US1814305A - Thrashing machine - Google Patents

Description

July 14, 1931.

R. G. FLEMING 1,814,305

THRASHING MACHINE Filed Jam. 23, 1930 2 w .35 m @226 I J K Z6 I kwezzior jfozw 6? 2722222229 5 QWvW/Mr Patented July 14, 1931 ROBERT GRAHAM FLEMING, 0F

CHICO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO GUY H. HALL, O1

EVANSTON, ILLINOIS THRASHIQNG MACHINE Application filed January as, 1930. Serial No. 422,792.

My invention relates to that class of thrashing machines in which there is employed a rotary cylindrical brush with flexible wire bristles and co-operating with baifle plates spaced apart from each other with pockets between them, such, for instance, as illustrated in my application for patent .Serial No. 317,942, filed November 8, 1928, for harvesters.

The objects of my present invention are, first, to provide an improved structure of the battle devices whereby the grain being thrashed is held in the path of action of the rotary wire brush for a short period of time before entering the adjacent pocket, and, at the same time to permit threshed grain and chaff to pass into the pocket as soon as it is separated from the heads or stalks, and to remove from the grains all portions of the hulls under such conditions as when the hulls are not thoroughly ripe or the straw is wet.

A further object is to provide improved means for forcing the stalks of grain into the space between the rotary brush and the first baffle plate, said means being so arranged that when a dry corn stalk, stiff weed or other similar article is being carried by the conveyor toward the thrashing brush and engages the auxiliary feeding conveyor, the auxiliary conveyor will yield and thereby prevent injury to the conveyors.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device,'whereby the objects contemplated are attempted, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and

illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in

which:

Figure 1 shows a vertical, transverse sectional view of my improved machine.

Figure 2 shows an enlarged detail plan view of a part ofmy improved baffle device. Figure 3 shows an enlarged detail sectional view of my improved bafile device on the line 33 of Figure 2. j Figure 4 shows a detail sectional view illustrating the yielding feature of the auxiliary feeding conveyor. v

- Referring to the accompanying drawings, I have used the reference numeral 10 to lndicate generally the frame of the thrashing device. Mounted in this frame is a large roller 11, around which there is passed a slatted conveyor 12.

' Adjacent to the roller 11 there is mounted a rotatable shaft 13, to which is fixed a cylindrical brush having bristles 1 1 made of flexible spring wire. Surrounding the top, rear,

and bottom portlons of the brush is a casing I 15, spaced apart from the brush far enough to permit the accumulation therein of considerable quantities of grain and chafi", and to form with the bafiles hereinafter referred to, a series of pockets 16.

The baflie devices each comprise a plate 17 fixed to the casing 15 and extended inwardly radially of the casing. It isthen bent and inclined outwardly and toward the receiving end of the casing to form a guide plate 18, the outer end of which is fixed to the casing 15.

A flat metal plate 19 which extends the full length of the member 17 is adj ustably secured to the member 17 by means of bolts 20 extended through slots 21 in the plate 17 so that the outer edge of the plate 19 may be adjusted to the desired position for defining the space between the outer edges of the brush bristles and the baffle devices.

On the side of the plate 19' opposite from the plate 17, I have mounted a segmental shaped screen plate 22, extending the full length of the battle device, and shaped to substantially conform to the contour of the rotary brush. This plate is provided with a series of staggered openings 23, which openings are large enough to permit grain and chaff to pass readily through it and also small heads or portions of heads of unthrashed grain, and this plate 24 performs the double function of a screen and a temporary retarding device.

The operation of the brush, bafiie plate. and pocket elements just described is as follows: When grain to be thrashed is delivered to the brush adjacent to the first inclined plate 18, this plate deflects the grain to the space between the baffle device and the brush and the heads are-then temporarily retarded by the balfle device and held in the path of action of of about 1,000 B. P. M. the action of the flexible wire bristles upon the grain when it is temporarily retarded by the bafiie device is such that nearly all of the hulls are removed from the kernels, and, in addition thereto, substantially all of the heads are removed from the straws. After the heads pass the bafiie member 19, they are then moved over will be engaged by such a considerable portion of the circumference of the brush that they will be carried with the brush right through the device without entering the pockets. It is true that short pieces of straw enter the pockets, but in practice substantially every long straw passes through the entire device at the speed of the brush movement and without being retarded in the pockets.

Such portions of the grains, chaff and heads as enter the pockets either through the openings 23 or the space between the screening and retarding plate 22 and the next bathe plate, are temporarily retarded in their progress through the machine and in practice the.

pockets are normally almost full of these materials. These materials enter the pockets at the upper end and are gradually moved both by gravity and the frictional engagement of the brush bristles, toward the lower end, and then thin layers of these materials are thereby forced from the delivery end of the pocket by the inclined .portion of the second bafiie device andare again presented to the action of the brush bristles, and when these materials are again presented to the brush, the materials will be in a position relatively stationary as compared with the rapidly moving bristles of the brush, so that the impact of the rapidly moving bristles upon the stationary materials will have the effect of removing hulls from the grains.

I have obtained very satisfactory results in my tests without the use of the combined screen and retarding plates and, hence, they are not essential to the successful operation of the machine.

In Figure 1 I have illustrated a large object. such. for instance, as a stone, indicated by the reference numeral and this article is shown-as lodged between the second bafile device and the brush. The article is obviously much larger than the space between the bristles and the baffles. In actual practice such articles, however, pass readily through the device without damage to the machine because the flexible spring bristles of the brush spread apart far enough to receive such article and the article is then carried to a delivery point while imbedded between the bristles as illustrated in Figure 2, and after the article has thus passed through the brush, the bristles return to their normal position because of their resiliency.

In practice it sometimes happens that large objects, such, for instance, as green. weeds, will be fed into the machine, the thickness of which is greater than the space between the bristles and the baifle devices, and when this occurs, I have found that these large soft objects also imbed themselves between the bristles and are carried through the machine without being retarded by the baflles and without entering the pockets, and when they pass out of the machine, they are not ground to a fine pulp and mixed with the thrashed grain, due to the fact that the main body of such weed is imbedded between the bristles until the last baflle has been passed ,and then it is discharged by centrifugal action.

In connection with large weeds or the like, I have found the plates 22 to be advantageous in preventing the entrance of green weeds and the like into the pockets and in retaining them imbedded in spaces between the bristles.

For the purpose of forcing material to enter the space between the first bafile device and the brush, I have provided a slatted conveyor 25, passing over to rollers 26 in a substantially horizontal plane and moving in the direction of'the arrows as shown in Figure 1. One of the rollers 26 is placed as near as possible to the first bafile device, and the two rollers are placed on opposite sides of the top portion of the large roller 11, and one of therollers 26 is mounted upon movable bearings held away from the'other roller 26 by springs 27. The conveyor itself is madeof flexible material. The advantage of this structure is that, as illustrated in Figure 4, when a large and unyielding object, such, for instance, as a corn stalk and indicated by the reference numeral 28 in Figure 4, is carried upwardly and rearwardly by the conveyor 12, it will engage the lower surface of the conveyor 25 between the rollers 26 and conveyor 25 will yield and then the spring mounted roller will also yield so that the article may go through without injuring the conveyors.

After all the material has passed beyond the last bafile device, this material is thrown with considerable force in the direction in- 4 dicated by the arrow shown in Figure 1, and I have constructed the device so that the large roller 11 is directly in the path of the material being discharged from the last bafveyor are movlng downwardly and forward-v ly at this point, all of the material is to ass-under the roller 11, or the purpose of separating substantial-. 1y all of the lon straws from the combined grain and chaff, have'providd a transverse bar 29 pivotally mounted on the side of the frame below the lower plate 22'and fixed to this bar are a series of rods 30, only one of which is shown in Figure 1, and these rods are extended forwardly and downwardly with their forward ends only engaging the conveyor 12. By this arrangement, it is obvious that when the cross slabs on the con-' veyor 12 engage the ends of these rods, they will force them downwardly, and the will again be moved upwardly by the action of directed the spring 31, so that said rods will be constantly vibrated b their engagement with the cross slats, an preferably fixed to this bar 29, is a grain'pan 32 to direct the 'chafi and grain into the conveyor 33, and by this arrangement it is obvious that pan 32 will be vibrated to advance the material into the conveyor 12.

I claim as my invention: a

1. In a thrashing machine, the combination particles of the material being operated on are temporarily retarded and again pre-' sented to the action of the brush by the second baflie device, one of said bafile devices being adjustable toward and from the brush, for the purposes stated. I

4- In a thrashing machine, the combination of a rotary cylindrical brush having flexible bristles, two bafile devices for directing material toward and temporarily holdingpt in the path of the brush, a pocket formed etween the bafile devices in which the smaller particles of the material being operated on prising an inclined plate for directing material toward the brush, and an adjustable plate for defining the space between the baffle device and the brush. I

ROBERT GRAHAM FLEMING.

of a rotary cylindrical brush having flexible bristles, two bafiie devices for directing material toward and temporarilyholdingit in the path of the brush, a pocket formed between the bafiie devices, in which the smaller particles of the material being operated on are temporarily retarded and again presented to the action of the brush by the second baflle device, and a perforated retarding device, positioned adjacent to the first baflie device and extending a short distance toward the second 1 bafliedevice and located close to the brush,

for the purposes stated.

2. In a machine of the class described, the

' combination of a large roller, a slatted conveyor passing over the roller, a thrashing device for receiving material from the conveyor, means for directing the flow ofrmaterial passing through the thrashing device toward the central portion of the said large roller, whereby said material will be carried 7 by the slattedconveyor in the direction opposite to that from which it was delivered to the thrashing device, a series of rods pivotally supported below the large roller and presented to the slatted conveyor so that their ends only are engaged by the slatted con veyor, and yielding means for holding said rods toward the slatted conveyor whereby the action of the slatted conveyor engaging the rods will cause them to vibrate. L

3. In a thrashing machine, the combination of a rotary cylindrical brush having flexible bristles, two baffle devices for directing material toward and temporarily holding it.

in the path of the brush, a pocket formed between the bafiie devices in which the smaller

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