US837311A - Separating-machine. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED DEC. 4, 1906.

P. LAUHOPF. SEPARATING MAGHINE. APPLIOATION FILED JULYBI. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED DEC. 4, 1906.

F. LAUHOPP. SEPARATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY31, 1905.

2 SHEETS-$811111 2 WITNESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK LAUHOFF, OF DETROIT. MICHIGAN.

SEPARATlNG-IVIACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 4, 1906.

Application filed July 31.1905. Serial No. 272.062.

. chines, of which the following is a specificasection through the machine.

tion, reference being hadtherein to the accompanying drawings.

The invention relates to machines for effecting an air separation of materials of different gravity or aerial resistance, and is more particularly designed for the cleaning of tobacco-leaves.

The invention consists in the means employed for regulating and balancing the separating air-currents; further, in the peculiar construction of a traveling screen and its arrangement in relation to the air-currents, and, further, in the peculiar construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, as hereinafter set forth.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal Fig. 2 is a crosssection thereof. Fig. 3 is an elevation viewed from the opposite side of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross-section adjacent to one of the screen-feeding rolls. Fig. 5 is a plan View thereof. Fig. 6 is a plan of a portion of the screen.

In the manufacture of tobacco, and particularly in the manufacture of cigars, there are certain waste portions of good tobacco which may be used for other purposes. This waste is, however, often collected as sweepings from the floor, in association with other material, and before it can be used it must be thoroughly cleansed from impurities. The associated impurities are, first, dust or fine particles, and, second, larger or heavier impurities, such as pieces of wood, metal, &c.

It is the object of my invention to provide a separator which will eliminate both the lighter and the heavier impurities and one which will not break up or destroy the tobacco-leaves.

As shown, Ais a suitable casing, in the upper portion of which is located an exhaustfan B, connected with an outleading conduit C and adapted to create a partial vacuum in the upper portion of the chamber.

D is a screen extending horizontally across the casing A beneath the fan B, and E is a toothed cylinder arranged at one side of the casing in connection with a correspondinglytoothed concave F.

WVith the arrangement as thus far described the tobacco to be purified is fed into a hopper G above the toothed cylinder E, from which it passes to the latter and is loosened or drawn out by passing around the cylinder and concave into the casing A. Here the loosened leaves will be fed into the path of the ascending air-currents created by the fan B and will be forced upward against the screen D. The heavier impurities will also enter the casing, but will be dropped to the bottom thereof. On the other hand, the fine light particles will pass through the screen D and through the fan B, being forced by the latter out through the conduit C. Such an apparatus will effect a separation; but it is evident that the tobacco-leaves would completely cover the screen, so as to prevent the passage of 'dust therethrough, and would also check the air-currents, so as to prevent further separation. To avoid this ditliculty, I have arranged a traveling screen, preferably of the following construction: H and H are rolls journaled in bearings at opposite ends of the casing, the former being preferably arranged in a pocket formed by a convex projection of the casing I, the screening material D, which is in the form of an endless belt, surrounding the rolls H and H and extending across adjacent to the side walls of the-casing A. This screen D is diagrammatically represented in the drawings, but in actual construction is of a suitable character to permit of its feeding around the rolls without breaking the wire as, for instance, by forming it of transverselyextending interlaced coils, as indicated in Fig. 6. i

It is essential to the successful operation of the device that the screen should form a complete bar across the path of the air-current, as otherwise a part of the tobacco would be drawn through the open spaces and into the fan. It is, however, a difficult matter to feed a screen-belt uniformly and without any shifting to one end or the other of the rolls. This difliculty I have overcome by the following construction: The rolls H and H are provided with a central portion a, over which the body of the screen passes, and at opposite ends of this central portion are reduced portions 1) and I). These reduced end portions are tapered from the outer ends of the rolls inward to the shoulders c at the ends of the portions a, so that the diameter of the roll progressively increases from said shoulder 0 outward. d represents belts which are attached to the opposite edges of the screen J and surround the portions b and b of the rolls H and H.

With the construction just described in operation the rotation of the rolls H and H will cause the feeding of the belts d, and in accordance with the law that a belt will always run toward the highest portion of the pulley these belts will tend to move oppositely toward the ends of the roll. In so doing theywill exert a transverse tension upon the screen, which will hold the same taut and willll also serve to center the screen upon the ro s. 1

To form a joint between the edges of the screen or belts d thereof and the side walls of the case A, I preferably arrange grooved guides K, which are adjustably clamped to the casing, as by bolts 6. These guides are arranged in connectionwith the upper and lower sections of the screen-belt, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. Leakage of air :about the rolls is prevented by flexible packing-strips L and L, arranged at the top and bottom of the screen D, Fig. 1, secured to the casing and bearing against the screen. At the opposite 'end is arranged a roll M, which bears against the feeding-roll H and also against the wall of the casing A, thereby forming a stop for the air-current.

It will be understood from the description above given that the screen-belt D is continuously fed, so that its lower section will travel in the direction indicated by the arrowi. 6., from left to right in Fig. 1. The tobacco being fed from the concave F and cylinder E into the casing A at the left-hand side thereof, it is evident that an unclogged screened surface is constantly presented to the air-current, carrying the tobacco upward, so as to avoid checking of the current and to permit a free passage for the fine particles and dust through the screen.

The movement of thescreen will carry the tobacco held thereagainst toward the righthand side of the case, where it will pass between the rolls H and M, the latter being journaled in slidable bearings pressed toward the roll H by springs N and which will yield to permit of the passage of the tobacco. To prevent the tobacco from still adhering to the screen, a brush 0 is journaled in bearings at the end of the roll H and is driven to have its contacting bristles travel in the opposite direction to the screen.

To effect a close separation, it is necessary to accurately balance the air-currents to the weight of the material to be separated. This is accomplished by arranging a series of adjustable wings or butterfly-valves P at one side of the casing beneath the screen D, and these valves are preferably arranged in alinement with an inclined imperforate wall Q. The effect of the construction is to form within the casing beneath the screen a chamber R, which expands from the lower end of the partition Q upward and at its upper end has a series of variable inlets S between the valves P. Thus the material which is thrown into the casing by the rotation of the toothed cylinder Ewill be subject to the strongest action of the air-current at the lower end of the case, while at the upper end the action is relatively weaker, and this will permit the separation out of the heavier impurities, while maintaining the greater portion of the tobacco in suspension. The valves P may be accurately adjusted to balance the air-current to the weight of the tobacco, and the air admitted through the passages S is directed transversely and in a direction opposite to the travel of the screen.

The various parts of the mechanism may be driven by any suitable connection, such as illustrated in Fig. 3, in which T is a belt con nection between the large pulley U on the shaft of the cylinder E and a smaller pulley V on the fan-shaft. A belt W connects the small pulley X on the cylinder-shaft with a larger pulley Y on the shaft of the roll H, 5

and the brush 0 is driven by the belt Z, connected to the pulleys Z and Z on the shaft of the roll H.

To regulate the action of the fan, an adjustable gate B is arranged as shown in Fig. 1, and to adjust the butterfly-valves P a common actuating-bar P is attached to cranks P of the separate valves and locked in any desired position by the set-nut P From the description already given the operation of the machine will be understood; but in brief summary it is as follows: The impure tobacco is fed in the hopper G and falls upon the toothed cylinder E, which disintegrates it'i. 6., loosens or unrolls the leaves without breakin them. The velocity imparted to the to acco by the cylinder E will throw it into the central portion of the chamber beneath the screen D, where the ascending air-current will separate the loosened leaves from the stems, unloosened portions, and heavy foreign matter. These heavier portions will drop down to the open space beneath the chamber A and may be subsequently passed through the machine again to separate out the good portions.

By reason of the fact that the air admitted through the passages S is directed laterally and also on account of the downwardly-con tracting form of the chamber a close discrimination between the'material of different weight is effected. The fine particles and dust will pass through the screen and fan into the conduit C, and this material may be subsequently subjected to another separation to recover the tobacco-dust from the other material.

hat I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination with a casing and means for creating an ascending air-current therein, means for introducing the material to be separated into said air-current, and a horizontally-traveling screen for limiting the upward movement of a portion of said material and adapted to carry the same out from said casing 2. The combination with a casing and means for creating an ascending air-current therein, of a disintegrator adapted to discharge the material therefrom into said aircurrent, and a horizontallytraveling screen extending across said casing and limiting the upward movement of a portion of said material, while permitting the finer portions thereof to continue upward.

3. The combination with a casing and means for creatin an ascending air-current therein, of means for introducing material to be separated into said air-current, a horizontally-traveling screen for limiting the upward movement of a portion of said material, and means for weakening said air-current as it approaches said screen, for the purpose described.

4. The combination with a casing and means for creating an ascending air-current therein, of a traveling screen in said casing, means for feeding material to be separated into said casing, below said screen and means for weakening said air-current as it approaches said screen, for the purpose described.

5. The combination with a casing and means for creating an ascending current of air therein, of a traveling screen in said casing, means for feeding material to be separated into said casing below said screen and an inclined partition in said casing, for the purpose described.

6. The combination with a casing and means for creating an ascending current of air therein, of a traveling screen in said casing, means for feeding material to be separated into said casing below said screen, an inclined partition in said casing extending into proximity with said screen and having apertures in the portion thereof adjacent to said screen, and valves in said apertures, for the purpose described.

7 The combination with a casing and means for creating an ascending air-current therein, of a traveling screen extending through and beyond said casing, transversely through the path of said air-current, means for feeding the materials to be separated into said casing below said screen, whereby the lighter and finer particles will be carried up through said screen, the lighter and coarser materials will be carried and held against said screen, and carried outside of the casing thereby, and the heavier materials will drop into the lower part of said casing, and means outside of said casing for removing the materials held against said screen, for the purpose described.

8. The combination with a casing and means for creating an. ascending air-current therein, of a traveling screen extending through and beyond said casing transverely through the path of said air-current, means for feeding the materials to be separated into said casing, and a rotary brush outside of said casing, for the purpose described.

9. The combination with an endless-belt screen, of a pair of separated rolls over which said screen passes, belts secured to the opposite edges of said screen and portions of said rolls over which said belts travel, enlarging in diameter toward the ends of the roll, to exert an opposite drawing on said screen.

10. The combination with a casing, of means for feeding materials to be separated into said casing, a traveling screen in said casing above said feeding means, and means for creating an ascending current of air in said casing, whereby the desired material will be held against said screen, while fine light particles of material will be carried through said screen and heavier particles will fall toward the bottom of said casing, for the purpose described.

11. The combination with a casing, of means for feeding materials to be separated therein, a traveling screen in said casing above said feeding means, means for creating an ascending air-current in said casing, and means for regulating the velocity of said current in proximity to said screen, for the purpose described.

12. The combination With a casing and means for creating an ascending air-current therein, of a traveling screen in said casing, means for feeding materials to be separated into the path of said air-current, whereby a portion of said materials is carried against said screen, and a rotary brush for removing said materials from said screen.

13. The combination with a separatingchamber, of a traveling screen against the under side of which the material separated is held by suction, and means for positively feeding the material in contact with said screen out from said chamber while preventing the ingress of air.

14. The combination with a separatingchamber, of a traveling screen passing out from said chamber, means for creating an upward air-current within said chamber, to effect a separation and to hold the material separated against the under side of said screen, a roll bearing against said screen forming a positive feed for said material in ber, and a roller-gate for preventing the in- 19 contact with the screen, and an air-gate for gress of air and permitting egress of the mapreventing ingress of air. i terial in contact with said screen.

15. The combination with a separating- In testimony whereof I aflix my signature chamber, of a screen extending across said inpresence of two witnesses. chamber, in the path of the air-current there- I FRANK LAUHOFF. in, and against which the material separated Witnesses: is held by air-pressure, means for feeding said JAs. P. BARRY,

screen constantly outward from said cham- AMELIA WILLIAMS.

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