US129583A - Improvement in grain-separators - Google Patents

Description

G. S. NUTTER, H. NUTTER & C. H. NUTTER.

Improvement in Grain-Separators.

No.129,583. Patented J uly 16,1372.

41300 val 07m). 1m,

speed in the machine.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

GRAFTON S. NUTTER, HARRISON NUTTER, AND CHARLES H. NUTTER, OF BUNKER HILL, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN GRAIN-SEPARATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 129,583, dated July 16, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, GRAFTON S. NUT'IER, HARRISON NUTTER, and CHARLES H. NUT- TER, all of Bunker Hill, in the county of Maooupin and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Blast-Regulator for Grain- Separators; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a perspective View of the regulator applied to a grain-separator, and Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same.

Similar letters of reference in the accompanying drawing indicate the same parts.

Our invention is designed to provide simple and effective means for maintaining a uniform fan-blast in a grain-separator, irrespective of the speed of the fan, to regulate the force of the uniform blast, and to enable the feeder and driver to control the speed of the machine. To the accomplishment of these results the invention consists, first, invproviding the airpassa-ges at the ends of the fan with a shutter composed of a series of horizontal hinged slats, which are connected by cords to a governor arranged upon the separator above the fan. This arrangement preserves a uniform blast, notwithstanding the variations in the speed of the machine, because, as the speed decreases, the current of air opens the shutters to admit a larger volume to the fan, and

as the speed increases the action of the governor closes the shutters and reduces the volume of air. It consists, secondly, in the combination of an adjusting device with the cord that connects the shutters and governor, by which such cord is tightened or loosened to set the shutters for the production of a uniform blast of the desired force. It consists, thirdly, in the combination of an index-finger with the governor and shutters, arranged to move over a dial, so that its indications can be observed by the feeder and driver from their respective positions, for the purpose of enabling them to maintain a uniform rate of In the accompanying drawing, A represents that portion of a grain-separator containing the fan in the usual manner, and I are the passages for the introduction of air. The airpassages are each divided into two parts by the central upright B, one of which may be opened or closed by the slide 0. D are rectangular frames affixed in an upright position to the sides of the separator overthe openings I that are unprovided with slides, and within each frame horizontal slats E are pivoted so as to turn inward and leave spaces between them for the passage of air to the fan. The inner edges of the slats in each frame are connected together by a cord or rod, and from the upper slats cords F extend through the top of the frames, to the ends of a cross-bar, G, mounted upon the sliding collar of the governor. The shaft of the governor has its bearings in a frame, H, affixed to the separator over the fan, and receives its motion from the horizontal shaftJ by means of the beveled gears J. K is the main driving-shaft, from which motion is communicated to the fan-shaft and the shaft J by a suitable arrangement of pulleys and belts, as shown in the drawing. When the machine is in operation the slides G are closed to a greater or less degree, so that the current of air shall pass through the shutters, the force of the blast causing the slats to swing down for this purpose. As the speed of the machine increases the governorballs are thrown out by centrifugal force, raising the cross-bar G, which, through the medium of the cords F, decreases the openings between the slats of the shutters, and consequently reduces the volume of air admitted to the fan. When the speed of the machine and fan is low the shutters are opened wider to admit alarger volume of air. By this arrangement, therefore, an equable fanblast is maintained, notwithstanding the variable speed. To regulate the distance to which the shutters shall open for the admission of a certain volume of air, blocks L are aflixed to the cords F at any point between the shutters and cross-bar G, and provided with lateral keys m, to which the cords are secured. By turning the keys the cords are wound up thereon in a greater or less degree, to set the shutters the predetermined distance apart.

N is a dial affixed to the front of the frame H, and provided with an index-finger, O, which 1%, connected by a pinion, P, with a vertical rack, Q, secured to the cross-bar G of the governor. When the bar G rises and falls under the action of the governor and the force of the blast through the shutters, the index-finger moves around the dial and indicates the speed of the machine and its effect upon the fan and blast. The arrangement of the dial and index-finger enables the feeder and driver to note the indications at a glance, and therefore keep the machine at a uniform rate of speed under all circumstances.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is- 1. An automatic blast-regulator for grainseparators, consisting of a governor and a series of pivoted or hinged shutter-slats, E, at

each end of the fan, constructed substantially as described, and arranged to operate in such a manner that the force of the blast shall open the shutters and the action of the governor close them, substantially as herein shown and described.

'2. In combination with the cords I, we claim the adjusting-blocks L m, constructed substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

S. In combination with the governor and the adjustable shutter-slats, We claim the dial and index-finger, arranged as herein shown and described, for the purposes specified.

4. The valve attachment, consisting of the shutter-slats E, pivoted or hinged within the frame D, and applied to the fan-openings I, as herein shown and described, for the purpose specified.

- GRAFTON S. NUTTER.

HARRISON NUTTER. Witnesses: CHARLES H. NUT'IER.

JAMES A. BEACH, GEORGE COMPTON.

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