TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention comprises a separating screen useful in a variety of cleaning operations.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown a separating screen 10 of the type illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,171. The '171 patent discloses and claims a cleaning apparatus comprising a plurality of rotary beaters which function, for example, to separate various types of hulls, bran, pepper, shale, dirt, and other types and kinds of debris from cotton lint. Each of the rotary beaters has a separating screen 10 positioned directly thereunder. Each separating screen 10 comprises an arcuate plate 12 having a plurality of apertures 14 formed therethrough. Cotton hulls, bran pepper, shale, dirt, etc., pass through the apertures 14 thereby separating various kinds of unwanted debris from the contaminated cotton lint resulting in purer cellulose (lint).
The arcuate plate 12 of the screen 10 is supported on side panels 16 which extend to a drawer panel 18. Slideways are supported on the side panel 16 and function to support the arcuate plate 14, the side panels 16, and the drawer panel 18 for sliding movement outwardly and inwardly relative to the lint cleaning apparatus in the manner of a conventional drawer.
The cleaning apparatus of the '171 patent requires the use of multiple separating screens, for example, a first set of eight relatively large separating screens and a second set of eight relatively small separating screens. Moreover, most cleaning operations require the purchase and maintenance of several sets of relatively large cleaning screens and several sets of relatively small cleaning screens which are differentiated one from another by different sizes of separating apertures 14. It will therefore be understood that the complexity of the drawer 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 and described hereinabove adds significantly to the cost of currently available cleaning operations.
The present invention comprises an improved separating screen design which overcomes the foregoing and other disadvantages which have long since characterized the prior art. In accordance with the broader aspects of the invention a separating screen for use in cleaning apparatuses comprises an arcuate plate having separating apertures formed therethrough. One end of the arcuate plate is provided with a large aperture which serves as a handle. The arcuate plate extends to a pair of normally horizontally disposed shoulders which extend outwardly from the opposite edges of the arcuate plate. The shoulders are slidably received in slideways mounted on the frame of the cleaning apparatus to facilitate sliding movement of the perforating screen outwardly and inwardly relative to its operating position.
The separating screen of the present invention is useful in a wide variety of cleaning operations including:
Canola, separating the hull from the meat;
Sunflower, separating the hull from the meat;
Cottonseed, separating the hull from the meat;
Soybean, separating the hull from the meat;
Lint, separating the cellulose from the trash, shale, pepper, fines, etc.;
Whole seed cleaning including groundnut, cotton, saffola, castor, sunflower, canola, soybean, mustard, etc.
Other cleaning processes utilizing separating screens are well known to those skilled in the art.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A more complete understanding of the present invention may be had by reference to the following Detailed Description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a prior art separating screen;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of a lint cleaning apparatus incorporating the separating screen of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is an enlargement of a portion of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the separating screen of the present invention; and
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 in FIG. 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 4 and 5 thereof, there is shown a separating screen 20 comprising the present invention. The separating screen 20 comprises an arcuate plate 22 having a multiplicity of screening apertures formed therethrough. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the screening apertures 24 can and will comprise a variety of sizes and shapes depending upon the requirements of particular applications of the invention. A large aperture 26 is formed through one end of the arcuate plate 22 and serves as a handle for manipulating the separating screen 20 outwardly and inwardly relative to its operating position in a lint cleaning apparatus.
Referring particularly to FIG. 5, the arcuate plate 22 extends to a pair of opposed shoulders 26. The shoulders 26 support the arcuate plate 22 for sliding movement outwardly and inwardly relative to its operating position. The shoulders 26 being a common plane which is parallel to the axis 28 of the arcuate plate 22.
FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate a component of a cleaning apparatus incorporating the present invention. A frame 30 supports a plurality of bearings 32 which in turn support a plurality of beaters 34 for rotation about their respective longitudinal axes. Each of the beaters 34 has a separating screen 20 comprising the present invention positioned directly thereunder. The screens 20 are slidably supported on slideways 36 which are in turn supported on the frame 30. More particularly, the opposed shoulders 26 of each separating screen 20 engage the slideways 36 mounted on the frame 30 to support the separating screen 20 for sliding movement outwardly and inwardly relative to the frame 30.
Referring particularly to FIG. 3, a separating screen 20 comprising the present invention is shown in its operating position. The screen 20 is slid inwardly relative to the frame 30 as far as possible such that only the end of the screen 20 comprising the handle 26 is exposed. In this manner the separating apertures 24 of the screen 20 are positioned directly under the rotating beater 34 associated therewith to facilitate the disengagement of cotton seeds and various types and kinds of debris from the cotton lint being processed by the lint cleaning apparatus.
A plurality of pusher plates 38 are supported on the frame 30. Each of the pusher plates 38 is associated with one of the cleaning screens 20. The pusher plates 38 function to prevent movement of the cleaning screens 20 relative to the frame 30 after the cleaning screens 20 have been fully seeded in the slideways 36 as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.
Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated in the accompanying Drawings and described in the foregoing Detailed Description, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions of parts and elements without departing from the spirit of the invention.
Patent Application
20080134470
