IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING SEEDS, GRAIN MIDDLINGS OR OTHER SUBSTANCES FROM EACH OTHER AND PURIFYING AIR FROM DUST +
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Pieter van Gelder of Sowerby Bridge in the County of
York for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING
SEEDS, GRAIN MIDDLINGS OR OTHER SUBSTANCES FROM EACH OTHER AND
PURIFYING AIR FROM DUST
+
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Pieter van Gelder at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th February 1883.
PIETER VAN GELDER of Sowerby Bridge in the County of York.
"IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING SEEDS GRAIN MIDDLINGS OR OTHER SUBSTANCES
FROM EACH OTHER AND PURIFYING AIR FROM DUST."
In separating peas and beans from their hulls and other refuse special machinery
is required and the art hitherto has been in a very unsatisfactory state. After
prolonged experiments I have however invented machinery that will not merely
separate the peas from refuse and prevent the dust from contaminating the air but
with slight modifications can be used for purifying grain middlings and other
granular material and will act equally well in keeping the stive from contaminating
the atmosphere and causing inflammable mixture.
I will describe the invention as actually applied to pea purifying merely stating
here that varying the proportions slightly it is valuable for the other above
purposes and its air filtering part to purifying dusty air generally.
The peas are fed into a hopper, a revolving feed roll draws the peas and shells
through the space between itself and a concave block thus squeezing and rubbing
the peas out of the hulls. The mixed hulls and peas fall into a sieve on the frame
of the main sieve bereafter described but sloping the reverse way, from the end of
this subsidiary sieve the grosser pieces of material fall off into a receptacle. The
smaller materials fall through onto the main bed of one of my patent sieves. To
counterbalance this sieve and its frame I fix below working, at 180 degrees with
the sieve a dummy sieve frame two bars or plate, of weight equal to the sieve.
Along the sieve which is preferably of two or three slopes each delivering onto the

page_text: next, the material slowly passes and all the while a constant upward current of air
passes through the sieve to apertures in an air passage above, which apertures are
made larger in area as they approach the end of the sieve. From the air passage
the air is sucked by a fan or otherwise carried to the washing apparatus hereafter
described. The space below or above the fan is divided into two or more divisions
by transverse diaphragms placed preferably at the end of each slope. In the last
division formed by these diaphragms a much stronger exhaust is employed and
slightly larger meshes. The exhaust apertures even here are larger at the end than
elsewhere and a bridge or low barricade is placed near the end of the sieve. The
lighter material by the strong draft are carried upwards and onwards falling again
beyond the bridge into a spout the peas unaffected by the draft fall through the
sieve. To equalize the draft I place openings at the sides below with deflecting
plates and in the centre between the two worm troughs, I place openings also
guarded by a series of baffle plates so as to cause the ascending currents to be
equally divided over the entire area of the sieve bottom-The spaces round the
sieve are closed with flexible material preferably cotton cloth, and cloth or flexible
hanging doors separate the one slope of the sieve from the next. These doors
permit the material to pass but are not light enough to be blown aside by any
slight difference in air currents. The dusty air is carried to a pipe having an
orifice pointing vertically downward into a cistern of water and attached to the
pipe by a telescopic joint. This orifice can be funnel shaped if desirable and with
its fittings is counterweighted so as to just float at a required depth say half an
inch below the surface of the water into which it dips. It is broadly flanged at
right angles or nearly so to the axis and this flange is thickly studded with pins
projecting vertically downwards (or at an angle) so as to break the stream of air
into an almost infinite number of fine streams. The object of counterbalancing is
that if the air blows the water to one side the orifice may still sink so as to touch
the water. The flange of the orifice is preferably slightly tipped to the side of the
cistern where an overflow is placed. In some cases I arrange this overflow to fall
on a filter or filter press. By this means I collect the valuable vegetable material
which can be pressed dried and utilized whereas the mineral impurities fall to the
bottom and can be drawn off from time to time by a mud-cock.

page_text: shaking with it and allowing the smaller particles and grain to pass through but
delivering all the pods, straw and large articles at once at spout d³, in the contrary
direction to that in which the valuable material travels. E is a sieve frame sus-
pended on suspension bars e and shaken with a horizontal rotary movement by
means of eccentrics in the manner as set forth in my patent No 2470 of 1878. dis
the collecting slope below the sieve D having an opening d for admitting the
material onto the sieve F, which is also attached to the sieve frame E, a small stop d'
being placed to oblige the grain to enter sieve F in a single layer evenly spread
over the sieve, a slight fall takes place at this point just sufficient to turn the
material over, (a most useful point), down sieve F the grain travels aspirated all
the time by means of the fan G drawing the air up through the sieve and openings
g.g into the exhaust chamber Q', the openings gg can be regulated at pleasure if
desired, but I usually fix them to the best degree of opening for the particular
material to be cleaned. The air is prevented from rising round the sieve the space
between the latter and the casing of the machine being filled with a flexible seal of
cloth in the usual manner and I arrange them so that the openings above sieve F
shall be larger than those above F, and those above F larger than those above F',
the whole series gradually increasing in size until the maximum is reached over the
bridge K, where the increment of opening is-suddenly much increased, in this way
a stronger blast or current of air is brought to bear on the material in proportion
as it arrives at a cleaner condition. H H are valves for shutting off or regulating
the air passages. The admission of the air under the sieve is further regulated
so as to be uniformly distributed by passing through the louvres I I Fig. 2 at sides
and up central channel 1' blocked as regards direct upward draught by inverted
trough i. The refuse and broken or small grain falling through the sieves collects
in the two troughs J and is brought out by worms j. The grain passing down
sieve F again falls over at its end and enters sieve F¹ and emerging from that
again falls over and enters sieve F'. The sieves are simply inserted into beds in the
frame E and bolted down at their lower ends by means of fly bolts or screws as
shown. The grain travelling down sieve F' comes to a formidable bridge K
slanting upwards, and above this bridge the openings to the blast are larger, while
beyond this bridge the sieve is replaced by an unperforated plate F³ the force of
the exhaust above and beyond the bridge, consequently forces the light materials
to fly, up and over this bridge, but the cross-sectional area of the current increasing
above the bridge, and no further increment of current coming up beyond the bridge,
the force of the current is weakened, and the material carried up falls down in the
quiet space beyond the bridge onto plate F and out through spout L. The grain
however being heavier does not mount the bridge K, but falls through the meshes
of the sieve F, which meshes are made rather larger at this point so as to facilitate
their passage.
The entire sieve frame E is counter-balanced by a dummy sieve W
narrower than the upper one and driven by similar eccentrics on the shafts, which
eccentrics are at an angle of 180 degrees to those of the main sieve, as set forth in
my former patent No 2470 of 1878, but by repeated experiment I have found that
a simple bar will do for the dummy, and going still further a counter-weight on a
similar eccentric on each shaft set to the right angle is still more convenient than,
and equally as serviceable as a dummy sieve as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In Fig. 9
my latest improvement the counterweight is shown. In this I place a hole or
well M and in this well I put a series of thin flat weights. After the machine is
erected by adding or abstracting weights I exactly regulate the counter-weight to
the weight and speed used in the main sieve frame. I find this far superior to a t
dummy, which cannot be so conveniently regulated and interferes with the draught.
The air drawn out and driven by similar eccentrics at an angle of 180 degrees on
the shafts from those of the main sieve, by the fan G is filled with dust and might
lead to fires if allowed to escape into the mill I therefore bring it on through
pipe N into that part of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3. This pipe is made to dip 5
down at its end N', and below this end I place a circular tank of water O, having
overflow pipe P; a source of supply, and mud cock not shown, Fitted to slide

page_text: freely, but practically air-tightly, on the end of this pipe I place a cylindrical box Q
having a broad flange S and counter-weighted in any convenient manner by a
counter-weight R, so that the circular flange S shall float with its lower flat surface
submerged to a depth of about half an inch. This surface is studded all over with
projecting nails or pins as shown so as to break up the air escaping under it into
fine streams. This flange is preferably made to be slightly less submerged at the
side next the overflow. The air coming down the tube N¹ has no way of escape
except under flange S, it accordingly rushes under this flange, driving the water
before it, but the fange being weighted to sink half an inch sinks with the water.
The consequence is a constant current of air dust and water is driven outward and
being incessantly broken up by the pegs, the air, dust and water are intimately
intermingled and the dust being water-logged is left behind in the water, the air
purified escaping by itself. The overflow, if there be a constant supply of water,
carries the light vegetable material to a filter where it is separated from the water
and can be utilized in any required way, the mineral matter settles at the bottom
and can from time to time be discharged by the mud cock.
Having now described my invention and the best mode of carrying it into effect,
I claim as my invention:-
1st The apparatus substantially as described for feeding the material to a separating
machine in a broad even stream, and aspirating it practically equally
throughout the breadth of said stream, substantially as described
2nd-The improvement in separating machines, substantially as described, by which
the material is fed onto a sieve sloping toward the one end of the machine,
and the large lumps and pieces thrown out at that end of the machine, while the
finer portion goes through the sieve and passes onto another set of sieves, passing
from one to the other till what will not go through is finally rejected at the other
end of the machine.
3rd-The combination of a sieve such as F³, through which a current of air is
passed to a suction hole above, and a bridge fixed thereon such as K, so
constructed and the draught so regulated that while the larger and lighter material
shall be drawn up and be either carried away or shall fall down beyond the bridge,
the heavier grain or other valuable material to be separated shall be too heavy to
be carried over the bridge but shall pass through the meshes of the sieve.
4tb.-The arrangement, substantially as described, of a stepped sieve or a series of
sieves in a single frame, of a purifier or separator, each one delivering onto
one below, and having a regulated current passing through and continually
increasing in strength as it approaches the end, or a bridge such as K.
5th-The improvement in dust collecting and apparatus therefor substantially as
described, and also the following several parts of the apparatus for this
purpose, namely, the counterbalanced floating chamber and the broad flange studded
with projecting nails or equivalent impediments, substantially as and for the
purposes described.
6th-The combination of two vertical shafts geared together and carrying eccentrics,
working a sieve or sieve frame between them, and a counter-weighted
eccentric keyed to each of said shafts regulated so as to counterbalance said frame
and its contents when in motion, substantially as described.
In witness whereof. I the said Pieter van Gelder have hereunto set my hand
and seal this Twenty-fifth day of August in the year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and eighty three.
PIETER VAN GELDER (La)