IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THRASHING AND SCREENING WHEAT AND OTHER GRAIN
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Hornsby, junior, of Spittlegate Iron Works,
Grantham, in the County of Lincoln, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THRASHING AND SCREENING WHEAT AND OTHER
GRAIN."
Sealed the 20th May 1864, and dated the 4th December 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Hornsby at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th December 1868.
I, RICHARD HORNSBY, junior, of Spittlegate Iron Works, Grantham, in
the County of Lincoln, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THRASHING AND SCREENING WHEAT AND OTHER
GRAIN," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for thrashing
and screening wheat and other grain. In thrashing machines, in order that
the chaff may by the action of the machine be freed from dust and collected
and delivered from a spout into a sack or suitable receiver in place of being
blown out of the machine together with the dust and cavings, as is now
common, I so arrange the machine that the chaff is first separated from the
cavings (or broken ears and straw) by the ordinary caving riddle, which
allows the chaff and grain to pass through but stops back the cavings, and
then the chaff is separated from the grain by a blast of air assisted by a riddle
or otherwise. So far the arrangement does not differ from that of ordinary

page_text: thrashing machines, but in place of allowing the chaff to blow out of the
machine with the blast I collect it in an enclosed passage which is perforated
to let out the wind and the dust; this passage conducts the chaff to a receiver,
from whence it is taken by an elevator and raised up to the spout, from which
it is discharged. The elevator I prefer to employ for this purpose is a Jacob's-
ladder elevator, and the upper drum of this elevator is conveniently mounted
on the cranked axis of the shaker.
In constructing thrashing machines it is sometimes convenient to arrange
them, so as to cause the grain and chaff together and before they are sepa-
rated to be taken and lifted from the bottom to the top of the machine, as
by this means it is possible to reduce the height of the machine. In such
machines I employ to elevate the grain and chaff an elevator consisting of an
axis with blades upon it and driven at a high velocity; this elevator is in the
receiver at the bottom of the machine, and the blades striking the grain and
chaff throw it up the elevator trunk to the top of the machine. A Jacob's-
ladder elevator running at a low speed has before been employed for lifting
the grain and chaff together, but an axis with blades and driven at a high
speed, as described, is in some respects preferable, it is simpler and occupies
less space, and when thrashing barley it serves to knock off partially or
entirely the horn or spike from the grain, so that in some cases I dispense
with the use of a separate horning apparatus, and the machinery is thus
simplified. Parts of the elevator trunk or case are roughened to increase the
rubbing action. In place of using a single axis with blades upon it, two axes
with pulleys and endless band, similar to those of a Jacob's-ladder elevator,
may be employed. Blades or beaters are then fixed on the band in place of
buckets, and the distance between the pulleys is much less than the distance
it is desired to lift the grain; the elevator is driven at a high speed, and
throws the grain and chaff up through a trunk above the elevator to the upper
part of the machine. An elevator of this description is also applicable for
lifting grain after the chaff has been separated, as in ordinary thrashing
machines, and is frequently preferable to the single axis with blades, as when
the lift is considerable it is sometimes necessary to drive the single axis at so
high a speed that it breaks the grain, especially at seasons when it is tender.
By means of cone pulleys or in other convenient manner I arrange the
improved elevator, so that it can be driven at different speeds, according as
it is desired to expose the grain to a more or less violent rubbing action.
Parts of the elevator trunk or case are roughened as when the single axis
and blades are used. In order to screen the grain and separate it from dirt
and seeds, and to sort it into different qualities, I employ an adjustable self-

page_text: clearing rotating screen. It consists of an axis, on which is mounted a
framing with four or other convenient number of flat sides. In each side of
the framing is fixed a frame or panel of parallel wires, and each side of the
framing also carries another similar panel of parallel wires made moveable to
and from the first panel. The wires of the two panels are interspaced, and
the panels are constantly drawn towards each other by springs. When the
panels are as close together as they are able to go the screen is at its finest
gauge, and by moving the panels further apart the gauge of the screen is
rendered coarser. Each moveable panel at its ends is furnished with stems
projecting inwards towards the axis, and these fit into and are able to slide in
guides on the ends of the screen. At their inner ends the guide stems
rest on cams on the ends of the screen, which by suitable handles can be
turned and locked, and so by means of these cams the moveable panels can be
set to any desired distance from the fixed panels. In order to make the
screen self-clearing the inner end of each of the stems of the moveable panels
has a friction roller upon it, and these come in contact with other stationary
cams, and so when in the course of rotation each moveable panel comes to the
top of the screen it is lifted or moved, and any grain which may have become
jammed between it and its fixed panel is set free and falls back into the
screen.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Hornsby, junior, in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 2nd June 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
HORNSBY, junior, of Spittlegate Iron Works, Grantham, in the County of
Lincoln, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Richard Hornsby, Her special licence that I, the said Richard
Hornsby, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Richard Hornsby, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,

page_text: the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR THRASHING AND SCREENING WHEAT AND OTHER GRAIN," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Richard Hornsby, 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 Richard Hornsby, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, 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
and screening wheat and other grain. In thrashing machines, in order that
the chaff may by the action of the machine be freed from dust and collected
and delivered from a spout into a sack or suitable receiver in place of being
blown out of the machine together with the dust and cavings, as is now common,
I so arrange the machine that the chaff is first separated from the cavings (or
broken ears and straw) by the ordinary caving riddle, which allows the chaff
and grain to pass through but stops back the cavings, and then the chaff is
separated from the grain by the blast of air assisted by a riddle or otherwise.
So far the arrangement does not differ from that of ordinary thrashing machines,
but in place of allowing the chaff to blow out of the machine with the blast
I collect it in an enclosed passage which is perforated to let out the wind and
the dust. This passage conducts the chaff to a receiver, from whence it is
taken by an elevator and raised up to the spout, from which it is discharged.
The elevator I prefer to employ for this purpose is a Jacob's-ladder elevator;
the upper drum of this elevator is conveniently mounted on the cranked axis
of the shaker.
Figure 1 is a side view, and Figure 2 an end view, of parts of a thrashing
machine thus arranged, and as respects all parts of the machine which are
not shewn in the Drawing they are of ordinary construction, the machine
being, except. as respects the additions herein shewn and described, of a
form and arrangement well known to the makers and users of thrashing
machines.
a and a¹ are inclined boards having a vibrating or jogging motion com-
municated to them, and which receive the grain and chaff from the caving
riddle and discharge it on to the riddle 6 in the ordinary manner. The blast of

page_text: air from the fan (which is not shewn in the Drawing) passing over the surface
of this riddle and through the stream of grain falling upon it carries away the
chaff into the passage c. Whilst the grain passing through the riddle is con-
ducted by another inclined board d leads it into a shoot or inclined passage
which takes it to the ordinary elevator, which delivers it at the top of the
machine to be screened and dressed. Thus far the parts which I have
described are all old and common, or in place however of leaving the chaff
passage c open at the end, as is usual in these machines, it is closed at the end
with the perforated metal plate e, which lets out the wind and dust, but stops
the chaff. The holes in this plate are conveniently about one-eighth of an inch
in diameter. The chaff then passes on by the inclined shoot or passage f into
the trough or receiver g. All the parts a, b, c, d, e, and fare framed together
and receive the same shaking or jogging motion. The trough or receiver g
however is stationary. From it the chaff is taken by the buckets h, h, of a
Jacob's ladder; these buckets are conveniently made of thin sheet metal and
attached to an endless leather belt i, passing at its lower end around the pulley
k, and at its upper end around the pulley, this latter pulley being as shewn
mounted on the extremity of the cranked axis of the shaker. These buckets
take the chaff, raise it, and discharge it by the spout m, which is sufficiently
high up for a bag, basket, or other convenient receiver to be placed under it.
I would remark that thrashing machines have in some cases before been
constructed to deliver the chaff into bags, but these machines have been of a
construction different from that shewn in the Drawing, the grain and chaff
being raised together by an elevator to the top of the machine and the separa-
tion there effected. The novelty of my Invention does not then consist in the
collection of the chaff and the delivery of it from a spout under which a bag or
receiver may be applied, but it consists in so arranging the machine that the
chaff is after it is separated from the grain raised by an elevator to a spout at
which it is discharged.
In constructing thrashing machines it is sometimes convenient to arrange
them so as to cause the grain and chaff together and before they are separated
to be taken and lifted from the bottom to the top of the machine, as by this
means it is possible to reduce the height of the machine. In such machines
I employ to elevate the grain and chaff an elevator consisting of an axis with
blades upon it and driven at a high velocity; this elevator is in the receiver
at the bottom of the machine, and the blades striking the grain and chaff
throw it up the elevator trunk to the top of the machine. A Jacob's-ladder
elevator running at a low speed has before been employed for lifting the grain
and chaff together, but an axis with blades and driven at a high speed, as

page_text: described, is in some respects preferable, it is simpler and occupies less space,
and when thrashing barley it serves to knock off partially or entirely the horn
er spike from the grain, so that in some cases I dispense with the use of a
separate horning apparatus and the machinery is thus simplified. Parts of
the elevator trunk or case are roughened. to increase the rubbing action.
Figure 3 is a side view, partly in section, of a machine thus constructed.
a, a, are the shakers, from which the grain, chaff, and cavings fall on to the
inclined boards b, b; from these they pass to the caving riddle c; the riddle c
and boards b are framed together, and are shaken as is usual, and the caving
riddle as heretofore discharges the cavings over its end, whilst the grain and
chaff fall through on to the inclined board d, down which they pass into a
trough or spout e. The trough or spout e is framed together with the caving
riddle and other parts, and receives a shaking motion therewith; it is inclined
so as to lead the grain and chaff to one side of the machine into a trough or
receiver (similar to g, Figure 2), from which it issues at f into the case of
the elevator. The elevator consists of an axis g, with flat blades g¹ upon it,
of which the breadth is conveniently about two-thirds of the length. This is
enclosed in a case h, which is lined with sheet iron except at h', where the
case is so made that a cast-iron plate having projections on its surface may be
slidden in; the projections on this plate may be of pyramidal or other
convenient form, and larger or smaller according to the amount of friction to
which it is desirable to submit the grain. The machine has several plates, of
different degrees of roughness, which are substituted the one for the other as
is found desirable. The elevator is caused to revolve rapidly by means of a
pulley on its axis, outside the case, which receives a belt passing also around
another pulley of the same size, on the axis of the beater at i. The elevator,
in revolving, throws the grain and chaff up the pipe or passage k, and dis-
charges them on to the riddles ; these are the riddles which in thrashing
machines of ordinary construction are employed only to screen and dress the
grain, but now they are made of somewhat larger size, and are employed also
to separate the chaff. An ordinary chaff separating riddle is employed as the
upper riddle of the set; a blast as is usual passes over the riddles; this blast
carries away the chaff until it is stopped by a perforated plate at the end of
the passage, and it then falls down through an opening made for it at the foot
of the perforated plate, to a spout beneath which a bag or receiver may be
placed; the grain at the same time is delivered at outer spouts, as is usual.
The novelty in this part of my Invention consists in so arranging the machine
that the grain and chaff together are raised from the bottom to the top of the
machine by an axis revolving at a high speed and having blades upon it, the

page_text: said axis and blades throwing the grain and chaff up to the apparatus at the
top of the machine, by which their separation is effected. In place of using
a single axis with blades upon it, two axes, with pulleys and endless band
similar to those of a Jacob's-ladder elevator, may be employed. Blades or
beaters are then fixed on the band in place of buckets, and the distance
between the pullies is less and may be much less than the distance it is
desired to lift the grain; the elevator is driven at a high speed, and throws
the grain and chaff up through a trunk above the elevator to the upper part
of the machine.
Figure 4 is a side view, partly in section, of a machine similar to that
shewn at Figure 3, except that the construction of elevator is modified as
above described; here a and b are two pulleys, one at the bottom and the
other at the top of the elevator case c, and enclosed thereby; the upper pulley
is on the axis of the beater, and the lower pulley is driven therefrom by the
belt d, on which, at intervals, are fixed the metal blades or beaters d'; these
striking the grain and chaff throw it up and deliver it by the pipe or passage e
(which is above the top of the upper pulley) on to the riddles as before.
The upper pulley 6 of the elevator is not necessarily so high up on the
machine, as the elevator will be found as efficient when the pulleys, a and b
are placed much closer together, but it is convenient to mount the upper
pulley on the axis of the beater. An elevator of this description is also
applicable for lifting grain after the chaff has been separated, as in ordinary
thrashing machines, and is frequently preferable to the single axis with blades,
as when the lift is considerable it is sometimes necessary to drive the single
axis at so high a speed that it breaks the grain, especially at seasons when it
is tender. By means of cone pulleys or in other convenient manner I can
arrange the improved elevator so that it can be driven at different speeds,
according as it is desired to expose the grain to a more or less violent rubbing
action. When it is desired to have the power of driving the elevator at
varying speeds, I do not mount the upper pulley 6 on the beater axis, but
lower down in the machine, and I mount a cone on the beater axis and
another on the axis of this pulley. A belt passing around the two cones
drives the elevator, and by shifting the belt along the cones the speed of
driving can be varied as desired. Parts of the elevator, trunk, or case, are
roughened as when the single axis and blades are used. The novelty in this
part of my Invention consists in constructing machines for thrashing and
screening wheat and other grain with elevators, consisting of two axes with
pulleys and endless band similar to those of a Jacob's-ladder elevator, but

page_text: with blades or beaters in place of buckets, and with a delivery trunk above
the upper pulley of the elevator, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Hornsby, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
RICHARD HORNSBY. (L.S.)