An Improved Grain Sorting and Cleaning Machine.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Jan., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 28th Oct., 1889-Accepted, 11th Jan., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Grain Sorting and Cleaning Machine.
I, FERDINAND GERSTNER, of No. 12 Mariahilfer Strasse, in the City of Vienna,
Austria, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to a grain sorting and cleaning machine, the object of which
is to sort and cleanse the refuse from the sorting machine, to gain the numerous
smaller and the broken grains contained in the refuse from other sorting machines and
to separate the same from foreign matter, seeds and earth. My improved machine can
be employed in place of the customary machine and generally as cleaning and sorting
machine.
Figure 1 is a side view of my improved machine,
Figure 2 a vertical section on the line a ẞy 8,
Figure 3 represents the details of the sorting and feed mechanism on an enlarged
scale.
The refuse from the "trieur" or sorting machine or other products mixed with
seeds is fed by the feeding device 1 to the roller 2. A cloth or fabric made of
flexible material is stretched over the rollers 1 and 3 and moves in the direction of
the arrow, Figure 1, at a speed which is greater than that of the downward move-
ment of the grain to be separated. The object of the feed roller 2 is to attain the
most favourable feed of the grain or material, that is, to distribute the same over the
surface of the cloth or fabric. The grain flows from the feed plates Z onto the cloth in
an almost vertical direction, the sectional line of which is parallel with the axis of the
rollers, and if care is exercised in the arrangement of the parts, this feed can be
accomplished without feed rollers.
The cloths are somewhat narrower than the length of the rollers 1-2 to 43-44
and are preferably provided with raised edges in order to prevent the grain from
rolling off the same in a lateral direction; the breadth of the feed or guide plates
being somewhat narrower than the cloths.
According to the experiments hitherto made, it is advisable to arrange the cloths
over their rollers 1-3 at an angle of about 18°. Only the quite round and shot-like
seeds are separated and led out of the machine at 2 whilst the grain and other seeds
are led to the feed roller 4. The separating of the seeds is caused by the round seeds
running quicker down the upwards moving cloth whilst the remaining grain moves
slower or not at all downwards and is thus drawn upwards.
The moment when the material falls onto the incline formed by the cloths the
separated portions do not interfere with each other. The cloths must be somewhat
rough in order to facilitate the rolling of the material but must not be hairy as
the small grains and seeds might hang in the same and render the separation
imperfect.
The roller 4 leads the partially cleansed material (in similar manner as the roller 2)
by means of the guide plates Z onto the cloth of the rollers 5-6 which is preferably
given a more acute angle, for instance about 22°.
The cloths of all the other rollers 5-6 to 43-44 can be given the same angle.
As all seeds are more or less round the separation is, as above-mentioned, readily
accomplished, whereby, however, the broken grain, which has almost a round form,
passes off with the seeds, whereas grain of other form and without consideration of
the size of the same is carried upwards. The most favorable speed of the
rollers 5-6 to 43-44 is 19 to 20 revolutions per minute. The cleansed product
from the rollers 5-6 now passes onto the cloth of the rollers 9-10 to be again
aloaned

page_text: The rollers 9-10 separate all the seeds whereas the cleansed grain passes into the
receptacle IV from whence it falls and is fed to two india rubber rollers 47-48.
The impure product rolling from the cloth 5-6 is fed by the guide plate Z, onto the
cloth 7-8 and is here cleansed for the first time and passes onto the cloth 11-12
and from thence. entirely cleansed, into the receptacle III from which it falls and is
led to the india rubber rollers 45-46.
The impure product falling from the cloth 7-8 and 9-10 passes onto 13-14
where it is cleansed for the first time and is led onto 17-18 for a second purification
and falls from thence into the receptacle IV.
In like manner the impure product passes from 11-12 and 13-14 passes onto
15-16 where it is cleansed for the first time and this process is continued up to the
rollers 43-44.
The refuse from the rollers 39-40, 41-42 and 43—44 is of no value and is led
off into the canal V. The direction of the movement of the fed mixture of grain and
seeds is parallel with that of the inclined surface, with the difference, however, that
the one part, (the separated grain) moves in the same direction as the cloth,
whereas the other part, (the impurities) moves in a direction opposite to that of
the cloth.
The cleaning process is clearly shown in Figure III in which Z, Z are the guide
plates. The cloth 7-8 and 11-12, two pairs of rollers III, the receptacle which
eventually leads the cleansed product to the india rubber rollers 45-46.
It will be evident from the foregoing that the cleaning operation is repeated several
times on each side of the machine in order to secure as much purified grain as possible
which is accomplished, as abovementioned, by the cloths running over the rollers
5-6 to 43-44. The entire quantity of the cleansed fruit passes to the india rubber
rollers 47-48.
One of these rollers 47 is adjustable and can be so moved towards the other 48
that the said rollers can rotate freely without coming into contact with each other.
As the speed of the roller 48 is greater than that of roller 47 the grain and the grains
of earth are drawn down through the rollers and are rolled a short distance under
slight pressure so that the mould or earth is crushed and pulverised whereas the grain
passes the rollers without injury.
The same process is carried out with the grain fed from the receptacle III to the
india rubber rollers 45 46, one of which, 46, is adjustable, whereas the speed of
roller 45 exceeds that of the roller 46.
The earth pulverised by passing these rollers can be readily removed by sifting
the product. 49-50 and 51-52 are two pairs of brush rollers which remove the
mould and grain adhering to the india rubber rollers. As a matter of course the
india rubber rollers, their brush rollers and the conveyers 53-54 are enclosed in
suitable casings.
The sieve, described later on, and the brush rollers are fixed to the machine in
order to facilitate the manipulation of the grain. 53-54 are two conveyers which,
in combination with a third conveyer, guides the grain to the position where the
grain falls into the cylindrical sieve 55 and is conveyed, by means of a conveyer
arranged in the centre of the sieve, to the other end Q' of the sieve, whereby the
earth is sifted out. The grain now falls into the brush roller 56 which is surrounded
by a fixed sieve-like perforated mantle and is transported, by means of a conveyer
rotating with the brush roller and connected to the same, towards the side opposite
to the inlet and falls at VI fully cleansed from the machine. The machine is driven
from the shafting by means of the shaft 57 the parts rotating in the direction of the
arrows. According to the condition of the material to be cleansed the number of
roller pairs covered with cloth are increased or decreased according to the require-
ments whether the grain is to be more or less cleansed in comparison with the machine
represented in the accompanying drawings and the present specification.
If the inclination of the cloths T is altered the speed of the same will also be
changed. As the inclination and speed are in intimate connection it is desirable to
apply a device to the machine, for instance two conical strap drums K, K¹, which

page_text: permit the speed of the machine to be regulated as may be desirable. If the refuse
to be cleansed contains little or no earth or mould the india rubber rollers can be
omitted and the machine thus considerably simplified.
The rollers 5-6 to 43-14 covered with cloth are so arranged above each other
that all the cloths are inclined in one direction in which case the guide plates
are given another form. In this case the cleansed grain passes off at one side
only and not as represented at III and IV, so that the conveyers 53 and 54 can be
omitted.
Dated this 30th day of January 1880
FREDERIC PRINCE,
Agent for Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Grain Sorting and Cleaning Machine.
1, FERDINAND GERSTNER, of No. 12 Mariahilfer Strasse in the City of Vienna,
Austria, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my said 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 a universal grain sorting and cleaning machine, the object
of which is to sort and cleanse the refuse from the sorting machine, to gain the
numerous smaller and the broken grains contained in the refuse from other sorting
machines and to separate the same from foreign matter, seeds and earth. My improved
machine can be employed in place of the customary machines and generally as
cleansing and sorting machine.
In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a side view,
Figure 2 a vertical section on the line a ẞy 8
Figure 3 represents the details of the sorting and feed mechanism on an enlarged
scale.
The refuse from the "Trieur" or sorting machine or other products mixed with
seeds is fed by the feeding device 1 to the rollers 2. A cloth or fabric made of
flexible material is stretched over the rollers 1 and 3 and moves in the direction of
the arrow, Figure 1, at a speed which is greater than that of the downward move-
ment of the grain to be separated out. The object of the first roller 2 is to obtain
the most favorable feed of the grain or material, that is, to distribute the same over
the surface of the cloth or fabric. The grain flows from the feed plates Z onto the
cloth in an almost vertical direction, the sectional line of which is parallel with the
axis of the rollers, and if care is exercised in the arrangement of the parts, this feed
can be accomplished without feed rollers.
The cloths are somewhat narrower than the length of the rollers 1-3, to 43-44
and are preferably provided with raised edges in order to prevent the grain from
rolling off the same in a lateral direction, the breadth of the feed or guide plates
being somewhat narrower than the cloths. According to the experiments hitherto
made it is advisable to arrange the cloths over the rollers 1-3 at an angle of about
18°. Only the perfectly round and shot like seeds are separated and led out of the
machine at II whilst the grain and other seeds are led to the feed roller 4. The
separating of the seeds is caused by the round seeds running quicker downward
down the upward moving cloth whilst the remaining grain moves slower or not at
all downwards and is thus drawn upwards. The moment when the material falls onto
the incline formed by the cloths the separated portions do not interfere with each other.
The cloths must be somewhat rough in order to facilitate the rolling of the material
but must not be hairy as the small grains and seeds might hang in the same and
render the separation imperfect.
The roller 4 leads the partially cleansed material in similar manner as the roller 2,
by means of the guide plates Z onto the cloth of the rollers 5-6, which may be given
a more obtuse angle, for instance, about 22°, not shown. The cloth of all the other

page_text: rollers 5-6 to 43-44 may be given the same angle. As all seeds are more or less
round the separation is, as above mentioned, readily accomplished, whereby, however,
the broken grain, which has almost a round form, passes off with the seeds, whereas
grain of other form and without consideration of the size of the same is carried
upwards. The most favorable speed of the rollers 5-6 to 43-44 is 19 to 20
revolutions per minute.
The cleaned product from the rollers 5-6 now passes onto the cloth of the
roilers 9-10 to be again cleansed. The rollers 9-10 separate all the seeds,
whereas the cleansed grain passes into the receptacle IV from whence it falls and is
fed to two india rubber rollers 47-48. The impure product rolling from the
cloth 5- is fed, by the guide plate Z, onto the cloth 7-8 and is cleansed for the
first time and passes onto the cloth 11-12 and from thence, entirely cleansed,
into the receptacle III, from which it falls and is led to the india-rubber
rollers 45-46.
The improved product rolling from the cloth 7-8 and 9-10 passes onto 13-14
where it is cleansed for the first time and is led onto 17-18 for a second purification
and falls from thence into the receptacle IV. In like manner the impure product
passes from 11-12 and 13-14 then onto 15-16 where it is cleansed for the first
time and this process is continued up to the rollers 43-44.
The refuse from the rollers 39-40, 41-42 and 43-44 is of no value and is led
off into the canal V. The direction of the movement of the fed mixture of grain and
seeds is parallel with that of the inclined surface, with the difference, however, that
the one part of the separated grain moves in the same direction as the cloth, whereas
the other part, (the impurities,) moves in a direction opposite to that of the
cloth.
The cleaning process is clearly shown in Figure III, in which Z Z are the
guide plates, T the cloth, 7-8 and 11-12 two pairs of rollers, III the receptacle
which eventually leads the cleansed product to the india rubber rollers 45-46.
It will be evident from the foregoing that the cleansing operation is repeated
several times on each side of the machine in order to secure as much purified grain as
possible, which is accomplished as above mentioned by the cloths running over the
rollers 5-6 to 43-44.
The entire quantity of the cleansed grain passes to the india rubber rollers 47-48.
One of these rollers 47 is adjustable and can be so moved toward the other 48 that
the said rollers can rotate freely without coming into contact with each other. As the
speed of the roller 48 is greater than that of roller 47 the grain and the grains of
earth are drawn down through the rollers and are rolled a short distance under slight
pressure so that the mould or earth is crushed and pulverised whereas the grain
passes the rollers without injury.
The same process is carried out with the grain fed from the receptacle III to the
india rubber rollers 45 and 46, of which one, 46, is adjustable, whereas the speed
of roller 45 exceeds that of the roller 46. The earth pulverised by passing these
rollers can be readily removed by sifting the product. 49-50 and 51-52 are two
pair of brush rollers which remove the mould and grain adhering to the india rubber
rollers. As a matter of course the india rubber rollers, their brush rollers and the
conveyers 53-54 are enclosed in suitable casings.
The sieve, described later on, and the brush rollers are fixed to the machine in order
to facilitate the manipulation of the grain. 53-54 are two conveyers, which, in
combination with a third conveyer, not shown on the drawing, guides the grain to the
position, where the grain falls in at one end of the cylindrical sieve 55 and is
conveyed by means of a conveyer arranged in the centre of the sieve, to the other end
of the sieve, whereby the earth is sifted out. The grain now falls into the brush
roller 56 which is surrounded by a fixed sieve like perforated mantle and is trans-
ported, by means of a conveyer rotating with the brush roller and connected to the
same towards the side opposite to the inlet and falls at VI fully cleansed from the
machine. The machine is driven from the shafting by means of the shaft 57,
the parts rotating in the direction of the arrows. According to the condition of the

page_text: material to be cleansed the number of rollers pairs covered with cloth are increased
or decreased according to the requirements whether the grain is to be more or less.
cleansed in comparison with the machine represented in the accompanying drawings
and the present specification.
If the inclination of the cloths T is altered the speed of the same will also be
changed. As the inclination and speed are in intimate connection it is desirable to
apply a device to the machine, for instance two conical strap drums K, K', which
permit the speed of the machine to be regulated as may be desirable. If the refuse to
be cleansed contains little or no earth or mould, the india rubber rollers can be
omitted and the machine thus considerably simplified.
The rollers 5-6 to 43-44 covered with cloth are so arranged above each
other that all the cloths are inclined in one direction, in which case the guide
plates are given another form. In this case the cleansed grain passes off at one side
only, and not, as represented at III and IV, so that the conveyers 53 and 54 can
be dispensed with.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what 1
claim is -
1: The manufacture and use of inclined surfaces adapted to operate in an
upward and downward direction, onto which said surfaces the material to be sorted
is brought for separating the same so that one part of the material follows the upward
movement of the cloth while the other part moves downward, substantially as set.
forth and shown.
2: In devices of the kind described in claim 1, the arrangement of feed devices.
which distribute the material to be sorted over the inclined surface, substantially as
set forth and shown.
3: In devices as characterised in claim 1 and also in claim 2, the arrangement
of canals for conducting off the separated parts of the material, substantially as set
forth and shown.
4: In devices characterised by claims 1, 2 and 3, the use of india rubber rollers.
rotating at different speeds for removing the earthy particles, substantially as set forth
and shown.
5: In devices characterised by claims 1 to 4, the construction of the entire
apparatus and the parts of the same, substantially as set forth in the foregoing.
specification, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
201
1000
FREDERIC PRINCE,
1, Quality Court, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agent for Applicant.