IMPROVE- MENTS IN SCREENS FOR CLEANING BEANS, WHEAT, AND OTHER GRAIN OR SEEDS AND OTHER SUBSTANCES."
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Gell and William Cafferata, both of Newark-
on-Trent, in the County of Nottingham, for the Invention of" IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SCREENS FOR CLEANING BEANS, WHEAT, AND OTHER GRAIN OR SEEDS
AND OTHER SUBSTANCES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Gell and Willian!
Cafferata at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 30th April 1864.
We, GEORGE GELL 'and WILLIAM CAFFERATA, both of Newark-on-Trent, in
the County of Nottingham, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SCREENS FOR CLEANING BEANS, WHEAT, AND OTHER
GRAIN OR SEEDS AND OTHER SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of certain improvements in the construction of
screens or-riddles for sifting or cleaning beans, wheat, grain, or seeds, or other
substances such as plaster of Paris, whereby greater efficiency and facility of
operation is acquired than by the screens at present in use.
The principle of the Invention is based upon a method of constructing
screens in such manner that they may be put together or taken to pieces in
a short time, and also that they may be made to vary in the sizes of their
meshes according to the substances to be cleaned or sifted. For this purpose
I dispense with the use of solder to fasten the wires to the frames of the
screen, and employ in lieu thereof screw fastenings operating as clamps.
The ribs, frames, or bars to receive the wires are made of wood or metal of

page_text: the required length and of a transverse section, varying from a right angle to
an obtuse angle, so as to present two surfaces or sides for the application of
the wires in order to form screens of a square, pentagonal, or other polygonal
form. The ribs, frames, or bars run longitudinally from end to end of the
screen, and are fitted and fastened to spokes from the central driving shaft,
the extremities of the spokes when joined by tie rods forming the polygonal
shape or section of the screen. All the frames or ribs have grooves cut
on each angular side or surface at equal distances apart for the insertion
and setting of the wires, and over each of these frames or bars, when the wires
are arranged in the grooves, an upper frame or bar having corresponding
undercut grooves is placed, and when clamped down, and held by screws to the
under frame, forms a cap or cover to secure all the wires tightly in the grooves.
By these means each wire forming the screen is fastened without the use of
solder, tin, springs, or other similar appliances commonly used to fasten wire
to metal or wood, the preventing the usual breakages or separation of the
wires under any circumstances, whether, from heat or cold or the action of
screening, or other cause so constantly rendering other screens temporarily
useless. Thus the ribs of the screen, with the advantage of wires which are
never out of order, are equally divided into different sizes or meshes of any
narrowness or width from the size of the smallest seed to that of the common
bean. According to the number of angles or ribs there is a corresponding
number of riddles, all of which can be made to any size of mesh required by a
simple action of a lever, or any of the riddles can be made separately by itself
to any size, so that there may be one mesh or as many meshes as may be
wished for, according to the number of ribs or riddles, thus enabling the seeds,
or corn, or other matters to be screened to any size of degree of fineness
required, the use of springs is thus done away with, there is no falling out
of wires, the size of the mesh being regulated by the movement of a screw
bell crank level. The screen can be cleaned by a common brush. The
wires may be placed in the frames perpendicularly or diagonally thereto.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Gell and William Cafferata in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 29th October 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, GEORGE
GELL and WILLIAM CAFFERATA, both of Newark-on-Trent, in the County of 3
Nottingham, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said George Gell and William Cafferata, Her special licence that we, the
said George Gell and William Cafferata, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said George Gell and William Cafferata,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and 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 SCREENS FOR CLEANING
BEANS, WHEAT, AND OTHER GRAIN OR SEEDS AND OTHER SUBSTANCES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that we, the said George Gell and William
Cafferata, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our, 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 William Cafferata do hereby declare
the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement :-
This Invention consists of certain improvements in the construction of
screens or riddles for sifting or cleaning beans, wheat, grain, or seeds, or
other substances, such as plaster of Paris, whereby greater efficiency and
facility of operation is acquired than by the screens at present in use.
The principle of the Invention is based upon a method of constructing
screens in such manner that they may be put together or taken to pieces in a
short time, and also that they may be made to vary in the sizes of their
meshes, according to the substances to be cleaned or sifted.
For this purpose
we dispense with the use of solder to fasten the wires to the frames of the
screen, and employ in lieu thereof screw fastenings, operating as clamps. The
ribs, frames, or bars to receive the wires are made of wood or metal of the
required length and of a transverse section, varying from a right angle to an
obtuse angle, so as to present two surfaces or sides for the application of the
wires, in order to form screens of a square, pentagonal, or other polygonal
form. These ribs, frames, or bars run longitudinally from end to end of the
'

page_text: screen, and are fitted and fastened to spokes from the central driving shaft, the
extremities of the spokes when joined by tie rods forming the polygonal shape
or section of the screen:. All the frames or ribs have grooves' cut on each
angular side or surface at equal distances apart for the insertion and setting of
the wires, and over each of these frames or bars, when the wires are arranged
in the grooves, an upper frame or bar having corresponding undercut grooves
is placed, and when clamped down and held by screws to the under frame.
forms a cap or cover to secure all the wires tightly in the grooves. By these
means each wire forming the screen is fastened without the use of solder, tin,
springs, or other similar appliances commonly used to fasten wire to metal or
wood, thus preventing the usual breakages or separation of the wires under
any circumstances, whether from heat or cold, or the action of screening, or
other causes so constantly rendering other screens temporarily useless. Thus
the ribs of the screen, with the advantage of wires that are never out of
order, are equally divided into different sizes or meshes of any narrowness or
width, from the size of the smallest seed to that of the common bean.
According to the number of angles or ribs there is a corresponding number of
riddles, all of which can be made to any size of mesh required by a simple
action of a lever, or 'any of the riddles can be made separately by itself to any
size, so that there may be one mesh, or as many meshes as may be wished for,
according to the number of ribs or riddles, thus enabling the seeds, or corn, or
other matters to be screened to any size or degree of fineness required. The
use of springs is thus done away with; there is no pulling out of wires, the
size of the mesh being regulated by the movement of a screw bell-crank leyer.
The screen can be cleaned by a common brush.
From the foregoing description the nature and principle of our said Inven-
tion will be clearly understood, but we annex a Sheet of Drawings for the
sake of illustrating the essential portion of the Invention, leaving out the
general detail of the machinery to which the screen is applicable, and by
means of which it derives motion. It is sufficient to state that the screen is
enclosed in a frame and standards, that it is caused to rotate by means of bevelled
pinion gearing driven by a crank handle shaft and fly wheel, that the articles
to be screened are fed to the screen by means of a hopper at the top of the
frame, whence they pass through a sieve and through a tin bent tube into the
A. delivery board or husk shute is; arranged at the lower side of
the machine, and at the end of the machine is a second shute for delivering
the clean grain.
screen.
Fig. 1 represents a side view of the screen, and Fig. 2 an end view. a, a,
are the ribs of the screen, clamped or screwed down by aid of the caps b, b-;

page_text: c, c, are the wires; d, d, represents a compound screwed lever clutch,
actuated by the wheel e, by means of which and the arms e' the riddles are
opened and closed. These riddles are drawn in slots, raising their wires
directly above the other wires, and leave when fully open a distance between
the wires of the screen of ½ of an inch. The drawing out draws the riddles
up the slot, and opens them, the forcing in on the contrary closing them.
Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of one of the moveable riddles; Fig. 4 is a
plan view, shewing the caps b, b, and wires c, c; f, f, shew in dotted lines
screws to tighten the wires in the grooves; Fig. 5 shews a plan view of a
cap with grooves for the wires; Fig. 6 being an end view; Fig. 7 is a front
view of the lever clutch.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, we would remark in conclusion, that we
do not limit ourselves to the precise details and configuration of parts we have
expressed and shewn, as the same may obviously be varied or modified without
in any way departing from the principles on which our Invention is based, the
screens may be made of various forms or sections of polygons or other forms,
as desired, and the wires may be arranged as required; but what we claim
and desire to be secured to us by the herein in part recited Letters Patent
are, the general arrangement, construction, and combination of parts, sub-
stantially as specified and partly illustrated hereby, and constituting "Improve-
ments in Screens for Cleaning Beans, Wheat, and other Grains or Seeds, and
other Substances," according to the title hereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Cafferata, have hereunto set
hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
(L.S.)
Witness,
W. MADDEN CAFFERATA,
Great Northern Ironworks,
Newark-on-Trent.
WILLIAM CAFFERATA. (L.S.)