IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CLEANING RICE, COFFEE, AND OTHER GRAINS OR SEEDS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CLEANING RICE, COFFEE, AND
OTHER GRAINS OR SEEDS."-A communication from abroad by Amasa Howe,
of New York in the United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 2nd August 1861.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY POR CLEANING RICE,
COFFEE, AND OTHER GRAINS OR SEEDS," to be as follows:-
This Invention of improved machinery for cleaning rice, coffee, and other
grains or seeds, consists of a cylindrical chamber or casing placed in a hori-
zontal, vertical, or other convenient position, and in which is made to rotate
with considerable rapidity a central shaft provided with a helical screw, part
of which is made to pretty nearly fit the cylindrical chamber or casing, and
the other part leaves a vacant space all round between the screw and the
casing. The rice, coffee, or other substance to be operated upon is supplied from
a hopper placed at one end of the cylindrical casing, and after being cleaned

page_text: by the effects of the friction induced by the rapid rotation of the screw, the
cleaned grain is discharged from the other end of the cylinder, which is closed
with a moveable end piece or mouth, that is kept in its place by means of a
spiral spring or otherwise. The grain, in order to be discharged, must force
back this moveable end, and therefore the grain while under operation is
submitted to a certain amount of compression.
The required amount of compression may also be obtained by causing the
grain to be delivered from the open end of a tube, in which there will always
be a column of grain of a certain height.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 1st February 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the
said William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, admi-
nistrators, 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 for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CLEANING RICE, COFFEE,
AND OTHER GRAINS OR SEEDS," being a communication from abroad by Amasa
Howe, of New York, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, 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 William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is

page_text: to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
The machine which forms the subject of the present Invention is shewn in
the accompanying Drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section,
and Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the machine, which consists of a
hollow cylinder a, made of cast iron or any other suitable material about five
feet long, and about eight inches in diameter. One end of it, which may be
called the feed end, is closed by means of a fixed or permanent head b. The
other end called the discharge end is furnished with a loose or moveable
head c.
A shaft d is mounted in suitable bearings, and passes through the end
plates b and c of the cylinder. A screw e', about four and a half feet long,
and about two and a half inches pitch, surrounds the shaft d, and is placed
within the cylinder a. One end of this screw, and which I call the head e, is.
made to fit or fill the cylinder a for about four inches in length. The remainder
part of the screw is about two inches less in diameter than the head part e,.
and it is so arranged in the cylinder as to leave a space of about six inches
between the head or large end of it, and the permanent head of the cylinder.
The shaft d of the screw, which is about three inches in diameter, extends
through the permanent head of the cylinder far enough to receive a bearing f,
and is provided with a rigger or pulley g. The shaft d also extends about
twenty inches through the moveable head c at the other end, which is allowed
to slide backward and forward on the shaft, but not to revolve with it.
A strong spiral spring i, about twelve inches in length, is placed on the
shaft d at the back of the moveable bead c, and rests against an adjustable
nut h and washer h', which are fitted to the shaft d for that purpose, and also
for the purpose of regulating the pressure or power of the spring i.
The apparatus thus constructed is mounted horizontally on a strong frame
of convenient height, and is secured to it. The ends or journals d' of the
screw shaft d rest in bearings f,f, on the ends of the frame. A hopper a', or
bin is placed on the top of a vertical channel a³, so as to be five or six feet
above the apparatus. The hopper is mounted directly over the space between
the head of the screw e and the head 6 of the cylinder, and is connected with
it by means of the pipe a, called a feed pipe, which enters the cylinder through
an opening made in it for that purpose.
The rice, coffee, or other grain to be operated upon is placed in the bin or
hopper a, and is discharged or fed through the pipe a into the cylinder. a.
against the head e of the screw.

page_text: When the apparatus is thus arranged and ready for operation, the screw e
is made to revolve rapidly, say, five hundred or six hundred times a minute in
the direction to propel the rice or coffee through the cylinder a to the opposite
end c, where it discharges itself by forcing the moveable head e back from the
end of the cylinder. During its transit through the cylinder (which is very
rapid), the grain will be in a very compact or compressed state, and is rendered
so by the force required to overcome the power of the spring i, and remove
the head c, and while passing through the cylinder in this compact or com-
pressed state, it is powerfully agitated by the rapid motion of the screw e¹, and
the friction produced by such agitation, loosens and scours off the skin or
cuticle, which is then separated from it in the usual manner.
I prefer machines of the size I have described (and I also prefer to use a
spiral spring), but the size of the machine may be varied, as also may the
form of the spring. I also prefer working the apparatus horizontally, but it
can be worked to advantage in a vertical position if that position be preferred.
Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view, representing another method of com-
pressing the rice in the cylinder a, while it is being operatod. upon by the
screw e¹. In this arrangement the moveable head c and spring i of Fig. 1
are not required. The compression of the grain is accomplished by attaching
a pipe a to the discharge end of the cylinder a, and gradually curving or
deflecting this channel a³ upward until it becomes a quadrant, or quarter of a
circle, and then extending it vertically until it is of sufficient height to contain
an amount of rice or grain, the weight of which will produce the required com-
pression of the charge in the cylinder a. The propelling power of the screw e¹
will force the rice up the pipe a³, and discharge it at the top. A small door k
is made in the bend or curve of the pipe near its junction with the cylinder,
through which the rice in it can be discharged if required without forcing it
up the pipe a³.
The apparatus may be operated with the pipe in a horizontal position, but
to much better advantage in the manner shewn and described.
Having now described this Invention of "Improved Machinery for Cleaning
Rice, Coffee, and other Grains or Seeds," and having explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I would observe that it is not proposed by the
use of this machine to supersede the ordinary machine for hulling rice, as it
is not calculated for breaking or removing the rough outer husk; this rough
preliminary operation may therefore be performed in the usual manner. The
improved machine may then be employed for removing the inner cuticle or
skin of the husk which will be found adhering to the grain even after the
outer or rougher cuticle has been removed. In conclusion, I claim as the

page_text: Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid, hulling or cleaning
rice, coffee, or other grains or seeds, and removing the cuticle that adheres
thereto (after the outer busk has been taken away), by submitting the grains
or seeds to friction or rubbing motion under pressure, and while the grain is
in motion as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the First day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)