IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR DRESSING, ASSORTING, AND DECORTICATING WHEAT AND OTHER GRAIN
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Sealy Allin, of Midleton, in the County
of Cork, Ireland, Flour Miller, for the Invention of "IMPROVED
MACHINERY FOR DRESSING, ASSORTING, AND DECORTICATING WHEAT AND
OTHER GRAIN."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Sealy Allin at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 29th December 1873.
I, SAMUEL SEALY ALLIN,' of Midleton, in the County of Cork,
3 Ireland, Flour Miller, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for " IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR DRESSING, ASSORTINO, AND DECORTICATING
WHEAT AND OTHER GRAIN," to be as follows:-

page_text: '
and for separating or assorting and cleaning the grain prior to its under-
going the decorticating operation.
2ndly. To an improved construction of decorticator which will remove
the skin from the wheat and other grain in a more perfect and economical
manner than heretofore.
The cleaning and assorting machine consists of a vertical trunk of any
approved proportions fitted at its opposite sides with shelves which
incline downwards and nearly meet at about the middle of the trunk.
Over these shelves the grain is allowed to fall from an elevated hopper
in order that it may be exposed to blasts of air and be thereby separated 1
from extraneous matters, and also assorted according to the specific
gravity of the seeds.
At one side of the trunk is an air passage connected with a rotary fan
or blower, and extending from end to end of the trunk and equal to it
in breadth. Air from this passage enters the trunk thro' horizontal 1
openings formed in the adjacent side of the trunk and fitted with
adjustable valves, preference being given to excentric rollers, which by
being turned may be made to close or open the passages to any extent
desired.
A shaker is placed above the trunk to keep back bulky matters 2
contained in the grain, and the grain is then delivered through the
hopper to the first pair of inclined shelves. Immediately below these
shelves is one that is continued through the trunk and air passage to
discharge stones or metal directly out of the machine. A blast of air
playing on this shelf will cause the grain to fall over the upper side 2
thereof on to a shelf below which will conduct it to the next pair of
shelves, a second blast will now meet the falling grain and dust, and
light seeds will be blown forward into a vertical conductor extending
from near the top to the bottom of the machine; this conductor is
divided by a vertical partition into two passages that receive respectively 3
the matters driven out of the trunk by the blast and lead off the same
to separate receptacles below. In like manner the grain is submitted to
the action of some three, four, or more blasts of air as it falls to the
bottom of the trunk, and thus the cleaning and assorting of the grain is
effected, inclined channels being formed opposite every blast for leading 3
off the dust and light grain. The grain thus cleaned and assorted is
placed in the hopper of the decorticating machine, which consists of a

page_text: series of travelling endless bands (two, three, or more), which are
severally arranged horizontally above a grinding table composed of slabs
of artificial or natural stone dressed so as to decorticate the grain as it
travels over the surface of the same.
Blasts of air are admitted to the case of the machine, or an exhaust
trunk with openings to the case may be used to carry off the skins or
coating removed from the grain as it leaves the several tables.
The endless bands are so formed that they will by their own weight
bear upon the grain as it is delivered to the several tables and subject it
to the necessary friction as it carries it forward to the end thereof. For
this purpose the first band of the series is composed, say, of two layers
of cloth sewn together transversely, and enclosing between the lines of
stitches strips of lead which. will give weight to without affecting the
flexibility of the band. The acting face of this band is formed of
strips of soft wood (cut by preference transversely of the grain) or of
strips of cork, which will produce a good holding surface. The following
bands of the series may be made also of cloth leaded as described, and
covered one with thin leather (by preference horse skin) and another
with rough cloth, but the last of the series which overlies the polishing
table it is preferred to face with india-rubber. This polishing table
may with advantage be made of slats of wood or wood covered with
woollen cloth which will impart the requisite amount of friction to
polish the grain.
Gratings with shutes may be inserted in the tables to allow of the