I CONDINED TURASHING AND DRESSING MACHINES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clay, of Ellesmere, in the County of
Shropshire, Agricultural Implement Manufacturer, for the Invention of
Tennomu I CONDINED TURASHING AND DRESSING MACHINES."
Sealed the 17th December 1858, and dated the 18th October 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clay at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on tho
18th October 1858.
I, WILLIAM CLAY, of Ellesmere, in the County of Shropshire, Agricultural
Implement Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN COMBINED THRASHING AND DRESSING MACHINES," to be as
follows:-
These improvements consist in the construction and arrangement of those
parts of the machine which operate upon the corn, chaff, and straw after it
has left the drum of the thrashing apparatus. On leaving the drum the straw
is received upon shakers of a bent or angular form on their upper surface, to
which motion is given by a crank shaft revolving in brackets attached to the
under side of the inner end of the shakers. About midway between the
crank shaft and their outer ends the shakers are supported upon rocking bars,
which cause the shakers, when acted upon by the cranks, to have a tossing
motion, increasing in proportion to the distance from the points of suspension,
which throws the straw out at the end of the machine. The grain and chaff
separated from the straw is received upon an inclined vibrating trough the.
whole length of the machine, at the lowest end of which trough there is a
riddle. This trough is suspended from the frame of the machine by bars, and
has a vibratory motion given to it by a crank shaft. A current of air drives
the chaff out at the hinder end of the machine, while the grain falling through

page_text: the riddle passes into a box at the side of the machine, from whence it is
raised by an endless chain of buckets into a hummeller, through which it is
led to the opposite side of the machine, where it falls into a vibrating riddle
box attached to and moving with the vibrating trough before mentioned.
Within this riddle box there are two riddles one above the other, and a screen
beneath; while passing through these riddles the grain is exposed to the action
of a second blast, to drive off any chaff or light particles not before got rid of.
The motion of the riddle box causes the small grains and seeds to pass through
the screen to one spout, whilst the best corn is separated and delivered through
another.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Clay in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
18th April 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLAY, of Ellesmere, in the County of Shropshire, Agricultural Implement
Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Clay, Her special licence that I, the said William Clay,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Clay, 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 for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
COMBINED THRASHING AND DRESSING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Clay, 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 William Clay, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,

page_text: to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, that is to say:-
These improvements consist in the construction and arrangement of those
parts of the machine which operate upon the corn, chaff, and straw after it
has left the drum of the thrashing apparatus. On leaving the drum the straw
is received upon shakers of a bent or angular form on their upper surface, to
which motion is given by a crank shaft revolving in brackets attached to the
under side of the inner end of the shakers. About midway between the crank
shaft and their outer ends the shakers are supported upon rocking bars, which
cause the shakers, when acted upon by the cranks, to have a tossing motion
(increasing in extent in proportion to the distance from the points of
suspension), which throws the straw out at the end of the machine. The
grain and chaff separated from the straw is received upon an inclined vibrating
trough the whole length of the machine, at the lowest end of which trough
there is a riddle. This trough is suspended from the frame of the machine by
bars, and has a vibratory motion given to it by a crank shaft. A current of
air from a fan blower drives the chaff out at the hinder end of the machine,
while the grain falling through the riddle passes into a box at the side of the
machine, from whence it is raised by an endless chain of buckets into a
hummeller, through which it is led to the opposite side of the machine, where
it falls into a vibrating riddle box attached to and moving with the vibrating
trough before mentioned. Within this riddle box there are two riddles, one
above the other, and a screen beneath; while passing through these riddles
the grain is exposed to the action of a second blast, to drive off any chaff or
light particles not before got rid of. The motion of the riddle box causes the
small grain and seeds to pass through the screen to one spout, while the best
corn is separated and delivered through another.
And in order that the same may be more fully understood, reference is had
to the accompanying Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say-
Figure 1 is a side elevation; Figure 2 an end elevation; and Figure 3
a plan view of a combined thrashing and dressing machine, embodying these
my improvements. The same letters refer to similar parts in each of these
Figures.
A, A, is the framing of the machine; B, the drum, which may be of any
of the usual kinds, as this forms no part of my improvements, which relate
exclusively to those parts of the machine which operate upon the products
after they have left the drum of the thrashing machine. These products, corn,
chaff, and straw, are received upon shakers C, of a bent or angular form on

page_text: their upper surface, to which a backward and forward motion is given by a
crank shaft D; the cranks revolving in brackets e affixed to the under side
of the shakers. About midway between the crank shaft D and their outer
ends, the shakers are supported upon rocking bars E, which cause the shakers
when acted upon by the cranks D to have a tossing motion to and fro
(increasing in extent in proportion to the distance from the points of sus-
pension), which causes the straw to be thrown out at the front of the
machine F. The grain and chaff separated from the straw falls down upon an
inclined vibrating trough G, which extends the whole length of the machine,
having at its lower end a riddle H. This trough is suspended from the frame
of the machine by bars or rods i, and has a vibratory motion given to it by a
crank shaft K, k. A current of air from a fan blower f, b, drives the chaff
out at the hinder end of the machine X, while the grain falling through the
riddle H is led into a box L at one side of the machine, from whence it is
raised by an endless chain of buckets m, and passes into a hummeller M, by
which it is led to the opposite side of the machine, and falls down into a
vibrating riddle box N outside the machine, but affixed to and moving with
the vibrating trough G. Within the riddle box N there are two riddles, ()
and P, one above the other, and a screen S beneath. While passing through
the riddles O and P, the grain is acted upon by a second blast, which drives
out at Q any chaff or light particles not previously got rid of. The vibrating
motion of the riddle box N causes all the small grain and seeds to pass
through the screen S to the spout R, while the best corn, cleaned and separated
from extraneous matters, is delivered through the spout T.
What I claim as new and constituting my improvements in combined
thrashing and dressing machines is, the construction, combination, and
arrangement of apparatus for receiving the products of the thrashing drum,
and cleansing and separating the same, as herein-before described and shown
in the Drawings hereunto annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clay, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
PR. PRITCHARD, Sol'.,
Ellesmere.
WILL". CLAY. (L.S.)