US3490101A - Gratefall adjusting mechanism for cotton processing machinery - Google Patents

Description

Jan..20, 1970 e. A. FOUNTAIN 3,490,101

GRATEFALL ADJUSTING MECHANISM FOR COTTON PROCESSING MACHINERY l: I MG. 2

Jan. 20, 1970 a. A. FOUNTAIN GRATEFALL ADJUSTING MECHANISM FOR COTTON PROCESSING MACHINERY 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 1, 1968 Jan. 20, 1970 G. A. FOUNTAQN 3,490,101

GRATEFALL ADJUSTING MECHANISM FOR COTTON PROCESSING MACHINERY Filed May 1, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I as q wg I 0 on United States Patent 3,490,101 GRATEFALL ADJUSTING MECHANISM FOR COTTON PROCESSING MACHINERY George A. Fountain, East Bridgewater, Mass., assignor to North American Rockwell Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 1, 1968, Ser. No. 725,769 Int. Cl. D01b 1/08 US. Cl. 1955 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An improved gratefall adjusting mechanism for cotton processing machinery wherein the entire gratefall can be positioned with respect to the saws of the machinery by inter-connected positioning devices adapted to operate in unison by actuating means whereby the gratefall is moved along certain predetermined paths resulting in direct and proper positioning of the entire gratefall.

This invention relates to mechanisms for adjusting the positions of gratefalls of cotton processing machinery and, more particularly, to an improved gratefall adjusting mechanism for simultaneously and uniformly adjusting the position of the entire gratefall relative to the remainder of the machine.

Cotton processing machines such as cotton seed delinters and cotton gins utilize rotating saws to remove the cotton from the cotton seed. More particularly, these machines have a saw cylinder comprised of a large number of circular saws mounted on a common horizontal axis for rotation as an integral units about the axis, the saws being axially spaced-apart so that there is an axial space between each adjacent pair of saws. These machines further include a gratefall having a large number of spaced-apart parallel members, and the gratefall is positioned during machine operation such that the parallel members extend through respective ones of the axial spaces between the saws, there being as many parallel members as there are axial spaces. For proper operation, it is essential that the entire gratefall be properly positioned relative to the peripheral portions of the circular saws. This means, of course, that the position of the gratefall relative to the stationary portions of the machine, including the fixed horizontal axis about which the saw cylinder rotates, should be adjusted each time the saws are sharpened since sharpening necessarily changes the diameter of the saws. In the case of cotton seed delinters, resharpening of the saw teeth is required at least once during each twenty-four hour period of operation for effective and efiicient de-linting. The resulting requirement for equally frequent adjustment of the gratefall position has been a perennial and critical problem in cotton processing plants. The present invention provides a accurate, simple, and easily operated mechanism for making these necessary adjustments as otfen as desired.

To appreciate the magnitude of the problems heretofore encountered when adjusting the positions of gratefalls, it will be well to review briefly the dimensions of a typical de-linter. One such machine has 176 saws mounted on a saw cylinder that is 61.1875 inches long. With each of the 18 inch diameter saws having a thickness of approximately 0.035 inch, the axial spaces have widths of approximately 0.315 inch. Since the parallel members extending through the spaces have widths of approximately 0.250 inch, there is an ideal clearance of approximately 0.0325 inch, between each of the parallel members and each of its adjacent saws. At this point, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the entire gratefall and its parallel members must be accurately po- 3,490,101 Patented Jan. 20, 1970 sitioned relative to the peripheral portions of the saws not only to attain maximum quality and quantity of production, but also to prevent rubbing between the parallel members and the associated saws. Such rubbing can result in fires, the drawing of excessive horsepower since heavy rubbing can act as a very effective brake on the saw cylinder, and damaged saws which must be replaced prematurely.

Prior to this invention, the positions of gratefalls have been adjusted by individually and sequentially adjusting a plurality of adjusting screws located between the stationary support structure of the machine and the upper and lower portions of the gratefall. Since the diameters of the saws can be reduced very substantially before the saws lose their effectiveness and must be discarded, the adjusting screws used heretofore had to be capable of adjuting the position of the gratefall through a range of several inches as well as being capable of extremely accurate adjustment. The usual practice heretofore has been to adjust one screw at a time, using suitable gages to insure that the adjacent portions of the gratefall are properly positioned relative to the peripheral portions of the adjacent saws. After each screw is adjusted, the gauges are moved to the vicinity of the next screw, which is then adjusted in a similar manner. Since the position of each screw will necessarily have some effect on the gratefall positioning in the vicinity of the other screws, it is necessary to use the gauges at least one more time in the vicinity of each screw for making fine adjustments after all of the screws have been initially positioned. While this approach is time consuming under the best of conditions, it is theoretically effective and should, if carefully performed, provide accurate positioning of the gratefall. Unfortunately, however, the labor available at cotton processing plants is usually of the unskilled type and cannot be relied upon to properly adjust the machines without constant and close supervision. As a result, cotton processing plants in general, and cotton seed de-linting plants in particular because of the requirement for frequent saw sharpening, have been plagued over the years with improperly positioned gratefalls, the results being ineffective and inefficient cotton processing, fires, overloading of the power supply, and damaged saws.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide for cotton processing machinery an improved gratefall adjusting mechanism by which the gratefall may be accurately positioned by unskilled labor.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved gratefall adjusting mechanism by which the gratefall may be both accurately and rapidly positioned.

Still another object is to provide a gratefall adjusting mechanism which does not require the use of gauges for normal adjustments.

A further object of the invention is to provide a gratefall adjusting mechanism by which the entire gratefall can be positioned by making a single adjustment.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved gratefall adjusting mechanism not subject to the problems often associated with prior art mechanisms, these including ineffective and inefficient cotton processing, fires, overloading of the power supply, and damaged saws.

Briefly stated, in carrying out the invention in one form, the improved adjusting mechanism includes first and second connecting means between the stationary portions of the machine and the upper and lower portions, respectively, of the gratefall, which includes a large number of parallel members extending in one-to-one relationship through the axial spaces between the saws. Each axial portion of the first connecting means constrains the adjacent portions of the gratefall, including the upper ends of the adjacent parallel members to movement along first predetermined paths, and each axial portion of the second connecting means constrains the adjacent portions of the gratefall, including the lower ends of the adjacent parallel members to movement along second predetermined paths. A plurality of positioning devices each associated with an axial portion of the first connecting means are provided for positioning the adjacent upper portions of the gratefall at selected positions along the first predetermined paths, the upper ends of the parallel members being at each selected position properly positioned for one and only one saw diameter. The positioning devices are interconnected for operation in unison by actuating means so that the entire upper portion of the gratefall may be simultaneously and uniformly moved along the first predetermined paths, and the second connecting means are constructed such that operation of the actuating means results in corresponding and uniform movement of the entire lower portion of the gratefall along the second predetermined paths, there being for each selected position along the first predetermined paths one and only one respective position along the second predetermined paths. The lower ends of the parallel members are at each respective position properly positioned forthe one and only one saw diameter. Accordingly, operation of the actuating means results in direct and proper positioning of the entire gratefall.

By a further aspect of the invention, the first conecting means includes a plurality of hinge members pivotally connected at their opposite ends to the stationary portions of the machine and to the gratefall, and the second connecting means includes a. plurality of cam means between the stationary portions and the gratefall. The positioning means are each located between the stationary portions and the respective hinge for directly positioning the hinge and indirectly positionng the gratefall. More partcularly, the positioning means preferably include a worm gear operated shaft movable relative to a fixed housing for varying the distance between the stationary portions and the gratefall, and the actuating means preferably includes a plurality of interconnected worms for operating the worm gears and the associated shafts in unison. By a still further aspect of the invention, indicating means are provided for visually indicating the position of the gratefall relative to the remainder of the machine.

While the invention is distinctly claimed and partcularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto, the invention, both as to organzation and content, will be better understood and appreciated, along with other objects and features thereof, from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a pictorial view of a cotton processing machine equipped with the adjusting mechanism of this inventon;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the operative relationship between the gratefall and the saws and the adjusting mechanism for maintaining the desired relationship throughout a Wide range of saw diameters;

FIGURE 2A is a sectional view tkaen along line 2A- 2A of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 3 is a view taken along viewing line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a view, partially cut-away, of the actuating means and upper positioning devices of the adjusting mechanism;

FIGURE 5 is a view, partially cut-away, of one of the positioning devices of FIGURE 4 taken along viewing line 55;

FIGURE 5A is a sectional view taken along line 5A- 5A of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 6 is a detail view of one of the positioning shafts; and

FIGURE 7 is a view of the mechanism for indicating the position of the gratefall relative to the remainder of the machine.

Referring first to FIGURES 1-3, the cotton seed delinter 10 is illustrated, the de-linter 10 including stationary support structure 11, a gratefall 12 pivotally connected at its upper portion 13 to the stationary structure 11 by hinges 14, and a saw cylinder 16. The saw cylinder 16, which in the illustrated embodiment is 61.1875 inches long and has 176 circular saws 17 mounted thereon, is supported by the stationary support structure 11 for rotation during operation about a fixed horizontal axis 18. As best shown by FIGURE 3, the saw cylinder 16 includes, in addition to the saws 17 which have original diameters of 18 inches, spacers 20 for maintaining the saws 17 in axially spaced-apart relationship, there being an annular space 21 between each adjacent pair of saws 17. The saws 17 have thicknesses T in the order of 0.035 inch, and the spaces 21 have thicknesses T in the order of 0.315 inch.

The gratefall 12, which in FIGURE 1 is illustrated in its raised position for permitting removal of the saw cylinder 16 for the purpose of sharpening the saws 17 and in FIGURES 2 and 3 is illustrated in its lowered position for de-linting operation, includes a large number of grates 22 which project through the spaces 21 in spaced relationship to the saws 17 when the gratefall 12 is in its lowered position. The gratefall 12 includes large end plates 23 disposed in vertical planes and horizontally extending support members 24 and 25 at the upper and lower ends 27 and 28 respectively, of the grates 22, these horizontal support members 24 and 25 interconnecting the end plates 23 and grates 22 into an integral and rigid structure. More particularly, as best illustrated by FIG- URES 2 and 3, there are as many grates 22 as there are spaces 21 between the saws 17, the parallel grates 22 extending through the spaces 21 and aligned such that their upper ends 27 are generally above the fixed horizontal axis 18 and their lower ends 28 are below and in front of the axis 18. In other words, the parallel grates 22 are disposed at acute angles with both the horizontal and vertical planes containing the fixed horizontal axis 18. As illustrated by FIGURE 3, the grates 22 have thicknesses T of approximately 0.250 inch, this resulting in theoretical clearances T of approximately 0.0325 inch between each grate 22 and the adjacent saws 17. It will, of course, be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that even minor canting or tipping of the gratefall 12 could result in elimination of these clearances T and undesired rubbing between the parallel members 22 and the saws 17, the various difficulties discussed above resulting. It is, therefore, necessary that such tipping be avoided since the clearances '1, cannot be increased without permitting passage of cotton seeds through the grates 22.

The gratefall 12 also includes a float or paddle wheel 32 rotatably mounted in the end plates 23 and extending axially therebetween for rotation about an axis 34, the purpose of the float 32 being to continually turn the cotton seed being processed to promote efficient and effective de-linting operation. For satisfactory operation, it is essential that a dimension A of approximately 0.4375 inch be maintained between the heat 32 and the outer peripheries 35 .of the saws 17, this dimension A being illustrated by FIGURE 2. In addition, it is also essential that the upper ends 27 of the grates 22 be precisely positioned relative to the peripheries 35 of the saws 17. More particularly, the horizontal member 24', which extends axially across the upper ends 27 of the grates 22, should be maintained at a distance B of approximately 0.625 inch from the peripheries 35 of the saws 17. Finally, the saws 17 should project through the grates 22 a distance C of approximately 1.625 inches. While these dimensions may vary somewhat in the practice of the invention, they should remain for satisfactory de-linting operation within plus or minus 0.0312 inch of the values just given. Since the diameters D of the saws 17 can vary from the original eighteen inches down to as low as 15 inches, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the gratefall 12 and the parallel members 22 must be capable of being moved relative to the saw cylinder 16, including the saws 17 and the fixed axis 18 of rotation. The adjusting mechanism of the present invention makes this type of movement possible without risk of tipping the gratefall 12 and thereby causing rubbing and attendant difficulties.

Before turning attention to the novel adjusting mechanism of this invention, however, it should be noted that the axis 34 of the float or paddle wheel 32 is a fixed distance E from the grates 22. Since the distance A is thus necessarily related to the distance C, the entire gratefall 12 will be properly positioned if the proper distances B and C are maintained by the gratefall adjusting mechanism. In the past, these distances B and C have been set by repeated use of a gauge such as that illustrated in FIGURE 2 by the broken lines 38 atvarious axial positions along the gratefall 12, this approach being described in the introductory portions of this specification. As a practical matter, however, the entire gratefall 12 is actually positioned by locating the upper ends 27 of all of the grates 25 at the proper distance B above the saw peripheries 35 and then angularly positioning the lower ends 28 of all of the grates 22 such that the proper distance C is attained. In other words, the upper portion 13 .of the gratefall 12 and the upper ends 27 of the grates 22 must be capable of movement in a generally vertical direction in order to accommodate variations in the diameter of the saws 17, and the lower portion 40 of the gratefall 12 and the lower ends 28 of the grates 22 must be capable of both movement in a generally vertical direction and of angular adjustment relative to the positions of the upper portion 13 of the gratefall 12 and the upper ends 27 of the grates 22.

It has been found that for any particular saw diameter D, there is one and only one proper position of the upper ends 27 of the grates 22. The upper portion 13 of the gratefall 12 and the upper ends 27 of the grates 22 must, therefore, be supported for movement in predetermined paths, each position along the paths corresponding to one and only one saw diameter D. Similarly, there is one and only one proper position of the lower portion 40 of the gratefall 12 and the lower ends 28 .of the grates 22 for each saw diameter D. The adjusting mechanism of this invention moves the entire upper portion 13 of the gratefall 12 and the upper ends 27 of all of the grates 22 in unison from a single point such that the upper ends 27 of all the grates are simultaneously and uniformly positioned without tipping for any desired saw diameter D. The entire lower portion 40 of the gratefall 12 and the lower ends 28 of the grates 22 are automatically positioned in accordance with the position of the upper ends 27 of the grates 22, there being one and only one position of the lower ends 28 for each position of the upper ends.

As best illustrated by FIGURES 2 and 4, the upper portion 13 of the gratefall 12 is pivotally attached to the stationary support structure 11 by three axially spaced-apart hinges 14. Each of the hinges 14 includes a central hinge member 45 which is pivotally secured at one of its ends to the stationary support structure 11 at 46 and at the other of its ends to the upper portion 13 of the gratefall 12 at 47. The pivotal connections 46 between the hinge members 45 and the stationary support structure 11 are located on a common horizontal hinge axis. Each of the hinge members 45 is, however, independently mounted on this common axis 50 and is capable of movement independently of the other hinge members. The pivotal connections 47 between the other ends of the hinge members 45 and the upper portion 13 of the gratefall 12 are also loacted on horizontal axes which are, when the gratefall 12 is uniformly positioned relative to the saw cylinder 16 and the horizontal axis 18 of rotation, coincident with each other as illustrated by the numeral 51. Because of the double pivotal connection between each of the hinge members 45 and the support structure 11 and the gratefall 12, the upper portion 13 of the gratefall 12, and consequently the upper ends 27 of the grates 22, can be moved generally vertically along the predetermined paths.

To position the upper portion 13 of the gratefall 12 and the upper ends 27 of the grates 22 relative to the saw cylinder 16 and the axis 18 such that the proper dimensions B are maintained between the upper ends 27 and the peripheries 35 of the saws 17, a positioning device 60, is associated with each hinge member 45 for positioning the adjacent portions of the gratefall 12. Each positioning device 60 includes a housing 61 secured to the stationary support structure 11 and a moveable shaft 62 projecting vertically from the housing 61 to contact the lower surface 63 of the hinge member 45 intermediate the pivotal connections 46 and 47. The shaft 62 is a force transmitting member that by movement up or down can raise or lower the upper portion 13 of the gratefall 12. The positioning devices 60 are interconnected by means of stub shafts 65 and couplings 68 which join the stub shafts 65 into an integral shaft assembly in order to pro vide simultaneous and uniform adjustment of all of the shafts 62 and hence simultaneous and uniform adjustment of the entire upper portion 13 of the gratefall 12, including the upper ends 27 of all of the parallel grates 22. The integral shaft assembly is rotated by means of a single hand crank 66 which is operable from one end of the de-linter 10.

Turning attention now to FIGURE 2, the entire lower portion 40 of the gratefall 12 is automatically positioned as a function of the position of the upper portion 13 by a pair of axially spaced-apart cam means 70, each of the cam means 70 including a screw or fixed ca-m follower 72 secured to the lower portion 40 of the gratefall 12 and a cam surface 73 mounted in a fixed position on the stationary support structure 11. The weight of the gratefall 12 biases the cam follower 72 into contact with the cam surface 73, at all times, except when the entire gratefall is lifted into its raised position of FIGURE 1. As the upper portion 13 of the gratefall 12 is moved in a generally vertical direction by the shafts 62 acting on the hinge members 45, the lower portion 40 of the gratefall 12 w1l l also move vertically. The cam surface 73, however, 1s shaped to convert this vertical movement into the proper angular positioning of the lower ends 28 of the grates 22 so that the dimension C will correspond to the selected dimension B. The dimension B is, of course, selected by the operator by moving the upper portion 13 of the gratefall 12 relative to the peripheries 35 of the saws 17 by means of the hand crank 66. Thus, positioning of the upper portion 13 of the gratefall 12 at a desired pos t onalong its predetermined path results in automatic pos tioning of the entire lower portion 40 at the respective position along its predetermined path.

Turning attention now to FIGURES 46, the adjusting mechanism of this invention will be described in greater detail. The shaft 62 of each of the positioning devices 60 has a keyway therein and a threaded outer portion 81 which is received in a mating threaded internal portion (not shown) of a worm gear 83 mounted for rotation within the housing 61. A key 84 is secured to the housing 61 and projects into the keyway 80 to permit axial move ment only of the shaft 62 relative to the housing 61. A worm 85 engages the worm gear 83 to selectively rotate the worm gear 83. Rotation of the worm gear 83 causes relative rotation between the threaded portions of the worm gear 83 and the shaft 62, respectively, since the key 84 prevents rotation of the shaft 62. This relative rotation is therefore converted into axial movement of the shaft 62 into or out of the housing 61, the direction depending upon the direction of relative rotation. The

worms 85 are secured to the stub shafts 65 and thus may be rotated in unison by means of the hand crank 66.

It is thus possible to either raise or lower the entire gratefall 12 a desired amount of merely turning the hand crank 66 the required degree in the proper direction.

For proper positioning of the entire upper portion 13 of the gratefall 12, it is essential that the shafts 62 of all of the positioning devices 60 not only work together in unison, but also project identical distances from the housing 61 at all times. By being interconnected by the integral shaft assembly including the stub shafts 65 and the couplings 68, movement of the shaft 62 will occur in unison at all times. However, the shaft 62 will be properly aligned only if they were aligned with each other during the initial assembly of the positioning devices 60. To permit any necessary individual adjustment during this assembly phase, the couplings 68 include set screws 90 which are ordinarily secured to the shafts 65 to thereby form the integral shaft assembly. By releasing of set screws 90, however, the individual stub shafts 65 can be individually rotated to adjust the positions of the respective shafts 62.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the positioning devices 60 'and their actuating means simultaneously and uniformly adjust the dimension B between the upper horizontal member 24 and the peripheries 35 of the saws 17. The cam means 70 between the lower portion 40 of the gratefall 12 and the stationary support structure 11 automatically sets the dimension C in accordance with the selected dimension B. Referring now to FIGURE 7, novel indicating means 95 is provided'for visually indicating the relative position between the upper portion 13 of the gratefall 12 and the stationary support structure 11. Since the axis 18 of rotation of the saw cylinder 16 is fixed relative to the stationary support structure 11, the indicating means 95 thus indicates the relative position between the upper portion 13 of the gratefall 12, including the upper ends 27 of the grates 22, and the axis 18 of rotation. If the diameter D of the saws 17 is known, it is possible to position the upper portion 13 of the gratefall 12 relative to the stationary support structure 11 with assurance that the dimension B will be proper. Actually, devices used to sharpen the saws 17 of the saw cylinder 15 usually include means for accurately indicating the diameter of the sharpened saws. This diameter is ordinarily indicated as an index number on the scale which typically ranges between and 95, a saw cylinder 16 having 18 inch diameter saws 17 having an index of and a saw cylinder 16 having 16 inch saws 17 having an index of 95. By the present invention, similar means are utilized on the de-linting machine 10 so that the operator need merely adjust the position of the gratefall 12 by turning the hand crank 66 until the index on the de-linters scale equals the index on the saw sharpening machine. The indicating means 95 is provided by pivotally mounting a pointer 96 on the stationary support structure 11 adjacent the gratefall and mounting a stationary pin 97 on the gratefall 12 in a location to engage the pointer 12, the pointer 96 being biased upwardly against the pin 97 at all times by a spring 98. A scale 100 is located on the stationary support structure 11 adjacent the pointer 96 for visually indicating the position of the pointer, the scale 100 including index numbers corresponding to the index numbers utilized on the saw sharpening machine. Thus, for a saw cylinder 16 having 18 inch diameter saws 17, the hand crank 66 should be adjusted until the pointer reads 10, and for a saw cylinder 16 having 16 inch diameter saws 17, the crank 66 should be rotated to lower the gratefall 12 relative to the stationary support structure to a position at which the pointed 66 points to 95 on the scale 100.

It will be appreciated from the above that this invention provides an improved gratefall adjusting mechanism by which the entire gratefall may be accurately and rapidly positioned by unskilled labor without any requirement for numerous adjustments and the use of internal gauges. Because of the accurate positioning that is possible, a cotton seed processing machine equipped with the improved adjusting means is not subject to the pro lems often associated with prior art cotton processing equipment, these difficulties including inefiicient and ineifective cotton processing, fires, overloading of the power supply, and damaged saws.

While a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is intended to cover all such changes and modifications by the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and is desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a cottton processing machine including stationary support structure, a saw clyinder comprising a plurality of axially spaced-apart circular saws supported by the stationary support structure for rotation about a fixed horizontal axis, and a gratefall including a plurality of parallel members extending in one-to-one relationship through the axial spaces between adjacent ones of said saws partially above the fixed horizontal axis of rotation and at acuate angles with the horizontal and vertical planes containing the fixed horizontal axis of rotation, the configuration of the parallel members being such that proper positioning of the upper and lower ends of all of the members relative to the peripheral portions of the saws results in proper positioning of the entire gratefall relative to the peripheral portions of the saws; an improved adjusting mechanism for selectively varying the position of the entire gratefall relative to the stationary support structure and the fixed horizontal axis of rotation so as to permit the maintenance of proper dimensions between the entire gratefall and the peripheral portions of the circular saws throughout a range of saw diameters, said improved adjusting mechanism comprising:

connecting means disposed axially across and between said stationary support structure and said gratefall for permitting relative movement therebetween, said connecting means being located generally above said fixed horizontal axis of rotation and said saw cylinder, said connection means selectively constraining the adjacent upper portion of said gratefall including the upper ends of the adjacent ones of said parallel members to movement along first predetermined paths axially extending camming means between said station ary support structure and said gratefall for permitting relative movement therebetween, said camming means being located generally below said fixed horizontal axis of rotation and said saw cylinder, each axial portion of said camming means constraining the adjacent lower portion of said gratefall including the lower ends of the adjacent ones of said parallel members to movement along second predetermined paths,

a plurality of positioning means each associated with a respective axial portion of said connecting means for positioning the adjacent upper portion of said gratefall and the upper ends of the adjacent ones of said parallel members at selected positions along said first predetermined paths, the upper ends of the adjacent ones of said parallel members being at each selected position properly positioned for one and only one saw diameter, and

actuating means interconnecting said plurality of positioning means for operating said plurality of positioning means in unison such that the entire upper portion of said gratefall and the upper ends of all of said parallel members may be simultaneously and uniformly moved along said first predetermined P said camming means being constructed such that operation of said actuating means results in corresponding simultaneous and uniform movement of the entire lower portion of said gratefall and the lower ends of all of said parallel members along said second predetermined paths, there being for each selected position along said first predetermined paths one and. only one respective position along said second predetermined paths, the lower ends of said parallel members being at each respective position properly positioned for said one and only one saw diameter.

2. The adjusting mechanism of claim 1 in which each axial portion of said connecting means and said camming means are connected to said stationary support structure and said gratefall independently of the other axial portions.

3. The adjusting mechanism of claim 1 in which said connecting means comprises a plurality of axially spacedapart identical hinge members, means pivotally securing one each of said hinge members to said stationary support structure about a common: horizontal hinge axis independently of the other hinge members, and means pivotally securing the other end of each of said hinge members to said gratefall about horizontal axes independently of the other hinge members, each of said positioning means interconnecting said stationary support structure and the respective hinge member intermediate said pivotal connecting means to directly position the respective hinge member and indirectly position the adjacent upper portion of said gratefall and the upper ends of the adjacent ones of said parallel members.

4. The adjusting mechanism of claim 3 in which said camming means comprises a plurality of axially spacedapart identical cam means each comprising a cam surface secured to a selected one of said stationary support structure and said gratefall and a cam follower secured to the other of said stationary support structure and said grate fall, the weight of said gratefall maintaining said cam surfaces and said cam follower in contact with each other at all times and the cam surfaces being contoured to provide movement of the adjacent lower portions of said gratefall and the adjacent lower ends of said parallel members along said second predetermined paths.

5. The adjusting mechanism of claim 4 further comprising indicating means supported by said stationary support structure and adapted for indicating the position of said gratefall relative to said stationary support structure and said fixed horizontal axis of rotation.

6. The adjusting mechanism of claim 4 in which each of said positioning means comprises a housing secured to said stationary support structure, a shaft mounted in said housing and projecting therefrom to engage said hinge member, and means connected to said shaft for varying the distance said shaft projects from said housing.

7. The adjusting mechanism of claim 4 in which each of said positioning means comprises a housing secured to said stationary support structure, a shaft mounted in said housing and projecting therefrom to engage said hinge member, guide means for permitting only longitudinal movement of said shaft along its axis, and a worm gear coaxially surrounding said shaft and mounted in said housing for rotation about said common axis, the internal portion of said worm gear and an external portion of said shaft having mating threads thereon such that rotation of said worm gear results in corresponding longitudinal movement of said shaft.

8. The adjusting mechanism of claim 7 in which said actuating means comprises a plurality of worms each engaging a respective one of said worm gears, shaft means interconnecting said worms such that said worms are rotatable in unison, and means for rotating said shaft means and said worms.

9.;The adjusting mechanism of claim 8 in which said shaft means includes releasable couplings between adjacent pairs of said worms for selectively permitting individual adjustment of said worms and the respective positioning means.

10. The adjusting mechanism of claim 9 further comprising indicating means supported by said stationary support structure and adapted for indicating the position of said gratefall relative to said stationary support structure and said fixed horizontal axis of rotation.

11. The adjusting mechanism of claim 9 in which said means for rotating said shaft means is a crank which can be manually operated from a single point to adjust theposition of said entire gratefall relative to said stationary support structure and said fixed horizontal axis of rotation.

12. The adjusting mechanism of claim 11 further comprising a pointer pivotally mounted on a selected one of said gratefall and said stationary support structure, abutment means secured to the other of said gratefall and said stationary support structure for contacting said pointer to position said pointer in accordance with the relative positions of said gratefall and said stationary support structure, and a scale adjacent said pointer for visually indicating the position of said pointer and the relative positions of said gratefall and said stationary support structure.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 22,542 9/1944 Ricker 1941 828,438 8/1906 Stone 1955 XR 1,599,024 9/1926 McLean 19-55 2,192,690 3/1940 Morgan 1955 2,738,553 3/1956 Davis 1941 2,838,803 6/1958 Banks 1955 DORSEY NEWTON, Primary Examiner CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,490,101 Dated June 25, 1970 Inventor(s) GEORGE A. FOUNTAIN It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

f- Column 1, line 34, change "units" to unit 1, 36, change "These" to The 1, 57, change "a" to an 1, 58, change "otfen" to often 2, 17, change "adjuting" to adjusting 2, 20, change "gages" to gauges 3, 36, change,-"positionng" to ositioning 3, 47 and 48, change "partcularly to particularly 3, 49, change "organzation" to organization 3, 56, change "inventon" to invention 3, 61, change "tkaen" to taken 5, 67, after "axis" insert 5O 5, 73, change "loacted' to located 7, 4, change "of" to by 7, 71, change "pointed" to pointer 8, 18, change "clyinder" to cylinder 8, 25, change "acuate" to acute 8, 44, change "connection" to connecting 9, 21, delete the colon (z). 9, 39, change "follower" to followers JIGNH) M FALED OCT 6 w OCT. 6,1970

(SEAL) LAttest:

Edward M. Fletcher, Ir.

mm E. W, JR- Anestmg Officer commissioner of Patents

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