US535416A - Rice-cleaning machine - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 1.. J. H. ROMAN. RICE CLEANING MACHINE.

Patented Mar. 12, I895.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. V

J. H. RGMAN.

RICE CLEANING MACHINE.

.No. 535,416. Patented Mar. 12, 1896.

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MED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JACQUES HARRY ROMAN, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

RICE-CLEANING MACHlNE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 535,416, dated March 12, 1895.

Application filed October 25, 1893. Serial No,489,147. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JACQUES HARRY ROMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rice-Cleaning Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the figures of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to machines for cleaning grain and more especially for effecting the separation of black seeds and other impurities from rice and other grain of similar shape.

The invention consists in the features of construction and novel combinations of parts in a rice cleaning apparatus as hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention-Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of my improved rice cleaning machine. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan of the machine, and Fig. 4 is a plan of the shaking screen and its imperforate top, or cover.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the post or standards of an upright rectangular frame.

To the side cross bars 2 of the upper portion of the machine frame are pivotally at-. tached the upper ends of a suitable number of hangers 3 that support a shaking screen for cleaning rice. This screen should preferably be wider than it is long so that alarger feed may be spread on the upper end thereof.

The frame of the shaking screen comprises side bars 4 to which the lower ends of the hangers 3 are pivotally attached. These side bars 4 support the screen bottom 5 which consists of a perforated sheet metal plate whose perforations 6 should be of a diameter sufficiently large to aiford ample opportunity for the sifting through of dirt and refuse. To the upper side of the perforated screen bottom 5 are secured a series of longitudinally arranged steel bars 7, one on each side and one or more at intermediate points. These bars 7 support an imperforate screen top or cover 8, that is parallel with and close to the perforated portions of the screen bottom and nearly coversit. The bars 7 are placed lengththickness of the bars 7, should be less than the length of the grain to be cleaned so that the grain will be prevented from getting into an upright position and will be compelled to pass between the screen bottom and top only in a flatwise position. Thus while the dirt and refuse will find free exit downward through the perforations of the screen bottom, the cleansed and perfect grain will roll flatwise along the upper side of the screen bottom and escape only from its lower end. This especial feature is old in the art and I do not claim it as a part of my invention.

As shown in Fig. 1, the hangers 3 that support the opposite ends of the shaking screen are of such relative length as to give the screen asuitable inclination downward and forward, to facilitate the passage of grain along the same.

Extended across the upper end of the shaking screen is a hopper 9 that is supported on and carried by the screen. The upper porwise between the screen bottom 5 and screen top 8 and are securely bolted or otherwise secured to both. They serve to provideaspace of uniform height between the perforated screen bottom and its imperforated top or cover. The distances between the screen bottom 5 and screen top 8, as determined by the tion of the screen bottom is plain, smooth A and imperforated for a distance of about six or eight inches from its rear edge. The hopper 9 is arranged to discharge its contents onto the smooth imperforated upper end of the screen bottom 5, on which the grain will be evenly distributed by the vibratory motion of the screen, and will be caused to fall flatwise before it is gradually impelled on to and along the perforated portion of the screen bottom to its lower end, dropping its impurities through the perforations, while the cleansed grain is discharged into any suitable receptacle. Black seeds, small pods, or imperfect grains that are smaller than the perfect grain, though of the same thickness and width and even somewhat more, but not so long, will pass through the perforations together with dirt and other refuse.

The shaking screen may be operated in any suitable manner, as for instance, by power applied to a pulley 10 on a shaft 11 journaled in bearings at one end of the machine frame,

and having eccentrics or cranks 12 connected by pitrnen 13 to a transverse rod or shaft 14 supported. by the side bars 4 of the screen.

At the lower end of the screen is placed an inclined table or chute 15 over which the cleansed grain is allowed to roll into a suitable receptacle. A large hopper 16 is provided below the whole of the shaking screen to collect the dirt and refuse in readiness to be conveyed away by any suitable or convenient means.

It will be observed that the screen cover 8 and hopper 9 are both supported on and carried by the shaking screen, so that a proper parallelism of the screen top and perforated screen bottom is always maintained; the distance between the screen top and screen bottom being at all times uniform throughout, so that the grain will not be subjected to crowding or crushing at any point in its passage along the screen.

Above the hopper 9 of the shaking screen and rigidly supported by the machine frame, is a distributing or feeding device comprising a trough 17 which is secured to the rear cross bar of the frame. The bottom of this trough is provided with a slotted opening 18 about an inch or an inch and a half wide, which extends the entire length of the trough. A valve plate or false bottom 19 is hinged at its rear edge to the under side of the trough bottom in such manner as to control the slotted openings. The front of the trough 17 is provided with suitable bearings for the vertical screw shafts 20 which support the horizontal arms 21 that are extended rearward between guides 22 and beneath the hinged valve 19, as shown. By turning the screw shafts 20 the arms 21 may be raised or lowered to raise or lower the hinged valve 19, and thus control the slotted opening 18 in the bottom of the distributing trough.

In the distributing trough 17 is mounted a screw conveyer 23 and above one end of the screw conveyer is a feed hopper 24 through which the grain to be cleansed and separated from refuse is delivered to the distributing devices. A pulley 25, on the shaft of the screw conveyer, is connected by belting to a pulley 26 on the shaft 11 from which the shaking screen is actuated.

By means of the valve 19 and its operating or adjusting mechanism the discharge of grain from the distributer trough 17 into the screen hopper 9 can be regulated at will.

VVheu the machine is put in operation by power applied to the shaftll, the grain placed in the hopper 24 is distributed uniformly throughout the trough 17 by the screw conveyer 23 and passes through the slotted opening 18 into the screen hopper 9 and thence on to the imperforated or smooth portion of the screen bottom 5 being thus turned fiatwise before passing on to the perforated portion of the shaking screen. The distributing mechanism delivers the grain evenly and in uniform quantities throughout the length of the screen hopper 9 on to the smooth imperperforated upper portion of the screen bottom. The grain passes flat-wise along the vibratory screen bottom 5 and beneath the closely adjacent screen top 8 to the lower end of the screen and is discharged over the chute 15 into any suitable receptacle,while the separated dirt and refuse pass through the perforations in the screen bottom into the hopper 16 whence it may be conveyed in any suitable manner to a distant point.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

In a rice-cleaning machine, the combination of a frame, the vibratory shaking screen having rigidly attached thereto, an imperforate top or cover with bars secured between said screen and said cover to insure the uniform distance between the two, a hopper at the upper end of said screen, hangers suspending the screen and its top and hopper from the frame, a trough supported on one end of the frame above the screen hopper and parallel thereto and having in its bottom a longitudinally extended feed opening, a long valve plate or false bottom 19 hinged at one side of the said longitudinal feed opening and extending beneath the same, a plurality of transverse arms extending from the opposite side of said feed opening beneath said valve plate, nuts secured to said conveyor trough, and vertical screws, with hand wheels for turning the same engaging in said nuts, and moving said arms, and thereby regulating the width of said feed opening, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

JACQUES HARRY ROMAN.

Witnesses:

WALTER H. CooK, SIDNEY G. 000K.

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