IMPROVEMENTS IN FILLING AND WEIGHING SACKS OR BAGS, AND IN PORTABLE MACHINES THEREFOR."
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Andrew Mitchell, of the Town and County of Aberdeen,
North Britain, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FILLING AND WEIGHING
SACKS OR BAGS, AND IN PORTABLE MACHINES THEREFOR."
Sealed the 28th March 1879, and dated the 18th October 1878.
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Andrew Mitchell at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 18th October 1878.
ANDREW MITCHELL, of the Town and County of Aberdeen, North Britain.
IMPROVEMENTS IN FILLING AND WEIGHING SACKS OR BAGS, AND IN PORTABLE
MACHINES THEREFOR."
This Invention has reference to a new or improved construction of portable
machine or mechanism for the filling of sacks or bags with grain or other granular
substances, which improvements are also applicable to portable sack or bag weighing
machines, or to sack hand-barrows, and will save much time and labour in the
filling and weighing of bags of grain and other substances.
The nature and novelty of this Invention or improvements, when only required
for filling the sacks or bags, consist of a small portable machine for lifting or
elevating the grain or other granular substance from a heap placed on the ground
in front of it and depositing or emptying the same into the open bags secured and
carried below and behind the elevators, all preferably on two rear wheels on a fixed
or revolving axle and a single central swivelling steering wheel in front. The
machine is formed of two light malleable iron or other open upright side frames,
bound together by transverse stays, and carries at the top and bottom in front of
and between the side frames two actuating spindles and drums or pulleys, with a
broad endless band or chain of elevating buckets or scoops passing over them, and
set at such an angle forward, below, and backwards at the top that when turned or
actuated they will scoop up the grain or other substance to be elevated, close down
to and up from the ground in front of them, and carry it up on the outer or front
side of the band and empty or deliver it over the top drum behind into the open
71

page_text: bag or sack, which is attached by hooks or otherwise to a light bow frame, secured
to the back of the side frames above, and resting on a supporting transverse carrying
board, secured to the lower part of the side frames behind the carrying wheels.
The upper or lower transverse spindle of the elevator has a driving cord or band
pulley on it, so as to be driven through an endless cord or band passed over a cor-
responding pulley on a short side or transverse spindle, actuated by a winch handle
at one side so as to fill the bags with the grain from the heap in front, as described,
successively as they are hooked on and reinoved from the frame at the back of the
machine, which is moved forward by the attendant towards the heap as the grain
is elevated and bagged.
To prevent the thin layer of scattered grain left below the elevator from being
crushed by the wheels of the machine, a transverse revolving brush is fitted to the
machine close down to the ground behind the lower drum of the elevator and in
advance of the front central or steering wheel, so as to sweep the grain forward
when actuated preferably by an endless crossed cord at one side passed over a
pulley on the brush spindle and a corresponding pulley on the rear carrying wheels
or their axle when that revolves as the machine is pushed forward to the heap of
grain.
When this new or improved elevator and bag filling machine is also required to
weigh the material and bags as filled, the platform carrying the bag below and the bow
frame holding its open mouth at the top may be carried on the beans or levers of a
weighing machine, analogous to the ordinary sack weighing machines, mounted
over or behind the rear wheels and counterbalanced by the weight of the elevating
machine in front; or otherwise the weighing machine may be formed with a steel-
yard lever and light weight and divided index above (like the single platform
weighing machines much used at railways for weighing boxes and parcels),
convenient for the attendant driving the elevator to attend to the weighing also,
and stop the elevators when the proper quantity or weight of grain or other material
has been filled into each bag.
Under another modification, the elevating mechanism and its driving gear and
brush as described, may all be mounted on a light simple frame without carrying
wheels, or with a single swivelling and steering wheel only below, and be bolted or
otherwise secured by its side frames to the frame of an ordinary portable wheeled
sack or bag weighing machine, or in one with a differential divided steelyard lever
above as before described. Or otherwise, this new or improved portable bag-filling
elevator and its frame may be screwed to the frame or shaft arms of an ordinary
sack hand-barrow, placed in its upright receiving and delivering position, and which
when desired may also be fitted with an ordinary construction of weighing platform
beam lever below the sack behind and between the rear wheels, with a divided
steelyard and light differential weights above.
In either case or modification of this machine as specified sacks could be filled or
filled and weighed with greater ease and expedition by a single attendant than has
heretofore been effected by two, thus saving much time and labour at grain mills,
stores, and other places where sacks or bags have to be filled with grain and other
substances capable of being raised up by elevators.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Andrew Mitchell in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 15th April
1879.
ANDREW MITCHELL, of the Town and County of Aberdeen, North Britain.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN FILLING AND WEIGHING SACKS OR BAGS, AND IN PORTABLE
MACHINES THEREFOR."
My said Invention has reference to a new or improved construction of portable
machine or mechanism for the filling of sacks or bags with grain or other granular
substances, which improvements are also applicable to portable sack or bag weighing
machines, or to sack hand-barrows, and will save much time and labour in the
filling and weighing of bags of grain. And in order that the nature, novelty, and
mode of performing or putting my said Invention into effect or practice may be
properly understood, I shall now proceed to describe the two illustrative Figures on
the Sheet of Drawings which I have hereunto appended for that purpose, the saine
letters of reference indicating the same parts in both Figures where shown.
Figure 1 is a side elevation, and Figure 2 a corresponding end view of the
weighing machine end, all complete, of a combined sack or bag-filling and weighing
machine for corn or other seed, grain, or granular substances, constructed in
accordance with and illustrative of one modification or general arrangement and
application of my said Invention. Referring to these Figures 1 and 2, this construc-
tion or combination of the parts of my new or improved machine, consists, when
required only for filling the sacks or bags, of a strong low horizontal portable
carrying frame A of wood, or it might be of iron, mounted on two rear wheels a, a,
on a fixed or revolving axle a¹, and a single central wheel a" in swivelling stem a²
near the front to carry the whole steadily and allow it to be freely rolled and
turned or steered about. Two open angled and upright side frames A³, A", project
up from the lower frame A, bound together above and below by transverse stays at
A1, so as to carry in journal bearings at the top and bottom in front of and
between the angled side frames A', two actuating spindles B, B', with suitable
pulleys or drums B1, B2, for passing double endless bands, chains, or a belt b round,
with broad elevating buckets or scoops b', all set at such an angle forward below
at B, and backwards at the top B, that when turned or actuated as by the top
spindle B, the buckets will scoop up the grain or other substance to be elevated
close down to and up from the floor or ground Z, in front of the lower spindle and
pulleys B, B, and carry it up on the outer or front side of the band b, and empty
or deliver it over the top pulleys B₁ behind into the open mouth of the sack or bag
2, which is suitably attached by the hooks c and spring arms c¹ (or otherwise) to the
movable bar c¹¹, secured by pinching screws at the top of a light iron frame C, secured
at the back of the side frames A" above, and so that when the bottom of the sack
may rest on a supporting transverse carrying board 2', secured to the lower part
of the side frames A behind the uprights A". And over the carrying wheels a a broad
shoot or board 6", from near the top and front open mouth of the bag z, at an angle
close behind the returning empty chain of buckets b¹, to near the floor for carrying
back all the loose grain and getting it filled into the bags. The upper transverse
spindle B, of the elevator b, b¹, (or it might be the lower one B2) has a driving
pulley D on it, driven by an endless cord or band & passed over it, and a correspond-
ing driving pulley D¹, on a short side or transverse spindle D", carried in suitable
bearings d, between the frames A, A, and actuated by a winch handle d' at one
side of the machine, so as when turned to fill the bags with the corn or other
grain or granulated substance elevating it from the heap placed or deposited there
on the floor for that purpose in front of the elevator successively as the buckets
come round, the bags being hooked on and removed from the frame C, c, c¹. The
machine is pushed or moved forward by the attendant with the elevators towards
the heap of grain as it gets elevated and delivered into the bag z. A simple mode

page_text: and means of so feeding forward the machine to the grain consists in mounting a
treddle lever E on the outer end of the axle a¹ of the back wheels a, a, raised
automatically by a spiral spring El, or other equivalent, as by a weight on its back
arm to a proper height for the foot of the attendant to work the lever, which he
inserts into one of the upper lateral notches e, formed in the outer edge or rim of
the adjacent wheel a, so as to turn it at each downward tread of the lever E, and
keep the elevators always up to the heap of grain to be elevated. To prevent the
thin layer or scattered grain left below the clevators from being crushed by the
wheels a, a, of the machine, a transverse revolving brush or brushes may be fitted
close down to the ground behind the lower drum B2 of the elevator, and a little in
front of the steering wheel a¹¹, so as to sweep the grain forward, preferably by the
action of an endless crossed band at one side, passed over a pulley on this brush
spindle and a corresponding pulley on one of the rear carrying wheels a, a,
or their axle a¹, while these revolve in pushing the machine forward to the heap
of grain.
When this new or improved elevating and bag-filling machine is also required to
weigh the material and bags as these are filled, the platform 21, carrying the bag z
below the hooking bow arms c, c¹, and frame holding its open mouth at the top, and
in this case secured to the platform, ¹ is carried on the beams or levers of a weighing
machine enclosed below it at A2, analogous to the ordinary construction of sack
weighing machines preferably mounted over and between the rear wheels a, a, of
the machine so as to be steadied and counterbalanced by the weight of the elevating
machine or mechanism in front; and the weighing machine may be formed or
fitted with an ordinary pillar and steelyard lever Y, y, with light adjusting weights
y at the end, and a divided index above (like the single platform weighing machines
used at railways for weighing boxes and parcels), all convenient for the attendant
driving the elevator to attend to the weighing also, and stop the elevators when the
proper quantity or weight of grain or other material has been filled into each bag.
In either construction or modification of this machine as specified, sacks could be
filled or filled and weighed with greater ease and expedition by a single attendant
than has heretofore been effected by two, thus saving much time and labour at
grain mills, stores, and other places where sacks or bags have to be filled with grain
and other substances capable of being raised and delivered by elevators.
Having thus described the nature and mode of putting my said Invention into
effect or practice, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider novel and
original and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before
in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First. The general construction or combination of the parts of a portable machine
for filling sacks by elevators with grain or other granular substances, all substantially
as herein described in reference to and shown in the accompanying Drawings, or any
mere modification thereof.
Second. The general construction of a combined portable elevating and weighing
machine for filling and weighing bags with grain or granular substances, all sub-
stantially as herein described in reference to and shown in the accompanying
Drawings, or any mere modification thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said Andrew Mitchell, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-nine.
ANDREW MITCHELL. (L.S.)