US1488249A - Separator - Google Patents

Description

E. C. HORST- SEPARATOR arch 25 1924;,

, Filed Jan. 28, 1920 lll Patented Mar. 25, 1924.

EMIL CLEMENS HORST, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFOBINIA.

SEPARATOR.

Application 'filed January 28,- 1920. Serial No. 354,724.

- To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMIL CLEMnNs Hons'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city and count of. San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvement in Separators, of which the.

following is a specification.

This invention relates to a separator and especially to a machine for separating leaves, petals, etc., from hops and the like.

Picking of hops by machinery is resorted to at the present time in several of the larger ho growing districts and is becoming more an more a necessity, due to the scarcity of labor and troubles connected therewith. Hops picked in this manner contain a considerable .quantity of leaves, petals, stems and other foreign matter, the major portion of which is removed by separators of various types. It happens, however, thatmost of the separators in use are not cap-able of thoroughly cleaning the hops, for instance, one type of separator may be fairly efficient for removing leaves and petals, while another type may be fairly eflicient for removing stems or similar material. It is, therefore, more or less common practice to subject the hops to two or more separating operations before they are considered sufficiently clean to bedried and baled.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a simple and easily operated separator which is capable of efiiciently removing both stems, leaves and petals, and which is so constructed that its capacity islarge when compared with most separators in use today.

Alnother purpose of the present invention is to provide a separator which presents two inclined planes or surfaces, one incline or surface down which the hops are permitted to roll during the separating operation and a second plane or surface for the reception and collection of the material to be removed, the incline presented to the rolling hops being comparatively steep and the inclines or surfaces for the removal of the leaves, stems, etc., being conversely comparatively flat.

The invention briefly stated involves an endless inclined belt consisting of a pair of chains connected by a series of rods, said rods supporting a series of overlapping slats over which the hops roll during the separating, operation and upon which the leaves and other material to be removed is collected.

The invention also involves means for transmitting a continuous movementto the belt, further means for removing the cleaned hops, and a second means for removing the leaves, petals, etc.

The invention also consists of the. parts and the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as hereinafter more fully described and claimed, having reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view of the separator partly broken away.-

Fig. 2 is a side elevation partly broken away. I

Referring to the drawings in detail, A indicates a frame of suitable construction on which is mounted journal members 2. Extending through the journal members 2 are shafts 3, and secured at the opposite ends of the shafts are sprocket gears 4. There are two pair of sprocket gears and each pair supports an endless chain 5. The chains 5 are spaced apart to form a belt of any desired width and they are connected by means of a series of rods 6. Supported by each rod is a slat or plank 7, and to permit pivotal movement of each slat with relation to the supporting rod, a pivotal connection such as shown at 8 is provided. The slats 7 are .The chains 5, connecting rods 6 and the slats 7 supported thereby, form what may be termed the separating belt. This belt is inclined as shown in Fig. 2 and in reality presents two inclined surfaces, one surface being the general incline of the belt as shown by arrow a, and the second incline being the surfaces presented by the respective slats 7 as indicated by the arrow 6.

. The formation of the two separate inclines is of great importance as it permits a comparatively steep incline over which the hops roll during the separating operation, and conversely a considerably decreased incline for the collection of the material to be removed.

The shafts 3 and the sprockets 4 are driven in any suitable manner, for instance, by means of a pulley 10 and as it is driven in the direction of the arrow 0 it can be seen that the material collecting upon the inclines presented by the slats will be elevated and discharged on the conveyor 11 which may remove the material to any point desired.

In actual operation it must be realized that hops are comparatively round and that the stems, petals, leaves and similar material present more or less flat surfaces. Uncleaned hops delivered by the conveyor 9 and deposited on the upper endof the separating belt will, therefore, spread out over the several surfaces presented by the steplike slats, the round hops bouncing from one surface to another, or'in other words rolling down the general incline indicated by arrow a. The leaves, petals, etc., also deposited upon the step-like inclined surface of the belt have a tendency to accumulate thereon, due to the considerably decreased incline formed by the overlapping of the slats. They thereforeadhere to the same and are carried upwardly with the belt and finally deposited on the upper conveyor 11, the hops proper continuing their downward rolling and bouncing movement and finally discharged upon a conveyor 12 which is continuously driven and which may .be extended to any point desired.

The pivotal mounting on the slats is of considerable importance as it first of all permits the formation of a step-like surface; secondly a complete removal of material deposited thereon as they swing entirely around the supporting rods when reaching the upper end and therefore assume a vertical position when travelling downwardly on the under side of the belt as shown at 14. Leaves, petals, stems, etc., are thus thoroughly removed and clean surfaces are again presented when the slats start their upward travel. Thirdly, the formation of the step-like surface forms, as previously stated,

- a series of inclined surfaces, the pitch of which is considerably reduced when compared With the general incline of the belt.

This should be thoroughly appreciated as it permits the general incline a to be set so steep that a much larger quantity of hops can be handled, due to the free discharge permitted on the steep incline. In other words, the general steep incline of the belt permits a free discharge of the hops and it does at the same time present surfaces of less incline for the collection of the material to be removed.

The capacity of a separator of this character can therefore, practically speaking, be doubled when comparison is made with most standard types of separators, for. instance such as emp oyed an ordinary inclined con? tinuous belt. A cleaner product is therefore" at the same time obtained as the leaves and, petals are not only removed, but also the" larger proportion of the stems and other objectionable material. It may also be witnesses.

stated that it is unnecessary to subject the hops to two or more cleaning operations.

The conveyors 9, 11 and 12 may be driven in unison with the separator belt or independent thereof and if desired it should be obvious that the separator belt may be placed directly in the hop picking machine in a position where they will receive the hops as they drop from the picking cylinders.

The slats 7 may be constructed of wood or any other suitable material and may be covered with canvas or the like to present a roughened or adhesive surface for the leaves, petals, etc., to be collected thereon. Such features may, however, be operated as occasion may demand, and I also wish it understood that other changes may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claim, similarly that the materials and finish of the several parts employed may be such as the experience and judgment of the manufacturer may dictate or varying uses may demand.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- I i An apparatus for separating hops from leaves, vines, stems, etc., comprising a pair of flexible endless link chains, said chains being separated and maintained in parallelism, an upper and a lower shaft, interspaced sprocket gears mounted on each shaft, said sprocket gears supporting the chains, and the shafts being mounted one above the other to maintain the chains on an angle, interspaced cross-rods connecting the chains, a plurality of plates hinged at their upper ends to the rods, each plate overlapping the next succeeding lower plate and having such a thickness that the plates form successive step-likesurfaces of less incline than the supporting chains, thereby allowing hops to roll down the offset faces, and simultaneously permitting leaves, stems, etc., to settle on the step-like faces, a conveyor belt disposed above the chains and the plates carried thereby, and adapted to deliver hops mixed with leaves, vines, stems, etc., to the upper end of the separating belt, a conveying belt disposed behind the separating belt and adjacent the upper end thereof to receive leaves, vines, etc., and a conveyor belt disposed below the separating belt and adapted to receive hopswhich roll off the plates carried by the separating belt.

- In'testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing .EMIL CLEMENS HORST.

Witnesses:

H. C. ,YANDLE, M. F. PACK.

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