IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PURIFYING GRAIN, AND THE GROUND PRODUCTS THEREOF
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Martin Benson, of No. 9, Southampton Buildings, London,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PURIFYING GRAIN,
AND THE GROUND PRODUCTS THEREOF." A communication from abroad by
Oscar Oexle, of Augsburg, in the Empire of Germany, Civil Engineer.
Sealed the 5th December 1879, and dated the 11th June 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Martin Benson at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th June 1879.
MARTIN BENSON, of No. 9, Southampton Buildings, London.
"IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR PURIFYING GRAIN, AND THE GROUND PRODUCTS THEREOF."
A communication from abroad by Oscar Oexle, of Augsburg, in the Empire of
Germany, Civil Engineer.
My improvements consist in constructing machinery for purifying grain, broken
wheat, semolina, middlings, heavy brans, and any other ground products of grain,
by which I get a perfect purification; I greater capacity of machinery in a small
space, saving of motive power and hand labor, saving of loss in yield by exhaust,
and greater cleanliness.
The improvement consists in using a perforated rotating disc in an air tight com-
partment in combination with a stationary disc as to rotation, but made adjustable
endwise. My improvement further consists in combining the purifying machinery
with a dust chamber provided with self acting air filters, substantially as described
in my application for a Patent dated 18th April 1879, No. 1511.
For giving a more full understanding of the said improvement reference is here
anade to the accompanying Drawings forming part of this Specification, by the
figures and letters of reference marked thereon.
Fig. 1 represents a vertical section through the machine.
Fig. 2 is a top view of the same.
Fig. 3 is a top view of the spreading disc; and
Fig. 4 is a section through a disc with a stationary receiving case below.
The following is a description of the construction and action of the apparatus:-
a is the receiving hopper for the material to be purified for feeding to the machine.
The hopper has a cylindrical outlet, which is constructed to rise or fall for regu-
lating the quantity of feed to the machine. The feed or material is made to come
[Price Gd.]

page_text: on to the revolving or spreading disc b. This disc is perforated, and the periphery
of it is tightly fitted to the interior of the cylinder c sufficient to form an air tight
fit, but still loose enough to easily revolve it in the cylinder. The disc b may be
perforated, as shown in Fig. 3, by five concentric ring openings, but if desired it
may be perforated by round or square openings of any suitable shape. The disc
is usually made of cast iron, but may be composed of any other suitable metal, or
made of wood; or it may be composed of a frame covered with bolting cloth, wire
gauze, or webbing of any suitable kind. The cylinder c is fixed on the botton of
the receiving cylindrical case d, which has in its centre the suction pipe e. Between
the cylinder c and the outside of the case d may be fitted the cylinder f, Fig. 4,
which has another cylinder f' tightly fitted on it with means of raising or lowering
it around the cylinder flike a telescope pipe.
The bottom of the cylindrical case & has openings g with outlets and suitable
scrapers g, g, g³, turning with the revolving disc b for clearing each compartment
by the openings g. The bottom of the cylindrical case & has also openings around
the cylinder c for the admission of air, as shewn in Fig. 1, at i. The air current is
guided by the stationary cylinder K on the top of the disc b; the feed pipe from
the hopper is made to discharge the feed, and is fit air tight. The regulating disch
is fitted in a way that the distance between the two discs b and h may be regulated
to any required distance. The action of this apparatus is as follows:-The feed
enters through the pipe of the feeding hopper a on to the disc b, and it is thrown
out towards the circumference by the centrifugal force. The disc revolves from 80
to 200 revolutions per minute, more or less, according to the strength of the air
current at command. This air current is produced by an exhausting fan, which is
connected with a suction pipe e in any suitable manner. I prefer to make the con-
nection between the suction pipe e and the exhausting fan by means of a dust
chamber fitted with a shaking frame suitably covered with a filtering cloth of
woollen, cotton, or any other known suitable material in such a manner that no air
can ever reach the exhauster before having passed the filtering cloth, as shewn and
described in my application for a Patent, date 18th April 1879, No. 1511.
By raising or lowering the disc h the air current may be increased or diminished,
as may be required for the purpose.
This may also be effected by making the regulating disc stationary, and the
revolving disc b to be raised or lowered with the spindle. The granules, which are
forced outwards by the centrifugal action of the revolving disc b, are forced to pass
through the air current in opposite directions to it, and the heaviest and best par-
ticles are collected in the outer compartment of the receiving case d. This outer
compartment may have one or more sub-compartments f, Fig. 4, with regulating
cylinder f. This regulating cylinder can be raised and lowered, and has for its
object the cutting off of a part of the purified middlings to keep them separate.
The air current entering the machine at the periphery of the disc b is aspirated
by the exhauster through the openings of the disc b, and carries along with it the
light fuzzy and branny particles, as well as low grade middlings, into the inner com-
partment of the receiving case d, and the lightest fuzz and dust is drawn into the
suction pipe e, whence it is drawn into the dust chamber, filtered, and exhausted
free and clear by the exhausting fan. I do not confine myself to the design and
arrangement herein described, as many details in the machine may easily be
arranged in various ways; thus 1 may employ one, two, or more discs on one
spindle working each in one air tight compartment, and all in combination with
the same exhaust; or the regulating disc h may be fixed, and the revolving disc b
may be raised or lowered, and the casing d may have one or more compartments,
and the details of the whole machine may be made different without departing in
the least from the principle of my improvement.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by the
said Martin Benson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 9th December
1879.
"IMPROVEMENTS
MARTIN BENSON, of No. 9, Southampton Buildings, London.
IN MACHINERY FOR PURIFYING GRAIN, AND THE GROUND PRODUCTS THEREOF."
A communication from abroad by Oscar Oexle, of Augsburg, in the Empire of
Germany, Civil Engineer.
My improvement consists in constructing machinery for purifying grain, broken
wheat, semolina, middlings, heavy brans, and any other ground products of, grain,
by which I get a perfect purification, a greater capacity of machinery in a small
space, saving of motive power and hand labor, saving of loss in yield by exhaust,
and greater cleanliness.
The improvement consists in using a perforated rotating disc in an air tight com-
partment in combination with a stationary disc as to rotation, but made adjustable
endwise. My improvement further consists in combining the purifying machinery
with a dust chamber, provided with self acting filters, substantially as described in
my application for a Patent dated 18th April 1879, No. 1511.
For giving a more full understanding of the said improvement reference is here
made to the accompanying Drawings, forming part of this Specification, by the
Figures and letters of reference marked thereon.
A portion of Fig. 1 represents a vertical section through the purifying machine
at A, combined with a dust chamber C, described in my Patent, dated April 18th,
1879, No. 1511, and a feeding chamber B, provided with a sieve, aspirating, and
filtering action. Fig. 1 shows a purifying machine A', A, and feeding chamber B², B,
on each side of the machine; Fig. 2 is a top view of the purifying machine, drawn
separate; Fig. 3 is a top view of a spreading disc of the purifying machine; and
Fig. 4 is a section through a disc with a stationary receiving case below.
The following is a description of the construction and action of the purifying
apparatus; reference is more particularly made to the machine marked A', which is
shown in section. a is the receiving hopper for distributing the material to the
machine to be purified; the hopper is connected to the sieve B, through which the
material passes previous to entering the purifying machine. The hopper a has a
cylindrical outlet which is constructed to rise and fall for regulating the quantity of
feed to the machine. The feed or material is made to come on to the revolving or
spreading disc b; this disc is perforated, and the periphery of it is tightly fitted to
the interior of the cylinder c sufficient to form an air tight fit, but still loose
enough to easily revolve it in the cylinder. The disc b may be perforated, as shewn
in Fig. 3, by five concentric ring openings, but if desired it may be perforated by
round or square openings of any suitable shape. The disc is usually made of cast
iron, but may be composed of any other suitable metal, or made of wood; or it may
be composed of a frame covered with bolting cloth, wire gauze, or webbing of any
suitable kind. The cylinder c is fixed on the bottom of the receiving cylindrical
case d, which has in its centre the suction pipe e. Between the cylinder c and the
outside case d may be fitted the cylinder f, Fig. 4, which has another cylinder f',
tightly fitted on it, with means of raising and lowering it around the cylinder f like
a telescope pipe.
The bottom of the cylindrical case & has openings g with outlets and suitable
scrapers g¹, g², g³, turning with the revolving disc b for clearing each compartment

page_text: by the openings g. The bottom of the cylindrical case d has also openings around
the cylinder c for the admission of air, as shown in Fig. 1, at i; the air current is
guided by the stationary cylinder k on the top of the disc b; the feed pipe from the
hopper is made to discharge the feed, and is fit air tight. The regulating disc h is
fitted in a way that the distance between the two discs b and h may be regulated
to any required distance. The action of this apparatus is as follows:-The feed
enters through the pipe of the feeding hopper a onto the disc b, and it is thrown out
towards the circumference by the centrifugal force. The disc revolves from 80 to
200 revolutions per minute, more or less, according to the strength of the air
current at command. This air current is produced by an exhausting fan y on the
top of the dust chamber C, which is connected with a suction pipe e and z in any
suitable manner. I prefer to make the connection between the suction pipe e and
the exhausting fan y by means of a dust chamber fitted with a shaking frame,
suitably covered with a filtering cloth of woollen, cotton, or any other known
suitable material in such a manner that no air can over reach the exhauster
before having passed the filtering cloth, as shewn and described in my Patent
dated 18th April 1879, No. 1511, and represented in the accompanying
Drawings.
By raising or lowering the disc h the air current may be increased or diminished
as may be required for the purpose of treating various material; this may also be
effected by making the regulating disc h stationary, and the revolving disc b to be
raised or lowered with the spindle. The granules which are forced outwards by
the centrifugal action of the revolving disc b, and are forced to pass through the air
current in opposite directions to it, and the heaviest and best particles are collected
in the outer compartment of the receiving case d. This outer compartment may
have one or more sub-compartments f, Fig. 4, with regulating cylinder fl; this
regulating cylinder can be raised or lowered, and has for its object the cutting off
of a part of the purified middlings to keep them separate.
The air current entering the machine at the periphery of the disc b is aspirated
by the exhauster through the openings of the disc b and carries along with it the
light, fuzzy, or branny particles, as well as low grade middlings, into the inner
compartment of the receiving case d, and the lightest dust or fuzz is drawn into
the suction pipe e, whence it is drawn into the dust chamber, filtered, and exhausted
free and clear by the exhausting fan. I do not confine myself to the design and
arrangement herein described, as many details in the machine may be easily
arranged in various ways; thus I may employ one, two, or more discs on one
spindle, working each in one air tight compartment, as represented in Fig. 1, and
all in combination with the same exhaust; or the regulating disc h may be fitted
and the revolving disc b may be raised or lowered, and the casing d may have one
or more compartments, and the details of the whole machine may be made different
without departing in the least from the principle of my improvement.
The purifying machines may be worked in any convenient manner from a prime
mover by means of belts and pullies; and the combination of the machine with
the dust chamber C can be arranged to suit any existing arrangement of machinery
and parts with which it may be desired to work them.
Having now particularly described the nature of my Invention, and the mode of
working and operating it, what I claim as my improvement is,―
1st. The perforated disc b revolving in an air tight case or compartment in the
manner and for the purposes herein before described.
2nd. The regulating disc which is stationary as to rotation, but made so that it
can be adjusted near to or farther from the revolving perforated disc b, in the
manner herein before described.
3rd. The general construction and arrangement of the machine as represented by
the accompanying Drawings, and herein before described.

page_text: 4th. The combination of the purifying machine with the dust chamber, filter,
and exhaust fan, substantially as represented by the accompanying Drawings, and
herein before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Martin Benson, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Fourth day of December, in the year of our Lord 1879.
MARTIN BENSON. (L.S.)