AN IMPROVE- MENT IN RICE-CLEANING MACHINERY
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Wilson Ager, of Rohrsburg, in the State of Penn-
sylvania, United States of America, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVE-
MENT IN RICE-CLEANING MACHINERY."
Sealed the 5th October 1858, and dated the 9th April 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Wilson Ager at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th April 1858.
I, WILSON AGER, of Rohrsburg, in the State of Pennsylvania, United'
States of America, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVEMENT IN RICE-CLEANING MACHINERY," to be as follows:-
My Invention is a machine for the removal of the inner pellicle covering
the grain of rice, after said pellicle has been loosened by any known method.
The machine consists of a reticulated concave in the form of a right frustrum
of a cone, having within it a rubber of the same form, with the surface of its
upper portion a brush, and its lower portion having a sheepskin covering the
The
entire rubber, having adjustments to compensate for uneven wear.
axis of the machine is vertical, & the bases of the rubber & concave are

page_text: downwards. The rice is fed in at top, & cleaned by friction between the
concave & the revolving rubber, by which it is successively brushed and
polished.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Wilson Ager in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th October 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILSON
AGER, of Rohrsburg, in the State of Pennsylvania, United States of America,
send greeting.
.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of April, in the year (of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs, and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Wilson Ager, Her special licence that I, the said Wilson Ager, or my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Wilson
Ager, or 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 "AN IMPROVEMENT
IN RICE-CLEANING MACHINERY," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Wilson Ager, or 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 Wilson Ager, 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,
reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which
Figure 1 is an elevation of the machine; Figure 2 is a section on line x, x,
through the axis of the rubber shaft. The same part is indicated by the same
letter in both the Figures.
The object of my Invention is the removal of the inner pellicle covering
the grain, after it has been loosened, by any of the known methods.

page_text: My Invention is designed to make the rubber work with the proper degree
of pressure at the start, and to have the pressure maintained until the skin
covering is entirely worn out and unfit for use. A further peculiarity of my
Invention is giving to the rubber a combination brush and sheepskin surface,
for the better cleaning of the grain than by a sheepskin surface alone.
The nature of the Invention consists in constructing the reticulated concave
in the form of a right frustrum of a cone, and in employing within it a
rubber of the same form, with the surface of its upper portion a brush, and
its lower position having a sheepskin covering, the entire rubber having a
relative adjustment to compensate for wear, the two portions being susceptible
of a further relative adjustment to accommodate the unequal wear of the
brush and sheepskin.
In the Drawing, C is the reticulated casing, supported by a suitable frame,
the cross piece P having openings o, o, for the passage of the rice to the
machine. R, R¹, are the two sections of the rubber, the former covered with
sheepskin S, and secured to the solid shaft a, and the latter provided with
bristles B, and secured to hollow shaft b. The upper portion of the shaft a
has a screw thread passing through a female thread in the hollow shaft b; it
rests upon the end of a screw c, and is capable of being lifted by. the turning
of the screw. Motion is given to the entire rubbers by power applied to band
wheel W.
The operation of this machine is as follows:-The rubber R is adjusted to
give the designed pressure by turning screw c, so as to lift the shaft a through
pinion g, then by power applied to head h of hollow shaft 6 the section R¹ of
the rubber is adjusted so that the brush will press properly against the
concave C. Power is applied to wheel W, and the rice fed in at openings
0, 0. The grain first passes between the brush and the casing, while the
cavity from which the germ has been removed is thoroughly cleaned, and
then passes to the sheepskin covered section, where the polishing is completed.
When the sheepskin becomes warm, the turning of screw c at once adjusts
the rubber to the proper degree of pressure; but as the brush does not wear
as rapidly as the lower section, the lifting of shaft a will make it fit too tight.
This is obviated by turning head h and lowering section R' until properly
adjusted. This adjustment is repeated until the skin is entirely unfit for use.
By this construction, the rubbers can be made to have the same pressure at
all times, and the sheepskin covering be retained upon the rubber until it is
too much worn to perform its functions. The combination of sheepskin and
brushes upon the rubber is advantageous, as the latter cleans properly the
grain cavity, which is not fully accomplished by the sheepskin alone.

page_text: I claim, under the above in part recited Letters Patent, the conical rubber
R, R³, having the separate adjustment described, in combination with a single
reticulated casing, operating substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Wilson Ager, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
WILSON AGER. (LS.).