CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF MILLS FOR GRINDING CORN
Year: 1838

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HORSFIELD, of Swillington Mills, near Leeds, in the County of York, Corn
Miller, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria the First, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster the Nineteenth day of March, in the first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Horsfield, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Horsfield, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also within all Her Majesty's Colonies
and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF MILLS FOR GRINDING CORN;" in which said Letters Patent
is contained a proviso obliging me, the said William Horsfield, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and
ascertain the nature of my Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after

page_text: the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, tho said
William Horsfield, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is described and ascer-
tained as follows, videlicet:-
The section Drawing, Figure 1, is given for this purpose of describing a
corn mill, with a pair of stones working by under gearing; and the section
Drawing, Figure 2, is also given for the purpose of describing a corn mill
with a pair of stones working by over head or upper gearing. I shall now
first describe Figure 1 generally, and also with my improvements attached;
and afterwards Figure 2 in like manner.
A, in Figure 1, represents the top or revolving stone, and B, the bottom or
fixed stone. C, the wooden frame or casing by which the flour or meal is
collected and conducted to the proper channel to the sack or receiver. D is
the driving shaft standing upright in the adjustable step E, fixed into the
lever F, which is held and supported by the screwed iron bolt and capstan-
like nut G, G, in firm and sufficient framework H, forming the usual means
by which the revolving stone A is brought closer or set further apart, or made
level whenever required; also the bush or roller I, which is firmly fixed into
the centre of the bottom stone B, through which the driving shaft D is held
and turns, in order to give motion to the revolving stone A. The bevel
wheels J will shew where motion is given to the upright shaft D, by which
means velocity is given to revolving stone A, and the grinding process
carried on.
The above-described millwork is common to most corn mills with driving
action below the stones, and to no part thereof do I lay any claim; but of the
following improvements I have every reason to be assured that I am the
Inventor, and do therefore claim as my own Invention, viz*:-
First, of a better method of fixing and carrying the top or revolving stone
than has hitherto been used, viz, by a cross-armed cast-iron frame, which 1
call the adjusting carrier, for this reason, that by its means the stone may be
so fixed, adjusted, and held by it that when in full motion it will be carried
round in a perfect equilibrium, a consequence which every practical miller
knows how to value and appreciate, and likewise in a far superior and more
complete method of feeding or keeping pair of stones regularly supplied
with corn for grinding than by the very old plan of the hopper and chuff,
which, by the adoption of my improvement, will be entirely down away.
K, Figure 1, represents the adjusting carrier in its proper place. The joint
a

page_text: at L is formed by a square hole or socket three or more inches deep, narrower
at the top so as to fit exactly the conical or tapered square end of the upright
driving shaft D at L. Great care must be taken in fitting this joint that the
cross arms of the adjusting carrier K runs quite square and level. The
5 manner of fixing and hanging the stone to it is by means of a flat cast-iron
circular plate M (shewn more fully in the over view, Figure 3), which plate is
fastened very firmly to the revolving stone A by four screwed bolts N, N, N, N,
Figures 1 and 3, passed quite through or sunk into it. Upon this plate also
there are four cavities or recesses 0, 0, 0, 0, Figures 1 and 3, each made to
fit an arm of the adjusting carrier K, and it is by passing a strong screwed
bolt through this plate in the centre of each cavity or recess, and also through
each arm of the adjusting carrier K (shewn at P, P, P, P), Figures 1 and 3,
which screwed bolts must each have a proper nut, and also an extra nut, as a
set nut to secure the first nut from giving way, and it is by this means, and
the screwing and unscrewing of these bolts and nuts, that the revolving stone A
is fixed, adjusted, and made to revolve in a true and perfect manner.
My improved feeder for a pair of stones worked with under gear is shewn as
Q, R, S, Figure 1. Q is the pan or receiver with the conducting pipe R
screwed or otherwise fastened to it; and S, a cast-iron mouth-piece somewhat
in the form of a bell, but with a hole quite through it, and made to fit loosely
upon the lower end of the conducting pipe R, so as to slide up and down to be
raised higher or brought nearer to the distributing plate T, which is cast in
the middle of a funnel U (shewn better in the over view, Figure 4), having
at the bottom four cavities or recesses 18, Figure 5, which are made to fit the
four cross arms of the adjusting carrier on which it is dropped on and fixed
exactly over the eye or centre of the revolving stone A, and turns round with
it. The distributing plate thus fixed will, whether the stone runs quicker or
slower, regulate the feeding accordingly in the most perfect manner possible:
To regulate the delivery, when a more or less quantity is required from the
feeder, the mouth-piece S has a cross bar near the bottom in the inside,
which is cast with it, and from a hole in the centre of which a wire rod V,
with a head at the end, is passed through it and the conducting pipe R, and
the
pan or receiver Q, and jointed to a lever W, whose fulcrum is on the
frame X, which is fastened to the ceiling or otherways, and from the other end
of which lever is jointed and hangs another wire connecting rod Y, which is
passed through the floor into the room below, or otherwise, where, by means
of an index plate, and a pointed-headed screwed bolt, with a thumb or winged
nut Z, when the quantity of meal ground in any given time is ascertained,
an index may be formed, and the grinding process regulated to the greatest

page_text: nicety even by the meanest capacity. The feeder, Figure 6, is given to shew
a different method of regulating the feeding, viz, by means of a sort of
valve, made of iron or other metal, to fit the inside of the bell-formed end
of conducting pipe R, through the centre of which the same kind of wire
rod V is passed, and acted upon in the same manner by the lever W, the
connecting rod Y, the pointed-headed screwed bolt, and thumb or winged
nut Z, and the same object attained.
Having now given a description of a corn mill worked by under gear, it will
not be necessary to give or minute a description of a mill worked by over-head
or upper gear, except in those parts which are different in consequence of the
driving shaft being above the stones. I shall, therefore, use the same letters
of reference to the Drawing in Figures 1 and 2 wherein the objects in both
are alike, and use arithmetical numbers in those parts which are different
and require further explanation. No. 1 in Figure 2 represents the upright
driving shaft, with the usual gearing 14 attached, and forked catch 2 at the
lower end, held and supported by the usual plummer block, and having a
center pointed or rounded blunt-like point at the bottom, and made so as to
fit a centered hollow or cup 4, made for that purpose, at the top end of the
lower shaft 5, which in this case is called the spindle, but which, with the
exception of its being shorter, and not having the driving gear attached to it,
is in every other respect the same as the driving shaft D before described in
Figure 1; videlicet, it has the same conical or tapered square end (as at L);
it is held in the same kind of bush or collar I, fixed firmly into the centre of
the bottom stone B; likewise stands into the like adjustable step or cup fixed
on to the lever F, which is held and supported in like manner by the screwed
iron bolt and capstan-like nut G, G, in firm and sufficient framework H, and
which also in the same way forms the usual means for raising and depressing
the revolving stone A, or making it level whenever required.
The above millwork, as I have before stated, is common to most corn
mills, and to no part thereof do I lay any claim. Having before described
the particular parts which I claim as my Invention, in reference to corn mills
worked by under gearing, as in Figure 1, I shall now do the same, that.
is, describe the particular parts I claim as my Invention for corn mills
worked by over-head or upper gearing in reference to Drawing Figure 2,
viz, the lower shaft or spindle 5, having the same conical or tapered
square end L. The adjusting carrier K is fixed exactly alike in both
cases, so as to move round in a true and square manner, and the revolving
stone A is attached to it by means of the same circular cast-iron plate M
(shewn more fully in the over view, Figure 3), by four screwed bolts

page_text: N, N, N, N, Figures 2 and 3, passed quite through or sunk into it, having
also the like four cavities or recesses 0, 0, 0, 0, Figures 2 and Three, made to
fit likewise the four cross arms of the adjusting carrier K, where also in the
centre of which four strong screwed bolts are made to pass through both, as at
P, P, P, P, Figures 2 and Three, each bolt, as before explained, having a
proper nut, and also an extra nut as a set nut, and with which means, and by
the screwing or unscrewing of these bolts and nuts, the revolving stone A is
fixed, adjusted, and made to revolve in a true and perfect manner.
It now remains for me to shew how and in what manner the stone and under
action receives its motion from the upper driving shaft 1. On reference to
Figure 8, an over-view representation of my adjusting carrier K, with two
cavities or recesses 6, 6, one on each side of the boss or square hole or socket
into which the forked catch 2 at the bottom end of the upright driving shaft is
fitted, and dropped in and carried round with it, and thus motion is given to
the lower shaft or spindle 5. The adjusting carrier K, the revolving stone A,
and the grinding process carried on, any man of practical experience or
mechanical knowledge will know there must be a considerable difference in
the construction of my principle of centrifugal feeding when applied to corn
mills with the driving action above the stones than when below, and quite out
of the way, as in the before-described principle in Figure 1. However, in
making repeated experiments, I have contrived three different ways of
adopting my plan of centrifugal feeding of the driving shaft when above
the stones (see Figures 2, 10, and 12, in which the pans or receivers, also
mouth-pieces and valves which encircle the shaft, are all represented as being
cast in halves, and screwed or otherwise fastened together, as shewn at 17 in
Figures 2, 10, and 12, in order to their being set up or taken down, whenever
required, without disturbing the shaft, and the shaft should be turned true as
far as the height they occupy, so that the hollow spaces (shewn at 11 and 20
in the over view, Figures of the pans or receivers 7 and 13) where screwed
or otherwise put together form a clear passage for the shaft to turn in without
sbaking the feeders. The feeder represented at 7, 8, and 9, in Figure 2, is
what I should call a double one, and will be most suitable for very large
stones. 7 is the pan or receiver. Figure 6 is a front view of the same,
shewing how and where it is screwed together. On this pan or receiver are
screwed or otherwise fastened two conducting pipes 8, 8, which are hung on
each side of the driving shaft 1, the mouth-piece 9, which, like the pan
or receiver, is also cast in halves, and when screwed together the two channels
12, 12, are made to fit loosely at the bottom ends of the two conducting pipes
8, 8, so as to slide up and down to be raised higher or brought nearer to the

page_text: distributing plate T, which, in this case, is also with the funnel U together
cast in halves, with a hole in the centre to encircle the shaft (as shewn in the
over view, Figure 9), which funnel has also four centres or recesses 18,
Figure 5, made, as before described, to fit the four cross arms of the adjusting
carrier K, on which it is dropped on, and turns without being fixed in like
manner exactly over the centre of the eye of the stone A. The distributing
plate thus fixed will also, whether the stone runs quicker or slower, regulate
the feeding accordingly, and in the most perfect manner possible. To regulate
the delivery when a more or less quantity is required, the two wire rods 10, 10,
are made to pass through the iron at the bottom of the two channels of the
mouth-piece 9, on which it hangs, and are also passed through the conducting
pipes 8, 8, the pan or receiver 7, and connected to a double-headed lever 18,
whose fulcrum is in a frame like unto the one at X, Figure 1, which is
fastened to the ceiling or otherwise, and from the other end of which lever is
also jointed and hangs a wire connecting rod in every respect like the same
as shewn at Y, Figure 1, which is likewise passed through the floor or other-
ways, having the same index plate, pointed headed screw bolt, with thumb or
winged nut Z, affording the same means of accuracy and the like results.
The feeder shewn at Figure 10 is similar to one half the first described, as in
Figure 2. The difference is, that in casting the two halves of the mouth-
piece 14, the channel end must be made fast and tight to conducting pipe 8,
and also room left for the kind of valve 15 to work loosely in, and to be moved
up and down when required, which valvo is also cast in two halves, and made
to act together by means of teeth made to fit nicely one within the other, see
Figure 11. The two halves of this valve are drawn up and let down, when
required to regulate the feeding, by two wire rods jointed to each half 19, and
to a double-headed lever 20, Figure 10, whose fulcrum is also in a frame
like the one at X, Fig. 1, and is actuated from the other end by a similar wire
connected rod Y, and index, and pointed head bolt, and thumb or winged
nut Z, as before explained at large in Figure 1.
Figure 12 is another mode of feeding. On this plan the mouth-piece T,
Figure 1, and the pan or receiver, are cast or otherwise put together, which
also must be formed or cast in two halves, and screwed or otherwise put
together, having a hollow space 20, Figures 12 and 13, likewise for the shaft
to turn in without disturbing it, and there is also two channels 21, 21, through
which the corn passes to the distributing plate T, when the same accuracy, in
respect of regularity of feeding the stones, is obtained. When the delivery of
a more or less quantity is required two wire rods 22, 22, are jointed to the
edge or rim on each side of the pan or receiver, and to a double-headed

page_text: lever 23, on which it is suspended; and the difference of this plan from the
former is, that in regulating the feeding, the corn and the feeder together must
be lifted with it. In every other respect it is actuated and regulated in exactly
the same manner as the before-shown and explained method at X, Y, Z,
Figure 1, and with the same precision.
I have now only to observe, that it will in a great measure depend upon the
fancy or liking of the parties using my feeders, as to which of my plans I may
be induced to put up, and as the same may be made either of tin, copper, brass,
iron, or even of wood, it will likewise depend upon the same liking or fancy
as to which of those materials they made be made of.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Horsfield, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Eighth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight.
WILLIAM (L.S.) HORSFIELD.
5 AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eighth day of September,
in the second year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said
William Horsfield came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery,
and acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein
contained and specified, in form above written. And also the Instrument
O aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the
fifty-fifth year of the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.