IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR BREAKING THE WOODY PARTS OF FLAX STRAW AND OTHER SIMILAR FIBROUS DOVANA OTA PADIO HORRERAM
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Eliot Hodgkin, of Liverpool, in the County
of Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
BREAKING THE WOODY PARTS OF FLAX STRAW AND OTHER SIMILAR FIBROUS
DOVANA OTA PADIO HORRERAM
"
Sealed the 22nd February 1870, and dated the 24th August 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Eliot Hodgkin
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 24th August 1869.
.I, JOHN ELIOT HODGKIN, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR BREAKING THE WOODY PARTS OF FLAX STRAW AND OTHER
SIMILAR FIBROUS PLANTS, AND FOR SCUTCHING OR REMOVING SUCH PARTS THERE-
FROM," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to machinery for breaking the woody parts of
flax straw and other similar fibrous plants.
The want has been long experienced of a cheap and simple machine
which can be worked by hand for the above purpose, and the object of

page_text: my Invention is to provide a machine which will answer these con-
ditions. For this purpose I mount a fluted roller in suitable bearings in
the framework of the machine, and I mount several smaller fluted
rollers in bearings so that the smaller rollers will rest upon the surface
of the larger roller. I press the smaller rollers upon the surface of the
larger roller by means of springs or weights (preferably of vulcanized
india-rubber balls or washers compressed by screws). I provide the
machine with feeding and delivery tables. I make the feed table to
incline at an angle to the rolls so that the weight of the flax straw
takes it into the rolls, and I make the delivery table also incline at a
very considerable angle so that the flax comes away and slides down by
its own weight. I work the machine by means of a crank handle upon
the axis of one of the rollers or upon a pinion wheel taking into a
toothed wheel upon the axis of the larger roller. When working the
machine I do not turn the crank handle round continuously in one
direction, but I first turn it a short distance in one direction and then a
short distance in the opposite direction, and I turn it a greater distance
in one direction than in the opposite, so that the material will be rolled
backwards and forwards in the machine but will advance a little furtlier
at each movement in the forward direction and be finally delivered from
the machine.
In some cases I move the rollers by means of a lever handle arranged
to work with pawl and ratchet wheels in a similar manner to that
described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to myself and
Edward Brasier, bearing date the 8th day of April 1868, and numbered
1188. I work the lever backwards and forwards by hand and either
arranged to strike the pawls in and out of gear by a slot, projection, or
cam fixed upon the frame of the machine, as in the Specification of the
Patent just referred to, or I provide it with a second lever or series of
levers, the last of which lies close to the working lever and is actuated
at pleasure by the grasp of the workman's hand, by which the catches
can be released from the ratchet wheels when desired so as to regulate
the amount of backward and forward rolling action given to the
material when passing through the machine.
According to another part of my Invention when a scutching wheel
is combined with a beating machine having central and surrounding
rollers provided with a backward and forward movement, greater in one
direction than in the other, I so arrange such scutching wheel that

page_text: either it or the breaking machine can be worked separately from the
same driving axis. I provide clutches or so arrange the toothed gear
that it can be connected and disconnected with either the breaker or the
scutching wheel when desired.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Eliot Hodgkin in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 23rd February 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
ELIOT HODGKIN,. of Liverpool,; in the County of Lancaster, send
greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the
thirty-third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me; the said John Eliot Hodgkin, Her
special licence that I, the said John Eliot Hodgkin, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Eliot Hodgkin, 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 MACHINERY FOR BREAKING THE WOODY.
PARTS OF FLAX STRAW
SIMILAR FIBROUS PLANTS, AND
SCUTCHING OR REMOVING SUCH PARTS THEREFROM," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Eliot Hodgkin, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their,
or one of their hands. and' seals; should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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.
AND
OTHER
FOR
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Eliot Hodgkin, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same

page_text: is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
.
My Invention relates to machinery for breaking the woody parts of
flax straw and other similar fibrous plants.
The want has long been experienced of a cheap and simple machine
which can be worked by hand for the above purpose, and the object
of my Invention is to provide a machine which will answer these
conditions.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into practice I will proceed to describe the same, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed.
I
Figure 1 shews a side view, and Figure 2 part of a front view of so much
of a breaking and scutching machine constructed and arranged according
to my present improvements as will enable me to explain this part of
the same. I mount a fluted roller a in suitable bearings in the frame-
work 6 of the machine, and I mount several smaller fluted rollers c, c,
in bearings, so that the smaller rollers c, c, will rest upon the surface of
the larger roller a. I press the smaller rollers c, c, upon the surface of the
larger roller a by means of springs or weights. In the Drawing the.
rollers c, c, are shown to be pressed upon the larger roller a
by the
vulcanized india-rubber balls or washers c¹ compressed by the screws c..
I provide the machine with a feeding table d and a delivery table e.
make the feed table d to incline, so that the weight of the flax straw
takes it into the rolls a and c, and I make the delivery table e also
incline at a very considerable angle, so that the flax comes away and
slides down by its own weight. I work the machine by means of a
crank handle or hand wheel upon the axis of one of the rollers, or upon
a pinion wheel taking into a toothed wheel upon the axis of the larger
roller. In the Drawing the machine is shewn to be provided with a
hand wheelf, which can be connected or disconnected at will by means
of a clutch or key to the axis a' of the roller a. The hand wheel fis
provided with a rim suitable for being grasped by the person working
the machine; and where great command is required over the machine
the hand wheelf may be provided with radial handles like a steering
wheel, or with a crank handle. When working the machine I do not
turn the crank handle or hand wheel f round continuously in one
direction, but I first turn it a short distance in one direction, and then

page_text: a short distance in the opposite direction, and I turn it a greater
distance in one direction than in the opposite, so that the material will:
be rolled backwards and forwards in the machine, but will advance a
little further at cach movement in the forward direction, and be finally
delivered from the machine.
O
In some cases I move the rollers by means of a lever handle arranged
to work with pawls and ratchet wheels in a similar manner to that
described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to myself and
Edward Brasier, bearing date the 8th day of April 1868, and numbered
1188.
Figure 3 shows a side view, and Figure 4 part of a front view of so
much of a scutching and breaking machine constructed and arranged
according to my present improvements as will enable me to explain this
part of the same. Those parts in Figures 3 and 4 which correspond
with similar parts in Figures 1 and 2, and which have been described in
reference thereto, are marked with the same letters and figures of
reference. In Figures 3 and 4, g and h are ratchet wheels keyed upon
the axis a¹ of the roller a; i and j are pawls or catches mounted upon
the collar k. The collar k is free to turn around the axis a', and is.
provided with a lever handle k', by means of which the collar k can be
moved upon the axis a'. The pawls i and j take into the ratchet wheels
9 and and act in opposite directions, so that in whichever direction the
lever handle k¹ is moved the roller a moves with it so long as the
pawls i and jare both free to engage alternately with the ratchet
wheels g and . If, however, the pawl j is held out of action during
part of the return movement of the lever the roller a will be moved
back a shorter distance than it was moved forward, and the rollers a
and c, c, will have a backward and forward rolling movement imparted
to them, greater in the forward than in the backward direction. I work
the lever backwards and forwards by hand, and arrange to strike the.
pawls in and out of gear by a slot, projection, or cam fixed upon the.
frame of the machine, as in the Specification of the Patent before.
referred to. In the Drawing the pawl j is shewn to be provided with a
tail piece, which is acted upon by the cam surface fixed to the
framing b. The tail piece coming in contact with the surface j holds
the pawl from engaging with the ratchet wheel h during part of the.
return stroke, as and for the purpose above described. In place of the
tail picce j' and cam j*, the lever k¹ may be provided with a second lever

page_text: or series of levers, the last of which lies close to the working lever k¹,
and is actuated at pleasure by the grasp of the workman's hand, so as
to release the catch from the ratchet wheel h when desired, and thus
regulate the amount of backward and forward rolling action given to
the material when passing through the machine.
According to another part of my Invention when a scutching wheel is
combined with a beating machine having central and surrounding rollers
provided with a backward and forward movement greater in one direc-
tion than in the other to be worked by hand labour, as herein-before
described, I so arrange such scutching wheel that either it or the
breaking machine can be worked separately from the same driving axis.
Ín Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the Drawings is the axis of the scutching
wheel mounted in bearings in the framing of the machine.. In order to
avoid complexity in the Drawings I have not shown the scutching
blades mounted upon the axis l, as they can be of any of the ordinary
descriptions, or such as are described in the Specification of a Patent
granted to the said Edward Brasier and myself, dated April 10th, 1869,
No. 1094, and these scutching blades can be readily applied by a
mechanic acquainted with this description of machinery. In Figures 1
and 2, m is a toothed wheel connected to and revolving with the hand
wheel. The toothed wheel m takes into and drives the pinion / upon
the axis . The pinion 7' is so mounted upon the axis that either by
means of a clutch or by sliding the pinion 7 upon a feather on the axis ?,
as is well understood, the pinion l' can be either disconnected from the
axis or moved out of gear with the toothed wheel m. When it is
desired to work the scutching wheel the hand wheel is disconnected
(by means of the clutch before described) from the axis a', so that the
hand wheel and toothed wheel m will turn around the axis a¹. The
pinion is then geared with the wheel m or with the axis l, and by
turning the wheelf by means of the handle f¹ the scutching wheel will
be set in motion, while the breaking machine remains stationary. In
Figures 3 and 4 the toothed wheel m turns loose upon the axis a¹ of the
roller a, and is provided with a handle m', and by means of this handle
the toothed wheel m can be turned when desired, and so give motion to
the axis of the scutching blades, and either the breaking rollers or the
scutching wheel can thus be worked separately from one another,
according as one or the other is required to operate.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in

page_text: which I carry the same into operation, I would have it understood that
I do not limit myself to the precise details of form and construction
lierein-before described and shewn in the accompanying Drawings, as
the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my Inven-
tion. And further I would remark that I do not claim the combination
of a central with surrounding rollers for the purpose of breaking flax
straw or other fibrous substances; nor do I claim giving such rollers a
forward and backward rolling motion; nor do I claim the use of the
ratchet wheels g and h, acting in combination with the pawls i and j;
but what I do claim is,-
Firstly. The general arrangement and the combination of the breaking
machine with the hand wheelf or equivalent apparatus for turning the
fluted rollers forward and backward by hand labour, and so forming a
simple hand machine or implement, substantially as and for the purposes
herein-before described and shewn at Figures 1 and 2 of the Drawings
hereunto annexed.
Secondly. I claim the general arrangement and the combination of
the breaking machine with the hand lever k¹ for turning the fluted
breaking rollers forward and backward by hand labour, and so forming
a simple hand machine or implement, substantially as and for the
purposes herein-before described and shewn at Figures 3 and 4 of the
Drawings hereunto annexed.
Thirdly. I claim combining the toothed wheel m and handles f¹ or m¹
with a hand breaking machine, so that the axis of the roller of the
breaker forms the centre for the large wheel to drive the pinion on the
scutcher shaft, as herein-before described and shewn in the Drawings
hereunto annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Eliot Hodgkin, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
JOHN ELIOT HODGKIN. (L.S.)