IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THRASHING, BEATING, AND DRESSING FLAX."
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Creasy, of Bulls Hall, Bedfield, Wickham
Market, in the County of Suffolk, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR THRASHING, BEATING, AND DRESSING FLAX."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Creasy at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
26th January 1865.
I, WILLIAM CREASY, of Bulls Hall, Bedfield, Wickham Market, in the
County of Suffolk, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THRASHING, BEATING, AND DRESSING FLAX,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for thrashing,
beating, and dressing flax. For these purposes a cylinder, the surface of
which is by préference of wood is used, on to which the heads of flax straw are
placed whilst the straw is held by hand. Above the cylinder is a beater
having a curved hollow under surface corresponding with the radius of the
cylinder. This beater has a rod or rods which move through brackets or
guides, by which the beater is caused to rise and fall correctly. The beater is
raised and allowed to fall by any convenient means, such as tappets or lifters
on a sbaft or shafts, to which motion is given by steam engine or other power,

page_text: The cylinder is caused to make a partial rotation at each time of lifting the
beater by means of a ratchet or driver, or otherwise actuated by the power
which works the machine. The heads of the flax straw are placed on the
cylinder below the beater by which the heads will be thrashed, and the seed
and chaff separated will by the partial rotation of the cylinder be carried from
under the beater, and will fall off the surface of the cylinder into a receiver,
from which they are raised by an elevator, in order to be dressed by passing
over a sieve and by being acted on by a succession of blasts. The seed is then
again lifted by an elevator, and delivered into sacks or into other receivers in
like manner to that in which like processes have been performed in other
thrashing machines.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Creasy in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
26th July 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CREASY, of Bulls Hall, Bedfield, Wickham Market, in the County of Suffolk,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Creasy, Her special licence that I, the said William.
Creasy, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Creasy, 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THRASHING, BEATING, AND DRESSING FLAX," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Creasy, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Creasy, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for thrashing,
beating, and dressing flax. For these purposes a cylinder, the surface of
which is by preference of wood, is used, on to which the heads of flax straw
are placed whilst the straw is held by hand. Above the cylinder is a beater
having a curved hollow under surface corresponding with the radius of the
cylinder. This beater has a rod or rods, which move through brackets or
guides, by which the beater is caused to rise and fall correctly. The beater is
raised and allowed to fall by any convenient means such as tappets or lifters
on a shaft or shafts to which motion is given by steam engine or other power.
The cylinder is caused to make a partial rotation at each time of lifting the
beater, by means of a ratchet or driver, or otherwise actuated by the power
which works the machine. The heads of the flax straw are placed on the
cylinder below the beater, by which the beads will be thrashed, and the seed
and chaff separated will by the partial rotation of the cylinder be carried from
under the beater, and will fall off the surface of the cylinder into a receiver, from
which they are raised by an elevator, in order to be dressed by passing over a
sieve, and by being acted on by a succession of blasts. The seed is then again
lifted by an elevator, and delivered into sacks or into other receivers in like
manner to that in which like processes have been performed in other thrashing
machines.
Having thus stated the nature of the said Invention I will proceed to
describe more particularly in what manner the same is to be performed by
reference to the accompanying Drawings in which are represented the parts.
above referred to.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1, side elevation showing the elevators for conveying the seed from
the beater to the dressing machine with band and buckets, elevator shoe with
Figure 1, side elevation showing the elevators for conveying the seed from
the beater to the dressing machine with band and buckets, elevator shoe with
connecting rod for same, small riddle for straw and seed, large rollers showing
leads fixed, and shaft for same, the two beaters one being down upon roller
and the other up, cam shaft with cams, guide frame with friction rollers to
same for cams to work upon, gear wheels with levers for lifting same out of
gear, main driving pulley, driving pulleys for dresser; Figure 2, end view of
beating machine showing ends of large rolls, shoe to elevator, riddles for straw
seed, and seed pods or heads, wood spring handles for carrying riddles, bats,

page_text: or beaters, working one up and one down, cam shaft and cams for lifting
beaters, elevator, box, and pulley for driving same; Figure 3 showing section
of top of main standard'; Figure 4, plan of thrashing machine showing part
of elevator and hopper for dressing machine; Figure 5, elevation of dressing
apparatus; Figure 6, plan of same. In Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, a, bottom
sill; b, main standard; c, cross ledge; d, upper ledge; e, bearing ledge to
cam shaft; f, main ledge for large rolls; 9, large rolls, which may be of wood,
or wood with ribs of cast-iron or other metal or of metal only; h, bat or
beater; i, roll shaft; j, guide frame to bat; k, cam for lifting bat; 1, 'cam
roll; m, cam shaft; n, driving pulley; o, spur wheels; p, driving pulley for
dresser; q, elevator box; r, elevator rolls; s, bucket; t, wood hangers; u,
riddles for straw seed and heads; v, shoe to elevator; w, connecting rod;
x, levers for moving rolls; y, pulley; z, gripes.
In Figures 5 and 6, a, main sill; b, main upright; c, bottom ledge; 'd,
middle ledge; e, top rail'; f, pulley for elevator; g, top roll; h, bottom roll ;
i, top blower; j, bottom blower'; k, top riddle; l, bottom riddle; m, wind
boards; n, laying shafts for riddles; o, bevil wheels for driving riddle; p,
hopper for heads and seed; g, centres for vibrating levers; 'r, vibrating levers;
s, sieves and riddles; t, elevator box; u, crank plate for driving riddles.;
v, connecting rod for same; w, receiver of rubbish; a, seed spout; y, pinions
for connecting rolls; z, pinions connecting bottom rolls.
The machines hitherto used perform the operation of thrashing flax only, and
that very imperfectly, rollers alone being used, and in passing the flax through
between these rollers a considerable amount of the same, although passed through
between these rollers, is not crushed or broken at all; the consequence is that
these heads or pods when subjected to the dressing process are separated from
the thrashed seed, and then have to be beaten out by hand, which is véry.
expensive; another loss is that when passing through the rollers some of
the straw is broken off, and passes away with the chaff and rubbish, and is
wasted.
Now my Invention consists in a machine constructed with beaters or
jumpers working vertically up and down by means of shafts driven with bands
and pulleys or gear wheels, to work right and left hand or opposite to each
other, and the jumpers or beaters are lifted or moved up by cam levers or
cranks fixed on the said shafts, as shown in the Drawings.
rollers are so arranged as to move only at intervals as required.
placed on these rollers, and the beater or jumper is made to strike on it, and
then at the time the jumper or beater is lifted the roller is made to move
a certain distance by means of gearing and connecting rod attached to a
The large
The flax is

page_text: ratchet wheel fixed to the axis of roller, for the purpose of conveying the
thrashed seed to the elevator shoe. I would here observe that the rollers I
prefer to adopt are ridged or corrugated, and the bat or beater is made to fit
the same, but plain rollers may be employed. The elevators marked g in
Figure 1 are to receive the seed from the rollers after it is thrashed, for the
purpose of conveying it to the dressing machinery; the seed is afterwards taken
up by a second set of elevators, and delivered into sacks. The difficulties
experienced in dressing machinery hitherto used for flax dressing are, that the
process has generally to be done twice, and in some cases three times over,
which adds much to the expense; then there is always a portion of flax heads
and pieces of dirt that escape being crushed, and which, after passing through
the dressing machine have to be thrashed or beaten out by hand, which is
another expense. Now by my Invention the dressing is one process; a double
blast is used in combination with rollers so arranged that all the flax that may
escape the beating machinery, and also any pieces of dirt which there is always
found to be amongst the flax, will be crushed in passing through these rollers,
and then brought in contact with the blast and sieves, after which it will be
finished complete with the rest, fit for market, by one process, which is a
considerable advantage.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I make no claim to the
mechanical parts separately of which the machinery is composed, nor do I
confine myself to the details, but what I claim is, the combinations of machinery
herein described for thrashing and dressing flax.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Creasy, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
WILLIAM CREASY. (L.S.)