IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINES FOR THRESHING OUT CORN FROM ITS STRAW, PART OF WHICH IS APPLICABLE FOR COMBING THE STRAW
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Beare, of Newton Abbot, in the County of
Devon, Agricultural Implement Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINES FOR THRESHING OUT CORN FROM ITS STRAW, PART OF
WHICH IS APPLICABLE FOR COMBING THE STRAW."
Sealed the 29th August 1863, and dated the 27th April 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Beare at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th
April 1868.
I, HENRY BEARE, of Newton Abbot, in the County of Devon, Agri-
cultural Implement Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR THRESHING OUT CORN FROM
ITS STRAW, PART OF WHICH IS APPLICABLE FOR COMBING THE STRAW," to be as
follows:-
My Invention relates to improvements in ordinary threshing machines, and
in what is termed a reed maker from the fact of its threshing out the corn
without breaking the straw, and which therefore may be used as straw reeds
for thatching and other purposes.
Reed making machines have been heretofore employed consisting of a kind
of reel having rows of teeth set parallel with the line of the axis, which in
rotating, and the ears of the corn being held over a kind of fence, knock out
the grain from the ears. By reason of a line of teeth taking effect on the coru
simultaneously it is difficult to hold the straw, and it is frequently drawn out
of the hands of the operator and the operation is imperfectly performed.

page_text: According to my improvements I use a cylinder, on which I place the
teeth or radial pins and distribute them uniformly throughout its entire
length and periphery; they may be set in spiral or helical lines or otherwise,
but in either case should have very few teeth engaging in the corn at one
time. This apparatus is also used for combing out the straw for thatch and
other purposes.
In threshing machines in which the straw is allowed to pass through and
the winnowing conducted at same time I apply a feeding apparatus consisting
of radial teeth on a drum, reel, or cylinder, such as before described, which
takes up the corn to be threshed and feeds or supplies it to the machine,
which it does in a regulated and efficient manner, although the sheaves or
parcels of corn may be thrown in by the attendant indiscriminately. To
facilitate the feed I mount over this rotating toothed feeder a concave surface;
this leads the corn into the concave and beater below, into which it passes
and is acted on in the ordinary manner. The feeder has rapid rotary motion
communicated to it by a strap from the driving gear of the machine.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Beare in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
26th October 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY:
BEARE, of Newton Abbot, in the County of Devon, Agricultural Implement
Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, hearing date the Twenty-seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reigu, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Henry Beare, Her special licence that I, the said Henry
Beare, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Henry Beare, 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
MACHINES FOR THRESHING OUT CORN FROM ITS STRAW, PART OF WHICH IS APPLICABLE
FOR COMBING THE STRAW," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Henry Beare, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in

page_text: writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 Beare, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Sheets of Drawings hereunto annexed
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
My Invention relates to improvements in ordinary threshing machines, and
in what is termed a reed maker from the fact of its threshing out the corn
without breaking the straw, and which therefore may be used as straw reed
for thatching and other purposes.
Reed making machines have been heretofore employed consisting of a
kind of reel having rows of teeth set parallel with the line of the axis, which
in rotating (the cars of the corn being held over a kind of fence) knock out
the grain from the cars. By reason of a line or row of teeth across the
breadth of the reel taking effect on the corn simultaneously it is difficult to
hold the straw, which is frequently drawn out of the hands of the operator
and the operation is therefore imperfectly performed.
According to my improvements I use a cylinder, on which I place the
teeth or radial pins and distribute them uniformly throughout its entire length
and periphery; they may be set in spiral or helical lines or otherwise, but in
either case should have very few teeth engaging in the corn at one time.
This apparatus is also used for threshing out the corn and combing the straw
for thatch and other purposes.
In threshing machines in which the straw is allowed to pass through and
the winnowing conducted at same time, I apply a feeding apparatus consisting
of radial teeth on a drum, reel, or cylinder, such as before described, which
takes up the corn to be threshed, and feeds or supplies it to the machine,
which it does in a regulated and efficient manner, although the sheaves or
parcels of corn may be thrown in by the attendant indiscriminately. To
facilitate the feed I mount over this rotating toothed feeder a concave surface,
this leads the corn into the concave and beater below, into which it passes
and is acted on in the ordinary manner. The feeder may be used at same
time as a comber. The feeder has rapid rotary motion communicated to it
by a strap from the driving gear of the machine, which is driven by horse or
steam power as usual.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 represents a side elevation and Fig. 2 an end view of a reed comber
constructed according to my Invention.
a, a, is a suitable framework on which the rotary combing drum b is
mounted on a suitable axis c, fitted to bearings d, d, on the frame a. I form
the drum of wrought or cast iron, if cast it may be of a picce with the arms
and boss by which it is mounted on the axis, but if of plate or sheet iron it
may be a cylinder of that material fixed on two cast wheels fixed on the axis
c, on the peripheries of which wheels the sheet or plate iron drum or cylinder
is fixed; on this drum I rivet or otherwise secure a series of half round or flat
bars f, in which I fix the teeth e, e, of the comber. It will be observed
that in each bar f there are only two or three teeth throughout their
whole length, and that the whole number of teeth are distributed equally
throughout the periphery, by which arrangement no forcible hold is taken
of the corn or straw held up to contact therewith. This apparatus is
equally suitable for effecting the operation of combing the straw, and also for
threshing out the corn from the ears. The corn or straw to be operated on is
held over the fence g, while the drum b has rapid rotary motion communicated
to it in the direction of the arrow by means of a strap passing over the pulley
h fixed on the axis c, such strap communicating power from a steam engine
or other motive power apparatus.
By this arrangement of the teeth of the comber the straw is much easier
held by the operator, and the operations of threshing and also of combing
are more perfectly and easily performed than as effected by the old machine.
Fig. 3 represents a sido view and Fig. 4 an end view of the toothed wheel
constituting the old machine used as a straw comber and for knocking out
the corn from the ears. In Figs. 1 and 2 the teeth are represented as
arranged helically around the drum, but this need not necessarily be the
case, as they may be otherwise distributed throughout the area of its periphery,
but so as to operate in like manner. I have represented the teeth as being
a little curved in a backward direction to that of the drum's motion, as being
advantageous in lightening and easing the work performed, but the teeth may
be straight if preferred, in which form they will act well.
The second part of my Invention relates to the application of a particular
feeding apparatus to threshing machines, which apparatus is the same as
previously described as used in combing straw and for removing the corn
from the ears; Fig. 5 represents a side elevation, partly in longitudinal and
vertical section, of a threshing and winnowing machine having a feeding

page_text: apparatus arranged and applied according to my Invention, while Fig. 6 is a
plan of the same.
The several parts of the threshing machine are arranged as in ordinary
machines of the kind, which it will therefore be unnecessary to particularly
describe; is the beater and concave into which the straw and corn first
enters, the machine being usually fed thereinto by hand. Above this I mount
my feeder A on an axis fitted in suitable bearings in the side frames of the
machine, I form a concave surface m to enclose the lower part of the feeder A,
as seen in Fig. 5, while p, p, is a wooden hood or concave cover behind the
feeder to prevent the corn and straw being thrown over, and to ensure its
being conducted into the concave.
The feeder A I form in the manner herein-before described, or it may be
differently constructed, but preferably with the teeth distributed uniformly
throughout its periphery. Rapid rotary motion is communicated to the feeder A
by a strap 2 communicating motion to riggers on its axis from the main
shaft r and rigger of the machine in the direction indicated by the arrow.
Instead of A being used simply as a feeder, it may be used simultaneously
as a reed comber, for which purpose the attendant retains hold of the straw
while the feeder A is operating upon it; in this manner the corn will be
threshed out of the ears, and with it the short straws will be fed into the
machine, which will be further subjected to the operation of threshing and
winnowing in the machine as usual.
The corn to be threshed is placed by the attendant (who stands on platform O)
on a shelf or apron t in front of the feeder A, and thrust up to it, which, by
reason of the rapid rotary motion and direction of such motion, takes the
straw and carries round and feeds it into the concave l, where it is operated
upon by the beater j, and thence passes through the other operations of
threshing and winnowing as in ordinary, which it will be unnecessary here to
describe. The action of the feeder is such that the straw and corn to be
threshed, although thrust forward by the attendant in a very careless and
irregular manner, will be fed into the machine at a uniform or nearly uniform
rate, provided the supply be sufficient, and therefore ensures a regular supply
passing through the machine, which by being regular will greatly enhanco
and improve the action of the machine in its operation upon the corn. The
main shaft receives motion from a steam engine or other power as usual, a
drum u on which drives the beater by frictional contact with a pulley on its
axis; vis the strap and pullies actuating the straw shaker, while w is the strap
and pullies actuating the fan blower.
Having described the naturo of my Invention, and the manner of per-

page_text: forming the same, 1 declare that what I claim as my Invention, and desire
to secure by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, arranging the teeth of machines for threshing out corn from its straw
and for combing straw, as herein-beforo described with reference to Figs. 1
and 2 of the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Secondly, I claim the application of the feeding apparatus herein-before
described to machines for threshing grain and straw, and as represented in
Figs. 5 and 6 of the Drawings hereunto annexed, and I also claim it applied
as a comber, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Beare, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
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