IMPROVE- MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR ELEVATING AND TRANSPORTING HAY, STRAW, GRASS, ENSILAGE AND OTHER MATERIALS
Year: 1884

page_text: I, THOMAS CLARK, of Craibstone in the county of Aberdeen, Millwright and
Machine Maker, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR ELEVATING AND TRANSPORTING HAY, STRAW, GRASS,
ENSILAGE AND OTHER MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has reference to improvements in air blast elevators, for raising
and removing or elevating and transporting straw, hay, grass, ensilage, or other
inaterial of light specific gravity from one place to another, as taking the straw
from the delivery shakers of thrashing machines, or other materials from carts or
wagons, and depositing the same into the upper part of store houses or lofts for
receiving the same, or over the basement of stacks for building up these, or vice
versa, for removing these materials from the stores or stacks to carts or wagons for
more distant transfer and use, and which improvements will make such elevators
more simple in construction and more convenient and efficient in their action for
the said purpose than those heretofore in use. And the nature and novelty of the
Invention, or improved elevating and transporting machine, consist all as follows:-
In the construction of long close parallel spouts, shoots, cases, or conduits, preferably.
made of board wood or sheet-iron for simplicity of construction, and of a broad
rectangular shape in cross section, in suitable lengths to be portably attached for
ease in adding to or taking from the whole length, as may be required. The con-
ducting cases have all their strengthening bars and fixings on the outside, being
quite smooth, without the smallest obstruction, on the inner surfaces, for conveying
the straw or other material, preferably in a broad layer or stream through them
as it is fed in, simply by rollers and carried away by a current or blast of air
forced through them from the lower end by a fan or air blower below where the
material is fed in. The fan or blower used has its blades made of a hollow or
concave curve on the acting or forcing face and across in the longitudinal direction
of their driving shaft, to assist the suction of the air in through the two side eyes
to the centre of the fan and blades, which would thus be enabled to give as great a
force of air at the centre of this broad fan as at the sides. The conducting case
would be made to rise at an angle of about 80 degrees from the ground on the
outside (where the material is fed in), to the full height it is desired to raise the
material, and be rounded off in a large gentle curve into the horizontal part of

page_text: the case at the top for conveying the material to the upper and furthest part of
the storehouse or place where the material is to be deposited or packed. The straw
or other material to be so elevated and transported would be fed in from a hopper
or inclined shoot, preferably through a pair of feeding rollers and a narrow slit or
mouth across the case where it attains its full parallel width and just above the
contracted throat of the blast spout of the blower, where the blast is strongest to
impinge on the entering material and carry it up the rising vertical or angled part
of the case and round through the curve at top, thence along the horizontal
conveying part of the case to the extreme distance at which it has to be delivered,
where the case is curved somewhat downwards to deliver the material in a slanting
direction, with the straws or fibres in line or in parallel layers over each other, so
as to prevent any eddies or back currents of air in the upper part of the case.
The back and bottom side of the case would be fitted with swivelling or hinged
doors at convenient distances apart, as from 6 to 10 feet, and fitted with outwardly
projecting levers or arms with cords and pulleys for pulling them down or up to
open or close the doors at any part it is desired to deliver. the material. When
opened they are of such a length that the rear end rises against the inner front or
upper side of the case and shuts all the part beyond the door, which thus forms an
inclined surface for directing and delivering the material and blast of air out
through the doorway in the back or under side left open by this swivelling and
lifting of the front part of the door.
When rollers are used for feeding in the straw or other material in a uniform
layer across the whole entrance slit or mouth of the elevating case, they are fitted
at the bottom of the hopper or angled spout into which the material is delivered
from the trashing machine or thrown by hand labour, and, as is usual in the feeding
rollers of straw-cutting machines, they are preferably fluted or otherwise roughened
on their outer surface, and the upper roller made to rise and fall in vertical slots at
their bearing bushes to suit the varying thickness of the layer of material being
fed in. But instead of driving these rollers by geared pinions and angled coupling
spindles or shafts, as such rollers are usually driven, they are driven by an improved
arrangement of driving strap from a pulley on the shaker shaft of the thrashing
machine, and passed over a pulley on the shaft of the lower roller, and then
crossed so as to pass and press on the front surface of a corresponding pulley
on the shaft of the upper roller, and over a guide pulley working loose on a stud
above the upper roller, so as to drive this and allow it to rise or fall in its slotted
guides without tightening or slackening the driving belt. To separate or reinove
ball stones that may pass with the material into the elevating case, an angled
grating of thin bars is fitted on the case a little below the feed rollers and above
the throat of the blast spout of the blower, which grating conducts the stones
through a narrow slit into a lateral shoot, thence on to the ground, all these
openings in the elevating case, for feeding in the material and delivering the
stones, being kept as close as possible to prevent escape of the air blast.
I

page_text: I, THOMAS CLARK, of Craibstone, in the County of Aberdeen, Millwright and
Machine Maker, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR ELEVATING AND TRANSPORTING HAY, STRAW, GRASS, ENSILAGE
AND OTHER MATERIALS" and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
i
This invention has reference to improvements in air blast elevators, for raising
and removing or elevating and transporting straw, hay, grass, ensilage, or other
material of light specific gravity. Such apparatus is applicable for taking the
straw from the delivery shakers of thrashing machines, or for removing similar
materials from carts or wagons, and depositing the same in the upper parts of
store houses or lofts, or over the basement of stacks or for removing these materials
from the stores or stacks to carts or wagons.
My invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which figure 1 is a
side elevation and figure 2 is a an end elevation of a modification of my improved
elevating machine.
The improved apparatus consists of a framing carrying one or more spouts,
shoots, cases or conduits A, préferably made of board wood or sheet-iron for
simplicity of construction, and of a broad rectangular shape in cross section, in
suitable lengths to be portably attached for ease in adding to or taking from the
whole length, as may be required. The conducting cases have all their strengthening
bars and fixings B B on the outside, and are quite smooth, or formed without
obstructions on the inner surfaces, for conveying the straw or other material;
preferably in a broad layer or stream through them. The straw or other material
is fed in to the conduit by rollers C C and is carried away by a current or blast of
air forced through the conduit by a fan or air blower D which is fitted in a lower
extension of the conduit. The fan or blower used has its blades d made of a
hollow or concave curve on the acting or forcing face and across in the longitudinal
direction of the driving shaft, to assist the suction of the air through the two side
eyes to the centre of the fan and blades, which thus gives as great a force of air at
the centre of this broad fan as at the sides. The conducting case A. rises at an
angle of about 80 degrees or nearly vertically from the ground, to the full height
it is desired to raise the material, and is rounded off in a gentle curve into the
horizontal part of the case at the top for conveying the material to the upper and
furthest part of the storehouse or place where the material is to be deposited or
packed. The straw or other material to be so elevated and transported is fed in
from a hopper or inclined shoot E through the feeding rollers C and a narrow Blit
or mouth across the case where it atains its full parallel width and just above the
contracted throat of the blast spout of the blower D, where the blast is strongest
to impinge on the entering material and carry it up the rising vertical or angled
part of the case and round through the curve at the top, thence along the horizontal
conveying part of the case to the extreme distance at which it has to be delivered
where. the case is curved somewhat downwards to deliver the material in a
11-

page_text: slanting direction, with the straw or fibres in line or in parallel layers over each
other, so as to prevent any eddies or back currents of air in the upper part of the
casc. The back and bottom side of the case is fitted with swivelling or hinged
doors Fat convenient distances apart, and fitted with outwardly projecting levers
or arms with cords and pulleys G for pulling them down or up to open or close the
doors at any part it is desired to deliver the material.
The doors are each of such a length that when opened the rear end rises against
the inner front or upper side of the case and shuts all the part beyond the door,
which thus forms an inclined surface for directing and delivering the material out
through the doorway in the back or under side which is left open by this swivelling
and lifting of the front part of the door.
When rollers are used for feeding in the straw or other material in a uniform
layer across the whole entrance slit or mouth of the elevating case, they are fitted
at the bottom of the hopper or angled spout into which the material is delivered
from the thrashing machine or is thrown by hand labour, and as is usual in the
feeding rollers of straw cutting machines. They are preferably fluted or other-
wise roughened on their outer surface, and the upper roller is made to rise and fall
in vertical slots c¹ at the bearing bushes to suit the varying thickness of the layer
of material being fed in. The rollers C C are driven by a driving strap H from a
pulley I on the shaker shaft J of the thrashing machine J', said strap passing
over a pulley c on the shaft of the lower roller C, and being then crossed so as to
pass and press on the front surface of a corresponding pulley c on the shaft of the
upper roller, and over a guide pulley K working loose on a stud above the upper
roller, so as to drive this and allow it to rise or fall in its slotted guides without
tightening or slackening the driving belt. To separate or remove small stones that
may pass with the material into the elevating case, an angled grating L of thin
bars is fitted on the case a little below the feed rollers and above the throat of the
blast spout of the blower, which grating conducts the stones through a narrow
slit into a lateral shoot, L' thence on to the ground, all these openings in the
elevating case, for feeding in the material and delivering the stones, being kept as
close as possible to prevent escape of the air blast.
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
The combination of parts constituting the improved air blast clevating apparatus
herein described and illustrated.