IMPROVEMENTS IN FLOUR AND MIDDLINGS DRESSING MACHINES
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Moses Lyon, of 24 Mark Lane, in the City of London,
in the County of Middlesex for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FLOUR
AND MIDDLINGS DRESSING MACHINES" communicated to him from abroad
by Andrew Hunter, of the City of Chicago, County of Cook, and State of
Illinois, United States of America
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Moses Lyon at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 24th January 1883.
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MOSES LYON, of 24 Mark Lane, in the City of London, in the County of
Middlesex " IMPROVEMENTS IN FLOUR AND MIDDLINGS DRESSING MACHINES
communicated to me from abroad by Andrew Hunter, of the City of Chicago,
County of Cook, and State of Illinois, United States of America
In the drawing Fig 1 is a side elevation of a flour and middlings dressing
machine embodying this invention; Fig 2 is a longitudinal central section of the
same; Fig 3 is a vertical cross section in the plane of the line x, x, of Fig 1;
Fig 4 is a like representation in the plane of the line y, y, of Fig 1; Fig 5 is
a sectional detail of the stationary cylinder and Fig 6 is an end view of the
machine.
Like letters of reference indicate like parts. A represents the frame of the
machine, which is adapted to receive and support the working or operative parts
suitably. B is a receiving hopper into which the meal is fed. This hopper has a
close or tight fitting cover a, in which is a tube a¹ to permit the air to escape.
C is a rotary shaft passing horizontally through the hopper B, and b, b, are radial
arms or teeth fitted or applied to the said shaft. D represents wire cloth so hung
in the hopper B, as to hold the meal up to the action of the teeth b, b. E is a
screw conveyor arranged horizontally in the bottom of the hopper B and located
below the wire cloth D. F is a trap door hinged at the upper edge to the inner
end near the bottom portion of the hopper, and swings outward with relation to
the hopper. I is a chamber having a hopper shaped bottom, and J is a stationary
hollow cylinder located in the chamber 1. The cylinder J consists of annular or
segmental ribs c, c, attached to cross bars c³, c³, secured to the walls of the chamber I.
The cylinder J therefore, is skeleton in form, or open between the ribs c, c, but
1 close these, the lower openings by means of canvass c" and the upper by means

page_text: of silk bolting cloth c applied to the cylinder. The cylinder J, as will hereafter
be perceived, performs the function of a bolter, and I make its frame in detachable
and interchangeable sections. K is a rotary shaft passing centrally through the
cylinder J, and K', K', are arms extending radially from said shaft; L, L, are
horizontal bars or helical beaters attached to the ends of the arms K', K'; the arms
K¹, K', on one end of the shaft K, are set a little farther around than those on the
other, so as to give a slight degree of spirality or diagonal direction to the beaters
L, L, as indicated in Fig 2. M is a passage or eduction opening into the cylinder J,
and d is an inclined shelf or chute, at the upper end of said passage. Near the
lower end of the passage M is an outwardly opening gravitating valve d'. The
door F also opens into the cylinder J, as shown. N is an air chamber above the
cylinder J, and N¹ is an air pipe entering the chamber N. O and O' are screw
conveyors arranged below the cylinder J. Between the conveyors O and 0¹ is a
partition e, in which are slides c¹, c', and an opening e". The slides e', e', are
located in openings in the partition e and these openings are opened by drawing
the slides out, and closed by pushing them in. P, P, are openings in the bottom of
the dresser; Q, Q, are removable panels in the sides of the dresser; R is a partition
of cloth arranged vertically across the upper part of the chamber I; S is the driving
gear and pulley. T is a fan fastened at the tail end to frame A. The arms U of
the fan are attached to the rotary shaft K. Blades U₁ are fastened to the outer
ends of arms U. V is an opening from fan T into the cylinder J. V' is the discharge
opening or mouth of the fan T.
The operation of the parts now described is as follows: the meal is fed into the
hopper B, and falls upon the wire cloth D where the flaky particles and dough-balls
are disintegrated, by the teeth or arms b, b. The magnets G, G, catch and hold
any small particles of metal that may have entered with the meal; the meal then
falls upon the conveyor E and is carried to and out of the door F which is opened
by the meal, and only enough to let the meal out, thereby preventing the escape of
air through the door F to any great extent. The air entering with the meal has
an escape through the tube a¹. The meal which passes out through the door F falts
into the cylinder J where it is operated upon by the helical beaters L, L. The
heavy portion of the meal is thrown against the covering of the cylinder J and the
fine bran and fluff is carried to the centre and falling on the shelf d, passes out
through the passage M and door d. The door d', like the door opens only
enough to permit the bran and fluff to pass out and thus prevents the entrance of
air. When I operate on fine middlings, I use the fan T, which draws or sucks
away the air that enters with the meal, at the same time, carrying with it, the
fluffy particles and light bran. When the fan is used I close the air pipe N¹,
thereby preventing any escape of air through the air chamber N. I also close the
eduction passage M. The heavy parts of the contents of cylinder J are forced
through the bolting cloth, and fall upon the conveyor O, by means of which it is
carried to the opening e¹¹, where it passes out of the machine. If it is necessary to
return a part of the flour, or draw off the fine middlings, I open one or more of the
slides e, e, which allows that portion under the opened slides to fall on the con-
veyor O¹ and be conveyed out through the lower opening P.
The heavy portions of the contents of cylinder J are thrown out against the
periphery of the cylinder by the centrifugal action of the beaters L, L. The lighter
particles tend towards the centre of the cylinder, or may be said to be influenced
by centripetal force, because being lighter, they are not projected with the same
force as the heavier particles, but chiefly because the warm or heated air which
would tend to condense and soften the flour, being to a great extent excluded from
the cylinder by means of the trap-doors referred to, and the little which enters
being allowed to escape through the exhaust or ventilator above the cylinder, or
through the fan T, leaves the central part of the cylinder comparatively tranquil,
or free from air currents moving from the centre to the periphery, in other words,
the beaters operate much the same as they would if rotated in a vacuum, and the
fine fluffy material is not forced through the bolting cloth by the air. By this

page_text: means the condition and quality of the flour is much improved, the tailings are also
cleaner, and the dresser is comparatively compact, and requires a comparatively
small power to run it.
I
The direction of the movement of the beaters L, L, is indicated by the arrow
shown in Fig 3. The canvass c holds the meal until it is carried by the beaters
up and against the silk c'll on that side of the cylinder when the movement of the
beaters is upward. The silk on this side or part of the cylinder, I make of finer
material than that on the other side; for example, the silk on the side on which
the beaters move upward, is No 14 bolting silk, and that on the other N° 12.
find that, if the position of these silks be reversed, the quality being as described,
the flour forced through the silk on the up movement of the beaters, will be dark
in color, and that forced through by the down movement will be soft and greasy.
I have reached the best results by using comparatively fine silk on the up side,
and coarser silk on the opposite side.
Having thus described my invention, what I clain as new, and desire to secure
by Letters Patent is :-
First. A flour and middlings dressing machine having a receiving hopper with a
ventilated top, and in which hopper are combined the rotary arms or beaters b, b,
the wire cloth D, the conveyor E and the trap door F, substantially as and for the
purposes specified.
Second. A flour and middlings dressing machine, in which are combined the
chamber I, having in its top an air chamber, and an air duct or escape, a stationary
bolting cylinder, a series of revolving helical beaters arranged in the said cylinder,
a feeding hopper communicating with the said cylinder, and an eduction also
entering the said cylinder for carrying off the fine bran and fluffy material from
the central part thereof, substantially as and for the purposes specified.
Third. The combination in a flour and middlings dressing machine, of revolving
beaters and a stationary bolting cylinder having its bottom portion covered with
canvass, its up side with comparatively fine silk, and its down side with coarser
silk, the said beaters being arranged in the said cylinder, substantially as and for
the purposes specified.
Fourth. A flour and middlings dressing machine in which are combined the
chamber I having in its top, an air chamber and an air duct, a stationary bolting
cloth, a series of revolving beaters, arranged in the said cylinder, a feeding hopper
communicating with the chamber I, and the trap doors F and d', substantially as
and for the purposes specified.
Fifth. A Hour and middlings dressing machine in which are combined the
chamber I, a stationary bolting chamber, a series of revolving beaters arranged in
the said cylinder, a feeding hopper communicating with the chamber I, the trap
door F and fan T, substantially as and for the purposes specified.
Sixth. The combination in a flour and middlings dressing machine, of a hopper
containing revolving arms or beaters for disintegrating the meal, the ventilated
chamber I, the stationary bolting chamber J, the helical beaters L, L, arranged in
the said cylinder, the fan T, the trap doors F and d', the conveyors O and O', the
partition e, the slides e', e', and the openings P, P, substantially as and for the
purposes specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Moses Lyon have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this twenty-fourth day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and eighty-three.