Improvements in the Method and Means for Cleaning, Polishing, or Decorticating Rice and other Grain.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Oct., 1894-Accepted, 10th Nov., 1894
Improvements in the Method and Means for Cleaning, Polishing, or
Decorticating Rice and other Grain.
I ERNST KALLSEN of Flensburg, in the Empire of Germany, Rice Mill
Proprietor, 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:-
The present invention relates to an improved process of cleaning, polishing or
decorticating rice and other grain rendering the use of natural or artificial stones or
compositions unnecessary, and having the further advantage over other known
processes, that the production of broken or split grains is reduced to a minimum.
This new process consists in passing the grain into the space lying between the
outer wall of a rotary body and a jacket surrounding the latter and there operating
upon the grain by strips of wirework which are secured upon the rotary body in
such a manner that they may move or bend outwardly with a more or less extensive
portion of their surface under the action of centrifugal force and thereby throw the
grains against a wire-gauze coating provided on the inner surface of the jacket or
mantle, to rub said grains along the latter and in this way produce at will either
complete decortication of the grains or a mere cleaning or polishing of their surface,
by correspondingly regulating the speed imparted to the rotary body. The jacket
surrounding the rotary body may be stationary or may likewise be made to rotate,
if desired, in the opposite direction with regard to the inuer body.
The rotary body with its jacket may be placed horizontally, vertically or inclined
and the grains may be supplied either directly from above into the space surrounding
the rotary body, or through an orifice provided in the jacket.
The means for carrying this process into effect are represented diagrammatically
in various forms in the annexed drawing.
a is a conical (see Figs. 1, 1A and 1B) or cylindrical (see Figs. 2 and 2^) rotary
body, or one of a form composed of a cone and cylinder (see Fig. 3) and is
surrounded by a jacket band set in rotary notion by a shaft w. Upon this body a,
strips c of wire gauzę are fixed by one of their edges (e) and lie in spiral planes
rearward from the rotary direction, so that said strips on rotation of the body a are
enabled to move outward under the action of centrifugal force, thus approaching
with their edges t' the jacket & coated all over on its inside with firmly attached
wire gauze. These wire cloth blades c throw the grains in the interval between a
and b against the inside surface of the jacket and rub them along the latter.
According to the weight, the strength of the wire, the width of the meshes and
the rotary speed of the body a, the rubbing effect will be more or less intense and
thus it is entirely under the control of the operator whether to decorticate or
merely polish or clean the grain.
The strips care either of breadth sufficient to partially cover each other or only
to touch the edges of one another, and further the edges c' of the strips & may
either, as shown in Fig. 1 (in which for sake of clearness a portion of the strips at
the right hand is omitted) be arranged parallel to the axis or, as illustrated in
Fig. 4, helically upon the wall of body a.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I'
claim is :-
The improved process and means for decorticating, polishing or cleaning rice and
other crain
consisting in treating the oreing in a enace surrounding a rotating body

page_text: and outwardly surrounded by a jacket, to the action of strips of wire gauze
arranged upon the rotating body, fixed with one of their longitudinal edges on said
rotating body and curved away therefrom backwardly from the direction of rotary
direction; these gauze strips being adapted to throw the grains against a wire
gauze coating on the inside of the jacket and rub them along the latter substantially 5
as and for the purpose described.
Dated this 9th day of October 1894
HERBERT HADDAN & Co.,
18, Buckingham Street, Strand, London, W.C., Agents to Applicant.