IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE AND ADAPTATION OF PULP FROM WOODY OR OTHER ANALOGOUS FIBRES AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jefferson Chase, residing in Orange, County of Franklin,
State of Massachusetts, in the United States of America, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE AND ADAPTATION OF PULP FROM
WOODY OR OTHER ANALOGOUS FIBRES AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREIN."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jefferson Chase at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th October 1880.
JEFFERSON CHASE, residing in Orange, County of Franklin, State of Massa-
chusetts, in the United States of America. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
AND ADAPTATION OF PULP FROM WOODY OR OTHER ANALOGOUS FIBRES AND IN
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN.”
This Invention relates to the manufacture and adaptation of pulp from woody
or other analogous fibres for various uses in the arts, such as articles of hollow
ware, the leather board of commerce, plasterings for the walls, ceilings and floors of
buildings, coatings of roofs, machine pulleys, etc., and the Invention consists in the
process of reducing the material to pulp in the engine for carrying out the process,
and in several special applications of the pulp.
The Drawings accompanying this Specification represent in Figure 1 a plan of
and in Figure 2 a cross section of a machine for effecting the preliminary crushing
of the material; Figure 3 in the Drawings denotes sectional elevation of the engine
proper, and Figure 4, a plan of its upper stone and support; Figure 5 is a sectional
elevation of the engine in a modified form.
In Figures 1 & 2 of the Drawings I have shown a machine for effecting the
preliminary crushing of the material, in order to relieve the revolving stones of the
engine of the most severe part of the labor; this machine being more especially
intended for crushing large blocks of wood, though it is applicable to perform the
same office upon smaller or finer objects.
This machine embraces a pair of cylindrical rolls of stone, iron, or other proper
material mounted horizontally within suitable housings, with their peripheries and
axes parallel and the peripheries nearly in contact, the said rolls being provided
with mechanism for feeding them towards one another to compensate for wear,
and their journals being supported in peculiar bearings, as hereinafter explained.
In said Figures 1 & 2 of the Drawings, A, A², represent a pair of twin cylinders

page_text: composed of stone, composition, or other proper abrasive material, such cylinders
being of uniform diameter and arranged horizontally side by side with their axes
or shafts B, B', parallel, and with their peripheries nearly in contact, the journals
, a, of each shaft being mounted in boxes b, b, which in turn are supported by
housings C, C, suitably rivetted and strengthened by cross ties or bars a¹, a¹, etc.,
to the machine frame.
Each cylinder A, A', is scored or grooved upon its face, the better to seize and
carry between them the material fed to them, and the better to effect the reduction
or grinding of the material. I prefer to arrange these grooves, as shown in the
Drawings, that is, as arranged obliquely to the longest plane of the stone and upon
each side of its centre.
The mechanism for feeding one or both of the cylinders toward or away from
each other to compensate for wear and adjust the "guage" of the machine consists
as follows: Each box 6 slides horizontally upon the upper surface c of the lower
rail d of the housing, and abutting against the outer end of each box is a screw
or bolt e which screws through the outer edge of the housing, as shown in the
Drawings, by means of the screws or bolts e; the grinding cylinder may be
advanced or permitted to separate with respect to one another.
It will be observed that the upper surface c of that part of each rail d of the
housing upon which each journal box brests is convex in a direction parallel with
the axis of the shaft. This permits the box to rock in a line with the axis of the
shaft, hence no strains, or thrusts, or unequal bearing results between the box and
journal as the former accommodates itself to all the movements of the latter, and
the friction and wear between the surface is uniformly distributed.
In lieu of the convex or crowning scat upon the rail of the machine frame, as
stated, the under side of the box may be similarly shaped with equally good results.
The machine should be provided with a hood or screen to prevent escape of dust,
and this hood should have a chute or hopper through which the material to be
ground is introduced.
The engine proper in which I effect the final reduction of the material to pulp
consists in the employment of two circular stones disposed one over the other
within a suitable curb, one of such stones, preferably the lower, being rotary and
the other stationary, while the resulting grinding action effects the requisite
disintegration of the wood.
The general arrangement of the two stones of my engine is similar to those
usually employed in grist mills, but the forms of their adjacent or grinding faces are
radically different, in that the face of one is flat, or practically flat, while that of the
other is concave, the result being that the intervening grinding chamber or space
gradually diminishes in depth from the axis of the stones, at which point the wood
is introduced to the periphery at which the ground wood or pulp is discharged or
thrown off, and I consider the most important feature in my present Invention to
consist in such a formation of the stones that the intervening area shall be of the
form last explained.
My Invention further consists in constructing the curb or case in which the
rotary stone is disposed with a convex or crowning bottom, in order that the pulp
shall have no tendency to seek the centre of such curb and accumulate there, but
shall be conducted to the wall of the curb and to the discharge outlets.
Details of my engine consist among minor features in the means by which I
suspend and adjust the upper stone with respect to the lower and compensate for
the wear upon the former, as well as regulate the engine to the degree of fineness
or length of fibre of the pulp to which the wood is to be reduced.
A² represents an upright circular case or curb supported in the present instance
upon a platform or floor B, which is mounted upon posts C³, 0, erected upon the
foundation C³ of the mill or structure in which the engine is placed, or the curb
may be disposed upon one floor of the structure which is represented by the
stage B and the driving mechanism in the basement below.
The bottom or floor D² of the curb A² is convex or crowning, as represented,

page_text: and at the corner or angle of the bottom B³ and the walls of the curb I create one
or more outlets E³ for escape of pulp. The centre of the bottom of the curb, as
well as the adjacent part of the floor B2, is pierced with an orifice F to receive the
upper end of the vertical shaft G2 which extends upwards into the curb from below
the floor B2, while secured to the upper extremity of said shaft, G³ is a horizontal
circular rotary platform or frame H³, whose diameter is somewhat less than that of
the interior of the curb, in order to prevent the pulp after being reduced between
the stones and thrown outward to their peripheries by centrifugal action to pass
downward between the circumference of the lower one and the wall of the curb
and be discharged by the outlet Eº.
The lower stone is shown in the Drawings at I' as a circular disk, whose upper
face is flat or approximately so, such stone being supported by or within the rotary
platform H2, and, having its upper face reduced to a series of channels, or other-
wise roughened or abraded, or to a comparatively smooth surface according to
circumstances.
The upper stone which is stationary is shown at J2 as a circular disk, and
contained within an annular band or hoop K³ by which it is suspended over the
lower stone 12, the said band being formed with lugs a through which are
extended stout screws b², which rest upon corresponding lugs c² formed upon the
top of the curb A³, the said screws constituting the means in this case whereby
the altitude of the stone J with respect to the lower stone is varied according to
the wear upon the two or the relative distance to be maintained between them.
To securely confine the upper stone in position after its proper altitude has been
determined, I add to the underside of the lugs a² pendant lips d, which are
furcated or slotted to receive bolts e³, which extend through the wall of the curb A²,
the head of such bolts overlapping the sides of the slots, and the nuts screwing up
against the outside of the curb, thus securely confining the frame or support K² of
the stone to the curb A³, while to prevent rising of such stone within the
support K2 as blocks of wood are introduced, I form upon the said support bent
cars f which overlap the edge of the stone, and prevent rising of the latter within
its frame or hoop. Through the ears f* I pass screws g², which screw down upon
the top of the upper stone, the purpose of these screws being first to prevent, as
before stated, the throwing up or lifting of such stone by the blocks of wood;
second, to adjust the slight variations in the space or distance between the two
stones, which may be requisite to produce coarse or fine pulp; and, third, to
compensate for the wear upon the stones. The hoop K2 is practically stationary
while the stone J2 is fed downward within it; but when such stone becomes worn.
to close proximity to the hoop, the screws g² are lowered, and the hoop raised to
the top of the stone, thus exposing a new portion of the latter to wear, while at
the same time the bolts e² are loosened and the hoop raised within the curb to a
like distance.
In lieu of bolting the lips to the curb A², as stated, the lugs a² and c² may be
united by bolts with the same result. I do not in any sense confine myself to the
details above explained for supporting and adjusting the position of the upper stone,
as these may manifestly be varied to a wide extent.
The lower end or pivot h² of the shaft G³ rests upon conical anti-friction rolls ²,
which are journaled within an annular frame or ring 1, such ring in turn being
disposed within a box ³, which is disposed within a second box placed upon the
foundation C³, while adjusting screws m³ are added to the box to centre or
adjust the position of the rollers i² to the shaft G³.
The under or operative face of the stone J is concave to a marked extent, as
shown at o²; consequently the grinding chamber or space p² which intervenes
between the two stones is frustro conical in form, and deepest in the centre, and it
is in the form of this chamber that the vital element of my Invention consists.
An axial orifice or feeding-throat q² is created in the stone J2 through which the
blocks of wood are fed when the engine is in operation. The operation of the engine
is as follows:-The dry wood is reduced to blocks of the proper size, say, from five to

page_text: seven inches square, and the blocks are thrown into the mouth q² of the upper
stone, and falls upon the top of the lower stone, which is in rapid revolution. The
centrifugal force generated by the lower stone leads the blocks outward, and they
are seized between the two stones, and the disintegrating or reducing process
begins.
As the depth of the chamber p gradually diminishes as its outer boundary is
reached, and as the centrifugal force is constantly tending to throw the blocks of
wood outward, the latter are gradually reduced in size until the disintegrated mass
or pulp reaches the outer boundary of the stone, and is thero thrown off and
precipitated into the bottom of the curb A², from whence it passes by the outlet Es
to the proper receptacle. As the depth of the chamber p² at the circumference of
the two stones 12 and J determines the grade or fineness or length of fibre of the
pulp, it follows that this depth will be varied slightly when changing from one
grade of pulp to another, and as the effect of feeding in blocks of wood at the
centre of the chamber is to constantly elevate the upper stones against the screws g³,
it follows that to adjust the distance between the stones, and increase or diminish
the depth of the said chamber p², the said screws are to be raised or lowered.
The pressure which is essential to exert the requisite crushing force upon the
wood is derived from the weight of the stone, or from weights superposed upon it,
and as the gradually contracting depth of the chamber 22 effects in itself the
gradual reduction of the wood to pulp without changing the positions of the stones,
I am enabled to dispense with all feeding mechanisın, and to introduce a continuous
discharge of pulp. I am also enabled to reduce the blocks of wood entirely to pulp,
thereby avoiding the waste heretofore inherent to machines for grinding wood to
pulp, in which the blocks of wood are supported or received at one end within
pockets or guides. As before stated the blocks of wood before being admitted to
the engine may and should be reduced to a coarse granular condition by passing
through the preliminary crushing.
I would remark that a supply of water is to be admitted to the grinding chamber
23 through the throat q² to aid in the pulping of the wood, and constitute a vehicle
for the pulp..
As shown in the accompanying Drawings, the adjustable rotary stone and the
mechanism for elevating and depressing it, we situate above the stationary stone.
This construction is attended with some objections, which I avoid by placing the
adjustable rotary stone below the stationary stone, and the adjusting mechanism
below the said rotary stone, in which the mechanism itself is preferable in some
respects to the first.
In this instance the frame of the engine is shown as composed of two upright
side standards or housings A, A, erected at bottom upon a common bed plate, or
foundation B, and at top bridged by a flat plate C, the whole being of solid
material and securely bolted together.
The two horizontal grinding disks or stones are shown at D and E as disposed
within an upright hollow cylinder F6, which constitutes the grinding chamber of
the engine of which the plate C is the bottom, such chamber or cylinder being
erected centrally upon the said plate C, and having at bottom a chute or spout Co
to permit of escape of the pulp, the upper and stationary stone De being secured to
or within the cap or cover H of the cylinder F, while an axial opening at or be
in both the cap H° and stone D, through which the material to be ground
is precipitated between the stones.
The lower and revolving stone E is secured to the upper end of a vertical shaft I
which finds a bearing immediately below such stone in the bridge plate Co, while
the lower end of such shaft is stepped in a cup shaped block C disposed within a
recessed hub or annular flange de erected upon a horizontal sliding beam or cross
head e, which is supported in guides or grooves fo, f, erected in the inner faces of
the standards A, A, the hollow stop or cup e being confined to the hub de by
bolts 86, 8º, etc., in such manner that should any discrepancy from wear or otherwise
occur in the relative positions of the shaft and cross head, the height of the stop may

page_text: be raised to compensate for such discrepancy, while the cup constitutes a receptacle
for lubricating material and the recess of the hub to contain flowing water.
To effect the elevation or depression of the lower stone I employ the following
mechanism-Upon each side of the shaft I° I dispose an upright go, and I cut
upon the lower end of each of these shafts a screw thread, which screws through a
female screw thread tapped in a hole in the cross-head e, cach shaft at its lower
end resting upon the base B and near its upper end being journaled in a bracket hº,
extending horizontally inward from the adjacent standard A.
To the top of each shaft g" I secure a worm gear i, which engages a worm k
fixed upon a horizontal shaft which is mounted in bearings in the standards Aº, Aº,
one end of each shaft extending through the standard having a mitre gear me fixed
to it, which meshes into a second mitre gear no fixed to the lower end of a vertical
shaft or rod c, this latter shaft being mounted in guides p", 2", extending from the
outside of the standard, and having a hand wheel aflixed to its upper end.
By means of the hand wheel, whose rotations are transmitted to the screw threaded
shafts g,g, through the mitre gears me and n and worm and worm gears i, 26,
and, the attendant is enabled to elevate the lower stone to compensate for its
wear, or to change the guage of the engine.
Various substances may be reduced to pulp in this engine, but I will now explain
a manufacture of pulp original with myself, by which utilize and convert into
good strong wood pulp, a material heretofore treated as waste, so far as putting it
to any use in the arts is concerned, and usually disposed of by burning.
This feature of my Invention consists in the utilization and reduction to pulp of
the tops of trees, bushes, etc., that is to say, the twigs and small branches, or
brush of trees as well as small bushes, which have heretofore been considered of no
value.
In carrying this portion of my Invention into practice in the production of pulp,
I collect large quantities of "brush," so called, and before introducing it to the
grinding engine, in which water is employed with it, I prefer to pass it through
the preliminary crushing rollers, by which its comminution is to a certain degree
accomplished, and wear of the stones of the engine correspondingly economized,
after which the material is put into the engine and reduced to pulp.
A pulp thus made is sufficiently strong to be made into articles of hollow ware,
such as kegs, casks, pails, etc., as well as for chair seats and various other objects.
By manufacturing wood pulp in large quantities from comparatively cheap
materials I am enabled to adapt it to many uses to which it has not heretofore
been put, for instance, I manufacture machine pullies of it, which are light, strong,
and durable, and comparatively inexpensive as compared with wooden or iron
ones.
From a better grade of pulp I manufacture a paper board, from which I make
hoops for casks, kegs, pails, etc.; these leather board hoops being light, strong, and
durable.
I also devote my cheaper class of pulp to the covering of ceilings and inner and
outer walls of buildings, and placing it upon the floors in lieu of other carpets, the
whole being effected while the pulp is in a moist plastic condition.
I also manufacture various hollow articles from the cheaper class of pulp in
a manner peculiar to myself, that is, in lieu of forming the article from wet pulp in
a mould, from which the water is drawn by suction or otherwise, I employ the
pulp in a comparatively dry state, just moist enough to be plastic, and in forming
hollow articles I produce blocks of wood of a size adapted to the interior of the
article I am to make, and I place the plastic pulp upon the outside of this block or
mould, and by manipulation with the hands and proper tools I distribute this pulp
in a layer of uniform thickness over the exterior of the block, and by this means
produce the desired article. The article thus made is then set aside to dry and
the workman proceeds with another.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Jefferson Chase in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 28th April
1881.
JEFFERSON CHASE, residing in Orange, County of Franklin, State of Massa-
chusetts, in the United States of America. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
AND ADAPTATION OF PULP FROM WOODY OR OTHER ANALOGOUS FIBRES, AND IN
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."
This Invention relates to the manufacture and adaptation of pulp from woody or
other analogous fibres for various uses in the arts, such as articles of hollow ware,
the leather board of commerce, plasterings for the walls, ceilings and floors of
buildings, coatings of roofs, machine pullies, etc., and the Invention consists in the
process of reducing the material to pulp in the engine for carrying out the process,
and in several special applications of the pulp. The Drawings accompanying this
Specification represent in Figure 1 a plan of and in Figure 2 a cross section of a
machine for effecting the preliminary crushing of the material; Fig. 3 in the
Drawings denotes a sectional elevation of the engine proper, and Fig. 4 a plan of
the upper stone and support; Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation of the engine in a
modified form. In Figures 1 and 2 of the Drawings I have shown a machine for
effecting the preliminary crushing of the material, in order to relieve the revolving
stones of the engine of the most severe part of the labor, this machine being more
especially intended for crushing large blocks of wood, though it is applicable to
perform the same office upon smaller or finer objects. This machine embraces a
pair of cylindrical rolls of stone, iron, or other proper material mounted horizontally
within suitable housings, with their peripheries and axes parallel and the peripheries
nearly in contact, the said rolls being provided with nechanism for feeding them
towards one another to compensate for wear, and their journals being supported in
peculiar bearings, as hereinafter explained.
In said Figs. 1 and 2 of the Drawings A, A¹, represent a pair of twin cylinders
composed of stone, composition, or other proper abrasive material, such cylinders
being of uniform diameter and arranged horizontally side by side with their axes
or shafts B, B1, parallel, and with their peripheries nearly in contact, the
journals a, a, of each shaft being mounted in boxes b, b, which in turn are
supported by housings C, C, suitably riveted and strengthened by cross ties or
bars a¹, a', etc. to the machine frame. Each cylinder, A, A', is scored or grooved
upon its face, the better to seize and carry between them the material fed to them,
and the better to effect the reduction or grinding of the material. I prefer to
arrange these grooves as shown in the Drawings, that is, as arranged obliquely to
the longest plane of the stone, and upon each side of its centre. The mechanism
for feeding one or both of the cylinders towards or away from each other to
compensate for wear and adjust the "guage" of the machine consists as follows:-
Each box slides horizontally upon the upper surface c of the lower rail d of the
housing, and abuting against the outer end of each box is a screw or bolt e which
screws through the outer edge of the housing, as shown in the Drawings; by means
of the screws or bolts e the grinding cylinder may be advanced or permitted
separate with respect to one another. It will be observed that the upper surface c
of that part of each rail & of the housing upon which each journal box b rests is
convex in a direction parallel with the axis of the shaft. This permits the box to
rock in a line with the axis of the shaft, hence no strain, or thrusts, or unequal
bearings results between the box and journal as the former accommodates itself to
all the movements of the latter, and the friction and wear between the surface is
uniformly distributed. In lieu of the convex or crowning seat upon the rail of the
machine frame, as stated, the under side of the box may be similarly shaped with

page_text: equally good results. The machine should be provided with a hood or screen to
prevent escape of dust, and this hood should have a chute or hopper through which
the material to be ground is introduced.
The engine proper in which I effect the final reduction of the material to pulp
consists in the employment of two circular stones disposed one over the other
within a suitable curb, one of such stones, preferably the lower, being rotary, and
the other stationary, while the resulting grinding action effects the requisite
disintegration of the wood. The general arrangement of the two stones of my
engine is similar to those usually employed in grist mills, but the forms of their
adjacent or grinding faces are radically different, in that the face of one is flat or
practically flat, while that of the other is concave, the result being that the inter-
vening grinding chamber or space gradually diminishes in depth from the axis of
the stone, at which point the wood is introduced to the periphery at which the
ground wood or pulp is discharged or thrown off; and I consider the most
important feature in my present Invention to consist in such a formation of the
stones that the intervening area shall be of the form last explained. My Invention
further consists in constructing the curb or case in which the rotary stone is
disposed with a convex or crowning bottom in order that the pulp shall have no
tendency to seek the centre of such curb and accumulate there, but shall be
conducted to the wall of the curb and to the discharge outlets. Details of my
engine consist, among minor features, in the means by which I suspend and adjust
the upper stone with respect to the lower, and compensate for the wear upon the
former as well as regulate the engine to the degree of fineness or length of fibre of
the pulp to which the wood is to be reduced.
A³
represents an upright circular case or curb, supported in the present instance
upon a platform or floor B, which is mounted upon posts C2, C erected upon the
foundation Cs of the mill or structure in which the engine is placed; or the curb
may be disposed upon one floor of the structure, which is represented by the
stage B2, and the driving mechanism in the basement below. The bottom or
floor D² of the curb A' is convex or crowning, as represented, and at the corner or
angle of the bottom B and the walls of the curb I create one or more outlets E²
for escape of pulp. The centre of the bottom of the curb, as well as the adjacent
part of the floor B³, is pierced with an orifice F to receive the upper end of the
vertical shaft G³, which extends upward into the curb from below the floor B³,
while secured to the upper extremity of said shaft G2 is a horizontal circular rotary
platform or frame H2 whose diameter is somewhat less than that of the interior of
the curb, in order to prevent the pulp after being reduced between the stones and
thrown outward to their peripheries by centrifugal action to pass downward
between the circumference of the lower one and the wall of the curb, and be
discharged by the outlet E. The lower stone is shown in the Drawings at I³ as
a circular disc, whose upper face is flat or approximately so, such stone being
supported by or within the rotary platform H2, and having its upper face reduced
to a series of channels or otherwise roughened or abraded, or to a comparatively
smooth surface, according to circumstances. The upper stone, which is stationary,
is shown at Jº as a circular disc, and contained within an annular band or hoop K³,
by which it is suspended over the lower stone I, the said band being formed with
lugs a, through which are extended stout screws b, which rest upon corresponding
lugs c³ formed upon the top of the curb A², the said screws constituting the means
in this case whereby the altitude of the stone J2 with respect to the lower stone is
varied accordingly to the wear upon the two or the relative distance to be main-
tained between them. To securely confine the upper stone in position after its
proper altitude has been determined, I add to the underside of the lugs a³ pendant
lips d, which are furcated or slotted to receive bolts e, which extend through the
wall of the curb A², the head of such bolts overlapping the sides of the slots, and
the nuts screwing up against the outside of the curb, thus securely confining the
frame or support K2 of the stone to the curb A², while to prevent rising of such
stone within the support K² as blocks of wood are introduced, I form upon the said

page_text: supports bent ears f² which overlap the edge of the stone and prevent rising of the
latter within its frame or hoop. Through the ears f' I pass screws g², which
screw down upon the top of the upper stone, the purpose of these screws being first
to prevent, as before stated, the throwing up or lifting of such stone by the blocks
of wood; second, to adjust the slight variations in the space or distance between
the two stones, which may be requisite to produce coarse or fine pulp; and, third,
to compensate for the wear upon the stones.
The hoop K is practically stationary while the stone J2 is fed downward within
it, but when such stone becomes worn to close proximity to the hoop, the screws g³
are lowered and the hoop raised to the top of the stone, thus exposing a new
portion of the latter to wear, while at the same time the bolts e are loosened and
the hoop raised within the curb to a like distance. In lieu of bolting the lips d² to
the curb A as stated, the lugs a² and c² may be united by bolts with the same
result. I do not in any sense confine myself to the details above explained for
supporting and adjusting the position of the upper stone, as these may manifestly
be varied to a wide extent. The lower end or pivot h³ of the shaft G³ rests upon
conical anti-friction rolls 2, which are journaled within an annular frame or ring
such ring in turn being disposed within a box k which is disposed within a second
box placed upon the foundation C³, while adjusting screws m² are added to the
box to centre or adjust the position of the roller to the shaft G². The index
or operative face of the stone J is concave to a marked extent, as shown at o³,
consequently the grinding chamber or space 223, which intervenes between the two
stones, is frustro-conical in form and deepest in the centre, and it is in the form of
this chamber that the vital element of my Invention consists. An axial orifice or
feeding throat q is created in the stone J, through which the blocks of wood are
fed when the engine is in operation.
The operation of the engine is as follows:-The dry wood is reduced to blocks of
the proper size, say, from five to seven inches square, and the blocks are thrown
into the mouth q of the upper stone and fall upon the top of the lower stone,
which is in rapid revolution. The centrifugal force generated by the lower stone
leads the blocks of wood outward and they are seized between the two stones and
the disintegrating or reducing process begins. As the depth of the chamber p
gradually diminishes as its outer boundary is reached, and as the centrifugal force
is constantly tending to throw the block of wood outward, the latter is gradually
reduced in size until the disintegrated mass or pulp reaches the outer boundary of
the stone, and is there thrown off and precipitated into the bottom of the curb A²,
from whence it passes by the outlet E³ to the proper receptacle. As the depth of
the chamber p at the circumference of the two stones I and J determines the
grade or fineness or the length of fibre of the pulp, it follows that this depth will
be varied slightly when changing from one grade of pulp to another, and as the
effect of feeding in blocks of wood at the centre of the chamber is to constantly
elevate the upper stone against the screws g, it follows that to adjust the distance
between the stones and increase or diminish the depth of the said chamber p³ the
said screws are to be raised or lowered. The pressure which is essential to exert
the required crushing force upon the wood is derived from the weight of the stone,
or from weights superposed upon it, and as the gradually contracting depth of the
chamber 22 effects in itself the gradual reduction of the wood to pulp without
changing the positions of the stones, I am enabled to dispense with all feeding
mechanism and to introduce a continuous discharge of pulp. I am also enabled to
reduce the blocks of wood entirely to pulp, thereby avoiding the waste heretofore
inherent to machines for grinding wood to pulp, in which the blocks of wood are
supported or received at one end within pockets or guides. As before stated, the
blocks of wood before being admitted to the engine may and should be reduced to
a coarse granular condition by passing through the preliminary crushing. I would
remark that a supply of water is to be admitted to the grinding chamber p²
through the throat q to aid in the pulping of the wood and constitute a
vehicle for the pulp. As shown in the accompanying Drawings, the adjustable

page_text: rotary stone and the mechanism for elevating and depressing it I situate above the
stationary stone. This construction is attended with some objections, which 1
avoid by placing the adjustable rotary stone below the stationary stone, and the
adjusting mechanism below the said rotary stone, while the mechanism itself is
preferable in some respects to the first. In this instance the frame of the engine is
shown as composed of two upright side standards or housings Aº, Aº, erected at
bottom upon a common bed plate or foundation B, and at top bridged by a flat
plate C, the whole being of solid. material and securely bolted together. The two
horizontal grinding discs or stones are shown at D and E as disposed within an
upright hollow cylinder F, which constitutes the grinding chamber of the engine
of which the plate C is the bottom, such chamber or cylinder being erected
centrally upon the said plate C, and having at bottom a chute or spout Go to
permit of escape of the pulp, the upper and stationary stone De being secured to or
within the cap or cover He of the cylinder F, while an axial opening aº or be is
created in both the cap Hand stone D6, through which the material to be ground
is precipitated between the stones. The lower and revolving stone E-is secured to
the upper end of a vertical shaft I", which finds a bearing immediately below such
stone in the bridge plate C6, while the lower end of such shaft is stopped in a cup
shaped block c, disposed within a recessed hub or annular flange de erected upon a
horizontal sliding beam or cross head e, which is supported in guides or grooves fofo,
erected in the inner faces of the standards Aº, A", the hollow stop or cup cº being
confined to the hub d by bolts 80, 86, etc., in such manner that should any dis-
crepancy from wear or otherwise occur in the relative positions of the shaft and
cross head, the height of the stop may be raised to compensate for such discrepancy,
while the cup constitutes a receptacle for lubricating material and the recess of the
hub to contain flowing water. To effect the elevation or depression of the lower
stone I employ the following mechanism :-Upon cach side of the shaft I* I dispose
an upright shaft g, and I cut upon the lower end of each of these shafts a screw
thread which screws through a female screw thread tapped in a hole in the cross-
head e, each shaft at its lower end resting, upon the base B6, and near its upper
end being journaled in a bracket h extending horizontally inward from the adjacent
standard A. To the top of each shaft g I secure a worm gear i, which engages a
worm fixed upon a horizontal shaft 7, which is mounted in bearings in the
standards A, A, one end of each shaft extending through the standard, having a
mitre gear me fixed to it, which meshes into a second mitre gear n
fixed to the lower end of a vertical shaft or rod o, this latter shaft being mounted
in guides p, q, extending from the outside of the standard, and having a hand
wheel affixed to its upper end. By means of the hand wheel, whose rotations
are transmitted to the screw threaded shafts go, go, through the mitre gears m®
and no, and worm and worm gears i, 10, and 8, 16, the attendant is enabled to
elevate the lower stone to compensate for its wear, or to change the "guage" of
the engine. Various substances may be reduced to pulp in this engine, but I will
now explain a manufacture of pulp original with myself by which I utilize and
convert into good strong wood pulp a material heretofore treated as waste, so far
as putting it to any use in the arts is concerned, and usually disposed of by burning.
This feature of my Invention consists in the utilization and reduction to pulp of the
tops of trees, bushes, etc., that is to say, the twigs and small branches or bush of
trees, as well as small bushes, which have heretofore been considered of no value.
In carrying this portion of my Invention into practice in the production of pulp I
collect large quantities of "brush," so called, and before introducing it to the grinding
engine in which water is employed with it I prefer to pass it through the pre-
liminary crushing rollers, by which its comminution is to a certain degree
accomplished, and wear of the stones of the engine correspondingly economized,
after which the material is put into the engine and reduced to pulp. A pulp thus
made is sufficiently strong to be made into articles of hollow ware, such as kegs,
casks, pails, etc., as well as for chair seats and various other objects. By manu-
facturing wood pulp in large quantities from comparatively cheap materials I am

page_text: enabled to adapt it to many uses to which it has not heretofore been put. For
instance, I manufacture machine pullies of it, which are light, strong, and durable,
and comparatively inexpensive, as compared with wooden or iron ones. From a
better grade of pulp I manufacture a paper board, from which I make hoops for
casks, kegs, pails, etc., these leather board hoops being light, strong, and durable.
I also devote my cheaper class of pulp to the covering of the ceilings and inner and
outer walls of buildings, and placing it upon the floors in lieu of other carpets, the
whole being effected while the pulp is in a moist plastic condition. I also manu-
facture various hollow articles from the cheaper class of pulp in a manner peculiar to
myself, that is, in lieu of forming the article from wet pulp, in a mould from which
the water is drawn by suction or otherwise, I employ the pulp in a comparatively
dry state, just moist enough to be plastic, and in forming hollow articles I produce
a block or wood of a size adapted to the interior of the article I am to make, and I
place the plastic pulp upon the outside of this block or mould, and by manipulation
with the hands and proper tools 1 distribute this pulp in a layer of uniform
thickness over the exterior of the block, and by this means produce the desired
article. The article thus made is then set aside, and the workman proceeds with
another.
I claim as my Invention the following
First. In engines for pulping wood the combination with a suitable curb or case
of two stones, the operative face of one of which is flat, or practically flat, while
that of the opposite stone is largely concave, the object being to provide an inter-
mediate chamber, which gradually diminishes in depth from the centre outward,
substantially as and for purpose stated.
Second. In engines for pulping wood the combination with the case or curb
thereof of two stones, whose adjoining or operative faces are formed substantially
as described, so that the intermediate space or chamber gradually lessens in depth
from the centre outward, while the upper stone is pierced axially to admit
of passage of wood to the said chamber, substantially as and for purposes stated.
Third. The combination with the upper stone J2 and its supporting ring of a
adjusting and confining devices, whereby the position of the stone with respect to
its ring and to the curb of the engine is adjusting to compensate for the wear of
the two stones, substantially as shown and described.
Fourth. The herein described incchanism for effecting the adjustment of the
lower rotary stone, consisting of the following elements, in combination with such
lower stone and its supporting shaft, to wit, the sliding cross-head, guided by
upright grooves in the standards of the engine frame, and supported by an
adjustable step; the weight of said lower stone; the twin screw threaded shafts
actuating such cross-head and carrying worm gears, by which they receive rotary
motion, the worm gears engaging worms mounted upon a horizontal shaft, suitably
journaled in the engine frame, and carrying at one end a mitre gear; and the
upright hand shaft or rod carrying a mitre gear to engage the gear on the worm
shaft, the whole operating as stated.
Fifth. A wood pulp produced by reduction between revolving stones of brush
and analogous material.
Sixth. The utilization of twigs, brush, small branches, etc., of wood, as a material
from which to produce wood pulp. Articles of hollow ware in general made from
pulp composed of twigs, brusli, etc.
Seventh. In combination with an engine for reducing wood fibre to pulp, a
machine for effecting a preliminary crushing or reduction of the material.
Eighth. In combination with an engine for reducing wood fibre to pulp, a
crushing machine composed of two or more parallel rollers of stone or other material
mounted in suitable housings, and having provision for feeding them up to each
other to compensate for wear.
Ninth. In wood pulp grinding or crushing machines the journal boxes of the
reducing rolls as adapted to rock upon their seats.
Tenth. As a special article made from wood fibre pulp a machine pulley.

page_text: Eleventh. As a special article made from wood fibre pulp or from leather board
of commerce a hoop for casks, pails, etc.
Twelfth. As a special use or adaptation of wood fibre pulp, applying the same
to inner or outer walls or ceilings, roofs, or other portions of buildings, in lieu of
plaster, cement, mastic, etc., and to the floor of apartments as a substitute for oil
cloth or other carpeting.
Thirteenth. The method herein described of producing articles of hollow ware
from wood fibre pulp by moulding the same in a plastic and comparatively dry
state about the section of a block or mold, without necessity of employing means
for extracting the water from such pulp.
In witness whereof, I, the said Jefferson Chase, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty second day of March, One thousand eight hundred
and eighty.
JEFFERSON CHASE. (LS.)