IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND PREPARING Gorse and OTHER VEGETABLE, ANIMAL, and Mineral SUBSTANCES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick William Follows and John Bate, both of
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Agricultural Implement
Makers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
CUTTING AND PREPARING Gorse and OTHER VEGETABLE, ANIMAL, and Mineral
SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 20th October 1874, and dated the 24th July 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick William
Follows and John Bate at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 24th July 1873.
We, FREDERICK WILLIAM FOLLOWS and JOHN BATE, both of Man-
chester, in the County of Lancaster, Agricultural Implement Makers,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND PREPARING GORSE AND OTHER VEGETABLE, ANIMAL,
AND MINERAL SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
Our Invention is particularly applicable for preparing gorse to be used.
as food for animals, but is also applicable to other purposes.

page_text: The machinery consists of a barrel, cylinder, or other receptacle fitted
with a number of knives or projections, or both inside; and also inside
are placed one or more shafts carrying a number of knives for cutting,
or projections for bruising, or a combination of the two. The knives and
projections on the shafts are made to serve the purpose of forcing the
gorse or other substance against the other knives and projections, and
propelling it from one end of the machine to the other.

page_text: If desired instead of rollers two or more shafts as before described
can be used, and one or a number of knives placed along the opening
underneath.
This arrangement is also applicable to machines for grinding, bruising,
breaking, separating, or cutting every description of vegetable substance
for agricultural and domestic use, for guano and other manures, and for
mineral substances.
-
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Frederick William Follows and John Bate in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 23rd January 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, FREDERICK
WILLIAM FOLLOWS and JOHN BATE, both of Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, Agricultural Implement Makers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors;
give and grant unto us, the said Frederick William Follows and John
Bate, Her special licence that we, the said Frederick William Fellows
and John Bate, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as we, the said Frederick William Follows and John Bate,
our 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 Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
'IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND PREPARING GORSE AND OTHER
VEGETABLE, ANIMAL, AND MINERAL SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Frederick William Follows and John Bate,
our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
our, or their, or one of our or their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,

page_text: 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 immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
Q
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Frederick William Follows and
John Bates, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement (that is to say):
Our Invention is particularly applicable for preparing gorse to be used
as food for animals, but it is also applicable to other purposes.
The machinery consists of a barrel, cylinder, or other receptacle fitted 1
with a number of knives or projections, or both inside, and also inside
are placed one or more shafts carrying a number of knives for cutting or
projections for bruising, or a combination of the two. The knives and
projections on the shafts are made to serve the purpose of forcing the
gorse or other substance against the other knives and projections, and 1
propelling it from one end of the machine to the other.
The barrel and the knives and projections fixed to it may be made to
revolve instead of or in addition to the revolutions of the shafts.
The gorse or other substance is put into the machine at or near one
end, and it is propelled through the barrel in a horizontal direction to 2
the other end, instead of passing perpendicularly through rollers or
cutting barrels as hitherto.
In some cases one or more knives may be attached to the machine for
cutting up the gorse or other substance into small pieces as now done by
chaff cutters, and a pair or more than one pair of rollers, forming part 2
of or separate from the machine, may be used for more thoroughly
preparing the substances passing through the machine. When this is
the case we leave an opening underneath the rollers, and place one or
more plates made solid or in a number of parts between the inside of
and underneath the rollers; by this means when the substance has 3
passed through the rollers, it is ground again by each roller against the
inside plate and falls immediately underneath.
If desired instead of rollers, two or more shafts as before described
can be used, and one or a number of knives placed along the opening
underneath.

page_text: This arrangement is also applicable to machines for grinding, bruising,
breaking, separating, or cutting every description of vegetable substances
for agricultural and domestic use, for guano and other manures, and for
mineral substances.
The barrel and rollers may be placed horizontally, vertically, or
diagonally.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation, we will proceed to describe the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters
marked thereon.
Fig. 1 is a plan, Fig. 2, a side elevation, and Fig. 3 an end view of
our improved gorse cutting machine; Fig. 4 is á transverse section, and
Fig. 5 a longitudinal section of the same; Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are detached
views of parts of the machine.
a is a cylindrical or other shaped barrel fixed to a suitable stand or
frame b. The barrel is furnished at one end with a hopper c, and at
the other with a discharge orifice and spout d. At the hopper end of
the barrel are the spiral projections a³, and the space between these,
projections and the discharge orifice is occupied by the knives e, one of
which is shewn detached in Fig. 8; these knives are fit in boxes, which
are let into grooves in the barrel a, the space between the knives e is
widest near the hopper and it is gradually reduced towards the discharge
orifice, and the distance between the knives is filled up by blocks of
metal or wood. Within the barrel a is the shaft f, on which are fixed
the spiral blade f¹, shewn best in Fig: 6, and the cutters g¹ corresponding
in number and position to the knives e fixed in the barrel. One of the
knives g¹ is shewn detached in Fig. 7, and they are set spirally on the
shaft f, which is made with two flat sides cut spirally as shewn in Fig. 5.
The revolving cutters 9 are placed close to the stationary cutters e, and
above the orifice and discharge spout d is the spiral blade g, which acts
as a scraper and forces the gorse out of the barrel a into the discharge
spout. The shaft fis driven by steam or other power. When the machine
is at work the gorse is fed into the hopper c and drops into the barrel a.
The spiral blade f¹ in combination with the projections a¹, force it hori-
zontally towards the cutters e and g', by which it is thoroughly macerated
and reduced to a pulpy substance, which is discharged through the
orifice and spout d in a fit state for feeding cattle.

page_text: In some machines the barrel a may be made to revolve in addition to
or instead of the shaft f.
Fig. 9 is a transverse section of one of our improved machines par-
ticularly adapted for crushing corn and seed, but which may be used
for other purposes. In this arrangement we place a feed roller under
the hopper c as now customary, and this feed roller delivers the corn or
other substance to the grinding rollers h and i, the surfaces of which
are either plain or grooved. Between and under these grinding rollers
is the plate j made solid or in a number of parts. The position of this
plate can be adjusted by the set screw j; by this means when the corn
or other substance has been partially operated upon by passing between
the rollers it is again operated upon by each roller acting against the
plate j, the surface of which is grooved or serrated as shewn in Figs. 10
and 11, or the surface may be left plain. The corn or other substance,
instead of being discharged at one end of the machine falls from
between the rollers and the plate j on to the floor, or it is guided by the
trough m, which is the full width of the rollers into a suitable receptacle
placed below.
Fig. 12 is a section, and Fig. 13 a plan of another of our improved
machines particularly adapted for cutting up vegetable matter; this
machine consists of a double barrel a with a single set of stationary
knives e in the centre, and two revolving shafts f,f, with knives g¹ set
spirally or otherwise on the shafts; in this arrangement the vegetable
matter when cut up is discharged through a longitudinal opening in the
lower part of the casing.
For breaking up guano and other substances we use a machine similar
to that shewn in Fig. 12, but instead of knives we apply solid arms or
beaters to the revolving shafts f, and corresponding arms or blades
instead of the stationary knives e.
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention and described several
modes of performing the same, we wish it to be understood that we do
not limit ourselves to the details given, as they may be varied or modi-
fied according to the particular purpose for which the machine is to be
adapted; we would also remark that we do not intend to claim any of
the well-known parts of the machinery shewn to illustrate our Invention,
but what we do claim is,―

page_text: First. The improved machine for cutting and preparing gorse as shewn
and described in reference to Figs. 1 to 8, in which the gorse is fed in,
´at, or near one end, and discharged at the other.
Secondly. The application of the plate ; under and between the
grinding or crushing rollers in combination with the mode of delivering
the substance operated upon, as shewn and described in reference to
Figs. 9, 10, and 11.
And Thirdly. The application of the stationary knives or blades
between revolving cutters or arms in combination with the mode of
delivering the substance operated upon, as shewn and described in
reference to Fig. 12 and 13.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Bate, for myself, and on
behalf of the said Frederick William Follows, have hereto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of January, One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.