US2757795A - Tobacco grader with illuminable conveyor means - Google Patents

Description

P. M. PAGE Aug. 7 1956 TOBACCO GRADER WITH ILLUMINABLE CONVEYOR MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 18, 1954 Q mt Q9 mm m.\ nu I. QQ\\UH ll m Q E mmxwm mn Q9 wk a mm vm mm mm mm mm 7 a wm/ m 9 8 (m mw Pau/ M. Page INVENTOR.

BY 24mm United States Patent TOBACCO GRADER WITH ILLUMINABLE CONVEYOR MEANS The present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in a structurally novel apparatus characterized by carefully chosen and cooperating facilities which render the same aptly suitable for use in a packhouse for purposes of expeditiously handling and grading-tobacco before taking it to the market.

Those familiar with the harvesting of tobacco will agree that it is the general consensus among tobacco growers that ineffectual and poor sorting results in severe cuts in tobacco profits. It follows, that enterprising growers are, no doubt, seeking to improve cash returns by sorting and tying tobacco with care and caution before taking it to the market. Government graders find it necessary, time and again, to tag or otherwise mark undesirably mixed grades and, to an extent, such a predicament can be avoided, at least in many cases, if the growers would use expediency and care in the packhouse. It is understood that once the tobacco has been sorted and tied up it is then often too late to improve the situation.

It is generally conceded that a determining factor in Government support prices, now in vogue, is the oificial grade as determined, unbiased, of course, by carefully trained Government graders. Although, time and money involved in careful sorting may appear to some growers as an unnecessary waste of time and expense, the actual facts lead to the opposite conclusion. That is to say, careful sorting for the most part pays and this is especially true insofar as medium and lower grades of tobacco are concerned. In the high class or better grades, with a barn of tobacco falling into the first, second and third quality, removal of green and burnt leaves may be all that is necessary. However, these grades should be, manifestly, clean and uniform. One trouble, of course, is that in many localities all sorting and grading is still done by hand and this is a problem keeping in mind the continual decrease in farm labor supply and the vast amount of time wasted by the graders which, if the overall situation were systematized it would allow the farmer to do a lot of other jobs on the farm such as digging sweet potatoes, picking cotton, digging peanuts and so on.

It is also a matter of common knowledge that it may take some 130 man hours of hard labor to grade and tie an acre of tobacco, that is, an average of 1250 pounds. Because of these and other difficulties which have been met from time to time, it is the obvious object in the instant transaction to not only streamline the grading and tying procedure but to put it on an assembly line basis inasmuch as experience with the apparatus herein revealed has shown that with a proper crew of graders it is easily possible to grade and tie, say 1506 pounds and have it ready for the market in 100 man hours chopping at least 46 man hours when the old hand method of grading and tying is followed.

There is no special virtue in tied ready-for-sale tobacco merely because it has been hand-sorted by old time sorters. While so-called varying standards for grading vary in the different sections, it is generally felt that most tobacco farmers and growers do a satisfactory sorting job before the, sale, even by hand, but many are paying unnecessarily for pursuing the hand procedure when it is possible to do a more adequately and far less laborious job with a structural device; namely the grading apparatus which is the subject matter of the instant invention. It follows that the object in the instant matter is to provide a simple, practicable and lightweight portable grading apparatus which can be brought into the packhouse and shifted about from place to place and in which manufacturers and users will find their respective requirements and needs effectually taken into account and met.

Broadly, a preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized by a leg-supported or equivalent, horizontally elongated table which is of a length suficient to accommodate several or more experienced graders, with the graders standing along one longitudinal edge of the machine and tossing aside the nondescript and placing it in defined compartments all of the leaf except that of the major grade which is borne away by an additional helper in much the same manner as the off-bearer takes away lumber at the old and familiar sawmill.

Another object of the invention has to do with a hard top table with conveyor means, broadly conveyor belts, a slowly moving upper run of the over-all belt traversing along the table so that the tobacco is moved slowly and sorted, there being a readily attachable and detachable receiving shelf at the intake end on which the overall batch is loaded as the first grading step.

Novelty is predicated on a simple rack which is readily attachable to and detachable from an intermediate longitudinal marginal portion of the table and which is characterized by upstanding rods, or the like, which are used to define bins or pens to assist in the ever-pressing sorting procedure.

Novelty is also predicated upon the table with conveyormeans, rack means, and what is just important, a source of fluorescent lighting whose quality nearly duplicates the quality of light in the tobacco warehouse making it possible to thus sort out or grade the tobacco and tie it when the lighting conditions are similar to those in which it is later to be sold at the warehouse. In addition, the light permits around-the-clock grading in cloudy, sunny, rainy or varying Weather conditions.

Further novelty is predicated on the use of one or more fluorescent tubes providing a combination of shades of light, for example, daylight and cool-white, whereby these thus blended and merging rays consolidate and effectually show up the variant spectrum colors in the leaves of cured tobacco better than natural daylight and appreciably speed up the time in recognizing the grades by way of texture and color almost without hesitating doubts.

Other objects, features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawings wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a tobacco grading apparatus which is especially, but not necessarily, designed for use as a portable grader in a conventional packhouse.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the same.

Figure 3 is a section taken on the irregular line 3-3 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a view in section and elevation taken on the approximate line 4-4 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figures 5 and 6 are similar detail views taken on the lines 5-5 and 6-6 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 7 is a view on the line 7-7 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 8 is a view in section and elevation of the motor support means which may be said to be taken approximately on the line 8-8 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 9 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional and elevational view taken on the line 9-9 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 10 is a bottom plan view of the attachable and detachable shelf at the receiving end, the right hand end in Figures 1 and 2.

Figures 11, 12 and 13 are enlarged detail clevational views of one of the brackets used at the right hand end of the machine to support the roller and also to facilitate attachment and detachment of the shelf.

Figures 14 and 15 are views similar to Figures ll, 12 and 13 except that they show the similarly constructed hanger brackets used at the left hand end of the table, for example, in Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawings with reference numerals and the aid of lead lines, the larger unit of the over-all structure is conveniently designated as a portable legsupported table. As shown, for example, in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the top or table proper is denoted by the numeral 18 and it is an elongate solid board or the like, supported by underlying spaced parallel longitudinal rails 20-20. The supporting legs are denoted by the numerals 22-22. There is a brace board 24 between the legs as shown for example, in Figure 3, with stay rods 26 passing through the legs and assisting in securing the board in place. There is a similar brace board 28 (see Figure 7) beneath the top and this has its ends seated in cut out recesses 30-30, there being a stay bolt, or rod, 32 to assist in rigidifying the cooperation of the parts.

Referring now to the right hand ends of the side rails 20-20, in Figure 1, for example, there is a specially designed bracket provided, on each rail, of course, and said bracket is denoted by the numeral 34. It is shown in Figures ll, 12 and 13 and will be described in detail later on. These two brackets are adjustably mounted on the side rails and they serve to rotatably support a freely rotatable roller 36 therebetween. Similar support brackets are provided at the opposite or left hand end and these are denoted by the numerals 38-38. They are shown with greater particularity in Figures 14 and 15 and will be described later. In any event, these two brackets serve primarily to support the conveyor roller 40 and these two rollers support and operate the endless belt means. Instead of using a web-type belt, a plurality of endless cords, or elements, 42 are provided and these are trained over grooves 44 (see Figure 4) formed in the surface or peripheral portions of the respective rollers. Thus, these endless cords or belts, are friction driven. As shown in Figure 4, the roller is in turn driven by a pulley 46 receiving motion from a belt 48 operating over a second pulley 50 mounted for operation on a gear box, or other equivalent transmission unit 52 (see Figure 1) which latter is supported on an end portion 54 of a platform 56 carrying the electric motor 58. Appropriate clutch means is denoted at 60. Thus, we have a prime mover and transmission means at the left hand end of the structure for turning or operating the roller 40 and operating the endless belts or cords with the upper runs of the latter traveling in sliding contact with the upper surface of the table top 18. The cords are sutficiently spaced apart in parallelism to provide ample room for the attendants or graders to have finger room to assist in lifting and lowering and otherwise handling the tobacco stems and leaves. Not only this, the individual belts feed the tobacco leaves more successfully and prevent displacement as occurs with a solid web-type of a belt. Also, in connection with Figure 1, the numeral 62 designates a backboard which stands vertically and causes the tobacco to pile up at this point and this in turn is provided with arcuate fingers 64 which have their free end portions operating in the spaces between the adjacent end portions of the endless cords or belts. The over-all assemblage of fingers 64 forms a sort of an anti-clogging grill and permits certain of the finer pieces of tobacco leaves, so-called trash to pass on through while the intact and larger leaves are caused to pile up for subsequent removal.

Reverting to the brackets 34, as shown in Figures 11, 12 and 13, each bracket is a suitable plate 66 having elongate slots 68 to accommodate attaching bolts 70. There is a laterally directed lug or car 72 at one end to accommodate an adjusting screw 74 which is suitably mounted in a smaller or auxiliary bracket 76 on the side rail. At the extreme right hand end of the bracket there is an offset portion 78 carrying a bearing 80 for the roller journals and having a lateral flange 82 provided with a keeper notch 84. The two keeper notches serve to accommodate attaching studs 86 (see Figure 9) carried by upright frame members 88 provided on the attachable and detachable tobacco receiving shelf 9. The frame means also includes horizontal angle irons or equivalent members 92 on the underneath side of the shelf and diagonal braces 94. Thus, we have an elongate rectangular shelf which is shown in bottom plane in Figure 10, and which is readily applicable and removable and can be attached to the respective brackets 34-34 by way of the stud and notch means detailed in Figure 9. It will be noticed that the attachable end of the shelf is in a plane above the top of the belts and rollers and therefore a segmental portion of the roller is actually underneath the end portion of the shelf. Thus, the tobacco which is to be graded is dumped loosely on this shelf as the starting point.

The brackets 38-38 at the opposite end are of similar construction in that each one includes a plate 96 with a bearing at one end as at 98 to accommodate the journal on the adjacent roller. There is a lateral end portion 100 to accommodate the adjusting and take up screw 102 mounted in the bracket 104. The horizontal outstanding flange 106 serves to accommodate a jack screw 108 which interconnects the platform member 54 with the bracket 38 all as shown at the left in Figure I. It might also be stated that there are depending hangers at this end which are denoted by the numerals 110 and these are on opposite sides of the frame structure and are spaced apart as shown in Figure 8 and they carry a shaft 112 which accommodates the hinging sleeve 114 held in place by the collar 116 on the shaft. This allows the platform members 54 and 56 to be tilted down or up after which the jack screw is tightened and maintains the desired driving tension between the pulleys and belt trained over said pulleys. This arrangement also allows the motor to be removed for repairs and adjustment by simply driving the shaft 28 out of the bearings provided therefore in the lower end portions of the hangers 110. Some of these details, such as the specific brackets 34-34, 38-38 and the hangers 110 and motor support and drive means, are incidental parts which have been included for completeness of illustration and understanding of the operation of the over-all device. In a similar category are the brackets 118 which appear in Figure l and which depend below the side rails 20 and carry rollers 120 (see Figure 3) which support the lower runs of the cord belts in the manner shown ,in dotted lines in Figure l, and in full lines in Figure 3.

Attention is now directed to the rack means and this is a readily attachable and detachable device which is referred to generally by the numeral 122 in Figure 5. The rack means actually comprises a pair of space parallel planks or boards 124-214 supported on the crosshead portion 126 of the T-shaped attaching means. The latter includes a vertical member 128 which is removably mounted in sockets 130 provided on the arm portions of the U-shaped attaching brackets 132, all as shown in Figure 5. It is possible for two attendants to catch hold, at the opposite ends of the rack, and lift it up either emptied or loaded and move it around. If,

vantage.

that they do not have to pause long to distinguish grades,

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for example, after it is loaded, it may be desired to the lower one by the numeral 140 andthey are bolted together at 142 thus making it possible to shift the stakes toward and from each other to define pens of varying sizes into which the graded qualities of tobacco leaves are systematically isolated and readied for handy tying.

The lighting means may vary in construction and may comprise a plurality of lighting devices. However, the one shown in the drawings is sufiiciently exemplary to illustrate the points herein to be made.

attached to one of the side rails of the table structure as shown atl46 in Figure 3. There is a reach arm 148 That is to say,. i there is an upright 144 provided and this is suitably ported table having rollers at its opposite ends, a motor at one end, an'operating connection between the motor and the adjacent roller, endless conveyor elements trained over the respective rollers and having cooperating association with the top of the table, a sorting rack detachably mounted on an intermediate portion of one longitudinal side of said table, an upright mounted on the same side of the table as said rack, fluorescent lights mounted on said upright and located in a plane above said rack, said rackhaving adjustable rods forming 00 operating stacking pens, and a loading shelf at the intake end of said table having means for detachable connection with the stated intake end of said table.

2. For use. in a tobacco sorting packhouse, a portable easily shiftable tobacco grading apparatus comprising a leg supported table having a solid horizontally elongated top, spaced brackets attached to and projecting beyond the respective end portions of said table and provided with bearings, rollers mounted between the respective pairs of brackets and having journals rotatable in their respective cooperating bearings, belt means trained over the rollers, the upper run of the belt means having movable contact with the table top, said belt means which is horizontally disposed and this'is connected, with 1 a cross head 156 which in turn supports a canopy or appropriate hood-like reflector 152 for the fluorescent lights. and, as stated, one of these is preferably a so-called daylight? ray or energy type and the other one a so-called cool-white ray. Therefore, when the merging rays of light'are focused on the moving tobacco in combination with each other, the shades of light blend and merge and eflectually show up the variant spectrum colors in the leaves of cured tobacco better than natural daylight and appreciably speed up the time in recognizing the grades by way of texture and color and almost without hesitancy' or doubt the choices and grading steps are handily taken care of. Experience shows that special lights make it possible to clearly bring out the orange and lemon colors in particular, and to thus grade the tobacco to best ad- Users of the machine have repeatedly said that they get through the job faster and that the marketed tobacco brings the highest possible prices.

It is within the purview ofthe invention to'utilize special fluorescent light which has been devised to put out a special ray of light having the potential of even more satisfactory lighting up the moving tobacco and bringing out the colors, texture defects and other marks which enable expert graders to accomplish their work results with the least possible confusion and delay.

The invention grew out of the need to find a quicker and better way of readying tobacco for tying. There are a number of farm jobs which seem to need doing all at one time. One of the problems, if only tobacco is considered, is to get tobacco graded, tied and marketed in the short period the markets on the home front are i This machine, and its motor construction and operation appears to be clear from the drawings and description, does thejob and is indeed that which fulfills a long felt need and achieves intended results with the utmost inefiiciency.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However,

since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows: 1. A tobacco grading apparatus comprising a leg-sup- Generally, there are two such lights 154 and 156 comprising a plurality of individual endless cords in spaced apart parallelism, said rollers having peripheral grooves with which'cooperating portions'of the cords have friction driven keyed association, a readily attachable and detachable longitudinally elongated tobacco receiving and piling shelf, and means whereby the same is detachably connectable with a cooperating end portion of said table, brackets mounted on an intermediate portion of one longitudinal side of said table, a rack having depending members detachably connected to said brackets, said rack embodying spaced parallel planks, a plurality of rod members having clamps at their lower ends detachably and adjustably mounted on the respective planks and rising vertically above said planks and cooperating with one another in defining adjustable grading pens.

3. A tobacco grading apparatus comprising a legsupported table having rollers at its opposite ends, a

- motor at one end, an operating connection between the 'motor and the adjacent roller, endless conveyor elelights mounted on said upright and located in a plane above said rack, said rack having adjustable rods forming cooperating stacking pens, and a loading shelf at the intake end of said table having means for detachable connection with the statedintake end of said table,

said table having a solid horizontally elongated top, said endless conveyor elements comprising a plurality of endless cords in spaced parallelism, the surfaces of said rollers having peripheral grooves with which the cooperating portions of the respective individual cords have friction driven keyed association.

References Cited in the file of this patent 'UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,534,663 Sammis Apr. 21, 1925 1,734,318 Bloom Nov. 5, 1929 1,884,101 Moe Oct. 25, 1932 2,011,969 Cavanaugh Aug. 20, 1935 2,359,165 Shuman Sept. 26, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS 262,575 Great Britain Dec. 16, 1926

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