IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR DRYING AND COOLING GRAIN AND SEEDS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Osburne Haughton, of Liverpool, in the
County of Lancaster, Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR DRYING AND COOLING GRAIN AND SEEDS."-A communication
from abroad by Jesse Brown Wheeler and Simeon Losee, both of New
York, in the United States of America.
Sealed the 11th September 1863, and dated the 19th March 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Osburne Haughton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 19th March 1863.
I, HENRY OSBURNE HAUGHTON, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention - for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR DRYING AND COOLING GRAIN AND SEEDS," to be as
follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for drying and
cooling grain and seeds.
For these purposes the grain or seed is fed from a hopper or other suitable
source of supply on to one end of a perforated floor or platform at the bottom
of an enclosed chamber. The quantity supplied is regulated by a slide or
suitable valve. The upper part of the chamber is covered by an arched or
double inclined roof, where there is an outlet for the passage away of the air
and vapours rising from the grain or seed, which is spread and gradually

page_text: moved along the perforated platform or floor. The grain or seed is caused to
move on the perforated floor by means of apparatus carried by two endless
chains, which are caused to circulate within the enclosed chamber and above
the perforated floor or platform. This apparatus consists of axes or shafts which
are placed transversely across the chamber. On each end of each of these
shafts or axes is a flanged wheel, which wheels are supported by and run along
two parallel guides or bars fixed on each side of the chamber, and these pairs
of guides or bars are so arranged that when the wheels of each of the shafts or
axes arrive at the end of the upper guides or rails they descend on to and run
along the lower guides or rails, and then again ascend to and run along the
upper guides or rails. These endless chains pass round chain wheels on the
shafts or axles before mentioned, so that by giving motion
any suitable
power to one of those shafts or axes, the whole of the apparatus is put in
motion. On each of the shafts or axes is mounted series of short axes,
which are at right angles with those which carry them, and on each of these
short axes two flaps are mounted in such manner that the two flaps may
radiate from their axis and be set to a greater or less inclination thereon, and
these sets of flaps are moved along the perforated floor or platform, and by so
doing they move more or less of the grain or seed spread thereon from one
end to the other, according as the pairs of flaps are for the time set to a
greater or less angle to each other on their axes. Below the perforated
floor or platform means of obtaining and supplying heated air are applied,
which consist in fire-places, from which proceed tubes or metal flues,
which take an indirect course to the chimney, so as to obtain extended heating
surface in the chamber below the perforated floor or platform. It is preferred
to have two fire-places and divide the lower part of the lower chamber longi-
tudinally by two partitions, and to have at each side openings with a sliding
cover or valve to regulate the introduction of air into the lower chamber.
Between the perforated floor or platform and the heated pipes or passages are
inclined plates, having a longitudinal opening between them, up through which
the heated air passes, and thence through the perforated floor or platform and
amongst the grain or seeds spread thereon, and such heated air and the vapours
rising therewith from the grain or seed are carried off by a fan at the opening
in the roof before mentioned. The grain or seed as it arrives at the end of
the perforated floor or platform descends on to an inclined sieve or perforated
plate down which it slides, and from the lower end of which it is delivered to
a suitable shoot. The inclination of the inclined sieve or perforated plate is
arranged to be adjusted in order to regulate the speed at which the grain or
seed descends. Below the inclined sieve or perforated plate is a chamber into

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Osburne Haughton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 16th September 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
OSBURNE HAUGHTON, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Merchant, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Henry Osburne Haughton, Her special licence that I, the said Henry
Osburne Haughton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Henry Osburne Haughton, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR DRYING AND COOLING GRAIN
AND SEEDS," a communication to me from abroad by Jesse Brown Wheeler and
Simeon Losee, both of New York in the United States of America, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Osburne Haughton,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was
to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Osburne Haughton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for drying and
cooling grain and seeds.
For these purposes the grain or seed is fed from a hopper or other suitable

page_text: source of supply on to one end of a perforated floor or platform at the bottom
of an enclosed chamber. The quantity supplied is regulated by a slide or
suitable valve. The upper part of the chamber is covered by an arched or
double inclined roof, where there is an outlet for the passage away of the air
and vapours rising from the grain or seed, which is spread on and gradually
moved along the perforated platform or floor. The grain or seed is caused to
move on the perforated floor by means of apparatus carried by two endless
chains, which are caused to circulate within the enclosed chamber and above
the perforated floor or platform. This apparatus consists of axes or shafts,
which are placed transversely across the chamber. On each end of each of
these shafts or axes is a flanged wheel, and these wheels are supported by and
run along two pairs of parallel guides or bars fixed on each side of the chamber,
and these pairs of guides or bars are arranged one over the other so that
when the wheels or each of the shafts or axes arrive at the end of the upper
guides or rails they descend on to and run along the lower guides or rails and
then again ascend to and run along the upper guides or rails. These endless
chains pass round chain wheels at each end of the chamber, so that by giving
motion by any suitable power to one of the axes on which the chain wheels
are mounted the whole of the apparatus is put in motion. On each of the
shafts or axes is mounted a series of short axes at right angles with those
which carry them, and on each of these short axes two flaps are mounted in
such manner that the two flaps may radiate from their axis and be set to a
greater or less inclination thereon as the endless chains travel. These sets of
flaps are moved along the perforated floor or platform, and by so doing they
move more or less of the grain or seed spread thereon from one end to the
other of the chamber according as the pairs of flaps are for the timo set to a
greater or less angle to each other on their axes. Below the perforated floor
or platform means of obtaining and supplying heated air are applied, which
consist in fire-places from which proceed tubes or metal flues, taking an
indirect course to the chimney so as to obtain extended heating surface in the
chamber below the perforated floor or platform. It is preferred to have two
fire-places, and to divide the lower part of the lower chamber longitudinally
by two partitions, also to have at each side openings with a sliding cover or
valve to regulate the introduction of air into the lower chamber. Between the
perforated floor or platform and the heated pipes or passages are inclined plates,
having a longitudinal opening between them, up through which the heated air
passes, and thence through the perforated floor or platform, and amongst the
grain or seed spread thereon, and such heated air and the vapours rising there-
with from the grain or sced are carried off by a fan at the opening in the roof

page_text: before mentioned. The grain or seed as it arrives at the end of the per-
forated floor or platform descends on to an inclined sieve or perforated plate,
down which it slides and from the lower end of which it is delivered to a
suitable shoot. The inclination of the inclined sieve or perforated plate is
arranged to be adjusted in order to regulate the speed at which the grain or
seed descends. Below the inclined sieve or perforated plate is a chamber into
which air is forced, which rises up through the sieve or perforated plate
amongst the grain or seed, and thus the same is cooled.
In order that the said Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 represents an end view, Figure 2 a side view, Figure 3 a trans-
verse section, and Figure 4 a longitudinal section of apparatus constructed
according to my Invention and in the manner which I prefer; Figure 5
shews a plan of some of the parts separately.
a is a hopper into which the grain or seed is fed, and from which it passes on
to one end of the perforated floor or platform 6, which may be of perforated
metal or of wire gauze. This floor or platform 6 it will be seen forms the
bottom of an inclosed chamber c; d is a slide which may be raised or lowered.
as desired in order to regulate the quantity of grain or seed fed on to the
floor or platform b. The chamber c is covered in by a roof c', provided with
an opening, in which is fixed a fan c' for the purpose of drawing off the air
and vapours rising from the grain or seed. The grain or seed is spread and
gradually moved along the perforated floor or platform 6 by means of appa-
ratus e, e, carried by two endless chains f,f, which are caused to circulate
within the enclosed chamber and above the perforated floor or platform b as
herein-after described. This apparatus e, e, consists of axes or shafts e¹, e¹,
which are placed transversely across the chamber c, and are supported in the
bearings f, f, and links f, fs, carried by the chains f, f, as shewn; on each
end of each of these axes or shafts e', e', is a flanged wheel &; these wheels
are supported by and run along the parallel guides or bars g, g, fixed on each
side of the chamber c. The guides or bars 9, 9, are so arranged that when
the wheels e² of each of the shafts e' arrive at the end of the upper guides or
bars g, g, they descend on to and run along the lower guides or rails, and then
again ascend to and run along the upper guides or bars g; g, by which means
the weight of each apparatus e, e, is supported by the guides or bars g, g, thereby
causing less wear and tear than there would be were they carried by the
chains ff, only; 63, e³, are a series of short axes carried by and at right angles

page_text: to the axes or shafts e¹, e¹; on each of these axes are mounted two
flaps e, e, in such manner that they may radiate therefrom and be set to a
greater or less inclination thereon in the following manner:-At the outer
end of each of these flaps e' is a pin e, to which one end of a link e is attached;
the other ends of these links are connected by pin joints e' to the blocks,
which are fixed to a rod e as shewn; these rods e are caused. to approach or
recede from the axes or shafts e¹ by turning the screws e¹ in one or the other
direction, and thereby the flaps may be set to a greater or less inclination
on their axes e³, and as these flaps e' are moved along the perforated floor or
platform 6 they move more or less of the grain or seed spread thereon from
one end to the other. The endless chains f, f, pass round chain wheels h, h,
(see Figure 4), on the shafts or axes h¹, h¹, on one of which is fixed the toothed
wheel h, which takes into and receives motion from the toothed pinion i, on
the axis of which are fixed the pulleys or drums 2, which by a band or
strap receive motion from a steam engine or other suitable power; j, j, are
two furnaces or fire-places placed as shewn, below the perforated floor or plat-
form b, for the purpose of obtaining and supplying heated air to the apparatus
the flues, j', traverse to and fro beneath the perforated floor or platform b,
and are thence conducted to the chimney so as to obtain an extended heating
surface in the chamber k; this chamber k is divided longitudinally at the
lower part by partitions, and there are openings with sliding covers or
valves to regulate the introduction of air to the chamber k; m, m, are
inclined plates placed between the perforated floor or platform 6 and the
heated pipes or flues j, j, to prevent the direct radiation of heat on to the
perforated floor or platform b; m', m', are openings between the inclined
plates m, m, through which the heated air first passes, and then through the
perforated floor or platform b, and amongst the grain or seed spread thereon,
and such heated air with the vapours rising therewith from the grain or seeds
are finally drawn off by a fan c² at the opening in the roof before mentioned;
n is an inclined sieve or perforated plate on to which the grain or seed as it
arrives at the end of the perforated floor or platform b descends and down
which it slides, and is delivered at the lower end through the shoot o; p, p,
are rods provided with means of adjustment as shown, to regulate the incli-
nation of the inclined sieve or perforated plate n, and thereby regulate the
speed at which the grain or seed descends, and is delivered through the shoot
or opening o; q is a fan for the purpose of forcing cold air into the chamber r
under the inclined sieve or perforated plate n, through which it rises amongst
the grain or seed thereon, and thus the grain or seed is cooled; s is a door by
which to obtain access to the interior of the apparatus.

page_text: What I claim is the combined arrangement of mechanism herein
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Osburne Haughton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
H. O. HAUGHTON. (L.S.)