USRE1677E - Improvement in cotton-gins - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT Ofrri'cs.

THOMASC. CRAVEN, OFGREENBUSHQNEVV YORK.

- IMPROVEMENT m'coi'roN-cms..

" spgeiricnnn forming part-freiberg Patent N0.'41,481, mma January 27, 1864 Reissue no. L67?, dated mystisch 'To all whom it may concern.:

' Beit known that I, THoMAs C. CnAvEN, of Greenbush, in the county of Rensselaer and State of New York, have invented, made, and

l applied to use a lcertain new and useful Improvement -in'Gotton-Gins; and 'I do hereby Vdeclare the following to be a full, clear, and

exact description of my said invention, reference being hadto the annexed drawings, making part of this specification, wherein- Figure 1 is a' planof my gin. Fig. 2.is a vertical section of the same. Fig. 3 isa Ion'- gitudinal section of one end of the ginningcylinder.` Fig. 4 is an end view of said cylinder. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of .the same at the line j j of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a portion of the rings composing the cylinder, in section and Fig. 7 is an elevation of the hopper and guards, between which the teeth of the cylin der pass, as seen from the rear side.

Similar marks of reference denote the same parts. f

Efforts have been made to construct cottoni ginswith teeth drawing down into the cylinder, in order to allow the cotton to be taken away without injury to the staple.

The nature of my said invention consists in two cylinders-fone Within and eccentric to the other-revolved in unison by means of gearing of such a character that the-revolution of Vthe two cylinders is in no particular dependent on the ginning-teeth; hence strain, wear, and friction on said teeth are avoided.

The teeth themselves are formed of pointed wires secured in a peculiar niannerybut allowed to vibrate as theeccentricity of the innerA cylinder causes their projection orretraction. Y v

I make use of guards formed of sheet metal,

.braced at their upper ends, sov that the roll of Acotton will be easily taken by the teeth of the g'inning-cylinder, whereby said teeth 'do not require to project from the cylinder as much aswould be the if the ordinaryfcast guards or grates were employed ;'l and the' cottonas delivered from'the ginnng-cylnder is' taken by a current of air upon a condensi ng-cylinder,

and from that. deliveredl by a pair of rollers that prevent the escape of any cotton in astate.

of ignition .from the ginning operation.

In-the drawings, Va is the frame, ofany suit-.

lable material, carrying the shaft baround which the ginning cylinder revolves.. The part 1 of this shaft is larger than the end portion, 2, and eccentric 'to the same, as seen in Figs. 2, 3, and 5. The headsof the ginn-ingcylinder are formed with pipe-shaped journals within the boxes d d on a, the part 2 of ythe shaft b passing through these journals, and

terminating at one end in a square, 3, (see Fig.' 1,) upon which an arm, 4, is placed, which, rest- 5, that projects from the frame a, retains the shaft in a given position, in order that the l eccentric portion 1 of the shaft `may rise above the parts 2, for a purposehereinafter explained.

The arm 4 may be made as a segment of a cirif required.

'is mounted onheads 6, and this cyli-nder e is as many lines of grooves as there are to be ranges of teeth in the ginning-cylinder. In

thesegrooves 'are introduced the inner ends of. the teeth 8. These teeth are formed of pointed wires bent at an angle similar to cardteeth, as seen in Fig. 2. These teeth are to Y be connected at their inner ends to the cylinder e in such a manner that they can' vibrate slightly in the plane ot' their rotation. vI have shown and prefer an L-shaped bend at the said grooves 7 ,and secured by means of bands 9 '9,'slipped en successively as' the circular ranges of teeth are'lled in.

The outer cylinder, f, 's composed `of rings 'or segments set together, in order the more easily to introduce the teeth 88. I'have shown ringsthat are to be set into each other with successive ilanges 'and recesses, as represented..v

in Fig. 6, so that said rings, when set together,

formed by .cutting tapering notches lin .the edges of these rings suicient for these teeth to bration and change of angle of the teeth as c c are drawn together, andthe rings ff bound firmly. to each other by tie-rods 10 10.

ing against or being connected with the stud I cle', with a clamping-screw to adj ust the shait,-

On the portion 1 of. the shaft b a cylinder, e,

grooved longitudinally, as shown at l7 7, with inner ends of these teeth, lying in the aforenwin -b evident that, -theshant remain.

., cured on the inside ofthe heads c.

` ing stationary, and the cylinder e and revolving o n their respective parts thereof', t e eccentricty of e will cause the teeth A8 to be drawi` in on 4one side and projected on the other; and

. to avoid friction on these teeth by their binding `in the holes in fit is necessary ,that the cylinders e andf be so connected asto revolve in unison, regardless of `their eccentricity. For this purpose I prefer and use pins 1111, projecting from the end or ends of e and passing into circular openings in the disks 12, se-

These openings are shown in Fgs.5, and they being ot' a size corresponding toV theamountof motion in the parts resulting Afrom the'eccentricity, drawing said pins 11 nearer to the -center of c at one. point lthan another, said pins are allowed really to slide around against the side of said circular openings as the cylinders revolve, insuringuniformity of rotation, but allowing for the eccentric position of said cylinders. If the center parts of the disks 12 were removed, so that only semicircular scallops 'were left, the operation would be the same. .If the relative position of the cylinders e andf is changed by setting one of them around farther on its-axis, the teeth 8, in consequence of their inclined position, would be projected farther, or retracted, according to which way the change took` place. In order,v

therefore, to compensate for wear ontlie teeth `8, I attach these disks 12 by screws 13 in slots in c. l (See Fig. 4.) 'Ihe parts being at rest, it' these screws are slackened and the disks 12 turned partially forward, the cylinjder e, through the pins 11, will be turned slightly, andthe teeth 8 projectedfarther; or vthe reverse movement would cause them to be drawn farther into the cylinder f. The po'- sition of the eccentric portion 1 ofthe shaft b is to be so adj usted bythe arm 4 that the teeth 8 project at the part where the cotton is taken from the hopper, and are drawn' in at the point where the cotton is delivered from the ginning-cylinder. p

- The hopper h is formed of a suitablesize and shape, and is hinged at 15 to the crosspiece of the frame of the machine, so that it can be lifted olf the cylinder f, and a screw or screws at 16 regulate ythe position of thehopf,

per and the proximity of the guards g to the surface of'- said cylinderf.. These guards g are formed of sheet metal, and entend` from the cross-piece 17 of thehopper to the cross-piece '18, to both offwhich' the respective ends are securely fastened, and the width and location .of these sheet-metal guards are such that the teeth 8 projectthrough between them andgin the cotton from the seed, the seed falling awayV at the opening between the guards .and the edge of the adjustable bottom board, i, of the hopper h. 'The sheet metal 'guards are far preferable to the cast-'metal onesl heretofore inV use, because the teeth 8 do not require to pro-l ject sofar fromfthe surfae'eof the cylinder f as would be the ease if cast guards were employed. These sheet-metal guards require to be stifl'enedby braces 14, which I apply at the vback, of the guards, as seen in Figs. 2 andl 7. These braces are connected tothe cross-piece 18 and the sheet-metal guards g.

It will be seen that the guards g can be raised partially oli' the cylinder f by the, screws 16; ,and hence the amount that the teeth project through the guards toward thefront part of the cylinder can be regulated, and according part of the cylinder near the angle of said guards, or the adjustment of the point at which the teeth shall be retracted, by moving the shaft b by the arm or segment 4, so the teeth ,will project more or less at the ginning-point,

the angle of the same.

tothe proximity of the guardato the upper,

where the teeth pass vthrough the guards at..

I have found that itis' `best for the teeth to project the most through to the teeth at the angle in said guards that the teeth only project sufficiently to draw the vcotton itself through without being liable to injure the seeds, and the teeth passing point first through the guard or grating at the angle or bend, ysaid guards do not tend to lift the cotton off the teeth. It will be evident 'that this action ofthe teeth on the cotton is the result of the character of the teeth and peculiar angular form of said guards, and is not dependent upon the use of movable teeth.

t is a roller, which I 4prefer to be of` metal with a covering of rubber. This is driven by l any suitable gearing 'or bands.- I have shown the pulleys u and u', Fig. 1, for this purpose; and y is one of the delivery-rollers, driven by the guards at the point where vthe roll of cotsuitable means."- The pulleys 20 and 21 arel bearings. From the hollow or open ends n'of this condensingcylinder trunks o o' extend to the suction-fan p. I have shown and prefer that-these trunks/be formed in the frame a, or attached to it.. The said trunks, connecting at the center of the blower,fproduce av suction into the said condensing-cylinder through the meshes of the wire-gauze in` the direction indicated by the red -arrows,and'the airis -plown awayoutof the blower-case q through suitable are represented as the means for driving this blower. A closedcover, r, over the condensing-cylinder m prevents air passing into the same, except as shown.

dropped by the withdrawal of the teeth 8, is

taken by the current of air caused bythe suction-fan, that is drawn in betweeny the slide or board k and the cylinder j', and by the air f openings, l1'. The pulleys 25 and'26, with a belt,l

Thecotton, (shown by blue lines,)as it is passing in at the opening. 19, and carried up the incline! and deposited on the condenser m, and said condensercarries the cotton down over the roller t, near which point I apply a..

brush, v, that' is revolved by the pulley 24,

and brushes the cotton oif the surface of the y instances draws out dust and'fiueimpurities,

which are taken away by\the suction-fan p.

The actionlof thebrush v causes a slight 011t-v ward currentA between the end ofthe case w and the roller t, to .counteract the current of air that would otherwise be drawn in at this point by the blower p; and this case w is adjustable, `so that the edge 22 thereof can be raised or lowered, the object of which is to' vcause a separation 'of the motes and small lumps that are found in the ginned cotton.

These motes, being small, loose, and heavier than the cotton, will be thrown oi bythe eentrifugal'force of the brush over this edge 2 2,

while `the cotton travels around in the casew.

By adjusting the case at this 'pointn'othing but motes will'be thrown over.

Cotton as it comes from the gin is sometimes on t're from the speedA and friction on. one piece that may be partially detained. To extinguish this 'by pressure, 'while in a loose,

state, will oen prevent accidents. I thereforeie'mploy the r'oller z, that is corrugated, in order to take the cotton o'. the condenser and deliver it between itself and the rollerfy, and

the weight of this roller will extinguish any re by pressure on the ]oose cotton.

27 are gears connecting the rollers 1/ and z. A metal extension-plate between the blow- `er-casc q and roller y excludes air, and completes the construction of the machine.

The operation of this machine as a'whole will 'be apparent from the description given ofthe action of the respective parts.

I would remark that two or more of the ,brushes v and parts connected therewith might be applied around the condensing-cylinder to loosen the cotton and separate dust and motes,

if desired, thesaid. condensing-cylinder being sufficiently large for this purpose.

It-willbe apparent that any connection between .the vcylindersv and the cylinder f that' insures their uniform. rotation regardlc of f their relative diameterL or eccentricity `will relieve the teeth of the friction and strain that would come on them if the teeth 'were the means of giving rotation from one cylinderto the .otheraud I would remark that if the disks 12 had V-formed notches instead of circular o r semicircular, and the pins v11 wereI made as tapering teeth taking these'V-formed .Y notches, the rotation in unison of the two cylinders-would beeected andthe gihningteeth relieved.

`The cotton is by thismachine ginnetl from the seedV without injury` to the ber, and? cleaned fromldust and motes and deliveredvin a. hat, ready to be packed or used in cardinge machines. 1 l I am aware that sheet-metal guards have: been employed in cotton-gins, and that suclr guards have extended across the hopper, and? that the saw-gin teeth have passed point first through the guard, so as to prevent the cot-- ton escaping or being lifted oi the tooth. In1 all such instancesv the teeth have had a fixedi and determined length of projection from the plate on which they are formed, and the guards, being below the base of the teeth, allowed 'the ginning-saws to cut. into and oiten break up.: the roll of cotton in the hopper, so that -it would not revolve. In my invention only thel Yparts of the ginning-teeth themselves thatproy ject abovel the guards enter the roll, and this is regulated by the adjustment of the hopper and guards; hence* the roll in the hopper is not liable to be broken up by the teeth, thegin has 'less friction on it, and thelber y.is not injured in. the ginning operation.v

-What ICm, and desire/to secure by Let ters Patent, is l l. A series of teeth con'nected at one end tol a cylinder within and eccentric to an outerv cylinder, so that said teeth will be alternately projected and retracted 'in the revolution of.I such cylinder, when said cylinders are con-l nected together substantially as described, so that-'they revolve in unison upon ya non-re volving shaft withoilt strain or friction on the. teeth, as and for the purpose set forth;

2. The plates`12, constructed and adjusted as specified, in combination with the cylinders' e andf and teeth 8, whereby the teeth. can bei adjusted and projected more orless, as speci'-V iied.

3. 'Constructing the teeth of the cotton-gia 'ning cylinder of pointed wires having L..

shaped bends, by'means of which they are; secured to the'cylinder ,e by bands 9, as set Y1. Rotating the cynhdef f in unison with! the cylinder e bymeans-of the pins 11, en-4 tering into the openings inthe platesy 12 at" the end of the4 cylinder f, as specified.

supporting surfaces above the lbase of the. teeth, so that only those portions of the teetlr that are above sald guard operate on the roll? projecting up between such guards, and hav ing their base below the surfaces of ysuch` guards, whereby the action of the teeth at ,the point where theseeds are separated' from the cotton is not injuriously a'ected by the sur,- faces of the guards being above the base of the teeth, as specified. Y

A 5. Regulating Vor determining the operative llength of the ginning-teeth by means of me tallic guards between such teeth, having their' 7. Con'veyingthecotton from the ginninglcylinder up the incline'l to the condensing` Y cylinder bya. current of y air induced yby the suction-blower o, entering the opening 19, as

4l-specified.

8. The arrangement of 4.the roller t, brush v, and adjustable guard w, whereby the action of said brush in separating the motes can be regulated, as specified; f

9. The condensing cylinder 'm, lsulgiported' and driven by the rollers tand y, as specified,

whereby the said condensing-cylinder can be formed w-ithout'any centralaxis, and with its Witnesses:

ends open for the air to be exhausted; as specied. l

10. The exhausted condensing-eylinder mA, fitted and acting as specified, in combination-4 with the rollers y and z, forremoving the cot-- ton from such cylinder, as specified. In witness whereof I have hereunto setl my signaturev this 9th day of March, D. 1864.

irnos. o. GRAVES.

LEMUEL W. SERRELL,

CHAS..H.VSMITH.

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