IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE PROCESS OF CLEANING OR DRYING GRAIN IN CENTRIFUGAL OR OTHER SIMILAR MACHINES AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR
Year: 1884

page_text: J, JOHN RITCHIE, of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
Milling Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE PROCESS OF CLEANING OR DRYING GRAIN IN CENTRIFUGAL OR
OTHER SIMILAR MACHINES AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR, to be as follows:-
-
In cleaning and drying washed wheat in the centrifugal, the part between the
cage and the outer casing gets almost choked up every hour or two with matter
and the casing has to be taken apart and cleaned. The pores of the cage too
require frequent cleaning usually by means of a brush inserted through a hole in
the casing. Further the centrifugal does not fully dry the wheat as it has to stand
for some days before it is dry enough to be milled.
Now my invention is designed to perform these cleaning operations while the
inachine is at work and also to so increase the drying efficiency of the centrifugal
that the wheat is ready for milling within an hour or so of its being taken out of
the centrifugal machine.
My invention consists in bringing a steam nozzle (ejecting steam of high pressure)
into the cage while the grain is being operated upon. The steam flies out through
the wire gauze, driving all the dirt out with it and the casing being oblique to the
direction of the steam, the latter not merely keeps the pores of the cage bright and
clean but it drives the dirt away carrying it out of the space between the cage and
the casing. It does still more, it heats and dries the grain and the casing so much
that when the grain is removed into bags and allowed to stand to coul, in about an
hour it is found to be dry enough and hard enough for milling purposes. The
steam I prefer to use is steam as dry as possible but not sufficiently superheated to
have any charring action; ordinary steam however of about sixty pounds pressure
is found to answer very well.
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2011
CEL
WP. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: I, JOHN RITCHIE, of 6 Lord Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
Milling Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE PROCESS OF CLEANING OR DRYING GRAIN IN CENTRIFUGAL OR
OTHER SIMILAR MACHINES, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR," and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement :-
In cleaning and drying washed wheat in the centrifugal, the part between the
cage and the outer casing gets almost choked up every hour or two with matter,
and the casing has to be taken apart and cleaned. The pores of the cage too
require frequent cleaning, usually by means of a brush inserted through a hole in
the casing Further, the centrifugal does not fully dry the wheat, as it has to stand
for some days before it is dry enough to be milled.
Now my invention is designed to perform these cleaning operations while the
machine is at work, and also to so increase the drying efficiency of the centrifugal,
that the wheat is ready for milling within an hour or so of its being taken out of
the centrifugal machine.
My invention is best described by aid of the accompanying drawings in which :-
Fig: 1 is a longitudinal section.
Fig: 2 end elevation and
Fig 3 plan.
In these A is the hopper into which the grain to be cleaned or dried is fed.
B archimedean screw beneath the hopper feeding the grain into the rapidly
revolving cage C. C conical wire gauze cage caused to revolve with its shaft Ď
at a very high velocity by means of belt pulley E, or other driving apparatus.
F casing shown partly removed in Fig: 1, this surrounds the centrifugal cage C
and intercepts all the moisture and dirt that is driven off, preventing it flying out
into the air of the room. G quiescent dust hole in casing into which the heavier
-dust falls and passes out through spout H, or from time to time cleaned out through
the doors H. II the most important and novel item of my invention, a series of
nozzles injecting dry steam into the cage in a direction contrary to the travel of
the grain, and driving the moisture and dust through the cage into the casing and
along the casing into passage J and fan K. This fan also assists in drawing the
dust out of the casing. The combined force of the steam jets, centrifugal force,
and fan being such that I find even the crease in wheat or barley gets well cleaned
of dust. I prefer to use steam of considerable pressure and dry. The pressure
however of the steam and speed of the fan should be adjustable, so as to adopt
them to give best results with different kinds of grain, some requiring greater blast
than others.
The mode of action is as follows:-
The grain fed in by screw B falls onto the revolving cage C. The sloping form
of the cage and the centrifugal force combined tend to force the grain forward, and
to cause the dust to fly outward through the meshes of the gauze. The steam
from nozzles I meeting the grain blows the dirt out froin among the grain-driving
the dirt through the wire gauze. The heavier particles fall down into G, but the
lighter particles are driven on into passage J, and drawn through fan F. This fan
also aids the centrifugal force and steam in forcing the dirt from the wheat through
the cage.
The cleaned wheat falls out at orifice L and is sacked. In about an
hour, if dry steam has been used, it is cooled down sufficiently to mill, and is found
as dry and hard as washed grain usually is in my experience after a day or two's

page_text: air drying, jets of dry air could be used but with very inferior action to jets of
steam. The steam I prefer to use is steam as dry as possible, but not sufficiently
superheated to have any charring action, ordinary steam however of about sixty
pounds pressure is found to answer very well.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1st. The herein described process of cleaning or drying grain, which consists in
passing the grain through a centrifugal dryer against the impact of a jet or jets of
steam, preferably as dry as practicable, the mechanism being so arranged that
the grain must pass through the current of steam before it can escape from the
dryer.
2nd. The apparatus for cleaning or drying grain which consists in a centrifugal
drying apparatus, a jet device for treating the grain while in the centrifugal with
steam, and an outside casing through which the steam and lighter particles of dirt
are drawn by a fan or other device, while the heavier subside, substantially as
described,
3rd. In combination with a conical centrifugal dryer, a series of jets parallel
or nearly so with the axis of the machine, but directed against the perforated cage
at various distances from that axis, substantially as described.
D
1004
WP. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool,
Patent Agents for the Applicant.