Improvements in Arrangements or Apparatus for Drawing Off and Mixing the Grain from Elevator and other Vertical Silos and Store Bins.
Year: 1886

page_text: This Specification was, upon the 1st day of January, 1889, amended under
Sections 18 to 21 of the Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks Act, 188 5.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Arrangements or Apparatus for Drawing Off and
Mixing the Grain from Elevator and other Vertical Silos and
Store Bins.
I, WILLIAM HOLLINSHEAD-SPRAGUE, of Birling Lodge, Fleetwood, in the County of
Lancaster, Inspector of Works for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
This invention relates to arrangements or apparatus for drawing off and mixing the
grain from elevator and other vertical silos and store bins and consists in causing the
grain to leave the bin from the top or upper end of the supply and also from the bottom
end simultaneously so that the two deliveries or stream of grain from the top may
meet and mix with a central stream issuing from the bottom of the bin whereupon the
grain is further mixed by being arranged to fall upon a pyramidal structure along the
sloping surfaces of which the grain passes through pipes or tubes converging towards
the lower central aperture through which the grain is delivered.
Near to each of two opposite sides of the bin and extending froin the top to the
bottom thereof, I arrange a partition having horizontal openings or ports at suitable
distances apart and arranged alternately on the opposite sides of the bin, the interval
or space behind the partitions forming vertical passages through which the grain
from the top of the supply after passing through the horizontal openings or ports is
conducted down to suitably arranged passages pointing inwardly so as to meet in two
opposite streams a central stream of grain descending from the bottom of the supply
through a groove extending across the bottom of the bin. The openings or ports and
the side and underneath passages are of such a size relatively to each other that the
vertical side passages become filled with the grain which moves downwardly in a
compact column and thus cuts off and prevents the entry of grain from those ports
which are below the two ports above (one on each side of the bin) supplying for the
ime being the grain to the side passages. Thus chaff and extraneous light matter
which is apt to rise and accumulate upon the surface of the grain is caused to be
carried off as it rises and to be mixed with the better grain at the bottom of the bin
nd so produce a uniform mixture or sample throughout the delivery of the entire

page_text: contents of the bin. In lieu of the arrangement of two side passages as above
described a central tube may be employed having openings or apertures through
which the grain may pass from the top of the supply so as to fill the tube and descend
in a compact column as in the case of the side passages hereinabove referred to.
When a central tube is employed the grain may be arranged to leave the bottom of the
bin and to mix with that issuing from the bottom of the tube by means of a suitably
sized aperture surrounding the tube.
The pyramidal structure upon which the grain falls after leaving the bin is so
arranged as to carry an inner upper set and a lower outer set of tubes (preferably four
tubes in each set) the top of the structure being formed with sloping surfaces in such
manner that the grain may be guided in the required quantity to each of the several
tubes which are provided with valves so that the supply of grain from each tube may
be regulated. The grain flows from the inner outlet ends of the tubes in eight streams
which meet each other the grain thereby becoming thoroughly mixed at the point of
delivery. The upper side of the structure, the interior of the tubes, and other surfaces
along which the grain passes are preferably covered with sheet zinc for the purpose
of reducing friction.
בד
1000
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (AMENDED).
Improvements in Arrangements or Apparatus for Drawing Off and
Mixing the Grain from Elevator and other Vertical Silos and
Store Bins.
I, WILLIAM HOLLINSHEAD-SPRAGUE, of Birling Lodge, Fleetwood, in the County of
Lancaster, Inspector of Works for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company,
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:
This invention relates to improvements in that class of apparatus for drawing off
and mixing the grain from elevator and other vertical silos and store bins for which
Letters Patent were respectively granted to Johnson and Johnson No. 10,077
A.D. 1885 and Henderson No. 3031 A.D. 1886, and consists in causing the grain to
leave the bin from the top or upper end of the supply and also from the bottom end
simultaneously so that two deliveries or streams of grain from the top may meet and
mix with a central stream issuing from the bottom of the bin whereupon the grain is
further mixed by being arranged to fall upon a pyramidal structure along whose
sloping surfaces the grain passes to pipes or tubes converging towards the lower
central aperture through which the grain is delivered.
Near to each of two opposite sides of the bin and extending from the top to the
bottom thereof, I arrange a partition having horizontal openings or ports at suitable
distances apart and arranged alternately on the opposite sides of the bin, the interval
or space behind the partitions forming vertical passages through which the grain
from the top of the supply after passing through the horizontal openings or ports is
conducted down to suitably arranged passages pointing inwardly so as to meet in two
opposite streams a central stream of grain descending from the bottom of the supply
through a groove or narrow opening extending across the bottom of the bin. The
openings or ports and the side and underneath passages are of such a size relatively to
each other that the vertical side passages become filled with the grain which moves
downwardly in a compact column and thus cuts off and prevents the entry of grain
from those ports which are below the two ports above (one on each side of the bin)
supplying for the time being the grain to the side passages. Thus chaff and extraneous
light matter which is apt to rise and accumulate upon the surface of the grain is
caused to be carried off as it rises and to be mixed with the better grain at the bottom
of the bin and so produce a uniform mixture or sample throughout the delivery of the
entire contents of the bin. In lieu of the arrangement of two side passages as above
described a central tube may be employed having openings or apertures through
which the grain may pass from the top of the supply so as to fill the tube and descend
in a compact column as in the case of the side passages hereinabove referred to.
When a central tube is employed the grain may be arranged to leave the bottom of
the bin and to mix with that issuing from the bottom of the tube by means of a
suitably sized annular aperture surrounding the tube.
.

page_text: The pyramidal structure upon which the grain falls after leaving the bin is so
arranged as to carry an inner upper set and a lower outer set of tubes (preferably
four tubes in each set) the top of the structure being formed with sloping surfaces in
such manner that the grain may be guided in the required quantity to each of the
several tubes which may be provided with valves so that the supply of grain from each
tube may be regulated. The grain flows from the inner outlet ends of the tubes in
eight streams which meet each other, the grain thereby becoming thoroughly mixed
at the point of delivery. The upper side of the structure, tho interior of the tubes,
and other surfaces along which the grain passes are preferably covered with sheet zinc
for the purpose of reducing friction.
In the accompanying drawings
Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view, and
Fig. 2 a plan view of a rectangular or four-sided silo or store bin having my
invention as above described applied thereto. a a are the sides of the bin; bb partitions
with horizontal openings or ports cc; dd the spaces forming vertical side passages
through which the grain a after leaving the top of the supply (as shown in Fig. 7)
descends in a solid or compact column (shown more clearly in Fig. 5) to the sloping
conducting passages e e so as to meet in two opposite streams and mix with a central
stream descending through the groove or narrow opening f. The descending grain
then falls upon the upper surface g of a pyramidal structure having an inner upper
set of tubes h h h h and a lower outer set of tubes i, i, i, i.
Fig. 3 shows in a plan view the arrangement of the sloping surfaces of the structure
and the position of the two sets of tubes; whilst
Fig. 4 shows also in plan view the arrangement of the tubes through which the
grain passes and is delivered in eight converging streams meeting at one central
point thereby becoming thoroughly mixed together on entering the shoot or delivery
tube .
Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view, and
Fig. 7 a plan view showing a modification of the above described arrangement, each
of the four sides of the bin being provided with a vertical passage d although each of
the four passages is made to extend only partially across the side of the bin instead of
entirely across as in the previously described arrangement. The horizontal openings
or ports c c are preferably at the sides of the tubes which form the vertical passages,
the openings being shown more clearly in the centre of Fig. 6, in which the back tube
is shown partly in section. The grain descends through the vertical passages in a
compact column, cutting off and preventing the grain from the ports below those
which for the time being are feeding or supplying the grain to the interior of the
tubes from the top of the supply, and is then conducted inwardly through the sloping
passages e e to meet a central stream from the bottom of the bin which finds its way
partly through the central tube / through the bottom of the funnel shaped dish m and
partly underneath the dish through the apertures between the ends of the converging
sloping tubes e e into the vertical semi-circular tubes n n (see Fig. 8). Fig. 8 is a
diagram plan view with the dish m removed shewing more clearly the arrangement of
the sloping converging tubes and the method whereby the grain is conducted in nine
separate streams into the shoot k the mixing of the grain being thus effected without
the employment of the pyramidal arrangements first hereinabove described and shewn
in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the drawings.
The succeeding figures of the drawings illustrate a mode whereby the application of
my invention is made available for six-sided bins. With this form of bin I prefer
to provide only one side of the bin with a partition and to form the lower part of the
bin with a floor sloping down towards the shoot. Fig. 9 is a sectional side view;
Figs. 10, 11, and 12, are plan views; Fig. 13 is a front view with the front sides of
the bin partially removed so as to shew the construction of the partition and its
openings or ports and attendant arrangements; and Fig. 14 is a sectional back view
of a six-sided bin to which my invention is applied in the manner just mentioned.
a a are the sides of the bin; b. the partition with the horizontal openings or ports cc,
and having the vertical passages d d. ss represent pieces of timber interposed between

page_text: the partition and the bin side a to receive the pressure of the grain upon the
partition which under ordinary circumstances would be too weak and would therefore
give way under the side pressure of the grain within the bin; similar supporting
pieces ss being also shewn in the figures illustrating the former arrangements herein-
before described. The grain descending in a compact column through the vertical
passages d. d finds its way (as shewn by arrows) to the interior of the shoot the
grain from the vertical passages falling meanwhile upon the top side of a central inner
conducting tube o which receives the grain supplied from the bottom of the bin
through the central sloping tube e and the openings 99, the upper and lower streams
being mixed together at the point of delivery in the shoot k. t is a semi-circular
piece or saddle provided for the purpose of receiving the pressure of the grain above
and to prevent it from interfering with the passage of the moving grain underneath as
it passes from the bottom of the bin to the inner tube o.
In all the arrangements above described it will be observed that a delivery from the
top or inferior part of the grain supply and a delivery from the bottom or superior
part are simultaneously drawn off in such a manner as to meet and mix with each other
near the exit point of delivery or shoot.
I am aware that it has been sought to draw off the grain from the top of the supply
in silos or bins by means of vertical tubes arranged centrally or otherwise, such tubes
having openings fitted with doors or valves to be opened in some cases automatically
and in others by the aid of rods and levers and other appliances worked from the
outside of the bin. In this connection I would refer particularly to the specifications of
Devaux No. 1087 A.D. 1856, Johnson and Johnson 10,077 A.D. 1885 and Henderson
3031 A.D. 1886. When designed to be opened automatically the tubes have first of
all to be filled with grain in order to ensure the doors or valves being securely closed
from the inside by the pressure of the grain within the tube, the doors being intended
to open as the top of the column of grain lowers in the tube and the inside pressure
of the grain withdrawn. As ordinarily constructed such doors or valves cannot in
practice be relied upon to open and close when wanted and are moreover liable to
get out of order. When the valves are operated from the outside of the bin great
difficulty is experienced owing to the heavy pressure of the grain on the valve
mechanism employed. Now the principal feature of my invention consists in adapting
the principle that a compact column of descending grain within a vertical tube or
passage cuts off the entry of grain at those ports or apertures in the tube which the
compact column is passing at the time (as shewn at Fig. 5) and, by reason of this
discovery, I am enabled to dispense with doors, valves, and external mechanism of
every kind and to turn the grain supply into the silo or bin at once in the ordinary
way; the opening or closing of the ordinary shoot or delivery valve controlling the
action of the entire apparatus. Another important feature of my invention consists in
providing arrangements whereby the grain may be drawn off from the bottom of the
supply as well as from the top simultaneously and so as to effect such a mixture of the
two as shall be practically uniform throughout the drawing off of the entire contents
of the bin.
Although a vertical central tube or tubes having side openings or ports without any
doors or valves and operating on the principle of my invention (with a lower annular
tube surrounding its lower extremity so as to allow the grain to escape from the
bottom of the bin simultaneously with that descending through the tube from the top
of the supply) I prefer, in practice, to arrange the vertical passages against the sides
of the bin, as they may then be more firmly and compactly constructed and secured in
place, and without the obstructions caused by the numerous cross stays which a tube
arranged centrally requires in order to support it in position and to enable it to resist
the varying strains causing by the shifting pressure of the grain in the bin.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention,
and in what manner it is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In elevator and other vertical silos and store bins the use or employment of
vertical passages having open ports or apertures without doors or valves through

page_text: which the grain from the top of the supply is admitted into the vertical passages and
descends therein to a tube or tubes leading to the shoot or delivery tube in manner
as described and shewn in the drawings.
2. In elevator and other vertical silos and store bins drawing off the grain from the
top and bottom of the grain supply simultaneously in manner as described and shewn
in the drawings.
3. The use or employment in conjunction with vertical silos and store bins of a
pyramidal structure with converging tubes constructed and arranged substantially as
described and shewn in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the drawings for the purpose set forth.
4. The combination of the vertical passages d d, converging sloping tubes e e, the
dish m with central tube l, constituting the arrangement described and shewn in
Figs. 6, 7 and 8 of the drawings.
5. The combination of the vertical passages d d, sloping tube e, openings 9 9,
inner tube o, and saddle t, constituting the arrangement described and shewn in
Figs. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 of the drawings.
nowT
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: Date of Application, 21st May, 1886
Complete Left, 21st Feb., 1887
Complete Accepted, 22nd Mar., 1887
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Arrangements or Apparatus for Drawing Off and
Mixing the Grain from Elevator and other Vertical Silos and
Store Bins.
I, WILLIAM HOLLINSHEAD-SPRAGUE, of Birling Lodge, Fleetwood, in the County of
Lancaster, Inspector of Works for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to arrangements or apparatus for drawing off and mixing the
grain from elevator and other vertical silos and store bins and consists in causing the
grain to leave the bin from the top or upper end of the supply and also from the bottom
end simultaneously so that the two deliveries or stream of grain from the top may
mect and mix with a central stream issuing from the bottom of the bin whereupon the
grain is further mixed by being arranged to fall upon a pyramidal structure along the
sloping surfaces of which the grain passes through pipes or tubes converging towards
the lower central aperture through which the grain is delivered.
Near to each of two opposite sides of the bin and extending from the top to the
bottom thereof, I arrange a partition having horizontal openings or ports at suitable
distances apart and arranged alternately on the opposite sides of the bin, the interval
or space behind the partitions forming vertical passages through which the grain
from the top of the supply after passing through the horizontal openings or ports is
conducted down to suitably arranged passages pointing inwardly so as to meet in two
opposite streams a central stream of grain descending from the bottom of the supply
through a groove extending across the bottom of the bin. The openings or ports and
the side and underneath passages are of such a size relatively to each other that the
vertical side passages become filled with the grain which moves downwardly in a
compact column and thus cuis off and prevents the entry of grain from those ports
which are below the two ports above (one on each side of the bin) supplying for the
time being the grain to the side passages. Thus chaff and extraneous light matter
which is apt to rise and accumulate upon the surface of the grain is caused to be
carried off as it rises and to be mixed with the better grain at the bottom of the bin
and so produce a uniform mixture or sample throughout the delivery of the entire

page_text: contents of the bin. In lieu of the arrangement of two side passages as above
described a central tube may be employed having openings or apertures through
which the grain may pass from the top of the supply so as to fill the tube and descend
in a compact column as in the case of the side passages hereinabove referred to.
When a central tube is employed the grain may be arranged to leave the bottom of the
bin and to mix with that issuing from the bottom of the tube by means of a suitably
sized aperture surrounding the tube.
The pyramidal structure upon which the grain falls after leaving the bin is so
arranged as to carry an inner upper set and a lower outer set of tubes (preferably four
tubes in each set) the top of the structure being formed with sloping surfaces in such
manner that the grain may be guided in the required quantity to each of the several
tubes which are provided with valves so that the supply of grain from each tube may
be regulated. The grain flows from the inner outlet ends of the tubes in eight streams
which meet each other the grain thereby becoming thoroughly mixed at the point of
delivery. The upper side of the structure, the interior of the tubes, and other surfaces
along which the grain passes are preferably covered with sheet zinc for the purpose
of reducing friction.
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Arrangements or Apparatus for Drawing Off and
Mixing the Grain from Elevator and other Vertical Silos and
Store Bins.
I, WILLIAM HOLLINSHEAD-SPRAGUE, of Birling Lodge, Fleetwood, in the County of
Lancaster, Inspector of Works for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company,
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-
This invention relates to improvements in that class of apparatus for drawing off
and mixing the grain from elevator and other vertical silos and store bins for which
Letiers Patent were respectively granted to Johnson and Johnson No. 10,077
A.D. 188 and Henderson No. 3031 A.D. 1886, and consists in causing the grain to
leave the bin from the top or upper end of the supply and also from the bottom end
simultaneously so that two deliveries or streams of grain from the top may meet and
mix with a central stream issuing from the bottom of the bin whereupon the grain is
further mixed by being arranged to fall upon a pyramidal structure along whose
sloping surfaces the grain passes to pipes or tubes converging towards the lower
central aperture through which the grain is delivered.
Near to each of two opposite sides of the bin and extending from the top to the
bottom thereof, I arrange a partition having horizontal openings or ports at suitable
distances apart and arranged alternately on the opposite sides of the bin, the interval
or space behind the partitions forming vertical passages through which the grain
from the top of the supply after passing through the horizontal openings or ports is
conducted down to suitably arranged passages pointing inwardly so as to meet in two
opposite streams a central stream of grain descending from the bottom of the supply
through a groove or narrow opening extending across the bottom of the bin. The
openings or ports and the side and underneath passages are of such a size relatively to
each other that the vertical side passages become filled with the grain which moves
downwardly in a compact column and thus cuts off and prevents the entry of grain
from those ports which are below the two ports above (one on each side of the bin)
supplying for the time being the grain to the side passages. Thus chaff and extraneous
light matter which is apt to rise and accumulate upon the surface of the grain is
caused to be carried off as it rises and to be mixed with the better grain at the bottom
of the bin and so produce a uniform mixture or sample throughout the delivery of the
entire contents of the bin. In lieu of the arrangement of two side passages as above
described a central tube may be employed having openings or apertures through
which the grain may pass from the top of the supply so as to fill the tube and descend
in a compact column as in the case of the side passages hereinabove referred to.
When a central tube is employed the grain may be arranged to leave the bottom of
the bin and to mix with that issuing from the bottom of the tube by means of a
suitably sized annular aperture surrounding the tube.

page_text: The pyramidal structure upon which the grain falls after leaving the bin is so
arranged as to carry an inner upper set and a lower outer set of tubes (preferably
four tubes in each set) the top of the structure being formed with sloping surfaces in
such manner that the grain may be guided in the required quantity to each of the
several tubes which may be provided with valves so that the supply of grain from each
tube may be regulated. The grain flows from the inner outlet ends of the tubes in
eight streams which meet each other, the grain thereby becoming thoroughly mixed
at the point of delivery. The upper side of the structure, the interior of the tubes,
and other surfaces along which the grain passes are preferably covered with sheet zinc
for the purpose of reducing friction.
In the accompanying drawings
Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view, and
Fig. 2 a plan view of a rectangular or four-sided silo or store bin having my
invention as above described applied thereto. a a are the sides of the bin; partitions
with horizontal openings or ports cc; dd the spaces forming vertical side passages
through which the grain after leaving the top of the supply (as shown in Fig. 7)
descends in a solid or compact column (shown more clearly in Fig. 5) to the sloping
conducting passages e e so as to meet in two opposite streams and mix with a central
stream descending through the groove or narrow opening f. The descending grain
then falls upon the upper surface g of a pyramidal structure having an inner upper
set of tubes hhhh and a lower outer set of tubes i, i, i, i.
Fig. 3 shows in plan view the arrangement of the sloping surfaces of the structure
and the position of the two sets of tubes; whilst
Fig. 4 shows also in plan view the arrangement of the tubes through which the
grain passes and is delivered in eight converging streams meeting at one central
point thereby becoming thoroughly mixed togethe" on entering the shoot or delivery
tube k.
Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view, and
Fig. 7 a plan view showing a modification of the above described arrangement, each
of the four sides of the bin being provided with a vertical passage d although each of
the four passages is made to extend only partially across the side of the bin instead of
entirely across as in the previously described arrangement. The horizontal openings
or ports e c are preferably at the sides of the tubes which form the vertical passages,
the openings being shown more clearly in the centre of Fig. 6, in which the back tube
is shown partly in section. The grain descends through the vertical passages in a
compact column, cutting off and preventing the grain from the ports below those
which for the time being are feeding or supplying the grain to the interior of the
tubes from the top of the supply, and is then conducted inwardly through the sloping
passages e e to meet a central stream from the bottom of the bin which finds its way
partly through the central tube 1 through the bottom of the funnel shaped dish m and
partly underneath the dish through the apertures between the ends of the converging
sloping tubes e e into the vertical semi-circular tubes n n (see Fig. 8). Fig. 8 is a
diagram plan view with the dish m removed shewing more clearly the arrangement of
the sloping converging tubes and the method whereby the grain is conducted in nine
separate streams into the shoot the mixing of the grain being thus effected without
the employment of the pyramidal arrangements first hereinabove described and shewn
in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the drawings.
The succeeding figures of the drawings illustrate a mode whereby the application of
my invention is made available for six-sided bins. With this form of bin I prefer
to provide only one side of the bin with a partition and to form the lower part of the
bin with a floor sloping down towards the shoot. Fig. 9 is a sectional side view ;
Figs. 10, 11, and 12, are plan views; Fig. 13 is a front view with the front sides of
the bin partially removed so as to shew the construction of the partition and its
openings or ports and attendant arrangements; and Fig. 14 is a sectional back view
of a six-sided bin to which my invention is applied in the manner just mentioned.
a a are the sides of the bin; b. the partition with the horizontal openings or ports c c,
and having the vertical passages dd. ss represent pieces of timber interposed between

page_text: the partition b and the bin side a to receive the pressure of the grain upon the
partition which under ordinary circumstances would be too weak and would therefore
give way under the side pressure of the grain within the bin; similar supporting
pieces ss being also shewn in the figures illustrating the former arrangements herein
before described. The grain descending in a compact column through the vertical
passages d. d finds its way (as shewn by arrows) to the interior of the shoot k the
grain from the vertical passages falling meanwhile upon the top sile of a central inner
conducting tube which receives the grain supplied from the bottom of the bin
through the central sloping tube e and the openings qq, the upper and lower streams
being mixed together at the point of delivery in the shoot k.
t is a semi-circular
piece or saddle provided for the purpose of receiving the pressure of the grain above
and to prevent it from interfering with the passage of the moving grain underneath as
it passes from the bottom of the bin to the inner tube o.
In all the arrangements above described it will be observed that a delivery from the
top or inferior part of the grain supply and a delivery from the bottom or superior
part are simultaneously drawn off in such manner as to meet and mix with each other
near the exit point of delivery or shoot.
1
I am aware that it has been sought to draw off the grain from the top of the supply
in silos or bins by means of vertical tubes arranged centrally or otherwise, such tubes
having openings fitted with doors or valves to be opened in some cases automatically
and in others by the aid of rods and levers and other appliances worked from the
outside of the When designed to be opened automatically the tubes have first of
all to be filled with grain in order to ensure the doors or valves being securely closed
from the inside by the pressure of the grain within the tube, the doors being intended
to open as the top of the column of grain lowers in the tube and the inside pressure
of the grain withdrawn. As ordinarily constructed such doors or valves cannot in
practice be relied upon to open and close when wanted and are moreover liable to
get out of order. When the valves are operated from the outside of the bin great
difficulty is experienced owing to the heavy pressure of the grain on the valve
mechanism employed. Now the principal feature of my invention consists in adapting
the principle that a compact column of descending grain within a vertical tube or
passage cuts off the entry of grain at those ports or apertures in the tube which the
compact column is passing at the time (as shewn at Fig. 5) and, by reason of this
discovery, I am enabled to dispense with doors, valves, and external mechanism of
every kind and to turn the grain supply into the silo or bin at once in the ordinary
way; the opening or closing of the ordinary shoot or delivery valve controlling the
action of the entire apparatus. Another important feature of my invention consists in
providing arrangements whereby the grain may be drawn off from the bottom of the
supply as well as from the top simultaneously and so as to effect such a mixture of the
two as shall be practically uniform throughout the drawing off of the entire contents
of the bin.
Although a vertical central tube or tubes having side openings or ports without any
doors or valves and operating on the principle of my invention (with a lower annular
tube surrounding its lower extremity so as to allow the grain to escape from the
bottom of the bin simultaneously with that descending through the tube from the top
of the supply) I prefer, in practice, to arrange the vertical passages against the sides
of the bin, as they may then be more firmly and compactly constructed and secured in
place, and without the obstructions caused by the numerous cross stays which a tube
arranged centrally requires in order to support it in position and to enable it to resist
the varying strains causing by the shifting pressure of the grain in the bin.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention,
and in what manner it is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In elevator and other vertical silos and store bins the use or employment of
vertical passages having open ports or apertures without doors or valves through
which the grain from the top of the supply is admitted into the vertical passages and

page_text: descends therein to a tube or tubes leading to the shoot or delivery tube in manner
as described and shewn in the drawings.
2. In elevator and other vertical silos and store bins drawing off the grain from the
top and bottom of the grain supply simultaneously in manner as described and shewn
in the drawings.
3. The use or employment in conjunction with vertical silos and store bins of a
pyramidal structure with converging tubes constructed and arranged substantially as
described and shewn in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the drawings for the purpose set forth.
4. The combination of the vertical passages d d, converging sloping tubes e e, the
dish m with central tube 1, constituting the arrangement described and shewn in
Figs. 6, 7 and 8 of the drawings.
5. The combination of the vertical passages dd, sloping tube e, openings 99,
inner tube o, and saddle, constituting the arrangement described and shewn in
Figs. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 of the drawings.
Dated stray of retary
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agent for the Applicant.
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.,
Agent for the Applicant.