IMPROVE- MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SIFTING, MIXING, AND MILLING TEA AND OTHER SUBSTANCES
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jonathan Hogg, Thomas Pim Hogg, and Richard Edward
Donovan, all of the City of Dublin, Ireland, for the Invention of " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SIFTING, MIXING, AND MILLING TEA AND OTHER
SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 20th July 1877, and dated the 28th May 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jonathan Hogg, Thomas Pim
Hogg, and Richard Edward Donovan at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents on the 28th May 1877.
JONATHAN HOGG, THOMAS PIM HOGG, and RICHARD EDWARD DONOVAN, all of
the City of Dublin, Ireland. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SIFTING, MIXING,
AND MILLING TEA AND OTHER SUBSTANCES."
According to our Invention we arrange within a casing or framing a rectangular
box mounted on trunnions at or about its middle, so that it can be turned to bring
consecutively each of four of its sides uppermost. The said four sides are perforated,
and have sliding plates with corresponding perforations, so that by shifting the
positions of these upon the sides, the perforations of the latter are either open or
closed.
Surrounding the box is an endless belt of chain buckets of a width corresponding
to that of the box, and passing over guide rollers, one of which is rotated by a
crank or gearing so as to cause the buckets to travel round the box.
The box having been filled with the different kinds of tea or other substance'
required to be mixed, the perforated sides that are at the time situated at top and'
bottom are opened, whereupon the tea will fall through the perforations of the
bottom side of the box into the chain buckets, which in travelling round the box
will discharge the tea again on to the upper side thereof, where it will fall back into'
the box aain through the perforations, revolving arms being if necessary provided
at the top of the box, for spreading the tea evenly over the latter as it falls from
the buckets, and causing it more readily to pass through the perforations. This'
operation having been continued some time the tea will have been deposited in the
box in layers in a partially mixed condition; the top and bottom perforations are
then closed and the box is turned so as to bring its other two sides respectively'

page_text: upper and undermost. The layers of tea in the box will now be in a vertical
position, so that on opening the perforations at top and bottom again, the tea will
fall simultaneously from the lower edges of all the layers into the chain buckets,
and will by these be deposited in horizontal layers in the top of the box again, thus
effecting the perfect mixing of the teas, the above operation being repeated as often
as may be required.
Instead of the arrangement of chain buckets, may be employed any other known
contrivance for conveying the tea from the bottom to the top of the box; also the
box may always remain stationary instead of being turned at intervals, and the
different kinds of tea may either be thrown into the box indiscriminately in the
first instance, or there may be provided in the machine, compartments for the
different kinds of tea to be supplied in regulated quantities into the box.
With the above described process of mixing teas, may if desired be combined a
process of sifting and "milling" or cutting the tea. For this purpose we arrange
above the box a sieve, into which the tea is delivered by the above described chain
buckets, and on which revolve a series of arms which cause the tea dust to fall
through the sieve while the tea itself is caused to pass through a side opening into
a "milling" or cutting machine of any known construction. On issuing from this
the tea falls into chain buckets which may form part of or may be separate from
those above described, and which convey the milled tea through a shoot either on
to a perforated plate above the box, or on to the perforated: top of the box itself,
where it is' spread evenly and caused to fall into the box by means of the before-
mentioned revolving arms.
The sieve and perforated plate with revolving arms are capable of sliding away
from over the box, when this is required to be rotated as above described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by.
the said Jonathan Hogg, Thomas Pim Hogg, and Richard Edward Donovan
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 27th November 1877.
JONATHAN HOGG, THOMAS PIM HOGG, and RICHARD EDWARD DONOVAN, all of
the City of Dublin, Ireland. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SIFTING, MIXING,,
AND MILLING TEA AND OTHER SUBSTANCES."
According to our Invention we arrange within a casing or framing a rectangular
box mounted on trunnions at or about its middle, so that it can be turned to bring
consecutively each of four of its sides uppermost. The said four sides are perforated
and have sliding plates with corresponding perforations, so that by shifting the
positions of these upon the sides, the perforations of the latter are either open or.
closed.
Surrounding the box is an endless belt of chain buckets of a width corresponding
to that of the box, and passing over guide rollers, one of which is rotated by a
crank or gearing so as to cause the buckets to travel round the box.
The box having been filled with the different kinds of tea or other substance
requiring to be mixed, the perforated sides that are at the time situated at top and
bottom are opened, whereupon the tea. will fall through the perforations of the
bottom side of the box into the chain buckets, which in travelling round the box"

page_text: will discharge the tea again on to the upper side thereof, where it will fall back
into the box again through the perforations, revolving arms being if necessary
provided at the top of the box for spreading the tea evenly over the latter as it
falls from the buckets, mixing and dispersing it and causing it more readily to pass
through the perforations. This operation having been continued some time, the tea
will have been deposited in the box in layers in a partially mixed condition; the
top and bottom perforations are then closed, and the box is turned so as to bring its
other two sides respectively upper and undermost. The layers of tea in the box
will now be in a vertical position, so that on opening the perforations at the top
and bottom again the tea will fall simultaneously from the lower edges of all the
layers into the chain buckets, and will by these be deposited in horizontal layers in
the top of the box again, thus effecting the perfect mixing of the teas, the above
operation being repeated as often as may be required.
Instead of the arrangement of chain buckets, may be used any other known
contrivance for conveying the tea from the bottom to the top of the box; also the
box may always remain stationary instead of being turned at intervals, and the
different kinds of tea may either be thrown into the box indiscriminately in the.
first instance, or there may be provided in the machine compartments for the
different kinds of tea to be supplied in regulated quantities into the box, or the two
methods may be combined.
With this. above described process of mixing teas may if desired be combined a
process of sifting and "milling" or cutting the tea. For this purpose we arrange
above the box a sieve, into which the tea is delivered by the above described chain
buckets, and on which revolves a series of arms which cause the tea dust and small
tea to fall through the sieve while the larger tea itself is caused to pass through a
side opening into a "milling" or cutting machine of any known construction. On
issuing from this the tea falls into chain buckets which may form part of or may
be separate from those above described, and which convey the milled tea through a
shoot either into a perforated plate above the box, or on to the perforated top of the
box itself where it is spread evenly and caused to fall into the box by means of the
before-mentioned revolving arms.
The sieve and perforated plate with revolving arms may be capable of sliding
away from over the box, when this is required to be rotated as above described, or
they may be fixed on the box and turn with it.
.DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 shews a front elevation of the arrangement of our before described apparatus
which we prefer to employ; Fig. 2 shews a side view partly in section.
The rectangular box. A containing the tea to be mixed is mounted with
trunnions B in a framing C, so that it can be turned alternately from the position
shewn on the Drawing in which the side A' is uppermost into one in which the
side A² in Fig. 1 is uppermost, and then back again into the original position. The
sides A1, A2, are covered with a sieve, screen, or grating, with meshes or apertures
of sufficient size for the tea to pass through, while the opposite sides are each closed
by two sets of gratings A3, A4, and A5, A. Two spindles D, D¹, pass right through,
the box being supported in bearings in bridge pieces E, E¹, at the upper ends.
Upon these spindles are fixed; firstly, bevil wheels F, F, in gear with pinions upon
countershafts G, G¹, mounted in E, E¹, and receiving rotary motion through bevil
gearing H from a shaft I. that is. rotated by gearing H¹ from a. shaft K, rotated
either by a winch handle as shewn, or by other means. On the shafts are further-
more fixed blades L, L', which in rotating closely over the surfaces of the screens or
gratings A1, A2, mix, and at the same time, distribute the tea that has been deposited
thereon, uniformly over them; causing it to pass through. the meshes into the box.
Above the screen at A¹ is a second screen M on to which the tea is first deposited,
and above which are other blades L² fixed on the shaft D; the meshes of this screen

page_text: are of a size corresponding to the largest sized tea to be passed into the box, so
that tea of such size or smaller tea passes through on to the screen A¹, while the tea
that will not pass through the meshes of M is removed to a tea mill to be reduced
to the required size.
The shafts D, D¹, furthermore carry a cam at N, and another at O for a purpose
to be presently mentioned. The gratings A3 and A³, which have bars of triangular
section, as shewn, are fixed to the box, while the lower gratings A and A are
carried by forked links P, P¹, at the sides of the box, which are connected to
levers Q, so that by moving these gratings by means of these levers towards the
fixed ones the apertures of the latter are closed, so that no tea can pass out as in the
position of A5, A6, shewn in Fig. 1, while when they are lowered into the position
shewn at A, the gratings being then at the bottom, the tea can fall out of the_box
through the interstices between the bars.
In order to prevent any clogging of the tea in the gratings, the lower one has a
slight to-and-fro motion by means of the cam or eccentric O acting between cheeks 0¹
on the grating. Surrounding the box is a ring of buckets R, somewhat wider than
the box, and resting upon rollers S, carried by the framing, the ring being provided
with teeth R¹ gearing into pinions T on the before-mentioned shaft K, so that on
rotating this a rotary motion is imparted to the ring of buckets either in one
direction or the other.
Assuming the box to be filled with the tea to be mixed and the gratings A3, A4,
to be open, then the tea will fall from the box into the buckets, which in being
rotated in the direction of the arrow will convey the tea to the top of the box, and
will deposit it on the top screen M, whence it will be passed back into the box
again as above described. After a certain time the gratings A3, A4, are closed so as
to retain the tea in the box, and after disconnecting the gearing H by means of a
clutch and lever U, the box is then turned so as to bring the side A¹ uppermost;
the gratings A5, A6, are then opened so as to let the tea fall into the buckets which
again carry the tea to the top and deposit it on the sieve A¹.
In the arrangement shewn on the Drawing, the surfaces of the box at A¹, A³, are
assumed to be provided with two sets of gratings similar to those at the other sides
of the box, the lower grating being raised and lowered at each revolution of the
shafts D, D¹, by means of the cams N acting on tappets connected to the grating,
while the lower grating is raised so as to close the apertures in the top grating;
the tea is deposited upon the latter by the buckets, and is spread evenly upon the
same by the arms L, and the layer so formed is then allowed to fall into the box by
the lowering of the lower grating. By this means the tea is deposited in successive
layers in the box, and when this is turned as described, the tea falls simultaneously
from the lower edges of all the layers into the buckets, and thus an effectual
mixing of the tea is produced.
When by repeating the above operations the tea has become thoroughly mixed,
the driving shaft K is put out of gear with the spindle D or D¹ by means of the
clutch and lever U disconnecting the gearing on G, and the shaft K is rotated so as
to turn the buckets in a direction contrary to that of the arrow, whereupon owing
to the inclined form of the buckets the tea will fall from them at the point V into a
shoot which is placed there for the purpose of conveying the mixed tea from the
machine to wherever required.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed, we claim,-
First. The use of apparatus for mixing tea or other substances, wherein a box or
receptacle having its sides covered with sieves, gratings, or perforated plates is
surrounded by a series of travelling buckets or equivalent apparatus, whereby the
tea issuing from the bottom or sides of the box is conveyed to the top again so as
to pass through the sieve or perforated plate back into the box, substantially as
and for the purpose herein described.
Second. In apparatus such as described in the preceding claim mounting the box

page_text: on trunnions, so that it can be turned from one position into another, the gratings
or perforated plates through which the tea issues being capable of being closed to
prevent the issue of the tea, substantially as herein described.
Third. In apparatus such as described in the first claim, the provision of rotating
arms or blades, whereby the tea deposited on to the top sieve of the box is dis-
tributed evenly over the same and mixed, substantially as herein described.
Fourth. In apparatus such as described in the first claim, the provision of a second
sieve or screen with distributing arms over that on the top of the box, whereby the
tea is more effectually mixed and distributed, while that of larger size than
required is retained in order to be passed into a milling machine, substantially as
herein described.
Fifth. In apparatus for sifting, milling, and mixing tea, the combination of the
box A mounted on trunnions B with sieves A1, A2, M, gratings A3, A4, A5, A6,
spreading blades L, L1, L2, and ring of buckets R, arranged and operating as herein
described with reference to the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Edward Donovan have hereunto set
iny hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
RICHARD EDWARD DONOVAN. (L.S.)