IMPROVEMENTS IN THRASHING MACHINES
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Oliver Maggs, of Bourton, in the County of Dorset,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THRASHING MACHINES."
Sealed the 12th September 1854, and dated the 12th July 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Oliver Maggs at the Offico
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 12th July
1854.
I, OLIVER MAGGS, of Bourton, in the County of Dorset, do hereby declare
the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THRASHING MACHINES" to be
as follows:-
This Invention has for its object a new combination of parts of thrashing
machinery, by which the separating of the corn seeds and other matters will
be more completely and advantageously accomplished. For this purpose the
products from the thrashing drum or apparatus descend on to a shaking sieve
or screen, and are subjected to a blast of air from a fan, by which much of the
lighter matters will be separated. The grain, seed, and heavier matters are
received into a suitable box or receiver, from whence they are raised by an
endless band with cups or other elevating apparatus, and allowed to descend,
where the grain and matters are again acted on by a blast of air from a fan, by
which any remaining lighter matters will be separated. The grain, seed, and
heavier matters descend into a cylinder or sieve, with different degrees of open-
ings, within which cylinder a spiral brush revolves. The seed and small matters
pass through the smaller holes of the sieve, and the smaller grain will be
separated from the larger grain by the succeeding parts of the sieve, and the
fine or best grain will be delivered at the end, or it may pass through the sieve,

page_text: and, by preference, at such a height as to fall into a sack. At the spout where
the delivery takes place a spring weighing machine is applied; or the sieve
may be inclined, and have the grain and matters moved therein by other form
than a screw or spiral. At the lower end of the straw shaker is placed a
rotating brush in a curved perforated plate, to aid in separating the grain from
short straw.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Oliver Maggs in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th
January 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, OLIVER
MAGGS, of Bourton, in the County of Dorset, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Oliver Maggs, Her special licence that I, the said Oliver Maggs, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Oliver
Maggs, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THRASHING
MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Oliver Maggs,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should 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 Oliver Maggs, 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 state-
ment thereof (that is to say):-
:-
This Invention has for its object a new combination of parts of thrashing
machinery, by which the separating of the corn, seeds, and other matters will
be more completely and advantageously accomplished. For this purpose the
products from the thrashing drum or apparatus descend on to a shaking sieve
or screen, and are subjected to a blast of air from a fan, by which much

page_text: of the lighter matters will be separated. The grain, seed, and heavier matters
are received into a suitable box or receiver, from whence they are raised by au
endless band with cups or other elevating apparatus, and allowed to descend,
where the grain and matters are again acted on by a blast of air from a fan,
by which any remaining lighter matters will be separated. The grain, seed,
and heavier matters descend into a cylinder or sieve, with different degrees of
openings, within which cylinder a spiral brush revolves. The seed and smaller
matters pass through the smaller holes of the sieve, and the smaller grain will
be separated from the larger grain by the succeeding parts of the sieve, and
the fine.or best grain will be delivered at the end, or it may pass through the
sieve, and, by preference, at such height as to fall into a sack. At the spout
where the delivery takes place. a spring weighing machine is applied; or the
sieve may be inclined, and have the grain and matters moved therein by other
form, than a screw or spiral. At the lower end of the straw shaker is placed
a rotating brush in a curved perforated plate, to aid in separating the grain
from short straw.
Having thus stated, the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to describe
the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
The Drawings show several views of a thrashing machine arranged according
to my Invention; the nature of each of the views being written thereon, it will
not be necessary to repeat the same here, the same letters referring to similar
parts in all the Figures. a is the thrashing drum; and b, the concave surface
for the beaters to act upon, which are of the ordinary construction; c is a sieve
or screen, upon which the products from the thrashing drum are received and
conducted by the boards c' on to the inclined riddles c, where they are sub-
jected to the action of a blast of air from the fan d.. The sieve or screen c has
a shaking action given to it by a connecting rod driven by the crank axis c',
which receives motion by toothed wheels from the axis of the fan d'; the
riddles are suspended from the sieve c by chains and rods, as shown. The
grain, seed, and heavier matters from the riddles are received into the box
or receiver e, from which they are raised by the endless band of cups f, and
delivered into the separator g, which is a sieve' or cylinder of wire cloth of"
different degrees of fineness, and within which a spiral brush is caused to
revolve. The seed and, smaller matters are separated from the larger grain
in its passage from one end of the separator y to the other, where the meshes
of the sieve are of a size to allow the fine or best grain to pass through on to
the incline h, where it is again acted upon by a blast of air from the fan d'.

page_text: The grain is then conducted by the spout i into the mouth of a sack, which is
supported upon a spring weighing machine j, as shown.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, I would remark,
that although I have shown and described the machine in such manner that
the second blast of air acts on only the finer coin after it comes from the
separator, and which is the arrangement I prefer, it will be evident that this
second blowing may be arranged to act on the corn, seeds, and matters before
they go into the separator; and although I have shown and described the
machine arranged with the separator suitable for delivering the best corn
through the meshes of the wire, it might be arranged for delivering the best
corn through the end after the seeds and other smaller matters have been
separated by passing through the meshes of the separator. And although I
have described the use of a revolving brush similar to those of flour-dressing
machines in the separator, other forms of aparatus to stir up and move the
matters in the separator may be employed. And I would state that when the
separator is fixed horizontally, the revolving brush should be arranged spirally.
It should also be remarked, that although it has been thought necessary (in
order to make the Invention readily understood) to show many parts of a
thrashing machine which are arranged similarly to thoso heretofore constructed,
such as the thrashing cylinder, the shaker, and the first sieve and blowing
apparatus, and also detail parts, it should be understood that no claim is made
thereto, and the forms and arrangements of such parts may be varied without
departing from my Invention; nor do I claim any of the mechanical parts
shown, my Invention consisting of the combining of elevating apparatus with
blowing and separating apparatus, and also weighing machine, in the manner
shown and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Oliver Maggs, have hereunto set my
band and seal, this Ninth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
WILLIAM BRASIER,
12, Cursitor Street,
Chancery Lane.
OLIVER MAGGS. (L.S.)