IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CLEANING, SORTING, AND FLATTENING GRAINS, AND SPECIALLY OATS."
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexandre Dobelle, of Amiens (France) Merchant,
for the Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CLEANING, SORTING, AND
FLATTENING GRAINS, AND SPECIALLY OATS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexandre Dobelle at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 29th April 1873.
I, ALEXANDRE DOBELLE, of Amiens (France) Merchant, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR
CLEANING, SORTING, AND FLATTENING GRAINS, AND SPECIALLY OATS," to be as
follows:-
The advantages gained by the use of flattened or bruised oats are
well known, but hitherto the process of flattening or bruising has been
carried out imperfectly, for the grains have been either too much or two
little bruised. When they are too much bruised horses do not masticate
them, and when they are too little bruised the salivary and digestive

page_text: juices cannot act properly upon those grains which have escaped the
teeth of the horse. This defect is owing to the fact that the opera-
tion of bruising is applied to grains of unequal size, for in all oats there
are larger and finer grains, and if the larger are not bruised too much
the smaller are not bruised sufficiently.
Now according to this Invention the larger and the smaller grains are
submitted separately to a bruising operation adapted to their size, and
by then mixing them again a product is obtained which combines all
the desirable conditions for feeding horses.
To carry out the Invention I combine a set of apparatus so as to
effect at the same time as the cleansing the division of the grains
according to size into two or more lots, to perform afterwards the separate
crushing or bruising of each lot, then to remix them, and lastly to
complete the operation of cleansing and putting the oats in sacks.
The oats being emptied into a hopper arrive at the bottom of a chain
of cups by means of a distributor, the object of which is to prevent
obstructions. The chain of cups lifts the oats and empties them into an
inclined forked channel which distributes them equally into cleansing
sorters, the number of which may be increased according to need.
These sorters have each 8 or more riddles or sieves, the sizes of which
increase towards the bottom, and which can be altered as desired
according to the nature of the corn under treatment.
This arrangement allows of distributing into separate hoppers the
loose dust which has passed to the top of the sieve, the smallest
grains, the medium sized grains, the large grains, and the large lumps
which have not passed through the sieves. When they have thus been
freed of foreign bodies the oats are delivered to the crushing or flattening
cylinders adapted respectively to each size of oats. The medium sized
grains and the large grains then pass through hoppers, and proceed
to a pipe in which they are mixed, and then to an elevator or chain;
of cups which leads them crushed and mixed to a cleansing blower.
Here they undergo their last treatment which consists in removing
the light grains and the adherent dust which the passage through the
crushers has disengaged. Large hoppers receive the oats when finally
treated. Below these hoppers rings are arranged which conduct the oats
into sacks.
The last dust issues into a chamber behind.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alexandre Dobelle in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 4th October 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDRE
DOBELLE, of Amiens (France) Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Alexandre Dobelle, Her special
licence that I, the said Alexandre Dobelle, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexandre Dobelle,
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 of
"IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CLEANING, SORTING, AND FLATTENING GRAINS, AND
SPECIALLY OATS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Alexandre Dobelle, 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 Scal Patent Office within six calendar
monthis next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alexandre Dobelle, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing, that is to say :-
The advantages gained by the use of flattened or bruised oat's arc
well-known, but hitherto the process of flattening or bruising has been
carried out imperfectly for the grains have been either too much or too
little bruised. When they are too much bruised horses do not masticato
them, and when they are too little bruised the salivary and digestive
juices cannot act properly upon those grains which have escaped the
teeth of the horses. This defect is owing to the fact that the operation

page_text: of bruising is applied to grains of unequal size, for in all oats there are
larger and finer grains, and if the larger are not bruised too much the
smaller are not bruised sufficiently.
Now according to this Invention the larger and the smaller grains are
submitted separately to a bruising operation adapted to their size, and
by then mixing them again a product is obtained which combines all
the desirable conditions for feeding horses.
To carry out the Invention I combine a set of apparatus so as to
effect at the same time as the cleansing the division of the grains accord-
ing to size into two or more lots, to perform afterwards the separate
crushing or bruising of cach lot, then to remix them, and lastly to
complete the operation of cleansing and putting the oats in sacks.
The annexed Drawing represents a combined apparatus which by its
general arrangement, and the rapidity, simplicity, and economy of its
operations possesses indisputable advantages over all methods and
apparatus hitherto employed.
The oats being emptied into a hopper A arrive at the bottom of a
chain of cups C by means of a distributor B, the object of which is to
prevent obstructions. The chain of cups C lifts the oats and empties
them into an inclined forked channel D which distributes them equally
into cleansing sorters E, the number of which may be increased according
to need. These sorters have each 8 or more riddles or sieves, the meshes
of which increase in size towards the bottom, and which can be altered
as desired according to the nature of the corn under treatment.
This arrangement allows of distributing into separate hoppers the
loose dust which has passed to the top of the sieve, the smallest grains,
the medium sized grains, the large grains, and the large lumps which
have not passed through the sieves. When they have thus been freed
of foreign bodies the oats are delivered to the crushing or flattening
cylinders adapted respectively to each size of oats. The medium sized
grains and the large grains then pass through hoppers I and H respec-
tively and proceed to a pipe K in which they are mixed, and which
conducts them to an elevator or chain of cups L, this clevator lifts
them crushed and mixed to a pipe or hopper M which conducts them to
a cleansing blower N. Here they undergo their last treatment which
consists in removing the light grains and the adherent dust which the
passage through the crushers has disengaged. Large hoppers O receive
the oats when finally treated. Below these hoppers rings Qare arranged

page_text: which conduct the oats into sacks. The last dust issues into a chamber R
behind.
It is unnecessary to describe in detail the construction of the several
apparatus of which the combined apparatus is composed as they are
well known, I may however state that I employ by preference the
crushing or flattening apparatus of Peltier's system, the cleansers of
Pernolet's system, and Childs' American blowers.
From the foregoing description it will be seen that my Invention has
three essential features, viz., a novel process consisting in the previous
sorting of the oats or grain, and in the separate crushing of the large and
small, a new industrial product, that is to say, uniformly crushed or bruised
oats or grain, and a combined apparatus for producing these results.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,-
First. Constructing machinery for cleaning, sorting, and flattening
oats or other grain in such manner that the said oats or grain are first
sorted into sizes, and then the larger and the smaller grains are separately
crushed or flattened by means of rollers adapted to each size, substan-
tially as herein-before described.
Second. The general combination or arrangement of parts of machinery
herein-before described and represented in the accompanying Drawing
for cleaning, sorting, and flattening or bruising oats and other grain.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexandre Dobelle, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Third day of September One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.