US684751A - Grain-separator. - Google Patents

Description

No. 684,75l.

A. S. FRUSLID.

GRAIN SEPARATOR.

(Application filed May 13, 1901.)

Patented Oct. 15; I901.

2 Sheets-Sheet L (N0 Modei.)

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No. 684,751. Patented Oct. 15, l90l. A. S. FRUSLID GRAIN SEPARATOR.

(Application filed May 18, 1901.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

UNITED STATES ANTON S. FROSLID, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

GRAlN-SEPARATOR.

SPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 684,751 dated October 15, 1901.

Application filed May 13, 1901. Serial No. 59,947. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ANTON S. FROSLID, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis,in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain-Separators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to grain-separators, and has for its primary object to provide an improved machine especially adapted for separating wheat from oatsa mixture known as succotash whicl1 machine with a minimum of sieve-surface will have the greatest possible efficiency, both with respect to speed of separation and to quality of work.

To the above ends and to others hereinafter noted lthe invention consists of the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described, and defined in the claims.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, whereinlike characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a verticalsection taken centrally through a separator embodying my invention, some parts of the same being broken away. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the feed-hopper, some parts being broken away; and Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line 00 00 of Fig. 2.

The numeral 1 indicates a suitable framework. The numeral 2 indicates a feed-hopper supported by said framework. The numeral 3 indicates a fan-case, which also is supported by said framework and is provided with a blast-delivery spout 1. A suitable fan 5 is mounted to work in the ordinary manner within the case 3. A catchtrough 6, supported by the framework 1, opens at its bottom into the delivery end of the blast-tube 4., and the said spout is cut away at its under side, as indicated at 7, to allow the grain to drop through from the said trough 6.

In its bottom the feed-hopper 2 is provided with a plurality of large feed-passages 8, which are preferably round. Cooperating with each feed-passage 8 is one of a series of independently-movable feed-regulating slides 9, as shown, dovetailed into the bottom of the hopper and provided with round feed-passages 10, adapted to be registered with the cooperating feed-passages 8. v

The primary feature of my invention resides in the relative arrangement of a series of overlapping sieves and a series of interposed overlapping dividing aprons, all of which parts are carried by a suitable vibratory shoe or frame 11, shown as supported at its receiving end from the sides of the hopper 2 by links 12 and at its delivery end from the framework 1 by a pair of vibrating levers 13, the latter of which receive vibratory motions by any suitable connections. (Not shown.) As shown in Fig. 1, a series of five overlapped sieves 14 are employed. These sieves are preferably of approximately the same length, set with their delivery ends projecting successively farther and farther in the direction of the travel of the stock. At their upper or receiving ends the said sieves are provided with overlapping imperi'orate deck-sections 15.

A feed-deck 16, carried by the shoe 11, directly underlies the feed-passages 8 of the feed-hopper 2 and overlies the deck-section 15 of the sieve 1 1. Abail-like agitating-rod 17, secured at its ends to the receiving end of the shoe 11, Works through suitable perforations in the feed-hopper 2, so that its transversely-extended body portion moves over the said feed-passages 8, thereby serving to agitate the grain in the bottom of the feedhopper and insuring its proper action.

A- long riding flap or flexible cover 18, shown as secured to a transverse bar 19 on the shoe 11, overlies the uppermost sieve 14. Secured to the delivery ends of the sieves 14 and overlying the projecting ends of the underlying sieves 14 are flexible flaps 20, which serve as riders for the sieves on which they rest and as tailings extensions for the sieves towhich they are attached. An imperforate deck-section 21 extends below the lowermost sieve 14 and terminates at its lower end in position to deliver the material caught thereby into the catch-trough 6.

Between the sieves 14 are overlapping dividing-aprons a b 0. These aprons are imperforate or so {nearly so that they will not pass grain, and in order to make them perform an additional function-to wit, to act as riders for the sieves on which they rest-they are made of flexible material. I have obtained the best results by using a light cloth glazed on one side and folded double with the glazed side out to form the said dividingaprons (t, b, and 0. At their upper ends the said aprons are preferably supported by transversely-extended wires 22, secured from the sides of the sieve-frame. For the purpose of description the sieves 14 may be assumed to be divided, each into four sections, by the cooperating aprons a, b, and o.

By observing Fig. 1 the following relations of the sieves 14 and aprons a, b, and 0 will be noted. The sieves all project in the direction of the travel of the stock beyond the delivery ends of the dividing-aprons. It may be here stated that the aprons a are treated as one series, the aprons Z7 as another series, and the aprons c as still another series. It will, however, be understood that the number of series of these aprons may be increased or decreased, according to the work required to be performed.

It will be noted that the aprons of a given series overlap-that is, the delivery ends of the overlying aprons stand in position to deliver the stock forward of the receiving ends of the underlying aprons. Thisis an exceedingly important relation, as will more fully appear in the description of the operation. It Will be further noted that the aprons ct, b, and c, which areinterposed between the same sieves, also overlap.

Operation: By means of theindependentlyadjustable feed-slides 9 the cooperating feedpassages 8 and 10 may be opened more or less until the operator finds by observation that the grain is flowing in a sheet of even thickness or depth. In practice I have found that by these independently adjustable feedslides any desired flow of the grain always in an even sheet may be obtained, while in ordinary feed-regulating devices employing a single transversely extended slide this is practically impossible. When the machine stops, it is not necessary to close the feedslides 9 or to change their adjustments, as the grain will simply form small piles of pyramidal form on the feed-deck 16 and will then cease to flow until the machine is started and the shoe 11 vibrated. The succotash and any foreign materials mixed therewith will pass from the feed-deck 16 onto the upper sieve 14, and all, except chaff, straw, or large foreign material. and large oats, will pass through the said sieve and onto the uppermost sieve 14, While the straw or large oats will pass off from the lower end of said sieve 14 and from thence over the so-called tailings-fiaps 20, from the lower member of which it will be discharged into the blast delivered by the spout 4. It is of. course a well-known fact that eats will on an average travel a great deal longer distance over a perforated sieve before falling through than will wheat. For this reason the greater part of the wheat delivered with the oats onto the uppermost sieve 14 will pass through the first or head section of the same or before it has traveled to a point above the receiving end of the first apron a. On the other hand, the greater part of the oats, with a relatively small amount of wheat, will travel on over the head-section of the upper sieve 14 to the second section thereof or to the surface above the first apron a. The main body of wheat which passes through the head-section of the first or uppermost sieve 14 will also pass through the head-sections of the second,third, fourth, and fifth sieves l4 and will finally be dropped upon the imperforate deck 21, by which it will be directed to the catch-trough 6. The obvious object in passing the relatively clean wheat successively through the several sieves is to remove therefrom the small amount of oats which may have passed therewith through the head-section of the uppermost sieve 14. A small amount of oats will usually pass through the head-sections of one, two, and sometimes three sieves, or even four sieves, but scarcely, if ever,- will any pass through the fifth orlowermost sieve.- Hence the wheat which finally passes through the head-section of the lowermost sieve may safely be assumed to be clear wheat or at least free from oats. As the succotash passes over the second section of the uppermost sieve a portion thereof will fall through onto the first or uppermost apron a; but the stock here passed, as before stated, will contain a larger percentage of oats and a smaller percentage of wheat as compared with that passed through the head-sections of the said sieve. This body of stock or succotash which falls upon the first apron a is delivered thereby onto the second section of the second sieve 14, and thence portions of the same will pass successively through the second sections of the other sieves 14, each time falling onto one of the aprons a and being thereby advanced at an accelerated speed toward its final destination. In passing successively over the second sections of the several sieves the stock is cleared of wheat-that is, at each sieve some of the oats willbe carried beyond the second section and beyond the aprons a, so that only clear wheat will finally pass through the second section of the lowest sieve 14. The stock or succotash which passes through the third section of the upper sieve 14 and onto the upper apron b will contain a still larger percentage of oats 'and of course a still smaller percentage of wheat and will be subjected to a similar action.

From the above it will be noted that the stock, consisting of relatively clean wheat, which passes through the head-section of the upper sieve 14 is by the aprons a divided or separated from the stock containing a larger percentage of oats and which passes through the second section of said upper sieve and that the separations thus made are not again permitted to mix. Hence any separation primarily gained on the two sections of the upper sieve is never lost; but, on the contrary, by the successive steps on the underlying sieves the relatively clean wheat is still further cleaned of oats, and the relatively clean oats is step by step cleaned of the wheat; otherwise stated, the sieves act to separate the wheat and the oats by permitting the wheat to pass through the sieves under less movement than the oats, and the aprons act as dividers to maintain any separation gained and to accelerate the travel of the oats toward their final destination, but throwing the stock again at intervals into contact with the sieves in order that the small amount of wheat may be given a chance to separate therefrom by passing through the sieves.

By the several series of aprons the actions above indicated are repeated until the succotash or stock is completely separated. As is evident, all the wheat finally reaches the catch-trough 6, while all the oats will pass as overtail off from the successive sieves. The wheat and oats both pass through the blast delivered from the fan of the spout 4 and by the said blast are cleaned of dust, chaff, and other light foreign material.

In a prior patent, No. 668,175, granted to me, dated February 19, 1901, the so-called lap-decks (shown as made up of the elements 27 and 31) were lap-decks in respect to certain portions of the sieves between which they were interposed, and an important improvement in function was secured thereby, as fully stated in said prior patent. In the present case, however, the interposed dividing-aprons a, h, and c not only serve the function of the lap-decks called for in the prior patent, but serve a most important additional function. The dividing-aprons of any given series, such as the series of aprons or, interposed between the successive sieves, not only constitute lap-decks in respect to certain portions of the sieves between which they are interposed, but they overlap with each other.

Otherwise stated,the delivery end of any given member of any series of said aprons, such as the series a, overreaches the receiving end of the next lower or underlying apron of that series. Hence a separation once made is constantly maintained. Otherwise stated, the separated portions of the stock made on any given sieve can never again become commingled, a result not attained by the construction shown in my prior patent.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

1. In a grain-separator, a series of overlapped sieves, and a series of overlapped dividing-aprons, with the sieves extending beyond the ends of said aprons, and with the delivery ends of the overlying aprons overlapping the receiving ends of the underlying aprons, substantially as described.

2. In a grain-separator, a series of overlapped sieves, and several series of overlapped dividing-aprons, with thesieves extending beyond the ends of said aprons, with the delivery ends of the overlying aprons overlapping the receiving ends of the underlying aprons, and with corresponding aprons of the several series overlapping each other, sub stantially as described.

3. In a grain-separator, a series of overlapped sieves, and a series of overlapped di viding-aprons, formed of flexible material, secured at their receiving and loose at their delivery ends, with the sieves extending beyond the ends of said aprons and with the de livery ends of the overlying aprons overlapping the receiving ends of the underlying aprons, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ANTON S. FROSLID.

Witnesses:

J As. F. WILLIAMSON, F. D. MERCHANT.

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