Improvements in Grain Cleaning and Separating Mills
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Jan., 1888
Specification Accepted, 3rd Feb., 1888
Improvements in Grain Cleaning and Separating Mills,
I, MORITZ GROLLIMUND, Gentleman, of Fergus Falls, County of Otter Tail, State
of Minnesota, in the United States of America, 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:-
My invention relates to an improvement in fanning mills for separating and
cleaning grain; and it consists in the construction and arrangement or combination
of the parts thereof, which will be more fully hereinafter described, and definitely
pointed out in the claim.
My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same letters
of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts in the several views, and in
which―
Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of my improved mill. Fig. 2 is a
detail view in sectional elevation of the lower gang of sieves, showing my improved
cut-off connected thereto. Fig. 3 is a detail view in side elevation of the shoe of the
lower gang of sieves, showing the grain exit opening. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of
the lower gang of sieves and the spout, the said spout being illustrated as detached,
and also showing the diagonal position of the removable cross piece. Fig. 5 is a detail
view in sectional side elevation of the lower gang of sieves, showing the detachable
separating devices removed.
•
In the drawings, A represents the frame work, and B the sides, of a mill of ordinary
construction, having a suitable fan and elevator, arranged in a manner well known
in the art, and a hopper situated in the upper part thereof, having a suitable opening
in its bottom portion.
D is a gang of sieves situated in the upper front part of the mill, upon which the
contents of the hopper are delivered, which, after being freed from the chaff and other
foreign matter by the vibration of the sieves and the blast from the fan, are again
delivered upon the inclined chute d, and from thence upon the upper sieve of the lower
gang of sieves G. This lower gang of sieves, G, extends the entire length of the
lower portion of the mill and inclined downward toward the rear thereof, as shown,
and is vibrated laterally or longitudinally as may be desired, by well-known means.

page_text: I employ a series of four sieves a, a', a² and a³, in this lower gang G, the meshes
of which gradually diminish in size from the upper to the lower one. These sieves
are of an unequal length, the top sieve a being of greater length than the lower
ones a¹, a² and a³, each one of which is somewhat shorter than the one directly above
it, as shown in Fig. 1.
On the lower end of the sieve a a detached spout A¹ is mounted, extending out
beyond the mill and provided with suitable cleats c c, placed diagonally thereon to
concentrate the flow of grain from the sieve a. This spout A' has a tongue e, on one
end, as shown, which fits in a groove e¹, in the end of the frame of the sieve a, thereby
forming a close joint. The spout A' is held in position and prevented from slipping
and thereby becoming detached, by a pin c², extending down through the same at or
about its central portion into the supporting har b, where it is loosely held, thus
allowing an easy withdrawal of the same and the removal of the spout.
The lower end bars of the frame of sieve a¹ and a² are made of different lengths,
that of sieve a² being somewhat longer than a', thereby carrying the frames out flush
with each other and beyond the end of the mill, as shown in Fig. 1.
On the under surface of the end bar of sieve a¹ a groove f, is cut running diagonally
cross wise of the same, in which a cross piece E, is adapted to be inserted, the under
side of which rests on the upper surface of the end bar of the frame of the sieve a². The
lower end of this cross piece E extends somewhat beyond the sides of the sieves
through an elongated opening i, cut in the side of the shoe of the sieve and opening
into the space between the sieves a¹ and a², for a purpose which will be more fully
hereinafter described. The sieve a³ is situated directly under the receiving end
portions of the upper sieves a, a¹ and a², and extends about midway the length
thereof.
Situated directly beneath the sieve a³ is a bin W, in which the seed that falls
through the said sieve is deposited.
S is a receptacle situated in the bottom of the mill, in which the seed and broken
grain that fall over the end of sieve a³ are deposited.
Rigidly secured to the frame-work of the rear part of the mill, and directly under
the lower end of sieves a¹ and a², is an inclined trough H, in which the grain that
falls over the ends of said sieves is deposited, and thence conducted down the same to
the elevator in the rear of the mill. When the mixed grain and seed is delivered
from the hopper upon the gang of sieves D, it comes in contact with the blast from
the fan and is relieved from all of the chaff and other foreign substance, and is then
shaken down through the meshes of the sieve upon the chute d, which directs it to the
upper end portion of the sieve a of the lower gang of sieves G, which, being rapidly
vibrated, quickly shakes the clean grain down the face of the same, retaining the
large seed and allowing the smaller to fall through upon the sieves below, the meshes
of the different sieves being so arranged as to cause a perfect separation of the
different sizes of the seed, and thereby the different grades of grain.
Large well-filled grain, or the first grade, that remains on the sieve a is. shaken
down the face of the same upon the spout A' at its lower end, and thence into a
suitable receptacle, while the somewhat smaller seed, or second grade, is deposited on
the sieve a¹, and thence down the face of the same into the trough H, which, being
inclined, carries it to the elevator, which in turn delivers it into a bag attached
thereto. The shrunken grain, or third grade, that falls through the sieves above is
received on the sieve a² and is carried down the same until it reaches the cross piece E,
which, being placed diagonally thereon, leads it down to the side of the sieve, through
the opening in the side of the shoe, into a suitable receptacle situated on the
outside of the mill.
The grass seed which may have been carried down and deposited on the lower
sieve of the gang G, being much smaller than the grain, immediately falls through
the sieves into the bin W, and is there collected, while the cockle or other small
foreign seeds and broken grain which fall through the sieves a, a' and a² upon the
lower sieve a³, are carried down the same and fall into the receptacle S, this class
being generally known as "chicken-feed." It will thus be seen that I am enabled to

page_text: *
secure a perfect separation of the grain and seed into what is generally known as
first," "second," and "third" grades, chicken feed and grass seed.
If at any time it is desired to mix the first and second grades, it is only necessary
to remove the spout A', and the first grade will fall into the trough H with the
second, thus mixing the two grades; and still further, if it be desired to mix the third
grade with the first and second, or with the second alone, the cross-piece E is
removed allowing the grain on the sieve a³ to flow down into the trough H with the
other grades from the sieves above, thus accomplishing a quick and easy mixing or
separating of the grain.
It is obvious that many minor changes in the construction and arrangement of the
parts of my improved mill could be made and substituted for those shown and
described without in the least departing from the nature and principle of my invention.
Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure
by Letters Patent, is―
The combination of a shoe having an opening i, in one side, a series of sieves a, a¹, a³
one above another, in said shoe, a spout H secured at the lower end of said sieves,
and adapted to receive the tailings from all of them, a removable spout A' at the
lower end of the uppermost of said sieves and projecting over said spout H, and a
removable cross piece E, adapted to be diagonally inserted between two of the lower
sieves, substantially as set forth.
1000