IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CLEANING GRAIN
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the firm of Haseltine Lake
& Co, Patent Agent, Southampton Buildings, London for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CLEANING GRAIN" communicated to
him from abroad by Louis Gathmann, of Chicago, Illinois, United States of
America, Manufacturer
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th November 1882.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, and Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CLEANING
GRAIN [A communication to him from abroad by Louis Gathmann, of Chicago,
Illinois, United States of America, Manufacturer.]
"
This invention relates to disc-brush grain-cleaners, wherein a disc-brush is
opposed to a perforated working face, as, for example, of wire netting. The said
invention consists in the several features of construction which are hereinafter set
forth.
In carrying the said invention into practice I provide a frame which supports
the driving shaft in bearings and also sustains the case, the latter being supported
from the frame by blocks rigidly fastened to the frame and to the case so that the
latter is immovably held in place. The said case is divided into three chambers-
one enclosing the brush, a second enclosing the fan and the third being an
intermediate chamber, through which the dirt detached from the grain in the
action of the machine and escaping through the perforated face to which the brush
is opposed, passes to the fan chamber. The brush is rigidly secured to the rotating
driving shaft and the fan is similarly secured to the same shaft. Said brush is
constructed with its bristles or filaments arranged preferably in a compact mass, or
so, at least, as to furnish a close working face, and they are also preferably inclined
backward with reference to the direction of motion of said brush. The working
face to which the brush is opposed, is perforated and may consist, of a wire netting
supported within the case by a fixed board or partition having a circular aperture

page_text: of about the size of the brush face, and additionally supported by vertical slats
arranged parallel with each other and at such distance apart as will adequately
sustain the netting substantially in a true vertical plane.
The material fed to the brush enters through a spout formed by enclosing the
space between the two central uprights or slats, by a backing and a botton piece,
and opening opposite the centre of the brush through a passage.
One novel feature of this machine relates to the construction of the perforated
working face and consists in the provision thereon of one or more spiral or con-
volute ribs or prominences. Such ribs may consist of a heavy metal strip or strips
secured to that face of the netting which is in contact with the brush, and arranged
to proceed outward in the spiral or convolute direction from the centre to the
circumference of such working face, in the direction of movement of the brush.
When the
The object and effect of such convolute rib or ribs on the perforated working
face is to more perfectly regulate or control the retention of the grain under the
action of the brush face. For in a brush grain-cleaner, it is very often desirable
that the brush shall be set so as to bear very lightly upon the grain or its opposing
face in order to more perfectly act upon the ends of the kernels.
machine is so set, and particularly in that form of the machine herein described
wherein the axis of the brush is horizontal, there is, obviously, a tendency on the
part of the grain to escape beneath the brush by its weight, before it shall have
been sufficiently acted upon. By providing the opposing face with the convolute
ribs, it is evident that the grain will be prevented from thus falling and will be
carried about by the brush between adjacent ribs and discharged more or less
uniformly at all points of the periphery.
I may have three of such ribs arranged and directed to each make one circuit of
the face or may have only a single rib arranged to make several circuits of said
face and therefore, calculated to retain the grain for a correspondingly greater
-number of revolutions of the brush. It is not expected, that the grain will never
be carried over the ribs, but the general effect desired and above described will be
obtained.
Another novel feature of this machine relates to the combination with a wire
netting or ribbed perforated opposing disc, of a brush constructed with its bristles
inclined rearwardly with reference to its direction of motion and having its
working face close or compact and provided with furrows like a mill stone, through
which the grain may be distributed more widely between the opposing faces of the
disc and brush. Such a brush is admirably adapted to work in opposition with a
wire netting, which, even without applied ribs, presents a certain unevenness of
surface, for the reason that the bristles will yield and spring backward in passing
over the uneven surface so as to give a substantially uniform action of the brush,
over the entire surface of the opposing face. By this means I am able to obtain a
perfectly efficient and uniform action of the brush even though the latter be set so
as to work very lightly on the grain. On the other hand, the brush may be set to
press with any desired degree of force against the opposing face with the same
uniformity of action and, at the same time, without forcing the kernels of grain
into the body of the brush. For, in the case of an uneven face or of one having ribs
on its surface, used in connection with an opposing brush which has its bristles set
vertical to the brush back, there is an especial tendency of the grain to get into
the body of the brush, because, wherever the bristles encounter the ribs or
prominences, their outer ends are retarded and an opening is made in the brush
calculated to freely admit the grain, and as the bristles thus retarded escape or
override the ribs or prominences they catch the grain in the opening thus produced
in the brush face. Experience has shown that such a brush will, in this manner,
become filled on its face with grain, and be greatly impaired or rendered useless,
and also that the objectionable effect is produced of holding the grain thus caught
partly protruding from the brush face, so that in being carried about in this
position, the grain thus held is ground off and the product spoiled.
The rib or ribs may obviously be produced in the face of the wire netting or

page_text: perforated plate by pressing the latter so as to give it a spirally corrugated surface,
and such corrugations may be numerous and close to each other if preferred.
Furrows are cut or otherwise formed in the body of the brush face, and are
preferably arranged on a rearward draft; whereby they operate somewhat in the
manner of a fan and draw a current of air through the passage and force the same
outward through all the parts of the opposing face, in this manner reinforcing the
action of the fan and ensuring a more uniform distribution of the air-current over
the entire area of the opposing perforated face. To this end the said furrows
preferably extend about half way from the central depressed space or bosom of the
brush to its circumference. Said furrows also produce the usual effect of distri-
buting the grain to different parts of the faces by which it is to be acted upon.
While the furrows in the face of the brush are in all cases highly advantageous for
this latter purpose, they may be dispensed with when the opposing face is provided
with spiral or convolute ribs because the latter obviously also tend to produce an
even distribution of the grain between the working faces.
The action of the fan is to induce a current of air from the brush-chamber
through the perforations of the working face, and thereby abstract the dirt the
moment it is detached from the grain. By the arrangement of the slats or supports
in the vertical direction there is no opportunity for the dirt thus drawn through the
netting to lodge on said slats, as there would be if they were horizontal. Said sluts
are preferably made thin so as to obstruct as few of the perforations of the netting
as possible, and in order to give uniform support to the netting, they are located
close to each other, or, say, at a distance of two inches apart. By this means the
netting is amply sustained in substantially perfect plane.
Adjusting devices by which the brush may be set more or loss closely to the
opposing face are employed and are of a familiar construction
The netting is secured on its outer margin to a fixed board and has a central
apertured metal plate fastened to the wire netting and to the wooden parts in the
rear of said netting. The convolute metal strip may be understood as being
fastened to the wire by clinched staples or short pieces of binding wire, or it may
be attached in any other approved manner. When the face is of perforated sheet
metal, for example, the strip may be soldered thereto.
The ribs or prominences extend from the central plate to the margin of the
netting that is to say from centre to circumference. They may obviously terminate
short of these points, if preferred, the phrase "from centre to circumference" being
employed not to express the extent, but only the direction, of said ribs or prominences
described.

page_text: WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, OI Uherm of service,
"
Southampton Buildings, London 'IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CLEANING
GRAIN" A communication to me from abroad by Louis Gathmann of Chicago,
Illinois, United States of America, Manufacturer.
This invention relates to disc-brush grain cleaners, wherein a disc-brush is
opposed to a perforated working face, as, for example, of wire netting. The said
invention consists in the several features of construction which are hereinafter
set forth.
In the accompanying drawing
Figure 1 is a central vertical section of a machine constructed according to this
invention
Figure 2 is a view in perspective of the rotating disc brush.
Figure 3 is a front elevation of a stationary disc or working face, opposed to the
brush shown in Figure 2
Figure 4 is an end elevation of the machine.
-
Figure 5 is a front elevation of the wire netting to which the disc brush is
opposed, showing a modification in certain respects, of the form shown in Figure 3.
Figure 6 is a rear elevation of the wire netting and its supports and
Figure 7 is-n section on the line x,., Figure 5
A, A is the frame of the machine which supports the shaft B in bearings b and
also sustains the case C, C' which is supported from the frame, as shown-by-the-
blocks a rigidly fastened to the frame and to the case so that the latter is
iminovably held in place. The said case is divided into three chambers one
enclosing the brush, a second enclosing the fan and the third being an intermediate
chamber through which the dirt detached from the grain in the action of the
machine and escaping through the perforated face to which the brush is opposed,
passes to the fan chamber. D is the brush rigidly secured to the rotating shaft B,
and F is the fan, similarly secured to the saine shaft. The said brush D is cou-
structed with its bristles or filaments arranged preferably in a compact mass, or so,
at least, as to furnish a close working fare, and they are also preferably inclined
I ack ward with reference to the direction of motion of the said brush as illustrated
in Figure 2. The working face E to which the brush D is opposed is perforated,
and may consist, as shown of wire netting supported within the case G by a fixed
board or partition H having a circular aperture of about the size of the brush face,
and additionally supported by the vertical slats e arranged parallel with each other
and at such distance apart as will adequately sustain the netting E substantially
in a true vertical plane.
The material fed to the brush enters through a spout E', formed by enclosing the
space between the two central uprights or slats e with a backing e¹ and a bottom
piece e shown in Figures 1 and 7, and opening opposite the centre of the brush
through a passage E³.
One part of this invention relates to the construction of the perforated working
face E and consists in the provision thereon of one or more spiral or convolute ribs
or prominences E (Figures 3 and 5). The said ribs may consist of a heavy metal
strip or strips secured to that face of the netting E as shown which is in contact
with the brush, and be arranged to proceed outward in the spiral or convolute
direction from the centre to the circumference of such working face, in the direction
of movement of the brush as indicated by the arrows r.

page_text: The object and effect of such convolute rib or ribs on the perforated working
face E is to more perfectly regulate or control the retention of the grain under the
action of the brush face; for in a brush grain cleaner, it is very often desirable
that the brush shall be set so as to bear very lightly upon the grain or its opposing
face in order to more perfectly act upon the ends of the kernels. When the
machine is so set, and particularly in that form of the machine herein shown
wherein the axis of the brush is horizontal, there is, obviously, a tendency on the
part of the grain to escape beneath the brush by its weight, before it shall have
been sufficiently acted upon. By providing the opposing face E with the convolute
ribs E, it is evident that the grain will be prevented from thus falling and
will be carried about by the brush between adjacent ribs and discharged inoro or
less uniformly at all points of the periphery.
In Figure 3 I have shown three of such ribs arranged and directed to each make
one circuit of the face E but in Figure 5 I have shown only a single rib arranged
to make several circuits of the said face E and therefore calculated to retain the
grain for a correspondingly greater number of revolutions of the brush. It is not
expected that the grain will never be carried over the ribs, but the general effect
desired and above described will be obtained.
Another part of this invention relates to the combination with a wire netting or
ribbed perforated opposing disc, of a brush constructed with its bristles inclined
rearwardly with reference to its direction of motion, and having its working face
close or compact and provided with furrows like a millstone, through which the
grain may be distributed more widely between the opposing faces of the disc and
brush. Such a brush is admirably adapted to work in opposition with a wire
netting which, even without applied ribs, presents a certain unevenness of surface,
for the reason that the bristles will yield and spring backward in passing over the
uneven surface, so as to give a substantially uniform action of the brush over the
entire surface of the opposing face. By this means I am able to obtain a perfectly
efficient and uniform action of the brush, even though the latter be set so as to work
very lightly on the grain. On the other hand, the brush may be set to press with
any desired degree of force against the opposing face with the same uniformity of
action, and at the same time, without forcing the kernels of grain into the body of
the brush; for in the case of an uneven face E or of one having ribs on its surface,
used in connection with an opposing brush which has its bristles set vertical to the
brush back, there is an especial tendency of the grain to get into the body of the
brush, because, whenever the bristles encounter the ribs or prominences, their outer
ends are retarded, and an opening is made in the brush calculated to freely admit
the grain, and, as the bristles thus retarded escape or override the ribs or prominences,
they catch the grain in the opening thus produced in the brush face. Experience
has shown that such a brush will, in this manner, become filled on its face with
grain, and be greatly impaired or rendered useless, and also that the objectionable
effect is produced of holding the grain thus caught, partly protruding from the
brush face so that in being carried about in this position, the grain thus held is
ground off and the product spoiled. The rib or ribs E may obviously be produced
in the face of the wire netting or perforated plate E, by pressing the latter so n.S
to give it a spirally corrugated surface, and such corrugations may be numerous
and close to each other if preferred.
Furrows & are cut or otherwise formed in the body of the brush face and are
preferably arranged in a rearward direction as shewn in Figure 2 whereby they
operate somewhat after the manner of à fan, and draw a current of air through
the passage E' E2 and force the same outward through all the parts of the opposing
face E, in this manner reinforcing the action of the fan F and ensuring a more
uniform distribution of the air current over the entire area of the opposing
perforated face. To this end the said furrows d preferably extend about half way
from the central depressed space or bosom of the brush to its circumference. The
said furrows also produce the usual effect of distributing the grain to different
parts of the faces by which it is to be acted upon.

page_text: While the furrows in the face of the brush are in all cases highly advantageous
for this latter purpose, they may be dispensed with when the opposing face is
provided with spiral or convolute ribs, because the latter obviously also tend to
produce an even distribution of the grain between the working faces.
The action of the fan is to induce a current of air from the brush chamber
through the perforations of the working face E, and thereby abstract the dirt the
moment it is detached from the grain. By the arrangement of the slats or
supports e in the vertical direction shown, there is no opportunity for the dirt thus
drawn through the netting E to lodge on the said slats, as there would be if they
were horizontal. The said slats are preferably made thin so as to obstruct as few
of the perforations of the netting E as possible; and, in order to give uniform
support to the netting, they are located close to each other, or, say, at a distance of
two inches apart. By this means the netting is amply sustained in substantially
a perfect plane
Adjusting devices by which the brush may be set more or less closely to the
opposing face E are shown at B' and are of familiar construction.
The netting E is shown as being secured on its outer margin to the fixed
board Hand as having a central apertured metal plate E³ fastened to the wire
netting E and to the wooden parts in the rear of the said netting. The convolute
metal strip E may be understood as being fastened to the wire E by clinched staples
or short pieces of binding wire, or it may be attached in any other approved manner.
When the face E is of perforated sheet metal, for example, the strip E* may bo
soldered thereto..
The ribs or prominences E' are shown as extending from the central-plate-Es-to
the margin of the netting E, but they may obviously terminate short of these
points, if preferred, the phrase "from centre to circumference" being employed
not to express the extent, but only the direction of the said ribs or prominences
described.
Having-thus-fully described the said invention_as_communicated to me by my
foreign Correspondent and the manner of performing the same I wish it understood
that I claim.
First In a disc-brush grain cleaner, the combination with an opposing disc-
brush having its bristles rearwardly inclined with reference to the direction of its
rotary motion, of a perforated working face provided with one or more convolute
ribs running from the centre to, or towards, the circumference in the direction of
motion of the brush, substantially as described, and for the purposes set forth.
Second. In a disc-brush grain cleaner, a disc-brush having its bristles rearwardly
inclined, and provided with furrows & in its working face, in combination with an
opposing face of wire netting and a fan, substantially as described.
In witness whereof I the said William Robert Lake have hereunto set my
hand aud seal this Fifth day of May in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty three
XEM PART ΤΑΚΕ