AN IMPROVED PROCESS AND MACHINERY FOR HULLING AND SEPARATING RICE AND OTHER GRAIN OR SEED
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of "AN IMPROVED PROCESS AND MACHINERY FOR HULLING
AND SEPARATING RICE AND OTHER GRAIN OR SEED." -A communication
from abroad by George Lafayette Squier and Henry Clay Squier,
both of Buffalo, New York, United States of America.
Sealed the 28th October 1873, and dated the 21st August 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 21st August 1873.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, and Co.,
5 Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED PROCESS AND MACHINERY
FOR HULLING AND SEPARATING RICE AND OTHER GRAIN OR SEED," a communica-
tion, to be as follows:-

page_text: The common method of hulling rice is by pounding it in mortars,
a very slow and laborious process which heats the grain, destroys the
enamel, and breaks and wastes a considerable portion, and still leaves a
large quantity of the grain unhulled.
In a few large rice hulling establishments it has been customary to 5
employ two large sand stones set at a fixed distance apart so as not to
powder or grind the rice. In passing through this mill a portion only of
the rice is hulled, while a part of the grains are broken and the enamel -
injured by the grinding action of the stones. After it leaves this mill
the grain is pounded in power mortars for the purpose of hulling the 1
remaining portions, during which process the enamel is still further
injured and the grain bruised or broken, and still without hulling all of
the grains.
By the first part of the said Invention I produce a machine that can
be easily operated by hand power when required, and by which the
hulling process can be casily and rapidly carried on without heating or
breaking the grains or injuring the enamel. For this purpose I may
use stone, iron, rubber, wood, and other substances for hulling surfaces,
but wood or wood and rubber combined are the materials best adapted
for the purpose.
This part of the said Invention relates more particularly to an
improved process of hulling rice and other grain or seed; to the use and
application of wood or wood and rubber combined for the hulling
surfaces; also to an improved method of dressing the rubbing surfaces
to permit a reciprocating rotary motion to be given to the runner; and
also to an improved construction of parts by which the runner and its
shaft can be readily removed without detaching the pinion mounted on
the latter.
The hulling mill has a metallic frame formed with pockets or recesses.
for the reception of the wooden or rubber blocks. The rubbing surfaces
of the runner are dressed with radial grooves, both sides of which are
equally inclined, for the purpose of permitting a reciprocating rotary
motion to be being given to the runner.
The upper hulling disc is arranged to rest upon the runner of the
lower disc, and is free to move vertically to adapt itself to the varying
quantities of grain being operated on, thereby ensuring a uniform
pressure on the grain under all circumstances.

page_text: In combination with the runner I arrange a driving shaft and bevel
wheel, and the bottom of the case is provided with an opening and a
removeable discharge spout, to permit of the removal of the runner
without detaching the said bevel wheel.
The second part of this Invention relates to mechanism employed
after the hulling, for the purpose of separating the chaff from the grain,
and the hulled rice from the unhulled, and this part of the said
Invention consists principally of a fan and a table provided with a
roughened surface, inclining slightly upward from the mouth of the fan;
and having a lateral vibratory or oscillating motion, whereby the grain
fed to the upper end of the table is separated into two portions, one.
portion working by gravity down the centre of the table, while the
larger, lighter, and rougher portions work to the surface and edges of
the mass of grain on the table, and are gradually carried by the air
current in the inclined surface of the table towards the opposite end
thereof. The grain separator has a fan or other means for producing an
air current; it also has an inclined table provided with a roughened
surface, and suitable mechanism for imparting to it a vibratory or rocking
motion.
In combination with the said fan and inclined table I arrange
supporting arms which are pivoted at one end nearer each other than at
the opposite ends, for imparting to the table when moved laterally ȧ
poculiar rocking or oscillating motion.
In combination with the said fan there is an air passage, and there is
also a tight bottom arranged to leave a space between the said bottom
and the perforated or other surface of the table.
In combination with the fan and inclined table I arrange a central
discharge aperture at the lower and inner end of the said table, and there
are two discharge apertures arranged at the outer or tail end of the table
on each side of the centre thereof.
The said separator has a pivoted hopper provided with a spout and set
screws, or equivalent means for holding it in place after it is adjusted;
it also has an adjustable deflecting board for regulating and directing the
air current.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 20th February 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special
licence that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake,
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 IMPROVED
PROCESS AND MACHINERY FOR HULLING AND SEPARATING RICE AND OTHER GRAIN OR
SEED," a communication to me from abroad by George Lafayette Squier
and Henry Clay Squier, both of Buffalo, New York, United States of
America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Robert Lake, 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 William Robert Lake, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing forming a part of this Specification :-
The first part of this Invention relates to a machine for hulling rice.
The common method of hulling rice is by pounding it in mortars, a
very slow and laborious process, which heats the grain, destroys the

page_text: enamel, and breaks and wastes a considerable portion, and still leaves a
large quantity of the grain unhulled.
In a few large rice hulling establishments it has been customary to
employ two large sandstones set at a fixed distance apart, so as not to
5 powder or grind the rice. In passing through this mill a portion only
of the rice is hulled, while a part of the grains are broken, and the
enamel is injured by the grinding action of the stones. After it leaves this
mill the grain is pounded in power mortars, for the purpose of hulling
the remaining portions, during which process the enamel is still further
injured, and the grain bruised or broken, and still without hulling all of
the grains.
By the first part of the said Invention I produce a machine that can
be easily operated by hand power when required, by which the hulling
process can be easily and rapidly carried on without heating or breaking
the grains or injuring the enamel. For this purpose I may use stone,
iron, rubber, wood, and other substances for hulling surfaces but wood
or wood and rubber combined are the materials best adapted for the
purpose.
This part of the said Invention relates more particularly to an
improved process of hulling rice and other grain or seed; to the use and
application of wood or wood and rubber combined for the hulling
surfaces; also to an improved method of dressing the rubbing surfaces
to permit a reciprocating rotary motion to be given to the runner; and
also to an improved construction of parts by which the runner and its
shaft can be readily removed without detaching the pinion mounted on
the latter.
In the accompanying Drawing Figure 1 is a central vertical section
of my improved machine; Figure 2 is a front elevation; and Figure 3
is a plan of the same; Figure 4, a face view of one of the rub-
bing surfaces; and Figure 5, a detached sectional view in line of
chord x-x.
In these Figures A, A, A, represent three posts or uprights, and
A¹, A, cross pieces connecting the same, and forming the triangular
frame of the machine; B is the runner of the huller mounted on the
shaft C, the lower end of which has its bearing in a step c²; D is a
horizontal driving shaft provided with bevel gear wheel e, engaging with

page_text: •
bevel pinion f on shaft C; g is a lever or arm attached to the outer end
of the driving shaft, by which the machine can be operated by hand;
H is the stationary hulling block or disc arranged above the runner, and
held in place and against rotary motion by studs or pins i, in the upper
end of the posts which fit loosely in holes formed in the lugs or cars ½ of
the block H. The upper bearing j of the shaft of the runner is formed
in the cross bar of the eye of the block H. k is a set screw screwing
into the top of the bearing j, by means of which the weight of the
block H, when of large size, may be partially supported. This screw is
made hollow for the purpose of conveying oil to the spindle C. Lis the
cover or case of the runner, and L' is the bottom thereof, provided with
an opening . To the under side of the runner is attached one or more
wings m, for sweeping the grain from the case into the discharge
opening. o is the dischargo spout, arranged to slide in ways p, p, on
the under side of the bottom L', the end of the hopper being slotted to
receive the shaft, as shown in Figurès 1 and 2. The block H being
held in place simply by the pins i can be readily lifted off when desired.
By withdrawing the discharge spout the runner and its shaft can be
readily removed without detaching the pinion, the opening in the
bottom of the case being made sufficiently large for the purpose.
The runner B and block H may be formed entirely of wood, or of
wood with strips or blocks of rubber arranged in recesses in the faces
thereof, but for the purpose of cheapening the manufacture of the huller,.
increasing its durability, facilitating repairs, and preventing the hulling
blocks from checking or splitting in tropical countries, I provide
metallic frames b¹ and ¹ divided by radial arms u, u, into sections or
pockets, in which the separate blocks of wood or rubber S, S, are fitted,
the surfaces of which project slightly beyond the casting with their
edges bevelled off, as shown in Figures 4 and 5. These division
bars u, u, between the adjacent edges or sides of the blocks form in
connection with the bevelled sides of the blocks S radial grooves in the
hulling faces.
As the sectional blocks S become worn they can be raised or brought
forward by placing strips of metal, wood, or other material between
them, and the ledges of the frame on which they rest, or set screws may
be arranged in these ledges to adjust the blocks outward. These sections
of blocks S may all be composed of wood, or one or more of these blocks
may be made of rubber, as shown at S¹, Figure 4, or strips &¹, s¹, may be

page_text: arranged along the radial sides of the blocks, or blocks 8, 8², may be
fitted in holes or recesses in the blocks S, as also shown in Figure 4, or
the rubber may be arranged in any other suitable way, so. that the
rubbing surfaces shall be composed of wood and rubber combined.
The blocks or hullers are made a little concave in the centre to assist
in feeding, and the grooves are preferably much deeper at the centre of.
the block than at the circumference. The upper block H rests with its
whole weight upon the runner, and is permitted by the guide pins i to
rise and fall freely to accomodate itself to the quantity of grain passing
through the mill, or to any unevenness in the face of the runner.
In small hullers the block H can be supplied with weights to ensure
the requisite pressure upon the grain, while in large machines the
pressure can be reduced by the set screw k, as above described.
The grain to be hulled is fed into the eye of the upper stone through
a hopper W, whence it passes between the contiguous surfaces of the
runner and block E, where it is subjected to the rubbing action thereof
until it escapes at their periphery into the case L, whence it is.
swept by the wing m through the opening in the bottom thereof,
through the spout, and conducted from the machine by the discharge
spout o.
I prefer the end of the grain of the wood as a rubbing surface for the
buller on account of its greater durability and efficiency."
I have made the rubbing surfaces plane or ungrooved, and found
them to operate reasonably well, and I have also dressed them after the
manner of millstones, and given the runner a continued rotary motion
when thus dressed and when undressed, but have found from repeated
experiments that the best results can be attained by dressing the hulling
surfaces in the manner shown in the Drawings, and imparting to the
runner a reciprocating rotary motion, which can be readily effected in a
hand machine by simply oscillating the lever g. The radial grooves in
the hulling surfaces assist in feeding the grain, and serve to roll over
or change the position of the grain as the motion of the runner is
reversed. They also form spaces, in which the separation of the hulls
from the kernels is facilitated.
I
In machines of small size I prefer to combine rubber and wood in
forming the hulling surfaces, as the rubber by its greater adherence to

page_text: the hulls of the grain facilitates the rolling and reversal of the position
of the grain, and the separation of the husks therefrom.
In machines of larger size the wood alone performs the required work
in a satisfactory manner, and the rubber in such machines may be
dispensed with by those who desire to avoid-the greater expense resulting
from its use.
I have also used the upper block as a runner, and have experimented
by revolving the runner at a high speed and at a low speed, and find
that the best results are attained by using the lower disc as the runner,
and imparting to it a comparatively slow motion, whether that motion
be a continuous rotary one or a reciprocating rotary motion. The latter
motion gives to the grain a zig-zag motion as it passes through the mill,
turning and rolling it in all directions, thus effectually breaking the hulls
and detaching them from the grain.
Motion may be communicated to the runner in various ways. The
simplest and cheapest way is to attach a handle to the runner, but I
prefer to drive the block by gearing as above described. The two gear
wheels having an unequal number of cogs the hulling blocks if inclined
to wear unevenly can have the relative position of the wearing surfaces
changed so as to equalize the wear thereof by rotating the runner
continuously for one or more révolutions.
This improved huller in addition to its cheapness, simplicity of con-
struction, durability and the facility with which it can be repaired, and
operated by hand or other power, performs its work of hulling with
rapidity, the surface of the wood and rubber being of sufficient hardness
to rub off the hull without materially grinding or injuring the enamel
or breaking the grains, as in the case when iron or stone is employed for
the hulling purposes.
The second part of this Invention relates to the machine employed
after the hulling machine for the purpose of separating the chaff from
the grain, and the hulled rice from the unhulled; and this part of the
said Invention consists principally in a fan and a table provided with a
roughened surface inclining slightly upward from the mouth of the fan,
and having a lateral vibratory or oscillating motion, whereby the grain
which is fed upon the upper end of the table is separated into two
portions, one portion working by gravity down the centre of the table,

page_text: while the larger, lighter, and rougher portions work to the surface and
edges of the mass of grain on the table, and are gradually carried by the
air current up the inclined surface of the table towards the opposite end
thereof, as herein-after more fully set forth.
In the accompanying Drawing Figure 6 is a longitudinal vertical
section of my improved machine; Figure 7, a horizontal section showing
a plan of the table; and Figure 8.is a transverse section on line X, X,
Figure 6.
In Figures 6, 7, and 8, A is the frame of the machine; B is the fan;
C, the fan case; and D, the mouth thercof; E is the table supported by
four arms F, F, pivoted at their upper ends to the under side of the
table, and at their lower ends to cross bars G of the frame. The required
roughened surface to the table is represented in the Drawing as con-
sisting of a shect of wire cloth e arranged above the table proper, the
meshes of the cloth being too fine to permit the passage of the grain
through them. is a holc at the centre of the front end, and i, i, two
holes at the rear end on each side of the centre closed by suitable valves,
through which the two qualities of grain are discharged, as will be
presently explained.
The table is operated by means of two bent lovers j, j, pivoted to the
side boards A' of the frame, the inner arms are connected to the table
by rods, while the outer arms are connected by a rod k and arc
operated by a pitman 7 connecting with a crank m on the end of the fan
shaft. A spur wheel m³ (driven by a crank m³ when the machine is
operated by hand) gears with a pinion m³ on the fan shaft, by which
the fan and connected parts are actuated. N is the feed hopper pivoted
between two uprights of the frame, and n a spout attached rigidly
thereto, and composed preferably of some thin and elastic sheet metal.
which will vibrate slightly while the machine is in operation, and thus
ensure a more uniform feed of the grain to the table.
The amount of the feed is regulated by tilting the hopper and spout,
which may be held in place by using set screws for the pivots of the
hopper or by any other suitable means. O is a tail board arranged at
the rear of the machine after the manner of the tail board in a common
fanning mill, and is designed to catch any light kernels of grain that
may be blown over the end of the table with the chaff and other refuse.
The table E is enclosed at the sides and top in a sort of casing formed

page_text: by the said boards A', A¹, and a top board A², the rear portion a² of
which is preferably made to adjust to and from the table so as to increase
and diminish the space above the table, and thereby regulate the force of
the air current over the rear portion of the table. In the Drawing this
adjustable table is made to slide in inclined ways, although it may be
hinged at its front end to the board A so as to leave the rear end free to
be adjusted vertically, by which the air space can be regulated in a
similar manner.
In hulling rice the hulls of a portion of the grains are much more
difficult to remove than those of the others, and in endcavouring to hull
these grains much of the best rice already hulled is broken, worn, and
injured. The need of a machine which could effect a separation of the
hulled from the unhulled grain so as to avoid this injury and breakage.
of the hulled grains has long been felt, but such machine so far as I am
aware has hitherto never been devised..
In separating the hulled grains of rice from the unbulled after they
have passed through the huller, for which purpose the machine is
specially designed, the grain is gradually fed in to the table through the
hopper N, or a limited quantity is placed in the rear end of the table-
and the machine set in motion by turning the crank which operates the
fan. The lower ends of the arms which support the table being pivoted
at a less distance from each other than the upper ends a peculiar oscil-
lating or rocking motion is imparted to the table which causes the grain
to form a longitudinal layer on the central portion of the wire cloth
instead of spreading evenly over the whole surface.
The roughened surface produced by the wire cloth serves to agitato
the grain as the table oscillates, which causes the hulls and larger and
roughened unhulled kernels to work to the top of the layer or mass of
grain when the hulls and other light refuse is blown over the tail end of
the table. The unhulled grains are by the movement of the table
gradually worked laterally to the edges of the layer, where the air
current operating with less obstruction carries with it these unhulled.
grains backward towards the tail of the machine, while the smoother and
smaller hulled kernels which remain at the centre of the table work by
gravity down the inclined surface of the table underneath the upper and
unhulled grains which serve to also in a measure protect the hulled
kernels from the action of the air current. The machine being operated.

page_text: for a short period of time the hulled grains will be found to have assumed
a position at the lower or inner end of the table and in a layer extending
along the centre of the table towards the rear end, where it diminishes
in width, as represented by the dotted line p in Figure 7, while the
unhulled grain will be found at the tail end of the table overlapping the
rear end of the layer of bulled grain, and extending along the sides
thereof towards the inner end of the table, as represented at t, t, in the
same Figure.
The inclination of the table can be adjusted by raising or lowering
the rear end of the machine or in any suitable manner as may be
required. For, separating rice an inclination of one-quarter to one-half.
an inch to the foot I have found to be sufficient. The inclination
required will vary according to the kind, condition, and quantity, of the
grain, and the facility with which it works down the table against the
opposing air current, light grain requiring a greater inclination of the
table than more heavy grain.
In a machine having a tablo fifty-four inches in length by eighteen
inches in width, it has been found by experiment that from eight to ten
quarts of grain can be allowed on the table at one time, which will form
in a machine constructed as shown in the Drawing, a layer of from one
to one and one-half inches in thickness at the centre, which gradually
diminishes in thickness towards the edges, leaving a small portion of the
table on each side free for the passage of the unhulled grains as they
work to the edges of the layer where they receive the full force of the
air current which carries them backward with it towards the tail of the
machine.
When only a limited quantity of grain is required to be separated at
one time, as is the case with machines for separating rice designed for
family use, a specified quantity, according to the size of the machine,
can be placed at once on the rear portion of the table, with the dis-
charge apertures closed, and the machine set in motion and operated
until the required separation of the hulled from the unhulled grains has
taken place, then the hulled rice can be removed from the front or
inner end of the table, and the unhulled from the rear end, leaving a
portion towards the rear end which will contain a mixture of hulled and
unhulled grain.
In establishments where rice is prepared for the market in con-

page_text: table has been separated as above described, the central front hole and
lateral rear holes i, i, are opened to a sufficient degree to permit the
escape of the hulled and unhulled grain through their respective dis-
charge apertures while a quantity of the mixed grain can be gradually
let into the rear portion of the table from the feed hopper; the size of
the discharge apertures and the amount fed on to the table being
regulated according to the capacity of the machine for separating the
grain.
The valves and feed can be readily regulated by an attendant who
observes the condition of the grain on the table. The manner of sup-
porting the table, shewn in the Drawing, imparts to the table when the
machine is operated a peculiar rocking motion which causes the grain
to form in a layer along the centre of the table, as required, in order to
attain the best results and most efficient action of the machine.
It is evident that the table may be suspended by arms similar to
F, F, arranged above the table and still impart the same motion to it
as when the arms are arranged underneath the table as shewn in the
Drawing.
By supporting the table by means of a single arm rigidly secured to
the table at or near each end and pivoting said single arms centrally
under or over the table so as to cause the latter to oscillate from a single
point as a centre, the grain on the table will be more evenly distributed
over the surface thereof and a comparatively good separation may be
attained thereby.
By making the surface of the table slightly concave so as to cause
the central portion thereof in the line of its length to be slightly
depressed, still better results can be attained, although I prefer the mode
of support shewn in the Drawing, or some other mode by which a
similar movement as first described is imparted to the table.
The surface of the table may be roughened in any suitable manner, and
although the tight bottom of the table underneath the wire cloth is not.
essential, yet I prefer to use such tight bottom and wire cloth arranged
above it, as shewn in the Drawing, so as to leave a space between
the two with a passage controlled by a valve leading from the valve
thereto.
In separating oats from wheat and other similar grain it is sometimes
the case that the grains get stuck endwise in the fine meshes of the wire

page_text: cloth. To obviate this difficulty the tight bottom with the space between
it and the wire cloth is useful as a current of air diverted through the
passage under the wire cloth is forced up through the meshes, and
dislodges any grains that may have become entangled therein. This
current of air, forced up through the meshes, also acts to agitate and
separate certain kinds of grain and grain in certain conditions.
•
By making a delivery hole in the tight bottom it becomes useful in
gathering small seeds and broken pieces that may riddle through the
meshes of the wire cloth. The passage r, through which air is conducted
to the space q, may be formed by the valve or partition board & hinged
in the rear end of the passage D, as shewn at &, and by attaching to the
front end of this valve a rod extending upward to the top of the
machine the passager can be closed or regulated as may be desired.
The air current used in connection with the vibrating table may be
induced either by blast or by suction, and any of the well knowm means
employed for producing an air current, such as a suction or blast fan, pump,
and the like, may be used for the purpose in my improved machine.
By the use of my improved machines in preparing rice, after it has
been subjected to the action of the huller a sufficient length of time
to remove the hulls from the greater portion of the grain, the mixed
hulled and unhulled grain can be passed through the separator, after
which the unhulled grain, which has been thereby separated, can be
again subjected to a second treatment in the huller without that injury
to the hulled grain which would otherwise result from continuing the
first treatment in the huller to a greater length of timo in order to
remove the hulls from these grains, to which the hulls adhere with great
tenacity.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondents, and the manner of performing the
same, I wish it understood that I claim,—
First. A hulling mill, in which the hulling or rubbing surfaces are
composed of wood arranged so that the end of its grain will form the
rubbing or hulling surfaces, substantially as herein-before set forth.
Second. In a hulling mill the hulling or rubbing surfaces com-
nosed of wood and ruhher combined substantially os horsin hofoun
L

page_text: Third. In a hulling mill the combination of the metallic frame b²,
formed with pockets or recesses for the reception of wooden or rubber
blocks or their equivalents, substantially as herein-before set forth.
Fourth. A hulling mill, wherein the rubbing surface of the runner
is dressed with radial grooves, both sides of which are equally inclined,
for the purpose of permitting a reciprocating rotary motion being given
to the runner, substantially as herein-before set forth.
Fifth. In a hulling mill the arrangement of the upper hulling disc_so
as to rest upon the runner of the lower disc, and be free to move vertically
to adapt itself to the varying quantities of grain being operated upon,
thereby ensuring a uniform pressure on the grain under all circumstances,
substantially as herein-before set forth.
Sixth. The process of hulling rice and other grains and seeds by sub-
jecting the same to a rubbing action between two hulling discs, one of
which is stationary, while the other has a reciprocating rotary motion
imparted to it, substantially as hercin-before set forth.
Seventh. The combination with the runner B, and shaft and bevel
wheels D, e, of the bottom L' of the case provided with an opening 1,
and removable discharge spout o, to permit the removal of the runner
without detaching the bevel wheel, substantially as herein-before set
forth.
Eigth. In a rice separator the combination with a fan or equivalent
means for producing an air current of an inclined table provided with a
roughened surface and suitable mechanism for imparting to it a vibratory
or rocking motion, substantially as and for the purpose herein-before set
forth.
Ninth. In a rice separator the combination with a fan and inclined
table of the supporting arms F, F, which are pivoted to one end nearer
cach other than at the opposite end for imparting to the table when
moved laterally the peculiar rocking or oscillating motion herein a
described.
Tenth. The combination in a rice separator and with the fan B of the
air passager, and an inclined table provided with a roughened wire cloth
or other perforated surface e, and tight bottom E, arranged so as to leave
a space q between the latter, substantially as and for the purpose herein-
before set forth.

page_text: Eleventh. The combination in a rice separator and with a fan and
inclined table of the central discharge aperture h at the lower and inner
end of the table, substantially as and for the purpose herein-before sot
forth.
Twelfth. The combination in a rice separator and with a fan and
inclined table of the two discharge apertures i, i, arranged at the outer
or tail end of the table on each side of the centre thereof, substantially
as and for the purpose herein-before set forth.
Thirteenth. The combination in a rice separator of the pivoted
hopper N, provided with the spout 12 and set screws or equivalent means
for holding it in place after it is adjusted, substantially as hercin-before
set forth.
Fourteenth. The combination in a rice separator and with the fan and
oscillating table of the adjustable deflecting board a³ for regulating and
directing the air current, as herein-before set forth.
Fifteenth. The process of separating hulled from unhulled rice by
means of a current of air and a slightly inclined table provided with a
roughened surface, and oscillated or vibrated laterally in such a manner
as to cause the grain to work or form a ridge or layer along the central
portion of the table, and so that the unhulled rice will be worked or
carried up the table in one direction while the lulled grains work by
gravity towards the opposite end of the table, substantially as herein-
before set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have herc-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of February in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.
Witness,
JAMES EDWARDS,
8, Southampton Buildings,
London.
W. ROB. LAKE. (L.S.)