US362386A - Apparatus for drying and cleaning ramie and other fibers - Google Patents

Description

WITNESS i INVENTOR;

(No ModeL) v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. C. O. KAUFFMAN.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING AND CLEANING RAMIE AND OTHER FIBERS No. 362,386. Patented May 3, 1887.

ATTORNEYS.

(No Model.) 2 sheets sheet 2.

' C. G. KAUPPMAN.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING AND CLEANING RAMIE AND OTHER FIBERS.

N0.;36Z,386. Patented May 3, 1887.

IN'VENTOR 5&2:

WITNESS ATTORNEYSL V UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHRISTIAN-C. KAUFFMAN, on NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING AND CLEANlN'G'j RAMlE, AND OTHER FIBERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 362,386, dated May 3. 1887.

Application filed August 2, 1886.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itkn'own that I, CHRISTIAN'O. KAUFF- MAN, of New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented a new and useful Improvement-in Apparatus for Drying andGleaning Ramie andother Fibers, of which the following is and exact description.

, This invention consists in a special appararo tus, including certain novelconstructionsand combinations of parts, substantially as here-' inafter described,and'pointed ontin the claims,

for removingthegumorsap from ramie, hemp,

. and other fibers, and thereby to prepare the same ready for market and use. 7

In the apparatus which is the subject of this specification I subject the fiber after de-. cortication tothe action of hot air or to a blast of air'heated to a proper'temperaturafgr'the" purpose of solidifyingth'e gum or sap, so that "the same can readily be afterward removed by mechanical meansas, for instance, by beating whips and brushes-which process of solidifying the gum or sap irrespective of the special means here shown it is intended to make the subject of a separate application for Letters Patent.

Reference is to be had' to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of ,this specification, 0 in whichsimilar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 represents a partly sectional plan of an apparatus for drying and cleaning ramie' and other fibers embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal. section-of the same upon the line as a: in Fig.1. Fig.3 is' a view, upon alarger scale, of certain mechanism .for rotating alternately in reversedirec tions certain heaters and brushes used in cleaning the fiber; Fig. 4, a like view 'of certain mechanism used in feeding and delivering-or passing the fiber through the'apparatus, "and v Fig. 5 a view in perspective of a comb used in connection with the cleaning-brushes- A is ahot-air drying-chamber of a closeor closed construction, but-having openings bat its opposite endssufliciently large to admit of 'two endless flexible aprons or belt-Like earriers, B B -arranged one above-the: other, freely passing-through them-that isftheir, contiguous parallel sides-{between whichtliea full, clear,

Serial no. 209,832. momma.)

' fiber to be ,dried and cleaned is" placed said carrierslotherwise running outside of the drying-chamber'as, for instance, over end rollens," O G-and being supported throughout their length by rollers c 0, arranged inside and outside of said chamber.

D is a furnace or chamber, inwhich the air to be supplied to the drying-chamber A is heated, preferably, to a temperature over 160 Fahrenheit. This chamber D may be heated either by the'direct application of fire or in any other suitable way. The cold air to be heated is forced by a pump or blower, E, through a pipe, d, which, after circulating through the chamber D, has connected with it branches e, that deliver the heated air to the interior of the chamber A at gr pearitswne end wijlapipcsfi-at(ii-near the opposite end escape of 7b the expelled air and moisture.

The carriers B B have a continuous motion in thesame direction, as indicated by thearrows y in Fig. 2, to keep up a continuous supply of fiber from the drying-chamber A to the '75 cleaning devices, as also have certainfeed and delivery rollers, g, which conduct the fiber after its delivery from the drying-chamber to and between rotary whippers or beaters E E and brushes F F, and from thence onto a 'receiv- ,80 ing-table, G, in the rear. These whippers or heaters or beating whips and brushes constitute the cleaning devices which remove the gum or sap from the fiber after it has been solidified by the passage of the fiber through the dryingchamber.

While the feed of the fiber is a continuous one-that is, always in the same directionthe direction in motion of the cleaning devices is being repeatedly changed-that is, the heaters E and brushes F are made to rotate alternately in reverse directions, whereby a more thorough cleaning is obtained.

Combs H H are used in connection with the brushes to free or relieve them of adhering matter. The heaters E E, which act in advance of the brushes upon the dried fiber, and which are arranged one above the other, are composed of cylinders armed on'their periph- 'eries with flexible thongs or thrashers of any .100 suitable kind. Thefbrushes F Fare similarly arranged back of the heaters. Two independent sets of gear are used to drive the feeding and cleaning devices in a positive manner.

. means of pinions i upon the feed and deliveryl rollers 9, intermediate transmitting-wheels, k, and toothed wheels Z upon a rear roller, 0, of each of the carriers B, serves to communicate the necessary motion to the carriers B B and feed and delivery rollers g to pass the fiber continuously in the same direction through the apparatus.

The \vhippers o'r heaters E. E and brushers' F F are operated as follows: J is a driving.

pulley fast upon a shaft, m, and K K pulleys loose upon said shaft on opposite sides of i the fast pulley. These loose pulleys are driven to rot-ate in reverse direction to one another by means of a cross-belt, a, upon the one of them, and astraight belt, 0, upon the other, from or by an overhead or other drum common to both, so that by shifting first the one of said belts and then'the other onto the fast pulley J said fast or driving pulley is made to rotate first in the ode direction and then in the other.

i I This is a well-known method or means of obtaining an alternate reverse circular move-. ment.

- tate alternately in reverse directions, is a wheel,

' 7", which gears with wheels 8 8 upon the one' whippen E and one of the brushes F, and these wheels s ,9 gear in turn with other wheels, 8 8, upon the other whipper and other brush, to make both whippers and both brushes move in concert-that is, the two whippers or beaters and the two brushes to rotate first in one direction and then in the opposite direction to thoroughly clean the dried fiber. and to remove from it the solidified gum and sap as said fiber is passed by the feeding devices continuously moving in one and the same direction between said whippcrs and brushes or rotary cleaners. The belt-like carriers B B, which support the fiber and carry it along and keep it from being blown about and becoming tangled, may either or both of them be of a reticulated or more or less open eonstruetion,to facilitate the passage of the hot air through and among the fiber. To prevent free escape of the hot air from the drying-chamber A, where the carriers B B enter and leave said chamber, rubber or other elastic flaps arranged to press against said carriers above. and below may be applied to the openings 1) b in the drying-chamber, as shown in Fig. 2.

Upon .theshaft 122-, thus driven to ro-' Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- 0 1; In apparatus for drying and cleaning ramie and other fibers after decortication, the combination of a hot air drying chamber.

adapted to solidify the gum or sap in the fiber, cleaners adapted to mechanically remove such solidified material or materials, and feeding devices adapted to pass the fiber through the drying-chamber and to or through and between the cleaners, substantially as specified.

2. In apparatus for drying andcleaning ramie and other fibers aft-er dccortication, the combination of a series of rotary cleaners driven to revolve alternatelyin reverse directions, a hot-air drying-chamber through which the fiber is passed to said cleaners, and feeding devices adapted to continuously move the fiberin the same direction through the dryingchamber and to and between said alternately reversely-rotating cleaners, essentially as specified.

3. In apparatus for dryingand cleaning ramie and other fiber after decortication, the drying-chamber A, of close or closed construction, provided with apertures b in its ends.- in combination wit-h the endless apron or beltlike carriers B B, adapted to receive the fiber in between them, and operated to travel in like directions through and outside of said dryingchamber, substantially as described.

4. In apparatus for drying and cleaning ramie and other fiber after decorticatiou, the combination, wit-h the drying-chamber A and its endless traveling belt-like carriers B B, adapted to pass the fiber through. said chamber, of the furnace or air-heating chamber D, the pump or blower E, and pipes adapted to conduct the air from the blower through the furnace to the drying-chamber, and to establish an outlet from the latter, essentially as described.

5. The combination of the hot-air dryingchamber A, the endless traveling beltlike carriers B B, the feeding and delivery rollers g, operated to move in concert with said car- CHRISTIAN O. K AUFFM AN.

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