IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR SHELLING, CLEANING, AND POLISHING RICE AND OTHER GRAINS AND SEEDS
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Hunter Henry Murdoch, of No. 7, Staple Inn, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINES FOR SHELLING, CLEANING, AND POLISHING RICE AND OTHER GRAINS
AND SEEDS." A communication from abroad by Emile Barrault, of Paris,
France. Civil Engineer.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Hunter Henry Murdoch at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 19th-March 1878.
HUNTER HENRY MURDOCH, of No. 7, Staple Inn, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR SHELLING, CLEANING, AND
POLISHING RICE AND OTHER GRAINS AND SEEDS." [A communication from abroad
by Emile Barrault, of Paris, France, Civil Engineer.]
This Invention consists of the improvements, herein-after described, in machines
for shelling, cleaning, and polishing rice; and the improved machines are also
applicable to the treatment of other grains and seeds.
The Invention relates specially to that kind of machine which consists of a cone
rotating inside a hollow cone. Hitherto this form of machine has been used almost
exclusively for polishing, and in this case sheep skin, or wash leather, or similar
soft materials have been used to cover the opposed surfaces of the cones.
Now the object of the present Invention is to adapt machines of the class herein-
before referred to, to the shelling and cleaning as well as to the polishing of rice
and other grains and seeds, these operations being more efficiently performed than
has been the case with the machines at present in use.
The present improvements consist in the construction, herein-after described, of
the opposed or rubbing surfaces of the aforesaid cones, which are so prepared as to
Davies di

page_text: diminish the breakage or damage of rice or other grains or seeds. The face of one of the
two cones (preferably the inner one) is coated with a layer of natural or artificial
stone or emery composition, or the entire cone may, if so desired, be made of natural or
artificial stone or emery composition. The surface of this stone or emery composi
tion is of course finished off in a suitable way for treating the rice or other grain.
The face of the other cone.(preferably the outer one) is furnished with a series of
ribs or corrugations, formed of india-rubber or other suitable elastic material. These
ribs or corrugations may be formed either by affixing separate slips of india-rubber
to the wooden surface of the cone or a sheet of india-rubber may be impressed
with suitable corrugations and then affixed to the internal surface of the outer cone.
The direction of these ribs or cones may be longitudinal, oblique, segmental, or
helical.
It is preferable to leave a segment of the outer cone not provided with the ribs
or corrugations, and to furnish this segment with a wire gauze screen or sieve so as
to allow the dust or meal to escape or be drawn off.
The rice or other grain or seed which has been treated escapes at the bottom
between the two cones. The distance between the cones, and the consequent
pressure to which the rice is subjected, can be regulated by means of an adjustable
foot step of the ordinary kind.
The outer cone may be either fixed or moveable, but by preference it is fixed,
and it must be so fixed as to be concentric with the inner cone, and at such a height
that when the adjustable foot step of the inner cone is lowered the outer face of the
inner cone shall be almost in contact with the-iuner face of the outer cone.
It is generally preferable to make the cones work in a vertical position, but in
some cases a horizontal or oblique position is more advantageous.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Hunter Henry Murdoch in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
13th September 1878.
HUNTER HENRY MURDOCH, of No. 7, Staple Inn, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR SHELLING, CLEANING, AND
POLISHING RICE AND OTHER GRAINS AND SEEDS." A communication from abroad
by Emile Barrault, of Paris, France, Civil Engineer.
This Invention consists of the improvements, herein-after described, in machines
for shelling, cleaning, and polishing rice; which improved machines are also
applicable to the treatment of other grains and seeds.
The Invention relates specially to that kind of machine which consists of a cone
rotating inside a hollow cone. Hitherto this kind of machine has been used almost
exclusively for polishing rice and other grains and seeds, and in this case sheep
skin, and wash leather, or similar soft materials have been used to cover the opposed
surfaces of the cones.
Now the object of the present Invention is to adapt machines of the class herein-
before referred to to the shelling and cleaning as well as to the polishing of rice and
other grains and seeds so as to perform these operations more efficiently than is the
case with the machines at present in use.
The present improvements consist in the construction, herein-after described, of
the opposed or rubbing surfaces of the aforesaid cones, which are so prepared as to
diminish the breakage or damage of the rice or other grains or seeds. The face of
one of the two cones (preferably the inner one) is coated with a layer of artificial
stone or emery composition, or the entire cone may, if so desired, be made of natural
or artificial stone or emery composition. The surface of this stone or emery compo-
sition is of course finished off in a suitable way for treating the rice or other grain.
The face of the other cone (preferably the outer one) is furnished with a series of
ribs or corrugations formed of india-rubber or other suitable elastic material. These
ribs or corrugations may be formed either by affixing separate slips of india-rubber
to the wooden surface of the cone or a sheet of india-rubber may be impressed with
suitable corrugations and then affixed to the internal surface of the outer cone.
The direction of these ribs or corrugations may be longitudinal, oblique, segmental,
or helical.
It is sometimes preferred to leave a segment of the outer cone, or in some cases
the lower part only of such a segment, not provided with the elastic ribs or corruga-
tions aforesaid, and in lieu thereof to furnish this segment with a wire gauze screen
or sieve so as to allow the dust or meal to escape or be drawn off.
The rice or other grain or seed which has been treated escapes at the bottom
between the two cones. The distance between the cones and the consequent
pressure to which the rice is subjected can be regulated by means of an adjustable
foot step of the ordinary kind.
The outer cone may be either fixed or moveable, but by preference it is fixed,
and it must be concentric with the inner cone, and at such a height that when the
adjustable foot step of the inner cone is lowered the outer face of the emery.compo-
sition or natural or artificial stone coating of the inner cone may be brought almost
in contact with the elastic ribs or corrugations on the inner face of the outer cone.
It is generally preferable to make the cones work in a vertical position.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention I will proceed to describe
the manner in which the same is to be performed, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon.
. Figure 1 is a vertical section (taken on the line A, Figure 2), of a machine con-
structed according to the present improvements for shelling, cleaning, and polishing
rice and other grains; Figure 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line B,
Figure 1.
.
The same letters and figures refer to the same parts in each Figure...

page_text: C is a vertical shaft, arranged to rotate in suitable bearings, not shown, and
provided at the bottom with a suitable adjustable foot step (not shown). The inner
cone D, which is constructed of wood or other suitable material, fixed upon iron
rings d', d, and closed at the top and bottom by wooden ends d², d², is fixed to this
vertical shaft by means of screws d³, d³, or by other suitable attachments, and is
cased or lined on its outer surface with a coating of emery composition or natural
or artificial stone d. If preferred the entire cone may be made of natural or
artificial stone or emery composition, properly secured to the shaft C. The said
shaft is driven by means of suitable driving gear, such as a'rigger cl, so as to cause
the said shaft and the cone D fixed thereon to rotate rapidly, by preference more
rapidly than the speed at which the inner cone of rice-polishing machines is usually
driven.
E is the outer cone, consisting of a hollow cone of wood strongly bound together,
and kept in its place by iron ribs e¹, el, and hoops (not shown) and firmly secured
to a fixed circular rim or seating e². This cone E is constructed of such dimensions,
and the inner cone is constructed and fixed in such a position, that there shall be
but a small space, say, a quarter of an inch, between the outer surface of the emery
composition of the inner cone and the opposed surface of the ribs or corrugations
affixed to the said outer cone, and that this space shall be capable of being increased
or diminished by raising or lowering the inner cone by means of the adjustable
foot step, and the said outer cone is constructed so as to be parallel to the inner
cone, and fixed so as to be concentric therewith.
Fis a-casing or covering enclosing the top of the machine; and G is a hopper,
through which the rice or other grain or seed to be shelled, or cleaned, or polished
is fed into the said machine; g is a slide, by which the rate of the feed is regulated.
I is a shoot or spout by which the finished grain or seed is delivered from the
machine into bags or other suitable receptacles; J is the spout or shoot by which
the dust and dirt which are driven off by the machine through the sieve e³ (when a
sievo is used) are thrown off or are drawn away by an exhaust; K, K, are the
elastic ribs or corrugations formed on or affixed to the surface of the outer cone.
Part of the cone E is cut away at et so as to form an opening over which is fixed
the wire gauze or other suitable material, constituting the sieve e³, through which
the dust and bran escape to and through the spout or shoot J.
The action of the machine is as follows:-The rice or other grain or seed to be
shelled, or cleaned, or polished is fed into the machine through the hopper G, the
amount of the feed being regulated by the slide g so that the rice or other grain or
seed shall not pass in faster than the machine is able to treat it efficiently. The
inner cone as it rotates rapidly rubs and rolls the said rice or other grain or seed
against the elastic ribs or corrugations K, K, in such a way that the said rice or
other grain or seed is subjected to a certain amount of pressure or friction while
passing over the said elastic ribs or corrugations, but this pressure or friction is
diminished, or entirely removed, while the said rice or other grain or seed is in the
grooves or hollows between the said elastic ribs or corrugations, and by this means
while the shelling, or cleaning, or polishing of the rice or other grain or seed is
effected more rapidly and with less damage to the grain than has hitherto been
done, the dirt and bran are more efficiently separated as they pass away between
the elastic ribs or corrugations, and are or may be collected by the spout or shoot J.
The elastic ribs or corrugations may be made of any suitable elastic material.
In most cases india-rubber suitably moulded or shaped will be found most suitable,
but sometimes it is preferred to use elastic brushes or rubbers, formed of fibre, or
bristles, or hair, or elastic wire, or leather, instead of india-rubber, the said brushes
being in every case constructed and arranged so as to form a series of ribs or
corrugations, by which the rice or other grain or seed shall be subjected to inter-
mittent friction or rubbing between two surfaces, one of which is a grinding surface
and the other is an elastic surface.
The elastic ribs or corrugations may be fixed in any suitable direction other than
that shown in the Drawings; for instance, in an oblique or helical direction, or as

page_text: horizontal segments. Any such change of direction will cause the rice or other
grain or seed to be retained longer in the machine, and therefore to be subjected to
more friction and to friction for a longer time. The direction of the ribs or corru-
gations must therefore be so arranged as to give the necessary amount of friction
for the rice or other grain to be treated.
In the Drawing the inner coue is shown of such form that the face of the outer
cone is parallel to the face of the inner cone, but where it is desirable to give a
more rapid delivery the inner cone may be formed slightly more taper than the
outer cone, so that the distance between the said cones shall be greater at their
lower ends than at their upper ends.
Instead of constructing the machine as herein-before described and illustrated
the cones may be inverted so that their larger diameter shall be at the bottom, and
their smaller diameter at the top.
Having thus described the nature of the foregoing Invention, as communicated
to me by my foreign correspondent, it must be understood that I do not claim the
general form of the machine, which is similar to that of the rice-polishing machines
now in use, neither do I claim the use of any particular emery composition or
substitute therefor, nor do I limit myself to the precise details herein-before described,
as they may be varied without departing from the nature of the >aid Invention;
but I claim as the said Invention, the improvements, herein-before described, and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, in machines for shelling, cleaning, and
polishing rice and other grains and seeds, that is to say, applying to one or other of
the cones of such machines ribs or corrugations formed of suitable material, the
said ribs or corrugations being arranged and acting essentially as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Hunter Henry Murdoch, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
Witness,
J. BIANCHI,
his clerk.
H. H. MURDOCH. (LS.)