IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF FEEDING MEAL TO THE BOLTING REEL IN FLOURING MILLS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Frazer Cochrane, of Springfield, in the
County of Clark, and State of Ohio, United States of America, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF FEEDING MEAL TO THE
BOLTING REEL IN FLOURING MILLS."
Sealed the 8th June 1866, and dated the 30th December 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Frazer Cochrane
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
80th December 1865.
I, WILLIAM FRAZER COCHRANE, of Springfield, in the County of Clark, and
State of Ohio, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF FEEDING MEAL TO THE
BOLTING REEL IN FLOURING MILLS," to be as follows :—
The object of this Invention is the supplying of meal by means of atmo-
spheric pressure to the bolting reels or cylinders of flouring mills in such
manner that all choking or clogging of the passages by the said meal is
prevented, and regularity in the action of the feeding apparatus, as well as
uniformity in the amount of meal delivered and the quality of flour produced
therefrom, is insured.
The said Invention consists essentially in the employment of a pump, by

page_text: which the meal is drawn through a tapering spout from the cooling floor, and
forced into the bolting reel or cylinder, and in a device for regulating the
quantity of meal delivered into the said reel or cylinder at each stroke of the
said pump. The cooling floor is provided with a spout to convey the meal
from the said floor into the barrel of the pump. This spout, instead of being
made in the ordinary parallel form, is tapered outwardly towards its lower
extremity, the end attached to the pump being larger than the end connected
to the cooling floor. The object of this form of spout is to prevent the
choking or clogging of the meal which takes place in spouts of the usual form.
The pump is, by preference, placed in a horizontal position below the cooling
floor; one end of the said pump is provided with a delivery spout, through
which the meal is conveyed to the bolting reel. The barrel of this pump may
be of a circular, rectangular, or any other desired sectional form, and of a
length to suit any required stroke of the piston fitted to work in the said
barrel. The said piston is rendered air-tight by suitable packing, which by
preference is made stationary in the barrel, and is applied to a portion only
of the surface of the piston. The blocks of which this packing consists are
sunk into recesses formed in the barrel. These blocks, whose surfaces are
fitted air-tight against the surface of the piston, are pressed up to the said
piston by spiral or other springs resting in boxes secured to the said barrel.
The advantage of stationary packing over packing attached to and moving
with the piston lies in the former being less, exposed to, contact with, the, mgal
adhering to the sides of the barrel and in its being much less subject to wear.
The front end of the piston is provided with one or more offsets or steps for
preventing the packing or collecting of the meal in the barrel in front of the
piston. By means of these offsets or steps the meal is gradually lifted and
carried forward to the discharge pipe communicating with the bolting reel.
The piston is connected to a suitable piston rod, upon one end of which a
screw thread is formed. This end by preference, is, fitted, in a nut,securech in
the body of the piston. The other end of the piston rod, works, through two
guides attached to the framing or other suitable portion of the apparatus, and
enclosing between them a pulley. The piston. rod, slides, through the boss, uf
this pulley, which is provided with a feather fitting into a, longitudinal groove
formed in the piston, rod. By this arrangement, the piston is adjusted, forward.
or backward with regard to the induction spout, and the quantity of meal
drawn from the said, spout into the barrel of the. pump. of each stroke of the
piston is regulated. The wheel does not interfere with, the reciprocating
motion of the piston rod, which can therefore be turned round to adjust, the
piston while the machinery, is in motion. The piston rod is operated by means

page_text: of a connecting rod from a crank or disc fixed on the end of a shaft connected
by bevil or other suitable toothed gearing to the shaft of the bolting reel or
cylinder. One end of this connecting rod is jointed to work upon a pin or
stud projecting from a boss or socket fitted upon the piston rod. A screw or
pin passes through this socket, and the end of this screw or pin fits in a circular
groove or channel formed on the surface of the said piston rod. By this.
device the piston rod is held and moved longitudinally by the connecting rod,
but is allowed to turn on its centre in order to adjust the piston for regulating
the supply of meal to the cylinder.
In order to produce uniform grades of flour it is necessary that an equal
quantity of meal should be fed to the bolting reel or cylinder at each stroke of
the pump. When a considerable quantity of meal has accumulated on the
cooling floor, the said meal would pass more rapidly to the bolting reel than
when there is little meal resting on the said floor: To equalize this supply a
regulator is provided consisting of a device whereby a column of meal whose
weight varies according to the quantity of meal upon the cooling floor is
caused to enlarge or contract the passage from the pump to the bolting reel.
This device consists of a cylinder attached to the under side of the cooling.
floor, an aperture being formed through the said floor into the cylinder. A
piston or follower is fitted to slide in this cylinder, having a stem or rod whose
other end is connected to a hinged valve jointed to work upon the top side of
the pump barrel. The area of the cylinder coincides nearly with that of the
induction spout, and it is obvious, therefore, that as the piston or follower
supports a column of meal equal to that in the said spout the pressure in this
spout and cylinder will be equal, or nearly so, consequently when the weight
of meal upon the cooling floor is greater the regulating valve is more
depressed, and the supply of meal to the bolting reel or cylinder will not vary.
When the piston of the pump is at the end of its backward stroke a vacuum
is formed in the barrel of the said pump in front of the piston and under the
induction spout. The atmospheric pressure forces the meal from the cooling
floor down the said spout into the pump barrel. The forward motion of the
piston then forces the said meal down the delivery spout. The regulating
valve is depressed or raised according to the supply of meal from the cooling
floor, and a constant unvarying quantity of meal is fed from the said floor to
the halting rool

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Frazer Cochrane in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 12th June 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
FRAZER COCHRANE, of Springfield, in the County of Clark, and State of Ohio,
United States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Frazer Cochrane, Her special licence that I, the said
William Frazer Cochrane, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Frazer Cochrane, 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 King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF FEEDING MEAL TO THE BOLTING
RSEL IN FLOURING MILLS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said William Frazer Cochrane, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
. NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Frazer Cochrane, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings making
a part of this Specification :—-
The object of my Invention is to feed meal to the bolting reel of flouring
mills through the medium of atmospheric pressure in such a manner as to
prevent choking or clogging, and to insure regularity in the action of the
apparatus and uniformity in the amount delivered at each successive stroke
or motion of the machinery.
My Invention consists essentially, 1st, in feeding meal to the bolting appa-
ratus by means of a pump; 2nd, providing the piston or plunger of the pump
with offsets or steps to prevent packing of the meal in the pump barrel;

page_text: 3rd, retaining the piston rod in a fixed longitudinal position relatively with
the piston by a particular means, and adjusting the piston forward or back
by simply turning the screw rod in the piston; 4th, the employment of a
wheel or equivalent with the piston rod so arranged that it will turn the rod,
but will allow the latter a free longitudinal movement; 5th, the arrangement
of the stationary packing employed with the piston; 6th, the employment of
a feeding spout made enlarged at its bottom in combination with the pump;
7th, a regulating device for contracting or enlarging the area of the escape
passage of the barrel, governed by the weight or pressure of the column of
meal to, counterbalance that in the feeding spout.
Figure 1 is a vertical section of my improved apparatus as applied between
the hopper boy and the bolting reel; Figure 2 is a cross section of the piston
rod and an elevation of the adjusting wheel; Figure 3, a perspective view of
of the piston detached; Figure 4, a cross section of the piston and its packing;
Figure 5, a vertical section of the regulating cylinder; Figure 6, a perspec-
tive view of the regulating valve; Figure 7, a section of the collar connecting
the pitman with the piston rod; Figure 8, a section of the coupling for
engaging and disengaging the gearing. Like letters of reference indicate
corresponding parts in all the Figures.
In the accompanying Drawings, A represents the ordinary cooling floor of
a flouring mill, and B the hopper boy or rake for moving the meal. The
cooling floor has a spout C for the passage of the meal to the bolting appa-
ratus below as usual, but instead of being made of the same size its whole
length, as in ordinary mills, it is made in the form of a frustum of a pyramid
or cone, the larger end being at the bottom. The advantage of this form of
the spout is that it prevents any choking or clogging of the meal therein, as
is the case in the corresponding device in ordinary use. Flour is of such a
light and adhesive nature that it is liable to stick to the sides of the spout
and pack there, especially if there is any undue moisture remaining in it.
The enlarged and receding form of the spout has a tendency to obviate this
difficulty. The lower end of the spout opens into a passage or barrel D,
which is preferably made horizontal; it extends back a suitable distance to
accommodate the reciprocations of a piston or plunger E, and extends forward
sufficiently far to form a packing space a for the nieal as it is drawn down,
as will presently be explained. From the forward end of the barrel a spout G
passes downward.and through the head of the ordinary bolting reel H. The
piston E is fitted to correspond with the barrel in which it rests, which may
be rectangular, square, or circular in cross section; it may be made of suffi
cient length to allow any desired length of stroke, and still not so as to move

page_text: in either direction past a stationary packing, which I prefer to have it run
through. The packing is preferably applied to one face and the two edges of
the piston, as indicated in Figure 4. The packing blocks 6, 6, are sunk in the
barrel so as to rest against the piston, and are pressed forward by spiral
or other springs c, c, resting in boxes d, d, secured by screws or otherwise to
the barrel. The advantage of this stationary packing is that it is less exposed
to the meal adhering to the sides of the barrel than if it were attached to the
piston itself; and since this meal is of a sticky and adhesive nature this effect
is of much importance. It is also subject to much less wear than if secured
to the piston. The piston at the front end is provided with one or more
offsets or steps ff, as shown most clearly in Fig. 3. This is for the purpose
of preventing packing of the meal in the barrel in front of the piston, which
would otherwise ensue. The effect is to gradually lift the material and carry
it forward easily to be discharged.
The piston is connected at either end to a piston rod I, by which it receives
its reciprocations; I prefer to connect them at the front as indicated in the
Drawings. The end of the rod passes into the body of the piston, and has a
screw threadh cut on it, which preferably rests in a nut i. Thus it will be
seen that by simply holding the rod in a relatively fixed position longitudinally
and turning it, the piston will be correspondingly adjusted forward or back-
ward with the induction spout C. By this means I am enabled to adjust the
piston so as to feed more or less from the said spout into the packing space a
of the barrel. This effect is accomplished by the piston moving to a greater
or less extent under the induction spout. The opposite end of the piston rod
plays loosely through suitable guides k, k, within which rests the hub of a
wheel K or equivalent; the hub having a feather 7 which fits in a longitudinal
groove m. By this arrangement it will be seen that the wheel does not
interfere at all with the reciprocations of the rod; but that if the wheel is
turned the rod will also be turned, and the piston consequently adjusted for-
ward or back as before mentioned. This adjustment of the piston may there-
fore be produced while the machinery is in motion. At a suitable position
the piston rod has a circular or transverse groove n (Fig. 7), in which rests
the end of a screw o, which passes through a collar p.. To the under side of
the collar is jointed at q the end of the pitman rod L, the opposite end being
connected with the crank M. The groove and screw n, o, hold the piston rod in
a fixed longitudinal position relatively with the piston, but still allow it a turning
motion in order to adjust the piston. The shaft N of the crank has a collar O
sliding up and down it, and a clutch or coupling connecting it with bevel
gears. The coupling is engaged by a spring t, and disengaged by, a forked

page_text: lever u. The apparatus above described forms simply a pump beneath the
induction spout, and connecting with the interior of the bolting chest. The
details may be somewhat modified and still the same substantial result
attained.
The action will be readily understood. When the pump is once started the
meal passes down, the, induction spout. C, and, is, forced by the piston. into the
packing space. a, thence down the spout G into the bolting chest. The forward.
motion of the piston compresses the meal closely in the space, a, and in tha.
back stroke, since the piston is packed, the tendency is to produce a. vacuum
under the spout C. The consequence is that the atmospheric pressure. will.
constantly force the meal down through the spout, to, the piston,, and, the meal
in the space a being packed so tightly will prevent, any passage of air up or
back from the spout G. By this means the feeding of the meal is unvarying,
and, there can be no. clogging of the passages and, no irregularity of action,
nor are any valves required, as im pumps. for other purposes. It will be seen.
that the screw threads on the piston rod may be fitted to a scale, so that a
given, number, of turns will adjust the, piston a given degree to feed, a given
quantity, more or less. For instance, if there are, twelve threads to the inch,.
at each turn of the rod the piston, will, be, adjusted one-twelfth of an inch, and
by knowing the size of the barrel in which, the, piston, rests, the additional,
amount or weight of the meal may be easily estimated.
In order to work the. reel properly and to produce uniform grades of flour,
it is desirable that uniform amounts of meal, should, be fed to the reel. at each
stroke. And since, when the meal accumulates on the cooling floor in con-
siderable quantity, as indicated in Fig. 1, the same is fed to the reel faster, it
is necessary to employ a regulator to. equalize. the. action.;. I accomplish. this
result by a counterbalance weight, or pressure of the column of meal itself
contracting the. size of the passage.a of the barrel: Over the passage a I
employ a hinged valve R, having a flange made concentric with the joint
on which the valve turns, so as to cover the passage to whatever depth it may
be depressed. On this valve rests a stem w passing up through a fixed
bearing x and into a cylinder S, where it attaches to a follower y suitably
packed for the purpose. This cylinder is secured to the under side of the
cooling floor having a passage Z through. It is obvious that if the area of
the surface of the follower is equal to that of the spout C, the pressure in the
spout and cylinder will be equal, and therefore the valve R will be depressed
to contract the flour passage a just sufficiently to allow the escape of the
uniform quantity of meal.

page_text: What I claim as my Invention is,—
1st, feeding the meal to the bolting reel by means of a pump for the
purpose set forth.
2nd, providing steps or offsets f,f, on the piston, substantially as and for
the purpose herein specified.
3rd, holding the piston rod longitudinally by the groove and screw n, o, and
providing it with a screw that turns in the piston to adjust the same forward
or back, substantially as described.
4th, the wheel K. connecting with the rod I by means of a feather and
groove l, m, or equivalents, in such a manner as to turn the rod without
interfering with its longitudinal action as set forth.
5th, the stationary packings b, b, b, packing the face and edges of the piston
as described.
6th, the employment of a feeding spout C, made enlarged at its bottom as
described, in combination with a pump for feeding meal, substantially as set
forth.
7th, contracting or enlarging the passage a by a regulating device R of any
suitable construction and arrangement, governed by the weight or pressure of
the column of meal upon it in such a manner as to counterbalance that of
the column in the feeding spout, substantially as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Frazer Cochrane, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
WILLIAM FRAZER COCHRANE.
(L.S.)