A NEW AND IMPROVED METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING VARIOUS KINDS AND QUALITIES OF GRAIN AND SEED, AND FOR REGULATING THE FEED OR SUPPLY OF GRAIN OR SEED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charilaos Notara, of Number 7, Lower Castle
Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Corn and Grain Mer-
chant, for the Invention of "A NEW AND IMPROVED METHOD AND
APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING VARIOUS KINDS AND QUALITIES OF GRAIN AND
SEED, AND FOR REGULATING THE FEED OR SUPPLY OF GRAIN OR SEED IN
CONNECTION THEREWITH."
Sealed the 30th April 1872, and dated the 12th February 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charilaos Notara at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th February 1872.
I, CHARILAOS NOTARA, of No. 7, Lower Castle Street, Liverpool, in
the County of Lancaster, Corn and Grain Merchant, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW AND IMPROVED METHOD AND
APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING VARIOUS KINDS AND QUALITIES OF GRAIN AND SEED,
AND FOR REGULATING THE FEED OR SUPPLY OF GRAIN OR SEED IN CONNECTION
THEREWITH," to be as follows :—
This Invention consists of a new mode or method of an apparatus to
be used in separating various kinds and qualities of grain and seed by

page_text: their different degree of aptitude for rolling on and off from an inclined
table or plane with or without the said table or plane being shaken directly
by hand or by mechanical contrivance, or being moved by hand, steam, or
other power, the most easily rolling kind of grain or seed being allowed
to roll off the said inclined table or plane first, and the rest being swept
or cleared off by the mechanical appliances in a different direction, or
made to roll off in the opposite direction by reversing and increasing the
inclination of the plane.
The apparatus which I use for the above purpose consists of a table or
plane of wood or other suitable material having a perfectly smooth
surface. This table or plane is mounted on an axle or axis so as to be
capable of vibrating or being moved to an inclined position on the one
side or the other, this inclined movement being effected by a cam or
eccentric acting on the under side of the table or plane.
The above axle or axis is so constructed and fitted in its bearings as to
allow of the table receiving a lateral jolting movement, which is given
to it by a disc with projections and rings, eccentric, cam, or other con-
trivance for imparting reciprocating motion, acting on the end or other
part of the axle or axis on which the table vibrates. Above the table is
placed a hopper having a slide acted on by a third cam or eccentric,
by means of which the amount of grain to be allowed to fall
upon the
table is regulated.
The above-mentioned disc, cam, or eccentrics are mounted on a shaft,
which may be turned by hand or other motive power. A certain
quantity of seed or grain is allowed to fall from the hopper on to the
table, which is inclined on one side. The table then receives a jolting
motion which causes one class of seed or grain to travel off the table,
leaving behind the seed or grain of a different class. As soon as the first
class of seed or grain has left the table, the jolting motion ceases, and
the table is turned on the axle or axis so as to be inclined on the
other side, by which the second class of grain is discharged. The
table is then turned so as to be inclined as at first, and the operation
repeated.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Charilaos Notara in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 9th August 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARILAOS
NOTARA, of No. 7, Lower Castle Street, Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, Corn and Grain Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Charilaos Notara, Her special licence that I,
the said Charilaos Notara, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Charilaos Notara, 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 "A NEW AND IMPROVED METHOD AND
APPARATUB FOR SEPARATING VARIOUS KINDS AND QUALITIES OF GRAIN AND SEED,
AND FOR REGULATING THE FEED OR SUPPLY OF GRAIN OR SEED IN CONNECTION
THEREWITH," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Charilaos Notara, 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 Charilaos Notara, do hereby declare
the nature of my said 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 the separation from one another, or
rather the assorting into their proper heaps, of grain and other seed of
various kinds, and also the separation of grain or seed from dirt or other
impurities, and consists of a method by which I make use of the different

page_text: degrees of aptitude for rolling on an inclined plane or surface possessed
by the different kinds of grain and other seed, and dirt, pebbles, or other
impurities, and also of apparatus for carrying into effect my said improved
method of separating or assorting the several kinds of grain and seed, or
of cleansing the same.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood and
readily performed or carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the
apparatus which I have found most suitable for the purposes of my said
Invention by the aid of the accompanying Sheets of Drawings, in each
of the Figures of which the same letters of reference indicate corres-
ponding parts.
Figure 1 is an end elevation of the apparatus taken on the right hand
side; Fig. 2 is an elevation taken on the other or left hand side; Fig. 3
is an elevation of the front of the machine with a portion of the hopper ]
removed to shew the apertures on the upper sides of the cylinders;
Fig. 4 is an elevation of the back of the machine; Fig. 5 is the bar for
raising the planes or tables, and in this Figure is represented detached
from the machine; Fig. 6 shews in section and on an enlarged scale two
of the cylinders with their corresponding tables or planes; Fig. 7 shews 2
in section the rotator or pusher to be placed within the cylinders, and in
which cylinders such rotator or pusher revolves, as herein-after described,
for the purpose of delivering the grain or seed in the requisite quantities
and at the proper times from the cylinder on to the planes or tables;
Fig. 8 is the cam for acting on the stud on the bar so as to raise the
said bar, and to allow it to fall at the proper time so as to incline the
planes or tables on one side or the other, and also for imparting to the
planes or tables a slight amount of shaking motion at the proper time;
Fig. 9 is the cross or four-toothed wheel on which a tooth affixed to one
of the cams acts, and so imparts the proper amount of revolution, and at
the proper time, to the first pusher, and through suitable gearing to the
other pushers inside the several cylinders.
In Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 I have represented a machine in which there
are twelve planes or tables and cylinders, and apparatus connected
therewith, but it is manifest that the number of planes or tables in any
machine may be increased or decreased. A, A, A, A, is the framing of

page_text: the machines, which may be of any suitable material, and held together
by bolts a, a, a; B, B, the hopper open at the top, into which the
grain or seed is to be thrown, and from which it passes into the
cylinders D, D, D, through holes d, d, d, on the upper surfaces of the
said cylinders. E, E, E, are planes or tables, which I recommend
to be made of thin sheet iron mounted on axes e, e, e, so as to be capable
of oscillating or moving from one inclined position to another, and
having flanges bent upwards on their sides so as to prevent the grain
from falling off the sides, and bent downwards on the ends for the
purpose of stiffening them; also having a bar of iron on the ends nearest
the cylinders so as to weight them that they may fall when allowed so
to do by the bar and cam. F, F, are the bars for raising the planes or
tables; one of these bars is on each side of the machine, and on them
there are as many pivots or pins f,f,f, as there are planes or tables to
be acted on, and also studs or projections g, g, on which the cams H
and H¹act so as to give the requisite motion to the planes or tables.
These bars travel up and down through holes in the frame of the machine,
and have near their lower end a spiral spring or vulcanized india-
rubber buffer ×, which when the bar is released and falls strikes on the
lower hole in the frame, and so moderates or lessens the jar. H and
Hare the cams keyed on a shaft h; H is placed on the said shaft on
the right hand side of the machine, and H¹ on the same shaft of
the said machine. These cams are of the shape shewn on an
enlarged scale on Fig. 8, and are exactly similar, except that on H
there is fixed a single tooth J, which acts on each revolution of the
cam H on the four-toothed wheel or cross L, shewn in enlarged
scale in Fig. 9, so as to move it and the shaft of the rotator or pusher
on which it is mounted one quarter of a revolution, which amount of
revolution is communicated by suitable gearing R, R, R, R, to each of
the other rotators or pushers used in the machine. M is the fly wheel
shaft, on which is keyed the fly wheel N, on one arm of which fly wheel
is a handle n, for the purpose of turning the machine. On the same
shaft M is keyed a cog wheel M³, having any suitable number of cogs or
teeth which take into the cogs or teeth of another cog wheel O, keyed
on the cam shaft h; the cog wheel O must have a greater number of
cogs or teeth than there are in the cog wheel M¹. I have found that
double the number of cogs or teeth in the cog wheel O is a suitable and
convenient number. P, P, P, are the rotators or pushers, the cross
section of one of which on an enlarged scale is represented on Fig. 7.

page_text: These rotators or pushers are made, as represented in section on Fig. 7.
of a square bar of iron to form the centre, and four sheet iron pieces
bent and bolted together so as to admit of pieces of felt, leather,
vulcanized india-rubber, or other pliable and soft material being inserted
as shewn at W, W, W, W, for the purpose of allowing the rotators or
pushers to move in close contact with the inside surface of the cylinder
without the risk of being impeded by or injuring the particles of the
grain being operated upon. Q is the board or plate by which the
portion of grain, seed, or other material which first rolls off from the
planes or tables is caught and directed to the back of the machine, and
is made sufficiently wide to meet the end of the lowest plane or table,
and Q¹ is a similar board or plate to catch and direct the remaining
portion of the grain, seed, or other material.
The operation of the machine is as follows: -The mixed grain and
other seed to be assorted, or the grain or seed mixed with dirt or other
impurities from which it is to be separated or cleaned, is thrown into
the hopper B; the machine is then to be put in motion either by
manual or other power applied to the shaft M. When the movement
of the tooth J on the cam H acts on the 4-toothed wheel L and
moves it a quarter of a revolution, this amount of revolution is com-
municated through the gearing R, R, R, R, to each of the rotators or
pushers P, P, P, within the cylinders D, D, D. The grain which has
been thrown into the hopper B passes through the apertures d, d, d, d,
on the upper surface of the cylinders D, D, D, into the said cylinders.
Within each of the said cylinders revolves the rotator or pusher P,
which turns the grain or seed so that it may be dropped in certain fixed
quantities and at certain fixed periods of time out of the cylinders D,D,D,
through a longitudinal slit or opening made in the lower sides of the
cylinders, and on to the nearest or highest ends of the planes or
tables E, E, E, E, which planes or tables are sufficiently inclined to
cause the most globular or spherical portions of the grain or seed or
dirt to roll off from the surface of the said planes or tables on to the
board or plate Q leading to a suitable receptacle. The planes or
tables E, E, E, E, are then caused to move on their axes by the extra
weight on the ends next the cylinders and the bars F, F, and cams H
and H', allowing them so as to incline on the opposite side sufficiently
to cause the remainder of the grain or seed or dirt to roll off from their
surfaces and fall on to the board or plate Q', leading to a place or

page_text: receptacle separate from that into which the previous or more globular
and spherical portion of the grain or seed had been sent. When all the
grain or seed has been thus removed from the surface of the planes or
tables, they are pushed up to their original position by the cams H
and H acting on the bars F, F, and a succeeding movement of the
rotators or pushers within the cylinders deposits on the surfaces of the
planes or tables a fresh quantity of grain or seed or other material to be
operated upon in a similar manner to that just described, and so the
operation is to be repeated until all the grain or seed has been assorted.
A slight shaking motion is imparted to the planes or tables E, E, E, at
the proper time by the three notches represented in the cams H and H','
which shaking motion I have found facilitates the rolling of the more
globular or spherical portions of the grain.
In my Provisional Specification I described a means of giving a lateral
jolting movement to the plane or table for the above purpose by impart-
ing to the axle on which the plane or table is mounted a lateral
reciprocating motion by means of a disc with projections or snags,
eccentric, cam, or other contrivance, but I have found that the notches
on the cams H and H' above described effect the purpose better and by
much more simple means.
I also in my said Provisional Specification described a slide attached
to the hopper and acted on by a cam or eccentric for allowing the proper
amount of grain to fall upon the plane or table, but I have found in
practice that such an arrangement is not so regular in its action as
the means I have herein described, of cylinders with rotators or
pushers.
Although I have described my method or mode and apparatus as
applicable to the separation and assortment of grain and seed, it is
evident that both my mode or method and apparatus may be applied
for the separation and assortment of other substances and materials
which are capable of being separated and assorted by their different
degrees of aptitude for rolling on a plane surface.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the
means by which the same may be performed or carried into effect,
I declare that what I claim as of my Invention, and secured to me
by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First. The methods or modes herein-before described of separating

page_text: from one another and also from dirt or other impurities of grain and
other seed, and of assorting the same.
Secondly. The apparatus herein-before described and illustrated in
the Drawings hereto annexed, by which I am enabled to effect the said
separation and assortment.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charilaos Notara, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
CHARILAOS NOTARA. (L.S.).
Witness,
G. A. F. BARTIE,
Clerk to Messrs. Gregory & Co.,
Sol".,
1, Bedford Row,
London.