DISINTEGRATING APPARATUS
Year: 1882

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Rupert Prentice at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th May 1882.
RUPERT PRENTICE of Stowmarket in the County of Suffolk
IN DISINTEGRATING APPARATUS
37
"IMPROVEMENTS
My invention relates to apparatus for disintegrating or breaking up lumps of
material of a comparatively friable character particularly such as are liable to
become pasty when subjected to rubbing. On a drum revolving rapidly on an axis,
preferably horizontal, I mount a number of spikes hinging them to the drum or
loosely mounting them thereon so that each of them has freedom of motion in the
plane of its revolution. I enclose this in a casing provided in front with a feed
hole, through which the lumps of material to be operated on are thrown. The
rapid revolution of the drum causes its spikes to stand out radially and these
striking the lumps of material break them up, whilst at the same time they are
free to yield and are thus saved from such excessive strain as would break or bend
them. The broken up material falls to the bottom of the casing where I provide a
sloping and preferably vibrating screen which allows the smaller fragments to pass
through it and throws off the larger fragments so that they can again be fed into
the machine to be again operated on by the revolving spikes.
RUPERT PRENTICE of Stowmarket in the County of Suffolk IMPROVEMENTS IN
DISINTEGRATING APPARATUS

page_text: when subjected to rubbing. On a drum revolving rapidly on an axis, preferably
horizontal I mount a number of spikes hinging them to the drum or loosely
mounting them thereon so that each of them has freedom of motion in the plane
of its revolution. I enclose this in a casing provided with a feed hole, through
which the lumps of material to be operated on are thrown. The rapid revolution
of the drum causes its spikes to stand out radially, and these striking the lumps of
material, break them up, whilst at the same time they are free to yield and are
thus saved from such excessive strain as would break or bend them. The broken
up material falls to the bottom of the casing where I provide a sloping and pre-
ferably vibrating screen which allows the smaller fragments to pass through it and
throws off the larger fragments so that they can again be fed into the machine to
be again operated on by the revolving spikes.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig: 1 is a longitudinal section and fig: 2 a transverse section of one form of
disintegrating machine according to my invention. Fig: 3 is an end view of the
shaft with its binged tines as they would appear when the shaft is at rest.
According to the construction shown two end discs A. A fixed on the shaft B
receive the ends of a number of round bars C on each of which are strung a
number of tines D with pieces of. tube E interposed between them as distance
pieces. The end pieces of tube for each bar C are made of such lengths that the
tines strung on the successive bars are stepped helically round the shaft and thus
the planes of revolution of all the tines almost fill up the whole cylindrical space
surrounding the drum. The shaft with its tines is mounted in bearings on a
framing F to which is fixed a casing G, enclosing between the top, sides and one
end a space in which the tines revolve, One end of the casing is made with a
sloping shield H and a sill I leaving between them an opening through which can
be thrown by a shovel or otherwise the lumps of material to be operated on. At
the bottom of the casing is a sloping screen K which is suspended by elastic
hangers L and is caused to reciprocate longitudinally by a crank M or it may be an
eccentric or cam. The lumps thrown in between H and I are caught by the
revolving tines and more or less broken up into fragments which are received on
the screen K. The finer fragments pass through the meshes of the screen, the larger
fragments are thrown off at its lower end and can be again thrown in to be
subjected to the action of the tines. As the tines are held in their radial attitude
only by the centrifugal force due to their revolution, they are capable of yielding
more or less when they strike the lumps which encounter them:
Having thus described the nature of my invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed, I claim :-
For disintegrating friable material the use of a beater consisting of a number of
spikes or tines hinged freely to a revolving drum, substantially as herein described
In Witness whereof, I the said Rupert Prentice have hereunto set my hand
and seal this seventh of November in the year of our Lord one thousand,
eight hundred and eighty two:
RUPERT PRENTICE (L.S.)