IMPROVEMENTS IN WINNOWING MACHINERY
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Augustus Bryent Childs, of Gower Street, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
WINNOWING MACHINERY."
Sealed the 23rd November 1859, and dated the 22nd September 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Augustus Bryent Childs
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 22nd September 1858.
I, AUGUSTUS BRYENT CHILDS, of Gower Street, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN WINNOWING MACHINERY," to be as follows:―
This Invention has for its object improvements in winnowing machinery.
For these purposes the foul corn or grain is placed in a hopper, which has a
long narrow opening at the bottom, so as to divide the corn or grain into a
comparatively thin stream, which, in descending, meets with streams of air
from a fan or blowing apparatus, by which much of the chaff and other light
matters are blown forward through a spout, and then the corn or grain falls
on to a riddle or screen of sheet metal, the holes in which are of a size large.
enough to let the sound grains of wheat or grain pass through, but prevent the
chaff and substances which are lighter, and also those which are larger passing
through; and such substances move on and are passed off at the front end of

page_text: the machine, which is facilitated by a stream of air coming from the same fan
or blower as that from which the upper blast above mentioned is derived,
passing under and rising up through the holes in the riddle. The holes in
the riddle are punched or formed in such manner, as to produce a raised
margin to each hole in the upper surface of the riddle; from the riddle the
grain and seeds which have passed through receive a second winnowing, and
descend on to an inclined screen, the holes or perforations of which are of
such size as to permit the sound grains of corn or grain to pass through, but
allow seeds and the matters or substances less than the sound grain to pass
through, and these matters fall on to and descend down an incline below the
screen into a box or receiver at the bottom. The riddle and screen are
mounted on four elastic uprights or springs, which allow of their being moved
to and fro, and are caused to have a vibrating motion communicated thereto.
The streams of air which pass between the riddle and screen are regulated by
a moveable valve or plate, so as to cause a greater or less quantity to incline
upwards, and to pass through the holes in the upper riddle. The grain as it
passes from the lower end of the inclined screen passes on to a similar inclined
screen, which has a vibrating motion given to it, but, by preference, in an
opposite direction to that in which the other inclined screen is moved. The
grain at the lower end of this incline accumulates, so as to close the passage,
and thus prevent air passing over the grain on the incline, and such
accumulation is caused by contracting the opening into the upright air passage
hereafter mentioned. The grain as it falls from the last-mentioned inclined
screen meets with streams of air which are flowing into and through a suitable
upright passage, so as to enter the two ends of the case of the fan or blower,
the circumference of which is cased in, except at the front, where the air
thrown off is caused to be divided and to act as above explained, first on the
stream of foul grain as it falls from the hopper in its way to the riddle, and
then below the riddle, and between it and the front inclined screen, the refuse
separated from the grain as it falls from the back inclined screen passing into
a box or receiver at the back of the fan case; and such refuse is prevented
being carried with the air into the fan by nieans of two, three, or more
parallel stops or plates, against which the substances carried by the air strike,
whilst the air passes freely above and below; a balanced valve is used to
regulate the quantity of air flowing to the fan.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Augustus Bryent Childs in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 22nd March 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, AUGUSTUS
BRYENT CHILDS, of Gower Street, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of September, 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 Augustus Bryent Childs, Her special licence that I, the
said Augustus Bryent Childs, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Augustus Bryent 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 WINNOWING MACHINERY,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Augustus Bryent
Childs, 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 Augustus Bryent 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 thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in winnowing machinery.
For these purposes the foul corn or grain is placed in a hopper, which has a
long narrow opening at the bottom, so as to divide the corn or grain into a
comparatively thin stream, which in descending meets with streams of air
from a fan or blowing apparatus, by which much of the chaff and other light
matters are blown forward through a spout, and then the corn or grain falls
on to a riddle or screen of sheet metal, the holes in which are of a size large
enough to let the sound grains of wheat or grain pass through, but prevent

page_text: the chaff and substances which are lighter, and also those which are larger
passing through; and such substances move on, and are passed off at the
front end of the machine, which is facilitated by a stream of air coming from
the same fan or blower as that from which the upper blast above mentioned
is derived, passing under and rising up through the holes in the riddle. The
holes in the riddle are punched or formed in such manner as to produce a
raised margin to each hole in the upper surface of the riddle. From the
riddle the grain and seeds which have passed through receive a second
winnowing, and descend on to an inclined screen, the holes or perforations of
which are of such size as not to permit the sound grains of corn or grain to
pass through, but allow seeds and the matters or substances less than the
sound grain to pass through, and these matters fall on to and descend down
an incline below the screen into a box or receiver at the bottom. The riddle
and screen are mounted on four elastic uprights or springs, which allow of
their being moved to and fro, and are caused to have a vibrating motion
communicated thereto. The streams of air which pass between the riddle
and screen are regulated by a moveable valve or plate, so as to cause a
greater or less quantity to incline upwards, and to pass through the holes in
the upper riddle. The grain as it passes from the lower end of the inclined
screen passes on to a similar inclined screen, which has a vibrating motion
given to it, but, by preference, in an opposite direction to that in which the
other inclined screen is moved. The grain at the lower end of this incline
accumulates so as to close the passage, and thus prevent air passing over the
grain on the incline; and such accumulation is caused by contracting the
opening into the upright air passage, hereafter mentioned. The grain as it
falls from the last-mentioned inclined screen meets with streams of air, which
are flowing into and through a suitable upright passage, so as to enter the
two ends of the case of the fan or blower, the circumference of which is
cased in, except at the front, where the air thrown off is caused to be divided,
and to act, as above explained, first on the stream of foul grain as it falls from
the hopper in its way to the riddle, and then below the riddle and between it
and the front inclined screen, the refuse separated from the grain as it falls
from the back inclined screen passing into a box or receiver at the back of
the fan case; and such refuse is prevented being carried with the air into the
fan by means of two, three, or more parallel stops or plates against which
the substances carried by the air strike, whilst the air passes freely above and
A balanced valve is used to regulate the quantity of air flowing to
the fan.
below.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 shews one side of a machine constructed according to my Invention,
Figure 2 shows the opposite side of the same machine; Figure 3 is a longi-
tudinal section, Figure 4 is a horizontal section of the same; and Figure 5 is
a transverse section taken at the line 1, 1, Figure 3. In each of these Figures
the same letters of reference are used to indicate the same parts.
a, a, is the frame of the machine; b, is a toothed wheel mounted on a short
axis carried by bearings at one side of the frame, and having fixed on it the
crank handle 6, the toothed wheel 6 drives the pinion c on the axis c², which
runs through the machine; d, d, are fan blades fixed on the axis c', and
enclosed in the case d', d¹, having passages de, d, through it on each side
around the axis for the air to pass in, and an opening in front from d* to d**,
for the escape of the blast. Above this opening and in front of the fan is a
hoppere having a slit along the bottom, the width of which can be adjusted.
by a sliding board, this slit is covered by the roller f with radial blades, and
driven by a band passing round a pulley at its end, and another pulley on the
axis of the wheel b. This roller delivers the grain through the slit in the
bottom of the hopper in a thin and regular stream, and prevents any straw
or ears it may contain from choaking the passage, when the grain operated on
is free from straw and ears the roller may be removed. The grain as it
falls meets a portion of the blast from the fan which carries away the chaff and
lighter matters by the spout 9, and the grain is received by the second hopper h,
which directs it on to the surface of the riddle i, this riddle is formed of a sheet
of zinc or other metal, punched in the manner shewn at Figure 6, the punching
being so effected as to throw up a burr around the holes. The riddle is mounted
on centres at the end nearest the fan, and its inclination can be adjusted by
winding up a greater or less length of the cords i' on the barrel . A portion
of the blast from the fan passes over the surface of the riddle i, and another
portion passes up through it at its further end, these blasts serve to facilitate the
passage of the grain along the riddle, also to prevent the remaining lighter im-
purities from passing through the riddle, and cause them to be blown out or to
fall over at the end thereof. When the machine is used for winnowing wheat,
the riddle i is especially useful for separating oats, which are too light to pass
through the holes against the blast; it also separates some smaller seeds which

page_text: roll down between the holes, being prevented from entering them by the burrs;
j is an inclined board arranged to conduct the grain which passes through the
first portions of the riddle i on to the front end of the screen k, which is a sheet
of metal punched with holes, as before mentioned; but the holes are of such a
size as to prevent the passage of the grain through, but only to allow of the
escape of the seeds which it is desired to separate. The burs around the holes
in the screen prevent the holes becoming clogged as rapidly as they would
were the holes formed without such burs. The seeds which pass through the
screen roll down the inclined bottom into the drawer m; nis a flap mounted
on centres at its edge nearest the fan, and capable of being set at any
desired inclination, so as to regulate the quantity of blast passing upward
through the riddle i, and downward through the screen k. The hopper h, the
riddle i, the board the screen k, the included bottom l, and the flap n, are all
mounted together in a separate frame, which is carried by the four spring or
elastic supports o, o, which are by preference made of elastic wood, and a
vibratory motion is given to the frame by the connecting rod p and crank p',
driven by a strap passing from a pulley on the axis of the fan; by this arrange-
ment the same amount of motion is given to every portion of the riddle and
screen. This vibratory motion facilitates the passage of the grain and other
matters over and through the riddle i and screen k. 9 is a second screen, which
receives the grain as it falls over the end of the first one i; it is mounted ou
a frame q' supported by the spring supports r, r, and receives a vibratory
motion in a direction at right angles to that of the first screen i from the bell
crank lever s, carried by the frame a, and connected with the two screens by
the connecting rods s¹ and s³. The grain escapes in a regular stream over the
end of the screen q into the upright passage t, which conducts to the fan a
portion of the air it requires; the remainder of the air taken by the fan enters
by the valve u, which turns on a centre at u¹, and is furnished with an arm
with a sliding weight u². By adjusting the position of this weight u² on the
arm, the current of air up the upright passage t can be so regulated as to
carry with it the light grains, and allow the heavy grains to fall out at the
lower end of the passage; the light grains are thrown by the blast against the
stops or plates v, and fall down on to the inclined bottom w of the box or
receiver at the back of the fan, and they pass from such bottom w by the side
passages into the receiver y. By giving to the second screen q a vibratory
motion in the direction of its length, as above described, the grain is caused to
flow into the passage t in a regular stream, although the space between the
upper surface of this screen and the upper edge of the opening into the

page_text: passage t is so narrow that the grain constantly accumulates at the bottom of
the screen, and fills the space or opening. By this arrangement all the air
that enters the lower end of the passage t is caused to pass up through that
passage, and amongst the grain as it enters the passage t, thus preventing the
waste of blast which would otherwise take place if the air could pass through
the opening and over the screen q.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I do not claim any of
the parts separately; but what I do claim is, the arranging and combining
winnowing machines, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Augustus Bryent Childs, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of March, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
S. CARPMAEL.
A. B. CHILDS. (L.S.)