IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING AND CLEANING SHARPS OF MIDDLINGS, GROATS OF WHEAT, AND OTHER PARTIALLY GROUND GRAIN
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Tod, of the Firm of Alexander and Robert
Tod, of Leith, in the County of Mid Lothian, and of Glasgow, in
the County of Lanark, North Britain, Millers, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING AND CLEANING SHARPS OF
MIDDLINGS, GROATS OF WHEAT, AND OTHER PARTIALLY GROUND GRAIN."-A
communication from abroad by Von Eschelivies, residing at Lestorf,
in Austria.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Tod at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th October 1868.
I, ROBERT TOD, of the Firm of Alexander and Robert Tod, of Leith,
in the County of Mid Lothian, and of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Millers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING AND CLEANING SHARPS
OR MIDDLINGS, GROATS OF WHEAT, AND OTHER PARTIALLY GROUND GRAIN," which

page_text: Invention has been communicated to me from abroad by Von Eschelivies,
residing at Lestorf, in Austria, to be as follows, that is to say: -
This Invention relates to apparatus designed more particularly for
separating and cleaning sharps or middlings, and groats of wheat, but
also suitable for operating upon other partially ground grain.
Three main modifications of apparatus are comprised in the Invention,
and in two of these the exhaust action of a blowing fan, or its equivalent,
is employed to accomplish the separation and cleaning, whilst in the
third the blowing action of the fan is used in a similar way.
The improvements consist principally in peculiar arrangements of
ducts or passages, whereby the materials are caused to fall vertically,
or nearly so, into passages or spaces traversed by the air currents in a
horizontal or nearly horizontal direction; in two of the modifications
also the passages are arranged for the materials to be acted upon twice
or oftener by air currents before finally leaving the apparatus.
The middlings or sharps and groats or other materials are subjected
to a preliminary separation by means of a riddle or screen made with
silk gauze of different meshes at different parts before they are passed
through any of the modifications of the improved apparatus, and the
several qualities obtained by the riddling are dealt with separately in
the apparatus.
In one modification the materials are led by a hopper and adjustable
duct down upon a disc fixed on the top of a revolving shaft, and
gradually fall off the edge of such disc and down between it and an
external guiding cone towards a cylinder, the top edge of which is a
little below the disc. The cylinder has within it two concentric cylinders,
and the lower part of the central one communicates with the eyes of
a fan, so that air is drawn down it, which air must enter centripetally
between the top edge of the outer cylinder and the disc. The air
entering in this way crosses the falling materials and carries the fine
dust to the centre, whence it passes through the fan to the dust room.
The larger or heavier portion of the sharps or groats fall into the
outermost space, whilst the lighter parts fall into the intermediate
space, and from these the separated materials pass off by separate ducts
to bags or elevators as required.
In the second modification the materials are admitted between a feed
roller and an adjustable plate in a broad but thin film into a chamber,

page_text: across the top of which a current of air is drawn by the exhaust action
of a fan. The air enters by an adjustable opening at the side near the
inlet for the materials and passes off by an opening at the other side
of the chamber and leading into a vertical exhaust pipe. The lower
part of the chamber is made with two hopper-shaped ducts, and an
adjustable plate divides the materials passing into them. At the bottom
of each duct the materials pass between a feed roller and plate into a
second chamber arranged like the first, and are therein subjected to a
second air current. In a similar way the materials may be acted upon
by separate air currents in successive chambers to any required extent,
being finally led by ducts into bags or to elevators.
In a third modification the arrangements are similar to those of
the second, excepting that the air passes through the fan before acting
on the materials instead of afterwards, the air after acting being led
by suitable ducts to the dust room to carry thither the dust, with which
it becomes charged.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Robert Tod in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 8th April 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
ToD, of the Firm of Alexander and Robert Tod, of Leith, in the County
of Mid Lothian, and of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Robert Tod, Her special
licence that I, the said Robert Tod, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert Tod,. 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

page_text: APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING AND CLEANING SHARPS OR MIDDLINGS, GROATS OF
WHEAT, AND OTHER PARTIALLY GROUND GRAIN," (a communication to me from
abroad by Von Eschelivies, residing at Lestorf, in Austria,) upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert Tod, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, 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 Robert Tod, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, that is to say :-
The said Invention relates to apparatus designed more particularly
for separating and cleaning sharps or middlings and groats of wheat, but
also suitable for operating upon other partially ground grain.
Three main modifications of apparatus are comprised in the Invention,
and in two of these the exhaust action of a blowing fan or its equivalent
is employed to accomplish the separation and cleaning, whilst in the
third the blowing action of the fan is used in a similar way; it is not,
however, intended to make any claim for the application of such actions,
but only for improved apparatus, substantially such as is herein-after
described, whereby such actions are made to yield satisfactory results,
The improvements consist principally in peculiar arrangements of
ducts or passages whereby the materials are caused to fall vertically or
nearly so inta passages or spaces traversed by the air currents in a
horizontal or nearly horizontal direction; in two of the modifications
also the passages are arranged for the materials to be acted upon twice or
oftener by air currents before finally leaving the apparatus,
The middlings or sharps and groats or other materials are subjected to
a preliminary separation by means of a riddle or screen made with silk
gauze of different meshes at different parts (but which presents no
features of novelty), before they are passed through any of the modifica-
tions of the improved apparatus; and the several qualities obtained by
the riddling are dealt with separately in the apparatus.

page_text: And in order that the said Invention and the manner of performing
the same may be properly understood, I have hereunto appended three
Sheets of explanatory Drawings, to be herein-after referred to, and
representing examples of the three modifications of apparatus. The
same reference numerals are used to mark the same or like parts in all
the Figures in which they occur.
Figure 1, on Sheet 1 of the Drawings, is a sectional elevation, showing
the first modification; Figure 2 is a horizontal section; and Figure 3 is
a sectional elevation of the actuating details as viewed at right angles to
Figure 1, and as arranged for two sets of the apparatus (the parts of only
one set being shown in Figure 1).
The riddle 1 delivers what passes through it into three different
hoppers 2, 3, 3, to the latter two only of which the improved apparatus
is applied, being alike in both cases, whilst that applied to one is shown
in elevation, the other being in section. Each hopper 3 has adapted to
it a duct or mouthpiece 4, adjustable by screwing, and the materials fall
down thence upon a disc 5 fixed on the top of a revolving vertical
shaft 6. The centrifugal action due to the rotation of the disc causes
the materials to gradually fall off its edge and down between it and an
external guiding cone 7 towards a cylinder 8, the top edge of which is a
little below the disc 5. The cylinder 8 has within it two concentric
cylinders forming three spaces 9, 10, 11, and the lower part of the
central one 11 communicates by a duet 12 with the eye of a fan 13, so
that air is drawn down it, which air must enter centripetally between
the top edge of the outer cylinder 8 and the disc 5. The air entering
in this way crosses the falling materials and carries the fine dust to the
central space 11, whence it passes through the fan to the dust room.
The larger or heavier portion of the sharps or groats fall into the outer-
most space 9, whilst the lighter parts fall into the intermediate space 10,
and from these the separated materials pass off by separate ducts 14, 15,
to bags or elevators as required. The construction of the details of the
apparatus will be easily understood from the Drawing. The duct 12
leading to the fan is of cast iron, its upper part carried on a floor above
the fan and gearing, being in the form of a hollow column supporting
the cylinders 8. These cylinders are represented as of sheet iron, but
may be of any other suitable material, the spaces 9 and 10 being fitted
with inclined bottoms to lead the separated materials to the discharge
ducts 14, 15, whilst in the central space 11 there is fixed an open brass

page_text: wheel 16, the eye of which acts as a bearing for the upper end of the
vertical shaft 6. For the purpose of adjusting the conical guide ring 7,
and also the upper edge of the cylinder 8, there is adapted to the upper
end of this cylinder a cast-iron cylindrical ring 17, with screw threads
formed on its outside. This screw ring is supported by brackets 18 fixed
to the cylinder 8, and having their ends shaped to fit and slide between
the threads, and similar brackets 19 fixed to the conical ring 7 support
it. The rings 7 and 17 are raised or lowered by turning them. The
driving details may be variously arranged, but in the modification shown
in Figure 3 there is a horizontal shaft 20 passing centrally between the
two sets of apparatus, and it has on it a pair of large pulleys 21,
belts from which actuate pulleys on the spindles of the fans 13, and a
pair of small pulleys 22, belts from which actuate pulleys on the vertical
shafts 6; these latter belts being twisted to suit the positions of the
shafts.
Figures 4 and 5, on Sheet 2 of the Drawings, are sectional elevations
at right angles to each other of the second modification of the improved
apparatus. In this case the passages or spaces wherein the separation is
effected are formed in a rectangular wooden structure 23, comprising
two sets disposed symmetrically on each side of a central vertical air
duct 12 leading to the eyes of a fan 13. The materials after passing
through a riddle 1 enter the apparatus by two hoppers 3, 3, and they are
in each case admitted between a feed roller 24 and an adjustable plate 25,
in a broad but thin film into a chamber 26, across the top of which a
current of air is drawn by the action of the fan. The air enters by an
adjustable opening 27 at the side near the inlet for the materials, and
passes off by an opening 28 at the other side of the chamber, and
leading into the vertical exhaust pipe 12. The lower part of the
chamber is made with two hopper-shaped ducts 29, 30, and an adjustable
At the bottom of each
plate 31 divides the materials passing into them.
duct 29, 30, the materials pass between a feed roller and plate into a
second chamber 32, arranged like the first 26, and are therein subjected
to a second air current. In a similar way the materials may be acted
upon by separate air currents in successive chambers to any required
extent, being finally led by ducts 14, 15, into bags or to elevators.
Figures 6 and 7, on Sheet 3 of the Drawings, are sectional elevations
at right angles to each other of the third modification of the improved
apparatus, in which the arrangements are similar to those of the second

page_text: modification, excepting that the air passes through the fan 13 before
acting on the materials instead of afterwards. In the example shown
the materials are received from the riddle 1 into three hoppers 3, 3, 3,
each of which leads its contents down into a separate set of chambers to
be acted upon in succession by three separate horizontal air currents.
The feed rollers (24) and adjustable plates (25) are not shown in the
example delineated upon Sheet 3, but they may be adopted or not in
either the second or third modification as preferred.
Having thus particularly described the said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I have to state that I do not
restrict myself to the precise details herein described or delineated,
but that what I believe to be novel and original, and claim as the
Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent is, the constructing and arranging of apparatus for separating and
cleaning partially ground grain in the improved modes, substantially as
herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Tod, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventh day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
0
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
ROBERT TOD. (L.S.)