IMPROVEMENTS IN CORN SEPARATING MACHINES, KNOWN AS COCKLE SEED SEPARATING MACHINES
Year: 1884

page_text: I FRANCIS JOSEPH DRECHSLER, Engineer of No 1 Goat street in the Parish of
St John's Horsleydown, London, S.E. in the County of Surrey England do hereby
declare the nature of my Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN CORN SEPARATING
MACHINES, KNOWN AS COCKLE SEED SEPARATING MACHINES, to be as follows:-
I make a pliable endless sheet to present a flat cellular separating surface outside
and I place the same on 2 rotary shafts and into a light movable frame which
I place together into an inclined position and so as to be able to move it freely,
preferably on 4 rollers, within some specially constructed and similarly inclined
body on 4 legs, or within or in connection with some other machine. And I give
the said endless sheet a continuous oscillating motion, preferably by means of a
crank shaft and also an intermittent rotary motion, preferably by means of a throw
working a ratchet gear at the end of a second shaft, which shaft I connect to the
first named one, preferably by means of a pair of cog wheels. And the ratchet gear
I fit on the nearest shaft that carries the said sheet, and cause it to turn the upper
side of the latter upwards, to and passed the line of feed. The said driving shafts
I place preferably close above and transversely to the rotary motion of the said
rotary sheet. And above the same again, and by the crank that works it, I also
work a sieve for the better removal of the bulk of the larger stuff. And between
this sieve and immediately and transversely over the said sheet I place a stationary
or cause to rotate comb-like strips of some pliable material, such as leather, so as to
regulate both the downward motion of the longer stuff and to help the rounder
mixture to be taken up by the cells. Over this and a little below the upper end of
both the latter and the rotary sheet I cause the feed to fall down, preferably from
a self regulating hopper. The said cellular rotary sheet I prefer to make and render
pliable by narrow plates of sheet iron, tin, zinc or copper closely hinged together
and with their ends turned up so as to form a flange. And the said cells I punch
of a depth and diameter according to requirement and so as to separate cockle
from wheat, wheat from barley, barley from oats, and for other similar mixtures
that may be separated in the manner and by the means described above; and
which is to show that by the oscillatory action of the cellular sheet the longer
mixture of corn is pitched down over the comparatively shallow cells, and this
especially during the time when the ratchet is out of gear, or in other words, when
the sheet is not moving upwards. And that by the intermittent upward motion of
the cellular sheet the shorter mixture of corn, cockle or seed is also carried that way
and therefore in a contrary direction to the comparatively longer corn of whatsoever
kind that may be.

page_text: "
I, FRANCIS JOSEPH DRECHSLER, of No. 1 Goat Street, St. John's, Horseleydown,
in the County of Surrey, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CORN SEPARATING MACHINES, KNOWN AS COCKLE SEED
SEPARATING MACHINES 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 sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon :—
In the said Drawings Figure 1 is an elevation of one side of a machine con-
structed with my improvements applied thereto, Figure 2.a partial elevation of the
opposite side of the same machine, and Figures 3 and 4 detail views. to a larger
scale of a part thereof..
A pliable endless sheet A, presenting externally a flat cellular separating surface,
is placed round two rotating polygonal drums B B₁ fixed on two shafts C Ci
mounted in bearings D D1 secured to a light moveable frame E, which frame,
together with the endless sheet A is placed in an inclined position in any suitable
framework F and is adapted to move freely on rollers F1 F1. A continuous oscil-
lating or reciprocating motion is imparted to the frame E and to the endless sheet A
carried by it, by means of a connecting link G.pin jointed to the said frame E and to
a lever H, which lever receives an oscillating motion on its fulcrum I from a crank J
on one end of the shaft K through the medium of a connecting rod L. The endless
sheet A also receives an intermittent rotary or progressive motion preferably by
means of ratchet gear acting upon one of the drums carrying the said endless
sheet A, as shown for example in Figure 2, in which a crank M mounted on the
end of a shaft N, geared to the shaft K by means of the spur gear OP, (see
Figure 1) operates the lever by means of the link R. The lever Q carries the
pawl S which acts on the ratchet wheel T fixed to the axis of the drum B and
turns the latter in the direction of the arrow so as to draw the upper side of the
endless sheet A upwards, towards and past the line of feed from the feeding
hopper U. The aforesaid shafts K and N are preferably placed close above and
transversely to the motion of the endless sheet A. Above the said endless sheet A
is also placed a sieve V resting on rollers V₁ V₁, and a shaking motion is imparted
to this sieve by a link W from the same lever H which imparts the oscillating
motion to the frame E and endless sheet A. This sieve effects the removal of the
larger stuff, and between it and the endless sheet A, and immediately and trans-
versely over the latter may be placed a stationary strip of leather or other suitable
material X notched at the lower edge somewhat like a comb to give it the necessary
flexibility. The object of this strip is to regulate the downward motion of the
longer stuff over the upper surface of the endless sheet and to assist in the taking
up of the shorter stuff; such as the cockle seeds or the shorter grains of corn by the
cells of the said endless sheet. Instead of a single stationary strip a series of strips
may be arranged to revolve over the endless sheet for the same purpose.

page_text: Over the sieve V, and a little below the upper end of the same and of the endless
sheet A, is placed a feeding hopper U which may be of any well known self
regulating or adjustable kind and it may be fitted with an oscillating flap Z
operated by a link Z' from the crank J for the purpose of preventing choking at
the outlet from the said hopper U.
When the apparatus is used in connection with a threshing or other machine,
the feeding hopper U or the sieve V, or both, may be dispensed with, and the.
mixture to be separated fed direct from such machine on to the endless sheet A.
The cellular endless sheet A is preferably made as shown in Figures 3 and 4 of
narrow plates A of sheet iron, tin, zinc or copper closely hinged together, and with
their ends turned up so as to form flanges A¹ to prevent the material from falling
off sidewise. The cells A² (see sectional Figure 4) are formed in the sheets by
punching, setting or otherwise, and are of a depth and diameter which varies
according to whether it is required to separate cockle seeds from wheat or other
corn, wheat from barley, barley from oats, or other similar mixtures capable of
being separated by the means above described.
In order to prevent sagging of the upper part of the endless sheet A it is arranged
to rest on strips of wood or metal a supported by strips of hoop iron a¹ secured to
the frame E.
It will now be understood that the oscillating or reciprocating motion of the
inclined cellular sheet A causes the corn having the longer grains to be shaken down
over the comparatively shallow cells (especially during the time when the pawl S
is not acting on the ratchet wheel T, or in other words, when the sheet A is not
moving upwards) and is ultimately delivered at the lower end of the said sheet.
By the intermittent upward progressive motion of the upper part of the cellular
sheet A the shorter grains of corn, or the cockle or other comparatively short seeds,
are carried up by the said sheet in a direction contrary to that of the longer grains
of corn, being retained in the cells A³, till it reaches the top of the sheet A where it
is carried over the drum B and falls from the cells A2 into the receiver Y, or is
otherwise conveyed away.
For the purpose of clearing the endless sheet A of cockle seeds or other substances
a beating apparatus is applied to its under side. This beating apparatus consists
of one or more rollers b mounted on the end or ends of springs c which are fixed at
their other ends to an oscillating shaft d set in motion through the crank arm e
and connecting link f by the lever H.
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 corn separating machines the employment of an inclined pliable endless
cellular sheet having an oscillating or reciprocating motion, and an intermittent
rotary or progressive motion upwards towards the feeding end; arranged, adapted
and operating substantially as herein before described, and illustrated in the
Drawings hereto, annexed, and for the purpose specified.
Dated thio 22rd day of Januan 1005