US839925A

US839925A - Cleaning and grading apparatus.

Info

Publication number: US839925A
Application number: US30299906A
Authority: US
Inventors: James Gaynor
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1906-02-26
Filing date: 1906-02-26
Publication date: 1907-01-01
Anticipated expiration: 1924-01-01

Description

No. 339,925. PATENTED JAN. i; 1907.

J. GAYNOR.

CLEANING AND GRADING APPARATUS. APPLIUATION FILED mums, 1906.

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J. GAYNOR.

CLEANING AND GRADING APPARATUS. APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 26, 1906.

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J. GAYNOR. CLEANING AND GRADING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED IEB.26, 1906.

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I detail view of oneof JAMES GAYNOR, OF GRAND RAPIDS, WISCONSIN.

CLEANING AND GRADING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent. I

PatentedJan. 1, 1907.

Application filed February 26. 1906. Serial. No. 302,999.

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES GAYNOR, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Grand Rapids, in the county of Woodand State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cleaning and Grading Apparatus; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention has for its object to provide a simple and effective apparatus for cleaning, grading, and sorting discrete materials, it

being especially applicable to cranberries or the like, said invention consisting in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts, as fnllyset forth hereinafter with reference to the accompanying 'drawingsland subsequently claimed.

the drawings, Figure 1 represents a transverse section of a cleaning and grading apparatus embodyingthe features of my invention; Fig. 2, a plan view of the same, the delivery andcleaning mechanism be in section upon a }plane as indicated by line 2 2 of Fig. 1 with t e feed-apron in full; Fig. 3, a cross-section of said apparatus as indicated by line 3 3 of Fig. 1 and Fig. 4 an enlarged the adjustable gradingbars.

. Referring by letter to the drawings, A indicates a rectangular frame, at the ends of which are mounted in suitable bearings shafts a a. and b I), each shaft being provided with a air of sprockets d, adjacent to the sides of the frame. The sprockets d at either side of said frame are fitted with endless chain' belts f, which are driven, in this instance, by means of a pulley g, fast on the shaft a the dis osition of the sprocketsbeing such that over them form rectangles. The said chain belts are connected at intervals by a series of lags B, provided with rigid fingers O, which fingers in their travel from front to rear of the frame project upward and backward at an angle of forty-five degrees between gradingbars D and serve as agitators and carriers for feeding the material to be sorted. Said fingers also prevent clogging of the slots, and by reason 0 their inclination will not mar or bruise said material. In order to prevent sagging of said chain belts while in their wor ing position, the frame A is rovided with support' strips E at either 'si e therefi d.

of, over whic e aforesaid chains travel, the strips being parallel with said travel and 10- D, between which an t e chain belts which travel fr cated between the upper set of sprockets a a,

as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.

The grading-bars D may be of any number and are suspendedin parallel rows from crossgirders F, which girders are adjustably secured to the frame A by bolts and set-nuts 72,1

for the purpose of raising or lowering the said grading-bars with relation to the points of the fingers C of the carriers, said adjustment being, desirable in order to adapt the apparatus to various kinds of materials or fruitgrading. The parallel grading-bars are preferably conical in cross-section and spaced apart to form a series of flaredtroughs having slotted bottoms or spaces through which the material drops as it is fed longitudinally by the fingers of the carriers, the width of the slots or spaces between the bars being regulated by sectional stri s G, adjustably secured to said bars. T e sectional strips G, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, are so ad- 'justed from end to end of the machine. to

forni two widths of slots the narrowest of which is at the feed end of the machine, so that the smaller berries or particles of material to be graded will be separated first, and thereafter a second operation takes place, it being understood, however, that in ractice any number of grades may be ha 'by increasing the number of sectional strips in each bar. In order to secure the strips G in position, the bottom of eachgrading-bar is cut away, making a se arable V-shapd rail the bar the stri s G are inserted and held by clamping-bol fs '11, passing through the center of said bar and rail, other clamping-bolts 9 being provided which extend through the cross-girders F and also serve to hold the rails in suspension there- The feed end of the machine has secured thereto a frame H, having a feed-hopper I, under which andabove t e grading-bars is an endless apron J. This apron is fitted over backing-slats j, secured to drive-chains .k, mounted upon sprockets m m of shafts 'n n, the latter being driven by a. sprocket 0 in link connection with a similar sprocket (not shown) carriedby the shaft (1 of the carrier drive-chain. Directly in front and below the a ron I is located a fan K, to the shaft p of w hich is secured a crank g in link connection with a bell-crank 1', the latter being fulcrumed ina bracket s, fast to the hopper-frame. The free arm of the bellcrank is loosely connected to a spreaderboard L, which is located directly under the j discharge end of the apron I and guided in slots t of the hopper-frame. This spreader board by reason of its crank connected with the fan-shaft is vibrated so as to spread the material delivered thereon evenly previous to its final delivery to the ader mechanism, into which it falls after st striking a deflector it below said board.

The fan-shaft p is in belt connection with a pulley 12, fast on the sprocket-shaft n, from which the fan is driven. 1 The discharge-noz zle w of the fan-casingv is so positioned as to force the entire blast of air from said fan between the spreader-board and deflector u,

thereby causing the berries or material being fed to the grader to be thoroughly cleansed are secured to the frame A below the grading,

of any foreign matter. As the material is sorted into the different grades it is delivered in its various sizes to suitable receptacles at either side of the apparatus by means of oppositely-inclined chutes M, which chutes apparatus, partitions N being provided at I flexible finger inclined rearward from adirection of their travel. In place of using section-strips G for obtaining different widths of space between the ading-bars it is obvious that the said strips may in some cases be in one piece and adjusted at angles to each other, so that the spaces would taper instead of having abrupt variations, as shown.

From the fore oing descri tion itis clear that should the opper be led with cranberries,for instance, and the machine put in motion the apron will cause the berries to drop upon the s reader and by it be evenly distributed, so t at they will uniformly fall to the deflector below, the air-blast in the meantime thoroughly cleansing therefrom all dust, &c., which is blown to the rear. The berries then fall between the grading rails and are icked up and forced longitudinally throug 1 the machine by the traveling carrier until they reach a section of the stri s, the slot between which is of sufficient wi th to permit them to fall through upon the .chute and from thence to the separate bins or receptacles rovided for each grade. With each grade 0 berries after being this sorted and cleaned, there will necessarily be a certain percentage of soft defective berries, which are of the same size as the sound fruit. These may also be screened or graded from those which are sound by permitting the entire bulk to remain for a time sufficient for the defective berries to shrink slightly. The berries may then be again screened, resulting in a separation of those which are shrunken or defective, and thus dispensing with a great deal of time which would otherwise have to be devoted to the pre aration of cranberriesfor the market.

claim 1. In a grading apparatus, a pluralityof longitudinally-parallel grading-bars, the said bars being conical in cross-section and com' posed of an upper member having an angledfaced bottom, and a lower member having a V-shapedface adapted to rest in the anglefacedbottom of the first-named member, longitudinal adjustable strips interposed between the aforesaid members, whereby the spaces between the bars are varied, and clamping-bolts arranged to pass through the aforesaid grading-bar members, whereby the latter, together with the strips are held in assemblage.

2. In a'grading apparatus, a plurality of longitudinally-parallel grading-bars, the said bars, being conical in cross-section, and composed of an upper member having an angledfaced bottom, and a lower member having a V-shaped face adapted to rest in the anglefaced bottom of the first-named member, longitudinal adjustable sectional strips interposed between the aforesaid members, wherey the spaces between the bars are varied, and clamping-bolts arranged to ass through the aforesaid grading-bar mem ers, whereby the latter, together with the strips are held in assemblage.

3. A'conical grading-bar com osed of an upper member having an angle -faced bottom, and a lower member having a V-shaped face ada ted to rest in the angled-faced bottom of t e first-named member, in combination with strips adjustably secured between the said faces of the bar members, and bolts for clamping said members and strips together.

4. In a grading apparatus, comprising a plurality of parallel grading-bars, the said ars being formed in upper and lower separate sections and set apart to form series of fixed spaces, adjustable strips interposed between the upper and lower sections of the bars, whereby the width between said bars is varied, cross-girdersconnecting the aforesaid bars, traveling carriers arranged to project into the spaces between the bars, and

means in connection with the crossgirders for vertical adjustment of the grading-bars with relation to the carriers.

5. In a grading apparatus, comprising a plurality of parallel grading-bars, the said ars being formed in upper and lower sepa- 3 rate sections and set apart to form series of fixed spaces, adjustable strips interposed between the upper and lower sections of the bars, whereby the width between the said bars is varied, cross-girders connecting the aforesaid bars, traveling carriers arranged to project into the spaces between the bars, means in connection with the cross-girders for vertical adjustment of the grading-bars with relation to the carriers, a feed-belt located above the grading-bars adjacent to one end thereof, and an air-blast nozzle between the belt and said grading-bars.

6. In a gradin apparatus, comprising a plurality of para lel grading-bars, the said ars being formed in upper and lower sepa rate sections and set apart to form series of fixed spaces, adjustable strips interposed between the upper and lower. sections of the bars, whereby the width between said bars is varied,v cross-girders connecting the aforesaid bars, traveling carriers arranged to project into the spaces between the bars, means in connection with the cross-girders for vertical adjustment of the grading-bars with relation to the carriers, 2; feed-belt located above the bars and adjacent to one end there'- of, a hopper above the same, a vibratory spreader at the discharge end of the belt, and

7. A gradin ap aratus, comprising'a plurality of ara el ongitudinal grading-bars, said bars eing made in two pieces one above the'other, ad ustable sectional strips interposed between the two pieces constituting the bars, clamping-bolts for the strips and bars, a pair of endless traveling chains below said strips, lags connecting the chains, fin gers carried by the lags inclined rearward from a direction of their travel and arranged to projectabove the aforesaid strips, and grading-chutes located beneath the grading apparatus.

testimony that I claim the foregoing I l have hereunto set my hand, at Grand Rapids, in the county of Wood and State of W1s- 'co'nsin, in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES GAYNOR. Witnesses:

JOHN A. GAYNOR, THOMAS MCGOVERN.