Year: 1886

page_text: I, HERBERT JOHN HADDAN, of 67 Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention a communication to me
from abroad by Henry Collyer Patent Attorney and Middleton Crawford,
Gentleman, both of 243 Broadway, New York, United States, and in what manner
the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
This invention relates to grain cleaners and its purpose is to remove from the
surface of the berry the natural silicious fuzz and other mechanical impurities which
adhere thereto without injuring the pod. This fuzz or bristle adhering to the ends
of most grain berries and notably to wheat is chiefly composed of silica which on
Mohr's scale has a hardness of 7, and as it will bend without breaking, the most
effectual way to get rid of it is to grind it off. For this purpose, the material
most readily obtainable is corundum or emery which has a hardness of 9. The
beating or rubbing of the berries against each other, or against adjacent surfaces
which has been the usual means heretofore employed to clean grain, is inefficient
and breaks the pods. When the surface is once broken, particles of bran adhere
to the flour produced and the cost of milling depends largely upon the ease with
which their subsequent separation may be effected. The machines at present in
use for cleaning grain consist either of revolving arms or beaters which are forced
through the grain in mass or of moving surfaces between which the berries are
rubbed. I have discovered that when the berries are permitted to fall down the
inclined sides of a revolving cone of emery and are confined within a limited space
by an elastic jacket or casing of rubber or wire gauze, that within certain limits of
distance between the cone and the jacket, the berries will first be repelled against
the elastic jacket, that then, by a peculiar action their ends will be presented to
the grinding surface of the cone, they will be again acted upon and repelled and so
on until the operation is complete. Upon this principle, the value and efficiency of
this invention depends.
I will first describe the machine constructed with a jacket of wire gauze. In
the drawings, Fig. 1 is a vertical elevation with a panel of the casing removed to

page_text: show the construction of the cone, Fig. 2 is a vertical section showing parts in
elevation, Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail in horizontal section showing the action of
the machine upon a single berry and Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the
arrangement of the dust chamber when a rubber jacket is employed.
Referring to the drawings A designates the body of the casing corresponding in
pitch to the cone, supported from a base A¹ by legs a. At intervals along the
inner surface of the casing are upright studs, A³ having secured to their inner
surface a lining of wire gauze A. The casing is made preferably air tight with a
removable panel. The space between the wire gauze and the casing constitutes an
annular dust chamber As provided with an air inlet a³ at the top and connected at
the bottom with a dust chamber A6 formed between the bottom A³ of the lining
and the bottom A' of the shell. A is likewise the top of a fan chamber A³ which
is connected with the dust chamber by openings aº. A spider frame B is secured
to the frame formed by the upright studs A3 and is provided with a journal in
which turns a vertical shaft C, upon which is carried the cone.
This spider
frame B has feed inlets 61 and air inlets b and is secured by bolts 62. As the
journal of the vertical shaft is rigid with the casing, the shaft and cone will occupy
their central position whatever is the position of the casing itself. The fan C₁ is
rigid with the shaft C and serves to create a vacuum in the annular dust
chamber A³. At the side, and leading from the interior of the casing is a grain
chute D and in another direction is a dust chute C².
The improved cone is made in sections, matched and secured together. G is the
cap. G is the bottom and G¹ is an intermediate horizontal plate. These are
secured to the shaft C by set screws. The staves of which the emery cone is
composed are rigidly fastened to the cap and intermediate plate by dove tails,
bolts and set screws in any approved manner. Between the intermediate plate
and the bottom, is formed a frustrum of brushes I with outwardly projecting
bristles and kept in place by flat strips of metal ¹. Each section of the outer
face of the cone has a surface consisting largely of emery formed by means of any
cementing material, with the joints suitably "pointed" and the whole afterwards
treated by means of a tool to produce a uniform, smooth and continuous cutting
surface. The shaft C has a pulley K through which it is operated. By means of
the lever M and screw rod N, its journal L is adjustable at will to regulate the
width of the annular space between the cone and the jacket.
The operation of the machine is as follows: The grain in suitable quantities is
fed through the inlets b¹ and falls upon the top of the cone the motion of which
spreads out the grain in a uniform thin sheet and causes it to fall into the annular
space F. When a berry thus falls it first comes into contact with the sharp
grinding surface of the cone. By its quick even motion the first action of the cone
upon a berry is to grind off a portion of the silicious fuzz. The berry is also
repelled and thrown outward with an end over end motion as shown in Fig. 3,
until it strikes the surface A*. The berry falls slightly but I find in practice that
a single berry in my machine will pass around the cone from six to nine times.
The contact with the cone is simply a grinding one. After striking the wire gauze
the berry again falls upon the cone with the same result as before. After having
its fuzz and other end impurities ground off by the emery cone the berry is
thoroughly brushed off by the brush frustrum I in a manner readily understood.
The draft created by the fan draws the dust from the dust chamber A³ and drives
it out through the dust chute. The various inlets and chutes are provided with
valves to adjust their capacity in the usual manner.
When I make use of a soft rubber jacket instead of the wire gauze the arrange-
ment of the draft is different as shown in Fig. 4. Opposite the brush frustrum I
are arranged wire gauze screens P P placed in apertures in the casing. The floor A
is extended beyond the periphery of the frame and an annular chamber with
air inlets as q is formed made of sheet metal and concentric with the shell.
The fan chamber A is situated as before. The grain is cleaned in precisely the
same manner as when the wire gauze jacket is used but the dust not being able to

page_text: penetrate through the jacket as before is carried down with the grain until it
reaches the brush frustrum when the draft incited by the fan draws it through the
screen P P and into the dust chute as before while the grain is carried off by the
grain chute.
I have found this machine singularly efficient in practice, it breaks none of the
berries, does not injure the side bran, its capacity is great, it is inexpensive, it is
readily made and does not readily get out of order and it cleans off a much larger
percentage of dust than any machine designed for the same purpose and known
to me.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. In a grain cleaning machine the combination of a revolving cone having an
exterior grinding surface as of emery with a concentric, continuous, smooth and
elastic jacket as of rubber, with means for feeding the grain at the top of the
annular space between the said surfaces, they being so adjusted that the ends of
each berry in its downward path are successively presented to the action of the
cone and the jacket.
2. In a grain cleaning machine as described the combination of a revolving cone
having a grinding surface as of emery above and a brushing surface below, with a
concentric, continuous and elastic jacket as of rubber corresponding to the emery
surface, screens as PP corresponding to the brushing surface, the air chamber Q
having inlets as q and the fan connections and delivery spouts as set forth.
3. The combination of a casing having an annular dust chamber and an inner
lining of wire gauze with a revolving cone having an emery surface arranged at
such a distance from the lining as to allow the individual berries to bound from one
surface to the other with an end over end movement.
4. The combination with a revolving cone having an upper emery surface and a
lower brushing surface, of a casing having an annular dust chamber co-extensive
with both of these surfaces and having its inner wall formed of wire cloth for the
purposes set forth.
5. In a grain cleaner having a central feed and a revolving cone with grinding
and brushing surfaces as described, the combination of said parts with a casing
having an annular dust chamber and an inner wall of wire gauze and a fan creating
a partial vacuum within said dust chamber, air inlets opening into the chamber
direct and air inlets opening into the space F and connecting with the chamber
through the interstices in the wire work as set forth.
6. In a grain cleaner a revolving cone having a grinding surface as of emery and
a brushing surface, made in sections matched together, the surfaces separated by
horizontal plates secured to each other by bolts, turning upon a central vertical
shaft journalled in a spider frame at the top of the machine and rigidly adjusted
relatively to an annular conical casing.