US33617A - Improvement in grain-separators - Google Patents

Description

No. 33,617 PATENTED OCT. 29, 1861.

' W. M. WATSON. GRAIN SEPARATOR.

- I)??? i02 m MM/mold km tively long and slender.

UNITED STATES WILL'IAM MEDD WATSON, OF 'IONIGA ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN G RAIN-SEPARATC specification forming part of Letters Patent No. $3.6M, dated October 29,1861.

' To toltomrit may concern:

'Be it known that 1, WILLIAM ,MED WAT- SON, formerly WILLIAM WATSON, of- 'lonica, in the county of La Salle and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Machine for Dividing Mixed Grain, but especially to Se parate Oats from W heat, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description, reference being had'lo the accompanying drawings, which make part ofthis specification, and in which Figure 1 represents a longitudinal sectionor my graimdivider. Fig. 2 represents a top View of the same, with the endless propellingapr'on. removed to 'expose'the perforated di viding-plate and the rollers by which the endiless propelling-apron is stretched and-carried. Fig. 3 represents-a piece of adividing-plate of full size which I have had successfully atwork to show the actual size andrelative position of'perforations that havo been found in practice adequate to the complete division of cats and spring wheat mixed in the proportion of three parts, by measure, of the former to seven parts, by measure, of the latter,

the mixture being un'marketable as wheat, even at a price proportionate to the quality 1 of wheat in'the mixture, because of the difficulty of separating the oats'and their injury I to the quality of the flour when the mixture.

double its shortest diameter or thickness. The form of an oat-grain approaches to that of an elliptic spindle with one end thicker and much heavier than the other. Its thickness at its largest part is' about the same as that of awheat-grain and its length is about double that of a wheat-grain. 'lhe ,wheat seems short and thick and the cat compara- I have taken advantage of this difference in the form of the two kinds of grain to separate them; and my in vention is founded upon the theory that if a mixture of those two grains be rolled in a Stratum of not more than one grain in thickness over a plane surface by the continuous motion of another parallel surface pressing against the grains, so as to roll them .or slide them by friction, andthus carry them forward, and the lowermost of these planesur-L faces be perforated with numerous holes of a diameter about equal to three-quarters of the average length of the wheat-grains to"=be divided from the grains of oats, and those holes are in such position that several of them will be in the path of each wheat-grain in crossing the plane, and the wheat will all pass through the holes, while the cats, being longer, will roll or slide over the holes'to the end of the plane, by which means the twokinds of grains are completely divided. If the wheat and cats were caused to slide or roll over the perforated plane by a jarring motion or by a rake or otherwise without at the same time pressing the oats so as to compel them to'lie flat, whenever the heavy end of an oat overlaid one of the holes in the plane it would descend by its gravity tilting up the light end and diving through the hole endwise and passing Thus it will down among the wheat-grains. be seen that the essence of my invention consists in keeping such-pressure upon the grains of oats while passing over the perforated plate with the wheat as will prevent ,them from turning sidewise and passing through the wheat-holes, their length being so-great that they cannot pass thronghthe holes sidewise.

The machine shown in the drawings consists of a strong oblong frame A, a hopper B, to contain the mixed grain to be divided, a

perforated plate 0, to screen out. the wheat and retain the oats, an endless apron D,

stretched round rollers above the perforated plate,'the apron being of a a widt-h 'equal to that of the plate,with whichits lower portion is parallel and in close proximity throughout the whole extent of the perforated surface. The apron maybe kept properly stretched 'by springs arranged betweenthe rollers to press them apart, the journals of the rollers to facilitate this object being set in sliding boxes. If preferred, the boxes may be set by screws instead of springs at the proper distance apart. i

The apron may press upon the perforated plate with its own or any required weight by .giving to theboxes of the rollers a vertical sliding motion, supporting them on springs and pressing them down by a screw or by another spring more powerful than the supporting-spriu gs, which should be barely strong enough to counterbalance theweight of the rolls and apron. -By regulating the-pressure of the downward-acting spring the apron will and from 'the'endless apron, or-it may rest on springs that press it toward the apron with either a fixed force or one which is rendered variable by regulating the tension of the "spring by any common and suitable adj usting apparatus. Astop'should .be so arranged as toprevent the apron hnd perforated platev from pressiughard together. Indeed, to pro duce the best etfectthey should not approxi mate nearer than the thickness of the smallest grains of oats, as they have no' function to per-- formthat requires them to approach nearrtogether. 4 v

The machine is simplified by arranging'the perforated plate and apron at a fixeddistance apart equal to the smallest oats,- leaving the elasticityof the apron and plate to yield sufficiently to allow the passage of the larger oats between them'.'" p

The'apron may be' made of' stout .d'uek, lined withfelt cloth'to make it elastic, or it. may be made of soft leather or india-rubber; and to relieve it from the wear and tear produced by stretching it round and drivingit. by the rollers,-the apron may be secured to and-carried by leather belts encircling the rollers; i

The rollers may be turned by hand by. means of a crank affixed to-the outer. end of the journal of'one of them; or a pulley or cog-wheel-may be affixe'd' to the same part, to

be turned by any convenient prime mover. This application of rotating motion to one roller from the connection of the two rollers by the endless band insures a corresponding motion of both rollers and-the band.

The perforated plate may be made of any thin metal. [prefer sheet-iron,whic'h should be stiffened by ribs attached to its under side. If this plate should be cast, the'ribs would of course be cast in one piece with it. The top of the plate should be even and free \from angles or roughness. The holes I prefer .to make round. Their edges on the upper side of the plate should be rounded and smooth,

Theyshould be of the size represented in Fig. 30f the drawings for cleaning wheat the average length of. whose grains is one fourth more than the diameter of the hole.

mixed grain to be divided.

For I wheat of considerably greater or less average length, plates with holes of a cprrespondingly enlarged or diminished dia'neter must be .provided. Three or. four plates with differentsized holes will probably be sulficient for dividing the mixtures of all the diiferentvarieties of wheat and oats that are offered to' any great extent for sale. The holes in one row should beplaced opposite the spaces between the holes in the next row, and the spacesbetweenthe holes should 'be exactly equal to the diameter of the-holes. Thisan. rangement of the holes renders it'difficult for a grain of wheat t0 get across the plate withp out falling through.

The machine should be provided with a.

hopper of any convenient size to contain the' At the lower side of the hopper there should be a vibrating shoe of the usual form to discharge the wheat in an even stream from the. hopper and feed it betweenthe apron and perforated plate.

The shoe of the hopper maybe vibrated by; -motion derived from the rollers that drive the apron. The grain as it falls'from the hopper is carried by the motion of the apronbearing. on it to and across the perforated 'plate, and'as the grain passes over the plate the wheat drops through, or, rather, is pressed through, the holes very quickly, so that little of it reaches the "middle and very little or none gets across, the plate;

The oats being kept by the-pressure of the apron lying down 'on their sides .upon the plate and being too long to pass sidewise through the holes'fthey are carried by the motion of the apron across the plate while thus held down and discharged at the end intoa spout E, provided for the purpose.- A plate from one to three feet in length is sufficient to divide anymixture of wheat and oats. For plump short wheat and long oats a foot is sufficient for-the separation. Long shriveled wheat and'short plump oatsrequire alonger plate. The wheat, dropping through the-plate, lodges in a receptacle beneath, while the oats, being retained, as before explained, are carried to the end of the plate by the apron and discharged by the spout in a heap by themselves on the floor or into any convenient receptacle. I 1

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- Amachine composed of a pressure-carrier, a perforated surface, and a feeding mechan-' ism for dividing mixed grain and depositing the several kinds in separate places, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.

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