IMPROVED APPARATUS OR MECHANISM FOR RAISING, SHOOTING, AND EMPTYING AND PROAL SP
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Wilkerson, the younger, of Bassingbourn,
in the County of Cambridge, for the Invention of "IMPROVED
APPARATUS OR MECHANISM FOR RAISING, SHOOTING, AND EMPTYING AND
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Wilkerson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 20th November 1871.
I, SAMUEL WILKERSON, the younger, of Bassingbourn, in the County of
Cambridge, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVED APPARATUS OR MECHANISM FOR RAISING, SHOOTING, AND EMPTYING
AND FILLING SACKS OR SIMILAR RECEPTACLES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improved apparatus or means for raising,
shooting, or emptying and filling sacks or similar receptacles.
The construction of the improved apparatus is as follows:-Placed in
grooves in the fore posts or supports of a wooden or iron framing and

page_text: capable of sliding therein is an elevator board, which is connected by iron
rods to an upper cross rod, and is actuated by chains or ropes connected
both to the upper rod and to a winch operated by handles. Other
chains also operated by the same winch are connected to another rod
provided with a friction pulley at its top, which bears against the under
side of a swing frame, which latter is centred or pivotted at the upper
part of the rear supports of the framing. All these chains are connected
to and operated upon by the winch in such a manner as to cause the
depression of the swing frame when the elevator board is at its highest
point, and vice versa, as herein-after described.
The mode of operation and action of the apparatus is as follows :-
When the elevator board is at its lowest point the sack to be raised and
shot or emptied is placed thereon. The winch is now actuated by the
handles and by means of the chains connected to the upper cross rod
(which pass through'swing pullies placed at the upper part of two fixed
iron rods held by a brace rod, and situated above the framing) draws up or
raises the elevator board together with the sack. At about the centre of
the upper cross rod is placed a double hooked swing piece, which holds
the sack in position, and which when the elevator board is at its highest
point comes against and is actuated by a small fixed projection on the
brace rod in such a manner as to tilt the sack. At the same time that
the winch is thus raising the elevator board and its load it likewise by
means of the chains connected to the friction pulley rod lowers that, and
the swing frame resting thereon at the same time falls. When the
swing frame has arrived at its lowest point the elevator board and the
sack to be shot or emptied has reached its highest point, as above
described, when the sack is tilted from the elevator board and falls on
to the swing frame. The motion of the winch is then reversed so that
the now empty elevator board is caused to descend in its grooves whilst
the inner end of the swing frame is gradually raised by the ascent of the
friction pulley rod.
Previous to this operation an empty sack or other receptacle is placed
on hooks on the fore end of the swing frame, so that as the inner end of
the latter is raised the fore end on which the empty sack is hung and
towards which the mouth of the full sack lies is depressed, and as this
motion gradually continues the contents of the full sack are shot or
emptied into the empty sack and so fill the same, after which it is
removed and replaced by another empty sack; and another full sack being

page_text: placed upon the elevator board, now at its lowest point, the operation, as
above described, is continued.
A projecting piece is placed at the rear of the framing which prevents
the swing frame from being depressed too much.
When desired to merely raise the sacks as in loading a waggon, it will
only be necessary to elevate the sacks as described to the desired height,
when by manual power the sacks can be removed to their proper
places.
The apparatus, as above described, is placed upon small wheels so as to
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Samuel Wilkerson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 18th May 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
WILKERSON, the younger, of Bassingbourn, in the County of Cambridge,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and succes-
sors, give and grant unto me, the said Samuel Wilkerson, the younger,
Her special licence that I, the said Samuel Wilkerson, the younger,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Samuel Wilkerson, the younger, 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 "IMPROVED APPARATUS OR MECHANISM FOR
RAISING, SHOOTING, AND EMPTYING AND FILLING SACKS OR SIMILAR RECEPTACLES,'
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Samuel Wilkerson,
the younger, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
"

page_text: 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 Samuel Wilkerson, the younger, 5
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 in writing, and on
reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, that is to say:
=
1. This Invention relates to improved apparatus or means for raising, 1
shooting, or emptying and filling sacks or other similar receptacles.
2. The construction and operation or mode of working of the apparatus
will be readily understood on reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, and to the following explanation or description thereof.
3. On the accompanying Drawings Figure 1 represents a front eleva- 1
tion, and Figure 2 a side elevation of the improved apparatus. The
other Figures represent separate views of detached parts in order to
make the construction of the same clearly understood.
4. The construction of the improved apparatus is as follows :—1, 1,
represent the fore posts or supports of a combined wooden and iron 2
framing 2, 2, which supports are formed or provided with vertical
grooves a, a, (Fig. 3) facing each other. Placed in these grooves and
capable of sliding therein is an elevator board 3, 3, connected by iron
rods 4, 4, to an upper cross rod 5, 5, and which is actuated by chains or
ropes 6, 6, connected both to the (upper cross rod 5, 5, and passing 2
through swing pullies placed at the upper part of two iron rods held by
a brace rod and situated above the framing, or by preference to the lower
parts of the) iron rods 4, 4, and passing over fixed pulleys b, b, at the
upper part thereof, and to a winch 7, 7, operated by the handle (or
handles) 8, 8; 9, 9, represent other chains (also operated by the winch 3
7, 7,) connected to a vertical rod 10, 10, which is either provided with
a friction pulley at its top or is formed as shewn, and which part bears
against a surface plate c, c, at the under side of a swing frame 11, 11,
centred or pivotted to side swing irons 12, 12, which are in turn centred
or pivotted at or near the upper part of the rear posts or supports 13, 13, 3

page_text: of the framing 2, 2. The chains 9, 9, are similar to the chains 6, 6, but
on the Drawings have only their centre lines dotted to avoid crowding.
The chains 6, 6, and 9, 9, are connected to and operated upon by the
winch 7, 7, in such a manner as to cause the depression of the swing
frame 11, 11, when the elevator board 3, 3, is ascending, and vice versâ,
as herein-after described. At about the centre of the cross rod 5, 5, is
placed a double hooked piece (to hold the sack in position), which I
construct in two forms. In one of these it is formed as a swing piece,
which when the elevator board has arrived at its highest point comes
against and is actuated by a projection on the brace rod (above referred
to) in such a manner as to tilt the sack on to the swing frame; and in
the other it is constructed on the same principle as a pair of scissors
with the blades hooked shape (see Figure 4), so that the string securing
the mouth of the sack and holding the same in position can be laid
across the lower one (the upper edge of which is of a square section)
without its being cut until the elevator board 3, 3, has arrived at its
highest point when (as hereafter described) the lower blade is caused to
bear against the upper one and cut the string. The knife 17, 17, works
in a joint 16, 16, the stem of which is placed in a boss 14, 14, at about
the centre of the cross rod 5, 5, and secured therein by a pin 15, 15, the
stem being provided with holes at different heights so as to allow of its
being fitted in various positions to suit different sizes or heights of sacks.
The lower blade projects outwards at right angles, and to this projecting
part is fastened a cord, rope, or jack chain 18, 18, the other end of which
is fastened to a hand lever 19, 19, to the lower part of which is attached
a spindle 20, 20, running along under the elevator board 3, 3, until it
reaches about the centre thereof, where it is provided with a projecting
rod 21, 21, on the outer end of which is placed a flat or slightly curved
piece of iron 22, which (by the means described) at the same time that
the string holding the sack is cut by the knife is caused to bear against
the sack and push it over on to the swing frame, which latter is provided
with spikes so that it shall not be propelled or fall off before being
emptied as hereafter described; or I do away with the hand lever, and
make this part self-acting by connecting the chain 18 to one of the
chains 6, and by prolonging inwards the rod 21, both as dotted, so that
its inner end is caused by the ascent of the elevator board at the proper
time to catch against the stay bar 2* of the framing 2, and to be
depressed and its end 22 elevated, by which means at the same time
that the chain 6 causes the knife to cut the string the plate 22 bears

page_text: against the sack and tilts it on to the frame. The empty sack into which
the grain from the full sack is to be shot or emptied is hung to the rear
of the swing frame upon four hooks 23, 23, attached thereto, the con-
struction of which is as follows:-The hooks are placed on two spindles
24, 24, which are held in the upper and lower parts of a projecting
bracket 25 of the swing frame 11, 11, and in such a manner as to be
capable of partially turning therein. These two spindles are acted upon
simultaneously when it is desired to release the sack into which the
contents of the full sack have been shot or emptied by the following
means:-- -To the end of each spindle is attached a lever 26, 26, both of
which are connected together by a connecting rod 27, and one of which
is provided with a handle 28, and is held continually by a small spiral
or other spring 29 secured to the bracket 25 in such a position as to
cause the four hooks to be detained one in each corner of the mouth of
the sack, and thereby keep it open until it is filled and ready to be
removed, and all that is necessary to do when the full sack is desired to
be removed is to partially turn the spindles by the handle lever, when
all the hooks will at the same time detach themselves. 30 represents
a projecting piece placed at the rear of the framing 2, 2, which prevents
the swing frame 11, 11, from being depressed too far.
The apparatus as above described is (or may be placed on small
wheels so as to be rendered portable.
5. The mode of operation and action of the improved apparatus is as
follows:-
-When the elevator board is at its lowest point the full sack
to be raised and shot or emptied of its contents is placed thereon and
secured by the string holding its mouth being placed over the lower
blade of the double hooked piece or knife 17. The winch 7, 7, is now
actuated by the handle (or handles) 8, 8, and by means of the chains
6, 6, draws up or raises the elevator board 3, 3, together with the full
sack resting thereon. During or at the same time that the winch is
thus raising the elevator board and its load it likewise by means of the
chains 9, 9, causes the depression of the rod 10, 10, which together with
the swing frame 11, 11, resting thereon at the same time falls. The fall
of the swing frame may either be caused by hand or by connecting one
of the chains 9 to the inner end thereof, as dotted. At the same time
that the elevator board reaches its highest point the swing frame reaches
its lowest, when it is pushed under the elevator board and sack, the
former being cut away for this purpose, as shewn at Figure 3, the swing

page_text: irons 12, 12, allowing the frame to be so moved, so that when the sack is
tilted as hereafter described the whole body thereof is caused to fall
thereon, so that no corn shall be left therein. This is effected by a small
catch cast or otherwise formed on a ratchet wheel (hereafter mentioned)
which during the revolution thereof comes against a projection x¹
secured to the under side of the swing frame when the inner end of the
latter is at its lowest point and so pushes it forward. Immediately after
the swing frame is thus pushed under the elevator board the sack is
tilted therefrom on to the former by actuating the hand lever 19, which
causes the knife 17 to cut the string and at the same time causes the
flat iron 22, 22, to press against the lower part of the sack and thus tilt
it on to the swing frame, or these latter operations may be performed by
the self-acting means above described. The motion of the winch is then
reversed, so that the now empty elevator board is caused to descend in
its grooves whilst the ascent of the rod 10 causes the inner end of the
swing frame 11 to be gradually raised. Previous to this however an
empty sack or other receptacle is placed on the hooks 23, so that as the
inner end of the swing frame is raised the outer end on which the empty
sack is hung and towards which the mouth of the full sack lies is lowered,
and as this motion gradually continues the swing frame falls forwards
and the contents of the sack thereon are shot. or emptied into the sack
hung on the hooks 23, and so fill the same, after which it is removed and
replaced by another empty sack, and another full sack being placed upon
the elevator board, now at its lowest point, the operation as above
described is repeated.
6. A double-acting clutch 31 (see Figure 6) is placed on the spindle
of the winch 7, 7, so that when the apparatus is desired to be used merely
to raise the sacks (say, for the purpose of loading a waggon,) without
working the swing frame 11 over it will only be necessary to elevate the
sacks as described to the desired height; and a suitable board being
placed on the waggon and fastened to the fore posts 1, 1, at the height
desired, the sacks can then be removed by manual power to their proper
places. A ratchet wheel 32 (above referred to) and double-acting pawl
33 being provided on the spindle of the winch so that the elevator board
mov he bont of any desined height In like manner the awing forma mar

page_text: In Figure 1 the handle 8, clutch 31, ratchet wheel 32, pawl 33, &
catch ¹ are shown on the opposite side of the machine to what they are
in the other Figures.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention for
"Improved Apparatus or Mechanism for Raising, Shooting, and
Emptying and Filling Sacks or similar Receptacles," together with
the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried
into practical effect, I would remark in conclusion that I claim as my
Invention, the general construction and peculiar arrangement and adapta-
tion of the improved apparatus or means for raising, shooting, or
emptying and filling sacks or other similar receptacles, substantially as
herein-before described, and as illustrated on the accompanying Drawings,
or any equivalent modification thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Wilkerson, the younger, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of May, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
two.