that cotton is drawn through the supply conduit l and into the separator. A vertical accumulating chamber I4 is connected to the separator and extended downwardly for connection to a baffie drum l which serves to regulate the rate of cotton passage into a drier It. Cotton is drawn from the drier through an air line H for delivery to a gin feeder, not shown.

The boll breaker of the present invention indicated generally at is conveniently interposed between the intakeconduit Hi and the separator l l. A bifurcated fitting 2! is connected to the intake conduit and provides a pair of outlets 22 and 23. A butterfly valve is mounted in the fitting and is adjustably positioned to direct cotton drawn through the intake conduit 1c selectively out either of the outlets. 'A bypass conduit 25 interconnects the outlet 22 and the separator I l.

A supply conduit 28 is connected to the outlet 23 of the fitting 2i and to an intake 29 of the boll breaker 20. A discharge conduit 38 is connected between an outlet 3| of the boll breaker and the separator. As a measure of convenience, the discharge conduit 30 and. the bypass conduit 25 3 preferably join prior to connection to the separator.

As most clearly evident in Figs. 1 and 5, the boll breaker 20 utilizes a housing 33 having a pair of symmetrical sides 34 located in substantially erect parallel planes. The sides are preferably symmetrical providing similarly shaped upper and lower edges each having a fracto-circular central portion 35 and oppositely extended convergent portions 36. An upper panel 31 and a lower panel 38 are fitted to the upper and lower edges of the sides 34 respectively and secured thereto. It will be apparent, that the housing may be fabricated from sheet metal or other suitable material.

It is significantthat the intake 23 and the outlet 3! defined by the sides 34 and panels 31 and 38 of the housing are substantially horizontally oppositely disposed and are aligned substantially diametrically of the housing.

Although the boll breaker 20'may be mounted or supported in any suitable manner, it has been found convenient to provide a hanger 40 of angle iron or the like at each side of the housing. The hangers are conveniently suspended from any desired support, not shown. A pillow block All is bolted to each of the hangers and provides a bearing 42 extended concentrically in each of the sides 34 of the housing. An elongated drive shaft 45 has cylindrical opposite end portions 46 journaled in the bearings and an intermediate portion 41 of hexagonal or other desired polygonal cross-section.

A pulley 50 is mounted on the shaft 45 externally of the housing 33 and driven by means of a motor through a drive belt 52, or by any other suitable means. It is significant, as will subsequently become apparent, that the shaft 45 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 5.

A plurality of pairs of blades 55 are mounted on the intermediate portion 41 of the shaft and laterally extended therefrom. As best shown in Figs. 4 and 6, each blade is formed from an elongated fiat strap of iron, steel, or other suitable material and has an extended end 55 and a mounting end 51 of substantially U-shape. The mounting end is formed by a return bend so as to provide a flat mounting portion 58 edgewardly engaged with the shaft 45 and a return bent portion 53 also edgewardly engaged with the shaft. The mounting end 51 has a terminus 50 disposed toward the extended end of the blade and is terminated short thereof; The edges of the mounting portions 51 and 58 engaged with the shaft are notched, as at 6|, in fitted engagement tothe shaft. It will be noted that the notches of the blades shown in Fig. 6 have a trapezoidal form and span a face of the hexagonal portion of the shaft. If all of the blades are so notched, they may be located on a hexagonal shaft in 120 angular relation. The applicant prefers, however, to mount adjacent blades in 90 angular relation, as shown in Fig. 5, thus alternate blades are provided with the trapezoidal notches SI and the intermediate blades provided with triangular notches B2.

The blades 55 are clamped against the hexagonal portion 4! of'the shaft 45 by a pair of bolts 64' extended between the parallel portions 58 and 59 of the blades of each pair on opposite sides of the shaft. Washers 65 and nuts 65 mounted on the bolts serve to clamp the blades against the shaft.

Any desired: number of sets of blades may be.

utilized but a popular form thereof provides 21 sets of blades equally spaced along the intermediate portion 41 of the shaft which is about 52 inches long. The extended ends 56 of the blades terminate in adjacent spaced relation to the panels 31 and 38 of the housing.

Operation The operation of the boll breaker of the present invention is believed to be clearly apparent and is briefiy summarized at this point. The blower I3 is actuated in the well known manner to reduce the air pressure within the separator H and discharge conduit 30 relative to the air pressure in the housing 33, supply conduit 28, and intake conduit If] so as to draw cotton through the conduits and housing. When said cotton is drawn into the intake conduit iii which is suitable for ginning without breaking inadequately opened bolls thereof, the valve 24 is positioned to close the supply conduit 28 and to divert the cotton through the bypass conduit 25.

When the cotton drawn into the intake conduit It includes appreciable quantities of inadequately opened bolls, the valve 24 is positioned, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, to direct the bolls of cotton through the supply conduit 28, housing 33, and discharge conduit. 30.

It is the usual practice in cotton gins utilizing air line conveyors to draw the air through the conduits at a velocity offrom 2500 to 4500 linear feet per minute. The velocity of air flow through the conduits H], 28, and 30 and the housing 33 is usually confined to this range for general operating convenience. Cotton bolls drawn through the conduits and housing; indicated at 68, do not travel as fast as the air stream and thus tumble and slide along the bottoms of the conduitsv and the housing. This is significant in. that it is preferred that most of the bolls to be broken passbelow the shaft 45 in traveling through the housing 33. r

As illustrated in Fig. 5, the shaft 45 is rotated by the motor 5| in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed, so that the blades travel below the shaft 45 from the inlet 29 toward the outlet 3|. The bolls S8 tumble and slide along the supply conduit 28 into the housing and thence below the shaft 45. The shaft is rotated at such a speed that the blades 55 hit the bolls in the direction in which they are moving. This hitting action not only is found to shatter the bolls and make the cotton lint contained therein available f nning but to accomplish the breaking of the bolls with no detectible damage to the lint. Further, this hitting action precludes clogging of the housing under the operational conditions noted by batting 'the bolls into the discharge'conduit 30. for subsequent passage to the separator l I; It has been found, that if the blower. l3 issuddenly deenergized, theblades 55 completely clear the housing 33 without the aid of any appreciableair movement therethrough. Although the shaft may be'rotated throughout a considerable range of speeds, it is obvious that the blades must have a velocity greater than the velocity of the bolls 68 through the conduits and housing. With the air stream drawn through the conduits and housing at between 2500 and 4500 linear feet per minute, the shaft 45. when rotated at a thousand revolutions per minute, and'mounting blades which extend substantially 8 inches from the shaft, imparts to the boll breaker effective operation in breaking all bolls passed therethrough. At such a speed of rotaass 1,474

of the present invention is that the bolls 68 are. drawn through the housing 33 by substantially.

reducing the air pressure in the discharge conduit over that in the supply conduit. Although the boll breaker has proved completely successful in the breaking of bolls when operated as shown and described, the motivation of bolls through the housing by connecting ablower to the supply conduit to force air through the housing has been found to be entirely impractical because of the resultant clogging in the housing. In other words, the boll breaker operates highly successfully when the bolls are motivated by a vacuum action and is substantially inoperable when the bolls are motivated by air pressure applied to the intak side. Casual observation would indicate, that these means of motivation would be equivalents but such is not found to be the case.

After extensive effort by cotton gin operators for many years successfully and economically to break cotton bolls for ginning purposes, the subject boll breaker has proved to be the first successfully and economically to accomplish the purpose. For the first time th ginning of inadequately opened cotton bolls is made possible and a substantial source of previously wasted cotton made commercially available.

In the event of breakage, wear, or maladjustment of the blades 55, each of which is extremely rare, the blades can be conveniently replaced by removing the nuts 65 from the bolts 64 and simply lifting the blades from the shaft 45. Convenient access to the housing is provided by fabricating the upper panel 3! so that the portion thereof fitted to the fracto-circular edges 35 of the sides 34 is removable. This may be accomplished in any suitable manner and is not an essential feature of the invention. It is significant to note that the bolls 60, when they are struck in the housing by the blades 55 and batted into the discharge conduit 30, are only engaged by the edges of the blades. This has been found superior to engagement with flat paddle members and of much less air disturbing effect.

Although the invention has been herein shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus.

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

1. In a cotton gin, a boll breaker comprising substantially symmetrical housing having an enlarged central portion and oppositely disposed inlet and outlet openings; a supply conduit connected to the inlet opening of the housing being open to the atmosphere and adapted to deliver cotton bolls to the housing; a discharge conduit connected to the outlet opening of the housing; means for reducing the air pressure on the discharge conduit whereby cotton bolls are drawn through the housing; an elongated drive shaft having axially aligned cylindrical opposite jour nal end portions and an intermediate portion of polygonal cross section; bearings engaged with the journal end portions of the driv shaft mounting the shaft concentrically in the central portion of the symmetrical housing; pairs of blades positioned transversely on the intermediate portion of the drive shaft, each blade including an elongated flat strap having an extended end and a mounting end of substantially U- shape providing substantially parallel sides with the mounting end disposed toward the extended end and terminating short thereof, the blades of each pair being located on opposite sides of the shaft, oppositely extended from the shaft in substantially parallel relation, and having notches in the edges of the parallel sides of their mountihgends fitted to the polygonal portion of the shaft with opposite sides of the parallel sides of the blades in each pair located in common planes normal to the shaft; a pair of bolts extending between the parallel sides of both blades of each pair on opposite sides of the shaft clamping the blades against the shaft; and means having driving connection to the shaft for rotat ing the shaft in the housing.

2. In a cotton boll breaker, the combination of an elongated drive shaft having axially aligned cylindrical opposite journal end portions and an intermediate portion of polygonal cross section; pairs of blades positioned transversely on the intermediate portion of the drive shaft, each blade including an elongated flat strap having an extended end and a mounting end of substantially U-shape providing substantially parallel mounting portions with the terminus of the mounting end disposed toward the extended end and terminating short thereof, the blades of each pair being on opposite sides of the shaft, oppositely extended from the shaft in substantially parallel relation, and having notches in the edges of the parallel portions of their mounting ends fitted to the polygonal portion of the shaft with opposite sides of the parallel portions of the blades in each pair located in common planes normal to the shaft with the parallel sides of each blade being on the same side of the shaft; and a pair of bolts extended between the parallel portions of both blades of each pair on opposite sides of the shaft clamping the blades against the shaft.

3. A cotton boll breaker comprising a housing having a pair of substantially symmetrical sides located in substantially parallel erect planes having opposite edges providing concentric fractocircular central edge portions and oppositely extended convergent edge portions, and top and bottom panels fitted along the edges of the sides and secured thereto and with the sidesv defining an inlet opening and an outlet opening diametrically related to the fracto-circular portions of the edges of the sides; a supply conduit connected to the inlet opening of the housing being open to the atmosphere and adapted to deliver cotton bolls to the housing; a discharge conduit connected to the outlet opening of the housing; means for reducing air pressure in the discharge conduit whereby cotton bolls are drawn through the housing; and elongated substantially horl zontal drive shaft having axially aligned cylindrical portions journaled in the sides of the housing concentrically of the fracto-circular portions thereof and an intermediate portion of polygonal cross section; pairs of blades positioned. transversely on the intermediate portion of the drive shaft, each blade including an elongated flat 7 strap having-an extended end in adjacent spaced relation to the panels of the housing and a mounting end of substantially U-shape providing substantially parallel sides with the mounting.

the shaft; a pair of bolts extending between the parallel sides of both blades of each pair on opposite sides of the shaft clamping the blades against the shaft; and means having driving connection with the shaft rotating the shaft in.

a direction causing the blades to travel from the inlet opening toward the outlet opening in the lower portion of the housing and at a speed causing said blades to so travel at a speed greater than the speed of movement of bolls through the housing incident to reduction of air pressure in the discharge conduit.

4. A cotton boll breaker comprising a housing;

means for directing cotton bolls through the housing in an air stream; a drive shaft journaled. in the housing having an intermediate portion of polygonal cross section disposed transversely of the air stream in the housing; means for ro'- tating-the drive shaft; pairs of blades positioned transversely on the intermediate portion of the drive shaft, each blade including an elongated fiat strap having an extended end and a mounting end ofsubstantially U-shape providing substantially parallel sides with the mounting end disposed toward the extended end and terminating short thereof, the blades of each pair being located on opposite sides of the shaft, oppositely extended from the shaft in substantially parallel relation, and having notches in the edges of the parallel sides of their mounting ends fitted to the polygonal portion of the shaft with opposite sides ofv the parallel sides of the blades in each pair located in common planes normal to the shaft; and a pair of bolts extending between the parallel sides of both blades of each pair on opposite sides of the shaft clamping the blades against the shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,260,581 Rodgers Mar. 26, 1918 1,397,257 Stacy Nov. 15, 1921 1,488,338 Gilmore Mar. 25, 1924 1,549,972 Hancock Aug. 18, 1925 2,477,628 Lanter Aug. 2. 1949

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