Improvements in and relating to Grain Meters.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application (in United Kingdom), 3rd June, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 3rd June, 1891-Accepted, 19th July, 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Grain Meters.
I, CHARLES SINCLAIR BEGGS, a citizen of the United States of America,
residing at Ashland, in the County of Cass, and State of Illinois, one of the United
States of America, Farmer, 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 :-
This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in grain-meters;
and it relates more particularly to that class of meters which are intended for use
on the delivery-spouts of threshers and elevators for the purpose of bagging grain,
and which consists, essentially, in a hopper for the reception of the grain, which is
provided with a movable shutter so arranged as to automatically change the
direction of the flow of grain from the hopper from one to another of a series of
buckets, which are alternately filled and emptied into a suitable receptacle provided
for the purpose.
The invention has for its object to simplify and cheapen the construction of this
class of devices and to provide a simple and accurate weighing apparatus of the
character described, and providing a new and efficient means for adjusting the
delivery from the buckets, so as to adapt it to varying rates of feed-supply and at
the same time having the delivery flow of grain under perfect control.
A further and more immediate object of the present invention is to provide a
meter of the character described in which the grain from the several buckets will
be delivered at substantially the same point.
To the above ends and to such others as the invention may pertain the same
consists in the peculiarities of construction, which will be hereinafter more
particularly defined, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which-
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the entire device.
Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the buckets detached.
Reference being had to the drawings by letter, A. designates the feed-box, which
may be of any desired construction, capable of being attached to the delivery
spout of a thresher, and contains the divided feed spout B, made in the usual
manner and having at its point of division a hinged shutter adapted to close either
of the feed spouts. Depending from the lower edges of the respective sides of the
feed-box are the inverted T-shaped castings d, which are provided at corresponding
points on their long or vertical arms with bearings for the midway-pivoted balance
arms D, at the opposite ends of which are suspended by bails the buckets C C.
The said buckets CC are by reason of their suspension from the ends of the
balance arms movable to and from the feed-box. Their bottoms slant downwardly
and inwardly or towards each other, the buckets being by this arrangement of
their bottoms, adapted to deliver grain at substantially the same point through the
sliding doors c, situated on the inner sides of the buckets and at their lower ends.
These doors are held in by the metallic strip c* and slide between the same and
the edges of the bucket-sides. They are operated by the levers d², situated on

page_text: each side of the buckets, which are movably fulcrumed on the lower ends of the
hanger d, respectively. The levers are pivoted at their inner ends to suitable
points in the sides of the buckets and have depending from and pivoted to their
outer ends the rods d³, which are longitudinally slotted near their lower ends to
receive the headed lugs ², attached to the sides of the doors c'. The arrangement
provides for the upward movement or opening of the sliding doors simultaneously
with the downward movement of their respective buckets by the movement of the
levers d². One of the balance beams D has attached to it and extending upward
and at right angles thereto the two pronged fork arm D³. Playing between the
prongs of the same is the roller g on the crank arm G, which is pivoted in a
casting secured to the upper edge of the feed-box on the same side as that on
which the fork arm is situated and secured to the right angled scale beam Fat
their mutual pivoted point.
The right angled scale-beam is, as shown, composed of two arms at right angles
to each other, each suitably graduated and weighted, and is pivoted to the apex of
the angle. The crank arm G extends from this point outward on a line bisecting
the angle formed by the two arms. Extending along the upper edge of the feed
box are two strips of such height that when either of the arms is horizontal, as one
of them always is when the beam is at rest, the weight of that one arm will just
rest on the strip.
At the point of division of the feed-spout is hinged the shutter 62, the rod to
which it is fastened passing through the sides of the box in which it has bearings
and being secured at one end outside of the box to the shutter arm a placed at
substantially right angles to the shutter. On the opposite ends of this arm are
pivoted the depending rods a', which are provided at their lower ends with fect or
other projections adapted to engage the edge of their respective buckets as
they rise.
The operation of my meter is as follows: the grain flows through the feed-spout
into whichever bucket is up at the time, and when a sufficient quantity has
accumulated therein the downward pressure on the balance arm pulling the fork
over toward that side and pressing the same against the crank ping serves to raise
the lower scale-arm and attached weight. As soon as the lower weight has been
raised a portion of the distance the upper weight overcomes it and produces an
instantaneous change of position, which throws the fork-arm over, raises the other
bucket, and closes the door of the same by the raising of the inner ends of the
levers and lowering of their outer ends, to which the doors are connected. The
opposite operation is gone through with by the other bucket, the door of which
opened by the downward movement of its bucket and the grain delivered to the
receptacle provided. At the same time the foot of the rod a' is struck by the
ascending bucket and the shutter thrown over to the opposite side, thus throwing
the stream of grain into that bucket. When full, this bucket repeats the above
operation.
The levers are provided with a number of holes or slots, in which they may
be fulcrumed for the purpose of adapting the movement of the shutters to varying
speeds of grain supply and delivery, while at the same time always keeping the
lower edge of the shutter slightly below the surface of the outpouring grain in
order to control the stream and prevent the flying of loose particles.
It will be evident that many modifications of my invention may be adopted
without departing from the spirit of the same-as, for instance, the crank G may
be placed on a line bisecting the inner angle of the scale-beam, the only requisite
in regard to the crank being that it shall be in such position that the occurrence of
a dead center will be impossible.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what. manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :
1. In an automatic grain-meter, the combination, with a right-angled scale-beam

page_text: pivoted at its apex and a forked lever, as described, provided at its lower end with
a balance arm at right angles to the body of the lever, of buckets suspended from
the ends of the balance arm, and crank connection between the scale-beam and the
lever, whereby the buckets will be alternately raised and lowered by the tilting of
the scale beam, substantially as described.
2. The combination, with the right-angled scale-beam, pivoted at its apex, one
or more balance arms having lever and crank connection with the scale beam, of
buckets suspended from the ends of the balance-arms, substantially as specified.
3. The combination, with the right-angled scale-beam pivoted at its apex, the
fork, the balance-arm, the buckets connected therewith, and the feed spout interposed
between the scale-beam and the buckets, of the crank-arm doors in the buckets,
and lever connections, substantially as described, between the grain spout and
buckets, whereby the doors will be operated by the movement of the buckets.
4. The combination with the right-angled scale-beam, the feed spout, the buckets,
the forked arm and connections between the said arm and the scale-beam, the
balance arm at the lower end of the forked arm, the buckets suspended from the
said arm, and the doors in the buckets and connected with the feed-spout, as
described, of a shutter within the spout and adapted to be tilted by the movement
of the buckets, substantially as described.
Dated this 3rd day of June 1891.
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.