US3394810A - Flour sifter brush - Google Patents

Description

y 0, 1968 N. E. SINNOTT 3,394,810

FLOUR S IFTER BRUSH Filed Sept. 5. 1967 United States Patent 3,394,810 FLOUR SIFTER BRUSH Nicholas E. Sinnott, 3553 Mapleway Drive, Toledo, Ohio 43614 Filed Sept. 5, 1967, Ser. No. 665,477 3 Claims. (Cl. 209-388) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A flour sifter brush of such structure and form as to be capable of high speed, low cost production; and being highly resistant or altogether incapable, during use, of disintegration, as by shredding, breaking or graining to thus adulterate the flour or clog the sifter cloths, during subsequent bolting.

Background of invention Field of invention.A body, movably responsive to sifter agitation in flour bolting, having cloth engaging parts for dislodging the hanging throughs of flour.

Description of the prior art.Sifter brushes have long been known. In some of these, such as in the US. Patents Nos. 690,994 and 741,370, a sheet metal body blank, having an annular clamping rim in which the brush bristles are held and a protuberance under-shoe, has been suggested. Also illustrative of the art are US. Patents Nos. 660,569, 770,734, 784,859 and 954,237.

Summary of the invention- The invention resides in having, in a flour sifter brush, the combination of an annular body, bolt cloth engaging frusto-conical teeth, and a body-supporting side protuberance of a molded integral hornogeniety of an elastomer.

Brief description of drawings FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a flour sifter brush embodying the features of my invention in operative relation to a bolting cloth and supporting screen of a flour sifter;

FIG. 2 illustrates a side view, in elevation, of the flour sifter brush shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a plan view of the flour sifter brush shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 shows a view of a section taken along the plane of the line 4-4 indicated in FIG. 3.

Description of preferred embodiment A flour sifter brushembodying the features of my invention has a body 10. The body is, as FIG. 3 of the accompanying drawing shows, preferably of annular form having end faces 11 and 12 and an inner lateral face 14.

The body 10 supports a plurality of teeth 20. As FIGS. 2 and 4 of the drawing show, each tooth 20 extends upwardly from the body 10, particularly from equally spaced points on the end face 11 thereof about the annular axis of the body 10. Preferably, each tooth 20, as FIG. 4 shows, is of a truncated conical form, having a base 21, a merging lateral surface 22 and a crown 23. The base 21 of each tooth 20 is in plane and mergence with the end face 11 of the body 10. The crown 23 of each tooth 20 is in plane with the corresponding crowns 23 of the neighboring teeth.

The teeth 20, particularly the crowns 23 thereof, are adapted, in use, to engage and rub against the sifter bolt cloth, represented at BC in FIG. 1 of the drawing. In such engagement and passage during the same, the bolt cloth BC is kept operatively free of sifted flour or throughs as may be adhering to the underside of the bolt cloth. In that sense, the engagement of the cloth by the teeth maintaining sifting efficiency of the bolt cloth.

The body 10 is caused to move relative to the bolting cloth BC by the horizontal agitation of the sifter box (not shown) but whose screen is shown at S in FIG. 1 of the drawings. The body 10 is supported on the screen S for such movement by a protuberance or foot 30. The protuberance foot 30 is preferably of a hemi-spherical form and is preferably supported by a spoke 31 of the body 10 The spoke 31 extends from and engages diametrically opposite points on the inner lateral face 14 of the body 10 and preferably is of a thickness, measured along the annular axis of the body 10, equal to that of the body between the end faces 11 and 12 thereof. The protuberance foot 30 extends from the spoke 31, its diametric face 32 being in plane and mergence with the spoke 31. The foot 30 has a rounded face 33 which extends about a point on the annular axis of the body 10 and away from the plane of the face 12 thereof.

Thus, as is shown in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawing, the body 10 may be supported on the screen S so that upwardly extending teeth 20 thereof engage the bottom surface of the bolt cloth BC. As the sifter of which screen S and bolt cloth BC are parts is horizontally vibrated, the body 10, riding on the foot 30 over the screen S, moves, by inertia, late-rally relative to the bolt cloth to cause its teeth 20 to brush the bolt cloth. This tends to dislodge the throughs flour hanging to such underside of the bolt cloth and prevents it from becoming inefliciently Clogged.

The body 10, its spoke 31, the teeth 20 and the shoe 30 are of integral homogeneity. Material, such as Estane, a polyurethane of The B. F. Goodrich Company, may be used to good advantage by injection molding to form a single elastomer. This allows the sifter brush embodying my invention to be made and placed in use at a very low cost. Also, contrary to the prior art brushes, the wear of a sifter brush embodying my invention does not result in shred and bristle debris with the consequent problem of adulteration and need for removal.

I claim:

1. A flour sifter brush comprising a molded annular body a plurality of teeth in engagement with and extending upwardly from equally spaced points on the body about and in a direction parallel to the annular axis of the body;

a spoke in engagement with the body and extending between diametrically opposite points on the body; and

a protuberance in engagement with the spoke and extending downwardly from a point thereon between the spoke ends;

the teeth, spoke and protuberance being of a integral homogeneity with the body.

2. A flour sifter brush as described in claim 1 in which 5 the teeth are each of a truncated conical shape having 770734 a base in plane and mergence with the body; and 3 327'339 the porturbence is substantially of a hemi-spherical shape having its diameter in plane and mergence with the spoke. 10 3. A flour sifter brush as described in claim 2 in which 1:282:609

the body, teeth, spoke and protuberance are an integral elastomer of polyurethane.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/1900 Gray 209388 1/1902 Peterson 209-388 9/1904 Bonifield 209-388 6/ 1967 Lemelson 15-209 FOREIGN PATENTS 12/1961 France.

PETER FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

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