IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR DECORTICATING AND CLEANING GRAIN
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to David Johnson, of Wrexham, in the County
of Denbigh, Corn Miller, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR DECORTICATING AND CLEANING GRAIN."
Sealed the 7th September 1869, and dated the 10th March 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said David Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 10th March 1869.
I, DAVID JOHNSON, of Wrexham, in the County of Denbigh, Corn
Miller, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Ix-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR DECORTICATING AND CLEANING GRAIN," to be as
follows:-
My Invention relates to machinery for removing the husks or hulls
from grain, and for cleaning the same, and though more especially
designed to afford a more perfect, expeditious, and economical means
for removing the husks from wheat will yet be found equally advan-
tageous for cleaning and hulling rice, barley, maize, and other grain

page_text: and seed. Various machines have been constructed for decorticating
or hulling and cleaning grain, but such machines have been found
costly and complicated of construction, liable to frequent derangement,
and requiring constant supervision and attention on the part of skilled
operators, without being so thoroughly efficient as to render their em-
ployment generally remunerative. By my Invention I have sought to
obviate these objections, and to construct a machine which shall be
inexpensive, simple in construction, with parts that can be easily re-
placed, durable, and occupying but little space, having a small scouring
area compared with other machines, and which will thoroughly cleanse
the grain and remove therefrom the husk or outer portion, or as much
thereof as is desirable, in such a manner that the quality of the flour is
greatly improved and a greater per-centage thereof is obtained from a
given amount of grain than heretofore.
The nature of the said Invention consists chiefly in the arrangement
together of two filing or rasping surfaces, by which the grain is acted
upon as it passes between them, and in certain details of construction
herein-after described. The files or rasps are fixed on a drum and casc.
The drum is made to revolve within the case. The wheat, rice, or other
grain is admitted into the space between the drum and case, and is
therein subjected to the action of the files or rasps which rapidly and
effectually clean and remove the husks therefrom. By the employment
of these two filing or rasping surfaces arranged to operate together in
my machine, as herein described, I am enabled to avoid the damping
or wetting of the grain, which has been found necessary in other
decorticating machines when it has been. attempted to operate thereon
with a filing or rasping surface.
My improved machine may be constructed with the drum and case
arranged with the axes either vertical or horizontal; the said drum and
case may be either of wood or metal, and the scouring surfaces which
extend across their peripheries may be composed of a series of separate
files or rasps, or both, screwed or otherwise attached to the drum and
case, or may consist of blocks or plates with filing or rasping or toothed
surfaces secured upon the said drum and case. Instead of forming the
rasping surfaces of these pieces or plates, punched plates, commonly
known as "grater iron, may be employed. If desired a series of
beaters may be used in combination with the files or rasps. When the
said machine is constructed with the axis of the drum vertical I arrange

page_text: the drum concentrically within the case, and upon the top of the latter
I place a hopper of any suitable construction. The drum may be some-
what in the form of an ordinary millstone with the files or rasps upon
its periphery. I prefer in operating with my machine to keep the space
between the drum and case filled with the grain, and this space must
be wide enough to allow the grain to pass freely as it is acted upon by
the filing or rasping surfaces, but must not be so large as to allow any
of the grain to escape without being acted upon by such surfaces. I
prefer that the outer case should be stationary, but if desired it may
have a rotating motion in the same or the opposite direction to the inner
drum. At the bottom of the case are openings provided with slides or
trap doors, by which the escape of the grain is regulated, so that it may
be for a longer or shorter time subjected to the action of the scouring
surfaces of the drum and case. It is desirable to have compact series
of these machines, which may be used together or separately, and for
this purpose I sometimes arrange a series of the drums and cases one
above the other, all of the drums being attached to one spindle or shaft,
and each case being provided with a slide, whereby the grain can be
admitted therefrom to the one below, or can be delivered into any
desired receptacle. By this means I can scour each kind of grain and
the different qualities thereof more or less as required.
After being
acted upon in my machine the grain may be screened in the usual
manner to remove therefrom the dust and loose fibrous particles.
Instead of making the drum and case cylindrical they may be made
conical or taper. The space between them can then be increased or
diminished to suit grain or seed of various kinds or in different conditions
by simply raising and lowering the drum within the case, the machine.
being provided with screws or other suitable adjusting devices for that
purpose. When my machine is constructed with the drum to revolve
upon a horizontal axis I prefer to arrange the said drum excentrically
within the case, leaving but a slight space between the drum and case
at the bottom, and a comparatively wide space at the top just below the
hopper. The outer case or a portion of the same is made adjustable,
and is provided with set screws or other means, whereby its eccentricity
with regard to the drum may be varied, or whereby it may be adjusted
concentric with the same. In addition to the files or rasps on the
peripheries of the drum and case I sometimes provide the flat sides
thereof with filing or rasping surfaces, cither by attaching thereto
separate radial files or rasps or by screwing theroon plates or discs with

page_text: such surfaces. The whole superficial area of both the case and drum
is thus utilized as a scouring surface. The bottom of the case may
consist partly of a filing surface and partly of wire gauze or other
openwork, through which some of the dust may fall or be exhausted
by a suitable exhausting apparatus, which may be connected to the
drum shaft. This exhausting apparatus may also be arranged to keep
the grain cool as it passes through the machine. The scouring discs
or flat surfaces may also be used together, like ordinary. millstones,
with the exhaust and blast, one or both discs being made to revolve.
The filing or rasping surfaces of the periphery of the drum or case may
be make continuous all around the same, or spaces may be left between
the files or rasps, and if desired some of the files or rasps may project
radially from the periphery of the drum and case:
I sometimes arrange
the files or rasps upon the case or drum, or upon both the case and
drum in such a manner that one edge of each file or rasp projects
outward beyond the other edge, so that the said projecting edges form
a series of teeth or shoulders, which to some extent exert a retarding
influence upon the grain and ensure the more perfect action of the filing
ar rasping surfaces thereon. To cause the edges to project I prefer to
place wedge-shaped blocks between the file and the drum or case.
When the drum and case are formed of iron I prefer to line or cover them
with lead to form a bed for the files, which usually havo tccth on both
sides, so that when the teeth on one side are blunted the files may be
reversed. The files or rasps when blunted on both sides may be re-cut
at a small expense. The said files may be either flat or convex, and
though I prefer to use steel files or rasps, yet I may sometimes form
the scouring surfaces of chilled iron or other suitable metal. To increase
the scouring effect of the filing or rasping surfaces in hulling certain
kinds or qualities of grain or seed I may employ behind the files or
rasps spiral or other springs, or elastic cushions of india-rubber or other
material. The said springs or cushions may be placed upon the revolving
drum or outer case, or upon both, and may extend either entirely or
partially around the scouring surfaces,
My Invention may also be modified by using a circular or semicircular
case, within which spiral series of wings revolve upon an axis ex-
tending through the said case; the said wings have filing or rasping
surfaces, and act in combination with stationary files projecting within
the case.

page_text: The rotating drum may be driven by a belt or by any other suitable
mcans.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said David Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 9th September 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DAVID
JOHNSON, of Wrexham, in the County of Denbigh, Corn Miller, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heire and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said David Johnson, Her special licence that
I, the said David Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said David Johnson, my executors, adminis
trators, 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 of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR DECORTICATING AND CLEANING GRAIN," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said David Johnson, 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 David Johnson, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings
forming a part of this Specification :-
My Invention relates to machinery for removing the husks or hulls
from grain and for cleaning the same, and though more especially

page_text: designed to afford a more perfect, expeditious, and economical means for
removing the husks from wheat will yet be found equally advantageous
for cleaning and hulling rice, barley, maize, and other grain and seed.
Various machines have been constructed for decorticating or hulling and
cleaning grain, but such machines have been found costly and com-
plicated of construction, liable to frequent derangement, and require
constant supervision and attention on the part of skilled operators,
without being so thoroughly efficient as to render their employment
generally remunerative. In my Invention I have sought to obviate
these objections and to construct a machine which shall be inexpensive,
simple in construction, with parts that can be easily replaced, occupying
but little space, and having a small scouring area compared with other
machines, and which will thoroughly clean the grain and remove there-
from the husk or outer portion or as much thereof as is desirable, in such
a manner that the quality of the flour is greatly improved and a greater
per-centage thereof is obtained for a given amount of grain than
heretofore.
The nature of the said Invention consists chiefly in the arrangement
together of two filing or rasping surfaces by which the grain is acted
upon as it passes between them, and in certain details of construction
herein-after described. The files or rasps are fixed on a drum and case.
The drum is made to revolve within the casc. The wheat, rice, or other
grain is admitted into the space between the drum and case, and is
therein subjected to the action of the files or rasps which rapidly and
effectually clean and remove the husks therefrom. By the employment
of these two filing or rasping surfaces arranged to operate together in my
machine as herein described I am enabled to avoid the damping or
wetting of the grain which has been found necessary in other decorticating
machines wherein it has been attempted to operate with a filing or
rasping surface.
My improved machine may be constructed with the drum and case
arranged with their axes either vertical or horizontal. The said drum
and case may be either of wood or metal, and the scouring surfaces
which extend across their peripheries may be composed of a series of
seperate files or rasps or both screwed or otherwise attached to the drum
and case, or may consist of blocks or plates with filing or rasping or
toothed surfaces secured upon the said case and drum. Instead of
forming the rasping surfaces of these pieces or plates punched plates or

page_text: I desired a series of beaters may be used in combination with the ICS
or rasps.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a plan of my improved decorticating and cleaning machine,
the cover being removed to allow the parts to be more clearly seen;
Figure 2 is a vertical section on the line x, x, Figure 1; Figure 3 is an
edge view of the drum; Figure 4 is an exterior elevation of the said
machine; Figure 5 is an edge view of the drum with the filing surfaces
constructed according to a modification of my said Invention; Figure 6
is a horizontal section on the line a³, 1, Figure 5; Figure 7 is an edge
view illustrating another modification of my Invention. Like letters
indicate the same parts throughout the Drawings.
.
When the said machine is constructed with the axis of the drum
vertical as shewn, I arrange the drum a concentrically within the case b,
and upon the top of the latter I place a hopper c of any suitable con-
struction. The drum a may be somewhat in the form of an ordinary
millstone with the files or rasps d upon its periphery. I prefer in
operating with my machine to keep the space d² between the drum and
case filled with the grain, and this space must be wide enough to allow
the grain to pass freely as it is acted upon by the filing or rasping
surfaces d, but must not be so large as to allow any of the grain to escape
without being acted upon by such surfaces. I prefer that the outer case b
should be stationary, but, if desired, it may have a rotating motion in the
opposite direction to the inner drum. At the bottom of the case are
openings e, which may be provided with slides or trap doors whereby the
escape of the grain is regulated, so that it may be for a longer or shorter
time subjected to the action of the scouring surfaces d of the drum and
It is desirable to have compact series of these machines which
may be used together or separately, and for this purpose I sometimes
arrange a series of the drums a and cases 6 one above the other, all of
the drums being attached to one spindle or shaft f, and each case 6 being
provided with an opening with or without a slide to regulate the size of
the aperture, whereby the grain can be admitted therefrom to the case
below or can be delivered into any desired receptacle. By this means I
can scour each kind of grain and the different qualities thereof more or
less as required. After being acted upon in my machine the grain may
case.

page_text: be screened in the usual manner to remove therefrom the dust and loose
fibrous particles. I prefer that the grain or seed should be acted
upon by a blast or current of air which not only keeps the grain cool but
also carries away the refuse particles removed from the grain through
apertures g covered with steel wire gauze or perforated steel plates, as
shewn in Figure 4. Instead of making the drum and case cylindrical
they may be made conical or taper; the space between them can then be
increased or diminished to suit grain or seed of various kinds or in
different conditions by simply raising and lowering the drum within the
case, the machine being provided with screws or other suitable adjusting
devices for that purpose. When my machine is constructed with the
drum to revolve upon a horizontal axis I prefer to arrange the said drum
excentrically within the case, leaving but a slight space between the
drum and case at the bottom and a comparatively wide space at the top
just below the hopper. The outer case or a portion of the same is made
adjustable, and is provided with set screws or other means whereby its
eccentricity with regard to the drum may be varied or so that it may be
adjusted concentrically with the same. In addition to the files or rasps
on the peripheries of the drum and case I sometimes provide the flat
sides thereof with filing or rasping surfaces d', Figure 2, by attaching
thereto seperate radial files or rasps or by screwing thereon plates or
discs with such surfaces. The whole superficial area of both the case and
drum is thus utilized as a scouring surface. The bottom of the case may
consist partly of a filing surface and partly of wire gauze or other open-
work through which some of the dust may fall or be exhausted by a
suitable exhausting apparatus which may be connected to the drum
shaft; this exhausting apparatus may also be arranged as aforesaid to
keep the grain cool as it passes through the machine. The scouring discs
or flat surfaces may also be used together like ordinary millstones with
the exhaust and blast, one or both discs being made to revolve. The filing
or rasping surface d of the periphery of the drum or case may be made con-
tinuous all around the same, as shewn in Figure 3, or spaces a¹ may be
left between the files or rasps, as in Figure 7, and, if desired, some of the
files or rasps may project radially from the periphery of the drum or case.
Where the entire periphery of the drum is not covered with the files or
rasps the latter are preferably constructed as shewn in Figures 5 and 6.
The blocks h, on whose faces are formed the scouring surfaces d, are
cut like an ordinary file or otherwise roughened. The said blocks are
formed of steel or chilled iron and are attached by the screws i or by

page_text: other suitable fastenings to the drum a; I may use four of these blocks
or any other convenient number. In this and other modifications of my
Invention where the entire surface of the drum is not provided with the
scouring surface the said drum may be covered with perforated steel, and
the files, rasps, or scouring blocks may be attached to the same. The
arms a of the drum may then be made to act as a fan and may be used
in connection with another fan or otherwise. I sometimes arrange the
files or rasps upon the case or drum or upon both the case and drum in
such a manner that one edge of each file or rasp projects outward beyond
the other edge so that the said projecting edges form a series of teeth or
shoulders which to some extent exert a retarding influence upon the
grain and cause a more perfect action of the filing or rasping surfaces
thereon. To cause the edges to project I prefer to have wedge-shaped
blocks between the files and the drum or case. When the drum and case
are of iron I prefer to line or cover them with lead to form a bed for
the files which usually have teeth on both sides so that when the teeth
on one side are blunted the files may be reversed. The files or rasps
when blunted on both sides may be re-cut at a small expense. The said
files may be either flat or convex, and though I prefer to use steel files or
rasps, yet I may sometimes form the scouring surfaces of chilled iron or
other suitable metal. To increase the scouring effect of the filing or
rasping surfaces in hulling certain kinds or qualities of grain or seed I
may employ behind the files or rasps spiral or other springs or elastic
cushions of india-rubber or other material. The said springs or cushions
may be placed upon the revolving drum or outer case or upon both, and
may extend either entirely or partially around the scouring surfaces.
My Invention may also be modified by using a circular or semicircular
case within which spiral series of wings revolve upon an axis extending
through the said case; the said wings have filing or rasping surfaces and
act in combination with stationary files projecting within the case.
The rotating drum may be driven by a belt or by any other suitable
means.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and shewn how the
same may be conveniently and advantageously carried into practice, I
claim,
First. Arranging two filing, rasping, or other scouring surfaces to
operate together and act upon the grain or seed as it passes between
them, substantially as herein set forth.

page_text: Second. A rotating drum provided with rasps, files, or roughened
blocks arranged within a case also provided with rasps, files, or
roughened blocks, which rasps, files, or blocks are placed continuously or
otherwise around the drum and case and secured thereto, substantially as
and for the purposes set forth.
Third. Providing the said drum or case, or both, with means of
adjustment whereby the distance between the scouring surfaces can be
increased or diminished, and employing in connection therewith the means
for removing the dirt and refuse particles, substantially as and for the
purposes set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said David Johnson, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Seventh day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.