IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES POR SEPARATING FOREIGN SEEDS AND OTHER IMPURITIES FROM WHEAT, OTHER GRAIN, OR SEEDS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Augustus Bryant Childs, of 481, Oxford Street,
London, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES POR
SEPARATING FOREIGN SEEDS AND OTHER IMPURITIES FROM WHEAT, OTHER
GRAIN, OR SEEDS."-A communication from abroad by David Monroe
Childs, of 13, Rue Gaillon, Paris, in the Empire of France, Engineer.
Sealed the 16th July 1867, and dated the 19th January 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Augustus Bryant Childs
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 19th January 1867.
I, AUGUSTUS BRYANT CHILDS, of 481, Oxford Street, London, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINES FOR SEPARATING FOREIGN SEEDS AND OTHER IMPURITIES FROM WHEAT,
OTHER GRAIN, OR SEEDS," a communication to me from abroad by David
Monroe Childs, of 13, Rue Gaillon, Paris, in the Empire of France,
Engineer, to be as follows:-
These improvements relate more particularly to that class of grain cleaners
or separators in which a current of exhausted air is employed to effect the
required separation. The wheat, other grain, or seed to be cleaned being
caused to descend through a passage in which a column of air is made to
ascend by means of an exhaust fan or other appropriate mechanism. Hitherto

page_text: no means have been adopted for preventing additional air from entering with
the wheat or seed fed into these machines, and as all such additional air thus
entering the machine is injurious to its action I have devised different
means of feeding the wheat, other grain, or seed into the machine, excluding
at the same time entirely or nearly so all passage of air with the grain or
seeds.
I have divided this Invention into three parts; first, in which the action
has to be regulated by hand; second, in which the action is automatic; and,.
third, in which I employ motion.
In the first case the wheat is allowed to accumulate on a sliding board
closing the air-tight spout conducting the said wheat to the machine, and
when it is desired to admit the same to the machine this board or valve is
drawn out sufficiently to let pass the requisite supply, leaving over the
opening a head of wheat sufficient to intercept entirely or nearly so the
passage of air.
In the second case I place within the spout or hopper feeding the corn into
the machine a valve closing against the grain or seed, and adjusted by
a balance weight or by a spring, or by its own gravity, in such a manner that
when a sufficient quantity has accumulated to about half fill the hopper or
spout the valve or door opens and permits the contents to run out until the
weight of grain or seed left is insufficient to hold the valve or door open
against the action of the balance weight or spring. In this way the valve or
door opens and closes itself, so as to nearly empty the hopper or spout without
admitting air.
In the third case I make use of an adjustable hopper feeding on a grooved
roller, by the rotation of which latter the grain is admitted into the machine;
or instead of the said roller I make use of a slide or valve to which I impart
a to-and-fro motion; or instead of placing the feeding organs immediately
under the hopper I place a grooved roller within the said hopper. I place a
grooved roller turning in horizontal bearings, and fitting closely within the
spout, so that when at rest it will prevent any wheat from passing down the
spout, but on a slight rotary motion being imparted to it the grooves will be
successively filled with wheat, which will be thrown down the said spout; or
in the said spout I place an upright stationary tube open at both ends (with
or without an adjustable sleeve upon said tube to regulate the feed), the lower
extremity of which presents itself in proximity with the internal surface of a
cup or circular basin, to which I impart a rotary motion. When wheat is
poured into this upright tube whilst the cup is stationary, directly the latter is
filled a tight joint will be formed, and no more wheat will pass, but directly

page_text: the cup is put in motion the therein contained wheat is spread by centri-
fugal force, and then falls into the machine below, which action will continue
so long as the cup is made to rotate, and that wheat is poured into the
upright stationary tube.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Augustus Bryant Childs in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 18th July 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, AUGUSTUS
BRYANT CHILDS, of 481, Oxford Street, London, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her reign
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Augustus Bryant Childs, Her special licence that I, the said Augustus
Bryant Childs, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Augustus Bryant Childs, 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 MACHINES FOR SEPARATING FOREIGN SEEDS AND OTHER
IMPURITIES FROM WHEAT, OTHER GRAIN, OR SEEDS," a communication to me
from abroad by David Monroe Childs, of 13, Rue Gaillon, Paris, in the
Empire of France, Engineer, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Augustus Bryant Childs, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Augustus Bryant Childs, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement (that is to say):-
:-
In order that this Invention be clearly understood I will proceed to explain
it conjointly with the twelve Figures of the accompanying Drawing, in which

page_text: Fig. I is a longitudinal elevation, and Fig. 2 a front elevation of a separator
provided with one of my improved hoppers a for admitting the wheat, other
grain, or seeds, whilst excluding entirely, or nearly entirely, the passage of air
with the same, and to which the other descriptions of hoppers hereafter
described can also be attached.
I have divided the different means for this purpose into three series; the
first, in which the action has to be regulated by hand; the second, in which
the action is automatic; and the third, in which I employ motion.
First Series, Figs. 1 & 2.-In this case I place within the hopper a a sliding
horizontal board or sheet of metal b which when pressed home intercepts all
passage of grain to the separator, and when the machine is put in motion and
after the hopper has been charged with grain I withdraw this board to the
extent required, regulating, however, this opening in such a manner that in
no case the amount of grain passed through the hopper exceeds that admitted
to the same.
Second Series, Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8.-Fig. 3 represents a hopper which
is closed by a board or plate 6 drawn up vertically against its under surface
by a rod c, a lever d, and a balance weight e; when the amount of grain fed
into this hopper is sufficient to counteract the weight e the board will be
lowered, thereby admitting the passage of the grain to the machine, which
will be continued until the board is relieved of this pressure, when again the
hopper will be closed; by sliding the weight e on the lever d the valve can be
set so as to open under the pressure of any required head of grain. Fig. 4 is
constructed to work on the same principle as Fig. 3, the parts c, d, & e, being
replaced by a weight e¹ suspended by a rod d¹ from the board b, which is
jointed at one of its extremities to the inside of the neck of the hopper a.
Fig. 5 shows similar parts arranged in the following manner, viz., the board b
is suspended at 6', leaving one side of the same longer than the other, the
weight e being suspended from the same centre; in order that when not
charged with grain the hopper should be effectively closed I load the smaller
arm so as to counterbalace exactly the longer one (see dotted lines); when
the hopper is charged with grain the board will be inclined, thus allowing its
passage to the machine. Fig. 6 represents a hopper in which the board 6 is
hinged at one of its extremities and closed by means of a spring f acting on the
under side of the said board; Fig. 7 represents a hopper in which the board b
is suspended to a vertical rod c and closed by a spiral spring f¹, the tension
of which can be regulated by the nut g turning on the upper extremity of the
rod c which is screwed for that purpose; Fig. 8 represents an arrangement
similar in principle to the one above mentioned, the spring f¹ being, however,

page_text: placed below the board b and the rod c supported at its lower extremity by a
guide bar h, through which it passes.
Third Series, Figs. 9, 10, 11, & 12.-Fig. 9 shows an arrangement in which
the grain falls from the hopper through a pipe i into a cup j fitted to the
upper extremity of a vertical spindle k turning in bearings 1 & 1, motion being
imparted to the same by a string passing.round the pulley m; whilst this cup
remains stationary the grain, after filling the same, shuts off its own exit;
directly, however, that a rotary motion is applied to this cup the grain will
escape therefrom by the centrifugal force and be precipitated in the machine,
thus making way for fresh grain and ensuring a constant passage so long as
the rotary motion is continued and the supply in the hopper kept up. In
order to regulate the space between the pipe and the cup I adapt over the
former a sliding sleeve n. Fig. 10 represents a system in which I use a
grooved cylinder o placed within the hopper and rotating in the direction of
the arrow, which cylinder is partly covered by a fixed board p so as to prevent
any passage of grain on one of the sides of this hopper, the other side of such
cylinder is placed in contact with the hopper, and as each groove passes this
point of contact it precipitates its contents into the machine below. Fig. 11
is a modification of this last described system, the grooved roller o being
placed below the hopper, which is provided at each side with a flexible band
or lip q, q'; these lips assume different positions according to the direction of
rotation of the cylinder, thus, when it turns in the direction of the arrow
y hangs down by its side intercepting the passage of all grain excepting that
contained in the grooves, whilst p' laying over the roller intercepts the grain
entirely; by reversing the motion the position and action of these lips is
inverted. Fig. 12 represents another system in which I make the side a¹ of
the hopper moveable on a joint a² by means of a wheel a³ and a screw a*
passing through a nut t fixed in the board s, the extremity of which screw is
jointed to the side a¹; with this system I can intercept the passage of grain
without stopping the roller by closing the moveable side a¹ of the hopper
against the fixed side a³.
Either of these different systems, except Fig. 9, can be constructed of such
a length as to equal the width of the machine, or so as only to occupy a part
of such width; in the latter case I spread the spout as shewn in Fig. 2 and
adapt it to it small cleets r, r, r, r, so as to divide the stream of falling grain
and extend it equally to the entire width of the machine.
Having thus explained the nature of these improvements, and the best
means I am acquainted with to carry the same into practise, I claim,―
Firstly, the system above described and illustrated by the Figs. 1 & 2 for

page_text: preventing the passage of any considerable quantity of air with the grain
entering the machine.
Secondly, the systems above described and illustrated by the Figs. 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, & 8, for effecting the same purpose.
Thirdly, the systems above described and illustrated by the Figs. 9, 10,
11, & 12, also for the same purpose.
In witness whereof, I, the said Augustus Bryant Childs, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this 16th day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
A. B. CHILDS. (L.S.)