Machines for Assorting, Separating, and Grading Materials of Various Sizes by Means of Sieves or other Surfaces, having a Lateral, Eccentric, Rotatory Movement, the Disposition of the Sifting or Assorting Medium in the Form of a Spiral, with its Siing or Assorting Surfacetal or Approximately Horizontal.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Feb., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 21st Nov., 1898-Accepted, 23rd Feb., 1899
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
In Machines for Assorting, Separating, and Grading Materials of
Various Sizes by Means of Sieves or other Surfaces, having a
Lateral, Eccentric, Rotatory Movement, the Disposition of the
Sifting or Assorting Medium in the Form of a Spiral, with its
Sifting or Assorting Surface Horizontal or Approximately
Horizontal.
I, JOSEPH JOHN ARMFIELD, Mechanical Engineer, residing at Ringwood, in
Hampshire, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
In machines for assorting, separating & grading materials of various and
different sizes, by means of sieves or other surfaces, whether perforated, indented
or otherwise, having a lateral, eccentric, rotatory movement, the disposition or
arrangement of the sifting or assorting medium in the form of a spiral, with
its sifting or assorting surface horizontal or approximately horizontal the object
of such disposition or arrangement of the sifting or assorting medium being to
provide a continuous sifting or grading surface of great length, comparatively with
the size of the machine so disposed as to readily receive a lateral; rotatory
movement such as is usually imparted to machines of that kind and also so
disposed as to avoid the necessity of disturbing the peculiar relative position that
the particles of such materials as may be operated in such rotatory machines
assume when so treated.
1
To accomplish this object I dispose or arrange the sieve or perforated or other
surface upon which the material to be treated travels, in a spiral form around
the central portion of the machine, the surface upon which the material travels
being approximately horizontal in position and the turns or whorls of the spiral
being the one under the other, somewhat after the manner of the steps of a
spiral staircase, thus securing great length of sifting or assorting surface within
a comparatively small space, and compactly disposed. Beneath each spiral which
is a sifting or perforated surface I arrange a similar spiral but of material
not perforated, to receive and collect the particles of the materials being operated,
that fall through the sifting or perforated surface, or I may arrange the spirals
so that the materials may fall through from one sifting surface to the other or
otherwise. I may also arrange one spiral or more spirals than one in the same
machine and they may be of one turn or of several turns or of a portion of one
turn only. The spiral surfaces may be of uniform width, or of varying width
as may be desired. They may also be circular on plan or rectangular or of any
other form. They may be formed of woven fabric, cloth, wire, silk or other
material, or of any perforated material, or they may be of material not perforated.
In conjunction with them may be arranged air currents for aspirating the
materials or otherwise.
To the sifting or assorting surfaces arranged substantially as above described,
I impart a lateral, eccentric, rotatory movement, by any of the means usually

page_text: adopted to impart such movement, as a crank, eccentric, pitman, or other device,
the sifting or assorting surfaces being suitably supported so as to admit of the
lateral rotatory movement described.
3
Dated this 22nd day of Febriar 1808
$
DI MULTICATION.
In Machines for Assorting, Separating and Grading Materials of
Various Sizes by Means of Sieves or other "Surfaces, having a
Lateral, Eccentric, Rotatory Movement the Disposition of the
Sifting or Assorting Medium in the Form of a Spiral with its
Sifting or Assorting Surface Horizontal or Approximately
Horizontal.
I, JOSEPH JOHN ARMFIELD, Mechanical Engineer, residing at Ringwood, in
Hampshire, 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:
In machines for assorting, separating and grading materials of various and
different sizes by means of sieves or other surfaces whether perforated, indented
or otherwise, having a lateral, eccentric, rotatory movement, the disposition or
arrangement of the sifting or assorting medium in the form of a spiral with
its sifting or assorting surface, horizontal or approximately horizontal, the object
of such disposition or arrangement of the sifting or assorting medium being to
provide a continuous sifting or grading surface of great length comparatively with
the size of the machine so disposed as to readily receive a lateral, rotatory
movement, such as is usually imparted to machines of that kind and also so
disposed as to avoid the necessity of disturbing the peculiar relative position that
the particles of such materials as may be operated in such rotatory machines
assume when so treated.
To accomplish this object, I dispose or arrange the sieve or perforated or other
surface upon which the material to be treated travels, in a spiral form around
the central portion of the machine, the surface upon which the material travels,
being approximately horizontal in position, and the turns or whorls of the spiral
being the one under the other, somewhat after the manner of the steps of a
spiral staircase, thus securing great length of sifting or assorting surface within
a comparatively small space and compactly disposed.
Beneath each spiral which is a sifting or perforated surface, I arrange a similar
spiral but of material not perforated, to remove or collect the particles of the
material being operated that fall through the sifting or perforated surface, or I
may arrange the spirals so that the materials may fall through from one sifting
surface to the other sifting surface or otherwise. I may also arrange one spiral,
or more spirals than one, in the same machine, either around a common centre.
or otherwise and they may be of one turn or of several turns or of a portion
of one turn only. The spiral surfaces may be of uniform width, or of varying
width as may be desired."
They may also be circular on plan or rectangular or of any other form. They 4
may be formed of woven fabric, cloth wire, silk or any other material or of any
perforated material or they may be of material not perforated
In conjunction with them may be arranged air currents for aspirating or
assisting the separation of the materials or otherwise which may be induced by

page_text: a fan or blower, sucked or blown upwards through the meshes of the sifting
medium, suitable inlets and outlets being arranged for the air as indicated by
the arrows in Fig. 2, of the accompanying drawings.
The accompanying drawing represents my invention as embodied in a rotatory
sifting machine or plansifter, in which Figure 1 is an elevation of the complete
machine, and Figure 2, is a section of the screen frame or sifting portion of the
same machine.
A, is the main driven pulley for receiving motion from the shafting of the mill
or otherwise.
B, is a crank disc, which being fast to the same shaft as A, communicates
a rotatory movement to the screen frame, J, J.
C, C, are flexible suspenders, preferably three to each screen frame supporting
it upon the standards K, K, so as to admit of rotatory movement.
D, D, are inlets for admitting the material to be operated to the sifting surface
of the machine.
E, E, E, are outlets for the sifted or separated products.
F, F, F, are the sieve or sieves, disposed in a spiral form around the central
portion of the machine.
G, G, G, is the device for working brushes backwards and forwards beneath
the sifting surface to keep the meshes clear.
H, H, H, H, are inlet holes for air, showing a manner in which it can be
admitted beneath the sifting surface when desired to be so admitted.
I, I, are outlet holes for air communicating with the upper surface of the
sifting sieves, these outlet holes being preferably connected to a fan, inducing
a current of air, or to some other appliance for inducing a current of air.
J, J, is the screen frame, suspended by C C C, and rotated by B.
K, K, K, are supporting standards or framing for the machine.
To the sifting or assorting surfaces arranged as before described, I impart a
lateral eccentric, rotatory, movement by any means usually adopted to impart
such movement, as a crank, eccentric, pitman or other device, the sifting or
assorting surface being suitably supported so as to admit of the lateral rotatory
movement described.
Having now particularly ascertained and described the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
In machines for assorting, separating and grading or sifting materials of various
sizes and densities, by means of sieves or other surfaces, having a lateral eccentric
rotatory movement, the disposition of the sifting or assorting medium or surface,
in the form of a spiral with its sifting or assorting surface horizontal or approxi-
mately horizontal."
Dated this 10th day of Nawal 1000