Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 31st May, 1887
Specification Accepted, 1st July, 1887,
I, JOSEPH YATES of Minneapolis in the County of Hennepin and State of
Minnesota, United States of America, Miller, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The object of the invention is to provide a machine particularly adapted for scouring
and cleaning wheat.
The invention will first be described in connection with the drawing and then
pointed out in the claims.
Fig. 1 of the drawing is a rear elevation, broken away to show the suction fan, air
flue and pocket.
Fig. 2 is a vertical part section on line --- of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a horizontal cross section on line y---y of Fig. 1, and
Fig. 4 a detail plan view and cross-section of a scouring disk.
In the drawings A represents serrated or corrugated circular disks arranged at
intervals on a vertical shaft B. I preferably roughen both sides of the disks so as to
increase their friction and thus facilitate the scouring of the grain surfaces; E, E, are
radial blades beveled gradually from the rear to the front, on their upper sides, and
arranged on a vertical shaft D to intervene or extend between and alternate with the
disks A. The shafts B, D, are journalled in cross pieces C of the frame. F is a
jacket reticulated and arranged about the scouring devices, within the usual shell, or
encasement, and preferably made of steel. G is a superposed suction fan which
draws an upward current of air through the openings f, g, along the outside of the
perforated jacket and discharges it at one side of the encasement. The shaft B has a
pulley B¹ of less diameter than the pulley D¹ on shaft D so that the blades may
revolve at less speed than the disks. J is an obtuse-angled lever resting with the
vortex of its angle upon a base or bed of the scourer or upon the floor, and with its
arms in a vertical plane, so as to turn upon said vortex, and raise one arm, while the
other is depressed.
Upon the end of the short arm I pivot the lower end of shaft B and at about the
same distance from said vortex or fulcrum on the long arm, I pivot the lower end of

page_text: shaft D so that one is depressed as the other is raised, thus bringing the blades and
disks closer together or carrying them farther apart.
This construction enables the operator to bring the disks and blades closer together
or farther apart. K is a screw attached to the outer end of lever J and passing up
through the beam L which forms a guide and support for the shafts B, D. On the
threaded upper end of screw K is an adjusting screw nut M by which the lever J may
be raised or lowered at the outer end, in order to regulate the distance apart of the
blades and disks.
N is an air-flue into which the discharge spout empties its grain, which is open at
the bottom and connects with the upper side of the fan, which thereby produces an
updraft through the discharging grain after it has been scoured. At n the flue
deflects so as to pass over the top of pocket H so that the air will strike the opposite
wall or casing and the impurities of any magnitude will be precipitated into the said
pocket.
h is a flap door of the pocket which is hinged to close by gravity and the suction of
the fan. Through this, whatever may accumulate in the pocket may be removed.
In practice the Scourer is kept full or nearly so, so that the grain will be laterally
supported by the perforated jacket and surround the disks and blades. The blades
turn less rapidly than the disks and force the grain up and down against their
roughed faces. The grains being thus caused to rub against one another and against
the roughened disks, are very rapidly and very thoroughly scoured before they are
discharged. The differential motion of the blades and disks contributes in no small
degree to this result.
The feed is regulated by a slide or valve in the spout or the usual hopper while the
discharge spout is preferably valved so that the operator may control the rapidity of
the flow of grain through the scourer and thus determine the degree of scouring to
which each lot of grain shall be subjected.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
In a Grain Scouring and Cleaning Machine the combination of the parallel
shafts B. D. the radial blades E beveled from their ends to sharp edges in front, the
disks A interlapping with said blades, and mechanism for giving said shafts a
differential motion, as described.
Dated this auth 1
CA
1 1000