Improvements in Malting Machines.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Dec., 1889-Accepted, 11th Jan., 180
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Malting Machines.
I, ANDREW WIGGIN, of 610 Tremont Street, Boston, State of Massachusetts, United
States of America, Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of my invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement and accompanying drawings:-
This invention has particular relation to machines for automatically handling,
barley or other grain, during the process of germination, or while said grain is
drying; the immediate object being to provide a form of stirrer or agitator, that shall
be more effective than those now in use, also to improve various details of construction
in such machines to the end that they may be more easily operated and the grain
more readily and cheaply handled.
In malt making during the period of germination, there is a constant tendency on
the part of the fine rootlets that put forth to become intertwined and form a matted
mass of the entire body of grain. To prevent this result it is absolutely necessary
that said grain should be frequently disturbed and broken up and the individual
particles of grain separated.
The agitating device which forms an essential feature of this invention, is
constructed with particular reference to this desirable result.
.
In the annexed drawings, figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a malting
machine embodying the major portion of said improvements. Figure 2 is an elevation
of portions of the agitator as viewed from the left hand end of figure 1 and is intended
to illustrate the manner of supporting and rotating said agitator. Figure 3 is an
enlarged cross section of said agitator showing its driving mechanisms, and also
illustrates a convenient form of trap-door and conveyer for removing the grain from
the malting floor. Figure 4 is a top view of figure 3. Figure 5 is a cross section of
one side of the malting chamber, showing more clearly a preferred construction of
agitator frame, and also shows said conveyer. Figure 6 is an end view of an agitator
frame or head in which the several buckets or scoops are geared together and thus
caused to reverse in unison. Figure 7 is a perspective view of a portion of one of
said scoops and the shaft on which it is supported.
The several improvements may be used within a closed chamber or may be adapted
for use on the open floor of an ordinary room as illustrated in figure 1 of the annexed
drawings.
It is preferred however to use for drying machines a closed chamber with a
perforated floor through which currents of tempered air may be passed, and for
germinating machines either an open or closed chamber and a solid cement floor.
Referring to said drawings the letters A-B indicate the floors of a building
and C-D uprights connecting said floors and located at each end of the malting
chamber proper. Similar uprights are provided at each corner of said machine and
are connected by girders or stringers E that form ways on which the agitating device
Cast metal frames F
is supported and travels forward and backward while in use.
are provided at each end of said agitating device, having journal bearings a-b-c
formed therein and having laterally projecting arms de carrying machine screws f
that are vertically adjustable. The ends of said arms d-e are formed with right
angular extensions or plates d¹¹ and on the outer face of said plates are clamped
corresponding plates formed as parts of frames d²-e², which latter frames have
pivoted therein rollers d³ ³ that may rest directly on the girders E or if preferred,
may run on a track of half round iron g as illustrated in figure 4 of the drawings.
The confronting plates on frames d-e and on frames de² are drilled to receive a
clamping bolt h, the bolt hole in one of said parts being elongated so that a con-
siderable vertical adjustment is possible, it being only necessary to loosen the nut on

page_text: hot and raise or lower the screws to control such adjustment. This action
correspondingly raises or lowers the entire agitating device. Journaled in the
central bearings b, of frames F', at each end of the agitator are short shafts G that
bear on their outer ends small spur gears H that engage racks J secured to upper
side of guides E and parallel with the balf round track g.
On the inner end of each shaft G is a gear K somewhat larger than the spur
gears H above mentioned. Hung in the lower bearings c of frames F, is a shaft M
on which the agitator proper is supported. At each end of this shaft M is a gear L
that meshes with the gears K already described.
N
At one end of shaft M (the left-hand of figure 2) is also a somewhat larger gear
that meshes with a gear O carried by a shaft P that rotates in the bearings a of
frames F. On this shaft P is also a score-pulley R adapted to receive one or more
coils of a driving cable k, said cable being suitably guided on each side of score-
pulley R by small score-pulleys m revolving in an horizontal plane and supported on
pillars n projecting upward from frame F.
The cable k is carried by drums or pulleys, S-S' located at the ends of the malting
chamber and supported preferably in journal bearings m¹ secured to the uprights C-Ď
said journal bearings at one end of the chamber being made adjustable so that the
slack of said cable may be easily taken up. On the shaft T that carries the pulley S¹
is also a pulley V which is connected by belt or cable n¹ with a pulley V₁ on a
counter-shaft W located either beneath the floor A, as here shown or over head as is
most convenient.
This counter-shaft W is driven by straight and crossed belts o-o¹ operating with
suitable pulleys on said counter-shaft, said belts being controlled by a shipper p. No
claim is here made to the arrangement of counter-shaft, connecting-belts and shipper
shown and therefore it is not deemed necessary to show detailed drawings of the same.
Shipper rod p is controlled, and caused to reverse the movement of the agitating
mechanism at stated times by a system of cords, levers and pulleys which I will
proceed to explain. At each end of the malting chamber a lever arm q is pivoted,
the ends of said lever arms being connected by cords or chains extending from end
to end of said chamber.
2°
The lever nearest the counter-shaft W has also attached thereto a cross bar or
arm q' whose ends have cords or chains s―st leading downward around a system of
pulleys tt, and connecting with said counter-shaft at its opposite ends in such a
imanner that when the cross-bar q¹ is tilted or rocked on its pivot, said cords or
chains ss cause the shipper rod to move longitudinally and thus move the
belts o-o¹. To effect this transfer of the belts at the proper time, the lever arms q
are of such length, and so located relative to the frames de² above described that
said frames engage one end of said lever arms as the agitator has nearly reached the
end of the chamber. This rocks the lever arm 9 and its connected parts and thus
reverses the direction of rotation of the driving cable k and consequently reverses the
movement of the agitating device before it reaches either end of the malting
chamber.
It is well known that agitating devices, drawn and rotated by cable mechanisms,
and adapted to reciprocate in a malting chamber, are old and commonly known in
this class, but the particular arrangement of cable, shafts, gears and racks here shown,
by means of which both the reciprocating and rotary movements of the agitator are
attained, are believed to be novel.
It should be noted that the cable k does not serve directly to either rotate the
agitator or cause it to advance and recede in the malting chamber, but simply acts to
rotate the shaft P which is journalled in the main frames of the agitator. The
rotary motion of this shaft P is then transmitted through the train of gearing already
described, and utilized to rotate the agitator, and also to rotate the gears that mesh
with rack J and thus cause said agitator to travel forward and backward as described.
The distribution of power and motion thus provided is more satisfactory in practice
than when the agitator is drawn forward by cables located at each end of said agitator
and connected directly therewith. When so connected a slight variation of the

page_text: tension or length of such cables causes one end of the agitator to move slightly in
advance of the other end and as a result, the supporting carriages of the agitator bind
in their bearings. This difficulty is positively avoided by the mechanism herein
described and a steady movement of the agitator attained.
The agitator proper consists of a novel arrangement of buckets, particularly suited
to this class of machines.
Reference has already been made to the agitator shaft M, supported in hearings c
in frames F. This shaft has secured to it circular plates 2 which are drilled at stated
distances from the central shaft to provide bearings for a series of shafts 3 on which
the buckets of the agitator are hung...
These buckets consist of curved plates 4 forming scoops that are approximately
semi-circular in cross section, supported on the shafts 3 by wings or plates 5, and
preferably formed with a central longitudinal partition 5ª.
The location, size and shape of the buckets is such that when they are rocked on
shafts 3 one edge of said buckets abuts on the central shaft M, while the other edge
projects outward to the perimeter of the plates 2 and nearly reaches the floor as the
agitator rotates. It will thus be seen that buckets so constructed and supported may
be rocked on their shafts 3, to bring either edge into operative relation to the mass of
grain, as indicated by dotted lines in figure 3, and are thus made to serve as scoops
while traveling in either direction. To effect the reversal of said buckets one or more
ribs 6 are provided that project radially from the perimeter of said bucket. When the
direction of movement of the entire agitator is reversed, at the end of said chamber,
these ribs 6 plow into the grain, which accumulates on said ribs, and tends to hold
them in check while the agitator advances. This reverses the buckets and they
immediately begin to scoop up the grain and deposit it in the rear of the agitator.
This form of bucket allows the grain to drop freely from the rear side and over-
comes somewhat the objections heretofore existing in agitators provided with rigid
buckets adapted to scoop up the grain when moving in either direction.
In order to cause the simultaneous reversal of all the buckets of the series instead
of waiting for each to be acted on by the grain, a spur gear 7 is provided on one end
of each shaft 3, which spur gears mesh with gear 8 loosely located on the central
shaft M. When any of the buckets are reversed, this system of gears (plainly shown
in figures 2 and 6) immediately reverses all the companion buckets and thus bring
them into position for immediate use. In figures 3 and 5 is illustrated a convenient
form of conveyer for removing the finished malt from the drying chamber and
conveying it to other parts of the malt house. A trap door 8¹ is hinged to floor A at
about the middle of the drying chamber, said trap door being raised or lowered by
means of a rack 9 attached to said trap door and a pinion gear 10 journalled in proper
relation to said rack and operated by a crank or wrench not shown in the drawings.
The trap door 8¹ opens into a box or trough 11 that is transverse to the length of the
drying chamber and of any desired length. In the bottom of this box 11 are
scrapers 12 that are connected near their ends by chains 13 forming a continuous
chain or belt carrying a series of scrapers arranged at stated distances apart and
supported by sprocket wheels in a manner common to this class of devices. When
it is desirable to remove the contents of the drying chamber this conveyer is set in
motion and the trap door 81 is opened. The grain is then scraped or shoveled through
the opening thus provided and falls on and between the scrapers 12 and by them is
conveyed to the point where the chain or belt passes around the sprocket wheels
when it is either deposited in a bin or falls into a chute and is carried by gravity to
another part of the building.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
clain is :-
1. In combination with an agitator shaft and mechanism as set forth for driving
series of reversible buckets journalled concentric with said shaft and
the same
1

page_text: geared together as described; the said buckets, being provided with rigid reversing
ribs substantially as and for the purpose specified.
2. A reciprocating agitator for malting machines, provided with a central shaft and
mechanism substantially as described for rotating the same, and having a series of
reversible, approximately semi-cylindrical buckets journalled concentric with said
shaft and adapted in either position to bear at one edge against the shaft, said buckets
being provided with rigid longitudinal ribs to engage in the grain to reverse the
buckets, substantially as specified.
3. In a malting machine, the combination with parallel ways, of journal frames F,
having at each end laterally projecting slotted plates de¹, parallel shafts P. M.,
journalled in said frames, geared together and bearing respectively a scored pulley
and an agitating device consisting of a series of reversible buckets journalled
concentric with said latter shaft; frames d²-e², bearing rollers d³-e³ and having
plates that confront and engage the plates d'-e', above referred to, clamping belts h
passing through said confronting plates, and adjusting screws f tapped into the ends
of frames F, and abutting the roller frames de², all being as and for the purpose
specified.
Dated this 9th day of December 1980
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James Square, Manchester, Agents.