Removal of green bolls and heavy materials from seed cotton by air jets

Claim 1

AN AIR JET APPARATUS FOR CLASSIFYING MATERIALS SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING: A. AN ACCELERATING MEANS FOR HORIZONTAL ACCELERATING AND CONVEYING THE MATERIALS WHICH COMPRISES A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL, FLAT SURFACE HAVINF A SERIES OF ROWS OF LOUVERED OPENING; B. A SEPARATING MEANS ORIENTED IN THE SAME PLANE AS THE ACCELERATING MEANS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF AIR JET NOZZLES HAVING SPACES THEREBETWEEN, EACH NOZZLE COMPRISING AN AIR PLENUM HAVING END S BOTH UPPER AND LOWER LONGITUDINALS SECTIONS, AS WELL AS MEANS OR SECURING SAID SECTIONS TOGETHER AND MEANS FOR ATTACHING SAID SECURED SECTIONS TO SAID ENDS, MEANS COMPRISING TWO PARALLEL SLOTS. IN THE UPPER SECTION WHICH COMMUNICATE WITH THE INTERIOR OF SAID NOZZEL FOR PRODUCING CONVERGING AIR JETS: SAID AIR JETS ARE CONVERGING IN THE DIRECTION AT WHICH SAID MATERIALS ARE CONVEYED BY THE ACCELERATING MEANS: AND MEANS CONNECTING SAID NOZZELS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY PIVOTING SAID NOZZEL ABOUT AN AXIS PARALLEL TO THE SLOT; AND C. A COLLECTING SYSTEM LOCATED BELOW THE SEPARATING MEANS AND FORMED INTO THE CONFIGURAION OF A TROUGH HAVING AN OPEN TOP COMMUNICATING WITH THE OPEN SPACES BETWEEEN THE NOZZEL AND A BOTTOM SLOPED AT AN ACURATE ANGLE TOWARD A BOTTOM OPENING COMMUNICATING WITH A CONVEYOR MEANS FOR REMOVAL OF WASTE MATERIAL.

Claim 5

A method for separating green bolls from open cotton comprising: a. providing a horizontally directed air jet by blowing air at 7500 to 8000 ft./min. through louvered openings in a substantially flat surface; b. introducing green boll-contaminated cotton into the air jet of step (a), thereby accelerating the cotton; c. providing a thin horizontal curtain of high velocity air by blowing air through a plurality of air jets, said air jets discharging at an angle of from 12* to 20* above the horizontal in the same direction as that in which the cotton from the accelerating means is being conveyed; d. passing the accelerated cotton of step (b) into the horizontal air curtain of step (c); and e. allowing the green bolls to fall out of the curtain while recovering the cotton carried by the curtain.

Claim 6

A method for separating green bolls from open cotton comprising: a. providing a horizontally directed air jet by blowing air at 7500 to 8000 ft./min. through louvered openings in a substantially flat surface; b. introducing green boll-contaminated cotton into the air jet of step (a), thereby accelerating the cotton; c. providing a thin horizontal curtain of high velocity air by blowing air through a plurality of air jets, said air jets discharging at an angle of from 12* to 20* above the horizontal in the same direction as that in which the cotton from the accelerating means is being conveyed; d. passing the accelerated cotton of step (b) into the horizontal air curtain of step (c); and e. allowing the green bolls to fall out of the curtain while recovering the cotton carried by the curtain.