Improvements in and appertaining to Rotary Sieves for Separating and Purifying Cereals, Semolina, Middlings, or other Granular Substances and the like.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Oct., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 29th Aug., 1396-Accepted, 28th Nov., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and appertaining to Rotary Sieves for Separating
and Purifying Cereals, Semolina, Middlings, or other Granular
Substances and the like.
I, JAMES HIGGINBOTTOM of 32 Seel Street, Liverpool in the County of Lancaster,
Milling Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is to simplify the carrying and driving arrangements
and to reduce the power required in carrying and driving rotary sieves, and for an
improved method of applying air currents to rotary sieves.
This invention is applicable to the inventions for which I have applied for Patents
No. 20714 of 1894 and No. 13930 of 1895.
In carrying out the first part of this invention, I fit two, three or more pulleys upon
the driving or carrying crank discs which carry and drive the rotary sieve as described
in my Application No. 13930 of 1895 and I preferably connect these pulleys together
with an encircling band of leather or other belting so that the pulleys are caused to
revolve simultaneously, also I arrange adjustable weights in the rims of such pulleys,
for the purpose of balancing the weight of the rotary sieve.
I also arrange to drive, preferably, one of the pulleys, by means of a belt
and pulley and shaft or by means of a belt acting directly upon the pulley.
For the purpose of reducing the power required for driving the sieve I fit the
bearings which carry the sieve with ball bearings, arranged so that such ball bearings
carry the weight of the sieve and also sustain the side thrust of the moving
sieve.
I preferably also fit such ball bearings to the pins or sockets which carry and;
rotate the sieve and also to the bearings which sustain and carry the crank discs which
carry and drive such pins or sockets.
For the purpose of lubricating the ball bearings I preferably fit the bearings with.
an oil chamber having communicating oil passages, also I arrange so that the oil is.
automatically elevated and caused to circulate in the bearings by means of a screw.
or worm formed upon the revolving crank disc.
In carrying out my new arrangement of air currents for the purpose of purifying.
or separating the material passing over rotary sieves, I place the sieves in the interior.
of the sieve frame in such manner that the meshes of the sieves gradually become
coarser from the head to the tail of the sieves, also so that the smaller and heavier:
particles of the substances passing over the sieves are separated by means of gravity,
causing them to fall through the meshes of the sieves, and so that the lighter particles
are floated or concentrated by the rotary movement into the larger particles in the,
lower or tail portion of the machine, from whence they are removed by the action of
the air currents.
I also arrange so that the air currents may act upon the head portion of the
machine if so desired, by means of suitable channels or conduits.
Dated this 28th day of October 1895.
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page_text: Improvements in and appertaining to Rotary Sieves for Separating
and Purifying Cereals, Semolina, Middlings, or other Granular
Substances and the like.
I, JAMES HIGGINBOTTOM, of 32, Seel Street, Liverpool in the County of
Lancaster, Milling Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
This invention has for its object to simplify the carrying and driving arrangement
and to reduce the power required in the case of sieves having a rotary motion such as
in plansifters, also for an improved method of applying air currents to such rotary
sieves. The invention is applicable to the machines set forth. in my Patents
Nos. 20714 and 13930%. The first part of my invention is already set forth to some
extent in my final Specification No. 13930%, but as it is not set forth in my
provisional, accompanying that application I have embraced it in this and simply
showed it forth in my final specification and drawings of the aforesaid patent, as the
law requires me to show the best method known to me of carrying the invention into
effect and the rules of the Patent Office do not allow of a reference in a final
specification to an unpublished provisional specification, hence why mention of this
application was not inserted in the previous patent. In place of having toothed
gearing or chain gearing as set forth in the said Provisional Specification, No. 13930,
I fit two, three or more pulleys upon the driving or carrying crank discs, or form these
crank discs with an upward projecting circular pulley arranged so as to convert them
into pulleys, and I connect these pulleys together with an encircling band of leather
or other belting, so that the pulleys are caused to revolve simultaneously, also I
arrange adjustable weights in the rims of such pulleys for the purpose of balancing
the weight of the rotary sieve. I also arrange to drive one of the pulley shafts by
means of a pulley or other power conductor in any convenient manner. For the
purpose of reducing the power required for driving the sieve, I fit the journals or
bearing surfaces which carry the sieve with ball bearings, arranged so that such ball
bearings shall carry the weight of the sieve, and I also sustain the side thrust of the
moving sieve by adjusting screws and side bearings which can either be ball bearings
or ordinary ones. I also fit such ball bearings to the pins and sockets which carry
and rotate the sieve and to the bearings which sustain and carry the crank discs which
carry and drive such pins or sockets. For the purpose of lubricating the ball bearings,
I fit the bearings with an oil chamber having communicating oil passages, also I so
arrange these passages and their accompaniments that the oil shall be automatically
elevated and caused to circulate in the bearings by means of a screw or worm.
In carrying out my new arrangement of air currents, set forth in my previous
mentioned specifications, for the purpose of purifying and separating the material
passing over the rotary moved sieves, I arrange the sieves in the interior of the sieve
frame with the meshes gradually increasing in coarseness from the head to the tail
of the sieves and in such manner that the smaller and heavier particles of the
substances passing over the sieves shall be separated by means of gravity, they falling
through the meshes of the sieves, while the lighter particles are floated or concentrated
by the rotary movement falling into or among the larger particles in the lower or tail
portion of the machine from whence they are removed by the action of the air currents.
I also arrange so that the air currents may act upon the head portion of the machine
if so desired by means of suitable channels or conduits. For the better understanding
of my invention I annex the accompanying drawings in which―
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the entire apparatus ;
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page_text: Figure 2 a transverse section, looking towards the tail of the plansifter, and
slowing the plansifter divided into 4 compartments, as is well understood by
millers.
Figure 3 a section of the bearings and accompanying parts.
Figure 4 is a transverse section through one of the compartments at the tail end,;
showing the air conduits.
Referring first to Figure 3, A is one of the preferably four pins upon which the
plansifter rests. B, side bearing for taking off the side strain. This is held in
position by the double washer and regulated by the hand-wheel D. E is the.
terminal bearing carried on ball bearings as shown. F the disc pulley in which the
bearings of the pin A are set eccentrically. G an adjustable weight attached thereto..
This weight if desirable can be made hollow in one part and so arranged that shot can
be gradually added to it until the exact weight is obtained at which the machine will.
riin smoothest. Hare the terminal bearings and I the side bearings of the disc
pulley F, the latter bearings being adjusted by the adjusting screw J. K is a
screw or worm used for elevating the oil and causing a circulation. In place of the
threads being on a central body, they could be placed projecting inward from the
bearing itself upon the continuation L of the revolving crank disc. I have found
however in practice that a better effect is produced if the worm be stationary, and the
friction of the sleeve round it attached to the revolving crank disc propels the oil up
the screw by means of friction. M is the oil reservoir, and the passage of the oil
through the various parts is shown by arrows. N is the tube and cock for
withdrawing the oil and for adding fresh.
.
Referring now to Figures 1 and 2, O is the plansifter chest carrying the
sieves PPP etc. and collecting trays P P etc. Q is a fan driven in any convenient.
manner and open through a portion of its circumference to the hopper R. This
hopper has an automatically opening valve S at the bottom so as to let out the
extracted light material and dust which accumulates at intervals by its own weight
in a manner well known to millers. The arrows without feathers show the.
circulation of the air, the feathered arrows the circulation of the material over the
sieves and through the conduits.
Referring to Figures 2, 3 and 4, T T are air circulating pipes. XX' are discharge
spouts from the sifter for the coarse material. U a passage to the dust collector and.
W a valve closing passage T in which case the flexible air tight sacking or cloth V,
connecting the pipe T with the plansifter is removed and the air allowed to enter,
at this point.
The arrows YY show that a portion of the ingoing air may be allowed to enter.
the plansifter at the discharge spouts XX' and by closing the valve or slide W
an increased amount of the air may enter the plansifter at X, X', thus it can be'
arranged that a portion or all of the air drawn from the machine may be
continuously sent to the dust collector or stive room through the pipe U and that
fresh air may enter at V or XX' as desired.
When it is desired to arrange the air currents to act upon the head portion of
the machine by means of suitable channels or conduits for the purpose of removing
stive or vapour from the material being treated, I preferably arrange the uppermost
sieve P to scalp off the largest of the coarse particles from the feed entering at the
feed spout Zand to tail over such particles at Z' into a descending channel or
conduit Z2, the material passing through the conduit Z2 is then discharged at X'.
In some cases I may place trays of collecting channels or trays of nozzles N', such
as are well known to millers and described in my Patent No. 14711 of 1888 in such
manner as to receive a deposit of the material extracted by the air currents, and I
discharge such deposit, together with the air through the conduits 23, to the
collecting chamber or chambers Z' which communicate with and discharge the air and
the deposited material to the circulating pipe T and from thence to the hopper R.
Also a portion of the air or stive which enters with the feed passes through the
upper sieve P and travels with the material over the collecting tray P₁ to the lower
sieves and collecting trays, such air is removed by the action of the fan through the

page_text: collecting channels or nozzle trays N¹ and N2 and conduit Z to chamber Z, and
from thence to conduit T and hopper R as above described.
Also the material passing over the tail of lower sieve PP may join the tails of the
upper sieve P, as is shown on the Figures 1 and 4, or these tails may be discharged
separately if so desired.
For the sake of clearness I have only shown on Figure 4 the flow of the material
and air currents over the upper sieve P, and over and under the lower sieve PP,
but I make the arrangement of the channels or the conduits to the other sieves in a
similar manner.
Thus, it will be noticed that the air or stive entering with the feed is removed, also
that the air removed from under the sieves carries the light particles of material off
the sieve, and that such particles of light material, together with the light particles
of material removed by the uprising air currents Y Y from the overtails are conveyed
and deposited into the hopper R.
These
I do not confine myself to the use of the nozzles or channel N' and N2.
may be dispensed with if desired. In which case the air currents would pass direct
through conduits Z3 aud Z to chamber Z³.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. The improvement on my invention as described in my Provisional Specification,
No. 13930, which consists in connecting the supporting pins of the plansifter or
rotary sieving device by an endless belt passing round the various pulleys and using
these pulleys by the aid of adjustable weights for counter-balancing, substantially
as described.
2. The improvement appertaining to rotary sieve apparatus for separating and
purifying cereals, middlings and other granular substances and the like, which consists
in the use of ball bearings and bearings for sustaining the side and down thrust of the
pins carrying the plansifter case and the crank discs or pulleys, or either of them
substantially as described.
3. In machines of the character described, lubricating the ball or other bearings by
means of oil circulating passages and a screw or worm device, whereby the
oil is continuously driven in a circuit through the bearings, substantially as
.described.
4. The improvement on my former invention as set forth in my aforesaid patents,
which consists in removing the lighter particles by means of air currents from the sieves.
and overtails of rotary sieves, and at the same time removing the air, vapour or stive.
entering with the feed at the head of the machine, substantially as described.
5. In combination with plansifters a current of air propelled by a fan circulating
through the sieves and through conduits or channels carrying the overtails in such
manner as to carry off or remove the lighter particles substantially as described.
Dated this 28th day of Anonst 1896.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, and London, Patent Agents.