Improvements in Apparatus for Husking, Winnowing, and Cleaning Rice and other Grain or Material.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Aug., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 21st May, 1891-Accepted, 4th July, 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Husking, Winnowing, and Cleaning
Rice and other Grain or Material.
I, BERNARD CONRAD SCHUMACHER, of 127 Fenchurch Street, in the City of
London, late Manager of the Pegu Rice Co., do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for husking,
winnowing and cleaning rice and other grain or material and relates to apparatus
such as is described in the Specification of a former Patent granted to me No. 14949
in the year 1888.
According to my present invention the arrangement of the apparatus is much
modified as will be seen from the following description.
The apparatus is so arranged that the rice or grain or material is propelled at
high velocity through a pipe by means of compressed air and issuing from the
pipe it strikes obliquely upon and is made to travel over an abrading surface
preferably of artificial or emery stone. After leaving the stone and passing over
an intervening space the grain is received upon an inclined surface or screen which
directs it upwards, and on reaching the top of the screen it falls over into a hopper.
The grain descends from the hopper over an inclined louvre surface falling from
ledge to ledge and air drawn in between the ledges carries with it the husk and
dust; these matters are taken in between the ledges whilst the grain descends on
the outside. The air currents are regulated by adjustable valves.
There is a trunk or passage behind the louvre surface and the air current therein
elevates and conveys away the husk and dust to a convenient receiver where it is
deposited to be afterwards used as fuel or for other purposes.
The air is drawn in between the ledges by a jet of compressed air delivered into
the trunk or passage by a pipe suitably directed and to give greater volume to the
jet, the jet pipe is enclosed in an outer casing. The compressed air jet in the first
place induces a current of air in the casing and this current enters together with
the jet into the trunk or passage as a combined stream of sufficient volume to act
efficiently on the air contained in the trunk or passage and to put it into rapid
motion.
A1
1
1000
B. C. SCHUMACHER.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Husking, Winnowing, and Cleaning
Rice and other Grain or Material.
I, BERNARD CONRAD SCHUMACHER, of 127 Fenchurch Street, in the City
of London, late Manager of the Pegu Rice Company, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for husking,
winnowing and cleaning rice and other grain or material.
The apparatus is so arranged that the rice or grain or material, is propelled at
high velocity through a pipe by means of compressed air, and issuing from the pipe it
strikes obliquely upon and is made, to travel over an abrading surface preferably of
artificial or emery stone. After leaving the stone and passing over an intervening
space, the grain is received upon an inclined surface or screen which directs it

page_text: upwards, and on reaching the top of the screen it falls over into a hopper. The
grain descends from the hopper, over an inclined louvre surface falling from ledge
to ledge and air drawn in between the ledges carries with it the husk and dust;
these matters are taken in between the ledges, whilst the grain descends on the out-
side. The air currents are regulated by adjustable valves.
There is a trunk or passage behind the louvre surface, and the air current therein
elevates and conveys away the husk and dust to a convenient receiver where it is
deposited to be afterwards used as fuel or for other purposes.
The air is drawn in between the ledges by a jet of compressed air delivered into
the trunk or passage by a pipe suitably directed and to give greater volume to the
jet, the jet pipe is enclosed in an outer casing. The compressed air jet in the first
place induces a current of air in the casing and this current enters together with
the jet into the trunk or passage as a combined stream of sufficient volume to act
efficiently on the air contained in the trunk or passage, and to put it into rapid
motion.
In order that my invention may be fully understood and readily carried into effect
I will proceed to describe the drawings hereunto annexed.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section and
Figure 2 is a plan of the apparatus arranged in the way I prefer.
Figure 3 is a plan.
Figure 4 a longitudinal section and
Figure 5 an end elevation of the winnower.
a is a reservoir into which air is compressed usually to a pressure of from five to
twenty pounds on the square inch. bare valves which can be opened to allow
the air to pass to nozzles from which it issues in jets. Immediately in front
of each nozzle is a trumpet mouth pipe c which the jet enters. d is a rice bin and
rice is permitted to descend from this bin into the trumpet mouth, and it is
blown by the jet along the pipe. On issuing from the pipe the rice strikes
upon and is driven up the slightly inclined surface of the artificial emery
stone e. Then after passing over an intervening space the rice reaches the
inclined screen up which in consequence of the high velocity it has attained
it travels and so it passes into the hopper g together with most of the husk
and dust which have been detached mainly by the impact and friction upon the
stone e. From the hopper g, the grain descends over a louvre surface arranged as
follows. First the grain reaches an inclined ledge i down which it runs, and on
reaching the end of the incline it is checked by a stop and it falls between the
end of the ledge and the stop on to a second inclined ledge. The grain runs
Six
down the second ledge till it reaches a stop when it again falls and so on.
ledges and stops are shewn in the drawing. After passing over the ledge he and
striking upon the stop the cleaned grain falls to the ground and it is conveyed
away from time to time. The grain in its passage is subjected to five successive
winnowings as it falls from the ledges h¹ h³ ³ h and h. Behind the ledges are air
valves kkk and k which in Figure 4 are shewn closed, but they are open more
or less, when the apparatus is at work. The air valves are all connected as is
shewn to a stem 1, which can be set higher or lower by means of a screw and nut.
The more the stem is lowered the wider the opening of the air valves.
trunk or passage behind the louvre surface. n is a curved pipe terminating in a
nozzle, through which a jet of compressed air issues and it passes into the trunk or
passage m. o is a casing surrounding the pipe n, it has a widely open mouth at
the lower end and a contracted aperture beyond the jet, so that air entering at the
bottom gradually acquires velocity before it enters the trunk or passage m.
p is a
floor upon which the husk or dust is allowed to collect. 7 is a steam boiler, one of
several employed to drive an engine which works air pumps and supplies power for
other operations. The husk or dust may be burnt in the furnaces of these boilers
m is a

page_text: and the cleaned rice or grain is packed for the market. Berries such as coffee and
pepper and seeds may be similarly cleaned.
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
claim is :-
1. The apparatus substantially as described by which air jets are caused to propel
rice or other material against a stone or like surface and thence up an inclined
screen and into a receiving hopper whereby husk and dust is detached from the
grain.
2. The apparatus substantially as described by which the rice or material after
the husk has been detached is caused to descend over a louvre surface and fall from
ledge to ledge, whilst streams of air regulated by valves are caused by an air jet to
enter between the ledges.
3. The combined apparatus substantially as described and represented by the
annexed drawings.
B. C. SCHUMACHER.